Mr. John Tartaglio, your story is truly amazing on how you’ve overcome an illness that would have made most of us give up and quit. And not only did you not quit on life, but you went out and LIVED life more than most of us do! Your illness took your legs, but not your spirit. You went on to become a professional speaker. You’ve even spoken on TED TALKS! You are the only person in history to have run the New York Marathon without any legs, and you married the woman of your dreams! Please keep inspiring and sharing your greatness with the rest of us, John!
- Did you always know that you wanted to serve others and help today’s youth?
I always knew that I wanted to help people, but honestly, I never thought about speaking before everything happened to me. I didn’t think I had a story to tell. People told me from the very beginning of my hospital stay that I should share my story, but it wasn’t until my freshman year of college that I really believed that I could help people.
- How did you get started in your career path?
I started professionally motivational speaking after attending a speaker’s conference my freshman year of college. After learning how I could convey my message more effectively, I started to pursue it more seriously.
- How did you handle the bumps in the road? Were there any moments when you wondered if all your hard work was worth it?
I’m a big believer in pursuing what you value and that is part of my message. When we understand why we do something, why it is important to us, then we can reflect on that when we come across adversity. At the beginning, graduating with my high school classmates and walking to receive my diploma meant that I had normalcy in my life.
I remember coming home from physical therapy one day and talking with my mother and sister about giving up. We were
in my room and I said, “Maybe they (medical professionals and a leading prosthetic company) were right. Why should I spend so much time and energy and get nothing from it.” It was a moment that I faced a huge internal struggle, but remembering why this was so important to me and not wanting to let down all of my supporters drove me to never give up.
- What do you contribute your success to?
My support system (family, friends and my community) and a positive attitude that drove me to positive action.
- What do teens need today more than anything else?
To realize that if they care enough to make what they want to happen, that their dreams/goals/ambitions are possible.
- What would you tell a teen who was struggling?
I guess it really depends on what they were struggling with. In the case of achieving a goal, I would encourage them to understand why they want to accomplish it in the first place. Like I mentioned before, when we understand why we want something we can truly evaluate how much it means to us and what we are willing to do and sacrifice to accomplish it. That’s one of the first steps I take in triggering a thought into an action.
- What else do you want to tell us about what you do and what you want to eventually be doing?
I think you have it all here – I share my story to help people and I love doing it. I am living a very fulfilled and what I would consider successful life. I have a family, career, friends etc. that I love.
- Do you have any products or services that people should know about?
Along with being a keynote speaker, I am an author. My book is called From Tragedy To Triumph: The Story of John Tartaglio. If people are interested in learning more about my story it is available for purchase online, such as Amazon, and in some retail stores.
- What else should I have asked you?
I think you have it 🙂
- How can people get in touch with you if they have additional questions? If people want to inquire about having me speak they can
visit johntartaglio.com and go to the contact page and there is a form they can fill out. For additional event questions they can email events@johntartaglio.com, for media related inquiries people can email media@johntartaglio.com. I can also be reached on my office line at 916-237-7325.
Thanks for your time John and keep up the good work! Our youth needs more people like you!
Daniel Blanchard
Author and Speaker of the Granddaddy’s Secrets teen leadership book series.
* PURCHASE “THE STORM” http://tinyurl.com/glxzjaf