35 Years Later: Why the first day of my Man In Motion World Tour was the most significant

35 years ago today, with only a few hours of sleep, and our whole team exhausted, I recall looking down from outside my apartment window as the crew loaded the motorhome for the start of my Man In Motion World Tour.

On this day, 35 years earlier, we didn’t do a lot to inspire confidence. Many didn’t know just how underprepared we were. We had enough funds to last two months. It would get us to Texas but not around the world. I was nursing the lingering effects of two injuries. And unbeknownst to me, my crew barely made it out of the parking lot of Oakridge Mall in Vancouver.

Approaching a narrow twisting tunnel with chains hanging down to indicate the maximum passage height, my crew lifted the chains and drove the motorhome full speed into the roof. The box fixed on top of the motorhome came crashing down, spraying equipment at the crowd of well-wishers and media. Our send-off made national TV. I could only imagine what the onlookers thought, “this guy can’t get out of the parking lot, how is he going to wheel around the world?”

It was a bittersweet day. But the fact is, that first day was also a great success. I look back on it as the most significant milestone of the Tour. In spite of all the imperfections, we broke through. While It would have been easy to bail or not start at all, we took that first stroke from Oakridge Mall. The journey from that point on would be a moment by moment, day by day struggle, but together with my team, we overcame our biggest fears along the way. The fears of failure, success, unknown, skepticism, self-doubt and apathy were rampant. It was an elusive line between taking a risk and being reckless.

I am grateful for my family, friends, mentors and teammates. They are the ones who put me in a position to have the courage to try. It’s because of my team of dedicated champions who had the audacity to believe it was all possible that 35 years later, I can reflect back on how my dream became reality. Together we completed the impossible journey of wheeling around the world to create awareness of the potential of people with disabilities, to raise funds for spinal cord injury research and to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities.

As I reflect, I’m reminded of my good friend, Terry Fox’s example through his Marathon of Hope. Don’t let the fear of failure be the death of some of your greatest dreams. Just take that first step!