Hi, my name is Jean Maggi, I am a para athlete, and I ask you please to imagine this situation. In 1999, the world had to change the computers because the year 2000 was near, and I was lucky enough to be selling them. One day I left the head office of the most important bank in Argentina. My head held high, with my best suit, wearing my best tie and cologne. I had come out of negotiations with the director which later turned out to be the most important one in my life. I happily walked to the corner to catch a taxi. I lifted my crutch, the taxi stopped, and in that moment I saw a woman inside the taxi. Out of politeness, I went to open the door. The woman finished paying and did not close her purse. After looking me up and down, she took out a coin and gave it to me. My chest deflated, I came back down to earth. Once again, society had placed me in the role of the pitiful one. Shortly afterwards, as my mother said, nothing bad lasts for 100 years, nor a body that withstands it. Well, not long after, I fell in the street because I was having a heart attack. After fighting for 30 minutes, with the paramedics, between life and death, I arrived at the hospital, and a doctor, by unclogging my artery, gave me another opportunity. Life had given me another chance. When I came out of surgery, I saw my children, my wife, my friends. And I understood that I could not miss this opportunity, I wanted to reinvent myself. and so I did, through sport. Magic. Magic for everyone. But for people with disabilities, a supreme magic. First, I ran the New York marathon. Next, I raced in Ironman. I entered a stadium with 60,000 people carrying the Argentine flag. It was the first time that Argentina had participated in the Paralympic Winter Games. But as I challenged myself more, my voice rose, and my disability seemed to disappear. So one day I reached the highest step on the planet. There, in the Himalayas, at 5600 metres above sea level. After 11 days, I made it. And I yelled at the world that disability has nothing to do with being pitiful. And as I didn’t want anyone to miss this message, I looked for Oscar winner, Juan José Campanella and together we did a Netflix documentary. This documentary was only a click away for 28 million subscribers on the world’s most important screen. Hundreds of thousands of people saw me lift my arms on the screen when I conquered the highest route on the planet. The documentary is called ”The Infinite Limit,” because it’s what I think, the limit is infinite as long as we wake up every morning with a dream to fulfil, and we are willing to follow our dreams. I am an ordinary person who now dreams about going to space. This is why I work. There is a company, Napster Center, which has certified that I am fit to go on a suborbital flight. I have also gone on parabolic flights to test how my body reacts in zero gravity. Today, I am negotiating with a company to be able to go on this flight. Somebody has to pay for this, and at times I think: “I could have used that money.” You know what? You shouldn’t let opportunities pass you by. You have to learn to walk in the rain. Don’t wait for the rain to stop, or for the storm to pass. As I said before, I am an ordinary person, not a disabled person. I am a person with a disbility who learned to play with the rules that life gave him, with the cards dealt. Today, I’m going to give you my formula. First is acceptance, and once you’ve done that, add passion, dedication and effort.
