WHY TSL?
I speak about Five Ways to Get Unstuck and Be more Productive and Happier. People that are so bogged down by life, struggles with their job, challenges at home that they’re possibly bringing to their job preventing them from finding their happiness and being the best version of themselves. I have five very simple methods that they can employ which will help them to shed all that and move forward in a more positive way.
I joined TSL because a lot was happening in terms of getting bookings. What was not happening was getting paid for them. I knew, after doing several speaking engagements, that I had a strong foundation. What I needed and where The Speaker Lab came in was how to leverage it all.
HOW DID OUR SPEAK FRAMEWORK IMPACT YOUR SPEAKING BUSINESS?
The most important thing for me as I went through the course, was realizing you absolutely, 100% can make this a full-time job. The emphasis is on the word “job” because what you put into it is what you will get out of it. It takes a lot of time. This is not one of those things that you can hop on stages at your choosing. This is a craft and it takes time to hone that craft. After going through the course it was made clear to me that what I put into this on a daily basis is what will create my results. You have to be willing to put forth that effort in order to be successful.
Going through the course also opened my eyes to a whole new breed of speakers. It is a whole different world of speaking than I have ever known despite being so active as a speaker. It was encouraging to get a glimpse behind the “curtain’ to how successful speakers can be making a living out of this career path.
It’s really crucial that you don’t just go through the course just to get through the course. There are a-ha moments throughout, especially on the coaching calls where multiple times I was encouraged to keep moving forward. I know that if I was going it alone, I may have gotten stuck on wanting things to be perfect like my website and demo reel. The coaches do an excellent job of keeping momentum going forward, which was very valuable.
WHAT HAVE BEEN SOME OF YOUR RESULTS?
I think a few things, for openers is I have learned to say NO! Before it was a case of taking any speaking event that would come my way with very few exceptions. Today, it is really looking at it with a completely different viewpoint and politely saying, “I’m going to pass.”
Also, being realistic about the events that you want to apply to is something I took away from the course. I am not a fit for every event, so honestly evaluating if this is a fit or not is really important to me today. For any speaker who puffs their chest out and says, put me on any stage anywhere, I can speak to any audience, respectfully, no, you can’t. If your message is not consistent to that specific audience, you are not a fit.
Today, to get me out of the house, period, and pay me little to nothing, it has to be awfully, awfully special. It has to be a really unique set of circumstances. In the past, I would’ve jumped at those a little bit faster and now I look at those and say, this is time to speak up and to really strengthen your brand. I hope and expect people to see that there’s a level of respect there where they say, this is a professional speaker and he needs to get paid for the value and impact he’s going to bring to our audience.
WHO WOULD YOU RECOMMEND TO THE SPEAKER LAB?
The person that can just easily get up on stage and talk to anyone should take the course. I think the Speaker Lab is good for them because it helps them to see that there’s a process and that you don’t just whimsically put your candidacy out there and expect to get booked on the big stages in front of the big crowds at the big events.
I also think the people just like myself are really well suited for The Speaker Lab. People who have been at it for a while and haven’t been getting paid and are at a crossroads where they’re asking themselves, should I keep doing all these for free or should I drop out? The people who like myself, are at a crossroads and need the know-how to learn how to finally be recognized for their craft and get booked and paid to speak.