Printable Biography of John Foppe

Born without arms, John Foppe, MSW has faced unique obstacles to living a normal life. But what he’s always had is an indomitable perspective on life-a perspective that empowers him to be a creative problem-solver.
By applying his own experiences as well as the unique insights he’s developed as a trained counselor and motivational speaker, John advises us how to confidently confront adversity and discover our own dynamic potential for productivity and fulfillment.

John’s public speaking mission started after he experienced a life-changing event during a humanitarian mission to Haiti. Since, he has traveled throughout the North America, Southeast Asia, and Europe for more than 18 years delivering high-impact presentations on attitude change, problem-solving, and diversity understanding to corporations and organizations.

He is the author of the inspiring personal growth book; What’s Your Excuse? Making The Most Of What You Have.

In addition, John is a protege of motivational speaker and author, Zig Ziglar, with whom he has work with over past 13 years.

He holds a master’s degree in social service from St. Louis University.

In 1993, the U. S. Junior Chamber of Commerce recognized John as one of the "Ten Outstanding Young Americans." This prestigious award recognizes young leaders for their positive contributions to society.

Today, he resides in St. Louis, MO with his wife, Christine.

John is an enthusiastic man with a message for us all to hear. Organizations invite John to help their employees feel good about themselves. Sales organizations ask John to teach their salespeople how to handle rejection and stay motivated. Still other companies request John to open a meeting by positioning people in the right frame of mind for accepting changes or tackling challenges.

While the sight of how he tackles life with his toes will amaze you, once you hear his message, you will not be looking at him -- You will be looking at yourself.

Speech Topics
Getting A Leg Up On Adversity
Half-Day Seminar On Tackling Challenges Weathering fast changing conditions and meeting new challenges is a matter of everyday life for John. In this fun and interactive seminar, he teaches how to keep an open mind, trust one another, and develop creative solutions to change so that an organization can succeed and grow.

Oops! I Put My Foot In My Mouth Again
Humorous Keynote While John’s condition has gotten him into plenty of embarrassing predicaments, his positive sense of humor usually gets him out of them. In this entertaining presentation, John shares funny incidents that have happened to him, and he shows how a good sense of humor can relieve stress, reveal the richness of diversity, increase self-esteem, and put life back in to perspective.

Life Is An Attitude
Inspirational Keynote How we feel and what we think clearly determines what we do. Simply put, our attitudes control our actions. A conflict among co-workers, lack of employee responsibility and motivation, or the stress of keeping up with industry changes and technological innovations -- are all perpetuated or solved by our attitudes. In this inspiring and riveting presentation, John removes excuses and teaches how to form and maintain healthy attitudes for conquering our day-to day challenges.