Hello, my name is Jacob Thompson. First and foremost, I am blessed to be a husband and father which are my two most important roles in life! Aside from that, I am a keynote speaker, published author, award-winning recording artist, disability advocate, podcaster, and para-athlete; I guess you could say I wear a lot of hats! The way I see it, all of these endeavors coincide and complement each other. The funny thing is, I never really aspired to do any of the above but you never know what will happen when you both roll with life's punches and accept its invitations.
Growing up I, just like most of my friends, wanted nothing more than to be a professional/Olympic athlete. I came from back-to-back generations of Division I athletes and wanted to follow the same blueprint. When I was 11 years old, after receiving the game ball from the championship game we had just won, my baseball coach pulled me aside and told me I thought I could go pro one day. Fast forward to my junior and senior year of high school; while my friends got stronger and faster, I began to get unexplainably weaker and slower. I watched all my athletic aspirations seemingly go down the drain. I was crushed.
Around that time I was fortunate to have a couple of college-age coaches who led a teen mentoring program at my school. Throughout my years of high school, they continued pouring into my friends and me, helping us build character and pointing us to an identity and a purpose that was bigger than just sports; something that didn't make much sense in my teenage mind. It wasn't until the downfall of my athletic identity that these messages began to click and make an impact in my life for which I am forever grateful.
I spent the next decade devoted to teen mentoring and coaching various sports, hoping to replicate the impact of my mentors in the lives of others. I also discovered a passion and talent for creating inspirational spoken word poetry and music. By day I was mentoring and coaching football while by night I was performing at concerts and selling t-shirts and CDs. I had married my beautiful wife and we had just bought our first house. All was well, except...
My health. What began as decreasing athleticism had progressed into trouble completing daily tasks due to poor balance and coordination. When my physical decline grew beyond being able to ignore it, I sought answers through medical professionals. After months of confusing doctors appointments, I was finally given a diagnosis: Friedreich's Ataxia (FA).
In short, FA is a genetic, progressive rare disease that causes ongoing damage to the cerebral cortex resulting in the loss of basic physical functions such as balance, coordination, speech, strength, energy production, and heart function. I was told that in the near future I would be dependent on a wheelchair and that I would have a shortened life expectancy.
As I began to embrace my situation, I decided to turn the focus of my spoken word poetry, music, and social media content towards my experience battling FA. More and more I wanted to both raise awareness on this issue and point people towards purpose and perseverance. The result, my first book titled From Diagnosis To Destiny—you’re trials aren’t meant to break you; they’re meant to make you.
I have since given keynote presentations to tens of thousands of people in person and reached multiple hundreds of thousands with online content. From schools and sports teams to pharmaceutical companies and educational leadership conferences, and everything between, I have done more speaking and performing than I ever though or had planned. My secret sauce, though, is simple authenticity. I think often of the many times I gave an “inspirational speech” or performed my music and poetry to one person at a time or as a volunteer for a small group of teenagers without ever thinking of a crowd or contract. This is why I can confidently step on a big stage and be secure in my purpose: to inspire others to unleash their destiny.
Through both physical and mental battles, I have come to realize that though the causes and levels of severity may differ, we all suffer in life. We all have a choice to be overcome by what we can't control or to make the most of what we can. This realization sent me into a journey to live out my destiny, something I believe is available to all of us: a life full of purpose, hope, and joy in all circumstances.
"Jacob’s message captivates the heart and mind of anyone who hears his story. Every individual will be inspired by Jacob’s courage as he battles a relentless foe and is not discouraged by the potential outcome, but uses his story as an example of what it looks like to truly surrender yourself for those around you and for what you believe. I would recommend every leader try and get Jacob in front of their team to hear his story as only he can share it."
"Jacob’s message captivates the heart and mind of anyone who hears his story. Every individual will be inspired by Jacob’s courage as he battles a relentless foe and is not discouraged by the potential outcome, but uses his story as an example of what it looks like to truly surrender yourself for those around you and for what you believe. I would recommend every leader try and get Jacob in front of their team to hear his story as only he can share it."