Janine Shepherd
A walking paraplegic, pilot and aerobatics instructor, speaker and author
Topic Categories:
- Nearly died as a member of the Australian Olympic ski team when on a training bike ride she was hit by a speeding utility truck
- Rehabilitated her body as a paraplegic to eventually becoming a licensed pilot and aerobatics flying instructor
- TEDx Talk, “A Broken Body Isn’t a Broken Person,” has almost 2 million views on the TED website, YouTube and other TED outlets
- Author of the book DEFIANT: A Broken Body Is Not A Broken Person
- Life story subject of TV movie “Never Tell Me Never” (Australia)
- Serves as ambassador for Spinal Cure Australia and Red Bull’s “Wings for Life”
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Janine Shepherd’s story reads like the plot of a Hollywood movie. An Australian national champion skier in training for the upcoming Olympics, she was hit by a truck on a bike ride, suffering multiple life-threatening injuries.
Doctors warned her parents that, even if she lived, Janine would never walk again. After major spinal surgery, and five months immobilized in a hospital bed, Janine came home to heal. She faced a daunting recovery and an uncertain future.
Struggling to rehabilitate with permanent disabilities, Janine rekindled her defiant spirit in a dramatically improbable way. Seeing a small plane fly overhead one day, she declared, “That’s it! If I can’t walk, I’ll fly!”
Janine went on to succeed not only as a commercial pilot and flight instructor but also to attain her University degree, raise three children and author a best-selling book, “Never Tell Me Never.” Her memoir was subsequently made into a feature length film of the same title.
Today, Janine Shepherd is an internationally renowned speaker whose inspiring TED talk, “A Broken Body Isn’t a Broken Person.” has garnered over 1.5 million views. She’s been featured on “60 Minutes”, “This is Your Life”, and recognized with her country’s highest honor, The Order of Australia.
Janine is a gifted storyteller, who uses her wit humor, and impeccable timing to engage the audience. She shares her journey in an expansive, inspiring and universal way that touches every heart in the room and invites each of us to dream and reach beyond their preconceived ideas of what is possible. Her keynote presentation sows the seeds of growth and positive transformation in the hearts of her audiences.
Janine takes us on an amazing journey. A journey on a road with so many twists and turns, so many deep valleys and steep hills that it mirrors the road we travel in own lives every single day.
This is a story that takes us from the pinnacle of elite athletics competition to the pain and fear of being wheelchair- bound and facing the shattering reality of life-threatening and permanent injury; from the exhilaration of flight to the struggle of taking one difficult step at a time on a long road to recovery which continues to this day.
Janine leaves her audience not only awed, humbled, and uplifted, but also causes them to think deeply about the way they live their own lives. Her listeners leave with a light heart and a conviction that they are able to change their attitude, find the power within and perform to the best of their abilities.
Janine reveals how our greatest obstacles can become our greatest opportunities and shares the tools that have allowed her to transform her dreams into reality. She gives the audience insight into how they too can achieve this in their own lives.
Janine believes that the greatest skill that we need in today’s rapidly changing world is resilience. From the boardroom to the classroom, this is the skill that will enable us to overcome the inevitable challenges that we all face in life, and not only survive, but thrive.
Janine believes that true resilience is the ability to not just bounce back, but to bounce forward. We grow from adversity when we choose to see every challenge as a seed for growth and transformation.
As a spinal patient and partial paraplegic, Janine has a unique understanding and perspective on injury and trauma. Janine shares her personal experience of being a patient and living with a disability.
Janine has witnessed first hand the teamwork that has gone into her recovery, from the surgeons who operated on her, to the nursing staff who cared to her, and the family that supported her.
She shares her health and wellness philosophy and the tools she uses to maintain her sense of well-being.
Janine’s presentation gives insight to all those working in the healthcare industry as they see how their role in caring for patients can literally change a life.
Janine has come to realize that the process of finding acceptance has been crucial in her search for quality of life and peace of mind. She believes that whatever our circumstances may be, we all need to nurture acceptance in our lives in order to move on from tragedy or loss and find fulfillment.
When we stop fighting with reality, and accept our present circumstances we are able to live fully and fearlessly. As Janine says, “Life is not about having it all, but loving it all.”
Janine shares her powerful 18-minute TEDx talk that she delivered at the Kauffman Center in Kansas City.
This presentation is transformative as Janine holds a mirror up for the audience to look deeply into their own lives and connect with something greater within themselves. After the talk, she uses the five chairs from her presentation as a tool to facilitate an interactive workshop for the audience.
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