Master of Resilience: Joshua Nathanson

You've probably never heard of Joshua Nathanson, but his story may just change your life. In a special episode, Michael interviews his 23-year-old son about his amazing resilience in standing up to life-threatening challenges.

Joshua was born in 1998 in Boston. He grew up in the suburbs of Boston and from the earliest age was naturally precocious, wise beyond his years and perhaps a bit more serious than his peers, and his ambitions were as large as his personality. He was born with a congenital heart and vascular disease. At the young age of 13, he had to have major open heart surgery to save his life. Unthinkably, that surgery didn't work. So he had to do it yet again, just as he was turning 14. This time he got better. But because of his health challenges, our guest wasn't able to play football, wrestle, or do some of the other physical activities that he desperately wanted to do as a young man. So what did he do? He just became a third degree black belt and senior instructor in Kung Fu. He became a competitive, natural bodybuilder competing for the first time only months after his second surgery. And he focused on his academics. His academic career was in some ways unparalleled and he eventually graduated with over a 4.0 GPA from Cornell University, a member of Phi beta Kappa.

He got into his first choice for law school, the University of Chicago, where he studies right now, but that's not the whole story. Last December after experiencing several warning signs, our guest got the tough news that he had to have his third open-heart surgery at the age of 22, and that he needed it to happen as soon as possible.

He did. And things seem to get better for him almost immediately after the surgery. In March of this year, however, he started experiencing sharp pains in his chest and back. Those sharp pains, it turns out were symptoms of a potentially deadly aortic aneurysm, which required emergency open-heart surgery yet again, for the fourth time. Our guest is now on the mend again, but he has a message for us. It's one of resilience, one of hope, one of strength and one of gratitude.

Seeking the Extraordinary is sponsored by The Colony Group. For more information and to contact Michael Nathanson visit www.thecolonygroup.com