Living Lucky® Podcast with Jason and Jana Banana

Ability Over Disability: Family Café Expo Orlando Florida

• Jana and Jason Shelfer • Season 8 • Episode 65

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Ability Over Disability: Unleash Your Potential at The Family Café Expo 

What if your focus on limitations is actually limiting you? Join Jason and Jana Banana as we dive into the transformative power of focusing on ability over disability, inspired by our upcoming adventure at the 27th Annual Family Café Ability Expo in Orlando! This massive gathering of 13,000+ people celebrates what's truly possible when we shift our perspective.

Discover why society's unconscious bias often highlights what people cannot do, while this expo showcases a world of innovation, adaptation, and boundless potential. From accessible zip lines at Gatorland to adaptive sports and specialized travel planning, learn how simple tweaks can unlock extraordinary life experiences. This episode embodies the core of Living Lucky®: making your own rules and refusing to let perceived limitations stop you from living life to the fullest.

We share personal stories of pushing boundaries – from ballroom dancing to climbing Jamaican waterfalls – and how we navigate challenges by expanding imagination and trusting our inner guidance. Hear how the Living Lucky® philosophy helps you transform life's inevitable setbacks into powerful stepping stones, making you "better, stronger, and more powerful" for your next chapter.

Inside:

  • Shifting Your Focus: Moving from limitations to celebrating abilities.
  • The Power of Adaptation: How creative solutions unlock new experiences.
  • Making Your Own Rules:  External limitations don't define your potential.
  • Expanding Imagination: Uncovering possibilities you never knew existed.
  • Challenges as Growth: Reframing obstacles into spiritual curriculum.
  • Inclusion & Celebration: Embracing diversity and human ingenuity.
  • Living Lucky® Mindset: Cultivating a mindset of boundless possibility.

Nuggets: Focus ability, not disability. Adapt, create, thrive. Make your rules. Imagination unlocks. Challenges build strength. Inclusion empowers. Live fully. 

What is the Family Café Ability Expo? How to focus on abilities instead of disabilities? Accessible travel planning for people with disabilities. Inspirational stories of adaptation and perseverance. Finding resources for adaptive recreation in Florida. Transforming challenges into growth opportunities. How to reframe challenges as opportunities? Are th

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The 4 pillars of Living Lucky
Believe in yourself
Believe in the people around you
Believe in your circumstances and
Believe that God is working through you, for you, and always conspiring in your favor.

*Previously Recorded

Jana Shelfer:

Are you ready to create a life you crave? Let's spin that doom loop of negativity into an upward success cycle and start Living Lucky®. Good morning. I'm Jana, I'm Jason and we are Living Lucky®. You are too.

Jana Shelfer:

Because this week we are going to an expo.

Jason Shelfer:

A sports ability expo. What? Yes, it's going to be big. How come I'm?

Jana Shelfer:

just learning about this now.

Jason Shelfer:

What's interesting to me is we've been to several trade shows, expos and things like that Conferences and we've been to big conferences but we've had booths at some. We've been invited to trade shows and we show up and there may be 50 to 200 or 300 people that show up yes. I got an email yesterday that we're expecting 13 to 15,000 people. Holy shnikes so the marketing material that I had planned is changing a little bit yeah we have marketing material for A couple hundred people we're planning on 30 people stopping by our booth.

Jana Shelfer:

Yeah, saying hey download our podcast.

Jason Shelfer:

I'm super excited because we're going to be just we're promoting the podcast, we're not promoting the coaching, we're not promoting anything else, but it's super exciting to be in front of 13,000 to 15,000 people.

Jana Shelfer:

Now, this is the 27th Annual Family Cafe. Yes, Now when you hear that title. I had no idea what we were attending. I'm going to be real. I had no idea.

Jason Shelfer:

It's one of those when you know, you know, and so I wanted to have a conversation around. What is the Family Cafe and how do we get more people talking about it? Because it's free for people with disabilities or people with family members that have disabilities.

Jana Shelfer:

Okay, now here's the thing. This is why I love this conference is because their whole theme is ability. It's an ability expo. Whereas sometimes I think, society has this- what's the disability expo? Unconscious bias that is deep in their subconscious and when they see any kind of difference, they sometimes jump to what they can, can do. Focus on what we can do, focus on what we do have Focus on the solution. Do you know what I'm saying? It's just turning your focus slightly, shifting your focus to the positive.

Jason Shelfer:

To the possibility instead of the limitation. Yes, thank you.

Jana Shelfer:

It is turning-.

Jason Shelfer:

And that's the big difference maker. Yes, thank you. It is turning, and that's the big difference maker. Yes, that changes the outcome, because you can create from what you have. You can't create from what you don't.

Jana Shelfer:

Now, as I'm reading through all of these vendors that are going to be there, I am so excited because I want to interview all of these people. I mean, there's Go ahead.

Jason Shelfer:

Well, there's a lot of people. There's the dog training people and there's friends that are going to be there, like Gatorland.

Jana Shelfer:

So we've been longtime friends with Gatorland and Gatorland has been so great because they made their zip line one of the only zip lines in America that is actually accessible for people with disabilities.

Jason Shelfer:

Yeah, and the United States Tennis Association. It's a United States Tennis Association. Yeah, that's the name of it.

Jana Shelfer:

Which I probably have a lot of friends that maybe even still run that. So, I'm excited to see that.

Jason Shelfer:

So exciting. So there's a lot of. I mean there's over 200. I think 250 vendors or exhibitors not vendors, exhibitors that'll be there including. Living Lucky® Pickleball. I want Pickleball. I haven't gone through the whole list so I can only imagine Pickleball will probably be one of the exhibitors there.

Jana Shelfer:

This whole family cafe is about inclusion. It's about including everyone into and adapting. It's about inclusion. It's about including everyone into and adapting. It's about inclusion adaption and possibilities.

Jason Shelfer:

What are the possibilities? If you just look at it a little differently, if you just tweak it a little bit and find a tool that will make it work?

Jana Shelfer:

I saw this one group that's telling jokes on wheels. Oh, what is the name? Of it, and I'm like oh my gosh, I did this whole sit down comedy thing.

Jason Shelfer:

Lights camera jokes Is that what it's called. That's what it's called, yeah.

Jana Shelfer:

I can't wait to meet them. That's going to be so much fun.

Jason Shelfer:

It's going to be a weekend of imagination and celebration. Weekend of imagination and celebration.

Jana Shelfer:

Now here's what I'm a little bit unclear about is are we showing up to tell everyone about our podcast, or are we there to interview people and to promote what?

Jason Shelfer:

everyone else is doing, so I thought about this and I think this time this will be our first time going to the Family Cafe.

Jana Shelfer:

Ability Expo.

Jason Shelfer:

And I think we will just show up, we will be us and we will be there and we will have our signs, the Living Lucky® signs, and we will just experience what it's like to be at the conference.

Jana Shelfer:

They have us in the sports ability section, so we're a little confusing. When you come to our booth, you're going to see ballroom dancing and you're going to see water skiing and you're going to see Jana and Jason just trying outrageous things like skydiving.

Jason Shelfer:

That's right, right. Skydiving, snow skiing, water skiing, all the things that we do Hand cycling.

Jana Shelfer:

It's what I like to call experiencing the fullest life possible Golfing. Yes, and not letting the limitations stop us.

Jason Shelfer:

Imagining a way to do whatever it is you want to do, which I think embodies not only life, but what this event is really all about, and also a lot of the things that we talk about, because the whole podcast is about doing whatever it is in life that you want to do and not allowing your reason or excuse to get in the way.

Jana Shelfer:

It's about the inner dialogue in our heads when we face challenges and adversity. How do you navigate that? How do you overcome? How do you go around? How do you go underneath? How do you sometimes face societal beliefs when you know inside that they're just not giving you a chance?

Jason Shelfer:

Yeah, and also, where do you put limits on your own imagination? Because I didn't even realize where I limited my own imagination until I got curious about it and I didn't realize, wow, if I can expand the limits of my own imagination, there's even more possibility out there.

Jana Shelfer:

I'm telling you, I not only want to make this my YouTube channel, which I'm relaunching in the fall. I want to contact some of the TV stations and I want to tell them my ideas and I want to go full throttle with this.

Jason Shelfer:

I think it'll be fun ideas and I want to go full throttle with this. I think it'll be fun. I would definitely want to be involved in this with you because it fits right in with how we live life. I mean, it's a curious little adventure and I love adventures.

Jana Shelfer:

So we often talk about recognize what brings you energy, what lights up your soul. My soul is going ding ding, ding, ding ding. It's like, uh, yeah, it's like one of those um pin pinball machines right now.

Jason Shelfer:

So you're scoring, you're. The points are racking up right now. I am scoring.

Jana Shelfer:

Right now it's like if you're in the casino and you just went as like ding ding, ding, ding, cash out, cash out. So I'm feeling. I guess what's so exciting to me is that when we started Living Lucky®, we both knew that we were onto something right. And we've had a hard time sometimes articulating it to people. We have spoken all over the world, we've gone into businesses, we've given workshops.

Jason Shelfer:

We've worked with, everyone knows what it feels like to be lucky.

Jana Shelfer:

Yes.

Jason Shelfer:

A lot of people have a hard time accepting the fact that you can cultivate and choose to be lucky.

Jana Shelfer:

And when you feel lucky, you attract more luck. The problem that we all face is that life happens and sometimes, when life happens, it can derail us or it can drift us into a feeling of yeah well, I was doing this and then this happened. You get a case of the yabbits you do.

Jason Shelfer:

It's like when you get, if you walk out the door and you get slapped in the face, you feel the slap and it's not like and the slap is metaphorical. So don't think you're going to walk out the door and get someone's going to slap you in the face, but it's that metaphorical. Something happened to me and the more you live in through the Living Lucky® philosophy then the more you get a chance to say what did I actually experience here and what did I learn from it and what were those feelings that came up, so how did I?

Jason Shelfer:

grow from that and really what was behind it, Because it was really just part of the spiritual curriculum that made me better, stronger and more powerful to move into my next step.

Jana Shelfer:

You are right on. You are right on.

Jason Shelfer:

It's hard in the moment, right, I mean it's still hard in the moment. It's so hard in the moment, but it's so much easier now, like if I tried to be where I am today five, 10 years ago. It does sound a little foreign Like if I was telling myself my 10-year-back self the same thing I would be going. That doesn't quite make sense. You'd be like but you have to trust the process.

Jana Shelfer:

You'd be like Jason what have you been smoking?

Jason Shelfer:

That's right. You kind of have to trust the process that it becomes part of the norm. Yes, the more you experience the feeling and explore it with curiosity and realize it's part of this curriculum, that makes you better, makes you stronger, makes you more of the champion you are each day. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, live a little longer. Oh, is that the words?

Jana Shelfer:

I don't know, I made them up. Okay, well, they rhyme. Kelly Clarkson should adopt those.

Jason Shelfer:

Okay, I thought it was Beyonce or somebody, but okay, thank you, kelly, for those wonderful lyrics, and whoever your actual songwriter was, oh okay, so again, where are we going this weekend?

Jana Shelfer:

it's the 27th Annual. Family Cafe Ability Expo it is an Ability Expo, so we are focusing on abilities, we are focusing on what we can do, and they have all sorts of exhibitors that are going to be there, different groups, different activities that you can experience.

Jason Shelfer:

And it's right here in Orlando. It's on I-Drive and I think it's at the Hyatt Regency. I know it's on International Drive. Well, we need to figure that out.

Jana Shelfer:

We do need to figure that out, and do need to figure that out Because we're going to be there.

Jason Shelfer:

And I will try to put it in the podcast notes.

Jana Shelfer:

You know, one person that I really want to talk to is the vacation planners.

Jason Shelfer:

Oh, Because I feel Excellent vacations, I think Exceptional vacations.

Jana Shelfer:

We have been on so many vacations and even though we've had great travel planners in our lives, I feel-.

Jason Shelfer:

Having someone that specializes in accessible travel Is priceless Would be amazing.

Jana Shelfer:

We go on cruises all the time and I actually just mark that I can climb, because if they see me in my chair, then automatically they put us in these excursions that literally include you've got to be on a bus getting in a bus got to be on a van with a lift with a lift and just riding around and experiencing things through a window don't let her off that bus yes, so jason and I

Jana Shelfer:

like we want to climb that waterfall we have to fudge and I I don't want to call it lie or fraud or misrepresent, but that's exactly what we do.

Jason Shelfer:

No, we don't.

Jana Shelfer:

We put on there.

Jason Shelfer:

We say we are mildly or moderate. We can do moderate tasks.

Jana Shelfer:

That we are moderate climbers. Yes, and sometimes we get in these situations where I do have to get on Jason's back, and then I'll go back down and get your chair. And then he overheats and he ends up passing out, and then I'm stuck, then we're both stuck and I have to look around and go hey, hey, can somebody roll him down the mountain? That was Jamaica, so I can't say that we have been maybe the role models in this.

Jason Shelfer:

Oh, I see what you did there, wheelchair joke. Ah, boom, boom, boom.

Jana Shelfer:

But I'm telling you, if we want to see and experience the world, sometimes we have to make our own rules.

Jason Shelfer:

And make our own path.

Jana Shelfer:

And I think that advice can be in everyone's life.

Jason Shelfer:

Yes, that carries over to everyone, regardless of ability.

Jana Shelfer:

Yes, I mean, sometimes we just have to make our own rules and we have to say stop limiting me because I know what I can do. I believe in myself.

Jason Shelfer:

And when you focus on your ability, you grow.

Jana Shelfer:

that, oh my gosh we're going to end right there. Thank you so much. You grow that. Oh my gosh. We're going to end right there. Thank you so much for joining us.

Jason Shelfer:

Keep Living Lucky®.

Jana Shelfer:

Send this to someone that you think it will change their life.

Jana Shelfer:

Bye-bye. If the idea of Living Lucky® appeals to you, visit us at www. LivingLucky. com.