The first “motivational speaker” I ever heard as an adult was a gentleman named Mort Utley. I experienced his speech in May 1989 in Nashville, Tennessee, at the end of a week-long Sales School with Southwestern Company. He was 19 years old and had just finished my freshman year at the University of Wisconsin, and Mr. Utley’s speech was the final component of my formal training to sell educational books door-to-door over the summer. He was absolutely coming out of my skin with an indescribable combination of intense emotion and great fear. Mort Utley’s speech made one of the most “unmotivating” statements I’ve ever heard. He said:

“Most people don’t get what they want out of life.”

How depressing, I thought. This guy gets paid big bucks to “motivate” people and he goes on stage and says that most people don’t get what they want out of life. Thanks for the advice, Mr. Genius. I suppose now he will tell me that all the French speak French. No kidding, most people don’t get what they want out of life, I thought – WHY DO YOU THINK I LISTEN TO YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE?!?!?!

I didn’t want to be most people, and I guess you didn’t either. If you want to be most people: broke, in poor health, and with very little time to really enjoy your life, then I doubt you’d get this newsletter in the first place. However, throughout these installments you will see some of the things you might think are “the way the world is” challenged very directly, and this is the first. We spend so much of our lives wanting to fit in and be normal that we often subconsciously find ourselves striving to be like most people. In other words, we are actually trying to be average.

In America in early 2003, this is what “average” really means…

Physically: Approximately half of Americans are clinically obese.
Relationships: More than half of American marriages end in divorce.
Professionally: Between 75% and 85% of Americans don’t like their job.
Financially, at least half of American households regularly struggle with “too much month at the end of money.”

And I could go on and on and on. Why did I spend the first part of this supposedly inspiring article being so annoying? Well, it’s mainly because if you’re serious in your quest to lead the kind of life you really want and really deserve, the first thing you need to realize is that even now, in the most technologically advanced and prosperous society the world has ever seen – THE AVERAGE SUCKS!

But like we said before, you don’t want to be average, congratulations. The fact that you even subscribe to this newsletter tells me that you are already well on your way to being off the beaten path. In the coming months, you will learn some very basic principles, principles that have been proven over literally thousands of years to help individuals and organizations see steady upward growth in every area of ​​life: professional, financial, physical, emotional, and spiritual. . and in all kinds of relationships. The best thing about success is that it is simple. Not easy, mind you, but simple. If you learn the fundamentals of successful work and life (and there are really only a few) and then diligently apply them, you will definitely achieve the things you want to be in life. A bold statement, to be sure, but it’s not really up for debate. A mentor of mine once gave me advice that

“Success leaves clues”, and
“If you do the right things long enough and consistently, your success is assured.”

Some of the best advice I’ve ever received, and I’ve never found it to be false. I have seen these principles bring true joy and success to thousands of people who have followed them. At the same time, when I counsel individuals or groups who don’t get the results they want, they invariably violate one or more of the principles we teach in our workshops and writing.

So to summarize; people always ask the big questions: what is the key to success? They ask God, gurus, mentors, speakers, themselves, parents, friends, boss, coach, sometimes they even ask us here at Freedom Speakers & Trainers, that’s why we created this newsletter. I am here to tell you that if your question is “what is the key?” your first challenge is that there is no key. It’s a combination lock. The principles we teach will simply help you determine what the combination is for you. I congratulate you for walking the path; feel free to call and ask for directions.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *