Nick Vujicic: STAND STRONG (Most Powerful Speech)
Summary
TLDRIn this inspiring and candid talk, the speaker, born without arms and legs, shares his journey of overcoming adversity and societal expectations. With humor and resilience, he recounts his experiences of being teased and the profound impact of encouragement and love. He emphasizes the importance of self-worth, purpose, and destiny, urging listeners to reject bullying and embrace a culture of kindness and acceptance. His powerful message challenges the audience to consider the potential consequences of their actions and to choose love and support over cruelty.
Takeaways
- 🎉 The speaker was born without arms and legs but has overcome challenges to walk and live independently.
- 🌏 He is originally from Australia but now resides in Southern California, emphasizing the importance of trying new things.
- 😲 He enjoys surprising people with his abilities, such as driving a car using a joystick, and the reactions it garners.
- 👨⚕️ Despite medical predictions, he has proven his doctors wrong by achieving milestones like walking and attending school.
- 👨👧 His parents played a crucial role in his life by encouraging him to try different activities, fostering a resilient spirit.
- 📚 The speaker faced bullying at school and struggled with feelings of inadequacy compared to his peers.
- 🙏 He emphasizes the importance of self-worth, purpose, and destiny, and how these beliefs can shape one's life.
- 💔 Teasing and bullying can have severe emotional consequences, and the speaker shares his own experiences with these issues.
- 🌱 He encourages listeners to consider the impact of their words and actions, as they can plant seeds of either hope or despair.
- 🤝 The act of apologizing and seeking forgiveness is presented as a sign of strength and a way to change bullying culture.
- 📖 The speaker's favorite book is the Bible, which he sees as a source of truth and guidance for living to one's full potential.
Q & A
What was the speaker's initial medical condition at birth?
-The speaker was born without arms and legs, which was not due to any medical reason, unlike his siblings who were born with all limbs.
What did the doctors initially predict about the speaker's ability to walk?
-The doctors never thought that the speaker would be able to walk, but he defied their expectations and is now walking.
Where is the speaker originally from and where does he live now?
-The speaker is originally from Australia but now lives in Los Angeles, California.
What is the speaker's unique way of 'freaking people out' in a car?
-The speaker uses the joystick that controls his wheelchair to move around in the car seat, which can surprise people who are not aware that he has no arms or legs.
What is the speaker's perspective on bullying and its impact?
-The speaker sees bullying as a sign of weakness, not strength, and emphasizes the severe emotional impact it can have on individuals, including thoughts of suicide.
What does the speaker consider his favorite book and why?
-The speaker's favorite book is the Bible, as it represents his belief in the truth of his value, purpose, and destiny.
What was the speaker's experience with a bully in high school?
-The speaker was bullied by a 17-year-old for three weeks, who would make fun of his lack of limbs. After confronting the bully, the bully apologized and they shared a hug.
What is the speaker's view on the definition of 'tough'?
-The speaker believes that being tough is about showing strength by doing something difficult, not by bullying or teasing others.
How did the speaker's high school janitor influence his life?
-The janitor inspired the speaker to become a speaker by recognizing his potential and encouraging him to pursue public speaking.
What was the outcome of the speaker's efforts to stop bullying in schools?
-Out of 600 schools the speaker spoke to, only one school reported a complete stop to bullying for eight months, indicating a significant cultural change.
What is the speaker's message to the audience regarding self-love and love for others?
-The speaker encourages the audience to love themselves more and to love each other a lot more, emphasizing that everyone is beautiful just the way they are.
Outlines
😀 Embracing Life's Challenges
The speaker, born without arms and legs, shares their journey of overcoming life's challenges. Despite initial medical predictions, they have learned to walk and have a zest for life. They humorously describes an incident where they 'freaked out' a driver by pretending to eat their seatbelt, highlighting their ability to find joy in unexpected moments. The speaker emphasizes the importance of trying and the love and encouragement from their parents, which helped them to achieve things others said were impossible.
🌱 Seeds of Encouragement and Self-Worth
The speaker discusses the power of encouragement and discouragement, using the metaphor of a seed that can grow into a mighty tree. They share their experiences of bullying and the internal struggle with self-worth, emphasizing the importance of knowing one's value, purpose, and destiny. The speaker challenges the audience to consider the impact of their words and actions, pointing out that teasing can have severe consequences, even leading to thoughts of suicide.
🤝 Overcoming Bullying with Compassion
The speaker recounts a personal story of being bullied and how they confronted the bully, leading to an unexpected apology and a hug. They use humor to illustrate the absurdity of bullying, comparing it to teasing a three-year-old. The speaker defines 'tough' as doing something difficult, not putting others down, and encourages the audience to stand up against bullying and to apologize to those they have hurt.
💔 The Impact of Bullying and the Power of Love
In this paragraph, the speaker deeply explores the impact of bullying, sharing that it led them to consider suicide. They passionately call for an end to teasing and bullying, urging the audience to consider the potential pain they may cause. The speaker shares a moving story of a girl who was deeply affected by their words of love and affirmation, highlighting the power of love and acceptance to change lives. They conclude by emphasizing the importance of self-love and love for others as a means to create a more compassionate environment.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Resilience
💡Bullying
💡Self-Acceptance
💡Encouragement
💡Teasing
💡Value
💡Purpose
💡Destiny
💡Love
💡Hope
💡Tough
Highlights
The speaker was born without arms and legs, defying medical expectations to walk.
Residing in LA, he enjoys surprising people with his abilities and wheelchair controls.
A humorous anecdote of using his seatbelt to scare a fellow driver.
The importance of trying despite the odds, as encouraged by his parents.
The speaker's struggle with acceptance and the desire to fit in during school years.
A reflection on the prevalence of bullying and its potential consequences.
The impact of a simple act of kindness from a janitor that inspired the speaker's career.
The transformative power of love and acceptance in changing school culture.
A challenge to redefine 'tough' and the importance of standing up against bullying.
The story of a girl who was moved to tears by the speaker's message of self-worth.
The speaker's experience with a school that successfully eradicated bullying.
A call to action for individuals to create a more loving and supportive environment.
The significance of self-love and the impact it has on personal and communal well-being.
The speaker's personal battle with bullying and the role of resilience in overcoming it.
An account of the speaker's attempt to move a car with his wheelchair, illustrating his strength.
A metaphorical comparison between the act of bullying and the true meaning of strength.
The speaker's message of hope and the potential for change within each individual.
Transcripts
[Music]
hey guys do it
[Music]
[Applause]
well guys I was born this way and
there's no medical reason why why that
happen my brother and my sister were
born with arms and legs and sometimes in
life things happen that don't make sense
my doctors never thought that I'd be
able to walk and today I'm walking I'm
from Australia anybody one day want to
go to Australia it's such a cool place
and I now live in LA I'm a Southern
California boy so I only live about four
hours from here and today I'm gonna tell
you man I love freaking people out one
day I'm in a car I'm in the front seat
I'm not driving of course can you
imagine if I'm driving a car
they reckon they can put a joystick that
thing that controls my wheelchair we can
put that in a car like how fully sick is
that like you imagine if I get pulled
over by the cops
can I have your driver's license please
uh yeah but it's over there you're gonna
have to get it matter if I'm in big
trouble put your hands up get out of
your car ah so I'm in the front
passenger seat where the traffic lights
and this car comes up next to us in this
ghost looking at me and I'm looking at
her she's looking at me I'm looking at
her she's looking at me I'm looking at
her
oh she seizes my head right she has no
idea that I have no arms no legs so I'm
thinking cool I'm gonna freak you out so
I get the seat belt in my mouth and I
loosen it like this so that I can freely
move and she's looking at me like why
are you eating your seat belt so I pull
it this belt is loose I can move now
she's looking at me full 100% attention
and focus just to mention all you sees
my head all right you might want to put
up your hand up to your face to cut off
the rest of my body all right so you can
really see the effect so just that's it
exactly here we go ready I just did this
and her face made she was like she
nearly ran the red light man it was so
good my parents always said Nick you
don't know what you can achieve
until you try it and the doctors looked
at me and said he's not gonna walk he's
not gonna go to school he's not gonna do
anything in his life and then my parents
they just loved me like crazy and said
you gotta try try this try that try this
try that and I'm thinking sometimes like
mom and dad you're crazy man I have no
arms no legs how would I ever be able to
do this or do that
but they encouraged me and they loved me
and as human beings we're waiting for
stuff like that we all want love
everybody say love
very good we all want love and you know
I went to school and and I and I want it
to be cool you know you go to school and
and you you you want to be accepted you
know and so you see these guys and
you're like oh man you know everyone
swears like every third sentence F this
and F that and F and this and FF like
what like that they think they're cool
you know and so I'm thinking man but
maybe I need to be like them to be cool
and then you compare each other with how
we look and and I wish I was smart I
wish I was taller I wish I was shorter I
wish I was more popular I wish I did
this I wish I didn't have that I wish my
life was different that was me when I
was about eight years old I looked at
myself and I looked at everybody else
and everyone else had more than me and
I'm asking why why me
have you ever asked the why me questions
but get nowhere if I had no answers from
the doctors and if I had no answers from
my parents I still have a choice every
day in my life
to keep going or give up you see this
book up here this is my favorite book in
the whole wide world this is my favorite
book the Bible and Here I am
and Here I am and for me that's my full
potential in all that I can be here on
earth and so encouragement takes me
closer to all that I can be and
discouragement takes me away you see it
only takes three seconds for someone to
tease me when I was at school and just
saying yeah ugly yeah you can't do this
and you can't do that and some of you
thinking like man seriously you had kids
picking on you like how heartless are
those kids picking on me with no limbs
like you would probably say well I'm not
that bad I wouldn't pick on the kid with
no limbs but why would you pick on
anyone
well because it's fun it's just culture
okay we'll get to that but for me me
facing all that stuff I'm getting these
seeds
everybody say seeds se EDS seeds have
you seen the pictures of the Sequoia
Reds up here in California these huge
trees like some of the trunks could be
as nearly big as this room I've seen
those photos where they've actually dug
out a tunnel in a trunk of a tree you
can drive a full-size SUV right through
it that all started with a little seed
if you leave a seed of wise in your
heart and in your mind and you don't
know the truth if you don't know the
truth you will die with the lie I
started dying because I started
believing what I was told I want you to
know the three things that I needed to
come to in my life
is the truth of my value the truth of my
purpose and the truth of my destiny I
want you to know something in our mind
we put ourselves down all the time I
want to ask you today do you think I'm
cool enough to be a friend
but I don't swear I don't use the f-bomb
am I still cool enough to be your friend
but I don't tease people am i still cool
enough to be a friend but I have no arms
no legs seriously you would be my friend
even though I have no arms no legs so
you're telling me it actually doesn't
matter right if it actually doesn't
matter for how we look then why do we
tease each other for how we look if it
actually doesn't matter why is it that
we look ourselves in the mirror and we
see us while we're having fun oh yeah
man we just buy the culture man there
were 12 people one day teased me taking
me away from my hope 12 11 10 nine eight
seven six five four three two one
don't worry I went full off because if I
did I'll break my arm but twelve people
teased me one day and I can put a pretty
brave face on butts
cry on the inside for real oh it doesn't
hurt yeah it hurts
there was this one bully I became his
target for three weeks and every time I
go by him I was 13 he was 17 I was in my
chair I'm only four foot nine in my
other chair my old chair he's like six
something so he's huge right so I'm
looking up at him
and every time I go by him he's like hey
Nik he has no and you can imagine what
he said and I'm like what's his problem
man so I tried to avoid him and I was so
embarrassed he would say really loud and
everybody would be looking and some
would be laugh and I'm like what is this
guy's problem me so one day after three
weeks I went up to him and I said hey
he's like hey I said can you please stop
it he said stop what I said stop teasing
me he said what are you talking about I
said every time I walk by and you say
that stuff he's like what stuff he
didn't know how to take me on so I'm
looking at was a Nami
every time I walk by you say exactly
this I want you to stop I forgive you
but stop it
he's like oh is that hurting you now
coulda said nah or I could have said
yeah he takes a level of humility to
actually say um actually I don't like
that it's it's killing me and I said
yeah it's hurting me he said all right
I'm sorry man I was just you know
playing around said give me a hug he
said what I said give me a hug he was
like all right so I gave my hug I'm a
hugging machine we hugged the we made
the Guinness Book of World Records 1749
hugs in one year we did it last year my
arms fell off all right
the scary thing about hugging so many
people is that anyone can just pick me
up and take me home all right like what
am I gonna do like enemas on a pretty
mean head but right I want you to know
that you might be playing around I could
pretty much say that 98% of you have
teased someone in your life I tried to
commit suicide because of people who
thought they were having fun not knowing
the hell that I was going through the
people you're teasing what if the person
you're teasing is the person who's
thinking of committing suicide what if
the person you're teasing is the one
who's tried to commit suicide who hates
their life because of you you don't know
if the person you are teasing is the son
or daughter of the drunk at home getting
abused and all they need is someone like
you to keep on pushing him this way we
need hope so find something else to do
find positive things in your own life I
don't care about how you look I'll never
ever ever tease you I will never tease
you I could tease you I could be tough
people thinking that bullying is tough
it ain't tough my wheelchair this is
tough this day man I'll tell you
something you ready this wheelchair this
thing's so tough when my friend built
this for me he said you're gonna love it
I said what does it go fast he said no
but it's tough and I said well what do
you mean he said you'll find out the
torque in these motors at the bottom at
the back this thing if someone's holding
it I'm telling you it can go 90 degrees
I went 82
freeze up alright someone's holding me
to make sure I don't tip back my wife
she loves shopping with me cuz she just
jumps on the back and we go shopping
like she's just shops and shops because
she doesn't drop right we just go and do
it it's fun
now what I tried one day to do you'll
never believe me maybe you will just
know that every word that comes out of
my mouth is not an exaggeration
one day I needed to move a car so I got
my wife to put my car my 66 Chevelle in
neutral it's a two and a half ton car
and I backed it back with this thing to
just this just like this like like
nothing this thing is tough guess what
the definition of tough means it's
strong to show your strength you need to
do something that's difficult
I would sound so stupid if I said hey
guys I got a matchbox car one day and I
got some fishing line and I told that
matchbox car all around all day how
tough is my BMW that's stupid
that's the same thing with bullying you
think you're tough
you're trying to show you strength
that's not your strength let me get let
me come back in ten years and let me get
your three anyone have a three-year-old
nephew anybody have a three-year-old
nephew cool put your hands down I will
get any one of your three-year-old
nephews bring them tomorrow night at
where I'm speaking and we're gonna put
them up on stage and let me show you how
tough I am
we'll get your three-year-old nephew and
we'll put him up here on the table and
let me tease him let me show you how
tough I am that's what you are I could
pick on you you biggest bullies I could
pick on anything you like any singer any
music that you like I could tease you I
could tease your family I could tease
your friends I could tease about the
movies that you that you think are
really cool I could tease anything about
you
I could tease you about your nose your
eyes your teeth your chin your hair your
you elbows your knees your whatever me I
can tease you about anything it ain't
hard just like you can tease me you want
to know what tough is go to the people
you tease and say sorry you want to know
what tough is go up to the people who
still tease you and say hey stop it they
forgive you but please stop it that's
tough I want you to know something the
truth of who you are I don't care what
job you get I don't care I don't care
how smart you are everyone I don't care
I don't care I love you and I believe in
you I don't care if you end up being a
janitor in this school I'll tell you why
because the janitor in my high school
inspired me to be a speaker he changed
my life he said you should be a speaker
you know what I said you're crazy he
said no really you need to be a speak I
said stop it me four months later he
twisted my arm and I said yes I spoke in
front of ten people then another ten
then another ten then I found myself in
front of 300 sophomore students and
three minutes into my speech half the
girls were crying and one girl in the
middle of the room started weeping and
she put up my hand she said I'm so sorry
can I come up there and give you a hug
and in front of everybody she came up
and she hugged me and she cried on my
shoulder and she whispered in this ear
thank you thank you thank you no one's
ever told me that they loved me no one's
ever told me that I'm beautiful the way
that I am
it was because my parents told me that I
was beautiful that I'm still here some
of you don't have those parents and
that's why I'm here
I love you and you're beautiful just the
way you are never ever give
[Applause]
[Music]
how many schools do you think that I
spoke to actually stopped bullying
altogether okay
who ever said one you were correct one
school out of 600 I got a letter from
the headmaster and he said Nick you
forever changed our school blah blah
blah we haven't seen any bullies pick on
anybody for eight months straight we
don't know what happened but in the best
words that I can describe there's just a
new thought in the air that it just
ain't cool anymore it just ain't cool
[Music]
I want to ask you
what are you gonna do are you gonna
continue on at the risk of knowing that
in each section this section right here
five people already trying to commit
suicide that section there five people
when you extrapolated out
what if the person you're teasing is one
of those
and you have no idea would you find
something else to do
[Music]
so
the change is up to you if you want to
see more love in your school be loved if
50% of the school come together and say
you know what it just ain't cool anymore
the people who think it's still cool
every time they look down upon you I
want you to look up I don't want you to
imagine my face looking at you because
I'm telling you everyone you're teasing
is my brother and my sister and you're
my brother and you're my sister and am
asking you to stop
[Music]
love yourself a bit more love each other
a lot more
[Music]
you
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