Aug 8, 2022
The critical key to surmounting obstacles, conquering challenges, and reaching your goals lies in your mind. You have to believe with your whole being that you can do it. Often what holds you back is fear.
Today I talk with Michael Hingson,
author of Thunderdog: The True Story of a
Blind Man, His Guide Dog and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero,
about diversity, inclusion and conquering the mindset of
fear.
Michael has an incredible story to
tell. When he was 6 months old, his parents
were told that he was permanently and totally blind. He was one of
more than 10,000 premature babies in the US who developed
retinopathy due to excess exposure to oxygen, irreversibly scarring
and destroying the retina, so no visual information was transmitted
from the eye to the brain.
But Michael’s sighted parents believed in raising their son
with a can-do attitude. Treated like all other children in his
family, Michael rode a bike, did advanced math in his head and
learned to read and write in Braille. Michael’s family relocated to
Palmdale, California when he was five years old. It is here that
Michael had his first adventure with Guide Dogs for the Blind and
received his first guide dog. He later earned bachelor’s and master’s
degrees in Physics along with a secondary teaching credential from
the University of California at Irvine.
On
September 11, 2001, Michael and his guide dog, Roselle, escaped
from the 78th floor of Tower One in the World Trade Center moments
before it collapsed, only to be enveloped in a thick cloud of
pulverized concrete dust. Soon after, Michael and Roselle were
thrust into the international limelight where Michael began to
share his unique survival story and 9-11 lessons of trust, courage,
heroism, and teamwork. The story of their
escape from Tower 1 was engrossing. But most
important was how
his parents raised him to acquire the survival skills and
mindset that enabled him to survive the 78
story stairway descent of World Trade Center Tower 1 on Sept 11,
2001 and then to shake off the dust and
move forward.
Mike enjoys a successful
41-year sales career, first in high-tech and now inspiring
adventures and joyful living for audiences around the world.
He is a long time Social
advocate for change concerning disabilities through his involvement
with the National Federation of the Blind.
Contact Michael Hingson.
Gift: Free ebook Blinded by Fear www.blindedbyfear.net
www.michaelhingson.com and https://accessibe.com/a/6eybb9o
https://www.facebook.com/mhingson
https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/
https://www.facebook.com/Roselle911GuideDog/
LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfCx2L9OVN38Dv4mX6udP8g
Contact Dr. Gillian Lockitch to
learn how you can live younger as you grow older:
Order a copy of Growing Older
Living Younger: The Science of Aging Gracefully and The Art of
Retiring Comfortably
Schedule a free Discovery Call with Dr. Lockitch