Darren Neuberger is a Motivational speaker and author of the book Lets Talk About it, has survived addiction and cancer. He has camped out at the foothills of rock bottom and he has found a way to climb inch by inch back up to the top. He gives credit to his faith, and to a shift that caused him to believe himself. Darren has since dedicated his life to helping others find hope in the most bleek of situations.
Darren Neuberger was born in Weyburn Saskatchewan Canada. He is the youngest of four boys and older sibling to his sister, Michelle. Growing up in a very athletic family is where he gained his competitive edge, especially being the smallest amongst the brothers and most of his peers. He accredits his three brothers as being his motivation to excel at all things sports related as he always wanted to prove that he could play with the big kids. Baseball was the sport of choice for Darren and throughout his days as a player and later a coach, he had the privilege of being a part of the National Champion, Western Canadian and numerous Provincial winning teams.
Darren’s life was a roller coaster from 2000 to the end of 2002. He married the love of his life in 2000 all the while hiding a gambling addiction from his new bride as well as family and friends. Even though life looked awesome on the outside, this addiction was tearing him apart in the inside. Darren was finally busted as to his addiction in late 2000 and soon joined a Gamblers Anonymous meeting to help get his life back on track. If you know anything about addictions then you will know that there is no magic cure or group that can keep you in abstinence, especially when the addict truly believes that they do not have a problem and Darren was no different. After being “clean” for almost a year, Darren thought he was “cured” and could just try the slot machines on occasion. Bad move! However, that one slip on Oct.11, 2001 was the only slip and Darren hasn’t placed a bet since! Even though he physically stopped gambling, he still had to live the “after gambling” emotional roller coaster that plagued him right up until December 2002. Darren says that, for him, facing & living up to what you did as an addict and eating your humble pie was more difficult on the psyche than living as an active addict. The year 2003 saw new beginnings and a lot of soul searching. For the first time in a long time, he could look at himself in the mirror and feel okay with the person who looked back at him. Life for Darren and his wife was starting to take the positive steps forward but yet another devastating blow was on the horizon.
Darren was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on August 5, 2003 at the age of 34. Married not quite three years to his wife, Jaylene Ulmer, upon diagnosis, hearing the words, “You have cancer”, was going to put his competitive edge to the test. After spending two straight years in treatments, Darren gained complete remission and he calls this experience the greatest wake up call ever. Post cancer he became very vocal about cancer in young adults and shared his story to whoever would listen to him. From this he has also become even more vocal about the business of living, more importantly, engaging others to start living.
Aside from being an Inspirational Speaker, Darren is also a a Certified Empowerment Coach and published author of Let’s Talk About It: Inspiring Stories From Young Adult Cancer Survivors. The first word that comes out of people’s mouths after hearing Darren deliver a keynote is INSPIRING. Darren likes to call himself a thought provoker as his messages always make the attendees think about the people, places and things in their lives and if they are on the path that they truly want and need to be on.
Darren’s mantra is live life to the fullest and he has built his foundation around the three L’s – Live Through It – Learn From It – Let Go Of It. These are based on life experiences that he has personally experienced, from acceptance, addiction to failure, and cancer. He has built a very strong presence through Social Media as his inspirational – thought provoking Red’s Daily Jolt has gained thousands of followers in all Social Media avenues. The most important message that you will take away from hearing Darren speak is that no matter what it is that is holding you back right now, you can and will move forward from it and get on your path to living a fulfilled life.“You can’t be anything to anybody until you are everything to yourself.” This quote is one of Darren’s originals and these words inspired a friend to have them tattooed on her body. Within seconds of meeting Darren you can’t help but feed off of his positive energy and just feel happier by talking to him.
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