Nick Vujicic

Nicholas James "Nick" Vujicic (/ˈvujitʃitʃ/ VOO-yee-cheech;^[1] Serbian pronunciation: [ʋûjitʃitɕ]); born 4 December 1982^[2]) is a Serbian-Australian Christian evangelist and motivational speaker born with Phocomelia,^[3] a rare disorder characterised by the absence of all four limbs. As a child, he struggled mentally and emotionally as well as physically, but eventually came to terms with his disability. He presents motivational speeches worldwide which focus on life with a disability and finding hope and meaning in life.

During secondary school, Vujicic was elected captain of Runcorn State High School in Queensland and worked with the student council on fundraising events for local charities and disability campaigns. When he was seventeen, he started to give talks at his prayer group^[4] and later founded his non-profit organisation, Life Without Limbs.

Vujicic has written that he keeps a pair of shoes in his closet due to his belief in miracles.^[5] In 1990 he won the Australian young citizen award for his bravery and perseverance. In 2005 he was nominated for the Young Australian of the Year Award.^[6]

Education

Vujicic graduated from Griffith University at the age of 21 with a Bachelor of Commerce degree, with a double major in accountancy and financial planning. Subsequently he became a motivational speaker, travelling internationally and focusing on teenage problems. Having addressed over three million people in almost 57 countries on five continents,^[7] he speaks to corporate audiences, congregations and schools.

Ministry

After begging God to grow arms and legs, Vujicic eventually began to realise that his accomplishments were inspirational to many and began to thank God for being alive. A key turning point in his life was when his mother showed him a newspaper article about a man dealing with a severe disability. This led him to realise he was not the only one with major struggles. When he was seventeen, he started to give talks.

Career

Vujicic speaking during the session "Inspired for a Lifetime" at the Annual Meeting 2011 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on 30 January 2011

Vujicic promotes his work through television shows and through his writing. His first book, Life Without Limits: Inspiration for a Ridiculously Good Life, was published by Random House in 2010. He markets a motivational DVD, Life's Greater Purpose, a short documentary filmed in 2005. The second part of the DVD was filmed at his local church in Brisbane – one of his first professional motivational speeches. He markets a DVD for young people titled No Arms, No Legs, No Worries!.^[8]

In March 2008, Vujicic was interviewed by Bob Cummings for the 20/20 American television show.

Vujicic starred in the short film The Butterfly Circus, which won the Doorpost Film Project's top prize of 2009.^[9] In 2010, the film also won two awards as the Best Short Film at the 2010 Method Fest Independent Film Festival. At the same film festival, he was awarded Best Actor in Short Film for his starring performance as Will.^[10] Butterfly Circus also won the best short film award at The Feel Good Film Festival in Hollywood in 2010.^[11]

Vujicic is a motivational speaker with TED.^[12][13]

Private life

Vujicic's parents were born in Serbia; his father Borislav Vujičić left in 1969, his mother Dušanka in 1964.^[14]

On 12 February 2012, Vujicic married Kanae Miyahara. Their first son, Kiyoshi James, was born in 2013, while a second, Dejan Levi, was born in August 2015.

See also

• Hirotada Ototake, a sports writer and another survivor of tetra-amelia syndrome.
• Joanne O'Riordan from Ireland

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nick Vujicic.

• Life Without Limbs website
• Attitude is Altitude website
• Video interview with Vujicic