Aimee Mullins: I have learned not to overlook the advantages of being...

Adversity is just change that we haven't adapted ourselves to yet.

Aimee Mullins

adversity change inspirational

It's society that disables an individual by not investing in enough creativity to allow for someone to show us the quality that makes them rare and valuable and capable.

Aimee Mullins

creativity quality creative

Adversity isn't an obstacle that we need to get around in order to resume living our life. It's part of our life.

Aimee Mullins

adversity order needs

Our responsibility is not simply shielding those we care for from adversity but preparing them to meet it well.

Aimee Mullins

adversity care responsibility

The only true disability is a crushed spirit

Aimee Mullins

crushed disability spirit

I haven't had an easy life, but at some point ,you have to take responsibility for yourself and shape who it is that you want to be. I have no time for moaners. I like to chase my dreams and surround myself with other people who are chasing their dreams, too.

Aimee Mullins

responsibility dream people

I think that everyone has something about themselves that they feel is their weakness... their 'disability.' And I'm certain we all have one, because I think of a disability as being anything which undermines our belief and confidence in our own abilities.

Aimee Mullins

weakness belief thinking

If we want to discover the full potential in our humanity, we need to celebrate those heartbreaking strengths and those glorious disabilities that we all have...it is our humanity, and all the potential within it that makes us beautiful.

Aimee Mullins

heartbreaking humanity beautiful

People presume my disability has to do with being an amputee, but that's not the case; our insecurities are our disabilities, and I struggle with those as does everyone.

Aimee Mullins

insecurity struggle people

I've had journalists asking me, 'What do we call you - is it handicapped, are you disabled, physically challenged?' I said, 'Well hopefully you could just call me Aimee. But if you have to describe it, I'm a bilateral below-the-knee amputee.'

Aimee Mullins

amputees knees asking

Success isn't winning every time. A lot of different factors go into every race, and you can't control all of them. Success means doing as excellent a job as you can on that particular day. The people I admire most aren't necessarily the most wonderful athletes. I admire the ones who keep coming back and doing it, time after time.

Aimee Mullins

softball jobs sports

Belief in oneself is incredibly infectious. It generates momentum, the collective force of which far outweighs any kernel of self-doubt that may creep in.

Aimee Mullins

self doubt may

There’s an important difference and distinction between the objective medical fact of my being an amputee and the subjective societal opinion of whether or not I’m disabled. Truthfully, the only real and consistent disability I’ve had to confront is the world ever thinking that I could be described by those definitions.

Aimee Mullins

motivation inspiration real

Confidence is the sexiest thing a woman can have. It's much sexier than any body part.

Aimee Mullins

hilarious beauty funny

Half of Hollywood has more prosthetic in their body than I do, but we don't think of them as disabled. You amputate part of a nose, that's 'enhancement'. You put a prosthetic in a breast cavity, that's 'augmentation'. But you amputate part of a limb and put a prosthetic there, it's 'disability'?

Aimee Mullins

enhancement body thinking

Life is about making your own happiness - and living by your own rules.

Aimee Mullins

life-is

Beauty is not skin-deep; it can be a means of self-affirmation, a true indicator of personality and confidence.

Aimee Mullins

personality self mean

Everyone is really afraid of getting out there and not being good. That's the challenge: To be afraid and know people are staring at you and know you might not do all that well, but you do it anyway. What singles out the successful athlete from the ones who never make it past a plateau, it that successful athletes risk failure, even though they are terrified.

Aimee Mullins

motivation softball sports

The power of the human will to compete and the drive to excel beyond the body's normal capabilities is most beautifully demonstrated in the arena of sport.

Aimee Mullins

athlete success sports

With L'Oreal, I get to be Aimee Mullins, model. No qualifier. And that means everything to me.

Aimee Mullins

models mean

I have learned not to overlook the advantages of being me. From when I was a softball player, and I held the stolen bases record. I would slide into second with my prostheses, and the girl on the base could either step aside or meet two wooden sticks.