WHY TSL?
I had always been drawn to be a speaker. I’d spoken for years in a volunteer capacity and so I thought I’d take it to the next level with The Speaker Lab. I saw an advertisement which I followed down the rabbit hole and ended up signing up, which was a godsend.
A few months after signing up I was let go at my job (In a round of lay offs). So this part-time pursuit actually turned into my full-time hustle. The Speaker Lab has been very instrumental in getting me off the ground and running as a speaker, which is quite cool.
Today, I speak about resilience and mindset adversity. I talk about my experience after traumatic brain injury having to relearn how to walk, talk, and smile again. I also give talks about mental health to organizations, on how they can reframe things in order to make that mental shift.
HOW HAS THE SPEAK FRAMEWORK IMPACTED YOU?
I think the biggest thing I can commend The Speaker Lab for is my coach Jeremy. We were talking about shooting the demo and I was a bit apprehensive. I didn’t feel ready. I knew I needed to do it as it’s an important asset and Jeremy reminded me that done was better than perfect. That’s probably my quote for The Speaker Lab is that mantra of done is better than perfect.
That demo has gotten me gigs and I’m very glad I did it even though I wasn’t fully. After that demo experience it helped to jump things off and I’ve been able to ride this wave, so to speak.
The experience with the demo really taught me to relax and trust the process. This mindset shift I really helped me to take more risks knowing that it’s not about being perfect but more about delivering a great experience and showing up for my audience and myself. This was a big A-ha for me.
WHAT HAVE BEEN SOME RESULTS YOU ARE EXPERIENCING?
Since doing The Speaker Lab, I’ve spoken now probably 10, 12 times. Half of those have been paid and the price for my talks are steadily increasing, which is really nice to see.
It’s been fun to do and I’ve been able to see the talks impact people and watch them adopt the things I’m speaking about, which is my main goal. I speak because I want to help you be better than yesterday. To hear weeks and months later things like “Hey Dan, because of you, I now do this” and because of that this happened. That’s pretty rewarding for me!
This journey has given me a bit more purpose in my life that I wouldn’t have it I didn’t pursue The Speaker Lab. So, the success is great, but it 100% comes with a lot of hard work.
Chasing down leads is challenging. At times it’s frustrating. But it’s a good fight, if that makes sense. It’s not easy, but it’s simple. Simple to decide that I’m gonna chase this down. It just so happens that ‘chasing it down’ happens to be straight uphill climb. Which is totally okay because I knew this would come with challenges and I balance that out with enjoying the wins as well.
WHO WOULD YOU RECOMMEND TO THE SPEAKER LAB?
I’d recommend the Speaker Lab to anyone who needs a bit of a nudge to get started. As I mentioned, I had spoken before in a volunteer capacity, but I wanted to take it to the next level and get paid for this. The Speaker Lab helped me to do that in a way that upped my professional vibe. Going through this program helped me to show up for myself so that I can show up for other people who need my expertise in order to live better tomorrow, that is my goal. The Speaker Lab helped me achieve it.
