Meet Adam Malone

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Adam Malone. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Adam, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

As someone with a disability, particularly a debilitating physical disability like Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, there are challenges that I and so many others in the disability community face. I feel that my purpose in life is to do what I can to advocate and spread awareness about the challenges we face to make the world a better place for everyone. Without raising awareness about how awesome our community is and how we are able to live life despite our challenges, nothing can progress for our community. We pursue relationships, careers, and so much more despite the disabilities we face.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

My name is Adam Malone, and I have Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a neuromuscular disease affecting all the muscles in the body. I am a travel agent with a specialty in helping those with disabilities travel. I love helping people however I can, and since I love traveling, this was a perfect fit for me. I work for the company Adventures by Jamie, which is a travel agency specializing in helping those with disabilities. The most rewarding part of being a travel agent is knowing that I made a trip possible for my clients that have created memories for them for years to come. I am also the host of The Handicapable Podcast, a podcast focused on raising awareness about and advocating for the disability community. Our slogan is “changing the world, one story at a time” and I feel by sharing stories of people in our community through interviews can change the world for the better through awareness. It is my goal in life to help others in the disability community, and what better way than raising awareness through this awesome show. I also hope that by sharing these stories, our listeners who may be facing the same challenges will know they are not alone in the issues they face. I want for everyone to have a voice when they otherwise wouldn’t be able to have one.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

The first quality I would say has been very important to me is empathy. With my work as a travel agent and running a podcast, you have to be able to put yourself in the shoes of other people. You have to understand that everyone goes through challenges and has bad days. Another quality I would say is important in my life is perseverance. If I am told I can’t do something, well that just gives me more reasons to do whatever I am told I can’t do. I rarely take no for an answer because anything can be done if you put your mind to it. A skill I’d say that has been important to be is being able to talk to people effectively. I am very much a people person and love talking to people, since my work involves talking to people a lot, that has been extremely helpful. The best way to improve all of these in my opinion is just by doing it. For empathy, simply put your self in the shoes of others. Perserverence, find what your purpose is in life and roll with that, and never back down. As far as being able to talk to people effectively, simply talking to people is the best way to improve.

What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?

In the past 12 months, my biggest area of growth has been the knowledge I have gained about the disability community. Since I am someone who mainly has only been well versed within the muscular dystrophy community, being able to branch out and learn about other disabilities has helped me a lot. Through my podcast, I am able to hear about the challenges people face that I never would have thought about, and that betters builds my ability to have empathy.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hcpod.com
• Instagram: The Handicapable Podcast: @thehandicapablepodcast Travel Agent Page: @adam_with_adventuresbyjamie