Amar Latif delivers keynote speech at BSAVA Congress
"Decisions make us stronger, and the best ones we can make are the ones that pull us out of our comfort zones" - Amar Latif.
Blind traveller, entrepreneur and presenter Amar Latif delivered an inspirational keynote speech at the BSAVA Congress in Manchester on Thursday (24 March).
Amar, who was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa as a child, spoke about overcoming setbacks, pushing beyond your limits, and taking on a little more than you think you can to achieve your goals.
He said: “Decisions make us stronger, and the best ones we can make are the ones that pull us out of our comfort zones into new challenges, new obstacles, new opportunities to show the world, and to show ourselves, what we can really do".
Amar’s first taste of adventure came at the age of 18 when, despite having lost 95 per cent of his eyesight, he embarked on a course in Canada to complete his mathematics and statistics degree. During that time, he learnt a great deal about himself and what the world had to offer, and managed to fulfill his dream of becoming an accountant.
Having caught the travel bug, Amar was disappointed to find that no travel firm would accommodate an independent, blind or partially-sighted person without a carer, so he took matters into his own hands. In 2004, he launched a specialist commercial tour operator, Traveleyes, to help visually-impaired and blind people explore and experience the world using all their other senses.
Continuing to prove that blindness knows no boundaries, Amar is today a well-known television personality. In 2005, he starred in the BBC's reality series Beyond Boundaries, which followed a group of disabled people as they trekked through Central America. He has also appeared on Celebrity Masterchef, The Last Leg Down Under, and Rip Off Britain.
Amar said: “I strongly believe that an obstacle is just an opportunity with a grumpy face on it, and the trick to seeing past its disguise is the right mindset. We can often feel overwhelmed by what the world seems to be asking of us, and it can feel daunting. But all it takes is for you to put one foot in front of the other, and before you know it, you will turn around and see how beautiful everything looks.
"At 18, when I was told that maths wasn’t a subject for blind people, I decided to go for it and get my degree. When the finance world told me that I couldn’t be an accountant, I decided to prove them wrong. When I found out that there was no way for me to travel as a solo blind person, I decided to create a way. And here’s the thing, all of the things that I did are nothing compared to what the important words here are: I decided.”
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