Each of us has a list of speakers we return to when we need a boost of energy, an inspiration for the day, an affirmation from a YouTube stranger whom we now call friend, to tell us that we are able to achieve the impossible.
Increasingly, many of us feel that without that daily dose, we are unable to function. They are the life-line, the oxygen and the one that calms the storm in our tempestuous lives.
When did God not become enough?
Or was it the mushrooming
churches and pastors that caused so much befuddlement, we needed to turn to
people who spoke a language that gave us that warmth and fuzzy feeling again,
that gave us specific direction on how we needed to smile, dress, and even
think, in order to live our best lives.
Is it possible that we are becoming addicted to this?
Is it possible that the line between our ability and our insatiable appetite to
seek advice from a known or unknown person, has been blurred and we find
ourselves incapacitated without them close to us, breathing near us, their
messages inscribed on our WhatsApp statuses and Twitter feeds?
According to Speakers Associates, the top motivational speakers, a list decided by a variety of factors, like popularity, impact, number of bookings, books sold and so on, with some subjectivity, places Oprah Winfrey at the top.
The world’s leading talk show host, first amongst firsts in
the billionaire world, media and so much.
A close second is Bear Grylls, an adventurer, writer and TV presenter who has been to the North
Pole, climbed Mount Everest and crossed the Pacific Ocean in a rowboat.
Nick Vujicic, an evangelist
born without arms or legs who inspires the world to continue living their best
despite their circumstances.
What is similar amongst
these? They have achieved what the world would have deemed as impossible. For
Nick, by any standard, he was not meant to become successful and yet he beat
the insurmountable odds to become everyone’s favourite chum.
Bear Grylls has borne
every possible human impossibility in extreme physical conditions and overcome.
Oprah, facing discrimination
and abuse from early childhood, has risen and continues to rise. The connection;
each of them overcame, they built brands and their life stories are highly
admirable, leaving us with the knowledge and relief that we too have it within
us.
Uncle Mo, who is easily
one of Uganda’s most intelligent comedians, says of some motivational speakers, that
we should be wary of those who speak of the possibilities of wealth, who dress
in threadbare clothes and shoes, or whose lives are riddled by debt and questionable
career reputations.
Motivational Speakers are
not above reproach, far be it.
We must agree though,
that they do hold a consistent life filled with courage, charm and breaking of
barriers, and it appears that they do it mostly for themselves. That is what
makes them appealing.
They are experts in an
area. They are learners; hungry for knowledge. They travel. And, what makes us
run to their corner of the internet most, is their ability to connect with us, as
they share their stories, their escapades and their aspirations. It’s almost as
if they seek our permission, or as if they are inviting us into their world of
winners.
I am a speaker. I’m not
sure which category of speakers. Come this Saturday, on 11 March at Silver Springs
Hotel in Bugolobi, 9am. My keynote address is on inward leadership, the inward
journey that makes the outward journey successful. The fee is only 70,000 UGX.
Great week!
Beverley Nambozo
Nsengiyunva
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