Today’s #SameHere Hero is the newest member of the Influencer Alliance: Winston Ben Clements.
Rewind back to our #SameHere Sit-Down event last October at Northern Illinois University & I shared a story abt a wonderful young student who came up to me in her wheelchair after our event, & explained that while she loved the content & msg we delivered, not physically SEEING anyone up on stage, w similar disabilities to hers, made it difficult for her to fully connect. I shared w you all how this feedback ate away at me.
Our Movement’s msg from the beginning has always been abt inclusivity & removing comparisons – how even those who appear the “strongest” amongst us, face many difficulties & challenges we may know nothing abt. That said, I had to take her feedback to heart…& had to find a way to make her & many others who may feel like they’re not represented, instead feel a true part of this Movement. But that “way” couldn’t be forced.
A number of wks ago, WAALC friend, “Ray K” called me, & told me I had to speak w one of the most extraordinary individuals he’d ever met. It was a gentleman he’d followed on fbook, & finally reached out to, to meet w, when he traveled to London. That gentleman was Winston Ben Clements.
From the moment I got on the phone w Winston, I knew we’d hit it off. He’s just this affable, gregarious soul that makes you want to be a better person. Born w a rare condition called Brittle Bones Disorder, he truly lives his motto: “Your limitations are an illusion.” Think abt all he has had to face mentally, given his disorder. And yet here he is a TEDx speaker, a motivational speaker, a computer science “genius.”
I wont take away from his story in the link on our Influencer page, but let me just say that a person like Winston is “what it’s all about.” I SEE him as Winston the man, no different than anyone else facing any other set of challenges. And that Winston embodies that, himself, is beyond special (full story on the Influencer Alliance Page).