August 2011
28 posts
“Although society places so much emphasis on outward appearance, it’s what...”
– Brady Mazzola, Founder of The Watering Seeds Organization (http://wateringseeds.org)
“We come into this world crying while all around us are smiling. May we so live...”
“Every soul who comes to earth with a leg or two at birth must wrestle his...”
– Anthony Robles (After he was presented with the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, as well as the ESPY for Best Male Athlete with a Disability at the 2011 ESPY Awards in Los Angeles)
Watch
“I wrestle because I love wrestling, but it inspires me when I get kids, even adults, who write me on Facebook or send me letters in the mail just saying that I’ve inspired them, and they look up to me, and they’re motivated to do things that other people wouldn’t have thought possible.” ~Anthony Robles
This video is from March but I was talking to a close friend...
“Every one of us has got to figure out our own personal situation. Mine’s pretty...”
– Mark Speckman, Willamette University Football Coach (http://www.willamette.edu/athletics/teams/football/coaches/index.php)
Coach’s Disability Doesn't Stop A Successful... →
“Figure it out.” This is Mark Speckman’s coaching philosophy. And his life. I feel that it’s a philosophy that everyone should use. Little people and other people with disabilities are used to using this phrase since we must adapt to the “average” world each and every day.
Coach Mark Speckman has no hands, but this never stopped him from playing football to becoming a head...
“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of...”
– Helen Keller
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and...”
– Melody Beattie
WatchThe CLASSY Awards Ceremony is one month from today! It’s been an honor to help out and I look forward to an amazing night.
It’s the largest philanthropic awards ceremony in the country, recognizing the most outstanding philanthropic achievements by charities, businesses and individuals nationwide. StayClassy has published each nomination as it’s own article on the CLASSY Awards...
DisAbility Sports Festival →
The DisAbility Sports Festival, which is taking place for the fifth year on October 1st at California State University, San Bernardino, is the largest cross-disability sporting event in one day! No experience necessary. At the free festival, people of all ages, with a disability, will be taught by world-renown Paralympics coaches and athletes in 20 sports and physical activities such as...
5 tags
“The only one who can tell you ‘you can’t ’ is you. And you...”
– Nike
The Blind World Championship →
Today I found out that there’s a Blind World Soccer Championship. This excites me because I grew up active in soccer and I love to hear about organizations that promote participation in it, no matter one’s disability may be. If the determination, passion and skill set are there, it’s worth being a part of the sport.
The Blind World Championship is held every two years, with...
“A true friend is one who helps you bridge the gaps between loneliness and...”
“The times in our lives in which we feel that we have the least power are...”
– Gail Pursell Elliott
“We are people with all the hopes, dreams, passions, and faults of everyone else....”
– Billy Barty
Little People of America National Convention
I wanted to share a little bit about the joy that comes from spending a week with people you can see eye to eye with and share similar life experiences. After all, there is humor in the ways we have to adapt each day to the average height world.
The Little People of America National Conference takes place once a year in a different city. The most recent convention, held a little over a month ago,...
“Success is not measured by what you accomplish but by the opposition you have...”
– Orison Swett Marden
“Achievement is addictive and contagious. Each success increases the expectation...”
– Dick Traum, President, Achilles International (www.achillesinternational.org)
Achilles International →
Since nothing stopped me from staying active in sports growing up, I love finding out about any and all organizations who support athletes with disabilities.
Founded by Dick Traum, an above the knee amputee, Achilles International goal is to bring hope, inspiration and the joys of achievement to people with disabilities. They have chapters and members in over 70 countries. Every day, in parks,...
“The most beautiful rainbows often follow the most horrific storms. When people...”
– Peter Wilderotter, President & CEO of Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation (http://www.christopherreeve.org)
Off Our Chests →
I had a great breakfast today with Seth Matlins, Co-Founder of Off Our Chests (http://offourchests.com). He had some wonderful advice to share with me and I wanted to share the amazing movement that he’s a part of.
He and his wife are on a mission to rid woman-kind of happiness-hating inhibitions.
Did you know that 70% of 12 year old girls don’t think they’re “pretty enough”? More than...
