No Barriers

Some might imagine our guest today as the superhero on the cover a graphic novel. The headline would read… mild mannered kindergarten teacher by day and single handed slayer of ice creatures by night (or weekends more accurately). Kimber Cross was born with one hand. The nutshell version of her journey to where she finds herself today started with pushing her parents outside of their comfort zones, navigating her passions with insecurities, and flipping adversity into ultimately transformative moments in her life. Prior to climbing Everest or kayaking through the Grand Canyon, blind of course, our host, Erik Weihenmayer, was a middle school teacher for many years. He and Kimber compare classroom challenges to mountaineering challenges (subjective vs. objective hazards), they get into the latest in hand prosthetics, the realities of adaptive devices like Erik’s brain port that projects images onto his tongue and the process of figuring out how to connect Kimber’s ice tool to an arm with no hand… Also the relationship between sponsors and their athletes, and ideas around the meaning and role of adaptive athletes in todays world and beyond.

https://happyhealthycaregiver.com/ 

If you provide care for an aging parent, spouse, relative or for an ill or disabled person, according to the AARP you are one of 53 million Americans in that same boat. That’s nearly one in every 5 people. Our guest today is Bianca Padilla. She also found herself in that position, however, it was at a time this Millenial’s life, when most of her peers were starting careers and stepping out on their own. Her grandmother’s health was declining and she needed daily care to recover from a surgery. Bianca had a decision to make. We all get thrown these curveballs in life. It’s when the unexpected comes hurtling at you and fast… Bianca swung and knocked it out of the park. She turned the lessons and experience she gained by caring for her grandma and used it to start a company with the goal of simplifying the lives of caregivers. Investors thought she had a good idea and put 5 million towards the effort. Now that number is up to 30 million. Let’s face it, as we age we’re gonna need help at some point, could be a little or a lot. We’ve all got that in common and honestly it’s probably something we avoid talking about. So step out of your zone for a moment and get into this conversation between Erik Weihemanyer and Bianca Padilla..

The most recent census reported 7% of the US population are veterans. That’s about 18 million people who served in the active military, naval, or air service at some point and have since been discharged. “transitioning to civilian life” is a common topic for veterans when leaving the military. We get into that with our guest today, Matt Lewis. Matt is the chief operating officer of a spatial data company valued at almost a half a billion dollars. Matt is also a Navy Seal with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan under his belt. . Matt changed his entire mindset as part of his transition to civilian life. We’ll hear about this journey and the importance of seeking challenges in life; including some of his own. Along the way he’s discovered that happiness comes through experiencing discomfort; that juxtaposition is key he says. Matt’s a deep thinker and the insights he shared are applicable to not only veterans, but people from all walks of life.

Hans' website. http://www.hansflorine.comOn Insta. https://www.instagram.com/hansflorine/Han's author page on Amazon.  

http://diananyad.com/https://everwalk.com/Diana's blog: https://medium.com/@diananyadDiana on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/diananyad/Diana's memoir:  Finding a Way

https://dzi.org/https://youtu.be/UCnZdbGK2mM

Sebastian on Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/zuko_carrasco/Libre film. https://vimeo.com/ondemand/zukolibre 

Abby on Insta. https://www.instagram.com/adventurous.miss/Abby's website.  https://www.abbyholcombe.com/USA Freestyle fundraiser for World Championships. https://www.gofundme.com/f/usa-freestyle-fundraiser-for-world-championships

Steve's Book: You D.E.C.I.D.E.: A 6-step action plan to becoming the hero of your own lifeSteve on Team USA: https://www.teamusa.org/usa-curling/athletes/Stephen-EmtSteve's Website: https://www.steveemt.com/Steve on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephen.emt/