As I’m writing this blog post, Steve has just finished his full time job and is working the next two hours for the rideshare service lyft. He is doing that to enable us to put as much money toward debt as possible and help Josh pay for school.
For those of you who don’t know, services like lyft require the driver to use a mobile app to accept and end rides. You may say, ‘What’s the big deal?’ Well, it isn’t a big deal for someone who has full use of their hands, but it requires a lot of patience and planning for someone who doesn’t.
I’m guessing that like me, most of you can drive with one hand, freeing up the other when necessary. Steve can’t do this, which means that he has to pull over if he needs to free up his hands for any reason.
If I was in his situation, I cannot imagine that I would ever entertain the idea of driving people around. And to be frank, he does get some suspicious glances. Let’s be honest, how many times have you seen someone in a wheelchair drive an automobile?
But he does this, because don’t tell Steve that he can’t or shouldn’t do something because of his disability, especially if he views it as working toward achieving common goals. For us, the goals are to pay off debt and to help Josh and Rachael avoid student loans.
People, including myself, often get caught up in what they can’t do. That can consume us if we let it. What are you allowing to get in the way of your dreams and goals? Maybe it’s physical. Perhaps it’s emotional or educational.
Often, we just need to be open to new ways of doing things, maybe we need to operate outside of our comfort zone. I suppose it’s a lot easier to say that rather than do it. I know it is for me anyway. But seeing people like Steve who embrace that challenge is motivation to take steps toward achieving a greater goal, regardless of the obstacles.