Here is just a sweet and endearing story of a non-verbal interaction I had with one young child at the end of my travels in Central Europe and the Czech Republic. I am not sure what country she was from and therefore do not know what language she spoke. I can tell you it was not the language of the Czech Republic and it certainly was not English. This was a very common situation for me while staying at the Mosaic House in the heart downtown Prague, Czech Republic. This youth hostel was a...

"On the rode again..." I am once again on the rode to the Toastmasters International World Championship of Public Speaking. The last time I made this attempt was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2014. I made it to the semi-final round but made it no farther. However, I was the "people's champion!" My speech was very well received and talked about by many people after my competition delivery. Many people mentioned how impactful my speech was to them. I even had five past world champions come up...

Sometimes children ask the most amazing questions. Especially if you do not have two hands. There usually is not a day goes by that I do not have some kind of truly outstanding interaction with kids and children. So much of this has to do with the pure openness and innocence children have when it comes to asking questions. Part of it is just plain curiosity. The rest I believe is simply the human condition at a very young age. You put all that together with a one-handed life and very cool,...

The 1st of May, or "May Day" has been celebrated across countries, cultures, civilizations, and among people for thousands of years. In fact, it is one of the oldest and most celebrated non-secular holidays in the world. In Russia there is a very long standing tradition and celebration. May 1 was a symbol of class struggle in Russia for about 100 years (1890-1990). Workers held annual protests on this day from 1890 to 1917, demanding better work conditions and higher wages. In 1918, May 1...

Such and special and beneficial opportunity to able to offer an inspirational speech in the beautiful city of St. Petersburg, Russia on Thursday, April 26, 2018. As I write this podcast prologue I have spent the last 8 hours in Russia without by luggage. Somehow I made it from Moscow to St. Petersburg, Russia but my checked luggage did not. I have no change of clothes and the majority of my sound recording gear and some of graphic design gear are in that "mis-routed" suitcase. There is...

Completing my six week bootcamp challenge... One-handed style was not easy. Yes, it was challenging with one hand. However, that is what made it so rewarding. Additionally, I was able to get some deeper insights into my own one-handed life. I have always been an active person. When I was a child I loved to play baseball. I did a lot of basketball and football and generally enjoyed a physical life. As I grew older I started to spend more time running and riding my bicycle. I have a couple...

What does it mean to live your life as a "Modern Day Samurai?" This was a question I often asked myself when I was living as a full-time martial artist and even lived in my dojo. Here is an older recording of a speech I gave a number of years ago. The topic I was asked to speak about was living as a "Modern Day Samurai." This was one of my speaking themes in the early days of my speaking career. This really made sense for me as I was pretty much living the life of a Japanese martial...

Diving with my one-handed life is always exciting. But not always for the reasons you might expect. Sometimes I share an experience with other drivers on the rode that is special, cool, and fun. Mostly it is with adults but that is not always the case. This podcast is about a time I was driving to work in the morning. I happened to be following a school bus full of children on their way to school. As we came to a red light I noticed I could not see any kids sitting in the back seats of the...

What is the best choice you have ever made in your life? What one choice did you make that made a life long positive impact? This can be a very difficult question to answer. For some people it could be giving up a bad habit like smoking tobacco, drinking alcohol, or doing drugs. For other people it could be acquiring good habits such as eating better foods, becoming physically more healthy, or simply taking more time for themselves. Getting married, taking a new job, moving to a new city,...

Launch your podcast quickly and easily, the right way with "Podcaster's Delight! Podcasting Made Deliciously Smooth." Mark Phillips and I pair up to offer this product designed for the beginner who wants to launch a professional quality podcast. We'll show you step-by-step what you need to do. Mark and I started our podcasts around the same time. We had many discussions about how we were going to get started, what we needed to do, and what we needed to learn. We spend countless hours doing...

"Disability usually refers to something physical. But in this dynamic and inspirational talk, AlejAndro Anastasio makes a case that nothing is more debilitating than disabled thinking. And who better to speak on disabilities than the one-armed, 3rd Degree Black Belt, self-proclaimed, 'Champion of Life,' himself? By changing “disabled thinking” he has transformed his life for the better and helped others to do the same." (The first paragraph is the TEDxBoise program description for my...

In 2014 I had the great privilege of competing in the semi-final round of Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Though I did not go on to the final round it was an incredible learning experience and opportunity. After the competition ended many of the international contestants went home. I figured since I took the incredibly long flight from Boise, Idaho, USA to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia I should stay as long as possible. This was a great opportunity to...

I normally do not tell the story of my application process or how I got into Indiana University and then into the University of Washington. This is because of the varied responses and reactions I would receive. It certainly was not anything close to the traditional route most people take to get into college. When I was in college and told the story some people would get upset, others were uncomfortable, while a smaller amount of people would laugh and congratulate me on my good fortune....

Naturally I am asymmetrical. I was born like this. I was born without my left hand and have lived my entire life with arms of different lengths. Generally speaking, I am very comfortable with my one-handed life. Or maybe I should say I am very comfortable with the idea of living an asymmetrical life. Conceptually, living life with one hand is not such a big deal. It is the way I was born and therefore I like to say it is "natural" for me. However, physically living a one-handed life is a...

It is interesting how some children want to go out of their way to help me do the simple things in life. I find this quality very sweet and endearing. Adults have it at times too but mostly I see it in little children. Additionally, children can also be more open with their questions, their intentions, and their actions. Many of my memories as a child in relation to other children have a negative overtone to them. Though I was teased and bullied a lot by other kids when I was a child...

I was born and raised on television. To be more specific I was mostly raised watching science fiction and superheroes on television. There was also a whole lot of Kung Fu Theater in there with what seemed like thousands of hours of television watching that had anything to do with Kung Fu or the martial arts. However, most of my early and most precious memories were being cuddled up on the couch as a family watching Star Trek, The Original Series reruns or going to the opening nights of the...

In most cases I am telling the parents of children, "It's OK for them to stare at me. They're just curious." Sometimes I find how parents react to their kids looking at me to be both disconcerting yet understandable. It is a lottery pick trying to guess what their reaction to their children staring at me will be or the response to me if I say something about it. There are times I feel some parents are more uncomfortable with themselves when their children are looking at me. Maybe they...

Earning first degree black belt in the martial art of Aikido was a great accomplishment and milestone in my life. The only thing more fantastic was earning third degree black belt in Aikido. I grew up watching "Kung-Fu Theater" after Saturday morning cartoons would end. It was a four hour block of the most insanely crazy Kung Fu I had ever witnessed. Watching Shaolin Monks flying threw the air and laying down funky techniques with the timing of the voices offset to the movements of the...

People say the funniest things. And when you have one hand in a two-handed world certain statements can be funny, weird, and at times lean toward the “not-so-cool.” For most people it is a simple slip of the tongue. Living mostly in a two-handed world means there are a lot of statements and expressions that are habitually two-handed in nature. Add this to the tendency of the human condition to ask, say, or respond with conditioned phrases and the world can be an extremely funny place. I...

I am not sure how often, or if ever, people get to meet their "opposite" in life. I have encountered my "opposite' many times. This occurred ever year for about four years while attending the Oregon Country Fair (OCF) in Veneta, Oregon. I started to attend OCF in 1993. For the next twenty years it was part of my yearly schedule. In the later years I was a youth empowerment speaker at The Youth Stage. "The Fair" has been a very large and special part of my life. I have already done one...