#7 Forgiveness is freedom - Rusty Labuschagne, innocently imprisoned for ten years

Ten years in a Zimbabwean prison for a crime that never happened.
Innocent and totally stripped of his dignity. Rusty Labuschagne
faced hardships most of us will never be able to imagine.


In a heartbeat and totally unexpected, Rusty's life changed from
being a successful self-made businessman, flying his own
aircraft, owning expensive cars and boats to being framed and put
behind bars - experiencing the most horrendous and devastating
conditions in a high security prison cell with 78 others and
millions of lice.


His time in prison taught the humble Zimbabwean how priceless
freedom is, especially that of the mind(!), how important it is
to maintain a positive mindset (no matter the circumstances), how
powerful it is to be grateful for even the smallest things and
how liberating it is to truly forgive. These life lessons and
more is what Rusty shares with us in this episode.


How can someone forgive those that took ten years of his life?
“Forgiveness is freedom”, Rusty explains to me and without
forgiving he would not have made it through those incredibly
tough ten years. The day he let go of the immense bitterness and
truly forgave, Rusty felt a giant weight fall off his shoulders.
Forgiving, he says, is something you do for yourself, not for
others. Also, he emphasizes: not being in prison does not
necessarily equal being free. He sees clearly that freedom is the
ability to make a choice and act on it; to let go of what you
cannot control and to be free from negativity.


„We all carry a hero inside us“, Rusty says today. Even in the
hardest of times in the Zimbabwean high security prison, he was
convinced that there was a bigger reason behind all of it and
tried to find hope in the smallest of things.


Rusty's life today is filled with gratitude, love and true
freedom. Due to his positive mindset, he was able to recover
and heal the wounds from those terrible years in prison.He is
married to his wonderful wife Sandra who is a huge gift and
tremendous support. 


Rusty works as a successful global keynote speaker and shares his
inspiring story with audiences from all over the world. I first
met Rusty at a conference in Singapore and can still remember the
goosebumps I had for the entire duration of his captivating
speech. 


I am grateful to share with you this inspiring story of
resilience, strength and hope. Thank you, Rusty, for sharing it
with us in this episode and for reminding us of the value of
forgiveness, freedom and gratitude. 


Order now: Rusty's book "Beating Chains" Learn more about Rusty
or book him as a speaker: https://beatingchains.com/ 


 


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motivational speaker, get inspired by her? 


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