An informative and inspiring presscon – that was what just happened in a presser for Nick Vujicic ahead of his talks in Dubai and Sharjah this weekend.
Nick, born with phocomelia – a rare disorder characterized by the absence of legs and arms, is one of the world’s most influential motivational speaker at 33. He met the bloggers and media straight from the airport to brief about his two upcoming talks.
He will be speaking to students in “Attitude to Live” forum at Sharjah Expo Centre on Thursday, 17th November, 10am.Â
He is expected to tackle subjects around bullying among others. One of his advocacies is to stop bullying in school – having experienced the same in his childhood years. He may also impart some ideas about values-based curriculum which is now in beta testing in some schools in California.
On Friday 18th, he will speak in “A Night of Hope” at The Dome in Dubai Sports City, 7-10pm.
Tickets start from AED150 and available online at Platinum List.
Nick, an Accounting and Financial Planning graduate, loves to connect to those who are missing a spark of purpose in their lives, those who lack inner peace and those want to discover the truth of happiness. He always deliver messages of encouragement, hope, love and inspiration, regardless of our different faith and religion.
“It was done so that the works of God would be revealed through him” John 9:3
He is one of the motivational public speakers I look up to and it really feels great to have the opportunity to ask few questions (from the tens on my list).
First I asked when and what made him realize about his calling – what motivates him to travel the world to inspire millions of people, young and old. To date, he’s already been to 63 countries, met 16 presidents and 9 governments.
It started with a janitor.
“Out of all the people who inspired me to be a speaker was my Indian friend, my janitor at my high school. I was 17, he was 61 years old.”
“My Indian friend Arnold came up to me and said ‘Nick you’re gonna be a speaker one day,‘ and I said “Mr. Arnold you are crazy.”
After 3 months, Nick was convinced by Mr. Arnold and he went speaking in front of 5 people and in 10 minutes people were crying.
“When I saw people crying, I thought, wow! How can a 5 or 10-minute speech bring tears to someone’s eyes?”
Watch and listen to the rest of what he had to say:
When he was 19, Nick spoke in front of 300 students in a public school. One girl, crying, interrupted his speech and asked him for a hug.
“She whispered in my ear and said ‘thank you, thank you, thank you. No one ever said that they love me. No one’s ever told me that I’m beautiful the way I that I am.’”
That’s when Nick knew he was born to be a speaker.
“When I told my mom and dad I was going to be a speaker they said I was crazy.”
I asked him to share a message to many of us who have become busier than ever, and have found less time of spiritual solitude – no thanks to ‘greener pasture’.
“Take a couple more vacations,” he said with an amusement.
“Money comes and goes. It never satisfies. Some people sacrifice their family for money and they lose all. The most important thing for me is faith and family.”
“My prayer to God first of all is to help me keep humble, and not be distracted, and continue to know that everyday is a gift. Every person I meet is an opportunity to see their love and faith and hope in their daily walk.”
He ended his message by sharing a verse from Jeremiah 29:11, as a good reminder to know that God is in control and that He loves us.
He elaborated a part of his journey, from his early years of depression between the ages 8 and 12, when he had attempted suicide. At 13, he became fond of football and started recovering from depression. At 16, he became active in faith and in his belief in Christianity. At 17 he met the janitor, and started his non-profit organization Life without Limbs. At 19 he was already speaking in front of 300 students. He moved to California when he was 23.
He also invites us to watch his award-winning short film, “The Butterfly Circus,” a 22-minute movie in Youtube about being driven by hope even when things are going against what he wished for.
“When you can’t get a miracle, you can still be a miracle to someone else.”
“Be the best that you can be.”
Please visit trainings.today for more info about his talks.
