What would your personal mission statement be? Mission statements can give us clarity and be the north star that helps to guide us. And when you do identify what your mission is, declare it, call it out into a statement- make it something that you can say to yourself on a daily basis. Having a mission statement means having a vision for the future and a path forward, which now allows you to set goals.

On this Disability Dojo episode, Tony dives into the many aspects that lives within the question of ‘Why am I here?” along his journey of trying to be the best version of himself that he can be, within all the different areas in his life. He talks about how he finds this to be a universal purposes for all of us- how we as humans are always on this path of constantly needing to get better and to improve and not allow yourself to be trapped in the comfort zone

A short exercise to help determine your mission statement:

• Question 1: What to do you love to do?

Linked resources mentioned:

• Esther Perel

If you have topics you'd like for us to discuss with our community and listeners, leave a comment or contact us at [email protected]! We'd love to have guests participate with Tony on our Disability Dojos- so if that person is you, reach out and let us know!

For More Information visit: Center For Independent Living of North Central Florida

• 352-378-7474 (Gainesville office)

On this episode, Tony gets to know Zach, who is currently in his second year of college and has a lot to share on what has allowed him to be successful in his academic journey. Zach talks about his experiences with school during his K-12 years and his transition into college- the struggles he experienced in his first year, the lessons he’s learn, and how he’s carrying them forward.  He talks about stigma and his resilience through facing stigma throughout his life. Having ADHD, he shares his challenges with being distracted but also is here to teach us about how to not be distracted in a society built with unlimited distractions. Zach also shares about his experiences participating in the Youth Leadership Forum and life after attending YLF.

The Youth Leadership Forum (YLF) is a unique leadership-training program for high school students with disabilities. ​Students participate in a multi-faceted series of online leadership training, role playing, mentoring, job preparation, career exploration and activities to build social and communication skills.

To learn more about The Youth Leadership Forum, visit: https://www.floridacils.org/youth-leadership-forum

Listen to our episode on YLF: https://open.spotify.com/episode/12c8hPKqa5VlXwxgLBhNCc

If you have topics you'd like for us to discuss with our community and listeners, leave a comment or contact us at [email protected]!

For More Information visit: Center For Independent Living of North Central Florida

• 352-378-7474 (Gainesville office)

Why are we here? This is a question that helps Tony identify his true mission. When Tony thinks about here and where we are, he zooms ..out a lot. He does so to keep himself grounded and it helps him to put perspective on the problems and issues that he finds challenging and continuously allows him to appreciate the life he’s been given.

Humans are made up of the elements that come from the core of the stars- the iron in our blood, the carbon in our cells, the phosphorus in our DNA, the calcium in our bones. A well known consensus in astrophysics and physiology is that we are literally the universe coming together to become conscious and aware of itself.

From the beginning, we are reliant on others, we need each other- that seems to a natural part of our evolution, which ties into a theme for our purpose with this podcast- having a community where we can come together, around disability, have some unity with disability, to be able to do so through social connection, and in doing so we can ascend to being the best version of ourselves possible. It’s so important to be together to be connected, to have community, because we are stronger together.

References:

If you have topics you'd like for us to discuss with our community and listeners, leave a comment or contact us at [email protected]! We'd love to have guests participate with Tony on our Disability Dojos- so if that person is you, reach out and let us know!

For More Information visit: Center For Independent Living of North Central Florida

James is a founder of an organization call “Be Able, Be Fit” which used physical activity, as a way to work on people’s physical health but also gets into their mental and emotional health and really working on their mindset. The mission of his organization is to promote a place where people with all different kinds of disabilities, can come for encouragement, support, camaraderie, and community.

In this conversation Tony and James dive into his lived experiences and journey into disability, his struggles and anger with his disability, and how all of that has lead him to a place that he is in now. Through having role models, being mindful about his thoughts, and aiming towards having more positive thoughts, James came to a place of surrender in regards to his life. His perspective shifted away from that anger into a mindset of choosing to live with strength and lessons learned. On this episode, James shares with Tony the importance of developing a heart set and becoming a better individual, and how important it is to think about what we truly want for ourselves and how do we get there, which allows the shift from a lacking mindset to a growth mindset.

To learn more about Be Fit Be Able, visit https://befitbeable.org/ and discover how you can get active, gain independence, and be all you can be.

If you have topics you'd like for us to discuss with our community and listeners, leave a comment or contact us at [email protected]!

For More Information visit: Center For Independent Living of North Central Florida

• 352-378-7474 (Gainesville office)

Who am I? Who are you? A person has many different aspects to who they are, not just disability, but all these various aspects, such as, nationality, race, the gender they identify with, the roles they fill in the life, their job, their talents, etc. For Tony, the answer to this question drives everything that he does- the way he thinks, the way he speak, the way he behaves. It’s a question he asked himself constantly and that answer can change constantly, as well. It’s a deep question to ask ourselves and its a very important question because knowing ourselves allows us to be the best version of ourselves.

If you have topics you'd like for us to discuss with our community and listeners, leave a comment or contact us at [email protected]! We'd love to have guests participate with Tony on our Disability Dojos- so if that person is you, reach out and let us know!

For More Information visit: Center For Independent Living of North Central Florida

• 352-378-7474 (Gainesville office)

In this powerful episode, Max Gastelum and Isaiah Swaysey, two alumni from this year’s Youth Leadership Forum, join Tony in an inspirational conversation. Through immense courage and bravery, they talk about important and rich areas regarding transformation- moving from a place of not being well and not doing well, to transforming and evolving into a place of hope, aspiration, and having a new outlook in life. They share the ways in which they cultivated their purpose, their why, what they’re working on, the power of art, and what it does for them. With an open heart, they share their take on how we can go about helping others, especially those with disabilities, and the best approach for doing that. Max and Isaiah share what they want people to know about their life, their attitudes towards living their life to the best of their ability, and how they would appreciate people interacting and communicating with them. They talk about the difference between pity and empathy, and they give us their take on what it means on living independently and have the independent life.

The Youth Leadership Forum (YLF) is a unique leadership-training program for high school students with disabilities. ​Students participate in a multi-faceted series of online leadership training, role playing, mentoring, job preparation, career exploration and activities to build social and communication skills.

To learn more about The Youth Leadership Forum, visit: https://www.floridacils.org/youth-leadership-forum

Listen to our episode on the Florida Youth Leadership Forum 

If you have topics you'd like for us to discuss with our community and listeners, leave a comment or contact us at [email protected]!

For More Information visit: Center For Independent Living of North Central Florida

• 352-378-7474 (Gainesville office)

People with disability report a lower quality of life, more consistently than people without disabilities. Quality of life is declining in many demographics in our country but when we look at disability- it is more magnified and that’s what we call a health inequity and health disparity; it’s not consistent with the general population so it’s important or us to take a look at that and find ways for improvement.

If you have topics you'd like for us to discuss with our community and listeners, leave a comment or contact us at [email protected]! We'd love to have guests participate with Tony on our Disability Dojos- so if that person is you, reach out and let us know!

For More Information visit: Center For Independent Living of North Central Florida

• 352-378-7474 (Gainesville office)

Tony Delisle and Sarah Catalanotto participate in a Health Equity Collaborative call with Tobacco Free Florida. In this conversation about smoking cessation and populations with disabilities, they discuss the prevalence of smoking rates and people with disabilities, in comparison to the average population. In this conversation, we talk about smoking cessation efforts; many who joined the call are smoking cessation counselors, who were not necessarily aware of these disparities among people with disabilities and might not realize the people they’re working with, have mental or physical disabilities. Tony and Sarah talk about making sure that people with disabilities have the same level of access to the information and resources being shared. This also ties to health literacy- the ability to communicate information in a way that people can understand and act on.

This is a great conversation for folks to hear because in the area of public health, smoking is still the number preventable cause of death and disease in our country. This impacts people with disabilities disproportionally, as compared to the general population.

For additional resources on Health Literacy from the CDC and HRSA:

• https://www.cdc.gov/healthliteracy/index.html

If you have topics you'd like for us to discuss with our community and listeners, leave a comment or contact us at [email protected]!

For More Information visit: Center For Independent Living of North Central Florida

• 352-378-7474 (Gainesville office)

Join us weekly in conversation with Tony, as he reflects on topics and ideas related to living an independent life. 

If you have topics you'd like for us to discuss with our community and listeners, leave a comment or contact us at [email protected]! We'd love to have guests participate with Tony on our Disability Dojos- so if that person is you, reach out and let us know!

For More Information visit: Center For Independent Living of North Central Florida

• 352-378-7474 (Gainesville office)

Jose Morales is the ADA Manager at the Center for Independent Living in Jacksonville. On this episode, Tony  and Jose share a conversation where he talks about the importance of being ourselves, being authentic to who we are in our true nature, and when we do that, it brings us to a place of empowerment where we can then create the synergies needed in our lives to live up to our fullest potential. Jose talks about how he was able to achieve an authentic identity that he embraces, what it means to be a great leader, what those qualities entail, and how he’s manifested them and puts them into practice through his advocacy and the advocacy of others.

Connect with The Center for Independent Living in Jacksonville: https://www.ciljacksonville.org/

Mailing Address: 2709 Art Museum Drive Jacksonville, FL 32207