Inspirational Thoughts on How a Teacher Used Her Tragic Injury To Create a Multimillion Dollar Company page 2

Identify a Difficulty
How did a seemingly ordinary schoolteacher, living in a quiet town in California, overcome a disability that had crippled the hopes, dreams and bodies of countless people before her? The answer is more direct and simple than you might imagine.

In an interview in New Mobility magazine in 1997 she explains, “My interest was not from a business perspective. Not at all. It was totally selfish. I wanted to look nicer and have more function, more mobility, more freedom, more movement.” At its root, Hamilton’s desire for more was the true essence of what triggered her drive for extraordinary success. After her injury she was dissatisfied with many of the realities of being a young, active woman with a spinal cord injury. From the beginning she worked hard and cut down the length of time in inpatient rehabilitation significantly.

After being discharged from the hospital, Marilyn was saddled with a fifty-pound metal and vinyl wheelchair. It wasn’t only heavy, cumbersome and difficult to maneuver; it was ugly. She decided the situation was unacceptable and, unlike many before her, started to take action.

Thousands of people before Hamilton had probably thought, “I wish this wheelchair were lighter and more maneuverable.” The difference between Hamilton and others is this that she took action. She took her dissatisfaction, she imagined something better and then she took steps toward making her vision a reality.

This is the secret of difficulties. Once you have identified something that is difficult for you or others, imagine what life would be like without the problem. Determine to find a solution. Make a plan. Then take daily action to make your solution a reality and solve the problem for yourself and for others.

In 1979, Hamilton was faced with some unsatisfactory conditions. Wheelchairs on the market were overweight, hard to maneuver and ugly. Society didn’t have wide exposure to said individuals with disabilities. This often meant that people in wheelchairs were typically unseen and unheard. Hamilton desired more for herself than to hide away with a heavy, uncontrollable wheelchair.
Imagine a Solution
Hamilton had flown before and was determined to fly again. She went to a pair of friends who designed and built hang gliders out of their garage, and told them how dissatisfied she was with the overweight wheelchair and its lack of performance and mobility. She shared with them her vision of soaring with a lightweight, high-performance, stylish wheelchair.

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