WEBVTT 00:00:06.645 --> 00:00:09.929 (Serbian) Thank you very much. 00:00:09.929 --> 00:00:11.535 Guys, my name is Nick Vujičić, 00:00:11.535 --> 00:00:13.668 I was born in Australia in 1982, 00:00:13.668 --> 00:00:17.791 moved from Australia to California in the year 2006. 00:00:18.268 --> 00:00:22.736 And my life story -- I'm just thankful 00:00:22.736 --> 00:00:25.897 that people have seen my life 00:00:25.897 --> 00:00:29.200 on some sort of level -- whether it's just YouTube videos 00:00:29.200 --> 00:00:32.804 or seeing pictures of a limbless guy smile. 00:00:32.804 --> 00:00:34.801 You know, people always ask me 00:00:34.801 --> 00:00:36.343 you know, what happened to you 00:00:36.343 --> 00:00:39.499 and how did you overcome what you've been through? 00:00:39.503 --> 00:00:42.547 The title of the message that I've been given 00:00:42.547 --> 00:00:45.935 is "Transforming the walls into doors". 00:00:46.858 --> 00:00:48.991 When I speak corporately, 00:00:48.991 --> 00:00:51.155 the line that I like to use is 00:00:51.155 --> 00:00:54.320 "changing obstacles into opportunities". 00:00:54.335 --> 00:00:58.661 Now, I am very well aware to share with you as well. 00:00:58.677 --> 00:01:02.576 I know that there are a billion people going hungry today. 00:01:02.576 --> 00:01:06.817 I know that this year, a million people will commit suicide. 00:01:06.817 --> 00:01:09.721 That is one every 40 seconds. 00:01:09.721 --> 00:01:12.743 I know today there are 120 million slaves 00:01:12.743 --> 00:01:15.134 and I've met six slaves 00:01:15.134 --> 00:01:20.053 and I've seen the top of the pyramid as far as business 00:01:20.053 --> 00:01:22.136 and met the billionaires. 00:01:22.136 --> 00:01:26.289 I've met bankers and I've also met orphans. 00:01:27.536 --> 00:01:29.942 We're all looking for something. 00:01:29.942 --> 00:01:31.818 We're all looking for hope. 00:01:31.818 --> 00:01:37.187 Hope you can't just have just because you were born with hope. 00:01:37.187 --> 00:01:39.974 No, we're born with pain. 00:01:39.974 --> 00:01:43.055 We're born and live through difficulties. 00:01:43.055 --> 00:01:45.925 In our life -- my parents always taught me 00:01:45.925 --> 00:01:47.844 that even though we don't know 00:01:47.844 --> 00:01:51.247 why I was born this way, that we have a choice. 00:01:51.247 --> 00:01:53.696 Either to be angry for what we don't have 00:01:53.696 --> 00:01:56.097 or be thankful for what we do have. 00:01:56.097 --> 00:01:58.740 The power of that choice was the first thing 00:01:58.740 --> 00:02:02.125 that I had to overcome and decide for myself, 00:02:02.448 --> 00:02:05.835 especially in the early years of school. 00:02:05.835 --> 00:02:08.298 A lot of kids would come up to me and tease me. 00:02:08.298 --> 00:02:10.759 And I have been speaking at 5 congresses, 00:02:10.759 --> 00:02:13.727 I've met 7 presidents all around the world. 00:02:13.727 --> 00:02:16.188 My largest crowd was 110,000. 00:02:16.188 --> 00:02:19.093 I have 30 thousand invitations for me to speak. 00:02:19.093 --> 00:02:22.090 So wherever I go, I talk about the value of life, 00:02:22.090 --> 00:02:24.701 I talk about anti-bullying messages 00:02:24.701 --> 00:02:27.297 for the school systems in different nations. 00:02:27.297 --> 00:02:29.897 The greatest thing is love. 00:02:29.897 --> 00:02:32.184 When we feel like we don't have enough love 00:02:32.184 --> 00:02:34.144 and we don't have enough hope, 00:02:34.144 --> 00:02:37.688 we start losing strength to live. 00:02:37.688 --> 00:02:41.823 For me in my life as a child, I had a big wall. 00:02:41.823 --> 00:02:46.892 I was surrounded by four walls and a low ceiling of opportunity. 00:02:46.892 --> 00:02:49.811 I was set free in so many different ways 00:02:49.811 --> 00:02:52.679 and especially surviving from day to day 00:02:52.679 --> 00:02:56.269 with my parents who loved me, who encouraged me, 00:02:56.269 --> 00:02:59.213 who told me I was beautiful the way that I was 00:02:59.213 --> 00:03:02.944 and not to worry about what other people said about me. 00:03:02.944 --> 00:03:05.074 I was actually the first special needs child 00:03:05.074 --> 00:03:07.699 to be integrated into the mainstream education system 00:03:07.699 --> 00:03:11.969 in Australia and I was awarded Young Citizen of the Year in 1990. 00:03:11.969 --> 00:03:15.922 And the world is a hurting place and the world needs hope 00:03:15.922 --> 00:03:18.120 and world needs love. 00:03:18.120 --> 00:03:22.542 Without hope, we feel like, 'Why are we here?' 00:03:22.542 --> 00:03:26.332 Well, brokeness. Here's mine. 00:03:28.486 --> 00:03:34.432 Today, I still have no arms and no legs, but everything's changed. 00:03:35.371 --> 00:03:37.207 Everything. 00:03:37.207 --> 00:03:39.527 For me, I was looking for hope and happiness 00:03:39.527 --> 00:03:42.189 and I couldn't see it for many years. 00:03:42.189 --> 00:03:45.620 In fact, if this side of the table represents my hope, 00:03:45.620 --> 00:03:49.915 truth encourages me to become all that I can be. 00:03:51.007 --> 00:03:53.795 But then we have lies, everyday, 00:03:53.795 --> 00:03:57.103 coming in our mind, people who discourage us. 00:03:57.103 --> 00:03:59.534 You know the people that you have in your life 00:03:59.534 --> 00:04:04.662 who, no matter how good of a day you're having, they'll bring you down? 00:04:04.662 --> 00:04:09.129 Or no matter how bad of a day you're having, they'll bring you even lower? 00:04:09.129 --> 00:04:11.372 You know what I'm talking about? 00:04:11.372 --> 00:04:14.335 Think of the 3 biggest discourages in your life. 00:04:14.965 --> 00:04:17.496 They're not your biggest discourages. 00:04:17.496 --> 00:04:19.888 You are. 00:04:20.857 --> 00:04:24.205 It only takes 3 seconds for me to tell you something discouraging 00:04:24.205 --> 00:04:27.793 but then, you may never forget my words. 00:04:28.209 --> 00:04:32.130 I've met so many 50-year-old women and 40-year-old women 00:04:32.130 --> 00:04:37.366 who still remember what their fathers told them that they wish they'd never heard. 00:04:37.366 --> 00:04:39.719 Words are powerful. 00:04:39.719 --> 00:04:44.255 And when you hear those words and then your mind starts growing with these lies. 00:04:44.255 --> 00:04:48.375 "Nick, you're not good enough, just give up, you'll never get a job", 00:04:48.375 --> 00:04:52.484 "You won't get married, you can't even hold your wife's hand". 00:04:52.484 --> 00:04:54.837 "What kind of a father are you gonna be 00:04:54.837 --> 00:04:57.871 if you can't even pick up your kids when they're crying?" 00:04:57.871 --> 00:05:02.289 You're alone. Sure, your parents hug you. 00:05:02.289 --> 00:05:05.224 But their hugs can't heal you. 00:05:05.993 --> 00:05:10.206 Just give up. Just give up. Just give up. 00:05:14.760 --> 00:05:19.465 At age 8 I thought that I should commit suicide. Why? 00:05:19.465 --> 00:05:24.130 'Cause I didn't have hope. I thought I didn't have hope. 00:05:24.130 --> 00:05:27.207 Today you can see that I had hope. 00:05:27.207 --> 00:05:32.874 What's the word, believing in something you do not see? Faith. 00:05:32.874 --> 00:05:37.646 Words can only do so much. Hugs can do much more than words, 00:05:37.646 --> 00:05:42.167 but when hugs can't do anything, that's where faith kicks in. 00:05:42.167 --> 00:05:46.893 For me, words and hugs were not enough, but I had no faith. 00:05:47.523 --> 00:05:49.461 So I tried to give up. 00:05:49.581 --> 00:05:54.900 At age 10, I tried to drown myself in 6 inches, or 15 centimeters of water, 00:05:54.900 --> 00:05:56.371 in my home. 00:05:56.382 --> 00:06:01.728 I told my dad I just wanted to relax, but really, I wanted to end my life. 00:06:01.728 --> 00:06:05.302 I had enough. (Serbian) I had enough. 00:06:07.456 --> 00:06:10.782 The first two times I rolled over. 00:06:10.782 --> 00:06:15.048 I was trying to work out how much air I hold in my lungs before I let it out. 00:06:15.048 --> 00:06:21.688 And the third time, in my mind, knowing that I wanted to get out of here, 00:06:21.688 --> 00:06:25.326 because of the bullying in my life, 'cause I was going to be a burden to my parents 00:06:25.326 --> 00:06:27.634 and I had nothing to look forward to. 00:06:27.634 --> 00:06:31.207 I realized at that moment that if I actually went through with committing suicide, 00:06:31.207 --> 00:06:34.969 I would leave a greater burden for my parents than they already had. 00:06:37.285 --> 00:06:42.720 There was one thing less hopeful or more burdensome 00:06:42.720 --> 00:06:45.868 than having a child without limbs. 00:06:45.868 --> 00:06:51.016 What is it? A child without limbs who gives up. 00:06:51.016 --> 00:06:53.324 So when I saw in my mind my mom and my dad 00:06:53.324 --> 00:06:55.684 and my brother crying at my grave 00:06:55.684 --> 00:07:00.013 if I went through with it, that one thought saved me. 00:07:00.013 --> 00:07:04.190 If my parents never told me that I was beautiful the way I was. 00:07:04.190 --> 00:07:07.074 If my parents never told me that I was special and that I was loved, 00:07:07.074 --> 00:07:09.344 I wouldn't be here today. 00:07:09.344 --> 00:07:11.105 So I encourage every single parent 00:07:11.105 --> 00:07:13.721 who tries their best to encourage their teenagers, 00:07:13.721 --> 00:07:18.247 especially in the West, many teenagers put a 'do not disturb' sign on their door. 00:07:18.247 --> 00:07:23.070 I'm sure, the conversations all around the world between a parent and a teenager: 00:07:23.070 --> 00:07:26.468 How was school? - Fine. - What did you learn? - Nothing. - Did you do your homework? - No. 00:07:26.468 --> 00:07:28.666 And that's the conversation for the day. 00:07:28.666 --> 00:07:33.330 And when you try to tell your children that they're beautiful, they say, 00:07:33.330 --> 00:07:37.488 "Of course I'm beautiful, I'm your son, your daughter, of course you're gonna say that". 00:07:37.488 --> 00:07:39.570 But they're right. 00:07:39.570 --> 00:07:41.981 Every single human being has value 00:07:41.981 --> 00:07:44.258 and my value is not determined on how I look 00:07:44.258 --> 00:07:48.397 or what job I have, or where I'm from, where I was born, 00:07:49.197 --> 00:07:52.299 how much money, all that stuff is nothing. 00:07:53.407 --> 00:07:56.103 So many teenagers, you know, tease each other 00:07:56.103 --> 00:07:58.232 for how we look and I tell the teenagers, 00:07:58.232 --> 00:08:02.053 "Do you think that I'm cool enough to be your friend?" 00:08:02.053 --> 00:08:04.020 And they're like, "Yeah, of course". 00:08:04.035 --> 00:08:07.049 I say, "But I have no arms and no legs", and they say, "Doesn't matter." 00:08:07.049 --> 00:08:09.934 And I say, "Really? So it doesn't matter that I have no arms and no legs?" 00:08:09.934 --> 00:08:11.876 They say it doesn't matter. 00:08:11.876 --> 00:08:16.885 I say than, "Actually, if it doesn't matter, then why do we kill each other with our words, 00:08:16.885 --> 00:08:19.113 if it actually doesn't matter?" 00:08:19.113 --> 00:08:25.949 Why do we look [at] ourselves in the mirror and see ugly instead of valuable? 00:08:25.949 --> 00:08:30.208 I want to ask you today, what are you looking for? 00:08:30.208 --> 00:08:33.366 If I gave you a billion dollars, would you be happy? 00:08:33.366 --> 00:08:36.931 If you gave me a billion dollars, I'd be very happy. 00:08:36.931 --> 00:08:41.222 But then if my mom dies tonight, am I happy? No. 00:08:42.869 --> 00:08:45.568 With all the money in the world, I'd never be happy. 00:08:45.568 --> 00:08:49.820 Right? 'Cause money is something that cannot heal the soul. 00:08:50.066 --> 00:08:54.488 So many teenagers are looking for love which, love does heal the soul, 00:08:54.488 --> 00:08:56.874 love does complete the soul. 00:08:56.874 --> 00:09:00.645 But even sex before marriage, I was a virgin before I got married. 00:09:00.645 --> 00:09:04.335 Yeah, I've got a gorgeous wife, we're pregnant with our first son. 00:09:04.335 --> 00:09:07.289 And I don't need hands to hold her hand. 00:09:07.289 --> 00:09:10.318 I only want to hold her heart. 00:09:10.318 --> 00:09:12.090 And you know, how am I going to hug my kid? 00:09:12.090 --> 00:09:14.069 So many kids that come up to me, it's amazing. 00:09:14.069 --> 00:09:17.408 They put their hands behind their back and hug me with their neck. 00:09:17.408 --> 00:09:20.352 And I've realized in life, even the worst parts of my life 00:09:20.352 --> 00:09:22.198 can be turned into good. 00:09:22.198 --> 00:09:24.764 And even more special. 00:09:25.503 --> 00:09:29.869 So many teenagers are looking for love so they are going to go do this, 00:09:29.869 --> 00:09:32.015 and go do that and have sex before marriage. 00:09:32.015 --> 00:09:36.740 For me, sex out of marriage is like a 5 dollar Gucci watch. 00:09:36.740 --> 00:09:39.506 Sex within marriage and having sex with someone 00:09:39.506 --> 00:09:42.396 who loves you, who is committed to you for the rest of your life, 00:09:42.396 --> 00:09:45.486 going to be the mother or father of your kids, that's what love is. 00:09:45.486 --> 00:09:49.131 You can sleep with as many people as you like 00:09:49.131 --> 00:09:52.542 but never know for sure, "Do they love me?" 00:09:53.035 --> 00:09:56.308 Love is a life-long commitment. You see, there are choices in life. 00:09:56.308 --> 00:09:59.208 And we're looking. I want to ask you, what are you looking for? 00:09:59.208 --> 00:10:02.204 If I can just drunk, why not, man? I'll only live once. 00:10:02.204 --> 00:10:03.845 Well, if that's the way you believe, great. 00:10:03.845 --> 00:10:07.008 But for me, I'm a greedy man, I don't want to live for 90 years. 00:10:07.008 --> 00:10:09.358 I want to live for billions of years. 00:10:09.774 --> 00:10:13.524 And I know that every day, my choices will affect this life, 00:10:13.524 --> 00:10:16.693 other people's life and my eternal life. 00:10:17.078 --> 00:10:23.093 You gotta come to the truth of knowing who you are and why you're here. 00:10:23.093 --> 00:10:27.411 William Barkley, he said, the greatest two days in anyone's life -- 00:10:27.411 --> 00:10:30.721 they day you were born, and the day you knew why. 00:10:31.921 --> 00:10:35.045 So, "Uh, you're ugly". 00:10:35.045 --> 00:10:38.503 No, I'm beautiful the way that I am 00:10:38.503 --> 00:10:40.899 and if you can't believe that for yourself 00:10:40.899 --> 00:10:44.895 so many girls, specially, stay with their emotionally abusive boyfriends 00:10:44.895 --> 00:10:47.927 because, "If I break up with him, then who is going to want me? " 00:10:47.927 --> 00:10:50.971 See, we all want love. 00:10:50.971 --> 00:10:54.029 That's why we do what we do sometimes. 00:10:54.029 --> 00:10:56.426 To get into the crowd -- I am going to swear, I am going to be cool -- 00:10:56.426 --> 00:10:57.990 that's what this world is -- 00:10:57.990 --> 00:11:02.048 "I want to look like her, if I was taller, shorter, smarter, more popular" -- 00:11:02.048 --> 00:11:06.768 whatever you want, it's not enough. 00:11:06.768 --> 00:11:09.928 Until you find the truth. 00:11:09.928 --> 00:11:12.090 I'm wonderfully and faithfully made. 00:11:12.090 --> 00:11:14.728 There is a greater purpose for my life. 00:11:14.728 --> 00:11:17.208 I am here for a reason. 00:11:17.208 --> 00:11:19.805 Sure, I didn't get a miracle. 00:11:19.805 --> 00:11:23.285 Yeah, I believe in a God who can do miracles 00:11:23.285 --> 00:11:25.806 and I have a pair of shoes in my closet. 00:11:25.806 --> 00:11:29.688 Why? I've seen blind people seeing and deaf people hearing. 00:11:29.688 --> 00:11:32.593 That's fine if you don't believe me, I've got it on camera. 00:11:32.593 --> 00:11:34.635 But I realized something. 00:11:34.635 --> 00:11:37.608 If God doesn't change my circumstances 00:11:37.608 --> 00:11:42.128 he's gonna use my life to be a miracle for someone else. 00:11:42.128 --> 00:11:46.435 When you don't get a miracle, you can still be a miracle for someone else. 00:11:47.271 --> 00:11:50.809 I'm gonna close off with this beautiful story. 00:11:50.809 --> 00:11:53.489 I was in Southern California -- 00:11:53.489 --> 00:11:55.008 I have 2 organizations, 00:11:55.008 --> 00:11:59.168 a non-profit organization and I have a for-profit. 00:11:59.168 --> 00:12:04.980 I probably spoke between years 2007 and 2010, 1000 times, 600 flights. 00:12:05.457 --> 00:12:08.810 And I've spoken to 4.5 million people face to face 00:12:08.810 --> 00:12:13.894 and in the last 48 hours here in Serbia, we've reached 5 million through media. 00:12:15.285 --> 00:12:21.023 So, we have the heart of people to love others. 00:12:21.931 --> 00:12:24.390 We want people to love each other, love yourself 00:12:24.390 --> 00:12:27.190 dream big and never give up. 00:12:27.190 --> 00:12:29.775 We are all looking for hope, aren't we? 00:12:29.775 --> 00:12:31.690 What are you looking for? 00:12:31.690 --> 00:12:35.488 Money, drugs, sex, alcohol, pornography, fame, fortune. 00:12:35.488 --> 00:12:38.528 Never satisfies. 00:12:38.528 --> 00:12:40.888 It's never enough. 00:12:40.888 --> 00:12:44.326 But I have come to peace, so check this out. 00:12:44.326 --> 00:12:49.331 When I was 24 years old, 5-6 years ago, I was in California. 00:12:49.808 --> 00:12:52.208 And I'd never met anybody else like me. 00:12:52.208 --> 00:12:56.326 When I was 10 years old, I wished I would have met somebody like me. 00:12:57.140 --> 00:13:00.023 Never did, didn't get that miracle. 00:13:00.023 --> 00:13:03.127 But at 24, in Califronia, I saw a little boy 00:13:03.127 --> 00:13:09.110 with no arms and no legs, 19 months old, just like me. 00:13:09.941 --> 00:13:12.026 I knew he was going to be bullied, 00:13:12.026 --> 00:13:15.212 he was going to go through depression, he would feel alone, 00:13:15.212 --> 00:13:19.067 I knew that he would get worried if he's ever going to have a girlfriend 00:13:19.067 --> 00:13:21.076 and so on, and so on. 00:13:23.107 --> 00:13:26.338 I got the father to bring him up on stage in front of 2000 people. 00:13:28.153 --> 00:13:30.888 And everyone was crying. 00:13:30.888 --> 00:13:36.728 And it was a materialization of when you don't get a miracle, 00:13:36.728 --> 00:13:39.634 you can be a miracle for someone else. 00:13:41.034 --> 00:13:46.138 I am not a superhero, I go through ups and downs, so do you. 00:13:46.138 --> 00:13:48.549 But take one day at a time 00:13:48.549 --> 00:13:52.128 and if you haven't found that piece of knowing who you are and why you're here 00:13:52.128 --> 00:13:54.968 and where you're going when you're not here. 00:13:54.968 --> 00:13:58.095 For me, I want you to know that's how I've overcome. 00:13:58.095 --> 00:14:01.448 I don't have any walls. 00:14:01.448 --> 00:14:05.223 My book's called "Life without limits" and what will be, will be. 00:14:05.223 --> 00:14:08.205 I've acted in a short film, 30 awards. 00:14:08.205 --> 00:14:10.808 I got best actor in a short film. 00:14:10.808 --> 00:14:12.448 I've done my own music video. 00:14:12.448 --> 00:14:17.168 I've written 2 books, first book -- 30 languages, 800,000 copies. 00:14:17.168 --> 00:14:21.906 I'm 29 and we know a billion people know who I am. 00:14:22.891 --> 00:14:26.414 Not to bring out my pride or my name or my status, 00:14:26.414 --> 00:14:28.690 trust me, I'm just like you. 00:14:28.690 --> 00:14:31.697 But I hope you are inspired to know 00:14:31.697 --> 00:14:34.809 that if I can dream big, so can you. 00:14:34.809 --> 00:14:36.402 There are no walls. 00:14:36.402 --> 00:14:40.286 Find your peace and you'll make your walls doors. 00:14:40.778 --> 00:14:42.939 Thank you so much. 00:14:42.939 --> 00:14:45.231 (Applause)