Be Determined

Growing up with a disability, I regularly challenged preconceptions of what I could achieve. But it wasn’t until college that I really caught the bug for getting involved and becoming a leader, from my dorm’s resident council to chairing county-wide citizens’ committees and beyond. Over the years, I’ve refined my purpose as a leader. As I work towards creating a network for women with disabilities...

While some people are more naturally inclined to seek out leadership roles than others, it’s possible for anyone to grow into a leader. Leadership fundamentally starts with yourself, your experiences, and how you’ve led yourself through life’s ups and downs. Good leaders know how to pick themselves back up after a challenge; they’re resilient. The challenges I’ve faced again and again as a result...

What makes someone a leader? While a lot of us might think of a leader as someone who has power or influence over others, or someone who’s got it all figured out and leads the way, I think about leadership a little differently. Today, I’m talking about what it means to be a leader, what makes a good leader, and why you don’t have to be a “born leader” to be a great one. Listen to the full episode...

Ten years ago, I was at a place I’d fought to be for a lot of my life. I was living independently, I had autonomy, and my days had a typical rhythm. And over a short period of time, it all changed.  My ability to walk grew more and more limited, I started having falls, and my apartment wasn’t accessible for the mobility scooter I came to rely on. I knew I needed a new living situation that could a...

Frustration isn’t a question of if you’re going to experience it, but when. And what really matters is how you deal with it.  We all face frustrations, from day-to-day annoyances to life-altering situations, and how we choose to respond shapes how resilient we become. And resilience is not about pushing down your frustrations and moving on, resilience is what happens when we acknowledge the challe...

There are a lot of tools out there for assessing your current state and what might need to change in order to meet your goals. These kinds of situational analyses can help us have the self-awareness to navigate shifts in circumstances, creatively problem-solve where we can, and redirect when necessary.  Today, I want to share how I’ve translated the SWOT analysis, often used by businesses, into a...

Humor can play a significant role in how we relate to each other and ourselves.  It’s a release valve for stress; a way to connect with friends, family, and colleagues; and a way to acknowledge our mistakes and mishaps without beating ourselves up. Sharing laughter or a joke with others levels the playing field, giving us something in common whether we’re strangers in an elevator or old friends. I...

Being honest with yourself about your abilities and challenges, successes and failures, is essential to living an authentic and genuine life, regardless of whether or not you live with a disability. When we’re not honest with ourselves about who we are, we can set ourselves up for disappointment and frustration. But at the same time, self-honesty has to include recognizing what we are capable of a...

Life is like a rollercoaster. Sometimes it’s one you don’t even realize you’re on when things are going well, but then the bottom drops out or you hit a major twist and suddenly your world is upside down.  It can be overwhelming and terrifying. But we get through it. After facing a major health challenge and all of the complex decisions that came with it, I’m back from hiatus. And today, I want to...

How would you describe someone who is ambitious?  In our culture, it often means a person who is willing to do whatever it takes to get to the top, and it’s not necessarily a compliment. But ambition doesn’t have to be about power or money. Ambition can simply be about setting goals and working towards them. Ambition is all in how you use it and how it impacts people. Today I’m talking about moral...

Creativity and disability go hand-in-hand. Navigating a world that was not built for you requires creative thinking every single day to overcome obstacles, from opening a jar to taking notes in class to accessing a building or transportation. People with disabilities are full of creative solutions and workarounds for any number of problems we face. In today's episode, I’m talking about the creativ...

Everyone experiences anger.  It’s an important human emotion that can serve a purpose in our lives. But people with disabilities can experience anger in different ways than their able-bodied peers. We frequently encounter systemic challenges in our physical environments and in the ways people treat us, and it can easily lead to anger. In today's episode, I’m talking about the anger I experience as...

When parents learn that their child has a disability, it sets them on a road less traveled. Raising that child will be different than what they might have expected, and it’s normal to feel shock and even sadness or disappointment. And all too often, the next thing parents and caregivers are met with is a list of things their child will “never” do. It can be scary and isolating, and it might take t...

For people with disabilities, it can be hard to get support that encourages you to use your strengths and reach for your goals. Too often, people with disabilities have their big dreams curtailed by others who think in terms of deficits, not possibilities. But no one achieves every one of their goals on their path to growth and expansion, and people with disabilities need to be given the same spac...

Achieving a big goal or completing a big project doesn’t happen overnight. (Who knew?)  It’s easy to feel discouraged or overwhelmed when you’re not making the progress you think you should be making, or maybe you have so many ideas you don’t even know where to start. I’ve spent the last couple of years working on how I set goals, break down projects, and maintain forward momentum, even through ro...

Going after big goals takes time, effort, and inevitably comes with at least a few setbacks along the way. So how do we stay motivated? By celebrating the little victories. Cherishing those wins and moments of joy builds your confidence and helps recharge your batteries so you can keep moving towards the big wins. Today, I’m talking about how holding onto the little victories helps me chase the bi...

We will all come up against situations in our lives where we simply cannot do something we really want to do. I grew up not being able to play Mary Poppins with my siblings, or ride a bike, or do needlepoint. Living with a disability puts limits on what you can do, but if you’re creative and persistent, you can break barriers. You can learn to run, jump, and fly in a different way. Listen to the f...

What is to be disabled? Every day, I’m confronted with the reality that society thinks people with disabilities don’t matter and can’t contribute. People with disabilities live with being constantly judged against stereotypes that create real barriers to our being able to live a full life. The theoretical legal protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act are not enough when negative attitud...

As I’ve shared some of my backstory, what I’ve accomplished, the goals I’ve yet to achieve, and how I became the person I am today, I’ve mentioned a number of supportive people from my life. I’ve been fortunate to have people in my corner my whole life as I’ve determined my goals and achieved my dreams, but no one has been more influential than my mother. My mom was always my champion, encouraging...

How do you balance being optimistic with being realistic? A lot of people make resolutions for the new year with unqualified optimism and wind up feeling like they’re failing when they don’t meet their unrealistic goals. But realism doesn’t have to equal pessimism. It simply means you’re acknowledging that you’re not perfect while still being willing to try. And that glass half-full perspective ca...

Who hasn’t made a New Year’s resolution that they abandoned almost immediately? Whatever stalled your progress–whether it was overly ambitious, a goal you didn’t feel that connected to, or maybe it meant so much you were scared to fail–it’s happened to nearly all of us.  As we get into the swing of the new year, I want to talk about setting meaningful goals based on your dreams and vision for your...

The holidays can be hectic.  And it’s a time of year when many of us feel called to reflect and be grateful for what we have and what we’ve achieved in the last year, and to turn towards the future with new determination and goals. The holidays can also be a tough season when you’re struggling for any reason. Today, I’m sharing some advice and coping strategies for getting through the holidays. Li...

How do you find your place in the world? Many people find it challenging to make connections that give us a sense of meaning and that we’re fulfilling our purpose. People with disabilities often face additional obstacles to making a place for themselves in the world, whether they’re situational, structural, or rooted in stigma and assumptions. So how do we change the attitudes that underpin the po...

All of us encounter change in our lives. And we all have to find ways to cope and adjust so that we can thrive. I’ve experienced many changes in my life that required me to alter my course and chart a new path. Today, I want to share about a change in my life that limited the independence I’d been used to, and required me to make significant alterations in my day-to-day life.  Adjusting to my new...

I have always wanted to make an impact in the world through my life and work.  Facing and overcoming adversity is necessary for any leader to build resilience, but there are additional challenges that having a disability has put in my path. Yet every time I felt knocked down by an obstacle, there was a core of strength in me that knew I could get back up. Today, we’re talking about the strength an...