Episode # 09 – Listen Learn Laugh Love Live: Lessons from a Blind Black Belt with the late John Hunt
After facing his worst nightmare in 2010 waking up tied down to a hospital bed unable to speak or see, John Hunt eased into a life of blindness rather peacefully. John’s strength and faith gave him an attitude of gratitude that propelled him to take on physical challenges that were simply incredible. He became a black belt in 2017, in May of 2018 he ran the Rugged Maniac obstacle course outside of Richmond, Virginia, and he was training to ride a bicycle 2,000 miles down the East Coast of the United States. Sadly he died on Monday, July 16, 2018 while riding in a charity ride for Operation Enduring Warrior.
Listen to my interview with him. It carries an even more relevant message of living life to its fullest each and every day.
Bio
John Hunt was a U.S. Marine Veteran who served in California, Japan, and the Philippines from 1979 to 1985. He also served in the U.S. Army from 1989 to 1993. In the 1990s he started his business doing underground construction. After being in a major car accident in 1996 that left him wheelchair bound for almost two years, he lost everything and subsequently fell into a deep depression. After weaning himself off of antidepressants and going through psychotherapy he got to the point where he could not sit still any longer and he eventually found the strength (physical and emotional) to get up out of his wheelchair. He first started shuffling along and then began to walk. It was then that he started taking back control of his life. But setbacks kept coming his way in the form of serious health problems that eventually took his sight in 2010. That was the year he took up karate. In 2017, after seven long years of training, he earned his black belt .
Despite the obstacles he faced he approached life with a grace that was amazing.
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