On May 25, 2001, Erik Weihenmayer became the first blind man in history to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Seven years later, on August 20, 2008, Erik joined the elite ranks of those who have climbed the Seven Summits—the highest mountains on each of the seven continents. Fewer than 100 mountaineers, sighted or blind, can claim this honor.
“If disability is a matter of not being able to commit certain acts,” writes James Burnett, “then Weihenmayer is arguably more able-bodied than most people with working eyes.”
Like Erik, each of us has a choice to make when faced with our “disabilities” and challenges, whether blindness or blind spots. Our weaknesses may be permanent or temporary, physical or emotional, plain to see or hidden even from us. Whatever they are, we probably make excuses for them. These are the challenges we will be examining.
Blind spots and weaknesses end lives, destroy families, sabotage careers, and derail dreams. In the last decade we have witnessed a dramatic scandal involving an international golfing megastar, and a comeback by the King of Pop cut short by his shocking death. That’s on top of the scandalous falls of numerous presidential hopefuls and high-ranking religious leaders. Our own struggles are rarely as dramatic or public but, if ignored, their limiting effects can be just as devastating. At the very least, they will prevent us from achieving our highest purpose in life and accomplishing the goals we know we were meant to achieve.
Excerpted from Fire Your Excuses
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