Episode #463

Unlocking Happiness to Grow Your Business

With Bruce Wawrzyniak

“If you go through adversity and you don’t learn anything from it, that it’s a lost opportunity”

This episode of the Speaker Lab Podcast is another excellent episode of our Student Highlight Series. Maryalice Goldsmith, Director of Student Success, sat down with Bruce Wawrzyniak to talk about his speaking business, the career he’s building, and his experience here at the Speaker Lab.

“So which ones are you going to choose? Are you going to choose the negative thoughts and dwell on those, or are you going to choose the positive, happy thoughts and really affect your whole day with the choices that you make just based on all the different thoughts that come in and out of your mind?”

When it comes to developing a speaking career, Bruce reflected on finding his niche, developing confidence in his worth, and learning how to run this operation like a business vs. a hobby. Maryalice and Bruce also cover:

  • Developing a strategy as a speaker
  • The importance of happiness in our life
  • Why you should invest in yourself
  • How to prepare for success
  • What it looks like to take action
  • Why you have to solve a problem for your audiences
  • And more!

“Hope is not a strategy that will grow your business.” 

Episode Chapters:

[00:03:33] Importance of happiness, solution-focused mindset, COVID’s impact.

[00:07:19] LinkedIn bio highlights being talkative and adversity.

[00:10:49] Transitioning from unpaid speaking to professional excellence.

[00:15:24] Speaker Lab changes speaker’s approach to bookings.

[00:19:57] Learning how to evaluate event opportunities strategically.

[00:23:28] Choose one thing, be successful and prepared.

[00:28:34] What do you need for a successful presentation?

[00:29:47] Benefiting from adversity, helping and inspiring.

Want to know exactly how to find and book more paid speaking gigs?

Download our 18-page guide to the 6 proven steps you can use to book more paid speaking gigs in 2024!

About Bruce Wawrzyniak

For Bruce Wawrzyniak, going to the Summer Olympics in Athens to serve as a Chief Press Officer was a professional highlight, but an infection obtained in Greece led to a souvenir nobody would want to come back home to, which was his second open-heart surgery.  Four years later the trip to the Summer Olympics in Beijing was a journey he would also like to forget, spending hours and hours on an airplane bound for China, weeping because of the fresh wounds from his emotional divorce.

Throughout his personal and professional life, Wawrzyniak has had to overcome adversity in all shapes and sizes, from what’s noted above to crises while working for a National Hockey League team to a motorcycle accident, suffering two strokes, and being hospitalized by Covid.  His appearances on event stages across the U.S. – and internationally – are a testimony to the victories he has won over these challenges, as he provides encouragement and hope to audiences who enjoy his sense of humor and who he empowers to be the best version of themselves.

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