Who knew that a black, blind boy could make a living from speaking and chasing a ball? Out of darkness cometh light. Listen to my latest podcast interview with Darren Harris, double paralympian (soccer and judo), motivational speaker, workshop facilitator, transformational coach, and founder of Unblind the Mind. He is a real inspiration, in building resilience.

Darren was diagnosed with a form or cancer called bilateral retinoblastoma at the age of 15 months, gradually losing his sight over time. He attended a grammar school for the blind from the age of 11. After graduating in 1995 with a mathematics degree, he spent the next nine years working as an IT professional by day, and a blind football amateur by night.

Before the 2008 Paralympic Games, Darren met the performance psychologist at the English Institute of Sport and asked him, “Can you guarantee me a gold medal?” He couldn’t, but their session together kickstarted Darren’s own scientific study of the human mind –  culminating with a master’s degree in psychology.

After the 2012 Paralympic Games, Darren met the president of the Professional Speaking Association at a careers fair organised by the British Olympic Association. “You get paid to tell stories,” he was told, and he’s been a PSA member and professional speaker ever since.

Darren ended his career as the most capped and decorated blind England footballer in 2019, having made 162 appearances and won 10 world and European medals. Playing the game taught him more than he could have ever imagined about life’s biggest challenges –  lessons he now teaches in his programmes. He works with organisational talent who want to change how they see themselves, other people, and the world around them to achieve their true potential. Visit www.darrenharrisgb.com for more information.

The conversation covers:

  • How to shift perspective to unleash rather than hinder potential
  • Physical and mental blindness
  • The importance of oversight
  • Honouring process, not just performance
  • Why the eyes are useless when the mind is blind
  • Navigating invisible obstacles
  • Embracing our imperfections
  • Build resilience

“As a result of the cancer, they actually wanted to remove both my eyes, but my grandad begged them to keep one so, for a while at least, I was able to see. And so while I was treated with radiotherapy, the one eye was removed. But as I got older, as a result of my radiotherapy, my sight actually got worse.”

Darren Harris, Double Paralympian, motivational speaker

“So I used to go see the doctors every single year. And, you know, there was always hope that there’d be a miracle cure. And we’ve done extraordinary things throughout the duration of mankind and so you kind of have this expectation that they’ll be able to sort of fix and solve every problem that we have. I used to go to the doctor and he would tell me, ” It’s getting worse. There’s nothing we can do about it.” After a while I just stopped going because if someone gives you bad news enough times, you tend to just switch off. And so I was just in denial. I just didn’t really want to acknowledge that it was getting worse, so I got angry.”

Darren Harris, Double Paralympian, motivational speaker

“So I went to a grammar school, specifically for kids who were blind. I always remember this occasion when there was this guy riding a bike. But this guy was totally blind on it. It blew my mind. He was weaving around all these obstacles, literally navigating invisible obstacles. And that was a moment of enlightenment for me.”

Darren Harris, Double Paralympian, motivational speaker

“You know, the brain is very plastic and it reorganizes itself. And it is able to do some incredible things when given the opportunity. Sometimes you just need to have that inspiration: you see something, and then do something that you didn’t think was possible.”

Darren Harris, Double Paralympian, motivational speaker

“Being able to do sport just made me feel good and, funny enough, when you just keep doing something over and over and over again, you tend to get better at it.”

Darren Harris, Double Paralympian, motivational speaker

“You have to commit to something properly. The the only way to learn anything new and learned to do it well is a huge amount of practice and repetition,  in order to connect the body with the brain. You buy into the ethic of hard work, and you recognize that with hard work you can achieve almost anything. And so I always had that hard work ethic from quite an early age, from the moment my mum said to me, “You’re black and you’re blind and you’re going to work twice as hard as is anyone else to achieve something in life.”

Darren Harris, Double Paralympian, motivational speaker

“But it’s the people who rise to the top who’ve gone the extra mile.”

Darren Harris, Double Paralympian, motivational speaker

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