Before I introduce you to the person this post is about, I want you to do something for me. I just wish for you to imagine certain things, just as you read those sentence after another. And, I will then let you know when to come out of the imagination.

So, let’s begin!

Imagine you are a 20-Year-old man, driving a brand new white Ford Mustang. Imagine that you have a beautiful girlfriend as well seated right next to you dozing off in the passenger seat while you are rocketing the car at over 70 miles an hour.

Append this to your imagination- All of a sudden a truck gushing at 80 miles an hour rams into your undersized and under-matched Mustang. The collision hits you head on having a ravaging impact. Owing to the immense force and blow, the airbags explode with an immense thrust which leaves you and your beloved unconscious.

Add this to that imagination as well. Your brain which would still be running at 70 miles an hour then smashes into your skull, which destroys your grey matter’s frontal lobe leading to severe damage in the brain.

But, the horrid imagination is not yet over. Your Mustang is further thrown into the incoming traffic, when a sedan also running at about 70 miles an hour, crashes into the driver’s door collapsing it right into your body. Because of the robust impact, the metal roof of the car bangs on your head. This slices open your skull and almost mows down your left ear.

Now get out of the imagination.

The man who was actually involved in this nerve-wracking scene was Hal Elrod. The date when this tragic accident took place was 3rd December 1999, and the exact time when the accident took place was 11:32 p.m.

After the accident, the bones of his right eye socket crushed into smithereens leaving his eye perilously unsupported. His left arm broke and his elbow was gravely damaged. Vitiating the situation, the fractured humorous bone had pierced the skin behind his bicep.

While separating the driver’s door from his body, his pelvis fractured at three distinct places and his femur- the largest bone in the human body- snapped in half. There was blood everywhere on the scene. This was, his body was not just damaged but also destroyed.


The car had to be cut into half by the rescue workers. When they pulled the car’s twisted frame away from his body, they literally killed him. Albeit, the pressure from the wreckage had been holding him together hitherto then. However, as soon as they removed it, his blood splattered everywhere and his body collapsed there and then.

Unable to withstand the untenable physical pain, his body shut down, blood pressure dropped and everything turned black and his heart finally stopped beating. Clinically he was dead.

It was only after the paramedics finally arrived and took him onboard a helicopter ambulance that after remaining dead for six minutes, Hal breathed fresh oxygen again and came back to life.

Hal Elrod had defied death. But, the bad news was not yet ready to leave his trail.

After six days of comatose, he finally woke up to the news that he may never walk again. He had 11 fractured bones, permanent brain damage in the frontal lobe, the horror that he may never again stand on his feet. Exacerbating his emotional state, his girlfriend was now his ex-girlfriend.

Had I have been in his position, I would have again gone into coma succumbing to the affliction for why so much of wrong things were happening to me! But, what Hal says about that phase of his life is this- “Believe it or not, it all turned out to be a good thing.”

His life had been toppled upside down for the worst of scenarios. He was a young man with a bright future waiting for him and then it was all snatched away from him within a few minutes of disaster. He had every reason in the world to go into a state of depression or fall into the murky gulf of gloom.

He could have easily laid back on the bed for the rest of his life as he had the perfect excuse. But, he was determined to search for something better in his life. Albeit, Hal knew that he had been put through a great setback by life. But, he also knew that complaining is draining which is only going to make this worse.

So the man never groused. Earlier, a massive Chevrolet Truck had taken him head-on pushed him back. Now, it was his turn to take life head-on and push it back. And, he stood tough against the challenges that life threw his way. He carved out a beautiful future for himself that no one else in his state could have even dared to envision.

The man who was once told that he would probably never again walk later went on to become an Ultra-marathon runner. He ran over 52 miles in one go for an eleemosynary affair! But, he was not yet satisfied. He knew he was meant for much more greatness.

Hal staunchly believed that there is no limit to his potential. Ergo, every time he achieved a heydey, he starts to chart out a bigger heydey to realize. And, that’s how he also became one of the best career coaches in all of United States.

But, by then Hal knew that he had an inspiring tale to share with the world. He knew that his story of how he recuperated from the worst of nightmares was worth sharing with the fellow 7.3 Billion others. So, he wrote a book on how he had beaten life against all the odds, and made a best seller out of it- “Taking life Head On.”

The man who was once dead for several minutes was on a spree to beat life again and again and show it that no force is too strong to stop him ever. And, it was this indomitable mindset with which Hal became a leading Podcaster, Sales Guru and a hell of a Motivational Speaker.

After that one setback his life had blown him with, he made sure that whatever he does, he becomes the best in the domain. And, he hit bull’s-eye every single time- Master Salesman || Motivational Speaker || Author || Ultramarathon Runner || Podcaster – He reached the pinnacle of all of those domains.

The man who died long ago and then returned to life again, is not living anymore- He is megaliving.

How do I know all of these trivial details about Hal?

Well, I came to learn about him through a reference of him in James Altucher’s book Choose Yourself. And, through there I got into reading Hal’s book- The Miracle Morning. And, it was the first chapter of that masterfully written bestseller which made me learn so much about this exemplary man who made it large in his life.

Why am I so obsessed with him?

I am obsessed with him for all the possible reasons. I have said it all in the words I wrote above. The man could have easily given up on life and no one would have groused upon him. People would have understood that given his condition, he was broken beyond repair.

But, forget any excuses or repair! This man had a strong will governed by a simple tenet-

“What is gone is gone. What you have is what matters. And, what you create out of what you have is what counts.”

Why do I admire him so much?

Because the tale of this man changed my theory of life. I was a man with a store house of a billion excuses. I was someone who would be ready with a hundred reasons why I was not meant to achieve something.

And, I succumbed to those excuses almost every time ending up giving up on endless glorious opportunities I had at my hands. It had gestated this hapless propensity of giving up on everything.

And, then the lesson which Hal followed in his life imbued me. And, in this journey of rebuilding oneself without giving up or losing one’s faith in one’s capabilities he inspired not just me but endless others as well (Google him and you would be blown away by his wide reach and fandom).

It was only after reading his book- the Miracle Morning, that I gestated the mindset in me which would redefine me and introduce me to my hidden potential. The mindset was to- Never give up no matter what. And, given I ensure that things would always fall in place as I wished for.

And, after having abided by that principle for over six months, I can state it confidently- There is no greater truth than this one. Hal made it happen. And, it is only because of this walking epitome of greatness that I got to witness my sequestered potential.

Now, every time I am bogged down by life’s travails and difficulties, I just remind myself, “Just hang on and don’t succumb to life. And, everything will be better than it ever was.” And, with this post, I express my gratitude to my saviour, Hal.

I hope the reader found their time well-invested by reading the Part-2 of four part Mini Reading Series (MRS)- “The Four Who Changed My Theories of Life.”



Updated on 26th Feb 2017: Part 3/4 of MRS released! : The Man Who Went From $50 Million Dollars to $46!

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