Nick Vujicic is a Christian evangelist and motivational speaker who was born with Phocomelia, which is a rare disorder that is characterized by being born without arms and legs. He has two small, deformed feet, which originally had fused toes. An operation was performed to separate the toes so that he could use them to do basic actions such as grab things or turn a page.
His official website, LifeWithoutLimbs.org, is one of the ways that the Australian motivational speaker can share the hope that has allowed him to face countless challenges and obstacles. "God has given me the strength to surmount what others might call impossible," he wrote.
In a TED talk entitled "Transforming the Walls into Doors" or "Changing Obstacles into Opportunities," Vujicic admitted that he has met a wide range of people from different walks of life. He has met sex slaves and orphans as well as bankers and billionaires.
He then noted that all of us are looking for something. "We're all looking for hope," he revealed.
Nick Vujicic shared what his parents taught him early in life - that even though they did not know why he was born without limbs, they had a choice. They could have chosen to be angry over his lot in life. Instead, they became thankful for what they do have.
"The power of that choice was the first thing that I had to overcome and decide for myself, especially in the early years of school," Vujicic said. He narrated how a lot of kids would come up and tease him for his condition.
Nick has spoken in front of thousands of people. His largest crowd was at 110,000. During his speaking engagements, he always makes sure to talk about the value of life and anti-bullying messages for different schools all over the world.
"Today, I still have no arms and no legs, but everything's changed," he said. "For me, I was looking for hope and happiness and I couldn't see it for many years. In fact, if this side of the table represents my hope, truth encourages me to become all that I can be. But then we have lies, everyday, coming in our mind, people who discourage us."
Nick Vujicic has definitely overcome a lot of challenges. He was the first special needs child to be integrated into Australia's mainstream education system. He also received the award for Young Citizen of the Year in 1990.
