Motivating Resilient Inspiring
Marayke’s journey from becoming paraplegic in a car accident as a baby to an elite athlete, has inspired people globally through her motivational presentations and media appearances.
Who am I?
I’m a three time Paralympian and multiple medal winner, motivational speaker, self leadership expert and lucky enough to have ticked all the big items off my bucket list before I turned 30.
I’m here to help you dive deep into your life, and become unstoppable at achieving your own dreams no matter what challenges cross your path.
Lost your job? Injured? Want a career or life change?
Learn the mindset secrets of an elite athlete and how they apply in your life. Redefine your beliefs about what is possible!.
Facing a major life change and wondering where to go from here?
Feel like there’s got to be more to your life but don’t know where to start?
Trust me, I’ve felt the same way.
As a Paralympic athlete life was better than I could imagine. It seemed everything I touched turned to gold.
Yes, I had to train hard but I got the results beyond my wildest dreams- despite the ‘obstacle’ of getting around in a wheelchair, injury, a life-threatening illness and surgeries.
I learned the mind is the strongest muscle in the body and how we chose to react to challenges that try to stop us is what makes us unsatisfied or unstoppable.
Why turn to me for motivation?
When I was a baby I was run over by a car and became a paraplegic, but fortunately when the doctors told my mother would never walk again she decided to teach me to swim instead. I learned early that no matter what happens to you, it’s what YOU chose to do about it that counts.
As a young girl I watched the Olympics on TV and dreamed of representing my country as a swimmer. But my journey was different to most elite athletes. I chose not to see that wheelchair as an obstacle, but what made me unique.
Now I have competed at three Paralympics winning a silver and two bronze medals, broken world records, travelled around the world, skydived, graduated from university with two degrees, studied life coaching and even ridden a camel at the Pyramids in Egypt – always with my wheelchair in tow.
I even made history when I became Australia’s first female triathlete to compete at and win a medal at the world championships.
Life tried to stop me…
In 2011 I suffered an overuse injury to my arms from using a wheelchair for 30 years. Now living in excruciating pain I went from being so strong I could pick up my body to dropping a piece of toast. And yet again I fought back!
In 2015 life was going great, I loved my job and was set to travel overseas for work when I fell over, cut my foot and nearly died from an infection which became systemic. Two surgeries and 6 months of antibiotics later I was on the road to recovery when I continued chasing my career dreams, working from a hospital bed to file articles and deliver speeches over Skype.
I believe you don’t need to be able to stand up to stand out.
I am Marayke Jonkers and I am unstoppable.
I’ve learned so much along my journey and I want to help you, too!
“I have had the honour of sharing the stage with Marayke on numerous occasions. Her presentations are dynamic, insightful and of a professional standard and I highly recommend her.”
– Dr Dennis Waitley,
American speaker, mentor of NASA astronauts, author of The Psychology of Winning and has appeared in The Secret
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Formal bio
Marayke has spoken to audiences ranging from 10 to 10 000, in venues as diverse as pre-schools and Parliament House and online. She has shared the stage with dignitaries including Premiers and the Governor General. Her story is of daring to dream big, setting goals and never giving up no matter what obstacles life throws in your path.
She uses sport as a metaphor for life as she weaves her own stories of achievements, medal-winning highs and injury-plagued lows, through practical tips each of us can use to lead a rich, rewarding life and overcome the obstacles Marayke says are ‘inevitable’.
“While we may not be able to choose what happens to us in life,
– Marayke Jonkers
we can choose the attitude we have towards it. So choose to win.”
NEWS
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When New Year’s Eve comes around, I don’t set New Year’s resolutions – I set GOALS. This story in the Sunny Coast Times (January 2022) by Michele Sternberg explains how you can realise those resolutions, whether it’s losing weight, giving up smoking, exercising more, getting a new job or spending
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Journalist Caitlin Zerafa interviewed me for a story in My Weekly Preview magazine and I shared my story, how I set up the Sporting Dreams charity to help support future athletes with a disability and how I am continuing to inspire people from all walks of life through my corporate
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I was excited to be invited by Universal Studios to premiere of #firstman – a movie about Neil Armstrong’s family and story behind that famous flight. Loved seeing the memorabilia when I visited NASA in Houston for the IWF Global Women’s Forum @johnson space centre. My biggest takeaway was something
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Still pinching myself at the honour of carrying the Queen’s baton on the Sunshine Coast in front of my family. Wonderful to see so many generations from school kids to grandparents out cheering and all sectors of the community represented as baton bearers.
MOTIVATE ME
MOTIVATIONAL MINUTE- FREE RESOURCES
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It happens to the best of us, the alarm goes off in the morning we feel tired it’s nice and warm and comfortable under the doona and before we now look with missed an entire day or week of exercise because we promised ourselves will do it later but
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Did you see the movie “how do you know” where Reese Witherspoon is a champion softball player and has her whole bathroom mirror covered in sticky notes with motivational sayings, affirmations and goals? Well- No longer do we need to scribble motivational quotes on post-its to stick to our mirror-
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Vision boards have been all the rage in personal development for many everyone from Oprah Winfrey to our favourite movie stars attesting to their virtue and power. Once upon a time they were the domain of giant cork boards pieces of cardboard stuck on a wall. I challenge you to
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It happens to the best of us, the alarm goes off in the morning we feel tired it’s nice and warm and comfortable under the doona and before we now look with missed an entire day or week of exercise because we promised ourselves will do it later but never
