Why TSL?
I was doing keynotes to fire fighters mostly at their graduations, which was cool. I was trying to make them more entertaining and add some fun. If you have never been to a fire fighter graduation you may not be aware that they can be very dry. These men and women have been through an emotional and long journey. Because I know how important it is to fulfill this dream I wanted to make this day even more special – more of a celebration. This is where my speaking experience started. I came to the speaker lab because I wanted to see if I could take it to the next step.
What were some of your A-ha’s and takeaways from this?
The roadmap was a huge A-HA for me. Somebody like myself who is pursuing this for the first time, we don’t know what we don’t know. The roadmap lays out everything you need to know in order to be successful.
The other A-HA was the formula that The Speaker Lab teaches works. I literally got my first two paid gigs in the middle of the program. I was like “OH MY GOD!” To be honest, I signed up for the Elite Booked and Paid To Speak program because I believed in myself. I knew I could do it, I just need to know how. You have to have confidence in your speaking abilities and pair that with the framework TSL gives, it makes you feel unstoppable.
What is your new normal as a professional speaker?
In the past I would show up and do my speech and be done. It was good but since working with TSL I give it a lot more thought than I did in the past. I show up the day before, walk the stage, check out the layout, and I give a lot more thought to how I am representing my speaking brand.
To be honest, I don’t 100% see myself as a professional speaker just yet. Sure, I secured two speaking gigs, but I know I have a lot more work to do. I retire from the fire department on December 9th after 25-years – that will definitely create a huge hole in my daily life. I want speaking to fill that void. So, when I am officially retired my goal is to focus solely on building my professional speaking business. There is no looking back, this is happening and I am 100% going to build a thriving speaking business. It’s exciting to think about.
Who would you recommend to The Speaker Lab?
If you are someone who feels your life experience has a message that could help someone else and you have a desire to share that, you should definitely join TSL. Even if you’re on the fence, I have to say, the investment isn’t cheap but it is a very fair. The Speaker Lab will absolutely help you decide on whether speaking is for you or not.
I am like 5% into this journey and it has been amazing so far. I don’t know if I could say that if I had try to build this on my own.
