As a blind adventurer, Erik Weihenmayer has been lucky to experience a life of meaning and purpose—of breaking through barriers. After he safely came down from the summit of Mt. Everest in 2001, becoming the first blind person to reach the highest peak in the world, his team leader told him something that would change the course of his life: “Don’t make Everest the greatest thing you ever do.”
These words stuck with him, and he has spent the last 16 years trying to live up to that challenge: climbing the tallest peak on each continent; kayaking the Grand Canyon; authoring three books; and starting a nonprofit movement, No Barriers.
On today’s Broken Brain Podcast, I talk to Erik Weihenmayer about loss and suffering and how to look deep within ourselves to find our strength, resilience, and purpose. We discuss breaking through limitations and turning our greatest challenges into our greatest triumphs. We also talk about gratitude and the importance of giving back.
For more on Erik Weihenmayer, you can follow him on Instagram @erikweihenmayer, on Facebook @erik.weihenmayer, on Twitter @erikweihenmayer, on YouTube @touchthetop, on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/erikweihenmayer, and through his website https://erikweihenmayer.com/.
Also mentioned in this episode:
- The Weight of Water – https://www.weightofwatermovie.com
- No Barriers Summit – https://www.nobarriers.live
- Touch the Top of the World: A Blind Man’s Journey to Climb Farther than the Eye Can See: My Story – https://amzn.to/3j2TiqH
- The Adversity Advantage: Turning Everyday Struggles into Everyday Greatness – https://amzn.to/2WiRDDw
- No Barriers: A Blind Man’s Journey to Kayak the Grand Canyon – https://amzn.to/3iYowzr
For more on Dhru Purohit, be sure to follow him on Instagram @dhrupurohit, on Facebook @dhruxpurohit, on Twitter @dhrupurohit, and on YouTube @dhrupurohit. You can also text Dhru at (302) 200-5643 or click here https://my.community.com/dhrupurohit.
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