Who’s Your Favorite Motivational Speaker?
If you can’t answer this question, this story is for you.
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“Who’s your favorite motivational speaker?”
“Mmm, I don’t know? Don’t have one…”, I shrugged.
“What!? Ahhh man — alright, I’ma send you some names to look up.”
For years, Edgar tried to get me into this self-development stuff. He’d invite me to watch someone speak, or every now and then he’d leave a book on my desk for me to read. Each time he’d pass something my way, I’d thank him, but then for some reason, I’d let it slip.
“You check out that link I sent you?”, he’d ask.
“Oh man, not yet. I got caught up… I’ll check it out tonight though!”
It’d be the same story, every time.
Edgar was my supervisor when I worked for an after school program. Back then, I was unpolished and relatively inexperienced. Early on, we’d discover that we had similar interests like hip-hop music and shoes, and over time we became really good friends.
I’ve always thought of him as a mentor. He taught me to build relationships, how to read people, and how to see things from multiple perspectives outside my own.
Nearly everything that I know today about self-awareness and people skills, in my mind, I credit Edgar.
One day, he was helping me think through a tough situation at work — I ran into a problem with a parent of a student in our program. Like always, he’d encourage me to look through different lenses. This time was no different and his advice opened my eyes to potential solutions.
“Mr. T…”, that’s what I used to call him, “…how’d you learn how to think like this?”
“From self-development, Randy.”
“Like, what do you mean?”, I wondered.
“All those people I keep telling you about… those speakers, those books and all that… you gotta keep learning.”
“Right, right…”, I replied at a half-confident volume.
I felt guilty because I slept on every single talk, invite, and book that he sent my way.
You know those moments when life’s trying to tell you something? It was one of those. That’s when I realized Edgar was all about trying to better himself. And this whole time he’d been trying to get me on board.
But what was stopping me?
Maybe I just wasn’t ready. Honestly, I just wasn’t mature enough to admit I had a lot to learn.
Five Words That Changed My World
I was up late one night, face buried in a textbook for an Accounting course I was taking. I loved this class, but on this night, I felt uninspired. I remember having doubts about going back to school for a new degree.
Is all this even worth it?
My wife and our baby were asleep in the room while I camped out on the couch. About an hour and a half into studying, I was done — felt like I needed a nap.
Instead, I went to Google and decided to look up some of the names and topics Edgar suggested, so I did a generic search:
‘the greatest motivational speech ever’
Okay… interesting.
First I watched a video of Denzel Washington delivering a speech at Penn — loved it. Next, I caught another video of Steve Jobs giving his famous connect-the-dots keynote at a commencement ceremony at Stanford. Both of these talks were fantastic.
Maybe I don’t need a nap yet…
Then, on the right side of the screen, I saw a thumbnail of a guy with a baseball cap on, and it looked like it was in a school auditorium setting. I noticed the video length.
14 minutes? I got 14 minutes…
I clicked on it to check it out. At about eight minutes into the video, I hit pause.
Wait a second, go back.
I restarted it from the beginning, only this time I paid closer attention. Then after watching the video twice, I closed my laptop and sat there, stunned on the couch. I was mind blown.
Wow — what did I just watch?
Five words on Google — that was all it took.
A seed had been planted.
I stopped by the branch office the very next morning to drop off some paperwork. There was nobody in, so I turned in my work and left. On my way out, I saw Edgar pull into the parking lot, so I waited for him to step out.
“What’s up, Mr. T!”
“Hey, Randy, what’s goin’ on?”
“Nothing, just turning in attendance and timecards… Mr. T, you ever heard of this guy, ET the Hip Hop Preacher?”
“Finally!”, he laughed, “…I’ve been trying to tell you about him for the longest time!”
I had to tone down my energy because I could tell he was still ramping up to his morning. But we talked for a while, going back and forth, laughing at different Eric Thomas quotes, his background story, and I shared some of my favorite takeaways.
See, Edgar always knew my family’s situation cause we were close like that. He knew I was struggling to figure out a better life for my wife and son. And the best thing is, as a friend, he showed his support.
“I’m telling you, Mr. T, things are about to change man!” I told him, nearly choking up over my words.
“Alright… we’ll see, Randy”, he challenged, “…hit me up later!”
I got into my car, buckled up, and slowly made my way out of the parking lot. In my rearview mirror, I saw Edgar checking his phone as he walked into the office.
Answering the Call
It’s been seven and a half years since I drove off that parking lot, and I haven’t looked back since. These days, I don’t see Edgar at all. We’re still friends, but I don’t work for him anymore. In fact, we don’t even live in the same city, not even the same state.
It’s been a journey.
There’ve been uninspiring mornings where I’d wake up, look at my phone to check the time and I’d want to go back to sleep, but then I’d force myself out of bed and listen to the latest talk from ET the Hip Hop Preacher. Minutes later, I’d be fired up and ready to grind.
There’ve been hopeless days where I was ready to give up. I’d feel like I was losing steam and I was just done with everything. And so I’d stop what I was doing and listen to Lisa Nichols and her transformational message. Minutes later I’d rediscover my purpose and I’d be back on track.
There’ve been frustrating nights where I’d wanna close that book and shut down the laptop because I felt like my brain was broken and I couldn’t study anymore. Then I’d listen to Jim Kwik talk about brain health and learning, and I’d be reminded to take better care of my brain.
When I looked to refine my character, John Wooden.
When the wall seemed too big to scale, Will Smith.
When I needed my genius, Elizabeth Gilbert.
The list goes on.
What’s Changed
I believe that because I added this practice to my personal culture, it changed the world for my family.
It’d be tough to capture all the ways that life has improved, but I can list a few things: I earned a new degree, learned an entirely new skillset and found a new career, and relocated my family to a better environment.
To this day, no matter what I’m working towards, even if I’ve made progress, I still look to motivational speakers for inspiration.
To You, the Reader
Listen, we don’t know each other, but if you made it this far, then I believe that our paths intersected for a reason. While this story is my personal experience, the greater message isn’t meant for me to keep to myself.
This lesson of using motivational speakers to help you on your path towards self-improvement was given to me — all I’m doing is paying it forward.
Find an inspirational speaker who resonates with you. Be receptive. Let them speak to your soul. Identify one takeaway. Think about it in the background throughout your day and work towards progress.
Whatever your goals involve for 2020, whether it’s your health, career, or relationships — consider inviting motivational speakers to accompany you on your journey.
And when you find success, because I believe that you will, be sure to pass this lesson to inspire the next person.
Randy Tolentino brings a fresh perspective and unique literary style to the intersection of family culture, emotional intelligence, and personal development. He’s a tech nerd by day, designer by night, and writer by 3:00 AM. He resides in the greater ATX area with his wife, two kids, and the family husky.
