I came across this incredible photo of Wilma Rudolph and it stopped me in my tracks. I didn’t know anything about her, so I did a little digging—turns out this woman was a complete boss. Actually, so was her mom: Wilma was stricken with polio as a child and lost the use of her left leg. Massage therapy was the answer, but it was too expensive for a family with 19 children. (!) So, Wilma’s mom taught herself and her daughters the massage techniques. After five years, Wilma overcame her disability and ditched her leg brace for good.
“My doctors told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother.”
After that, it was on: she became a star in high school basketball and track, and went on to set a world record for the 200 meters in the 1960 Olympics. So, from partial paralysis to Olympic gold in a decade—pretty sure you can take whatever your excuses are getting in your way and kick them to the curb.