"We need not struggle for the things we want in life"

Stephen Hopson is an American who was born profoundly deaf, but this has never prevented him from achieving all that he wanted in life.

He practises Transcendental Meditation and has found the technique to be life changing. In his words it is "a simple reminder that we need not struggle for the things we want in life, because we have the unlimited reservoir of creative intelligence inside us".

This year Stephen’s first book Obstacle Illusions, Transforming Adversity into Success was published in the US by First World Publishing. It is a fast moving, insightful book that invites one to see opportunities in every problem and become unstoppable in the face of adversity.

As a young boy he longed to be a pilot, a seemingly impossible dream for a deaf person - but more of that later!

Standing up to bullying in primary school, Stephen studied Business Administration and Finance at university. After enjoying success in Wall Street, he was invited to train at a top stock brokers in Fifth Avenue. Despite the fact that 80% of new trainees drop out in the first year, Stephen flourished in his job and started earning a six-figure salary.

When he was at the height of his career in stockbroking, he felt a strong desire to take a great leap of faith to become a transformational speaker and author, helping others to achieve their own dreams.

It was when he was establishing his new career in public speaking that he was able to fulfil his childhood dream of becoming a pilot, as a result of coming across a website for deaf pilots. His long buried dream became a reality, and after many months of training he finally earned his private and commercial pilot’s licences.

But that was not all!

In February 2006 he made aviation history by becoming the world’s first deaf pilot to earn an instrument rating, when flying through inclement weather. This allows him to be pilot in command, with the help of a co-pilot handling the radio for him.

Obstacle Illusions, Transforming Adversity into Success is available from amazon.co.uk.