When Alan Lock unexpectedly lost his sight due to macular degeneration, he knew his military career was over. What he didn’t know was how many adventures were about to begin. In this episode of The Crossroad Series, Alan tells us about how he took control of his life by setting four extreme goals: to run the Marathon Des Sables, to row the Atlantic Ocean, to ski to the South Pole, and to swim the English Channel. He shares his wisdom on the power of goal setting, how to benefit others through your own accomplishments, and not limiting yourself in life.  

Episode Quotes:

On how people can get the most out of their lives:

"Get out there and hopefully create opportunities for yourself and align those to your goals. If you can, you can. Make that a positive experience for those around you as well. Be a good thing."

Alan's thoughts on having his sight back:

"I think, of course, obviously if I could have my sight, I'm going to have this completely different career. I'd love to be able to just do basic things, like ride a bike and read a book again. In some ways, I can honestly say probably if I was offered that choice now I'd probably say, “You know what, I'm going to stick with what I've done”. Because having had that experience quite early in my life, it was almost being slightly hyperbolic. I guess the worst thing that could have happened, happened. So at that point, a lot of the fear and apprehension fell away."

On eating the elephant:

“And so day by day. I know that if I can just mentally, just take it a day at a time. Which again is an overused phrase, but it's really true. Then eventually all these days are going to add up and I'll get to the other end.”

Show Links:

• Alan Lock on LinkedIn
• Icarus Originals 
• BlowLeaf 
• Sense 
• Guide Dogs for the Blind 
• Sightsavers International 

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