3 Lessons on Motivation from Nick Vujicic

Can there be a greater example of motivation at work than the life of Nick Vujicic? His story is basically a great example of what’s possible with the right attitude - the power of motivation. It proves the quote, “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” If you haven’t heard of this celebrity, here’s a brief introduction.

Nick Vujicic, or Nicholas James Vujicic, is an Australian evangelist and motivational speaker. So what’s special about him? He’s a differently abled individual, having been born with tetra-amelia syndrome, meaning he doesn’t have any limbs -- neither arms nor feet!  He does have extremely tiny and deformed feet whose toes he uses to do stuff such as operating the mobile phone and computer, turning the pages of a book, operating his electric wheelchair, and so on.

Find Your Source of Motivation

Born to Serbian immigrants to Australia in 1982 at Melbourne, Nick’s parents initially struggled to accept him. Eventually, they found faith in God to carry on, accepting His will for Nick. And that’s what Nick has found as well. His faith has given him the motivation to carry on. And he’s devoted his life to spreading that faith. Likewise, it’s up to us to find our sources of motivation. And that’s the first lesson we learn from Vujicic’s life.

Focus on the Positives around You

After that initial shock his parents had, Nick reports that his childhood was “amazingly normal”. That doesn’t mean he didn’t have challenges. In fact, there were plenty of them. Despite the physical impairment, most of his struggles were emotional. He wondered if his life ever had any purpose, because he couldn’t do or aspire for many things his friends were able to. He even contemplated suicide. Then he read an article about a disabled individual doing impressive things, and that changed his life. That’s where we come to our second lesson - dwell on the positives you see in the world around you and look for examples that can give encouragement, motivation, and renewed focus to your life.

Forget About Your Struggles and Help Others

Nick’s actions after that life changing moment made the world aware about his struggles, and helped him motivate his fellow-beings. Nick started motivating others through speeches. He started with his prayer group and people started finding inspiration from the experiences he related. He soon found larger audiences to the point where he now addresses churches and stadia packed with people! Gradually, he expanded to YouTube videos and also the prison ministry where he motivates people who’ve made wrong decisions in life, but have the chance to make the rest of their lives better for themselves and for others.                   

And that’s the final lesson we learn. Are you going through a major problem in your life? Then the best way to forget about it and move ahead would be to focus on how to help others deal with their problems. Be motivated, and motivate others. If Nick Vujicic can, so can you.

Peter Theodorou has devoted himself to motivating others, not just as a career but to also fulfill his dream of doing his part to make the world a better place. People like Nick Vujicic are his role models.  

Motivational Speeches can Reduce Employee Burnout

This is the age of competition, be it in the marketplace, sports pitch, education or corporate circles. When considering the corporate sector, profit margin expectations of companies are pretty high. As a result, employees are burdened with seemingly unattainable deadlines and goals. The constant pressure could get too stressful for employees. Burnout rate among corporate organizations is rising. According to a 2018 Gallup study covering around 7,500 full-time company staff, 23% reported feeling burned out “always” or “very often” at work, while 44% said they felt burned out “sometimes”. So it’s obvious that the phenomenon widespread.     

 

Preventing Employee Burnout in a Simple But Effective Manner  

In such situations, companies resort to many techniques to get their employees stronger mentally so they can make use of their full potential to perform even seemingly impossible tasks. While meditation, exercise and activities are the common strategies employed by companies, there is a much simpler but effective technique -- motivational speech. The motivational speaker can bring out the best in people, and make the nearly impossible, possible. 

What Is Motivational Speech All About?  

What does a motivational speaker do? It’s not just a smart and interesting way of giving a speech. It’s going beyond just speaking things that are pleasant to hear. It is transforming the mind and mentality of listeners through the things you say and the way you say them. You could use anecdotes, start with a thought-provoking quote and go about explaining it, present out-of-the-box ideas, help audiences frame a plan, and end up with the audience feeling good about what you said, remembering the main points for a long time to come, and applying what they learnt to their work challenges.

Motivational speech must appeal to the audience emotionally and intellectually, and also offer reflection for future decisions and challenges. Ultimately, it must help them perform better and drive success for their organization.

The Evolution from War Cries and Motivational Speeches 

The situation may be different, but it is quite similar to war cries and motivational speeches made by kings or military generals to strengthen the morale of their troops before major battles. Sometimes, it would be just a single battle. At other times, it could be a series of battles that make up a war. We’re all aware of Sir Winston Churchill’s firm resolve against Hitler’s forces and the famous speech that inspired Britain’s Royal Air Force to win the decisive Battle of Britain against Hitler’s Luftwaffe over the English Channel. 

Nowadays though, the common man’s battles don’t involve weapons, artillery or bloodshed, but projects, deadlines and schedules. However, the magnitude of the challenge cannot be overestimated. It all lies in the mind, and motivational speech strengthens the mind.  

                        

Peter Theodorou is a well-known motivational speaker for corporate audiences. He has come a long way - from observing other motivational speakers to setting an example for other speakers.        

How Motivational Speech Succeeds – with a Touch of Perspective

What exactly is motivational speech? Ok, we admit you know what it actually is – motivate someone or a bunch of people with some pep talk. 

But we guess what you really want to know is does this really work? 

Motivational speech sounds good when you hear it. It entertains you, it makes you feel you can break the odds and swim against the current. But a few days after the talk is over, wouldn’t the psychological effects of it wear off? Wouldn’t all those anecdotes and thought-provoking quotes and statements just sound like a great story you heard? 

Well, if history is anything to go by, pep talk does work. It did play a big part in ending World War II. And it gave the United States the power it needed to bounce back from Pearl Harbor. 

Don’t get a clue what I’m talking about? 

It was one of Sir Winston Churchill’s famous speeches that gave Britain’s Royal Air Force the determination and the strategic nous it needed to fend off the Nazi fighter planes and destroy them over the English Channel in the crucial Battle of Britain:

“The Battle of Britain is about to begin. On this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization…Hitler knows he will have to break us in this island or lose the war.

If we can stand up to him all Europe may be freed and the life of the world may move forward into broad sunlit uplands; but if we fail, the whole world, including the United States and all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new dark age made more sinister and perhaps more prolonged by the lights of a perverted science.

Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duty and so bear ourselves that if the British Commonwealth and Empire last for a thousand years, men will still say, “This was their finest hour.”

Excerpts from Winston Churchill’s “Finest Hour” speech to the House of Commons, 18 June 1940

President Roosevelt’s motivational addressing of the nation following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor brought the United States into World War II. It wasn't what the country intended, but its joining with the Allied powers helped them win the war and topple the dark powers:

“We are now in this war. We are in it–all the way. It will not only be a long war, it will be a hard war….We don’t like it–we didn’t want to get in it–but we are in it and we’re going to fight it with everything we’ve got.”

Excerpts from Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Pearl Harbor Speech”, also known as “Infamy Speech” to the US Congress, 8 December, 1941

If you look at these speeches, they motivated by adding some perspective to the situation the audience was facing – the troublesome set of circumstances they’re in, the empathy by the speaker towards what they are facing, the dangers that could arise if the audience didn’t act despite being wearied by enemy attacks, and the glory that awaits them if they perform the decisive but dangerous and troublesome action of taking on the enemy.

So that’s where motivational speech succeeds – not just through anecdotes and quotes, but with a healthy dose of perspective. The motivation that perspective provides fails to disappear from the mind, no matter how adverse the situation is. And that’s how motivational speech powers people to perform seemingly impossible feats.  

Peter Theodorou has studied the effects of perspective and also other aspects that make motivational public speaking bring about the desired effects intended by the organizers on their audience. That’s why he is a sought after public speaker. 

Why Motivational Speakers Are Magicians of the Mind

 

Motivation is hard to come by. It’s also transient in most cases. When adverse circumstances show up, it’s hard to keep your motivation at a high level. Watching motivational movies definitely helps, and there are some that do stay in mind. “The Pursuit of Happyness,” “Hidden Figures,” “Whiplash,” “Million Dollar Baby,” “A Beautiful Mind,” etc are just some of the movies that come to mind, but there are obviously a lot more movies out there that depict how to fight the odds. A great motivational speaker does something like that too, but purely through the medium of speech. 

Oratory’s Role in History

That’s remarkable, come to think of it. But oratory has historically proven to be the greatest motivator. Winston Churchill’s call to decisive action through his radio speeches motivated an entire generation of Brits to put up the brave fight against the Nazi onslaught. Hitler himself managed to rally an entire nation behind him with fiery speeches. The great Greek philosophers of the past put forth their ideas through speeches, and war leaders throughout antiquity have been rallying their armies for superhuman fetes through fiery motivational addresses. The motivational speaker inspires people not to conquer nations or cross the Atlantic Ocean, but rather to face the daily challenges of life and attain higher goals, be that at work, home, school or the hospital. 

Magicians of the Mind

Motivational speakers are usually hired by companies to motivate their staff to further their goalposts and perform at a greater level. That only comes by uncovering their hidden potential. The responsibility of the motivational speaker is therefore significant. Through anecdotes, stories and thought-provoking fact presentation, speakers drive home the point that there is a lot more they can achieve in life, and in their work. The speaker also ensures that the principles, ideas and logical reasoning he/she presents are convincingly put forward, so they stay in the mind of their audience for years even in adverse circumstances. Motivational speakers are therefore magicians of the mind. 

Getting to Be an In-demand Motivational Speaker 

To be a motivational speaker, you first need to be confident in your abilities. Are you sure you can motivate your audience to great deeds? Do you have tried and tested principles you can impart to your audience so they can use and experience the results for themselves?  You need confidence in your abilities and in the ideas and principles you convey so you can inspire confidence in those who hear you.

• Observing Other Speakers 

It also helps to listen to other speakers and find out what anecdotes and principles they present. Can you bring anything new to the table? Are there new ideas or concepts you can present? Also, observe how those speakers move about on stage while they speak. Body language matters. Whatever you do, make sure you exude confidence.   

• Practicing

Practice giving a motivational speech. The more you practice, the more you can improve your skills. Performance matters, since how the audience and organizers feel about you will determine whether you’ll be called for further assignments. Word spreads fast, and success can give you opportunities in other organizations also. 

•  Building Your Online Presence 

Ensure that you make yourself visible online through blogs and a social media presence. Post motivational stuff, including videos and thought-provoking quotes, and you’ll be building up your profile for prospective clients to contact you when they’re in need of some serious motivation for their staff or students.

Peter Theodorou is one of the foremost motivational speakers out there, and has built a reputation for giving life-changing speeches. Following him can actually give motivation to wannabe motivational speakers.