On This Episode

Co-hosts Dawn Prall and Shawn Doyle begin the episode with a conversation about being a doer, specifically, the importance of doing while losing your vision. Dawn and Shawn provide tips for modifying activities, such as exercise. They highlight the positive physical and psychological benefits of being active. The conversation shifts to experiences while running errands and the helpfulness of Assistive Technologies. The co-hosts then ask listeners to write in and share their tips and tricks for being a doer with MacD.

In the next segment, Dawn interviews co-host Shawn Doyle as the episode’s featured special guest. The conversation begins with Shawn sharing advice from his parents that shaped his career and outlook on life. Shawn’s passion for providing tools and techniques to help people succeed is featured throughout the interview. He goes on to discuss his career mentor, the blessings of Assistive Technologies, negative mindsets, and remedies for a bad day. 

Dawn and Shawn then exchange views on the book Grit by Angela Duckworth. They build off Duckworth’s definition of grit to include environmental factors – such as relationships. The hosts then provide a visual analogy of grit to gravel and the importance of getting back up after a fall.  

Actress, singer, voiceover artist and SiriusXM radio show host Christine Pedi recounts lessons learned from reading Even This I Get to Experience by Norman Lear. In this segment, we hear about the concept of “next” and viewing the “next” as an opportunity. We are encouraged to stay in our present moment and to stay open to lessons we may learn in unexpected places. 

The podcast moves on to the regular featured segment from Vispero’s Bill Kilroy, Senior Sales Director for the Northeast, and Mike Woods, Strategic Accounts Manager for Education. Vispero is the world's largest Assistive Technology for the visually impaired serving people who are blind or low vision. In this episode, Bill and Mike introduce the Transformer, a portable, three in one, high-definition camera. The Vispero duo highlight key features, such as a range of magnification and contrast settings and an OCR option that can convert print material into an audio book for the user.

Other episode highlights include a discussion about Tom Brady’s book The TB 12 Method, specifically touching on his commitment to excellence through training and nutrition. Dawn and Shawn relate commitment to health as an investment in a future self. The episode concludes with a fun trivia game played by co-hosts, Shawn and Dawn, and information sharing on additional resources.

What We Discuss in this Episode

This sixth episode covers the following featured topics:

• “Lots of people with macular degeneration - it depends on where they're at with it early, mid right in stage advance - can still do stuff. Let's talk about doing the stuff you need to keep doing, because you got to keep doing or you're going to give up.” (4:09)

• “I think stagnation is dangerous because it's not a natural human condition. When people stagnate, they lose their health, they get worse.” (4:26)

• “Exercise releases a lot of endorphins and lots of other chemicals that make you more optimistic. There's a physical benefit, but there's also a psychological benefit.” (5:14)

• “Don’t be afraid to ask someone, ‘Excuse me, could you help me grab that on the shelf?’ or, ‘What does this say?’ because I find that generally speaking, most people are nice, and are willing to help if you ask for help, which we've talked about before.” (8:16)

• “I was raised in a household where I was taught by two remarkable human beings that anything is possible. When we fast forward into my life as a trainer, speaker, executive coach, and author, I think I've just kind of continued that path, not only for me, but to teach other people that you can do anything in your life as long as you're willing to do the work. I provide people the tools and techniques to do that.” (12:42)

• “The single biggest asset that you have, and I'll add to that, it's not the trucks in the building and the products and all this other stuff. It's the underdeveloped potential of your people…if you can harness the underdeveloped potential of people, and they want to grow? It’s unbelievable what can happen.” (19:10)

• “…people say all the time, ‘how can you be motivated at a time like this?’ All of the turmoil that's going on in our world, all that bad news you see on the media, but we live in an amazing world, in terms of technology. Someone being able to turn on their computer, you control the computer without using a mouse, just purely using vocal commands, or be able to magnify something, or change the mean, it's just unbelievable, compared to say, Helen Keller's day, you know where there wasn't the technology available to her. Now there's so such great technology available. We're very blessed to have that.” (21:20)

• “Constantly consuming positive, as an antidote to the negative. I call it the Bad Day Prescription if you will.” (26:09)

• “…grit is a combination of passion, and perseverance.” (30:39)

• “You plan, God laughs. So, you can prepare for what you hope the future will bring. You know, pay your bills, walk your dog, take your vitamins, call your mother. But the minute you assume that things will work out in a certain way, then you are setting yourself up. You don't have any control over any of it. Especially if you have vision issues.” (37:45)

• “That's probably the key lesson that I pulled from that whole story was, no matter what your life is like, if you really commit to a healthy lifestyle of nutrition, it's going to fuel you to be better…” (45:49)

• “I think that we all make choices, yes, none of us are perfect. We're all blessed with the talents we have, with the strength we have, with the attitude, with the winning. Nutrition is a part of that, a big part of that. I think one of the things that we try to do with this show and on the website and the SupportSight Foundation is help people learn and educate them about how important all of that those pieces are, with or without MacD. You are what you eat.” (47:29)

• “The Transformer is a portable three in one high-definition camera, that actually can be a multi camera system, that you can connect to a standalone monitor, you can connect it to your laptop, MacBook, iPad, or Chromebook. It’s a three in one camera.” (58:13)

Quotables

• “Growing up as a child, my dad and mom always said, always, always, always said, you can do anything if you put your mind to it, as long as you're willing to do the work. I love that caveat, right? It wasn't just you could do anything, magically wishing it. It’s as long as you're willing to do the work.” – Shawn Doyle

• “If you're gritty, you can pull whatever you have to from places inside you that you never thought were there. And in things that you never thought existed. And you can pull them up when you need them. And you dig really deep down inside and then you use it.” – Dawn Prall

• “The fact that human beings learn so rapidly makes room for lots of amazing possibilities.” – Shawn Doyle

• “…you never know where you're going to find an answer or find an inspiration, so keep on looking. Keep on reading, keep on listening, keep on talking to people, it could be somebody that you're talking to at the bus stop. You don't know what kind of words of wisdom out there will suddenly just make you do a complete 180 on way of thinking.” – Christine Pedi

Recommended Resources

- https://shawndoyletraining.com/

- http://www.supportsight.org/

- http://www.mymacdlife.org/

- https://vispero.com/

- https://www.freedomscientific.com/

- https://www.enhancedvision.com/

- https://www.enhancedvision.com/low-vision-product-line/transformer-hd-portable-electronic- magnifier.html

- https://us.optelec.com/

- https://www.healthyvisionassociation.com/

- https://www.novartis.com/

- https://www.centricbank.com/

- https://www.steinandassociates.com/