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Dave Tristani talks about overcoming health problems, dealing with a divorce, being in the limelight of the pro-wrestling world, and reaching out to ...
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Welcome back to spirited debate he overcame health problems as a child become a professional world class wrestler and then you wrestled with his faith.
And became a pastor.
David restarting writes about his journey is new book from the -- to the pulpit the question -- drop and he joins me now from Tampa Florida welcome.
Thank you Wear out you know -- you were talking about going from you know world class wrestler to being a pastor.
How how did that happen.
Well.
I believe I had to call my life from very early on from god.
And I knew it but I ran -- it for most of my life.
And when I became a wrestler found that I had area a platform and people would listen to me says children would listen to me.
Love seeing the the wrestler can mountain and talk about all the good things.
And as as my wrestling career wound down.
Wondering what I was gonna.
Continue to do with my life the the call of god came back him and and I realized then that I could continue with that platform to be -- agent of change.
Are you talking about that -- physical health problems as a child what where does.
All I had been in and out of the hospital many many times.
You couldn't be anything simple play if I had -- slightest and I had a number of other things -- had to be taken care -- at the same time I was and sort of -- when I was about three or four years old and ended up with appendicitis and having all kind of issues there and everything that happened to me just got worse and worse so -- spent a lot of time in the hospital.
-- swings onto wrestling to sort of overcome those kind of health issues.
I don't know -- overcome the health issues with dialogue we always want to be an athlete my father was a baseball player who.
Made it to the semi pros -- and I wanted to be like him but I was never coordinated enough I was very.
Wind he actually is skinny -- I would say -- was the original.
Poster boy for us stick man and just.
Never measure up.
And so.
As they aged.
My body changed and I was health is working -- in the -- and and people said -- he ought to give wrestling to try and and I did.
And it worked out even know I was told right before -- national television that I wasn't what they were looking for and -- three months after that I hear him on national television.
Interesting and the lord of wrestling.
Is very -- if -- -- -- by the platform.
But then there's a difference and and you have to go from being in the ring to being in the pulpit and how did you make that transition and also.
I guess the main question -- is what advice do you give to other people about how to change their lives.
Kind of well.
To make that transition -- I was very fortunate my wife and I and a fitness center in saint Petersburg Florida at the time that I was wrestling.
So give me a lot of time that I could study -- could do things whatever needed to do so.
Right after starting back in church -- I grew up Catholic but nominate a Church of God pastor and I made the transition from catholicism to.
Protestantism.
And and I knew that that call was all my life so I went back to college went online and received.
Associates degree in a bachelor's degree.
In in Christian studies church studies.
And so by having my own business and in wrestling.
I could that I could study and spend the time that I needed to prepare for -- for the -- And even -- for parent I was even then I was told I wasn't what they were looking for when I went to apply to become a Church of God pastor initially.
And things changed over over time but I continued my studies and and they accepted me and now as far as the second question what do you do to change your life -- force steps I think that you have to do that to change your life.
First you have to decide what it is that that you want out of life.
You need to find your your your purpose in life and in order to do that I think you need to find your passion and I would say.
Look for what makes you cry look for what breaks your heart that your passion.
You passion wolf will point you to the purpose.
Then they have to decide am I gonna go after that purpose of my you pursue that right once you decide that I'm gonna do that.
-- have to decide am -- willing to pay the price.
And the price might be in the form of money to go back to school.
-- in the form of time it's gonna take you to go away from your family here or from other things and -- an -- from there you.
You decide if you want to if you're gonna pay the price and then you just go after.
Wonderful wonderful requests a lot of bring a little chat here too because it's such instruments says you know -- -- defines who we are.
True transformation defines how we act we're talking about the gun violence -- but I -- -- give you one last comment on someone like Lance Armstrong -- -- revealing interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Any any final thoughts on the.
You know if everybody does what they feels they have to do at that time.
He felt he had to use the the drugs and whatnot and to you know maybe felt because everyone else was using that maybe it was just something that he felt he had to win he had no choice.
You know that that's up to him and his conscience and and you know because of his platform his raised millions and millions of dollars for cancer.
Researching them and you know so.
You know out of bad something good came out of it.
While I want to thank you so much.
-- pakistanis faster three light the tree of life Church of God and he's an author from.
Over the book from the ring to the -- the quest to measure up I want to thank you so much for being here.
Thank you so much -- -- of my spank him.
