“Daddy, do you like your little hand?”

With that question from his then 4-year old daughter, former Major League pitcher Jim Abbott was suddenly facing what he now says was the toughest speaking engagement of his life. Having entered that preschool class room as a triumphant success story on Career Day, he was now experiencing some raw, unexpected emotion precipitated by this one perfectly innocent question posed by one of the most important people in his life. The man who had won nearly 200 games at baseball’s highest level against gigantic odds because he ignored his physical differences was being forced to address them with an impromptu answer.

“Yes honey,” Abbott said. “I like my little hand.”

It’s funny how kids teach us life lessons sometimes, what with their beautifully simplistic ways of self-expression. When Abbott addressed the audience of volunteers, corporate types and people with disabilities at Independence First’s annual Power Lunch fundraiser at the Midwest Airlines Center on May 9th, his speech wasn’t about being different so much as it was about adaptability, accountability, and trusting yourself. But Abbott told the masses that the question from his daughter taught him something. He realized that the class of preschoolers didn’t care that he had thrown a rare no-hitter playing professional baseball, but they sure did notice that he was different from all of them, possessing only one “normal” hand. The irony is, his “little hand” helped author the most famous act of his life (the no-hitter) and made him the ideal keynote speaker for this assembly meant to celebrate the achievements of people with disabilities. The able-bodied world occasionally needs a reminder that disability doesn’t equal misery, and everyone can benefit from hearing these core principles espoused in his speech:

Adaptability: Instead of wallowing in self-pity over things you may not be able to do, focus on what you can, all while figuring out solutions to your physical challenges. Do your best in everything you do. Make the most of every opportunity you’re given.

Accountability: Take responsibility for your actions, and don’t use physical shortcomings or blame other people as excuses for failure. Good things happen to those who work hard and stay committed.

Trust: Believing in yourself is the first step toward successful achievement of a goal. In a sport where individual failure is more common than success, Abbott had to trust he could defy the odds and get to the highest level. He never would have been in front of the Midwest Airlines Center that day without trust in himself.

As Abbott regaled the people with a detailed account of the day he tossed a no-hitter in Yankee Stadium and awed them with a demonstration of how he put on his glove, this observer had a question: Did Abbott’s daughter ask about his little hand because she was showing it off like a toy for show-and-tell? I think so. I think his daughter was proud to show her class what a unique man her father was. I think perhaps The Little Hand That Could makes this little girl proud, and she loves him dearly even though he’s different. Her dad’s disability won’t matter to her as much someday soon, but she’ll grow up to learn to love him for who he is and respect him as an example of perseverance.

Nothing could be more inspirational than that.