In this episode, Jenn Klein interviews Britten Schenk for an inspiring conversation about generosity, purpose, and the many ways ordinary people can make a meaningful difference. Together, they explore Britten’s personal journey, the experiences that shaped his desire to help others, and how giving can create connection, joy, and a lasting ripple effect in our communities.

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Guest Bio

Britten Schenk is a published author, inspirational public speaker, and life coach who has spoken at more than 120 events across four countries. He loves serving others and helping people recognize their worth, build confidence, overcome challenges, and become the person they are capable of becoming.

Britten’s message comes from personal experience.

In 2012, while serving a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Brazil, Britten was involved in a devastating accident while walking across a street and was struck by a bus. That collision left him with a traumatic brain injury and permanent, significant vision loss. Over the years that followed, he faced many additional challenges, including seizures, health setbacks, and having to change career paths multiple times.

Through it all, Britten continued finding ways to get back up, move forward, and build a meaningful life.

His journey eventually led him to earn a bachelor’s degree in Business and Marketing Management and pursue a career focused on helping others. Today, through his speaking, writing, and coaching, he shares lessons about resilience, self-worth, confidence, developing strong support systems, and reaching your full potential.

Britten especially enjoys encouraging young people, families, trauma survivors, and anyone who feels their circumstances have placed limits on their future.

For Britten, success is about more than personal accomplishments. It is about taking what he has learned and experienced and using it to lift, encourage, and serve others.

Britten is a husband and father who travels around the world to make a positive impact in the lives of others.

Show Notes

For more information and resources, please go to:

Website – brittenschenk.com/

Book: “A Future So Bright” available on Amazon

Find Britten on LinkedIn , Facebook, and Instagram

Transcript

[00:00:00] Welcome to the You Are a Philanthropist podcast. This is Jen Klein, your host, and today I’m with Briton Schenk. Briton is a author, certified life coach, and a speaker. He was in a severe car accident in 2012 and now works to serve others and help others through his story.
Welcome to the You Are a Philanthropist podcast with Jen Klein, a certified fundraising executive and philanthropic entrepreneur. This show is dedicated to empowering and inspiring you to make a difference in your community and our world. Jen believes all acts of kindness matter, and this show is designed to help you take pride in your everyday actions of improving the lives of others and making a change in the world.
Now, here’s [00:01:00] Jen.
Briton, welcome to the show.
Hey, Jen. Thank you so much. It’s a pleasure to, to be here and to, to talk a little bit more about, you know, what I enjoy doing
I’m so glad you’re here, and I’m really eager to share your story of hope and, the good work you’re putting into the world. So why don’t we just get started?
Tell us your story of how you came to help others through sharing your story, of your accident in 2012.
Okay. Yeah, perfect. I’d love to. So I’ll just share a little bit about my story, introduce, um, uh, about my story. So in 2012, um, I was in a severe accident. Um, I was serving a religious mission in Brazil.
Uh, it was a two-year, uh, mission, and towards the end, I just had a few months [00:02:00] left, and, uh, one evening I started walking across the street, and I was hit by a bus. Uh, long story short, I was not supposed to survive. Uh, I was in a coma for a month, battling all different kinds of infections and, uh, things like that, and, um, after I woke up from the coma, there was still so many challenges, um, during the short term.
Uh, a lot of them were, you know, doing physical therapy. That was the least of my worries. Another one was having to do speech therapy. Um, on the left side of your brain is where your language is located, and so my memory of language was completely erased, so I had to relearn how to talk and read and write.
And I was a… You know, at that time, I was a 21-year-old having to relearn how to talk and read and write, so I felt like I was a kindergartner. Um, and so I did speech therapy for the next three and a half [00:03:00] years. Um, with that being said, there was all other different kinds of, you know, physical challenges. Um, physically, uh, another big challenge was that I lost the majority of my vision.
Uh, I’m completely blind on my right eye and blind on three-fourths of my left eye, so it’s kind of like looking through a straw, and it’s being a little bit blurry as well. So that’s been a big challenge that I’ve had to face. Um, but I just became, uh, to learn how how powerful it is to be grateful for what you do have, you know?
And so that’s one of the things that I can say that I am grateful that I actually can see. You know, there’s many things that I am grateful for, and that’s one of them. Um, another, you know, several other of the challenges, not necessarily physical, but, um, there’s several others that were [00:04:00] more mental, uh, and emotional, um, challenges that I faced.
Um, but through all of that, that’s kind of where, um, you know, about six months after the accident, I was asked to, um, just share my story at a faith-based event. Um, and after I did that, there was, you know, several people that came and talked to me, and they were just like, “Wow, that’s so inspiring,” and, “Thanks for sharing your story.”
And a lot of them were just really, um, just showed me how, um, grateful they are for how their life is. Um, but also it just gave them a lot of appreciation for people like me, um, sharing my story, but even more than that, trying to connect with them and share a message that can help them, um, in the long term, you know?
And after I did that, that’s where I kind of found, um, my purpose [00:05:00] in speaking and sharing my story because they found, you know, those people that I spoke to, they kind of showed me how much that helped them, and that just made me so, um, excited to be able to do a little bit more of that. So I was asked to speak at a lot of other, you know, faith-based events the next year or two after that.
But then it- I started speaking to more, um, other aspects like to businesses, to elderly centers, to lockdown facilities, um, a lot to high school, um, students, and a few universities as well. And it’s just been, yeah, that’s been my passion since then, is just sharing my story and trying to help people, um, you know, realize their worth, their value, um, to help them discover their purpose, um, to build confidence and to continue moving forward in life no matter how challenging their life can be.
You know, and so that’s kind of where I found [00:06:00] that’s what I can do to help a lot of people in that way. Um, and that’s just brought me a lot of happiness with that, so
Wow. Well, you’re a walking miracle.
Oh, thank you. I appreciate
that. I’m so, I’m so glad to hear that you survived such a experience like that.
I, um, you obviously work very hard, um, to, uh, overcome those physical and mental challenges. Yeah. And I’m so encouraged to hear that you use gratitude as a way to serve others, to educate others, to lift up yourself. Why don’t we start with that? Can you tell us about what you’ve learned through this journey about gratitude?
Yeah. So, I mean, there’s been so many things that early on in my life I was facing challenges and things like that. So that’s where kind of I started learning to be [00:07:00] grateful for the things that you do have. Um, and so, you know, after my accident, that was a whole another level of challenges that I was facing, you know?
And so it was early on in my life that I learned how powerful it is to remember how grateful you are for the things that you do have. Um, but, like, even now, there’s still things that I am so grateful for, even after my accident and the difficult journey that I’ve, um, gone through. Uh, like, I could look in the past and just be so discouraged and frustrated and upset on, you know, what happened to me, um, not knowing why it happened, being uncertain of what my future, um, looks like, you know?
But that’s where I remember that I do have a [00:08:00] choice in life, you know? And one of the biggest and most powerful things that you can have, and the choice that you can do, is be grateful for what you have, you know? And there’s a lot of things that I can be grateful for, and one of them, you might have just heard my, um, my daughter, um, just saying the ABCs and, and playing around a little bit just a couple minutes ago, but that’s one of the things that I’m so grateful for, is, um, to have such a special wife and two beautiful daughters.
And, um, another thing is the strong support system that I have had. Um, I’ve have one of the most amazing families. My parents, my siblings, they all helped me so much throughout of that, through, you know, the first few years, and without them, I don’t know where I would be without them, you know? Um, and, like, as I said, my wife, she is my rock right now, and she has helped me so much.
You know, there’s still a challenge that I’m facing, [00:09:00] um, right now, but, you know, she’s the one that’s keeping me strong, keeping me going, you know? So there’s a lot of things that I am grateful for, um, just as, you know, examples with all of that. But it’s honestly just recognizing the power of gratitude, um, that honestly helps Um, transform who you are as a character, um, because it really helps, uh, change your attitude, I feel like.
Um, instead of looking at the negative aspects in your life that you go through, of course everybody’s gonna have challenges. It might be different for each person, but you’re gonna have challenges. But instead of looking at things negatively, um, being grateful for things that you do have, it brings that attitude of positivity in your life, and that’s what helps brings your character, you know?
And so that’s just a few things that I wanted to share how powerful, um, gratitude can be.
I am right there [00:10:00] with you through my own journey of understanding life and giving back and service. I’ve, and being positive person. Yeah. I have also learned about the power of gratitude, and I wrote about, uh, it i- in a chapter in my book.
Yeah. And I also created a journal, like a companion journal, called The Giving and Gratitude Journal. Uh-huh. Um, and I write in there every day things I’m grateful for, because there is some power in writing it down, too. I don’t know if, if you, um, write it down or if it’s just a mental note for you. But, um, can you tell me about the book you, you wrote, too, since we have that in common?
So it’s called A Future So Bright. Um, and so this is about my story. It goes in depth, you know, prior to my story or prior to the accident, and then, um, all of the things that I faced after the accident.
Um, and then there at the end it talks about, you know, the [00:11:00] things that I’ve learned that has really helped me, um, not only go through, um, you know, all of the challenges that I did, um, but it’s really helped me become a stronger and a better person, you know? Uh, and so yeah, that’s kind of what my book is about.
Um, I really use my book kind of starting off just as, um, documentary, just, you know, for me, my family, my children, grandchildren, stuff like that. But that’s where I really, um, started going more into speaking and I saw that writing a book can be so much helpful and powerful for the readers, you know? And so that’s why I went in there, um, uh, add a lot more insight that could be really helpful for the readers as well.
Um, so it’s, yeah, a very strong, uh, inspirational book for any of those that are, you know, facing challenges or would like to prepare for, um, facing [00:12:00] challenges in the future, so.
I also can tell that when you help people, it’s, um, a p- it has become a passion of yours.
Yeah.
Can you tell me about k- uh, there’s something that I wrote about in my book called the helper’s high, and that’s when we help others, it feels good to us, too.
There’s this, you know, cyclical relationship. Like, can you tell me about how it’s helped you in your journey to help others give back?
Yeah, for sure. That’s kind of what I was saying, um, at the beginning, is like when I started speaking for the first time, at that point I was in a very dark place. Um, prior to the accident, I could see my future so clearly, and I was so, you know, pumped and excited and ready to go because I knew what my future was, was [00:13:00] in store.
And then after the accident, it was seriously, um, a life-shattering event. Um, so many of my life, parts of my life changed. Um, and so at that point I was very, you know, in a dark place. Um, I’m not gonna lie. Uh, but that’s where once I went and I shared my story and there were other people that came and talked to me and told me how much that was helpful for them, that’s where it actually helped me, and that’s kind of where I found a little bit of my purpose again in life.
And so that’s where I realized that helping other people, it’s not- Um, only about helping others, but it can help you just as much. You know, you’re… You can be such a, a individual in serving others. Um, and yeah, it can help so many other [00:14:00] people, um, in so many other ways, and that’s what people need. Um, but it can also help you just as much.
Um, it brings that kind of happiness and, and eternal joy, um, in your soul. Um, and that’s where you can really find that kind of, uh, purpose in your life with that. And I, I talk about that a little bit in my, in my book on how strong it can be when you’re helping others. Uh, uh, just a little bit more about my story is the power of gratitude, as I shared.
Um, the power of having faith in God, the- but also having faith in yourself. I feel like that’s a big part that many people need in, in life nowadays. Um, it also talks about, you know, having a positive attitude in life and how powerful that can be. Having a very strong support system, uh, is needed. [00:15:00] Um, and all of these things are very impactful for, for the readers, you know?
And so if any of you are interested, it’s on Amazon. Um, you can go ahead and just type my name there, Britton Shank. Uh, it might be just be easier. It’s hard to spell my name. I’ve got a very unique name. Um, but yes, the fu- the title is A Future So Bright: The Inspiring, Story of Resilience, Faith, and Hope.
That’s beautiful. So I am curious because you mentioned that, you know, you had this vision for your life and you thought you were going one way, and then this very life-changing event happened to you, and y- you had years of recovery from. Tell me about how your purpose has maybe stayed the same or changed, um, in ways that you were, are unexpected.[00:16:00]
Yeah. For me, um, before the accident, I, I’m a person that I really like serving other people, and so that was kind of my goal in serving. Um, obviously I wanted it to support my family financially really well. And so what I was planning on doing was becoming a dentist before my accident. Uh, so before I went and I served that religious mission, I went to a university for a year.
Um, I was very close to getting my associate degree. Um, I got 28 college credits from, from high school. Uh, and so before my mission, I was at, um, pretty much in pre-med. I was going to be a dentist. Now, yeah, after the accident, losing the majority of my vision, having to relearn how to talk and read and write, having a extreme and severe traumatic brain injury, being a, becoming a dentist [00:17:00] was impossible, you know?
And things like that can be very devastating to hear that, um, you have limitations. Um, and I know that that’s hard for a lot of people. Um, but that’s where you’ve got to, uh, realize that you can still find purpose in life even with limitations. It’s not limitations that define you, but it’s how you, um, react to those and how you find a purpose in a different way.
Um- And so, uh, that’s where I still wanted to serve others, but I wasn’t really sure what it was. And so I- that’s kind of where I found in speaking, um, how impactful that could help other people. And so that kind of became my, uh, service in helping other people. Sharing my story, um, and the things that I learned that can really help, um, and define them, uh, in the long run.
And so, yeah, I’m a speaker. I became a certified life coach after [00:18:00] that, um, more specific to, you know, mental health, uh, resilience, things like that. Um, also really good for those in the youth generation because I feel like that’s a big part of their life. That’s what they need. Because nowadays they’re facing a lot of things like anxiety, um, depression, uh, self-doubt, not sure in who they are.
And so that’s where it’s very helpful to, um, serve others and help them, uh, find who they are. Um, help them bring that kind of confidence, self-worth, uh, things like that to them. And so n- not necessarily my purpose changed, um, after my accident. After my accident, I did feel like I didn’t really have a purpose at all.
But after a little bit of time, um, I realized that I still do have a purpose, and my purpose actually became stronger after that, um, [00:19:00] for me to help and serve other people. It was just in a different way, so.
Yeah, that’s a remarkable understanding because like you talked about, it can be easy to get bogged down with negative voices that we all have in our heads.
And, um, to realize that, wow, my purpose is even stronger now, like it’s very clear to me that God kept you for a reason- … on this side. Absolutely. And, um, tell me more about your faith.
Yeah. Um, faith has always been something that means a lot to me. Um, faith in God, I have seen His hand in my life so many times after the accident.
Um, I do talk about that in my book too. There are so many, um, miracles that happened, which I feel like you don’t see that nowadays, but it proves that miracles still [00:20:00] happen. Um, and my faith in God and my faith in Jesus Christ is what, um, really has been my foundation from the ground up. I had to literally build my life from the ground up after my accident, and the very first thing that helped me do that was my faith in God and my faith in Jesus Christ.
And I have seen their, their love, their grace, um, and the help that they have given me to help keep moving forward with all of that. And so, yeah, for me, faith is, is a big part of my, my, um, of my life. It’s, it’s kind of who I am, uh, having that kind of faith in God and faith in Jesus Christ. And as I, as I said, I feel like it’s very important not only believing in them, but believing in yourself, having that kind of faith in yourself.
Because I feel like if you have faith in God [00:21:00] and having faith in Jesus Christ, they believe in you too, because they believe that you can do hard things, and I feel like if they believe in you, then you should be able … believe in yourself too. You should have faith in yourself too. Even, you know, you’re facing very challenging things in life, you know, hardships, adversities, things like that.
If you have faith in God and if you have faith in yourself, you’ll be able to do remarkable things in life.
Yeah, I totally agree 100%. Um, I’m, I am a woman of faith as well, and, um, I love that you said, like, God and Jesus believe in you. Mm-hmm. And so if they, the power, um, the highest power believe in you, then, then you of course should receive that and believe in yourself too.
Mm-hmm. I didn’t, I didn’t think about it in such a way like that before. That’s really cool.
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Thank you.
And so you, [00:22:00] you’ve had the opportunity to speak to, um, many people now, um, sharing your story in different, um, organizations and companies and facilities. What have been some of the highlights for you in talking to people a- about, you know, encouraging them to, um, love themselves, to care for themselves, to, um, you know, be
stay positive?
Yeah. Thanks for asking. I feel like in, you know, through the speeches I’ve done, um, it’s not necessarily my story, but it is that I can connect with them really well, um, and that the messages that I have can really help them moving forward. It’s not just that they enjoy me speaking to them for that, you know, 30 minutes to an hour while I’m [00:23:00] talking, but they– it’s something that they can take in with them and remember that for a very long time.
And that’s what I really enjoy because, um, one example is in 2015, I went and I spoke at a lockdown facility. There’s, uh, been a few that I spoke at, but that was the very first one that I spoke to in Provo, Utah. Um, it was for troubled, um, young boys between the age 14 to 18 and, you know, they were all having challenges.
You know, that’s what happens to everybody. But they were all at a point in their life wh- where they didn’t know what their purpose was, and they were trying to, you know, figure that out. Um, after I shared my message, uh, a few weeks after that, a letter from the principal there, um, and the, you know, the [00:24:00] planners and everything there at the lockdown facility.
And along with the letter, it became– there was a lot of, um, little letters from a lot of those young men, and it was just so fun to see how much it helped them. And then, uh Like maybe three years after that in 2018, um, I got a letter from one of the same boys, um, and he really changed his life, um, from just hearing my message.
And so that’s where just, you know, seeing these letters and hearing messages from the people that I’ve touched, it really helps me more than anything keep moving forward in life. Um, just being able to see that I can, you know, make a difference for others is, you know, it really helps me a lot in my life.
Um, so I hope that kind of answers your question, but…
That’s so cool. [00:25:00] I love that. Um, s- so, you know, part of my goal in creating this podcast is to help people understand what they can do in big and small ways every day with, you know, overcoming challenges, helping others. Um, what’s some w- words of empowerment you would give for people who just don’t know where to start or who wanna get started?
What would be your advice?
Yeah. I love that. So there’s been a lot of things that I have learned, you know, throughout my youth, but especially after the accident, you know, during that journey. Um, you know, there was a lot of experience that, um, gave me a better understanding of being in situations of anxiety, um, unsure of who I am, what my purpose is, um, and honestly not knowing how to [00:26:00] battle certain adversities and things like that.
But at the same time, during those experiences, that’s where I realized I do have a choice, that I wanted to fight for what I believe in, that I wanted to continue moving forward in my life. Um, and even though I did have to rebuild my life from the ground up, um, I found so much more growth, so much more, um, of greater perspective of other people, um, that are facing those kind of challenges.
And it’s, it’s really something that helps me a lot throughout my, my time when I can really look at that and see what has helped me, and then be able to share that. And so just a few of the things that, um, has really helped me, uh, usually when I go to speak, um, I have created my own, what I call a RISE approach.
RISE is an acronym, and that stands for [00:27:00] realize your worth, improve self-confidence Having a very strong support system and elevating your true self. And so I feel like the very first thing that you have to do is realizing your own value, your worth. I know that that’s very hard for a lot of people in life, but that’s really what you’ve got to understand is that you are a very important person, that you can make a difference in the world.
And even though you might not believe that at a certain point in your life, that is the truth. That’s what so many of the greatest people in the world, um You know, those individuals that can make a difference, they went through that exact same situation a long time ago. They were facing something very challenging, and that’s where they had [00:28:00] to realize their own value, their worth of what they can do in, in life.
Um, the other thing is having confidence. You know, a lot of times when you’re facing something very difficult, you’re really doubting your own self, but that’s where you gotta step it up. You’ve gotta believe in yourself because having that kind of confidence, it, it, it’s obviously very different than, um, being cocky.
You know, being cocky is showing outward and trying to prove other people that you are confident, but more that you are better than them. What confidence is, is believing inside of yourself. And believing in yourself, that’s where you can start doing great things because that’s where you start becoming proactive with those kind of things.
And then having support system, that’s where you can find so much, um, value from getting help from other people. Um, you know, mentors, uh, there’s a lot [00:29:00] of different, uh, things that you can find in social media with different groups and things like that. Um, but just as important or even more important is the people that you’re closest to, you know, your family, um, your friends, uh, things like that.
And then the last thing that I said, elevate your true self. That’s kind of more of a broader subject, but that’s where I really define your purpose, um, helping you build resilience in your life, and start acting on what you want to do. You know, be proactive with all of those things. Um, and just as I said, that’s where you can really find that kind of happiness as you serve other people, um, and really do what you want to do because that’s what you enjoy with all of those things.
So that’s just a little bit of, you know, what I talk about, but that’s where I really found those are the specific things that helped me the [00:30:00] most. I know that there’s a lot of other things that, um, can, can help you as well, but those are the specific things that have helped me so much, and I know that that’s what can help you as well.
That’s awesome. Um, and I always like to ask my favorite question to my listeners. What’s your vision for a better world?
Oh, I love that. I think just as we’re talking about service, that is such an, s- sorry. That is something… That’s what happens with a traumatic brain injury and with aphasia. Sorry, let me repeat myself.
Um, service is something that can really help, um, other people, and that’s what we need more in the world today. Um, that’s where you really show love. That’s where you really show, um, your meaning, um, to help care, take care of other people. And I feel like th- those kind [00:31:00] of things is what brings that kind of joy and peace in the world today.
Um, I feel like there’s so many things that can really help the world, but if I was going to say one thing, that’s what it would be, is service, helping other people.
Oh, I love that so much, and you do such a good job of that. Thank you. And you … It sounds like it, it’s been something that’s been with you since an early age, and I wanna thank you so much for sharing your story today.
Um, it’s been an inspiration for me, and I know it will be for my listeners. And I just wanna say thank you so much for what you do and for what you will continue to do. I wanna make sure my listeners, um, go to my show notes, and they can find the link for your book and, um, your website. And d- what’s your favorite charity to give to?
Um, I, I don’t know. There’s a lot of [00:32:00] things. You know, m- kind of my charity is giving that kind of gratitude, love, and appreciation to many of the people that help helped me in my life. There has been so many. I have been blessed with a great support system, as I said. That’s just the easy way to say it, but there’s been neighbors, um, throughout, you know, where I live.
Um, there’s been my, you know, my family. There’s been so many of my friends and people from Brazil that I met, um, thousands of those, you know, individuals that have really supported me and helped me a lot in that. Um, it’s that kind of love that I feel from other people, um, and that’s what really helps me.
You know, as I sh- as I said, when I, you know, speak, um, and I can see that I can help a lot of people, that’s really what helps me a lot, is just seeing, um, you know, a lot of people that I can help. They help me just as much. [00:33:00] Um, and so that’s kind of a little bit of what I wanted to share with, you know, the charity, but…
Awesome, yeah. So, and I have recently created GoFundMes. Yeah. Um, and so I’m sure- Great platform … you’re familiar with that, and-
Yeah …
um, that’s such a great, um, opportunity to give to people directly who are in need that y- we know and s- have supported us. And, um, so that’s a good reminder. Um, and can you, um…
Do you have any last words of advice for our listeners today?
Yeah. I feel like the, the important things in life is to remember who you are, that you do have value, um, and that helping other people is really what you can find joy in your life. And so it’s those important things that helps keep you moving forward in life and helps you find joy in life, and it brings that kind of love and peace, uh, and gratitude in your life and in the lives of [00:34:00] others as well.
Thank you so much for bring, being here, Britton. I’m so thankful our paths crossed, and- Of
course …
I hope we meet in person one day.
Yes, of course. I would love that.
Have a great day.
Thank you. You too, Jen. Thank you.

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