If we went by the world's definition of who I'm supposed to be

The words “If we went by the world’s definition of who I’m supposed to be because I look weird… surely this guy can’t have a productive life… if the world thinks you’re not good enough, it’s a lie — get a second opinion” spoken by Nick Vujicic carry the weight of a man who has looked into the face of rejection and answered with radiant courage. They are not the words of complaint, but of revelation. They echo through the corridors of the human spirit, calling each of us to rise above judgment, to see beyond appearances, and to claim the sacred truth of our worth. In these words lives the voice of one who has turned his limitations into light, one who teaches that the world’s opinion is not the measure of the soul.

Nick Vujicic was born without arms and legs, and from the first breath he took, society began writing his story for him — a story of pity, dependence, and impossibility. Yet he refused to live by that script. When he says the world’s definition is a lie, he speaks from the battlefield of experience. His very existence is a rebellion against despair. He learned that the greatest prisons are not made of iron or stone, but of assumptions, of the cruel whispers that say, “You can’t.” And so, through his voice, he reminds humanity: the judgments of others are not truth — they are merely reflections of fear and ignorance. What others call weakness may, in the divine order, be the seed of strength.

The ancients, too, knew this lesson. The philosopher Epictetus, born a slave and crippled in body, became one of the most powerful teachers of the Stoic age. When others saw a broken man, he saw the boundless freedom of the mind. Like Vujicic, he understood that no external condition defines the worth of a soul. Both men transformed suffering into insight, and both taught that dignity is not given by the world — it is claimed by the heart that knows its own light. In their stories, we hear the eternal call to reject the illusions of limitation and embrace the truth of inner strength.

“We stereotype people in this world.” In this simple sentence, Vujicic unmasks one of humanity’s oldest errors — the blindness of assumption. We see faces, not souls; we measure worth by what the eyes perceive. But every generation has its prophets who break those walls. Consider Helen Keller, who, blind and deaf, became a voice for millions. Or Stephen Hawking, whose frail body contained a mind vast enough to touch the stars. The world might have written them off as broken, but the universe wrote something different within them — the poetry of resilience, the proof that the spirit is greater than the shell it inhabits.

“Get a second opinion.” These words, gentle yet defiant, are the heart of the teaching. They mean: do not let the world’s mirror become your reflection. When someone tells you that you are too strange, too poor, too wounded, too late — seek another voice. Seek the voice of your own heart, and the voice of those who see the divine spark within you. The “second opinion” is not from man, but from truth itself, from that silent knowing deep inside that whispers, You were made for more. The world may measure you by appearance, but the soul is measured only by the courage to love, to try, to shine.

In the rhythm of life, there will always be those who doubt you. That is the way of the world — it fears what it cannot understand. But remember: when you believe in yourself despite the noise, you become a light for others trapped in the same darkness. Nick Vujicic turned his difference into ministry; he transformed ridicule into redemption. His life proves that the human spirit cannot be confined by form. He became a living sermon — not of perfection, but of perseverance, joy, and faith.

So, children of this fleeting world, take heed of this wisdom: never let others define your worth. The world’s opinion is temporary, but the truth of who you are is eternal. When doubt surrounds you, get a second opinion — from your heart, from your Creator, from those who love you for your soul and not your shape. Stand tall, even if you cannot stand at all. Live fully, even if the world calls you strange. For the greatest miracle is not to have a perfect body or life, but to live with a perfect spirit — one that refuses to believe the lie and instead answers, with courage and laughter: I am enough.