How UFC Star Ben Askren Cheated Death - #1116
6/27/20261 hr 6 min
Ben Askren is a former Olympic wrestler and former MMA champion.
What is it like to come face-to-face with death and make it back? Ben went from being on top of the world to needing a double lung transplant just to survive. What actually happened to him, what did he endure during his recovery, and how did the experience reshape his perspective on life?
Expect to learn what actually happened to Ben these past 18 months, how low his health went, the biggest lessons Ben has held onto over the last year, what Ben thought about when he was that close to death, how surviving and recovering changed his thoughts on faith and fatherhood, and much more…
Sponsors:
See discounts for all the products I use and recommend: https://chriswillx.com/deals
Timestamps:
(0:00) The Crazy Story Behind Ben’s Double Lung Transplant (5:01) What Happened After Ben Blacked Out? (8:27) How Do You Breathe Without Lungs? (10:38) The Hidden Danger of Necrotising Pneumonia (12:27) The Long Road Back to Health (17:30) Waking Up to a Second Chance at Life (21:35) How to Stay Strong Through Illness (26:40) How Near-Death Changed Ben’s Priorities (33:29) Has Ben’s Definition of Success Changed? (37:26) Why Wrestlers Are Mentally Different (41:44) Talent vs Hard Work: What Brings You Success? (48:24) How to Stop the Pressure Getting to You (57:38) Choose Your Own Legacy (01:04:01) Where to Find Ben
Extra Stuff:
Get my free reading list of 100 books to read before you die: https://chriswillx.com/books
Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic: https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom
Episodes You Might Enjoy:
#577 - David Goggins - This Is How To Master Your Life: lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins
#712 - Dr Jordan Peterson - How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs: lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson
#700 - Dr Andrew Huberman - The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain: lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman
-
Get In Touch:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast
Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact
-
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsChris Williamson· Host0:00
Welcome back to life, dude [laughs] Well, I've been, I've been living again for quite a while now.
Ben Askren· Guest0:07
Um, June 28th was actually the day I got the transplant last year, so coming up on a year for that. Uh, I think, I believe I woke up on July 2nd or somewhere around there, or, you know, like came to in my own mind. Um, so yeah, it's been, it's been a process, but I'm here, I'm getting better, uh, and life's pretty good.
Chris Williamson· Host0:27
So one year ago from now you were really in the shit.
Ben Askren· Guest0:30
Well, I just made a post yesterday, because on June 6th, which was two days ago Saturday, I got inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. And when I went home, or we went back to the hotel with my wife, I said, "Didn't I get airlifted June 6th last year?" So last year on June 6th I was in Vegas and I went, I first looked at the first hospital, second hospital, and then we had some friends that came out that were... One was a doctor and one was a nurse, and they said, "You ain't g- he's not gonna make it to this hospital. We need to get him back to Milwaukee 'cause they have a good, uh, s- it's called CVICU, uh, cardiovascular intensive care unit." And they, they got me a flight. They put me on a plane, uh, took me all the way back. And I said to my wife, "Well, why was that such a bad day? 'Cause I don't remember. I was sleeping." [laughs] And she said to transport me they had to fully paralyze my body. Um, and then when I got back to Milwaukee, they put me on ECMO, and with ECMO there's o- I think there's only like a 40% chance you come off ECMO. A lot of people go on it don't come off it. So, uh, they were hoping I wouldn't have to do that. I did have to do that. So June 6th last year,