My story is being played at a museum in Washington D.C. Let that sink in. I came to America at 17 with nothing. I slept on cardboard in a basement. No money. Eating peanut butter and jelly just to survive. Took 17 years to finish college. Then one day, a manager at The Home Depot asked me how I was doing. I told him the truth: I was sleeping in a basement and didn't know how I'd make it. He didn't just listen. He gave me $600 dollars to buy a mattress. Then he took me on a journey. Showed me what leadership actually meant. Showed me that people matter. That your story matters. The Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream selected my story among 10,000 Americans featured in their exhibit. Same room as Oprah Winfrey. Kevin O'Leary. Magic Johnson. And the late Bernie Marcus Co-Founder of The Home Depot. ( RIP). The company that believed in me when I was sleeping on cardboard. I didn't come from privilege. I came from a basement, sleeping on carboard. I came from nothing. And somehow, my story is now on a museum wall. Today I help leaders find their story, tell it with confidence, and use it to build authority and influence. Because what happened TO you is not the end. It's the beginning of someone else's breakthrough. I've watched leaders get promoted. I've watched them build movements. All because they stopped hiding their story and started owning it. This is why I speak and coach others to tell them this: Your story is your strategy. Not your setback —> your strategy. Don't you ever let anyone tell you your story doesn't matter. It belongs in rooms you never imagined. Who's the person who believed in you when you didn't believe in yourself?

Hey folks! We’ve had some fantastic conversations lately on our weekly Inspiring Talks Zoom calls, and we have started posting short video clips from those sessions on our YouTube channel. These clips capture some of the best insights, ideas, and breakthroughs shared by our members — from speaking strategy to mindset shifts to practical ways to grow your speaking business. Here's a short clip from one of our calls that you may benefit from watching: https://youtu.be/-eTuGZ75x34?si=NEgscgScqMgTv1HJ We encourage you to: • Watch the clips we send each week and revisit the key moments from the calls, and then watch the full Zoom videos of our weekly calls, all of which are posted in the community • Share them with your network if you think they’ll benefit others • Invite colleagues and fellow speakers to join our growing community • Join our upcoming weekly Zoom calls so you can participate live and be part of the conversation Every week the discussions get richer and more valuable, as experienced speakers, coaches, trainers and branded experts contribute their perspectives and real-world experiences. We've had some truly amazing calls with many powerful insights, and they just keep coming! If you know someone who would benefit from being part of a supportive community focused on growing a speaking business, please feel free to invite them. We're excited to keep building this community together, and we look forward to seeing you on one of our upcoming calls! To your speaking success! David & Drew Inspiring Speakers Bureau "Inspire the World!"

Okay who is gonna try this with me? This is what I just received in an email. It said "to boost productivity" but I think it is a GREAT tool to: - Learn about your audience - Get over the fear of speaking on camera - Build an audience - Build relationship with viewers - And on and on! So this is what the email said: Adopt the “100 reps fast” rule to get good quickly: pick one primary channel (YouTube Shorts, newsletter, or podcast) and commit to 100 consecutive publishes as fast as your life allows (daily if possible, otherwise 3×/week). Keep a living checklist (hook, promise, proof, CTA), use AI to beat blank page syndrome, and reserve your human time for voice, stories, and examples. At rep 25/50/75, pause for a data review and prune anything that isn’t moving opens, watch time, or replies. I did up a spreadsheet so I can track: - Hook, promise, and proof in each video - Number of video and date I will do it - Opens, watch time and replies. Also, I am an over-achiever so I will be shooting and releasing the same video on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram cuz why not! lol. (I expanded my spreadsheet to capture that lol) I already have the topics for the next THREE videos and I am starting TODAY! Also, 100 days from now takes us to December 16th which is EPIC information to have on your viewers/followers going into the new year! So whose with me? I have attached my spreadsheet (without my ideas already in it). Feel free to use it!

I don't know how other speakers feel but as MUCH as I love being on stage or in front of an audience, nothing beats being home. No bed is more comfy than my own. My coffee is perfect. And my desk ... where dreams are made. So after a week on and off the road, I am looking forward to a few days in the home office. I am looking forward to downtime, boring stuff and the behind the scenes stuff that take no brain cells at all but are important. The little things that keep my machine running. So this is me, grateful for the events, and even more grateful for my soft place to land, my home. The journey continues ...

Storytelling is the real superpower in speaking. When I first started out, I thought it was all about giving people the right answers. But I learned quick , answers don’t change lives, stories do. A good story…Teaches without preaching. Connects without forcing. Sticks long after the slides are gone. Here’s how I break mine down: Share the struggle. Don’t skip the messy parts, that’s where people relate. Show the shift. What changed? Who stepped in? What moment flipped the script? Drop the takeaway. Give them something they can walk away with. For me, it was sleeping on cardboard in a basement, ready to give up, and then a leader showed up, believed in me, and changed everything. T hat story isn’t about me, it’s about resilience and the power of not giving up. Now I want to hear from you: - What’s the story that always connects with your audience? - How do you weave the lesson in without sounding like you’re lecturing? Let me know your thoughts