Disabled But Not Really – an Evening with Wesley Hamilton

FWB Park Brown were delighted to host the Scottish HR Leadership Group Masterclass ‘Disabled But Not Really – an Evening with Wesley Hamilton’ on the 1st of November.

The innovative format for the evening consisted of our speaker joining from the USA , the event coordinated out of Edinburgh and guests attending venues ( hubs ) across the country .

A big thank you to our hub hosts, led by Janice Mair (EnQuest), Jill Armitt (Walker’s Shortbread), Lynsey Scott (DC Thomson), Sam Bowerman (NatWest), Carol Henry (Arnold Clark), Jaclyn Needham (FWB Park Brown), and John Stewart (SSE).

The session commenced with Wesley sharing his own deeply personal experience of growing up, the challenges he faced, and how this has shaped him into the person he is today. A truly inspirational journey, Wesley explained how the extremely difficult periods in his life gave him the strength to change the narrative of his own story.

In 2015, he founded Disabled But Not Really, a not-profit organisation who are committed to advancing the overall well-being of individuals living with spinal cord injuries. Overcoming adversity and challenges, Wesley went onto achieve great success and reach global platforms from Queer Eye, Family Feud, Today’s Show, and competed in body building and cross-fit across America.

Throughout Wesley’s journey, there are key steps which he believes everyone can implement to breed positivity and success. These include: daily journaling, reading, exercising, eating good foods, doing the things that you love to do, practicing positivity, taking accountability and time management. Wesley ‘ shocked’ our audience with his 4am wake up and inspired us to make the most of the day.

After listening to Wesley’s inspirational overcoming of adversary, his spirit and energetic optimism stood out to the audience and provoked the simple question ; “how does he do it?” He explained that stress is a barrier between yourself and your destiny. We have to accept that every day will not be perfect, and that every adversary is a lesson for us.

He further explained that one of the most important aspects of achieving our goals and helping others do the same is to really find out who you are. Leadership is only effective when you are confident and sure of who you are, and being able to be transparent, open and vulnerable with those who lead. Wesley without a doubt left all of us questioning how we define ourselves and how we take ownership of our own identity.

One of Wesley’s pillars to success, as mentioned above, is reading and he lays out a list of recommended books on his website. (https://wesleyhamilton.life/awareness/personal-book-list-of-wesley-hamilton/) He shared with us that “How to Own your Own Mind” by Napoleon Heal and “How to Break the Habit of Being Yourself” by Dr Joe Dispenza are his favourites.

Wesley left our audience animated with his positive energy, resilience and infectious smile. As he says, the highest human form is to inspire and without a doubt we have all been inspired to take control of our lives and take on the role of “victor” over “victim” in even the most challenging times of our lives.

A truly incredible, thought-provoking, and inspirational journey, Wesley made us all ask the question, ‘Who are we?’

To find out more about FWB Park Brown and The Scottish HR Leadership Group please contact Alix Meekison via Alix@fwbparkbrown.com