Ellie continues to be my greatest ally. Not only has she tolerated me over the years as I’ve delivered flowers with the petals all disintegrated after an unexpected downpour, washed dishes with syrup instead of dish soap (the bottles feel remarkably similar), or gone to dinner with one black shoe and one brown, she also pilots our tandem bike, and guides me on skis. Through our family’s Reach Foundation, Ellie administers several scholarships for children throughout Nepal.

After playing in a recreational soccer league for a season, Arjun made a bold decision to pursue a spot on the A team again. At the tryouts he made several textbook crosses that resulted in goals. Ellie said the three coaches were observing and scribbling notes in their booklets. A few days later, Arjun was invited onto the A team, where he excels.

We managed to find Arjun’s birth mom, Kanchi, in Nepal, and have maintained contact with her ever since. We set her up with fuel, wax, and wicks to start her own candle business. Because of Kathmandu’s frequent power outages, candles are in high demand. She makes about fifty pounds of candles a day, and when she sells them all, she makes much more than she did working construction. When Arjun turned sixteen, we returned to Nepal to visit her.

We held our eighth No Barriers Summit at Copper Mountain, Colorado. As I stood on the stage about to speak at the closing ceremony, I could hear the murmur of the audience in front of me, a thousand people of diverse backgrounds and circumstances: people with physical disabilities, as well as those who struggled with obesity, brain injuries, and PTSD. There were those who’d survived cancer, strokes, addiction, and physical and emotional trauma. Surprisingly, lots of ordinary families had also joined our community, as well as CEOs and corporate leaders, who had taken the No Barriers principles and were applying them to their teams and organizations. Lastly, there were everyday people who just felt lost, or suffered from fear, anxiety, and self-doubt.