Dr. Alok Trivedi’s Journey from Speaker’s Apprentice to Millionaire Speaker

Dr. Alok Trivedi was one of the most successful chirpractors in the United States when I met him, but he desperately wanted to share his message with a broader audience around the world, specifically through professional public speaking. He became one of my original speakers apprentices, and over the next 5 years, he worked tirelessly...

Why Professional Speakers FAIL. (Part 1)

Hollywood has a lot in common with the Professional Speaking Industry. At any given time, there are approximately 500,000 actors in Los Angeles looking for work. The odds of an unconnected actor breaking into the business and earning $100K per year are long. Unless…you have connections. Professional Speaking has smaller numbers, but your odds of...

Onstage at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas (PART 1)

This is my keynote speech during a star-studded national convention for 3,000 people on the strip in Las Vegas, including Brian Tracy, Don Hutson, Jim Cathcart, and others. This first story is about my kickboxing sparring match with the 300 pound former arm wrestling champion of the world and the mental toughness lesson he taught...

Backstage with Chicago Cub’s Legend Dave ‘King Kong’ Kingman

Growing up in 1970’s Chicago, Dave ‘King Kong’ Kingman was our home-run hero for the Chicago Cubs. At 6’6, this guy was a giant that could park the ball so far out of Wrigley Field that no one could find it. Every time the game was tied, Jack Brickhouse, the voice of the Cubs, would...

Bombing Onstage in New York City

I was speaking in New York City in 2003 for about 1,000 people from a Wall Street investment firm. I had spoken there before, but today was different. Little did I know that I was going to follow a famous psychic who had a very popular show at the time called “Crossing Over with John...

My Death Threats after The Today Show and Good Morning America

One of the best strategies you can employ as a professional speaker is to write a controversial book and embark on an aggressive media campaign. It’s one of the most profitable things we’ve ever done. But if you’re going to follow this path, beware of the potential attacks. After my first appearance on The Today...

Backstage with the Father of the Internet

Back in 2003, I was speaking at a business conference in Washington, DC, at the Gallup Building. The program was packed with many of the leading academics from around the world, as well as top business executives and consultants, including Dr. Martin Seligman, Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihlyi, and Vint Cerf, the Father of the Internet and...

Onstage with President George W. Bush

One of the greatest lessons Bill Gove, The Father of Professional Speaking, taught me was to always be prepared for my big speaking opportunity. Bill would say, “practice, practice, practice, just like you did as an athlete, and when your big opportunity arrives, you’ll be ready. That’s what happened on December 9, 2001, when we...

Backstage with Entertainment Tonight’s Leeza Gibbons

Lezza Gibbons is the consumate entertainment professional, and also drop-dead gorgeous, which were two of the many reasons I was thrilled to be interviewed by her onstage at UCLA. We met in her dressing room before the show, which had 2,000 people LIVE at Royce Hall and another 50,000 watching in movie theatres across the...

How to Set Your First Speaking Fee

This ranks among the most popular questions for new and emerging professional speakers, and the best answer is probably not what you think. The speaking business is comprised of tens of thousands how people trying to break in, yet only hundreds that are successful. The breakdown ocurrs when people assume that the speaking business is...