From Diagnosis To Destiny: How Deion Wells-Ross Turned Multiple Sclerosis Into Motivation (Inspirational)

What if the very thing meant to break you became the fuel that launched your greatest calling?

In this inspiring motivational/inspirational episode, Reginald D sits down with Deion Wells-Ross — former Division III national football champion turned entrepreneur — who shares his journey of turning a life-altering multiple sclerosis diagnosis into a mission-driven movement. Deion opens up about overcoming adversity, walking away from toxic environments, and launching Ento Dynamics, a company that helps others unlock their inner edge and reach the peak of their potential.

If you've ever felt like your circumstances were too heavy to carry, this conversation will reignite your belief in what’s possible through mindset, purpose, and faith.

Whether you're dealing with unexpected life changes, struggling with self-identity, or feeling stuck in a season of uncertainty, Deion’s journey will challenge you to redefine your limitations. This episode dives deep into resilience, purpose-driven leadership, and how to reframe adversity as a launchpad — not a roadblock.

 What You Will Gain:

• A new perspective on how to overcome physical and emotional setbacks through mindset and faith
• Practical strategies for taking "moonshots" and betting on yourself
• A proven framework to unlock your strengths and get to the edge of your potential

Press play now and discover how adversity can become the way forward — and how your greatest challenge might just be your greatest gift.

Deion's contact info:

Website: https://entodynamics.com

Instagram: @deionwellsross 

LinkedIn: Deion Wells-Ross 

Keep your eyes open  -- you'll see Deion as a motivational speaker on stages in the future.

Multiple sclerosis, overcoming multiple sclerosis, Into Dynamics, resilience podcast, inspirational entrepreneurship, adversity motivation, Christian entrepreneur podcast, mindset and leadership, personal growth podcast, motivational stories

Transcript

Welcome to Real Talk with Reginald D. I'm your host, Reginald D. On today's episode, I had Deion Wells-Ross. Deion is a former Division III football champion turned entrepreneur, the owner of Ento Dynamics. After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Deion chose not to focus on his disability, but on his greatest ability. Welcome to the show, Deion.

Yeah, thank you for having me. Super excited to be here.

Absolutely. Absolutely. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to spend a little time with me today.

Yeah. Yeah. I love what you're doing and the message you're putting out. So really is a pleasure to be here.

Thank you so much. Thank you. So then can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your upbringing and where you grew up?

Yeah. Yeah. Going back to the beginning, I am from Omaha, Nebraska, born and raised, grew up here. I grew up in the inner city, meaning I don't come from like a super rich or privileged background. So a lot of times people think that works against you, but it's actually worked in my favor. So long story short, I played basketball in college. I went to Midland University in Fremont. Things didn't work out and I transferred and just had a lot of great success. So all of the adversity, all of the hardships have been that launching pad to help me get to where I want to go.

Yes, absolutely. So you went from a national champion to an entrepreneur and everything in between, right? Right, right. What are the moments in your life that really shaped you and who you are today?

Yeah, good question. I feel like it's more of a collection of things. Like there wasn't just a one-time event. I would say the biggest thing though, is being diagnosed with MS, multiple sclerosis. So just to put it into perspective, I was a national champion, a high level college athlete. We actually played the championship in Salem, Virginia. So it's not too far from you. We actually flew into Charlotte and then had to drive to Virginia. But I went from that to having a disability. At this point in time, I can't run. I can't jump. I'll never shoot another basketball in my life. And that was really, really hard. Um, it was heavy. I still have a limp. The left side of my body doesn't quite work like it should or how it used to, but that was a really defining moment for me because. From my perspective, it was like, I either use this as an exit, like life is over, I'm going to take it easy and just fall back. Or I could use it as that springboard to really get to the edge of my potential. So that was like the most defining and life-changing thing for me.

Yeah, I bet it was. How old were you when you found out you had MS?

Yeah, so I was, it's funny, I was 28 turning 29. I'm 30 now. So it was really recent.

Wow. Wow. So a lot of people, I'm glad you said what you said, because a lot of people let their limitations define them, but you chose to focus on your greatest ability. You know, what advice would you give someone that's struggling with identity after a major life change like that?

I think it really boils down to what do you want out of life? I always say, start with the end in mind. Just because we have a disability or something life-changing, it's not the end. It's just the beginning, the beginning of what's new. So you have to figure out what's next for you. I had coffee with a good friend of mine yesterday, and we were kind of just talking like, life sucks. It doesn't hold back from anybody. And we all kind of get our turn. Like, you never know what life is going to hit you with. know what it's gonna hit you with. So it's like when it delivers that blow or that bad diagnosis or back hard, is this something you were dealt and you have to keep going? This sounds morbid, but nothing trumps death. So you're not dead. Just keep going, keep pushing. It could always be worse.

Yes, it could. And you said something that's been in my mind all last week. And that was, The question you said, what do you want? You got to figure out what do you want? And as I was thinking about that the other day, it was powerful, man. I was like, God, man, if you can just figure out what you want, that's the biggest step. You get that part figured out, then you know where to go from there. So I liked that. So was there ever a day you felt like giving up and what kept you going?

Yeah, circling back, I'm so crystal clear on like my purpose and my why. It's almost like every single day I wake up, I hear a voice that's like, D, you gotta get up, you gotta keep going. And I've learned that the days when you feel like giving up, that's when the magic happens because you don't feel like doing whatever you're called to do or whatever your goal is. And it's those micro breakthroughs like, oh, today I don't feel like doing it, but I'm going to win it. Um, and you string a lot of wins together that helps you overcome it. And frankly, like when I look back on my life, let's say I had two years to live. I don't want to be on my deathbed and say, I didn't reach my full potential because I gave up or I wasn't willing to take that next step. I think the other thing is there are kind of two steps or two, uh, different types of failure. There's failure from just saying, oh, I'm not good enough. So I'm not even going to try like failure from not doing. And then there's failure from trying and you just weren't good enough. I just know myself. I couldn't live with failure from, I just fell short. I gave it my all. I cannot live with failure from like not even trying. And I was just at home, covered up watching TV, like taking the safe route. That's like guaranteed failure. I can't live with that.

Exactly. Underachieving all your life. If you live like that.

Yeah.

So speaking of, uh, you know, your success and things you've done, you built into dynamics, you know, company focused on unlocking people's inner edge. What does that phrase mean to you? And tell us about your company.

Yeah, I love that. So first of all, into, it means inner in Greek. I'm a believer that we all have what we need to win and be successful inside of us. So you don't need to go out and try to figure out what's the magic formula or secret potion. You have it within you. So that's why I created Into Dynamics, Inner Dynamics. What we really focus on and how we help people get to the edge of their potential. We use psychometric assessments, meaning like the via character strengths rooted in research. And we help people understand who are you? Why do you function the way you do? So the edge of the potential means different things to different people. We don't define it for them. Whenever your goals are don't match everyone else's. So it's like. what do you want to accomplish? We have a very simple performance flywheel, a framework that we teach. It's who, how, where. Who are you? How do you perform best? And where do you want to aim it at? I read something that blew my mind. It said the richest place in the world is the graveyard. I was like, what made me scratch my head like the graveyard? And it went on to say, it's because so many people die with their potential left inside of them. And that like kind of sparked everything. Like why take what you have to the grave? Like you only get one life. There's only one, you there's one me and whoever hears this, there's one, you, you can offer what you have to the world. There will never be another opportunity. So. from my perspective is like, live out your life, play out your tunes, and offer what you have to the world.

That's so true. I tell people all the time, you know, wake up every day, God gives you breath in your body every day. You wake up, you might as well win, man. You might as well give it. You're out there anyway. You might as well do it. Right. You know?

There's no point of going through the motion. Yeah.

Yeah. And it's so hard for people to realize that. You know, I was like, hey, man, if you go to work, be the best at what you do at work, you know, at that time, you got to be there anyway. So you might as well do it right.

For sure. And it's so funny. You mentioned be the best, do the best. People are so afraid of that word best and then reverse the order. Meaning if you want to be successful, just become the best at something and successful follow that you can't just be mediocre or average and expect to become successful. So. figure out what you're the best at. And that's why it's good to know like your strengths and your talent. We all have our own work style and things we just naturally do better or we're the best at. So I'm like double down on that. And that's how you're going to become successful.

Yes, absolutely. Because, you know, if you are mediocre, you know, then your chest gonna be mediocre. Absolutely. That if you just want to be average, your chest gonna be average, man. So, absolutely. You might as well put the best in. So, so can you explain to the audience about moonshot?

Yeah, yeah. I love that term. I'm all about taking moonshots. It's really, maybe it's a massive risk. Maybe it's a small risk, but it's chasing your wildest dream. Something happened to me years ago and it kind of, uh, changed my psychological forming in my mind. So I talk about winning the national championship. That's like the apex moment. But if you go back to 2015, I took a massive risk. I played for a coach. He literally said, you suck. You are not good enough. I don't know why you're playing for my program, let alone any college program. And at that point in time, basketball was my world and he just like crushed it, threw it in the trash, lit it on fire and said, you aren't good enough. So I talked to all my friends, my family, mentors, my parents, everyone said, just stick it out, transfer at the end of the year, you will be okay. That's the best, that's the logical move. Well, I took control of my life and said, forget that. I'm taking a risk and I'm betting on myself. Quit the team, cold turkey. I looked the coach in the eyes and said, I'm done. I'm done with you. I'm done with this program. And I can't take any more of you getting in my face, cussing me out. Uh, it was like one of those things where it's like, man, all right, this is getting beyond basketball. I'm about to meet you after practice, you know? Uh, so I quit the team, no backup plans, zero connections. Two years later, well, really it took a year. I walked into a coach's office as a stranger. Two years later, we went on to win a national championship. And that's what I mean, moonshot, like that was a massive, massive risk. But if I wouldn't have taken that big risk, I would have never won a national championship. That fast forwards or parlays into now I work a corporate job and I'll be honest. I'm getting to that point where I have the itch to take another moonshot and I'm launching my own company. And, uh, this isn't just to like sound motivational or inspirational. Hopefully, not even hopefully, we'll look back at this podcast and say, man, this dude said and did exactly what he said he's going to do. It's like, man, I'm thinking Tony Robbins, Gary V, like the big names, I'm taking that moonshot, so.

Yeah, man, that's the only way, I mean, when you look at it, I know a lot of people think it's just falling into place, but if you don't take that big, like you say, moonshot, man, that big risk, Sometimes it never happened. It would never happen. And you know, you're in a situation like you were with this crazy coach. You know, you weren't feeling it in the morning. He was talking down to you and all that kind of stuff. You said, Hey man, you had an option to stick it out, you know, and then transfer and all of that. You were like, nah, I'm done. So you, you made your mind up for one thing. You made your mind up and you believe in you. I'll say it done. And that's, what's important. Cause at the end of the day, man, Anything gets done in your life, it's going to be you to do it. You know, you might have people help you here and help you there, but at the end of the day, you're going to be the one to close the deal.

Spot on. And that's why I say it's so important to get to the edge of your potential. No one else can define that, nor should you let anyone say, Oh no, you can only be an athlete. You can only be a musician or, uh, being a CEO. No, you don't do that based on where you come from. Like screw what other people think. Do what you believe in your heart. So.

Yes, sir. Absolutely. Absolutely. So what people that's afraid to think big, what would you say to someone who plays a small because of fear or failure?

Hmm. Yeah. I would say the first thing is failure is subjective in my eyes. I don't think you failed. If you tried, you failed. If you didn't try because you were too afraid to take the risk. The other thing is like take strategic risk. You may not go from like zero to a hundred, but as long as you're making incremental progress in the right way, it's worth it. And. It goes back to, do you want to take the safe route? And, uh, you know, kind of, I have this potential, I have this idea, but when life is all said and done, never realized it because I was too afraid to fail or stumble. Failure breeds growth. If I wouldn't have failed, if I wouldn't have missed the mark, if I wouldn't have had a coach that told me I suck, wouldn't have worked so hard, I wouldn't have won a national championship. So. As much as that dude drives me crazy to this point in time, like to this day, wouldn't be here without him. So failure is very much so the same way. Like failure is just part of life.

Yes, it is. And I can actually see this. I could see one day you've created this empire and someone come up to you and ask you, Hey man, how did you get this during successful? And you're going to look back and say, I had a coach that told me I sucked. That's how I got here. Started at a coach, told me years ago, I suck. That's how I got in this empire.

Right. It's like a little fire in me that will never be put out because the day I quit, I made myself a promise. I said, this is the last person that will ever tell me I suck. I'm not good enough. And that will try to place a lid on me. And still to this day, I'm still waiting on that day for someone to tell me, But I'm like, that is not happening. And success is really the best revenge.

Yes, it is. But it's one thing about you that I really sense from you being young, 30 years old, young man, you know, you have a true leadership strength inside of you. I mean, I can tell, I mean, I got 23 years on you, but at your age, you know, I didn't have it like that at 30. I don't think, but what do you believe in this generation of leaders need more than ever?

That's a really good question. As we say, as this sounds, I think they need our program, the inner advantage. And the reason is because every single person has a different set of strengths. So you need to learn who you are and how you function. It goes back to that framework, the who, we use the be a character strengths. Who are you? How do you show up? How do you make sense of the world? And then the how, how do you perform at your best? We have another assessment that's free on our website, but what's your work style? What type of leader are you? And then where do you want to aim it? I would say building on that, this next generation of leaders needs to, uh, I'll say, not be afraid to challenge the status quo. We're so influenced by social media influencers or whoever you look up to rappers athletes. But the reality is I'll say it. The people we look up to and put on a pedestal don't know anything. and they haven't accomplished much beyond their sport or their one talent, whether it's musical, athletic, whatever it is. So don't allow them to give you advice that you take as biblical. If you're going to take anything as biblical, read the Bible. That's the only thing that's going to lead you down the right path. I don't know, everything else is empty out in this world. So leadership is going to come from your own beliefs, staying guided or, uh, having like foundational principles you live by. I'll use myself as an example. Like I'm married, my wife and I have been together for almost 10 years, married for three. My life goal is seriously to be the best husband and the best father as possible. Most people don't talk about that. It's like, oh, I want to be rich. I want to be a millionaire. I want to have this car, this house. It's like, that stuff does not matter. Like, get your home life and your personal life in order. Become the best person you can and everything else will follow.

Yes, you're so correct because here's the thing. Like you said, people want to be rich. They're thinking about all those things, not thinking about being the best father, best husband. Like you said, you know, a lot of people feels like money is it. And some people probably say, man, as long as I'm rich, everybody good. And that's it. But it's way more than that, man. It's way more than that. You know, it's about leading and teaching and all of that stuff. When it comes to your family, you know, so your wife, your kids, and things like that, and that's the most expensive thing that you have is your family. Absolutely.

It's not cars, it's not houses.

The most expensive thing you have is your purpose and your family and God. Absolutely. You can't buy that from me. Period. So, I really like that. So, if someone is listening right now who feels stuck in their circumstances, what is the first step you would tell them to take?

Yeah, I would say starting with the end in mind. I've been there before where I felt like I was stuck, boxed in, life was just throwing everything at me. I have a natural, um, I'm wired to think about the future. I know this through like all these different assessments, but that is so powerful because yeah, you may be stuck in the mud right now, but if you think about your longterm vision or goal, start there, set an anchor and back into it. What's the first step in the right direction? I know sometimes it's like, I'm just trying to survive the next day or the next hour, but always be thinking about, all right, I'm working towards something. So I'm going to get through it and make just a baby step. You don't have to jump 10 miles or run 10 miles. It can just be one step, one kilometer, one yard. So that would be like my first piece of advice. Think about the long-term. and then work backwards, what's that next step?

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And the thing you mentioned earlier, you're talking about biblical. You know, I tell a lot of people, the older I've gotten, I've learned a lot, you know, through experiences, things like that. But for things to work out where I need them to work out, if it doesn't align with the Bible, I don't do it. If it don't align with the word, I'm not, I ain't messing with it. You can ask. Because to me, you can do anything you want to do, but if it's not aligned with what God has for you and the purpose he has for you and the biblical teachings, then it won't be sustained. You may have it, but you may not can keep it, you know, because it's not in his will, you know? So when you walk in purpose that's for you, it's now become sustained because you were in it with him and y'all working this thing together. So that's the way I look at it.

Yeah. And just building on that, you sparked another thought. Biblical, absolutely. I'm a believer. I have no problem saying that. My wife actually has a Jewish background or heritage. If you're living according to the Bible, or I'll just say you're living within reason, things will work out. The other side of it is, If you're not, don't expect to succeed. You hear the things all the time where people are like, Oh, you just have to be delusional. I want to be the next big rapper, or I want to make it to the NBA. Only a small, small, small percentage of people like realize that. So if you feel like you're stuck and you can't become the next big rapper, or you can't be a professional athlete. pivot. Your life is so much more than just doing those two things. And that's one thing I did have to learn. So think about your purpose and using the biblical, I'll say, knowledge or the things that are in the Bible will help you align. Everyone's not meant to be like that mega superstar that you see on TV.

Yeah, it's far and few, man. It's far and few. You go, you want to get out there and be the best, especially in basketball, football, or whatever the case may be, man. There's so many others out there that's just raw talent. You know, it's all said and done. So, yes, it's something to dream. You can dream it, but you're going to have to work. You're going to have to work at that point. Yeah, for sure. So, but, you know, like I say, I'm a firm believer in lining things up. One guy asked me one time before, he said, man, he said, you always say that if you don't match up with the world, you don't do it. I said, yeah, man. And he was like, well, why is that? I said, because the Bible ain't going to tell you nothing crazy. It ain't going to tell you nothing crazy. I said, you ain't going to listen to everybody else, man. If people tell you to do anything, you'll be all jacked up. So you have to align yourself with God's purpose for your life. And one thing I do admire about you, that you are focused, man. You laser it in, and I can tell. I can really tell that you're about your business. That's the way to be, and you have that. that drive and that unwavering mindset that, hey man, you ain't going to tell me that I can't do this. You ain't going to tell me I'm not enough. That ain't going to happen, because that's going to set you on fire. For sure.

And I always say that impossible is a state of mind. You think something is impossible, that's your own internalized belief. Anything is possible, like within reason. Don't say you can fly or something crazy, right? But if you want to be a entrepreneur, a CEO, a podcaster, it's possible. So don't internalize impossible. It's just a state of mind and you can make it real, but that doesn't mean it is real.

Yes, exactly. And I actually spoke about that on my podcast. I think about two weeks ago, it was titled anything is possible, you know, If you have that, if anything possible, that kind of keeps your faith that, you know, this can potentially get done. If I put my mind to it, I can make this happen. You know, don't think something crazy where you can go fly, you know, go jump off a building somewhere and it don't work out for you. But, you know, anything that's possible, man, when you put your mind to it, it's always that. And I don't know if you ever experienced this, there's always that something inside is picking at you or poking at you, like pulling you like, man, I'm like, God, man, this is where we're going, you know, it's what we're doing is it really won't turn you loose, it'll stay at you. And it's your purpose, your God and everybody is pulling at you saying, hey, this is it. This is the real deal. You know, get it done. So you have signs and you have things like that, man. It's got to be quiet and you got to just listen, you know, listen.

Yeah. It's funny you mentioned that. I'm going through that right now. where I have a good corporate job, but I feel so unfulfilled. And it's like, I just have this purpose, this nag, this thing that keeps me up at night. And that's why I'm launching my own business. It's funny, like I'm looking at my Zoom screen, but behind this is so many different windows, my tech stack and all this stuff I'm working on for the business. And it's just that thing that's like, Think of like when you're in a building and you know, like sometimes you just hear that quiet, annoying beep, whether it's the fire system, the security, it's like I have that internal buzz that I just can't shake. And that's my wake up call, like, D, you have to do it. You have to take that moon shot, so.

Yes, sir, that's it. Absolutely, that's what that is. And the good thing about it, Man, you're 30 years old, man. You know, you do it now. So that way you can, you can enjoy more of it. You know, don't wait 15, 16 start working things. You got it now. You do it now, man. You can enjoy more of it. For sure. So how can people stay connected on social media with you and the work you're doing through Intel Dynamics?

Yeah. So I am really active. I'm actually a content creator on LinkedIn and Instagram. You can just search my name. You can see it here, Dion Wells-Ross. And then on our website, Into Dynamics, we have a couple of different things. We have the InterAdvantage program, which is the eight week immersive coaching experience. It brings in the be a character strengths, some other performance frameworks and coaching. I have a team of really skilled coaches that are certified through the ICF. Um, and then beyond that, hopefully you see me like doing some professional speaking. So we have two core offers. The inner advantage, which is an hour long keynote that focuses on everything you've been hearing during this podcast. And the other one is called adversity is the way. So I introduced what I call the adversity equation to really help you become successful and kind of reframe the way you view adversity. 

Okay. That's awesome, man. It's so awesome. So there you have it, everybody. Dion Wells Ross. Dion, man, thank you so much for taking your time out to stop by. Man, I had a blast with you, man. 

No, likewise. This has been great. I'm feeling motivated. 

Yes, sir. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thanks for tuning in to Real Talk with Reginald D. If you enjoyed listening to Real Talk with Reginald D, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. See you next time.