Blind Ambition How To Envision Your Limitless Potential And Achieve The Success You Want

Blind Ambition: How to Envision Your Limitless Potential and Achieve the Success You Want

A goal-setting guide to top achievement from an award-winning engineer, champion paratriathlete, and IRONMAN world record holder Diagnosed with a pediatric brain tumor, Patricia Walsh became blind at the age of five. As a teenager, she lost what little vision remained due to surgical complications, and the straight-A student began a downward spiral into depression and hopelessness. But Walsh eventually had an epiphany: if she didn't do something--and fast--she would doom herself to a life devoid of meaning. Today, Walsh is an award-winning computer engineer and champion paratriathlete. She has raced in more than a dozen marathons and ultra-marathons and competed in two IRONMAN triathlons. In 2011, she set the world record for blind triathletes, shattering both male and female records by over 50 minutes. How did she do it? Patricia Walsh refused to be defined by any limits. In Blind Ambition, Walsh both inspires and educates by relating her unforgettable personal story while detailing her proven Fuel / Fire / Blaze approach to achieving any goal: Fuel: Set your base goals--those small, day-to-day tasks designed to collectively build toward your final goal Fire: Map important milestones on your journey to keep yourself on track and motivated Blaze: Your highest goals, your most burning desire made real--this is what happens when you add fuel to fire . . . Drawing on her experience of great adversity--and even greater success--she shows you how to set realistic milestones and describes a simple and effective process for mapping these milestones to daily tasks that will help you achieve what you previously thought unachievable. Every path has obstacles, but you can overcome them. Apply a champion's hard-earned lessons to achieve your goals and live a personally enriching and professionally rewarding life. All it takes is Blind Ambition. Go for the Gold! A Proven Model for Success from a World-Class Athlete "Patricia Walsh lays out an extremely effective framework for achieving your highest goals--in business and in life. I have personally seen Patricia apply this approach to great success at Microsoft. Anyone who reads this book will be that much closer to achieving their goals." -- Steven Sinofsky, former president of the Windows division at Microsoft Corporation "In a book filled with practical, actionable advice for true goal setting, framed by her experience with the toughest of real-world challenges, Patricia Walsh provides a no-nonsense framework for actualizing your goals and becoming resilient. Whether you are looking to excel in business, in sports, or in life, Blind Ambition will serve as your go-to guidebook for achieving breakthroughs, managing challenges, and fulfilling your own marvelous potential." -- Meg Hare, president of the board of Austin Women in Technology "Whether it is running your first 5K, competing in an IRONMAN, or completing an important work project, the steps and lessons shared in this book will help you get there. Patricia Walsh is an expert in overcoming challenges that stand in the way of reaching one's goal. This is an outstanding read!" -- Barry Siff, president of USA Triathlon and 10-time IRONMAN competitor "Patricia Walsh is a beacon, an inspiration, and a reminder of what is achievable. Blind Ambition is a must-read for those who want to maximize their amazing untapped potential by applying the lessons, concepts, and can-do attitude that Patricia embodies and shares so eloquently in this book. Highly recommended." -- Paul M. Craig, cofounder and president of Rudy Project North America and XX2i Optics

Blind Ambition

Blind Ambition

For anyone seeking to live life to its fullest potential, Blind Ambition is an eye-opening account of a tech industry executive who overcame fear and hopelessness to turn his blindness disability into a powerful, competitive strength. While most people were preparing for the adventure of adult life, Chad E. Foster was watching the world he grew up with fade to black but that didn’t stop him from becoming the first blind person to graduate from the Harvard Business School leadership program and climbing the corporate ladder as a successful finance/sales executive. With determination, ambition, and drive, Chad created what Oracle said would be impossible. He gave millions of people the ability to earn a living by becoming the first to create customer relationship software for the visually impaired. Even if you've been robbed of your self-identity and dreams for the future, you can change your story and achieve your goals. In Blind Ambition, readers and listeners will: Be inspired by Chad’s story of how he transformed the loss of his vision into a gift with unique strengths and abilities he did not have before. See how we choose the stories we tell ourselves about our circumstances and how this either limits us or propels us toward our goals. Gain new perspective on what is possible when you shift your mindset, give up making excuses, and decide that you oversee who you want to be. Learn the mental model that Chad uses to quickly overcome frustrations and stressors. Overcoming the challenges of blindness improved Chad’s perspective, making him more resilient and grateful for the life that he has. Ultimately, Chad's unforgettable lessons and outlook will inspire listeners to overcome their perceived limitations and explore new possibilities where they once may have only seen obstacles. Blind Ambition will teach you how to take advantage of your disadvantages.