Kyle Maynard was born in Georgia, USA. The moment he came into the world, the nurses were horrified by the sight of the "freak" with no limbs! Doctors diagnosed him with congenital tetra-amelia syndrome.
When he was five, little Maynard started school. The other children saw him as a "monster" and stayed far away. From then on, his world held no laughter, only a haze of gray gloom. His mother watched, heart aching, and told him again and again about people like Stephen Hawking and Helen Keller, who had overcome their physical disabilities through sheer determination. With his family's love and comfort, Maynard gradually grew more cheerful. He stuck Helen Keller's words, "Self-forgetfulness is happiness," beside his bed and shouted them ten times into the mirror every morning and before going to sleep. He stopped grieving over having no hands or feet and calmly accepted this unchangeable fact.
In his teens, Maynard challenged fate: I can't spend my whole life confined to a wheelchair! So he began practicing how to walk. Leaning on a stool, he tried to stand on his residual limbs. The pain was so intense that he couldn't hold himself up; with a thud, he fell to the floor and couldn't catch his breath for a long while. Refusing to give up, he struggled to his feet, stood, fell again, then got back up... Again and again, he kept trying without fear. When his residual limbs were scraped raw, he wrapped them in bandages, only for the blood to soak them bright red. Seven months later, trembling with pain, Maynard finally stood up! Like a clumsy penguin, he struggled forward for the length of two rooms! A year later, he could drive himself to a Chinese clinic for acupuncture and massage. What's more, to prove he was no different from an able-bodied person, he raised two Australian kangaroos on a farm in Tennessee. He also traveled between states to give speeches, encouraging people facing adversity.
One day, Maynard suddenly felt that life had become too monotonous, so he went to a fitness club and asked the owner, "Would you accept someone like me as a member?" The other man looked at this "ball of flesh that had rolled in from who knows where" and raised his thumb in astonishment. "O...OK, OK..." After successfully joining the club, Maynard chose the most challenging sport: wrestling. Every member was dumbstruck. But amid countless astonished stares, he got moving: stretching his legs, squatting, walking with weights, and doing jumping lunges...
In September 2008, Georgia held its autumn games. As soon as Maynard heard about them, he signed up. On the day of the competition, he crouched on the ground like a pangolin, alert and agile. His opponent bent low, warily keeping him at bay. Suddenly, Maynard launched his main attack. He tripped the other man's legs with his lower limbs, then, with lightning speed, drove forward using the power of his shoulders and upper body and slammed his opponent to the ground... In the end, he won the wrestling championship! The governor personally placed an olive wreath on his head and, on behalf of the state government, recommended him for the national team.
Today, Maynard is like a fiercely independent leopard, competing at events across the country and around the world. His tenacity has inspired countless people. In August 2009, Maynard released his book, No Excuses. In the foreword, he wrote that any hardship or setback could be overcome if you set your mind to it. No excuse can keep you from success; if one does, it's only because you haven't tried hard enough!