Sit Your Behind Down
A standing ovation is the crowning achievement for any speaker, and I’ve had the opportunity to experience both sides of the ovation fence. Both spiritual and business speakers have made me feel like I could run outside and scale a mountain. On the other hand, I know what it’s like to be on the platform and move an audience to their feet with elation. The athlete in me liken the experience to making the winning shot of a game. However, I’ve learned that the true measure of a successful speaker/coach, is not in bringing people to their feet, or inspiring them to think outside the box. The true measure of successful personal growth is hidden in making them sit down!
Big Speaker Fees
Now wait a minute before you surf away! Let’s examine the personal development space together so you know why the statement “Sit Your Behind Down” is important in our quest for success.
The ironclad thought for the speaking industry are the bigger the fees, the bigger the success. This thought applies to both motivational and spiritual speakers. As a result, the personal development industry has mushroomed into a multi-billion dollar industry. Both success motivation and spiritual thought-leaders are commanding hefty fees for their services because they serve a tremendous need for the human soul.
An undeniable truth for human development and growth is that we were created to feed our appetite for success, which contributes to the phenomenal growth of this industry. Thanks to social media, motivational speakers and thought-leaders are popping up out of nowhere, and people now have access to more personal development and inspirations for faith than ever before.
With the touch of an app, we can access positive, uplifting messages that lift our soul to new heights. Technology has also created a new breed of coaches to help us get our message out faster and more efficiently. Their services are in demand because we live in a society with technology that moves at the speed of light, and people need help in leveraging its potential.
There are so many coaches in the market that coaches have to have coaches to help them determine their fees for their programs and services. Again, their services are needed, but we must understand that the true measure of our message is not about our fees. Neither is it about moving people to their feet within a moment in time. Automating our systems to reach the masses is important, but the true measure for success in the personal growth space is about anchoring the human soul to a higher purpose.
Affecting change
We’ve come to a cross-road in the personal development/speaking industry. Both motivational and spiritual leaders must ask, why is the world slipping into a purposeless abyss when we have an abundant access to resources for inspiration and motivation?
Asking this question must inspire coaches to re-examine their strategies to help clients achieve their goals. Collectively we must realize that it’s not in what we do for the moment that affects change. It’s what we do to aid in the process of helping individuals feed their appetite for success, without falling victim to their appetite for power.
If we truly desire to affect change, we must heed this warning.
Anytime the quest for success is the ultimate aim, safeguards must be built around the human soul to guard against the appetite for power.
We cannot forget that power without purpose is the perfect recipe for a dysfunctional character.
Speaking of perfection! Meeting planners are looking for the perfect speaker, while speakers are looking for the perfect fees. Coaches are looking for the perfect systems and strategies to get their message to their clients, while clients are looking for the perfect coach. Somehow in all this search for perfection, we have failed to realize that perfection without purpose is chaos.
Sure we might make a lot of money in our climb up the ladder of success, but it does not guarantee that we will move the needle of purpose to affect change.
Self-government
Hours before his death on November 9th 2014, the late Dr. Myles Munroe stated in his final message,
God never created mankind to be governed externally and the further we move away from self government, the more destruction we will experience.
Without argument, we live in a society where gifted people abound, but the biggest problem we have is a self-governing issue.
The soul of humanity is moving toward self-destruction and our society is a time bomb waiting to explode. If coaches and speakers fail to start solving problems that’s bigger than their pockets, the self-development industry will implode under the dysfunctions of the human race.
If we truly want to create wealth and affect change, we must follow the words of Philip Kotler, professor at the Kellogg School of Management.
Beyond wealth creation and shareholder value is an unlimited resource to create a better world and a lasting legacy for business-people around the globe, its called purpose.
It’s noble to climb the ladder of success and receive the best the world has to offer. However, we must find a solution to help the human soul embrace self-governing strategies in the quest for success. Making big fees will benefit our family, but when we help individuals master the skills it takes to govern their life with purpose, society benefits.
An invitation to sit
Every speaker longs for the invitation to speak, and I’m no different. However, years of experience and research has taught me that one of the most important invitations is not one to stand on a platform, but an invitation to sit in the presence of a King. In short, I’ve learned to sit my behind down in the presence of the King, and my motivation to inspire a New Breed of Achievers rest on this thought.
I know! I Know! You are probably thinking; what in the world does an invitation to sit in the presence of a king have to do with success?
In many cases, you would be hard pressed to find your top speakers or coaches even mention the throne of a king and success in the same breath. It’s ironic that you will rarely find a picture of a throne hanging over a desk as a reminder of success and motivation. At the same time, many who climb the ladder of success cannot deny that their accomplishments make them feel like they are sitting on the throne of their kingdom.
The concept of the throne and success shouldn’t be strange, but we must understand how to use it to create dynamics that will help us to rewrite the codes for achievement.
If order to solve this dilemma of throne and success, we must look to the number one best-selling book on success – the Bible. Hebrew 4:16 declares,
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need.
What you do to climb the ladder of success is small in comparison to what you become in your journey to the top.
The above scripture is more than instructions for religious exercises. It’s an invitation to solve one of the most complex problems in the field of human development and growth where the pursuit for success stirs the appetite for power.
You must remember that to pursue success is human, but to allow the appetite for power to rule your soul is animalistic.
The harsh reality for the human race is that we live in a universe with laws that does not respect our religious belief. It will correspond to how you posture yourself around the governing influence that determines the destiny of humanity.
The universe was built for one governing influence that speaks loud and clear to the soul of humanity.
Dr. Myles Munroe also stated that when the problem meets the gift, wealth is the result. As speakers and coaches, we must realize that the new wealth in human development and growth is when we use our gifts to help individuals solve the self-governing issue.
We must repurpose our message to inspire a New Breed of Achievers who have an action-plan to feed their appetite for purpose. By doing so, they will safeguard their soul against their appetite for power, and bear fruit that benefits the human race.
The focus for personal development must shift to helping people become more purposeful in their quest for success.
Check out the video for a quick lesson in the three most effective self-governing strategies for success.