Young Entrepreneur Journey: January 2005 Archives

January 26, 2005

Ruminations on Being a Youth Motivational Speaker

Wow! I just watched two video reels of youth motivational speakers who I know and admire; Ryan Blair and Joshua Shipp. My first thought was, wow, they're incredibly good. My second thought was, damn, I need to improve a lot.

Now that I'm graduating college, I've decided to do more speaking. In the next few months, I'll be speaking to thousands of youth in places like Nevada and Milwaukee. In the past, I've been doing speaking as more of a hobby and am transitioning to doing it on a professional level (in others words - getting paid a lot of money). As such, I want to develop my style more. Below are some thoughts that ran through my head after I watched those videos:

I'm tall. Although digital pictures of me make me look 3-4 inches tall, I'm actually 6'5" in real life. I think I can use this to my advantage in terms of my presence.
Speaking with Sheena. Sheena and I work extremely well as a speaking team. She thinks differently than I do and therefore connects with people on another level. Also, I think we are an example of how you can use the Extreme Entrepreneurship philosophy to become successful in more than a career.
I'm not as high-energy, and that's ok. The common idea for motivational speakers seems to be that you have to be very high energy on stage. The common idea for "connecting" with youth seems to be that you have to have an MTV-Style presentation. Quite frankly, I don't have a TV or listen to a lot of the same music as my peers, let alone my audience. Furthermore, I'm a laid-back, down-to-earth person. I think my role as a motivational speaker is:
- Share my story. Not as a success story necessarily, but as somebody who has full-heartedly pursued their journey and had good results. I want to be so honest with myself on-stage that I help people be more honest and accountable with themselves. I want people walking out saying, "If he can do it, I can do it." If people say, "I could never do that", then I've succeeded in bragging about my accomplishments, but failed as a motivational speaker.
- Expose people to success stories. No matter what you want, whether it's having an incredible relationship, tons of money, changing the world, or finding a passion, it's been done by millions of socially, economically, and mentally disadvantaged individuals in addition to just normal ones. You don't have to be superman or superwoman. You just have to plan, prioritize, and pursue your vision. It's not rocket science.
I need more hooks. I have a ton of stories and ideas in my mind. However, I need to get them into powerful sound bites.
I have trouble knowing how to challenge people. In the past, if I didn't see people living up to their full potential, I often called them on it. After awhile, I could tell I was alienating some people. So, for the past few years, I've spent a lot more time trying to understand why people are the way they are. Now that I can see from their perspective, I often acknowledge how they feel and don't challenge them. I think I could find a better balance.

Posted at 02:55 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack | Top

January 19, 2005

On Hearing Paul Orfalea, Founder of Kinkos

This weekend I had the opportunity to hear a keynote speech delivered by Paul Orfalea, founder and chairman Emeritus of Kinkos. He was a very laid back, personable, and charismatic speaker in my opinion. Some key ideas that stuck in my mind are:

Every product and service that you see around you is a success story, or you wouldn't see it. This world is full of success stories!
Paul is dyslexic and was expelled from high school numerous times. Therefore, he realized very early on what he was not good at and partnered and/or hired people who were smarter than him in these weak areas. So, he actually considers his weaknesses to be strengths. I actually agree with this. To think you're good at something when you're really not or to be good at too many things can actually be a curse as you may try doing everything yourself.
Everybody is always busy. They focus too much on today and yesterday. As result of giving responsibilities to others, he freed himself to visit stores, learn secrets from each, and share them across the organization.
He made a great distinction between people managing their career (CEO) and managing their business (Owner). I never made this distinction, but these are two very different paths in many respects. A CEO must think a lot more about politics, pleasing people, and looking good to move up the ladder. The founder and owner, is more interested in the results of the businesses he or she is a part of.
A students work for B students. C students run the company. D students dedicate the building.

After he spoke, I went right up to him (something I'm normally too afraid to do) and was the first person to talk with him. I gave him my book and mentioned that he was in it. Two days later, I followed up about a potential testimonial. The next day the executive director of his foundation wrote back and said I could use the following testimonial on the web site and the next edition of the book:

?I wish the ?Manifesto? had been around when I was younger. The Student Success Manifesto is an inspiration to not only students, but an entire generation!? Paul Orfalea, Founder & Chairperson Emeritus, Kinko?s Inc.

I can die a happy man now :)

Posted at 04:10 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack | Top

January 15, 2005

Entrepreneurship Conference

I just finished a successful day 1 at theUnited States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship Conference in sunny Palm Springs, California. Here, I'm cementing relationships with a lot of old faces and meeting new ones. After just counting the business cards I recieved, it appears that I met about 50 new people.

I REALLY like attending conferences with entrepreneurship professors, administrators, and teachers. Out of any group, they are the ones who 'get' Extreme Entrepreneurship the most. People were eager to get copies of the book and a fair amount asked about me speaking at their school. More specifically, I was asked about giving two keynotes later this year.

It is a really good feeling when something you're doing is valued. It is at times like this when I realize how powerful it is when you have a product that a certain market wants. For example, many people came up to me saying that a colleague highly recommended talking with me. Others were eager to directly introduce me to people who would want the book or have me speak.

This begs the question, "What product could you offer to which market that would make your customers stampede for the product and tell everyone they know about it?"

Something to think about.

Posted at 12:44 AM | TrackBack | Top

January 10, 2005

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring

Ever since I've been young, I can remember a slight feeling of discontent. When I was much younger, I remember feeling powerless against this feeling and not in control of my life.

However, as I've grown, I've gained exposure to ideas that I believed could quell this discontent. From sports, popularity, making millions, making a difference, eating raw foods, to enlightenment through spirituality - I've full-heartedly tried many methods that I believed would bring happiness at the time. Looking back, I not only feel fulfilled that I've given my all to these methods, but that I've explored so many without losing hope.

I've gone multiple days without eating (fasting), traveled cross-country on train to spirituality retreats, started multiple businesses geared to making money and making a difference, and most recently went on a 10-day, silent meditation retreat in Illinois. What have I learned?

Learning seems to never come on the first try. There seems to be this belief out there that it is ok to make a mistake once as long as you learn from it. If you don't learn from it the first time, you're somehow incompetent. I don't know about you, but I find myself making the same mistakes over and over until I finally master them. Even then, I still make them on ocassion.
Learning seems to be related to cycles of remembering and forgetting. In my opinion, most people could increase the quality of their life 10-fold or more with the knowledge they already have. Look, it isn't a mystery that eating McDonalds everyday isn't healthy and makes you overweight and sluggish. That overwork leads to exhaustion and unproductiveness. That losing sleep makes you more grumpy and unproductive. That drinking too much alcohol makes you throw up and feel really sick the next day. That being on time, looking both ways before you cross the street, and so on can be helpful. The issue seems to be that french fries taste good. Drinking & partying is fun. Watching TV is easy and relaxing. etc. We all have our weak spots. We are constantly confronted with the same decisions. Sometimes we make the 'right' decision and feel good about it and other times, we're tempted by 'evil' chocolate cakes and forget about their effects until they start to show and then we remember the 'right' decision again.
Learning Seems to Happen via Tipping Points. I find myself learning most potently when I'm at the bottom. It is at these moments that I commit myself to never doing something again. Even when I see myself going down and try to recommit myself to what I know is right, my thoughts seem to have no power. For example, if I'm making a commitment to eat healthy food, sometimes I know I'm just fooling myself and I will cave in on my first temptation. However, there seem to be moments when I make commitments to myself and I know without a doubt that I will follow them. These moments are incredibly empowering.
It's a journey. On the back cover of The Student Success Manifesto, the words "Plan, Prioritize, and Pursue Your Vision Today!" are written in big letters. I believe in this statement more today, than when I wrote it almost two years ago. You can't learn by not trying. I believe that if you want to achieve something, you have to:
1. Pick a strategy (plan)
2. Commit to it (prioritize)
3. Pursue it
4. Repeat steps one through three (this step is for all you Brian McNight fans) with lessons learned.
To me, it seems that the worst thing one could do is just use the same incompetent strategies over and over.
Vipassana Meditation Works. At least it did for me. Perhaps it was the right time, and I was ready for it. I don't know. However, I feel that I would be doing the people who are reading these words a disservice by not pointing that out. It's not easy work, but for me it was well worth it. From my personal experiences, aiming for happiness by trying to make a lot of money, become famous, and/or make a difference DEFINITELY do not work as methods to happiness. I'm not against these or anything, but I'm not fooling myself that once all these happen that I will be happy

Besides being one of the best movies I've seen this year, the movie, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring, illustrates the idea of life's cycles better than I've ever seen it done before. It won't make you jump out of your seat because of suspense or action, but it is such a beautiful movie. If you have Netflix, rent it!

Now, what are you waiting for? Plan, prioritize, and pursue your vision today! Be the change you want to see! Taking constant, calculated risks; fall forward and have fun.

Posted at 11:42 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack | Top

January 06, 2005

Life's Journey Isn't Always By the Book

Be the change I see in the world! That is the challenge I've given myself for when I wake up everyday. I aspire to live by the book. Not by school's book, or my family's book, or anybody else's. I aspire to live my life by the what I've learned to be true.

But here's the thing that gets me - I don't. I don't always live by my book and I don't know if I ever can - exactly. I still get in large arguments with loved ones. I feel bad when things don't go my way. I feel behind when those close to me accomplish big feets. I still get nervous when interacting with new people. In other words, I still have trouble living by the book even though I've been pulling all-nighters to study it.

Do Tony Robbins, Stephen Covey, Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, Mother Theresa, Gandhi, or the Da Lai Lama ever not live by their own book. From their writings, it would seem that life can be 'perfect' if you try hard enough and smart enough for long enough. I wish that people who were 'successful' would talk about these challenges more while they're having them.

I keep on wanting to wait until The Student Success Manifesto sells hundreds of thousands of copies of the book before I say, "Yea, it was a hard journey, but..." However, I feel I owe it to myself and to the people who are on a similar journey to talk more honestly about the internal challenges I face on a daily basis. I may lose credibility by admitting that my life isn't perfect and that everything isn't success, success, success, but here goes (eyes closed).

Posted at 11:17 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack | Top

January 01, 2005

EEEC in the Stern Small Business Incubator

In exciting news, The Extreme Entrepreneurship Education Corporation (pronounced triple-e-c) was recently accepted into the Stern Small Business Incubator for Spring 2005. Most notably for us, this includes pro bono legal, accounting, management consulting, and help from Stern MBA. I'm really excited for it.

Posted at 10:33 AM | TrackBack | Top