Imagine being born without arms. No arms to
wrap around someone, no hands to experience touch, or to hold another hand
with. Or what about being born without legs? Having no ability to dance, walk,
run, or even stand on two feet. Now put both of those scenarios together: no
arms and no legs. What would you do? How would that effect your everyday life?
Meet Nick Vujicic... Born in 1982 in Melbourne , Australia
Throughout his childhood Nick dealt not
only with the typical challenges of school and adolescence such as bullying and
self-esteem issues; he also struggled with depression and loneliness as he
questioned why he was different to all the other kids surrounding him; why he
was the one born without arms and legs. He wondered what was the purpose behind
his life, or if he even had a purpose. After a lot of frustration and feeling
like the odd one out in school, at seven years of age Nick tried out some
specially designed electronic arms and hands, in hopes that he would be more
like the other kids. During the short trial period of the electronic arms, Nick
realized that even with them, he was still unlike his peers at school, and they
turned out to be much too heavy for Nick to operate, effecting his general
mobility quite significantly.
As Nick grew up he learned to deal with his
disability and started to be able to do more and more things on his own. He
adapted to his situation and found ways to accomplish tasks that most people
could only do by using their limbs, such as cleaning teeth, brushing hair,
typing on a computer, swimming, playing sports, and much more. As time went by
Nick began to embrace his situation and achieve greater things. In grade seven
Nick was elected captain of his school and worked with the student council on
various fund-raising events for local charities and disability campaigns.
According to Nick, the victory over his
struggles throughout his journey, as well as his passion for life can be
credited to his faith, his family, his friends and the many people he's
encountered during his life who have encouraged him along the way.
After school Nick went on with further
study and obtained a double bachelor degree majoring in accounting and
financial planning. By the age of 19, Nick had started to fulfill his dream of
encouraging others by sharing his story through motivational speaking. He found
the purpose of his existence, and also the purpose in his circumstance. Nick
wholeheartedly believes that there is a purpose in each of the struggles we
encounter in our lives and that our attitude towards those struggles that can
be the single most effective factor in overcoming them.
In 2005, Nick was nominated for the
"Young Australian of the Year" Award, which is a large honor in Australia
Now at 27 years old, this limbless young
man has accomplished more than most people even twice his age. Nick recently
made the massive move from Brisbane, Australia to California, USA, where he is
the president of an international non-profit organization, and also has his own
motivational speaking company; Attitude Is Altitude. Since his first
motivational speaking engagement back when he was 19, Nick has traveled around
the world, sharing his story with millions of people, speaking to a range of
different groups such as students, teachers, youth, business men and women,
entrepreneurs, and church congregations of all sizes. He has also told his
story and been interviewed on various televised programs worldwide. However,
Nick's speaking engagements have gone beyond purely motivational speaking, he
has had the opportunity to speak with several leaders, including the vice
president of Kenya
People ask Nick, "How can you
smile?" Then they realize there's got to be something more to life than
meets the eye if a guy without arms and legs is living a fuller life.
Nick shares with his audiences the
importance of vision and dreaming big. Using his own experiences in worldwide
outreach as examples, he challenges others to examine their perspective and
look beyond their circumstances. He shares his view of ceasing to see obstacles
as problems, but instead begin to see them as opportunities to grow and reach
out to others. He stresses the importance of how attitude can be the most
powerful tool we have at our disposal and illustrates how the choices we make
can have a profound effect on our lives and the lives of those around us. Nick
shows through his own life that the major keys in fulfilling our biggest dreams
are persistence and choosing to embrace failure as a learning experience,
rather than allowing the guilt and fear of failure to paralyze us.
How does Nick Vujicic feel about his
disability now? He accepts it, embraces it and oftentimes pokes fun at his own
circumstance as he shows off his many tricks. He meets challenges with his
special blend of humor, perseverance and faith always encouraging those around
him to examine their perspective as they develop and define their vision. Using
those new definitions he challenges each person he meets to make changes in
their lives so that they can begin the path to fulfilling their biggest dreams.
Through his amazing ability to connect with people from all walks of life and
his incredible sense of humor he captivates children, teens and adults alike,
Nick is a true inspirational and motivational speaker.
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