Triumph Beyond Limits with Trenell Walker 

Triumph Beyond Limits with Trenell Walker 

About Trenell Walker

At 14, Trenell Walker faced paralysis that changed everything. Yet through “The T.R.E.N.E.L.L. Effect,” he turned tragedy into triumph. Discover how his unstoppable mindset helps others unlock their potential and rise beyond limits.

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Introduction

Good, beautiful day, beautiful, beautiful souls! This is Charla Anderson, host of the Charla Anderson Show~Collector & Connector of Fascinating People (& EVERYONE is Fascinating!), especially you.

At 14, Trenell Walker, a rising football star, faced paralysis that changed everything. Yet through the “The T.R.E.N.E.L.L. Effect,” he turned tragedy into triumph. We’ll discover how his unstoppable mindset helped others unlock their potential and rise beyond limits. I can’t wait to introduce you to listen to the story of a life of paralysis from the age of 14. How tragic do you think that was? Trenell Walker, we’re going to have a great conversation, 

…BUT FIRST…

We’re going to take my 22 second mini vacation, a little breathing exercise and breathe in some calm for For 7 seconds, hold for 4 seconds and breathe out gratitude for 11 seconds. So here we go. Breathe in our calm. Hold. Relax, release. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 

Wow. So I’m excited to visit with you today, Trenell. We’ve known each other for quite some time through the Ziggler. Zig Ziglar and all that. So let’s just talk about who you are in this world. What is, what is it that you, you know, what, and what you do, we’re going to just go delve into all that and just have a fun conversation. I’m so glad you’re here.

I’m so glad that you invited me to be on the show. It’s super excited to be able to connect with you as always, a pleasure. And now I understand why it’s always a joy because of your name. It means joy. So I appreciate you inviting me to be able to just simply share a little bit of my story. I like to call myself the anyway specialist because regardless of what goes on, we’re going to get it done anyway. And I actually got that from my mentor, Mr. Tom Zigler. So I just took it and embraced it. And so today I’m just going to share with you a story, as well as hopefully provide you with tools that, regardless of what you are going through, you will be motivated and empowered to persevere and do it anyway. So you want me to go

ahead? We’re going to talk about you, you know, the Trenell effect and how, but first let’s talk about you. You were a rising football star. You had dreams of playing football and getting your mom, your single mom out of, you know, into retirement and working. You had big aspirations and 14’s a pretty young age to have your life completely in what I’m sure at the time felt like ended, right?

Correct. And football was my life. I mean, I had been playing it since the age of four, no, the age of six, you know, with my older brother, Artes. And so football was his favorite sport. So naturally it became mine too. And he helped me develop my talents and my skills to the point that, you know, I was pretty good. And my whole goal for using my athletic talents was to be able to use them to earn a full athletic scholarship to pay for college, because I knew my mom wouldn’t be able to pay for college as well as being able to retire her, you know, as a single mother, being able to buy her a house, car. 

And I mean, even, you know, even just her to just to be able to relax. And so, you know, for me, I knew she wouldn’t be able to, pay for college because she was a single parent, only working a full-time job, making $5.25 an hour, but she was a go-getter. She made sure she worked two to three part-time jobs to take care of me, my grandmother, and my brother, my brother as well. And she was always honest about going to school and getting a good education. And one day I finally had to ask mom, I’m like, mom, you know, why are you always on us about getting a good education? 

And she looked at me and she said, son, she said, because I didn’t want you to have to struggle like I did because my mom dropped out of high school when she was 15 years old to have my brother. And so she never really got back. And so she struggled and she didn’t want us to struggle. And I’m grateful for her encouragement, mixed with my desire to be able to pay for college and get a career that would end the financial struggles, it actually motivated me to add college as a part of my plan, even at the age of 14. 

You know, going to college put me a step closer to my ultimate goal. playing in the NFL. I mean, as a kid, I had already envisioned being drafted in the first round of the NFL draft, walking across the stage, shaking the commissioner’s hands, and putting on that cap with that star on it. Yes, I was representing them Cowboys, baby.

That’s awesome. As we know, especially because both of us are Zig Ziglar’s legacy certified trainers. And that we met through, we’ve both met Mr. Zig Ziglar, the legend. And then we know the family, Tom and Julie and Cindy and the beautiful family that we’re part of their legacy because how could you just let a Zig Ziglar, you know, not live on forever. So we both have met, met Zig before he died in 2012. 

So we’ve got something and we’ve got the values, right? We’ve got the values of the unconditional love and loving as God loves and the values of work ethic and doing the right thing. And we’ve just got a lot of those values that came through there. And you, I was in class five in the first year in 2014. What class were you in?

I was class seven. I think it was. You’re right behind me then.

Yes.

I remember meeting you and I’m pretty sure Zig was alive when we met. It’s been a long, long time.

Yes.

We’ve both spoken at the Monday morning devotionals that’s been going on for over 40 years. Wow. The Ziglers are something else. Yes. We’re honored, really, highly honored to be a part of that. It’s my favorite credential, right? So at 14, I was a vision. This is where I was going to go with that. Vision. You had the vision of stepping on that stage. 

You had the vision of shaking the hand. And to me, there’s no doubt. That that is a driving factor. You would have made it had there not been an accident right so you were a football field and something, something. just almost hard to fathom happened.

Yeah, and I’m actually glad you mentioned that because this, like in the next few days, it’s going to be the 30th anniversary of what I like to call the transformation. So I’m going to give you just a little synopsis of the moment that my life transformed. It was on October 20th, 1995. I was a six-foot-one-inch high school freshman. 185 pounds. I ran 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash. Bench, 215 pounds. Power clean, 215 pounds. Squat, 325 pounds. So I was a beast, especially on the football field. 

But on the night of October 20th, I was starting for the first time at the defensive back position. I remember that the lights from Bearcat Stadium shined out on the field, capturing my performance. The cold October breeze nipped at my skin as I walked to the left side of the defensive line to take my position. I looked in at the quarterback from the opposing team waiting for him to receive the football. Hood, hood, he received the football and immediately tossed it to the running back, headed in my direction. I ran up field as fast as I could because I read that play. Oh yeah, like a book. The running back saw me and immediately tried to reverse field to avoid being tackled, but I wrapped my arms around him and started dragging him toward the ground. 

The crowd went wild, the band started playing, but annoying to me, my teammate was coming from the opposite side to assist. He launched himself with the falling running back. Bam. He hit me instead, crushing the fourth vertebrae in my neck. I felt nothing. I couldn’t feel my legs. I tried to get up, but I couldn’t. I was paralyzed in that moment from the neck down. But what meant to be my high school glory days didn’t turn to temporary defeat. 

Or should I say it turned it to temporary defeat? Because in my eyes, temporary defeat does not mean permanent failure. You know, I tried a bad attitude. I tried blaming others, but things didn’t change until I started applying the Trenell effect to my life to help me overcome what many would consider insurmountable odds.

Wow, I had not really heard the whole story. And so it was your own teammate.

Yes, ma’am.

I’m guessing that he felt pretty bad too. So there’s, you know,

what

happened, it’s what happened. It’s what so it happened. And no intention, malintent was happy was there at all. So how did you kept in touch with him? And how did that affect his life?

Yes, actually, last year during the 29 year anniversary of it, I actually went back down to the football stadium, to the place where it actually happened at, because I had never been down there before since that time, because I wanted to really, you know, that’s part of the healing. Sometimes you have to go back to the place where you have pain, because that pain is where you can have growth. And in doing so, I recorded a video of me just sharing my experience down there. And my teammate at the time who ran into me, he saw the video. 

And I hadn’t heard from him in many, many years. And so he actually connected with me on Facebook and we talked, and yeah, it wasn’t easy for him, you know, during this entire time because he didn’t have the best life, but also people looked at him as causing it, as blaming him for it. And again, being 17 years old at the time, I think he was, or 18 and not having a good home life. And then this happened. It wasn’t good for him. However, once I talked to him, it was like a moment of healing for him too. And so that was really, I thought it was going to be me healing, but after I was talking to him on the phone, I’m like, man, he really needed this call. So, you know, 

I was grateful to be able to talk to him and hear his side of the story. And we still cool, we cool. I’m like, I can’t blame you. Was I angry at first? Yeah. But now it’s like, man, it is what it is. Sometimes you have to just roll with life, forgive people, take action and look forward. And like you said, Sharla, have that vision. And that’s what I’m pursuing is that vision.

Well, you wouldn’t, you most likely you would have completed football and done your, you know, NFL and stuff like that. But your impact is much greater than it would have been, most likely, you know, with learning how to motivate others. And this is something that I’ve found, meeting Nick Vouch, however you say his last name, Vouch, from Australia, who has no arms and no legs. You’ve met him, right?

Yes, ma’am

And you think, how could it get any worse than that? He tried to drown himself, but he couldn’t because he was all alone. But he’s married with, I think, four children now. He’s an amazing young man. I’ve met him, and he’s one of the more inspiring people. What that means to me, what I started noticing, and it’s like, you’re doing all this stuff and he’s doing all this stuff, what’s wrong with me? Why aren’t I aspiring to do more? 

But we are not our meat suit. A friend of mine calls it a meat suit. We are not what we see, has very little to do with who we are. Who we are is, spirit, soul. That’s who we are. Our character is framed by who we are, not what we look like. You’ve got a lot of limitations that you weren’t able to particularly change. You could change that circumstance. I’m so grateful that you had a conversation with that young man, because I’m sure he was, you know of people that cause an accident or cause something and sometimes it’s harder on them than it is on others, right? So, you know, it’s less interesting to think of that, but we are not what we see.

And I like that you said that, because one of my mentors, Ira Partridge, and I believe you know it, he was like, hey, your condition doesn’t determine your position. And I was like, you sure are right about that. And one of the things that I learned from Lauren Hill, the R&B singer, is that we’ve been taught to protect the outer man while the inner man is dying. you know, that the real you is more interesting than the fake somebody else. And so that’s one of the things that, you know, I try to encourage people, you know, as well as myself, is to have good self-awareness and to realize that you are a piece of the master, which makes you a masterpiece. 

And so that’s one of the things that I try to encourage people to look at, but also my situation, it ain’t easy. For example, this morning, I was having issues with my bladder and everything like that. And my mom is my, she still takes care of me. I still live with her. I have attendants and other things like that, but I had to call her to help me. And that’s a beautiful thing to have a good support system, whether it’s with family or with friends, like Charla. We’re doing great friends like that. 

So that has been real important. But again, it was a struggle this morning, but I had to realize that, hey, it’s only temporary and the best is yet to come. And that I can either look at what I don’t like and what I can do, or I can look at what I can do and be grateful for it. as well as being grateful to have the assistance to be able to have a loving mother and loving friends to be able to love me unconditionally and be able to step in, do the things that I can do so I can focus on what I can do.

Well, I love that. You know, there’s, there’s a lot of things you can’t do. There’s a lot of things I can’t do, you know, it doesn’t mean I’m, you know, incapable of having a good life just because I can’t do a lot of the things I would like to do. I’m 72, I’ll be 72 next month. And you know, things have changed, right? So, and you, I’m guessing you almost have to have 24-7 Yes, attendance of some sort. So,

yeah, I mean, I guess. Yeah, the 24 hour people around me, even though I, you know, move around and that’s one of the things that I want to encourage people that don’t like asking for help. I didn’t like asking for help. But I had to realize that Jesus had 12 disciples. He didn’t do it by himself. As well as, I mean, we’ve been taught to ask, and my mom always told me, a closed mouth don’t get fed. So if you don’t ask, how are you going to get the help you need? 

And it’s not about being independent. It’s about being interdependent, that you’re able to, that I found out that although I may not be able to help someone out physically, but when it comes to the mental and emotional aspects of life and the spiritual, that’s another way I’m able to help them while they’re helping me physically. So we all sharpen each other like iron sharpens iron.

Well, that’s huge. I think a lot of people don’t want to ask. And then I love your mom. Your mom’s very wise. I met her, too. I think the first time I met you. And very wise woman. Wow. And what a gift she’s been, right? And so you’ve written a book. And we’re going to talk about the Trinnell effect. And you’ve written a book called The Trinnell Effect, T-R-E-N-E-L-L. The Trinnell Effect on Amazon. So I would love you to, the logo right behind you comes from the Trinnell Effect. You can’t see all of it, but yeah. And then they’re going to find you on Facebook and LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube by T-R-E-N-E-L-L. Walker, your last name is Walker, which isn’t that ironic that you don’t, right?

Right, exactly. But I still walk through life with a smile on my face. You always have a smile. Or should I say roll through life?

Roll through. Right. So that’s me, I just think that’s kind of fun, you know, ironic is who you are. So

Did I have a documentary called Walker? It’s on YouTube as well.

So I’m still walking. I mean, I got the documentary just walking in my position.

Yeah. Well, we all are unique. Nobody’s the same. So you just, you use wheels, which works, but so. The Trenell effect, let’s talk a little bit about that.

All right, the Trenell effect, I came up with it because I didn’t have any tools when I first got injured. Because when we are born, we actually have people around us that help us learn what it’s like to live as a human being that can walk, that can use their arms, legs, and talk. However, when one acquires a disability, there’s no tools. And so as I was going through what I was going through, I had to recognize that I needed a tool. And so how I came up with the Trenell Effect is I went to go visit Tom Zigler. 

And I was going to, because I had a speaking idea for a speaking business, but I didn’t know the name. And so I went to him to get some guidance. And as we were talking, he paused and he calls himself the intellectual engineer. And he said, Trenell, have you ever thought about doing something with your name? I’m like, huh? He said, the T can stand for take action. The last L can stand for love. The rest, you got to figure it out on your own. So I went home and just started thinking about the principles that I learned from my mom and my brother since they were so instrumental in my life. 

And the T again was take action. And then my mom, she has been so resilient and life being a single mother and still making sure we have what we need. I had to put that down because I learned to be resilient from her. The E I learned was encouraged. She always encouraged us to do our best and be our best. The N came from my brother in football because we would always play a game and he would never let me quit until I actually scored a touchdown. The E actually came from him as well because in sports you have to evaluate. The L is for learn because you have to learn from things and the unconditional and tough love came from both. And as we were talking earlier, Charla, I have the acronym, I mean, not acronym, the logo behind me. 

And for those that are not able to see, it’s a T with lines starting from the bottom, and it goes all the way up to the top. And the first line at the bottom, it’s like a big splash, because that stands for the T, the take action part of life. Because once you, the most hardest thing you would do is to take that first step, is to take action. And once you take action, you’ll make a big splash in your life. that will make things a lot different than you would ever realize if you just sit there and did nothing. And then as you’re taking action, the next line above it is a little thicker, it’s the R, it’s resilience. 

You have to be resilient as you’re taking action because life is going to knock you down, but you have to be resilient and turn that sense back into a great comeback. And then the line above that is the E, the encourage. As you’re going through life, taking action and being resilient, you have to encourage yourself and others in order to flourish. And then we give that to the end. As you’re encouraging yourself, the line above that represents the never quit. Because it’s impossible to stop a motivated person because they will never quit. And as you’re never quitting, it’s a line right above that and that’s the evaluate. 

As you’re going through life, you have to pause some time and to evaluate what’s going on. Evaluate your why. What is your why? What is your purpose? And then you have, as you’re evaluating things, the next line is that first L, which is to learn. You have to learn from your past. You have to learn from your present. You have to learn in order to earn respect for yourself, others, and you can possibly earn more money, money, money. And then the last L is for the love, because love is a gift from above. And this is not only talking about love for others, but more importantly, love for you, love for yourself, because how can you love someone else if you don’t truly love yourself? And so as you love,

The way you will love yourself, you will start learning different things about yourself and the things around you. And that will give you the opportunity to evaluate which way you want to go in life to better your life. And as you’re evaluating your life, it gives you the motivation to never quit. And as you’re going through never quitting, you’re encouraging yourself along the way, which is giving you the power to be resilient and give you the motivation to continue to take action. So you have just experienced the Trinnell effect. Let it infect you and move you to take action, be resilient, encourage, never quit, evaluate, learn, and love.

I love it. I love acronyms. I mean, acronyms are very, it’s a framework, right? It’s the framework we can live from or teach from. And so that’s awesome. You also have one called, what does it mean to live, L-I-V-E?

Oh, I love it. This is one I implement every day in order to stay in the moment. one of the things I learned is that we either got one foot in the future or one foot in the past. And like my therapist said, told me, we’re peeing all over the present, which is the only time we truly get to live. And live is an acronym for, the L is for laugh. Laugh as long as you breathe. You know, and I tell people to find things to laugh about, whether it’s looking at a funny TikTok, YouTube, or if you old school, get you one of them Laffy Taffy candies that got that little joke off in there. You know, because 12 laughs a day keeps depression away. The I is for inspire. 

You have to inspire yourself by breathing life into you, by writing down what you’re grateful for. Have a gratitude journal. Put the date in it. Write what you’re grateful for, why you’re grateful for, and what you’re grateful for that hasn’t happened yet. And then we go down to the value, the V, which is value. Value every moment by living in the moment. Again, the only time we have to live is now. So as you go throughout your day, find five things that bring you joy and write them down if you can. Like for me, I like going outside, looking at the squirrels. 

They are hilarious. And then this leads us to the E, the enjoy. Enjoy the people and the day in your life to the fullest because you never know when it’s gonna be your last. You may need to pull out your phone and text somebody, hey, I was just letting you know I was thinking about you. I appreciate you and I love you. And by being able to live, You’re able to live in the moment, live one day at a time, and live life to the fullest.

Man, I love that. I’m glad I thought to ask because, I mean, you’d written it in your questionnaire, but those textings, I think we learned that from Bob Bodine.

Yes,

ma’am. The best of the best. One of my mantras, or something I say all the time, and I did it today, everything is always working out for me. And when it isn’t, or it doesn’t feel like it is, it’s still, where else do we have to be than where we are right now? And so everything from beginning of time has led us to having this conversation in this moment of time, right? So you just never, you never know, but if you don’t like where you are, You can’t change how you got here, but you can change your next word, your next step. 

This is a message I say all the time. I mean, really, where else do you have to be than where you are? They say live in the moment, but I’ve not really heard a lot of people explain it like you just did, and just be, right? Just be right now, and be present, and be authentic, and love your life. And if it’s not great, be grateful anyway, and everything give thanks. You ever heard that? Everything give thanks and consider your next steps, not your last steps. So

that’s a lot

of my message too. So I’m going to take, if you don’t mind, I’m going to take just a, what I call a mini moment and take a little commercial break, so to speak, because I have an incredible product that I want to have like insert a commercial about, but there’s a little balance test is what I’m talking about, a little Omega oil. So we have these, you know, our body doesn’t make these Omegas in our body where they’re required.

And

so we’ve got these Omegas don’t have, we need to have a three to one and better ratio. And a 20 year old company recently came into the United States and has started, and we’ve got test-based, a dry spot blood test, testing and found out that 99% of the United States or the North Americans are out of balance. And many, many, many that I’ve heard, 55 to one instead of three to one, 30 to one instead of three to one. And just taking one tiny, 

I don’t have one, I don’t have it poured yet, but I had one tiny little shot of Omega oil every day for four months and you get another test for free. People are going from double digits and close to triple digits to single digits in just four months. And that’s the only change they’re making.

It’s

amazing because, you know, a lot of all this problems out here, many of our diseases are caused by inflammation. And this is a way to address that. Anyway, I’m going to take a moment and insert my commercial here and we’ll be right back with Mr. Trinale Walker. Okay, thanks Trenell for letting me talk about my passion here that has made a huge impact in so many people’s health. It’s a Norwegian company. They just this week had their 20th anniversary party over in Norway. 

So great company, great people. It’s called Zinzino, charlaanderson.com. There’s charlaanderson.com/Zinzino is a little website that I made about it. So Z-I-N, Z-I-N-O. So thanks for letting me break with that. And I’m back with what’s next in your world? You actually do speak around the world, right? You are doing.

Yes.

Becoming a big time speaker. And coach. You do coaching too, right? Yes. So you did go to college. You did get your degrees. Tell us what what those are about.

Oh, yeah. I was able to graduate from high school. My classmates and I went to the University of North Texas in Denton, where I obtained my bachelor’s degree in Rehabilitation Studies and a minor in Sociology. And then I continued my education to get my bachelor’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling. And I am a certified rehabilitation counselor. I’m also DISC certified. I’m also a Ziegler Legacy certified trainer, speaker, and coach. 

So I always like, as far as the coaching, I like to call myself the anyway specialist, because regardless of what the person is going through, we’re going to find a way to help them get it done anyway. But as far as speaking, I’m actually going to be working with the Austin College Physician Assistance Program and going to talk and share with them on the importance of tolerant listening, as well as working with someone with a spinal cord injury. So I’m super excited about that. 

But as far as any more speaking engagements, I don’t have any schedule. So if you are listening to this podcast, you can definitely connect with me to come speak to your organization. You can go to triumphbeyondlimits.com. That’s T-R-I-U-M-P-H-B-E-Y-O-N-D-L-I-M-I-T-S.COM

And what’s your email address since you’re

My email address is twalker, T-W-A-L-K-E-R, @  triumphbeyondlimits.com. Okay.

Yeah, I get that. We always got to spell because so many people podcast instead of YouTubey, I guess. Anyway, this is great. I’ve heard you speak. I think we’re both We’re pretty excited about your future. I mean, you’re so, let’s see, 30 years ago, so you’re in your 50s.

44, about to be 45. Oh, I mean, 40 is

absolutely my

age. I mean, you’re trying to boost me up there. I mean, I’m not ready to get there just yet.

One of the things I would like to share with somebody who’s listening that may be going through a struggle is that, as we were talking earlier

about something happening to you and how you respond to what happens to you, in between there is your ability, your power, your power to choose, you know, to find the silver lining. The best way to find the silver lining is to recognize that you have a choice. And I know that as you’re going through the rough times in your life, you may not recognize or feel like you have a choice, but here is something I want to share with you. I want you to imagine a difficult situation you may be dealing with right now, or it may be when you’re thinking about in the future or when you’re done in the past. 

You got that clearly in your mind? So now here are two questions that I want to encourage you to ask yourself. The first question is, is there something I can do in the next two weeks in my personal and professional life that can make things worse? Like my mentor, Mr. Ziegler said, I would answer the hard ones for you. Ooh, sorry about that. I would answer the hard ones for you. And that’s a yes. So I just want you to write down two things that you can do to actually make that situation worse. Now, the first question. Now, the second question is similar to the first question. 

Is there something I can do in the next two weeks in my personal and professional life that can make things better? And I bet you already know the answer to that question. That’s a yes. Now this time, just write down three to five things that you can do to make things better. But I also want you to circle one that you can take immediate action on right now. By asking yourself that first question, you’re able to identify the things that are keeping you stuck, that are making this situation worse. 

By asking the second question, you’re able to identify the things that will be able to help you get out of the difficult situation. And by taking immediate action on the one that you circle, you have found the silver lining. That silver lining will motivate you and help you to keep going. And oh, whether you realize it or not, you have just admitted to yourself that you have the power to make things better or worse. The choice is yours.

I love it. That’s so true. In fact, when people ask me, I stopped at the bank and she said, well, how are you today? And I said, I’m fabulous. And it’s a choice, right? That’s my standard answer. And people are a little, you know, so I’m fine, whatever, you know, no, I’m fabulous and it’s my choice. I think, didn’t Mr. Ziegler say, unbelievable, because it could go either way, right? So that’s a lot of fun to look at it that way and just go, it is my choice.

I get to choose my attitude. I get to choose and complainers, are the most miserable people on earth. I know that this is neurologically correct. You start building what I would call a ditch in your brain. It gets upset, draws upset. You get more of what you think about. When you’re thinking about what’s wrong all the time, What does that look like, right? And is it making your life better or worse? So those are things that I think we’re both on that page, right? If you chose to look at what’s wrong and focus on that all the time, you wouldn’t want to get out of bed, would you?

Oh, no, I’ve been there and done that. That’s why I share with people all the time that, yeah, I experienced depression. The person you see today isn’t the person I’ve always been. And they’re like, man, what happened? You know, it really made, you know, shifted, you know, the way you see things. And I share with them three things. 

The first thing was when I was 17 years old, you know, just laying in bed, being sick and tired of being sick and tired of crying myself to sleep at nighttime and being covered by the darkness of depression. You know, I finally did what my mom encouraged me to do. And I didn’t really feel like doing it. because I was angry at God, but she always like, Trenell, just pray, just pray. And so one night I was like, Jesus, come into your life, come into my life and have your way. My eyes closed tightly and I had a peace that surpasses all understanding that came over me. And I heard a tender voice say, Trenell, you put football before me. I don’t want anything put before me. and I’m gonna pause right there. That was just letting me know that I had my priorities in the wrong place. 

What are you putting first that shouldn’t be there in your life? He said, but through this injury, I’m inspired others that if they put me first and use their mind to the fullest, they can do anything. As we have been talking, I can’t use anything from the neck down. The only thing that I can do is use my mind to the fullest. And that made me realize that my purpose was bigger than playing football. You too have a purpose that is big. And another thing that happened is while I was laying in bed, again, I spent a lot of time in bed in the beginning because I’m feeling depressed, but I was laying there and I had a dream and a vision of the world spinning on its axis came, appeared.

 And it surprised me that I recognized that The world, regardless of whether I’m going to throw a pity party or not, the world is going to keep turning. So I have a choice to make. That faded, and then I actually had a vision of a fish swimming upstream, like a salmon swimming upstream the spawn. And then I recognized that the water flowing downstream, that’s everybody’s life without a disability. And what I mean by that is that they’re easy to put on their own clothes. They can feed themselves. They can do a lot of things on their own. 

Well, the fish swimming upstream was me. Meaning that I’m going to have to work harder, and I’m going to have to do like Dory said in Finding Nemo, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, despite what I’m going through, and I will eventually make it to my goal. And so, again, those three things right there helped me recognize that, hey, one, to get my priorities right. Two, I have a purpose. 

Three, what’s the point of throwing a penny party? The world gonna keep going. And four is you gotta work. I feel like they say, if you don’t work, you don’t eat. But if I don’t, I might have to work a little bit harder, but that’s all right. That’s where the Trinnell effect comes in, to help me overcome those obstacles. It’ll help you overcome your obstacles too.

Well, that was a boatload of wisdom right there. And you know, people, depression, I know when you’re in it, it’s not easy. I’m not trying to, I will never minimize the effect of depression or what, but it’s all focused inward. It’s what’s wrong. And my disabilities or my capabilities that are not what I wish they were. And so I finally, I was, Gratitude is the key. Gratitude is the key. And everything gives thanks. We said it a little earlier, but gratitude is the key to start focusing outside. Can you think of one thing you could be thankful for? 

And one day I was like, can’t you be thankful that you have toenails? You know, I mean, it doesn’t have to be a big thing to start the gratitude. And gratitude is literally, will turn everything around when you start, focusing on doing something for someone else, helping someone else, being grateful for what you do have. And you may not have much, but God loves you no matter why. There’s nothing you can do to be loved more or less by God. And my show is not about, I wouldn’t call it religion or anything like that, but it’s our life. It’s our faith, right? 

Who I am is bold, faith, no fear. And it’s amazing. Whatever you say after I am is who you are. I say that a lot. It’s the truth. You’ve got the name of God. I am. That’s God’s name. So don’t curse yourself. Speak with life, not death. Life and death is in the power of the tongue. You can’t change. If you’re in the gutter or in the palace, you can’t change where you are right now. You’ve done nothing. God loves you. He does not have judgment about all this stuff. Not one of us are sinless. It’s a little sermon there, I guess. 

Well, we’re going to be winding up pretty soon. What’s next? What can we do? Oh, and I want to ask you something. I don’t do interviews, what I told you, but I do ask sometimes something that you asked, or you said you might want to be asked, is what is one thing you wish people did when you were going through your struggles? What do you think How would it have been easier if people were more real with you,

I

guess?

I’m going to start out with what not to do, especially being a spiritual person who gone around a lot of people, as we were talking about, in church. And one of the things that I would hear all the time is, things happen for a reason. And in my mind, I’m thinking, oh, so you know what’s going on, so what is that reason? And the next thing I hear is, God works in mysterious ways. And I’m like, OK, since you on that one-on-one relationship with God, what’s going on? And then I’d just be like, just pray for it. 

So for me, what I would encourage people to do and what I wanted people to do was just listen. And I created an acronym, because I like acronyms, because it’s easy to remember. to help people really create a relationship in lieu of putting it into an emotional ICU. So the formula is called the LUE formula. 

The L in a sense for listen. You have to be swift to listen and slow to speak. Hey, Mark Twain said if we were meant to talk more than listen, we would have two tongues and one ear. The text is the you. It’s to understand. And then I like Mr. Covey’s book, Seven Habits of Highly Affected People. I believe his fifth habit is seek first to understand, then to be understood. And the best way to do that is while you’re listening, respond to a person so it sounds like you feel. And then the last is the E is to enjoy, I mean, to experience. 

And Mr. Zigler said, people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care about them. Hey, put yourself, put yourself in their shoes. And by being able to listen, understand, and experience, all this equals intimacy. meaning in, to, me, see. And that’s mutual sharing and caring. So now when you are, now when you apply the LU formula, you’re able to have a healthy relationship in lieu of putting that relationship into an emotional ICU. So now when you’re engaging with the person, you can really say, I see you.

Nice. I love you. It’s magical. You’ve got a lot of things and so much wisdom that you’ve gained. I know that a lot of people, and I’ve been guilty of this, don’t know what to say, so we don’t say anything or say little quick sayings or whatever just to fill the space. Being real, I think being real and going, man, what’s it like? What’s that like for you? Asking real questions, because I don’t know what it’s like. I mean, what if you had somebody just really take the question deeper and go, wow, that must be tough. What’s it like? How is that for you? 

My last trip of my 34-year career as a flight attendant, I was in Amsterdam. on a layover, and I met, I had met her several times, but I went to the home of Meet Geese, the most famous person, nobody knows her name, because she didn’t want notoriety. She’s the lady who hit Anne Frank, we’ve all heard of her. And I was at her table, and she was 99 years old. She’s still answering, not writing the answers, but reading the answers that people were answering, letter she would still be getting. But she didn’t, you know, she was, she didn’t remember. She’d been on my flight. I’d met her a few times, but she didn’t, I don’t think she really understood who I was until I just looked at her one. And, you know, we just looked in the eye and I said, I can, 

I could see her and I could feel, you know, that her nephew or whoever was in charge wouldn’t let her have visitors. And so I was kind of a rare thing that I feel like it occurred to me that the conversation she probably had most often, do you need anything? Are you cold? Are you hot? Are you hungry? You know, very surface comfort questions and nobody really to talk to. So once I, and she didn’t remember English anymore. 

So, but so once I, but she was healthy. Once we had this moment, we looked in the eyes and I just, you know, felt, the empathy of that, she got up and started showing me, you know, her pictures and things. And so it made me consider that we’re very surface when we’re talking to someone that has, you know, talking to you. And I’m like, you know, man, how do you put your shirt on? 

I mean, you know, I mean, it’s just like, you know, the real, you would I would guess that would be a good conversation. You’d be okay at that time. It is your life.

Yes.

So I don’t know why I got off onto the mute geese thing, but I, you know, she was, she died the next year. I believe she died just before 101, but she was a very special. She didn’t, we didn’t have meet geese dolls and meet geese television shows. We didn’t have all, she didn’t want notoriety. She said, And they said, her, poor South that was with her when I met him and took me there, he’s like, we did, oh, they had me stand up in the audience. 

Cause I went, after I met him, I didn’t help them as a flight attendant. I’d help them receive some, all I did was pick up the phone and call the cockpit. I didn’t do anything, but I got to know who they were. And then they invited me and my kids to come to, and he had me stand up and said, We did what she did. We helped our fellow man. 

And I’m like, I pick up a phone in the airplane and call the cockpit and say, can you find, you know, see if that other flight, they find their lost items. And they did, but you know, she hid people and saved their lives. Right. So, but regardless, that was their view of what they did. They just did what was the right thing to do.

Yeah, and based off of what you’re telling me, with her, you made her feel seen. And that’s what most people want, even with the Lou formula, that helps people feel seen, it helps them feel cared, it helps them feel heard, yes.

Yeah. So it’s a pretty remarkable moment. I’ve got pictures with her in there, and it was amazing. Yeah, she showed me this postcard. She had a picture and she showed me her favorite painting of Anne Frank. And I turned this postcard over. I don’t know why we’re going into all this, but I think it’s funny. I mean, it was a great story to me. Turned the postcard over and it said the photograph or the picture painted was from Alice Berkman of Weatherford, Texas.

What

a Texas. Yeah, and I’m like, Weatherford, Texas, my brother-in-law’s brother was

the

mayor of Weatherford, Texas. So I got to know, she was the one who had painted the favorite picture and they’d gotten to know, I don’t, you know, we just were inspired in that with her story and got to know them. So, wow.

That’s awesome.

Yeah. So way, way off topic here, but you know, We’re

all in

this world together. And I don’t understand. I don’t understand treating anybody differently for any reason, much less skin color or much less trivial. Anyway, I just don’t have I can’t conceive of that. And so I’m always shaking my head when people are talking about race or, you know, like, really, you know, prick your finger and prick your finger and let’s see who Flicking on the wall, go find your own, you know, that red spot, which one is

yours, you know? Let’s go back to what you were sharing. What most of us was talking about earlier, especially you, talking about love, you know, love thy neighbor as thyself. And again, it makes me wonder, how much do you love yourself if that’s what you’re looking at in your neighbor?

So exactly. And I, and a lot of, some of the things I’ve written my books, you know, it’s like bullies are victims too, in a way. I say, they don’t love themselves enough to know, they don’t love themselves enough to know how to love and treat other people. And unconditional love, unconditional forgiveness, not unconditional boundaries. So I’m never saying staying up in a bad situation necessarily. But that’s those are those are my messages all the time. 

Just, you know, people and the heart of I always say, and the harder people are to look more, they need it. The harder people are to love the more they need it. And so when we can just walk, it doesn’t, that sense of peace that passes understanding. Very few things upset me. I mean, I just let, you know, life keeps lifting and you know, it’s what’s so let’s just deal with it. and love people through it.

Yes. Yes. I have grace.

Exactly. We’ve got grace and mercy. So why not apply it to others? And I believe, you know, we can wax eloquent all day long about why, you know, and I think that there has been, there is an agenda somewhere out there to keep us divided and upset and fear and, and all those things. So I’m, but I don’t have to, I don’t have to do it. I don’t have to, I don’t have to protect myself from that negative stuff. 

I don’t watch the black products on the wall anymore. So never really did. I think I’m saner because of it, or at least enjoy my life more. I don’t have to know all this stuff that’s going

on.

I just need to love my neighbor and take care of my community.

Yup. Yes, indeed.

That’s the easy, it’s not hard to do, but making things so hard and be offended by everything and the spirit of offense that has gotten permeated in our society. I

just kiss life, keep it so simple. Like what, what are you doing, man? I’m just kissing life. I’m kissing everything I do. I’m keeping it so simple. It’s like, I’ve learned don’t sweat the small stuff. Everything’s small.

Very, yeah, just love, just love, just love, but love yourself enough to be able to love others. That’s the biggie. Well, Charla, I’m so grateful for you, T-R-E-N-E-L-L. I think I had two N’s in there somewhere along the line. So you’d have to come up with another acronym letter and a longer name. 

Yes. Trenell Walker and I’m so grateful that you would join me today. I just love you and I’m so happy that we’ve reconnected a bit. And oh, there was a Your favorite quote, I have it in here. You said it already. It’s impossible to stop a motivated person because they will never

quit. And I would like to share this with your audience. And I just want to encourage you that you are unstoppable. You make it do what it do. You’re valuable and successful in all that you do. You’re unstoppable. Believe this to be true. You’re valuable and successful in all that you do. You are unstoppable.

Great word for ending here. Thank you so much for joining me. Just really look forward to having time with you again. And yeah, I would encourage people to find Trinnell and then also to like and subscribe my YouTube channel and all the things that we do on Charla Anderson Show. 

And looking forward to seeing you next week, everyone. And don’t forget to always, always, always choose joy.

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About  Trenell Walker

His plan to use his athletic talents to retire his single mom was canceled. Trenell’s self-image was shattered like a piece of glass leaving him hopeless.

In a world where limitations often define the perimeter of personal & professional growth, Trenell Walker stands as a beacon of hope, guiding individuals towards realizing their true potential. As the visionary behind Triumph Beyond Limits Inc., Trenell has harnessed the power of The T.R.E.N.E.L.L. Effect, a transformative approach designed to inspire, educate, and empower individuals to visualize, pursue, and triumph beyond their perceived limitations.

With a storied career spanning over two decades, Trenell has dedicated his life to uplifting others. From high schools to universities and sports organizations across the United States, his message of perseverance has empowered countless individuals to overcome obstacles and strive for excellence. Trenell’s philosophy is simple yet profound: “It is impossible to stop a motivated person, because they will never quit!” This belief fuels his mission to influence lives and empower generations.

Trenell’s academic and professional credentials are a testament to his commitment to personal and community development. Earning both a Bachelor of Science Degree in Rehabilitation Studies and a Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of North Texas, Trenell has solidified his expertise as a certified rehabilitation counselor. Further enriching his skill set, he is a Ziglar Legacy Certified trainer and DISC certified trainer. His acclaimed book, *The T.R.E.N.E.L.L. Effect*, has topped Amazon’s charts, serving as a blueprint for countless individuals seeking to forge their path to success.

His impact extends beyond the written word, as Trenell has been instrumental in enhancing the leadership and productivity of organizations such as the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office, FormuLife Supplements, and Century 21 Mike Bowman Inc. Drawing from the legendary principles of Zig Ziglar, he has mastered the art of goal-setting and building winning relationships, thereby fostering environments of growth and achievement.

Trenell Walker is not just a speaker; he’s a storyteller whose vibrant, poetic delivery captivates audiences. His ability to blend honest assessments of life with personal anecdotes of triumphs & challenges resonates deeply, making him a crowd favorite. His influence has been acknowledged by notable figures such as Julie Ziglar Norman and Tom Ziglar, and his insights have enlightened audiences from elementary students to nursing graduates.

His journey and achievements have been featured in various publications and media outlets, highlighting his transformative impact on individuals and communities alike. Trenell’s story is one of resilience, demonstrating that with determination and the right guidance, overcoming adversity is not just possible but inevitable.

Are you or someone you know in search of hope and direction? Allow Trenell Walker to illuminate the path. Experience the power of The T.R.E.N.E.L.L. Effect and embark on a journey to unlock your fullest potential. Remember, as Trenell believes, the hero in you can light the way for others, sparking a chain reaction of hope and triumph.

For speaking engagements and more information about Trenell Walker and Triumph Beyond Limits Inc., please visit triumphbeyondlimits.com.

—

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On The Charla Anderson Show, We discuss Mindset, How much Your WORDS matter, Princess to Queen energy, mantras, HOPE, Faith, Miracles, Overcoming, and much, much more, including learning from amazing guests.

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