Today I want you to meet Sarah Manuel, a truly courageous and inspirational woman. From birth, Sarah has had to make many pivots that shaped her as a person. Sarah shares her story about being born with a genetic disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Doctors told her she would not live past the age of 4, and she beat those odds!
Sarah tells about her life in a wheelchair, and recalls multiple stories from her childhood where she chose to make pivots to put herself out there and chase her goals. As a young adult though, she struggled with denial regarding her disability. It was difficult for her to come in contact with others with disabilities because it reminded her of her own. More than anything, Sarah wanted to be “normal” and live a “normal” life, but she soon realized her definition of “normal” wasn’t all that accurate.
Sarah tells the story of how she came face to face with her identity and her purpose. She embraced her differences and truly believed she had a story and purpose that was worth sharing. This led her to studying school psychology, where she began identifying and advocating for kids with disabilities.
We talk about how doctors told Sarah she would not be able to have her own children. Since this was a dream of Sarah and her husband, she chose to defy the wisdom of doctors and instead embrace courage. Sarah defied the odds once again when she brought their dream baby into the world.
Sarah’s message brings us all hope and a sense of perseverance. She tells me, “If your underlying belief and understanding is that differences are bad, they’re just different. I think that will empower you to take on the hard things that will allow your life to pivot and will allow you to show up courageously and will give you the success that you’re looking for.”
Today, Sarah has a course called Destination: Tomorrow, which helps people destroy their self-imposed limits and reminds them of what they are capable of. She has another course that’s in the development process called the Purpose Discovery Blueprint which helps others identify their differences and how that should drive their purpose. Not only that, but Sarah is currently publishing a children’s book called Differences are Dynamite.
You can check out more about Sarah at the links below:
https://sarahmanuel.com/destination-tomorrow/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahmanuel35/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manuelsarah35
Clubhouse: @sarahmanuel35