Throughout all of our lives, there is one factor that is inescapable; Change. Sometimes for the better, and many times for the worse. Every second we are faced with a moving landscape. For the healthiest of people, this can be a struggle. Can you imagine dealing with change such as two separate life threatening accidents; a fiery motorcycle accident that covers 65% of your body in severe burns, and a plane crash paralyzing you from the waist down?

That is exactly what W. Mitchell did. Perhaps one of the most amazing and inspirational true stories is that of this man who can be described as nothing short of Super Human. Not only did he have the will power and determination to over come such turmoil , but after the accidents, he became politically involved, including becoming mayor of his town and a run at congress. Now he is touring the world as a highly sought after motivational speaker based around his philosophy; It’s not what happens to you…it’s what you do about it.

After learning about Mitchell’s story, I have been looking at life a differently. I would consider myself healthy, with no more than my share of problems in this world, yet there are times when I find myself negative about life. And when I was watching Mitchell’s amazing true story, I couldn’t believe when I saw the pictures of him after his first motorcycle accident. His face and body were terribly burned. He had no fingers left. He was a shocking site. At that point I think I would have thrown in the towel. Just watching him overcome that was truly inspirational and really made me realize I have no reason to do anything but live my life to fullest.

And then I couldn’t believe it when I saw that he had been in a plane crash. Each accident in itself was a tragic story, but to have both happen to one person was emotional. But as I watched the story, it wasn’t the accidents that were focused on, but what Mitchell did after them. He is revered by his town which elected him mayor, he ran for congress, he fought and won against a major international mining company to save the pristine landscape of the west. This man who had every reason to say “I Quit,” did nothing of the such.

To best show his mentality I will leave with this quote,

“Before I was paralyzed there were 10,000 things I could do; now there are 9,000. I can either dwell on the 1,000 I’ve lost or focus on the 9,000 I have left.”

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed!