A few years ago, I was lucky enough to attend an amazing course called The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. One of the exercises in this course helped me realize that I really wanted to become a motivational speaker!
At that time, it was really just a pipe dream. I never really did any public speaking before, and anytime I got up in front of a small crowd, I would feel a rush of anxiety.
However, I knew that my heart was onto something because I kept imagining myself in the shoes of the current greats such as Eric Thomas (ET), Tony Robbins, and Robin Sharma. How much fun would it be to be so passionate on stage that your passion vibrates through the audience? How inspiring would that be to be able to use words and body language to help others improve their lives?
This very thought of becoming a motivational speaker has helped me formed the basis of my Mission in Life which is twofold: help motivate people to improve their lives and build a beautiful invisible legacy.
To help me get closer to my dream, I spent 2.5 years honing my skills in my local Toastmasters club. During my time at Toastmasters, I focused so much on motivational speeches, that one of the feedback from a fellow Toastmasters member was that he wanted to see a funny speech from me! The most valuable lesson I learned in Toastmasters was that becoming a great speaker takes a lot of hard work and preparation but anyone with perseverance can improve immensely.
From Toastmasters, I began to take on any opportunity there was to speak at events. I am lucky enough to work for a manager and a company that provides plenty of opportunities to do keynote speeches and present workshops to hundreds of people at a time.
I really have no idea where my passion for speaking will lead, but I can tell you it does not matter to me. Life is not about reaching a specific goal; it is about the journey that leads us to our destiny….
Here is a keynote speech I recently completed at a CASEIT.org competition.
