"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all!" - Helen Keller

Helen Keller was born in Alabama in 1880.  She was actually a healthy child at birth and lived a fairly normal life until she was nineteen months old.  At that time she was stricken with a fever that left her deaf, blind, and hence, mute.  She lived in complete silence and darkness until the age of seven.

Helen's father, who had been a captain in the Civil War, owned a newspaper company.  When he learned that help might be available for his daughter, both he and his wife were delighted.  Help finally arrived in the person of Ann Sullivan. 

Ann could understand Helen's problems first-hand because she herself was left visually impaired by a bacterial infection which affected her eyes.  At the age of fifteen she had an operation that restored her sight partially, but not completely.

Like many other handicapped children, Helen had been greatly spoiled by her parents because they felt sorry for her.  Ann, however, insisted on strict discipline.  She knew that in order to have any quality of life, Helen would have to overcome the difficult challenges of being deaf, dumb and blind.  Ann Sullivan taught Helen the value of determination.   

The remarkable thing to me is that Helen Keller, in spite of all of her challenges, lived life to its fullest.  She not only learned how to speak and write, but she also learned how to read Braille.  In 1904, she graduated with honors from Radcliffe College.  She worked with such determination that she provided a better way of life not only for herself, but for many others who would face physical and mental limitations.   

She wrote articles and gave lectures for the American Foundation for the Blind, for which she raised over $2,000,000.  On her eightieth birthday, the American Foundation for Overseas Blind honored her by announcing the Helen Keller International Award for those who gave outstanding help to the blind.   

From the time she was a very young lady, Helen was invited to the White House to meet every president who held office.  Her determination and willingness to live life to the fullest, no doubt was the source of amazement and inspiration even to presidents.   

She was involved in so many activities that people of great reputation took notice of her life and wanted to help her.  When Helen wanted to further her education, she did not want to ask her father for the money, but one of her admirers heard that she wanted further education and came to her assistance by sending her to the school.  That admirer was Mark Twain.  He was just one of the many people who were inspired by Helen Keller's determination and desire to live life fully. 

I firmly believe that you can choose to either live life as a daring, bold adventure or you can simply sit on the sidelines and watch others.  I am convinced that we have life so that we can live it, not avoid living it.   

If you are getting a little bored with life, why not jump in and start living it as an adventure?  Helen Keller had more personal challenges than you or I will ever experience!  Yet, she chose to live life to its fullest.  It is way past time for us to stop making excuses and blaming other people for our lack of fulfillment in life. 

Invest in your life!  Start living your dreams or at least start heading in the direction of them.  I believe it will not only add years to your life, but it will cause the trip to be much more enjoyable.

This information is provided in congruence with Personality Insights USA.