136 | VISION: Kijuan Amey's Journey From Tragic Accident to Resilient Recovery

About the Guest(s):

Kijuan Amey is the Chief Motivational Officer at Amey Motivation, a company focused on inspiring individuals to overcome life's challenges. A former Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force and an in-flight refueling specialist, Kijuan's life took a transformational turn following a devastating motorcycle accident that left him blind and with numerous physical injuries. Despite these challenges, Kijuan has become a motivational speaker and author, sharing his journey of resilience and purpose.

Episode Summary:

In this gripping episode of Becoming Undone, hosted by Toby Brooks, we delve into the emotional and inspiring journey of Kijuan Amey. Once an ambitious airman dreaming of piloting military aircraft, Kijuan's trajectory dramatically shifted after a motorcycle accident. The episode begins by painting a vivid picture of Kijuan's early dreams and ambitions in sports, engineering, and the military, before the narrative takes a dramatic turn, highlighting the incident that left him blind and changed his life's course. As Kijuan recounts the momentous day of his accident and the extensive recovery process that followed, listeners gain profound insights into the resilience and mental fortitude required to overcome life-altering challenges.

Through an engaging conversation, the episode highlights themes of resilience, faith, and the power of reimagining one's identity after trauma. Kijuan discusses the mental and physical hurdles post-accident and how he has come to see his journey not as a setback, but an opportunity to inspire and motivate others. By exploring his concept of having lost sight but not vision, Kijuan sheds light on his approach to turning adversity into a platform for motivation and leadership through Amy Motivation. He shares poignant examples of how he's lived a full and adventurous life, even after blindness, leading to a powerful message of undeterred spirit and purpose-driven existence. This episode is a testament to human resilience and the capacity to grow and thrive beyond one's wildest expectations.

Key Takeaways:

• Resilience in Adversity: Kijuan Amey's story exemplifies how resilience can transform life-altering challenges into opportunities for personal growth and leadership.
• Faith and Purpose: Kijuan discusses how his faith played a crucial role in reshaping his purpose, providing a sturdy foundation during his recovery.
• Overcoming Physical Challenges: Despite losing his eyesight, Kijuan has engaged in activities like skiing and rock climbing, proving that physical limitations do not define one's capabilities.
• Mental vs. Physical Vision: Kijuan emphasizes the distinction between physical sight and mental vision, maintaining that although he lost his sight, his vision and drive remain intact.
• Impact of Positive Influence: Through Amy Motivation, Kijuan has embraced the role of a motivational speaker, aiming to inspire others who find themselves facing their own adversities.

Notable Quotes:

1. "I lost the physical sight, but I didn't lose my mental vision." - Kijuan Amey
2. "The purpose—the why—we have to continue to hold to it. If you forget what your why is, you forg

Transcript

0:00:03 - (Kijuan Amey): This is becoming undone. I lost my eyesight. I have a traumatic brain injury. I have ptsd. I have a spinal cord infusion. I have two broken legs that now have metal rods in them. I have a screw in my right foot and now my right foot is bigger than the other. For more motorcycle accident. That's all I did. One of the hardest parts was just understanding that I wasn't going to be able to see again. That was really the hardest part because, I mean, just think about the job that I told you I had.

0:00:41 - (Kijuan Amey): I'm a faith believer. So now guess who I'm talking to. I'm talking to God and I am questioning him. We are having it out. Okay? To me, I was letting him have it and he was like, you done yet? And he finally said, well, why not you? I lost the physical sight, but I didn't lose my mental vision. My name is Kewaun Amy, and I am Undone.

0:01:20 - (Toby Brooks): Hey, friend. I'm glad you're here. Welcome to yet another episode of Becoming Undone, the podcast for those who dare bravely risk mightily and grow relentlessly. I'm Toby Brooks, speaker, author, professor, learning, scientist. I've spent much of the last two decades working as an athletic trainer and a strength coach in the pro college and high school sports settings. And over the years, I've grown more and more fascinated with what sets high achievers apart and how failures that can suck in the moment can actually end up being exactly what we needed to propel us on our paths to success.

0:01:49 - (Toby Brooks): Success. Each week on Becoming Undone, I invite new guests to examine how high achievers can transform from falling apart to falling into place. I'd like to emphasize that this show is entirely separate from my role at Baylor University, but it's my attempt to apply what I've learned and what I'm learning and share with others about the mindsets of high achievers. It's good to be back after an unplanned week out. Getting back behind the mic.

0:02:12 - (Toby Brooks): Last week, we traveled up to Lubbock to see the daughter's music directorial debut in Lubbock, Moonlight Musicals, production of Alice in Wonderland junior and we also got to see the sun for some much needed time together. Meanwhile, back in Waco, I'm still taking two classes, teaching another, and generally trying to keep from drowning under what feels like a relentless sea of email. But don't let that come off like I'm complaining, because I am not.

0:02:38 - (Toby Brooks): This week's guest has taught me the value of seeing the good that can come from every circumstance. What do you do when the unthinkable happens, when your dreams vanish in an instant, your body's broken, your world goes dark. For Kewan Amy, that wasn't just a metaphor. After a devastating motorcycle accident left him with a traumatic brain injury, two broken legs, and the loss of his eyesight, he faced a reality most of us can't even imagine.

0:03:15 - (Toby Brooks): This week on Becoming Undone, you'll hear how Kiwon refused to let that be the end of his story. From rock bottom to the rise of Amy motivation, KE Won's story is a masterclass in resilience, reinvention, and reclaiming purpose. When life completely falls apart, this is one you don't want to miss. I hope you'll enjoy my conversation with Kewan amy in episode 136, Vision. Greetings. Welcome back. Becoming Undone is the podcast for those who dare bravely risk mightily and grow relentlessly. Join me, Toby Brooks, as I INV new guests each week to examine how high achievers can transform from falling apart to falling into place.

0:03:54 - (Toby Brooks): Joining me this week is a man with an incredible story. Really looking forward to digging in. Quan Amy, joining me from North Carolina, and man, does he have a story as hell. Quan, thanks for joining me today.

0:04:06 - (Kijuan Amey): Yeah, it's great to be here, Toby. I truly appreciate you having me.

0:04:10 - (Toby Brooks): Yeah. So you reached out to me a couple weeks ago, maybe even a little bit longer than that. I'm wrapping up this Dick Tomi docu series that we're doing and getting back into the groove of kind of one off stories about people and what they've been through and how it leads. Oftentimes it's not a thing we would have chosen, but it can lead to success nonetheless. So let's take it way back. What'd you want to be growing up and why?

0:04:34 - (Kijuan Amey): Going back to elementary school. Questions. I like it. I remember answering this as if it were yesterday. No joke. I remember writing on the paper and we had to draw a picture, by the way. So I said I wanted to be an NFL player and I wanted to have, you know, a wife and children and maybe even a dog and a mansion and a car. You know, you want the dream. Okay.

0:04:59 - (C): Yeah.

0:05:00 - (Kijuan Amey): And. And so I'm sure that came with money.

0:05:03 - (C): Yeah, right, right.

0:05:04 - (Kijuan Amey): And so that was my main, I guess you could say, goal was to be that. Yes, I did play sports growing up, and then my backup plan was to go to the army because that was the only branch I knew at the time. I was only five years old. So all you saw were army commercials.

0:05:24 - (C): Right.

0:05:25 - (Kijuan Amey): And so I Put army up there. Sorry, army, but I'm not. I did not want to go there. Once I got older, I was like two words for you. Good propeller, one, no parts man. And so, yeah, no joke, that's literally how that happened. And I'm an Air Force retiree now.

0:05:46 - (Toby Brooks): Yeah. So from those early beginnings in North Carolina, the Panthers maybe weren't quite so awful back then. But if, I don't know if you had an NFL team that you were picking or cheering for, but from there you end up graduating from Southern High School in North Carolina and you enter, as you said, the Air Force. At that point in your life, what were your goals and where did you think you were headed from there?

0:06:08 - (Kijuan Amey): Yeah. Just a quick note. The Panthers weren't started until 96.

0:06:13 - (Toby Brooks): You're a young guy, so I'm showing.

0:06:15 - (Kijuan Amey): My age 91, you know, so I'm just saying I'm a homegrown guy. Most people around here are either Cowboys, Redskins or Giants. We didn't have a team back when I was little until I came around. But anywho. Yeah, what, what led me there was I actually wanted to go to college, to be honest, out of high school. But an admission hiccup is what led me to the military.

0:06:40 - (Toby Brooks): Tell me more.

0:06:41 - (Kijuan Amey): Yeah, I will. The goal ultimately was to continue playing sports like football and running track is what I did in high school. But understanding that I actually wanted to do more than just be a jock, you know, I had a brain and I actually used it not just in the classroom, but I was very smart on the field too. You know, I, I out thought my opponents. So listen to anybody who's ever played against me knows me and they're like, dude, this cat is crazy. And he gets on the field like he, he out thinks you.

0:07:20 - (Kijuan Amey): It's not that I'm just going to go out and try to knock you clean out. My goal is to just stop you where you are because that's the main goal, is to keep us both safe, even though this is an egregious sport. But anywho, I wanted to go to school for either computer or software engineering. And here in North Carolina, the two best schools for that were North Carolina State University or North Carolina Agriculture and Technical State University, which is shortened here in North Carolina for ncant.

0:07:53 - (Kijuan Amey): And I started to do more research into both of the schools and understood that NC State was more so a computer science school than it was engineering. And A and T was all the way engineering in everything, whether it was computers, software, mechanical, automotive, they had it all and so they're actually a really big hub for a lot of big businesses. A pipeline, should I say, for big business to come through and snatch up engineers out of there.

0:08:27 - (Kijuan Amey): So that was the goal. I actually got accepted. Apparently through a letter, I got accepted. But when I called them on the phone, the database said otherwise.

0:08:38 - (C): Wow.

0:08:39 - (Kijuan Amey): And that's where it all began. I'm on the phone talking to this young lady, and she's telling me she doesn't see me. I said, I'm sorry, hold on. Let me spell my name for you. It's unique. It's very unique. So I do that, and again, I'm being told, yeah, no. And I'm like, what the heck? So I do a little bit of a. I guess you could say, nowadays, not back then. I'll get back to back then. But we're gonna fast forward to maybe two months ago.

0:09:11 - (Kijuan Amey): I found out that that school is not the easiest to get into. You know what I mean? Like, glory. No wonder I didn't make it, you know? And so now, reflecting back on it, it doesn't hurt. But at that time, right, because I was telling everybody, I'm going to ent. I got the acceptance letter. You know, it's awesome. I even have Facebook memories. I even have a Facebook memory that pops up and says, I'm going to A and T.

0:09:42 - (Toby Brooks): This might have been Kewan's first real encounter with setback and disappointment, but it wouldn't be his last. He'd researched the schools he wanted to go to for a potential career in computer or software engineering, and he got accepted to North Carolina, A and T, or so he thought. Although he received an acceptance letter from the school, when it came time to register, there appeared to be no record of his admission.

0:10:04 - (Toby Brooks): While the disappointment stung, he didn't let his grief linger for long. He turned to plan B, which was related to that goal of his childhood, to serve in the military. Although, unlike those early visions he'd had of being a soldier in the US Army, a local recruiting station would steer him in another direction, toward the sky.

0:10:25 - (Kijuan Amey): It hurts. It hurts so bad. And so instead of dwelling on it and, you know, festering in that moment, I pinned it. It's time to find something else to do. Because college weren't the only thing. I just need to get there, and I can find another way to do it. Because I was tired of working fast food. Hey, nothing against Bojangles. I'll eat it all day. I'm not working here for the rest of my life.

0:10:51 - (C): Right, Right.

0:10:52 - (Kijuan Amey): That was a that was a high school job, part time. Okay.

0:10:56 - (C): Right.

0:10:56 - (Kijuan Amey): I did that for three years. They were trying to offer me an assistant manager position and everything. I said, oh, no. And so I tell my mom, I said, you know what? I'm not even going to sit around and wait on this. She was like, but you say you want to go to school. I say, yeah, but at this rate, I'm going to have to wait until next semester to reapply. And I'm not sit. That's six months. That's six months I have to wait again.

0:11:24 - (Kijuan Amey): And six months of working at fast food, not doing. Which I did have to continue working at Bojangles until it was time to go to boot camp, but that's different. I, I, at least I have hope, right? And so I, I tell her, I said, listen, we have family members that were in the military. I have pretty big background. We had six Navy, one Army that I never met, God rest his soul. He was not killed in combat, but he passed away due to cancer, so I never met him.

0:12:01 - (Kijuan Amey): And then we had one Marine. I was the first Air Force. And then my youngest brother is currently in the Air Force, and we have one that's currently in the Coast Guard. And so we're all, all branches.

0:12:16 - (C): Right, right.

0:12:16 - (Kijuan Amey): All branches. So, you know, my family is talking Navy, because that's the, that's the family, or that's what we know right now. And the ones I'm closest to, even somebody living in my household was in the Navy who was in the Navy in the 90s, you know, so, you know, I'm talking to them, they're pushing me. Navy. Yeah, you'll enjoy it. It's like a, it's like a cruise and everything I said, man, I don't think so. I, I doubt it. I highly doubt that's like a cruise.

0:12:48 - (Kijuan Amey): I've been on two cruises and I, it was, I'm sure it's nothing like this.

0:12:53 - (C): Yeah, right, right.

0:12:54 - (Kijuan Amey): So anyway, nobody's telling you to man your station on a cruise ship.

0:12:59 - (C): Yeah, yeah.

0:13:00 - (Kijuan Amey): So anyway, I go talk. I actually do go talk to the Navy recruiter, though, you know, against me, against my, my every thought. I go talk to him. My thoughts were telling me to do something else, which were not the army, it was not the Marines. So the only other thing could have been was the Air Force. And I didn't really know much about the Coast Guard at the time. My cousin, he's just now becoming a Coast Guard after the fact of me being in the military. So it was between the Navy and the Air Force.

0:13:34 - (Kijuan Amey): And so I was like, ah, well, since my family that have done it, a lot of them have. It can't be that bad, you know, I'll go talk to them. So I go talk to the recruiter. Well, the recruiter, sailor, seaman, whatever you want to call him. Brooks is his last name. I'll never forget his last name because it's the same last name as my mom and my stepdad. So I will never forget him. Maybe y' all can figure him out. He was at the Durham office.

0:14:08 - (Kijuan Amey): Y' all can figure out who he was because he was the reason why y' all didn't have me. No joke. He was the reason why. And. And what? Why is because he did not answer any of my questions. That's a quick way to lose me.

0:14:23 - (C): Yeah.

0:14:24 - (Kijuan Amey): When I'm trying to make a big career change, you know, in my life, and this is a pivotal point in my life. This is me going from high school to now, potentially a career, you know, I need some answers, brother. And the only thing I wanted to know. One question. It was only one question. I wanted to know, how do I get my schooling paid for?

0:14:48 - (C): That's it. Yeah.

0:14:50 - (Kijuan Amey): And he couldn't answer. He kept pulling out a pamphlet, pointing at the pamphlet, saying, yeah, this is the GI Bill. You take this home and you read it. And I'm like, brother, I read that online before I came in here. I don't understand it. Like, that's. I wanted him to explain it, not to keep telling me, hey, yeah, take this with you. Okay, I'm gonna take it with me. All right? And so I found my way out of there after 45 minutes of my time being wasted, and I said, you know what? I gotta go. I gotta go. I forgot I gotta pick up my sister.

0:15:27 - (Kijuan Amey): Because my sister, who actually went to the Navy, and I think went through that same guy. So he got one of us, Amy. I walked out of there. He gave me that pamphlet that he was telling me about and his card. Yeah, man, call me whenever, you know, you can come back. Set up some time to get you in here. I said, all right, good talking to you. I walked out of there. I found the nearest trash can. Peace out.

0:15:56 - (Kijuan Amey): Gotta go, right? So I literally. I didn't even leave that building. I went out of their office, made a left, make a right, and go into. Straight into the Air Force recruiter's office. And I didn't even leave the building that day. And as soon as I walked into the door of the Air Force recruiter's office on the wall was a pennant and it said community College of the Air Force. I said, huh, they got their own community.

0:16:28 - (Kijuan Amey): I said, this might be the place.

0:16:29 - (C): Right.

0:16:30 - (Kijuan Amey): So I walked further in and there's nobody in there until I turn to my right and I see both of the Air Force recruiters standing there at their respective office doors talking to each other. I said, huh, Must be heaven on earth. Like, it's just them two and me in this one room. And so I'm looking at them, they looking at me. I'm looking at them, they looking at me, and they're like, can we help you?

0:16:58 - (Kijuan Amey): And I'm like, oh, yeah, I think I want to join the Air force. I'm just 18 years old, man, and I didn't have my mom, nobody with me. It was just me by myself.

0:17:09 - (C): Yeah.

0:17:10 - (Kijuan Amey): Because I'm really just going to gather information, you know?

0:17:13 - (C): Yeah.

0:17:13 - (Kijuan Amey): And so they were like, oh, yeah, come on in. And just right there, that moment, I'm not even in their office yet, was different than when I went into the Navy's office.

0:17:25 - (C): Yeah.

0:17:26 - (Kijuan Amey): Like, the Navy guys, nobody stood up.

0:17:29 - (C): Wow.

0:17:30 - (Kijuan Amey): They just looked at you and right here.

0:17:32 - (C): Yeah.

0:17:33 - (Kijuan Amey): But one of those moments.

0:17:35 - (Toby Brooks): So it sounds like that decision kind of made itself for you. You end up in the Air Force.

0:17:39 - (Kijuan Amey): Oh, yeah.

0:17:40 - (Toby Brooks): End up a staff sergeant. I've interviewed several former military, former athletes. The stories are eerily similar in many ways. When the career is over and you leave something that has been central to your identity for a long time. So you were a staff sergeant refueling specialist. What was the hardest part of reimagining who you were after being medically retired and maybe dig in a little bit to what led to that retirement before.

0:18:12 - (Kijuan Amey): I get to that, not just a refueling specialist, an in flight refueling specialist. And. And I say that like that because some people get that refuel or that confused with me doing stuff on the ground, feeling planes on the ground. No, no, no. I was refilling them while they were still flying in the air.

0:18:29 - (C): Right.

0:18:30 - (Kijuan Amey): So. And trust me, it's not easy.

0:18:33 - (Toby Brooks): Not the same.

0:18:34 - (Kijuan Amey): It is not easy. Not even by a little bit. But going back to what you asked, you know, gosh, once. Once that was done, I think it's. It's really hard for me because, you know, some people retire. I feel like I was forcibly retired. I didn't have a choice. There was no choice for me. I wear these glasses. They're pretty cool. I think you like them. They're bows. Shout out to brothers. You guys can sponsor me if you like. Thank you.

0:19:10 - (Kijuan Amey): I wear these because I no longer can see. I lost my eyesight. I have a traumatic brain injury. I have ptsd. I have a spinal cord infusion. I have two broken legs that now have metal rods in them. I have a screw in my right foot, and now my right foot is bigger than the other. For more motorcycle accident.

0:19:34 - (C): Yeah.

0:19:35 - (Kijuan Amey): That's all it takes. That's all it took. Just one accident, guys. And we never think it's going to be us. I didn't. I'm not one. I was not one of those crazy riders. I didn't. I've never put one wheel in the air. Only time I ever did that was when I used to ride bicycles back in the day when I was a kid riding around the block, you know? Yeah, that's it. I've never done a burnout on my motorcycle, like weaving it out of traffic. Nope, not doing it.

0:20:08 - (Kijuan Amey): I respected the bike because I wanted it to respect me.

0:20:11 - (C): Right.

0:20:12 - (Kijuan Amey): And the other thing is, you know, we. We. We talk about, like I mentioned before, careers in the military. I was headed for one, not just an in flight. Refueling. I wanted to now fly that plane.

0:20:29 - (C): Yeah.

0:20:29 - (Kijuan Amey): Because I'm in the back doing the refueling. I want to be at the controls now, where they make the big bucks. They make the big bucks. And I've. I've actually proven to them that I could actually land that plane without any formal training.

0:20:45 - (C): Yeah.

0:20:47 - (Kijuan Amey): And I'm not saying I've actually landed the physical plane, but I've flown their simulator, and it feels very real.

0:20:54 - (C): Yeah.

0:20:54 - (Kijuan Amey): They put millions upon millions of dollars into those sims. And so to the point where I got questioned one time, they were like, they froze the sim on me when I landed, and I was like, oh, shoot, what happened? And I looked back and they were like, you never flown before? I'm like, no. Why don't you believe me? Because you fly better than some of the pilots we have. I was like, well, that's not my fault.

0:21:23 - (Kijuan Amey): Yeah, y' all did that.

0:21:26 - (C): Right.

0:21:27 - (Kijuan Amey): But anyway, going back to what I was supposed to be talking about, man, I felt force forcibly retired, you know?

0:21:34 - (C): Yeah.

0:21:34 - (Kijuan Amey): And seeming to have really left a lot on the table in the military, how I feel. Listen, when I tell you I was on a fast track before, so what's that, 2011. It was either 2015 or 16, so maybe four or five years.

0:21:57 - (C): I'm.

0:21:58 - (Kijuan Amey): I'm already putting on Staff Sergeant. That's. That's usually not that fast. Like, I mean, people don't usually do it that fast, you know, so not only that, I just wanted to do more. Yeah, I'm always wanting to learn and so that was so hard, man, when I, when I had to retire and be moved out of what I knew because I, when I say I knew this job, I knew it like the back of my hand. There's nothing you, if, if there was something you were saying to me about this job and I didn't know it, it's because it just came out. That's the only thing.

0:22:38 - (Kijuan Amey): Yeah, it just what, got released because I knew it like that.

0:22:43 - (C): Yeah.

0:22:44 - (Toby Brooks): So it's interesting because I mean in civilian life, an accident like this, if you were fired or forcibly in many cases, there would be an affirmative action case or a Title IX lawsuit filed because you were being discriminated against in the military, you have to be physically able to perform most duty. So you've got the double edged sword of you're recovering physically from a tremendous injury and accident and at the same time you've also lost the only career you've really known since high school.

0:23:21 - (Toby Brooks): So talk me through the mental and the physical recovery. Was there a point when you reached rock bottom or was there a way that you navigated that space thanks to someone or something that maybe helped you along the way?

0:23:37 - (Kijuan Amey): Yeah, definitely, definitely hit rock bottom maybe once or twice, you know, and I would say someone's.

0:23:45 - (C): Yeah, plural.

0:23:47 - (Kijuan Amey): Because there were a lot of people who came through, especially in the clutch with. When I was in that hospital. May 5, 2017 was the date of the accident. First off, this was like 2pm ish when it happened. My mom didn't find out till 10pm that I was even in an accident. She had been looking for me all day, don't get me wrong, because she was trying to invite me over for dinner that night. This was a Friday and so I was involved in this accident.

0:24:23 - (Kijuan Amey): I'm in, laid up in a hospital in the icu. They're trying to find any next to kin where they drove a cruiser from Durham ish area all the way down to Goldsboro, which is about an hour and a half looking at an old address that I had on my id. Word to the wise, always update your information. I'm just saying. Yeah, because that's why, that's why it took so long. They're trying to find somebody who knows me.

0:24:54 - (Kijuan Amey): Nobody knows me at the address because nobody lives. I don't live there anymore. My roommate's gone and now luckily, you know, I'm sure the officer probably looked through my, my, my wallet and saw that I was in the air force, because I always kept my ID in there too. My military ID in there too. And it's. It says u. S. Air force. It never tells you what base. It just says u. S. Air force. But how you can conclude where.

0:25:25 - (Kijuan Amey): Which base it was is because literally, from my apartment that I used to stay at in goldsboro, if you just look straight down my road, you can see through the tree line, the Runway to the air force base. So it was a given giveaway, you know, that. That. That must be the base. So literally five minutes away. If you buy, drive, you know, you can get to the main gate. And I'm sure that's what they did. And that's how they got in touch with my chain of command, who then gets in touch with my mom.

0:25:59 - (Kijuan Amey): And she was in walmart, man. Just got there too, doing some grocery shopping. And I never wanted. I would never in my life want to receive a phone call like that.

0:26:11 - (C): Right.

0:26:12 - (Kijuan Amey): I don't care what time of day it is, you know, and be in public is even worse. What the heck? I write. I wrote about that in my book, by the way, how she responded, because she did tell me about it. But she took off running, man. When she got the call, she just took off running to get into the car. And my stepdad was with her, so he's like, hey, where you going? Because she hadn't said anything to him.

0:26:38 - (Kijuan Amey): She's listening to the phone call and, hey, where you going? And she says, we gotta go. And he's like, we just got here. What do you mean, we gotta go? And then, of course, my mom, she yells. So she yells it louder. We gotta go, you know? Then he knew, the panic set in. Okay, something's wrong.

0:26:59 - (C): Yeah.

0:26:59 - (Kijuan Amey): You know, and so they took off outside. And finally getting in the car, she's like, all right, come on, we gotta go. He's like, where? You haven't said anything yet, you know, and she. Oh, shoot. Unc hospital keyone was in a motorcycle accident because she was now crying, you know, and so that's where they, of course, went to icu. She gets to talk to the doctor. She sees me, and she's like, no, that there's. That's not him.

0:27:30 - (Kijuan Amey): They can't even recognize me.

0:27:32 - (C): Wow.

0:27:32 - (Kijuan Amey): Because first off, I'm like twice the size of myself. I'm so huge. Swollen.

0:27:39 - (C): Yeah.

0:27:41 - (Kijuan Amey): And all the injuries, literally from head down to my right foot, I mean, tore all the pieces, man. They're telling her to, you know, call out my family and friends. This is probably going to Be, you know, the last time you get to spend with them. We don't know how long he's going to be here, just, you know, keeping him hooked up to the ventilator.

0:28:09 - (Toby Brooks): It happened in a moment. But the consequences of those moments would impact not only Kewan, but his entire family for decades to come. By his account, Kewon had been a responsible rider. He respected his machine, and at the same time, he was making his way in the Air Force with dreams of becoming a pilot. But not only were those goals and dreams dashed at the scene of his horrific accident, his life hung precariously in the balance too.

0:28:37 - (Toby Brooks): He was clinging to fleeting hope swollen beyond recognition, with, among other injuries, two broken legs, a severe foot injury, a spinal cord injury, and a traumatic brain injury that had cost him his eyesight in that moment. In the days and weeks to follow, he would go through countless medical procedures aimed initially at simply keeping him alive, but eventually to regain function. It would be a long journey back on the road to recovery.

0:29:06 - (Toby Brooks): And the physical injuries were only half the battle.

0:29:10 - (Kijuan Amey): Melis, I don't care who you are. This is. This sounds like something out of a movie, like what happened to me. And I did try to get my. Some of my writers to write me up a movie script. I'm not even lying to you, right? And so that happens. And all my friends, my family and co workers, anybody that found out was trying to get into the icu, waiting room, lobby, whatever.

0:29:44 - (Toby Brooks): Yeah, ending room only at this point are you conscious? Do you recall any of this?

0:29:49 - (Kijuan Amey): Or upon impact. Yeah, yeah, I'm gone. I am out of it.

0:29:56 - (Toby Brooks): How long until you come to and start to realize your new situation?

0:30:02 - (Kijuan Amey): They kept me in a medically induced coma for a month. So May 5th was the accident. June 6th is when I came to. I tell you what, felt like the best sleep in my life, man, I woke up like, woo. I felt good.

0:30:23 - (C): Yeah.

0:30:24 - (Kijuan Amey): Like it was some of the best sleep I'd ever had. I hadn't started moving yet because when I woke up, I was hearing people talking. And I'm like, okay, now I know I live alone, so who's talking? I live by myself. I was not single, but I lived by myself, you know, so at that.

0:30:45 - (Toby Brooks): Point, was the visual impairment, Was that something that came on due to the brain bleed? Was that a structural issue that happened right away? What were your earliest thoughts? I mean, you got two broken legs that you can't walk on. Talk me through a little bit of the. The details and maybe psychologically what it was like to come to the realization that. That this happened to me.

0:31:08 - (Kijuan Amey): Yeah, no, waking up was. Was basically that. It was. I didn't. I didn't have any eyesight. Like, I woke up without the eyesight. The same thing I see right now is the same thing I saw today. I woke up in the hospital.

0:31:22 - (C): Yeah. Yeah.

0:31:23 - (Kijuan Amey): No eyesight. Uh, I didn't realize it yet, but I could not smell, um, and I could not talk at the time because my jaw was broken, so they wired it shut. And the reason I found. If I found out that my jaw was broken and it was wired shut is because when I noticed, I couldn't see. I'm trying to get some answers. What are y' all doing to my eyes that makes me not be able to see anymore?

0:31:48 - (C): Right.

0:31:49 - (Kijuan Amey): We'll be back after this quick message.

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0:32:54 - (Kijuan Amey): Yeah, you. You basically heard me murmuring, like I literally sounded like somebody had tape over my mouth. That's basically what I sounded like. Like somebody literally put a piece of duct tape across my mouth. So what caused my eyesight to, you know, be damaged now? I do know my left eye. There are some damaged blood vessels on that side. Optic nerve written. All this stuff is fine. It's fine for.

0:33:26 - (Kijuan Amey): For somebody who went through so much, you think the optic nerve was knocked loose or something? No, that's fine. I have damaged blood vessels and a lot of scarring. I'm guessing it's from the face shield because I wear a full face. I wore a full face helmet and I see nothing out of my left eye. Completely dark, black, black, black. The right eye, I can see like if it's really bright sunlight or that really bright light that they shine in your eyes at the eye doctor.

0:33:59 - (Kijuan Amey): That stuff is annoying. That's another reason why I wear shades, because my eyes are light sensitive now.

0:34:05 - (C): Yeah.

0:34:05 - (Kijuan Amey): And if you see me wiping my eyes, that's why. And also because of the air, air getting in it. Because the eyelid on this side was torn off. So they had to recreate it. It's not the same. It doesn't move like you wrecked the eyelid. So it's just kind of fixed.

0:34:23 - (C): Yeah.

0:34:24 - (Kijuan Amey): Now you can hear me like sniff like that. Because my tears run down my nostrils, right. Like they roll into my nostril now.

0:34:34 - (C): Yeah.

0:34:35 - (Kijuan Amey): Because all of that was literally jacked up. They had to go in and I have two metal plates in my head because they had to restructure, reconstruct my face. So they went in through the front and it's kind of like a dent in this area.

0:34:48 - (C): Yeah.

0:34:48 - (Kijuan Amey): Like right here. This dent right here. It's kind of where all of that. They went in and did whatever they had to do.

0:34:55 - (Toby Brooks): I'll jump in here with a quick personal story of my own. Now, first off, my story pales in comparison to keons. But when I was 11, I had ridden my three wheeler, a big Honda 250 SX, to a friend's house miles from home. I wasn't supposed to go, and truth be told, it was far more machine than I could handle at that time. My friends had gathered on their three wheelers and four wheelers of their own and we were climbing these probably 10 to 15 foot tall, nearly vertical dirt walls in a dry creek bed.

0:35:30 - (Toby Brooks): I knew better and I was scared, but I let the peer pressure of the moment control me. So I tried to follow them up. It didn't end well. I flipped that three wheeler over on myself and I felt the gas tank crunch against my head. At the time, I had a full face helmet on, but the 350 plus pounds of that ATV landing on my head fractured my zygomatic arch and my maxilla on the left side of my face. I was out for a moment.

0:36:00 - (Toby Brooks): When I came to, all I could see were the blurry outlines and I heard the panicked voices of my friends. As it turned out, my left eye was pinned downward and my broken face wouldn't Allow it to move. I was bleeding heavily. I remember touching my cheek to feel the damage, being startled at the sight of blood all over my hand. I immediately went into shock and I was in and out of consciousness for the probably next several hours.

0:36:31 - (Toby Brooks): When it was all said and done, it took reconstructive surgery, several wires and a small steel plate to put my face back together. I was lucky to be alive, considering I was more than an hour from the nearest trauma center. My summer baseball season was over, but by fall I'd gone back to school thinking that everything would be back to normal. When I looked at myself in the mirror, I still saw the big scar from the accident across my cheek and a smaller healing incision under my left eye where the surgeon had to access the bones and piece me back together.

0:37:05 - (Toby Brooks): But what I didn't notice was the swelling in my face. I was made aware of that immediately once I got on the bus that first day of school and what felt like every day, all day at school for the next several weeks, friends, enemies, my bus driver, teachers, everyone looked at me and then in horror said the same thing. What happened to you? You look terrible. Or my favorite. Please notice the sarcasm in my voice.

0:37:32 - (Toby Brooks): You look like a monster. Or that guy from mask. That's an old 80s movie reference. If you didn't know. To this day. To this day, when I see that year's school picture, I'm horrified. I honestly was happy to be alive until everyone around me seemed to be telling me what a monster I looked like. In that pic. Half my face is still noticeably swollen and larger than the other side. And those were the retakes taken later in the year.

0:38:06 - (Toby Brooks): The first batch was even worse. They showed a kid trying to smile through that surgically repaired face nearly swollen shut on one side. The reason I'm telling you this story is that while my accident paled in comparison to Kewan's, I now recognize that the physical recovery was only half my battle. In a pre mental health era for kids, I was depressed, I was self conscious, and I was downright ashamed of what everyone in my world was calling me.

0:38:37 - (Toby Brooks): A monster. I still have those scars and that metal in my head still shows up on X rays. Thankfully, I can get on planes without much hassle. But like Kewaun, the hardest part wasn't the physical healing. It was the mental readjustment to life after. And for Kewan, it wasn't just a kid readjusting to the same old life. It was a career airman confronting the reality that in an instant, all the Goals and the dreams that he'd been working so hard toward for years just evaporated.

0:39:13 - (Toby Brooks): And what was next was a season of being undone. So I've worked with paraplegic athletes. I've worked with athletes that have sustained, you know, career altering, career ending injuries. And psychologically, it's struck me over the years that there are stages to recovery. And initially there's a real resistance. You know, the whole denial, anger, bargaining, except that, that whole process of grief.

0:39:46 - (Toby Brooks): And a lot of times I've seen this where the athletes that I've worked with, they just, they think they're going to recover like I'm going to, I'm going to run again, I'm going to play again, I'm going to be just like I used to be. And there's a real line to walk there. As a clinician, you don't want to discourage your patient from trying to recover and be their best, but you also don't want to fill them full of false hope.

0:40:15 - (Toby Brooks): You don't want them thinking that they're going to play again when there's just no chance. So at this early stage of your recovery, you know, when you're really starting to come to terms with this new reality, what in your mind was restoration? Like, what were you hoping to return to?

0:40:38 - (Kijuan Amey): One of the hardest parts was just understanding that I wasn't going to be able to see again. That was really the hardest part because, I mean, just think about the job that I told you I had.

0:40:48 - (C): Yeah.

0:40:49 - (Kijuan Amey): In the Air Force, man. There's nothing like it. If, if you've never seen it, go to YouTube, type in in flight refueling and you'll see some amazing videos. Some scary, but some really cool. Because there are some scary videos out.

0:41:05 - (Toby Brooks): There, but, but none of them involve people that are blindfolded doing it.

0:41:10 - (Kijuan Amey): None. Not a once. You might as well. Some might as well be. Good Lord, you'd be like, hey, man, what are you doing? Were you drunk last night? But anyway, so that job. Plus I thank God that he, he, he allowed me to still be able to use my legs. Why do I say that?

0:41:34 - (C): Right?

0:41:35 - (Kijuan Amey): Those things right there, man. I've been playing since I was 7, but I knew I had a love for him when I was five. I, when I, I grew up in the church, anytime somebody hit a drum, I don't care which one it was, I'm glued. Yeah, I used to. You know what air drumming is?

0:41:56 - (C): Oh, yeah.

0:41:57 - (Kijuan Amey): Oh, my God. I was the best air drummer there was. Okay. I was the best air drummer there was. In a church. Okay.

0:42:06 - (Toby Brooks): If you look around in a congregation and you see someone moving non stop, it's like they're either autistic or a drummer. Maybe both.

0:42:14 - (Kijuan Amey): Yep.

0:42:15 - (Toby Brooks): And I've been a. Like, you can't sit still and worship.

0:42:18 - (Kijuan Amey): I'm like, no.

0:42:18 - (Toby Brooks): Like, I worship physically. I have to move when I hear the music. And. And I'm right there with you. Like, the thought that that could be taken as an aspect of your character, like, that's an expression of worship to the Creator.

0:42:34 - (Kijuan Amey): Absolutely. And absolutely.

0:42:36 - (Toby Brooks): And without that, I mean, I'm. The whole point of this show is that we can encounter adversity and emerge on the other side. But, man, psychologically, I would really struggle if that were my reality. So I'm right there with you.

0:42:50 - (Kijuan Amey): Prime example. So this was after I woke up in hospital. So June, time frame, I'm able to speak, by the way, at this point. They removed the wire. And my friend, who's also a drummer at my church, he's the pastor's son, and he comes in, he's like, what's going on, man? I said, what's up, dude? He's like, I got something for you. And I'm like, oh, snap. I just got this wire off. You must have some food.

0:43:26 - (Kijuan Amey): That's what I'm thinking. He's got food. And I'm like. He's like, hold your hands out. I'm like, oh, okay. This is a little interesting, but all right. I don't want you to put a burger in my hand unwrapped. But I hold out my hands. I'm like, what you got? And then he puts this thing in my hand and I'm like, what the heck? And then my mind clicks. It's like, touch the top. And I said. And then I throw my hand out because that's what he was on my right side. And I throw my hand out and he already knew what I was looking for.

0:44:01 - (Kijuan Amey): Do you know where I'm going with this?

0:44:03 - (Toby Brooks): It was a practice pad. Yeah, sticks.

0:44:05 - (Kijuan Amey): I wanted those sticks.

0:44:06 - (Toby Brooks): That's right, dude.

0:44:08 - (Kijuan Amey): I put that pad on my lap and I was willing on that daggone. Practice I am teaching doctors, nurses, physical therapists, occupations. I teach everybody in there how to play the drums. This is how you do a single stroke rule. This is how you do a double stroke ruler. And here's a triple gesture if you want to get fancy. Here's the paradiddle. Here's a paradiddle doodle, you know? So, man, listen, when I tell you I was going, so Crazy in there with that thing, man.

0:44:38 - (Kijuan Amey): Oh, my gosh. I was a kid in the candy store, dude, when that was like my favorite, one of my most favorite times in the hospital. That and actually going to the gym, working out was. Was. Was more fun than walking because, God, I did have to learn how to walk. It was so hard. Why was it hard? I'll tell you exactly why. Because I had to go through was hard learning how to walk again. Not just because I broke my legs, but because think about it. When you first learn how to walk, you about maybe 20 pounds or so, when you're finally on your feet walking across the floor, add another hundred to one hundred twenty pounds today.

0:45:24 - (Kijuan Amey): It's not easy. I've been laid up in the bed for over a month now. I haven't been moving at all. They've been moving me.

0:45:33 - (C): Right.

0:45:34 - (Kijuan Amey): You know what I mean? And so when they say if you don't use it, you lose it, that is so real.

0:45:40 - (C): Yeah.

0:45:40 - (Toby Brooks): And motor learning relies on vision in all your senses. But having to relearn to walk without the benefit of sight is a different ask for your neurological system than relearning how to walk with it. And so, I mean, that's an added layer of complexity to this that I'm sure made for probably some frustration and likely added some time to that recovery.

0:46:07 - (Kijuan Amey): The other thing that made it a little a bit more difficult is I couldn't see anything, man. The paranoia was real. It was so strong, man. That fear of paranoia, when you can't see what you're doing or see what's there, like you don't even feel like you're doing it. Almost like you. You feel something, but you like, did I really do it? Usually seeing is believing. You know what I'm saying?

0:46:38 - (C): Yeah.

0:46:39 - (Kijuan Amey): Now it's got to be feeling is believing. I don't like it. So, yeah, that was, like, one of the harder things I tell you.

0:46:46 - (Toby Brooks): Sure. In your bio, you make a statement that really jumped out to me. You say, I may have lost my sight, but I didn't lose my vision. What's that statement mean to you now, and how's your vision evolved since that day?

0:47:00 - (Kijuan Amey): What it means to me now and what it has always meant to me is that I lost the physical sight, but I didn't lose my mental vision. So sight to me is physical. Your vision is the mental. Generally, when we look at vision boards, it's something mentally we're trying to obtain and a goal, whatever it is a step in life, you know, a mantra, what. Whatever it could be. That is usually something you're trying to obtain in the future, and the future has not gotten here yet. So you have to visualize that.

0:47:38 - (Kijuan Amey): That's mental. So I've never lost the vision to do things. Oh, we. I got some goals in life, and I could definitely obtain them, because first and foremost, there are things I've done that people who are sighted haven't even done. You're from. Are you from Texas or you just.

0:47:57 - (Toby Brooks): No, I got here as quick as I could.

0:48:00 - (Kijuan Amey): Where are you from?

0:48:01 - (Toby Brooks): I grew up in the Midwest, southernmost Illinois. My dad worked in Kentucky, so it was kind of the. The northern tip of the South.

0:48:09 - (Kijuan Amey): Okay. Now I have a question. Have you ever been downhill skiing?

0:48:15 - (Toby Brooks): I think you could call it that. It was more of kind of a controlled crash. I am not good at it.

0:48:23 - (Kijuan Amey): I'm.

0:48:24 - (Toby Brooks): I'm six four, big guy, and I tend to tumble more than I would like, so.

0:48:30 - (C): Yeah. Yeah.

0:48:31 - (Kijuan Amey): Well, I just did that last year. I went downhill skiing last year. I've been blind for eight years.

0:48:38 - (C): Yeah.

0:48:40 - (Kijuan Amey): And just last year in Stowe, Vermont, I went downhill skiing. That's incredible. That's only my second time on skis, by the way. The first time, I was sighted with the. I was in the military. We went to New Mexico, and we decided, let's go skiing, guys. So we did it. And I was like, what am I doing here? I was like, this is not my sport.

0:49:02 - (C): Yeah.

0:49:02 - (Kijuan Amey): And I did it anyway because I'm very athletic, first and foremost. But, um, then I got the opportunity to go skiing Vermont. Oh, man. At first, I didn't want to go. Not because. Well, I guess you could say because of the. Like I said, the paranoia of not being able to see. I've seen skiing with my own two eyes. So now doing it without. I'm like, I don't know if I want to do that. There's trees out there and other people.

0:49:32 - (Kijuan Amey): And so when I went, there was an instructor with me, and they had a. A headset, like a little earpiece with a mic in front of my mouth so that I could talk to the instructor. I can hear them, and I can talk to her.

0:49:47 - (C): Yeah.

0:49:48 - (Kijuan Amey): And when I tell you, first off, I wish I could remember her name. She was one of the best instructors I've ever had in anything. And. And why do I say that? I needed her soothing voice.

0:50:05 - (C): Yeah.

0:50:05 - (Kijuan Amey): Because I, on the inside, was going crazy. I needed something to calm me down. And I'll tell you, her voice did it. She was skiing down that slope backwards. Wow. Telling me what to do. So you wait, you're hold on, you skiing, but you still backwards, and you still telling me what to do the correct way.

0:50:30 - (Toby Brooks): Kewan points out an incredible truth here. He's done things since his accident and his loss of eyesight that he'd only done once before in his whole life and that some people never do. It's a testament to his grit and his determination, not to mention his courage and his trust in a skilled ski instructor. And while as impressive as that feat alone may be, it's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, as he's used his setback to create a platform of inspiration and motivation that continues to grow.

0:51:03 - (Kijuan Amey): But, you know, it was so awesome. And I also did rock climbing, too, at that same trip. It was so cool, man. I've done a lot of things, and I am appreciative because to me, it's not just to say I did it, but it's to also show others that they can too.

0:51:24 - (C): Right? Yeah.

0:51:26 - (Toby Brooks): Again, we're talking to Kewan, Amy, CMO of Amy Motivation. So you mentioned you hit rock bottom maybe once or twice today. You're CMO of Amy Motivation. That's a long way to go from rock bottom to motivational speaker. So what led to this idea that you can go from this pit of despair, as scripture talks about it, to a point where, just like you said, you're. You're goal is to be an example to others that it can be done?

0:51:55 - (Toby Brooks): How do you make that jump?

0:51:57 - (Kijuan Amey): Because every time I swear I turned around, somebody was telling me how inspiring I was, how I motivated them, how I encouraged them, and I'm like, what did I do? Well, what did I do? Oh, that post you put up on Facebook or that, that picture I seen on Instagram. I swear, you're always gone. You, you, as they say, you don't let any grass grow under your feet. And I'm like, well, I wasn't doing that before in life. Why would I do it now?

0:52:33 - (Kijuan Amey): You know what I mean? That's how I saw it. Yeah, but how they see it is you still able to do it, and you won't change, because it is. And that's the thing that I was just like, you're right. I'm not going to let this thing slow me down. It might deter me, it might make me feel some kind of way sometimes I might have to do a little bit of extra coordinating, but I won't let it stop me.

0:53:02 - (C): Yeah.

0:53:04 - (Kijuan Amey): So, yeah, so that was the biggest thing when it came to that. Whole rock bottom thing. And also, my dad, he's disabled as well. So I don't like saying disabled. I like to say differently abled. He's differently abled as well. And he has been, I think, since my junior year in high school. I think it's been that long. And I used to see him, you know, do things for himself. He ran a business. He used to run a business as well.

0:53:41 - (Kijuan Amey): And I'm like, well, if he could do it, I can too. Right.

0:53:44 - (C): Right.

0:53:45 - (Kijuan Amey): Literally, that's what it's all about. If he can do it, why can't I?

0:53:50 - (C): Yeah.

0:53:52 - (Kijuan Amey): He was worse off than I was. Why can't I do this? You know? And. And that was where. I think that's where that Amy came in at that Amy blood started kicking me because I have his last name. I'm like, that Amy blood started kicking in. I was like, I could do this. I got this. I was a business owner before the accident, and I'm about to become another one.

0:54:15 - (C): Right.

0:54:16 - (Kijuan Amey): And this is, by the way, not my only business, but this is my main one.

0:54:20 - (C): Right.

0:54:21 - (Toby Brooks): Well, your bio also mentions you've got a book called Don't Focus on why Me? Unpack that title for me a little bit. Why was shifting away from that question so important in your journey?

0:54:32 - (Kijuan Amey): Yeah, that. That came from the hospital bed. In. In that hospital bed again after I woke up. I am now understanding what happened. My mom told me what happened as far as the accident, and I'm with my thoughts now. I'm a faith believer. So now guess who I'm talking to. I'm talking to God.

0:54:57 - (C): That's right.

0:54:57 - (Kijuan Amey): And I am questioning him. I am. We are having it out. Okay. Hey. Hey. I need you. Hey, come here. You know, you. Hey, you here now.

0:55:10 - (Toby Brooks): I'm worried, sir.

0:55:11 - (Kijuan Amey): Yeah, yeah. Need a word with you. And I kid you not, man, I was. To me, I was letting him have it.

0:55:19 - (C): Yeah.

0:55:20 - (Kijuan Amey): And he was like, you done yet? And he finally said, well, why not you? Because that's all I kept saying.

0:55:32 - (Toby Brooks): Why me?

0:55:32 - (Kijuan Amey): Why me? Why me?

0:55:34 - (C): Yeah.

0:55:34 - (Kijuan Amey): He said, well, why not you? He said, and. And the things that he kept bringing back to me were the things that I was like, if only I had never heard this stuff before.

0:55:47 - (C): Right, right.

0:55:48 - (Kijuan Amey): He was like, didn't I say I have to test what I make there with testimonies? You have to have a test.

0:55:59 - (C): Yeah.

0:56:00 - (Toby Brooks): Preach that.

0:56:01 - (Kijuan Amey): And in order to have a message, you have to deal with the mess.

0:56:06 - (Toby Brooks): That's right.

0:56:08 - (Kijuan Amey): And when I was like, I. What? Why do you do these things?

0:56:11 - (C): Yeah.

0:56:12 - (Kijuan Amey): He said, you started questioning me. You put it back on me. I said, I guess you're right. I guess you're right. When I stopped focusing on the why me? I started to understand why not me? And I was becoming victorious and prosperous in those outcomes, man.

0:56:31 - (C): Right?

0:56:33 - (Toby Brooks): Yeah. I think it's a mindset shift for so many of us.

0:56:38 - (C): Yeah.

0:56:39 - (Toby Brooks): There have been times when I've been tempted to wonder why me or why I'm having to go through this. And a mentor of mine once said, instead of asking that, ask what are you trying to teach me through this? And that can pivot your entire approach to whatever it is you're trying to tackle. And I see that thread in your message as well. I've heard it said that when words aren't enough, you sing. And then the other part of that is when singing isn't enough, you dance. But I tend to focus on the music side. Music can oftentimes express emotions in a way that very few other things can. If we were to watch a montage of Keon's life, what song would you pick to play in the background and why?

0:57:25 - (Kijuan Amey): Well, first off, I like what you just said. You're going to see me doing all three. I sing, dance, and play. Okay. So you're going to see me doing all three, man. Ask anybody. Back in my middle school days at the dances, they called me Crazy Legs. No joke. Not even lying. I can't make that up. So, anywho, if I had to throw a song title out there, I would give you two.

0:57:54 - (Toby Brooks): That's fair.

0:57:54 - (Kijuan Amey): And they're by the same. The same artist. His name is Ty Tribbett. He's a gospel artist. The first one would be He Turned It. So part of those lyrics go. The devil thought he had me. He thought that my life was over he thought by now I'd give up he thought by now I'd have no more. But that's when someone greater stepped in my situation. My moment has now begun. Because he Turned it. That's a good word. Yes.

0:58:27 - (C): The word.

0:58:28 - (Kijuan Amey): That's the lyrics of that song. And by the way, if you're a musician or even a singer, you would love to hear that song. Because when they come, when they composed that, Whoa, yeah, the music is going nuts.

0:58:43 - (Toby Brooks): Yeah. I asked this question to most of my guests, so you'll be dropped in. This will be part of the new season, but I will look that one up, and I will drop that in the mix. And I will also put a YouTube clip, if I can find it, for that one. And your next one.

0:58:57 - (Kijuan Amey): Oh, you'll definitely find it.

0:58:58 - (Toby Brooks): You're getting ready to say. Say your next one.

0:59:00 - (Kijuan Amey): Yeah. The second one is only one night, though, by the same artist. Only one night, though. And it's basically speaking on how weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

0:59:16 - (C): Yeah.

0:59:17 - (Kijuan Amey): So weeping may endure for a night, but only one night, though.

0:59:21 - (C): Yeah.

0:59:22 - (Kijuan Amey): When you cry, cry for a night. Only one night, though. When you sad, be sad for night. Only one night, though, because that's all you get. Because joy comes in the morning. That's a good word.

0:59:35 - (Toby Brooks): I think too often I can find myself and any of us can. You find yourself in a circumstance that you wouldn't have chosen, you're tempted to pout about it. And if you are grieving it, there's also, for me, there's a temptation to feel guilty about the grief. I love the sentiment that you're sharing. There is. There's nothing wrong with grieving. You just can't sit in your ashes forever. You got to get up and dust yourself off and. And I love that sentiment that.

1:00:06 - (Kijuan Amey): You know what?

1:00:06 - (Toby Brooks): It's okay to grieve, but it's also okay to heal and.

1:00:11 - (Kijuan Amey): Exactly. And sometimes arise from the ashes as the. As the Bible says, beauty is in the ashes. So when you rise about, that's. That's. That beauty coming up out of there.

1:00:24 - (Toby Brooks): That's cool. Well, you got a lot going on. The title of this show is Becoming Undone. We talk about how sometimes we unravel, and that's undone, and other times we realize we've got a purpose left unfinished, and that's undone. So what for Kiwan remains undone or unfinished.

1:00:42 - (Kijuan Amey): Oh, the impact, it's undone. I'm nowhere near done with who. Who I'm supposed to touch, with, where I'm supposed to be with the. The amount of. Of speaking engagements, the pocket. Everything that I'm supposed to be doing is the purpose. I'm just the mouthpiece. And we have to realize that. The purpose that the why. I actually just did a video on this. The purpose. The why. We have to continue to hold to it.

1:01:20 - (Kijuan Amey): Don't. Don't stray. Because if you forget what your why is, you forget why you're here. Hold on, I gotta say that one again. If you forget what your why is, you forget why you are here.

1:01:34 - (C): Yeah.

1:01:36 - (Kijuan Amey): And so we have to hold to that why in order to finish our purpose.

1:01:43 - (C): Yeah.

1:01:45 - (Toby Brooks): I call those purpose storms, where you're just. You're shaken to your core. You've lost your identity in some Way, shape or form. And whether you have faith or not, a lot of times people would would say, you know, I was an athlete or I was in the military or I was an artist. And when that gets taken, what's left and that purpose, we have to reconcile that and figure out why we're still here. And so I love that sentiment. Well, how can listeners connect with you? I know you've got a book. You do speaking.

1:02:16 - (Toby Brooks): What's the best way? Drop some socials in there so that we can follow the work that you're doing.

1:02:21 - (Kijuan Amey): Yeah, the book is out. So guys, go check that out. You can find it on my website. It's amymotivation.com that's a m e y motivation.com again. You can go on there. My book is on there. Don't focus on why me for motorcycle accidents and miracle. If you just go search on Amazon, Kindle, Audible, and Apple Books is there as well. The Audible and Apple Books versions are the audio version. So for my listeners who like to either run and listen, drive and listen, whatever you want to do, ski blindfolded and listen, you know? You know what I mean?

1:02:58 - (Kijuan Amey): Just don't get too carried away because you might hit a tree.

1:03:00 - (C): Yeah.

1:03:01 - (Kijuan Amey): If you want to book me up for a speaking event, whether it's a conference, a convention, a gala, I'll even come to your bar mitzvah if you want me. Listen. So you know, I'm all about doing speaking engagements and then following me on socials if you like. I'm on LinkedIn, I'm on Instagram, I'm on Facebook. All in it. My first and last name, Kiwan Amy. That's K I J U A N A M E Y.

1:03:27 - (Toby Brooks): That's awesome. Thank you so much for sharing that, Kewan. It's been a real pleasure chatting with you. Your story is incredible. I'm inspired just hearing it and love to see the work that you're doing. I look forward to continuing to follow it.

1:03:42 - (Kijuan Amey): My name is Kewan Amy. I'm from Durham, North Carolina. CMO of Amy Motivation and I am undone.

1:04:00 - (Toby Brooks): You know, every scar tells a story. Kewan has more than one. They tell countless stories of pain and purpose and the power of perseverance. And maybe that's what this podcast is really all about. Not avoiding the fall, but learning how to rise when you hit the ground. Today's episode moves you. I hope you carry that momentum forward. Keep showing up, keep building, and keep on becoming. I'm thankful to Kyone for dropping in and I hope you enjoyed our conversation.

1:04:41 - (Toby Brooks): For more info on today's episode, be sure to check it out on the web. Simply go to undonepodcast.com ep136 to see the notes, links and images related to today's guest. Kewaune Amy, you know, I know there are great stories out there to be told and I'm always on the lookout. So if you or someone you know has a story that we can all be inspired by, please tell me about it. You can go to undonepodcast.com,

1:05:07 - (Toby Brooks): click the contact tab in the top menu and drop me a note. Coming up on the show, I have Mr. Motivation himself, Sean Murphy, to share how he has overcome a tough Brooklyn upbringing to now inspire and lead thousands through his work as a motivational speaker, coach and author. Then I've got Lubbock's hottest car salesman, Jonathan shorten, who has turned a life of near misses and heartbreaks into a career almost unheard of, especially at his age where he routinely closes on more than 50 sales a month, particularly to high end clients associated with Texas Tech.

1:05:41 - (Toby Brooks): There'll be plenty more where that came from in the coming weeks, so stay tuned. This and more coming up on Becoming Undone dropped a little bit in the rankings this week, still hanging tough at 24 in the self improvement category. But I'd really appreciate it if you enjoyed this episode if you'd share it with a friend and help us keep climbing. Becoming Undone is a nitro hype creative production written and produced by me, Toby Brooks. Tell a friend about the show. Follow along on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn at Becoming Undone Pod and follow me at Toby J. Brooks on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. Check out my link tree at linktr EE backslash Toby Brooks Listen subscribe and please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, wherever you get your podcasts.

1:06:26 - (Toby Brooks): Till next time. Keep getting better.

1:06:49 - (C): It.