Throughout my internship I will be attending a few seminars with speakers from big companies in Costa Rica. This week we had our first seminar and went to the Franklin Covey office where met our speaker, Randall Arias. Randall grew up in Costa Rica and works as the manager of Franklin Covey for the country of Costa Rica. We arrived a little early and so he tested me on my Spanish and said that I am doing incredibly well for being in Costa Rica for 10 days! Woohoo!! After everyone arrived he introduced himself to the group and began his story.
Randall was born with a very rare disease where his feet were attached to his back and he did not have any joints in his arms. This disease is so uncommon that there is not even an English translation and at the time the ultrasound was not available so there was no way of knowing it existed. His surgery took place when he was 2 days old where they had to break his legs and detach them from his back. As a young boy his family was his main support and they never made him feel different or out of place. He still was able to travel on vacations and be a part of everything with his brothers and sister. Until age 10 his arms still stuck out straight in front of him after undergoing about 20 surgeries at this point. His parents then searched all over to see if anyone had the resources to help him and they finally found a doctor in Mexico who could perform the operation. At age 10 his parents took him to the airport, took him to the gate where his plane was leaving and sent him on his, alone. At this time his mom was terrified to fly on an airplane and his father needed to stay in Costa Rica to work in order to support his family so he ventured on to Mexico. When arriving he was picked up by a representative from the hospital and went into surgery the next day. After surgery on his arms, which took about 10 operations, he was able to touch his face for the first time and walk with special crutches. Randall stayed in Mexico for a few months after that to go through physical therapy and recover and for about 3 years after the surgery he made annual visits for check ups.
He completed high school and did not know if he wanted to go to college; but all of his friends were going to college so he decided to go too. Randall was accepted to the University of Costa Rica and did not know what he wanted to major in and so he decided to follow his friend who offered to take him to school. At this time there were no ramps or wheelchair access to buildings and so his friend would carry him up the stairs just so he could go to school. After 4 years, Randall graduated in law but decided not to follow the law career path and so he hopped around from job to job. Randall owned several businesses and sold them all when he wound up meeting Mother Teresa. After meeting Mother Teresa, he quit his job and left everything behind to follow Mother Teresa and help others around the world. He traveled with her for 4 years and met his wife, who was also traveling with Mother Teresa. Soon after they got married and now have 3 children. He gave a piece of advice that I really liked, “Never give up on yourself and never compare yourself to others because we are all unique. You have time to make mistakes. If you are not satisfied with what you are doing now, try something new. Venture out on your own and see life from a new perspective. In the end you will see that the most satisfying opportunity is right in front of you.”
Incredible story, isn't it? We have a lot to be thankful for.
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