Have you ever wanted to achieve something that everyone else thought impossible?  Today, I'm very pleased to bring you someone who did just that. My listeners have recommended that I interview this person time and time again, and I am SO grateful to have her on #MAXOUT finally. Get ready to have your life completely CHANGED because today I'm interviewing the groundbreaking barrel racer Fallon Taylor. My interview with Fallon will completely blow your mind about what you're capable of when you work hard and believe in yourself. Her journey to becoming the World Champion Barrel Racer embodies what it means to #MAXOUT.  Within five years, Fallon went from being paralyzed with only a 2% chance of living to winning it all in barrel racing. Her story should honestly be a movie because it is one of the most inspiring things I have ever heard, and I know that it's going to INSPIRE you too. Let's get started!  

Who Is Fallon Taylor? 

Fallon is an entrepreneur, athlete, motivational speaker, and professional barrel racer. She was the 2014 WPRA Barrel Racing World Champion and the 2018 AQHA Barrel Racing World Champion. She shared both wins with her horse, Babyflo, who she trained herself. Fallon's extensive resume is already impressive, but get this: She did all of this after suffering a serious horseback riding injury that left her temporarily paralyzed and almost ended her life. Her journey from learning how to walk again to her phenomenal barrel racing victories reveals the fact that you CAN accomplish anything. No one believed that Fallon would ever compete again, but she proved everyone wrong by believing in herself and envisioning her victories.  Fallon's horseback riding career began at an exceptionally young age. Thanks to her supportive parents, she became a professional at the age of seven years old:

"My parents were really instrumental in just saying, 'Go for your dreams, do it. … You can do whatever you want.'… I saw the Mesquite Championship Rodeo. ... And I said, 'I want to do that. I think I can do that.'" - Fallon Taylor 

Fallon and her parents visited the Mesquite Championship Rodeo and asked what it would take for Fallon to be able to compete. They were told that Fallon just needed a horse and to become a professional by joining the minor league. Her parents purchased her a minor league card, and Fallon began her journey to becoming an immensely successful barrel racer.  Fallon's story is ABSOLUTELY awe-inspiring, and her journey to becoming the 2014 WPRA Barrel Racing World Champion will show you that ANYTHING is possible when you work hard and believe in your ability to #MAXOUT! 

Don’t Wait — Follow Your Dreams RIGHT NOW

Fallon had big goals at an incredibly young age. She didn't have any experience with horses before becoming a professional, but she set the goal of getting her major-league card by the time she was nine and breaking records in the rodeo: 

"My parents always wanted me to have a goal in mind, and my goal was to be the youngest person to ever qualify for the National Finals Rodeo, so you've gotta be [in] the top 15 in the world to quality." - Fallon Taylor

Despite her lack of experience, Fallon jumped into the professional league and eventually achieved her goal of getting her major-league card and qualifying for the National Finals Rodeo. She tied the record of being the youngest person to compete in the National Finals Rodeo at the age of 13. The average competitor in the National Finals Rodeo is 35, and Fallon was less than half that age!  Something that I think is so incredible about Fallon is she didn't hesitate to follow her dreams. She didn't spend years training before entering competitions. She did it without making excuses for herself. Fallon is proud of the fact that she began competing at such a young age, and she explained how there's never a perfect time to start following your dreams: 

"I think that when I hear the term' ignorance is bliss,' I embody that so much because I really just went. … We're always living in some sort of chaos. … And there [are] some beautiful things that can come out of that, but the ducks never get in a row." - Fallon Taylor

Guys, that's such an awesome attitude to have about following your dreams. There will never be a perfect moment to start PURSUING what you WANT. Don't make excuses about lacking experience or knowledge before chasing your dreams! Start NOW! After achieving success with barrel racing at a young age, Fallon began dabbling in modeling, acting, and other professional fields. Her experience in other industries revealed that barrel racing was the career that she was meant to pursue. 

"You can have such amazing things happen in those places and never get the results that you really thought you wanted until you're in the space that you're actually meant to be in." - Fallon Taylor 

Fallon discovered that she was meant to continue barrel racing as her full-time career. Fallon observed that everyone has a place that they're meant to be in and that everyone is different, so you shouldn't try to be like other people:

"When you are ... a game-changer in something or you're revolutionary in something, you're not meant to be like everyone else. … I think that there's light within every single person. They've got some extraordinary feature that [they] can emphasize and that can come out of them." - Fallon Taylor

Fallon is an extraordinarily gifted barrel racer, and part of what makes her special is that she's not like other people. What makes you unique? Everyone has features that distinguish them from others, and rather than trying to fit into the mold of other people, you should strive to be yourself and tap into the light and TALENT inside you. 

Visualize Your VICTORIES

Fallon is no stranger to achieving success. She's MAXED OUT so many areas of her life, including barrel racing, fitness, and entrepreneurship. A tool that has greatly helped Fallon succeed is visualizing her victories: 

"Before I run, [I] envision … what I'm going to post on Instagram about my win, or what I'm going [to say when I] call home and tell mom and dad. [I ask,] ‘What is it that I'm going to do to celebrate this victory?’" - Fallon Taylor

Guys, visualization is such an essential tool for achieving what you want and MAXING OUT, and you are doing yourself a serious disservice if you're not using it. When you visualize how you're going to celebrate your win, your brain and body will work to make that result happen. The more you visualize the victory, the more your brain and body will work in coherence to repeat that image that it's already familiar with. Fallon is a living embodiment of this TOOL. She achieved INCREDIBLE results in barrel racing both before and after her injury through her use of visualization.  Another tool that Fallon uses is evaluating why she should be the one to win and achieve success:

"I also tell myself, 'Why not me?'… And I go through all the reasons why it should be me. … And then I want to determine what would success actually mean to me. … So what about making a really clean, solid run? Or what about placing or what about breaking the arena record? Whatever that victory is to me, I want to live up to my own standards and not to the standards that someone else has laid in place because you can get so easily disappointed." - Fallon Taylor 

Fallon recognizes that she can't win every single competition, but she can still SUCCEED. She sets standards to perform well in every race, even if she doesn't win. She doesn't worry about what others think of her performance but focuses on achieving her goals in every competition.  Have you tried setting standards for yourself in everything that you do? Rather than worry about others' expectations for you, you can place your own standards and visualize meeting those standards to STRIVE towards your goals and #MAXOUT your life. 

Put One Foot in Front of the Other

I'm sure you're already impressed by Fallon's career, but her journey after suffering a life-shattering injury will completely CHANGE your LIFE.  Fallon suffered her injury while training late at night back in August 2009. She was training a horse that was beginning to get frisky after slipping in some mud. Rather than taking precautions, she continued training until the horse began acting wild:

"He reared up, [and] when he did, he broke all the bones on [the right] side of my face. … And so I start to pull this horse up, and as I do, he hits me in the head again. And [my] skull fractured in four places. … I picked a place to jump off, and when I did, he kicked my feet about 13 or 14 feet in the air. And I landed straight down on my head, and my legs just kind of flopped over. And I was unable to move. I was paralyzed right in that moment." - Fallon Taylor

Fallon's friend rushed her to the hospital. Even though she was scared, Fallon stayed in high spirits by socializing and joking with the hospital staff as they treated her injuries. She suffered a life-threatening fracture to her C-2 vertebra, which is at the top of the spine.

"[The doctor] said, 'You have a 2% chance to live.' And he said, 'It's really been touching to get to know you, but the plane's running, [and] you have [a] 13-minute flight to think about your life. And I hope that you really take that time to think about what you're going to do now because you're never going to ride horses again.'" - Fallon Taylor

Imagine hearing that devastating news. Not only was Fallon more than likely going to die, but even if she survived, she would have to give up her dreams. From a young age participating in the dangerous sport of barrel racing, Fallon had always been told by her father to not end up in the hospital because she would die there. Fallon took this to heart and desperately wanted to exit the hospital. She asked several nurses how she could be discharged, and they all told her that she would need to remain hospitalized for the next six months. Fallon stayed persistent and finally found a nurse that gave her an alternative answer: 

"She came in, and I said, 'How do I get outta here? I gotta get out of here.'… And she said, 'Well, [if] you walk to the end of the hall and [if] you come back, you can get out.' And I said, 'Well, let's do that. How do we do that?'" - Fallon Taylor

The nurse assisted Fallon in her journey to learn how to walk again by attaching a belt to Fallon and tying the belt to the ceiling so that Fallon could practice walking without falling and injuring herself further. The nurse told her to just focus on putting one foot in front of the other to work her way up to walking down the hall. After only an hour and a half, Fallon was able to walk to the end of the hall and back, so she was finally discharged.  The nurse's advice is such a great analogy for accomplishing what you want. You need to keep moving and focus on putting one foot in front of the other to move towards your goals and #MAXOUT your life. By focusing on putting one foot in front of the other, Fallon was able to learn how to walk again, and she continued using this method to ACCOMPLISH great things. 

You Are Capable of Accomplishing ANYTHING 

Fallon hadn't yet achieved her childhood dream of winning the world title of barrel racing.  Re-establishing her dream to win the world title gave Fallon something to move towards after her injury: 

"[I said,] 'Maybe I can go back to the 14-year-old me that wanted a world title, and let's do this thing, and let's actually give it a shot.' And I thought if I can have a goal big enough that makes my future look brighter than my past, then that will keep me hooked towards something that I want so badly because we're all gonna lose … And you're gonna fail, ultimately, and keep getting up and dust off and fail. But if the thing is so bright that you have to walk toward it, you'll stay hooked." - Fallon Taylor

Fallon trained diligently to relearn how to ride after her injury and began training her iconic horse, Babyflo. They trained so hard that within a year, they were fighting for the chance to qualify for the National Finals Rodeo. In 2013, they finally qualified, but Fallon hit another speed bump: She and Babyflo performed poorly.

"I go in, and I was terrible on TV 10 days in a row. It was just the worst ever. And I thought, 'Well, there went the walking miracle thing.' Like now they're just like, 'She's a walking miracle that doesn't ride very good.'" - Fallon Taylor

Rather than letting the setback dissuade her from achieving her goal, Fallon continued striving forward. The 2014 season began just days after the 2013 season's conclusion, and Fallon was determined to try again.  Fallon trained hard to qualify for the 2014 National Finals. She completed a personal record of hers by winning the first round of the finals. She continued excelling round after round until she approached the final round, but her victory was far from a certainty. Her main competitor was expected to win it all, but unlike her competition, Fallon had the advantage of visualizing her victory. 

"Second place girl, she's really a sure thing. … She's doing great, [and] I'm doing great. And I look up to her so much, so it's cool for us to be kind of in this battle. … She came up to me, and she shook my hand, and she said, 'Well, you've done really great, and I'm just super excited for you.' And I thought, ‘I just won the world title because I realized that she hadn't celebrated yet.’" - Fallon Taylor 

Unlike her competition, Fallon had already pictured herself on stage celebrating the win. She knew that she was close to winning it all when she approached the final round. Her beliefs and confidence ensured her victory. 

"I made my run, and I come out, and I look at the board, and I'm the winner. … And I look at my dad, and he was like, 'You just won the world.' And I was like, 'I'm going to go jump on that stage. Just like I did in my head.'" - Fallon Taylor

Fallon made her envisioned celebration happen and jumped up on the stage to celebrate her win. She achieved what others thought impossible through her hard work and believing in herself. She believed that she would win and envisioned her celebration, and her brain and body performed so that she could fulfill her beliefs.  Fallon's story is absolutely incredible and embodies everything that I talk about on this show. You CAN do anything that you set out to achieve! Everyone else may tell you that it's impossible, but you can prove them wrong if you believe in yourself. So what are you waiting for? You can set out to accomplish your dreams RIGHT NOW and #MAXOUT your life!

#MAXOUT with Fallon Taylor

Guys, my interview with Fallon Taylor was absolutely extraordinary and will CHANGE your life. There's so much more of Fallon's story that I wasn't able to get into, so do yourself a favor and check out the full interview here.  If you want to learn more about Fallon and follow her journey to continue MAXING OUT her life, make sure to check her out on Instagram @fallontaylor2 and her YouTube channel.  If you felt as inspired by this conversation as I did, share it on Instagram! Connect with Fallon Taylor, @fallontaylor2, and with me, @Edmylett, and use the hashtag #MAXOUT to share what inspired you the most! Also, make sure to check out my two-minute drill! I make a post every day, and those of you who comment within two minutes will have a chance to win a variety of awesome prizes, including a coaching session, #MAXOUT gear, and a copy of my book. You are capable of accomplishing ANYTHING. Let Fallon's story inspire you to strive towards what you want and #MAXOUT your life!