Yesterday, my friend Betz tweeted this insightful quote from Conan O'Brien:
"Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen."
The quote resonated with me yesterday in thinking about my business, but today, I was struck profoundly at how these words came to life in front of me in a completely different context. This morning, we set out to hike The Pinnacle on the Appalachian Trail in PA (8.5 mi round trip). Amongst the group was our good friend Chris, who, despite being confined to a wheelchair, hiked to the top of that mountain right alongside the rest of the able-bodied people. Something he has not done or had the option of doing for more than 10 years....
Armed with a mountain handcycle, unbridled determination, brute strength and a pack of very good friends, he hauled himself over some very steep and rocky terrain to get to the crest.
I can't begin to express the physical and emotional accomplishment of such a hike - cheers were whooped & tears were shed. (See the video below that M put together to get an idea..makes me bawl everytime.) Makes me think about all the little shit we let (yes, LET) get in our way everyday. Whether it's a suffocating mindset, a lack of control, laziness or fear of failure, it's ridiculous to think of all the barriers we put in our paths to sabotage our momentum and keep us from achieving our goals. Stop it. Work around your limitations, figure out a way to make it happen - and by all means, if you're not going to do something about it, don't dwell on it and don't complain about it - you lose that right when you choose paralysis. Get moving - work hard and be kind. Amazing things will happen!!!
Talkin' the talk and walkin' the walk.
When you've lived an active lifestyle and suddenly become disabled, your options for movin' & groovin' and seeing the world become quite limited. As a former Marine, Chris lives by the unofficial Marine Corps mantra: Improvise Adapt Overcome. Taking his commitment a step further, his foundation IM- ABLE is all about providing opportunities for other disabled people (esp. kids) to get up & move. (He also instructs hellaciously hard classes that keep M & me in top physical condition....a few readers have commented about my arms in other posts...credit goes to Chris!)
