W Mitchell (born April 11, 1943) is an American motivational speaker and businessman. He is a former member of the United States Marine Corps, burn victim, paraplegic, and a former small-town mayor.
Mitchell was born William John Schiff III. He subsequently changed his name to W Mitchell in honor of his stepfather, Luke Mitchell.
Careeredit
At the time of his first injury, Mitchell was a gripman on a cable car route in San Francisco. After his burn accident and recovery, Mitchell completed his training as a pilot and in 1975 co-founded a company called Vermont Castings along with Murray Howell and Duncan Syme. The company made energy-efficient wood-burning stoves and was later valued at $65 million. It was on a business trip for this company where Mitchell injured his spinal cord. In 1977 he was elected Mayor of Crested Butte, Colorado, where he stopped AMAX (now Freeport-McMoRan)[1] from building a billion-dollar molybdenum mine on Mount Emmons. Because of the anticipated environmental impact, Mitchell claims that he "saved a mountain."
Mitchell lectures are often titled "Taking Responsibility For Change".[2] His message often paraphrases the quote of Epictetus: "It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters."
Personal injuriesedit
Mitchell was burned over 65% of his body on July 19, 1971, when a laundry truck turned in front of the motorcycle he was riding in San Francisco. His face and hands were badly scarred and his fingers were badly burned and he lost most of each of his ten fingers. He had just completed his first solo aircraft flight. He later won a $500,000 settlement in a lawsuit against Honda Inc. because the gas cap on his Honda CB750 was deemed faulty for having fallen off during the accident.
On November 11, 1975, he crashed on takeoff in a small aircraft he was piloting due to ice on the wings and injured his spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down, but his other passengers escaped injury. The NTSB investigation indicated that the accident was due to his failure to detect the thin layer of ice on the wings during his pre-flight inspection.
^Waldman, Jackie; Janis Leibs Dworkis (1999). "Chapter 15 The 9,000 Things". The courage to give: inspiring stories of people who triumphed over tragedy. Berkeley, CA: Conari Press. pp. 121–128. ISBN978-1-57324-175-5. OCLC 265039245. Retrieved August 19, 2009.
External linksedit
Official website
December 15, 2023
mitchell, born, april, 1943, american, motivational, speaker, businessman, former, member, united, states, marine, corps, burn, victim, paraplegic, former, small, town, mayor, contents, early, life, career, personal, injuries, personal, life, book, notes, exte. W Mitchell born April 11 1943 is an American motivational speaker and businessman He is a former member of the United States Marine Corps burn victim paraplegic and a former small town mayor Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal injuries 4 Personal life 5 Book 6 Notes 7 External linksEarly life editMitchell was born William John Schiff III He subsequently changed his name to W Mitchell in honor of his stepfather Luke Mitchell Career editAt the time of his first injury Mitchell was a gripman on a cable car route in San Francisco After his burn accident and recovery Mitchell completed his training as a pilot and in 1975 co founded a company called Vermont Castings along with Murray Howell and Duncan Syme The company made energy efficient wood burning stoves and was later valued at 65 million It was on a business trip for this company where Mitchell injured his spinal cord In 1977 he was elected Mayor of Crested Butte Colorado where he stopped AMAX now Freeport McMoRan 1 from building a billion dollar molybdenum mine on Mount Emmons Because of the anticipated environmental impact Mitchell claims that he saved a mountain Mitchell lectures are often titled Taking Responsibility For Change 2 His message often paraphrases the quote of Epictetus It s not what happens to you but how you react to it that matters Personal injuries editMitchell was burned over 65 of his body on July 19 1971 when a laundry truck turned in front of the motorcycle he was riding in San Francisco His face and hands were badly scarred and his fingers were badly burned and he lost most of each of his ten fingers He had just completed his first solo aircraft flight He later won a 500 000 settlement in a lawsuit against Honda Inc because the gas cap on his Honda CB750 was deemed faulty for having fallen off during the accident On November 11 1975 he crashed on takeoff in a small aircraft he was piloting due to ice on the wings and injured his spinal cord leaving him paralyzed from the waist down but his other passengers escaped injury The NTSB investigation indicated that the accident was due to his failure to detect the thin layer of ice on the wings during his pre flight inspection Personal life editMitchell is a millionaire and he lives in Santa Barbara California and maintains a second home in Hawaii Book editThe Man Who Would Not Be Defeated with Brad Lemley 1993 ISBN 1 56796 026 X It s Not What Happens To You It s What You Do About It 1997 ISBN 0 9637901 0 2Notes edit ClimaxMoly History Waldman Jackie Janis Leibs Dworkis 1999 Chapter 15 The 9 000 Things The courage to give inspiring stories of people who triumphed over tragedy Berkeley CA Conari Press pp 121 128 ISBN 978 1 57324 175 5 OCLC 265039245 Retrieved August 19 2009 External links editOfficial website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title W Mitchell amp oldid 1170544704, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
