Against All Odds
By: Gary Ryan Blair
Tags: Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Personal Growth, Life, Life Lessons

Trevor Thomas was the real thing.

He just graduated from law school, was about to join the Navy and become a JAG officer…and soon to be stationed in Greece.

He lived his life in the fast Lane.

He raced Porsche's for fun.

He was a runner.

He was into rock climbing and parachuting.

He also liked mountain bikes.

Then his whole life changed.

He was having vision problems and so he went to the first of many eye doctors.

He was diagnosed with atypical central serous chorioretinopathy.

His disease is extremely rare and so it’s not studied enough.

He would be blind for the rest of his life.

He doesn’t know how he’ll get a job.

He’s afraid to leave his house — especially at night.

He then heard a speech that would change his life forever.

The speaker’s name was Erik Weihenmayer.

Erik went blind when he was 13.

He became a middle school teacher and wrestling coach.

He also skied and paraglided for fun.

Then he started to climb mountains.

In 2001 Erik, who is blind, climbed Mount Everest.

In 2005, Trevor Thomas heard Weihenmayer speak for two hours in Charlotte North Carolina.

Erik decided if Weihenmayer could climb Mount Everest, he could do something too.

He decided to walk the Appalachian Trail.

The trail is 2,175 miles long and stretches all the way from Georgia to Maine.

On the trail, most everybody abandons their real name for a trail name. His eyes gave him his new name.

Trevor became Zero/Zero.

50,000 hikers have attempted to walk the entire trail. Only about 8000 have finished.

His injuries included:

=> 1 foot fracture

=> One head gash closed with superglue

=> four broken ribs

=> eight hospital visits

=> 78 — the most falls in a single day

=> 3000 — total falls while hiking trail

The last hundred miles of the trail are the most challenging because you can’t quit. There’s nowhere to go. The only way to quit is to continue.

The 100-Mile Wilderness is long and lonely and stretches between Monson Maine and the northern end of the trail at Mount Katahdin.

It was during this 100-Mile Wilderness that he fell 78 times in a single day and almost drowned during three different river crossings.

His darkest hour came when he was sitting in a shelter by himself freezing to death and he didn’t think he could finish the last 60 miles.

However, he finished what he started. He climbed 5,268 feet to the summit of Mount Katahdin.

When someone asked him “What’s next,” he said, “I want the Triple Crown.”

In 2011 he walked the Pacific Crest Trail — it’s 2650 miles from Mexico to Canada. He then said, “if I can figure that one out, then I’ll do the Continental Divide.”

Are You Living Up To Your Full Potential?

What are you dealing with in your life today and how does it compare to what Trevor Thomas is dealing with?

This guy is a genuine trailblazer.

When you look in the mirror…the person who you see is the only person preventing you from becoming a trailblazer in your life and in your work.

Don’t feel left out. Don’t get left behind. Are you up for a challenge?

Why not set a huge goal and get after it with everything you’ve got.

That’s why I created the 100 Day Challenge…to show you how to live up to your full potential.

Gary Ryan Blair is creator of the 100 Day Challenge…a radical approach to goal achievement that shows people how to achieve 10X size goals by applying the methods and best practices of growth hacking.