Living With Cerebral Palsy Without Letting It Define Your Limits

What happens when you stop worrying so much about how other people see you and start taking ownership of your own story? In this conversation, I’m joined by David, a motivational speaker, podcaster, disability advocate, adaptive athlete, and someone who has spent years learning how to talk openly about life with cerebral palsy. David shares how graduating from UCF became one of the turning points that pushed him toward motivational speaking after growing up with predictions about what he supposedly would never be able to do. We talk about how long it can take to actually find your message, why he eventually decided to address disability directly, and what happened when he stopped trying to control whether everybody accepted him. We also get into podcasting and why David shifted from primarily telling his own story to creating a platform for other people to tell theirs. That has taken him into conversations with athletes, authors, people with disabilities, and even professional wrestlers, with a focus on understanding the person behind what everyone sees on the surface. A big part of our conversation centers around disability advocacy and education. David shares why he is comfortable answering respectful questions about cerebral palsy, how a simple conversation can change someone’s perception of disability, and why there is a meaningful difference between genuine curiosity and treating someone differently because of their disability. We also talk about staying active, David’s background as a three sport adaptive athlete and three time state champion cyclist, and what he would tell someone who knows they have a story worth sharing but is still hesitant to put themselves out there. Ultimately, this is a conversation about appreciating yourself, deciding that your story has value, letting the right people find you, and understanding that you do not need everyone to approve of who you are. Connect with David on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidironman\_11/ Subscribe to David's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@davidscpfitness