At the age of 2, Billy J Brown II was in a tragic car accident that burned 65% of his body and left him without many of his fingers.

Billy spent 9 months in hospital recovering, but his body was scarred for life.

Billy had to rely on his Mom to stand up for his rights to be included in regular day-to-day life and school with others, as this was before the American Disabilities Act.

When you meet Billy, you know right away that he is one of the happiest people you will ever meet.

“If I had to go back today and make a choice to be normal or to be burnt like I am today, burnt third degree 65% of my body, missing my fingers, I’d do it all over again.

At the age of 12, after hitting a low point with being bullied and blaming the world for his problems, Billy turned to his faith in God and asked for guidance.

The guidance that came taught Billy that, “People treat you how you want to be treated and how you perceive yourself is how others are going to treat you.”

“If you have low self-esteem, people will see you as a target.”

Billy became aware the blaming had nothing to do with him. He realized that they were the ones hurting and it made them feel better to pick on him.

Billy decided to find a way to love them, knowing that love was one of their needs that they were missing.

“Instead of me getting mad and getting in fights, I started loving on these kids and understanding that they’re not mad at me.”

“I became a centre of influence that people said, ‘Hey, that kid has something that we want to be around. That kid has motivation. He has love and happiness. Look at what he went through and he’s happy.’ And they wanted, immediately, to figure out why I was happy.”

“And I told them. I said, ‘I love me and it all starts right here. If I can’t love me, I can’t love you, and I can’t love anybody else.’”

Billy J Brown II has been a fire medic for years, serving his community, publishing his book, Rising from the Ashes, and speaking all around the country on how he reclaimed his life beyond the ultimate adversity.

“We all get to a point to where you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

Billy speaks on the power of faith and prayer and within his message, you quickly realize the incredible power of making a decision to make a change once and for all.

“We all get to the point in life where things happen to us for a reason. And I realized that this even that happened to me, even though it was tragic, was a situation that I chose in my life to have. Even though I was two, I feel like we’re all given a choice… to what we go through in life at a point to use it for good or for bad. And I feel like that I was given a choice by my creator to endure this burden, that some people would find a curse, but I find it as a gift because now I’m able to stand in front of people and people want to know my story… and I look back now and I’m thankful for this.”

“I make people feel important.”

In this interview, Billy shares his definition of success, as well as the role models and mentors that have inspired him:

Jesus Christ, @TonyRobbins, @ZigZiglar, @SuccessMagazine, @BrendonBurchard, @AnandaGiri, @DanAllen, @ShoreSlocum, @DarrenHardy – The Compound Effect

Billy feeds his mind with positive personal development everyday to counteract self doubt.

In the interview, Billy also shares his advice on how to find yourself.

Thanks for listening and sharing with your friends and family.

“You can become what you want to be by reprogramming your mind.” – @BillyJBrown II

The post FD14 Rising from the Ashes – Billy J Brown II appeared first on Facing Dragons.