When I set out to become a professional speaker after finishing grad school I knew I would have to pay my dues. Because I was starting from scratch, I could not rely on reputation, or best-selling books to get my speaking opportunities. Rather, I had to get scrappy!

I cold called and applied to all the conferences I knew until I found one that would give me a chance. It was only after years of pounding the pavement and doing talk after talk free of charge, that I would be able to build enough of a reputation to start earning a living from it. Despite some hints of success I am still far from where I want to be.

This is something I hear quite often from people when I talk about my speeches. My response always consists of telling them that I do not play basketball and asking them if they think I would be good if I decided to play today. Inevitably they say no, you would have to practice. Exactly, you can't expect to become a good speaker if you never practice! This is followed up by an invite to attend my local Toast Masters group.

 

Contrary to popular belief, Toastmasters is not a club where you learn the culinary secrets to making the best toast ever! In contrast, it is simply a club where people from varying backgrounds get together to improve their speaking. This is one of the best things I have ever done for my speaking career. The great thing about ToastMasters is that it is a no judgement zone! Most people who attend are just trying to get better, and everyone roots you on during your speeches. I will write more about the benefits of Toastmasters in a future post, but if you are in San Diego and want to attend my club as a guest, don't hesitate to message me!

Finally, I have put together a highlight reel that I hope you will enjoy. I have been receiving numerous request from company's and individuals to provide them with such a video recently. While it will never be perfect, I feel that I have finally spoken to enough audiences around the country and the world, that I could put together a decent video! I am very open to your opinions regarding thoughts on improvement. Please message me or comment below if you have any!

I was so excited to have been invited to Brazil to speak at a large event this September, but due to some unforeseen circumstances, I had to cancel that trip. I will, however, be traveling to Sevilla Spain this October to speak on developing corporate culture to an audience of European business owners, managers, and executives!

On a side note, we just launched our kickstarter campaign for the BodyBoss 2.0! We have received tremendous support in only the first 24 hours. If you would like to check the page out, click here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bodyboss/bodyboss-20-a-fun-home-gym-you-can-take-anywhere