This is the full transcript for Episode #258 of the Wild Business Growth Podcast featuring Anthony Razzano – Against All Odds, Never Give Up. You can listen to the interview and learn more here. Please note: this transcript is not 100% accurate.
Anthony Razzano 0:00
You have to go after something in terms of your life that you would do it for free
Max Branstetter 0:21
Hello, Welcome back to the Wild Business Growth Podcast. This is your place to hear from a new entrepreneur every single Wednesday morning who’s turning Wild ideas into Wild growth. I’m your host, Max Branstetter, Founder and Podcast Producer at MaxPodcasting. And you can email me at to save time with your high-quality podcast. This is Episode 258, and today’s guest is Anthony Razzano. Anthony has one of the most heart-wrenching, yet inspiring, and just meaningful, powerful stories that you’ll ever hear about. On Halloween, 1987, When Anthony was 12 years old, he was involved in a terrible, just terrible accident that changed his life forever. And in this episode, we talk about what happened we talked about how he recovered from that his mindset, how it inspired him to change how we looked at life and, and take the next steps forward. And the lessons from his recovery and his incredible life that flow through to the business and entrepreneurship world as well. Many of these stories are are highlighted in Anthony’s book against all odds. As you might imagine, this episode does include some really terrifying details and scary and just really tough moments to hear. For the especially gruesome and detailed parts, I will chime in and give you a little warning in case you are someone who wishes to skip ahead. But I promise you if you if you stick with it, this is one of the most inspiring and positive episodes that we’ve ever released. It is Anthony. Enjoyyyyyy the showwwwww!
Aaaaaalrightyyyyy we are here with Anthony Razzano, one of the most inspiring and eye-opening, I’m trying to think of other words to describe your journey. But I’ll just stick with inspiring and just amazing people that you’ll ever hear from super excited to speak with you today. How you doing today.
Anthony Razzano 2:49
I’m very excited to be here. Thank you so much. The Wild Business Growth Podcast is something that is it’s exciting and that you’ve put this together and to have the opportunity to speak with you and your team and in the in all of your guests or your fans is just a real honor to me. Thank you so much.
Max Branstetter 3:10
So that means a lot Anthony. It’s a real honor to speak with you so so so we can keep going with an honor off as they call it a being honored. But there’s so many points of your journey that excited to dive into but of course we have to start off on a pretty crazy and life changing note. Can you take us to the morning of that Halloween that changed your life forever.
Anthony Razzano 3:35
So I was a 12 year old boy, it was Halloween 1987. And it was a day of very important Pop Warner Football game for me. I come from a football family and a football background. And here in western Pennsylvania, you have an opportunity to play at a stadium called Taggart Stadium and it’s just a real rite of passage for a young boy that age and I had a chance to play under the lights for the first time there. And we were all excited and you know my buddies and I were getting ready for the game and you know we got caught up in the afternoon playing doing some things we shouldn’t have been doing and my buddy flicked the match. We were in my garage and my pads caught on fire. The next thing you knew just in a matter of a couple of seconds was engulfed in flames from my ankles all the way up through all my clothes. You know the fire was was furious. It was just unbelievable how hot and how it and how it would not go out. I made it out of my garage and I and my neighbor Mary Ryan was yelling to roll to roll roll roll and my other neighbors. Mr. And Mrs. Hartman came out with an army blanket uncovered me. I was on fire for probably 90 seconds or two minutes but the damage was significant. I was burned over 87% of my body third degree burns. I was taken by lifelight hospital Well to earn a helicopter to airlifted to West Penn Burn Unit and in Pittsburgh, where they were said that the doctors the medical staff told my family if I lived for a day, I would die in three days. If I live for three days, I would die on three weeks of infection. It was a real roller coaster ride. 43 surgeries 134 blood transfusions three weeks into the stage, just as the doctors have predicted I had a terrible infection, an infection so bad that they just quit treating me medically and started to make me comfortable. They told my parents to make funeral arrangements. But by the grace of God, there was a vigil put it outside of my room, I was blessed and anointed and got my last rites three times. And my parents never gave up on me. And they just continued to pray and my community never gave up on me. And they continue to pray in my church never gave up on me and my friends, and they continue to pray. And thankfully, even though my heart rate was 189 beats a minute for three consecutive days, and my temperature was 106. And my blood pressure was 49 over 20. Thankfully, I was able to make it through that night that they said that I would never come out of in the next morning by the grace of God, my heart rate stabilized my blood pressure stabilized in my body was able to beat the infection. Several weeks later, I was back on my feet walking in the hospital, albeit with a trail of blood behind me. You can see some of the pictures on my website, www dot Anthony presento.com and see some of the narrative there. And a couple months later I was out of the hospital and starting a the my climb back in terms of physical rehabilitation, as it would turn out. Three years later, I was back on the football field. And as a senior in high school, I became the outside linebacker starting outside linebacker under those lights at Taggart Stadium from my high school and I saw I resumed my journey. Very fortunate today I’m a CPA, I have two beautiful children. I’ve been self employed since 2005, married for 24 years. And I’m a certified NFL contract advisor. So it’s just been a very unique and wonderful journey. And and I’m excited to announce that I have a book that’s debuting I’m against all odds, it really details my journey and hopefully inspires people that no matter how dark the situation they might be in. They can. There’s always brighter days ahead, you know, and so that’s, that’s really what I’m here for.
Max Branstetter 7:32
appreciate you sharing that and there’s so much there, and we’re gonna get to all of it. But from the very first moments that you realize in that garage, that something was wrong, like what goes through your mind when it goes from, you know, just laid back playing around hanging with friends to wait, this, this is an emergency now?
Anthony Razzano 7:53
Well, there’s a reaction, not a thought, really, when you’re on fire, all of a sudden, you just want to get out of there. I remember the pain being so significant that it was just like blood curdling. But then I had a moment where like I was on fire, yet it felt like a moment of peace. Like there was a hand on my shoulder that kind of like took away the pain. I don’t know that if if it is just the way your brain reacts in that situation. Or if there was a divine presence there that was just saving me. I like to think that it was the hand of God taking away my pain because it was, it was all of a sudden I had a clear mind, even though I was on fire. And I find sometimes in business and in life, when you have the most pressure on you. You do have these epiphanies in these moments where all of a sudden you’re able just to see it, okay, and you don’t crumble under that pressure. It’s, it’s in sometimes that’s just a really beautiful thing to understand. It was scary. But what I will say is when the fire was out, and all of a sudden, I was laying in my backyard, and I was looking up at the blue sky. And there was a little autumn breeze and there was birds chirping, and it was just a peaceful day. But here I was caught in this chaos of this fire and I was laying there currently exposed with burns all over me, but still able to appreciate the blue sky above me and and just the fact that the fire was out and the pressure was off. I was I was afraid of what my future will hold. I asked Mr. Hartman if I was going to die. He said No, you’re not going to die. And my next question was, well, can I play in a football game tonight? Because no, I don’t think you can do that. So yeah, as a 12 year old I was looking at I didn’t know what the expectations were to be. It was very scary but there was never a point where where I felt like it was over.
Max Branstetter 9:45
What were the initial reactions or outpour from your family but also your friends when they found out what happened?
Anthony Razzano 9:55
Well, initially I mean, what what comes to my mind first I was taken to the emergency The room, I was at a level of peace, I wasn’t crying, I wasn’t like flipping out, I was quiet. And just like sitting there taking it all in. And in my mom and dad walked into the room. And when I saw their expression, because now they had no idea, it was so bad. And they both stopped and turned around. It was like, they couldn’t stand the sight of it, it was so hard for them to see. My initial response was, that’s when the tears started to flow. And I told my mum and dad, I said, I’m sorry. And, you know, it was interesting, because my parents were, who love each other and their best friend today, they were going through a separation and divorce at the time. And so it was tough, you know, when you break up and all that it’s not a fun situation, you have two people together for 15 years and our children and love each other, but they couldn’t be together in a relationship any more. But to see them in my in my hospital room coming together in my mum wiping the tears off of my face, and my father kissing me on the forehead and tone, me we would all walk out of there together. It inspired me and gave me a hope and a moment of tragedy that I think really woke up my spirit and to be loved by my parents together in that moment meant the world to me. And they never left my side, you know, they were in my hospital, they, they slept in the waiting room, they slept at the hospital for the three months or so that I was there. And I really think that they love that they showed me despite where their relationship was, is was a heroic move that that helped to save my life. And so everyone really prayed for me, and, and was there for me and such. So positive from my friends in school to my teachers do my family and the community at large.
Max Branstetter 11:53
It’s crazy that you see that happen. And I mean, it makes sense. But people even when they’re going through their own, you know, personal struggles or divorces or personal conflicts, wherever you want to call it, find a way to come together and get past differences when you know someone needs your help. And in my own family, we saw this with my cousin Elena who unfortunately, we lost her to leukemia. I mean, this was you know, multiple decades ago, but her dad, my uncle Randy and his ex wife, Maxine, were going through a divorce, like, right before, they found out she got diagnosed with leukemia. And it was the same sort of thing where it’s like, obviously, you can’t plan life out for you, you never know when things are gonna happen in what order, but they really found a way to, you know, come together and, you know, be there for her while she was fighting that battle. And it sounds like in a sense that that’s what your parents did, as well as like, look, we know, like the two of us are aren’t going through a great time right now. But like, we need to be here for Anthony. And it’s a beautiful thing when people are, are able to do that. And it’s such a huge help there.
Anthony Razzano 13:04
Because listen to what what happens is that in our own humanity, if we feel like we are disregarded or not cared for or unimportant, then you know, there has been statistics that show that people who go through major burn injuries, if they don’t have their family there, their likelihood of surviving, is like half as much as if they have family constantly, they’re loving them and supporting them. It gives you this, this feeling your heart does so much in especially as a child, when you have this resilient heart and love pouring out of you and you’re just know that you want to be and spend all your time with your parents and your loved ones and you have so much to live for. It just gives you this, this ability to overcome it and like everything else doesn’t matter. All I wanted to do is be there with my parents and love them and not disappoint them. And to do the best I could. It’s special. You know, there’s there’s a special thing and you know, we get caught up in work and I love I love business and we get caught up in our jobs. But you know, the one tangible thing that we could leave behind as people who are have children are children. And you know, we can’t take our money with us you can’t do our businesses will lives. Leave some sort of legacy but loving your kids and showing and give it in pouring into them and and being the best parent that you can be is it’s something that we all think about but it’s really understated because it’s that that kind of love that changes the world for generations ahead.
Max Branstetter 14:44
Yeah, it absolutely does. And you mentioned the the extreme amount of injuries and surgeries and everything that you had to go through. Could you put you know, foot Totally up to you how detailed or not you want to get into. But can you paint the picture of what the outlook for recovery look like? And what was needed to to, you know, to get you in a better place physically as you recover from this?
Anthony Razzano 15:14
Well, yeah, I mean, that is that that was the real challenge. Okay, the fire was one thing. Okay, well made it through the fire. But then, and I’ll correlate the first part of what the business lesson was in all this. The business lesson is that when you are planning or trying to do something that you’ve never done before, you have to rely on experts. And those experts have to write down a plan a business plan, or, in my case in the hospital, a medical treatment plan that is going to be followed, in order to see you through
Max Branstetter 15:54
Hey, chiming in here. These next four minutes or so, are especially detailed and gruesome, as Anthony talks through his recovery process from the accident, and the treatments in the hospital. So if you’re someone who can get a little queasy or doesn’t wish to hear these details, or really just wants to focus on Anthony’s business, and life lessons, without all the full detail of what happened, then you want to skip about four minutes ahead. That’s about four minutes ahead. I’ll give you a couple seconds here as well. All right, here we go.
Anthony Razzano 16:34
The first part of the medical treatment was probably the hardest it was, it was torturous at times, they had to, I had all this burn skin 87% of my body was covered in burns. And they had to get it off of me. Okay, so the only way to do it is to at the time, and they couldn’t, they gave me enough sedation, but they didn’t put you under for it. Because if they put you under there was no telling how bad the lung damage was, the risk of intubation at the time was so significant that they that I had to be awake for the procedures. And what they did is they took wire brushes throughout your whole body. And they just basically knocked off with the wire brushes did the burn tissue, and then followed behind it with a scalpel, and literally cut it off. You know, they would put a, like a guard over my face, I couldn’t see what they were doing. But I could feel it. And then I would have a nurse holding my hand my right hand and telling me that it was going to be okay and, and I and I had to endure that. And they had to do it three times a day, after they would excise the burned skin, they had to take it to the point where it would bleed. Okay, that’s how they knew that it was that it was at the right spot, then they would put me in a tub of a steel tub filled with Betadine solution, where they would wash me with that, and bring me out and wash me with soap. And then put my dressings on me which consisted of this Silvadine ointment, a big thick white ointment, covered with this yellow gauze, and then wrap me from head to toe, and then take me back to my room that went on three times a day. For the direct for the whole time I was in the in the burn unit, it was very painful. And I believe that a lot of people don’t survive because they can’t endure that, you know, that type of agony over and over again, it leaves him a mark on you, you know, psychologically you get, I suffered some post traumatic stress. But I’ve been very fortunate and blessed to to handle these issues one by one throughout the way. And and I’m here to tell you that when God creates a miracle in your life and gives you something special, he doesn’t go halfway, he goes all the way. And so he understands all the challenges that are there before you, you just have to be willing to follow that path. And it was it was trying but I’m very thankful that I’m here to talk to you about it today.
Max Branstetter 19:11
Absolutely. We are to and I just can’t even imagine going through that. I mean, the people talk about like what are the most painful things in the world? And that’s certainly up there. In terms of actually like if you were to take a snapshot of whatever, you know, like one second being the most painful would have been the actual fire or would have been that you know, recovery method.
Anthony Razzano 19:35
Well, I would have to say the the pain that sticks out the most for me is when my left hand was amputated. The swelling in the hand at the time. You know the fire was obviously it was crazy, but when my hand was amputated it swelled up so big in your in your nerve endings that are left there are so sensitive that even the slightest vibe raishin in the room, when the door would open or closed would cause like, serious, serious pain. And I had to live with that for a long time, the Phantom Pains and all that. That is what I recall, I’m sure that there at the time, there were certain things that were so bad that I don’t even have a recollection of, you know, they gave me certain medicine that would cause amnesia, and it would cause you not to be able to remember certain things, but, you know, there are memories that stick out. But that was it, the the losing the hand, and, and dealing with the the pain of of that recovery was was very significant.
Max Branstetter 20:42
So there are lessons that you’ve learned through this process and have been foundational or formative, I never know which one of those to use, I guess they both work to your life going forward. And one of the themes that you often talk about is never giving up. And it makes sense with what you been through. But I think it applies to so many things in life and business and it whatever you’re working on at the time, or we’re living through at the time, can you shed some light on what it means to you to never give up, no matter what scenario you’re in.
Anthony Razzano 21:19
And it’s all based on what your passion and your definition of winning is, okay? Never give up on yourself. Never give up on your hope never give up on your dreams. For me, the calling card to get me back on my feet was a passion a passion was to get back on the football field. That was that was my passion. That was what I was relentless about that was what was driving me through every moment, laying in that bed and getting out and walking out of that hospital and, and getting and going through the physical therapy. So when we talk and try to correlate this message to business, the question is, what is it that you’re so passionate about? Okay, what is it that could be a calling card that you can walk through the depths of hell for okay, and you can you can bled bleed, you could sweat, you can cry, and going through all that bleeding, all that sweating, and all those tears, you have a passion to get somewhere that it’s worth it. And when you can find that type of passion, and that that type of journey, whether it’s not always the same for everybody, that journey might be a journey to be a minister in a church, that you might feel this beautiful calling in your heart that I just want to I want to lead people to God, that journey might be a journey to help people as a physician, or to help people as a lawyer or to or to perform as an athlete or a as some type of artist. But when you find that passion that just opens up your heart, then you just have to continue to go for it. Now what I find a lot is the reason that people quit is they don’t find their passion. They don’t know what it is just wanting to be wealthy and make money is never going to do it for you. Okay, you have to have a passion beyond finance, because money comes and goes, Okay, so I’m a big believer that you have to go after something in terms of your life, that you would do it for free. Okay, if you weren’t getting paid, you would still be out there doing it. And then when you realize that, okay, I would do this, every single day I would wake up, and I would run off to this dream of mine, whether I was making money or not making money, that’s when you know, you’re in the right spot for yourself, and you can follow your dreams. And when you do that, and you never give up on it, and you and you’ve level up on every step of adversity that’s in your way. And you use those as stepping stones. That is what helps you to find fulfillment in your life. And when you find fulfillment in your life, then things like finance and money and success and accolades come afterward. It’s not first. So understanding that process and that journey that you have to put in the work and find your heart and in live through it is probably the biggest blessing that I had coming through my accident. And it’s something that I love to have the opportunity to convey to people today.
Max Branstetter 24:32
You’re taking me back to the famous Jimmy V speech Jimmy Valvano about don’t give up don’t ever give up. My dad made my brother and I watched that every single year during the Jimmy V classic when it was on TV and it’s still like the best speech of all time. But that message rings so true. It’s something that you live you know every single day about don’t give up and you’re right it when you think about it, it goes back to passion and like having that conviction about like what you wanted Do you in your everyday life and, you know, whether that’s business or beyond. So I think that’s just always an amazing message. And it helps keep things in perspective in terms of your professional career, so you’ve got an awesome career. Have you mentioned being self employed since 2005? You do accounting, you are now certified as an NFL contract negotiator. You’re a business advisor as well, some some really, really cool things there. How did you get into that type of space? Like what grabbed you about those ballparks? Pun intended?
Anthony Razzano 25:39
Okay, it’s interesting, because when I was in college, okay, I was 21 years old. And I was dealing with a lot of psychological issues. With regard to why I had questions. Why did this happen to me? Okay, what is my purpose, and I fell into a self employment situation in the telecommunications industry, where I was part of a group and we would go and visit in the meetings with like Tony Robbins, and read books like Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. And we would, we would focus on things like, How to Win Friends & Influence People and read books by Stephen Covey. And I was searching as I, as I went through this, I was searching for my y factor, like what everyone was always telling me they were saying, what is it about your life, that you have a special purpose, there’s this purpose here. And I started to follow that purpose, and read, and it just led me down this process of, of understanding that what I went through in that hospital, correlated to what I went through on the football field, correlated to a business career. And as I started to realize these different correlations, now, it put me in a position where I can tell people about them. And I can then sit there with a client or a person, and understand what their situation was. And I can use these experiences in my mind to figure a pathway to their own success. And I found tremendous happiness in helping people solve their problems. It wasn’t ever about money for me, I mean, a lot of people are money motivated. And sure, we need that to pay our bills. But I found this passion, and helping people to solve their problems, whether it was somebody who was in a tax situation, or somebody who wanted to start a construction company, paving roads, or somebody wanting to start a restaurant, I found a passion in identifying their problems, and helping them through. I love sitting there and talking to people and figuring it out and helping them get back on their feet. And that’s kind of what led me there.
Max Branstetter 28:03
There’s that old thing about, you know, would you rather receive a gift or give a gift to somebody else. And I realized more over time that I find that like giving gifts, and basically being generous and helping others is somehow like, way more rewarding and fulfilling. And I think there’s something about helping others that just, it makes you feel really good. And I mean, there’s the selfish side of that of like it, yeah, it feels good to know you’re doing right. But on the other side of that, to know that you are, you know, helping to get somebody out of a tough situation, or improve somebody else, or give somebody you know, advice when they need it is a really powerful thing. Why is it do you think it’s so fulfilling and rewarding to spend so much time helping others.
Anthony Razzano 28:53
I’m a big believer in this. I am a big believer that you can never be successful or content, happy. In my mind, happiness is the goal, okay? I want to be content, my own skin, I want to have a mind that is peaceful. I want to know that I did good today. And I don’t think that you could make any kind of money that’s ever going to satisfy that goal. Okay, but when you take a 10 year old kid who’s playing ball for you, and you help that kid learn how to catch that ball, or to score their first touchdown, and that’s something that they will remember for the rest of their life. And that look on them to see that look, I did that. That is a feeling that you can just box and you know that you help them. And the same is true when somebody is going through a terrible divorce situation and they felt they lost the love of their life. And now they have to rebuild their finances and their whole life and they sit down with me as the CPA and say what should I do here? Okay, and we help them to navigate their way through that. And a lot of the time, there’s not the finances in place to in order to compensate us where we need to be. But you know, when that person writes you a letter years later and says, Without you, I would have never been here today, that is more rewarding than anything else. And I don’t want to make it like I’m a pushover in business, because I’m not we all have to do our thing. But I’m a firm believer, if you’re not giving a certain a big portion of your life to other people, without anything in expectation of return, that you could never find happiness. Okay. And in that goal in life, yes, we want to be successful. Yes, we want to be innovative. Yes, we want to negotiate good contracts. Yes, we want to make sure that our products, our products have the right profit margins, and in that we know how to sell them. But the goal in life is how do you find success and contentment? And how do you make the world a better place? By what by you being there. And I think that’s what we have to focus on as people. And in business leaders, to be quite honest with you. Right now, the reason I wrote my book, I’m hoping that people who suffered tragic injuries, understand that they too can become a CPA, they too can become a certified NFL contract advisor, they too can become an investment advisor, their dreams, their best days don’t have to be behind them, just because they got injured so bad. Just because you were in a business that went bankrupt and you fell doesn’t mean that your best business isn’t ahead of you. Okay, so getting knocked down is something that we’re all it’s going to happen in all of our lives every single day, in one way or another, we’re going to fell, but getting back up and fighting through that your best days can be ahead of you. That’s where you find a fulfillment. Look, it knocked me down. But I’m now still standing. That’s that’s a beautiful, that’s when you get that that’s really empowering
Max Branstetter 32:05
and happiness and seemingly getting punched in the face over and over again, that is something that’s way too familiar for many entrepreneurs out there. What can you share from, from what you’ve learned over the years, and especially from that experience, that can help you keep going and you know, get back to the positives and less of the negatives, when you are building a business and kind of hitting your head against a wall like that?
Anthony Razzano 32:32
Well, there’s a couple things. Number one, you don’t have all the answers. Okay, that’s the truth. And when people who are running businesses, and they think that they know all the answers, okay, they’re, they’re gonna just continue to fail, you have to surround yourself with people who know more than you. And you have to be diligent enough and decisive enough to understand the path that you want to take. But take the advice of people who are successful also. So I think you have to have a team. I think every every business owner needs to have a lawyer, that’s a quality lawyer, I think every business owner needs to have a CPA, I think they need to have good banking relationships, and nurture those relationships. And I think you have to put money away, because the whole idea of being in business is what is to make enough money that you can stock some away, you don’t want to just keep reinvesting all that money all the time, or what’s the point, you want to you want to take that money and you want to put it aside and be able to save for your retirement and save for the right things in your life. And so you have to have a plan. And when you get knocked in the in the teeth, you have to look at yourself in the mirror sometimes and say okay, what did I do wrong here? Okay, what theory did I have? Or what was the approach that I took in this situation? That was the incorrect approach that led me to this place that I make a bad investment decision? Or did I get involved with the wrong people? That was my contract, not solid enough? Was my attitude bad? So I turned people off? What was it, and you have to reflect on these things. And you have to be committed to making yourself and be honest with yourself and be committed to doing better than next time and not making the same mistakes, because we’re all going to have faults and failings. So look, introspectively and anytime that you get knocked down in journal that and try to use that as a stepping stone. So the next time you encounter that, a situation that’s similar, you’re able you’re you’re able to make a move past it a lot quicker. And that’s, I think, the most important thing, as an entrepreneur, you need to be introspective and it because it all comes down to you.
Max Branstetter 34:53
And that’s another thing that so many entrepreneurs struggle with but also can be a great strength is that introverts prospectivity if that’s even a word, but you have to take that snapshot and look inward and assess things and do the on the business thing, as well as the in the business thing, but also, that’s the kind of thing that can keep you up late at night, or when you can’t sleep in the middle of the night. And you’re like, oh, I should do this with my business, I should do that. So it’s like, it’s a constant struggle. But that’s a beautiful skill to have to be able to look at things that way. And some of these lessons are, I guess a little teasers for what you’ve included in your book. So against all odds, so this is hot off the press, like brand new book at the time of this recording. And so super exciting, congrats on the launch of that. And what’s a little preview you can give for anybody? Like what why would somebody open your book compared to some other inspiring and insightful books out there?
Anthony Razzano 35:49
Well, my story is, is so unique. Oftentimes, when we read a story, we’re reading a story about someone who is larger than life. You know, someone like right now Elon Musk has a book out that a lot of people are buying that larger than life. And I think that that’s really exciting. But my story is different. Because it is a story that talks about someone who went through an unimaginable tragedy, unimaginable pain, and the best days of their life. Were after that. What it is really and the reason that is that people need to read this book, is that you read about the tragedy in the failing and the falling and the getting back up and how hard it was. And as you go through the seesaw on this roller coaster ride of emotions, I promise you, when you read my book, going back to what Jimmy V set, you’re going to laugh, and you’re going to cry, you’re going to feel joy, and you’re going to feel every emotion, you’re going to feel disappointment at times and and you’re going to look at yourself. And when you go through that roller coaster of emotions and reading my story, what’s going to happen is it will allow you to translate these the things that I went through to your own life, whether it be in your business, in your relationship in the way that you raise your kids, or just having the opportunity to read something that is so interesting, and, and really never happened before in quite this way. It’ll it’ll be a journey. It’s written in a very cinematic type of narrative. way, I feel like the writing is beautiful. I put my heart and soul into it. I end the book with a very interesting line. I say, you know, I picked it up from my coach, legendary coach, Lindy Lauro. And he said, You looked at me in our team, and he said, I don’t care. If you’re a ditch digger or a doctor, I want you to be the best ditch digger. And the best doctor you can be, and go after the hardest you can every day of your life. And that’s the fact there is no less value to what someone is by what job or role that they play in their life. But if you give it all you got, every single day, and you open up your heart, and you never say die, then you’re gonna go home that night. And you’re gonna have a pretty good feeling about when you look in the mirror. And I think that that process and understanding it is very important to everyone, children, adults, and women and men, athletes, non athletes, that can really help you to get where you want to be in life.
Max Branstetter 38:39
I can tell I would have really been a big fan of your football coach as well. So says awesome, quote, see, is there. Is there anything that surprised you about writing the book that you didn’t anticipate? As you when you had the idea? Yeah, I didn’t
Anthony Razzano 38:57
realize how emotional would be, you know, going back through your life. You know, when, when you’re going through a tragedy. Oftentimes, you just want to get to your goal so bad, that you kind of like put blinders on and you don’t deal with all the trauma that is there. So going back and reflecting on, on the fire on my parents relationship on being a child, and you know what it was like, looking at myself for the first time after I was burned and not recognizing myself in the mirror and having to learn to love myself again, coming out of this accident before the accident and I was an athlete, I was a strong young guy. And then all of a sudden I was you know, 30 pounds lighter. My skin tone was white. Like I had no color to me. My hair was that I did have my head was shaved the hair dead. I have ruined blonde because of all the medicine, I didn’t look like myself. And the process of finding that inner love again, and reconnecting with myself and realizing that I was more than my appearance, I was what was in my heart, and forgiving myself, forgiving myself for the tragedy that I went through and, and forgiving a lot of people. I mean, I, I had to forgive God in a way for, for letting me go through that. And I don’t understand why I had to go through this process and forgive my parents, in some ways, even though it wasn’t their fault. I still have had resentment and I had to forgive myself more important than anything else. And once I forgave myself, and everybody and I reached that point, where I was like, in a good place, in my psychology, I found myself a lot happier, like I found myself in, in a place in my life where I never was before. And so the process of writing this book really took me there. That’s something that I’m very thankful for. I never would have expected.
Max Branstetter 41:12
Well, Anthony, this has been an absolutely incredible and inspiring interview. And we’ve covered a lot of areas that we usually don’t touch on the podcast. So it’s just absolutely life changing perspective. And there’s no easy segue here. But I do want to wrap up on a lighter note. And by that, I mean, as your coach would say, we’re going to do the best rapid fire q&a. We can. Are you ready for it? Yes, go. All right, let’s go wild. As a kid, who is the one professional football players autograph that you would have absolutely loved to have?
Anthony Razzano 41:53
Well, I have it. It’s Joe Montana’s Oh, holy
Max Branstetter 41:57
cow. Yeah. That’s not a bad one. How did that happen?
Anthony Razzano 42:00
Well, my uncle Tony was the director of player personnel for the 49ers from 1977 to 1991, he drafted Joe Montana. And in when I was in the hospital, they brought me a championship football signed.
Max Branstetter 42:15
Not bad, not bad. Not bad. That’s, that’s a great one. On that NFL note. So now you’re officially NFL certified contract advisor, what’s like the most difficult step in order to get that stamp of approval for the NFL to be able to operate that way?
Anthony Razzano 42:31
Well, you have to pass the NFL agents examination. So you have to go through an extensive background check. And then you have to study the collective bargaining agreement. And then you have to take a comprehensive examination and pass. And it’s not easy. And I’m not a lawyer, I’m a CPA, and most of people who are taken as lawyers, so passing the examination was definitely the hardest part.
Max Branstetter 42:54
So you’re a CPA and a CBA.
Anthony Razzano 42:57
I am a I’m a, I’m an agent. So I’m a see I’m a CPA, and a certified NFL contract advisor. Right.
Max Branstetter 43:07
And then in terms of youth sports, you spend many, many time giving back and coaching youth sports. And this is something my dad always did, and always enjoyed it. When my brother and I were growing up as well. What’s your favorite memory so far, coaching youth sports,
Anthony Razzano 43:20
my team won the the Tournament of Champions in Laurens County, which was a really good memory on the baseball field. And my, my team won the Super Bowl when the flag football in two in back to back seasons. So those are real exciting, because, you know, I’m out there with my little boy, and who I love and to see him really fall in love with the sport, he’s really fallen in love with baseball in a way that I would have never expected. And to, for him to prosper in the way that he has, has been beautiful. Now, incidentally, I’m at a point now where he’s better than me is so. So I’ve passed him off to the coaches who can take him further than I can. Which was really hard. Because when you’re coaching your son, and you get in, you get out there and you kind of want to always be there with them. But you also have to understand that you have to do what’s best for that person. And I knew that by me hanging up, in some ways, my coaching hat. It was going to allow him to go further. But yeah, that’s it. It’s just that bonding time with my boy. And with the with all the tier of players really and, and teaching them the power of perseverance, you know, you get out there. And these kids, they see me with one hand, and at first I don’t know what the thing after they hear My voice and they see me put them in, in in running the practice and put them in their positions pretty soon by the end of the season. You know, there’s just great relationships all the way around between the parents and the kids and the families and it’s just it’s wonderful to see Have these young groups come together and be able to help them become the best they can be?
Max Branstetter 45:05
I’ve always said that baseball is my first love. There’s just something about learning baseball and getting good at it or my case. Yep. decent at it, that it’s just really special. And I definitely miss playing it. But that’s awesome that he’s, he’s found the love of the game as well. On a totally different note, what’s something? Maybe a fun fact about having one hand that most people don’t know? Well,
Anthony Razzano 45:31
a fun fact about having one hand, well, first off, I could hit a golf ball 250 yards. Okay, so that’s awesome fun. Secondly, it made my right arm is so strong, and it got bigger. And the things that I’m able to do with my right hand are rather significant. And number three, if I was ever in a fight, and blast someone with my left hand, oh, they’re gonna be in real trouble.
Max Branstetter 46:01
Oh, my God, it’s like the old you know, football players when they’d have a hand injury. And they would just put the cast over the hand and people are like, Oh, that’s, that’s more, more deadly more painful than if somebody you know how to open hand. So it’s always I appreciate you sharing that. And then lastly, this isn’t even a question. But this is just a coincidence that you brought up at the start that I had to bring up. So you said your, your neighbor’s name is Mary Ryan. Correct? The one who was? Yeah, I have to shout out my one of my best buddies and my college roommate, Tyreke. Because he, for whatever reason, he had this saying that every now and then he would just go Sweet Mary Ryan, because there was a Mary Ryan from his hometown and Delaware, shout out super Delaware. And my other remaining buddy Alex. And I would always ask them like, what, like, Who is Mary Ryan? Or like, Why do you say that? Like people have different sayings? Why do you say sweet Mary Ryan, and he said, she was sweet. So it basically it was just a friend from school who was always very nice to him. And it became a saint because it’s a great name. But you have grew up with a sweet Mary Ryan as well. So small, there. Yeah, life, for sure. She’s sweet. Perfect. Well, Anthony, thank you so much. This has been an absolute, wonderful and thought provoking and inspiring conversation. So really, really appreciate you sharing your journey and amazing lessons and everything with us. Thanks again for coming on. And where’s the best place for people to learn more about you. And also to grab a copy of your book?
Anthony Razzano 47:40
Well, you can visit my website, www.AnthonyRazzano.com, where you could really learn a lot about my story and connect with me. So like I said, I talked to people all the time, there’s a contact sheet on there. And if you want to send me a message, I’ll be sure to get back to you and give you a call. If you’re going through something in your life, or you’re going through some something in your business, and you need a sounding board, hey, listen, I’m here for you so many people have been there for me, you know, yeah, I’m always looking for clientele, and, and all that. But I’m really here to help people in the best way that I can. So feel free to reach out to me, I’m a real person, you know, have a good family, I’ll help you in the best way I can, and read about my story and pick up my book because I think that you’re gonna you’re gonna find some nuggets of information in there that are just gonna be they’re gonna be really helpful for you. So you could buy it on my website, you could buy it on Amazon.com, you could buy it on Barnes & Noble, at Target and pick it up, give it a read and it’ll be it’ll be a quick read probably, you know, three four hours if you’re a reader and and I think that it’ll, it’ll take you through a rollercoaster of emotions and at the end of it, you’re going to feel a lot better about life.
Max Branstetter 49:00
Excellent against all odds. Last thing here final thoughts, stages years, it could be a quote, maybe words to live by a coaching mantra, whatever you want, just send us home here stages years.
Anthony Razzano 49:12
Life is difficult is written by M. Scott Peck. In the book, The Road Less Traveled. And it is the idea and the notion that you try to avoid the difficulties of life that make it more difficult. But it’s only in the acceptance of the reality that life is difficult that you can take on those challenges without feeling emotional or bad for yourself. And you can you can handle them as everyday problems that you can then overcome the difficulties of life. So just like in football, when you have a ball carrier in front of you, you need to make contact with leverage and accelerate through the ball. In that’s what you do in baseball. That’s what you do in football. That’s what you do in every phase of life, every contact sport, and life and business is a contact sport. So understand, yeah, it’s going to be difficult at times. But that’s the fun of it. That’s the beauty of it, that the game of it, don’t try to run away from the difficulty run rate through it, and you will find yourself in a place of coming out on top, and, and you’ll be the best that you can be.
Max Branstetter 50:30
Anthony, just wow. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Anthony for sharing your life-changing, incredible, Wild story. And thank you, Wild Listeners, for tuning in to another episode. If you want to hear more Wild stories like this one, make sure to follow the Wild Business Growth Podcast on your favorite app and tell a friend about the podcast. You can also find us on Goodpods, where there are really good podcasts and podcast people and recommendations. And for any help with podcast production, you can learn more at MaxPodcasting.com and sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter. That’s at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter. Until next time, let your business Run Wild…Bring on the Bongos!!
