The Art of Taking Risks to Achieve Your Goals Keynote by Dylan Alcott AO Summary notes prepared by Alison Middleton
Summary Dylan Alcott AO closed the conference addressing the need and opportunities for inclusivity in the workplace and broader community. Paraplegic from soon after birth, his family treated him with dignity and support, even as his able-bodied brother hid the remote control on top of the fridge so Dylan couldn’t change the channel while he was out of the room. Dylan assured the audience this was a good thing – his brother treated him like he would treat any other little brother – his disability didn’t come into it. Dylan realized that if his brother didn’t care about the wheelchair, neither should he. He became sensitive to his disability in his teens when he couldn’t keep up with his friends as much and was called some offensive names. He internalised the teasing and didn’t share with anyone about the growing self-hatred. One day, frustrated with not being invited to a friend’s party, he made his brother take him to the party anyway. When his friend answered the door, the truth came out that he wasn’t invited because he was embarrassed that Dylan wouldn’t be able to get into the house due to the front doorsteps. Dylan found out he was being excluded from activities because his friends were too shy to talk to him about his needs, not because he was different. “When I started talking about my disability more, it normalised it for everyone else,” he said. It’s from this point that Dylan began to realise his purpose, which is to ensure people with a disability get to enjoy the life they deserve and to break down the stigma.
PASSION & PURPOSE At 17 Dylan became a Paralympic gold medalist with the Australian wheelchair basketball team, and a silver medalist four years later in London. After that, he returned to wheelchair tennis for a couple of reasons: it was a sport he had previously loved, but more importantly, it’s the highest profile sport for people with disabilities. He already knew that his purpose in life was to build a platform of advocacy for people with disabilities. Over 8 years he would win 15 singles titles and become the only Australian male to win the Golden Slam. It’s through his passion for tennis and advocacy that he was able to raise his profile to be able to fully realise his core purpose of helping young Australians with disabilities gain confidence, fulfill their potential, and achieve their dreams.
ACCESSIBLE AND INCLUSIVE One of Dylan’s many achievements includes the creation of ‘Ability Fest’, born out of Dylan’s love of music festivals. This is a festival that creates inclusive spaces for abled and disabled bodies, including quiet zones for people with
sensory needs. Dylan shared the story of a young man who counted the Ability Fest as the best day of his life before he passed away.
POSITIVE PERCEPTION Another area that Dylan is passionate about is improving job opportunities for people with disabilities. “The hardest challenge is not the lack of accessibility, it’s the lack of expectation of what people think you can do. Ask questions, put in a bit of effort, listen, and learn from your consumers about what they need, and you’ll change their lives – it’s the right thing to do.” With 4.5 million Australians living with a visible or invisible disability, he said it’s also a good business decision – they are all potential employers, employees, and customers.
Key Take Aways: 1- Passion and Purpose - do what you love and work toward your bigger picture 2- Accessible and Inclusive – when we include everyone, literally everyone does better 3- Positive Perception – normalise disability, increase job and economic participation for people with disabilities. Look up ‘Get Skilled Access’, and ‘Recruitable’. 4- Gold medal winning reminders: a. the process takes care of itself, b. focus on what you CAN control, c.
this is a gold medal match – it may never happen again in your lives, enjoy it!
5- Look for ‘ListenAble’ wherever you get your podcasts.