Free Stand Strong: You Can Overcome Bullying (and Other Stuff That Keeps You Down) by Nick Vujicic

to your bully defense system and your safety zone.
    G ETTING IN Y OUR Z ONE
    I didn’t realize until my high school years that I really enjoyed public speaking. When I was younger, I was terrified of going in front of my classmates and reading a paper or giving a speech. At that point, I was still very nervous and self-conscious about being different—and I’m not referring to my Australian accent. As I entered my teen years, my parents encouraged me to put myself out there a little bit so people would get to know me. I began speaking up in class and sharing my feelings with classmates.
    To my surprise, the other kids didn’t run when I spoke tothem. Many of them actually seemed to enjoy talking to me and learning more about me. Some of them wanted to be friends and hang out with me. A few even shared their feelings with me and confided in me about their own insecurities and fears.
    When you grow up as different as Jenny and me, you tend to have a greater empathy for others. My disabilities made me more understanding and more sympathetic. I’m always willing to listen and offer encouragement and support. Those are qualities I never realized I had until my parents encouraged me to come out of my shell and to speak up more so my classmates could get to know me.
    After a while, I actually found myself enjoying classes in which I had to give speeches or read my papers aloud. Slowly, I realized that I had a gift for communicating with people. Every time I dared to speak up or to sit down and let others share their feelings with me, I had this sense of being more engaged and alive. I don’t know how else to describe it other than
thrilling
. Not in the sense that a scary ride at an amusement park is thrilling, but there are some similarities. It was an addictive sort of thrill. One I wanted to re-create time and time again. So I kept putting myself out there.
    Then one day, a janitor at my high school told me I should think about becoming a professional speaker. That seemed like a crazy idea at first.
    “What would I talk about?” I asked him. “Who would come to hear me?”
    “Talk about the same thing you talk about to the kids in school,” he said. “They love it when you share your stories with them about dealing with your disability, trying to fit in, and using your sense of humor to handle challenges.”
    This janitor didn’t just clean up around the school. He was a very caring Christian guy who I became friends with and talked to most afternoons after school while waiting for my ride home. He suggested I come to a meeting as a guest speaker. I put him off for a while, but he finally convinced me to speak to a small group. They were very supportive and attentive. After that, I spoke to any group that requested my time. I probably spoke to a few who didn’t even ask me. (Okay, so I sometimes stood on street corners just talking to myself.)
    Before I knew it, I was speaking to a group of three hundred people and I was being invited to speak to organizations and schools in other communities.
    You know the rest of the story. The point is that I discovered a passion and I’ve built my life around that passion. More importantly, I found my purpose—to encourage and inspire others—and that is one of the most powerful things I take into my safety zone.
    From my earliest days as a speaker just talking to classmates,I discovered that one of the things that kept me from becoming sad or discouraged when someone picked on me or something bad happened was just thinking about my last speech or the next one coming up. People told me they enjoyed my talks. They said my story inspired them. They thanked me, but in truth, they gave me much more than I’d given them. They confirmed my value on this earth. I took that to the bank—and into my safety zone.
    T HE R EALM OF P OSSIBILITY
    When I first read Jenny’s e-mail, I realized that she had followed a similar path and that her own career was something she kept as a source