Why him? Why her?
Sure, it’s convenient to be born with a unique gift or obvious talent. A high IQ or exceptional skill can pave the way to a front page/center stage kind of life. But while those stories are interesting, it’s the inconspicuous ordinary people creating extraordinary lives that intrigue me most.
Sometimes adversity scrapes away the common, revealing the uncommon within. Within a moment, tragedy can rocket a life to another universe. For others, extraordinary plays out as a life of quiet servitude born of undeniable conviction. The joyous contagion of a person fully owning and enjoying his life stands out in a world of people waiting on tomorrow.
An exceptional appreciation of the present paired with the desire to make a path for whomever might follow seems to be the common element. Inner strength. Confidence. Gratitude. Discipline. And a Dedication to not simply live, but to be fully alive.
John Reiter is a lucky man. Not because he has survived lung cancer, but because he is living life with passion. Climbing mountains like Kilimanjaro and Everest with the one good lung he has left. Read about how the worst diagnosis spurred him to build the life he’d wanted all along:
Seven Summits, One Lung: John Reiter’s Lucky Life
