Q&A with author, humanitarian and inspirational speaker Michael Crossland
By Makayla Muscat
Michael Crossland was diagnosed with an incurable cancer of the central nervous system when he was 11 months old. The Stage 4 Neuroblastoma meant he had 4% chance of surviving. He was chosen as one of 25 children to trial a cancer fighting drug called DTIC. Within 90 days, 24 of the children died. By 18, Michael had survived 2 heart attacks, glandular fever, and bacterial meningitis. When he was 23, Michael became the youngest National Sales Manager for one of the largest companies in the world. Michael was 25, when in 2010, his life again hit rock bottom. He left the corporate world and travelled to Haiti to build a school. He wanted to build a school after an earthquake hit Haiti, killing 316,000 people, and leaving 2.5 million people homeless. Michael returned to Haiti for 3 weeks in 2013 to rebuild an orphanage before coming back to Australia. Today, Michael is an International Best-Selling Author, Humanitarian worker, and one of Australia’s most in-demand Inspirational speakers – sharing his story with more than 600,000 people around the world.
Michael appeared on Australia’s most watched morning show Sunrise in 2017. Picture: Michael Crossland
Q: Who in your life has influenced you the most?
A. Without a doubt my mum has been the most influential person in my life. For her to sacrifice many many years of her life being away from her husband and her three daughters to save my life is incredible. The doctors gave me a 96% death rate, but she could only focus on the 4% survival. She taught me so many things as a young boy and as a man but I am eternally grateful for and I’ll always remember the words that she would constantly tell me when the doctors were saying I was not going to make it. Her words, “no one in your life is ever gonna tell you what you can do they will only tell you what you can’t, but my son it is your choice to listen or believe in yourself and achieve remarkable things.”
Q: Why did you become an inspirational speaker?
A: Becoming an inspirational speaker was never the plan it was always the fact that I just had a desire to serve other people and make a positive impact. The more lives I had the opportunity to touch them or doors begin to open the more presentations up again to make. Now it’s been nearly 10 years as a full-time Speaker, speaking to more than 600,000 people around the world with last year having the opportunity to not only be on 186 flights speaking across 22 countries but also getting a chance to share the stage with Sir Richard Branson. I began to realise as I transitioned out of the corporate world and into the speaking world that we should not be driven by power, privileges or possessions but rather they desire to simply make an impact on other people’s lives. I realise now that Success is not about how big my house is it’s really about how big my heart is.
Q: What is your best piece of advice?
A: The best advice I could give to somebody is that we all need to remember through great adversity and great darkness this is our discovery moment, we do not discover how unfair life is but rather we discover how powerful we have been created. We all have pain and suffering but it’s not our pain and suffering that is so different it’s our solutions. It’s how we deal with our pain that sets us apart from others. We must not complain about the cards that we have been dealt, nor should we compare our cards to others. We must be grateful that we still have Cards, we must be grateful that we are still in the game, and we must play those cards as affectively as what we can.
In 2019, Michael was on 186 flights, spoke across 22 countries, and shared the stage with the Dalai Lama and Sir Richard Branson. Picture: Michael Crossland
Q: How was your experience being on Australian Story?
A: I was young and had just returned home from America. It was a lot of fun having a camera crew follow you around for a month or so. It opened up many opportunities to make an impact and the production crew were all really lovely people.
Q: What was your first impression of Haiti?
A: My first impression of Haiti was incredibly frightening. Here is an island 1/3 the size of Tasmania that has over 10 million people that live there with an unemployment rate of over 80%. An island where people are fighting to survive and where 95% of the population live below the poverty line it is incredibly sad. However, after spending an extended period of time over there throughout the last eight years these kids have given me far more than what I could ever give them, and they have taught me far more than I could ever teach them. These kids have no mum, no Dad, no laptop or iPhone yet they believe they have everything in the world because they simply have the incredible blessing an opportunity to wake up. These kids are not existing they are truly living, and I admire the courage and optimism towards the challenges and poverty that they face each and every day.
Q: How did you become involved with the orphanage?
A: I was so frustrated to see that so many people were donating so much money to charities with such a small percentage actually making it to the cause. So, we decided to start our own charity we are 100% of all donations go directly to the course. We were told that we would never be able to have kids, and this was a wonderful opportunity for me to be able to provide love and support to those kids who are extremely vulnerable and desperately in need of love and support. After the earthquake hit Haiti killing 316,000 people and leaving millions of people homeless, I realised this was an opportunity for me to make a global impact into people’s lives who will never be able to return the favour.
Children from the orphanage Michael rebuilt in Haiti, Picture: Michael Crossland
Q: Why were you inspired to get involved?
A: I was inspired to get involved purely because it was my big opportunity to be able to help those people that were incredibly broken and also incredibly helpless. To be able to give expecting nothing in return is a beautiful way to live your life and I think humanity needs to remember life is giving without remembering and receiving without forgetting.
Q: Do you fundraise for the orphanage?
A: Yes, I absolutely fundraise for my orphanage. The major way I do this is I donate 100% of the profits from my new book “Everything Will Be Ok” to the orphanage along with the opportunity to have individuals from all around the world who wish to serve and have an impact to sponsor these beautiful kids. For only $60 a month this will provide three meals a day, a roof over their head and 42 weeks of education. We can all truly make a big impact when every cent to get sent.
Q: How can people get involved if they want to help?
A: If people want to get involved, they can simply jump onto the website frontierprojects.org and sponsor a child in need.
Michael says he is blessed to have the opportunity to make an impact. Picture: Michael Crossland
Q: What is the biggest factor that has helped you be successful?
A: I feel the biggest factor that has empowered me to achieve great success is the desire not to prove other people wrong but more importantly to prove myself right. I feel humility, congruency and authenticity enables you to shine.