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Let ' s have an honest and thoughtful dialogue . We ' re in a moment of polarization . You can agree to disagree with somebody ; that ' s okay . You may disagree with them all the time , but at least you can have a level of respect , and I think it ' s important to have that . I don ' t want groupthink at all , I ' ve never really liked it , and I didn ' t grow up like that . I want people to engage with it and learn from it . Hopefully , my readers can engage with me , and I learn from them because it ' s a back and forth experience .
Q : How are you engaging with those readers ?
A : If readers reach out , I always respond . I want to hear their ideas and experiences from people because I ' m one person again . I want to be able to learn . I will always be a student for the rest of my life . There ' s always something to learn . My mother always told me that you could learn anything from anywhere , and she was right . I love the fact that I learn from people from different generations . I want to be a sponge . I don ' t know everything , and I know that I can ' t learn everything , but I ' m going to damn well try . This is a way to be a voice that can help guide people on their journey ; whatever their journey is , agree with me or disagree with me , it ' s a conversation . I never think of myself as a journalist , though some people call me that because I do other things . It ' s just a part of the larger piece , but I think of myself as a commentator ; I ' m commenting on life and the experiences where my expertise lies .
Q : You are an influential person to so many people ; who is one person that has made an impact on you , your life , and your career ?
A : My parents . My mother was my first real champion ; as someone with cerebral palsy , I remember that when I was 15 , I had to spend six months in a hospital , going through numerous surgeries . Even before that , my mother was always the champion , who always believed in me and said , you can do anything . She just always pushed me . I was lucky enough to have a lot of advantages , but I recognize that , and I said , because of that , I always have to give back . That is important to me ; she showed me that giving is critical .
I always figure myself living in two worlds . I live in the disabled and the able-bodied world because I can walk with an orthotic , but then there are days I can ' t do anything . I have to make sure , okay , how do I navigate it ? It ' s a constant negotiation . My family has always been there , from the beginning , and has been most grounding and has given me the lessons . I was lucky enough to know all four of my grandparents into my 40s . Gaining their knowledge about their life experience certainly allowed me insight into generations past and hopefully be able to push that forward in some way .
Q : Any exciting projects or things you are working on that you would like to share in the future ?
A : I think it ' s being able to be in a position where I can help shape the narrative of the disability economy and what it looks like . Whether that ' s in an applied way , consulting , coaching , speaking , or writing . I want to work on a book . I have had the idea of expanding a lot of the Forbes columns and being able to coalesce all of that together .