Nick Vujicic

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 affect your everyday life? Meet Nick... Born in 1982 in Brisbane, Australia, without any medical explanation or warning, Nicholas Vujicic (pronounced Vooey-cheech) came into the world with neither arms nor legs.

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. He wondered what was the purpose behind his life, or if he even had a purpose.

As Nick grew up he learnt 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. According to Nick the victory over his struggles throughout his journey, as well as the strength and passion he has 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 started to fulfill his dream of being able to encourage other people and bring them hope, through motivational speaking and telling his story. "I found the purpose of my existence, and also the purpose of my circumstance...There's a purpose for why you're in the fire." 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.

Now at 26 years old this limbless young man has accomplished more than most people even twice his age. Nick recently moved from Australia to the 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, 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 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 presidents of Colombia and Costa Rica, and the vice president of Kenya. Last year alone Nick spoke in over 20 countries.

"People say to me, 'How can you smile?'" he says. "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 than I am.'" 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 encourages people to cease seeing obstacles as problems, but instead begin to see them as opportunities to grow and reach out to others. He stresses the importance of our attitude being 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 shares that the major keys in fulfilling our biggest dreams are 1) persistence and 2) choosing to embrace failure as a learning experience, rather than allowing the guilt and fear of failure to paralyze us.

How does Nick 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 dreams. Through his amazing ability to connect with people from all walks of life and his incredible sense of humor that captivates children, teens and adults alike, Nick is a truly inspirational motivational speaker.