Alvin Law - CSP, Motivational Keynotes

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ALVIN’S LAWS OF LIFE

A Attitude is more than just being positive... it's a way of looking at life, ours and everybody's. It is said to be Everything because it is Everything. It defines who we are and what we become!

L Learning is the greatest gift we give ourselves. It can transform us from nobody to somebody and is the great equalizer. To not learn as much as we can is to disrespect the gift of life. In learning, we must also ask questions. That's good because people need to listen more and talk less. There is knowledge all around us... we just have to listen for the answer. To listen is to learn and to learn is to grow.

V Value your life and spirit. Too many people live another "V", that of Victim. It's true, bad things happen to good people and there are victims. The trouble is there's no answer to the question, "Why Me?". Even worse, victims often get stuck in their past when what they need is to live for today and move toward the future. When you focus on moving forward, you never know what you'll discover. Everyone has value... finding it, that's the trick.

I Imagination is the key that unlocks the power of potential. It is not owned by the young but they are best at using it. It defines the difference between Obstacles and Possibilities! Imagination leads to dreams and dreams make life worth living. Dreams can Come True... This I know.

N Never give up!! Easy to say, hard to do. The biggest enemy we will ever have we encounter every time we look in a mirror. Yet mirrors do not reflect who we truly are... our lives do.

Biography

Over 13,000 babies around the world were deformed in the early 1960's because of a morning sickness drug, Thalidomide. Alvin Law was born without arms after his birth mother, thinking it was completely safe, used just a couple of the tiny pills and their lives were forever altered.

Yet, what may have become a tragic life-story did not turn out that way. Today, Alvin is not only a completely independent, remarkably successful professional speaker, but proof that out of nothing can arise one of the most inspiring stories you will ever witness.

Faced with no hope in their minds, Alvin's birth family courageously gave him up for adoption, hoping and praying that someone else may be more prepared for the welfare of this pitiful newborn. Their prayers were answered.

Hilda Law was a fifty-five year old foster mother, who, along with her husband, Jack, took in neglected and abused children, loved and encouraged them back from their hopelessness and through social service programs, sent them to couples yearning for adoptions. They were truly special people.

One day in 1960, the most disturbing case they had ever seen was presented to them. Take in a sickly, deformed baby whose future seemed certain. He would never possess any quality of life but he deserved more. Who knew?

Not only did Hilda nurse him back to health, but her intuition said lurking inside this impossible scenario was hope. Through the Laws' faith, dedication and infinite belief, little Alvin learned to use his feet for hands.

Alvin attended regular schools in a day when handicapped children were relegated to institutions or at best, schools that segregated them from the normal students. Remarkable teachers saw his potential and worked with the family to encourage that potential.

Then like a genie in a bottle, Alvin was recognized for his musical ability and he joined the band. Within an impossibly short time, he became an award winning musician and graduated from high school with honours. He then graduated, again with honors, from College and embarked on a career in Broadcasting.

In 1981, he took a hiatus from disc-jockeying in FM Radio and joined a company who, through a federal grant of the International Year of Disabled Persons, conducted awareness seminars in hundreds of schools across the province of Alberta, Canada. Thus began his adventures in the field of motivational speaking.

After working for the Saskatchewan Abilities Council, an Easter Seals agency, he ran, unsuccessfully, for a seat in the Provincial Legislature. He also worked in advertising, public relations and the civil service of his beloved home province.

In 1985, his pride and joy, Vance, was born. In 1988 he quit a lucrative government job, fulfilled a long-time dream and created AJL Communications Ltd. His career as a full-time professional speaker was born.

Since 1976, Alvin has played a direct role in raising over $150,000,000 for charity. He's also dabbled in acting, playing a role in a quirky creative film, Julien: Donkey Boy and in a life highlight, played an armless preacher in an episode of the hit television series, The X-Files. Alvin has appeared on countless telethons, media features and has been the subject of two award winning television documentaries. The first, "Alvin, His Best Foot Forward" was shown across Canada in 1978. The second, "Broken Promises", focused on the plight of Canada's Thalidomide victims and after its Canadian showing was seen on American Public Broadcasting's "Frontline". Re-named "Extraordinary People", it was nominated for an Emmy Award. Alvin has appeared on The Joan Rivers Show, "How'd They Do That" on CBS, CBC's "What On Earth" and ABC's "Frontrunners". This segment about Alvin received an Emmy Award.

Alvin often says, he always knew angels existed. In 1991, he met one and in 1993, he married Darlene. In 1995, his son Vance came to live with them, and in 2000, they moved to Calgary, Alberta, where they now reside with Jazper, Ray and Dexter the dogs and Trixie, the cat.

 

Programs

ALVIN’S LAWS OF LIFE

Suggested Program Length – 60 to 90 minutes
Suggested Audience — Applicable to any organization

Drawing on 25 years experience as a speaker, but more importantly 45 years experience living life without arms, Alvin presents what he calls Alvin's Laws of Life. Using vivid imagery in telling his life story, Alvin's exploration on Attitude, Learning, Value, Imagination and a Never Give Up Approach shows not how he overcame the immense challenges brought on through being born without arms, but how everyone can overcome their own challenges in life.

When Alvin Law was born without arms, medical and rehabilitation experts predicted a life of constant care that might be best provided by institutionalization. Desperately hurt and feeling helpless, his family gave him up for adoption. The only people willing to take a chance were elderly foster-parents without even a day spent in high school. Society would come to know children like Alvin as "Thalidomide Babies" and treat them with a mixture of sympathy and disgust. The odds were not in Alvin's favour.

Today, Alvin Law is married; is a father; is an accomplished musician, broadcaster, fund-raiser and owns his own communications business. Since 1988 he has spoken to over one million people in Canada, the U.S. and Australia. He is completely independent and his abilities far outweigh his so-called "disability". How is it possible for someone to succeed in the face of so much opposition?

That question provides the foundation for a presentation that will make you laugh, cry and most of all, think about the power each of us possesses. A power that we cannot only use for our own benefit, but a power that can transform those we deal with everyday.

Many describe Alvin's use of his feet (he plays the piano and snare drum in the program) as amazing. But, as you will see, this is more than just another motivational speech about human achievement. It challenges our perceptions of the status quo and perhaps most important, it's real. As Alvin would stress, this program isn't just about what he has done, but what is truly possible for everyone. It's about life, something we all have in common.

THERE'S NO SUCH WORD AS CAN'T!!

Student Presentation — 60 Minutes
Suggested Audience — Grades 7 to 12

Aimed at adolescents and young adults, this program challenges the audience to believe that anything is possible with the right attitude. Alvin talks about growing up in the sixties when attitudes towards disabilities were anything but positive, including being stereotyped as severely crippled.

With the support of his parents, teachers and friends, Alvin not only overcame his disability, but participated in most sports and music. But the pressures of school and adolescence gave Alvin his biggest challenge of all.

You will laugh and cry as you hear and see how, by using very talented feet, and more important, a good attitude, Alvin not only learned to accept his difference, but appreciate it. Alvin believes that what you see when you look in a mirror, should be the beauty of individuality, not the ugliness of imperfection. The next logical step becomes seeing others that way as well.

These idealistic views are common among speakers, but the visual impact of Alvin playing a drum with his feet and his infectious energy will never leave you.

Over 1.5 million students across North America and around the world have been touched by Alvin's inspiring self image. The most consistent comment from school administrators is Alvin's ability to keep a full-school assembly not just captivated, but asking for more.

The most consistent comment from the students says it all:
"His humour, his honesty, his sincerity makes you realize that not only is it okay to be yourself, it's the only way to be!"