Welcome to the RU Strong Podcast,where resilience, grit, and the power of the human spirit take center stage. I'm your host, Jeff Durr, and today, we dive into the extraordinary journey of a man who refused to letadversity define him, Dr. Joe Rinaldi.
Born with a genetic eye condition that left himlegally blind in his right eye, Joe never wanted to be different, he just wanted to be normal. But normalwasn’t in the cards. Instead, he walked onto the Bucknell football team, a decision that became the glueholding his life together. The game shaped him, strengthened him, and gave him an identity, until one day, it was taken away. Told he could no longer play, he was devastated. Sadness. Disbelief. Relief.A whirlwind of emotions, yet another challenge to face head-on. But Joe doesn’t just endure, he rises. He chooses how to respond to adversity. He channeled his passion for helping others into becoming a Doctor of Physical Therapy,building Project Endure, a reflection of his core: human,competitor, driven, relentless.
Joe lives as though someone is watching, filming his life, not for applause, but because every moment matters. He believes in choosing your hard, in planting the seed and trusting the process, in making tough decisions with an "I GET to do this" attitude. He reminds us that this is your normal, so own it. Have focus time, create a calendar for the person you want to become, give yourself pep talks, take steps forward, and above all, do the work in silence.
His faith in God fuels his mission, his "it's not about me" mindset inspires others, and his belief that youcan change the world for one person makes an impact that reaches far beyond himself.
Get ready for a conversation that willchallenge you to embrace discomfort, chase a feeling, and push yourself beyond what you think is possible.Because in the end, we can’t control what happens to us, but we can control how we respond.
This is RU Strong. And this is Joe Rinaldi.
