Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Seddon.
Hi Daniel, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born in 1992 and diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis when I was just four days old. At the time, my parents were told my life expectancy was around 30 years old. While I was too young to understand what that meant, that reality shaped much of my life growing up.
Despite the diagnosis, my parents made a decision early on that CF would be part of my story, but it wouldn’t become my identity. They encouraged me to live life fully, and because of that I grew up playing sports, competing, and pursuing goals that many people thought would be nearly impossible for someone with CF.
Eventually I became a college baseball player and later began coaching and developing athletes. Sports taught me a lot about discipline, resilience, leadership, and overcoming adversity.
Over the years, I’ve watched friends with CF lose their battles with the disease. I’ve experienced setbacks, uncertainty, and the emotional weight that can come from living with a condition that constantly reminds you life isn’t guaranteed. At the same time, I’ve been incredibly blessed. I’m married to an amazing wife, we’re raising our son (who we had via IVF, and after multiple failed cycles), and I’ve had opportunities to accomplish things I once wasn’t sure I’d get the chance to experience.
Today, I’m focusing more intentionally on sharing my story through social media, speaking engagements, and writing. I recently discovered a passion for speaking after realizing that many of the struggles I’ve faced aren’t unique to people with Cystic Fibrosis. Everyone has an “expiration date” they’ve accepted; a limitation, label, setback, or belief that tells them what they can’t do.
My mission is to help people challenge those limitations, live beyond them, and recognize that their circumstances don’t have to define who they are. At 33 years old, I’m living years I wasn’t necessarily expected to have, and I’ve come to see that not as borrowed time, but as an opportunity to make an impact and help others do the same.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Absolutely not. However, the struggles are what shaped me into who I am today. So in the end, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Living with Cystic Fibrosis means there is always some level of uncertainty. Growing up, there were daily breathing treatments, medications, doctor’s appointments, and the reality that my future might look different than the people around me. While I was fortunate to be able to play sports and live a relatively normal life, there was always a part of me wondering how much time I would have with my family, friends, and to do the things I love.
Some of the hardest struggles weren’t physical. They were mental and emotional. As a kid, I lost friendships because people were afraid of getting too attached to someone who might not live a long life. As I got older, I truly did not want to get married or have children because I was afraid of leaving them behind and dying young. Although I knew deep down I wanted that, I felt I could not pursue it. I also watched friends in the CF community pass away while I continued moving forward. That created a strange combination of grief, guilt, and gratitude that is difficult to explain unless you’ve lived it.
My wife and I also faced challenges while building our family. We went through multiple IVF cycles, experienced disappointment and heartbreak, and learned firsthand how difficult it can be to hold onto hope when things aren’t going according to plan.
What I’ve learned through all of it is that adversity doesn’t automatically make you stronger. It allows you to become stronger if you’re willing to keep moving forward.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Currently, I have the regular 9-5 office job working as an analyst at WorldWide Technology! But my passion is in other things.
More recently, I’ve felt called to something bigger. I’ve begun focusing on sharing my story through speaking, writing, and social media, using my experiences with Cystic Fibrosis, athletics, endurance sports, fatherhood, and faith to help others navigate adversity and pursue a life beyond the limitations they’ve accepted.
If there is one thing I specialize in, it’s helping people reframe what they believe is possible. Whether I’m coaching an athlete, speaking to a group, or sharing content online, the message is often the same: your circumstances don’t have to define your identity, and your limitations don’t have to determine your future.
I think what sets me apart is that my message isn’t something I learned from a book. It’s something I’ve had to live. I’ve experienced the tension of being told what my future might look like while choosing to pursue it anyway. I’ve experienced loss, uncertainty, setbacks, and fear, but I’ve also experienced incredible joy, purpose, and growth.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
I can confidently say, I would not be here without God and without my parents. When I say here, I mean to put it bluntly, alive.
My faith has been the foundation through every season. There have been moments in life where my own strength, motivation, or confidence wasn’t enough. During those times, my relationship with God provided perspective, purpose, and peace when circumstances alone couldn’t.
My parents were faced with a tough decision in 1992. They could put me in a bubble, hope I turn out okay, or they could chose to trust God, let me LIVE. I am forever grateful they chose the latter. They were scared, I can only imagine. But they taught me perseverance, stubbornness, and, most of all, to have faith. They encouraged me to pursue sports, challenged me to work hard, and taught me that circumstances don’t determine destiny. That mindset shaped the trajectory of my entire life.
My wife deserves an incredible amount of credit as well. She has walked through every challenge, uncertainty, setback, and victory alongside me. From navigating life with CF to enduring multiple IVF cycles as we pursued growing our family, she has been a constant source of strength, faith, and encouragement. Many of the accomplishments people see publicly would not have happened without her behind-the-scenes support.
Within the Cystic Fibrosis community, I’ve learned from countless individuals and families whose courage and resilience have impacted me in ways they may never fully realize. Some are people I’ve met personally, while others are people whose stories have inspired me from a distance. I have a note in my phone title “something to prove” (my go to phrase my entire life) that has names of individuals who have passed, names of people I read their story online, quotes from people who doubted, but most of all it’s an encouragement to me to remember why I am fighting and carrying on.
Pricing:
- For availability, speaking fees, and customized presentations, please complete the inquiry form.
Contact Info:
- Website: Speaking Inquiry form – https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe3wKkKM3cdZm55xvHvo8FbBOLcUMgK6cFvXMifGI64xEijMg/viewform
- Instagram: @dontdoubtD
- TikTok: @dontdoubtD
