At sixteen, Sean was given fourteen days to live. He survived — and then had to figure out what to do with the rest of his life.

Sean Swarner is a two-time cancer survivor and the first person with one functioning lung to summit Everest. He's gone on to complete the seven summits, ski to both Poles, and complete the Hawaii Ironman World Championship. But what moves me most about this conversation isn't the scale of what he's done, although they are incredible. It's what he came back with from being given fourteen days to live at sixteen that has platformed a meaningful and incredible life.

In this conversation, Sean shares his story from being a boy in a hospital bed to the man on the other end of incredible feats. But this conversation isn't about survival, it's the story of being alive. From resilience, choice and failure and what it all means when faced with the limits of what the body can achieve and survive, Sean opens up about this amazing perspective on what we can truly grow into as individuals when we strip away our comforts and certainty. If everything you knew was pulled away, what would you be left with? Who would you be? There are so many incredible teachings in this week's conversation, and it has left me with such awe and understanding of what it means to face life, even when there's fear staring back at you.

In this episode:

— What's left of a person when comfort, certainty and health have all been stripped away
— Why resilience has nothing to do with grit, and everything to do with loyalty to who you are
— The difference between chasing something you think will complete you, and meeting your own life with eyes open
— Why reaching the top can leave you hollow, and what Sean now calls a false summit

A conversation about what it means to be alive, from someone who was told he wouldn't be.

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Sean Swarner:
🎬 True North: The Sean Swarner Story — Sean's documentary of his North Pole expedition. Watch free https://www.amazon.com/True-North-%20Sean-Swarner-Story/dp/B07LBCSFCD
🏔️ The CancerClimber Association — Sean's organisation sponsoring cancer survivors up Kilimanjaro: https://www.seanswarner.com/philanthropy-2/cca
🌐 More from Sean: : https://www.seanswarner.com/

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The Unknown Path is a podcast about the untold stories behind success — real conversations with extraordinary people about the parts of their journey nobody asks them about. Hosted by Jem Fuller, a coach, facilitator, speaker and author who has spent two decades working with leaders on resilience, presence, and the human capabilities that shape how we live and work. Through coaching, workshops, speaking and retreats, both at home in Australia and in the Himalayas, Jem works with individuals and teams across business, government and education. You can learn more about his work, or join an upcoming retreat, by visiting https://jemfuller.com/ │ Instagram: @jemfuller

"Your life is not about you, it's about everyone whose life you touch and the way in which you touch it."

Neale Donald Walsch is a best-selling international author of the Conversations with God series and a spiritual messenger whose work has touched the lives of millions. Last week's conversation resonated so deeply with so many of you, and I cannot wait for you to sit with this one. (If you missed it, make sure to have a listen). This is Part B of my conversation with Neale, and where we move into the wisdom of what eight decades of living has taught him about being human. Neale opens up and shares stories with me he hasn't told on a podcast before, the ones that have quietly shaped his understanding of love, abundance, and what it actually means to give people back to themselves. This is one of those conversations that stays with you. Neale's warmth, his humour, and the simplicity with which he reframes some of the biggest questions we carry as humans, made this such a gift to record. I'm so honoured to share it with you.

In this episode (Part B):—

• What it has actually been like for Neale to be known by millions as the man who talks to God
• Why some people read a book and intellectually understand its message, but never embody it
• The "be the source" teaching Neale was given, and how to practise it in everyday life
• The three assignments Neale says he was given by God
• A story from his time on the street, and the understanding of abundance that came out of it

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Neale Donald Walsch:
His latest book, Letters to a Young Seeker: Departing Thoughts from an Elder, is written for young people, and for anyone still finding their way. It brings together the twenty-one most important messages from his Conversations with God dialogue, paired with poetry by his wife, award-winning poet Em Claire, and shares what Neale wishes he had known in his twenties, thirties, and forties.

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Resources:
📖 Neale's latest book, Letters to a Young Seeker: Departing Thoughts from an Elder: [LINK]
📚 Conversations with God series: [LINK]
🌐 Work with Neale: nealedonaldwalsch.com

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The Unknown Path is a podcast about the untold stories behind success — real conversations with extraordinary people about the parts of their journey nobody asks them about.

You can learn more about Jem and stay up to date with his incredible work that spans across the globe or join an upcoming retreat by visiting the website.

jemfuller.com │ Instagram: @jemfuller

"I love you no matter what." That, in Neale Donald Walsch's words, is the message at the heart of everything he's been given to share with the world.

For thirty years, Neale's work has been a companion to people walking through the hardest questions of being human and into the deeper truths of the joys of being human. What he has offered, in his best selling Conversations with God Collection is something profound that has changed the lives of many - a truth that we are loved without condition, that the divine is not somewhere we have to earn our way to, and that the wisdom we are reaching for already lives inside us. It has reached five million people across thirty-seven languages, and continues to reach more every year.

What most people don't know is where that dialogue with God began for Neale. In this conversation we go beyond the books and into the humanness of his story right into the one-room flat above someone's garage, at rockbottom, where the morning he picked up a yellow legal pad and wrote an angry letter to God demanding to know what it takes to make life work. What came back was the beginning of everything that followed.

This is Part A of a two-part conversation. In this episode we move through the full arc of Neals life — the childhood in Milwaukee that built the man, the unravelling that emptied him out, the morning the dialogue began, and the eighty-two years of living that have now distilled into his newest book, Letters to a Young Seeker.

I can't wait for you to dive into this week's conversation. If you've ever come across Neale's work, you'll know we're in for an incredible episode.

In this episode (Part A):

• The two weeks his marriage ended, his job ended, and a car accident nearly ended his life
• Fifty weeks on the sidewalk, asking what it takes to make life work
• The 4.30am morning the dialogue began, and the moment he realised the answers weren't his
• His mother, dying, asking him to dance on her grave
• Whether a soul actually chooses its parents before it arrives

Neale Donald Walsch: Author of the Conversations with God series, translated into thirty-seven languages. His latest book is Letters to a Young Seeker.

Resources:
📖 Neale's latest book, Letters to a Young Seeker: Purchase
📚 Conversations with God series: Find the Books Here
🌐 Work with Neale: nealedonaldwalsch.com

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The Unknown Path is a podcast about the untold stories behind success — real conversations with extraordinary people about the parts of their journey nobody asks them about.

theunknownpathpodcast.com │ Instagram: @jemfuller