We would love for you to tell us who you speak to and what you speak about.
I help current and future leaders, especially those that are looking to break free from the status quo and those that are ready to conquer complacency to break free from conventional boundaries, which allows them to break free from limiting beliefs and their organization’s inertia.
What was happening, or not happening in your business that made you seek out The Speaker Lab?
I come from a military background, and I was a nonprofit CEO for 7 years. As I branched out into consulting, I left that nonprofit, and was speaking a lot for free, not only in efforts with the nonprofit organization, but just in general, within my own community.
My wife and I were on a cruise years ago and we were at a veteran event on that cruise line. The Coordinator of that event asked a few questions, and I spoke up and shared some of my saga, so to speak. At the end he approached me, said, “Man, you should be a speaker.” I said, “Well, I do speak, but unfortunately I only speak in my local community,” and he said, “No, really, you should be a speaker.”
So that was a seed planted for me.
When we got home, me and my wife talked about it for a while, and I said, “Man, I could be making a few dollars and and help bolster some things around the house and help the family out.” So that’s what was happening and that’s what helped me kind of seek out The Speaker Lab.
I jumped on one of the calls with Brittany, and her excitement and passion hit me; sometimes with videos, you can tell they’re mostly pre-recorded, but it was the direct live chat with her that really sparked my interest.
How did you overcome any fears or apprehensions you had as you were beginning?
I didn’t really have a lot of fear – again, 27 years military, so I spoke to large crowds all the time. If there was a fear, what was holding me back was that this was a new thing, a new concept for me.
After that cruise, and after my wife and I talked with family and everything, and they basically told me, “Well, you can’t be a speaker talking about breaking free of complacency or getting rid of the status quo if you’re the prime example of not doing that.” So it hit me: “If that’s what I’m gonna talk about, then I need to be the example of it.” How I overcame it was to just dive in, do it, and quit letting the past or my shell hold and constrain me. I had to take my own advice.
A lot of folks say, “Wow! It’s the cost,” but if something’s in your heart and you have a passion for it, you’re gonna figure that out. For some, it might be a mild struggle, but you know it’s an investment in yourself. That was my only other apprehension, and that was such a small, short discussion as far as an apprehension. But everything has already been paid off, so we’re moving forward with it, and loving it.
What were some of the aha moments and key takeaways of the SPEAK Framework?
The biggest thing that stood out for me was that I got repetitive confirmation along the way. Watching a lot of the videos and reading through lessons and realizing, “Well for crying out loud, I do that,” or “I already do that, just on a different scale.” Lots of: “I know that; I just needed to hear somebody else say it.”
So that was really what it was for me. It was the light. It wasn’t just a spotlight. It was like the stadium lights popped on, saying, “Ken, you’re already doing it. Just do it better and do it in a new way. Here’s the confirmation you need.” So that was the main aha moment. At every level, every part of the framework, there were takeaways that helped me finagle some of my stuff, and make sure it was appropriately done.
It was also having that direct connection, like I said earlier. One of the coaches I worked with initially – John – he reviewed one of my keynotes, and I have this intro that talks about a baby in a diaper and it was hilarious; his reaction in our first follow up was, “I never thought that a baby in a nappy would be funny!” But it sank in and so, having that confirmation again was helpful and the coaching was really solid, so the aha! moments were the confirmation, the takeaways were that at every level of the framework, it works. It helped me achieve and be able to grow from there. I still have some work to do, but things are definitely just driving forward.
What have been some of your results along the way? Any highlights that stand-out?
My journey is really just beginning. I know I’ve said I have a history of speaking and doing things, but dedicated speaking is really just beginning for me. In my conversations back and forth with the team, getting leads, moving forward with contacting those leads, having some of those basic templates, rewording here and there has all been great, but one of the highlights was one day, boom! All of a sudden, we get a message on the platform that says, “If you have a construction background and speak on leadership, here’s an opportunity.!” So I dove on that, and said, “What the heck? Let’s send this email out!” Steven responded back to me and said, “You know you’re you’re one of a few stand-outs – let’s get an interview in!”
It was fast! Everything was. There were no eight follow ups, or any of that. This is, of course, the unicorn scenario, but his response was quick, and he was very clear with me. He told me in advance what the crew was, what the audience would be like, and we got on a video call so we could see one another’s reactions. And his reactions were awesome. He followed up with their Chief of Operations and said, “We love it, Ken, we love everything that you put forward to us.” and in the end, as I got off that call, I was just amazed that they interviewed a handful of other Speaker Lab folks, and they were all amazing people, but I do have a construction background. So that’s really what they really liked; that and I’m a military veteran.
As I finished that call, I got another email saying, “Hey, we’d like to invite you down to this international conference and be our motivational speaker. We saw your website. We want you to speak to our board members and our leadership within this council.” So I was like, is this a spam email? I looked things up, checked everything out, it was all legit, so I contacted them, and there was basically no interview. They said, “We love what you have on your website. We saw your video. We want you!” That one was free, but I got a lot out of it. I got the full video, and connections! I went to dinner with the board the night before and some other stuff after dinner, and it was all on their ticket, not mine. It was free travel, and very enjoyable. The next day, it was really nice already having those faces that I knew from the dinner the night before, and everything went amazingly.
The feedback from that talk was solid. I’m still getting testimonials and everything in from them. And already have a few invites for consideration for later events!
And that’s just 2 events. Those are the only 2 events I’ve done so far, and they’ve just been amazing, and the feedback has been great. I owe it to The Speaker Lab, because again it was getting the confirmation that was so helpful; It helped everything moving forward.
How did it feel making an impact with your message?
The first one was the end of September, and I was a little nervous, because it was my first time in front of a crowd of folks I’ve never met before, in a different walk of life, so to speak, but after the introduction and after the “nappy” story, to quote John, it not only broke the ice, but everybody in the audience was just like, “All right. This is not your standard ‘Death by Powerpoint’ which is what we called it in the military. This is an actual discussion; the focus was difficult conversations.
It was a perfect subject, and just being able to open up and step right in, it became a conversation that was interactive and fun. We had a good time and they had breakfast tacos, too, so that wasn’t bad, especially in Texas – they’re a lot better here.
The second one was a fun time down in San Antonio, with time on the Riverwalk and dinner and everything else which made things easier the next day, because I had gotten to know the folks I was gonna be speaking to. That really made a huge difference.
I know The Speaker Lab in multiple videos and live classes, they’ve said, “Stay later. Go earlier,” and it really does make the difference, because for that one, I had absolutely no nerves, no nervousness, no angst, nothing at all.
If I didn’t hear that, I’d have been like, “All right, I gotta be there at 11…I’ll be there 5 til,” but no, it was definitely worth getting there early, and especially with the second gig, getting there the night before made a big difference.
What’s your new normal these days? How has life changed?
It’s relieved a lot about my future. Looking ahead, I can see a difference. I now know that I have better control of my own life and better control of my own finances coming up because this allows us the freedom and the flexibility as I grow. It really is just kicking off. But now we have that genuine opportunity. It’s not just a hope. It’s a goal. It’s an opportunity.
I’d say my day to day is mostly the same, with adding in different types of emails and phone calls and things like that to be able to continue the growth, but it’s just really having waking up in the morning and knowing there’s other opportunities for me out there. That’s really what’s been the biggest change for my life.
Who would you recommend to The Speaker Lab? What would you say to them if they were on the fence?
Well, the 1st part’s easy. Everyone. It’s more than just learning the process, the business. The Speaker Lab provides every tool. It’s not just how to be a speaker; it’s the business aspects of it. The tracking mechanisms, the opportunities, the profiles, the platforms. Everything is inclusive, and that’s what I love about it.
All these other opportunities that are out there, they say, “We’ll teach you. Here’s a book or here’s a website and a video.” But with The Speaker Lab, you get everything. Honestly, everything.
So to those that are on the fence – you have a choice. If you choose to take this on, then you have an opportunity. It’s not a dream, it’s not a hope, it’s an opportunity. If you fail to take that opportunity, if you don’t take the chance, then the answer is NO. If you’re not gonna ask the question, the answer is no. If you’re not gonna step out of your box, and you’re not gonna step out of your comfort zone and take that opportunity and challenge, that’s on you.
I hate being blunt, but I’m a veteran. I’m gonna be blunt. It’s a hard pill to swallow. But here’s the truth. If you don’t take the opportunity, that’s on you. Every choice we make has consequences, good, bad, and indifferent, right? If you’re on the fence, make a choice one way or the other. Personally, I don’t care what choice you make; but you’ll live with that consequence, good, bad, or indifferent.
I’m here to tell you: Take the opportunity, move forward with it. You’re gonna achieve great success, especially with this opportunity, with this partnership, and with this team of just great supporting folks. Step out of your comfort zone. And I’m gonna plug my own thing – Get rid of the box. Stop thinking outside the box, instead get rid of it altogether, and move forward with your life.