Adam Brown died a hero, admired even by elite members of the US Navy SEALs; but in his darkest days, he looked nothing like a hero.
Adam grew up in Arkansas. After his high school graduation, Adam attended Arkansas Tech University and then the University of Central Arkansas. He changed his major from engineering to business, trying to find something that held his interest, but he just couldn’t seem to find his purpose.
Adam began to attend more parties where he smoked weed and drank heavily. He met a girlfriend who introduced him to crystal meth and crack cocaine.
With no sense of purpose, Adam dropped out of college, and his life spiraled downhill. He would disappear for days at a time, resurfacing to borrow or steal money to support his drug habit.
After spending time in jail, unable to hold a job, alienating his parents and the big brother he idolized, Adam finally attempted to take his own life.
Rescued by friends, Adam woke up in a hospital where he participated in the twelve-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous. At this point in his life, he was sad, lonely, addicted, and lost with no clear direction. He had a choice to make. Would he continue down the road he was on, or would he make a decision to change his life?
Adam became determined to get back on his feet and “be somebody.” That determination and driving ambition to make something of himself was a key to turning his life around.
Realizing that he would never make it alone, he recruited friends who would stick by him and hold him accountable when he got off track. Still, he was arrested again for another drug violation. This time he was sent to a Teen Challenge drug treatment program. That may have been the best thing that could have happened to him. He was separated from all of the people and influences that could have kept him in the cycle of addiction. He committed himself to the program and developed a faith in God.
Adam eventually met and married Kelley, a woman who would support him faithfully through many ups and downs. He found more support and stability in the Navy. After joining, he set his sights on becoming an elite Navy SEAL.
Only about twenty percent of those who seek to become Navy SEALs ever finish the training. Focusing his energy and determination, Adam not only achieved the distinction of Navy SEAL, but after outstanding performance, Adam was eventually recommended by his commanding officer for DEVGRU, the Naval Special Warfare Development Group. DEVGRU SEALs are a very exclusive group of Special Forces within the SEAL ranks. They are the best of the best. Members of DEVGRU take their orders from the highest levels of the US Pentagon, or from the President himself.
With incredible determination, and the support of family and friends, Adam overcame all of the obstacles that faced him, as well as the demons in his past, to fulfill his dream and become a respected member of the ultra-elite DEVGRU SEALs.
Adam’s inspiring story of overcoming life’s obstacles to “be somebody” has been chronicled in the bestselling book, Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team Six Operator Adam Brown. A movie of his life story is already in the works.
Turning Profound Loss into Worldwide Blessing
While digging through her mom’s makeup bag and getting ready for school on the morning of April 20, 1999, Rachel Scott faked exasperation and playfully told her mother, “Mom, I just don’t know what I’m going to do with you. I am not going to be able to take care of you any more.” It was the last morning they would spend together. Minutes later, Rachel was one of the first students gunned down in the massacre at Columbine High School.
In dealing with the devastating loss of his daughter through such a senseless act of violence, Darrell Scott made a decision. He would not allow it to end there. He would not allow the loss of his daughter’s life to go unanswered. He resolved that her death would not be in vain.
Rachel believed that the world could be changed through individual acts of kindness that could inspire others and start a chain reaction.
With help, her father established Rachel’s Challenge, an organization and a movement dedicated to encouraging people all over the world to take up the cause of kindness that had marked Rachel’s life.
Darrell has traveled the world extensively since then, telling his daughter’s story, communicating her passion, and challenging others to overcome evil with good.
Rachel’s Challenge has had an international influence, positively impacting the lives of thousands of people around the world. Rachel’s story has been told in US Congressional hearings, on Oprah, CNN and in many other venues through many different media around the world. Through her death, Rachel has impacted many, many more people than she ever impacted during her short lifetime. Countless lives, including my own, have been touched and helped through that one life that was lost.
Rachel’s Tears, The Spiritual Journey of Columbine Martyr Rachel Scott, is one of the most profound testimonies I have ever read.
It’s Not about Your Circumstances
What the lives of Adam Brown and Darrell Scott demonstrate to us is that your circumstances are not the most important factors determining the quality of your life. Your choices are. This understanding is key to effectively redirecting your life.
Of course your circumstances affect you, but your circumstances are not the determining factor in whether or not your life is fulfilling, satisfying and complete. Your circumstances do not determine whether you will live in victory or defeat. Your choices determine that.
Concentrating our focus on circumstances is natural, but it doesn’t often lead to change. In fact, focusing on our circumstances empowers them to hold us captive to their influence. To rise above them, to escape the influence of our circumstances, we must look beyond them and concentrate our focus on something greater - on a vision of life beyond the grip and scope of our circumstances.
If we can do something to improve our circumstances, that’s great! But we sometimes have little or no control over them. No matter how much thought, planning or concern we focus on our circumstances, there may be little or nothing we can do to change them. Does that seem unjust? Did our Creator guarantee injustice in our world by placing us in circumstances that are inherently unfair?
It may seem that way if you let your circumstances define your existence. The reality is that your circumstances are not nearly as important as how you respond to them. How you respond to the circumstances of life means everything. Your responses can lift you above your circumstances, freeing you from their grip, and in many cases, can change the circumstances themselves. Let your responses, not your circumstances, define you. As a good friend of mine writes,
“Your circumstance matters so much less than your response. Your response has the ability to overpower your circumstance. Be aware of your circumstance, recognize it but do not be defined by it; rather be defined by your determination and choice to move forward.”
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