Let me introduce you to a genuine “Amsterdammer”. Marc de Hond, someone I truly admire. He used to be a DJ, owner of a very succesful internet company and a fervent soccer player. That was 10 years ago Marc got diagnosed with a tumor in his spinal cord. The tumor got succesfully removed but due to medical errors Marc ended up in a wheelchair.
Somehow he found the strength to pick up his life again. And these days he is a motivational speaker, a TV host and plays wheelchairbasketbal for the national Dutch team. He also wrote a book about his journey.
When I asked what kept him going all these years he simply answered;
“You only live once so you better make something of your life.”
For a more detailed version of Marc’s story you can check out his motivational speech that he did for TEDxAmsterdam:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wCLIfdsmpE