Brent Kelly shares how he grew from marathon training to speaking to 2,500 people by taking incremental stretches beyond his comfort zone. He started with Toastmasters in 2005, gave his first paid talk in 2011, and by 2017 was presenting to massive audiences. The point: think big, start small, take the next stretch.
Questions this episode answers
2004.
2005.
2011; it was a paid presentation in front of seven people.
2014; a 60-minute paid presentation in front of about 100 insurance agents.
2017.
Chapters
I heard a quote not too long ago that really says a lot. There's a lot of truth to this quote. It said, people don't resist change, they resist being changed. I think there's so much truth to that. And I want to talk about that on today's Agent Leader podcast. Hi there, friends. This is Brent Kelly with another edition of the Agent Leader podcast. I'm so glad you are joining me today, and I want to ask you a question to get you thinking at the start of this podcast, and that is this. Where will you stretch next? Maybe a better question maybe is where will you stretch first? See, I've worked with numerous organizations and businesses and individuals in the past year or so who have desired to make a positive change in their life and business. They desire to make change. And the key word there, of course, as you can tell, is desire. I think we all desire to have more, do more, and become more. But desire is not the same thing as action. See, significant growth is never comfortable. And many of us live each day and desire to stay comfortable. And there's nothing wrong with having a level of comfort in your life. In business, there really isn't. However, when comfort turns into complacency, and that is often the case, you're never going to achieve the things that you really desire in your life. I believe that growth is a series of stretches, right? Growth is a series of stretches. Every small stretch leads you to your next stretch. Back in 2004, I ran my very first marathon. Well, it's probably my last marathon as well. But back when I began my training, I was challenged nicely by some co workers. At that time, I couldn't even run three miles in a row. But after a number of consistent stretches in my training, you know, starting with a few blocks, into a mile, into three miles, to five miles, to 10 miles, to 15 miles, I was able to complete the full 26.2 miles on marathon day. Now, it wasn't fast, but I finished. But I learned that every stretch athletically pushes you a bit further, but you gotta take the first stretch now. More recently, a few weeks ago, I had the tremendous opportunity to stand on a stage and give my story in front of 2500 people. And some people have seen the video that was taken and asked me questions about it and asked you, how was I able to accomplish that in such a short amount of time in this new business? And how could I possibly have the nerve to stand up and speak in front of that many people? Well, my short answer is this. It's because I'VE been stretching for a while. I started to think back, you know, what led me up to that point that in 2005, I joined Toastmasters International. Now Toastmasters is a speaking club with locations all over the world. And over the next few years, I gave numerous speeches and table talks to learn and develop my speaking skills. I attended most meetings at 7am every other Friday. Now, I didn't look forward really to getting up early on Friday, most Fridays, but I wanted to stretch myself and I had to be prepared and ready to go every other Friday at 7am And I continued to do that over many years. And then I looked, I thought about 2011. In 2011, I gave my very first live presentation where I was actually in front of a group being paid. It was in front of seven people, but I knew that it was a great way for me to grow. I was trying to grow my insurance business to gain influence. And to do that, I knew I had to be able to get up and stand in front of people and speak and deliver value. And I continued to give more small presentations over the next few years. Sometimes I had three people in the room, sometimes maybe 15. But I had a desire to speak and gain my influence. And I'll tell you, many of those cases. I was terrified. But I stretched. In 2014, I gave what I consider my first real paid presentation. I got a real check, a nice check at the time for a 60 minute presentation in front of 100 insurance agents. And a lot of these were my peers. Again, I was absolutely terrified when I started. In fact, I almost canceled prior to the event several weeks out saying I can't do this. But I knew I had to stretch. If I wanted to get what I wanted, where I wanted to go, I had to take the initiative. And that leads me to what I brought up. My most recent speaking engagement. Now, earlier this year, in 2017, I took the plunge and I applied to have the opportunity to speak on stage in front of these 2,500 peers and mentors at an international leadership event. Now, I'll tell you, I almost didn't apply because I was intimidated by the sheer magnitude. I didn't think I was ready. However, I knew that although I had been stretching, I needed to stretch myself further. I needed to keep pushing. After submitting several videos over a period of a few weeks and practicing literally hundreds of times, I was selected to give my story and share the stage with some of the world's greatest thought leaders, including John Maxwell, Seth Godin and Paul Martinelli. Now, I'm not Sharing this to boost my ego has nothing to do with me. But it's because I know that there is somewhere in your life right now that you're listening to this that you need to stretch. There's some place in your life where you need to stretch. You've been held back due to fear or doubt, confusion. So I ask you to do this. Think big. Think really big, but start small. You know, here's what I've learned when it comes to my own speaking, is that if I didn't stretch back in 2005 at my local Toastmasters club, we're talking 12 years ago, or if I didn't stretch in 2011 in front of those seven people, or if I didn't stretch In 2013 in front of those 100 people, I never would have had the confidence or skills to stretch in front of 2500 people. See, life is a series of stretches. Every stretch pushes you forward into growth. The great psychologist Abraham Maslow stated this. I love this. He said, in any given moment, we have two options. To step forward into growth or to step back into safety. You have to stretch. You are wired to stretch. You were created to stretch and become the person that you were fully designed to be. You are equipped. You are resourced. But you have to start. No one's going to do it for you. You just have to take the first stretch. So let me wrap it up with the question I started with. Where will you stretch next? Hey, thank you for taking some time to listen to the Agent Leader Podcast again. My name is Brent Kelly and it's been a pleasure to share some of my story, and I hope this was insightful and inspirational and valuable to you and your day. If it was, hey, please go to itunes or Stitcher Radio and leave a review and share it with someone that you think may benefit from this information as well. Every episode this episode of the Agent Leader Podcast is brought to you by Agents of Growth. You can check us out@agentsofgrowth.net I look forward to seeing you again on the next Agent Leader Podcast. Have a great one.
