5 Leadership Lessons Living with a Disability

Living with a disability isn’t easy.

In 2006, I broke my back in a motocross accident that left me an incomplete paraplegic and I had to?learn how to walk again. As incredible as it is being able to walk, I still face challenges every single day living with an invisible disability.

For example, because of the nerve damage in my spinal cord, on a daily basis I experience chronic fatigue, pins and needles, muscle spasms, and much more which no one would see on the surface yet make each day more difficult than the average person.

This article, however, isn’t about my problems. It’s about the lessons I have learned living with a disability.

On December 3rd, as we celebrate International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD), I decided to reflect on lessons I have learned around leadership while living with a disability, and how it relates to adopting?The Hero Mindset?and becoming a hero in your own movie.

(ps. To learn more about The Hero Mindset keynote,?click here)

In my experience, persons with disabilities (PWD) and their caregivers and supporters are thoughtful, courageous, and incredibly resilient people, and we often have a lot we can learn from them.

This year’s theme for IDPD is?“Leadership and participation of persons with disabilities toward an inclusive, accessible and sustainable post-COVID-19 world.”.

Considering that, here are five tips to help you as a leader in celebrating the mindset of people with disabilities...