Envision the impossible | Robert van der Wolk | TEDxNBU

Robert’s life is an incredible story, and you have to see him to fully get a grip on the impact he has on others. Despite his young age, his persuasive positive outlook on life and the possibilities we all have, he leaves you empowered, ready to take action and longing for more.
Visit his site at http://www.robertvanderwolk.nl/

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

I'm not a gold-medal-winning
Olympic athlete,

nor am I a ground-breaking,
discovery-making scientist,

I'm also not

a fortune-500-hundred-business billionaire,

well, at least not yet;

I'm just a very passionate guy

with an extraordinary story

and I'd like to tell you my story.

My story begins when I was a small boy.

I was a dreamer;

I was with my head up high in the clouds,

not connected with my feet to the ground,

and I liked it there.

I liked to dream,

I liked to look at the impossible
and dream in a fantasy world.

And I liked it there until that one day

in September of 1989.

That time my doctor told me,

"Robert, you have type 1 diabetes, this
is incurable and this means

taking insulin shots, living a life
of regularity, consistency,

and above everything -

back to reality.

So over the course of the next few years

I had to face, this reality.

I grew into my teenage years
and on high school,

like everybody else,

I was a rebel - going against the grain

and going my own way.

But even high school...

didn't make it for me.

I dropped out of high school
and I started working,

and by the time I was nearly 21

I wasn't satisfied,

I wasn't fulfilled with my life
and I had no idea what to do.

On a Friday evening I went
with some friends to a party,

I had a drink or two,

and I went back home.

And on the Saturday morning
that I woke up,

I will never forget that day,

in 2002, on August 16th,

I opened up my eyes that morning

and my world was black.

By the time I realized what was happening

panic struck

and like a zombie I walked around,

trying to find my way around the house

that I was living in for over 22 years.

And I found the refrigerator,

which at that point was my life savior,

and I made it through the Saturday,

I couldn't find a phone,

so I had to make it through
the Saturday and the Sunday,

and on Monday I finally found that phone,

that life-important phone,

and I called the hospital

and by the time I was able to explain,
they told me, "Come by."

I asked a friend to drop me
to the hospital

and there they gave me the explanation,

"Well, Robert, you have
proliferative diabetic retinopathy."

I said, "well... I'm a smart guy...
But I have no clue what that means."

And, basically, what they said is,

"A very thin layer in the back
of your eye detached from your eye,

like a very thin layer,

and this is the reason
why you don't see,

the reason why your world is black."

"So what is there to do?", I asked,

and they said, "We can operate you."

Because I didn't finish my high school,
I wasn't secure about myself,

I followed them.

And over the course of two years they did

intensive procedures and operations on me

and slowly but surely I gained
my eyesight back.

I could see a little bit more

but every operation
and every procedure that I got,

I saw a little bit less.

And so it was very hard for me
to live the life that I wanted,

let alone understand
the life that I wanted to live.

And so at one point after these two years

I hit rock bottom.

I became depressed.

I made up the bill -
and the bill for me was:

I have no job, which means
I have no income,

I have no good health,

I have no relationship, no money,

I have no eyesight, so I have no future.

What to do?

By the time I realized what to do,

I got to hear a quote by a friend of mine

and he told me the following:

He said, "People most change
when the pain of

remaining in the same situation becomes
greater than the fear of changing itself."

And for me that was absolutely true.

I had to change because
being depressed - that was horrible.

Having no eyesight - that was even worse.

So - what to do?

And by accident or coincidence,
if you believe in that,

I stumbled upon a course
on personal development

and I followed that course.

It actually made me feel
a little bit better

so I thought, OK, let's go
to the next one, and the next one,

and over the course of two years
and some months,

I went to several personal
development courses and trainings,

I got my Bachelor's and my Master's

in a science called
"neurolinguistic programming"

and I learned how to deal
with the lack of eyesight,

I learned to overcome my depression,

and I started to learn how
to envision my life again.

So... "What is there to do?", I thought.

Even though I don't have
a high school diploma,

I still wanted to go further,
I still wanted to study,

I still wanted to explore the impossible.

And so I did a study.

I did a study called
Human Resources Management.

And I thought, "This is nice,
because for me

it allows me to do the human part

but also the business part,

and it allows me to explore
what is there for me within my potential."

And I did that course in four years -

from 2005 to 2009,

it went great.

I got a lot of support from the people
that were willing to help me out

and to give me a chance,

a chance to discover my potential,

to awaken the possibilities and to see

how much further I could stretch
my comfort zone.

This was very nice and I loved it

but there was one problem -

even though I was lacking the eyesight,

the core cause of it all, my diabetes,
was still there.

And so at one point my doctor told me,

"Robert, also your kidneys are failing

and within a few months
you'll have to face kidney dialysis."

And for me understanding what that meant -

being stuck on a machine 3 times a week,
for 4 hours every time -

it meant lack of freedom.

And I learned throughout
the past years before

the following formula.

And this formula I hold still true today.

You may wonder, "What does this mean?" -
E + R = O,

well let me tell you.

It stands for, "the Event +
your Response to it = your Outcome."

Even though I was facing kidney dialysis

I still wanted to... investigate,
explore and experience

what is there for me to do.

I knew it was inevitable,

I knew I had to face it at one time

but there was still
a little bit of time,

just a few months,

and having the lack of freedom,

which I connected to kidney dialysis,

I chose to do the opposite
and to live the ultimate freedom.

And for me the ultimate freedom was
walking a pilgrimage called

Santiago de Compostella.

And for those of you who know,

Santiago is a pilgrimage
of 600 miles or 1,000 km

and it's heavy.

I didn't practice because
I didn't have the time.

So I took my backpack, 25 kg,

stuffed it with everything in,

nothing of importance, even my laptop,

and I just started walking.

From the southern part of France

up to the month Pyrenees,
over the Pyrenees, into Spain.

And on the first day, I remember it
very well,

I just walked 1% of this 800-km,
at that point, journey

and I thought, "If this is gonna last
for another 99%, I would be sure

that I would not make it."

But I asked myself a critical question:

"Why am I doing this?

What is my motivation
for walking this pilgrimage?"

And I connected it to
this feeling of freedom,

this ultimate freedom
that I wanted to live.

And so it gave me the motivation,
it gave me the power

to face this impossible journey.

And over the following 6 weeks

I walked that 600-mile,
or 1,000-kilometre pilgrimage.

And along its way I wrote a book about it.

Upon coming home

I had to face this kidney dialysis

but... something within me changed

and... what changed was the following:

that even though circumstances
may seem to determine your outcome,

it's your belief that is most important.

So whether you think you can or you think
you cannot, you're always right.

And so I faced kidney dialysis.

In that same year of 2010 when
I was dealing with kidney dialysis

I started my own company,

I graduated from two studies,
among which one university study,

I wrote and published my book,

just to name a couple of examples of
reaching the goals that I wanted to have,

and I knew that there was
much more within me.

I wanted to set a new goal,
and this goal was

even more impossible,
even bigger than the previous one.

So in 2010, while I was
still on kidney dialysis,

I thought, "What is also impossible
for me to do?"

And I figured it:

Let's run a marathon!

And not just some marathon,
no, let's run The Marathon:

New York.

So I practiced.

But unfortunately, in that same year,
I was too late in subscribing.

This was my attempt number 1.

Two years later I wanted to do it again.

In 2012 I practiced a lot
and I really went for it,

with all the passion and motivation,

and all the enthusiasm,
and the belief that I could do it,

I wanted to make it happen.

Until I got a phone call
from my doctor again.

And my doctor this time
called me up and said,

"Well Robert, how are you doing?"

I said, "I'm doing great! I'm feeling
wonderful, even though dialysis,

even though diabetes, even though the lack
of eyesight, I'm doing great!"

He said, "Wonderful! Now how would you
like to have 2 new organs?"

And I thought "Wow...
I didn't see that one coming."

and for a short time I made up the balance

marathon... double organ
transplants... marathon...

and of course I made the wisest decision,

I went for that double organ transplant.

And I can tell you it was heavy,
it was very heavy.

It took me over a year to recuperate.

But I always kept that formula
in the back of my head.

The event does not determine your outcome,

it's always how you respond to the event.

So, in 2013, I recuperated

and I slowly but surely started
to practice and train a little bit more.

And with the belief that I could do it

I planned my journey to do the marathon.

When 2014 came,

this was my 3rd attempt now,

I thought to myself, "OK,
now it has to be done.

Now I have to surely make it."

And so, I subscribed.

I got in, I got accepted.

And on the coldest day ever recorded
in that year in New York,

with a temperature that felt like -5

and an arctic wind breezing down my spine

I ran that marathon.

And I finished it.

And when I finished it,
even though there were only 2 thoughts

running through my head -

1. I want something warm,

2. I just want to have a bath,

there was a 3rd thought running
through my head,

"Yes, I did it!"

You can do anything
that you put your mind into.

I'll leave you with a last quote

and before I do that, I just want to say

that even though
my eyesight is getting dimmer,

my vision upon life
has never been greater.

So envisioning the impossible and
awakening the possibilities,

it allows you to do anything.

And in my opinion

one of the most famous and
greatest boxers of all time, once said:

"Impossible is just a big word
thrown around by small men

who'd rather live in a world they've been
given, than to explore the power

they have to change it.

Impossible is not a fact, it's an opinion.

Impossible is not a declaration,
it's a dare.

Impossible is potential.

Impossible is temporary, and, above all,

impossible - it's nothing."

So whether you want to be
a gold-medal-winning Olympic athlete,

a ground-breaking,
discovery-making scientist,

or a fortune-500-business billionaire,

or anything else in your life,

you hold the power within that
to determine your own reality,

to envision the impossible
and to make it come true.

Thank you very much.

(Аpplause)