11 Aug SPECIAL OLYMPICS “T3” LEADERSHIP!

Eunice Kennedy Shriver was born on this date in 1921. 

She was founder of the Special Olympics, a sports organization for persons with physical and intellectual disabilities.  Nearly 3 Million have participated since its establishment more than 50 years ago.   For her efforts on behalf of disabled people, Shriver was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1984 by President Reagan.

Her inspirational style: 

• TEAMWORK: Became executive VP of the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation in 1957 and shifted the organization’s focus from Catholic charities to research on the causes of intellectual disabilities, and humane ways to treat them.   A long-time advocate for children’s health and disability issues, she championed the creation of the President’s Panel on Mental Retardation in 1961. The panel was significant in the movement from institutionalization to community integration in the US and throughout the world.  Founder of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), a part of the National Institutes of Health in 1962. In 1962, founded Camp Shriver, a camp for children with special needs that later evolved into the Special Olympics. Shriver established the Special Olympics in 1968. 

• TONE: At the opening of the first Special Olympics in Chicago in 1968, “This proves a very fundamental fact, the fact that exceptional children — children with mental retardation — can be exceptional athletes, the fact that through sports they can realize their potential for growth.”

• TENACITY: “My life is about being lucky as a child. To be raised by parents who loved me and made me believe in possibilities – but in a strange way, perhaps my life also includes being lucky in the adversity I encountered. I am lucky that I experienced the sting of rejections as a woman who was told that the real power was not for me. I am lucky that I saw my mother and my sister Rosemary treated with unbearable rejection. I am lucky that I have had to confront political and social injustice around the world throughout my career. You might say, ‘why are we lucky to have such difficult experiences?’ The answer is simple: the combination of the love of my family and the awful sting of rejection helped me to develop the confidence that I needed to believe that I could make a difference in a positive direction.”

For more motivational “T3” Leadership stories, visit: https://TheBeckerT3Group.com/blog

– Rear Admiral Paul Becker, USN (Ret) is a motivational and national security keynote speaker.  He is a leadership professor at the U.S. Naval Academy and the CEO of The Becker T3 Group. In 2016, The Naval Intelligence Community established “The Rear Admiral Becker ‘Teamwork, Tone, Tenacity Award for Leadership” in his honor.  To connect with Paul, visit his website: https://TheBeckerT3Group.com