Just a little over 20 years ago, at about 2 or 3 in the morning I was flipping channels on the TV when I came across a PBS special. At about 18 - 19 years old I saw motivational speaker, Les Brown for the first time - and I was motivated. After watching that special for an hour or so, I knew even back then that I could be somebody ... that I did not have to stay in the hood. Although I did not yet know who or what I would become, I did not think it was possible for me to do what he was doing.Over the years, I bought his tapes and books, and watched him on TV if & whenever I could ... especially when he got a talk show of his own (which he describes as "the most successful talk show to ever be cancelled from network television"). When I made the decision to become a motivational speaker myself back in the fall of 2005, best believe it was in his footsteps I was choosing to follow. I set a goal to someday meet him, or at the very least, be able to afford to someday see him speak live.
This past Friday evening that goal was achieved and so much more!
Not only was I able to meet him, but I was personally introduced to him by a friend who was organizing the event at which he was speaking. When my wife & I showed up and she saw us; she took him by the hand, excused him from the conversation he was having, and pulled him over to us. I don't know what or how much my friend told him about me, but he greeted me first with a smile, a handshake, and a joke - and then he hugged me ... and as a man I am not ashamed to say I broke down.
I then presented him with a copy of my book, "FIND A WAY TO MAKE A WAY!" and before I could show him where his name was in the dedication he said to me, "When you write your next book let me know - I want to write the foreward." Then when he saw his name in my book, he told me he was honored. Later on in the evening he gave me his personal e-mail address and told me that he wants to train me to become an even better speaker.
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