2024 Toastmasters World Champion of Public Speaking: Luisa Montalvo
Summary
TLDRLouisa Montalvo shares her inspiring story of survival after a car accident left her heart stopped for six minutes. With the help of 37 strangers, she was revived and faced 90 days of recovery, questioning her worth. A chance encounter with a young man who lost his legs yet remained optimistic sparked her realization of the value of a second chance at life. Montalvo urges everyone to recognize their own worth and the power of treating each other with dignity and worth, envisioning a world where we all unite in this manner.
Takeaways
- π Louisa Montalvo was involved in a severe car accident that left her unresponsive and her heart stopped for 6 minutes.
- π₯ 37 strangers, including firefighters, EMTs, helicopter pilots, surgeons, and nurses, worked together to save her life.
- π Louisa imagines a humorous encounter with St. Peter and God at the Pearly Gates, where she is sent back to life after a 'reset'.
- π₯ After the accident, she spent 90 days in a trauma center and rehab facility, questioning her life's value and purpose.
- πͺ Louisa experienced a turning point when she saw a young man who had lost both legs working out with determination and a positive attitude.
- π€ The script encourages the audience to reflect on their own value and the importance of recognizing and believing in their worth.
- π It highlights the power of strangers' belief in one's value and the impact it can have on a person's outlook on life.
- π€ The message emphasizes the importance of treating each other with dignity and worth, suggesting that collective positive energy can lead to great achievements.
- π Louisa encourages everyone to hit the 'reset button' on their lives, seeking a second chance and a fresh start.
- π« The speech calls for unity and the recognition that together, people can accomplish more by supporting and valuing each other.
- π£ Louisa offers herself as a 'stranger' to affirm the value of others, underlining the idea that external validation can sometimes be more persuasive than self-belief.
Q & A
What was the event that led to Louisa Montalvo being unresponsive for 6 minutes?
-Louisa Montalvo was involved in a horrific automobile accident that caused her heart to stop beating for 6 minutes.
What was the immediate aftermath of the accident for Louisa?
-After the accident, Louisa was unconscious and 37 strangers, including firefighters, EMT specialists, helicopter pilots, surgeons, and nurses, came together to try to save her life.
What was the humorous take Louisa had on her near-death experience involving heaven and St. Peter?
-Louisa humorously imagined herself at the Pearly Gates, where St. Peter checked with God, who decided that it wasn't her time to die and hit the 'reset' button, which coincided with the medical team's final attempt to revive her.
How did Louisa's recovery process begin after the accident?
-Louisa's recovery process involved 90 days in a trauma center and a rehab facility, where she questioned her life's value and worth.
What realization did Louisa have during her time in the rehab facility?
-Louisa realized the importance of not wasting a single minute of life after seeing a young man who had lost both his legs but was still working out with a smile on his face.
What was the significance of the number 37 in Louisa's story?
-The number 37 signifies the number of strangers who came together to save her life after the accident.
What message does Louisa want to convey to the audience about self-worth and the value of life?
-Louisa wants to convey that everyone has value and should not waste life, emphasizing the importance of recognizing and appreciating one's own worth, as well as the worth of others.
What was the turning point for Louisa in her recovery that made her realize the importance of her life?
-The turning point was when Louisa met a young man at the gym who had lost both his legs but was still optimistic and determined to live his life to the fullest.
How does Louisa suggest we should treat each other based on her experience?
-Louisa suggests that we should treat each other with dignity and worth, valuing one another's lives and contributions.
What metaphor does Louisa use to encourage people to make a fresh start or a change in their lives?
-Louisa uses the metaphor of 'hitting the reset button' to encourage people to seek a second chance and make positive changes in their lives.
How does Louisa's story demonstrate the power of collective effort and positivity?
-Louisa's story shows the power of collective effort and positivity through the actions of the 37 strangers who worked together to save her life and the impact their belief in her had on her recovery and outlook on life.
Outlines
π A Second Chance at Life
Louisa Montalvo shares her harrowing experience of a life-threatening car accident that left her unresponsive for six minutes. She vividly imagines her encounter with St. Peter at the Pearly Gates, humorously suggesting that God recognized her efforts to save homeless dogs and decided to give her another chance at life. After being revived, she spent 90 days in a trauma center and rehab, questioning her self-worth and purpose. Her realization came during a gym encounter with a young man who had lost his legs but remained optimistic, inspiring her to embrace her second chance and not waste a moment of life.
π€ The Power of Collective Value
In this paragraph, Louisa emphasizes the profound impact of the 37 strangers who played a role in saving her life, demonstrating the value that others saw in her. She encourages the audience to recognize their own worth and not to wait for a stranger's validation. Louisa calls for unity and treating each other with dignity and worth, envisioning the collective potential of a group as large as the audience. She invites everyone to hit the 'reset button' on their lives, seeking a second chance and embracing the opportunity to make a difference, just as she did after her accident.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Unresponsive
π‘Heart stopped beating
π‘Imagination
π‘Pearly Gates
π‘Reset Button
π‘Trauma Center
π‘Value
π‘Second Chance
π‘Dignity
π‘Strangers
π‘Toast Masters
Highlights
Louisa Montalvo shares her experience of being unresponsive for 6 minutes after a car accident, with her heart stopped.
37 strangers, including firefighters, EMTs, pilots, surgeons, and nurses, came together to save her life.
Louisa humorously imagines her encounter with St. Peter and God at the Pearly Gates, with God hitting the 'reset' button to give her a second chance at life.
After the accident, Louisa spent 90 days in a trauma center and rehab facility, questioning her life's value and worth.
Louisa is inspired by a young man at the gym who recently lost both legs but is determined to make the most of his second chance at life.
She emphasizes the importance of recognizing and valuing our own worth, as well as the worth of others.
Louisa encourages the audience to hit the 'reset button' in their own lives, seeking a second chance and treating each other with dignity and worth.
The speech highlights the power of 37 strangers coming together to save one life, and the potential impact of 1,700 people united in purpose.
Louisa shares a humorous and heartfelt story to convey a profound message about the value of life and the importance of not wasting a single minute.
The speech serves as a reminder that we often need to hear from a stranger that we have value before we can believe it ourselves.
Louisa Montalvo's story demonstrates the resilience of the human spirit and the power of positive thinking in the face of adversity.
The speech calls for a collective effort to treat each other with kindness, empathy, and respect, imagining what could be achieved if everyone acted this way every day.
Louisa's experience in the rehab facility serves as a turning point, where she realizes the importance of not giving up and the value of a second chance at life.
The speech concludes with a powerful call to action, urging the audience to embrace the opportunity for a fresh start and to value every moment of life.
Transcripts
Louisa
Montalvo 37
strangers 37 strangers Louisa
Montalvo thank you contest chair you're
welcome
clear
clear we have a female unresponsive no
pulse contest chair fellow Toast Masters
from around the world and
guests two years ago a horrific
automobile accident and that
unresponsive female was
me for 6 minutes my heart stopped
beating best sleep
[Laughter]
ever my co- driver and I had just
finished dropping off 88 homeless
shelter dogs to a dog rescue in New
Jersey on the the way back as I sat in
the passenger seat of the van that's
when the accident
happened as I lay there
unconscious 37 strangers in the way of
firefighters EMT Specialists helicopter
Pilots surgeons
nurses all came together to try to save
my life because
death it's so final
now I don't recall anything because I
was asleep but those six minutes ah my
imagination ran away from me and I can
almost imagine what happened with me
trying to get into heaven probably went
like
this I'm standing there in front of the
Pearly
Gates St Peter's on his
iPad I can even see my God in the
background playing with his dogs oh and
I say my God because I don't want to
offend some of you I want to offend all
of
[Laughter]
you St Peter I'm Louisa Montalvo St
Peter says I I don't even have you on
the agenda hang
on he goes back to talk to God and says
God Louisa Montalvo is here and God says
I don't have anybody for two minutes he
says wait a minute St Peter was this a
car accident
St Peter says yes it was Louisa montavo
makes sense have you ever seen a
[Laughter]
drive no no God she was the
passenger H Louisa is she the one trying
to save my homeless dogs in
Texas yes God that's
her God leans over waves at me and says
Louisa today's not your day
it's not your time he leans over to St
Peter's
iPad and hits the reset
button at that moment I'm imagining that
that's when they take that final attempt
to try to get me to save my life put the
petals on me
clear and I start to breathe
again now for the next 90 days I'm in a
trauma center and in rehab facility
questioning my
life what was my value what was I
worth I couldn't even
walk what good was
I and then it hit me I'm rolling myself
into the gym ready to work out that
final week before I go home and even
though my father said quitters
cry I started to
cry I I wheel myself to my machine I
start working out and this young
handsome man is working out next to me
hi how are you doing I'm getting married
soon I have Hazard listened to his
wedding plans and then I start to ask
myself why is he even here he looks so
young and
fit and just like that I look down and
realized he's just recently lost both of
his
legs and yet here he was with a smile on
his face happy he'd been given a second
chance and life was not going to get
away from me he wasn't going to waste a
single
minute
wow I know a lot of us go through life
and sometimes we even question
our
value why are we even here but if 37
strangers were able to see the value in
me all their positive
input I am now making that part of my
output because you know we will listen
to a stranger that tells us we have
value before we listen to
ourselves it's true
if you're needing some stranger to tell
you you have
value allow me to be that
stranger because if 37 people can come
together and put all this energy into me
can you imagine what 1,700 of us could
accomplish all it is is treating each
other other with
dignity and
worth how awesome would it be if we
could all be United like
this every
day if you're ready to hit that reset
button if you're looking for that second
chance let's hit that reset button are
you ready
clear
clear Adam to
[Applause]
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