In brief:

• Overcome obstacles by embracing a visionary mindset
• Confront blind spots in both personal and professional life
• Discover the power of choosing happiness as a daily decision
• Visualize greatness to drive revenue generation and success

Table of contents:

How do you shift your mindset from ‘victim’ to ‘visionary’? We found out during the GDS North America RevGen Summit, where Chad E. Foster joined us to share his experience of turning his unique challenges into strengths. His story serves as a testament to the power of resilience and the importance of choosing the right perspective in the face of adversity.

“Overcoming being blind has unlocked possibilities that I could have never thought. I learned that victims stay trapped, but visionaries inevitably find a way to bounce back.”
Chad E. Foster, VP Membership – Harvard Business School Club

Chad started losing his eyesight to an inherited eye disease when he first started college. Going blind at 21 years old and facing a life with seemingly limited opportunities, he says he had to reinvent himself before even having a shot at success.

Turning obstacles into opportunities, he became a man of many titles: a professional speaker, a sales and finance leader, a published author, and the first blind graduate of the Harvard Business School leadership program.

He says: “With the lessons I’ve learned through my own personal journey, I like to help people understand the anatomy of resilience so that they can optimize their human and business performance.”

And during the summit, Chad gave his audience the tools and inspiration to overcome difficult circumstances and create a promising, positive future. We thought we’d share some of his insights with you too…

“All of us have blind spots”

Chad says he lived an active lifestyle, but as his eyesight deteriorated, he began to find himself in dangerous situations. One memory he shared involved walking down the road to get a burger but instead landing in hospital after falling 15 feet into a drainage ditch.

“These experiences taught me that you don’t know what you can’t see when you can’t see it, even if you’ve got perfect eyesight,” he says.

“There’s always something in your life you just can’t see. So, if we’re being totally honest with ourselves, all of us have blind spots.”
Chad E. Foster, VP Membership – Harvard Business School Club

“Have you ever frustrated or maybe even bitter because things outside your control didn’t go according to plan?”

With that, Chad shares that his dream of going into the medical field “didn’t seem like much of an answer” because he couldn’t see to complete his course.

As he puts it: “After having multiple near-death experiences, I had to face the facts. I would never be able to see my future. The life as I knew it disappeared as if it were some sort of dream. And in its place was this new dark reality. For months, I sat around feeling sorry for myself. I felt like a loser. Making excuses. I felt devastated.

“Not only was I unable to physically see, but I couldn’t begin to envision what my future would now look like. I couldn’t even imagine what success would look like in these circumstances.” However, that did not stop him.

“I had to think positively and take action”

“I finally decided that attitude wasn’t serving me anymore,” he says. “And the philosophy that I chose is that excuses are for losers. That’s hard to hear, isn’t it? Excuses are for losers.”

Chad found himself landing a role at a technology company, directing the pricing strategy for the renewal of their largest account – the entire infrastructure for the Transportation Security Administration in the US.

Then, more years of determination led him to his role as an executive for Red Hat, the world’s largest open-source software company, where he has secured over $45 billion in contracts throughout his career.

So how did he overcome adversity?

In the face of discomfort and disruption, Chad realized the importance of helping others be comfortable with uncertainty.

“I refuse to live my life according to other people’s expectations of what they think I can do”
Chad E. Foster, VP Membership – Harvard Business School Club

He acknowledges that it took time to build confidence in his blindness. But he also quickly realized that blind spots extend beyond physical limitations. “We all have challenges that are unseen, and the key is to confront them head-on.”

He tells the summit audience that even with all the disruption that we face on a day-to-day basis, all of us are fortunate to live in the 21st century, with technology and tools out there that can help us all achieve amazing things.

“Happiness is a decision”

Chad also learned that happiness is not a fleeting feeling, but a daily decision. He believes that we all have the power to choose how we respond to circumstances, even when we can’t control everything that happens to us.

He says: “Happiness is not a feeling. Happiness is a decision that you make every single day when you wake up. You want to choose how you’re going to look at things. You hold the power to choose your perspective, to choose your response, and to choose your attitude.”

“The biggest influence in your life is you”

Chad asks the summit audience: “Is it better to comfort yourself in the moment with an excuse? Or is it better to hold yourself accountable so that you can achieve your goals in your dreams? None of us are responsible for our circumstances, but we’ve got to be accountable for our life and our outcomes.”

Through cognitive reframing, he changed his narrative from victimhood to empowerment, understanding that self-image influences how we show up in life. As he puts it: “One story paints me as a victim. But the second story, the better story, is a Jedi mind trick that transforms my disability into my strength. I wanted to become mentally strong enough to deal with it. Which meant I was mentally strong enough to deal with all the other curveballs that life throws.

“After you manage the marketing in your mind, it’s no longer marketing: it’s your story. You’re the narrative. So as the author of your story, you get to choose the elements. To thrive on change, you’ve got to be able to visualize greatness in your circumstances.”

The same is true when we think about how to manage our teams. “Our promise is this we will all become our stories. Our teams will become the stories that we contextualize for them. So, make sure you’re choosing your stories for yourself and your team carefully.”

“Nobody controls everything that happens to them, but we all control how we respond”

Chad refuses to accept anything less than his vision of success, embodying the spirit of resilience in every aspect of his life. He says the fundamental building block of resilience is visualizing what greatness looks like. “What is your vision of greatness?” he asks RevGen audience. “Identify and believe it, demand it, and pursue your vision with confidence, with conviction, and with long-term vision.”

Conclusion

Chad E. Foster’s journey is an inspiring example of the power of resilience and positive mindset. Despite facing blindness, Chad chose to embrace a visionary perspective and achieved remarkable success both personally and professionally. By overcoming his challenges and generating substantial revenue, Chad shows the importance of confronting blind spots and making positive choices. His story reminds us that with resilience and determination, individuals and teams can overcome obstacles and achieve their visions of success. Chad’s insights inspire us all to embrace challenges and optimize business performance by choosing resilience.

Looking for ways to accelerate your sales cycles, engage in industry conversations, and achieve better outcomes? Look no further than our digital summits – our unique 3-day digital event experiences that bring together senior executives and solution providers.

Our recent RevGen North America Summit had Chad as a speaker and ended with an impressive meeting completion rate of 121% against target.

Partnering with GDS Group can help you get in front of the right people at the right time.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to attend one of our unforgettable event experiences that promise to leave you feeling inspired and empowered.

Check our calendar now and join us. We can’t wait to see you there!