![](http://u.cubeupload.com/maverickfoo/DSCN0151.jpg)

*Have you ever made a big decision at a funeral? I did.*

So I was at my Ma’s - one of the greatest pillars in my life - and I decided to start a business. *Yup, at her funeral.*

She has lost her battle against cancer. She was a trooper in the first round, but in the second (relapse), the monster was just too strong for her. She fought a good fight, and because she knew her fate way in advance (which we’re grateful that death didn’t take her suddenly and by surprise), she had long prepared us for her passing.

On that fateful day when she drew her last breath, Friday, 13th January 2012, I was in the next room. Of course, no preparation could get you ready for that. And I tried to stay as strong as I could, being the eldest. My sister came, she cried. My aunt came, she cried too. Not me, I was just stunned for a long while.

My tears came later, at the funeral, with one of my mom’s close friends. I was just thanking him for his support, even back when my mom was alive, and it just hit me.

After I calmed myself down, I sat on one of the chairs, looking at my mom’s coffin. I thought to myself, *“Man, what am I gonna do now? Will I have the strength to go on, now that she’s no longer around?”*

It’s then that I heard, deep in my unconscious mind, a familiar voice, with a familiar message. A message I haven’t heard for a while. A message I needed to remind myself of.

> It’s not what happens to you. It’s what you do about it.

![](http://www.wmitchell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/about-wmitchell.jpg)
[Image source](http://www.wmitchell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/about-wmitchell.jpg)

Rewind 7 years prior, in 2005, when I first met him. I didn’t speak much with him when he reached the hotel. Well, his face had scars from his many operations and skin grafts. He was on a wheelchair, but that didn’t stop him from going around meeting new people, shaking their hands with his, er, stump. You see, other than his use of his legs, he did not have fingers too. They were more like stumps with claws, so he could still hold on to stuff - stuff like a pen and a piece of paper. I knew that when I saw him scribbling on it in the corner.

He came over and said hello, and I greeted him. I was handling registrations, and participants were coming in, so I was pretty occupied. Seeing that I was busy, he just zoomed ahead and spoke to the others speakers set to speak before him.

He was the third and last speaker for the evening event, and when he was cued, with a little help from a participant, he rolled on stage. He then face the audience, smile the best he could (again, because of the skin grafts, his smile was unfamiliar to many at first), and adjusted himself.

And then, as vivid as I can remember now, 13 years later, was his opening statement,

***“Have you ever been in prison?”***

![](http://www.wmitchell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/wmitchell-3.jpg)
[Image source](http://www.wmitchell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/wmitchell-3.jpg)

Since then, I had listened to ***W Mitchell’s*** speech hundreds of time, even able to anticipate jokes and finish his sentences. That didn't stop me from laughing, or tearing up. 

His message was simple, *“It’s not what happens to you; It’s what you do about it.”* 

You see, Mitchell was in a motorcycle accident (the very same bike he just bought the night before after a long time saving up for it). He was knocked down by a laundry truck at a junction, the petrol cap of his bike popped open, and fuel poured all over his body. The heat of the engine ignited him, and there he was - a human bonfire on the street of San Francisco. When the fire was finally put out, he had suffered over 70% burns all over his body. The flame was so hot that his fingers literally melted off, which explained the stumps he had to live with now.

So there he was, in the hospital for 6 months, dozens and dozens of operations done on him. Skin from one part of the body were removed, patched on his face, to hide his monstrous look. The pain of having his bandages changed was a living nightmare, and he hardly could get a few hours of sleep at a time, because nurses and doctors were always *"doing something for him"*, as Mitchell would say.

He was angry, furious at the unfairness life threw at him. It wasn’t his fault when he crossed the junction, because it was the laundry truck that ran the lights. And certainly being burned alive wasn't his highlight that day. As a matter of fact, he just got his airplane license that very morning, something he had worked hard on.

![](https://images.indiegogo.com/file_attachments/167993/files/20131031230321-Tony_Robbins_with_quote.jpg?1383285801)
[Image source](https://images.indiegogo.com/file_attachments/167993/files/20131031230321-Tony_Robbins_with_quote.jpg?1383285801)

Still, he tried to be positive, even if it meant tremendous change to his life. You see, without proper hands, he couldn’t even open door knobs and button his shirt. He would walk with his face looked down, trying to stay away from the children who would chant *“monster, monster, monster”* after him.

With some insurance money, he decided the big city was too much for him, so he moved to a smaller town called *Crested Butte*, *Colorado*. Small town, and rumour has it *James Cameron* wrote his script for *Avatar* there. Though he would deny it, but if you remember the movie, you’d recall that the lead character, *Jake Sully*, was also on a wheel chair.

![](http://media-cdn.timesfreepress.com/img/photos/2015/02/18/021915b04siskin8065660808053_t1070_h599565ff63087e6580564b58e2392da7fd4cb4dd.jpg)
[Image source](http://media-cdn.timesfreepress.com/img/photos/2015/02/18/021915b04siskin8065660808053_t1070_h599565ff63087e6580564b58e2392da7fd4cb4dd.jpg)

Oh, about that wheel chair Mitchell was on. *Did you know it wasn’t from the fiery accident?* Nope. The fire took away his look and grip, but he was still able to walk then.

His legs were taken from him in another accident four years after the first one, and this time, it was a plane crash. He was just taking four passengers with him on his plane,  a license he worked really hard to earn (most pilots would have all their fingers). During take off, he suddenly felt something was wrong with his plane, and he cut off the power. **WHAMP!** The plane went down, smacked to the ground. He yelled to the passengers to get out, afraid that there’s gonna be a fire. They got to safety, with just a few scratches.

Then, Mitchell tried to get out of his seat. He couldn’t. He thought his feet were stuck under the rudder pedals, so he pushed harder. Nothing happened.

It was then that he felt the sharp pain on his lower back. The ambulance crew came and pulled him out of the seat. There was no fire.

At the hospital, he was told by the doctors that he would never walk again.

I recalled him telling me, the thoughts that went through his mind at that moment. 

*“Why me? Why me? I didn’t do anything wrong. I was just on my motorbike trying to cross the junction. I was just trying to take off in my plane. Why me?”*

Seriously, at this point, most people would say, *how could a person be so unlucky?* And if it was anyone, they have all the rights to give up on life. Most would at the first accident, few would even consider living after the second.

Ah, but you see, W Mitchell was not like the most nor the few. *Remember?* I started this story with **The Man Who Would Not Be Defeated**, and indeed, Mitchell would never be.

![](http://www.wmitchell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/wmitchell-speaks-to-presidents.jpg)
[Image source](http://www.wmitchell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/wmitchell-speaks-to-presidents.jpg)

After the accidents, he started a business that grew to $65 million, and he was one third owner of it. He became a mayor (twice), a prominent environmentalist, and saviour of a mountain. He got invited to the White House, and even had personal testimonials from *US President Bill Clinton*! 

Nowadays, he travels the world giving motivation speeches, using his accidents and his triumph as a symbol to other, to remind them than nothing is stronger than the human spirit. To remind us that:

>  It’s not what happens to you. It’s what you do about it.

So at the funeral, as I wipe away my tears, staring at my Ma’s coffin, I remembered Mitchell, and it was then that I decided to start a business - Inspires Asia (I know, not the best name) - and the purpose of the business was simple: bring inspiration to Asia. And the first person I wanted to bring, was none other than my hero, *W Mitchell.*

![](http://www.visionkl.com/wp-content/uploads/image/article/w-mitchell.jpg)
[Image source](http://www.visionkl.com/wp-content/uploads/image/article/w-mitchell.jpg)

I dropped him a message, synced our schedules, and before I knew it, I had less three months to sell 500 tickets for his speech. I took out my own money, dumped it into marketing, venue bookings, flight tickets, hotels, publishing his book, DVDs and more. At the end of the 3 months, do know that I didn’t lose much - only USD15k.

You may think it’s a lot, but then I would ask, *compared to what?* The experience I gained from that three intense months, and meeting my hero again in person, were memories I would never trade for the entire world. My son, William, four at that time, got to meet the one person that inspired his dad the most - to play with him, to talk to him, to shake his stump. Mitchell was, and still is, a charmer, and kids just loved him. Despite how he looked, kids became fast friends with him. That too, was something truly amazing.

![](http://u.cubeupload.com/maverickfoo/20120515075247.jpg)
*Mitchell being interviewed by LiteFM, a local station.*

Working with Mitchell, though only for that short period, etched something in me that I could never ignore. On crappy days when I felt like giving up and hitting the snooze button on life, I remembered Mitchell. When I lost a huge business deal after months of preparation, I remembered Mitchell. When Will’s mom left us a few months after that event, I remembered Mitchell.

On those times when I wanted to give up, my heart beat would increase. I would start to sweat. I started to be afraid. Not because of failure, but afraid what would I have to say to Mitchell if he were to call me that same day. *Could I face the shame and told him I gave up, when I wasn’t on a wheelchair, when I had all my fingers intact, when I haven’t been burned? I mean, how could I?*

Mitchell never had to call to remind me, really. In fact, he never had too. I don't owe it to him to be a success. It's on my own. But still, working with him is one of those things in life that you cannot un-see or un-feel. It’s in you, and it defines you.

The day I lost my Ma, I knew I lost a great pillar in my life. Little did I know, she sent me another pillar that I could hold on to, that could support me to greater heights, until today. Because seriously,

“It’s not what happens to you. It’s what you do about it."

![](http://www.wmitchell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/wmitchell-inspires-asia.jpg)
[Image source](http://www.wmitchell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/wmitchell-inspires-asia.jpg)

### EPIPOGUE:

One of the evenings, we were having an oriental dinner. In the corner, Mitchell was quiet. When we looked over, we saw what he was attempting. With chopsticks, he was trying to pick up peanuts. Even as a Chinese, growing up with chopsticks, that's not exactly the easiest. But we let him be for a while.

After 15 minutes, when we turn to check on him, there he was, still trying, still fumbling with the chopsticks, missing the peanuts.

*"Mitchell, why not just use the spoon?"*

I will never forget what he said after he let out a deep sigh, and put down the chopsticks.

"There are billions of people in China. All of them use chopsticks. I don't believe all of them had perfect hands. If one of them can do it, so can I."

With that, we were silent. Ashamed maybe.

Mitchell? He went back to his attempts.

Fast forward 7 years later, when we were sitting down having an oriental dinner. And what was Mitchell doing? He was teaching William how to pick up peanuts with chopsticks.

*The lesson I drew?* 

> *How often in life did you just went with the spoon instead of trying harder at the chopsticks?*

![](http://u.cubeupload.com/maverickfoo/graphicstockblackcol.jpg)



------

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