Erik Weihenmayer has reached the summit of every one of the seven tallest mountains in the world, including Mount Everest.
He's also a downhill skier, a skydiver, a paraglider, and a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
He has written two books: one called Touch The Top of The World, and one that comes out in January. And there have been two movies made about his life: a documentary and a life-story drama to premier on A&E on Sunday, June 18.
Why are they making movies about Erik's life? Because one of the world's greatest mountain climbers happens to be completely blind.
I wrote a Chicago Tribune "My Tech" column about Erik back in 2003. You can read it here.
I talked to Erik for nearly an hour on The Technology Tailor Show on WGN Radio on Saturday. We talked about his life, his work and his technology -- and took calls from listeners. You can read about the details from the interview and get links to the resources we discussed here, on my radio show page.
But in this space, I'd like to share my take-away from my conversation with Erik. Here's what I learned from Erik Weihenmayer -- who may just be the most inspirational person I've ever talked with.
Turn Obstacles into Advantages
Example #1
For most people, Erik said on Saturday's show, it's a disadvantage to be blind on Everest. He was talking about the oxygen mask most climbers wear, and how, if pure oxygen gets inside your eye-mask, your retinas can freeze because it's so cold on Everest. So they wear the mask lower down, letting it hang off their chins, allowing some of the oxygen to escape. Seems like a logical trade-off to me: protect the eyes and sacrifice some oxygen. "Obviously, I don't have that problem," Erik said. He wears his oxygen mask firmly on his face and, unlike most climbers, gets to use 100% of his oxygen.
Example #2
Erik reads faster than me. And you. He listens to audio books, and he plays them at 10 times the normal speed. Because his listening and audio-processing abilities are at such a high level, he can't pay attention to a tape played at regular speed. It's brutally slow for him. His mind wanders. So, he swallows audio books at 10x speed, going through them much faster than the time you and I would take to read the words on the pages.
Example #3
At age 37 (what a young age to be so remarkably accomplished!), Erik has written two books, had two films made about him, climbed the world's tallest peaks, and skydives, paraglides, and bikes at extremely high levels. He has competed in a televised reality adventure competition. He leads expeditions for people with disabilities. The question is: would he have accomplished all this if he did not go blind at age 13? I wonder if he would be as driven to overcome his perceived disability and accomplish incredible things?
I say "perceived" because Erik Weihenmayer has turned his his blindness into a competitive advantage that drives him to greater heights -- to the top of the world, even -- every day.
(In the A&E movie, which is a dramatization, Erik was asked to be a stunt man for the leading man in one scene. He had to break a 50-foot free fall down the face of a mountain by smashing his ice pick into the frozen mountain.)
In Life and Business, Family is Everything
Erik spoke proudly on the radio show about reading to his 5-year-old daughter. He reads books in braille to her.
When we spoke for my Chicago Tribune column, Erik discussed fondly falling in love with his wife-to-be by listening to her voice as she taught in a classroom.
And Erik's father, Ed, manages and protects Erik's business interests with a fierceness and loyalty that only a father can summon for a son.
As much as Erik's life is about achievement and adventure, underlying all of it, his life is about family. In life and in business, family is everything.
Computers and The Internet are Accessible to Blind People...
How do blind people use a PC? Our interaction with computers is based on us looking at a monitor and clicking on things with a mouse.
Screen readers like JAWS read the text on the screen to blind people. Whether it's Microsoft Word, a blog, or Amazon.com, blind people operate a PC using technologies like screen readers.
...But There's Still a Long Way to Go
If the site is heavy on graphics, screen readers have a hard time. They can only read text. Graphical links make a site unusable. So do flash animations.
That's why some of our biggest companies -- think Microsoft and AOL -- have accessibility departments that are charged with working on making their products and Web sites usable for people with disabilities.
The Bottom Line
If you're feeling down about things not going exactly as you had hoped; if you're procrastinating; if you're not passionate about your life's pursuits; if you're a person with disabilities who struggles with life's challenges; if you're an able-bodied person who struggles with life's challenges, think about Erik Weihenmayer. Think about what he has dealt with, and what he has done, and the incredible things he will no doubt still do.
You'll feel better.
