Life Without Limits, by Nick Vujicic

Last year, a friend of mine won third place in a film competition, The Doorpost Film Project.  That was cool, but I thought he should have won first place.  (He did earn a job writing and directing a new feature film, Unconditional, scheduled for release later this year.)  The winning film, The Butterfly Circus, starred a young man with no arms and legs.  We're used to seeing Hollywood special effects remove limbs from actors, but this guy was the real deal!  It's a powerful film, and made me curious about this actor.

Nick uses technology and simple ingenuity to get around and be as independent as possible.

So when I saw that the actor in The Butterfly Circus, Nick Vujicic, had written a new book, I decided I'd check it out.  In Life Without Limts, I felt like I got to know Nick.  The strongest parts of the book are the personal stories.  Nick was born with no arms or legs, just a small, but thankfully somewhat functional left foot. He has never let that difference slow him down.  I loved the stories he tells of his adventures as a limbless man.  Some highlights:

• The blind girl he met who wanted to "see" him.  She was unfazed by the absence of limbs, but when she felt his beard, she freaked out! 
• Another little girl who did not speak to him all evening at a party.  When she was leaving, he asked if she would like to give him a hug.  She paused, put her arms behind her back, and, showing a high degree of empathy, leaned in for a "neck hug."
• His first and only schoolyard fight, when he left the older, bigger bully with a bloody nose.  I would love to have seen that!  Too bad this predated You Tube.
• His adventures surfing, skateboarding, scuba diving, playing the drums and keyboard. You can see some of this on You Tube.
• The fun he has helping people get comfortable being around him with his pranks and jokes.  "Can you lend me a hand?" 

Nick takes every opportunity to pull pranks like this.  One of his rules of life: do something ridiculous every day!

He mixes his stories in with pretty standard self-help, motivational message type of teaching.  Nick makes his living as an inspirational speaker, so it makes sense that this would be his content.  I usually groan at this Zig Ziglar, Robert Schuller school of writing or teaching.  But coming from Nick takes what might otherwise be trite to a whole new level.  Have a good attitude!  Be thankful for what you have!  Turn your struggles into opportunities to grow!  Life has setbacks--keep pressing on!  Whenever I was tempted to scoff at his "power of positive thinking" message, I stopped myself.  This guy was born with no arms and legs!  If I ever think I have it bad, if I think things aren't working out so hot for me, if I struggle with a positive attitude, I have no excuse!  Nick inspires me to remain thankful and positive and to seek opportunities to grow.

His life really is inspirational.  I have not seen him live or seen his videos, but I am sure the written word only captures a fraction of his good humor, love of life, and contagious joy.  Besides just enjoying his stories and taking in his practical teaching, the thing I'm left with most of all is the witness of his life.  If he can be happy in his circumstances, I can be happy in mine.  If he can be thankful in his physical state, I can be thankful, too.  You can't help but be inspired and challenged by this amazing man.

(I am grateful to WaterBrook/Multnomah for providing this free copy for review.)