Josh Sundquist

Josh's keynote presentations blend clean comedy with soulful storytelling. Hilarious audience interactions are punctuated by moments of profound silence. Your attendees experience a roller-coaster ride of laughter, tears, chills and still more laughter. His storytelling format engages, entertains, and instills hope in people who are facing challenges both personal and professional. Key takeaways include how to fall forward by learning from disappointments and failures, why our results are based more on our response to adversity than our response to success, and how to keep swinging when we feel like we have struck out.

HOW JOSH CUSTOMIZES

Josh will study the unique challenges and opportunities facing your audience to tailor his presentation for your event. If possible, he will attend your entire conference or convention up until his speech, sitting in on general sessions to hear speeches by your leadership and industry experts. He will take part in your social functions and chat with attendees in the hall during breaks. This cultural immersion allows Josh to give a speech that weaves together his own story with the story of your organization, to interact with members of your leadership team and individual audience members by name while he's giving his talk, and to impart relevant 1mt1mt's your audience can do to elevate their performance.

YOUR AUDIENCE WILL LEARN

1mt1mt
When Josh was training for the Paralympics, his motto was 1mt1mt—one more thing, one more time. What's the 1mt1mt you could be doing on a daily basis to get closer to the future you are training for?

Sometimes the path changes and we have to choose a new uniform
Josh had to give up his childhood dream of playing for the local travel soccer team. But as a result, he discovered something even better: The dream of a Paralympic uniform. When we accept change—in our lives, our workplace, and our industry—we create the space necessary for new growth.

You only strike out when you quit
Josh went up to bat in a softball game a month after his amputation. He got three strikes in a row. But his friends let him keep swinging. It took thirteen to get a hit. That game was a lot like life because in most endeavors, you only strike out when you quit. How many strikes are you willing to take?

Find your Larry
A turning point for nine-year-old Josh was meeting an amputee athlete named Larry. Twenty years later, they're still friends. Last year Larry made the Guinness Book of World Records for completing the fastest marathon on crutches. We all run faster if we have the help of a mentor who has already crossed the finish line we're aiming for. Who's your Larry?

Leadership is putting yourself in their boot
A ski instructor named Mark taught Josh to ski. Mark had two legs, but he took off a boot and balanced on a single ski to give Josh an example to follow. Whether you are a business leader, a community leader, or a student leader, this a perfect picture of effective leadership. Put yourself in their boot. And leave a trail they can follow.

The question is not whether you will fall down but how fast you will get back up
In his first ski race, Josh fell. Five times. In sports, in life, in business, the principle is the same—you will fall. The question is, how fast can you get back up? How quickly can you learn from a mistake and then recover by implementing that new knowledge?

When life gives you lemons, make Halloween costumes
We all have problems. We all have adversity. But sometimes within those situations we can find a bit of humor, and that can make the challenges a little easier to endure. (Check the blog section for pictures of Josh's incredible halloween costumes)

Stay connected to your opening ceremony
In 2002, Josh watched the Paralympic Opening Ceremony in Salt Lake City. That experience as a spectator motivated him to train for the next four years so he could be a participant in the 2006 ceremonies. What's your opening ceremony? What was the original vision that led you to your career, organization, or cause? Stay connected to that image. It's the fuel-source for your journey.

Shoe-swap
Josh has an amputee friend named Stephen—aka his solemate—who has the same shoe size but is missing the opposite leg. They get together regularly to swap shoes. Similarly, everyone benefits when teams collaborate, swapping ideas and resources, and when we recognize and celebrate the things that make us different from one another.