In my determined effort to prove my independence while also building a career that required intense travel， I‘d been too proud to ask for help， even when it made sense to do so. You shouldn’t make the same mistake. Know your limitations. Protect your health and sanity by doing what is only human： reaching out when conditions call for it. But remember， to ask something of friends or co-workers is rude unless you‘ve shown interest and consideration for them. No one owes you anything more than you have given to them.
A few of my caregivers have been friends， family members， and volunteers over the years， but most are paid to assist me because the job is demanding， given my hectic schedule. I began using caregivers more and more while traveling in the United States in 2006. A fellow named George had volunteered to serve as my driver and caregiver on that tour， but he showed up driving a wreck of a little car that was loud and stinky and， to my astonishment， had a gaping hole in the floor！ It was a bit of a shock. I had visions of falling through and being flattened by a trailing truck. I never felt entirely safe in that car， but George proved to be a loyal supporter and a great caregiver.
One of my current caregivers， Bryan， was put to the ultimate test during my European speaking tour in the summer of 2008. We’d been traveling nonstop for about a week when we arrived for a one-night stay at a hotel in Timisoara， Romania， a beautiful city known as “Little Vienna，” in the Transylvanian Alps. I‘d always heard that this was a spooky corner of the planet， and my suspicions were confirmed.
Dead tired from lack of sleep， I was too weary to fret. This was the first night on the long tour where I was scheduled to catch some serious rest. Since I’d been having trouble sleeping， Bryan offered me a melatonin capsule， which is supposed to help your body deal with jet lag.
At first， I told him I‘d better not take it. Because of my low body weight， I sometimes have strange reactions to supplements. Bryan convinced me it was safe， and just to be cautious， I took only a half-dose. Luckily I didn’t swallow the entire capsule. I fell into a deep sleep right away.
On some tours I become overtired， and despite the tremendous effort it takes for me to sit up in bed， I‘ll do just that in my sleep， and then I’ll begin speaking as if I‘m addressing an audience. On this night I woke up Bryan in the next room because I was preaching！ In Serbian！
Bryan woke me up before I roused all of Romania with my sleep-sermonizing， and we both realized then that we were sweating like crazy. We’d been cooking in the summer heat because while we slept， the room air conditioner had shut down. Naturally， we opened the windows to allow some fresh air to flow into our rooms. Then， bone-tired， we returned to our beds.
An hour later we again were awakened； this time we were being eaten alive by huge Transylvanian mosquitoes. （At least we hoped they were mosquitoes！） At that point I was dead tired， overheated， itching all over my body， and—a special bonus—lacking the usual scratching tools. It was torture！
At Bryan‘s suggestion， I took a shower to relieve the itching. Then he sprayed my swollen bug bites with an anti-itching first aid remedy. I returned to my bed， but ten minutes later I was hollering for Bryan again. My poor body was on fire！ I’d had an allergic reaction to the anti-itching spray.
He scrambled to haul me into the shower again， and in the process he slipped， fell， and banged his head on the toilet， nearly knocking himself out！ Exhausted， we just wanted to sleep， but our night of horrors was not yet over. With the air conditioner out， the room was just too hot. By this time I wasn‘t thinking like a sane person， so I told Bryan to lend me a pillow.
“The air conditioner is working in the hallway， so I’m sleeping out there，” I told my baffled caregiver.
Bryan didn‘t have the strength to argue with me. He collapsed on his bed， and I crashed just outside the room， leaving the door open so he could hear me if I needed help. We snoozed like that for an hour or two before a total stranger stepped over me， marched into the room， and berated poor Bryan in broken English.
He ranted on for several minutes before we figured out that our intruder was furious because he thought Bryan had thrown me out in the hallway to sleep on the floor！ We had a tough time convincing this would-be Good Samaritan that I was sleeping in the corridor by choice.
Once the stranger left， I crawled back into my bed. Bryan returned to his. But just as we finally drifted off to sleep， Bryan’s cell phone rang. When he answered， a verbal blast pounded his ear. It was the coordinator of our speaking tour. Evidently our well-meaning intruder had not been convinced. He‘d reported to hotel security that I’d been left in the hallway all night， and they‘d raised heck with our coordinator， who was threatening to have poor Bryan tarred and feathered.
Now you can see why I normally employ three caregivers who rotate on shifts seven days a week. Bryan and I can laugh about our nightmarish night in Transylvania now， but it took several nights of sleeping in cool rooms， without bugs， to get over it.
One of the lessons I had to learn early in life was that it’s okay to ask for help. Whether you‘ve got all the standard body parts or not， there will be times when you simply can’t go it alone. Yes， humility is a people skill and a God-given gift.
You have to be humble to ask others for help， whether it‘s a caregiver， a mentor， a role model， or a family member. When someone is humble enough to reach out for assistance， most people respond by giving of themselves and their time. If you act as though you have all the answers and don’t need anyone else， you are less likely to attract support.
PANTLESS AND SPEECHLESS
As a child I was taught that all honor goes to God， and as a man I‘ve come to realize that whatever good I accomplish is done not by me but through me. It seems God believes I need a lesson in humility now and then so that I never lose my ability to engage and bond with others. Sometimes those lessons are hard. Sometimes they are hilarious.
