Latest / Daily Influence / 781. Rebuilding Identity After Adversity: Hal Stinespring on Resilience, Gratitude, and Becoming a Grateful Warrior

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781. Rebuilding Identity After Adversity: Hal Stinespring on Resilience, Gratitude, and Becoming a Grateful Warrior · Daily Influence

• 0:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to Daily Influence, your daily dose of positive influence.
• 0:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm Brian Smith founder of IA Business Advisors and co-author of the Iain team series.
• 0:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: Each day we share stories and insights to help you find be and build your influence in a positive and responsible way.
• 0:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm Greg Clino, partner at IA Business Advisors, and co-host of Daily Influence.
• 0:32
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• 0:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: Welcome to Daily Influence, I'm Greg Clino.
• 0:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: Before we dive in, I want to share a quick note.
• 0:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: We recently launched the Smart Advantage Newsletter, which offers practical insights on leadership, accountability, workplace culture, and building a stronger business delivered to your inbox weekly.
• 1:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you're looking for simple, actionable ideas, you can apply in your business or leadership role, you can find the link to subscribe in the show notes below.
• 1:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: And now let's move in today's conversation where we'll continue exploring the ideas, actions and influence that helps us lead and live with greater influence.
• 1:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: Today's guest brings a powerful perspective on resilience, identity, and intentional influence.
• 1:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: Hail Steinspring is a real estate attorney and investor who has helped clients navigate complex high-stakes decisions to build long-term security.
• 1:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: But it's his personal journey surviving two cardiac arrest and being diagnosed with cardiac scar doses that reshaped his life and purpose.
• 1:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: Now, as a founder of Path of the Greatful Warrior, Hal is dedicated to helping others navigate life-defining transitions, rebuild their identity, and move forward with strength, clarity, and purpose.
• 2:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: Hal, I'm so glad to have you here.
• 2:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: Welcome to Daily Influence.
• 2:07
  [SPEAKER_02]: Thank you so much.
• 2:08
  [SPEAKER_02]: And thank you for the invite.
• 2:09
  [SPEAKER_02]: I look forward to this.
• 2:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: How you've had a remarkable journey, both personally and professionally.
• 2:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: Can you take us back and share what shaped your path from your work as a real estate attorney and investor to the life changing experiences that redefined your identity?
• 2:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yes, so I'm a fourth generation attorney.
• 2:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: So my father, my grandfather, my uncle, my cousin, were all part of being in law.
• 2:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: And there was a struggle for a while for me to find that direction and that path and take ownership of it.
• 2:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: Once I did, it became my journey.
• 2:46
  [SPEAKER_02]: My focus was being a lawyer.
• 2:50
  [SPEAKER_02]: I did prosecution, I did then defense work, and fell into real estate, which became
• 2:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: Well, it's always my passion, even back to the day I loved a late night ads, and I would buy the programs, and but it became my passion to be a real estate lawyer, as well as investor.
• 3:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: And then personally, just on a side shift, my validity, my identity was all placed in physical activities.
• 3:20
  [SPEAKER_02]: I was into working out, I was a triathlete, a soccer player, a cyclist.
• 3:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: All of my validation came from the sports, my health fitness, and then I had the shift.
• 3:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: That kind of transformation doesn't just change how you see yourself.
• 3:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: It often reshaves how you show up for others.
• 3:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: You guided people through both financial decisions and deeply personal adversity.
• 3:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: Can you share a specific moment where you saw your influence, make a meaningful difference in someone's life and what that taught you about responsibility as a leader?
• 3:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: So it's fascinating, I love coaching people and I've always been considered as a lawyer.
• 4:04
  [SPEAKER_02]: I want to be a counselor, a counselor to others.
• 4:07
  [SPEAKER_02]: So we always call ourselves a attorney's lawyer some people like Esquire, I love counselor.
• 4:12
  [SPEAKER_02]: Because I thought that was my time to create influence and assist people that are struggling through their life.
• 4:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: Early on as a prosecutor and then as a defense attorney, I met people that were caught in the system, the system of the justice system.
• 4:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: And at times, I could see the patterns.
• 4:30
  [SPEAKER_02]: It was very easy for me.
• 4:32
  [SPEAKER_02]: I was blessed with that ability to see patterns that people and families created to keep them stuck in the system, again, specifically the justice system.
• 4:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: So when I,
• 4:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: met with clients, I decided to take it upon myself to not just assist them through the legal process, but how can I help them as a counselor?
• 4:52
  [SPEAKER_02]: How can I provide advice that would shape them in the next part of their life?
• 4:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: And so one of my favorite stories, in fact, I just saw him about a month ago, was a young man who was struggling in the court system.
• 5:04
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I helped him through it.
• 5:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: We became friends.
• 5:08
  [SPEAKER_02]: he shifted his life and through counseling and it's even it's I don't want to miss out on the fact is a lot of times you help them and then they come back into your life saying thank you you you made a difference.
• 5:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: He was one of the young men that did that.
• 5:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: Now he's a husband father.
• 5:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: He's got an amazing successful construction company that I like I get proud every time I see him in his wife and they show me pictures of the kids.
• 5:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: He just wants to share all the things that he's accomplished from that early on child to now this amazing young man who's making a difference in the world.
• 5:46
  [SPEAKER_02]: And it's those are the moments where I
• 5:48
  [SPEAKER_02]: I just go, that's the calling, that's the reason I do what I do because if you can touch someone, whether it's for a short moment, that's becomes my purpose.
• 5:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I love that part and he's, he's one of the few that I've heard back from, but I know there's so many others that come back to me and saying, thanks for helping me.
• 6:10
  [SPEAKER_02]: You made a difference.
• 6:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: Wow, Hal, thank you for sharing that story moments
• 6:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: agreed agreed.
• 6:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: And it sounds like you not only had a positive influence on him, but he definitely had a positive influence on you also.
• 6:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: So true.
• 6:27
  [SPEAKER_02]: Because you know, when you do something
• 6:30
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's one thing when you do it as a transaction, but it's another thing when you connect with someone.
• 6:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: And then that transaction becomes so much greater.
• 6:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: You realize that your intervention just changed the direction of someone's life.
• 6:45
  [SPEAKER_02]: No matter how you intended it to be, it became a beautiful moment where you shifted their lives.
• 6:52
  [SPEAKER_02]: And now you get a chance to actually recognize it.
• 6:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: A lot of us live in it's a wonderful life.
• 6:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: We don't know the changes that we may have impacted someone until a lot of a sudden you get a chance to see the movie scene.
• 7:04
  [SPEAKER_02]: And you're like, oh my god, that, that, that, that young man.
• 7:08
  [SPEAKER_02]: And others obviously.
• 7:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, that's so true.
• 7:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's just a win-win in the ripple effect of that.
• 7:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's just exponential.
• 7:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: You'll never even see all the positivity that came out of that.
• 7:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: Your experience surviving two cardiac breasts and navigating a major health identity shift is incredibly powerful.
• 7:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: What were some of the hardest mental or emotional challenges you faced during that time?
• 7:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: And what mindsets shifts help you move forward?
• 7:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: So the hardest part wasn't just the physical.
• 7:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: It was truly a loss of my identity.
• 7:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: My health, my athletic abilities were what created like I said in my validity.
• 7:52
  [SPEAKER_02]: I felt validated multiple times when I was successful training and competing with others.
• 8:00
  [SPEAKER_02]: All of a sudden you lose that, and it just,
• 8:03
  [SPEAKER_02]: You realize that everything you based your life on, and again, it was even professional as a lawyer, you realize that that title is not really what you are.
• 8:14
  [SPEAKER_02]: And you have to reset yourself and say, okay, wait a second, who am I?
• 8:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'm not the same halve that was early on going through life.
• 8:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: Now I'm a different version of halve, and I gotta stop asking why did this happen to me,
• 8:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: But what is this experience now asking of me, what can I give back from this change of my life?
• 8:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: And so it was a process.
• 8:40
  [SPEAKER_02]: Don't give me a wrong.
• 8:41
  [SPEAKER_02]: You have to grieve.
• 8:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: You have to go through a lost process.
• 8:45
  [SPEAKER_02]: Once I got through that, and it still rears its ugly head when I can't do something and I used to be able to do.
• 8:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: But I've learned that this is my opportunity to make a difference in a world different than I expected.
• 9:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: I just started creating gratitude habits that really helped.
• 9:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: That was probably the biggest shift, something so simple.
• 9:09
  [SPEAKER_02]: It became just being grateful that I can get out of bed.
• 9:14
  [SPEAKER_02]: At some point I struggled getting out of bed and then it became, man, that was a great cup of coffee.
• 9:20
  [SPEAKER_02]: Man, look at that sunrise.
• 9:21
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's so beautiful.
• 9:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'm so blessed that I'm still above the ground, right?
• 9:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: When I saw this, when I saw this, this diagnosis, and I heard this, the standard was a five-year life expectancy.
• 9:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I was already planning my desk when I when I did that, you know, forbid people from going on the internet and looking at stuff up because it doesn't usually help out.
• 9:46
  [SPEAKER_02]: And that's what I did, but shifting everything was just about learning gratitude, understanding the next purpose.
• 9:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: And those were the mindset changes that really started changing my, myself, my identity.
• 10:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, that's some great advice and and I love how you share that about a grieving process because so many people don't think about that way, but it is it's you know people think of a grieving process is when someone passes versus losing something that you once were or capabilities you had you have to agree that process to get to the other side, so I love that you shared that thing.
• 10:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: And you think about it, we all go through these versions of death.
• 10:32
  [SPEAKER_02]: We actually have to kill off prior versions of ourselves to have this metamorphous into the next version of ourselves.
• 10:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: And we never think about it.
• 10:43
  [SPEAKER_02]: We just think it's kind of like adolescence.
• 10:46
  [SPEAKER_02]: And then, you know, you're here 20s and 30s and 40s.
• 10:49
  [SPEAKER_02]: But when I look back, I think wow, that version of me is so not part of why I'm anymore.
• 10:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: And so that's like a,
• 10:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: a prior version.
• 10:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: And we have to kind of kill that version off and start renewing our new version.
• 11:02
  [SPEAKER_02]: But yeah, the grieving process, I have to give grace to people that go through that because that that is a tough spot.
• 11:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, that's so true.
• 11:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: You've described yourself now as a grateful warrior, which is such a strong and intentional identity.
• 11:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: For someone facing a major life transition or setback, what does the grateful warrior mindset actually look like in practice?
• 11:27
  [SPEAKER_02]: And again, this has been a work in progress because this feels still relatively new to me in a sense of my transformation.
• 11:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: It took some time, but I give grace to myself.
• 11:40
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I bless myself.
• 11:41
  [SPEAKER_02]: I actually have created this belief system that I have to start giving love to my body in this stage it's in right now.
• 11:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: I have to actually honor it.
• 11:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: Love it.
• 11:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: I used to have this mantra about I have a strong powerful heart while I was going through this process of the cardiac circuito issues and I look back and at times I said, well, it's not really strong and that really powerful.
• 12:10
  [SPEAKER_02]: I thought, wait a second.
• 12:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'd live through two cardiac arrest.
• 12:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: It is a strong, powerful heart.
• 12:16
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I started creating these different affirmations that I could go into with loving myself, giving grace when I had bad days, that it's okay to have bad days.
• 12:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: I created a very disciplined routine.
• 12:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: I like to journal in the morning.
• 12:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: I like to do certain things, creating movement in the morning.
• 12:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: and reading in the morning books that are positive.
• 12:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I just had this healthier routine that kind of kept me in the right mindset to the rest of the day.
• 12:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: That is great advice.
• 12:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: That idea of daily habits and discipline action is something many people struggle to stay consistent with.
• 12:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: So true.
• 12:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: is someone wants to rebuild their identity or regain clarity after a disruption?
• 12:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: How can they take the smarter approach to doing that?
• 13:04
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I think the most thing, the things we actually look at is, what's the new aligned purpose in our life?
• 13:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: So you have to figure out and become clear of what this new shift's gonna be, what's this new identity?
• 13:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: And defining that new identity is actually fun,
• 13:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: would just write down, this is what I want in my life.
• 13:27
  [SPEAKER_02]: And write it all down, have fun.
• 13:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: People don't use their imagination to create what they really want to have in their life.
• 13:33
  [SPEAKER_02]: And so for me, I take seven days of writing what I want in my life.
• 13:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I just have fun with it.
• 13:41
  [SPEAKER_02]: And what you find is that, yeah, there's going to be fun material things that we all like and dream of.
• 13:46
  [SPEAKER_02]: But it becomes also core.
• 13:48
  [SPEAKER_02]: aspects that we really see in ourselves in our life and what we'd want to grace ourselves with.
• 13:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: And then once you create that new shift and identity, then you can start creating the actions, and those actions can be measurable very easily by your outcomes.
• 14:05
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I think it's
• 14:07
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's getting the clarity first, then creating the discipline routine from that point on.
• 14:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: You'll find how to create that program that's going to be powerful to you.
• 14:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: But I'm a big believer in coaching.
• 14:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: I believe that we should all have mentors and someone that we could look up to and draw information from because sometimes we don't see it ourselves.
• 14:27
  [SPEAKER_02]: We need someone else to guide us.
• 14:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: So that's a very important thing to help you.
• 14:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, absolutely.
• 14:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: That is great advice.
• 14:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: And when you've gone through something that profound, your perspective on time and priorities often shifts.
• 14:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you could go back and speak to your younger self before all these experiences, what would you tell him about resilience identity and what really matters?
• 14:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I think I would say that it's not about what you do.
• 14:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's about how you show up and how you live your life.
• 15:00
  [SPEAKER_02]: If you create the core
• 15:03
  [SPEAKER_02]: identity of being the best version of yourself, living with integrity, appreciating, being living in gratitude, I think.
• 15:14
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I think slowing down too and enjoying all of the parts of life, that would be my like my start of the advice, don't be don't be forced into a box of what you think your identity should be or others more specifically growing up with a group of lawyers think it should be.
• 15:33
  [SPEAKER_02]: Because in truth, you've got to have a good work foundation of being a good person.
• 15:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: I think it's more valuable and that knowing that purpose is greater than the little things you do that that give you validation.
• 15:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: That is so true.
• 15:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: And you've turned your experience into a mission to help others navigate their own defining moments.
• 15:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: For our listeners, what is one intentional action they can take this week to move forward with more strength, clarity, and purpose in their lives?
• 16:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: Again, grateful warrior kind of thing.
• 16:10
  [SPEAKER_02]: Right down every day, it's great things you're grateful for.
• 16:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: Think about it, what you're self in a position to feel that gratitude.
• 16:18
  [SPEAKER_02]: A lot of times we write it down and we just write it quickly and we're trying to get through the exercise.
• 16:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: I would, I would truly feel and put the emotion aside how grateful you are for your family, friends, your health, your connections, things that just you appreciate doesn't have to be a lot.
• 16:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: It just could be something that you truly do appreciate.
• 16:40
  [SPEAKER_02]: We don't realize how blessed we are.
• 16:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, we talk about having a house with a roof over our head.
• 16:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: right warm water if we need a hot water having the ability to put food into our fridge that a lot of people don't have that blessing.
• 16:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I think there's a lot of stuff out there we can start with and I think the other thing that I would say is
• 17:02
  [SPEAKER_02]: What do you identify with?
• 17:04
  [SPEAKER_02]: What's the thing that matters?
• 17:05
  [SPEAKER_02]: What gets you up in the morning?
• 17:07
  [SPEAKER_02]: I think those intentional understandings of why do you wake up in the morning and what's the difference you're going to make that day and you do that every single day?
• 17:16
  [SPEAKER_02]: How am I going to change the world?
• 17:18
  [SPEAKER_02]: Whatever your your purpose is, put that in your daily beginning, like start, I'm blessing grateful that I can help people out or whatever it may be and just start every day with that
• 17:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, that is really great advice and help.
• 17:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you for sharing not just your story, but the mindset and discipline behind how you've chosen to move forward.
• 17:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: What stands out is that influence isn't about avoiding adversity.
• 17:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's about how we respond to it, how we grow through it, and how we use those experiences to move forward through it and lift others.
• 17:54
  [SPEAKER_02]: So true, yes, pleasure.
• 17:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: Hey, I'll let our listeners want to get in touch with you.
• 17:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: What is the best way to do so?
• 18:00
  [SPEAKER_02]: So they can reach out at housedicefring.com.
• 18:03
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'd love to connect with people.
• 18:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'm on on the social media as well with a path to the grateful of warrior on Facebook and under my name as well.
• 18:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: So anyway, people want to connect Instagram.
• 18:15
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'm there.
• 18:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: Great.
• 18:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: How we'll put all that information to show notes.
• 18:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you so much for joining us and sharing your stories and advice.
• 18:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm so grateful for you.
• 18:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: Thank you so much.
• 18:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's been a blessing.
• 18:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: Thank you for everything you do to make a difference in the community in the world.
• 18:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: We need people like you.
• 18:30
  [SPEAKER_02]: We need more people like you.
• 18:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, well, we want to try and spread the positivity as much as possible, especially through this podcast, which is the whole purpose of this podcast, which is a daily Monday through Friday, those positivity for people.
• 18:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: So to our listeners, take one idea from this conversation and put it into action, because small, intentional steps taken consistently are what create meaningful influence over time.
• 18:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: And if this episode spoke with you, share with someone who could use a daily dose of positivity.
• 19:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: small actions create big impact, keep showing up, leading and growing one day to time.
• 19:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: Until next time, stay inspired and keep having a positive, responsible influence.
• 19:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: Bye bye!