Okay, why do so many people come and go in the speaking field?
The answer is simple. They make some terrible mistakes and they never figure out what works. Fortunately, I’m about to share with you a few key concepts to help you succeed and make a lot of money in the process.
When I first started speaking, I had no clue what I was going to talk about. I just knew speaking was the thing for me. Did I have the credentials necessary to be a keynote speaker?
Nope.
At the time, I was a doorman at a hotel. In fact, I did that kind of work for about 14 years. And I often joke that I kept that job for so long because rice and chicken were free in the cafeteria.
But the reality is, that’s not too far from the truth. I was struggling financially. And I was somewhat confused about my future-what my calling was.
So, I had no corporate background, debts piled high, and zero connections. Yet, I had the audacity to step out. For whatever reason, I believed I could.
Okay, as you can already tell, my battle was uphill. How was I going to convince a meeting planner to put me in front 2,000 people? I had no name recognition and my only corporate background was that of a doorman.
My English was, at best, average. My tongue was still rebelling. It was speaking my native language Creole while my brain was speaking English. I’m not sure if you know my story of how I came to America with $5, two shirts, one pair pants and I didn’t speak English.
Obviously, you’re clearly starting out with an advantage I didn’t have. My guess is, you have some corporate background… at least you worked somewhere inside a corporation regardless of your position. You’re living in the US and you speak English. Well, I sure hope so.
Now, I just debunked the theory that somehow you have to be some kind of a genius or have certain degrees or a corporate background in order to enter the speaking field. That’s not true. You don’t even have to speak fluent English.
What I’m really doing is giving you the permission to start. Face your fears or doubts and just do it. There’s someone somewhere whose life you need to impact. That may be the reason you must follow your dream.
You are called to touch that particular person. At the end of your life, you can say, “I tried. I’m glad I did; because I changed a life.”
Rene, thanks because this makes a lot of sense, and also makes it much easier for me to move upward and onward in this direction. Question how do I position myself to actually get in the arena with the paid footnote speakers in order to compete? Do I pass out business cards, sit-in in various meetings/ seminars? How do I get my turn at having a shoot at this game of pulbic motivational speaking? Awaiting your response Rene!