Alvin Law # 13 From Doubt to Global Impact: How to Turn Your Story Into Power

Some people miss their biggest opportunities because they hesitate to embrace what makes them different. Alvin Law’s remarkable journey—from being abandoned at five days old to inspiring millions around the world—proves that obstacles can become launchpads for extraordinary success when fueled by resilience, humility, and a strong sense of purpose.

In this episode, Alvin shares the raw truth about turning adversity into influence. You’ll discover how he learned to master his limitations by refusing to see them as barriers, the mindset shift that helped him turn setbacks into comebacks, and how he built an international speaking career despite doubt, rejection, and challenges along the way. We also dive into Alvin’s powerful storytelling strategies, his approach to impactful public speaking, and how he’s created a message that genuinely changes lives.

Alvin’s story isn’t just inspiring—it’s a call to action. When you ignore your obstacles, you leave your potential untapped. But when you embrace what makes you different—your story, your struggles, your strengths—you unlock the door to a life of purpose and impact. Whether you're a leader, entrepreneur, creator, or someone searching for direction, this episode will challenge you to rise, take ownership, and step into your full potential.

This isn’t just a feel-good story—it’s a blueprint for rewriting your narrative, overcoming fear, and making a real difference. Don’t wait for permission. Your breakthrough could be one decision away.

Ready to turn your challenges into your greatest strength? Hit play.

Alvin Law is an acclaimed keynote speaker, Emmy Award winner, and bestselling author whose life and message remind us that true strength isn’t about what happens to you—it’s about how you choose to respond.

Alvin Website: https://alvinlaw.com/

Alvin Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/fp5ju7_2uDM?si=Z4h0id_ah2xE3_CA

Music Intro and Outro:

Track Title: City Of Angels
Artist Name(s): LNDÖ

My Website is: 

https://www.codydemerais.com/

buymeacoffee.com/codydemerais

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:21

Hello, everybody. Welcome back to the Life is Limitless Podcast. My name is Cody Demer, and I'm your host. I want to thank each and every single individual for giving the time and energy and listen in on this podcast for the last 12 episodes, as this is episode 13, I believe. And today we have a great, great honor guest here, Mr. Alvin Law. I'm going to give a short introduction. Mr. Alvin Law is an international keynote speaker, two-time Hall of Fame recipient, Emmy Award winner, world-class musician, and the best author or best-selling author. In his 40 years of public speaking, Alvin has entertained more than two million people across five different continents. His incredible true story inspires audiences to explore their lives with greater imagination and transform their obstacles into amazing opportunities. When he's not on stage, Mr. Alvin Laws mastering sports video games and prides himself on being the best driver in his family. He shares his life with his family, with his wife, or sorry, he shares his life with his wife and his business partner, Miss Darlene, and his adult son, Vance, and assorted pets. They all live in beautiful Calgary, Canada. Mr. Alvin Law. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_01 1:49

Truly pleasure. It just occurred to me. I reached up to have a drink of my coffee, and people are watching them. They're probably what did he did he just do that with his foot? Yep. That's me.

SPEAKER_00 2:00

Yeah. So you know what, Mr. Alvin? Do you want to give us a little bit of background of yourself? Maybe for those who, you know, are just tuning in and just getting annoyed today or whenever this future episode plays for them. Um just some background context of you know your story.

SPEAKER_01 2:18

Well, first of all, thanks for having me, brother. We've all got a story. And I and I really truly mean that, not trying to sound humble. I think people underestimate what they have experienced to create a story of their lives. My life creates its own stories because nobody disregards me. Everybody looks at me. I get the double take. People see it and then they look again because they can't help but notice, especially if I'm using my feet like I just did, because I have no arms. I didn't lose my arms, therefore, there isn't a tragedy story involved here. I was born this way. Now some might say, well, that's a tragedy. No, it's not. We'll talk about that as we go on. The real tragedy was when I was born. In one respect, because people say, What how did you overcome this? Having no arms. That was the easy part. Overcoming the stigma of the early 1960s regarding people with disability was the bigger challenge. Big in the way of also a cultural problem. We are so much more enlightened today than we were then. We still have a long way to go. We always will have a long way to go. But the point of that is my birth family were so shocked by my being born without arms, something they could not have predicted. There was no ultrasound back then, they gave me away. So at five days of age, I was homeless. That is a very significant part of my story, and not in a television melodrama sort of way, in a reality way. And I would suggest to you that is another thing about life. There's some pretty sad stories out there of people that did nothing wrong, that ended up becoming victimized by circumstance. They hopefully have the good part of that story to tell because that's where my story shifts. A lot of times when I speak in front of audiences, they hear that I was homeless, they think that's sad. Okay, I'll acknowledge that it was sad, but it was the best thing that ever happened. Because my birth family chose not to keep me, no judgment. Another family came along and did. They weren't looking for a child, they were in their fifties, they'd already raised their family, but they had a compassionate foster home in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, where they looked after troubled teens. Uh, quite frankly, a lot of them were our indigenous people that were in trouble with the courts, that might have had fetal alcohol syndrome. Again, not passing judgment, but they found themselves in a very sad place. Mum and dad were not the kind of people that judged. In fact, my mom had a wonderful expression. This changed my entire life. She would say to the kids then, and then me after they took me in and then eventually adopted me we don't care what happened to you. But we sure do care what's gonna happen. Isn't that a powerful statement? So they kept me in their mid-50s, they raised me, I learned to use my feet for hands. That's not unique. But what I would suggest was the most powerful part of my story, and I I know this is gonna sound predictable, but I grew up in a small town in Saskatchewan, best place ever. I grew up in a community, I grew up with people who cared about me. Therefore, I was not made to feel uncomfortable with my having no arms. I didn't get bullied. Yeah, a couple of kids made fun of me, no big deal. I was celebrated in our little town. That therefore made me believe that anything was possible, so cue the cliche, right? I grew up with my parents saying, Alvin, there's no such word as can't. When that becomes part of your dialogue inside yourself, then you can achieve amazing things. I mean, hey man, you've been through so much, you've achieved things. I think people need to understand the scale. We don't all have to climb Mount Everest to be an achiever. We don't all need to gold win a gold medal at the Olympics to have have uh sat on the top podium. So everybody has done something that they've overcome. I've overcome the stigma. So here I am at 65 years old living what could only be described as the best life ever.

SPEAKER_00 6:15

Oh, that's beautiful, Mr. Allen. You know, uh I so five and a half years ago when I really wanted to get into public speaking, I searched up on YouTube, Motivational Speakers, and guess who came up, Alan? You man. When I was sitting in my store, you know, over five years ago, it was incredible. I got to hear, I think, uh, about a seven-minute video that I just listened to this morning as a refresher from I think it was called Goldcast. Which you explain a little bit. And it's funny because I swear, man, I forgot that you like grew up and you lived in York and Saskatchewan, not very far away from me. I know you're in Alberta now, but what a small world, truly, truly.

SPEAKER_01 6:56

It is a small world. In fact, I think that's what people need to understand every time they go out in public, or even not out of their house, but even on the public network of the internet.

unknown 7:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:07

We always think that we're going to be anonymous out there, that we can say whatever we want to say. No, no, no, no. We have to be accountable for not only what we say and do, but to recognize that the world may be big, but I have been shocked with how small that world can also be.

SPEAKER_00 7:21

I couldn't agree more. The more you put yourself out there in the world as well, the more you travel, the more you speak, the more you connect with human individuals all across wherever, you really realize how small this world truly is. And I've I've came to recognize it and witness it time and time again. You know, I was just in Yorkon a week and a half ago.

SPEAKER_01 7:41

Well, hey, now that we're getting personal, my wife and I have a cottage at Crystal Lake, Saskatchewan, which is about 45 minutes north of Yorkton, that we spend our summers at. So how lucky am I? I get to renew my Saskatchewan love and more than anything, uh, you know, put up the Saskatchewan Rough Rider flag without people throwing apples at my house.

SPEAKER_00 8:02

Soon as you hit that border, hey, that Saskatchewan Rough Rider flag. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 8:06

By the way, about that goal cast, I don't think that they are as relevant today in 2026 as they were, because I believe that they they really did so much. I think internet can be a cruel thing. It can can can make you be the champion, but the next minute you're on the lower rung. Um they're out of Montreal, they're a Canadian organization. But when they approached me about doing this video, um it was really, I had never heard of them. I just thought it was, okay, I'll do it. You know, like I'd I I I want to make sure that I'm uh being with a reputable organization. But when I started looking up Goldcast and seeing the videos they had, in fact, to give you an idea, I my video was supposed to pop, um, I remember vividly, uh it was in August uh of that year. I I'd have to look back at the year. But um the day before it was supposed to go live, they had to reschedule because Aretha Franklin died. Oh and they had a Goldcast video about her life. So this these are not small potatoes organization in Montreal. Goldcast was a global curating organization that was really trying to be one of the first influencers as a cultural organization rather than one person sitting in their home office, you know, curating stuff like you might do, for example. And it was an honor to be part of that. But what blew me away, this was way ahead of now my understanding of you know search engine optimization, all those tricky words we use in the internet. That video had 24 million views within a week of its release.

SPEAKER_00 9:38

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 9:38

So it went viral. I never heard of that exactly in terms of applying that to me. Yeah, not because of me, though, Cody. I think we need to understand. Yes, I have a great story, but they did such an incredible job of putting it together to make sure the audience understood not only what I'd been through, but they it had a didn't it have a good vibe? It was such a positive vibe, right?

SPEAKER_00 10:00

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:01

That's what I loved about it. It didn't say, oh, this is a sad story. There's sad stories, there's sad components. You have sad components. Everybody watching this has a sad component, but they focused so much on all the good news, which oh my god, do we need good news right now, Cody, or what?

SPEAKER_00 10:15

More than ever, brother. More than ever. And you know what? I couldn't agree more as well on that topic about being a good vibe. You know, I was listening to it on my workout bike that I have in our house in our home gym there. And, you know, I was listening to the tail end of it while my kids were running around a little bit, uh, while my wife's working out beside me. And it was getting me amped up to continue my my bike ride on. So yeah. And I it was only seven and a half minutes or so, but I wish I would have gone longer. But at the same time, if your full keyno presentation was on the internet, it's a little tough to continue on as well with everything you do. I think it was perfectly shot. Uh the Omniance was perfect. Um, I really appreciate your story, what I heard from it, of course. And I think they did a great uh great job as well, like you you mentioned. Um I've watched a few other fellow speakers on there. I think, if I can remember correctly, a friend of mine, Joe Roberts, um, I think he did an episode with them before too, and I appreciated his. I had to share the stage with Joe a few years ago. And um, yeah, it's just once again, it's a small world, and being able to get to connect with individuals that you know have been able to transform so much of this world in a positive way is an honor. You know, I was telling you on off camera here um before we hit the record button that you know I was having supper with um my family yesterday, and I was so excited. I said, You guess who I'm having on the podcast tomorrow? I said, Mr. Alvin Law. And I shared with you, my mom, you know, I love her. She doesn't always remember different names out there, but she knew you right away, rather. She knew she's like, hey, I is that the gentleman with the no arms? I think I watched him on Telemiracle 30 years ago. That is what my mother said. And like, without hesitation, just snap of a finger. I said, I think he was on Tell a Miracle, of course. I was two years old at this time, so I didn't, you know, watch that that episode. But um we were sharing a conversation about how that was transformational or it has been in the past. Can you please enlighten us what you meant about that?

SPEAKER_01 12:25

Well, first of all, I I did not um begin my uh life trying to get attention. It it it came to me. Uh a lot of people asked me a different question. They they will say, Well, when did you start speaking? And I always like to give an answer that's not meant to be smart, but but it's like, oh, when I was three years old, yeah, I did. My mom empowered me to tell strangers when who they'd come up to my mom and go, What happened to your little boy? And mom would say, Ask him. I'm sorry, I'm gonna use a bad word. Ask him, he's not stupid. Because there was a connection in those days, if you had a physical disability, they would connect it to what we used to call mental retardation.

SPEAKER_00 13:04

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 13:05

People were not meaning to do that, I don't think, in a malicious way. So I actually started telling what happened to me at a very early age. But as time went by, I found it to be a very useful tool. Rather than have people stare, rather than have people wonder, they would start to ask me questions and I would answer them. So as time even more went by, I found that my communication skills were already amping up all by themselves. You know, I like to sing, so I had a very good voice. I wasn't scared of people. I was a performer. I was in band, I played the trombone, we can talk about that in a minute. But I also learned to play the drums. And it got out there that I was a drummer, but more than anything, it got out there that I had a great way of telling my story. So by chance or fate, depending on which word you'd like to plug in here, I believe in both. I happened to be a camper at Camp Easterdale out by Watras, Saskatchewan, when I was 14 years old, and I ran into a guy from what used to be called the Saskatchewan Council for Crippled Children and Adults, now called Saskabilities. They're a nonprofit service or service-style place that takes care of uh mostly mentally challenged adults and five workshops across the province back then, and uh they also did Easter Sales, which is the name of the camp, and they did fundraising, and they always had what they then called a little Timmy, you know, to connect with that Christmas Carol movie and and the little crippled kid they called it. Ugh, I hate that word, but that's what they called it. So they called them Timmies, and then they got girls, so they called them Tammies, and they eventually called them ambassadors. But the reason I tell you that is because I was a Timmy in 1977, um, I had 76 and 77. They did the first ever telethon on live television across the entire province of Saskatchewan, and they called it Telemiracle. And it was put on by Kinsman and Connect. It was a 22-hour show, and in the first year of the show, there were a lot of cynics believing they wouldn't raise any money. Well, here they were, half an hour away from the end of the show. They were close to a million dollars total, and somebody had the idea, hey, get Alvin Wada, get up and play it. Here's a familiar group in this part of your world, Cody. They got up and asked me if I'd play with Brian Sklar and Prairie Fire. So I got up and played with that band in 1977. I played the drums to flip, flop, and fly, a real good, fast-paced song. The audience was 2,000 people in the theater in Saskatoon. They immediately shot up to their feet, and I like to say, and from that moment on, my life never looked back. I became a celebrity in Saskatchewan, which by the way, I like to joke, it's pretty easy, Cody. It's pretty easy to be a celebrity in Saskatchewan. But by uh, but but then I did 24 more telethons. So I'm gonna be very honest. I became what some people called Mr. Tell a Miracle. Beautiful. Because I did so many of the shows consistently over the years. Some people came and they disappeared. Of course, I would call Bob McGrath of Sesame Street Mr. Tell a Miracle because he was there more than I was, but that became my peerage. I was hanging out with big name celebrities, and I, of course, can't lie, it affected my ego. But what it told me was I need to think bigger. It was actually the reason that eventually I would become a speaker. Because I realized I had not only a story to tell, but I had been blessed with a vehicle to tell it. And that is my talent, my abilities, my storyline of my growing up without arms. But more than anything, I'm an entertainer. So I still play the drums. I play the piano, I don't play the trombone anymore, but I mimicked all the things that I'd learned in the celebrity world to get out there and not become a celebrity, because I I don't I I joke about it, but you know, I'm uncomfortable with that. But to put myself out there publicly to say, okay, Alvin Law is going to choose to do this, not because of my ego alone, but because I felt like I was given a mission, and not a religious mission, but a very, very blessed mission, nevertheless.

SPEAKER_00 17:18

Oh, that's beautiful, my man. I appreciate you sharing that with us. Um you know, when you are around other individuals that have big visions as well, too, it definitely expands your horizons of what is possible, and that is a beautiful asset. That's a beautiful tool. Um may I ask, so what age were you when your very first Hell America? I'm sorry, I I might have lost that, but I'm just curious.

SPEAKER_01 17:42

I was 16 years old. It was 1977. I was born in 1960. So I was a teenager, of course, at the time. Yeah. I looked a lot different, man. I had big hair. Remember 80s hair? I had big hair. It wasn't even 1980 yet. I had, you know, that sort of heavy metal hair. Uh why? Because I was trying to be cool. And I wasn't cool, man. I mean, I wasn't. I'm sorry. I wasn't cool. Although ironically, I kind of was because I was into jazz. So I was jazz cool. I wasn't, you know, Metallica cool or Rolling Stones cool. That was more my era. But what I can't lie about is I love the attention. You know, let's be honest. Everyone loves attention. It's why the internet is so big. We all want to be famous. There's nothing wrong with that. But here's what's wrong with one part of it. What are you doing to be famous? Are you just getting on there talking about something that's your opinion, or are you actually making an impact on our planet, whether it's through your work or whether it's through your hobbies or whether it's through your volunteering? And again, I don't want to sound preachy about this, but you know, uh I'll give you a really good example. I've never understood the Kardashians. Okay, it's just an example. I I I know how popular they are, and all I can ask is why. And people that just heard that would go, well, looked them up. I've looked them up. I don't like people that are them. But that's me. That's my opinion. To me, the real movers and shakers of our planet are riving right in the middle of everywhere on this planet, little towns, little communities, big cities, small cities. Wherever they're living, they're out there making a difference because they're actually truly touching people's hearts and souls in a in a in a very much a uh not a blessed way, I'm not going to use that word again, but in something that is very, very sincere from the heart, in a very genuine nature of human being kind of way. And again, I'm not trying to question anybody who is an influencer, but I still like to say, what are you influencing exactly?

SPEAKER_00 19:40

Well, when you have the ability and the power to influence, why not use it to better human nature, humankind? Right? That's a beautiful thing to offer this world, truly. And quite frankly, I think um, you know, a good amount of whatever I've been able to accomplish in life, all the good things and all the things that I learned, it's came from with compassion and the heart to want to make an impact. And everything else came after. I could have swear to God, that's what happened. It was the intention of making a difference, and whatever else happened happened because of it, I think.

SPEAKER_01 20:11

Well, let's remember, Cody, the internet can be an incredibly powerful tool.

SPEAKER_00 20:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:15

But I think it's important also, rather than just sounding like an old fart here, there was no internet when I started doing this.

SPEAKER_00 20:21

Yeah, fair enough.

SPEAKER_01 20:22

You know, that that big stage up there was my platform. Yeah, it was my way of communicating with the world. And that's why I never shied away from media. That's why I never shied away from interviews. Not because, again, I wanted to be famous, but because I wanted to get a bigger spread on the message. I've always believed in the positives. I I have this saying that I've used for years. See the good in the bad. See the good in the bad. I mean, I know that sounds again a little bit cliche, but there's always something good in the bad, right?

SPEAKER_00 20:50

Yeah. Well, and you know, I I would agree with you on that, my man. I wasn't a person myself that like aspired to be the person I am now. I had bad situations happen in my life due to many mistakes I made, and I want to reclaim my life with it and make other people's lives better. Plain simple. And you know what? You take the best what you can out of a situation and you make it as good as you possibly can. And a lot of beauty can come out on the other side of that. Just, you know, um like the confidence that you have, the ability to share a message, the the way you can communicate with different people in many different ways, those are all beautiful blessings for sure. And like you said, right off the get uh right off the get-go, you know, it's not a bad thing how you were born. It's it's your superpower, right? Um, no, I love that. I appreciate that. Can I ask, when did you start sharing your story besides tell a miracle, more or less? I know you said the three year old then, which that's a lot of years of practice. So you haven't been speaking publicly 40 years. You you said you're 65, so that would make it 62 years, yeah, which is a lot of experience, a lot of time practicing for sure. But when was the time when you started yeah being On stage besides telemetrical and stuff?

SPEAKER_01 22:02

Well, I was a musician. Uh I did play instruments. I was in the Yorkton band. Uh I was actually uh the lead chair trombone player in the Canadian National All-Star High School Jazz Band in 1978 in Winnipeg for a big competition that we went to from Yorkton. Um the reason I mentioned that is because that spoke to me and said, you need to be a professional musician. But when I went into my guidance counselor's office at the Yorkton Regional High School in 1978, my guidance counselor said, Don't do it. Don't do it. Find something else you can do that will not be as dependent on the visuals. Because people are never going to see the musician. They're going to look at you like you're some kind of novelty act from the circus. Pretty rude, eh? But he was right. So I went into broadcasting. That's what changed my life. Another one of the pivotal moments, I came to Calgary where we live now. Uh, in 1978 from Yorkton, all by myself. Um, I'll I'll add a little thing here, buddy. In 1978, when I moved to Calgary from Yorkton, I couldn't even go to the bathroom by myself. I could do the bathroom, but I needed help with my pants. I hadn't unlocked that little cruel lock that I couldn't figure out in terms of buttons and zippers and hooks. I eventually figured out how to do that with elastic waistband pants, just to give you the end of that chapter. But my point is, I wasn't afraid to go try something. So I tried broadcasting and I tried radio. I graduated after two years with a diploma. I got a job in Regina Radio on an FM radio station that played rock music. So it was called FM 92, the rock of Regina. So that's how I sounded. And I had, again, my big hair, I had a big voice, I was very popular. So because I was so popular, I started getting invited out to public things representing the station, being a master of ceremonies or doing a luncheon talk. But when things really launched, was 1981, which became the International Year of Disabled Persons. That became a focus for a lot of events in Regina. So rotary events, school talks, different events where the topic was disability awareness. So they would put the two together that Alvin Law Guy from Telemiracle, that Alvin Law Guy from Regina Radio, and then I just started doing talks. And then I realized that one talk that I gave, they gave me a check for $500, and this was 1981, and I was making $500 a month in Regina Radio. So of course, my brain went, hey, could you actually do this for a living? Well, I didn't really do it. I quit because I had so many opportunities to speak during that year. I actually moved to Alberta to work with another guy who had a disability as a project of that year. But eventually I would come back to Saskatchewan and join the what's now called Saskabilities, and I would travel around the province doing community lectures in schools and in small towns about Easter seals, about the council that was then called the Crippled Children's and Adults Council, uh, and I would talk about awareness. And for four years I did that, and you talk about numbers. In four years, I did close to a thousand talks in Saskatchewan alone. Because I was traveling all over the place. I was doing sometimes twenty, thirty talks a week. You know, I'd I'd do four schools in a day, and then I would do a community event in the evening, and then I would do something on a Saturday night. I had no life. But when you're in your twenties, you don't see it that way, right? I was single, everything was good, but then what pivoted that one was when I became a dad. So I became a dad in 1985. Uh, I'm not with that young lady anymore. But I couldn't continue to travel like that. So I got a job in advertising. I ran for office in Regina Northwest for the uh 1986 provincial election, lost, thank God. Got a government job, but then I hated the government job, nothing against government jobs, but all through this entire long story, sorry, Cody, I kept thinking, I want to do this. I want to do this. But that message had changed from disability awareness to leadership. And when I realized there was a market for Canadian student leadership in Canada, I quit my job in 1988 and became a full-time speaker. And it was really just the material that I developed for awareness components about disability, and I moved that into talking to kids just about general motivation, inspiration, but more than anything, telling teenagers, hey, gay guys and gals, we're all up against something. But you can overcome that. You can overcome anything. And I'm you're living proof right in your gym, right now, today. And that was what really pivoted me into the professional speaking career that I've had ever since.

SPEAKER_00 26:39

Amen. Amen, brother. Well, I love that. That's a crazy amount of engagements, a thousand over four years.

SPEAKER_02 26:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:47

Yeah. I think the most I've ever done in my one single week has been like ten engagements. And at the end, um, you're definitely anywhere, Cody.

SPEAKER_01 26:57

Hey. It was just the the doors were wide open.

unknown 27:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:06

And I I can't lie about this. In 1980s, going into the early 90s, I was the only Canadian well-known leadership speaker. There was a bunch in the United States. They kept coming across the border to speak in Canada. But when they started to realize schools could get a Canadian, only now, oh my God, there's there's there's an abundance of Canadian leadership speakers in schools. But I also realized that I couldn't keep that pace. So in 2000, we moved from Regina. Uh, we being my wife now, of uh, we got married in in 1993, so I don't give you an idea of how long we've been together. I met her when I was a single dad of a five-year-old. By the way, you know what the hardest thing ever, Cody? Being a single dad. And not just a single dad sharing my kid with my ex. I was the dad. She was out of the picture, she had mental health issues. So I became the only guy in the picture as a parent for my child who's now 40. Okay, and even he talks about how, you know, everyone may look at Alvin Law as a great guy from television, but he was my dad. So he saw the other side of that. And I think that's very important to acknowledge that while we may be public in some respects as a speaker or as a celebrity or as an influencer, like you, we're also home raising kids. We're also, you know, trying to be a good member of the community. And more than anything, we're also recognizing that one of the most important missions in life is not business success, it's success at home.

SPEAKER_00 28:31

Yeah. No, I couldn't agree more with you on that as well, too, brother. I mentioned with you, I have three kids under four. So, you know, there's often days I'm tired, but you know, and there's often days I'm stressed and you know, upset here and there. But I'm trying my best, plain simple. And I know my wife, I have an amazing partner to also do that alongside with. So I can't.

SPEAKER_01 28:51

You don't come to the user manual, Cody.

SPEAKER_00 28:53

That's right. Sure doesn't.

SPEAKER_01 28:56

But anyway, I moved to Calgary in 2000 with my wife Darlene and my then teenage son Vance, and we have been in Calgary ever since. But as I said, I still get my Saskatchewan. But I had to move to a bigger city because I needed to be in a bigger airport. Because again, not to put this all about bragging on what I've done, but I started realizing I could take this message around the globe.

SPEAKER_02 29:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:16

That one I did not see coming. I did not expect to be as popular in Canada as I would be in places like Australia or places where I've gone in Africa or where I've been five continents, as I said. That is bragging. I can't lie, I'm bragging about that. But not because look where I've been, not a travel log. I mean, can you imagine going to Thailand, being in front of 10,000 people for a speaking engagement, and have a standing ovation in a country where you don't even speak their language?

SPEAKER_00 29:42

Yeah, that's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 29:43

This message is not about rural Saskatchewan. This message is very much, and I gotta tell you, I want to put this before we end the interview. This message reminds me of the Artemis mission. Right? That spaceship floating around from the moon, looking at that planet, and being able to look at it poetically and say, we're all living here. Yeah, we all are living here. We are all children of this beautiful planet Earth. What are we doing to make it better or worse? That's a question I want your audience to ask itself today, please.

SPEAKER_00 30:12

Yeah, we're all together. That's a profound kind of train of thought when a lot of folks go up in space and they look at our planet as a as a single, you know, world together. You know, we'll think of all the things that we're not doing good together when we can be doing good together. That's a often train of thought. And it's because we realize that we're all interconnected one way or the other through this universe, through this world, and we all have the ability to cause change and to impact and affect in this world, uh, whether it's with each other, whether it's in the environment, whether it's whatever we put out into the world. And that's why it's such a beautiful blessing to be able to chat with you today, Alvin. I mean, five cont five continents, you know, easily over a few thousand engagements, easily spoken in front of, you know, over two million people. It's absolutely incredible. Absolutely incredible. I know you said you're at about 40 some years of doing the public speaking thing. You know, I would say as a, you know, as an actual profession, I may be at five myself.

SPEAKER_01 31:13

Yeah, but I was at five once too, right? By the way, I want to remind the audience of something before we end this. Uh I I don't want to name drop, but my my traveling around and speaking at big events has allowed me to meet some pretty fascinating people. I got to know Chris Hatfield, the Canadian astronaut. I was speaking at an event with him in the same place. And therefore, we spent some personal time together. And this is why I want to mention it. Uh, because I I said, so how does a how does a guy become an astronaut? And he went, you know what? That's a great question. Everybody asked me that question. But his answer I thought was really powerful. He started from the same place you and I have been, brother. They didn't Cody Chris Hadler wasn't born whenever he was born, and before he was a year old, they were fitting him for a spacesuit.

SPEAKER_02 31:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:55

Right? He came from zero to being on the space station.

SPEAKER_02 31:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:00

Okay. Anybody that's achieved greatness in the world have come from the same place. We all are born. We're all raised. Oh, I know what some people are thinking, yeah, but only certain people get the uh the miracle of being raised in a proper place. Wrong answer. Most of the achieving people that I've met in my life have been through so much stuff. It's unbelievable. They are achievers because they overcame what was thrown in their way. And that gave them the strength to go on to become who they are today. No doubt about it. I'm included, you're included. Name a big name. Not the Cardations, because they were born into money. Sorry. That was a cheap shot. Do you know what I mean? Most people that have done amazing things have started with the same place that we all start. So everybody can do this. Everybody can be successful. No doubt about it. Everybody can be limitless, brother.

SPEAKER_00 32:49

I love that. I love that. You know, one of the common messages that I love to share, especially in schools, um, elementary, high schools, whatever, universities, secondary, post-secondaries, um, an often message that I share with individuals is, you know, I there's not a single talent, skill, you know, whatever strength that I started off being the expert in. There's not a single one. Every single one that I have obtained, learned, or grown into in my entire life, I started at being the very bottom of the rung. Absolutely. Whether it's standing on skates where I didn't know how to stand on skates as a you know, person I want to play hockey, whether it's speaking publicly, you know, being held back in elementary school in grade one for having a speech impediment, you know, there's nothing I can name right now that I started just being a natural at. There's not one thing in my life. And I think that should show people that it takes practice, it takes dedication, takes consistency to get where you think you want to be as time goes on.

SPEAKER_01 33:48

Well, you know, I'll give you a really down-to-earth example. Um just this week, I spoke at the uh Alberta Children's Hospital here in Calgary. So you have 60 students from seven years old up to 17 years old, yeah, and about half of them were teenagers. They're there for mental health uh treatment. One of the young ladies um had a severe brain injury. This is the most messed up thing I've heard in a long time. She I didn't get what it was, no, no confidentiality being released here because I'm not going to tell you what her name is. Yeah. But she was injured, became brain injured, ended up in the hospital, and she became a better person. She's not debilitated, she's not disabled. In fact, what it did was they can't even explain this. She came up to me after my presentation. By the way, she introduced me. She would be 15, she was lovely. She looked to be so confident. And after the presentation, she came up with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. So I said, Who are these for? She goes, for your wife. I said, Oh, that's very kind. I made them, she said. I said, You made them? She says, Yeah, we have a horticultural program at the children's hospital, so I want to be a professional horticulturalist. So she left the room after a big hug. I can't hug her, she hugged me, like hugging a tree. The principal of the school said, There is a living success story right there. She got into trouble, had a brain injury because of the people she kept company with. There was no way that anyone could have seen this coming. But her brain was not injured in a way that debilitated her, said that twice now. But it created a different portal in her learning. So all of a sudden she changed behavior, changed personality. I'm not suggesting that brain injuries can do that. They don't. But this is the story of someone who's living a miracle and they're everywhere. We just have to acknowledge that there's people out there that have overcome so much. But no matter what you're up against, like this young lady, you can do something better with your life than you are right now, if that's the way you see it. Other people, to be quite blunt about this, they're too full of themselves. So somewhere in there is a happy medium. And I I don't want to be preachy about this, but I think the most important thing I can leave with your audience today is you were born for a purpose. If you haven't figured that out yet, maybe spend some time thinking about what that could possibly be.

SPEAKER_00 36:08

Keep searching, keep searching, most definitely. You know, and the funny thing is you mentioned about being overly confident, overly, you know, cocky and whatnot. And it is a fine line to balance between the between not believing that you can accomplish great things and believing that you're better than everyone else. Or not, you know, just being overly confident where you don't respect the abilities, you don't respect the process, you don't respect the venture that you have to go into. And that happy medium, right in between those two lines, that is definitely the place to be. And I'll admit, very frankly, very, you know, transparent. Um, I've been a person that has struggled on both sides. But finding a happy medium is a beautiful place to live your life. I couldn't agree more.

SPEAKER_01 36:53

Do we remember Bob McGrath from Sesame Street? Mr. You know, Bob, the guy who was on Sesame Street, and you might not, Cody, but I bet you some of your people do. The reason I mentioned him is he was a big celebrity on Telamiracle. And when I was around 22, 23 years old, we were sitting at a dinner one time, and I was being kind of cocky, and I'm gonna use a bad word here, it's not a really, really bad word, but he leaned over to me one day and he goes, Alvin, I said, Yeah. He said, Stop being an asshole. I said, What? He goes, You're being a bit of an asshole. I said, How am I doing that? He goes, You're not honoring people, Alvin. And I kind of that I had my whole body jerked. He was right. I wasn't honoring people because I thought it was all about me. I learned something in one five-minute conversation with a very big celebrity who I did not see that way. Oh, and by the way, he also became a very dear friend of mine, and I was blessed to have that in my life. But we need mentors. We need to look up to people and say, hey, I don't know this. Can you teach me? Yeah. We need elders. Yeah. Right? We need people in indigenous communities to share their wisdom with the young people so they will not go off the rails like so many do. And it doesn't even have to be indigenous. You know, we we have to respect that there are seniors that know things. We should learn from people that are over 65 rather than age out because we're past that best before date. Right? We need to, as young people, develop humility. Because with humility comes strength, and then it comes to the next phase, and that is what can we do for you? What can I do for you?

SPEAKER_00 38:22

Well, I I definitely can also agree with you on that. I mean, everything you're saying here today, Alvin, I can agree with. The mentors have most definitely changed my life as well, too. Um, I know without some of the guidance and without some of the wisdom that I've learned from some folks in this world, I would not be the person I am today. And I'm proud to admit it for sure. And you know what? I want to be that individual for some other folks as time goes on, too, because when you think of each one teaches one, I mean that's a beautiful cycle of what kind of impact can happen in this world, truly.

SPEAKER_01 38:54

Couldn't agree more.

SPEAKER_00 38:55

Yeah. Yeah. Well, Alan, uh sorry, uh um, Alvin, um, I was just gonna mention one of my mentors. I don't know if you've ever got a chance to meet him. Um, I've met your wife uh in Calgary for a Canadian association um meeting, what is it? I think two years ago now. Yeah. And I realized she has some mutual friends. We have some mutual friends, of course, in the speaking world, and my my friend Alan has been one of my speaker mentors, um, Alan Kaylor. And so Oh, I know who that is. Yeah, so I would love to ask um who's been one of your people that have taught you a lot? Is it the story that you kind of shared with um just about not honoring people? Is that a life lesson that has helped change your life a great deal?

SPEAKER_01 39:40

You know, I can't pick one particular individual because when I started doing this, I didn't have anybody to follow. I didn't watch a speaker, for example, like a Tony Robbins, who's very famous. I didn't very much enjoy him, to be quite frank. I thought he was a little bit uh verbose. Uh that's an extensive word. I patterned myself actually after stand-up comedians. Um I like comedy. I liked how they did their delivery, I liked following through with a stagecraft. So I was watching performers, I liked musicians. There weren't anybody that I could really contact back in the old days that I could get advice from. But to name an organization, you did make reference to it, joining the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers was the best professional step I ever made because we didn't have anybody to talk about. As you mentioned, my wife Darlene, she's also my business partner and runs our offices. She did not have a clue how do you run a speaking business. Now people contact her all the time asking her for advice because she's one of the best office managers in the industry globally. So we've actually traveled around the world. I met people within the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers who did help me as coaches, like a guy named Kit Grant or a guy named Warren Evans. They're old names in the industry. But they were the ones that I paid to train me up, to coach me up. And I think that was a very important thing was I might have been a really good speaker already. Man, I was in the Hall of Fame, and I was still hiring coaches to coach me up because I believe we are in a constant learning phase of our lives. No matter what our age is, no matter what our expertise is, if we stop thinking that we know, if we start thinking that we know it all, we're in a bad spot. So, you know, the trick like you found, Cody, is finding someone that you can relate to, someone that can help you develop, but more than anything, um, you gotta find that fit that is very comfortable. And sometimes the comfort level is not what you need completely. I think what I learned is being uncomfortable, being told things I didn't want to hear, being not disrespected by coaches, but saying, Don't do that, or stop doing that, or what's the point of that story? I think the greatest lesson I learned as a speaker is not philosophical. It's finish on time. Respect the clock. When the clock says you're done, you're done. Don't say, Oh, I got another story. Oh, by the way, I thought of another story. Maybe people want to hear 15 stories, but if you're supposed to only tell six, stop at six.

SPEAKER_00 42:12

Yeah. Yeah, I'll admit I've made that mistake a couple times. Hey, we've all done it, man.

SPEAKER_01 42:17

We've all done it. You know, and that's not just ego. You know, what I realized it was, I tried to tell this to my wife one day. She goes, Why do you have trouble stopping? We're talking about 25 years ago. And I would say, well, because they're paying me a lot of money. I want to make sure I give them what they get paid for. She goes, they won't know what you didn't tell them, Alvin.

SPEAKER_00 42:35

That's a beautiful perspective, truly.

SPEAKER_01 42:37

They don't know what you didn't tell them. Exactly. And you know, then you graduate into the next phase where you start to realize as you become a professional storyteller, that becomes your craft.

SPEAKER_00 42:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:48

So now I can speak anywhere from five minutes, I've done it, all the way to six hours, I've done that. Don't want to do that again.

SPEAKER_00 42:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:57

I tried doing a workshop one time many, many years ago. Yeah. Because I was paid to do a workshop. I sucked. I was bad. So I realized I'm not a workshop guy, I'm a keynote guy, and that's what I do.

SPEAKER_00 43:08

Yeah, and see, understanding what role you should play in and the where you're best served is definitely a fine line as well, too, because I've been a person that I've tried to experience uh many different obstacles, many different paths. And I'm kind of with you. I really do love and I appreciate the keynote speaker phase myself, and that's where I excel, and that's what excites me. I wake up in the morning when I go and I'm able to go speak somewhere, and I'm like, it's Christmas morning today, and it's in the middle of you know summer. But I get to go be a keynote speaker today for this conference, and that's one of the things that lights me up besides being with my family. Um, and so knowing that is very important as well. Can I ask how long have you been a part of the CAPS Association, by the way? You and your wife?

SPEAKER_01 43:52

Uh since 2000.

SPEAKER_00 43:54

2000. Okay. So we're in two twenty twenty six, okay. Yep. So Twenty six years. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 44:01

Yeah. Yeah, and it did it went by in a flash.

SPEAKER_00 44:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:04

And it also allowed me to meet not only uh some really good speakers out in Canada, but I also was able to travel and when you join CAPS, you also become a member of what's called the Global Speakers Federation. So um I've had a chance to do my message through that association as well around the world. I've spoken in in England, South Africa, Australia. I mean, again, I'm not trying to brag about this. What I find interesting about it more than anything is I mentioned once before, recognizing that not only as a human being, uh, we are a planet of people that we should get together a little better, but also in the profession. You know, it's it's it's hard sometimes because people say, well, why would you join an association with everyone who is your competitor? I don't see it that way. I see that we're all on this on this big team. I really believe this. And we can help each other to be able to spread a message that raises the bar for professional speaking, period. Because let's be honest, who haven't we all heard a speaker that we kind of go, uh, I don't think you should do that anymore? And I'm not being disrespectful. But just because you want to tell your story doesn't mean that you are automatically capable of it. Yeah, you know, we can all be trained up at the same time. We must be delivering material. As my wife says, what's your point?

SPEAKER_00 45:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:16

That's her her classic line for my entire life knowing her as a professional. What's your point, Alvin? And that should always be in the mind of a speaker.

SPEAKER_00 45:25

Yeah, what's your ROI that you're given your audience? Exactly. Yeah. Oh, that's beautiful, man. Uh, you know, I've only been a part of CAPS here for maybe a year and a half, two years. Um, and since uh being a part of it, you know, anyone I've ever reached out that's a part of that world has been nothing but you know grateful to have a conversation and be extend some, you know, information with me. And it's been amazing and great. And I've had uh a few individuals on this podcast, yourself included, that have been a part of that CAPS Association. And it's been I'm so thankful to be a part of that world, you know, to be able to learn from individuals like yourself and just to kind of watch, you know, and go back in time and watch a little bit of history, a little bit of transformations from time to time, and now have these friendships together where we can all see each other grow and impact moving forward together, and it's uh it's a beautiful ecosystem to be a part of, most definitely.

SPEAKER_01 46:21

Our best friends are members of the Association of Professional Speakers around the world. Yeah. Uh our best friends, no doubt about it. And not because we don't have friends that that are outside the speaking community, we do. But is there anything more beautiful than being able to get together, you know, sometimes virtually, but better yet, in person, to get together with a bunch of people in the same room that are the only people on the planet that truly understand what it is you do. Because a lot of people say, you know, that's a pretty cool thing to get to be a speaker. Sure it is. It's also a really hard thing to do.

SPEAKER_02 46:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 46:52

You know, and there's so many challenges until in especially in 2026, because there's just so many speakers out there. I mean, good for them. But we're all trying to get our little piece of the pie, right? Isn't that what they say in speaking? And uh we just need to be able to share what we know with each other because that makes for good karma.

SPEAKER_00 47:09

Yeah. Well, it's been incredible, Alvin, uh being able to chat with you, my man. I've learned a great deal within just this 46 minutes here, being able to chat, and of course conversations that we share back and forth. And I definitely look forward to getting uh meet you actually physically in person one day. Um, I know this is the year that I plan on actually going to Cap's Convention here in Toronto just because you know, where I used to be with my past, with records and stuff when I was 18, 19 and stuff as a young man. Um, it might be challenging for me to go to other places and stuff until I get a pardon and whatnot in my life. So when I seen that, I was in Toronto this year, I was like, hey, that's much doable for me. So have you attended much um CAPS conventions in the past, or do you plan on going this year, or what's that look like for you?

SPEAKER_01 47:58

We've only missed three CAPS conventions since 2000. Oh, wow. Last uh the two that we missed were because of a of a challenge that Darlene's had. That's a whole other story that would take forever to tell. Uh, she went deaf. Uh it was actually a genetic problem that surfaced as time went by, and as she aged into her late 50s, early 60s, she realized that hearing aids weren't going to fix her problem with her hearing. So she ended up with what's called a cochlear implant. Uh that's a very big, expensive term that you can look up in Google later, cochlear implant. So the reason I say that is because the first year she had it was two years ago. Uh we just couldn't go to Quebec City, and then a year ago we couldn't go to Costa Rica because she just wasn't ready to tackle that kind of trip with this new hearing. But we did go to Halifax this year in December, and we'll definitely be in Toronto next December. Um I have been to now over 40 conventions through the association, including uh four in England, two in Australia, two in South Africa. We've been around a lot to different places, uh seven or eight that I've been to, probably ten now, I guess, in in America. So they all add up. But what they also do is show you a different perspective on the speaking industry. Um, believe it or not, and I will say this without any apologies at all, Canada's professional speakers convention is called one of the best on the planet. No, we don't we we gotta stop apologizing for being Canadian. We do an excellent job, not only running the convention, but here's why you need to come, Cody. Because what I hear over and over and over again, and this is not to put any shade on any other association, especially NSA and the States. NSA and the States Convention is so gigantic, it's hard to feel like you're actually included. In Canada, it's smaller. And as I've heard so many Americans come up to Canada to go to our convention, they go, you people are just so friendly and so welcoming and so inclusive. Exactly. That is what we specialize uh specialize in in our Canadian Association of Professional Speakers. If you haven't figured this one out already, everybody's welcome. Yeah, because everybody's got a story. Isn't that how we started this interview? Everybody's got a story. But you need to come to Toronto and get a hug, buddy. Get a few hugs and say, hey, Cody, nice to meet you. Hey, Cody, nice to meet you. And you'll get a tag on your uh that you'll wear that says VIP. And people go, does that mean very important person? It does. Well, why have why have I got it? I'm the first year. Because the first year people are the most important people in the room.

SPEAKER_00 50:26

Well, I look forward to that, brother. Truly.

SPEAKER_01 50:28

I already got the have another conversation. And I appreciate you sharing this with the world, man. You know, the more we can share these vibes, the more we can get a good feeling out there. It's not gonna fix the problems we have, you know, with world war and all the stuff that's going on, but it can sure allow anyone that's watching this right now a moment for you know 45 minutes or 50 minutes in their day to put a smile on their face. Because you all deserve a smile on your face. Everybody.

SPEAKER_00 50:54

Well, I couldn't agree more, man. And that's exactly what this started off with. Uh, you know, hearing different stories of different people, you know, watching or listening to different podcasts when they kind of need an uplifted moment in their life, and to just know that that is an ability to offer this world, that's what inspired me to want to start this. And, you know, like you said, for the 45 minutes, an hour that somebody's gonna be listening to this episode, they're gonna get that. And that's a guarantee, that's a promise to whoever listens to this episode for sure. They're gonna want to.

SPEAKER_01 51:23

Well, Cody, I think we need to remind everybody we're real, man.

SPEAKER_00 51:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 51:27

We're not a Hollywood construction. We're real. You know, you're from rural Saskatchewan, I'm from rural Saskatchewan, you know, you've still got a long way to go. But just think about where you've been in your journey and never be embarrassed by telling that. Never ever be embarrassed by telling people the dark side of your life. Okay? Everyone's got something they went through or are now currently going through. If that's you going through this right now, don't be embarrassed with your mistakes. Don't be just as long as you're not hurting people, yeah, right? And if you are hurting people, stop it. Yeah. Because, you know, life's too short. We get one. What we do with it is truly everything, right, brother?

SPEAKER_00 52:02

Oh, I couldn't agree more. Yeah. And you know, I've I've never heard somebody tell me that they regret not going or regret going to Cap's convention. And you know, everyone I've talked to said, you need to come, you need to come. And as I was saying, my wife just signed off on it a couple weeks ago after I got off the phone call with uh a Tyler Hayden. And yeah, he shared with me, he said, You will not regret it, man. You will not regret it. And so immediately after I hopped off the phone with him, I asked my wife, babe, can I can can we do this? And she said, Okay.

SPEAKER_01 52:34

So the only recommendation I have if you go to a convention, brother, is be ready for two or three days after you're done to have some quiet time. Because your brain is gonna be so full, and it's gonna be really hard to wipe the permigrant off your face by all the smiling that's gonna happen when you get around 300 other people who care about you, because we do care about you.

SPEAKER_00 52:54

Yeah. Well, I mean, as soon as I heard about this association, uh, I think it was four years ago, it's been somewhat of a mission for me to achieve to be able to be a part of it. And I'm thankful for the last two years we've been able to do that. And I definitely look forward to getting to meet you in person, of course, and everyone else that I've connected with over social media or whatever, just emails here and there and connect with a few folks that I have already connected with in Calgary a couple times for um some mastermind groups that I traveled to uh the past couple years with. But Alvin, I think uh, you know, we're we're getting to a point where it's about 60 minutes here of recording, and that's normally my basis of time. I want to humbly and generously thank you from the bottom of my heart, my man, for your time, your energy, and I want to thank each and every single one of the individuals who are going to be listening or watching and I'm sorry, watching this podcast between me and you today. I think um what we shared just a few minutes ago, people are gonna grab a lot of insight, a lot of hope, a lot of strength from this episode together. And it's been an honor to be able to chat with you this past this past hour, brother. Truly.

SPEAKER_01 54:04

Thank you very much. And to everyone who's watching, don't give up. Don't give up. You can do it. Trust me, you can do anything you want in your life.

SPEAKER_00 54:13

That sounds fantastic. That's a great way to enter, Alvin. Now, before we kind of wrap things up, just in case somebody's, you know, in Canada on the West Coast, East Coast, somebody's in the States, or somebody's even in um, you know, somewhere else in the world, because I I looked yesterday and this podcast has been viewed in 11 countries now already. Awesome. Episode 13 with you today, brother.

SPEAKER_01 54:38

Lucky 13.

SPEAKER_00 54:38

Lucky 13. That's a good number. That's a good number. So if people are interested in finding more about you, brother, where can they where can they search for you?

SPEAKER_01 54:48

It's so easy, brother. Alvinlaw.com.

SPEAKER_00 54:51

Beautiful, beautiful. Okay, folks. Well, you heard it, alvinlaw.com. I'll make sure to put a link to your website. Just one people who are you know listening in to be able to search you out if they want to. Uh if somebody wants to book you, if somebody wants to talk about working with you, and I would love to also put that goalcast YouTube video that we chatted about in the description as well. So if somebody wants to reflect and take some moments on that, I think it would be also a great thing to do with your time because for the seven and a half minutes that I listened to on the exercise bike this morning, it helped definitely inspire me to push through and go that extra couple kilometers for sure on my bike. So um, once again, thank you, every single person who's listening to this podcast. My name's Cody Demray. I'm your host of the Life is Limitless Podcast, and today we had the honor of having Mr. Legendary Alvin Law. Thanks, everybody.

SPEAKER_01 55:48

Hi, guys. Thank you, Cody.

SPEAKER_00 55:50

Thanks, brother.