Some say we never know who we are until we face adversity. Radio host, author and psychologist Daniel Gottleib found out he was a healer.

Gottleib was honored in Taipei with the Fervent Global Love of Lives Medal last month, in honor of his work encouraging people to cherish and respect life.

A near-fatal car crash paralyzed Gottleib 30 years ago, costing him the use of his arms and legs. He said in his acceptance speech that knowing he could not become the man he wanted to be, he gave up hope. Within five years his wife left him and both his parents and sister died.

According to the China Post, he overcame his depression when a nurse in an intensive care unit asked him to counsel her on the pain and grief she felt after losing a loved one. He helped her, making him realize he still had the ability to help people.

"I knew that I couldn't become the man I wanted to be, but over the past 30 years, I've become the man I always was," Gottleib said. "I've become the man I always was inside."

The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts there will be almost 200,000 working psychologists by 2016.