Author Archive
Opportunities for Professional Speakers
Posted by: | CommentsYear after year The National Speakers Association convention participants and presenters reiterate the importance of their founder Cavett Robert. I’ve never had the privilege to him, but a sense of what he set out to do and was able to accomplish, infuses the National Speakers Association. He famously said “let’s make the pie bigger”. In essence he was saying to those in the speaking business (which didn’t technically exist yet) that if we band together, support one another other and share each other’s experiences and resources we need not compete with each other. This is evident in the fact that the speaking profession has grown exponentially since the National Speakers Association was founded in 1973.
Zig Ziglar, also a long-term member and supporter of The National Speakers Association had a similar philosophy. He is renowned for stating “you can have anything you want in life. As long as your willing to help others get what they want”.
Whether you’re a seasoned speaker, looking to learn more about the speaking business, or somewhere in between, you’re invited to A National Speakers Association New Jersey chapter meeting.
For those of you who are busy and successful in your speaking business, we’re asking you remember the Spirit of Cavett that provided you with the foundation to get to where you are. Come share what you learned from the NSA when you were first building your success. Learn from our CSP level educational programs and network with other top professionals.
For those of you who have strong businesses but want to become stronger we have amazing programming and experienced professionals to learn from and to serve your business.
For those of you who are speaking for free and want to learn how to turn your passion into a business we have the NSA-NJ Aspiring Speakers Program.
It’s time we all embrace the Spirit of Cavett by sharing our experiences and successes and by continuing to “make the pie bigger”.
Charles Fleisher
NSA-NJ President 2016-2017
- A world leader in adapted vehicles specializing in trucks. Thank You for Being a Bronze Sponsor
The journey begins! To kick off its cross-country speaking tour, Beyond Wheels and it’s featured speaker Charles Fleisher, stop by and visited an important New Jersey employment initiative for people with disabilities. What a privilege it was today to speak to and a group of mobility impaired students preparing for college and employment. The event was hosted and paid for by The New Jersey State Chamber Of Commerce Foundation. For several years they have put on a weeklong workshop for mobility impaired students.
The job market is tough regardless of your experience, education and background, but for mobility impaired students, and young people in general, it can be even even tougher. Today I was on a panel of judges who watched 4 groups of students deliver a presentation. Their assignment was to develop a logo, a PowerPoint presentation, a small commercial and other essential planning and marketing elements to present to the judges.
The project was to develop a structure for use in emergency situations following a disaster.They all did a great job and their scores from the presentation were combined with other events and activities which they had participated in throughout the week. The program was made possible through a grant from the Kessler foundation. Thank you Roger and Elaine for all you do at the Kessler Foundation.
- One of New Jersey’s leading law firms
Kessler Foundation Employment Conference TV Interview: Charles Fleisher The Opportunities Guy
Opportunities often come from unlikely places. On October 2, 2014, keynote speaker, author, and disability unemployment expert, Charles Fleisher keynoted the Kessler Foundation unemployment conference at the Kessler foundation. In his remarks he shared examples of how multi billion dollars companies turn the challenges of mobility into corporate giants. Including companies such as Brawnability a multimillion dollar automobile mobility company and the creators of the quickie wheelchair.
He also shared personal experiences about how his disability has led to success as an author and keynote speaker. Representatives from organizations such as Kessler Hospital, Rutgers University, and the Reeves Foundation discussed important topics on both employment issues for the disabled and perspective treatment for spinal cord injury.
Dr. Wise Young, and Dr. Steven Kirschbloom spoke about some of the leading studies going on in the United States and abroad. Both Kessler and Rutgers are on the leading edge of research in spinal cord injury research.
No one wants or wishes for difficulties, but when the going gets tough the tough get going. When Ralph Braun was six years old his cousin told him that he overheard his parents saying that Ralph would not live to see his 12th birthday. Dumbfounded but determined, Ralph vowed that he would do everything within his power to prove the prognosis wrong. Fortunately for Ralph his diagnosis of muscular dystrophy did not turn out to be fatal.
From an early age Ralph wanted to live a “normal” life where he was accepted by and contributed to this community. Ralph was diagnosed in the 1950s so, because of Ralph’s mobility issues, which included the use of a wheelchair by the time he was a teenager, a normal mobile life did not seem likely. Again Ralph decided that he was going to fight against what was “normal” for the time.
Ralph converted a riding lawnmower into one of the world’s first scooters. Because his scooter was destroying his mother’s home Ralph created a more functional version. His garage made scooter was functional enough to help Ralph get back and forth to work for years.
When Ralph company moved its operations further out of town, Ralph had a dilemma. He lived in rural Indiana and the conditions were often too difficult to drive very far in his scooter. There was no public transportation. He knew the cold and rain and snow and wet would be too much for his homemade garage invention. Ralph started thinking and came up with an idea. What if he could create some kind of vehicle that could carry him and his scooter.
The concept for one of the world’s first wheelchair accessible vehicles was born. Ralph purchased an old mail truck and put a lift on the back. This lift lifted him up in his scooter. He then drove the scooter to the front and moved himself into the driver’s seat. Later he removed the driver seat completely and drove from the scooter. This worked great for Ralph for a few years, but the Jeep was old when he bought it and eventually it wouldn’t work any longer.
Ralph started looking around for other options. He purchased a Dodge van and put his lift on the side of the van. After his new mobility system was written about in a mobility magazine, Ralph’s new invention took off. Through hard work and the desire to solve his own mobility problems, Ralph created a company that now sells over $200 million in mobility equipment annually.
It’s up to you. If Ralph to take his challenges and turn them into opportunities than what’s stopping you. You have the option to look at your challenges as opportunities instead of obstacles.
Click here to read the full article on how Ralph created his $200 million company
Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt the 26th president of the United States is my idol. His ability to overcome difficulties and challenges his legendary! When I learned in high school that he had faced up to the most powerful business interests in human history and as a result he was able to help millions of working-class people reach a higher standard of life and safer working conditions I was hooked.
The fact that he was one of the first and perhaps the most successful conservationist in history also made me a fan. Teddy Roosevelt was a man of action! He once said “I put myself in the way of things happening, and they happened.” What I didn’t know until more recently was that despite the fact that Roosevelt was born into wealth and comfort, his childhood was a constant struggle. In fact Roosevelt had to overcome the difficulties of childhood asthma regularly.
Young Theodore Roosevelt almost died many times as a young boy. He had to spent a great deal of time in bed as his siblings, neighbors and friends ran around and played just outside his window. There was however at least one positive side effect to being forced to stay inside and in bed. Young Teddy became an avid reader. He devoured the great adventure stories of his time and of history.
He admired and later modeled commanding adventurous characters. Great commanders and leaders throughout literature. But the greatest asset Roosevelt had was overcoming the struggles and difficulties he faced. As a young boy fighting through his difficulties strengthened him and prepared him for the rigors of political service and ultimately the presidency of the United States of America. How did this happen? Unlike his brother Elliott who was softened by wealth and privilege and died young from the abuse of alcohol, Teddy Roosevelt had to struggle every day as a child. Since there were so many bad days where he was not able to be active, he learned to appreciate and make the best of the good days.
He made the best of them. Whenever possible he would get out into the woods and hike and collect animal and insect samples. But even when he was 12 he was still the very weak. About this time his father said to him: “Theodore, you have the mind, but you have not the body, and without the help of the body the mind cannot go as far as it should … You must make your own body … It is hard drudgery to make one’s body … but I know you will do it” Theodore’s reply was…
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was one of the most inspirational and effective world leaders ever. Not only did he lead the United States through the Great Depression, his policies and strategies helped to save Europe from Hitler and the Nazis during World War II and liberate Asia from Japanese oppression.
Many people know that Franklin Roosevelt lived most of his adult life requiring the use of a wheelchair as a result of having polio, but it is less known how the crippling disease actually strengthened Roosevelt and led to him being a more appealing and successful candidate and leader. In fact I do not believe Franklin Roosevelt would have been elected president or have been nearly as successful if he had not contracted polio. There is little debate that Roosevelt was a charming and successful political candidate before polio, but many people speculate that as a result of his insulated wealthy upbringing, he would never have been able to empathize with the struggles of the millions of unemployed and poor that appeared and lingered throughout the Great Depression. The only significant struggle Roosevelt had before his polio was the struggle to break free of his mother’s controlling influence. If it was up to Roosevelt’s mother he would have remained a wealthy insulated aristocrat with little or no interaction with ordinary hard-working and struggling Americans.
Contracting polio and dealing with the intense rehabilitation process that followed humbled Franklin Roosevelt. It made him realize how vulnerable life and how dependent he was on the help of others. Roosevelt battled for years to regain his ability to walk without assistance. It never happened. For the rest of his life, whenever he was standing, it was with the assistance of braces and or with the accompaniment of someone physically supporting him. These struggles led to Roosevelt identifying with the trials and tribulations of his fellow Americans. Roosevelt now knew what it was like to deal with challenges and difficulties beyond his control.
Having lost control himself he now identified with all of those throughout the country who could not find work, feed their families, and were often near starvation. Because of Roosevelt’s ability to struggle and find opportunities from his own difficulties, he was able to transform the struggles of the nation into the opportunity to help millions of people. Programs like Social Security and the Federal Deposit Insurance Company (FDIC) were designed to help individuals deal with …
Michael J Fox welcome back! You are an inspirational mentor to me.
Posted by: | CommentsMichael J Fox the inspirational author and blockbuster movie and TV actor has thrown his hat into the television sitcom ring once more . Despite the difficulties of battling Parkinson’s disease, Michael J Fox has launched a new show on NBC. Fox clearly stated that his main goal for this program first and foremost is to be funny and make people laugh.
His experience as a father, husband, media personality and yes an individual with Parkinson’s disease has given Fox a tremendous amount of material. Fox uses this material, yes even his struggles with Parkinson’s, as a way to relate to his audience. Everyone has struggles and often a great way to deal the with overcoming obstacles is through the use of humor. Fox knows this as well as anyone.
Dealing with my own issues and struggles related to my spinal cord injury would not have been possible if it had been for my own sense of humor and the sense of humor of my friends and family. Short weeks after my injury, while still in the hospital unable to move a muscle, my brother would entertain me and everyone else in the room by picking my nose with a Q-tip. Yes I know it sounds crazy, but these were the things that got us through thesery difficult times. I know Fox must’ve had moments like this and is now using that experience to entertain and inspire people through his new television program, the Michael J Fox show.
Michael J Fox has been a television actor since the early 1980s and his two greatest successes on TV include Family Ties and Spin City both of which were tremendous successes and have helped Michael J Fox become an expert on what works on TV. Fox is also well known for his movie successes including the blockbuster movie Back to the Future and its sequels. But Fox he is not only a super successful media sensation. He is also a best-selling inspirational author and an expert on turning difficulties into opportunities. Of coarse he struggled after his diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease. Of course he has challenges and obstacles to overcome everyday as a result of Parkinson’s disease. But Michael J Fox has taken these challenges and turned them into many opportunities he never would have had.
Michael J Fox has stated consistently that “Parkinson’s has been a gift.” What does he mean? He means that it has led to the creation of the Michael J Fox Parkinson’s research foundation which has raised over $200 million for Parkinson’s research. He means that Parkinson’s disease forced him to deal with struggles he was having in his marriage and as a result his marriage and become stronger.
Self development and self-satisfaction tips (John Kralik)
Posted by: | CommentsSelf development and self-satisfaction are very tricky subjects. Did you ever know someone who seemed to have all the things necessary to have a satisfying life, but when you talk to them you could hear in their voice that it wasn’t the case. On New Year’s Eve morning in 2008 John Kralik had a law practice, to sons and a young daughter. He wasn’t wealthy. He didn’t have a big house with numerous cars but you would’ve thought he had enough to be happy.
This wasn’t the case. On that morning Kralik was feeling sorry for himself because he had just broken up with his girlfriend. He was being sued, he didn’t have strong relationships with his two older sons and he did not feel like that life had been fair to him. Then a thought came into John Kralik head. It seemed to come from somewhere outside of them and it suggested “you will never have what you want until you learn to be grateful for what you have.” Kralik immediately remember that his grandfather had tried to teach him a similar lesson when he was young. His grandfather had given him a silver dollar and told him that if he sent a thank you letter he would receive another silver dollar. Kralik Also remember that he had some old stationary that he needed to use right away because he was about to change office locations and the stationary had his current address printed on it.
That morning he He decided to combine these ideas committed to write 365 thank you notes within a year. The goal was one a day. This project had a profound effect on Kralik. Later after the 365 notes had been mailed out, just about everything in Kralik’s life had improved for the better. He was able to begin strengthening his relationships with his sons. This law practice was on strong financial footing. He was no longer being sued and it was a very good chance he was going to be nominated to the Supreme Court of California. Kralik credits this remarkable turnaround with his decision to start being grateful for the things he had. This simple self-development tool can help you help yourself. John Kralik can testify to that.
Robert Stephen’ s story offers great examples and tips of how you can use the difficulties you face every day as an opportunity to start your own business, improve the organizations you love, or become more successful at work. In the mid-1990s Stephens saw that technology was going to be one of the most important industries moving forward.
He also recognized that the difficulties of providing service to the technology economy was a exceptional place to start a business. You may never have heard of Robert Stephens, but I guarantee you you heard of the company he started with $200 and a bicycle straight out of college. Believe it or not this was the modest beginning for the largest tech service company in the world. The Geek Squad is the installation and service end of Best Buy’s multibillion-dollar electronics business.
Robert Stevens started the geek squad.with simple idea “be nice and fix it.” Before the geek squad and Robert Stevens, the technology service industry have that reputation for being arrogant. Stephens recognized this difficulty and turned it into a successful business. By the time Best Buy agreed to buyout Stevens, the business he started on a bicycle with doing over $6 million a year in service related sales. Stephen television to turn that simple philosophy of “be nice and fix it” into a worldwide industry and with this merger with Best Buy this dream came true. Stephens You can learn how Stephens turned this service related difficulty into an opportunity.
You can also learn how you can learn 4 steps to turn your challenges and difficulties just like every successful individual, company and organization has throughout history. By identifying difficulties entering them into opportunities.
