I don’t think it’s any secret that I admire those who have achieved amazing goals. I mean I’ve made a major (and terrifying) career transition dedicated to decoding and better understanding the mindsets, strategies, and habits of the most successful people in their respective fields so you have the tools to pursue a more fulfilling career and life, friend.
But you know what I admire even more? I admire people who have overcome tremendous adversity and succeeded despite their less-than-ideal circumstances.
For example, there’s no doubt what Michael Phelps achieved as an Olympic athlete is amazing. But a person I admire even more than someone with 28 Olympic medals in swimming is a quadriplegic who became the first licensed scuba diver. Who had to overcome more? A naturally gifted (and freakishly talented) athlete with the unique genetics to put him at the top of his sport? Or the person who can’t use his arms or legs that says “Weight me down and throw me in the ocean!”
Yeah, exactly.
As you probably already know, I dedicated eight years of my life to telling the life story of Christopher Rush, the first quadriplegic to become a licensed scuba diver (which then helped launch an entire industry geared towards helping those with physical disabilities learn to scuba dive so they could feel the freedom of movement).
If you’d like to watch the entire documentary feature,
→ you can watch GO FAR: The Christopher Rush Story here for free
I don’t bring up this story to promote my work but instead to make it abundantly clear how much I value, respect, and advocate for those with disabilities. In fact the entire thesis of GO FAR is the idea that “Everyone has a disability” which is a concept I teach much more in depth in my Optimizer coaching & mentorship program. For some it’s physical, for others it’s mental, and for many it’s circumstantial. You can have economic disabilities, relationship disabilities, or any other variety of circumstances based on things as simple as your skin color, where you grew up, or the house you grew up in (or lack thereof).
In addition to my own experience working with those that have disabilities, my wife is a 3rd grade teacher who specializes in working with gifted children with special needs, specifically autism. And my father is a reading tutor who helps kids with learning disabilities, specifically those with the most complicated forms of dyslexia. Needless to say, I don’t take kindly to those who throw around words like “retards” and poke fun at those who are differently abled, mentally, physically, or otherwise.
Which brings me to how I met actor and stand-up comedian Christopher Titus (who goes simply by “Titus”).
Titus and I met during one of my Sunday ninja workouts, and as we shook hands I knew I recognized him. But I wasn’t familiar with his work as an actor, director, producer, or stand-up comedian. So after the workout I went home and Googled him to refresh my memory about the work he’d done, and this is what showed up → Christopher Titus On His Inner Retard.
Needless to say as soon as I read the clip name and quickly came to realize he was throwing around the word “retard” like candy, I was not a fan. How dare he?!
But then something magical happened…within five minutes not only was I dying of laughter (and NOT at the expense of those with disabilities), I became an instant fan of Titus because of his ability to contextualize such a damaging word as “retard,” turn it around and use it against those who made it a derogatory term, and allow those with disabilities to take ownership of the word instead.
This YouTube comment says it all:
I immediately watched the entire comedy special from which this bit was derived (here’s Titus’ full “Voices In My Head” comedy special), and then I went DEEEEEP down the Titus rabbit hole and watched all of his comedy specials. And after recovering from all the massive stomach cramping (SO much laughter!), what I learned is Titus has absolutely no business being a success.
If ever there was someone with immense circumstantial disabilities based on his upbringing, this guy has a license to make all the excuses in the world for why he’s a failure. Yet Titus has made the conscious choice to take responsibility for his circumstances in life (mind you, fault and responsibility are two very different concepts), and become a master of his craft.
And I admire the sh*t out of anyone who chooses to not make excuses about their past and do the work to shape their own future.
You Don’t Want to Miss Tomorrow’s Episode
If you’d like to learn more about how Christopher Titus overcame one of the most hellish upbringings I’ve ever heard of having been raised by an alcoholic father and a bi-polar schizophrenic mother (that’s the very short version of a much longer story),
→ Click here to subscribe so you don’t miss tomorrow’s episode when it drops
In the meantime…
Be well.
Zack Arnold
Creator, Optimize Yourself
Zack Arnold
Zack Arnold (ACE) is an award-winning Hollywood film editor & producer (Cobra Kai, Empire, Burn Notice, Unsolved, Glee), a documentary director, father of 2, an American Ninja Warrior, and the creator of Optimize Yourself. He believes we all deserve to love what we do for a living...but not at the expense of our health, our relationships, or our sanity. He provides the education, motivation, and inspiration to help ambitious creative professionals DO better and BE better. “Doing” better means learning how to more effectively manage your time and creative energy so you can produce higher quality work in less time. “Being” better means doing all of the above while still prioritizing the most important people and passions in your life…all without burning out in the process. Click to download Zack’s “Ultimate Guide to Optimizing Your Creativity (And Avoiding Burnout).”