98. Don’t Wait to Live: Turning Pain into a Teacher with Stefanie Schaffer

Making an amazing hand out of the cards you’ve been dealt can seem impossible. But today’s guest - Stefanie Schaffer - has mastered the process and shares insights we can all put in practice tomorrow. 

The “bad hand” she was dealt, was very bad: losing both her legs in a tour boat accident while on a family vacation at age 22. But, in just 4 years, she has recovered from one setback after another, and managed her responses with so much clarity that she has recently found herself modeling for Kim Kardashian’s company, traveling, writing a book, and finding perspectives that are useful through every chapter of her recovery. 

This interview is a Part 2 to a remarkable conversation Stef and I had just two years into her journey. And I have to tell you that even today, when I look back on that conversation, I still get goosebumps. She made comments that seemed almost otherworldly in their wisdom and foresight. 

I encourage you to listen to that when all seems lost. Stef was then on the path to becoming a great teacher for us all, and now she is living the life she was then aiming for. 

This story can be a constant reminder for us all that anything is possible. 

[00:00 – 04:30] Opening Segment 

• Live better lives with the cards that we’re dealt.

[04:30 - 10:10]

• Stef’s story and what she has been up to in the past years.
• Stef’s Bahamian vacation when she had her accident that changed her life.

[10:11 - 14:00]

• The kindness of strangers.
• Stef’s mother’s love for her daughter.

[14:01 - 18:00]

• Being kinder than the moment calls for.

[18:01 - 20:40]

• You learn to look at the bigger picture and you get better at it.
• Choosing to work everyday to get stronger instead of wallowing in self-pity.

[20:41 - 24:30]

• Modeling for the Kim Kardashian SKIMS line.
• Inclusivity in the fashion world.

[24:31 - 29:50]

• Talking to people with disabilities like