January 1, 2025 • 33 mins
Aaron Pete sits down with Rick Hansen to explore his transformative journey from a life-altering accident to becoming a global advocate for people with disabilities, the emotional challenges he overcame, the inspiration he drew from Terry Fox, the iconic Man in Motion World Tour, and the powerful lessons of resilience, interdependence, and breaking barriers to create a more inclusive world.
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Rick Hansen (00:02):
Nowhere in the definition of an athlete does it
say you have to use your legsin order to be one.
There were a lot of dark years,for sure, before I could say
I'd made that transformation.
Aaron Pete (00:12):
Can you tell us about the lead-up to the man in
Motion World Tour?
Rick Hansen (00:17):
It's not being afraid of failure.
If there's anything I'velearned from my friend Terry Fox
, failure kills some of thegreatest dreams that society
ever has.
Aaron Pete (00:33):
Rick, this is an honour.
Thank you so much for having us.
Rick Hansen (00:36):
Thanks, aaron, I appreciate it, would you mind?
Aaron Pete (00:38):
briefly introducing yourself for people who might
not be acquainted.
Rick Hansen (00:40):
Yeah, yeah, I'm Rick Hansen.
I'm the founder of the RickHansen Foundation, and as a
youngster, I was coming homefrom a fishing trip and I was in
the back of a pickup truck thatrolled and broke my back and
left me paralyzed and that meantthat my whole world had changed
.
Having had the experience ofdealing with personal barriers
(01:01):
internally and external barriers, I realized that I could still
be a whole person and decided tomove forward of my athletic
career and eventually tried topay it forward of my man in
Motion world tour, and ourfoundation was then set up
afterward to continue to chase aworld without barriers for
people with disabilities, sothey could achieve their full
potential.
(01:21):
And so, as a leader, I continueto chase that ultra marathon of
social change.
Aaron Pete (01:27):
I love that.
The piece that I want to honein on a little bit more is the
challenge of overcomingadversity at the time.
We're in a time right now wheredepression, anxiety, people's
sense of self might bestrunggling, and you're such an
inspiration in that way.
But I'd like to humanize youperhaps a bit.
What was it like during thoseearly days after the accident?
(01:48):
How did you grapple with thatand start to change your
perspective and look at it asbecoming a whole person and
reclaiming your identity?
Rick Hansen (01:57):
Yeah, you know, that's a great point.
And you know, as a youngster Ithink I had inherited all the
classic, you know, canadianstereotypes of what it meant in
society to potentially have adisability.
You really look down on peoplewho had disabilities.
You really felt pity and didn'tsee much ability because in our
(02:19):
world at that point there werevery few opportunities and
usually it was a burden onfamily.
Point, there were very fewopportunities and usually it was
a burden on family.
I also, as a teenager, as you'regrowing up, you think your
identity and your potency as ahuman is to be physically whole
and able and also fiercelyindependent.
So the setting of thatenvironment for a catastrophic
injury that left you without theuse of your legs was
(02:40):
devastating.
That environment for acatastrophic injury that left
you without the use of your legs, that was devastating, like I
mean, I mean I couldn't when Ihad my injury, I just couldn't
imagine my, my life continuing.
Like what would it be?
You know, everything that Istood for, you know was, was now
rocked, and so this deep, darkcanvas of despair was really I
(03:09):
mean, I had to somehow figureout how to create some borders,
you know, you know, and, and abit of texture, of color and
hope and possibility and in apre-information age.
You know that was a hugelearning curve and it took a lot
of struggle and so, yeah, therewere a lot of dark years, for
sure, before I could start toemerge, you know, in a way that
(03:30):
I could say I'd made thattransformation.
Aaron Pete (03:32):
There's lots of different ways people go about
doing that, whether they've beenfired from their job or face
different levels of adversity.
But what were some of therecommendations you would make
to others when you talk aboutreading books?
Maybe you had some positive,influential people that you were
looking up to.
Maybe family members wereencouraging you to take a
different perspective on this.
Rick Hansen (03:51):
Yeah, I think the first thing is when you're in
that hospital bed and you'restrapped to it and you can't
move your legs and you've beenfocusing on trying to wiggle
your toes every single day,almost all day, thinking you
could will yourself to recovery.
And then, after the days, andthen the weeks and then the
months went by which seemed likean eternity and nothing was
(04:12):
happening.
You get to a place where you'realmost ready to give up the
most powerful thing that we allhave, which is hope.
And for me, my family came inand they were there with me
every day.
I had incredible medicalsupport encouraging me and there
(04:34):
was just something inside of me.
I think it was a pivot pointwhen I actually was dropped face
down in the hospital bed afterI had been getting sick and I
threw up and it was like threein the morning.
I called the call button andthe nurse never showed up and I
think they were on shift change.
(04:54):
They missed it and I sat therefor hours just like looking at
that and the enormity of thatsituation was probably the most
dark period of my entire life,and I think that just something.
The next day after, they gave mesomething for the fever and the
(05:15):
pain.
I just kind of ended up askingthe question okay then, what can
I do, you know, can I dosomething?
And the answer?
The answer was yeah, I canstill move my arms.
So I asked a nurse and physioto bring a set of rubber bands
and strap them onto the side ofthe bed, because I was still
(05:36):
strapped in the horizontalposition, and I started
exercising my arms.
And it's interesting how youknow, one baby step, one moment
of thinking, it's something Ican do.
All the things I couldn't do,all the pain, all the suffering
were real.
But I turned to the right alittle bit with some hope that
maybe, just maybe I don't knowwhat how maybe it will be better
(06:00):
, maybe it will get better,maybe it will get better.
And, interestingly, over timethen little steps continued and
I started to feel better,stronger.
But that wasn't enough, becauseI needed to hear from others,
role models, someone who hadbeen there before me to come
into my life and show me whatwas possible in this new world.
(06:23):
And I had an incredible rolemodel named Stan Strong who came
into my life and he made merealize that everything I saw in
him was this sense of like, hiswhole face, his persona was
pure joy and wholeness and Isaid I want to be like him.
(06:45):
Why?
And I realized that for him itwas simply that he refused to
yield to those circumstances.
And what he did is he saw thelove in life and in people.
He saw that there was stillbeauty in the world he was in.
He saw that there was stillbeauty in the world he was in,
even in the muck and the crap,and he still also saw purpose.
(07:08):
And he ended up manifestingthat every day.
And that's how he became who hewas, in spite of the fact he
had more of a disability than Idid.
And I thought okay then that'sthe key, right?
It's not so much what happensto you, it's what you do with it
that counts, and it's attitudeand mindfulness.
(07:30):
And I had to start continuingto start to populate the canvas
of possibilities.
And he kind of helped encourageme to think and realize that
nowhere in the definition of anathlete does it say you have to
use your legs in order to be one.
So you know, it's like almostlike these traps we set in our
mind right the sense of pitythat came from society, a
(07:53):
stereotype disability as opposedto ability.
You know now, all of a sudden,that was shifting.
And then my own internaleverything had to be perfect
shifting.
And and then my own internaleverything had to be perfect,
physically whole, versus justthe wholeness of who I was.
And and then, secondly, youknow you look at these views of
being fiercely independentversus interdependent, and that
(08:19):
was the other part for me.
Going home was trying to startto adjust to those.
You know more social realities,you know, in the context of who
I was like, accepting help,yeah okay.
Aaron Pete (08:32):
So the other piece just on that note that I'd like
to explore a little bit furtheris how you go about taking in
information, because youmentioned society during that
period that had very kind of aclear perspective on it and
maybe people think they're doingthe right thing, maybe they
make comments and they go oh,like your, your world's changing
.
You're like they may be likepushing their perspective onto
(08:54):
you and to not let that in, butto let certain voices that are
giving that spark of informationand inspiration in, it's hard
to figure out who to listen toin those moments.
How did you go about doing that?
Rick Hansen (09:07):
Yeah, I almost I think I stumbled into it.
You know, I don't think I hadany kind of formula, but I think
what I would do is I wouldactually start to source back
pain.
Where's the pain coming from?
And you know, and of course youknow, the biggest pain that was
coming from me was that Ididn't see hope or possibilities
(09:29):
and I had to learn what waspossible.
And I also had views that I hadto be independent, or
independent of my own world, butthat created a trap.
And my pain wasn't coming fromthe fact that I couldn't use my
legs, it was that I was sittingin a pickup truck, you know, on
a beautiful, warm summer day,having having drove my friends
(09:52):
to a little place we love toswim, and they went down a trail
and had a great time, while Isat in the truck, pouting
because I wouldn't accept helpto go down that trail with them
and experience that great moment.
And that pain was where it wascoming from my attitude and my
(10:13):
view, not the fact I couldn't goswimming.
I had to accept help and I hadto be okay with that, and I had
to realize that everyone needshelp.
We're all interdependent oneach other and it's not a burden
.
It's actually an ability togive someone a sense of meaning
and purpose, because we all arehuman and we want to help, we
(10:37):
want to make a difference and tobe given.
That opportunity is empowering.
And so the burden shifted to asense of agency, being the CEO
of my world and being able toask for help, and that was
powerful.
But then every once in a while,someone would come and they
would offer help and you'd get alittle frustrated, like you're
(11:02):
going up a steep hill and youwant to get there on your own
and just near the top somebodycomes up and offers help.
And you know, like, once in awhile, you know, you say, sure,
not that you need it, but maybeyou have a sense that that would
give that person a little bitof a boost in their life to be
(11:23):
able to make a difference.
Because sometimes I like to getin front of somebody and open
the door for them, right, andthat's, you know, it's just the
way it is.
And so I feel that a shift camefrom being angry about someone
imposing their pity and or hey,I want to help you to being
comfortable, seeing it as alearning moment.
Don't give too much you knowlike, because if you do, they
(11:46):
think they have to helpeverybody rather than watch,
observe, ask and listen andhaving that authentic
relationship unfold.
And then all of a sudden, it'sjust two people.
It's not about the disability,because we all have disabilities
, yeah.
Aaron Pete (12:02):
I've heard that said .
I forget exactly who said it,but they talked about how trust
isn't about like just assistinganother person or checking a box
.
It's letting somebody into yourworld and letting them make
that difference and then youstart to trust them.
But they a lot of the times.
People want that opportunity toshow you that they're gonna
show up in your life in a goodway and you have to give people
(12:24):
that opportunity to show up inthat good way.
Rick Hansen (12:27):
Yeah, and it's kind of moving from the head to the
heart and to the soul, and thenyou start to connect and you can
build authentic bridges basedon the discovery in the
relationship.
And then what does disabilitygot to do with that really,
exactly?
And our human nature then is toyou know, is to find common
values, find common endeavor andpurpose and, as we learn and
(12:52):
understand, to express our loveand compassion and empathy is to
be able to perhaps help removesome barriers so someone can
live the life that they actuallyare born to be able to and that
they aspire to.
Aaron Pete (13:06):
So you go through this like mental transformation
on that perspective.
But to not only do that is afeat, but to go on and to try
and play it out to its mostextreme end, to try and make a
difference in other people'slives, to turn this into a
movement that inspires otherswhen did that further pivot,
come in?
Rick Hansen (13:25):
You know the first thing, I, you know it wasn't
like crossing and turning aswitch and then you're there.
You know it's an ongoingjourney, even today.
And so you know I have to staymindful, because I do.
We all have our dark days andour challenges, but I think that
the reality is I started torealize that I was, by focusing
(13:45):
on my own kind of purpose andjourney and ability and trying
to remove barriers, that itnaturally kind of radiated out
and I would have people comingto me saying like, wow, how did
you do that?
And maybe I can do it in mylife.
And like my phys ed teacher atUBC, dr Bob Highmarsh, he
(14:11):
actually had me come and speakto the phys ed class in adapted
physical education because hewanted me to tell my story.
And I went, wow, like my story,like what's my?
I'm just like a student, I'mlucky to be here.
And he gave me a chance becausehe thought my voice and my
experience would be helpful.
Or if I would adapt somethingto make my life a little easier,
(14:33):
that other people withdisabilities would say, oh, how
did you do that?
Even when I was racing, I wasin the innovation mentality and
I would adapt the chair so thatI had a molded seat to give
maximum power.
And all of a sudden I excelledto another level and and all
these folks went, wow, how didyou do that?
(14:53):
And and it radiated out.
So it wasn't, it wasn't, atfirst, a purpose to make a
difference, it was just doingyour work.
And then and then having itradiate, and also, when you're
trying to do your work,realizing that you're lucky and
grateful because so many peoplewere coming to me helping to
remove barriers in my life,whether it be grants to get
(15:17):
equipment, or Stan Strong, whowas a manager of our wheelchair
basketball team, who theninspired me to say if you're
going to be on our team, peoplelike the great Eugene Reimer
from Abbotsford, who is Canada'sOutstanding Male Athlete of the
Year with Karen Magnuson in 72,they were on this team and he
(15:38):
said you know, if you're goingto be here, I want you to pay it
forward, I want you to recruit,get other folks.
And so I ended up meeting TerryFox and recruiting him to come
to the team.
And then, you know, we neededmore money.
And then he encouraged me toget involved in raising funds
for the team and we were wantingto create awareness.
(15:59):
And then I was getting involvedbecause I was in physical
education and I wanted to, youknow, kind of encourage youth to
think positively about peoplewith disabilities, and so it was
a kind of slow progression fromthe internal to the gratitude
and to the recognition of howpowerful that was to then the
purpose.
And it didn't happen overnight.
(16:19):
And I think if your mind isopen and you're thoughtful and
reflecting, you start tointernalize those things,
especially if they're notpresented to you as frameworks
for living your life early, andyou kind of bang up against the
wall, you know and it hurts, andyou know, and you make mistakes
and you kind of wonder, andthen finally, hopefully, some
(16:41):
lessons come and you just keepgoing.
Aaron Pete (16:43):
I'm not a big energy guy, but when I think about,
like somebody who's surroundedby, maybe, negative influences
maybe they want to be the firstto go to university in their
family and everybody's like youcan't afford that, how are you
gonna pay for that?
You're not gonna be able to getthere like they're all kind of
discouraging that person.
Can you talk to me about theenergy that's created when
people aren't trying to be abarrier, they're trying to go
(17:06):
like okay, that's an idea.
What if we tied it in with this?
What if we did like?
That's a whole movement in andof itself and you're like you're
creating energy by all of yourinspiration and desire to make a
positive difference.
Like did you see that going onin everybody that they all had
like a similar value and thedirection they wanted to go?
Rick Hansen (17:23):
You know, I as early as I can remember and I
think part of it is.
You know, I don't know as earlyas I can remember, and I think
part of it is.
I don't know, maybe it's yourfamily environment, with my
parents and my grandparents andmy uncles.
I was surrounded in the firstsix years in Port Alberni, where
I was raised, always on anadventure, always even in the
(17:45):
local area, whether it's outthere in the garden or going
down into an orchard, or down toa creek and fishing, and or out
onto a lake or down into theWest Coast, you know, on the
Alberni Canal or, you know, inBamfield, and the adventure was
always about let's go, and butthe going was the being with
(18:07):
your, you know, friends andfamily, family, and then also
the journey always facedbarriers or challenges you had
to deal with, and so there wasalways that sense of optimism
and I believe that it kind ofwas embedded in me as an
adventurer.
I was always trying, as amatter of fact, of course, that
was the mentality that you knowheld me as, at the end of grade
(18:31):
10, you know imagine and youknow manifest this incredible
dream and adventure of having meand a couple of buddies go off
to the Bellacula Valley to go onthis great fishing adventure,
and little did I know on the wayhome that that would seal my
fate for getting in the back ofa pickup truck and having the
accident.
But it's just who I was and andI think it.
(18:55):
You know it's who I've been eversince, as I reclaim myself and
and I believe that there is ahuge difference between positive
and negative energy, fear andyou know fear is, is a powerful
force that should be honored.
But if fear is uncontrolled, itcan overwhelm and so, taking
(19:18):
fear out of the dark and intothe light, you know you can
shrink fear, not ignore it, butyou can assess it because
there's really healthy fear andthen there's really, you know,
debilitating fear.
The same would be for negativeenergy about can't impossible,
all the problems, all the issues.
There's a time for that, butnot in the killing of the dream
(19:39):
before it even nucleates and andthat's in the process, and
there are some times when crazydreams like, yeah, let's just
take a jump outside thisbuilding and see if we can fly.
I don don't think that's goingto work.
Aaron Pete (19:52):
Can you tell us about the lead up to the man in
Motion world tour?
What were the steps thatbrought you to that place?
Rick Hansen (19:59):
Well, as I went back to school, my phys ed
teacher, bob Redford, encouragedme to get back into sport.
He introduced me to the factthat Paralympic sport existed.
The connection with Stan Strongmoved me into basketball and
then eventually one of my heroes, pete Klystrow, was one of the
(20:20):
best basketball playerswheelchair basketball players in
the world, but he was so fitbecause he was always training
on the track, building hiscardio and his speed, and so I
was encouraged to get involvedin the track and ultimately,
little did I know that thatwould lead me into becoming a
world champion and a Paralympicgold medalist and being part of
(20:43):
the Olympic Games in 1984.
And so representing my countryinternationally.
I became a wheelchairmarathoner and I'd had this
dream, this crazy dream in therehab center of this adventure
of maybe going out of mywheelchair with some of my
buddies on bikes and we wouldwheel around the world.
(21:05):
And it was tourist kind ofadventure.
And physically didn't think itwas possible then.
But a decade later now, as aworld champion, physically, yeah
, I think I could do that.
But it was the purpose.
Why would you do that?
In the middle of your athleticcareer and and and seeing Terry
(21:25):
Fox do his journey across thecountry for cancer research and
see the way people started torespond not as his purpose, but
to respond to him and others andsee not disability but ability.
I went yeah, I've been fightingthis all my life attitudes
internally, attitudes andbarriers in society and my gift
(21:50):
is in wheelchair marathoning andthis dream can become a purpose
.
And I decided to put ittogether and nucleate it and
eventually, you know, the mostpowerful thing that happened out
of all the tour was when Iactually uttered it from inside
my head, out of my mouth, to adear friend and I said you know,
(22:14):
I'm thinking about wheelingaround the world and once it's
out, you know.
And then you say I'm going towheel around the world and all
of a sudden it's a commitment.
And that was the beginning and,you know, the man in Motion
World Tour unfolded.
Aaron Pete (22:31):
There's so many questions that you leave me with
with such insights.
The one piece I do want totouch on is there's this balance
you have to find with having adream and knowing that to some
it's too crazy, to some theywould immediately be like stop
that that's crazy, don't think.
But then there's like it buildsand it starts to grow and you
almost have to nourish it like aplant, recognizing that it
(22:52):
doesn't, it's not fully fledgedyet, it's not there, it has work
to do.
How do you go about kind ofgrowing an idea in a good way to
make sure that you have goodinfluences, kind of contributing
to it?
Rick Hansen (23:03):
I think you have to be open to uh, you know,
perspective, and once you have adream and you put it out there,
you know, and even internallyin the analysis, you're
naturally going to go to what isit going to take to get there?
And then you're going to startthinking about all the risks and
all the problems and barriersand and those are, those are
things that should be honoredand and identified in your plan
(23:26):
and your framework, and there isa difference between taking
risks and being reckless, andbeing reckless is not looking at
some of those reallyfundamental barriers and or
fears and determining thatthat's a bridge too far.
However, there's something inthe obsession between that in
(23:48):
the planning that wants to haveit all buttoned down and the
reality is, you know, is we cannever button it all down.
There's always going to beuncertainty and at some point we
have to make a commitment to,in some ways, a perilous and
uncertain future, not knowing ifthose fears are going to happen
(24:11):
or not and not having a clearunderstanding of what the
pathway or the specific outcomewill be.
But it's enough that you knowit's not reckless.
It might be a challenge or arisk and it's not being afraid
of failure, because failure, ifthere's anything I've learned
from my friend Terry Fox failurekills some of the greatest
(24:34):
dreams that society ever has.
And can you imagine if, if hedecided not to take that moment,
you know, you know, in CapeSpear and dip his artificial leg
in the Atlantic Ocean and turnwestward and take that first
step, imagine what wouldn't havehappened in this world.
(24:55):
And even though he nevercompleted his journey physically
, look what's happened.
You know, because he had thecourage to try and to take that
first step.
And failure is an importantunderstanding in this world
today, especially in this socialmedia driven world, where all
(25:15):
you see is the perfect imagesyou know, everyone puts their
best face on.
It's not real, I mean, it's amoment in reality.
But the reality is that we allfail and, as a matter of fact,
failing is, is part of learningand growing and being
accountable and responsible.
And and if you're not failing,you're not trying, you're not
(25:38):
pushing, and if we all feel thatwe have to be so safe that we
can't fail, then what's going tohappen in our world?
And and, as a matter of fact, Ijust think that for me, the
lucky part of that is I knewthat it was going to be a
challenge and there was a goodchance that I could fail.
But I just decided I was goingand I was going to give it my
(26:02):
absolute best.
And I said to myself no regrets,no regrets.
So that meant every time Iwould come out of the road, you
know, and it would be freezing,cold rain, I'd have an injury in
my shoulder and I'd be sittingin the back of the motorhome
with the ice packs on and I'mthinking there's no way I can't
(26:27):
get out there.
There's no way I can't get outthere.
I'm done, I'm done.
And and then that littlecommitment I made no regrets.
It comes back in it and it getsyou and it makes you think okay
, is this?
Is this where I should bemaking this decision?
In a nice, warm motorhome?
Do I have one more stroke?
And I shouldn't be making adecision in here?
(26:48):
I got to get back out there andlet's just give it one more
stroke and see how far it goes.
And that one stroke led toanother, to another, to another
kilometre, another three, four,five, six hours, and then, at
the end of the day, I wascelebrating another victory,
still in the hunt for my dream.
But that wouldn't have happenedif I didn't say no regrets.
(27:10):
You know, and and it.
Yeah, there were times when Iwas really close to packing it
in, but I know that I would have.
I can imagine a like Terry if Ihad have succumbed to those
moments and the the outcome ofmy journey would have never
happened.
And and I I just am so gratefulthat I just gave it one more
(27:32):
stroke.
Aaron Pete (27:33):
That's inspirational .
Would you mind telling us aboutstarting the Rick Hansen
Foundation?
Rick Hansen (27:38):
Yeah, when we finished our tour, like gosh,
you know, like two years, twomonths, two days, 40,000
kilometers of wheeling, 34countries, four continents, we'd
created awareness, we'd raisedlike far greater than we'd ever
imagined, like $26 million, youknow, to continue to remove
barriers.
And I broke through you through, because I'd volunteered all
(28:01):
this time and I'd had a dreamthat I was going to get back to
my athletic career and maybe goto the Olympics in Seoul, korea
Paralympics.
And so I broke through thebanner and above and behind me
was a sign that said WelcomeHome, rick.
And there was a little sloganthere that said the end is just
the beginning.
I went, well, like crazymarketer, eh, like I'm done.
(28:25):
But you know, we had thisreality that you know that the
tour was over and, yeah, sure,we'd accomplished something, but
against the reality of thedream, like it was, we were just
starting.
And so we established ourfoundation and the foundation,
you know, decided that it neededto continue to move forward on
(28:48):
that dream.
And, you know, and, and for allthese years since, uh, you know
, we've been constantly workingtowards that vision and we're
we're a small littleorganization, organization we're
here, based in Canada, but wewant to change the world.
You know, we didn't wheelacross BC or Canada or North
America.
It was around the world andthat was where my inspiration
(29:09):
was forged as a Paralympian andand the barriers that we're
tackling today here in Canada.
They have a chance to bemovement-based solutions that
can be adopted by other peopleto connect the world and
ultimately make life better forpeople with disabilities.
Aaron Pete (29:25):
The last question that I have that I wanted to
touch on is it seems like we'rehungry for inspiration right now
it seems like that's an areathat I see when I just look at
Canada or the world is thatwe're in need of a reminder that
that one person can make adifference, that that that is
possible, and I'm wondering ifyou could leave us with some
(29:47):
advice for young people to getinspired again.
Disconnect from social media.
What would your advice be foryoung people?
Rick Hansen (29:54):
I would say, for me , the most important thing is
what I've gathered in the yearsthat I've been on my journey is
that there's a lot more goodnessout there in humanity than
there is bad, that we need tolook for it more these days,
because the bad seems to come upto front and it tends to make
(30:15):
us feel a false sense of beingdisillusioned.
It creates anger andfrustration and I would say
let's look for the good and Iwould say everyone can make a
difference.
You don't need to look for acelebrity superstar to be a role
model or a hero.
It's in your family, yourfriends, your community and we
(30:40):
all need inspiration.
But there's no perfect personand people need to earn your
respect.
And you know, because you knowit's not about what we say, it's
about what we do and ultimately, if you believe in yourself
because every human being issacred and if you have the
(31:03):
belief that you have ability,then follow your path.
And there's no absolutecomparison because, at the end
of the day, your path is yourpath and you can live out your
values.
You can manifest whatever goalsand dreams you.
You can live out your values.
You can.
You can manifest whatever goalsand dreams that you think are
important and you can contributeto help make your family or
(31:27):
your community or your countryor your world a little better.
And that and big, massivemovements or accomplishments are
they are actually always,always the aggregation of
thousands, if not millions, oftiny acts of contribution as
team members, and so you don'thave to always be a leader.
(31:48):
You can be a team member andreally have a powerful impact.
And so I believe that you know,in this world, today more than
ever, we need to be able to seethat hope and of a world that's
healthy and inclusive andrespectful and inclusive to
everyone who happens to havedifference, because in the core
(32:10):
of it, in our humanity, we'reall the same.
Aaron Pete (32:13):
You're absolutely an example of that.
Thank you so much for beingwilling to do this.
It's been an absolute honor.
Rick Hansen (32:17):
Thank you, I appreciate it.
Aaron Pete (32:18):
Aaron, can you tell people how they can connect with
the work you're doing in FollowAlong?
Rick Hansen (32:22):
Yeah, if they want to join our movement, they can
look us up at rickhansencom andwe're always looking for barrier
busters, people who can getinvolved or people who can
actually demonstrate the factthat you can live positively
with a disability and be anambassador and make financial
contributions or be a partner.
(32:43):
So we really look forward tothe future.
It's never been a moreoptimistic, brighter period and
I believe my best work is stillin front.
Aaron Pete (32:51):
I couldn't agree more.
We have so much more to discussin the future.
I hope to have you back on todiscuss fish conservation and
all of that work, but thank youagain for today.
Rick Hansen (33:08):
Yeah, thanks, aaron .
Nowhere in the definition of an athlete does it
say you have to use your legsin order to be one.
There were a lot of dark years,for sure, before I could say
I'd made that transformation.
Aaron Pete (00:12):
Can you tell us about the lead-up to the man in
Motion World Tour?
Rick Hansen (00:17):
It's not being afraid of failure.
If there's anything I'velearned from my friend Terry Fox
, failure kills some of thegreatest dreams that society
ever has.
Aaron Pete (00:33):
Rick, this is an honour.
Thank you so much for having us.
Rick Hansen (00:36):
Thanks, aaron, I appreciate it, would you mind?
Aaron Pete (00:38):
briefly introducing yourself for people who might
not be acquainted.
Rick Hansen (00:40):
Yeah, yeah, I'm Rick Hansen.
I'm the founder of the RickHansen Foundation, and as a
youngster, I was coming homefrom a fishing trip and I was in
the back of a pickup truck thatrolled and broke my back and
left me paralyzed and that meantthat my whole world had changed
.
Having had the experience ofdealing with personal barriers
(01:01):
internally and external barriers, I realized that I could still
be a whole person and decided tomove forward of my athletic
career and eventually tried topay it forward of my man in
Motion world tour, and ourfoundation was then set up
afterward to continue to chase aworld without barriers for
people with disabilities, sothey could achieve their full
potential.
(01:21):
And so, as a leader, I continueto chase that ultra marathon of
social change.
Aaron Pete (01:27):
I love that.
The piece that I want to honein on a little bit more is the
challenge of overcomingadversity at the time.
We're in a time right now wheredepression, anxiety, people's
sense of self might bestrunggling, and you're such an
inspiration in that way.
But I'd like to humanize youperhaps a bit.
What was it like during thoseearly days after the accident?
(01:48):
How did you grapple with thatand start to change your
perspective and look at it asbecoming a whole person and
reclaiming your identity?
Rick Hansen (01:57):
Yeah, you know, that's a great point.
And you know, as a youngster Ithink I had inherited all the
classic, you know, canadianstereotypes of what it meant in
society to potentially have adisability.
You really look down on peoplewho had disabilities.
You really felt pity and didn'tsee much ability because in our
(02:19):
world at that point there werevery few opportunities and
usually it was a burden onfamily.
Point, there were very fewopportunities and usually it was
a burden on family.
I also, as a teenager, as you'regrowing up, you think your
identity and your potency as ahuman is to be physically whole
and able and also fiercelyindependent.
So the setting of thatenvironment for a catastrophic
injury that left you without theuse of your legs was
(02:40):
devastating.
That environment for acatastrophic injury that left
you without the use of your legs, that was devastating, like I
mean, I mean I couldn't when Ihad my injury, I just couldn't
imagine my, my life continuing.
Like what would it be?
You know, everything that Istood for, you know was, was now
rocked, and so this deep, darkcanvas of despair was really I
(03:09):
mean, I had to somehow figureout how to create some borders,
you know, you know, and, and abit of texture, of color and
hope and possibility and in apre-information age.
You know that was a hugelearning curve and it took a lot
of struggle and so, yeah, therewere a lot of dark years, for
sure, before I could start toemerge, you know, in a way that
(03:30):
I could say I'd made thattransformation.
Aaron Pete (03:32):
There's lots of different ways people go about
doing that, whether they've beenfired from their job or face
different levels of adversity.
But what were some of therecommendations you would make
to others when you talk aboutreading books?
Maybe you had some positive,influential people that you were
looking up to.
Maybe family members wereencouraging you to take a
different perspective on this.
Rick Hansen (03:51):
Yeah, I think the first thing is when you're in
that hospital bed and you'restrapped to it and you can't
move your legs and you've beenfocusing on trying to wiggle
your toes every single day,almost all day, thinking you
could will yourself to recovery.
And then, after the days, andthen the weeks and then the
months went by which seemed likean eternity and nothing was
(04:12):
happening.
You get to a place where you'realmost ready to give up the
most powerful thing that we allhave, which is hope.
And for me, my family came inand they were there with me
every day.
I had incredible medicalsupport encouraging me and there
(04:34):
was just something inside of me.
I think it was a pivot pointwhen I actually was dropped face
down in the hospital bed afterI had been getting sick and I
threw up and it was like threein the morning.
I called the call button andthe nurse never showed up and I
think they were on shift change.
(04:54):
They missed it and I sat therefor hours just like looking at
that and the enormity of thatsituation was probably the most
dark period of my entire life,and I think that just something.
The next day after, they gave mesomething for the fever and the
(05:15):
pain.
I just kind of ended up askingthe question okay then, what can
I do, you know, can I dosomething?
And the answer?
The answer was yeah, I canstill move my arms.
So I asked a nurse and physioto bring a set of rubber bands
and strap them onto the side ofthe bed, because I was still
(05:36):
strapped in the horizontalposition, and I started
exercising my arms.
And it's interesting how youknow, one baby step, one moment
of thinking, it's something Ican do.
All the things I couldn't do,all the pain, all the suffering
were real.
But I turned to the right alittle bit with some hope that
maybe, just maybe I don't knowwhat how maybe it will be better
(06:00):
, maybe it will get better,maybe it will get better.
And, interestingly, over timethen little steps continued and
I started to feel better,stronger.
But that wasn't enough, becauseI needed to hear from others,
role models, someone who hadbeen there before me to come
into my life and show me whatwas possible in this new world.
(06:23):
And I had an incredible rolemodel named Stan Strong who came
into my life and he made merealize that everything I saw in
him was this sense of like, hiswhole face, his persona was
pure joy and wholeness and Isaid I want to be like him.
(06:45):
Why?
And I realized that for him itwas simply that he refused to
yield to those circumstances.
And what he did is he saw thelove in life and in people.
He saw that there was stillbeauty in the world he was in.
He saw that there was stillbeauty in the world he was in,
even in the muck and the crap,and he still also saw purpose.
(07:08):
And he ended up manifestingthat every day.
And that's how he became who hewas, in spite of the fact he
had more of a disability than Idid.
And I thought okay then that'sthe key, right?
It's not so much what happensto you, it's what you do with it
that counts, and it's attitudeand mindfulness.
(07:30):
And I had to start continuingto start to populate the canvas
of possibilities.
And he kind of helped encourageme to think and realize that
nowhere in the definition of anathlete does it say you have to
use your legs in order to be one.
So you know, it's like almostlike these traps we set in our
mind right the sense of pitythat came from society, a
(07:53):
stereotype disability as opposedto ability.
You know now, all of a sudden,that was shifting.
And then my own internaleverything had to be perfect
shifting.
And and then my own internaleverything had to be perfect,
physically whole, versus justthe wholeness of who I was.
And and then, secondly, youknow you look at these views of
being fiercely independentversus interdependent, and that
(08:19):
was the other part for me.
Going home was trying to startto adjust to those.
You know more social realities,you know, in the context of who
I was like, accepting help,yeah okay.
Aaron Pete (08:32):
So the other piece just on that note that I'd like
to explore a little bit furtheris how you go about taking in
information, because youmentioned society during that
period that had very kind of aclear perspective on it and
maybe people think they're doingthe right thing, maybe they
make comments and they go oh,like your, your world's changing
.
You're like they may be likepushing their perspective onto
(08:54):
you and to not let that in, butto let certain voices that are
giving that spark of informationand inspiration in, it's hard
to figure out who to listen toin those moments.
How did you go about doing that?
Rick Hansen (09:07):
Yeah, I almost I think I stumbled into it.
You know, I don't think I hadany kind of formula, but I think
what I would do is I wouldactually start to source back
pain.
Where's the pain coming from?
And you know, and of course youknow, the biggest pain that was
coming from me was that Ididn't see hope or possibilities
(09:29):
and I had to learn what waspossible.
And I also had views that I hadto be independent, or
independent of my own world, butthat created a trap.
And my pain wasn't coming fromthe fact that I couldn't use my
legs, it was that I was sittingin a pickup truck, you know, on
a beautiful, warm summer day,having having drove my friends
(09:52):
to a little place we love toswim, and they went down a trail
and had a great time, while Isat in the truck, pouting
because I wouldn't accept helpto go down that trail with them
and experience that great moment.
And that pain was where it wascoming from my attitude and my
(10:13):
view, not the fact I couldn't goswimming.
I had to accept help and I hadto be okay with that, and I had
to realize that everyone needshelp.
We're all interdependent oneach other and it's not a burden
.
It's actually an ability togive someone a sense of meaning
and purpose, because we all arehuman and we want to help, we
(10:37):
want to make a difference and tobe given.
That opportunity is empowering.
And so the burden shifted to asense of agency, being the CEO
of my world and being able toask for help, and that was
powerful.
But then every once in a while,someone would come and they
would offer help and you'd get alittle frustrated, like you're
(11:02):
going up a steep hill and youwant to get there on your own
and just near the top somebodycomes up and offers help.
And you know, like, once in awhile, you know, you say, sure,
not that you need it, but maybeyou have a sense that that would
give that person a little bitof a boost in their life to be
(11:23):
able to make a difference.
Because sometimes I like to getin front of somebody and open
the door for them, right, andthat's, you know, it's just the
way it is.
And so I feel that a shift camefrom being angry about someone
imposing their pity and or hey,I want to help you to being
comfortable, seeing it as alearning moment.
Don't give too much you knowlike, because if you do, they
(11:46):
think they have to helpeverybody rather than watch,
observe, ask and listen andhaving that authentic
relationship unfold.
And then all of a sudden, it'sjust two people.
It's not about the disability,because we all have disabilities
, yeah.
Aaron Pete (12:02):
I've heard that said .
I forget exactly who said it,but they talked about how trust
isn't about like just assistinganother person or checking a box
.
It's letting somebody into yourworld and letting them make
that difference and then youstart to trust them.
But they a lot of the times.
People want that opportunity toshow you that they're gonna
show up in your life in a goodway and you have to give people
(12:24):
that opportunity to show up inthat good way.
Rick Hansen (12:27):
Yeah, and it's kind of moving from the head to the
heart and to the soul, and thenyou start to connect and you can
build authentic bridges basedon the discovery in the
relationship.
And then what does disabilitygot to do with that really,
exactly?
And our human nature then is toyou know, is to find common
values, find common endeavor andpurpose and, as we learn and
(12:52):
understand, to express our loveand compassion and empathy is to
be able to perhaps help removesome barriers so someone can
live the life that they actuallyare born to be able to and that
they aspire to.
Aaron Pete (13:06):
So you go through this like mental transformation
on that perspective.
But to not only do that is afeat, but to go on and to try
and play it out to its mostextreme end, to try and make a
difference in other people'slives, to turn this into a
movement that inspires otherswhen did that further pivot,
come in?
Rick Hansen (13:25):
You know the first thing, I, you know it wasn't
like crossing and turning aswitch and then you're there.
You know it's an ongoingjourney, even today.
And so you know I have to staymindful, because I do.
We all have our dark days andour challenges, but I think that
the reality is I started torealize that I was, by focusing
(13:45):
on my own kind of purpose andjourney and ability and trying
to remove barriers, that itnaturally kind of radiated out
and I would have people comingto me saying like, wow, how did
you do that?
And maybe I can do it in mylife.
And like my phys ed teacher atUBC, dr Bob Highmarsh, he
(14:11):
actually had me come and speakto the phys ed class in adapted
physical education because hewanted me to tell my story.
And I went, wow, like my story,like what's my?
I'm just like a student, I'mlucky to be here.
And he gave me a chance becausehe thought my voice and my
experience would be helpful.
Or if I would adapt somethingto make my life a little easier,
(14:33):
that other people withdisabilities would say, oh, how
did you do that?
Even when I was racing, I wasin the innovation mentality and
I would adapt the chair so thatI had a molded seat to give
maximum power.
And all of a sudden I excelledto another level and and all
these folks went, wow, how didyou do that?
(14:53):
And and it radiated out.
So it wasn't, it wasn't, atfirst, a purpose to make a
difference, it was just doingyour work.
And then and then having itradiate, and also, when you're
trying to do your work,realizing that you're lucky and
grateful because so many peoplewere coming to me helping to
remove barriers in my life,whether it be grants to get
(15:17):
equipment, or Stan Strong, whowas a manager of our wheelchair
basketball team, who theninspired me to say if you're
going to be on our team, peoplelike the great Eugene Reimer
from Abbotsford, who is Canada'sOutstanding Male Athlete of the
Year with Karen Magnuson in 72,they were on this team and he
(15:38):
said you know, if you're goingto be here, I want you to pay it
forward, I want you to recruit,get other folks.
And so I ended up meeting TerryFox and recruiting him to come
to the team.
And then, you know, we neededmore money.
And then he encouraged me toget involved in raising funds
for the team and we were wantingto create awareness.
(15:59):
And then I was getting involvedbecause I was in physical
education and I wanted to, youknow, kind of encourage youth to
think positively about peoplewith disabilities, and so it was
a kind of slow progression fromthe internal to the gratitude
and to the recognition of howpowerful that was to then the
purpose.
And it didn't happen overnight.
(16:19):
And I think if your mind isopen and you're thoughtful and
reflecting, you start tointernalize those things,
especially if they're notpresented to you as frameworks
for living your life early, andyou kind of bang up against the
wall, you know and it hurts, andyou know, and you make mistakes
and you kind of wonder, andthen finally, hopefully, some
(16:41):
lessons come and you just keepgoing.
Aaron Pete (16:43):
I'm not a big energy guy, but when I think about,
like somebody who's surroundedby, maybe, negative influences
maybe they want to be the firstto go to university in their
family and everybody's like youcan't afford that, how are you
gonna pay for that?
You're not gonna be able to getthere like they're all kind of
discouraging that person.
Can you talk to me about theenergy that's created when
people aren't trying to be abarrier, they're trying to go
(17:06):
like okay, that's an idea.
What if we tied it in with this?
What if we did like?
That's a whole movement in andof itself and you're like you're
creating energy by all of yourinspiration and desire to make a
positive difference.
Like did you see that going onin everybody that they all had
like a similar value and thedirection they wanted to go?
Rick Hansen (17:23):
You know, I as early as I can remember and I
think part of it is.
You know, I don't know as earlyas I can remember, and I think
part of it is.
I don't know, maybe it's yourfamily environment, with my
parents and my grandparents andmy uncles.
I was surrounded in the firstsix years in Port Alberni, where
I was raised, always on anadventure, always even in the
(17:45):
local area, whether it's outthere in the garden or going
down into an orchard, or down toa creek and fishing, and or out
onto a lake or down into theWest Coast, you know, on the
Alberni Canal or, you know, inBamfield, and the adventure was
always about let's go, and butthe going was the being with
(18:07):
your, you know, friends andfamily, family, and then also
the journey always facedbarriers or challenges you had
to deal with, and so there wasalways that sense of optimism
and I believe that it kind ofwas embedded in me as an
adventurer.
I was always trying, as amatter of fact, of course, that
was the mentality that you knowheld me as, at the end of grade
(18:31):
10, you know imagine and youknow manifest this incredible
dream and adventure of having meand a couple of buddies go off
to the Bellacula Valley to go onthis great fishing adventure,
and little did I know on the wayhome that that would seal my
fate for getting in the back ofa pickup truck and having the
accident.
But it's just who I was and andI think it.
(18:55):
You know it's who I've been eversince, as I reclaim myself and
and I believe that there is ahuge difference between positive
and negative energy, fear andyou know fear is, is a powerful
force that should be honored.
But if fear is uncontrolled, itcan overwhelm and so, taking
(19:18):
fear out of the dark and intothe light, you know you can
shrink fear, not ignore it, butyou can assess it because
there's really healthy fear andthen there's really, you know,
debilitating fear.
The same would be for negativeenergy about can't impossible,
all the problems, all the issues.
There's a time for that, butnot in the killing of the dream
(19:39):
before it even nucleates and andthat's in the process, and
there are some times when crazydreams like, yeah, let's just
take a jump outside thisbuilding and see if we can fly.
I don don't think that's goingto work.
Aaron Pete (19:52):
Can you tell us about the lead up to the man in
Motion world tour?
What were the steps thatbrought you to that place?
Rick Hansen (19:59):
Well, as I went back to school, my phys ed
teacher, bob Redford, encouragedme to get back into sport.
He introduced me to the factthat Paralympic sport existed.
The connection with Stan Strongmoved me into basketball and
then eventually one of my heroes, pete Klystrow, was one of the
(20:20):
best basketball playerswheelchair basketball players in
the world, but he was so fitbecause he was always training
on the track, building hiscardio and his speed, and so I
was encouraged to get involvedin the track and ultimately,
little did I know that thatwould lead me into becoming a
world champion and a Paralympicgold medalist and being part of
(20:43):
the Olympic Games in 1984.
And so representing my countryinternationally.
I became a wheelchairmarathoner and I'd had this
dream, this crazy dream in therehab center of this adventure
of maybe going out of mywheelchair with some of my
buddies on bikes and we wouldwheel around the world.
(21:05):
And it was tourist kind ofadventure.
And physically didn't think itwas possible then.
But a decade later now, as aworld champion, physically, yeah
, I think I could do that.
But it was the purpose.
Why would you do that?
In the middle of your athleticcareer and and and seeing Terry
(21:25):
Fox do his journey across thecountry for cancer research and
see the way people started torespond not as his purpose, but
to respond to him and others andsee not disability but ability.
I went yeah, I've been fightingthis all my life attitudes
internally, attitudes andbarriers in society and my gift
(21:50):
is in wheelchair marathoning andthis dream can become a purpose
.
And I decided to put ittogether and nucleate it and
eventually, you know, the mostpowerful thing that happened out
of all the tour was when Iactually uttered it from inside
my head, out of my mouth, to adear friend and I said you know,
(22:14):
I'm thinking about wheelingaround the world and once it's
out, you know.
And then you say I'm going towheel around the world and all
of a sudden it's a commitment.
And that was the beginning and,you know, the man in Motion
World Tour unfolded.
Aaron Pete (22:31):
There's so many questions that you leave me with
with such insights.
The one piece I do want totouch on is there's this balance
you have to find with having adream and knowing that to some
it's too crazy, to some theywould immediately be like stop
that that's crazy, don't think.
But then there's like it buildsand it starts to grow and you
almost have to nourish it like aplant, recognizing that it
(22:52):
doesn't, it's not fully fledgedyet, it's not there, it has work
to do.
How do you go about kind ofgrowing an idea in a good way to
make sure that you have goodinfluences, kind of contributing
to it?
Rick Hansen (23:03):
I think you have to be open to uh, you know,
perspective, and once you have adream and you put it out there,
you know, and even internallyin the analysis, you're
naturally going to go to what isit going to take to get there?
And then you're going to startthinking about all the risks and
all the problems and barriersand and those are, those are
things that should be honoredand and identified in your plan
(23:26):
and your framework, and there isa difference between taking
risks and being reckless, andbeing reckless is not looking at
some of those reallyfundamental barriers and or
fears and determining thatthat's a bridge too far.
However, there's something inthe obsession between that in
(23:48):
the planning that wants to haveit all buttoned down and the
reality is, you know, is we cannever button it all down.
There's always going to beuncertainty and at some point we
have to make a commitment to,in some ways, a perilous and
uncertain future, not knowing ifthose fears are going to happen
(24:11):
or not and not having a clearunderstanding of what the
pathway or the specific outcomewill be.
But it's enough that you knowit's not reckless.
It might be a challenge or arisk and it's not being afraid
of failure, because failure, ifthere's anything I've learned
from my friend Terry Fox failurekills some of the greatest
(24:34):
dreams that society ever has.
And can you imagine if, if hedecided not to take that moment,
you know, you know, in CapeSpear and dip his artificial leg
in the Atlantic Ocean and turnwestward and take that first
step, imagine what wouldn't havehappened in this world.
(24:55):
And even though he nevercompleted his journey physically
, look what's happened.
You know, because he had thecourage to try and to take that
first step.
And failure is an importantunderstanding in this world
today, especially in this socialmedia driven world, where all
(25:15):
you see is the perfect imagesyou know, everyone puts their
best face on.
It's not real, I mean, it's amoment in reality.
But the reality is that we allfail and, as a matter of fact,
failing is, is part of learningand growing and being
accountable and responsible.
And and if you're not failing,you're not trying, you're not
(25:38):
pushing, and if we all feel thatwe have to be so safe that we
can't fail, then what's going tohappen in our world?
And and, as a matter of fact, Ijust think that for me, the
lucky part of that is I knewthat it was going to be a
challenge and there was a goodchance that I could fail.
But I just decided I was goingand I was going to give it my
(26:02):
absolute best.
And I said to myself no regrets,no regrets.
So that meant every time Iwould come out of the road, you
know, and it would be freezing,cold rain, I'd have an injury in
my shoulder and I'd be sittingin the back of the motorhome
with the ice packs on and I'mthinking there's no way I can't
(26:27):
get out there.
There's no way I can't get outthere.
I'm done, I'm done.
And and then that littlecommitment I made no regrets.
It comes back in it and it getsyou and it makes you think okay
, is this?
Is this where I should bemaking this decision?
In a nice, warm motorhome?
Do I have one more stroke?
And I shouldn't be making adecision in here?
(26:48):
I got to get back out there andlet's just give it one more
stroke and see how far it goes.
And that one stroke led toanother, to another, to another
kilometre, another three, four,five, six hours, and then, at
the end of the day, I wascelebrating another victory,
still in the hunt for my dream.
But that wouldn't have happenedif I didn't say no regrets.
(27:10):
You know, and and it.
Yeah, there were times when Iwas really close to packing it
in, but I know that I would have.
I can imagine a like Terry if Ihad have succumbed to those
moments and the the outcome ofmy journey would have never
happened.
And and I I just am so gratefulthat I just gave it one more
(27:32):
stroke.
Aaron Pete (27:33):
That's inspirational .
Would you mind telling us aboutstarting the Rick Hansen
Foundation?
Rick Hansen (27:38):
Yeah, when we finished our tour, like gosh,
you know, like two years, twomonths, two days, 40,000
kilometers of wheeling, 34countries, four continents, we'd
created awareness, we'd raisedlike far greater than we'd ever
imagined, like $26 million, youknow, to continue to remove
barriers.
And I broke through you through, because I'd volunteered all
(28:01):
this time and I'd had a dreamthat I was going to get back to
my athletic career and maybe goto the Olympics in Seoul, korea
Paralympics.
And so I broke through thebanner and above and behind me
was a sign that said WelcomeHome, rick.
And there was a little sloganthere that said the end is just
the beginning.
I went, well, like crazymarketer, eh, like I'm done.
(28:25):
But you know, we had thisreality that you know that the
tour was over and, yeah, sure,we'd accomplished something, but
against the reality of thedream, like it was, we were just
starting.
And so we established ourfoundation and the foundation,
you know, decided that it neededto continue to move forward on
(28:48):
that dream.
And, you know, and, and for allthese years since, uh, you know
, we've been constantly workingtowards that vision and we're
we're a small littleorganization, organization we're
here, based in Canada, but wewant to change the world.
You know, we didn't wheelacross BC or Canada or North
America.
It was around the world andthat was where my inspiration
(29:09):
was forged as a Paralympian andand the barriers that we're
tackling today here in Canada.
They have a chance to bemovement-based solutions that
can be adopted by other peopleto connect the world and
ultimately make life better forpeople with disabilities.
Aaron Pete (29:25):
The last question that I have that I wanted to
touch on is it seems like we'rehungry for inspiration right now
it seems like that's an areathat I see when I just look at
Canada or the world is thatwe're in need of a reminder that
that one person can make adifference, that that that is
possible, and I'm wondering ifyou could leave us with some
(29:47):
advice for young people to getinspired again.
Disconnect from social media.
What would your advice be foryoung people?
Rick Hansen (29:54):
I would say, for me , the most important thing is
what I've gathered in the yearsthat I've been on my journey is
that there's a lot more goodnessout there in humanity than
there is bad, that we need tolook for it more these days,
because the bad seems to come upto front and it tends to make
(30:15):
us feel a false sense of beingdisillusioned.
It creates anger andfrustration and I would say
let's look for the good and Iwould say everyone can make a
difference.
You don't need to look for acelebrity superstar to be a role
model or a hero.
It's in your family, yourfriends, your community and we
(30:40):
all need inspiration.
But there's no perfect personand people need to earn your
respect.
And you know, because you knowit's not about what we say, it's
about what we do and ultimately, if you believe in yourself
because every human being issacred and if you have the
(31:03):
belief that you have ability,then follow your path.
And there's no absolutecomparison because, at the end
of the day, your path is yourpath and you can live out your
values.
You can manifest whatever goalsand dreams you.
You can live out your values.
You can.
You can manifest whatever goalsand dreams that you think are
important and you can contributeto help make your family or
(31:27):
your community or your countryor your world a little better.
And that and big, massivemovements or accomplishments are
they are actually always,always the aggregation of
thousands, if not millions, oftiny acts of contribution as
team members, and so you don'thave to always be a leader.
(31:48):
You can be a team member andreally have a powerful impact.
And so I believe that you know,in this world, today more than
ever, we need to be able to seethat hope and of a world that's
healthy and inclusive andrespectful and inclusive to
everyone who happens to havedifference, because in the core
(32:10):
of it, in our humanity, we'reall the same.
Aaron Pete (32:13):
You're absolutely an example of that.
Thank you so much for beingwilling to do this.
It's been an absolute honor.
Rick Hansen (32:17):
Thank you, I appreciate it.
Aaron Pete (32:18):
Aaron, can you tell people how they can connect with
the work you're doing in FollowAlong?
Rick Hansen (32:22):
Yeah, if they want to join our movement, they can
look us up at rickhansencom andwe're always looking for barrier
busters, people who can getinvolved or people who can
actually demonstrate the factthat you can live positively
with a disability and be anambassador and make financial
contributions or be a partner.
(32:43):
So we really look forward tothe future.
It's never been a moreoptimistic, brighter period and
I believe my best work is stillin front.
Aaron Pete (32:51):
I couldn't agree more.
We have so much more to discussin the future.
I hope to have you back on todiscuss fish conservation and
all of that work, but thank youagain for today.
Rick Hansen (33:08):
Yeah, thanks, aaron .
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