0:00:01.319,0:00:03.272
Often when I'm out in public,

0:00:03.272,0:00:06.264
a child will stare at me,

0:00:06.264,0:00:08.697
and if the child is particularly brave,

0:00:08.871,0:00:11.160
they'll approach me and ask,

0:00:11.928,0:00:13.435
"Are you a pirate?"

0:00:13.435,0:00:15.827
(Laughter)

0:00:15.827,0:00:18.603
To which I then need to respond,

0:00:18.603,0:00:19.897
once again,

0:00:19.897,0:00:21.105
"Yes." (Laughter)

0:00:21.105,0:00:24.488
I mean, let's be honest:

0:00:24.488,0:00:28.712
I've got two hooks, prosthetic legs,[br]and a penchant for hard liquor.

0:00:28.944,0:00:29.937
(Laughter)

0:00:29.937,0:00:32.677
All I need is an eye-patch and a parrot,[br]and I'm basically there.

0:00:32.677,0:00:34.579
(Laughter)

0:00:35.491,0:00:37.393
But I like being a pirate.

0:00:38.116,0:00:41.036
I find many advantages[br]to having a disability,

0:00:41.036,0:00:44.721
and I'm not just talking about[br]the money I save on gloves

0:00:44.721,0:00:47.299
(Laughter)

0:00:47.559,0:00:51.636
or the fantastically legitimate excuse[br]for never having to master chopsticks.

0:00:51.636,0:00:53.086
(Laughter)

0:00:53.086,0:00:55.627
I'm talking about real advantages[br]I feel I've gained

0:00:55.627,0:00:58.489
having gone through physical adversity.

0:00:58.489,0:01:00.944
When I was 19, I contracted a disease

0:01:00.944,0:01:04.816
that resulted in the loss[br]of both my arms at the elbows,

0:01:04.816,0:01:06.941
both my legs below the knee,

0:01:06.941,0:01:10.608
and left enough scars on my face[br]to elicit jealousy in Freddy Krueger.

0:01:11.474,0:01:14.623
Now, I made never be able[br]to communicate in sign language,

0:01:14.623,0:01:18.248
but my increased resilience[br]and general ability to problem-solve

0:01:18.248,0:01:20.539
has been heightened[br]by being forced to think laterally

0:01:20.539,0:01:24.043
to overcome problems[br]that most people aren't faced with.

0:01:26.042,0:01:29.491
One of the first lessons that I learned

0:01:29.491,0:01:33.005
immediately followed[br]the painful and arduous task

0:01:33.005,0:01:34.880
of learning how to walk again,

0:01:34.880,0:01:38.261
but it went on to pay dividends[br]for the rest of my life.

0:01:39.495,0:01:42.857
It happened when I attempted[br]to step up a curb.

0:01:42.857,0:01:45.642
Now, as rudimentary as this action[br]sounds to most of you,

0:01:45.642,0:01:47.771
stepping up a curb[br]is somewhat of a challenge

0:01:47.771,0:01:49.737
for those of us without ankle movement.

0:01:50.231,0:01:52.649
So I tried stepping up the curb

0:01:52.649,0:01:55.332
the way I'd always known how, front on

0:01:55.517,0:01:57.053
for days on end

0:01:57.053,0:01:58.707
with no success

0:01:58.707,0:02:00.937
until it became obvious[br]that the time and effort

0:02:00.937,0:02:03.466
I was investing into this endeavor[br]was clearly disproportionate

0:02:03.466,0:02:05.460
to the benefit of its outcome.

0:02:05.460,0:02:07.100
(Laughter)

0:02:10.788,0:02:14.215
So, I decided to inspect the problem[br]from a different angle.

0:02:14.841,0:02:16.801
If I couldn't use an ankle joint

0:02:16.801,0:02:20.249
to achieve the range of motion[br]that I required to mount the curb,

0:02:20.472,0:02:22.128
I would have to use a different joint,

0:02:22.128,0:02:23.515
like my hip.

0:02:23.515,0:02:26.278
So I turned my body[br]perpendicular to the curb

0:02:26.278,0:02:28.363
and placed my foot up sideways,

0:02:28.363,0:02:30.540
and I was able to step up immediately.

0:02:31.503,0:02:32.975
Within five minutes,

0:02:32.975,0:02:35.331
no staircase was safe from my advances.

0:02:35.331,0:02:36.953
(Laughter)

0:02:37.123,0:02:40.417
That very day, I climbed[br]a staircase of three flights,

0:02:40.417,0:02:42.449
which I was quite impressed with as well,

0:02:42.449,0:02:45.591
except I realized that I didn't know[br]how to get back down again.

0:02:45.591,0:02:47.032
(Laughter)

0:02:47.032,0:02:49.112
That was a long weekend.

0:02:49.112,0:02:52.790
(Laughter)

0:02:53.830,0:02:56.792
Now, in my past life[br]as an able-bodied person,

0:02:56.792,0:02:58.813
I'd been a guitarist.

0:02:59.285,0:03:00.937
I was alright as a player,

0:03:00.937,0:03:02.761
but I'd never really taken it further.

0:03:02.761,0:03:06.048
I'd never really sat with a band[br]or played live all that much.

0:03:06.048,0:03:09.257
Nonetheless, music was[br]a great passion of mine,

0:03:09.257,0:03:13.472
and when I lost my arms, the idea that[br]it may no longer be a part of my life

0:03:13.472,0:03:16.112
critically challenged[br]my will to keep living.

0:03:17.716,0:03:19.647
However, the thought that emerged

0:03:19.647,0:03:22.258
immediately after being[br]discharged from hospital

0:03:22.258,0:03:26.836
was if Ray Charles can play the piano[br]while blind as a bat,

0:03:26.836,0:03:30.131
let's get to work on a solution[br]for this guitar problem.

0:03:30.354,0:03:32.555
So, consulting with an engineer,

0:03:32.555,0:03:36.345
I designed a slide system[br]that would hook into my left hook

0:03:36.345,0:03:40.375
and I devised another pick-holder system[br]that would clip into my right hook.

0:03:40.375,0:03:42.190
Now, if this worked,

0:03:42.190,0:03:46.346
I would be able to play the guitar[br]open tune on my lap, like a slide.

0:03:47.504,0:03:50.108
So after weeks of testing and alterations,

0:03:50.108,0:03:53.557
I finally had the accessories back[br]to play the guitar again,

0:03:53.557,0:03:56.547
and I was right back where I was[br]before losing my hands,

0:03:56.547,0:03:58.696
being issued with noise complaints[br]from my neighbors, obviously.

0:03:58.696,0:04:02.635
(Laughter)

0:04:02.635,0:04:04.372
But this time, I took it further.

0:04:04.372,0:04:06.354
I started a band with my friends.

0:04:06.354,0:04:08.977
We wrote songs and recorded them.

0:04:08.977,0:04:12.454
We even played gigs to real people.

0:04:12.454,0:04:14.312
Not as many as this.

0:04:14.312,0:04:16.356
(Laughter)

0:04:16.356,0:04:20.854
But even though it was a just a tiny step,

0:04:20.854,0:04:24.624
it was a giant leap from what I'd achieved[br]when I was all in one piece.

0:04:24.624,0:04:29.623
Now, while relearning every action[br]that one has ever cultivated

0:04:29.623,0:04:33.528
might seem like[br]a significant undertaking --

0:04:33.977,0:04:36.957
and believe me, it very much was[br]in the short term --

0:04:37.188,0:04:39.500
it was nonetheless[br]having a positive effect

0:04:39.500,0:04:42.501
on the way that I approached[br]everything else in my life.

0:04:42.501,0:04:45.420
Not only dit it transform[br]my ability to problem-solve,

0:04:45.420,0:04:48.403
but I also felt I became more pragmatic,

0:04:49.103,0:04:50.993
less sensitive to hindrances,

0:04:51.484,0:04:53.376
in some cases more patient,

0:04:54.174,0:04:57.398
and magically transformed[br]people's abilities to offer me

0:04:57.398,0:04:59.248
their seats on public transport.

0:04:59.248,0:05:00.816
(Laughter)

0:05:02.391,0:05:04.653
Trivial setbacks began[br]to pale in comparison

0:05:04.653,0:05:07.098
to challenges I'd previously overcome,

0:05:07.715,0:05:11.087
and this allowed me to take a calm[br]and measured approach to these challenges,

0:05:11.087,0:05:12.996
keeping them in perspective

0:05:12.996,0:05:16.408
and often even finding new[br]and improved ways to overcome them.

0:05:18.087,0:05:21.686
The benefit of not[br]dwelling on the negative

0:05:21.686,0:05:24.434
and just getting on with the task at hand

0:05:24.434,0:05:26.195
became self-evident.

0:05:28.002,0:05:31.417
It even encouraged me to pursue[br]some more fulfilling career paths

0:05:31.417,0:05:34.911
that may otherwise have been inadvisable.

0:05:34.911,0:05:38.092
And who would have thought[br]that an appropriate job for me

0:05:38.092,0:05:41.313
might involve the meticulous operation[br]of electronic equipment

0:05:41.313,0:05:43.657
to curate dance music to people[br]in inaccessible places

0:05:43.657,0:05:45.610
under the influence of alcohol.

0:05:45.610,0:05:48.076
(Laughter)

0:05:48.267,0:05:49.929
Not I.

0:05:50.478,0:05:54.522
So in a competitive industry where DJs[br]have been relentlessly honing their craft,

0:05:54.522,0:05:56.855
desperate to attain gigs,[br]sending demos to clubs,

0:05:56.855,0:05:59.527
my best friend and I[br]took a different approach,

0:05:59.527,0:06:01.482
and we started our own club night

0:06:01.482,0:06:04.719
and we employed ourselves as the DJs.

0:06:04.719,0:06:06.663
(Laughter)

0:06:06.871,0:06:08.831
Suddenly we had a headline slot.

0:06:08.831,0:06:11.245
(Laughter)

0:06:11.978,0:06:16.288
Now, when we started[br]that club night, I could not DJ.

0:06:16.615,0:06:20.042
The first time I ever got behind the decks[br]was on our opening night

0:06:20.042,0:06:21.751
in front of hundreds of people.

0:06:21.751,0:06:24.209
I'd only just learned[br]where the play button was.

0:06:25.334,0:06:27.974
But, being previously faced[br]with so many ultimatums,

0:06:27.974,0:06:32.332
one's forced to be astute[br]in adapting to new situations.

0:06:32.576,0:06:34.086
That club night went on to become

0:06:34.086,0:06:36.146
the longest-running[br]weekly club night in Sydney,

0:06:36.146,0:06:40.100
and we as DJs went on to play[br]Australia's biggest music festivals.

0:06:40.575,0:06:43.492
So eventually I either learned quickly,

0:06:43.492,0:06:46.996
or the standards of clubs[br]have gone really downhill.

0:06:46.996,0:06:48.740
(Laughter)

0:06:51.462,0:06:56.191
Coming close to death can be[br]an educational experience.

0:06:57.093,0:07:01.532
It's certainly true that one's priorities[br]receive somewhat of a realignment

0:07:01.532,0:07:03.822
immediately afterwards,

0:07:03.822,0:07:07.000
and it's also true that[br]some of those priorities

0:07:07.000,0:07:09.247
are met with an increased[br]sense of urgency.

0:07:09.247,0:07:12.839
But another, more salient, realization[br]that comes to light

0:07:12.839,0:07:16.860
is the triviality of our own[br]self-importance and self-consciousness.

0:07:17.887,0:07:21.335
To truly understand the extent[br]to which your self-consciousness

0:07:21.335,0:07:25.139
prohibits you from engaging[br]in opportunities

0:07:25.299,0:07:28.977
should lead everyone to take risks[br]they otherwise wouldn't.

0:07:28.977,0:07:32.973
We're merely a blip on the timeline[br]of the universe, right?

0:07:32.973,0:07:34.909
Act accordingly.

0:07:36.611,0:07:39.781
Now, the ideas that I'm presenting today[br]were imbued upon me

0:07:39.781,0:07:42.996
through some otherwise[br]unfortunate circumstances, granted,

0:07:42.996,0:07:46.886
but they're lying dormant in the lives[br]of anyone who's willing to exploit them.

0:07:48.138,0:07:52.115
If we all understand that[br]we all have unique weaknesses,

0:07:52.115,0:07:55.936
and if we're honest about what they are,

0:07:55.936,0:07:59.081
we can learn how to best[br]take advantage of them,

0:07:59.081,0:08:05.308
whether they be mounting a curb[br]or fear of presenting sales reports

0:08:05.308,0:08:09.925
or the inability to sufficiently[br]manage one's finances --

0:08:09.925,0:08:12.614
looking at that guy (Laughter) --

0:08:14.469,0:08:17.729
there lies the ability to learn to adapt

0:08:17.729,0:08:25.318
and even the ability to rewire[br]one's instinctual response to challenges.

0:08:25.662,0:08:27.160
Adversity is good,

0:08:27.160,0:08:30.261
and it has the potential[br]to make you stronger,

0:08:30.261,0:08:32.937
and, at the very least,

0:08:32.937,0:08:35.935
you can scare the hell out of kids[br]if you look like a pirate.

0:08:35.935,0:08:36.945
(Laughter)

0:08:36.945,0:08:38.667
Thanks.

0:08:38.667,0:08:41.055
(Applause)