Jason Bryn overcomes blindness

Blindness No Barrier To Living Inspired Life

By Alicia Biggs

(Created: Thursday, April 10, 2008 8:29 AM EDT)

With Retinitis Pigmentosa, Jason Bryn of Leesburg knew he would eventually lose most of his vision. He just didn’t know when that would happen.

It happened in his early 20s soon after marrying the love of his life. The beauty of his wife’s face vanished from his life as did his ability to do some of the most basic things most take for granted: run, walk, pick out clothes.

“I had to start over,” Bryn said. “What was hard was I didn’t want to. It was my wife after nine months who said, ’something’s got to change.’ She said, ‘are you going to be the person I married?’ I chose to live. It’s not what happens to us. It’s how we respond to those circumstances. It was my mindset.”

The depression became so bad, in fact, that he found himself at a crossroad, literally on railroad tracks waiting for a train to come. It never showed up. The next day, he decided he would turn his life around. That attitude soon helped him overcome his adversity, later took him to the 2004 Paralympics, and during the past two years he created his own coaching and personal development product sales business, centered on the notion of helping others find self-fulfillment.

THE BUSINESS: Winning Edge Enterprises

“It’s teaching people how to be happy,” Bryn said. “What I mean by that is self-fulfillment. Our business is live first and work second.”

Bryn described one client, who used his True Vision Living’s products to transform his life. With more than 20 years in the U.S. Army, he retired and started a business. However, his partner took off with the money, so he needed to look for his next step.

“He was a career military person in a variety of Desert Storm conflicts and as he said, he ‘went from the fire and brimstone military person in a foxhole to a man that will share his story and cry on the phone.’ He’s transformed his life so much. The most important thing is he learned how to be happy. He’s happy because he’s learned through our products to connect to himself.”

That person now supports homeless shelters.

“You have to understand this is a military guy who killed people and loved it and never before has he done something altruistic,” Bryn said. “He understands when you help enough people get what they want, you get what you want.”

Many of Bryn’s clients are those who have stumbled upon it, in search of a business opportunity or they could be a student of personal development. By using the products, clients become a product of the product, assist others in their quest for success and the chain continues, continuing to grow the business.

“What our business provides is a franchise business system for people to do more than just be a fan of personal development,” Bryn said. “Everyone in the business gets paid to be a student. Those that are following their passion end up with money. We have the responsibility to share our gifts with the world.”

2004 PARALYMPICS

Bryn’s lost eyesight instilled perseverance. After three years spent learning mobility skills–adjusting to living blind–he studied for his law degree at the University of Arizona from 1994 to 1998. That led to an eight-year career helping others as a disability rights attorney.

But, he wasn’t happy. He thought, after all that time spent studying, how could he make another change? With rushed mornings, coordinated rides, dependence on so many other people, 70-hour work weeks, he felt stuck. Four hours of sleep per night, he finally found a way out.

“I almost didn’t make the shift, and the reason was my old thinking,” he said. “My old thinking said, you’re doing something nontraditional, you’re an attorney and everyone looks up to you. My new thinking said, you’re going to stay unhappy, stay in the same place you were because of a decision you made 10 years ago? The other is what do you want, what are you going do about it? That was my first step to following my passion.”

For years, playing basketball and running were important to Bryn. He tried to continue on with them, but he found he was treated differently.

With a friend, he decided to build a tandem in 2000. After several years of recreational cycling, his goal was to compete in Tandem Cycling in the 2004 Paralympics.

“I started training in 2001 and I made the Olympic team in 2004,” he said. “That experience helped me develop the mindset I now have.”

To his amazement, he ranked tenth in the world among other titles. Bryn decided that if he could meet that challenge, he could certainly open his own business. That was the beginning of his rise as an entrepreneur.

“You can have a bad day, but it doesn’t mean your quest was over,” he said. “I learned to enjoy the journey and that dreams can come true. I was another cyclist to win a race. I wasn’t running into things. I was free.”

He used to think corporate America and helping others get rich meant the way to advance your career.

“Now I am teaching others how to empower themselves to reach their full potential,” he said.

For more information on Bryn’s business, visit www.winningedgeenterprises.com