Turning Blindness Into Brilliance: How to Reframe Adversity with Chad E. Foster #108

At just 21, Chad E. Foster faced the life-altering challenge of losing his sight - he’s not just succeeded in spite of blindness… he’s succeeded because of it.

Chad’s a Harvard-educated inspiration to us all, and while you could measure his financial success in billions, the countless life perspectives he’s changed by sharing his story are absolutely priceless.

We discover how Chad has turned obstacles into opportunities, as he shares practical tools we can all use to navigate our own setbacks on this week’s staggering episode of Extrology.

Lee and Chad discuss:

  • How a young Chad E. Foster came to terms with his impending blindness

  • Learning to be successful because of blindness, not in spite of it

  • Getting comfortable with discomfort, and finding growth within that

  • A focus on learning before winning

  • Why finding your purpose creates a better work life

Links & references

Extrology:

https://www.extrology.com/

https://www.instagram.com/extrologypodcast/

https://www.tiktok.com/@extrology

Lee Cooper:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/leecooperrecruiter/

Chad E. Foster:

https://chadefoster.com/extrology/

https://www.instagram.com/FindChadEFoster/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chadfoster/

Get in touch: lee@extrology.com

Episode highlights:

“After I went blind, everything was obviously a lot harder. I needed a better level of effort and more focus & determination, and a unique perspective. None of that would have happened had I not gone blind.” - 16:30 - Chad E. Foster

“Discomfort is not the enemy. Comfort is complacency, and complacency never leads to growth. So we have to get comfortable with discomfort.” - 26:30 - Chad E. Foster

“I think we all come up with self-limiting beliefs that prevent us from living the life of our choosing. I hope that people look at my story and my message, whether it's through the book or through my keynote presentations, and realise that you are capable of more than you thought was possible. ” - 32:30 - Chad E. Foster

“We could just focus on winning and success, but if you're just focused on learning, eventually you'll win, right? Learning is more important, because learning leads to winning.” - 41:45 - Chad E. Foster

“We all become the stories that we tell ourselves. If you're telling yourself a story of, ‘Poor me, this is too hard’, then that's very likely to be true. But if you're telling yourself a story of, ‘This is an opportunity for growth for me, and I will be a better person because of this adversity’, then you can reframe that adversity into a springboard for growth.” - 48:20 - Chad E. Foster

Extrology is sponsored by Progresso Talent Partners who for more than 25 years have successfully delivered interim and permanent leadership talent to transform businesses and to hire the talent you need to enable your business to thrive: https://www.progressotalent.com/

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