The title cerebral palsy, paralysed, blind and successful reminds me of the song Pinball Wizard. The catchy line in Pinball Wizard is that deaf, dumb and blind kid sure plays a mean pinball.
“Pinball” in the context of this article is personal and financial success.
In many of our articles, we share formulas, steps to become, and stories of how people have become financially successful. This weekend I have been privileged to share a stage with multi-multi-millionaires such as Hugh Hilton, George Ross, and Mark Norcross (google them).
However, in this live JT Foxx Reunion blog, I want to mention the people who have inspired me most are the ones that society has judged and looked down upon.
They have inspired me most because I feel that, for a variety of reasons, I am one of those people who are in some way different from what we call “normal society.”
Hitesh Ramchandani
Let me introduce you to Hitesh Ramchandani. Hitesh is a 24 year old, who, as a result of issues with his birth, was born with cerebral palsy. The definition of cerebral palsy according to Wikipedia.
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of permanent movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary between people. Often, symptoms include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensation, vision, hearing, swallowing, and speaking. Often babies with cerebral palsy do not roll over, sit, crawl, or walk as early as other children their age. Difficulty with the ability to think or reason and seizures each occurs in about one third of people with CP. While the symptoms may get more noticeable over the first few years of life, the underlying problems do not worsen over time.
Cerebral palsy is caused by abnormal development or damage to the parts of the brain that control movement, balance, and posture. Most often the problems occur during pregnancy; however, they may also occur during childbirth, or shortly after birth.
Hitesh’s talk at the JTFoxx Family Reunion was one of the most inspirational, humourous, and engaging talks of the day. He has hit all his goals so far, including writing his first book of stories titled More Than Normal. More Than Normal tracks Hitesh’s journey to date.When Hitesh was asked why the book was called More Than Normal, he told this story:
When I was younger, I was bullied and looked down so much. One day I came home and asked my parents if I could be normal one day. Â My parents told me that because of my difference I could never be normal but my difference would make me better than or more than normal.
Do check out Hitesh’s  story on Google Sites and the inspiring news articles from Singapore’s Strait Times and Asia One.
Anthony Kairuz
Anthony Kairuz became paralysed from the neck down due to a motorbike accident. The paralysis was so bad that it would take him up to 45 minutes just to turn a page in a book. Today, Anthony has a care-taker who pushes Anthony around in a wheel-chair, and is on hand to provide constant help. However this paralysis did not deter Anthony from writing a book, One Step Closer, or running his own successful businesses, one of which is in property.
Steven Maranville
Steven Maranville is totally blind. However today Steven runs a successful coaching service that helps corporates and individuals. An excerpt from Steven’s website provides more information about his passion:
Today, while I am totally blind, I teach business leaders how to Venture with Vision! I empower entrepreneurs and executives with business acumen and leadership expertise so they can gain and maintain a competitive advantage. And, I accomplish this mission in three ways–Business Consultation, Executive Education, and Corporate Governance.
Think of me as an Organizational Ophthalmologist. I improve the vision of leaders by removing their blind spots and giving them new lenses so they can Venture with Vision.
So powerful was Steven Maranville’s talk at the JTFoxx Family Reunion that people were still in tears afterwards. You can get a lot of content from his talk from his blog.
If people who normal society feels have “less of a chance” then you can do it too. All our writers are looking forward to hearing about your successes.
If you found this article inspiring, do share it to inspire your friends too.
More from the JTFoxx Family reunion success event
- Five essential Success Habits
- Bleeding is part of success – A conversation between myself and Paul Kanofski
Other articles you may like to read
