By Katie Wampler | Staff writer
WESTFIELD ” Visualization is one of the keys to success for blind athlete Craig MacFarlane, the internationally renowned motivational speaker said to a crowd of about 100 at the Westfield Washington Chamber of Commerce luncheon Thursday.
“You might think that sounds a little odd, coming from a person without eyesight, “he said with a steady gaze that belied his disability. “But to imagine, to envision, to create that mental picture in your mind’s eye of what it is that’s expected of you before you ever go out and try to achieve.”
The Canadian-born MacFarlane lost his sight at age 2 when he and some friends were playing with a welding tool called a striker. It hit the inside of his left eye, rendering it blind. He then suffered from sympathetic ophthalmia, a condition in which a penetrating injury in one eye spreads to the other, according to MedicineNet.com.
MacFarlane said his parents always treated him and his brother equally. He began wrestling at age seven and competed for 11 years, winning more than 500 matches and representing the United States multiple times at global competitions. His success earned him the nickname “the world’s greatest blind athlete. “In fact, his autobiography released in 1997 is titled “Inner Vision: The Story of the World’s Greatest Blind Athlete.”
He has mastered many other sports many skeptics said he should not even attempt: water skiing, snow skiing and golf among them.
“I think that ‘can-do’ spirit instilled in me at a young age paid great dividends in the years to come, “MacFarlane said. “If I would have listened to 10 percent of the so-called critics, I wouldn’t be standing here”¦ How we embrace struggle and hurdles will determine our success.”
Those “dividends “include winning more than 100 Olympic gold medals, speaking to more than 2,300 schools, carrying the Olympic torch to Los Angeles in 1984 and representing the United States as a good will ambassador for Edward Jones, a global investment firm.
Athletics is more than winning and losing tournaments, MacFarlane said.
“It taught me that you’re as good as your last performance and not to spend a lot of time admiring and looking over your shoulder at what happened yesterday.”
Of his blindness, he said, “To me, it’s only ever been a minor inconvenience. There are so many people in this world who are a lot less fortunate than I.”
Recently he launched 20/20 Inner Vision, an organization that aims to decrease high school dropout rates.
MacFarlane begins each day by putting on what he calls his “game face.”
“The torch inside you can only be reflected by the smile on your face each and every day.”
When he finished his 30-minute discussion, the audience erupted in applause. And though he could not see, the crowd gave him a standing ovation.
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