Your Wake-Up Call
At the 2025 Speaker Slam® Grand Slam, the Inspirational Speaking Finals held at CBC Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, Michelle Weger delivered “Your Wake-Up Call” and was named #1 Inspirational Speaker of the Year.
Transcript
Please close your eyes and take a deep breath. Think about the one thing you would never want the world to know. The secret you would do anything to protect. Open your eyes. Imagine standing on this very stage and telling everyone that secret. When I was 17, I started randomly falling asleep all the time. During a university exam, on a first date, or once when looking into a microscope, resulting in two black eyes. It took five years to find out what was wrong.
I have narcolepsy, which means I could fall asleep at any moment. Kidding. It doesn't happen like that. Having narcolepsy is actually like sleeping all night, charging your phone, waking up, and the battery is still at 40%. No matter how long I sleep, I will never have more than 40% energy. Even worse, at any moment, that battery can drop to 5% without warning. Can you even imagine? That's where this little lady comes in. My service dog, Quinn, warns me before I fall asleep, so I can sit down before I fall down.
My guardian angel. Being diagnosed felt like both an answer and a life sentence. Relief after years of exhaustion and confusion. But I felt completely broken. I had worked so hard to build a life I was proud of. But every day felt like a performance. Smile. Nod. Pretend you're okay. Stay awake. Do not fall asleep. And I succeeded for a long time at keeping my secret until the day everyone found out. I was headed to a huge business event I'd been excited and terrified to attend.
But with the travel mixup, I had to bring my service dog with me. So there we were. Me, my husband, and 140 lbs of surprise. I'm disabled. I braced for the judgment. I knew the things people said about me behind my back. She looks normal. Seriously, she brought a dog. Who does she think she is? We walked through the doors and the only comment shouted from across the room, "That's a big boy." to which my husband always the charmer said thanks I work out he doesn't everyone laughed and that was it until the strangest thing started to happen people pulling me aside to whisper I have something too chronic pain epilepsy trauma somehow seeing me with my service dog made them feel not safe enough to share invisible secrets.
My biggest fear, the thing I thought would ruin my career, became the bridge that connected me to others. I was out of hiding. How could I? So, I started speaking on stages everywhere. And one day, a young woman from the audience approached me and said, "I've been secretly training a service dog, but I was afraid to bring her to work. Hearing your story changed everything. I'm done hiding." Wow. It was a full circle moment. I used to be her. And that's when I realized legacy isn't what you build for yourself.
It's what changes because of you. So, let's go back to your secret. What if sharing that secret is the one thing you can do to change someone's life? Would you still hide? When you see someone like you doing something you thought was impossible, the glass ceiling you placed on yourself shatters. Which brings me here tonight standing on this stage as the first service dog team in the nine-year history of the Grand Slam. We didn't get here despite my disability. We got here because of it.
Because of that terrified young woman who stepped into a room with a great date and said, "Here I am. All of me." And this big girl, well, she won't be here forever, but maybe this stage, this moment is her legacy, too. Thank you. We love you. Come on. Thank you.
Transcript generated from the recording and lightly cleaned. Some names and wording may differ from the spoken speech.