“When The dream is caged” with audley harrison

Season 1: Episode #10

Belinda Lams, Host:

What makes a hero?

[MUSIC: “TMW Theme” by Jeff Lams]

According to Philosopher and Scholar Joseph Campbell, a hero is an archetypal figure who takes a journey from his or her ordinary world, goes out on an adventure, through a decisive crisis wins a victory, then returns home transformed with gained wisdom to offer others. This podcast explores real people, real stories and the pivotal moments that changed the course of their lives forever.

Audley Harrison:

I was a product of a tough, rough neighborhood but I said, that doesn’t define me, no qualification, didn’t define me; came from a broken home, didn’t define me; oh yeah, he’s black, didn’t define me; didn’t matter. My mindset was I am going to be who I want to be no matter what, and so I was able to overcome my circumstances and my environment and make something of myself. 

Belinda:

Audley Harrison is a determined and committed hero. His journey could have ended in tragedy, but instead he channeled that determination and commitment to live a life of triumph; not only personally, but in the way he helps others divert their own tragedies. I was very honored to hear his riveting story.  May you be inspired as to what is possible in your own life. I’m Belinda Lams and this is The Moment When…

Audley Harrison MBE is a name synonymous with British boxing. Fighting in the heavyweight division, he amassed a striking number of titles,including Commonwealth Gold in 1998 and an Olympic Gold medal in Sydney 2 years later. 

Audley’s remarkable success and significant contribution to sport was recognized in 2001 when he was awarded an MBE by the Queen; a member of the most excellent order of the British empire. He brought boxing to the forefront of British sport and became a true icon. 

Since his retirement in 2015, he has worked as an ambassador for various causes, inspiring the younger generation to take up sport and positive pastimes. 

Audley now lives in Southern California with his beautiful family.

So, how do we know each other? 

Audley:

I am acquainted with your sister Robin, and I saw Robin’s podcast telling her life story, and I put a post on Facebook saying, “Oh my God, Robin, more power to you, sending love and blessings and light and blessings.  Then Robin said, “Oh, you should maybe do the podcast.  So, Robin, your lovely sister, connected us and here we are. 

Belinda:

Yeah, here we are.  Yes, so RobIn gave her story and it was beautiful, and she told me the same thing. She told me the same thing, you need to talk to Audley, he has an amazing story. So here we are. 

Audley:

Belinda:

Yes, so thank you for having me on. 

It is my pleasure.  So what was your ordinary world like before your world changed?

Audley:

So, I am from London in England, the U.K., and I grew up in a rough, tough neighborhood called Stonesbridge in Harlesden. In America you call it the projects. Both of my parents are from Jamaica, they came to England in the 60s.   My mom and dad divorced when I was four.  My mom left the home to start a new life. So my dad was left to raise four boys.  So, you can imagine my dad out there hustling, trying to provide for the boys and the boys just running wild.  We didn’t really grow up, we were kind of dragged up.  We just found a way to survive in our community.  

But, saying that, I was a happy go lucky child.  You know, I was definitely a smiler.  I used to get into trouble in school but I always had the dimples and that allowed me to kind of get away with trouble.  Those dimples saved me.  

Narrator:

Audley received his initial call to adventure in a most peculiar setting.

[MUSIC: “This Is Aud” by Jeff Lams]

Audley:

The first time I was arrested, I got arrested at nine years of age and because my dad was working, I was basically locked up in the police station all day.  My dad came to me about 9:00 p.m. in the evening and very annoyed with me.   And I remember him maybe giving me a clip around the ear and saying, “What you going to do with yourself? This is just not acceptable. You need to be more productive, more positive.”  You know, he was just really exasperated. And I said, “Dad, I am going to be a famous sportsman.”  And I think he gave me another clip around the ear and said, “How are you going to be a famous sportsman if out are out there messing around?” I didn’t know it then, but I had an epiphany.  I had a vision.   I said, OMG. It was so, it just came from deep within me, saying, “Hey dad, I am going to be a famous sportsman.”  

[MUSIC: “This Is Aud” by Jeff Lams]

Narrator:

Audley’s epiphany faded into the background as he moved into his teens. While he excelled in multiple sports, he also excelled in running the streets and getting into trouble. During this time, Audley received another clue to his call.

Audley:

I had a fascination with the Rocky movies.  Everyone remembers the Rocky movies I am sure, I remember being 12 years of age, around the friend’s house watching these movies, these Rocky movies and being fascinated by boxing, but chasing all these different sports. Very good at soccer, very good at cricket, very good at rugby, very good at track and field. I got to 16 and I was playing in the soccer trials, these tryouts, and I remember I ended up having a cleat from one of my friends actually, because he was on the opposing team. He put his studs through my ankle and that ended my soccer trials. I was out for nine months.  And at that age of 16, already having run wild, already been expelled from school, I kind of really fell into that bad boy lifestyle. 

Narrator:

Eventually kicked out of the house, he was arrested 6 months later.

Audley:

And now, here I am sitting in the Young Offenders’ Institution.  I am officially recognized as a bad boy and being punished and penalized. And part of me was kind of relieved because I am like, okay, I have got my stripes now. You know, now everyone knows I am a bad boy.  And It wasn’t a tough situation in there for me, I was with the main crew.  You are bullied in there or you are kind of the bully or you are with the popular gang or you are not, and I was kind of with the popular gang so I was kind of able to, to survive in there.  And I was very anxious, but I was just lucky that there was a couple of older guys in there from my neighborhood who looked out for me.  

So, basically I am locked up in a Young Offender’s Institution, no qualifications from school, what am I going to do with my life?  And I sat in my cell and I thought, I have done this, I have got my, my degree, so to speak, in being a bad boy but I don’t want to come back to this. I don’t want to be here again.  

[MUSIC: “This Is Aud” by Jeff Lams]

Losing your summer, losing your liberty and sitting in a 10 X 8 room by yourself, the fun kind of wore off after a little while so I was like, okay, I have got to find some other solutions when I get out, but not quite knowing what I was going to do. 

Narrator:

Audley served 18 months in total, determined that he would find another pathway for his life. About 3 months after his release, while hanging out with his brother and some friends, trouble erupted once again. 

Audley:

So,I ended up getting into a street fight with a guy that I was actually a friend with inside and ended up coming to blows. My younger brother used to box all the way through, that was is main sport. He didn’t play a multitude of sports like me, boxing was his only sport. And everybody, my brother included, said, “Oh my God Audley, you look like a boxer,” in having this street to-do with this gentleman. 

Narrator:

What began as trouble, shifted into a powerful moment when for Audley. It all started coming together the day his friend suggested that he give boxing a try.

[MUSIC: “This Is Aud” by Jeff Lams]

Audley:

We walked into that boxing gym and that was my pivotal moment, because when I went in there and I moved around in the ring I had all the confidence, all the swagger. I had skills, you know, skills to pay the bills as they say.  I had that little spark, that little thing that made me think, oh my God, this feels like that epiphany that I had at nine years of age.  I straightaway went to the Rocky movies, straightaway went to, “this is the sport. This sport is going to take me all the way to the top.”

Belinda:

I’m Belinda Lams and this is The Moment When…Today we’re talking with Audley Harrison about his tryst with trouble and the lock-up that led to freedom… His story continues.

[MUSIC: “Erwin” by Jeff Lams]

Narrator:

Bolstered with passion and focus, Audley poured himself into boxing. Committed to this new pathway, he was inspired to change other parts of his life as well.

Audley:

I decided I was going to go back to college at the same time because I didn’t want to be another boxer that they say, “here is a boxer from the streets with no qualifications”.  So, I knew they were going to say he is from the streets.  I knew they were going to say he is from a broken home, but they wasn’t going to say here is another guy with no qualifications.  So, so I had to kind of do one little course, like a foundation course, then I had to do a diploma, then I had to do another foundation course. Like it was lots of hoops I had to go through, but I found it okay.  On top of that, I was now working, doing security, working doing fitness instruction, working as, as a modern day Uber driver.  So back then there was no technology as Uber but I was working in a local taxi firm, like car for hire.   And so, I was basically doing three jobs, boxing and also studying. 

Narrator:

Audley began to win amateur boxing contests as a heavy weight and climbed all the way up the ladder to the top 10 in the country. This led him to the door of the highly regarded Brunel University, which was ranked number 3 in the country for sports.

Audley:

I remember going to meet with the dean of the school and I brought my college teacher with me for support.   And we went and met with him, Tom Trentor, and he said, “Look, definitely you have the sporting credentials to get in here, but I fear and worry that if I let you in here now you are not going to have the education discipline because you haven’t got the A levels, you was expelled from school, you didn’t go to college the traditional route. I don’t think you are going to have the discipline to actually survive this course. But he said if you went back to the college that you are at and you have done another year, it’s called an access course, you do the access course, I think it will help you and then we will get you long term and you will be able to do it.  You know, obviously, I was very disappointed but I walked out of there and I said, “Okay, this is what I have going to have to do, I am going to have to pay the price.”  

Narrator:

And that’s exactly what he did. Audley went back to college, completed one more year, and then once again knocked on the door of Brunel University.

Audley:

[MUSIC: “This Is Aud” by Jeff Lams]

And I remember when I walked through that door, the smile on Tom Trentor’s face, the dean of school.  I, I, I listened and I came back.  I just basically turned that mentality.  I just became everything positive.  Everything like, was channeled into the right things.  It just goes to show how powerful you can become once you channel your energies into the right positive direction. 

So, here I am back at the university the year later, and Tom Trentor became a great mentor for me. While I was in university, he became a kind of guardian angel for me there, bless his soul, now passed away. If I had, you know, situations where I couldn’t handle it myself I always had Tom there to reach out to. Because, you can imagine, this university, top three in the country, but boxing wasn’t a part of the program. So it was like a big thing for me going through as a boxer, especially somebody who had no formal qualifications. 

Narrator:

Audley’s life was filled with one achievement after another. He became an emcee in the house music scene, he worked his other jobs, continued his studies at school, all the while winning more and more boxing titles.

Audley:

[MUSIC: “This Is Aud” by Jeff Lams]

So, 1997 I became the national champion of England. In 1998 I repeated it, became the national champion of England. So I was now two time national champion, three time London champion.  And didn’t ever go back to jail, didn’t ever go back to prison, and really was just on a mission to be somebody and to maximize my goals. 

So, 1998, there is a tournament in the U.K. called the Commonwealth Games. England had never won a goal medal in boxing at this tournament at my weight division, and also at the same time boxing hadn’t had somebody who looked like they could be a potential gold medalist for a long time. They hadn’t won a goal medal for 32 years.  So, in 1996 watching the Olympic games in Atlanta I kind of put it out there, I’m going to win a goal medal in four years.  I started a self-fulfilling prophecy everywhere I went. 

Narrator:

Audley did a mashup with his degrees in Sports Science and Leisure Management. With his knowledge in psychology and marketing, he turned himself into a brand.

Audley:

I started doing my own press releases.  I used to dye my hair all different colors, I used to do poems. I am not only going to go win Olympic gold medal in three, four years’ time, I am going to change the future of sport in Britain, boxing, by the way I am going to brand myself and market myself. 

 So, 1998 I go to the Commonwealth games and I dyed my hair all tiger stripes so I look like a tiger from my hair and I started doing poems, 

[MUSIC: “This Is Aud” by Jeff Lams]

and I started telling everybody who would listen, I am going to win the gold medal here and I am going to win it in two years time.  So everyone says, here we go, another loud mouth talker, is this guy serious?  

 So, I ended up winning the commonwealth games, winning the gold medal, and as soon as I got the mic in my hand, and this was on national television in the U.K, the BBC filmed it, I told them, two years time you are looking at the next gold medal winner from Great Britain boxing.

Narrator:

Up until that time, boxing had not been funded in England, which had put the athletes at a disadvantage to the other countries. After a poor performance in the Atlanta Olympics, it became clear that something must be done. Audley not only took on the challenge of getting himself to Olympic glory, but he also began to reform the sport in Great Britain.

Audley:

I kind of took on the system and I created a boxing union of England. After we won the gold medal in ’98 at the Commonwealth Games, I ended up doing a march and a petition to parliament. So, that’s like marching to Washington DC. And we got people beeping their horn as we were marching down the streets saying, “We should be funded.” And we ended up getting like 500,000 boxing which allowed a full team to then try to train 1998 to 2000 to basically try to qualify for the Olympic Games.  

Narrator:

Out of 48 European nations, there were only seven spots available in his weight class. Audley needed to win 3 fights to qualify for the Olympics.

Audley:

I came across the world number one in my first fight, in my first tournament. I got to the box-off, so I won two fights and I had the semi-finals, so I am boxing for a place for the tournament and I ended up boxing the world number one from Russia, Alexei Lezin. and I was a late starter so I only had about 20 fights as an international and he was so experienced and he just, he just out-boxed me.  It was really easy for him and he beat me comfortably. So I lost that one.  Then the second one, I didn’t get a fair decision, again I won the two fights, and then I lost in the box-off against a German and it was just a bad decision.  

Narrator:

After losing the second fight, Audley sat down with one of his mentors, Kevin Hickey, who used to be the head of boxing, UK. 

Audley:

And he says, Audley, it’s getting close you have only got two more chances and I was like, look, that was a bad decision.  And he said, listen, you can’t worry about that, that’s gone.  You have got one coming up in a month, what do you think? 

[MUSIC: “This Is Aud” by Jeff Lams]

And it was just like I had this shot of adrenaline running through me and I just said to him, there is no way, I am not going to do this.  There is no way I am going to let him take this away from me.  He said, “Audley, you’ve got the power in your own hands. You go there and be your own judge and jury.” 

Typically, heavyweights are slow and ponderous. I was like quick, dazzling, and I just threw lots of punches. I made sure they couldn’t deny me. There was just so much punches I was raining in on my opponents. So, I won my three fights and qualified for the Olympics.  

Narrator:

With 9 months until the Games, the funding came through. Audley was able to quit his 3 jobs and focus solely on training. He prepared for each opponent he might face, with a particular focus on the one who had defeated him…the Russian.

Audley:

So, now we go out to the Olympics in October, the festival of sport, and I am in the Olympic village. This time I dyed my hair like colors of the rainbow so I’ve got all elastic bands in my hair with different colors. And every time I went to lunch or I went to dinner or to breakfast I would sit on a different table from a different country. So, I go to India, go to U.S.A., go to Russia, and say, “Hey, I am Audley Harrison, I am a boxer from England. I am winning the gold medal. Everybody in the village knew who I was and they were like, who is this guy?  Is this guy serious, you know, is he a jokester?  Is he here? What is he here for?  And then the draw comes up

[MUSIC: “This Is Aud” by Jeff Lams]

My first fight was against the Russian.  Everybody they said, oh my God, he lost to that guy in the first qualifiers, now we know why he was just here messing around. He knew he was going to last.  He knew he was going to go home.  While everybody is like already written me off, inside I was so elated. I was like looking up to the sky and saying, thank you, thank you. That’s the one guy I knew I was going to beat if I faced him again. 

So, by the time the first fight came up there was a lot of attention that wouldn’t normally be there for boxing and so I had a lot of people looking in to see my demise and, obviously, I turned up and stealed the show. So I jumped all over him and it was a good fight. It was four rounds.  I ended up stopping him in the third round with a big left hand and that stopped him on his feet.   And after that fight everybody knew that this guy from England, wow, he is serious and he could really be a contender for the gold medal. So, I basically had my second fight against a guy from Ukraine, comfortable, so that got me the bronze medal. 

In my semi-final fight against a guy from Italy, Pablo Vuidos, this was the fight of the tournament, and because I made so much noise, even Her Royal Highness the queen, her daughter, Princess Anne, and I don’t think she had ever been to a boxing match before, she came to my fight.  I had 10,000 people in the arena all screaming my name by the semi-finals, Audley, Audley, Audley, Audley.  So it was like an amazing feeling to be in that arena and it was an amazing feeling to be in that kind of fight. It was an incredible fight. He was like a brute, really small and strong and he just kept on attacking me and I was you know, like the gazelle, bouncing in and out, and it was an excellent contester.

Narrator:

During that fight, Audley encountered a devastating setback. He ruptured his left knuckle tendon. It had swelled to the size of a golf ball and with only 2 days until the finals, the doctor gave him the bad news. 

Audley:

Audley you have done a great job, an amazing job but you are not going to be able to box your final, your knuckle is too bad.  I’m like, “Listen I came here for the gold medal, I don’t care what it is going to take. I am getting in that ring in two days, no matter what.  So, I basically sat in that doctor’s office, basically, for forty-eight hours, pretty much putting my hand in ice, taking it out of ice, doing stem, doing all different kind of treatments trying to settle down my hand.  

Narrator:

The team was worried. The doctors were worried. How would Audley be able to pass his medical exam so he could box his final fight? An interesting side note: one of the rules in amateur boxing is that you must be clean shaven.

Audley:

I hadn’t shaved because I was so stressed being in with my knuckle, so, I went to the International Boxing Association doctors, and I was petrified that they were going to grab my hand and see, and basically I am not going to be able to box the final.  I walked up to him and he is holding my hands, looking at my face, he said, Mr. Harrison, you are not shaved.  Why are you not shaved?  And He basically sent me off to go and get shaved.  I am like, where am I going to find somewhere to shave?  I am like, in a different country.  I am in the stadium. He said, “I don’t care, you have to shave.”  You know, he was just being really difficult.

[MUSIC: “This Is Aud” by Jeff Lams]

I had to leave the stadium, go and find like, say a CVS, buy some shavers, rush back, quickly shave, ran back up there. By the time I ran back up there everyone else had gone and everybody was trying to leave so they can go to the stadium for the actual boxing match which was somewhere different.  So he basically just looked at my face to check that I was shaven and he said, alright, look, you have had three fights already, you are healthy, you feel good, and he just signed me off and let me go through. It was just like divine intervention. 

When I got to the stadium they had to put an injection in my hand. It was that painful, it was that bad, because they had to kill the pain in my hand.  And I went through and boxed my Olympic final, and obviously, I punched him from pillar to post, I was not going to be denied, and became Britain’s first gold medalist.  

Belinda:

[MUSIC: “Erwin” by Jeff Lams]

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Today we’re exploring the derailing force of setbacks and the breakthrough power of resolve with my guest Audley Harrison.

Narrator:

So, Audley took the road back to his ordinary world. When he returned to England, the whole country knew who he was.

Audley:

Seven million people watched that fight. I couldn’t go anywhere, for a year it was crazy. So I was bestowed with an honors list from the queen for winning the gold medal, the first one for 32 years. The funny story from that was, Her Royal Highness, is walking out, because after they give you a medal then they walk out and you got to line up either side of them. I didn’t have any kind of crazy hairstyle, I just had a normal hairstyle, and as she walked passed me with her daughter, Princess Anne, you know, she has a soft spot for me, in terms of like, she liked my story and she loved the way I turned my life around. As they were walking past all of the people with the medals, Her Royal Highness stops, and her daughter stops, and they come over me and I leaned down and she said, “Hey, you changed your hair” and it was like all the press said, “Hey, what did she say to you?  I said, oh, she noticed that I changed my hair. ‘

[MUSIC: “This Is Aud” by Jeff Lams]

Everyone says, oh my God, they actually was watching him box, you know, and it was such an honor from where I had come from. If you told anybody, nine years of age, this guy was going to go on to become an Olympic gold medalist, go on to become a university graduate, go on to become a household name, they would have told you, absolutely not, there is no way that this guy was going to be anything but dead or in jail or locked up.  And so, it is the power of positive thinking. It is the power of not being tied down by your circumstance.  I was a product of a tough, rough neighborhood but I said, that doesn’t define me, no qualification, didn’t define me; came from a broken home, didn’t define me; oh yeah, he’s black, didn’t define me; didn’t matter, my mind set was I am going to be who I want to be no matter what, and so I was able to overcome my circumstances and my environment and make something of myself.  

After that I start my own company, ended up becoming the first boxer to ever sign his own deal with his own companies, had 22 staff, turned professional, had my own team, used to promote my own shows. I had an autobiography out. It was just one thing after the other, just accumulation, accumulation. 

Narrator:

There is another part to this story. Remember that Audley’s mom had left when he was 4 years old? Well, she had remarried and had 3 more children. Audley had seen her once when he was 11, but other than that she was absent from his life. Then about age 21, he went to the barbershop with his friend Paul. One of Paul’s acquaintances happened to be there that day.

Audley:

And he says, Oh, ‘hey Barbara” because they struck up a conversation every time they used to meet each other in the barbershop, just to say hello to each other.  So, he calls her out, I look over and I said, “Paul, that is my mom.’  He said, “You are kidding me.” I’m like, ‘that is my mom.’ So, I am sitting there in my sunglasses and my hat on, she comes up to my friend Paul and she says, “Hey Paul, how are you doing, blah, blah, blah, and he says to her, “hey, you better look next door.  You better see who is looking at you next door.”  And she goes, “who, who, who?”  And I pulled down my glasses and my hat and I said, “Hey, mom, it’s Audley.” 

[MUSIC: “This Is Aud” by Jeff Lams]

 Then I saw here again at 26 in a supermarket, and again she didn’t recognize me. And this time I took real offense to it because I am like, okay, the first time, shame on you, the second time. So I kind of shouted her out. And I kind of said to her, “look, you just walked past me in the aisle “I came from you and you don’t even recognize who I am. “ And it felt good to kind of get it out of my chest rather than holding it down.

 And when I look back now, that anger that I had, that kind of chip on my shoulder allowed me to turn my life around. I had this like burning desire to make something of myself because of where I came from, because of what I overcame.  But the biggest thing I overcame was growing up without mother.

Narrator:

Though his own mom didn’t recognize him, the world certainly did and continues to this day. Through his commitment to turn that pain into positivity, Audley was able to change the face of boxing in Britain. It is now a funded sport and the country has become a powerhouse, winning multiple medals. All because Audley dared to make his dream come true.

Audley:

Yeah, I am blessed, you know, a great journey, a great story of overcoming my odds, defeating the odds, beating the odds and not being held down by my environment or my circumstance or by what people told me I could do or what I am going to amount to be. You know, I had that epiphany when I was a child but I found a way to get online with that purpose, find my God given purpose. And I was able to fulfill that and live it.  You know, and I am still 46, I still have got a lot of living to do and a lot of things I want to accomplish but. One other thing I use to always say as a youngster, I am only getting married once and I am only having kids with one woman. 

Narrator:

[MUSIC: “This Is Aud” by Jeff Lams]

This dream came true as well. In another barbershop, in another country, a beautiful woman named Raychel happened to style Audley’s iconic colorful braids. Raychel became his wife and they now have 2 wonderful children, Ariella and Hudson.

The Hero’s Journey isn’t complete until the hero returns home with the Elixir to offer others.

Audley:

I do a lot of public speaking in England.  I am a patron of a charity over there called the Samaritans, which deals with suicide and suicide prevention …and I have a slogan called Never Ever Give Up.  I actually released a song for the Samaritans in 2016 called Never Ever Give Up. 

 And that’s my thing about life, no matter how dark it is, no matter how tough it is, if there is a little bit of light, keep that faith, find that light. Do not give up on yourself. This life we have is so precious. It’s like a one-time deal, there’s no rehearsals.  And so it really traumatizes me when somebody chooses to say, you know, I can’t deal with life no more.  And so I am a real advocate of trying to live our best life however we can, keep our story going, keep ourselves going, I spend a lot of time trying to uplift people and encourage people not to give up on themselves. 

Belinda:

Well you know, I think about people that have been in your situation and they do give up and they don’t find that thing or they don’t take that window of opportunity, and I wonder what the thing was inside of you that said yes, versus somebody that says no to that call.  I don’t know the answer to that, do you?

Audley:

No, well, it’s just that it has to come from within.  I know a lot of people look for external resources, whether it is through the church, the synagogue, the temple, there is an outside influence.  And I think faith is a big thing, whatever your faith is, have something to hold on to.  I am not religious now, I grew up Christian but I am not religious now, but I am definitely spiritual.  I believe there is a universal power. If something goes wrong in me and I can’t, I don’t have the strength to deal with it, I know that I have faith that it is going to be okay, you know. God, the deity or whatever you call that universal presence is there.  Hold on to that, have that faith.

 The biggest thing, I am an advocate of and I kind of preach to people is self-talk, to change your narrative, change what you are saying to each other.  Unfortunately, most people are defeating themselves by what they are saying to themselves.  So the main thing about self-talk, it has to be positive.  I am not strong today but I’m gonna be stronger tomorrow. I might be stronger tomorrow.  You can’t say, hey, I can’t say do it, I am weak, I am worth nothing.  You know, right now I feel like I am worth nothing but tomorrow I might feel better. 

You have got to believe in yourself that you can get yourself through it. Be your biggest cheerleader.  

Belinda:

I gave Audley a few words about the way I experience him. Well two things that stand out to me: one is, I want to say you are a writer, in the sense that you’ve rewritten your narrative throughout your life, you know, after you left your upbringing narrative then you rewrote your narrative of the typical boxer, the stereotypical boxer, and you became this other person and then here you are today.  You’ve now you are rewriting the broken home story and the other thing that I see in you is that you keep going to a higher perspective so you have an overview of life that allows you to go through the ups and downs without getting taken out, right?  That what you have just shared is, you can see that, yes, one day I am in the dumps but that doesn’t mean that’s the only day, that that’s the only option. Tomorrow something might open up and I need to live in that higher plain so I can hold space for all of that experience of life. And you have had so many already and you still have more to come, obviously,

[MUSIC: “Moment’s End” by Jeff Lams]

and I am excited to see what’s going to happen with you. But I so, so appreciate you sharing this journey. It’s really powerful and it was really fun for me to hear.  So, thank you.

Audley:

Yeah, just please.  All I can finalize by saying please, do not give up on yourself and whatever you are going through let it pass, because it will pass. Love yourself. Trust yourself and be who you was born to be.  Shine that star bright like a diamond, no matter what, even when it’s tough.  Try to smile and try to push your way through it. 

Belinda:

Beautiful! Thank you Audley.

Audley:

No, thank you Belinda.  

Belinda:

Audley’s journey continues to unfold. Since this story, he has encountered challenges great and small and continues to apply his acquired wisdom. You can learn more about Audley on his website audleyharrison.com, and follow him on instagram and twitter. 

THE MOMENT WHEN IS PRODUCED BY SOUL ORGANIZER. MUSIC IS COMPOSED BY JEFF LAMS. THIS EPISODE WAS SPONSORED BY THESE GENEROUS PATRONS: Gene & Susan Miller, AND John and Karen Ferraro.

 THE MOMENT WHEN IS FUNDED BY LISTENERS LIKE YOU. IF YOU ENJOY THIS PODCAST, YOU CAN SHOW YOUR SUPPORT BY BECOMING A MONTHLY PATRON AT PATREON.COM/Belindalams.  YOU CAN FIND THE LINKS IN THE SHOW NOTES.  More episodes are on their way for your inspirational pleasure. Until next time…I’m Belinda Lams.