In 1965, Dick Traum was the victim in a traumatic car accident that resulted in the amputation of his right leg. Ten years later, he became the first amputee runner EVER to cross the finish line of the New York City Marathon. One of the most difficult and famous marathons in the world. In 1983, Dick founded Achilles International, whose organizational mission is to enable people with all types of disabilities to participate in mainstream running events. Today, Achilles has more than 110 chapters in 41 countries.
And earlier this year, Dick teamed up with David Cordani, the President and CEO of Cigna, the global health service company, to release the new book The Courage to Go Forward: The Power of Micro Communities.
Top Takeaways: The First Amputee NYC Marathon Finisher Dick Traum
- Sitting down with the founder of the Achilles Foundation
- Marathon running with an artificial limb
- “The other competitors treated me like Horatio Alger”
- Achievers- doing things others think are impossible
- The group effect and micro-communities
- Micro-communities give you feedback and make life more interesting
- You become part of what you are around – be around goal setters, goal accomplishers
- The roar of the crowd is a tremendous motivator
- A group can do what an individual can’t do alone
- A leader must guide the micro-community
- As a leader, it is important to make others in the group look good
- Grow from doing to helping others
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Learning From Leaders:
Current Book: Unleash Different: Achieving Business Success Through Disability by Rich Donovan
Leadership Superpower: Inspire by making other people look good
Motivational Mantra:
[shareable cite=”Dick Traum”]The power of the group[/shareable]
Book Most Often Gifted: Go Achilles! 1982-2011 A 30 Year Celebration of the Power of the Human Spirit by Dick Traum
