How to Lead Through Adversity and Find Purpose: Eric McElvenny’s Story of Grit and Growth

What does it take to turn tragedy into triumph? In this episode of The Champion Forum Podcast with Jeff Hancher, we sit down with Eric McElvenny—Marine veteran, Ironman athlete, Paralympian, and international speaker—who shares his incredible story of resilience, faith, and purpose. After losing his leg to an IED explosion while serving in Afghanistan, Eric faced a life-altering choice: let that moment define him, or define what came next.

Eric chose to lead forward. From fighting for his life on the battlefield to crossing the finish line of the Ironman World Championship, his journey is a powerful lesson in mental toughness, perseverance, and leadership under pressure. In this conversation, Jeff and Eric dive into topics every leader can relate to—overcoming adversity, finding purpose in pain, and staying accountable when no one is watching.

If you’ve ever faced a challenge that felt impossible to overcome, this episode will remind you that your finish line is closer than you think—and that with the right mindset, every obstacle can become your greatest opportunity.

About Eric McElvenny

During his final deployment to Afghanistan, unfortunately, Eric stepped on an IED, losing his right leg below his knee. And instead of just retreating from life, Eric set up some audacious goals to cross the finish line of a full Ironman triathlon. He completed his first Ironman in 2013, went on to represent Team USA at the 2020 Paralympics, and has since finished multiple Ironman races around the world. Today, he travels the world speaking about resilience, perseverance, and the power of purpose, helping others overcome adversity and chase their own finish lines.

What led you to enlist as a Marine, and what was that journey like for you?

I did a report in the eighth grade about what I wanted to be when I grew up. The only rule was that you could not write about being a professional athlete. My dad suggested I write about being in the military, so he took me to the recruiting station just to get some more information. And I realized, this is what I want to do when I grow up. I want to serve our country. I want to be a Marine. And I'm going to start living my life that way. I ended up going to the Naval Academy and from there became a Marine officer.

What day changed your life?

I remember it vividly —the moment —but we were at an outpost in Afghanistan, in Helmand Province, a new area. We just had a very early morning patrol. We were out there for about five hours, and towards the end of the patrol, all we had to do was cross a wadi, like a dried-up riverbed, and get back to where we were. That's when it happened. I stepped on an IED, and I triggered an explosion underneath my right foot. I was thrown to my back by a violent purse. Life was in slow motion. I heard a loud ringing noise, and I didn't know what had happened at first.

It was the sensation of being underwater, and slowly things are coming back to me. I realize I'm in Afghanistan, I'm on my back, I'm looking up at a beautiful blue sky, but now it's full of smoke and dust, and it hit me. Wow. I just stepped on an IED, and I knew it. I also knew I was bleeding. There was a moment where I thought, "This might be it for me. I get to meet my Creator." At first, I wasn't scared, but then I pictured my wife and daughter, and I realized I wasn't ready to leave this world yet. There were things I wanted to do, and as I thought about them, this slow motion kicked back in.

My corpsman, Mike Schrum, came running up to me. He had just turned 21. When I saw his eyes get big, I realized this isn't good. Then he just went into action. He started saving my life. I started thinking, I'm going to live through this. It's just going to be a little bit painful. It was a hard time. It was a hard moment, but I'm grateful for the blessings it brought. There was already a helicopter in the air. They saved my life before the Taliban showed up. They executed the casualty evacuation drill that we practiced over and over and over again in training.

What are some of those lessons, or the leaders that are listening, what are some things that you went through that maybe they could apply to some of their own challenges? 

All change is challenging, whether it is big or small. But who you are in that moment, and who you are in that, in that change, in that challenge, you're going to impact the people around you.

You're going to impact employees. You're going to impact customers. You're going to impact your circle. You don't get to make that choice. You're going to impact someone somehow. The choice that you make, though, is whether you're going to have a positive impact. You make that choice every morning.

My daughter taught me a lot about gratitude because her responses was not the same as adults. She was five years old at the time, and she realized I would be home for Christmas. That was her way of being grateful for what she had. It helped me realize that I was alive. Things might look different, but I'm alive. I get to be with my family.

What was going through your mind when you decided to complete an Ironman?

My commanding officer reached out via email, and the email said, Eric, let me know when you're going to run your first marathon. It's like, oh, wow. That's not something I thought about yet. I'm just trying to get out of pain for the next five minutes. But now he's challenged me to run a marathon. I thought I could do a marathon, but the Ironman jumped out into my head because I didn't know if I could finish it. I didn't really ride a bike. I didn't swim. But I thought I could run the marathon part. So I decided, that's it. That's my goal. I'm going to use this as rehabilitation. I didn't know how long it would take, but I knew it would happen. When you have a goal, no matter how big or small, it actually inspires you.

What were some of your if you don't mind sharing what were some of your lowest points on this journey? And how did you lead yourself through them? 

My path to that first Ironman didn't look anything like the plan. I pictured the challenge being the hours of training, getting out there, waking up before the sun, etc. What it ended up being was my limb, the prosthetic, and blisters and staph infections. The three months before my first Ironman, I had three different staph infections in my limb because I was stubborn and kept getting blisters and not taking the time for them to heal. My doctor actually asked me if I could try a different sport. There was a point when my prosthetic practitioner called me into his office. I think I threw my running leg at him. I was on crutches. I couldn't walk because I had a huge blister and a staph infection. And I said to him, "I don't think this is for people like me."

He was holding my leg when he said, "Eric, if this were easy, everyone would be doing it." I realized he was right. I didn't choose this school because I thought it would be easy. I knew it was going to be challenging. I thought it would be challenging in a different way. So he suggests resetting it and getting a new leg. And that process just rejuvenated me and kept me going.

Leading yourself:

Leading yourself takes self-control and that preparation. That's I mean, that's it. It's so I've done nine Ironman races now. Probably 50 half Ironman races, and I've learned that the race day isn't the test. When you're running an Ironman, you're enjoying it because you already did the work. I remember treading water at the Ironman World Championships, my first Ironman. And I just felt at ease. There was nothing I was going to do that day that I had not already done.

Like, now I just get out and do it because six months prior, I was waking up well before the sun to get my ride in, to get my bike in, to do some swimming, to go to the gym. Then, as you get closer to the race, just do the little things so that when you wake up on race day, you don't really have to think. You want your body and mind to be ready. Now it's just time to go through the motions, since the preparation is already done. I like to visualize crossing the finish line or being in the last couple of miles of a race. It's natural because I've been there 300 times already in training. When I feel like quitting a workout because it's hard, I picture the last three miles of that race, and that visualization helps me push through.

How do leaders help people stay accountable to their goals when nobody's watching or they don't feel like it?

The goal has to matter. You have to know why you're doing it. There was a low point in that first Ironman where I was on the side of the road with eight miles left. My leg was off, my limb was swollen, and I couldn't even get it back on. I wanted to quit. And everyone experiences that feeling of wanting to quit when the voices in your head start to talk to you a little bit. But for me, this wasn't just a race. This was me proving to myself that I'm still the same person that I used to be. And like, I can do this.

How can our audience identify their next finish line and commit to crossing it?

First, write it down and put it on your desk so you can read it every single day. Then you have to tell people. If you have a goal and you haven't told anyone, it's pretty easy to give up. But when you tell people what you're going to do, you have that extra layer of accountability. You have people pushing you and cheering you on.

Application Activities:

1. What mindset shift could help you get through a current challenge? Consider how the problem could be a blessing, how it could help you grow, and what you have to be grateful for. Write down these positive thoughts and see how it changes your outlook and your motivation.

2. When Eric chose a goal, he chose something that felt difficult. Are there any areas of your life where you feel like your goals are so easy that they have become easy to ignore? How could you turn a goal into a challenge? Who will you tell about your goal to hold you accountable?