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I presented my keynote speech twice to two different groups over the last month - a group of graduating grade 9 students with faces of stone and a local Toast Masters group for their year end luncheon who seemed fascinated and engaged. Boy, life as a motivational speaker really keeps the ego in check! After speaking to the grade 9 students, I was ready to quit. I'm not saying that they didn't enjoy my talk - I'm really not sure. As a rule, when you are 15 years old, and in a group of your peers, you don't show emotion - you don't smile, you don't nod your head, and you certainly don't laugh, especially when an adult is talking to you. So of course, I automatically assume the worse and think they hate me. With that kind of attitude, getting through a 45 minute speech is quite a challenge! I am told that this perception is all in my head, but I can't help it. That sort of goes with the territory - I am only as good as my last performance and unless I have my audience on the edge of their seats - and VISIBLY engaged and entertained, then I have failed.

Thank god for Toast Masters! I was chosen to be their annual year end luncheon keynote speaker this year and their response really gave me that desperately needed shot in the arm. One attendee actually came up to me after my keynote and told me that it was the best speech he had ever heard. Wow. In a discussion afterword, people were sharing their new 'Bold' goals with me and I was DELIGHTED! This is exactly what I aim to achieve from each speech - my objective with every speech is to change your attitude about what you want to accomplish in your life. To convince you that ANYTHING is possible if you believe in yourself. What a thrill it was to for me to see and hear how I might have effected the lives of a few dozen strangers - even in some very small way.

Here is a couple of short video clips from a recent speech I gave to GCA:



In my speech, I talk about the power of a strong, clear vision of your success and how that can actually create it's own reality - sometimes, seemingly without any action on your part. I think when we form these focused visions of our success, they tend to keep us on track and act as our road maps on our journeys. When we form these strong visuals, we make subconscious decisions on our journeys that support our visions. Then our visions come true, and in a way we don't even know how we did it. For many years, my vision was the cover of Popular Science magazine featuring the Cheetah human powered vehicle that had set the world speed record of 68 miles per hour. After one failed attempt in Alabama, I was finally successful in Eureka, Ca and set my own world record by travelling the most distance in 24 hours by human power in my own human powered vehicle which I named Critical Power. My vision had come true - and it came true to an extent that was even a bit freaky. I was astounded when I actually ended up on the cover of that very same magazine - Popular Science. And this happened through no action on my part, or anyone else that I know. That is what a powerful vision can do for you. I got a chance to learn a bit more as to exactly how these magical visions can effect and guide us on our journeys during a walk across a glass platform suspended 4000 feet above the Grand Canyon last week.

Helen and I just got back from a few days in Las Vegas where we took our kids Cody and Krista to a few shows. For me, it was a great chance to relax and recuperate after the brutal 90 mile Sinister 7 ultramarathon. The heat was insane - it was over 110 degrees (43 degrees C) every day! We took a day trip to see the West rim of the Grand Canyon and since we were there, decided to try out the new Sky Walk - a 20 meter glass sidewalk suspended directly over a 4000 foot drop down to the Canyon floor. It was pretty cool.