By all accounts, Carl Dixon shouldn’t be alive today. When a head-first crash left him with 52 injuries — including a broken neck and traumatic brain injury — it would have been easy to give up hope for a future. In this episode of Chatter That Matters, Dixon shares the musical journey that led him to an Australian highway in 2008 and the journey of recovery that changed his perspective on life.
He takes listeners through his musical career that took off in the 1980s when he answered a newspaper ad to join the band Coney Hatch. He talks about their time on the road opening for bands such as Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, and how they just about cracked the top of the music scene, but fell just short.
Dixon chats about his transition to songwriting and how he stepped into Burton Cummings’ shoes as the lead singer of The Guess Who not once, but twice. He credits much of his success to being a decent person, keeping his nose clean and showing up for others.
He recounts details about his horrific car accident and how a squadron of guardian angels looked after him through several surgeries, 5 months in hospital and the rebuilding of his broken body. “Our thoughts are the most powerful force in the universe,” he tells Tony, explaining that mental stamina, his dream of performing again and fear of letting others down kept him going.
Dixon’s remarkable comeback shapes the message he delivers in the keynote speeches he delivers these days, which present a story of survival, strength and teamwork.
Tony Chapman created the Chatter That Matters podcast to counter the storm of negativity and impossibility with true stories of ordinary people who do extraordinary things. He chats with Olympians, Advocates, Celebrities, Leaders, and people who battled what seemed like insurmountable odds.
In doing, listeners hear life lessons that inspire all of us to do more and to be more, to help us get to where we need, want and deserve to go. RBC is the presenting sponsor.
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