The Independent Life

On today's dojo, Tony talks to us about physical activity- the importance of moving and being active on a regular basis in our daily lives. Tony has a wealth of experience in adaptive physical activity, teaching people with disabilities how they can be physically active no matter what kind of disability you may have. The amazing thing about adapted physical activity is that we can modify movements...

The Center For Independent Living North Central Florida's Wheelchair Ramp Building Program continues to make a difference in people’s lives, improving their quality of life, emotional well-being, and their ability to live independently and have adequate access into the community. People needing wheelchair ramps are often without the financial means to have one built themselves. In Florida, there a...

Riding the continual momentum of the spring season, on today’s dojo, Tony talks about how we can be in alignment with this time of the season. The season of spring is vibrant with energy and vitality. He shares his that he often struggles with feelings of not being able to meet the demands of everyday life with a certain level of energy. Tony’s goal for the next few dojos is to share about how we...

Deidra Simon is the Executive Director at Gainesville Opportunity Center. Her passion for serving persons with disabilities has allowed her to operate in fulfilling roles. Deidra has had the privilege of providing accessible communication, employment services, and direct case management to the disabled community. These efforts have led to the reduction/removal of barriers, allowing persons with di...

Spring is a time of renewal and blossoming of life. On today’s dojo, Tony shares how he sees his life occurring in seasons and just like the onset of spring- the new season ahead allows us to be renewed with fresh energy and inspiration. He talks about how we can integrate spring and the newness of it, into advocacy. At Centers For Independent Living, just as in life, there will always be issues t...

Claudia Friedel managed the University of Florida’s portion of the Florida Disability and Health Program (FDHP) for over 11 years. The FDHP was one of 19 CDC-funded, state-level Disability and Health grants working to make evidence-based health promotion programs accessible to persons with disabilities. Claudia first came to work for the FDHP after receiving her Master’s in Public Health from the...

Alex Cavalcante joins Tony on this special dojo to share his perspective on a simple, yet deeply insightful poem written by Portia Nelson that beautifully describes the stages of transformation in a simple and concise way. “I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost... I am helpless. It isn't my fault. It takes forever to find a way out. I walk down the same...

Emergency Management Specialist, Kevin Towles joins us to talk about emergency management and how centers for independent living are involved in emergency management. Also, why are they involved in emergency management? People with disabilities tend to be most impacted by disasters and are most vulnerable before, during and after disasters. Centers for Independent living is in the business of keep...

Two years ago in 2020, shut downs began to happen all over the world as a result of COVID-19. On this dojo, Tony reflects on these past two years in terms of the changes that have occurred, the shifts that we’ve been forced to make, and the lessons we can take away from this to ensure we live our lives to the best of our ability. When confronted by our own mortality, how can be best take care of o...

The 2022 legislative session has been quite the roller coaster ride. Jane joins us once again on today’s episode to share an update to the end of the legislative season. While the process may be messy and feel discouraging along the way, making an impact requires consistent effort to yield progress over time and to allow continual movement forward. The election in November will bring new faces to...

Death is part of the human condition. It’s something we will all experience and go through. On this dojo, Tony talks openly about how short and fragile life is- we never know when we will go, so how can we spend the time we have in a way that is meaningful and fulfilling. There is so much we can learn from death- how we process it and how important it is to implement those lessons into our lives....

On today’s episode, we welcome back Mark Bennett, who joins Tony in a vulnerable conversation about death and losing loved ones. Mark shares the lessons that he’s learning from death and also, how it relates to organizational growth. Mark conveys how organizations need to prepare with coming to terms with letting go of old habits or patterns of doing business, and how we need to let go of the noti...

In the previous dojo, we talked about what humility is and what it isn’t. On today’s dojo, Tony is going to dive into humility as it pertains to learning, society, and personal growth.   Resources: Think Again, by Adam Grant

Marisol Rose is a State Parent Consultant for the Early Steps Program at the Florida Department of Health. She joins us today to share her experiences with having a son and daughter with a disability. Marisol talks about accessing Early Steps, a phenomenal resource that helped her our along her journey in raising her two children with disabilities, and how she came to work for the agency. Early St...

On today’s dojo, Tony talks about what he considers to be one of the highest virtues and values that we as humans, can embrace: humility. What is humility, what is it not? The Oxford Dictionary defines humility as a modest or low view of one’s own self importance. Another definition of humility that Tony has found to be more fitting for himself personally, is that humility is freedom from pride an...

“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary.” -H.L. Mencken We are back with Jane Johnson this week, as she provides us with an update for the current legislative session. 'Tis the season of legislators positioning themselves for future re-elections! So, what does this mean...

Salvation comes from finding purpose, meaning, and fulfillment in life. In our previous two long form interviews, we had the privilege of having Jacob Atem, who shared his story of survival, resiliency, and adovacy. In this dojo, Tony takes the opportunity to reflect upon the lessons and takeways he’s received from knowing and talking to Jacob: Perspective Resilience Overcoming Inequities Unity Lo...

Jacob was six years old when his parents and several of his siblings were killed by northern Sudanese Arab militias waging war on southern Sudan. The militia entered his village, killed men, kidnapped women and children and burned homes to the ground. Jacob was in a nearby cattle field during the attack. He ran to the forest with his older cousin to escape danger when he saw the smoke rising from...

On this dojo, we continue the dialogue on how we are all called to live our life’s purpose and it is our job to find what that purpose is. Unfortunately, many of us have an un-lived life because the of the resistance, an invisible force that can felt and heard, preventing us from living our calling. On this episode, Tony shares some strategies on how to beat the resistance, which aims to bring us...

Jacob was six years old when his parents and several of his siblings were killed by northern Sudanese Arab militias waging war on southern Sudan. The militia entered his village, killed men, kidnapped women and children and burned homes to the ground. Jacob was in a nearby cattle field during the attack. He ran to the forest with his older cousin to escape danger when he saw the smoke rising from...

In this dojo, we continue the conversation on the resistance and talk specifically about how it shows up and how it manifests in our every day lives. Tony walks us through the different ways that resistance can manifest itself in our lives to prevent and distract us from being who we really are and from living our highest value: Procrastination Anything that would be addicting Self-help and healin...

We welcome Dr. Vincent Venditto back onto the podcast to talk about the recent updates regarding the COVID pandemic, vaccinations, and looking ahead to adapting to a brave new world. On this episode, Tony and Dr. Venditto dive into the importance of communicating science and understanding the scientific process. This conversation dives into understanding how science is a method- that there is no s...

On today’s dojo, Tony gets into what he considers to be the biggest reason why many of us don’t live the life we’re meant to live. In this episode, we’re going to be talking about The Resistance, as described by Steven Pressfield in his book, The War of Art. In the subsequent dojo episodes, we’ll then talk about how it manifests in our lives and how we can go about beating this resistance. Why is...

As someone who has a disability, Drew has 23 plus years of lived experience and 7 years of experience working with and advocating for people with disabilities. Since 2014, he has worked as a freelance motivational speaker and advocate giving talks to various organizations throughout the state of Florida. During that time, he has also served as the Media Relations Coordinator for the Gainesville “N...

As Tony concludes this dojo miniseries on life mission statements, he hopes it can serve as an example of why creating and having mission/vision statements for ourselves is important, as it can provide awareness and clarity especially during uncertain times. It might also serve as a compass for when we may not know where we’re going or it can help to keep us grounded. Service to others is what Ton...