Life After Vision Loss: Rebuilding Confidence and Purpose

Michael Phillips is the Training Supervisor at Austin Lighthouse, an organization that provides employment, training, and support for people who are blind or visually impaired. He recruits and prepares candidates for vocational roles, adapting instruction to different learning styles and helping trainees build confidence and independence. Named Austin Lighthouse’s 2026 Employee of the Year, Michael also received NIB’s 2026 Milton J. Samuelson Career Achievement Award. After losing his sight at 26 to Stevens-Johnson syndrome, he rebuilt his career and now helps others pursue meaningful work.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

[02:23] Israel Bolivar’s incredible story of surviving a life-changing accident
[05:01] What innovative surgery gave Israel a new way to be independent?
[10:38] The reality of job hunting with disabilities post-college
[17:02] Israel’s role as a mentor for others adjusting to vision loss
[26:49] Workplace adaptations that help Israel excel on the job
[36:30] Israel’s advice to keep pushing forward despite rejection or obstacles

In this episode…

Building a meaningful career after sight loss requires determination, adaptability, and the support of employers who recognize a person’s abilities while accommodating for their disabilities. For Israel Bolivar, a full-time sander and aircraft factory worker at Vibrant Works, that journey has been shaped by resilience, independence, and an unwavering positive outlook.

In this episode, Israel shares his powerful story of losing his sight and both hands at a young age after an accident in Colombia, immigrating to the United States, and learning to navigate life with confidence and purpose. He reflects on the challenges he faced after earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology, including repeated job denials, and how those setbacks ultimately led him to San Antonio, where he found meaningful employment and a supportive work environment.

Israel Bolivar, a dedicated member of the working blind community, discusses the importance of workplace accommodations, teamwork, and strong communication. He explains how Vibrant Works helped adapt tools and processes so he could succeed in his role, and he encourages others with disabilities not to fear rejection or setbacks. Through his story, Israel reminds listeners that sight loss is not the end of the road, but the beginning of a new journey filled with opportunity, growth, and purpose.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

[1:22] Michael Phillips’ role recruiting and training blind and visually impaired candidates at Austin Lighthouse
[3:26] How his vision loss from Stevens-Johnson syndrome reshaped Michael’s life
[7:41] Orientation and mobility training, white-cane skills, and the path toward independence
[13:56] Why Michael relies on patience, problem-solving, and persistence through everyday challenges
[18:41] Mentorship, assistive technology, and learning tools such as JAWS and VoiceOver
[23:41] Michael’s perspective on employment as a source of confidence, dignity, and connection
[27:21] What newly blind individuals need most: resources, support, encouragement, and a willingness to try
[32:27] Michael’s message about white canes, clear communication, and adapting to assistive technology

In this episode…

What helps someone move from uncertainty toward purpose and opportunity?

The answer, according to workforce-training specialist Michael Phillips, is learning to adapt while seeking the right tools, mentors, and resources. After losing vision at age 26, he rebuilt independence through orientation and mobility instruction, assistive technology, and employment. Michael encourages people experiencing vision loss to practice new skills, communicate clearly, ask for help when needed, and break challenges into manageable steps. Confidence grows through action, and meaningful work can restore dignity, connection, and a sense of contribution.

In this episode of Heard & Empowered, Dean Thompson talks with Michael Phillips, Training Supervisor at Austin Lighthouse, about rebuilding confidence and independence after vision loss. Michael explains the value of vocational training, mentorship, and adaptive problem-solving. He also discusses assistive technology, communication skills, and how meaningful employment can transform lives.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Skills Spotlight:

Michael highlights three essential skills for navigating work and daily life with vision loss:

Confidence: Building independence through practice, persistence, and a willingness to try
Communication: Asking clear questions, requesting support, and adapting instructions to different learning styles
Travel Skills: Using orientation and mobility techniques to move safely and independently

Explore training programs designed to strengthen these skills at NSITE-U.

Quotable Moments:

“There’s always a brighter light at the end of that blind tunnel, I’ll tell you that.”
“You got to ask the right questions. You got to look for the right resources.”
“It’s just being patient… And just taking the time, but not giving up.”
“Okay, I’m blind. There’s no doubt about it. It’s not changing. And let’s deal with it.”

Action Steps:

Seek out blindness resources and supportive communities: Connecting with experienced people and training programs can provide practical tools, encouragement, and greater independence.
Practice new skills consistently: Repetition builds confidence in mobility, technology, communication, and other tasks that may initially feel overwhelming.
Ask for help when you need it: Accepting support prevents unnecessary frustration and makes it easier to solve problems efficiently.
Break challenges into manageable steps: Creating a clear process and pausing when frustrated can make difficult tasks more achievable.
Pursue meaningful work and continued learning: Employment and professional development can restore confidence, strengthen independence, and create a renewed sense of purpose.

Sponsor for this episode:

This episode is sponsored by National Industries for the Blind (NIB), the nation’s largest employment resource for and employer of people who are blind, low vision, or visually impaired. NIB creates opportunities for people who are blind to become wage earners and taxpayers, reducing their reliance on government support and increasing engagement with their communities. Learn more about their impact at NIB.org.

This episode is also brought to you by NSITE, the premier organization dedicated to connecting professionals who are blind, low-vision, or visually impaired with career opportunities. Whether you’re an employer seeking talented individuals or a job seeker ready to take the next step, NSITE provides the resources and support to help you succeed. Learn more and explore opportunities at NSITE.org.

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Episode Transcript

Intro:

Welcome to the Heard & Empowered podcast presented by National Industries for the Blind. We’re on a mission to empower people who are blind, low vision, or visually impaired to build fulfilling careers, gain personal independence, and take the next step toward achieving their own American dream. Guests from all walks of life share their journeys and how they overcame challenges they faced along the way. Whatever your interests, experience, talents, or career goals, listen to discover important connections and unlock the resources and inspiration you need to chart a new path. Ready to be heard and empowered?

Dean Thompson: 00:01

Hi there. Welcome to the podcast of the National Industries for the Blind. My name is Dean Thompson. I’m your host, and I’ve often considered myself a member of the working blind. Hopefully you are too.

And if not, this podcast should help. Come listen. Find out something from us. Maybe we’ll help. Hopefully we can.

And our guest today is Michael Phillips, who is a training specialist with the Austin Lighthouse. Michael, welcome to the podcast. How are you doing?

Michael Phillips: 00:24

I’m doing great. Thank you for having me.

Dean Thompson: 00:26

I’m glad to hear what the audience doesn’t know is you overcome huge, massive IT problems leading to this. So everybody should appreciate the fact that we’re recording this because I’m impressed half the time when things work truthfully. So tell me a bit about yourself, Michael. Tell me about Michael Phillips, please.

Michael Phillips: 00:39

I father married, I have four kids. I’ve had one who passed away a few years back. He was 15. I’ve been working here at the Austin Lighthouse for about 22 years. My wife and I were very involved with church.

I’m a deacon at my church. She’s a worship leader. Our kids, average or their ages are. My oldest daughter is 22. I have a son who just turned 21 in June, and I have one two be six on the 25th of this month.

And a daughter who is nine. So we stay pretty busy at home in church. And then of course, we have to fit in work somewhere along this way. Seems like work takes over more than anything else.

Dean Thompson: 01:18

I assume as much. So what do you do for the Austin Lighthouse? Tell me a bit about your job.

Michael Phillips: 01:22

So I’m a training supervisor at the Austin Lighthouse. So what I do in my department is I will go through applicants and recruit. We have a training program here. It’s a 60 day vocational training program. And I will reach out to people who are legally blind, visually impaired, and we will bring them into our training program.

And hopefully after 60 days, depending on how well they perform and if there’s an open position available, that they’ll get a job at the end of the 60 days and become a permanent employee and a productive member of society. I don’t like to bring people in just to train them for 60 days and send them away. So I normally wait till we have open seats and then I’m like, hey, you want to come into a training program and we’ll start working with them from there.

Dean Thompson: 01:58

What are you training those folks to do so.

Michael Phillips: 02:00

We have several departments here. We have a few contracts that are federal contracts. We have a logistics warehouse. That’s mainly where most of our training goes. We also have a laundry facility.

It’s an army contract, which we do training there where they will recycle and refurbish military apparel for us. Iotv, bulletproof vests, backpacks, sleeping bags, you name it, it’s there. They’ll take it apart. They’ll wash it. They will fix any discrepancies in it, whether it’s only repairing it any way they can.

And then we’ll put it all back together, package it up and send it back out.

Dean Thompson: 02:33

One doesn’t think of washing a bulletproof vest. That’s an interesting fact in its own right. Yeah.

Michael Phillips: 02:38

Gotta take it apart. There’s a lot of components to it. So, yeah, we have to take the ballistics out. We have to take things apart, and we sterilize the ballistics and we wash them. Yeah.

It’s interesting.

Dean Thompson: 02:48

And that’s an important job because you got to make sure it works because, gosh, you don’t want not to work once it goes back out in the field, that’s for sure.

Michael Phillips: 02:53

Definitely. We have SOPs. We go by the specs from the government. They have. They have to be put back together.

And we train everybody to these SOPs, whether it’s in our logistics warehouse or how to pick an order, how to order, verify, how to ship it. Everything has to be done by an SOP. And we as trainers have to know the SOPs before we can train anybody. So we have a.

Dean Thompson: 03:14

Pretty standard operating procedure, am I right?

Michael Phillips: 03:15

Yes, sir. Standard operating procedure. That’s what that is.

Dean Thompson: 03:18

Yeah.

Michael Phillips: 03:18

And so we do that.

Dean Thompson: 03:20

Good for you. How blind are you? Can you tell me about your blindness and how you when when it first occurred to you like that, if you don’t mind my.

Michael Phillips: 03:26

Saying so when I lost my sight in 2000, I had allergic reaction to Motrin ibuprofen, which causes Stevens-Johnson syndrome. So basically it burned my body from the inside out. I lost a lot of vision at the time. I have no more tears now. So when I first lost my sight, I had some decent vision.

Then I just had no tears. My eyes were really inflamed a lot and I had to have reconstructive eyelid surgery because my eyelashes were growing inwards, and so we had to push those back out. So through that I’ve had eight corneal transplants. So from the vision I had from the beginning to today. I have no vision left today.

No light perception. Nothing.

Dean Thompson: 04:03

Wow.

Michael Phillips: 04:04

After eight corneal transplants. So I’m happy just to have. I have one eye. That is, I lost it. I had an infection and it lost it.

And the other eye is just the cornea is just so scarred and just tissue covered. It just I can’t see anything through at this point.

Dean Thompson: 04:18

Wow. And how old, if you don’t mind my asking, how old were you when you lost your vision?

Michael Phillips: 04:22

I was 26 years old when I lost my vision.

Dean Thompson: 04:24

That is a tough time to have that happen.

Michael Phillips: 04:26

Definitely. I was in a stage of my life where I had just obtained my CDL driver’s license, and I started working for a company driving trucks, and not even a month or so later, I. I’m blind.

Dean Thompson: 04:37

I was in my teens. I’ve talked to so many people. It is much harder the older you are. You have vision loss than when you’re young. Do you agree with that?

Michael Phillips: 04:45

I did. Yeah, I would agree with that. I would agree with that because as you’re so used to, you learn so much with vision and you’ve done so much in life things. And so once you lose it, you, you’re basically starting all over and then learning how to do things and remembering things. And I know it’s even tougher for children because they don’t get to experience some things at all either.

So it’s, I, it’s pretty difficult, I think, almost either way. But yes, definitely, I would say as an adult and trying to regroup from that would be definitely it. It’s definitely been pretty rough not being able to drive, not being to do a lot of things that you could do at one point.

Dean Thompson: 05:17

So how did you start over? Tell us about that process?

Michael Phillips: 05:19

It was hard. I was very. Depressed at first. I didn’t know what to do, and this is when I had some vision, didn’t realize what I had then and it was. But the type of person I am generally. I’m always I can’t give up, I don’t quit, I always look for a solution and I always look for a way to overcome things. When I was sighted and I accepted challenges head on.

And so when I lost my sight, I. It just it came natural. Like, look, you can sit and do nothing or you can figure things out. And I started doing things on my own. I had no training, being visually impaired whatsoever.

I just did it. I didn’t know there was things out there. I didn’t know there’s resources. I didn’t know there was help. I know, I thought I have enough vision, I guess what I have, I just have to make it.

And so I started doing things I’m on. I started trying to travel here and there. As things got a little worse, it got a little harder. But I kept going. And I want to say maybe four years after losing my sight and vision, got to where I can only had light perception and see colors and shapes.

My wife discovered the Austin Lighthouse and I reached out to them or she reached out to them. We set me up for a tour to come in, and when I got here, I walked around with my wife using sighted guide, holding on her shoulder, didn’t know anything and the supervisor then asked me. He goes, what’s your mobility like? I’m like, I can walk. I’m fine.

He goes, no, do you have a cane? I was like, no, I don’t even know where to get a cane from and how to use one. And he’s like, and he said, you know what, start on Monday. And I came in on Monday. They hired an instructor and she came out to meet me where I was at on the floor and handed me a cane and showed me how to get from a workstation to the restrooms to the little spots here and there that we would go to the break room and stuff like that, and the time clock.

And I started working with it myself, walking around using a cane. The following week, she came back and walked me around the building. And then a couple more weeks we were traveling outside, crossing streets, and I just kept doing it and kept doing it and got good at it. So it was a big change and know that he worked with blind people. I learned about a lot of things through them.

Guide dogs beat baseball. What is it? The Criss Cole Rehabilitation Center here in Austin. I said, there’s a place in Austin that rehabilitates you for being blind and sitting under my nose this whole time didn’t know it. So it was just being around more blind people and learning from them.

It kind of helped me gain tools and resources and to start living as a blind person.

Dean Thompson: 07:41

And what an O&M instructor is, what Michael.

Michael Phillips: 07:43

Orientation, mobility, someone that teaches you how to use a cane teaches you how to do sighted guide, learning how to travel independently.

Dean Thompson: 07:50

And if someone’s listening to this, those people exist all around the country and it’s not hard to find them, is it not?

Michael Phillips: 07:56

It’s not. And when I. When I was sighted, I didn’t notice blind people. And now that I’m blind, visually impaired, we’re everywhere. And I say we because I’m one of those guys walking down the street.

I was like, how did I not know? In the store shopping? Like in the part of town I live in. I realize that where I work, there’s so many visually impaired blind people living in just that area. And I’m like, and I’ve lived here for a while.

Even when I was sighted, I was here all the time. I’ve never seen a person with a white cane before. And it’s, it’s interesting that you don’t realize it and a lot of people don’t realize it.

Dean Thompson: 08:29

When did you accept that you are a member of that blind community? When did that realization hit you?

Michael Phillips: 08:35

It took a while. Even when I started working with blind people, I. I couldn’t accept no, blind people can’t do this. Blind people can’t do that. You can’t operate a forklift.

Michael. I’m like, why not? It’s simple. We just got to do this. Yes, I will hit something.

It’s stuff like that. But and then it’s almost like you’re being held down for some reason. Some a lot of people will look at a visually impaired or someone with a disability. It doesn’t necessarily have to be blind with the disabilities. They can’t do this or they can’t do that.

And I learned within maybe a few years that yes, we can may not be the way you do it. It may not be how you expect it to be done, but there’s a way. There’s tools and we have a way we can do things. Every one of us is different. A lot of us can be the same, but there’s always a different technique for each individual person.

Dean Thompson: 09:28

What was the most important person in your life at that point? Who was the biggest help you through that transition? Who was it?

Michael Phillips: 09:33

It was my wife.

Dean Thompson: 09:34

Yeah.

Michael Phillips: 09:36

It was definitely my wife.

Dean Thompson: 09:37

Tell me about that.

Michael Phillips: 09:41

She. We met. I was visiting Perry when we met, and we ended up getting together and got married. And she was a lot of support for me. She didn’t know anything.

She didn’t know me before I was blind. She didn’t know she met me, like I said, when I was blind. And she, I don’t I’m very independent person. Even when I need help, I won’t. I wouldn’t ask, and she really helped me understand.

It’s okay to ask for help. It’s okay. I’m here to help you. This doesn’t mean anything. Anything less of you that you’re asking for help or that you need help.

I rather you asked me for help and then sit there and struggle, or get frustrated, or get angry or whatever it is, and get depressed when there’s help out there. Which learning with her, I was like, okay, I don’t have to. I don’t have to just ask her. There’s other people I can reach out to and talk to. Do I practice this still every day?

No. I’ll be honest. There’s times I’m stubborn and she’ll tell. She’s told me this just this weekend. You know, you can ask me for help.

I’m like, I know, but I’ll figure it out. I know you can, but instead of you getting frustrated, instead of you going through whatever it is you’re going through, just ask. And that was one of the hardest things to do because I felt like if I’m blind and I’m asking for help, it makes it worse. And it doesn’t. It’s everyone asks for help and there’s nothing wrong with it.

Dean Thompson: 10:53

You can’t see me. I’ve got a big smile on my face because that’s what was enacted this past weekend in my household. Trust me.

Michael Phillips: 10:59

Just for instance, right now, like I said, my technical difficulty. I’m not very savvy with a computer. I can use one. But when we’re having issues like, and here’s the kick today we’re talking about my issues here, getting on Zoom with y’all this morning. And it wasn’t connected to Wi-Fi.

Something as simple as that.

Dean Thompson: 11:15

Yeah.

Michael Phillips: 11:15

It was like, dang, I’m looking at everything else that’s saying this. And but somebody comes in and he’s like, hey, you know what? I call out, reach me, call this guy. He comes over and he helps. But I would have sat here probably for an hour trying to figure it out myself.

I probably would have figured it out. But again, let let’s be efficient if we can. Let’s ask for help. Let’s do what we can do.

Dean Thompson: 11:32

Many people I’ve talked to in this program, it’s been a delightful process. Deny anger, anger. Talk to me about yours. Did you have do you still have talk about anger? Could you.

Michael Phillips: 11:42

I do have anger. And I did have a lot of anger because again, I was a person that was very headstrong and thought I could do anything. When I was sighted, I did. I tried to learn to teach myself things and do things. And then being blind, like there’s a way.

You just have to figure it out. You gotta let us try. You gotta let us do it. And I was always told, no, you’re just you’re blind. You’re always going to do this in this warehouse.

When I started, you’re just going to pick orders all day. You can’t see the computer screens to do these things and these things. You can’t do certain things that some people can’t because you don’t have vision to do it. And that’s what I felt. I was like, I, I’m like, no way that I didn’t believe it.

And to see that it happen over and over again to people like, and they would just sit there, I can’t do this and I can’t. Why, why can’t you try you? If you want to do it, try to do it and prove these people wrong or whoever it may be. And that’s kind of how I go to this day. I still work on my wife’s car from time to time.

I’ve done it in the past. I’ve changed brakes. I did it when I was sighted, and I thought, I can still do this when I’m blind. But just a couple bolts here. It’s a couple bolts there.

You just do this and this, it takes a little bit longer. Maybe because I’m feeling with my hands and doing things. I may have to ask someone to look at something real quick, but you figure out a process, you figure out a step by step plan that you would do as non-visually and you can accomplish these things. I watch, I say watch, but listen to YouTube videos on how to change a clock spring in your eye. Me and my son went out there one night and took my wife’s steering wheel off the car and took the airbag out and everything, and I’m like, oh crap, if I don’t put this back together, she’s going to kill me.

But we did it. Just watch the video. And I said, okay, what am I looking for? What is this? Is this it?

He goes, yeah, he would be a little support, but for the main part. And then I was actually telling him what to do. Okay, this is what you need to look for. This is what this is. So while I’m learning to do something that I’ve never done before, I’m teaching someone else the same thing from a non-visual perspective by knowing what I know and it works.

But you just gotta find a person that’s got the patience, that’s willing to want to work with you, and you gotta have the patience and come up with that. Like I said, that step by step plan as a non-visual person.

Dean Thompson: 13:51

Friend of mine says YouTube giveth and taketh away.

Michael Phillips: 13:54

That’s true. Yeah.

Dean Thompson: 13:56

Patience is really important. And I’m not a patient person to this day. I’ve been blind a lot longer than you. I have to remind myself. Settle down.

Take a moment. Think about this. Because you don’t see with your eyes or the brain between your ears. Not in front of your face, don’t you?

Michael Phillips: 14:10

Exactly. Patience, yes, I don’t. I used to not have a lot of patience and get frustrated. I would get frustrated, get angry, and just. I can’t do this.

I give up, I quit. But what happens with me is when I do that, I will stop. But then I ruminate and I’m sitting. I’m like, I will not. I’m going to figure this out.

I’ll figure this out. And to give an example, right now I’m working on a weed eater, a gas weed eater at home. So this thing was given to me a few years ago. It ran great. It’s set for a while and one of the one of the fuel lines deteriorated, so I replaced it, but it wouldn’t start still.

So I’m like, okay, so I ordered a carburetor and I put that on there. And now I’ve been sitting out there for probably a month now. Every day, every few days I’ll go out there and mess with it and try to tweak it to get it to run properly and work. And my wife, she says, I would give me a test shows if you keep that kind of dial like you eat that weed eater you’re working on, we can accomplish anything because I. I’m determined I’ll quit, but I won’t say quit.

I’ll take a break. I’ll reassess. I’ll stop for a second. Okay? I’m getting frustrated.

I’m getting irritated, which is again, between your ears, your brain. Now your brain is not focused no more. Now your brain is just not going to work right for you. So let’s regroup. Let’s sit down.

Go sit down, do watch TV, whatever it is, turn the TV on, do something, and then all of a sudden, my mind will start thinking about this weed eater again. And I’m like, I need to do this. Maybe I need it. And now we got AI. So I get on Jim.

Hey, Jim and I saw my weed eater and he starts talking to me like, okay, so what I do, I put my phone down, walk back outside and start playing with it again and messing with it again. And I’m like, okay, it’s getting better, it’s getting better. And then that’s it’s just being patient. You’re right. And just taking the time, but not giving up.

Not saying, I just can’t do this because I just can’t see. I just can’t figure this out. You got to ask the right questions. You got to look for the right resources.

Dean Thompson: 15:59

You’ve got one of my favorite lines, which we’ve asked everybody on the show. A friend of mine says, blindness either makes you or breaks you. Do you agree with that?

Michael Phillips: 16:07

Yes, I would agree with that. But it’s up to you to whether you let it make you or break you. It’s you’re blind. That’s there’s no doubt about that. But how you live as a blind person, can you just say, I can’t do this or I don’t want to do this?

There’s a difference. A lot I see work with a lot of people. Sometimes they feel that they don’t want to do something. They’re they don’t have the confidence, should I say. But with confidence and practice you can overcome and you can learn things and you can get better and better just because you’re not good at it right away.

You have to go back again and practice, come up with that plan and do things to figure out how to do that so you’re comfortable. So you have the confidence, just like traveling. Oh and mobility. Some people travel better than others and but you have to be able to go out there and want to do it. Don’t let it break you.

Dean Thompson: 16:53

Let’s talk about procedure. You’re 26. When you began to lose your vision, am I correct?

Michael Phillips: 16:57

I lost my vision at 26. Yes.

Dean Thompson: 16:59

Pretty much. When did you think you would be? How old? How many years did it take for you? Comfortable is a weird word and I’m going to use it.

You count it if you want to. When did you become comfortable with that fact? How long did it take?

Michael Phillips: 17:10

Say four years. Actually, when I started working at Dawson in 2004, I was it was 2000 when I lost my sight and I went through everything. I did work at a restaurant when I had some vision there I could see get around by myself. I didn’t need a cane. I had no depth perception, but I started washing dishes, I didn’t.

I can’t get a job. This is what I can do. So I got paid 40 bucks a night, 60 bucks a night to wash dishes for a few hours in this little restaurant and bar. I got the drink for free and everything. That was great.

But and then my, the guy that my friend that was working there, he was the cook and he was like, he was getting ready. So I started cooking, making a little bit more cash at night. And I was, I did that for a good two, three years. And then that’s when my vision started to get worse when I had corneal transplants and it got worse and worse. That’s kind of the reset I started over.

Now I don’t have any vision. What do I do? And then I’m sitting there thinking, you’re complaining about the vision you had when you had sun. Now look at you. What are you going to do?

Well, I continue to do things. I still can cook. I can still do this. And I said, you know what? It’s just again, the steps, the process.

How do I figure this out? What do I do? What’s my plan? That’s when I really accepted it. And that’s when I walked into the lighthouse and then saw other blind people.

While these guys are walking around this warehouse that’s got racks, pallets, forklifts moving around everywhere, and they’re just confidently walking here, showing me how to get here, showing me how to get there. And I’m like, okay, I’m blind. There’s no doubt about it. It’s not changing. And let’s deal with it.

That’s just let’s make the best of it. And it’s worked out great.

Dean Thompson: 18:41

It sounds like you probably had several mentors in that process. AM I right?

Michael Phillips: 18:45

Yeah, a lot of mentors. Yeah, definitely. I would agree. A lot of blind people, like I said, that’s worked here. A few of them there.

Oh, they were a little older than me. And again they explained these things to me that I did not know about. And I did research. They told me about them and in technology then it wasn’t as great as it is now. Definitely.

So I, I did things caveman style, I guess you could say. And with these people, they showed me some other ways and doing things. And we’ve evolved with the technology. And I fell behind. I did not.

So I actually went back to say, you know what this guy mentioned? Chris Cornell trained me technology. So I went to Criss Cole. I went there to learn how to use a computer, how to use JAWS and things like that. But that’s when I got more comfortable and more acceptance and more like, you know what?

It’s amazing that this can happen. I picked up a smartphone for the first time and an iPhone. I find people, I see people with these phones like, why do you have a touch screen phone? You can’t even use it. And I look, check this out.

And I’m like, wow, I went that day and bought an iPhone. I’m like, oh man. So I’m sending a text message like, how are you sending text messages? I said, you would not believe what I’m learning. You would not believe what can be done.

The technology, what’s out there.

Dean Thompson: 19:50

So remember the first time I had an iPhone? I was just blown away.

Michael Phillips: 19:53

Yeah. Me too. People were talking about I’m on Facebook. Like, how do you get on Facebook? Like, what is Facebook?

And all this stuff I didn’t. And so it opened up a whole nother world for me. Resources, whatnot. You, it’s so much better because I was that person. I pick up a phone, look for a phone number and start dialing up and calling people.

And then there’s another way to do it. And I’ve learned how to do it as a blind person. And to this day, I’m still learning how to do things. So it’s yes, I’ve accepted about four years, like I said, four years after losing the rest of my sight and being where I was. It’s just we’re engulfed in this.

We’re all the way, we’re deep in, and let’s just swim our way through it and find that light.

Dean Thompson: 20:29

Everybody should continue to learn. Sighted, unsighted, upside down or right side up. Everybody should continue to learn. And I think it’s more important for somebody who’s got who’s one one or down, which is what blindness does to you.

Michael Phillips: 20:40

I agree.

Dean Thompson: 20:41

Good for you. Was there one special person who made your life better, helped you through that process? One person you could talk about outside of your wife, I mean.

Michael Phillips: 20:49

Outside of my wife, I would say here at my job, it’s like our executive said, maybe more than one person, honestly, like my VP, Vince Boyd. He went out when I applied. When I was working in the warehouse, I had applied for a part time training position. And I thought about, you know, okay, I’ll apply. I applied two years ago and they didn’t give it to me.

They, I didn’t, I like to say I was totally blind, but then since then they were totally blind trainers out there. So I finally decided to apply. I had to also decide that I want to let Social Security go, and I’m realizing that’s a crutch. You’re being on Social Security and working. Yeah, you got a job, but let people think I can’t work anywhere else.

It’s hard, I have to, I have to hold on to this. I had to make that that leap. And it was it was difficult because it’s a financial but it’s not a lot of money. And, and depending on how much you put into it. So I’m like, okay, I made that choice and my, my, my BP Vince, he’s like, we’re going to be a trainer and you’ll work with these other people.

Okay. And so within here that he promoted me to a supervisor. He continued to mentor me. I continued to sit with him, talk to him. I continued to walk.

Our CEO, Jim, our president of this company, he would come and talk to me. I’m like, and these people before were like, they’re untouchable. I can’t get around these people. I don’t want to be around these people. They make me nervous.

I’m not as good as they are. I can’t be like them. I don’t, but they welcome you with open arms. They’re like, hey, you can do anything. Jim told me the CEO of this company said, Mike, you can do anything you want in the company or wherever.

If you just put your mind to it and you educate yourself. And I’m like, yeah, okay, I agree with that. So it changed the whole perspective I had on a lot of stuff. And then I started to like shift direction, shift gears a little bit. Okay, let’s grow.

Let’s even grow. Let’s not just help others. Let’s, let’s help yourself now. Let’s try to grow. Where can we go as supervisor or from supervisor?

And to this day, I’m still, I’ve taken a lot of classes, leadership development classes, and I’m sitting. I started one yesterday, a six week class that we started yesterday and continue to learn, continue to learn how to again. And it all comes back to training, being a supervisor, being a lead or manager, whatever it is, you work with others and you have to teach them. And it goes back to what I do. And so I’m like, okay, this is what you look at.

So I would like I said, I get the executive staff here. They’ve always been supportive of me and they’ve always been giving me, empowered me a lot. And I never got before working here or doing other things. They they’ve empowered me and they’ve given me a lot. And it’s helped me foster a lot more independence and a lot more stuff.

Dean Thompson: 23:22

We talk about this podcast as, as we’ve kind of subtitled the podcast of the working blind work is extremely important. Work means dignity and so much else. Tell me how important when you see somebody who’s been out of work for a while, who’s lost their vision and they get a job, how important is that job of work to them as they begin to progress? Do you think.

Michael Phillips: 23:41

Oh. Confidence, you see the confidence rise. They’re just a happier person. They’re again, being if you’re just living on Social Security, SSI or SSDI or whatever it may be, you’re limited. And to be able to come every day and do something, and to be able to earn money and to be able to give back to society. These people there, they change.

And I’ve seen a lot of people do that. I’ve had a for example, we had an 18 year old that wanted to come into the training program, and his stepmother brought him in on a tour, and she was amazed by what she saw. And we brought him in and he lived with them. All he did, she said, was when he lived at home, was playing video games, and he came here and he he lives by himself now. He knows how to cook for himself.

He goes shopping, he travels independently. Excuse me. And these are things that he didn’t do before. And to see that, to see somebody like that grow. And at that young age, 18, as a young adult, other than being older and living through that, he’s got a head start in life and just being productive.

And he to see that and to see other people who’ve worked at different places and struggled. Another lady, for instance, that came through our doors that I worked with, She worked in working for hotels, doing housekeeping stuff, and she said they wouldn’t pay him or they would not pay him and lay him off. Oh, she’s visually impaired. She can’t do the job. And she had kids and whatnot, and she got a job and she was like, grateful.

She almost started crying when I said, hey, look, you’re 60 days is up. I played a joke on her too. I said, hey, 60 days is up and I got some. I got some news for you. And she just got quiet and I said, the bad news is you’re not going to be with us anymore.

And she just almost started crying. But the good news is you got a job. And she just started. She started, oh my God, Mike. She gave me a hard time.

But again, it’s being able to joke with him like that and to be able to see them. And again, she’s still at my warehouse today. She’s learned a lot of different things and she’s out with society, hanging out with blind people. Because people look at blind people, they’re blind. They don’t do nothing.

I don’t know, but the blind people around here, they go out and they get in big groups, they get rowdy, they go drinking bars, they go to different places, they hang out. They’re always at restaurants, eating together, doing things. And I’m like, wow, this is kind of cool. I’d rather hang out with you guys and the people I used to hang out with. It’s fun and they have a good time.

And they’re normal people. They’re just like anybody else. Again, they just do things a little differently. They can’t look at a menu necessarily and read it to see what they want, but they’ll figure out a way to do it, and they get together and they do these things. And so to be able to see these people that sat around and had no work or couldn’t work anymore or thought they couldn’t work anymore, should I say, come in to our training programs and gain that again, that confidence, that ability to give back to society, that ability to grow the all that stuff.

And they’re a whole different person than when I first meet them 60 days. It’s a lot of I have kids who come out of the school for the blind young, to people who have lost their sight later in life or gradually losing their sight as older people, I’ve seen all kinds of people, paramedics different, just everything. It’s and they’re sitting in our warehouse out here, someone that came to our program and they’re out there today making money, doing something that’s fulfilling. They may not be their end goal of life, but they’re working with other blind people. They’re learning more about being blind, whatever it may be.

It’s sitting right across the hall from me, and I can just walk out there and just smile and go out and talk to these people and see how they’re doing and shake their hand and just and laugh and joke with them and see how much they’ve grown and changed like I did.

Dean Thompson: 27:04

You are. I don’t want to put this on. You’re inspiring. I really mean that, man. Thank you, thank you.

Yeah. Okay. With luck, talk to somebody who has just become aware that they’ve got visually impaired. That’s not going to get better. Tell me what you would say to that person right now.

Inspire them if you could please. Big job. I give it a shot, please.

Michael Phillips: 27:21

No, definitely. I mean, it’s just it’s a disability. Yes. You’re not labeled. You are very capable if you’re suffering from vision loss or whatever, any disability necessarily, but vision loss, you want to do it.

If you think you want to or you believe you just have to go and try, you have to take those steps. You have to be confident. And just that first step, find the resources, find the support, find people out there that can help you and get in there, get in their ear, get in that place, get wherever it is you need to be with them and then continue to grow. Don’t tell yourself you can’t. Don’t tell yourself you don’t want to.

You. If you wouldn’t be there if you didn’t want to. And I believe that and accept what you can and build yourself. Strengthen yourself. And there’s always a brighter light at the end of that blind tunnel, I’ll tell you that.

There’s always one. You may not see it, but there’s one there. And just you just keep walking forward and keep climbing. Overcome whatever it is you need to overcome within yourself with the support that you find and you can. And there’s a lot of people who are visible that know somebody like that, that know somebody who’s sitting there in the dark, not wanting to or scared to, or just don’t think they can, but just let them know they can.

And I’ve done it and I’m still trying to grow. And I again, winning the employee of the year was still a shock to me. And I’m just like, I just do what I like to do. It’s not done trying to get this award. I wasn’t looking for this.

I didn’t understand what this was. And once I was nominated for my job, I thought, oh, okay, cool. And then I turned around and get another phone call and they tell me you won. I’m like, I know I want to work. They told me, no, you won the National.

I’m like, what does that mean?

Dean Thompson: 29:02

Yeah.

Michael Phillips: 29:02

And I’m like, then I realized when I went to the NRA convention or whatever, they’re in Washington and I’m like, I see all these people and I’m like, wow, all these people are just like me or just like I was. And they’re growing, they’re getting stronger. They’re doing whatever. They became an employee of the year, recognized by their company. There’s hundreds of people here.

Dean Thompson: 29:25

Wow.

Michael Phillips: 29:25

And it was amazing. And I’m like, anybody can do this if you’re blind, you know, somebody who may be struggling, you know, somebody who may not want to. And but if you encourage them and you support them and you’re with them, giving them encouraging words and showing them how to do things and understanding how they learn and helping them, You can do it and they can do it. And we just have to work together and just find the right people to work with us.

Dean Thompson: 29:51

So Mike, let’s talk about skills for a second. You must have a bunch of them. But what skills? Okay. What skills do you think you’ve honed or gotten when you began to work as a blind person?

What’s the most important ones?

Michael Phillips: 30:01

We get confidence communicating and like O and M traveling, that was something that was struggle. I still get turned around and get lost and yell help! Sometimes just. But it’s for myself. It’s not.

Dean Thompson: 30:15

Stop right there. You yell help! Help! You really do that in public, not knowing who’s going to respond, but you’ve got the confidence to do that. Does that happen to you?

Michael Phillips: 30:23

Yeah, definitely. No. It’s more of like people like, hey, I go help and someone to hear me laugh or something. I’m like, I’ll just be messing with them or something. But once I hear them say, I got a direction, it’s a way to kind of do things and I cheat my way out of it.

But it’s something I’ve done around here at work, and people look at it like they hear me go help. I’m trying to get someone’s attention, basically, and they laugh and it’s, it’s cool, but it’s again, the back to the skills. Learning to communicate is a big thing and I really teach try to teach that because everybody learns things differently, understands things differently. You can give directions to one person one way, and you can give it to another person the same exact way, and they have no clue what you’re talking about. I’ve learned to make sure to ask these questions in the way that I understand them.

And if they don’t, and when they answer them, I will ask a follow up question in the way that I’ll understand it. And the reason why I’ve learned this concept when I was at Criss Cole learning, oh, I don’t know. Oh, m m they send you out on the city bus, right? I’m out on this bus. So I’m getting on the bus and I have to drive her.

Okay. I need to get off over here at this stop. He said okay. So he goes. He thought, okay, this is your stop.

And I get off the bus and I turn around and get ready to ask him something. He shuts the door and drives off and I’m like, crap, now how do I find the bus stop? Okay, so the next time I’m on there, I’m at my heat stop. Okay? Just stop.

So I go and I stop before I get off the bus. I turn around and I look at the guy and I say, hey, where’s the return? Stop going back the other way. And he’ll point it’s over there across the street. And I’m like, okay, where Cross Street is it over here?

Is it over there? What do I need to cross this street? That street is on the right side, northeast side, whatever it is, and to get that information. So I’m not standing there trying to wander around and figure it out. So communicating when you work, it’s a skill that I really had to pick up on how to do it.

And again, I got kids.

Dean Thompson: 32:15

Took me a couple more than a couple of years to say, by the way, I can’t see. I can’t do it. Would you point that out? Do you do that? Did it take you a while to accept that and convey that to folks you’re asking help from?

Michael Phillips: 32:27

Yes. You would think they see a white cane in your hand. They know you’re blind, but they don’t. And that goes back to the beginning when I was talking about I’ve never seen a blind person before us because I never paid attention hard enough. And so again, okay, I can’t see I’m visually impaired. But again, they’re like, or someone will ask you, are you blind?

Like what gave it away? The cane, something like that. So it’s like I said it, you’d be surprised. And some people call it ignorance. Some people there’s different things you can call it.

Sorry. I just say some people just don’t pay attention. They don’t know. They don’t know. They see people walking around with a cane that people and I get on to people sometimes because they call a cane a stick or a pole.

I remember some went to a store with my wife. One day I got out of the car and I had my cane and he goes, you, is that your pole? I’m like, I’m thinking, pole, am I going fishing? I’m like, no, lady. This is like I again, this was the attitude.

Anger comes in. I’m like, no, ma’am, it’s a cane. It’s how I see. She goes, oh, it’s not a pole. Like there’s no string.

There’s no real attached to this. I’m not near a lake or creek, a pond, whatever it is. So again, it’s stick. I do not like it when I say, oh, pick up your stick like it’s not a stick, it’s a cane. But the skills, like I said, it’s really learning to communicate.

It’s really being confident and, and being able to try things and not technology is another thing that one of the skills I’ve learned is voiceover, the talking part. There are some people that I’ve worked with where we trained who are blind, that can that just recently lost their sight, maybe not too long. And we give them a system that we use here at work that helps them pick orders. It talks to you. It’s a voice recognition system.

It’s called a vocal act. So we trained them to use this device and it the speed is really slow and they really have trouble understanding it because it’s not as nice as Siri can be or whatever VoiceOver has. But does it speak? It speaks almost like a robot. So you have to pick out and understand.

And so being able to use a, a talking feature or something like that on whether it’s your phone, your computer, whether It’s. That is something that it takes. I hear people, they’re super fast. I can’t do mine super fast. I’ll pick up bits and pieces here and there, but I think I use about 75 to 80%.

And people are like, how do you understand that? I’m like, how do you not? But that’s it’s talking. You don’t understand like, no, I’m like, oh, I’ve gotten used to this. So things like that are just some of the skills.

Again, just you have to. I’ve seen people get frustrated. I don’t understand what that’s getting on my nerves. It’s annoying me. Either you want to be able to read that screen or you don’t.

And the only way you can read that screen is if it’s talking to you. So if you’re annoyed by it, either get used to it or just don’t read the screen. That’s just the way it is. You just have to be able to understand that. So a lot of those kind of things, like I said, and.

The most important skill is just being able to adapt to different people’s learning styles and skills themselves.

Dean Thompson: 35:35

That can’t be taught. That’s got to be learned. Michael, this has been wonderful. I thank you ever so much for your time. If anybody wants to get a hold of you, would you like to give that information up?

If they want to talk to you directly, you don’t have to if you don’t want to.

Michael Phillips: 35:47

Yeah, no, no. No worries at all. You can contact me by email at michael.phillips@austin.org. I’m working every day and I’m looking at my emails constantly, so that’s probably the easiest way to get in touch with me.

Dean Thompson: 36:00

Michael, traditional spelling of Phillips is one L two LS. Well, okay, important to find that out. Michael Phillips with two L’s. I thank you ever so much. It’s been a wonderful.

It seems like it’s only been 20 minutes, but it’s been more than that. But it’s been terrific. Thank you. And thank you again. Okay.

Michael Phillips: 36:14

Thank you. Guys. It’s a pleasure talking to you all.

Marianne Haegeli: 36:17

Hi. Thank you for listening to our podcast episode. My name is Marianne Haegeli. I’m the director for learning and leadership at NSITE. And I thought given some of the topics discussed in this podcast, you might be interested in some training programs that we offer at NSITE.

In order to build confidence, I would strongly recommend that you consider one of our Leadership Development Programs. We have programs in effective supervision, strategic decision making, or even business basics. For communications, we have a fantastic four week program called Customer Centered Communications. So check that out. And they also discuss travel skills. Seems to me like travel has a lot to do with project management. We have a sponsored Certificate Program for Project Management that you might want to check out. Visit us at NSITEU.org or NSITE.org. Either one will get you to our training catalog. Check out what we have to offer and sign up today.

Outro: 37:19

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