Voted one of the Top Eight Inspirational People of ALL TIME, Sean's first goal was to crawl 8 feet from the hospital bed to the bathroom. He went on to Redefine Impossible by climbing 29,035 feet to the top of Mt. Everest with one lung! From there he stood atop the highest point on all 7 continents, skied to the South and North Poles, and completed the Hawaii Ironman. Sean has been interviewed by Steve Harvey, CBS Evening News, Fox & Friends, The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Early Show, Huffington Post, Outside the Lines, Sports Center, Washington Post, USA Today, Sports Center, and countless others. His numerous articles with thought leaders such as Sir Richard Branson and Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu put him in a category by himself.
With only one functioning lung, a prognosis of fourteen days to live, and being in a medically-induced coma for a year, Sean Swarner is the first cancer survivor to stand on top of the world... Mt. Everest. Sean has broken through defined human limitation in order to redefine the way the world views success. Sean was diagnosed with two deadly, different, and unrelated forms of cancer, once at the age of thirteen and again at the age of sixteen. After an incredibly poor prognosis, and being read his last rites, Sean astounded the medical community when he survived both these brutal diseases. He realized that after defeating cancer twice, no challenge would ever be too great, no peak too high. Sean proved his theory when he crested the peak of Mt. Everest. As the first cancer survivor to do so, Sean decided to continue climbing and has since topped the highest peaks in Africa, Europe, South America, Australia, Antarctica, and North America, thus completing the “7-Summits”. Upon skiing to both the South and the North Poles, Sean completed the Explorer’s Grand Slam. With the completion of the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii, Sean is the only person in history to accomplish these inhuman feats.
As Sean continues to defy the odds, test his own endurance and inspire and motivate people around the world, he shares his message of healing, hope, and triumph with cancer patients worldwide. Sean also serves as a source of inspiration as the founder of the non-profit organization, The CancerClimber Association, as author of the book “Keep Climbing,” and as a motivational speaker to corporations, universities, and other organizations around the globe. Sean has been the recipient of multiple awards and honors including the American Lung Association Inspiration Award, ESPN "Never Give up Award", and even has his own "Sean Swarner Recognition Day" in the state of Ohio!
In this episode, Sean and I discuss his story with cancer, his dreams with doing the biggest thing he could imagine (spoiler - it's Mt. Everest), more on my trip to Aconcagua and how Sean inspired me, and the idea of hope. For more information on Sean, to buy one of Sean's books, or to sign up for the Big Hill Challenge, check out his website www.seanswarner.com or his social media @seanswarner. Sean is leading one of his regular trips to Kilimanjaro this July--if this is something you are interested in, please reach out to him, he'll want to support you the best he can! Follow me @joshkorac on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, for video clips, podcast previews, and more mental health content.
Chapters
00:00 Inspiring Others to Believe in Themselves
38:29 Focusing on Living, Not on Fear
39:31 Dreaming Big and Inspiring the Cancer Community
40:38 Everyone Has Their Own Mountains to Climb
41:47 Taking Small Steps Towards Success
43:21 The Power of Trying and Persistence
44:11 Living According to Personal Core Values
46:21 Values Evolve as We Grow
47:48 The Explorers Grand Slam: Seven Summits and Two Poles
51:20 The Big Hill Challenge: Discovering Purpose and Happiness
53:47 Future Adventures: Seven Marathons on Seven Continents and Climbing Cho Oyu
55:16 Find a Deeper Purpose for Life
