1215: Through Blurred Vision: Overcome Your Obstacles through Resilience and Find Your Light with Author & Speaker Kurt Pangborn

Robert Plank 0:04 Hey, welcome back to the podcast. We are here with Kurt hangborn, who is a dynamic motivational speaker. He's an author and he's an advocate who turns personal challenges into a mission to inspire others. Kurt was born with congenital glaucoma. He's undergone 40 eye surgeries and faced the unique challenge of growing up legally blind. But instead of letting those obstacles define him, he used that as a foundation for his message of faith, perseverance and purpose, which you can find all about in his book through blurred vision, which combines his personal journey with actionable insights to help you uncover your potential and overcome your limitations. So Kurt, glad to be speaking with you.

Kurt Pangborn 0:49 Likewise Robert, thank you very much for the invite. I've looked forward to spending the time with you and your listeners, just sharing a little bit and hopefully being an encouragement.

Robert Plank 0:59 Yes, we love encouragement, we love the awareness, we love the new perspectives, and especially what you've done, which is turning something that you completely had no control over, right? You're born with it bad thing that happened, but you can always turn a bad into a good. And so tell me about yourself. What did I leave out of that bio? What should we know about you?

Kurt Pangborn 1:20 Yeah, no, absolutely. So I guess we better start at the beginning right. Start at actual birth itself. I think one of the biggest things that I like to highlight is with First of all, my mom. She's got an incredible story as well. She's got a unique capability to overcome and adapt. But I feel like that. She's like, I kind of stay in the background. You can speak on this, but actually, she was told at a young age that she would be unable to bear children. But so has it that she was pregnant with her first baby boy, which would be myself. I'm from East Central Indiana, actually Newcastle, Indiana, and it was on August 3 that she was there at the Henry County Memorial Hospital, due to give birth to her baby son. At that night she gave birth, and she was so excited, overcome with emotion, but in that same moment, when she peered down, she saw that the eyes actually looked discolored. So she had this just overwhelming feeling that something's not quite right, but trying to compress that, just to enjoy the joy of the moment, she went on about the evening, well, that next morning, her family doctor comes in and says, You have a beautiful baby boy. But and there come that same feeling back where what I'm going to be told I had a gut feeling something wasn't right. The doctor proceeds to say that your son, we want to send him to Indianapolis, to the Riley Children's Hospital, which is widely known across the country, and we wanted him to see a specialist that deals with eyes. So the following week, we go to Indianapolis. We meet with a doctor, Dr Forrest Ellis. He does an evaluation quickly. Says, Your son actually has a convention called congenital glaucoma, even before panic could set in. My mom's like glaucoma. That's an older adults. I don't think that applies, or That's right. He says, Well, this is actually a rare condition that takes place within infants. In fact, right now, your son's pressures are 52 and 48 normal pressures will be somewhere around maybe 10 to 12, so low teens. So in a matter of moments, they're whisking me underground from the rotary building into the Riley Children's Hospital for immediate surgery to try to stabilize those pressures. The projection was that under, you know, maybe 234, surgeries, that they could get me back on track and have near normal vision and just be something that they'd have to adhere to at the very beginning. Well, as you said in the intro, today, we stand at 40 eye operations, and with that, Dr Ellis and he took my portfolio around the country to try to get insight how it could best help me. He would never even projected that as well. Today, I'm grateful to say that I do have a sliver of vision, so I am actually labeled as legally blind. Still have the ability to be independent, to hold a career, but it does take a lot of adjustments. But as time went on, life didn't get any easier, because I felt like I was trapped in this just darkness with this. Disability with this identity that I didn't want any part of, but here we had some of the best doctors in the world support system. But I still felt like that. I was just under immense amount of pressure and just discouragement for where my life was headed, and nothing could be changed whatsoever in that regard due to the disability that I was handed on day one.

Robert Plank 5:26 I can see how that might be discouraging. You say I didn't ask for this. I didn't I didn't want to have all this extra hassle, all these things to deal with. But you also think about there are many people who are, they have a great life, and they don't even realize it, right? Some people out there, they're so unhappy, and even just they have these basic like, even the ability to see right, and all this potential. And so as you grew in the teen years and the adult years, what was that like? Did you encounter a setbacks? Did you feel discouraged about blending in with kids, school, sports, all those sorts of things?

Kurt Pangborn 6:06 Yeah. No, no, absolutely. Robert, so with congenital glaucoma, to give the listeners a better idea, it occurs in 0.001% of births. It is very, very uncommon, and so already, from that at a later point, I felt like I was an island by myself. But it really held true within school, you'd have your recess times where you're excited to escape the classroom go do something different with the visual impairment. I was the last one that was chosen for any kind of activities on the playground, whether that's going on the merry go round or the monkey bars, whatever we had that I was that last person, because visually, it was just different. Even inside the classroom as well, we had to make sure that I had a seat in the front row so I could hopefully see the chalkboard. I had to have special arrangements for books their large print. I remember I'd actually have a milk crate in the back of the classroom that had books, because they were so large. Some of these books would almost be the size of a poster board. So there's all these things, even if you want to try to hide it. Because I think with a lot of people, there is always something in someone's life that could be, maybe not necessarily a disability, but it could be something they're not really happy to share or have out there in the open. So we try to do what we can to kind of cover that up. With me, I have all these things that are around me that there's no way I could cover it up. So it goes back to that thought and feeling that I am just absolutely stuck in this situation. And when you start seeing affecting relationships and how you're treated within school setting, it became very, very difficult, and it leads to the thought process that, how's life even going to look for me? I don't want to be a part of this. And just feeling like that, there's probably no value that's there.

Robert Plank 8:16 I can see how that would be really discouraging, and I know that at some point, you found your faith and that helped you focus on your purpose, rather than your limitations, make the best of your situation. And so what did that realization happen like? How did you get to that point where you said, Well, hey, the pity party will only get me so far. I need to be proactive. I need to do something. What was that turning point like?

Kurt Pangborn 8:44 Robert, I'm so glad that you asked and you classify as a pity party, which I just saw it as a vicious cycle ofgoing around and around, but no progress whatsoever. I think back to my younger days through all thoseeye operations, the life sensitivity was just unbearable. My mom would close all the blinds, pull the curtains in the house, put a baseball cap on me, anything to kind of help with that glare. And it got so bad where she'd recall where I just almost keep my eyes shut at a high percentage of the time. And so for a mother, that's very disheartening that she can't make eye contact, you know, with her son. So she had the idea one night, it was one of those nights where the moon was, you know, either full or or close to it, she decided to kind of bundle me up and take me out in a blanket, and she would point up to the night sky to see the soft light from the moon. And she would say, light, light. And she'd kind of gently take her first finger or thumb and open my eye to to see that light. And. In fact, Robert, my second word was the word light. Later in life, my early teen years, my actual step dad invited us to church, and I started hearing the Word through Sunday school, through preaching. And at the time, I had really no idea that I was under conviction that I need to make a personal choice for myself. And were it come the cross point that was so important. It comes out of John 812 where it explains that Jesus is the light of life. Now, as an infant, I thought that light come from the moon, which is actually reflective light from the sun. And I realized in my life that Jesus Christ is the light of life, and the light actually comes from the sun. Now I'm an Indiana Hoosier graduate, but I don't claim to be the best speller in the world, but this would be s o n. The light originates from the sun, and I realized that the identity that I was so unhappy with that was over my head that it could be completely changed where a disability could be ability that I realized once I accepted that perfect gift, the love that was before I was ever in existence, they would change my whole world, and it has. And I realized that while things are tough, I want to invest in other people. I want to serve. I want to show Christ love. And just like that illustration, while things are not always perfect when it comes to a physical condition, we have the ability to also reflect that light in our lives all across the world, whether it's a podcast setting, whether it's going out to these speaking engagements, whether it's me not be on a drive and I'm on a city bus or an Uber, those interactions are all vital. They're not by happenstance, and we're here to try to give back and invest in other people and to share our faith and to to give hope so that we can lift each other up as a society, knowing there's a whole lot more negative we can look at, but with Christ, we can absolutely have the victory in all aspects, and it's just a wonderful way to conduct your life. And the piece that comes from that the foundation provides is the best decision that I ever made on this side of glory.

Robert Plank 12:34 Very cool, and it's fun to play with words, isn't it like you play with S U N, S O N, and this idea of light, and he looked at at the moon, and like, space is so much darkness, emptiness, right? There's like so much nothing in space, and we're on the super tiny rock for a super limited period of time. And that tells me that there's a need to focus, right? Because it's so easy and the default to focus on the darkness and all the negativity, but then there's just like, even if there's like, a little bit of a gratitude to be had, a little bit of positivity to focus on, that is what we should pursue in life. And I know that you're big on putting others first and giving to others, even if you are busy, because we all have these things going on. So tell me about that. Tell me about what it means for you giving back. And I know that you're also big working Indiana University as a donor Experience Officer representing athletics. So just tell me about what your thoughts are on giving back, on being selfless, and how that's led to all of this athletic participation.

Kurt Pangborn 13:46 Yeah, Robert, that is an outstanding way to put it. I'm glad that you construct it in such a sense, because you did say it perfectly with my life. It's interesting, because I do work within fundraising, and it's tied to athletics. Individually, I've always had a big interest in sports, even at an early age. I did now, my mom kind of pushed me into sports participation, of T ball, which at first I thought that was the most worst thing in the world, because my vision that I couldn't see and I was going to be an embarrassment. But it's really neat, because as I've moved into fundraising for athletics. Here at IU, they talk about sharing a vision. So you have your mission statements, you also have your vision. And what is really cool about that is I do experience things in a different way, so I see how the support for athletics and for the university, can impact countless lives. In fact, that's part of our slogan. It says, you know, impacting lives and changing the world at Indiana with the gifts and with the support that I'm looking for, it allows me to serve. For example, right now we have about 650 50 student athletes. We have over 200 people that work full time in athletics. IU Foundation, where I'm housed. Out of we have 325 full time employees, and that's where I get the joy is I get to serve someone once told me, Well, you're just a glorified beggar. And I said, No, that's not it at all. And of course, they may have been joking, but I can go out and I can talk with people for this sole purpose of raising money to get back to a generation that's just, you know, a few years behind me, that they're trying to establish themselves, and what you find is their struggles. There's things that they're they're dealing with, whether that's with the ever changing landscape of college athletics with nil transfer portal, you know, trying to obtain degrees, while there's maybe family issues going on at home, you get to have an impact upon these young people, and with the fundraising aspect, you can give them almost a springboard to their own success, so they can have their own story, so they can be their own light. And so what's so cool about residing in Bloomington? It's like the world comes to you within a university. I love to travel, and I don't want to ever stop having the ability to travel, but all these different people come to Bloomington to get an education, and we have this wonderful small window of time that we can impact their lives for the greater good, and then we get to enjoy the successes they have just a few years down the Road.

Robert Plank 16:40 Very cool. And you always hear these stories right about that jumping off point, going from high school to college. And maybe someone grew up under unfortunate circumstances, right? Maybe they grew up around crime or danger or gangs or low income or just whatever the situation is. They have limited choices for the future compared to others who may just have it have a slightly better right? And so and you hear about these people that have this athletic talent, and they get a scholarship, they go to college, and then they end up kind of changing their life story, changing their trajectory, but that's just from a lay person's point of view. So let's say that you are doing some kind of outreach, and you're saying, Hey, I'm doing a fundraiser for IU and athletics. Like, what is the message? What do people need to know about, like, how they can contribute, and where does their money go?

Kurt Pangborn 17:37 Yeah. So when I sit down with individuals, my approach is, this is something I'm working on, develop for 2025 that there's an acronym in my mind that I use a cell. The S for me is spirit. So you're always thinking about that person first investing in them as it pertains to fundraising and able them, I like to say, empowering them to give back, to go to someone that's had a low income family, that this is their first real opportunity to have some form of foundation. I bring to the table these impact stories for athletics, where we've seen individuals Excel, not only in competition, but also inside the classroom, and then we can point across the way and see where they're serving. Now, a few of those course are in professional sports. We can give examples of that, but there's a lot of them that quite won't reach that level of being an Olympian or professional sport, but they're having a major impact up in their community. And I think about one of the stories when I worked with a young lady that was on our women's soccer team at the time, that she felt compelled to start a program for individuals in the community that had disabilities, and they would have a theme night where they invite them to athletics and participate in a soccer night, or a basketball or volleyball night, where you see these athletes that are given an opportunity, and they turn around start to give back their own time, their own resources as well. And so those are things that I share. So I come in and I am just linking that individual to an opportunity and showing the impact that it makes. And when people give and they see the impact of that, they're going to want to share, right? And so it makes it, I don't want to say easy, but it definitely propels itself into more conversations where others want to jump on board. I think, with living in America, no matter how difficult the political landscape may be, that we are very much a giving nation. People are. Held to give, and it's just having somebody like myself and my great colleagues to have these interactions, to connect people and show the difference that we're making on a very broad scale. And it's hard to really fathom the amount of lives that we impact, but I think we do a great job of just showing you a small area of that that allows people to just have an incredible story for themselves.

Robert Plank 20:29 That's wonderful. And I think there's definitely the value in being around some of these stories and just knowing what's done, what's possible, and what we can do for others. Because, like, like you said, the like, the volunteer work, or just the in general, the the athleticism of it, all right? And, oh, it's no one's going to come and save us. So it's good to know that this exists and that the this is just out there. And so as far as kind of shining a light pun intended on what you've done and what you said, and just the awareness that you want to bring to athletics and volunteerism, is there a missing, hidden question that I should be asking you, but I Just don't know to ask it.

Kurt Pangborn 21:21 I would say, if you could give a message to any young person out there for how they can succeed, how would that be? And that answer for sure, for sure. I don't want to leave you guys hanging here. The biggest thing is being proactive. There's a lot of people that I encounter that have tremendous knowledge skills their network, so the people that they know are in contact with you could go through there and check, check, check, and it's all amazing, but a lot of times people are waiting for something to come to them, or they're waiting for instruction. You have to be proactive, whether you're somebody. Now, I kind of have a love for this that I started out as a student manager. I love sports, but through the vision, I couldn't have any kind of contact to the head, but I wanted to find a way to still be involved in sports at an early age. I was happy with carrying a towel, filling up a water bottle, being on the side of the court, maybe trying to run the score clock. Maybe I didn't see the clock and the buzzer went off a couple times too early. But you get the point that I wanted to be involved, and so being proactive is a huge key. There's so many resources today with the internet, where you can find an email address, you can find a phone number, you can do independent research. It's never too early for you to be proactive in these areas. And I'll end with this in 2020 you know, I had a list of things that I wanted to do. I actually listed 20 things I saw that as being a year of perfect vision. Well, physically that wasn't possible. These are 20 things I wanted to do one of those things was to write my first book. Never had anything published. Didn't even know what I was getting into, but I listed it well. None of us really knew what 2020 had in store as it goes to the pandemic, but it quickly become about the only thing that I could focus on, even going through a time for I went from working from home to being 100% furloughed. It was like that was brought to the surface that that's what I need to focus on. And while it was one of the most tough things I've ever done, is almost the one of the most easiest things, because I was convicted, and so I was proactive in reaching out and trying to make contacts and feeling led to do this. But if I hadn't been proactive, we'd be sitting here talking in 2000 end of 2024 and I'd probably still be writing. And so that element of being proactive is just huge for anyone to try to grasp that concept

Robert Plank 24:22 That is an inspiring message, that we must be proactive. Don't wait for someone else to come and do it for you, life is short. Time is of the essence. There's always some reason not to do it right? There's always some other distraction. And I just love how the play on words keeps coming back in your messaging curve, the 2020 vision idea and the year 2020 and the 20 things you'll do. It's very cool. Just think about how these ideas can combine and solidify. And so what are some next steps? Here we mentioned the book through blurred vision. And then as far as if someone is looking to make a. Change, and perhaps they're searching, and they find you and me right now on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, podcasts, etc, and you want them to contact you. How do they contact you? And for what reason would they contact you?

Kurt Pangborn 25:13 Yeah, so my website, real easy. It is my name, so it is Kurt Pangborn speaks.com so that's Kurt Pangborn speaks.com Also my email address is on there, which is Kurt at kurtpangbornspeaks.com my main line message is themed after the book through blurred vision, but I also do a variety of speaking engagements. We're actually working on some really cool things, even outside of the book. For example, you know, leadership with a disability. I kind of hinted at the acronym cell. So maybe more of a university setting, where I can go into, for example here, like Kelly School of Business, talk to these young individuals, and give a perspective on customer service, fundraising, revenue, generation, all of those things. So through my website, people have the ability to order the book through blurred vision, claiming victory in all aspects of life. There's also a contact tab on there where they can quickly fill it out. Within two minutes, it'll go directly to me. So you're always be able to interact with me personally, to set up an event. So whether it's preaching at a church, whether it's a workshop, whether it's a class, seminar, like you said earlier on, I just simply want to serve and want to invest in people, and I plan to continue to do that into 2025 and beyond. One of my projects right now is actually working on a track, so a little pamphlet that I can always hand out for free to people that has my info but gives them just a real quick look at my story so I can encourage them along the way. Whether I'm at an airport or restaurant. It's withme.

Robert Plank 27:04 Very nice. I love your work ethic and the goals that you have in place. That book we said is called, through blurred vision, claiming victory in all aspects of life, you can go on Amazon right now and search Kurt hangborn. That's Kurt with a K, so that is K,U, R, T, last name, P, A, N, G, B, O, R N, and the website, Kurt Pangborn speaks.com if you would like to invite Kurt to your event, if you love his message and his story, if you want to find out more about him, you can email him Kurt at Kurt Pangborn speaks.com to get more information, or even Curtis, one of these guys. Or if you say, hey, if he's my situation, can you refer me over to someone else? He's happy to do that. So if you have this interest in Indiana University, in sports, in congenital glaucoma and overcoming your physical limitations in general, then Kurt Pang born is an authority that you can and should listen to. And as people are checking out those resources, Kurt, that's Kurt penguin speaks.com and the book through blurred vision, it's time to put you on the spot a little bit and to ask for a fun, helpful quote or lesson that has served you that you can pass on to us. So Does anything come to mind as far as a fun, helpful quarter lesson for us?

Kurt Pangborn 28:25 Yeah, no, absolutely. Thanks, Robert, I would say this, and it's a quote that I include in the book. It's one that I actually thought of several years ago. I don't know that the year at this very moment, but the quote goes like this, do not let trials or struggles in your life become a barrier. Let them be a hurdle that you can rise above. So it goes back to that mindset that there's going to be a lot of things that's placed in our path. Don't view them as obstacles. They're just simply hurdles that we can all rise above.

Robert Plank 29:05 Very inspiring, very helpful. Those trials are hurdles that we can all rise above. And let's think about that as we get Kurt's book through blurred vision. And also check out Kurt Pangborn speaks.com and thanks for showing up here, Kurt. It was a blast. I had fun. I learned some stuff. I think the audience did too. I appreciate you doing it.

Kurt Pangborn 29:24 Yeah, no. Thank you very, very much for your time. It's a great honor, and I look forward to many great conversations. I know this won't be the last with you or other people that may come along the way.

Robert Plank 29:35 We really appreciate you being a listener of the marketer of the day podcast, the place to go right now, ifyou want to know more about running your own podcast, is d f y podcast.com/free, go there right now claim your free gift. d f y podcast.com/free, you. Transcribed by https://otter.ai