This photo of me was taken in 2014 when I won first place in the Humorous Speech Contest for my Toastmasters International district. As you can see here, I am all smiles as it was truly one of the happiest days of my life. However… What you DON’T see is all that happened behind the […]

You’ve just begun your professional speaking career – CONGRATULATIONS!! You’ve created your presentations that you’re ready to get paid for, started looking for events/organizations you can speak at, and have been passing your business card to anyone and everyone you come in contact with. Sooo…why are the engagements not happening? It could be for any […]

If you’re anything like me, you have been attending non-stop virtual meetings and events since the Coronavirus forced us all to hunker down in our homes. Online meetings are a different animal altogether than when you gather in person. Sure, there’s still sharing of information and an exchange of ideas happening, BUT – there are […]

I attended the Power Networking Conference in Houston at the end of June. This is an annual event created by Dr. George Fraser – master networker, entrepreneur, and author – where the brightest business minds converge in one place. I attended the dynamic “Art and Science of Sales” workshop by Linda Clemons, a sales and […]

My Aunt Cheryl has a big DVD collection (yes, DVDs still exist). When I go visit her, she’ll sometimes suggest a new movie that we should watch together. The movie obviously made an impact on her, or she would not have even brought it up. However, my aunt knows me well. I don’t watch a lot of movies; I go […]

“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” – Zig Ziglar I love this quote by the late great Zig Ziglar, a well-known motivational speaker and author. I think most of us have the genuine desire to be great at something, but taking those necessary steps to become great is […]

I’d bet my last dollar you’re familiar with the Transformers movies that have come out the last few years. These action films, full of explosions and unexpected twists, were directed by Michael Bay. Unfortunately, he experienced an unexpected incident of his own while promoting Samsung’s high definition curved TVs back in 2014. When a teleprompter malfunctioned, he […]

Greetings! I hope you have had a joyous holiday with your loved ones.  Christmas is my favorite holiday, and I love all the happy feelings that come with it and spending time with my family. However, I saw a social media post recently that gave me pause: “Christmas feels more like a deadline than a holiday.” […]

Omne trium perfectum. If you’re not familiar with this Latin phrase, it means “every set of three is complete” or “everything that comes in threes is perfect.”  We see examples of this everywhere: The Three Little Pigs…The good, the bad, and the ugly…Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Most flags have three colors. Groupings of three are […]

You’re not alone – when they first start speaking to audiences, many a speaker has found it challenging to come up with a topic or story from their life to talk about. It’s been said that our life is a series of moments, but I think it is a series of stories too. Stories that have taught us […]