Crippled CEO Blog #153: Any Idiot Can Walk

Crippled CEO Blog #153:

“Any idiot can walk.”

I’ve often referenced this thing my mom told me when I was little.

I might even make it the title of my first book.

I like it. And it sounds cool and clever.

But what did she actually mean?

The most salient symptom of my cerebral palsy is my inability to walk. It is the reason for the wheelchair, which is the big thing that people notice first.

I’ve never been asked, “Do you wish you could dress yourself?” or “Do you wish you could get in bed without assistance?“

But I’ve often been asked, “Do you wish that you could walk?”

And even though it’s not the part of my disability that bothers me the most, the answer is yes. I do. I do wish that I could walk. 

And the main reason for that isn’t locomotion. My power wheelchair gets me around just fine.

I wish that I could walk because everyone else walks. It is the thing that separates me from the rest of society.

And I am envious of this thing that other people do and I can’t. 

But should I be, really?

Probably not. And I think that’s what my mom meant.

Any idiot can walk. 

It’s not special. It’s not impressive. There is no reason to be jealous of the people doing it. They certainly aren’t better than me because of it. 

I think that’s what she meant by it, and not only is it true, but I think you can apply it to most things people are jealous of. 

Any idiot can buy a Porsche.

Any idiot can get the big screen TV.

Any idiot can take pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Any idiot can get a 23-year-old girlfriend.

Any idiot can look like they have a perfect life on Instagram.

I don’t know what thing you don’t have or you can’t do that other people are fortunate to possess, but there’s a good chance that the “any idiot” model applies to that, also. 

Any idiot to walk, but nobody can do what I can do. And nobody can do what you can do, either.

(Do you know who definitely couldn’t walk after last night? Me. And your mom. Your mom also gets a text from me every Sunday with a link to the latest blog post. Send a text to 561-726-1567 with the word CRIP as the message to get a link to the blog as soon as it’s up.

Did you know that I have a YouTube channel now? I do! I am putting up two videos every single week. Go search for Crippled CEO and you’ll find me. I would appreciate it if you subscribed.)