I think it is harder to succeed when you're disabled.
The odds are stacked against you.
It's harder to get into school, a local school.
It's harder to go to university, it's harder to get a job.
So really success is far further away when you're starting out.
However, when you have a disability you learn certain things,
like resilience and communication
just because it's how you get by in day to day life.
And if you're able to harness those in the right direction
and the right way
then I think that enables you to be successful.
My first tip is...
I can remember watching Michael Palin on the TV and thinking,
"Wow, I'd love to just travel the world like him."
When I was at university,
I decided I would go for a trip on the other side of the world.
I can remember being at Sydney Bridge and looking over the harbour
and having goosebumps on my arms that I was there, I'd done it.
And it was such an amazing feeling of achievement.
I've not been able to stop travelling ever since.
I'm definitely not suggesting that everyone
should do the kind of adventures I've done
but I think it's very important for people
to push their own comfort zone
because it just gives you so much confidence
and a feeling that you can achieve anything
and you can put that back into your day to day life as well.
So my next tip is...
...a day.
Creativity is like a muscle and you have to train it.
Every morning I write my 10 ideas on my phone.
I write down the numbers one to 10, I pick the topic.
That could be about business
or it could be about how to improve my health and wellbeing
or it could just be about how to have some fun tomorrow.
The point of the exercise is just to come up with ideas
and there is no pressure or expectation
to actually use any of them.
The first five normally come really quickly
but as you're starting to get near the end it gets really hard
and that's a bit like going to the gym,
you know that you're stretching the muscle and improving it.
...is my next tip.
Good communication is key to all relationships in life,
personal and professional.
So with my disability sometimes it's difficult doing handshakes
and there's been some quite awkward moments
where people think I'm leaving them hanging
and it's just a bit uncomfortable.
But I've learned to say, quite directly,
please can you shake my left hand
because that just enables me
not to have to take my other hand off the joystick.
So I would say overall,
you don't ever have to be rude or nasty to people
but you should always speak your truth.
My final tip is to...
Having a good sense of humour is a powerful tool
and it breaks down lots of barriers.
Particularly in my life, there are definitely times
where people see the wheelchair before they see me
and I could get angry by that
or I could try to be very educating and serious.
So I find that humour is a good way of putting them at ease
and opening up a more normal and relaxed dialogue.
When I look back on the achievements it's quite surreal.
It sometimes has felt,
the last couple of years, that my life's been like a movie.
So I think there's a bit of...
it's still sinking in to some degree as well.