A Yorkton man's story, shared on social media, has captured the attention of millions.

Alvin Law's mother took a morning sickness pill, thalidomide, when she was pregnant with him.

In the early 1960s roughly 13,000 babies were born with birth defects as a result of thalidomide; Law was one of them.

He was born without arms and put up for adoption by parents who felt they could not give him a good quality of life. He was adopted to Jack and Hilda Law in Yorkton and — contrary to doctors' beliefs — he excelled in school.

Law, who's now based in Calgary, has since become an accomplished motivational speaker and musician. He's shared his story in person with people from around the world since 1981.

Alvin Law has spoken to over 2 million people across 5 continents to share his message of hope and acceptance. We'll speak to him about how he's been able to reach new heights and new audiences this year... after he went viral online. 7:54

He recently partnered with Goalcast, a company that describes itself as "in the dream business," to reach even more people.

"Not all of the people they feature on Goalcast are famous but they all have one thing in common and that is to be an inspirational service around the world, to bring the world closer together rather than tear it apart," Law told CBC Radio.

Law's video on Goalcast has been seen over 38 million times on Facebook.

He said even though he's made a career by telling his story, he was shocked by the response to the video.

It wasn't just the volume of the response that shocked him; he said it was where people were messaging him from that was most surprising.

While many of the people commenting were from North America, Law said he heard a lot of responses from people in Asia, particularly India.

"It astounds me to see how many people have stories of things that they've been challenged by; things they've overcome and … not the way we would have imagined," Law said.

Law, a drummer who's dabbled with the trombone and piano, said he feels it's his musical background that resonates with people — and his positive world outlook.

"That's what the connection was, more than anything," he said. "People (are) really identifying with the fact that not only do I have a positive attitude, but I'm really celebrating the life I've been given."