Book: The Victor Within
Book: The Victor Within
Reviewer: Lindi Obose
Author: Victor Vermeulen and Jonathan Ancer
Publisher: Tenacity
Victor Vermeulen had it all. From an early age, he'd excelled at both academia and sport and boasted numerous bursaries and awards.
He could have represented his country at any number of sports, but his first love was always cricket. At 19 he'd already played with a young South African team at Lord's, the hallowed ground of cricket in London, and was settling into a career with the then Transvaal. It was just a matter of time before he would go in and bat for South Africa.
Then, a freak accident left him paralysed from the neck down.
At first he tried to fight the disability, struggling to overcome his paralysis, but after three determined years of physiotherapy and rehabilitation, he finally realised he wasn't going to get his past life back.
Vermeulen didn't dwell on the past though, but looked at the positive aspects of his situation and with his mother Isabel's support and encouragement, set off down a new path as a motivational speaker.
His philosophy is that happiness is always right there, in our grasp. But so many of us don't reach for it because we have convinced ourselves that we can only be happy if we are richer, thinner, smarter, younger.
Victor's message is a universal one, that it is possible, no matter what the difficulty, to achieve your goals and fulfil your ambitions. After reading this book I have learnt that nothing is impossible.
How to find the victor within
Book: The Victor Within
Book: The Victor Within
Reviewer: Lindi Obose
Author: Victor Vermeulen and Jonathan Ancer
Publisher: Tenacity
Victor Vermeulen had it all. From an early age, he'd excelled at both academia and sport and boasted numerous bursaries and awards.
He could have represented his country at any number of sports, but his first love was always cricket. At 19 he'd already played with a young South African team at Lord's, the hallowed ground of cricket in London, and was settling into a career with the then Transvaal. It was just a matter of time before he would go in and bat for South Africa.
Then, a freak accident left him paralysed from the neck down.
At first he tried to fight the disability, struggling to overcome his paralysis, but after three determined years of physiotherapy and rehabilitation, he finally realised he wasn't going to get his past life back.
Vermeulen didn't dwell on the past though, but looked at the positive aspects of his situation and with his mother Isabel's support and encouragement, set off down a new path as a motivational speaker.
His philosophy is that happiness is always right there, in our grasp. But so many of us don't reach for it because we have convinced ourselves that we can only be happy if we are richer, thinner, smarter, younger.
Victor's message is a universal one, that it is possible, no matter what the difficulty, to achieve your goals and fulfil your ambitions. After reading this book I have learnt that nothing is impossible.