Imagine being born without arms, without arms to hug others, without hands to experience touch, and without the ability to hold hands. What would it be like to have no legs from birth? No dancing, walking, running, or even just standing on two feet. Now put these hypothetical scenes together ----- no arms no legs. What would you do? How would this affect your life on a daily basis?
Nick Vujicic was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1982, and came into the world without any medical explanation or warning about having no arms or legs. There had never been a pregnancy like this before, and with a family history that never predicted this day, one can only imagine how shocked his parents would have been to see this newborn boy, knowing only that he was what the world called defective and abnormal. The lack of hands and feet was not what nurse Dushka Vujicic and her husband Pastor Borris Vujicic expected. How could their son have a happy, normal life? What should he do and what should he become when he lives in a world that considers him to have a huge disability? Little did they know then, and little did any of them know, that this beautiful little boy with no arms and legs would one day inspire and motivate all people through all of his footsteps and exposure to life around the world.
Throughout Nick Vujicic's childhood, he not only had to challenge academics and adolescence, such as bullying and self-esteem; but he also had to struggle with low self-esteem and loneliness, such as when he would ask why am I different from the other children around me and why was I born without arms and legs. He will wonder what his purpose in life is or if he has no purpose at all. After many frustrations and inner feelings, like an incident that happened at school, at the age of seven, Nick tried out many specially designed electronic arms and legs in the hope that he could be more similar to other children. After a short time of using the electronic arms, Nick realized that even his use of these wouldn't change the way people stared at him, and that the devices were too deep for him and had a serious impact on his flexibility.
As Nick grew, he learned to cope with his deficiencies and began to do more and more things on his own, adapting to his environment and finding ways to do things that other people had to do manually, like brushing his teeth, washing his hair, playing on the computer, swimming, playing sports, and much more. Over time, Nick began to love his living situation and accomplish greater things. In seventh grade, he was elected president of his school, working with the rest of the student body on a variety of things for local charities and disability organizations.
Nick's struggle to succeed in his journey and his courage and passion to face life stems from his faith, his family, his friends, and the people he has met in his life who have always encouraged him along the way.
After graduation, Nick continued his education with a dual Bachelor's Degree in Accounting and Financial Planning, and at the age of 19, Nick began to realize his dream of having the ability to encourage and give hope to others through his motivational speeches and his own personal experiences. "I found the purpose of my existence, and of course that's the purpose of the circumstances of my life ..... The purpose of why you are suffering so much." Nick believes wholeheartedly that anything we encounter in our lives that we struggle with has a purpose and that the attitude with which we face these things is the only effective factor that can overcome them.
In 2005 Nick was awarded the prestigious title of 'Australian Young Person of the Year', a prestigious honor that recognizes a young person's talent and service to the country and community, as well as personal achievement. This honor is only given to someone who can truly encourage and inspire.
Now, at 25 years old, this bereft young man has accomplished more than many people twice his age. Nick now travels from Brisbane, Australia to California, USA, as the president of an international charity organization and as the owner of his own motivational speaking company. Since Nick's first motivational speech at the age of 19, he has traveled the world, sharing his stories and experiences with billions of people. Speaking to people from all walks of life - students, teachers, business people, translators and church congregations, all of them. He has also spoken about his story on every major television program in the world. However, Nick's rewards from these speaking engagements have gone far beyond the purpose of inspiring others, as he has had the opportunity to meet with several leaders, including Vice President Kenya, and this year alone, Nick will be speaking in over 20 countries.
"People ask me, 'How can you laugh?'" He says, "And then they realize, 'If there's a young man without arms and legs who can live a more meaningful life than I can right now, there's going to be something more meaningful than just looking in the eyes.'"
Sharing with his audience the importance of vision and dreaming big, using his experiences around the world as examples, Nick encourages others to think about the future and to look beyond their current circumstances. He shared with the audience to stop seeing obstacles as problems and difficulties, but instead to see them as opportunities to grow and learn more. He emphasized the importance of attitude as the most beneficial tool in our current position and how the choices we make can have a profound impact on ourselves and those around us. Nick used his life to show us that the key to accomplishing our dreams is to be persistent and to choose to embrace failure as an opportunity to learn, rather than being overwhelmed by it. opportunity, rather than being defeated by failure and fear.
Now, how does Nick feel about his own disability? He accepts and embraces it, and, as he sometimes demonstrates with his "little tricks," he finds joy in his current life situation. He faces challenges with his characteristic humor, perseverance, and conviction, which is often y inspiring to those around him who want to develop or define their own visions and perspectives, to look at their own outlooks. Adopting these new definitions, Nick encourages everyone to be courageous and change their lives, so they begin the journey of accomplishing their life's dreams. Loved by children, teenagers and young adults alike for his amazing ability to connect with people through his own life and incredible humor, Nick is truly an inspiring speaker.
Official website: http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/