If you’ve ever considered becoming a motivational speaker or at least adding a motivational component to your topic, NOW is the time! For two years the recession has been sucking the life out of people, and they’re ready to look forward to the future again. While the motivational market is a little rough right now, this is the time for new speakers to emerge and stake their claim. A lot of speakers have given up and gone back to their old jobs. If you’re trying to break into the business, this could be the best chance you’ll ever have. Watch this short post I filmed yesterday outside London, England, where I’m speaking at the Bill Gove Speech Workshop and doing radio/TV interviews. This economic downturn could be the best thing that ever happened to your career. I’ll look forward to your comments. Steve Siebold ( 2:53 )
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Hi Steve,
You are so right! Hope is the answer. I might add the word faith into the equation. Without hope, faith and motivation for a new and bright tomorrow a person will only attract more feelings of loss into their lives. Negativity will beget more negativity. Our mind is a powerful tool. We must use it to believe in our own prosperity.
Myra Goldick
Hi Steve, its great to follow your travels. As you know Steve I am a motivational speaker currently living in Ireland and next year moving back to Australia. the difficulty for motivational speakers in the UK and especially Ireland is that Unless you are a retired politician, a television chef, a pro footballer or somebody who has climbed Everest blindfolded, you dont get the bookings either from speaker bookers or agencies. And yes it is a great time to spread a motivational message however getting that idea across to companies and the general public while not impossible is one hell of a door to open, even for top USA speakers. Ireland in particular is awash with doom and gloom resulting in a fog of apathy and complainers who are only to willing to shoot the messenger.I know I will have more success in Australia and they have a more go ahead mindset akin to Americans and Canadians. I’ll keep you posted mate. cheers John
Steve, amen. We all certainly do need hope and motivation, and good people to spread the positive emotions (and teach us the toughness).
And I agree with Myra regarding the faith component. How about adding inspiration to the mix? Motivational speakers with the ability to inspire us with hope and determination are unbeatable and unstoppable. And the world needs lots of sincere, trained, energetic souls to help us all re-create a great, stable space for the economy and our lives to thrive.
Youv’e got it Steve. Over the past few months,there has been a re-occuring theme in my Q&A and it has been how do we pick ourselves up and get going again. I have now put a larger focus on overcoming adversity into my speeches. Give the people what they want or in this case need.
I wholeheartedly agree! Life is always full of opportunities no matter what is happening in the world…good times, bad times…all depends on our attitude and how we look at things. There are always problems and issues that deserve solutions and answers! WE can be the ones delivering those solutions, answers and yes, hope!
Let’s make it happen!
Thanks for your message Steve!
Cheers, Gery
Myra, I always love your success thinking! John, thanks for your global insights, good to know! Steve, this is a timely message, at least in the US, and not only for speakers, but for anyone who is entrepreneurial.
Contrary to common belief, starting a business near the bottom of an economic downturn is the best time to start a business or begin expansion of a current business. Here are two of the reasons. If you learn to run a profitable business in tough economic times, you certainly will know how to be profitable during good economic times. (You have a sustainable business model). Also, as you said Steve, it’s a great time to gain market share. It takes courage to invest and build in these tough times, but ask any world-class business leader, it’s a time of opportunity.
Hey Steve – I’m just sitting here watching Ali Velshi, one of the more upbeat shows on CNN and they are talking about the 9+% unemployment in the US. It begs this question: did they ever think about focusing on the fact that over 90% of the working population IS gainfully employed. Most of the negative stuff we are hearing could be spun to look at the positive versus the negative. Something so simple could mean so much to so many. Have fun!
I am ready! That is exactly what I do! I will start packing!
Myra,
I agree. Faith is also an important component. Faith in yourself, a higher power, or whatever you believe in.
Hey John!
Good to hear from you, Mate! You’re right on target, but I think the UK and Oz will both become great markets for speakers in the future. The world needs your message and wisdom, John, and I hope you’ll be even more more successful when you return home to Aussie. We’ll be in Sydney in late November, so when we’re done with the program, I’ll expect to see you in the pub!
Thanks, Brenda. I agree with you and Myra. Faith is a great foundation to success.
Terry,
You’re right. People NEED your message of overcoming adversity. Thanks for being a thought leader and continuing to inspire people!
Gery,
Thanks for your comments. You’re right. Why not us? People need help, and speakers with a positive message can motivate and inspire audiences to fulfill their unique potential.
Hey Steve,
I couldn’t agree with you more about the overarching, absolutely vital importance of hope and its implied faith and expectations. As you know hope and optimism have been shown to greatly improve life and work productivity, satisfaction and meaning along with one’s health and longevity. But what is so surprising is that this is new, ignored or denied news for so many especially when you take into consideration that hope’s unparalled benefits have been part of known perennial wisdom for thousands of years. For example, “Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” Epicurus (341 BC – 270 BC).
Again, thanks so much, Steve, for your continuing great words and work.
Hi Steve,
Great topic. As you know, I am a fitness instructor, lifestyle weight management coach, amateur athlete, entrepreneur (gym owner) and I aspire to become a professional speaker. I spend my days helping people shift their thinking and helping them find new ways to embrace a healthy lifestyle.
Every day I hear objections, excuses and every reason imaginable why people are predestined to fail. They’re predestined because they have preconcieved notions that are born in their imagination that quickly become their truth. Unfortunately, a lot of what we tell ourselves is not completly true, and the next thing we know, our untruth becomes our solid truth.
We are the product of what we think about. “…if you think you are beaten, you are; if you think you can not, you can’t…” There is an entire human race that are currently operating with this kind of defeatist mentality, and you describe them best Steve when you refer to them as being ‘the masses’.
So when you talk about putting motivation into our speeches, one question pops up that I really have to ask. Why on earth would any speaker negate a motivational message in any speech they are giving in the first place?
Isn’t it the job of a professional speaker to give their audience something so profound, so incredibly witty or touching that it creates a shift in the audiences awareness and their thought processes in order to get them inspired to find their own passion and make a difference in thier own life?
People who invest their time to go and listen to speakers are generally people who are looking for answers, what ever the topic may be. They are looking to be motivated. If we don’t give them motivation to feed their emotional fire, they’re not going to get what they came out looking for and the end result will be, they haven’t been inspired to go out and make a difference, they go home empty handed, disapointed and their enthusiasum for motivational speakers just dropped off, while it appears that the speaker just showed up to speak for an hour and collect his or her paycheck.
Maybe that’s why motivational speakers in general are struggling in “today’s economy”. It’s just a thought.
Hi Steve,
So true. People need hope that there are opportunities around every corner. I always include motivation into my speeches and people love it.
Enjoy your trip.
Every human being needs hope. Hope is the stuff of things unseen, and lifts our head so we can see the possiblities.
Denise Fowble, The Tailored Speaker
Thanks, Steve….
I really enjoy what you have to say and it keeps my fire lighted to move forward and snatch the fly with my chopsticks! I know I can do it, now I only need to set the wheels in motion. I know that getting the momentum going is the hard part… but I’m up for the challenge!
This is true we need hope installation to all persons across the world Hope,and gratitude need to be instilled to all,for there is enough if we appreciate the present the future can be designed today and now
Steve:
I recently decided to go back on the road as a motivational lecturer. For over 30 years I traveled as a Country Gospel Singer/ Lecturer. After my husbands death I took a sabbatical and now I am ready to get started again. I believe that we need motivation in ourselves will is the key to success. I appreciate all that you are doing. I have contacted a couple of publicist and am looking over several options. I just wanted to thank you for your motivation to me through listending to you 10 day video training to get myself back in gear. Again Thank you.
I believe in faith, for that is what’s brought me to where I am, full-circle, today. A year ago, I was homeless with two children and alone. My only friend was hope. Now I’m living in a beautiful townhome, in the mountains with an extraordinary view every morning and am awakened, every so often, by deer munching outside my window.
I have faith that in my continuim, I am a speaker already.
Thanks, Michelle
I know from experience being in a coma for several months, awakening to what seem to be a new world, not being able to sing for over a year. Then facing surgery on my voice box and out of the singing/lecturing again for over another year, has made my faith stronger. I knew then HE had more for me to do and the gift of communication with others is part of it. However; don’t think for one moment that it is all happy go lucky, smooth sailing because it isn’t. Faith is knowing that a problem is only a situation waiting for a solution. I have been a speaker before and I am again. Just as Michelle said, “I have faith that in my continuim, I am a speaker already.”
Thanks, bj
Hi Steve,
Yes, you are right. Believing in a bright tomorrow, and the power of your own hopes and faith,and than sharing your energy with others will bring the success you are looking for into your life.
Love ya,
Myra
You know that “red button” commercial where the staffer turns to his co-workers and states “we”re out of toner” and one of his co-workers replies just shake it and the staffer picks up the entire printer and shakes it..(idiot..), recall that?
Well, that’s kinda how I see the economy and the U.S. Congress….”They just don’t get it.” So, as silly and idiotic as it seems we as motivational speakers are going to have to shake things up in our delivery and let the American public know that the American Dream still exists. “We’ve just got to shake it up in 2011.”
Steve
i would like to break into the business. I am based in St. Louis, Mo.
If you have any leads for me, let me know
Maybe i will talk to you in the near future
thanks
Nick Cusumano
Hi John,
I just happened onto this page, and I am delighted to see that you are still so positive about motivational speaking. I joined a group of Toastmasters to improve my speaking skills, as I just love giving speeches. I have found that this seems to be an area that I can do really well in, but as one of the bloggers quite rightly pointed out, that in Ireland, there is nothing but doom and gloom being spoken about every day. As I would be considered a “No One” in the circle of fame, it is hard to get in the front door, so to speak. I have had some luck in giving speeches to our Age Concerns groups, and it was very well received. Where do I go from here, what is the next step? Everyone wants you, when you do it for nothing, but the minute you slap a charge on it, they do not want to know. As I am looking to make a business out of this, I know that I can do this, they saying is “God loves a trier” I will just keep on knocking perhaps a door will open? You keep with it. Cheers
whoops sorry, Steve, gave the wrong name, not very professional of me is it?
Makes perfect sense!
I think after a couple of years of recession, we all need a little bit of motivation! 🙂
Hi Steve,
Love your video and agree!!! For years people have been telling me I should be a motivational speaker and I am ready to do it. Any tips on getting started? I’d love to make it a career. Should I start speaking for free and build up my name then gradually start charging speakers fees as my demand increases? ANd how do you know how much to charge? I want to be reasonable but also my wife will kill me (not literally!!) if I’m too soft on what I charge (college for my two boys will be expensive!!)
Thank you!!!
John
Most successful motivational speakers actually speak for free. They have a product line, videos, books, etc. that they sell at the back of the room for those interested after proving the he actually knows what he’s talking about.
No one in their right mind is going to shell out money because someone declares himself a professional, they want proof. If they haven’t been referred by a friend or business associate, who better to prove it than the speaker himself?
After creating a name for yourself, THEN you can begin charging an entrance fee and do quite well. This type of business is NOT for someone eager and anxious, it takes time, patience, stamina, and most of all confidence to spare. After all, that’s really what the people are buying, because they won’t want advice from someone who doesn’t believe it himself, right?
They say that you gotta “talk the talk AND walk the walk” in order to be convincing enough to motivate others. I’m a single parent of two kids and have literally been where no woman has been before…. geez, that sounds familiar! But the point is that I’ve never let anyone tell me that because I’m a single woman in a male-dominated state that I deserve less, and I intend on proving it!
My goal is to be a female leader to teach snigle women that they do not need a man to survive if they feel confident enough to take on the world, and they should! Jack Canfield, Tony Robbins, Wallace Wattles, Napoleon Hill, Stephen Covey, Suze Orman and many, many more all say the same thing, but with a different rhythmn because we all hear things on different waves of sound, so to speak. In other words, the way one person delivers a message is not the same as the way another delivers. (Anyone who’s compared Carleton Sheets and Robert Kiyosaki knows this!)
I want to be the female who tells other females “I know it can be done because I’ve done it, damn it!” Too many give up and settle for less than what they deserve out of desperation for themselves and their children, ending up unhappy their entire lives, and believing what they’re doing is good. Plain and simple, it isn’t doing anyone any favors!
These women need help, and it’s my position to provide that for them!
Hi steve
Another criterion to be considered while hiring him is his suitability for your business. your blog is so nice..
Hi, Motivational speakers needed where? How alive is this blog? I find it April 2012 in United States. If people actually knew how powerful they really actually really are more would happen. Three per-centers, the top people, are producing for an obvious basic reason, they produce. Tony Robbins might refer to it as talking action with passion. Tom Wakefield… it just a vibe, a vibration, a frequency, or, if you like, an attitude, a mood. We are all born with one particular ability. I’d be happy to make sense out it for you. It is easy. Let me know. I’m gonna go get a black and white iced tea here now. Tom http://thepbjectiveishappiness.com
Steve, you make sense but I need more info, Where do I book for my speech?
I am in the USA and never been a speaker but I got the solution to the world crisis and yes I agree with you that now is the best time for a speaker that has something of value to say, because when people are hurting is the best time for them to listen.
I have begun some motivational speaking on a small scale at the prison I was released from 9 years ago. I have done well since my release keeping the same job I found as an inmate at Felmers Chaney Center here in Milwaukee Wi. My job that I have since turned into a career has allowed me the opportunity to hire inmates and give them a second chance at having a fulfilling life. About a year ago I was asked to come back and tell my story and I have to say its had a positive affect on me as well as my community. I would like to branch out and take on more venues but I have no clue on how to get started. Can you help?
Thanks for the reminder of why we speak!
Denise Fowble,
The Tailored Speaker
Hello,
I am in the U.S., the south to be exact. Motivation is so necessary in our society I hold my tongue too often when people ask me, what do we do now. I was disabled from a career I LOVED in 2002, since, I have been on a recovery mission of mind body and spirit. People find inspiration when they need it, their religious organizations, community actions and heck, in the south their dog and gun rally’s. What I have found is that people want truth and beyond truth people want clarity for their actions. You see, I can tell you that to manage the feelings of oppression you need to remove yourself from the equation of the oppressors, but when I say that to someone, the first question is, How? Get out of your comfort zone, if money is your pain find a way to live without it, if relationships are, find a way to be alone first, how are you a good partner to anyone else if your horrible to yourself. After that the question is well, how would you do that. You find a way and the action word there is find. How do I quit drinking, drugging, falling into financial ruin, the simple answers, you just stop, while this answer is true and factual how do people do this. In the U.S. these people are usually demonized and cauterized from real help.These people need to become self reliant, that’s not the same as self sufficient. We’re human, we learn from each other and that is how we will get through good times and bad. Just be a human, not a title, just a human and love someone just for that reason. This will change your life, and I can guarantee it.
Due to my undying ambition to create an incredible life, I considered motivational speaking and tried my hand at it. Because I had no formal training, and could certainly not afford thousands of dollars in seminars, that method was out of reach for me.
Since then I’ve had a crippling accident leaving me unable to work, at least the kind of work where you stand or sit for eight to ten hours a day, despite my education and knowledge. But uncanny events have a way of changing a life when it’s least expected, such as in this case. You see, because of my unwillingness to give up and throw in the towel, I’m on the road to something even better–I’ll share my story through film. That’s right! Since I couldn’t find a way to make myself and my incredible story of survival know to people live, I’ll touch millions through screenwriting. I’ll be able to tell all of my unorthodox adventures without having to show myself.
What I’m trying to say is that if you have a dream, and mine was to be heard, find a way to do it. If you try one way and it doesn’t work, try another way. There’s a reason you are drawn to experiences in your life, both bad and good, and the least selfish thing you can do is share it with others so they may learn from it as well.
Hi, I was wondering if there is still a need for Public Speakers ? If so what is the going rate for people starting up ? We have done Public talks before . I have also done spruiking + worked in Sales .
Thanks
Kris
I have interest in being a motivational speaker because I had brain surgery because of Epilepsy and suffered memory loss after surgery. I would love to share more but hope to hear back soon.
Thanks- Emily
Hi: I have spent a very transformational year, losing 125+ pounds, and changing my life through behavior modification. I would love to share my story, and would love to talk to people about how to take control of their food addictions.
I also blog daily, and am pretty good at motivational, positive ways to get food addiction under control.
Thanks for any suggestions!!
Amen to your points Steve. I have been involved public speaking in the business world as a soft skills and motivational trainer. I specialize in public speaking and sales training where people have issues with their self confidence. I also subscribe to your notion that more people are looking for answers and help in this world today. I have been looking to parlay my skills into more to address the issues of self confidence and self esteem.