By Jessica Bynoe, Executive Director
This week I had the privilege of attending the Variety International Convention in Barbados with delegates from Variety chapters from all over the world to share our work, strategize ways to deepen our collective impact and be inspired by amazing speakers.
Perhaps the highlight of the convention, other than seeing our international Variety family, was the first day’s keynote speaker, Mr. Miles Hilton-Barber. He was introduced to us as a “blind adventurer,” but that title barely does him justice. His incredible accomplishments are not impressive because of his different ability, but rather are impressive for anyone to accomplish regardless of their ability!
He began recounting his journeys by describing his first big adventure—to be the first blind pilot to fly from the UK to Australia! At the age of 50 he decided to stop being limited by his abilities and began this new life by flying a small two seater plane that was barely larger than a car halfway around the world. He told us about trials of the journey including nearly crashing into the mountains of Malaysia, needing to land on a small dirt road in the outback to refuel after running out, and flying through rain so hard it would stop a jumbo jet from taking off.
He of course made it to his destination, but that was only the start of his adventures. He went on to experience scuba diving, drag racing at over 100mph, piloting supersonic jets, running a six day race through the Sahara, going on hundred mile arctic treks and climbing the tallest mountains in the world. On all of these journeys he not only accomplished the near impossible for his own personal challenges, but also raised funds to support thousands of surgeries for children to gain the gift of sight!
As he discussed the amazing life he leads, he kept repeating the idea that life is full of green lights, but most of us are colorblind and see them as red lights. This man has certainly embraced more green lights than I ever knew existed and after hearing him speak realized that we can all stand to embrace more green lights. Especially those of us doing work in the service to others. If we dream big and find our green lights we can do so much more in the service of communities and children we serve. We may not become pilots or mountain climbers or marathoners, but for the good of others we can all stand to live bigger, be braver and give more!