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JACKIE PFLUG
TERRORISM SURVIVOR
On Thanksgiving weekend in November of 1985, I was flying to Cairo, Egypt from Athens, Greece, where I had attended a volleyball tournament with a group of students. At the time, I was a special education teacher at the Cairo American School. Ten minutes into EgyptAir Flight #648, three terrorists, calling themselves “The Egypt Revolution,” hijacked our flight.
A gun battle ensued as the terrorists took control of the flight at an altitude of 35,000 feet. We were forced to land in Valetta, Malta. The terrorists began to execute one passenger every 15 minutes until their demands for fuel were met. Like four passengers before me, I was shot at point blank range, execution style, thrown from the plane onto the tarmac and left for dead. For five hours, I drifted in and out of consciousness until an airport grounds crew retrieved my body on its way to the morgue. Fifty-nine passengers died during the ordeal.
I lived.
Over the years, I have had to adapt to the effects of being shot in the head and the resulting brain injury, which includes impaired vision and a loss of short-term memory.
Fortunately, I see things differently today. This experience has opened my eyes to all of those obstacles that consume us in our lives and careers. If I have learned anything, it’s that we must look beyond those obstacles that get in our way and focus on what really matters. The people in your life are critical to your success, both personally and professionally. Each of us makes choices daily to be happy or sad, positive or negative. Choose wisely.
I share my story in order to spread a message of hope and encouragement to audiences around the world.
MOTIVATION SPEAKING
Jackie’s strength and skills to lead a normal life have inspired thousands of people to set a new direction and focus on key aspects of living their lives to a full potential.
Her keynote presentation, The Courage to Succeed, shows us how we can all become peak performers through our attitude and our reactions to change, adversity, and challenge. It is designed for groups who want to boost morale, provide their people with a lift, and inspire them to do their very best on a daily basis.
Jackie travels nationally and internationally to speak to groups of business executives, educational leaders and professional associations. In her presentations, she relays the story of her captivity; then details the skills she had employed to survive and grow, and most importantly, how the audience can apply these methods to their own lives.
The audience reaction is predictable. Emotions are surfaced, barriers fall, and the audience becomes open to change their own way in dealing with daily personal as well as professional challenges. Feedback cites that the audience members learn to look at challenge from a different perspective. Mountains don’t seem as tall as before, and trivialities in life lose their importance, leading the listener to focus on more important professional and personal issues.
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