A quick heads up that Facebook is about to open up registration on Friday for a new feature that allows people to own unique usernames (e.g. facebook.com/swiftkick) but it’s on a first come first serve basis.
It was a classic power struggle. The bout was legendary. One even Don King would have been proud to promote. I could see him behind the podium, waving the American flag, saying, “Only in America.”
This was a tough one. I was informed of the tragedy only moments before I started speaking. Students didn’t know what to think or how to reconcile everything in their heads. Here’s a snippet of our dialogue… Read more »
Today marks the one year anniversary of my first blog post! Ironically, I was right here, in Blacksburg, Virginia when it all began. I was very fortunate to have been asked back to make the magic happen again this year. This was an honor…and a challenge at the same time.
My life is definitely changing. Correction–it has changed. Personal evolution is a funny thing. In most cases, when you have changed, you are the last one to find out. Read more »
I’ve never been so afraid in my life. I am constantly finding myself debating about whether I should deposit my money or if I should liquidate everything and bury it in tin cans in my backyard. You know banks can’t be trusted anymore.
Every time I rent a car, I get nervous about trusting my life to a car made by one of our automakers. You know Detroit can’t be trusted anymore. Read more »
These economic times have most people pretty shook up. Everyone is scared, wondering how, when or if they are going to make money in business. In the speaking world, this is no different. I have heard literal horror stories about one speaker who had a contract for 10 engagements with a corporation pulled because their budget dried up. I don’t know how much the contract was worth, but I would assume he was getting no less than $4,000 because it was a corporation. You can do the math on that one and know that his best-case scenario was losing $40,000…this year.
Alright, I’m fed up. I can’t take it anymore. In the last 3 months, I have had…I don’t know how many speakers and potential speakers wanting my help. And that’s SO COOL!For the record, I am honored, extremely humbed and feel very blessed to be someone worth reaching out to. I can’t tell you how much of a journey it’s been for me to go from the back of the line to having some refer to me as one of the top speakers in the market. It sometimes feels like last year when I was dead broke, wishing someone would book me so I could pay my rent.
I don’t normally ask for much, but this time I need your help. I’m writing a book about GETTING AND STAYING MOTIVATED and I really need YOU to go to http://www.GetAndStayMotivated.com and type 3 little questions about how to get yourself focused and motivated.
You can also ask about how to motivate others.
Any and all questions will be appreciated and I promise to answer your question.
Below is a list of evaluations I received at a conference recently. It’s important that you read them *all* so you’ll understand the strong opinion I’m going to share with you.
They say never say never. I’m saying NEVER!Never will I do what I did again. I don’t even have to exaggerate to make this story sound dramatic. This was my second to last trip for 2008 and life evidently decided to kick me in the butt on the way out.
On Tuesday, I got the bright idea to drive three hours from Houston to Austin to go take care of some things. By the time I got to Austin, the farthest thing on my mind was driving three hours back to Houston. Instead, I opted to wake up at 3am and drive the three hours back to Houston…AND…the additional four hours to Baton Rouge, Louisiana! Ninety minutes into the trip, I was punching my legs, trying to stay awake. If I rolled down the windows, the air was too cold. If I left them up, the windows fogged up. I was so pissed that I made this foolish decision.
I need to start doing a video blog. I could go on and on about all I learned this weekend. I must forewarn you, I sense some randomness stirring up. Don’t expect any well-developed points in this article.
About five years ago, I did a workshop at a conference called National Conference on Student Leadership. I was relatively new to the national scene so I looked like a deer in headlights. I saw Marlon Smith and Sex Signals and Mike Domitrz and I remember saying to myself, “Dang, if this is what it takes to be at the top, whoa!” All of them had incredible, well-put-together programs and were incredibly talented. They were giants in my eyes.
