Travels with the Miracle Man

By Mark Fulton

Soaring over the Chesapeake Bay in his single-engine airplane on a sunny March afternoon in 1981, Morris Goodman felt as if he were on top of the world. He was at the pinnacle of his career as an insurance salesman, having qualified for the exclusive Top of the Table Award in his early 30s. His new plane was the most recently acquired symbol of his success.

As he prepared for landing, something suddenly went terribly wrong. Goodman’s plane lost power and began to plummet toward earth. In the moments before the crash, Goodman recalls thinking, So this is what it’s like to die.

Morris Goodman didn’t die that day. But he came close. The plane crash left him with a broken neck and a body so badly injured that no one expected him to survive. At first, doctors gave him only 24 hours to live. Later, they upgraded their prognosis: they predicted that Goodman would live a short, miserable life as a human vegetable—unable to breathe on his own, unable to swallow and totally dependent on others. What happened during the next several months amazed the doctors and everyone else familiar with Goodman’s case.

Morris Goodman didn’t remain a helpless paraplegic. In fact, he recovered sufficiently to achieve his goal: to walk out of the hospital on his own two feet. Through sheer determination and steadfast unwillingness to let the gloomy expectations of everyone around him dampen his spirit, Goodman regained his abilities to breath independently, swallow food, speak intelligibly, sit upright and ultimately walk unaided. No one disagreed when Goodman’s doctors started referring to him the “Miracle Man.”

Today, Goodman, who lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia, travels around the country telling his story of tragedy and triumph. He has shared the stage with motivational maven Zig Ziglar and spoken to corporations, associations and church groups around the world. His message is at once simple and profound: no goal—no matter how imposing it may be—is out of reach for someone who is willing to take tiny steps forward and not give up. As
Goodman says, “It’s a cinch by the inch.”

I had the opportunity to accompany Goodman on a recent trip to a chiropractic seminar in Philadelphia, at which he was the featured speaker. He spoke about the challenge of making changes in our lives—a subject with which he has had more experience than most.

In his speech, Goodman talked about the thalamic region of the brain and compared its function to that of a trail horse at a dude ranch. Through training and habit we have programmed ourselves to react to the world around us in certain ways. Like the trail horse, as we plod along in our daily routine, we tend to follow a familiar path and not diverge from it. Goodman says that when our attention is focused on something else, our inner horse keeps us on track with what we have taught it— doing what feels comfortable and routine. That’s a valuable attribute until we try to make a change.

“There’s always discomfort in change,” says Goodman. “Everything new feels wrong. Your horse resists with everything he’s got. As soon as you start to do something a little bit different and feel the least bit uncomfortable, your horse is telling you to get back where you belong, back to your own comfort zone.”

Goodman uses the illustration of Americans attempting to drive a car in England for the first time. An activity we execute with little conscious effort at home becomes a jarring adventure as we try to adapt to driving on the left side of the road in London. Our horse, Goodman says, starts screaming, “Get out this car and take a bus, NOW!”

How do you overcome your horse’s inclination to stay on the same old trail? “We have to reprogram it,” says Goodman. Once the horse has been given enough stimulation and motivation to take a new path, Goodman says, it will stick to the new way with the same tenacity it exhibited for the old way.

On his audio tapes, which deal with goal setting and self-esteem, Goodman teaches techniques for overcoming roadblocks to change. Coming from a man who lost and relearned virtually every ability required to live and function, Goodman’s message rings true. In fact, his lifestyle is a testimony to his philosophy of turning obstacles into stepping stones. In addition to maintaining a grueling speaking schedule, he finds time to indulge his passion for hunting and fishing.

The chiropractors at the seminar in Philadelphia gave Goodman a standing ovation. I’m told that his appearances before corporate crowds and association audiences elicit similar responses. Despite physical difficulties that continue to challenge him nearly 20 years after his accident, Morris Goodman’s “horse” seems most at home on a race track. You’ll have to transform your horse into Secretariat if you want to keep up with the “Miracle Man.”

Contact Information for Morris Goodman:
Miracle Man Productions
4176 Cheswick Lane
Virginia Beach, VA 23455
(757) 473-8175

Copyright 1999 © Mark S. Fulton