“Just remember, you can do anything you set your mind to, but it takes action, perseverance, and facing your fears.” – Gillian Anderson

Go back to the days when you were just a kid and your mom saying: “You can do anything you want in life”. As hard as it may have been to believe her, now try thinking about being told that phrase, and not having any arms. Impossible? Some might think so.

Last week I kind of went off the board with my pick of an inspirational celebrity with some possibly saying that Steve Jobs didn’t fall into the ‘celebrity’ status. (VIEW STEVE JOBS POST HERE). If you thought that was the case, then this week I am stretching that celebrity status even further but a situation as motivating as this cannot be missed. I’m probably a little late on writing about this, but it doesn’t matter. Her story may reach someone new, and someone who needs to hear it the most. Today I write about Jessica Cox.

Jessica was diagnosed with a rare birth defect causing her to be born with no arms. She is one of the most inspirational human beings I have ever been fortunate enough to research. Would you fly on a plane if you knew that the pilot had no arms? I would if I knew it was Jessica Cox in control. On October 18th 2008, Jessica completed three years of training and was honoured with the title of first armless pilot to earn a pilots license. She was also the first armless person to earn a black-belt in the American Tae Kwon-Do Association and now currently holds two different black-belts.

Watch the video below to get a sense of how she does everything.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2IqpPSF9-U

Her story is a true tale of determination and never giving up. To her, having no arms is just a minor inconvenience. She lives a happy life and thats all that matters. My hope in writing about Jessica, is that you might look at something in your life that is currently inconveniencing you from doing what you want to do and realize how minuscule it probably is compared to what Jessica has to go through daily. I challenge you to try and not use your hands for an hour and see how hard it is. Now imagine your entire life.

“Look Ma, no hands”

Nobody is born perfect, but that doesn’t mean we can’t create a perfect life. Giving up is the only way to fail.

Jessica, thank you for motivating so many of us to go after those things that seem impossible.

I thought I would add another video of a guy named Nick Vujicic. A man with no limbs at all and his message about never giving up.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dWXFBM5M8I

Make sure to visit Jessica Cox’s website here: http://rightfooted.com/ and Nick Vujicic’s site here: http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/

And oh ya, she’s also a certified SCUBA diver. Is there anything she can’t do? Not in her mind.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xi6r0UyMvM