John Register: Motivational Speaker/Paralympic Silver Medalist

Welcome to Disability Matters with your host Joyce Bender. All comments, views, and opinions expressed on the show are solely those of the host, guest, and callers. Now the host of Disability Matters, here's Joyce Bender.

Hi everyone, welcome to the show. Everyone in the Americas and around the world And that means Russia, that means Australia, that means Saudi Arabia, all around the world, the UK. We have so many great listeners. And you know what made my day is the other day I met someone and she came up to me. She's in Pittsburgh and she came up to me. She said, wow, I heard you talking. And I said, that's Joyce Bender. I never knew you were here in Pittsburgh. So see, if I ever wanna do something bad, I'm gonna have to change my voice. Because after being on the air 21 years, too many people know who I am. And also, thank you so much to Richard Roberts, who is in Brazil, who's a friend, a great friend, I love you. And Yoshiko Dart, special shout out to you and thank you. Hi, Mark. 21 years we've been on the air, and thank you for being our lead sponsor. And wow, is this a show. What a show. This show, guess what, is live from Paris, France. Is that not awesome? And I have with me my friend, an internationally known disability rights leader, an internationally renowned speaker, a silver medalist in the Paralympics, combat veteran, and more. And guess what else? He is the gold medalist of public speaking and motivation. Let me tell you, I've heard him, and he is the gold medalist, hands down. John, welcome to the show, and thank you for taking time to be with us when you're in beautiful Paris, France.

Joyce, I'm so happy to be on your show. Thank you so much for allowing me to, uh, just support you. You do such fantastic work for the disability community, disability rights. Known you, been mentored by you, and I just really appreciate all the work and effort that you do.

What'd I tell you? Did you hear that voice? I told you, gold medalist. You should see him in person. You should see him in person. John, what happens now that I have this international show is someone, whether they're in Hong Kong, wherever, they'll hear someone and say, "Oh my goodness, that person is so great. I only wish I knew more about them." So I ask everyone to share their story, you know, growing up, going to school, joining the military, being in the Paralympics, you know, a little bit about your family. Would you mind sharing your story with everyone?

Thanks, Joyce. Yeah, you know, my story is kind of a rags-to-riches storyline. I think we talk about acquiring disabilities rather than being congenital. I fit the mold definitely for that. I was a world-class athlete, ran track and field for the University of Arkansas, became a 3-time track All-American, went to 2 Olympic trials in the high hurdles, long jump, and then the 400-meter hurdles later on. And as I continued to want to run track and field, I enlisted in the United States Army and became a combat veteran and came back from the war without a scratch. But I was training for my third Olympic trials. I misstepped a hurdle in Hays, Kansas, of all places, dislocated my left knee, severed the artery behind my kneecap, and 7 days later, I made an elective decision to— to choose to amputate my leg above the knee. And it was a kind of traumatic experience, but more so, it was more so about the mindset than the actual physicality. Physically, I was in tremendous pain, and my male deductive reasoning said, if I just can get rid of my leg, I'll get rid of my pain. And don't we all do that? You know, we think we just want to amputate the thing that's holding us back the most. And after the amputation happened, I found out I was in more pain than my male deductive reasoning had reasoned. So it was really through my faith, it was through my family, my wife Alice most importantly, you know, God bless her. She, you know, as I was kind of going down a downward spiral, she really stepped in and said, you know, we're going to get through this time together. This is just our new normal. And when she spoke those words, she really baselined my entire existence and undergirded me with her love. We all need people in our lives that will just love on us so much to the point that they will never allow us to fail. They undergird us in our most traumatic and hardest times. And so I began to repurpose, retool, and reinvent myself and started swimming for physical therapy. I did end my service in the United States military. I got out and started working for them. As a civilian. And as I was working as a civilian and training in swimming, I wound up making the 1996 Paralympic swim team. So go figure, I was trying to become a 400-meter hurdler in the Olympic Games. I became a 50-meter freestyler and on the 2 relay teams on the team in Atlanta for Team USA. So it was an amazing way to see that parallel paths are all around us. They just— they can happen if we're just committed to walking on that path. So after the games, I saw and had seen athletes running with artificial legs. I had a leg made for running, and 4 years later, after learning how to run on artificial leg, I wound up going to Sydney, Australia on the Paralympic team, my second Paralympic team. Finishing 5th in the 100-meter dash, 5th in the 200-meter dash, and winning the Paralympic long jump silver medal. I mean, you couldn't even write this story, right? It's just absolutely crazy that this happened. And then finally, I also believe in leaving legacy. So as leaders, as advocates, as activists, we always need to leave a legacy for the next generation. You and I know that late, great Judith Heumann, who left a tremendous legacy. And I began what became known as the Paralympic Military Sport Program. I worked for the United States Olympic Committee for 15 years, and for about 8 of those years built out this program, which then turned into the Warrior Games that the Department of Defense runs and the Invictus Games that Prince Harry runs. And of course, I was introduced to the American Association for People with Disabilities because of that program. Winning award as the emerging leader for Paul G. Hearn, the Paul G. Hearn Emerging Leadership Award. And that really introduced me to this whole world of disability, disability advocacy, disability rights, and is primarily why I'm in Paris right now. I owe it a lot to AAPD and Disability:IN! and others and Amputee Coalition and just understanding the gravity of the situation for people with disabilities and ensuring that our rights are the same as I had before I had my amputation. So thanks for that question, Joyce.

John, I mean, that is phenomenal, phenomenal story. I can just imagine when you tell people that aren't familiar with our world, as you know, I live with epilepsy and I'm hard of hearing, but I could just see the reaction when you say, and I won the silver medal in high jump. I can just see that. But if you knew, if you knew John, he is Mr. High Jump. He is Mr. High Jump. I'm going to tell you right now, if you are a corporation and you are seeking a motivational speaker who is transformative to your environment, you've got to get in touch with John Register. Is it johnregister.com? What's your, what's your website?

That's it. You got it right on the head. JohnRegister.com.

And it's more than just a story. JohnRegister.com.

Absolutely. And it's more than just a story, Joyce, right? It's the motivation. It's really inspiration because inspiration comes from the Latin word inspiro. Inspiro means, when translated into English, is to breathe into. And so what we're doing is to breathe life into those that might be distraught or down. Down-trodden that are about to make a commitment to something, or they just made a commitment, now they need space and grace to grow. So we've developed an entire kind of strategy and lesson for businesses and corporations that are going through maybe merger acquisitions or something to that effect. And they're having big change that's happening, or even little change and first trying to get better, like sales kickoffs, because there is a process. And what I understood, I think my biggest lesson learned is that I did not overcome my adversity. I did not overcome the amputation of my left leg because I'd overcome it, I would have my leg back. So how did I do it? I learned how to adapt quickly. I learned how to innovate very fast so that I could be on a higher path. And we have a whole system to process, to teach companies how to do that. And then when we do, we're in a different mindset of what is actually capable, what we're actually capable of and what is possible for us.

Yeah, you also, any conferences here or around the world, this is hands down the best speaker you will get on, as he just said, inspiration. Now, you know how I am. On the air is that I don't endorse people, but I will endorse John Register. You will be amazed. You will be amazed. Gotta do it, gotta do it, gotta get him. Um, and John, you are— here we go, what'd I say— gold medalist in speaking. You're in the top 50 Global certified top 50 global leadership speaker, and you are electrifying. I've heard you speak, and you're a certified— you, you are certified. You were in that top 50. I mean, that must mean so much to you, John, to— I mean, there's so much more that you have achieved, where you're being recognized around the world. One of my questions is, when the heck did you know that, hey, I have a gift? I can— I'm a public speaker. When did you realize that?

My dad, uh, my dad is a Presbyterian minister, and, uh, the first time I ever had to give a presentation, I think it was the third or fourth grade, and he said I wouldn't get out of bed I would not go to school. I had the presentation act and I just was not going to do it. I was terrified to be in front of people. And coming from a line of great orators and my Uncle Gloster, who was in charge of all the platform speakers on the March on Washington, 1963, just around amazing individuals. I think it kind of came into me through a little bit of osmosis, but also In high school, I played the cello. I sang in choirs. I was in show choir. I played football. I ran track and field. So I was always kind of on a stage and never, you know, kind of shy for making, you know, like a show of things. And I think that's part of the element of being good on the platform is that you're comfortable being able to have a conversation with people, not just really directing and speaking at people, but we're having a conversation. And that's how I deliver a presentation. I have a whole methodology of how we do that. I think when I first realized that there might be something here and there's maybe a gift was I was working for the Army's Community and Family Support Center, and I had athletes that I was trying to help make Paralympic, or excuse me, the Olympic team. And I would take them to these T.A.R.E. missions, Total Army Involvement and Recruiting. And I would be the kind of MC of the show. I had my artificial leg by that time. I would make a quip. I would tell little jokes or sing a poem. One of my jokes was, you know, I know what you're all thinking, my favorite restaurant is IHOP, right? So it was kind of one of these, you know, just funny throwaway jokes. But the principals kept calling back to the recruiters and saying, "Hey, who was that one-legged guy that was in here talking? The kids are still talking about him. Can he come back down here and do like a 35-minute presentation?" And so the recruiters called me up and asked that question. And I said, "Absolutely, I'll come on back down there." And they said, "Well, how much do you charge for that?" And I got quiet on the other end of the phone. I said, "I'll get back to you in a moment." 'Cause I didn't know you could actually get paid to run your mouth. So that became kind of this, there was something in the message and there's something in the delivery that people were releasing to. And now we know that, you know, with the accolades, you know, I never seek accolades. Somebody called me 'cause they picked up a magazine and said, "Hey, did you know you've won the top 50 global speakers? I mean, you're in there with Tony Robbins and Brené Brown and Simon Sinek." And I say, "What?" And so it's, how do they even know about me? But yeah, that was kind of just amazing. And then my peer group from the National Speakers Association this year also inducted me into their Hall of Fame. It was, you know, these are like Zig Ziglar, you know, God rest his soul, and Les Brown of the world. I mean, these top 5 motivational speakers in the world. And so, there's something that's happening in the way, not just the speaking, but how we're helping to release people by breathing life into them. And so we have, I think, as we go further and deeper into our craft, there is something, I think, of why companies, companies will hire you if you have a good story. Companies will bring you back when you have impact in their, for their leaders, their senior leaders, right, to help them move the needle faster. And so we're being invited back because we have a system and a process. And that system and process is called the Amputate to Elevate Action Model, where we begin with a reckoning moment. And the reckoning moment is hurdled when we realize we don't get back what we desire to have back after some type of trauma has impacted our life. So think about it. You're out there, there's something that's going on in your organization, And people in the organization are saying, why can't we just get back to the way it used to be? Or we've been there for 25 years, why do we have to do something different now? So that is a mindset that holds organizations from advancing forward. Once we can move people from that mindset, now we're into the revision, we can cast a new vision on what might be possible. And so that begins to have this element of What is it that, in a brainstorm session, that we really desire to have if we had all the resources in the world? What we want this organization to be, to do, to act, and to make impact on society. And so we take kind of money off the table and we just say, what do we want to be? And then we back from there. But there are 3 elements that hold us back from making those commitments because that's how you hurdle the reckoning moment. I'm sorry, the revision moment. Other people, other people who are believing for you what you can or cannot do, which is often based upon what they believe they could or could not do if they were in your situation. These people are usually the closest ones to us. They're family members, they're doctors, they're people that are in our sphere, our sphere of influence. And then secondarily, as society, society has normalized some things for us. You and I live in the disability world space. And why did I think that my wife might leave me because I became a person with a disability? Who put that thought in my head? Because my real question was not, is she going to leave? My real question was, am I still desirable after I had my trauma hit? And so when she asked that question, she said, we're going to be— We're going to get through this together. Now we know who we have. Was it when I watched at 6 years old a Walt Disney movie called Peter Pan? And I see the villain of Peter Pan is Captain Hook. Captain Hook's the villain because he's an above-the-wrist amputee. Got his arm bit off by Tick Tock the crocodile, scaring the Lost Boys. And he's scaring me because he's dark, he's mysterious. Now when I become a person with a disability and an amputee, Am I now associating Captain Hook with me? Is that why people we see on every Halloween, we have people with deformities, people with mental illnesses, mental disabilities, scaring us every Halloween on the movies? Jason or Hannibal Lecter or the Joker, anybody that you can think of that's a villain, the Penguin, all these folks are there and they terrorize us and we pay money to go see them. So now when it comes to an issue that happens in our company or in our country or in our culture, that is easily to be dismissed on people with disabilities, we do it because we can't have an honest conversation because we have scared ourselves with the normality of that group. So I'm talking about disability, but it can be other things in your company and your business that are scaring you and holding you back. And then third, the leader has to commit, or the individual has to commit. I've had the world's best hurdle coaches. None of them ever ran over a hurdle for me. I have to attack the hurdles in my own life. And that leads us to the hardest part of the model, which is the renewal, which begins with the rebirth. After the doctor takes my leg off, I don't I do not get my leg back. That is a true commitment. Once you've made a commitment to the way that you want to move the organization or your life or yourself, you don't go back to the way it used to be. Because new, I talk about the new normal mindset, new is defined as no prior point of reference. And if new is no prior point of reference, then we cannot use old systems, old thoughts, old ideas to put into a new bucket to get a different outcome. Output. We can't put new wine into old wineskins because they'll burst. So now I have to give myself space and grace to grow in this new environment. The environment has been there all along. There have been plenty of amputees before me. I'm just a new amputee and I don't know how to operate in this environment. So I need to take my oxygen into my atmosphere so I can thrive in my environment. So what's that? I surround myself with a community. Of people that have been there before. I give myself that space and grace to learn new things. Just because I'm a new amputee doesn't mean I know everything about being an amputee. Just because I've been thrust into a new executive leadership role, I just don't know everything about being a new CEO. CEOs are very lonely at the top because they don't have a lot of people to talk to. They can't really talk to the HR team. They can't really talk to anybody else around. They have to— They're kind of thinking of ending that organization on their own. So can we create a forum for CEOs to talk with each other to help them advance forward? And now that I've done space and grace to grow, now I'm in a resolve. I'm resolute. I know exactly how I'm showing up because I've done the work, not because I just be the names of something. I've done the work. And that equals my liberation, my freedom, my reward. But in my model, the reward is not a destination, it's a plateau for the next level of growth. So the new normal mindset is actually a growth mindset model that we use for Amputate to Elevate.

Wow, that is so powerful. And you know what, John, that one segment you told about Peter Pan and, you know, how the villain is an amputee, you know, with prosthetics and it's a hook and the whole thing. And Treasure Island, same thing.

Treasure Island, right.

So, so there's a book out about the cinema for people with disabilities and the isolation. What this book is about is that in so many of the movies the evil person was always someone with a disability. You know, one of my absolute favorite movies in the world is It's a Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart. And if you recall, the evil banker was in a wheelchair, right? That's right. So, and then as you said about Jason, mental illness, you know, all of these people— mental— it broke out of a mental institution, you know, or deformity. Just last night I saw this crime TV network show, and this guy was wearing a mask all the time, and it was because he had been shot and he had this deformity, and he was the serial killer. It's just— you're so right what you're saying. That's why you got to have John come. He's handsome. You got to have him come and speak. To everyone. But you know what? That's what we have to change. We have to change. That's what we have to change. That's what we have— that stigma, that view, that's what we have to change right there in, in the theater with people like Marlee Matlin and Maria Towne at AAPD fighting the fight for— if it's a movie about a person with a disability, Make sure they have a disability. And by the way, don't always make them the serial killer. And with that, it's time for our news break on the half hour. And we have with us our outstanding news anchor who has been on, I think, what, Perry? 6 years, or is it going on 6 years? How long have you been?

I think we're going on 6 years.

Yeah, and John, we are the only show, radio show, disability-oriented that has weekly news on what's going on nationally, you know, in the world of disability with legislation or whatever it is, or about voting. The the only place. So like, we don't have CNN where, you know, oh, this is what's going on right now, you know. And there's— so, so I'm CNN, and my newscaster, Perry Jude Radesik from Disability Rights Pennsylvania, is phenomenal. So Perry, what news do you have for us today?

Joyce, it's important that people in Pennsylvania, or if you have friends in Pennsylvania, let them know about this change. Pennsylvania has changed what's called a designated agent form. So we're talking about voting in advance of the general election this November. The Pennsylvania Department of State changed our state's designated agent form to allow voters an increased choice of who can be their designated agent when they need support. In voting. This is really important, and again, I always say, you know, your vote matters in so many ways. When there are people in administrations who enforce civil rights and write regulations that help people with disabilities, that meant your vote mattered. So voting rights advocates, including us at Disability Rights PA, have been asking for changes to this form for the last few years. And the old form was often interpreted to limit voters' choice of who can be their designated agent, possibly violating the Voting Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. So, for example, people living in a congregate setting, like a group home or a personal care home or a nursing home, Voters who have disabilities in these congregate settings may have been limited in who they were able to choose to help them vote independently. So here's what happened recently. In April, the Department of Justice issued some updated guidance on how the ADA and the Voting Rights Act protect voters with disabilities. So the Department of State took notice of that. In particular, the Voting Rights Act requires officials to allow voters with disabilities to receive assistance from a person of the voter's choice, as long as they're not the employer or an officer of the voter's union. The ADA has a similar requirement. So, and even further, that congregate settings, if you live in a congregate setting, You have a right to get assistance of your choice. So if a form is, and guidance is limiting that, the Department of Justice said, well, that could be a violation of the law. So now we have a new form in Pennsylvania, doesn't have any limited language or any language that would be limiting to the person's choice, which is great news. Advocacy matters. Who you vote for matters. Designated agents empower voters with disabilities and allow us to designate help to vote. Whether it's— so what does that mean? Like, if we need help taking our ballot to a drop box, or if we need support in any way that enhances our ability to vote independently, we have the right to designate anyone that we trust to allow us to do that. So the designated agent form, if you want to take a look at it, is available now on the Pennsylvania Department of State website. You know where to go, disabilityrightsPA.org. That's disabilityrightsPA.org. This segment is on the— about middle of our home screen. Click on it for today, find the links to the Department of Justice new guidance and our new designated agent form in Pennsylvania. Let folks know who are from Pennsylvania that this is now available and there are no limits to who they can select for support in casting their ballot.

Perry, just so that anyone listening to the show right now understands this. Would this be a situation if you're in assisted living or if you're in a community home, any congregate setting, as you said, would they then have to all have the ballot filled out ahead of time? I'm talking about people that want someone to deliver their vote or whatever. What all could that designated person do?

Sure. So sometimes, like in a group home, you might have a shortage of staffing, right? And so there used to be limited language or limiting language that said only one person in a home can support the person with the disability to vote. That may be taking a ballot to a drop box. So that language has been removed based on guidance from the Department of Justice now. You cannot limit— you cannot limit a person's right to select anybody. So let's say 4 people are in a group home. They could all now select the same person. They could vote independently. Seal it, and let that one support staff take their ballot to the drop-off. They could also all select the same person to help them register to vote or help them with their ballot. That you have to sign the form, you have to sign that you provided assistance, but there's no, no limit to how many, uh, how many people with disabilities, if they wanted to, could select the same person.

If they're registered to vote, can someone— and they can't leave the building— is there a way that this designated individual can get the ballot to them, or how does that work?

Absolutely. Absolutely. Let's say you found yourself sick at the last minute. Well, you know, hospitals also have some shortages. The social worker could help everybody on the floor go get a ballot if they weren't all expected to be in the hospital. Now, Pennsylvania has some complicated procedures. You have to go to court and— but that one designated agent could help a number of people exercise the right to vote if they're in a situation where they thought they were going to get to the polls, it's too late to get a mail-in ballot, and they could all designate the same social worker to help them go get that ballot and then take it back to the county elections office that day.

And can they— can people listening to the show go to disabilityrightspa.org to read about this somewhere on your website?

Absolutely, it is on our website, but also We— you could go to the Department of State's website, which is pa.gov, and look at the form. I think the form's pretty self-explanatory. So if you go to our website, click on today's advocacy matters segment, the form will give you the instructions on what to do.

Okay. Well, that's great news, Perry. All right. Well, you know what? Rev up, register, educate, vote. Vote. Thank you so much for calling in, Perry, and I look forward to talking to you next week.

Yeah, good luck, John. We'll all be rooting for you.

Hey, thanks. Go Team USA!

Yeah, go Team USA is right. So, John, speaking of the Paralympics, what is coming up? What do we have to look forward to? You know, who is broadcasting this? Yeah, whatever you want to tell us about it, let's hear it.

Yeah, so this is an amazing event we call the Paralympic Games. You know, we got next. So the Olympics have just happened and the city has reset, the City of Light has reset for the Paralympic Games. And these athletes will come in and are going to just electrify the citizens that will come out to see these games. 12 days of Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. It begins tomorrow with coverage across NBC, Peacock, USA Network, and CNBC. The Peacock to stream a record-breaking 1,500+ hours of coverage across all 22 Paralympic sports. So it's really going to have a dynamic impact for us in the United States. And it's different for us because usually we, you know, We do television different in our country when it comes to this. In other countries, the government will pay that, the freight for those games to be on television. But we have to sell it. We have to sponsor it. As you know, that's tough. If no one really knows who you are, it's tough to get somebody to buy into it. So there are some groups like, companies like Toyota who see the value investment. There's Bridgestone. There's, you know, CORE. I think there's also Deloitte and some others that are in there that are kind of sponsoring the games. But Toyota really has really moved forward. And as we know in our world, that they're really kind of heavily investing in the future of movement with athletes. And not just athletes, but, you know, people with disabilities. So live coverage of opening ceremony is presented tomorrow Wednesday, August 28th, at 1:00 PM Eastern time on USA Network and Peacock. And, you know, there are going to be 4,400 Paralympic athletes here expected to compete. And this is— it's really good to understand this because, you know, there are 15 billion people in the world that have a disability. And most of the time, there's no representation for them to see what the capabilities actually are. So that drives up the unemployment rate because we don't really understand the capabilities of people. But if these individuals can find their way from their countries, get on a plane, get on a train, get on a bus, take all their equipment with them, you know, whether it's wheelchairs or throwing chairs, you know, people that have even intellectual disabilities in track and field and in swimming and make their way to Paris to win gold, silver, and bronze medals for their country. How much more can they do when they get back? Why do we still have an unemployment rate that's so high? Are we only being entertained by the athletes and being mesmerized by calling them quote-unquote superhuman when in actuality they're not superhuman, they're just trying to advance in a world that was not built for them. And so we look at a person like a Matt Stutzman, who we call the armless archer, he calls himself that, who can change a tire in less than 1 minute. I just had him on my show a little earlier, we're going to promote him tomorrow. And you know, this man wanted to be on the pit crew of a NASCAR team without any arms, but he could only change the tires in less than 1 minute with his feet. He needed to do it in 8 seconds, he could only do it in 45. Right, so think about that. That seems incredible, but he doesn't have arms. So of course he's going to use what he has to be the best. But he's an archer, and he has the longest shot in the world. It's the Guinness Book of World Records on target. So when you look at, you see a person like that, And even going against temporarily able-bodied individuals, he's the best archer. And of course, when I asked him the question, "How do you become the best archer?" You know, we don't even— he's a funny guy, he just said, "Oh, just take your arms off and shoot with your feet." Because that's how you become the best archer. And now he's training 5 other archers by video around the world who also don't have arms. So he's showing the capabilities of people. And then it's only our limited thinking that limits them, that limits us. You can't do because I don't think that you can do because I don't think I could do what you do if I was in your situation. Going back to my reckoning moment, right? That's the— that's what's in our minds. That's what's in our HR departments. And if I see an HR department that's thinking that way, then you need to find— either train them up or find another HR department because you have a great placement agency that has people with disabilities being placed all over the country. So why not lean into those opportunities and the people that are delivering these services and showing the abilities of people rather than focusing in on, you know, the 3% of things they can't do. Let's focus on the 97% of things they still can do.

Yeah. Well, I'll tell you what. You know, this situation with employment, this is me, I'm all about employment. The fact that 70% of people with disabilities are still not counted in the workforce today is absolutely terrible. And I like what you said about don't just look at the Olympics and say, "Oh, look at that, wow, look at that person, isn't that something?" Don't do it. This is why I tell people, if you come to me and you say, "Oh, Joyce, you know what, you're wonderful, you are," I'll say, "Don't tell me that. Hire someone." That's where the rubber meets the road, employment. But I must tell you, I am very excited to see the Paralympics. It figures that we would have to get sponsors. Isn't that just the way it is? Well, John, I want to get back to you. And is there a name for your company, John?

Yes, most people joyously find me by my name, John Register, but the company name is called Inspired Communications International. Um, and I leaned into the word— I used to hate the word inspiration, but I leaned into the word when I found out what the word actually meant. I didn't want to be an inspirational athlete because I didn't want people standing on my back to elevate themselves. When I was an Olympic-class athlete and we did some type of, you know, a good feat or we set a record, you know, a sports reporter came out and would interview us about that performance and we would wind up on the sports page. Or on the news cycle in their story and in the sports section. When I became a Paralympic athlete, if a reporter came out, I was always the inspirational story. I was on the Metro section and/or at the end of the television program, it would be, we want to make you feel good about yourself, so let's put John. And I didn't want people using me as a doormat for that to make themselves feel better. So I used to hate the word inspiration for that. And then, you know, through a couple of incidents, one was a woman in the airport, two children. I'm reading USA Today newspaper, I'm wearing shorts, and my leg is exposed. And the two boys, they're looking at my leg and looking back at their mom, looking back at my leg, look back at their mom, they say, you know, "Hey, Mommy, there's Robot Man!" Right? So I laugh, and because I can hear them, and, you know, then everybody else in the gate waiting area Now, you know, a few people started saying, "Get that mom out of here, that's impolite. Bad mom, don't let those kids stare, get them out of here." I was like, "Wow, that's interesting." But I kept on reading my paper. Then the woman gets up, she starts walking in my direction, and she stops in front of me and she says, "Excuse me, sir, my children are absolutely fascinated by your artificial leg. It looks like you've overcome so much adversity. I mean, you're such an inspiration. Would you please tell them what happened?" Well, now I'm taken aback because no one's ever come up to me in a public setting asking me what's going on with my artificial limb. And so I won't go through the rest of the story, but what happened in my— after I got on the plane and started going back to Virginia where I was living from San Francisco and I was making my way back, I began thinking about that experience. That just because I was in an airport wearing shorts, exposing my artificial leg, reading a paper, minding my own business, Somebody was inspired to act. So that began my quest to understand this word and how it's really not motivating people. You know, it's about inspiring people to act. And so we need some type of light that comes in, and that light comes in through a breath. When we breathe into people, the breath of that life that they need to excel, then they can work better in a team, then they can be a better parent, and they can be a better spouse or whatever they need to be. But that breath is the first thing because without it, we begin to take it away, Joyce, we begin to panic. And when we panic, we do irrational things. So for example, during the pandemic, uh, when we started panicking. Do you remember what most Americans were doing at that point when, when we first were going in, you know, March of 2020, uh, we had just shut down? What were we physically doing in America that was like unorthodox? Do you remember?

Well, it's funny you would say this But there are some unusual things that come to my mind right away. One was like when my neighbor would have the food delivered outside and then we'd go out with gloves on and wash off all the cartons, all the boxes. But we weren't leaving home, we weren't leaving the house, and we were paranoid. We were paranoid, total isolationists. Which thing are you talking about, John?

I'm talking about even before we started isolating, before we even knew what this thing was, we all started buying toilet paper.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah. I was like, that is the most irrational thing, you know? But when you are— you want something that you can control. And that became the thing of control. There were truckloads of toilet paper that they couldn't, they couldn't, they couldn't stock it enough for people. And so, uh, it was kind of this phenomenon that happened. And so when we panic, we do irrational things.

You forgot something. You forgot, you forgot Clorox wipes, right? Yeah, I had friends that had 40 containers. Of Clorox wipes.

So it's overkill because we want safety. We want to be safe, and that's— we'll do anything to protect ourselves to become safe. It's like the first thing, Maslow hierarchy of needs, right? So we want to be safe. And so when we are panicking and we're trying to protect ourselves first, we're not so concerned about other people. And that's where we have to begin. And it's so important to inspire and breathe life into others. So we lessen their, their focus on things that they don't have, which causes them to panic. So as leaders, that's what we have to do. We have to begin breathing life into our companies, our employees, our families and understand that this thing is not over. When I'm talking about like the pandemic, I was talking about the pandemic, we'll keep on that theme because I just spoke to the United States Air Force Academy and the cadets that are going through right now that are entering in, they did not have a high school graduation, they did not have a prom. Yeah. They did not have a turnabout dance. They did not have any of these things for 2 years. So when we start making analogies back to our prom or our homecoming games, they have no clue what that is because they never went through it. So when they go back to their reunions, what are they going to do? Going to be in a car? You know, these are our future leaders. So this blip continues to go with us. Same thing when I was speaking for Vail Resorts. We had 450 leaders in and they're trying to figure out how they could advance forward with some of the things that they need. So we walked through that same process, the reckoning, the revision, and the renewal. We did a whole workshop with those folks for like 2 hours trying to get them to understand what their responsibility is in breathing life into others, their employees around the world means, you know. And so it was fantastic. I learned so much. From that because I don't think it's me just— I'm the facilitator of the brilliance that's already in the room. That's what I do. So that's how I instruct and teach and do keynote addresses because I think it's important for us, for just like Matt Stutzman was doing, as I said earlier, you know, he's making other archers who don't have any arms to become the best archers. Every one of us in our sphere of influence should be trying to to create, uh, other, other folks that are, you know, after us, after our own kind of— after our own kind, uh, that's going to elevate, uh, society.

Yeah, that— oh, I so agree with you. Um, yeah, John, I had to find that new normal when Mary— when I lost Mary.

Oh my gosh, Mary Brock.

And you're, you're right. That after a time you have to determine, how am I going to breathe life back into many people and friends, myself, starting with me? But I think that topic is so excellent. Just want to say again, if you want to get John to come and be a keynote speaker, or if you at a conference, or if you want him to work with your corporation, it's johnregister.com. John, how soon in advance, if someone is hearing this show today, how soon in advance do they have to, uh, register to get you?

Oh, good name, register. You gotta register, right?

Oh, I do think we can say register. Register. Okay, go ahead.

So, you know, usually we're about 4 to 5 months out. We're already doing some bookings right now in 2025, and actually in May of— May and April and May of 2025, we have some dates on the calendar that have already sold. But there's some dates that are open even right now for Disability Employment Awareness Month, which is in October, and some dates for Veterans Month, which is in— in November. And then I think I usually do a lot with our State Department in December. So I go out and do the United Nations International Disability Day. And I usually go for about a week to a country to work on disability rights stuff. But as you heard in the show, as we're talking, it's more than just disability rights. It's really creating the mindset for people. And we call it the Amputate to Elevate Action Model. Talk about transforming adversity into advantage. So we really do get our hands dirty and walk in the weeds. But to, you know, answering the question, it can be, you know, just check the date on the calendar. I have a rockstar executive, I just promoted her, so I'm trying to think of her title now. Executive administrator, she's not an administrator, she's a, what do you call executives, not assistant.

She sounds to me like she's going to become chief of staff. But go ahead.

Yeah, exactly. That's, that's exactly right. So, uh, she's really sharp. Her name is Jasmine. And if you go on the website, just hit the book me now link, the book me link, that begins the process for us. Uh, and, and the first thing we do is ask you what, what the date is, uh, and so that we know that we're clear on that date. And then we, we just hold it for you. Um, and then the process just begins and we work probably a couple, 3, 2 to 3 calls. We want to make sure that we're dialed in on your message. Again, I'll learn like the 30,000-foot level, but your people really know what to do. They just need to be released to do it. And it's critical for leadership to come in and work with us. And so we, it's just not the keynote speaking, Joyce Bender. It could be a keynote and a breakfast with your senior leaders. It could be a keynote and a fireside chat. It can be a fireside chat and a breakout session. There's different ways that we can deliver the content. We can do a podcast like this. There's so many different ways that we have formats now to keep the message going. I have a JR 90-day leadership sprints. So we go deep dives on one topic. So we might say resilience is the first topic. And so for 90 days, you're going to hear from Olympic athletes, you're going to hear from people in the military, you're going to hear from people who are Gold Star family members who talk about resilience in a very different way than what you have heard. Most people say resilience is to bounce back. We say, or not, we also add to it, resilience can also be asking for help. Resilience in the word, embedded in the word resilience is the word silence. So we really unpack these things to help leaders become more effective and better. You know, you can get, you know, things for your team, you know, sign up and, and, uh, we'll, we can do like licensing agreements to make sure that your people, uh, have the tools they need. And, and, you know, there's a, there's a masterclass going on tonight that I'm not even part of because I'm in France, but I have one of our team members, he's over in Denmark or Denmark, Actually, I didn't mark it up, so she's leading the whole session this evening.

Well, so, John, the community— sadly, John, we are coming to the end of the show, and I have to have— no, no, no, no, wait, I have to have 10 seconds to say something. Congratulations on being inducted into the Speaker Hall of Fame. I know that honor is bestowed only by Once Peers with the National Speakers Association. I told all of you, he's a gold medalist speaker. Congratulations, John. Good luck. Good luck. Go USA. Go USA. I love you so much. And we end every show with a quote. And today it is: Before you achieve, you must believe in yourself. 'You are more capable than you think,' said gold medalist Simone Biles. This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice, where disability matters, at voiceamerica.com. Watch the Paralympics, starts Thursday. Is that right, or is it Wednesday, John?

Yeah, 28th. Wherever you are in the world, the 28th.

Okay, the 28th. And listen, everyone, listen, in the words of Mary Brooker, when you go out today, remember, choose joy. Talk to you all next week. We love you, John. We'll be reading for the United States. Everyone, have a great day. Thank you, John.

Voice America would We would like to thank you for tuning in. Please join us next Tuesday at 11 AM Pacific time and 2 PM Eastern time for another installment of Disability Matters right here on the Voice America variety channel. We are the leader in live internet talk radio. VoiceAmerica.com.