| Ask The Coach
By Scott Chesney
Here are some stats from the U.S. Census Bureau to encourage and discourage anyone: People with a disability are 70% more likely to stay in a job five years or longer than an able-bodied person. That’s encouraging, right?
What’s discouraging? There are 11.8 million Americans with disabilities who are unemployed and 18% of people with disabilities who live at or below the poverty level. This must change, and only we can change it. Plain and simple, we must get out there, and realizing that we still have something to give, make a positive difference in this world. Some of us need to stop playing the disability card (a.k.a., the victim card), stop focusing on what we can’t do and begin focusing more on what we are still able to do.
Now don’t get me wrong: Our choices may be reduced because of our disabilities. But too many with paralysis are in comfort zones in which they are choosing not to explore the opportunities that exist—or create them if they don’t exist. If that works for you, then stay there. But if you feel a lack of purpose or self-worth, if you feel like you’re not contributing all that you can, then I want to encourage you to break away from this comfort zone.
For some, this comfort zone is lined with Social Security checks and benefits. I don’t pretend those aren’t extremely important or aren’t your due. But these can be replaced with a regular job with benefits if that is something of interest to you.
Please note, I am not making any promises, especially in this economy. But only you can decide if you can feel happy and secure on a fixed income. Maybe you can. Security comes in many forms and two of those are empowerment and purpose. I would even rank those two above however much money you have in the bank. Without empowerment and purpose, you might as well be bankrupt in my book.
Each time I have written this column I have received at least one e-mail from someone seeking more in life. Sometimes people are looking for more research to cure their SCI, ways to improve their exercise program or their therapies, advice for meeting that someone special, or ideas for making peace with the past. But in all fairness, the majority of my readers are looking for a sense of purpose or meaning to their lives.
As a life coach for the past 10 years, I have seen my clients, with and without disabilities, find their purpose pretty quickly once they have committed to creating a career for themselves or choosing to become a volunteer somewhere. Everyone, bar none, has the potential to serve a productive role in the workplace as an employee, or the community as a volunteer, or the marketplace as an entrepreneur.
Personally, I believe so much in people with disabilities so much—especially people with SCI— that I have aligned myself with a new company, Raise Hope Capital, which will begin training and mentoring people with paralysis to enter the financial services industry. I am convinced that once companies begin to tap into that fire inside of those with paralysis, the fire that helped us battle back up from the bottom, they will find worthy employees and incredible role models to their colleagues.
There are doors that have been opened by some people with disabilities already, but there are many more that need to be opened. Are you a door opener? Take action. Use your talents. And get rewarded for them.
Scott Chesney is an internationally recognized motivational speaker and life coach, who was paralyzed from a rare spinal stroke at the age of 15, back in 1985. He can be reached at schesney@unitedspinal.org.
This column is intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as offering medical advice. If you have a medical condition requiring attention, please seek the help of qualified medical professionals.
