{"id":255,"date":"2012-11-24T21:27:53","date_gmt":"2012-11-24T21:27:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blindabilities.wordpress.com\/?p=255"},"modified":"2015-10-29T07:35:00","modified_gmt":"2015-10-29T12:35:00","slug":"good-training-and-drive-and-the-super-blind-guy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=255","title":{"rendered":"Good Training and Drive and the Super Blind Guy By Jeffrey Thompson"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Good Training and Drive and the Super Blind Guy<br \/>\nBy Jeffrey Thompson<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/jthompsono6835\">@JThompson6835<\/a><\/p>\n<p>I am not dependent upon anyone for my existence. I do have friends and family that assist me in particular activities when needed. Like, reading the label on the aquarium to let me know what kind of fish is the red one. Actually, the sales person could do that but never the less I find ways to carry on without a dependency upon others to make my world function. Am I a super blind guy? Not in my mind.<br \/>\nI attended two different Blind training centers, attended college, worked as an instructor of wood working at a NFB training center for over 5 years and have been doing my own thing in wood working ever since. I somehow have created my own opportunities and take my ideas from a thought bubble and through experimentation and trial and error, I have created a line of wooden pieces that I sell and donate to causes. Am I a super blind guy? No. I am probably the same guy that I once was when sighted yet now I am legally blind. Does this make me vulnerable or less of a man? No. It just makes me different like all the other unique people I have met and meet all the time.<br \/>\nSure, I can give you a thousand excuses that sometimes pop into my mind when I am challenged. I try not to go there and I move forward. I forge through the obstacles that want to push me into a pity party parade. And I do have to admit that it would be so easy to join that parade marching in my mind at times of weakness\u2026but I don\u2019t. I sometimes slow down a bit, putz around a bit but with the constant reminder of my Dad, my step-dad and others in my life that have influenced me I take a step, maybe a little one, maybe two, but it is the presence of their existence in my mind that keeps my drive alive. Sure I have my own drive but remember, I am not a super blind guy, I am just me and doing things differently with some people from my life reminding me that quitting is not an option.<br \/>\nI over think a lot of things while my feet want to move quickly thus anxiety builds towards frustration and the feeling of failure when suddenly a thought or a few words come from the past telling me a little something and my road block dissolves like it was just a figment of my own imagination. I can be my biggest obstacle if I don\u2019t watch my focus. Being specific and attending to detail works a lot better than trying to lasso an entire thought bubble in one motion. Does super blind guy exist? In some minds it does. It is a creation that is manifested out of ignorance. With some good blindness training and a good drive, your ideas have a great chance of reaching fruition and that super blind guy super hero ideology will soon be brought under control with the realization that what makes one super is all in the ability to break it down from a thought bubble to a reality that is not imagined but lived in. Imagine breaking down the barriers that keep you from reaching your fullest potential. Imagine bringing your dreams down from the sky and harnessing them into a reality. Did I do that? I am not sure but I wasn\u2019t a wood worker when sighted\u2026I was a printer. Imagine that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Good Training and Drive and the Super Blind Guy By Jeffrey Thompson @JThompson6835 I am not dependent upon anyone for my existence. I do have friends and family that assist me in particular activities when needed. Like, reading the label on the aquarium to let me know what kind of fish is the red one. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[239],"tags":[175,203],"class_list":["post-255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-visually-impaired","tag-wood-working"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6rcRg-47","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1583,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=1583","url_meta":{"origin":255,"position":0},"title":"Alyssa Gourley Graduating, Training, Interning and Spunky","author":"Jeffrey Thompson","date":"November 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Alyssa Gourley tells us about her transition from High School to college and the work place. Her days at a Blindness Training Center, Blind, Inc. in Minneapolis Minnesota and her plans for tomorrow. Learn about her journey, obstacles, and successes as Jeff Thompson and Alyssa revisit the trail she has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":130,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=130","url_meta":{"origin":255,"position":1},"title":"Blind Abilities Teen Cast Presents: Christopher Meyer: Challenging the Higher Expectations","author":"Jeffrey Thompson","date":"September 1, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Play Challenging the Higher Expectations BATeenCast Channel Presents Christopher Meyer, a Blind college student taking on the challenges of the higher expectations those he surrounds himself with and pushing forward through his determination and experiences. Not only is what he has learned from his journey through high school, Blind Inc.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1608,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=1608","url_meta":{"origin":255,"position":2},"title":"Blind Abilities Teen Cast Presents: Paulina: From Just a Handful to a Lifetime of Self-Determination","author":"Jeffrey Thompson","date":"November 30, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Blind Abilities Teen Cast Presents paulina, @Shadowalker24 talking about her everyday life from highschool to a Blindness Training center and how her college experience is going today. The interview started at her home and continued as she walked to her college. Busy people are hard to interview sitting down. Paulina\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":109,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=109","url_meta":{"origin":255,"position":3},"title":"Transitioning From High School to College to a PHD Meet Cindy Bennett","author":"Jeffrey Thompson","date":"July 30, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Blind Abilities Presents a podcast interview with Cindy Bennett who has made great strides and accomplishments during her journey through High School, College, Summer Camps and is now embarking upon getting her PHD. She is focusing on an area that really got my attention, getting accessibility into the curriculum of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":203,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=203","url_meta":{"origin":255,"position":4},"title":"Blind or Sighted&#8230;there I am.","author":"blind Abilities","date":"August 14, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Scientist are finding ways to bypass portions of a defective eye component and sight is being created where no sight was before. Is this coming down the pipeline for me and you? Is this a barbaric form of stimulation of contrasting figments that are decipherable to the person or is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2260,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=2260","url_meta":{"origin":255,"position":5},"title":"Wood Working for the Blind: Meet Dennis Walker","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"November 5, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Wood Working is something that people have low expectations for the blind and probably think that it is too dangerous for their son\/daughter or any person with limited or no vision to get involved with as a hobby or profession. Training centers across the states have proven that wood working\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=255"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1452,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255\/revisions\/1452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}