People draw inspiration from many sources. It is said by some that inspiration is everywhere – from the words of your favourite writer to the blooms and leaves on your morning walk. You just need to open your eyes and breathe it in.
There are quotes that give inspiration and there are people who through their words, their acts and their deeds inspire. Adversity, problems and challenges also inspire people to rise up and achieve a better outcome than that which is currently presented.
Your perspective however, can be governed by the cards you have been dealt.
In a typical game of cards, the dealer will deal a hand. For most games, the cards are assembled into a pack, and their order is randomised by shuffling. The cards in your hand are the cards you play, but if the cards are shite, you may opt to fold and await a new game in which to get a new hand. If you are in the game and active, you may get the opportunity to exchange some or all of the cards.
In life you are in the game whether you like it or not. You can, however, make the choice whether to be active or not. You do not get the opportunity to exchange any cards. In life you have only one option which is to play the cards you have been dealt. It seems that there are people who play hard irrespective of the cards that they are dealt. More often it is those who have the toughest hand of cards that life has dealt, that play with the most verve and vigour.
So it seems it is not so much the cards that are dealt to you at your birth but rather how you choose to engage the game and play with the cards in your hand. It is only at a card table that you can chuck the cards back and get dealt anew….but in life this is not the way it works.
I have a hero. My hero is 37 years younger than I am and about a metre shorter. My hero was dealt, what we, mere mortals, would call a cruel or a shit hand of cards, but his choice is to play the game as hard as he can and with as much fun as he can inject into it. With a lot of help from his parents, he is living his life on his terms and getting things done.
Watch with Glittering Eyes was beautifully penned by renowned author Roald Dahl….“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” – Roald Dahl.
I think that Roald Dahl may just have got it right.
I say this because my hero is an unlikely place to find a champion, but a champion exists inside him nonetheless. Inside Philip Hojgaard Olsen beats the heart of a giant and there is very little that gets in his way. It matters not the cards he has been dealt, because his choice is to play those cards the best way that he possibly can.
I have been rambling, so some background is required. I joined the Rotary Club of Crows Nest in 2005 and became a member of a really cool bunch of people who all have a hankering to put a little something back into the local and global village. I got to know one of our members, Peter Hojgaard Olsen, a little better when I became Club President. We hadn’t seen a lot of him but I knew that he was Chairman and heavily engaged in the Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Foundation. I learned that Peter did not step up to become Chairman. He did it out of a forced necessity, the cards again. Peter and Lillian’s youngest son Philip was born with Duchennes Muscular Dystrophy. Duchennes Muscular Dystrophy affects only boys. It discriminates and has an affliction rate of 1 in 3500 boys. Philip lost his battle with mobility at around 11 or 12. So there was very good reason that we did not see a lot of Peter at Rotary and that was because his focus, commitment and time are spent packing a lifetime into the worthwhile years that Philip has ahead of him.
Our Rotary Club got behind a fundraiser with Duchennes Muscular Dystrophy where another Crowie Rotary club member, George Condell, had organised a sportsmans lunch. It was a terrific affair and Peter got to tell the story of how Duchennes Muscular Dystrophy affects people’s lives and together with John Lennon’s song ‘Beautiful Boy’ it was a very emotional and very moving presentation. A lot of people got behind it and Crowie Rotary managed to purchase a special ($35k) wheelchair for Philip. It makes him more mobile and more independent. It allows him to be able to raise himself to a standing position so that his spine has ‘hang time’ which will mean that scoliosis is held at bay. It also means he can get to the fridge, kitchen counters and also the cooking bench at school.
Rotary is one of those organisations that raise funds to make a difference. One of the ways our club does it is to do BBQ’s, which, as it happens we are very good at, no! scratch that, we are exceptional at it. In fact it is said that our sausage sandwiches do some of the most good in the world which I find difficult to argue with considering the polio eradication program Rotary embarked upon in the late 70‘s, but that is another story.
On our BBQ’s I get to see Peter and get updates on Philip.
I recently had cause to make contact with the Cerebral Palsy Alliance for business and while waiting for my contact to come to the phone, I checked their Facebook page. Scrolling through their timeline, as you do, I spotted Philip in one of the photos. It appears that Philip and his fellow students at Killarney High entered the NSW Boccia competition and won the NSW Championships. Philip has since been considered for a Paralympic spot but reckons it would be too boring…. Boring, it’s not about him. I’d like to be able to tell people I know a Paralympian, how self centred…
Philip has been involved in the Schools Spectacular over the years. He took front and centre in the 2012 Schools Spectacular having the huge banner unfurl behind his chair as he led the proceedings to a close. He also performs Beat-box in the Schools Spectacular.
Philip doing Beat-box at the Schools Spectacular
When I met Peter recently he told me that Philip had just won the sailing regatta at Manly. Philip is a solo sailor with Sailability in Manly and won the two races on the Saturday. The family had other commitments and so they had to leave before the third race. As it happened the weather turned nasty and the third race could not be run so the winner was to be drawn from a hat….with the luck of the draw Philip won all three races on the day. As an accomplished sailor he talks about his sailing as a part of his Duke of Edinburgh awards on YouTube and confidently asserts that you need to ”Get in there and give it a shot because the things you don’t do are the things you’ll regret the most”.
This is an excerpt from the MDNSW Gala Ball flier in 2013 – Philip Hojgaard-Olsen started his Duke of Ed Award this year and has attacked it with all guns blazing! For his Physical Recreation section he wanted to learn how to sail solo, so Manly Sailability took him on board to help him to do just that! The first couple of sessions involved measuring Philip up and modifying the boat so that it was a comfortable fit. Then for his first go on the water, Philip was tethered the whole time as the Sailability volunteers continued to modify the boat and teach him the finer skills of using it. Not long after that, they managed to let go of the tether, give him some basic instruction, and Philip was sailing on his own! The Club recently presented Philip with an Award for Sailor of the Year, and needless to say, we are all so extremely proud of him!!
The day after Philip won the sailing regatta he was a special guest at a 1000 seat, $900 per head ball and took the stage with Alan Jones. Clearly confidence is not something that Philip lacks.
As a part of his Duke of Edinburgh duties, he has met Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex at a Royal Trivia event representing Muscular Dystrophy. He is the MD Duke Club Captain and ambassador for The MDNSW Duke of Edinburgh Award.
Peter gave me another little story and I’ll give it to you as he gave it to me.
“We started a fundraiser called the Italian Connection Trophy Rally – (ICT Rally) (seehttp://www.italianconnection.com.au/), a few years ago. After competing and fundraising for three years for Duchenne Foundation (DF) at the Italian Connection Trophy (ICT) Rally, Philip, back in 2011 asked me why we could not just ask Ferrari to sponsor us for a car (as it happened we did not happen to have the required, or even a preferred Italian sports car)? Well I really did not have much confidence about anyone, let alone Ferrari sponsoring us. Philip, so utterly determined, kept asking if I had made the call. I picked up the phone to McCarroll’s, the local Artarmon Alfa dealer, and spoke to this amazing General Manager, Stefano. No problem said Stefano, we will sponsor you, and the rest is history. So, I am the driver and Philip is the navigator – I am old and clearly a bit slow in learning – but Philip on the other hand is the best navigator I have ever met (not that I have met many). Philip is the best navigator for very good reason…he has never made an error. So the outcome (20 cars, over three days of countryside navigation VIC/ NSW, distance approx. 900 km of finding your way and solving challenges based on info you find along the way) was that I followed Philip’s navigation 100%, without question, well maybe 99% of the time. I finally realised that in three rallies he had not made one bad call, he was correct 100% of the time. Our results though were 6th place in 2012 after I corrected his navigation and took us in the wrong direction… 2013 we got in 3rd position for the same reason, so with Philip calling the shots without me correcting him this year, 2014, we won the race.”
ICT Car Rally winners (L-R) Peter, Philip and Stefano
Philip is now a mentor at the annual Muscular Dystrophy camp at the Narrabeen Academy of Sport and this year got their Young Achievers Award…
Young Achiever Awardees
He is littered all over the internet and punches well above his weight.
Peter also informed me that Philip has been invited to take on a role as an advisor to the Cerebral Palsy Alliance and so when Philip sits in the Boardroom, Peter is relegated to the carpark.
Another thing that is of significance is that Philip is the role model of other kids afflicted with Duchennes Muscular Dystrophy. You can’t fold this hand and get new cards; these are the cards we have so fcuk it, let’s play.
I am inspired by this guy who is 37 years younger than me, about a metre shorter and copped what I would call a shit hand of cards at birth. Philip knows that these are the cards he has, these are the only ones he’s going to get, so my recommendation is to get out of his way because he is playing to win.
Believe.
Numbers are scarce on how many communities made breakfast, lunch and dinner for these dedicated “hay”angels, but the communities everywhere, Rotarians, Lions and everyone else were in full admiration and full of support for the Burrumbuttock Hay Runners.
Masterchef Winner Series 2 Adam Liaw and his family get the Rotary Sausage Sandwich experience... he loves our cooking.