Saturday, November 2, 2019

Did motivational TED-style speaker Joe Roberts in Canada really write the now-viral inspiring text he claims to have written when asked by fans on Facebook? Or is he ''exaggerating''?

About Joe Roberts
In 1989 Joe was living on the streets of Vancouver as a homeless skid row addict. Through perseverance, determination and his resilient human spirit, Joe pulled himself out of the darkness and despair, to become a respected business and community leader. A highly sought after inspirational speaker, Joe has shared his powerful story of resiliency and change to over 1 MILLION people!
 
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Roberts_(motivational_speaker)

Neil James asks: ''Did you find this somewhere or is this a Joe original? It’s really good!''


Joe Roberts to Neil James ''I did.''
 
=====================


Sylvia Townsend and others on Twitter, you should be aware that there's mounting evidence that Joe did not write those words himseld as he claims when asked on FB. His background is as a TED-style motivational speaker/ former heroine addict and homeless man in Canada, he *might* be exaggerating his role in this. Reader beware!  It's easy to pull the wool over people's eyes on the internet.

For example, if he REALLY did write that in October, how come not one newspaper or blog or magazine in Alberta Canada where he lives and works has interviewed him about this TEXT he claims he wrote himself? You'd think with his stellar PR background as a famous Canadian motivational speaker with many YOUTUBE videos of him speaking online that he would have been interviewed in Canada in print and or on radio or TV, but no such links exist. Just his own FB page.

89 COMMENTS 278 shares

WHERE HE WRITES:

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10157996809199416&id=510324415

The inventor of the engine (many argue about who really did it) used a horse every day of his life. He had to because that was what was available at the time while he figured out how to make it easier.

The inventor of the light bulb worked by candle light.
 
The inventor of steel had a house full of iron.

People building cleaner more renewable energy need to drive cars, ride on planes, and heat their houses with gas, because that is whats available to them.
 
Participating in the world as it is does not disqualify you from trying to improve it.

October 14th posted by JOE ROBERTS

Barb Chamberlain @BarbChamberlain                     
Replying to
 
Found it by searching for the last line as a string of text; Facebook post of a man named Joe Roberts (works at Telus, went to Lethbridge College in Alberta, Canada). He was asked the source and says he wrote it.

Solitaire TownsendVerified account @GreenSolitaire Oct 31
''Spotted this - don’t know the source but love it!''
Who is Sylvia Townsend?
. Co-founder of sustainability agency .
 Author of ''The Happy Hero''. Aunty. She/her.

NOTES

Published on Feb 13, 2019
Joe Roberts aka The Skidrow CEO is an expert on resiliency and change. Having experienced both catastrophic failure and extraordinary success Joe teaches how to overcome the roadblocks that get in the way of high performance. He helps companies and individuals redefine what’s truly possible by confronting limiting mindsets. Participants at Joes’ events leave inspired and moved to action.

What is most amazing about Joe is that in 1989 he was living on the streets of Vancouver as a homeless skid row addict. Through perseverance, determination and his resilient human spirit, Joe pulled himself out of the darkness and despair, to become a highly respected business and community leader.

Joe’s message is relatable, humorous, honest, raw and unforgettable. He tackles the stigma associated with mental health and addiction in a straight forward authentic way and shares the tools needed to build resiliency in any situation.

Since 1989, Joe has acquired two college diplomas, became the CEO of one of Vancouver’s leading multimedia companies, walked across Canada and achieved more success than he could ever have imagined. Joe has been recognized by MacLean’s Magazine as one of “10 Canadians who make a difference,” won the BC Courage to Come Back Award, received The Ontario Premier’s Award for Business, was given an Honorary Doctorate from Laurentian University and was recognized by the Senate of Canada with their Canada 150 Medal. Recently Joe was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) from The Governor General of Canada.

Joe’s business solutions have made millions of dollars for his clients, across a variety of business sectors. It is from this experience that Joe draws when addressing Fortune 500 companies, professional associations and organizations internationally.

Joe is also the Executive Director and Co-Founder of The Push for Change Foundation, a charity advocating for youth homelessness prevention. Joe walked 9064KM across Canada from May 1, 2016 until September 29, 2017, pushing a shopping cart to raise money and awareness about youth homelessness.

Ultimately, Joe’s deep resonating “WHY” is to empower people to step into a life of infinite possibility, to understand “there is truly more to each and every one of us than what we see”.
Please contact us for more information or to book Joe Roberts for your next event.
http://keynotespeakerscanada.ca/reque...


Joe Roberts was born November 25, 1966 and was raised in Midland, Ontario. Roberts’ father died in 1974 when Roberts was 8. Roberts struggled with low self-esteem.

 At the age of nine, he started using drugs and quickly moved on to alcohol, marijuana, LSD, cocaine, and eventually heroin. He left home at 15 due to family conflict and the inability to get along with his stepfather.[1] After being imprisoned at 16, he dropped out of Barrie North Collegiate at 18 and began regular intravenous drug use. At 19, Roberts relocated to Vancouver and within 90 days found himself homeless, living on the streets of the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, pushing a shopping cart and collecting cans and bottles to support a drug dependency. Shortly before Christmas in 1989, Roberts contacted his mother (who was located in Midhurst, Ontario) and she helped him relocate back to Ontario.

After a suicide attempt, prevented and intervened by Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Constable Scott MacLeod,[2] Joe entered the Alcohol and Drug Intensive Treatment Program in Belleville, Ontario in 1991.

Roberts then applied and was accepted into the Business and Marketing Program at Loyalist College. He graduated in 1995, and then returned the following year for the Business Sales program. He graduated on the Dean’s list and won the Laurie H. Cameron Memorial Award for academic excellence [3] with a combined GPA of 3.941. Due to success in business, Roberts received the Ontario Premier’s Award for College Graduates (Business)[4] and as a result an annual bursary was created in Roberts’ name at Loyalist College: The Joe Roberts – Courage to Change Bursary.[5] This bursary is awarded to a mature student who has overcome life obstacles and returned to school.[5]
 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This is WAY off base! You’re referring to the wrong Joe Roberts. The one that did in fact write this is my husband. I was right next to him as he wrote it. He most definitely wasn’t a homeless drug addict living in Vancouver in 1989. He was an 8 year old boy in 1989 living in Alberta with his family.