I’ve been speaking for 10 years.
I’ve been speaking professionally for 8 years.
There’s a difference.
It has been a fun week for yours truly. I spent a few days in Scottsdale for the National Speakers Association “Influence” annual convention.
At this convention, I received my CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) award for the class of 2025.
Staying true to my core philosophy that the world needs more hugs and pushups.
I say this with complete humility: the award is not easy to get.
It requires a minimum of 250 paid speaking engagements over the past 10 years, 5 years of generating xyz amount of income, testimonials from 20+ previous clients and an independent peer group reviewing multiple keynote videos to make sure you're "CSP caliber."
Not easy, but worth it.
Afterwards, walking around the convention, I had conversations with a lot of other speakers. Many of them are new(er) to speaking and asked me for "advice."
Side note - this is weird for me. I feel like I'm still relatively new to speaking! 😊
And when people asked me for advice, I'd sometimes ask them:
"Do you want to be a speaker or do you want to be a speaking professional?"
When I first started speaking about 10 years ago, I treated it like a hobby.
I was interested in doing well but I wasn't really committed to excellence.
I thought building a business meant I could pay my bills.
I believed I deserved to be on stage.
But somewhere in that first 2-3 years, my mindset shifted.
I wanted to be a speaking professional.
Between you and me, the CSP award was never the goal. I didn't even know what it was until a couple of years ago.
The award was the byproduct of a mindset shift that is necessary for high-level success in anything.
Are you approaching your aspirations like a professional? Interested or committed? Status quo or excellence? Deserve it or earn it?
The Norm or Outperform?
This mindset doesn't mean giving up your life - that's the ridiculous stuff you see on social media. If you've been here for a while, you've know I've had plenty happen off the stage in the last 8-10 years.
I've lost both parents, gotten married, moved to CO, taken a bunch of trips, and still had time to do some crazy races.
It is about approaching life with intention, dedication and discipline.
You never know where this mindset may take you. 💯
Keep Outperforming,
