You may already know my hangup with the term Motivational Speaker. If not, visit my earlier post titled What Scares Me About A Motivational Speaker. A good motivational speech does exactly that—it motivates. It engages the minds and hearts of people in such a way that motivates them to think more clearly, see opportunities, and move forward with action. Bad motivational speeches are like the neighborhood teen rock band that doesn’t have the proper sound…
This is the greatest time of year! I’m giddy every year when March Madness arrives. For basketball junkies, these few weeks are heaven on earth. But, for those of you outside of this line of thinking, I invite you to consider all that this American tradition teaches us, not just about basketball, but about the human experience. Off the court, we are all a part of a team of some sort. We are on teams…
We all have those days when we could use some inspiration. Unfortunately, sometimes those days turn into full weeks. Well, if I’m honest, the past 14 months has been a stretch that has required many doses of inspirational thoughts. While spending way more time than any human should ever spend in a hospital due to the illnesses of both of my parents, it was critical to find ways to focus my attention on other positive, life-giving thoughts. For my…
With so many great people, programs, and knowledge in the world about leadership training, why do so many initiatives fail to move the needle at all? Well, it’s not as simple as one universal reason, but it does begin with redefining what we even mean by “training.” The old leadership training model in so many places is outdated, dull, and lacking creativity. It’s classroom style rooms, long days, and lots of talk “at you” about leadership….
The term Leadership was hijacked some time ago. If you walk into a room of 40 people and ask them to define leadership, you’ll get 40 slightly different definitions. But, as we all know, leadership is critical to moving anything from where it is today to where you want it to be tomorrow. That is why, in a world that is changing so quickly, everyone is trying to define the necessary leadership skills or attributes needed…
I have to admit, I cringe a bit whenever someone refers to me as a motivational speaker. I look deeply into their eyes trying to see what they picture when they use that term. Are they envisioning the same whacky performance guy or girl that I am? Or, the guy from the van down by the river? But, what is it about the term motivational speaker that truly scares me? Because, in my most honest…
