Everyday Productivity and Striving for Excellence After Losing All Sense of Sight, with Author & Entrepreneur Tanner Gers

Jul 25, 2016

Tanner Gers (@TannerGers) is an author, entrepreneur, and paralympic athlete. Blinded in a car crash at age 21, Tanner has learned entirely new methods of communication and working.

In this conversation, Tanner discusses some of the technology — both lo- and hi-tech — he uses to experience the world in the absesnce of sight. We also share all-purpose productivity tips and examine his morning routines.

Show Notes & Links

• Tanner describes himself as "Creative and Successful", hence the Creative Success Podcast

  "I get the most fulfilment from serving other people."

  —Tanner Gers

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• Tanner is a Paralympian sprinter
• Tanner is also a speaker, author, blogger, podcaster, producer, and coach 
• Todd Henry, and other writers, have been on the show previous (here, here, and here, for example)
• Tanner embarked on a "personal development journey" after being struck blind

  "I use Technology to do everything, and I'm so grateful for it."

  —Tanner Gers

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• ADD
• The importance of reading to your children
• Tanner turned to music (and dancing) in his new blindness. That turned to creative writing for lyrics, and other prose.

  "A picture's worth 1000 words. I was quite the talkative person; I would overcompensate for the lack of visual input."

  —Tanner Gers

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• Screen reading software, build into Mac OS X, iOS as "voiceover"
• Jaws, screenreader for Windows
• Ray Charles
• Blind people are remapping their senses via "sonar"
• Human Echolocation
• The British boy learning from "Bat Boy"
• Spark from CBC Radio
• Spark 268, the episode covering sight-aiding and other sensory technology

  "I'm very blessed to know what a 747 looks like, what a sunset looks like, what blue looks like."

  —Tanner Gers

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• Dan Greene, born blind now writes missile-guidance software for Raytheon
• Putting Your Pen to Paper, episode 5 of Creative Success show
• Braille — Grades I and II
• Tanner had a question about "Quest Ion"
• Morse Code
• Tanner took a sleep study; was disturbed 100x in 6 hours

  "Installing a daily routine will take your game to the next level."

  —Tanner Gers

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  "Education is what remains after you've forgotten everything you learned in school."

  —anonymous

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• Prescott studied Mechanical Engineering & Mechanics
• Laminar Flow
• Adiabatic Compression vs. Isothermal Expansion
• Thermal Expansion Valve (Refridgeration)

  "When you split the atom, energy escapes. When you switch tasks, attention escapes."

  —Prescott Perez-Fox

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• Amy Porterfield
• Hal Elrod (leader of "The Cult of 5:00am")
• Professional Rugby League in America
•  Creative Success Show
•  Tanner Gers on Twitter
•  Tanner Gers on Facebook
•  Tanner Gers on Instagram
•  Tanner Gers on LinkedIn
•  Tanner Gers on YouTube

Tools

• Brainport, let's you "see" with your tongue
• Jaws

Techniques

• Turn off technology when it's time to focus on content
• Develop a verbal memory so you don't have to re-read what you just wrote
• Sleep with earplugs if you wake easily due to noise
• Sleep with music at low volumes (like Prescott has done since 1999)
• Test different methods; don't blindly follow gurus
• Alternate hard days with lighters days regarding fitness training. Use those recovery days.

Habits

• Stick to your daily routines
• Go through mental routines first thing in the morning (gratitude, etc.) before you get out of bed
• Serve someone else early in the day
• Read daily and track/remark on what you read
• Block your day into half-day chunks

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