What’s your greatest fear?
Bruce Wayne, better known as Batman, has a fear of bats (known as chiroptophobi). It was derived from a childhood episode in which he fell down a deep well while bats flew around him. Because the trauma occurred at such a vulnerable age, it instilled an intense dread that he was unable to overcome.
The worst thing that people can do if they want to overcome their fear is to continue to avoid the things they are afraid of. That’s why Bruce Wayne became Batman: to face his fears. And that’s why I became a motivational speaker.
My greatest fear in life is being rejected by others. You’d conclude that standing up and speaking in front of an audience isn’t my bag. I’m literally putting myself in the spotlight to be rejected by someone, if not everyone. And that’s precisely why I do it. To challenge myself by stepping out of my comfort zone and facing my fears. When I speak in front of a live audience, I feel alive. And this is what I want for all people. The feeling of being alive!
Being a motivational speaker keeps me honest and authentic.
When I first started speaking, I wanted everybody to love my talks. Sometimes I’d receive written feedback on a talk from my client. One person might say, “Awful speaker. He was so forceful and even rude”, and that would really upset me. Why? What was wrong with my talk? What I had forgotten in that moment is the other 99 people in the audience who did love my talk. But I didn’t focus on that at all.
Today, I know that if I haven’t offended at least 10% of the audience, I haven’t done a good job. And that’s because what I have to offer is me, swearing and all. I’m not here to be popular: popularity is for mediocre people. I’m here to deliver a message, and I do that in the only way I know how. My way.
“Take me as I am or watch me as I fucking go” is my pitch today. And when you show up in life and say, “This is who I am”, someone is going to hate you. Guaranteed. I no longer try to mitigate or and hide from that because I have a fear of being rejected. Instead, I welcome the rejection, because I know in my heart that it says nothing about me, and everything about the person rejecting me. Yes, I am confronting and forceful. How else do you call people out on their shit?!
Motivational speaking gives my life meaning and purpose.
I’ve been a motivational speaker at corporate and event audiences for twenty years. Sure, the money is good, sometimes. And I get to travel a bit and meet new people. I also get to grow myself by improving my communication skills and confidence.
But the real reason why I love motivational speaking is the feeling I get when people leave the room with a smile on their face and an excited skip in their step. I can see I’ve had a positive impact on them, and that’s what I’m here to do. I’m on a mission to help people live extraordinary lives by becoming everything that they can become. It’s what I’m on the planet to do, and motivational speaking is just another way I do it.
Living my life with this purpose gives me something to stand for, something to fight for, and something to aim for. It’s what makes me feel like I’m a person of value and worth and gives me my reason to live. It’s the big gear in my machine, the one all the other gears turn on.
The next time you’re looking for a motivational speaker to put a rocket under your people, give me a call. I promise you an experience they will literally never forget.
