He set a world record for number of public speaking engagements in a public forum in China. Is your company next on his list? John Coutis is coming to America as a man on a mission. John, who hails from Melbourne, Australia, plans to take on those of us here in need of some inspiration. You see, John has no legs, but that hasn’t stopped him from playing aggressive field sports or pretty much anything else. His book From The Ground Up has sold over 1.2 million copies and will release into the US later this year. In Part 2 of our coverage of John Coutis, we offer a second video and additional insight gleaned from his interview with me last weekend. The new video is below and the new text can be accessed just below the video.
Read more from the interview here…John Coutis is on a mission to inspire people to look beyond their problems, redefine them as challenges and overcome them. During our interview between Melbourne and Dallas last week, I found myself thinking back to a quote in a book I read as a teenager that said, “Successful people begin where others end in failure.” John personifies the idea of not considering failure an option. He has many achievements that are noteworthy, but part of our discussion diverted away from the normal accolades as we discussed his family. I believe that family is where the rubber meets the road for any belief system. If you are walking the walk, it will show there. If not, it will show there. So rather than focus solely on his resume of achievements, I decided to ask him about his family.
John and I share something in common in that we are both fathers of 14 year old sons. John’s son, Clayton, was diagnosed early in life with a form of autism that led doctors to paint a very bleak picture for his future development. John credits his wife, Leanne, for much of Clayton’s progress. It is crystal clear that John and his wife are a team on this subject. He shared with me some very compelling stories about Clayton’s progress. Clayton, though autistic, is considered a great gentleman among the ladies because he readily opens doors for them and displays common courtesies many kids his age would feel awkward displaying. He is a student pilot and will earn his pilot’s license when he turns 16. He has aspirations of becoming a pilot or an air traffic controller, and John enjoys some affectionate fatherly humor about whether that career path is in the public’s best interest.
Clayton is also a great linguist according to John and may pursue a career as a professional interpreter. Yes, you read that right, an autistic child may become a professional interpreter. John discussed his parenting views and noted that he and his wife from time to time set up challenges for Clayton to overcome on his own. They established standards for behavior that Clayton follows well. John taught Clayton,“If you can speak, you can speak well.” He was referring to manners, appropriate consideration of others and the ability to get along with others.
Clayton has surpassed all the physician expectations and is becoming a young man the doctors never believed possible. I asked John if there was an innovation, such as a drug or device that made the difference in Clayton’s achievements. He replied, “We did give him a drug. We gave him the drug of love. There are no bad kids, just bad parenting, and we did our best to give him love that would help him rise above his own challenges just like I have had to rise above mine.”
John Coutis is a motivational speaker and an inspiration to throngs of people around the world. But I found the discussion about his life with his family to be the most convincing that he lives what he believes, and that what he believes can make a difference in others.
John intends to move his family to the US towards the end of 2008, bringing his upbeat humor and his abject refusal of failure to the American business community. He is virtually unknown in the US, but that won’t be the case for long. I predict John will be a hit as a corporate speaker. His tell-it-like-it-is style will resonate well, and we could all use a dose of motivation.
If you want to be among the first to have John Coutis speak at your company, please contact Joseph Bovino, his manager, at joseph@busaffairs.com. (Please note - I get nothing for this beyond the satisfaction of knowing that John will help people.)
John Coutis. Watch him. He’s going to make an impact.
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