Make Life Less Difficult artwork

Eric Skinner: Starting Over & The Challenge of Asking for Help

Make Life Less Difficult

English - September 27, 2022 06:00 - 1 hour - 49.2 MB - ★★★★★ - 24 ratings
Relationships Society & Culture Education Self-Improvement Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed


My guest today is Eric Skinner. 

Eric began again at the age of 20 following a diving accident that left him paralyzed from the upper chest downward. Eric’s post-injury journey required him to relearn most ordinary physical activities and to hone as strengths the qualities of personality, intellect, and a renewed drive that would serve him during a new life of great challenges and rewards. 

After his accident, Eric earned a degree in marketing and communications and worked in the fields of advertising, publishing, and non-profit communications. 

The highlights of Eric’s life have been meeting and marrying his wife, Carol, and raising their daughter, Abby, together. Along with spending time with family, Eric enjoys reading, writing, and cheering his favorite sports teams. 

Elizabeth Tilstra, my guest on episode 41, introduced me to Eric, and I’m so glad she did!  Eric’s story will have you sitting on the edge of your seat and shaking your head in amazement as he describes his diving accident and the journey of healing and growth that happened afterward.

As Eric and I initially connected by email he shared some of the highlights of his story and I was amazed!  What amazed me even more than his story however was the fact that at the end of his email he declared that he didn’t think his life and story were very interesting.  I was astounded and we talk about this in our conversation because I think it’s a great reminder that each of us have amazing stories to share, but they aren’t necessarily interesting to us… because we’re living them!

I hope Eric’s story will inspire you to share more of your stories because there’s always someone who they will touch and in turn inspire!

Eric, thank you so much for coming on the podcast and sharing these pieces of your journey.  You give us all much to think about and ponder.  I know we’ve barely skimmed the surface of your journey, so I look forward to hearing more in subsequent conversations!


Make Life Less Difficult

Make Life Less Difficult