[nabs-l] Personal characteristics and traits of successfulblind people

Thu Mar 27 21:19:06 UTC 2014

Brice, you make a good point. Successful is an abstract word with 
no true definition. But in my opinion, being successful is doing 
what you want to do and being good at it, whether you're a 
successful novelist, doctor, or garbage collector. It's knowing 
that you are good at something, knowing that you have the skills 
and ability necessary to further your personal ambitions, 
whatever they may be. As to traits of successful blind people, 
one important one that no one has mentioned (and I agree with 
everything that has already been mentioned) is acceptance of 
blindness. I've known people who have denied their blindness. I 
was talking to a guy I'd just met on a school trip, and I made 
some casual reference as to him being blind. "I'm visually 
impaired! I can still see stuff, so I'm not blind!" he snapped at 
me. We must come to term with our blindness. If we are 
comfortable with it and accept it as a fact of life that we 
cannot change, we will grow in confidence. And if we grow in 
confidence, people will notice that. Whereas if we are 
uncomfortable with our blindness or inefficient because of a 
refusal to accknowledge blindness and receive training, people 
will notice us for an entirely different reason. They will give 
us "the pity treatment" as someone earlier said. This is a great 
discussion and I look forward to getting more input.

 ----- Original Message -----
From: Brice Smith <brice.smith319 at gmail.com
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 16:57:12 -0400
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Personal characteristics and traits of 
successfulblind people

This entire discussion is pointless because no one has defined
successful. What is it? Is it getting a master's degree and job 
in
your field? Climbing a tall mountain? Working as a garbage 
collector
to feed and protect your husband and children? If I travel solo 
around
the world would you call me successful despite my disability, or 
laugh
at me because I don't have a job? If I have an expensive English
degree and work as a receptionist at an engineering firm am I now
considered "successful" even if I'm miserable and hate my job? If 
I
work at Target because I've got bills and responsibilities, am I
successful for getting a job or a failure for not having the
curiosity, intellect, training, adaptability -- or whatever other
characteristics you have identified in this thread?

We go on and on with these useless terms and buzzwords without
defining them or considering that success to one person might be
failure to another.

Brice

On 3/27/14, justin williams <justin.williams2 at gmail.com> wrote:
 You do have to be better than the majority; it is not fair, but 
you do. At
 times, you will get a little bit of a break, but to be really 
successful,
 you have to be better than average to make people decide that 
hiring you
 befriending you, or loving you, or what-evering you is worth 
stepping
 outside of their comfort zone.  While I won't dare hold everyone 
to my
 personal opinion and say it is gospel, if you are just average 
run of the
 mill, technically, you would be counted as less than your 
counterparts,
 because they have nothing as a barrier for the boss, friend, or 
lover to
 access their averageness. Spin it anyway you want, but you've 
got to be
 better than average and a little unique to really find the 
success you
 want.
 If you and a sighted person go for the same job with the same 
credentials,
 we'll use an undergrad degree in sociology, the sighted person 
is probably
 going to get the entry level job.  Get your master's degree in 
counseling,
 and stand out.  There is less competition, and you are seen as 
an expert,
 or
 something close. Average, or below average may get you the pity 
treatment,
 or you may even get the customer service job in the call center, 
but it is
 a
 dead end job for sure.  You don't want to just be the token; you 
want to be
 a real contributor.  Not that everyone has to get a master's 
degree, but
 you
 got my drift.  You want people to respect you.  Admiration is 
alright, but
 that does not get you hired, dated, or anything else you really 
want. It is
 merely the gateway to respect, and respect of your piers is what 
helps
 catapult you to actual success.  Okay, I'm leaving out 
spirituality for
 purposes of this conversation, but once again, you got my drift.

 -----Original Message-----
 From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of 
Julie
 McGinnity
 Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2014 2:26 PM
 To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
 Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Personal characteristics and traits of 
successful
 blind people

 This brings up another discussion entirely: do we need to be 
better than
 our
 sighted colleagues to make it in the world?  Do we need to make 
ourselves
 look particularly successful so that others will not overlook us 
because we
 are blind?

 Here's one idea...  I feel like blind people who are successful 
don't over
 emphasize their blindness.  It is one of many characteristics 
that define
 them(us).  We are blind, and we need to deal with it, learn 
necessary
 skills, and continue to develop our talents and skills in other 
areas.  We
 are not just blind; we are people.

 A counter argument would assert that due to the widespread 
misconception of
 blindness, we need to be constantly on our gard and focusing on 
educating
 and advocating.  Personally, I think this is no way to live our 
lives, but
 I
 bet that I am not the only one who worries about how certain 
activities
 will
 work for me or whether a certain professor will treat me 
differently
 because
 of my blindness.
 Maybe it's reality...  What do you guys think?

 On 3/27/14, justin williams <justin.williams2 at gmail.com> wrote:
 Hard down skill.  All the other intangibles are nice, but if you
 aren't good at something, then they don't count for as much; you 
have
 to make yourself useful to folks, and try to have a little bit 
more
 knowledge than everyone else around you.  Understanding the 
value of
 good training, personal development, a wealth of knowledge, and 
great
 technique.  Learn any thing you can.  Learn also how to 
interweave
 your blindness skills into the normal skills of what you as a 
person
 need to no.  Learn what you do, and what you don't do.  Also, be
 willing to explore, and adapt.

 -----Original Message-----
 From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of 
Phil
 Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2014 6:29 AM
 To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
 Subject: [nabs-l] Personal characteristics and traits of 
successful
 blind people

 Hi all,

 I'm working on a research paper, and would like to hear what you 
think.
 Obviously there are external factors such as accessibility 
barriers,
 social and attitudinal barriers and so on that affect a blind 
person's
 likelihood of success in life.  But if we focus on personal
 characteristics for a moment, what do you think are some 
personal
 characteristics that can help a blind person succeed, or ask in 
a
 different way, what characteristics and behavior traits do 
successful
 blind people around you exhibit? And what makes you cite these 
traits?
 For example, some have rightly pointed out that a sense of 
curiosity
 and exploration is key, both curiosity to explore one's physical
 surrounding, intellectual curiosity to explore different 
subjects and
 career possibilities, and so on. Others have also pointed out 
having
 the courage to be different is important as a blind person.
 What else do you think are important characteristics or behavior 
traits?
 Hope to hear lots of diverse views on this.
 Thanks!

 Best,
 Phil

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 --
 Julie McG
 National Association of Guide dog Users board member,  National 
Federation
 of the Blind performing arts division secretary, Missouri 
Association of
 Guide dog Users President, and Guiding Eyes for the Blind 
graduate 2008
 "For
 God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that 
everyone who
 believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life."
 John 3:16

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