Leading with Soul: An Uncommon Journey of Spirit, Revised Third Edition

Spirit and Imperfection

Bill Irwin provides one example of what uncommon spirit can do. Excessive drinking left him blind by age twenty-eight. In his early fifties, a recovering alcoholic, he decided to hike the entire 2,167 miles of the Appalachian Trail. His seeing-eye dog was his sole companion. He faced daunting hazards: cliffs, storms, biting insects, and his own fear. Before starting, he committed himself spiritually to the journey: “I don’t care how many times I fall, I can always crawl to Maine.”⁷ Eight months later, he became the first blind man to walk the length of the trail. How did he do it? “He never saw the trail. He just took it. He did not stick to the plan others preconceived for the life of a blind man. He sought his own course, ...