As the top neurosurgeon in Germany, Ludwig was eventually asked to establish the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. As director of the UK's FIRST specialist unit for treating spinal injuries, he believed that sport was a major method of therapy for injured military personnel helping them build up physical strength and self-respect.
When he first came to the unit 80% of the spinal patients did not recover. Patients were left immobile and flat on their backs. Against other doctors advice, with biased and limited views on recovery chances, with a nursing team who initially resisted his ‘radical’ ideas and a total lack of money Ludwig faced total resistance. Even soldiers, crippled and damaged from war did not welcome the changes he spearheaded. Ludwig was told ‘no’ at every turn.
Nothing distracted Ludwig from his belief that building physical strength, through sport would speed recovery and offer hope. Ludwig organised the first Stoke Mandeville Games for disabled personnel on 28 July 1948, the same day as the start of the London 1948 Summer Olympics.
This small gathering is what we now know as the Paralympics. Believing in your goals and never accepting ‘no’ is a great lesson for anyone in business. As a successful business owner swimming against the tide and believing in your goals, regardless of what objections you face is often the lonely and hard path. But the rewards can be enormous. If you follow what everyone else in your industry is doing, if you adopt a sheep mentality you will only ever enjoy the same results as everyone else.
Define WHY you run your business the way you do, tell everyone, don’t be put-off by criticism and you can unleash a success story all of your own.
Julia Canham is the local Business Growth Advisor for Nigel Botterill's Entrepreneurs Circle.
For more information contact: julia.canham@businessgrowthadvisor.co.uk
