Bridging The Gap From Abandonment To Abundance With Les Brown

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I think there has to be an educational process to break the cycle for the collective consciousness of white people that black people are human. When you don't recognize somebody's humanity, you can do anything to them.

Yet attitude means how can I proactively change the way I think? How can I proactively increase my life? How can I proactively create better relationships and better work situations for me to enjoy it and welcome to the Gap. The Get Attitude Podcast the Gap Bridging the gap from who you are to who you want to become and bridging the gap from where you are to where you want to go. Hello, my name is Glenn Bill, founder of the University of Attitude, keynote speaker, author of the number one international best selling book the ABCs of Attitude. And I've been so fortunate to help tens of thousands of people across America and throughout the world Get Attitude. Attitude the secret formula to success in your business and in your life. And this podcast is going to help you get yours. So let's get some. All right, I want to welcome everybody. Please remember to subscribe, rate, review and follow us on Facebook. Follow us at the Get Attitude Podcast on Facebook. Check us out at the University of Attitude. Also on Twitter at the U of Attitude. Today we are going to have a very special 8:46 interview with the one and only Les Brown. I'm going to introduce the 846 interviews right now because on May 25th, just a few short months ago and my how we forget our country changed and it changed forever. And it changed because George Floyd was publicly killed in an event which was filmed and witnessed for us all to see in real time. He was unable to breathe and he was tortured for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, unable to speak what was on his mind, haunting all of us to come to grips with the time frame of his suffering. These 846 interviews are meant to help us all grasp the amount of time that George Floyd suffered and to give a voice to his black brothers and his black sisters for that amount of time for which he could not express his feelings or his words. Today we are with a great leader, a great influencer A great activist and the world's foremost motivational speaker. And he is here to express his feelings in this time frame in order to discuss his race story, his thoughts on change, and his advice for the future. A brief introduction. First, this is a transcendent man. Les Brown has been my mentor for 31 years. For over 50 years, he has transformed the lives of people of this planet. Being dubbed the world's number one motivational speaker, Rising above poverty, racism, setbacks, divorce, loss and tragedy, terminal cancer. He is living proof that everyone's dream, including yours, is possible. He is literally known by millions for his innate ability to show how you recognize your hidden greatness and how to unlock your untapped power that lies within you.

You will fail your way to greatness. Most people allow their fear of failure to outweigh their desire to succeed. When you're willing to fail again and again and again, when you make up your mind to become unstoppable, when you make up your mind to become a no matter what person, then that will then give birth to a part of yourself that you don't know right now. Imagine, if you will, being on your deathbed and standing around your bed, the ghost of the dreams, the ideas, the abilities, the talents given to you by life. And that you, for whatever reason, you never went after that dream. You never acted on those ideas. You never use those talents, you never use those gifts. And there they are, standing around your bed, looking at you with large, angry eyes, saying, we came to you and only you could have given us life. And now we must die with you forever.

And we are ready to go. I'm living my dream. And Les Brown, let's get started. Welcome to the Get Attitude podcast.

Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here with you. And I want to thank you for the work that you're doing helping people to get an attitude about living a larger life, interrupting the life that they're now living, and exposing them to the next greatest version of themselves. Thank you for who you are and how you're showing up.

The one paradigm I've been challenged to try to do that I felt deep in my soul is this thing called racism, this thing called how do we bring all this together? And I felt like when I look at racism and the white race and the black race, my message to white America has been, you need to stop looking at black folks as black folks, and you need to look inside a black man or a black woman and understand there is a story inside there. There is a story inside their nervous system. That has created what I believe is this disconnect between the races and. And what I'm trying to do with the 846 interviews is to get the stories out. To get the stories out that affect your nervous system, to help America understand that there's been some bad stuff that's gone on, especially for black folks. And that's why I want to start this 8:46 interview. So I'm going to ask my first question. We're going to set the clock. Is that okay?

Yes, it is.

All right, Very good. So, Jason, go ahead and set our clock. Are we counting up or down? We're counting up. Okay, here we go. So here's my first question. Les, if you could please share with me. And remember, I only got 8:46. We're going to talk after this. Your personal or shared racism experience in that story. How old were you when you experienced it? And how did it make you feel?

Thank you very much for this opportunity to share some time with you and your audience. I was five years old. I remember it very well in my book called you'd've gotta be hungry. It's one of those special moments that created a hunger for a different life, for a larger life. I was downtown with my mother. I'm one of seven children that she took in as foster kids and then adopted. And she left my brothers and sisters with the neighbors. The neighbors said, we can't handle Leslie. He's a little touched in the head because I was a kid with a lot of energy. And so mama took me with her downtown. And it was around 94, 95 degrees in downtown Miami. And I was thirsty, and I let her hand go, and I ran and started drinking from a water fountain. And all of a sudden, my mother grabbed me by the neck and she threw me on the ground and started punching me and the face and the head. And she said, don't you ever do that again. Do you hear me? Don't you ever do that again. And I said, mama, please, Mama, it's me. And all of a sudden, a white policeman came, and he had this billy club in his hand, and he kept hitting it. He said, okay, you don't have to whoop that little nigger boy anymore. Now he's learned his lesson. And he walked away, and he was laughing, and I was crying. And my mother, she picked me up and she said, leslie, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. She said, that water fountain is for whites only. When I saw that white policeman, his face turned red and he Unbuckled his. His nightstick to beat you with it. Had he hit you with that billy club, he would have to kill me. And I would have left you and your brothers and sisters to raise and fend for yourselves. And she started crying. I said, mom, it's okay. You didn't hurt me that badly. My eye was swollen, my lips was bleeding. But I knew then Martin Silman, in his book called Learned Optimism, he said, between the ages of 0 and 5, we know what's available to us and what's not available to us. And I knew then that I was living in two worlds and that there were certain things that just were not available. I. I knew then why, when we got on the bus and the seats were available in front, black people were packed in the back, and there was a yellow line on the floor. And Mama said, keep moving, Leslie. I said, mama, there are seats up here. Did you hear me? I said, keep moving, boy. Keep moving to the back of the bus. And so those types of experiences, seeing signs on Miami Beach, Jews, dogs, and coloreds not allowed. Living in an environment that is designed to destroy your sense of self, systems that are placed to hold you down and oppress you and take away your dreams and your purpose of life. And so coming in that kind of environment, that's why when I say in my book, you got to be hungry.

That.

You'Ve got to go all in, that you have to be, as George Washington Carver would say, do what you can where you are with what you have, and never be satisfied, that in order to make it, it will take everything in you. The Federal Reserve out of St. Louis said stunningly in this article they had two weeks ago that a white high school dropout will create more wealth than a black college graduate who graduates with all type of debt because of how the system is designed to oppress us, to hold us down, to prevent us from living a larger life.

And let's talk about if you could. That's beautiful, and thank you for your story, because that's what we're trying to get to. This happened. If you could become king of America and change something right now to solve this, what would the one change be that you would mandate that could possibly solve this.

One? I think there has to be an educational process to break the cycle for the collective consciousness of. Of white people, that black people are human. When you don't recognize somebody's humanity, you can do anything to them. There's a quote that I believe is very important. That change will never come about until those who are Unaffected are as outraged as those who are affected. Justice takes place. There are three factors involved. They're the victims, they're the perpetrators, and they're the witnesses. And the question is, which is worse? And the answer is the witnesses. Because at any point in time the witnesses always outnumber the perpetrators. They could step in, stop it, and they don't like this show. You've decided I'm not going to be a witness. Evil prevails when good men and women do nothing. There's a reckoning that's taking place in America and around the world that most people were just witnesses. They saw it, they knew it was going on and they did absolutely, absolutely nothing. And the George Floyd killing has triggered something that people saw it and that that sense of humanity. There are some people that it didn't touch at all. I had one guy send me a text saying, well, we got rid of one that won't be breathing and polluting the air. But there's some people of conscience who said, this is wrong. And as a result, there are demonstrations that are taking place not only nationally, but globally. People standing up in United Voices who are as outraged as those of us that have been victims of this injustice that's been going on.

So what do you feel white people need to do or what do they need to hear?

Jane Elliott, have you ever heard her? Are you familiar with her work?

I am, yes.

Yes. I think we need more. Jane Elliott's because prejudice is taught. I remember asking my mother, don't you ever be like them? Don't you ever be like them. God is love, and he who dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in them. Don't you ever be like them. And so she's right that prejudice is taught. When I was living in Vegas, my next door neighbor, he trained elephants in Vegas and he brought his little boy over. He was like 2 years old and his boy, little son. As I came approaching closer to them and said, what's his name? His name was Jay. And he said nigger. And so he didn't come here with that word in him. He was taught that there's a nigger living next door. And so it's going to take some education to create a shift in the collective. When you have a country that no rights, which black people have, no rights in which a white man has to respect, or these people are three quarter human, I mean, who does that? And so my mentor, I asked him that question again, why do they hate us so much? And he said, they have to, they have to that's how they see themselves and how they want to live their lives. And so I think that education is important, very much so, in creating a shift not only how whites see themselves and how they treat us, but also because of the damage that has been done to us and how we see ourselves, that once self hatred is put in place, it takes on a life of its own. Like we see in Chicago, that when you disrupt and disconnect people from their sense of humanity, anything goes. The work that I do is design. One, to give people a larger vision of themselves beyond their circumstances and indoctrination and their vision of themselves. Two, to decrease the level of unconscious self loathing that shows up in how people interact with each other. And three, increase our sense of worthiness, where we come to believe that life is God's gift to us, regardless of our paint job and how we live our lives is our gift to God. I remember white supremacists on Larry King. Larry King asked him, why do you hate black people? He said, because they're black. And he said. And he said, and I'm white. He said, well, what did you have to do with your being white? And he said, what? He asked, what did you have to do with your being born white? And he didn't have a question. He just stood there silently and the conversation ended. This is a strange time, a long time coming, and very interesting.

Well, it is. And what's interesting is how little we hear and how less often we see what happened right on that fateful day in May. And you can almost feel it slipping away. And my goal is to continue to put it in front of people because I think it was a catalyst to something that could be beautiful. Let me ask you, this is not a trap question, but do you think all white people are racist either in some degree or more or maybe to a large degree? Is that a blanket statement that you would. I think there's a lot of people, black people, that think that's true. So I'd like to know what you think. And then secondly, have you. What's the greatest thing you've seen to bring in racial harmony into our country? What's one of the. Just an example of something you've seen?

Well, first of all, let me answer the first question. Absolutely not. There are a lot of white people who put themselves in harm's way, who had dogs sick on them, who went to jail, who were killed, who were beaten in defense of fighting for the rights of black people. That's happened for years. And things that I Think that helped to create a sense of harmony has been the arts.

Yes.

Played a major role in that. The. This instrument here.

Yes.

You cannot. There are some people, and I believe that they are the minority. You can watch somebody be killed and they're not moved by it.

Yes.

But the majority of people, their sense of humanity as say, this is not right. Just look at the president's press secretary. Her daughter is on TikTok. The president want to tell him, shut them down because this little young girl said, no, this man is not right. She's young. She's like 15 years old.

Yeah, yeah.

And she's taking a stand.

The. Besides the arts, I think athletics is another thing that for me has played a major role.

Entertainment is a part of it. Yes. Yeah.

There's no question. All right, well, I want to. I want to divert. Thank you for your heartfelt stories and your views on racism. I. I'm certain that people are going to listen to this and be affected by what you had to say. I do want to jump to and bridge the gap to the attitude portion of my podcast. And number one, I'd like to know what your definition of attitude is. And I'd like for you to talk about your number one attitude coach who you mentioned earlier. It's got to be Mamie, would be my guess. And what she did to boost your self confidence to do what you do today.

Mama taught me how to just love people. She tapped into that. But what really expanded my vision of myself was Mr. Leroy Washington. I went in his class one day and you know the story. And I said, I'm looking for MacArthur Stevens. And he looked at me and he said, young man, go to the front of the room and work this problem out for me. I said, sir, I can't do that. And said, why not? I said, I'm not one of your students. He said, do it anyhow. I said, I can't, sir. And the other students started laughing, saying, he's a twin. His twin brother Wesley is smart. He's dt. And he asked, what's dt? He's the dumb twin. And they all started laughing. And I said, I am, sir. And he came from behind his desk and he said, don't you ever say that again. Someone's opinion of you does not have to become your reality. And what he did, it jarred me. How we live our lives is a result of the story we believe about ourselves. When you have your program, when you speak, the books that you write, it distracts dispute and inspire. It distracts people from their Story, what psychologists call their self explanatory style. Through the execution of your presentation, you create an experience. Oliver Wendell Holmes said that once a man, a woman's mind has been expanded with an idea, concept or experience, it can never be satisfied to going back to where it was. Distract, dispute and inspire. And you inspire people. By the end of your program, with your guests, by the end of your program with your books and your presentation, you inspire people, as Mother Teresa would say, to become a pencil in the hand of God and start writing a new chapter with their lives.

What advice do you think you can give our gappers about their past and how their past can empower them in their future? What would you say to the people that are walking on the beach listening to this? You know, my group comes to the gap to bridge the gap from who they are to who they want to become. They're often in the midst of financial turmoil, marital turmoil, personal turmoil, drugs and alcohol, whatever it may be. People are coming to this because they want to help bridge the gap from who they are to who they want to be. What can you tell them? What advice can you give them about how they can embrace their past or get rid of their past and walk over that bridge and bridge that gap.

I am so glad you asked that question, because I think it's the different approaches. One of the most important things I think that all of us must do now is have a regimen for mental resolve. The suicide rate is up. It was up 32% before the coronavirus and now it's spiked. And it spiked for our children, children as young as 5 years of age hanging themselves. And. And when you think about domestic violence, the divorce rate has increased 42%. People snapping. Two little boys in a store. Guy comes in, he's around 6, 4, little boy says, hey man, how tall are you? And this guy takes a gun out and shoots them. People are snapping.

Yes.

So mental resolve is very important. That's number one. Number two, building relationships. Collaborative, achievement driven, supportive relationships with people from all walks of life. This is a global world in which we live in. And I think when you have a campaign that affirm and validate people. We live in this world where we have leadership now that things that I never thought that I would see. I was fired 50 years ago for editorializing against police brutality. It breaks my heart when I see white supremacists and Klan members. My brother, my twin brother was shot in Vietnam for this flag.

Yes.

And so when you have a fear, when you leave home, a light of a Blue light of a police car that's supposed to sworn to serve and protect you, that's there to kill you and to terrorize you. It's a very, very frightening experience. I have my sons, I've coached them on how to conduct themselves. And I think that what's going to be required is what we now see, that people are standing up and speaking out and becoming engaged. And they have committed themselves to resolve it. And I think the same level of resolve that we had in going to the moon. John F. Kennedy, in 1961, he convened his cabinet and he said, we're going to the moon. When I was a kid, if you wanted to illustrate that something was impossible, you would say you got as much chance of doing that as a man going to the moon. Because it was considered impossible. Yes. When John F. Kennedy looked to his right and as Wernher van Braun, the most brilliant German scientist of that day, what will it take for us to go to the moon? He didn't talk about budget, he didn't talk about the technology. He didn't talk about the years that it will take. He only spoke five words and he said the will to do it. Five words. The will to do it. To it. What will it take for us to begin to reduce police deadly use of force, knowing that there are no consequences for their behavior? The will to do it. What will it take for us to have juries who allow policemen to do this and the judges who give them a pass and other police officers who see it, Good cops, but they are complicit because they are silent. And they call it the blue Shield, the will to do it. And so right now we're seeing that you have white people who. One lady has lost her eye. One had his hands up, shot in the head with a rubber pallet. And these demonstrations are coming back again and again and again. What does it take to create a level of love and people turn to each other rather than on each other? The will to do it. It's not going to be easy. We have to be willing to commit ourselves through all the frustrations, all the disappointments, all the setbacks that we will encounter in attempting to change the way that we feel, function as a country, to create a new culture.

I am reminded of the Marvin Gaye song. I grew up with Marvin Gaye, and I know you used to be a dj, but remember that song made me want to holler, throw up both my hands. Did you ever meet Marvin Gaye?

I never met him. When Gladys and I were married, I met The Supremes, Diana Ross. I met him. Luther Vandross, Patti LaBelle, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. Ella Fitzgerald. But I never met him. I wanted to meet him. He was a special kind of guy.

He was the man, wasn't he?

Without any question.

I mean, the man.

Yes, yes. Very talented and very gifted and died tragically killed by his father.

Yes. Yeah. What was. What was your favorite song that he sang?

What's going on?

Yeah, there we go. Another good one. So I put on his album the other day, and it's like, made me want to holler what's going on? Mercy, mercy me.

I love Stevie Wonder's song. Love is in need of love.

Oh, yes, yes.

That's good that we need that right now.

What? So who was. I'm gonna just. Just. Just some Les Brown to peel back the curtain a little bit. Tell me who was. Who was your favorite artist and who's on. Who's on your iPad? Who are you listening to in your ears right now?

You know, I love Mark Anthony. I mean, he's a bad dude. What an incredible voice. And of course, you know, I still love Gladys. Oh, my Lord.

How do you not.

I'm having a flashback up in here. Up in here. But a person that I also admire, their singing is John Legend.

Oh, yeah. He's just. He's all over it right now.

Yes, he is. And he has consciousness, so I really love him. In common, they have consciousness and a willingness to be involved and to make a difference. I believe that Horace Mann was right when he said we should be ashamed to die until we've made some major contribution to humankind. There's no question in my mind, we live in the greatest country in the world. Are we perfect? No. But we have an opportunity to live a life that will outlive us. We have an opportunity to create a greater world for our children, for our grandchildren and our great grandchildren, and that we should be about that. The book of life says the least. That you do unto these my brethren, you do it also unto me. And so I am just so glad to still be here at 75, to be able to make my mark, to make some impact and to train the next generation of messengers of hope.

Well, I am in your power voice group. And so anybody that is listening this. If you have a story and everyone has a story, you need to get on the power voice group. You need to go to Les Brown dot com. You need to sign up on it. I got my. Look at. I got my three ring power voice right there. I copy everything I'm in your prodigy group. 20 bucks a month. Sign up for that on Facebook. You guys, you. You have an opportunity to learn from a legend. And I've been speaking professionally for 20 years, and I've gotten to where I am because of what you've taught me. But you know what I know? I know you still got more. So I sign anything you do, I sign up for it. If I see you live, Bing, I'm right on there to less. So when I told you that story about being in that school, talking to those children, one of the things that I want to do is push your legacy forward. The young people need to hear you. And it angers me, especially black folks that don't know who you are. I'm like, how in the world? But I know you got hundreds of millions of followers. I'm going, how do you not know Les Brown? But you got some.

This is going to blow your mind. The number one purchases of my material, the country of Sweden.

There you go.

98% of my engagements are white people.

Yeah. Isn't that beautiful?

White people know me because I was married to Gladys Knight. White people know me because I changed their lives. Yes. Go figure.

I mean, you just never know. What do they? I'm trying to think. I think you might have said it, that when. When. When we speak, it gets worse. But when we speak, God laughs or something like that. Have you heard? What was that? What was that quote? When I speak, man gets dumber. When I speak, God just laughs. Something like that, right?

Absolutely. You just never know. All of us have an energy signature behind our voice, and so you just don't know where it's going to land. And I say, speak. Is that's what you do? Is that's the calling on your life? Do what you came here to do. Inspire. When I leave here, I want them to say, he aspired to inspire until he expires.

I love it. What we're going to do is take a very quick break, make a little money, and then we're going to come back with knowledge through the decades with the world's greatest motivational speaker, Les Brown.

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This is Glenn Bill, back with the Gap, the get attitude podcast with the world's number one motivational speaker, speaker Les Brown. And we are going to close the show with what has come to be a great little interview technique that people are talking about all over the world. And that's called knowledge through the decades. Now, Les, do you remember when you were born? Do you remember the day you were born?

February 17, 1945.

Obviously you do. What is the attitude lesson in your birth? And feel free to tell the story. It's a lot different than most people's. But what's the attitude lesson about childbirth that our gappers need to know?

That it takes your life to another place? My birth mother had to make a decision. She had twins. Her husband was away in World War II. She had to make a decision. She's going to put them up for adoption, but she would not allow us just to be adopted by anybody. She had to make a tough decision. And life is full of tough decision. It's a tough decision is a tough decision not because you don't know the answer. The tough decision is a tough decision because you know the answer. And most of us don't have the courage to do what we know. And she knew she could not raise us, she could not keep us because she was married. And so she had to get rid of us. And she waited until she found the right person who said, I'll take good care of them. And she asked, will you promise not to separate them? And our adopted mother said, I'll never separate them. I told you, I swear to God, I'll take good care of them. So life is full of tough decisions.

Yes. And Wesley is your brother. Is he still with us?

Yes, Wesley. He did two tours in Vietnam and we talk every day. And he is a character. He's a speaker as well, and very talented and gifted.

And have you ever met your father, your natural father?

I've never done a search for my natural father or birth mother. Mama's love has been so encompassing. At Father's Day time, I gave Mama A Father's Day card as well. I used to do celebrations on Father's Day. And I said, for men who protect and provide for their families and for mothers who serve as fathers. So I recognize mothers who've been serving as fathers for years. And I said, please come out and leave the sperm donors at home.

I love it. I love it. Leslie, I want you to think, now you're 10 years old, I want to know. That's probably third grade. What city were you in? What were you doing at 10? Do you remember your teacher? And what was the attitude lesson of being 10 in 1955?

My mother a home, and I was in the 10th grade. I wanted to buy her a home. I was working in this home, the Sidorsky's, And I promised my mother that I would buy her a home when I became a man. She said, you don't have to do that. And I looked around these big, beautiful mansions. I said, mama, you deserve this. We had fans, they had air conditioners. We had linoleum on the floor. They had carpet. And I wanted to experience that. When I was a kid, there was a program called. Who came around families and gave them a million dollars every year. That was my favorite program on television. And I wanted to be able to buy my mother a home. And I was going to earn a million dollars to do that. I bought her four homes before she passed.

That's beautiful. Let's take you up to 20 years old then. 20 years. Did you go to college, graduate from college, graduate from high school? Tell me what you were doing at 20.

I graduated from high school when I was 18 years old. When I was in the fifth grade, I was labeled educable, mentally retarded. Put back from the fifth grade to the fourth grade, I failed again. When I was in the eighth grade, I became a disc jockey. I wanted to be involved in radio. I was just fascinated with a guy named Paul Harvey who did a program called the Rest of the Story. Good day. Yes, and I enjoyed listening to him. And a guy named Milton Butterball Smith. And I wanted to be a dj. And that's that signature message has allowed me to speak in over 51 countries. Look out, this is me, LBPP, Les Brown, your platter playing Papa There were none before me and there will be none after me Therefore that makes me the one and only Young and single and love to mingle Certified bona fide and dubiously qualified to bring you satisfaction and a whole lot of action look out, baby, I'm your love man I was hungry. I was A bad dude back in the day.

Oh, let's drop us some OJs right now.

That's right. You know, the OJs. Oh, yes, man. That first record was Stand in for Love.

Oh, what was it? What was the song you just loved to drop when you were doing that? After that, what would you drop?

That.

You said, oh, now it's even gonna get better.

Aretha Franklin. Respect. Soccer to me, Soccer to me Soccer to me look out here come Aretha Franklin Coming down the rap like a natural bone. Come on, Rita, do it, baby.

And hey, and Jennifer Hudson's getting ready to play her in a movie. That's gonna be nasty.

Oh, absolutely. Jennifer's bad. Aretha wanted her to do it personally. She selected her.

Did you ever meet? You met Aretha, you said, oh, absolutely.

I talked with her three weeks before she passed. She did things her way. She operated out of the thinking of Henry David Thoreau, who said, do not go where the path may lead. Go where there's no path and leave a trail. One time she performed in New York. At Madison? No, at Radio City Hall. In a tutu.

Oh, my gosh, yes. But that's how you keep that crowd, right? That's what you talk about. I bet that crowd went, what?

Yeah. She marched to the beat of a different drummer. Yeah.

What attitude. Well, I guess you told me her attitude. Blaze your own trail. She had no fear. She knew she had the pipes, too.

She had the pipes. Aretha and Gladys had their own personal competition. Gramps was what they call Gladys, mother. And she came home one day and she saw Aretha in Detroit. And she was probably around 8 or 9, and she said, gladys, there's a little girl that's got your gift. One day the two of you will meet. But she's gifted too. Her name is Aretha. And so the Pips and Gladys team always compared the two of them and their music and their performance. And they did come together several occasions.

Did they ever have a duet that was a hit?

Yeah. No, they never did a duet. But three years ago, the two of them fulfilled Gladys's desire. She wanted to do a tour with Aretha, and that was on her bucket list. And they did do it. Aretha, they had this special bond and connection with each other.

And how long were you with Gladys?

We were together for five years and.

Probably a few before that and obviously many after that. Right. Did you have children with her?

No. They'd look like little dried up raisins. We were both in our 50s.

I love this. I want to Hear the story of how you two met. She had heard you speak and fell in love. Right? Now, was that what happened?

No. I went to a concert at the Regal Theater. I remember very well. And I asked her publicist, can I come backstage to meet her? And she said, yes. And so I came back and we met and talked, and we had a chemistry, a connection. So I said, okay, you take it easy. Thank you so much for allowing me to come backstage. When I was leaving, she said, here's my number. You don't have to go publicist. You can call me directly. That's what I'm talking about. I was then at that point, becoming the captain of the midnight train.

Up in here, up in here.

I know she's going to get me for this.

I love it. All right. We went to your 20s. You were a disc jockey. That was beautiful. Thanks for doing your call on. I appreciate that. Now you're 30. Do you remember being 30? Do you remember your 30th birthday? Where were you? What city were you in and what was going on?

Columbus, Ohio. And I hired a guy named Mike Williams. He wrote the book called the road to your best stuff. He said, hey, Brownie. He knew this Brownie that you now look at, I did not know existed. He said, do you know why you go see zig Ziglar and Dr. Norman Vincent Peale and Robert Schuller? I said, yes, because I love their message. He says, no, not just because of that. He said, that's who you are. You're looking at your destiny. That's what you do. I said, mike, I don't have a college education. I never worked for a major corporation. He said, all of us are born the same way. Dumb, naked and speechless. You can learn. And he became my mentor. And so I became a community activist and ultimately I ran for the Ohio legislature after I was fired from radio for editorializing against police brutality when police beat a Vietnam veteran holding his four month old baby while at the Kahiki restaurant over a dispute about the bill. And they beat him while he held his baby.

Unreal. So the attitude lesson when you're 30 is find a mentor.

Yes.

Yes. Which is number five on my boosters.

Because you can't read the label when you're in the box. You got to have somebody with a trained eye who can see what you can't see, who can take you to a place within yourself that you can't go by yourself.

One of my favorite lines in, you know, I got all your stuff memorized, man. Live full, die Empties. And when I was 40, life put a whooping on me.

Yes, indeed.

I mean, I used to laugh every time you said that. All right, so now you're through your 30s and now you're 40. What's the attitude lesson when you were 40?

It's a learning period. There are moments in our lives that we are, as former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier said. He said, there are moments in our lives that we all are. Like a blind man standing on the corner waiting for someone to lead us across the street, because our vision has been blurred by this thing called life. And so it's a learning period for you. And all of us go through those slumps, those moments in the Garden of Gethsemane where you need some guidance, you need some coaching, because you can't see the picture when you're in the frame. It was a growth period for me.

Yeah, interesting. Very good, very good. And then you had probably a big, beautiful 50 year old birthday party. You turn a half century. Do you remember your 50th birthday? You remember?

Absolutely. Because I used to think people in their 40s were old. When I turned 50, I thought I served at the Lord's Supper. I was, oh, my God, who does this? 50? Now that I'm 75, I believe I was shining shoes at the Lord's Supper. You know, this thing called life. Something George Burns said that I love. He said, we can't help getting older, but we don't have to get old. And I took that to heart. And I do believe that we can't help getting older, but we don't have to get old. And your attitude back to what you're doing right now. They did a study among top achievers around the world to find out what was the common denominator among them that allowed them to achieve their goals and what they found out. 85% of them because of their attitude, 15% because of their aptitude. Your attitude is a determining factor.

How do you define attitude?

How you feel about yourself, how you see yourself. And it determines how you show up in life.

Oh, you got a storm going there in Atlanta.

Yes, yes, indeed. Let's talk it out here. To my right, this is where we have trees here, one named Jabo. And we have squirrels. I speak squirrel language. I have a squirrel here named Tyrone. He's listening to our conversation. He loves when I do Zoom Calls or streamyard. Since I've been in the house, I've learned how to communicate with squirrels. And I do virtual hugs for the trees next to the house.

Yeah. Tyrone saying, can you get me inside here from this big ass rain cloud getting ready to hit on me? So now tell me your 50th birthday. You never tell me what you did for your 50th birthday.

We just had a party at the house. I'm not big on birthdays.

Okay, I got you. So. So, but for 50, what you were really talking about, the attitude lesson, was what?

That you're unstoppable. That you can do more than you can ever begin to imagine. Because I sat on the sideline, Glenn, for 14 years. I didn't do what I'm doing now because I don't have a college education. I didn't believe that I can compete with people with PhDs and MBAs and years of corporate experience that I did not have. I didn't believe that I could develop the credibility to be hired by AT&T, Procter Gamble, McDonald's Corporation, General Electric, IBM, clients that I have now. And I heard a guy named Robert Group said, it's not what you don't have, it's what you think you need that keeps you from living a larger life.

There you are. That's great. Beautiful. Thank you. I'm taking all this in number 60. You made it through your 50s and you said, oh, Lord, I'm 60. Tell me what the 60s brought your way.

Prostate cancer. Ooh. And my PSA was 2,400. I asked Dr. Alfred Golson, I said, what does that mean? He said, one to four is normal. And I said, and what else? He said, the cancer is metastasized to seven areas of your body. I said, hmm. I said, can I get a second opinion? He said, yes. I said, what is it? He said, you're ugly, too. I said, you didn't call me ugly. This is a serious matter. And then he stopped laughing and said, but you got this. We determine the diagnosis. God determines the prognosis. You and God now have an assignment to figure this out. I don't believe in telling you that you're terminal. What I believe is, is that my knowledge and ability to help you has terminated. Now you need to explore some other options.

Interesting.

That has been 27 years ago.

I'll be dog gone. And so you fought through that with your 60s. You look great. You look young.

Thank you.

I mean, I love the 1980s. You got the 3 inches movie called.

House Party, and it was Kid and Play. I'm kid. So you don't have here in your head because grass don't grow on a busy street.

There you Go right.

I hear you ladies call that sexy.

And it seems. And I don't know, Les, you've had such an unbelievable life, but this book called you gotta be hungry. I know this was 20 years in the making. It's a can't put down book. Every time you start, I mean, here's what I do. I just open up a page. I'm like, damn, he's good. How am I ever going to be the next Les Brown? And I know that there is never going to be a next Les Brown.

I'm going to go beyond me. We got to share the stage together. That's on my bucket list. When I heard you, we got to do it together this year.

You. I mean, a real stage.

Yes. I'm talking about where people.

Yeah. You call my ass and I'll be there. I don't care. I will. I'll charter a plane if I can get on a stage with you. I don't care where you are. I will be there. You give me 24 hours. Somebody drops out on you, you need a speaker next to you, I'm there. Doesn't matter what it costs.

I'm gonna call you on it.

Oh, don't you worry. I'll be there. Quickly, let me get to your 70. So what I was getting at is, my gosh, I almost feel like you're, like, encapsulating your greatness, you know, and. And things seem clear. And I. Les, I follow you, man. I'm all up in you. And I'm like, look what he's doing now. Look what he's doing now. And you just seem more highly organized and pro. I mean, you've always been prolific, but just getting out your legacy in a different way than I've ever seen you. So just curious, the attitude lesson for being in your 70s or being 75, what's your attitude now?

My attitude is we should all be committed to doing what we came here to do. Some people know early on why they're here. Nina Simone, the jazz vocalist and pianist, she climbed up on a picture piano stool at 5 and start playing the keys. Frank Sinatra. He said something that I love very much. He said that you want to live each day as if it were your last, because one day it will be. And when he performed, when he was in a movie, he only did one take. He would not do two and three take. He gave it everything that he had each time. And so when I was preparing for you, I listened. And I don't take this for granted. There are people who are listening who need something now that will give them hope. When there's hope in the future, that gives you power in the present. So this stage of my life, it's about going all in in. It's about mastering what I do. It's about operating out of the thinking of Henry David Thoreau, who said, do not go where the path may lead. Go where there's no path and leave a trail. And so that's what I'm up to now.

I like it. And then just give us a little bit. What are you most proud of about the book? You gotta be hungry. And what's your favorite thing in there?

There are three things that I talk about in there that you're going. This is a different kind of book. I say we have a public life, we have a private life, and we have a secret life. And most of us never share our secret life. There's a book I read once called why I'm Afraid to Tell youl who I Am because you might not like me. And that's all I've got. And I talked about being prescribed opiates, and my kids did an intervention. I was taking 75 pills a day. I could have died. And there are two types of drug addicts. Those who are seeking drugs and those who are prescribed drugs. And I was prescribed these drugs. And I did not know that I was addicted until my children. I was in University Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, for nine days, and I had no idea. And when my second oldest son drove me to my youngest daughter's house, I saw these cars. I said, is there a party? What's going on? He said, dad. He said, you'll see when you get inside. I got inside, I saw my mentor, Mike Williams, and I saw two people that I did not recognize. My children were there. I said, hey, this looks like an intervention. I said, I am the intervention king. I said, who's it for? And they said, you. I said, what do you mean you are addicted to opiates? I taught all of you never to drink or smoke. And my youngest daughter got up in my face and she said, daddy, you taught me you can't see the picture when you're in the frame. You are addicted, and we are going to have you committed to a drug program. Man, I was furious. I was angry, and I cried like a baby. I went to each one of them. Do you look at me and tell me that I'm addicted? Yes, Daddy. You can't read the label when you're in the box. This is very painful for us. I talk about in the book, man. And what I went through is a living hell. But I felt I needed to do that, that it would help someone. I did it cold turkey.

That's because you're a tough ass, man.

You got that right.

Driven by God.

Yes.

Huh? Yes. You feel him in you.

Yes. I'm here because of his grace and mercy.

So I. And I want to tell you, I don't want to be you. I want to be as influential as you.

Yes.

And I've been on this quest to be America's number one attitude keep keynote speaker. And you know what? I'm making headway. And then Corona hit and I had to lose 16 gigs. But I.

No, no, no, no, no, no. You did not lose 16 gigs. Right. You now have the opportunity to do 30 gigs.

Virtually correct. Yes.

And I'm doing them the career thing. And it shall be established unto you. I'm doing more engagements for from home than I did on the road around the world.

Amazing. But you missed the stage. You got to, because that's where you belong.

I love the challenge of talking to this little green camera light that's looking at me. I love the challenge of imagining the audience and to transform them individually and collectively. I came here to speak. If I have to look at a green light and do it, I'm going to do it. If I have to talk to a pack of cigarettes, I'm going to do it. I came to speak, and I don't care what the platform is. I came to speak. I talk in my sleep.

Amen. Amen. So tell me and tell our gappers, how am I. I'm going to be selfish because it's my podcast.

Yes.

What would be the two or three things I should do better or I should do more or what would you say, Glenn? Bill, you're doing a lot of good things, but here's what you better get done in order to hit it big like me. What would you tell me?

Well, Glenn, first of all, I'd like to interview you on my Facebook Live and do the honors to you as you're doing to me. And I'd like to personally endorse you. I want to be your John the Baptist. Thank you. We all need one. I could have gotten here faster if the guys at the top would have endorsed me. Because endorsement brings credibility and it brings an audience.

Yes.

And so I would use my name and my reputation to promote you nationally and globally and do a video to support what it is you're doing and find out more who your audience is. And I'D like to do events with you so we can do it together.

God bless you. Thank you. I'll let you. I'll let you.

It is my honor. Let's make it happen. It is my honor.

We will change things.

All things work together for good. For those who love God and for those who are called according to his purpose. We are called according to his purpose.

Amen. And then for our gappers not to be selfish, for our Get Attitude podcast listeners, for our gappers who are standing at the bridge trying to get from who they are to who they wish to become, trying to get from where they are to where they want to go, what is your message? To help them walk across that bridge and bridge that gap.

I will take them to Lion King Simba. You are more than that which you have become. And I say to those of you that are listening, the reason that you're listening to this program is that you know that you're more than that which you have become. You know that it's time for you to step out of who you've been, to step into who you are, to become. You know that you are a masterpiece because you're a piece of the master. You know that there's a hunger in you, a story that's in you. And as Maya Angelou said, there's nothing as painful as an untold story buried in your soul. And you know it's time. Corona has taught us that life is fragile. You know it's time and you are hungry. That's why you're listening to this program.

Amen.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Amen. And drop the mic. Boom. He's leaving on that midnight train to Georgia.

Don't you quit your day job, boy.

Hey, I know you're getting some singing lessons. I'm working on it.

Yeah, you gave it your bugs, then.

That is. That is the world's number one motivational speaker, my good friend, my mentor, my leader, my guide for 31 years. Started out in a 1977 silver Ford Fairmount with an eight track cassette of this man with some plastic ass, red seats. Driving around the city, trying to make my living in real estate, listening to Les, helping me become who I know I am meant to be. I hope Les has helped you gappers feel the hunger, feel the power. Feel the belief in yourself, because you are listening to this for a reason. You're listening to this because you want to become something more and you want to get somewhere more. Les Brown, I love you. I love you so much. Thank you for honoring us and being our last podcast of my very first season.

I love you and I appreciate it. And I'm looking for us to change the world together.

We're going to change the world one attitude at a time. And you said, glenn, it's going to take too long. Do it 10,000 people at a time.

Right?

That's what you told me when we met last time. Okay, I'm gonna need you to just hold on real quick. And we are gonna call this. This is Glenn Bill with a Get Attitude Podcast, featuring the great Les Brown, attitude booster number 10. Be a part of something bigger than yourself, and we will see you on season two. God bless you all. This podcast is a part of the C Suite Radio Network. For more top business podcasts, visit c suiteradio.com.