A few years ago I was speaking in the Galapagos Islands and witnessed the eruption of the La Cumbre volcano. As the lava flowed down the sides of Fernandina Island, it destroyed everything in its path. Animals and plants perished as the island’s landscape was ravaged by the volcano’s fury.
The next morning we landed on the opposite side of the island where life still flourished. We could see the steaming volcano, but now had a very different perspective. And as I looked at the geography of the island and that of the entire archipelago, I realized that millions of years of volcanic activity have not destroyed the landscape as much as they’ve changed it. And throughout all of this change, wildlife has endured.
Adversity is an unpleasant but necessary part of our growth. During times of prosperity, it’s easy to take things for granted. When we’re no longer challenged, we stop challenging ourselves. We get lazy and feel entitled to the status quo. A problem is a wake up call – a call to action that often improves our life.
We see the benefits of adversity all around us. Naturally occurring forest fires clear out excess brush, extending the life of the forest and preventing larger fires. Muscles damaged during the stress of weight lifting heal back bigger and stronger. Countless people have had marriages and careers crumble, only to find themselves more happily married and employed later.
Helen Keller once said “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”
This principal has been expressed for centuries through countless clichés, such as “No pain, no gain” or “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.” These sayings are overused, but the wisdom behind them is golden.
Challenging times such as these are unpleasant, but there’s a good chance they’ll propel us forward. Stay strong, and look for the lesson.
Nothing makes my skin crawl like hearing a motivational cliché. “Look on the bright side!” “Make lemons into lemonade!” “Turn that frown upside down!” These expressions completely invalidate natural human responses to adversity. They suggest that shifting your emotions is simply a matter of choice. As a motivational speaker, this kind of language embarrasses me. When audiences hear “motivational speaker,” they expect me to speak in these terms.
I’ve come to learn that while the language itself is cheesy, the wisdom behind it stands true. There are measurable benefits to optimism. Countless studies have linked longer life expectancy and better health. One study showed a lower risk of coronary heart disease among optimistic older men. Another study concluded that optimistic women live longer.
Research out of Flinders University, Adelaide concluded that student achievement in mathematics was lower among students with a pessimistic outlook on life. Many other studies have connected optimism with educational and professional success. A simple Google search for studies on optimism will reveal a plethora of research all drawing the same conclusion: Optimism is good and pessimism is bad.
My challenge as a motivational speaker is to sell audiences on the benefits of optimism. I don’t think this is done through clever metaphors and wordplay. I think it can be done through logic.
When you believe something good is possible, I don’t know if it causes that thing to magically manifest (as some would suggest). What it does is make you more aware of your environment. When you expect opportunities to reveal themselves, you open your eyes wider. You notice more.
Think of a color. Now look around the room with that color in mind. Observe how that color seems to pop out. We notice what we’re looking for. That’s why pessimists can always find things to reinforce they’re negativity. They’re looking for the bad stuff.
You’ll get what you focus on. Keep your eyes open for solutions and opportunties, and I assure you, they’ll pop out as well.
Great news out of Washington, D.C. – My Edible Arrangements franchise won the “Customer Service” Award at our annual franchisee convention. My store was the best out of 936 Edible Arrangements franchises worldwide.
I’ve had my eye on this prize for a while. Of course I want to serve my customers well. But as a motivational speaker, it also lends more credibility to the peak performance concepts I discuss in my programs.
One of my challenges as an employer (I’ve got a staff of ten people.) is getting top-notch performance from my employees while I’m away. The life of a motivational speaker requires a lot of travel, so I’m not in my store very much. I’ve have to develop effective training programs and motivate my staff remotely.
I opened my store five years ago as a sort of laboratory. I’ve been speaking on leadership for a long time and I wanted to see how my concepts would work in an actual business setting. I didn’t want to be one of those motivational speakers who talks about leadership without practical, first hand experience.
From the beginning we focused on teambuilding. We brainstormed goals as an entire staff. I tried out various methods of praising and reprimanding. My manager and I also took our employees through a values assessment.
A lot of this stuff yielded no results (other than making a few people roll their eyes). But a lot of it has made a measurable difference. We have low turn over and great attitudes. We have a pleasant work environment. And we now have award winning customer service.
I have a lot to learn about business as I do about being a motivational speaker. But walking my talk has helped my store, just as running my store has enhanced my business speaker programs. The “soft skills” motivational speakers share can lead to hard results.
