Sean Stephenson is a giant among men

Born with a disorder that would leave him 3 feet tall and so brittle that coughing could fracture a rib, Sean Stephenson could not walk as a child. He was racked with pain. People stared at him all the time.

His favorite day became an agonizing one. He was hysterical until his mother asked him the question that would change his life:

"Is this going to be a gift or a burden?"

Two decades later, the man who at birth was supposed to survive only 24 hours is doing his best to convert what would seem to be an insurmountable challenge into a gift -- to himself and others.

Stephenson,  is a psychotherapist and inspirational speaker. His self-help book, "Get Off Your 'But,' " was released   he finished filming a TV documentary pilot for A&E. A college graduate pursuing a PhD in clinical hypnosis, he's toying with the idea of running for Congress, after he opens orphanages for kids with disabilities and a summer camp aimed at eliminating "self-sabotage" in children.

"I embrace my life," he said one morning from his 17th-floor office in the Oakbrook Terrace Tower. "I've lived the life of a rock star."

Like any motivational speaker who has clipped on a microphone, Stephenson weaves similar quips into every conversation.

"Self-sabotage is the biggest problem on the planet" is one. "If someone is telling you no, you're talking to the wrong person" is another. "Compare leads to despair" and "fairness is an illusion" are other favorites.

He also stresses that "connecting," which he defines as "an exchange of our humanity," is vastly different from communicating, the simple exchange of information. Understanding that difference can be one of the most powerful tools in changing people's lives, Stephenson maintains.

Given where he came from, it's difficult to dismiss Stephenson as another entry in a seemingly endless supply of self-helpers in bookstores, at business seminars and online.

Born in Chicago and raised in La Grange, Stephenson endured more than 200 bone fractures by the time he was 18. His genetic disorder, which also can stunt growth, left him with arms so short he is unable to scratch the top of his head.

"You lose your ego pretty fast," said Stephenson, who weighs about 47 pounds and is among about 50,000 people in the country with some form of osteogenesis imperfecta. "There were things that I was pretty uncomfortable with."

In cars he travels in a child seat. He needs a stick to press elevator buttons. His father routinely carries Stephenson. And when not using his wheelchair, he must scoot along the ground "like a penguin," he said.

He is quick to credit his parents, Gregg and Gloria Stephenson, who live with him in Oak Brook, and his sister, Heidi, with developing his inner strength. Apart from that fateful Halloween lesson and the daily, physical support they give their son, the Stephensons emphasized a few basics: They made him focus on what he can do and dismiss what he cannot. They used an egg-timer to contain his episodes of self-pity to 15 minutes a day. During his frequent bouts of pain, they would ask him to visualize pleasant memories.

And they refused to hide him.

"You decide to face the music," his mom said. "He was a child first. The OI and the wheelchair come next."

Added his dad: "We tried to instill a lot of positive things in his life, but he took it and ran with that. It all comes down to what someone does with what they have."

Stephenson soon found that sharing his vulnerability led people to open up to him. He realized he could use that effect to help, he said, and became a motivational speaker at 17, although he served as a spokesman for osteogenesis imperfecta at 11 years old.

Majoring in political science at DePaul, Stephenson worked as an intern for President Bill Clinton -- who gives a video endorsement of him on Stephenson's Web site -- and U.S. Rep. William O. Lipinski before graduating with high honors in 2001.

While working as a motivational speaker, Stephenson would be approached by people who wanted to share personal problems in hopes he could provide answers. That led him to earn a degree in psychotherapy and a practice in "breakthrough therapy," in which Stephenson sees a client for an intense 12-hour session to transform the client's life.

"He just had this compassion about him," said client Jamie Coombs, 26, of San Diego. Coombs was trying to break free of drug abuse and the emotional scars from two rapes. Stephenson had her close her eyes, place herself in those nightmarish moments, then asked Coombs to comfort herself, forgive herself.

"I don't know what happened to me, but I was just in this euphoric place after," Coombs said, adding she's been clean since the 2007 session. "It's like I don't even know the person I used to be."

A year earlier, TV producer Bryn Freedman was impressed with an interview of Stephenson she'd heard and contacted him. She started on his TV project.

About the same time, Stephenson had been pitching a self-help book, which he considered a natural next step. Last year, he found a publisher and wrote the 225-page book aimed at telling readers, as the cover states, "how to end self-sabotage and stand up for yourself." A few months ago, Freedman put together a deal for a pilot that condenses Stephenson's life into 44 minutes.

The 86 hours of shooting culminated with Stephenson throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at the White Sox game .

"I am so moved and impressed by how peaceful he is and how insightful and how joyful he is and how he has this extraordinary back story," Freedman said, "but he doesn't focus on that."

Instead, he can "take the meaning of that experience and codify it for other people," to help improve their lives "in a very insightful, systematic way," she said.

His message typically elicits three reactions: inspiration; self-loathing among those able-bodied folks who struggle to keep up with mundane everyday tasks; and criticism from those who see him -- and attention given to him -- as skewing an honest appraisal of life for people with disabilities.

He occasionally is heckled at speaking events and in phone messages, but mostly in e-mails, by people with disabilities "because they say I don't identify with my disability enough," he said. "These are people who are not living out their dreams.

"Being 3 feet tall and in a wheelchair is about 2 percent of who I am. I'm more than able. I'm playing large."

An Entrepreneur by Accident; Ficci Woman Entrepreneur by Choice

This is the story of Patricia Narayan, winner of this year's 'Ficci Woman Entrepreneur of the Year' award is amazing. 

She started her career 30 years ago as an entrepreneur, selling eateries from a mobile cart on the Marina beach amidst all odds -- battling a failed marriage, coping with her husband, a multiple addict, and taking care of two kids. 

Today, she has overcome the hurdles and owns a chain of restaurants.

An Entrepreneur by Accident 

I was always interested in cooking and passionate about trying out new dishes. But, the thought of becoming a business woman never came to my mind at all as I do not come from a business family. Both my parents were government servants. 

But my marriage changed everything. Both the families opposed the marriage vehemently as my husband belonged to the Brahmin community; unfortunately my marriage did not work out as my husband was addicted to alcohol, drugs, etc. I could not bring him out of the addiction. As a young woman, I did not know how to cope with this and I was getting beaten up everyday. 

Though my father, a very conservative Christian never forgave me, he gave me refuge when I had nowhere to go. I was thrown out with two very small children. It was a question of survival for me. I knew I should either succumb to the burden or fight; I decided to fight my lonely battle. 

I did not want to be a burden on my parents. So, to be economically independent, I could only do what I knew and what I liked. I started making pickles, squashes and jams at home. I just took a couple of hundred rupees from my mother. I sold everything I made in one day and that gave me confidence. 

I earned a good income. I invested whatever I earned to make more pickles, squashes and jams. It was quite lucrative in the sense, even ten rupees was a blessing for me. 

The first step as an entrepreneur 

My father's friend, who was running a school for handicapped children, was handing out mobile carts or kiosks to people who would employ at least two handicapped people. They needed somebody who could run it and I was offered one such cart free. I had to train the handicapped children to make coffee and serve them to customers.

As I lived near the Marina beach, I decided to put the mobile cart at the Anna Square on the Marina beach. I had seen people thronging the beach in the evenings. But I had to make umpteen trips to the Public Works Department and wait for one year to get the permission. 

Finally, I started working on June 21, 1982, a day I will never forget. The previous night itself, with the help of the local rickshaw drivers, I had rolled the mobile cart to the beach. It was a small move but thrilling as it was my own and I was going to be a business woman the next day. 

While such carts sold only tea and cigarettes, I decided to sell cutlets, samosas, bajjis, fresh juice and coffee and tea. On the first day, I sold only one cup of coffee and that was for fifty paise! 

I was very disappointed and came home crying. I told my mother, that I would not like to continue. But my mother consoled me saying, at least you sold one cup of coffee. That's a good sign. You will do well tomorrow. And, she was adamant that I go the next day also. 

The next day, I made sold snacks for Rs 600-700 which was big money for me then! As I started making money, I added ice creams, sandwiches, French fries and juices too. I used to keep thinking of adding more items. 

I ran it from 1982 to 2003, and the maximum I made from that mobile cart was Rs 25,000 a day. That was during the bandh days! We used to be open from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. every day, and later, I started opening from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. for the walkers. 

I used to personally stand there and sell all the stuff I made. I never felt scared to stand there late at night. My only thought was to prove myself and move ahead. 

There was a fire in me that made me believe that I could be successful without anyone's help. I did not want to be a failure. If you have that fire, nothing in the world can stop you from succeeding.

Offer to run a canteen:

On seeing my work at the beach, within a year, the Slum Clearance Board gave me an offer to run the canteen at their office with a proper kitchen. The chairman met me during her morning walk. That is how I got the offer. The canteen was a huge success. 

On Wednesdays, it was the public grievance day, so about 3000 people used to come there and I had a roaring business. 

I used to get up at 5 a.m. in the morning, make idlis and go to the beach. From 9 a.m. I would be at the canteen. From 3.30 p.m. I would again be at the beach cart and would be there till 11p.m. By then, I had employed people to cook, and clean, and all the cooking was done at the canteen kitchen. My monthly income in those days was around Rs 20,000. 

Later, I got an offer to run the Bank of Madurai canteen, I stopped running the canteen at the Slum Clearance Board canteen. At the Bank canteen, I served food to around 300 people daily.

The Turning point:

One day, after a fight with my husband who used to come to trouble me often, I boarded a bus and travelled till the last stop. I got down and saw the National Port Management training school run by the Central government. 

On the spur of the moment, I told the security guard that I wanted to meet the administrative officer. I met him and told him that I was a caterer and that I heard they were looking for a one. 

He said, to my surprise that they were indeed looking for one as they had problems with the current contractor. I still believe it was God who took me there. 

I got the offer. I had to serve three meals to about 700 students. They gave us quarters to stay. It was a new life for me. I got into the groove in a day. It was successful from day one, and I took care of the canteen till 1998. 

My first weekly payment was Rs 80,000. I felt so elated having seen only hundreds and thousands till then. During those times, I was earning almost a lakh a week. 

In those days, I wanted to do everything personally as I felt only then, things would run smoothly. Now I know if I train people well, they will do the work the way you want.

Starting restaurants:

My connection with restaurants started in 1998 when I met people from the Sangeetha Restaurant group. They offered me a partnership in one of the units. But my son, Praveen Rajkumar wanted me to start my own restaurant and build a brand of ours. 

But destiny played truant with me again. I lost my daughter, Pratibha Sandra and son-in-law road accident, a month after their marriage in 2004. It shattered me, and I withdrew from all that I was doing. 

Then my son took over and started the first restaurant 'Sandeepha' in my daughter's memory. It took some time for me to come out of the shock and start helping my son in the business. Now, I am fully involved in the business. The fire to succeed has come back to me now. 

Ambulance to help the accident victims:

I still cannot get over my daughter's death as I did all this for my children; to bring them up and give them a good life. 

What shocked me was the way the accident victims were treated by the ambulance operators. When they found that all the four in the car were dead, they said they would not carry dead bodies. Finally, somebody carried all the dead bodies in the boot of a car. When I saw the bodies being taken out of the boot, I broke down. 

No mother can bear such a scene. That is when I decided to keep an ambulance on that very spot to help people whether the victims are alive or dead. It is in memory of my daughter. 

Ficci entrepreneur of the year award 

I started my business with just two people. Now, there are 200 people working for me in my restaurants. My lifestyle has changed too. From travelling in a cycle rickshaw, I moved to auto rickshaws and now I have my own car. From 50 paise a day, my revenue has gone up to Rs 2 lakh a day. 

The 'Ficci entrepreneur of the year' award is the culmination of all the hard work I have put in over the last 30 years. It came as a surprise as this is the first time I have received an award. 

Till now, I had no time to think of what I was doing. But the award made me look back and relive the days that passed by. Now, my ambition is to build my Sandeepha brand. 

Advice to Young Entrepreneurs:

Do not ever compromise on quality. Never lose your self-confidence. Believe in yourself and the product you are making. Third, always stick to what you know. When you employ people, you should know what you ask them to do.

Welcome Post

Hai...    I have been thinking of having my own blog for long time...   but was skeptical about what to share on in this big and beautiful invention of the modern world.

Looking around myself, I felt there is this lack of positive vibrations and thoughts in this fast paced world..  so thought of sharing  all positive things happening in this world.

So that will be the primary content in this blog.. I will try to share all positive happenings, quotes, videos, profile of people who have overcome there physical or emotional barriers.