Janine Shepherd

Janine Shepherd's story reads like the plot of a Hollywood movie. A champion cross-country skier in training for the Winter Olympics, her life was irrevocably altered when she was hit by a truck on a bike ride. Doctors warned her parents that she was not expected to survive her extensive injuries and even if she recovered, she would never walk again. Janine's hopes of being an elite sportsperson were gone. But Janine refused to believe what medical staff were telling her and instead she focused every sinew of her being on healing her broken body and crushed morale. After spinal surgery and months in the hospital, she returned home in a wheelchair.

Struggling to come to terms with her shattered Olympic dreams, and wondering what life could now offer, Janine's fighting spirit was rekindled watching small planes flying overhead. At that moment she said to herself, "If I can't walk, I'll fly." And fly she did. Janine's miraculous recovery and subsequent achievements are a testament to the power of the human spirit, and one that will move and inspire all who hear it.

Today, Janine Shepherd is a best-selling author and internationally renowned speaker who travels extensively in Australia and all over the world sharing her story with others. She is the author of the best-selling book, “Never Tell Me Never,” and has written four other books. Her life story has been featured on “60 Minutes” and ‘This Is Your Life’. In fact, her story is so extraordinary, a feature film has been made about it. Janine’s recent TED talk, “A Broken Body Is Not A Broken Person,” received a standing ovation and is now on the TED.com site. It was also featured in the Huffington Post.

Janine has received the highest acclaim in Australia, being awarded with an Order of Australia for her service to the community, her inspiration and work to raise awareness of spinal cord research, and was voted as one of the world’s most outstanding and inspirational people in the world. Janine is in demand as one of the world’s top motivational speakers, who recently spoke at the Chopra Center in Carlsbad, California and will be the keynote speaker at the American Business Women’s Association’s annual conference. She has presented to leading organizations and companies worldwide, empowering others to overcome adversity and sharing her message of hope, transformation and human potential.

Deepak Chopra recently commented, “Janine is a change agent. She has an extraordinary ability to ignite people’s spirits and move them to find the real potential of their lives; her story inspires people around the world.”

Follow Janine on Twitter @JanineShepherd