Ep. 110 The Faithful Courage Of Dr. Nido Qubein

Hey there, Mark. This is a special day. This is someone who honored me way early in my career back in the 1990s. And I can't even believe he knew who I was because I was just a wannabe back there. But I had a moment in an elevator where he just. He filled me up. This man is not only amazing at what he does. Inspirational, motivational president of High Point University. Mark, I am. I've never got choked up before. We got to interview someone. So forget Les Brown. Forget Patricia Fripp. We're here today with Dr. Nito Cobain. Mark.

And I cannot wait to share him with our audience. I heard his name when I just got started back in 1992. He was already a legend back then, and his heart continues to give and give and give. Friends, in a moment, you're gonna meet the one, the only Dr. Nito. Kobe. Darren.

Anyone can give a present. Few deliver unforgettable presentations. What's the difference? You're about to find out. Welcome to the unforgettable presentations podcasts with your hosts, world champion speakers and coaches, Mark Brown. Mark Brown.

Your life tells a story, and there's someone out there who needs to hear it.

And Darren Lacroix. And Darren Lacroix.

Stage time.

Stage time. Stage time.

Time.

Ready for some powerful presentation, Ahas. Let's dive right in.

Well, Dr. Cobain, thank you for joining us and spending a few minutes and letting us tap into all of that wisdom that you have. I'm going to just. I'm going to. I'm going to stop rambling all over myself because I'm so excited. But thank you seriously for joining us.

Thank you. I'm delighted to be with you and with Coach Mark.

Dr. Cobain, how did you start? Because I know of the legend of you and I kind of joined you in the middle of your career. But how did you start in the speaking world?

Well, I came to America when I was a lad of 17. I came here to go to college and I could hardly speak English, didn't have any money and didn't know anyone and ended up with a small school in eastern North Carolina. Since I come from the Holy Land, there's some church asked me to go and speak. And so I went and spoke. I think it was around Christmas time, about the Holy Land. And they paid me like $10, which was, you know, a million dollars to me then. And then somebody else found out about me and somebody else's school and a church and so on. And finally I got the idea, look, if I were to Write a little booklet about the Holy Land. I think it was titled, you know, the Little Town of Bethlehem. I might be able to sell that. So I got that and we did it on mimeograph and we stapled it. And I would take it with me and I would say, you know, this is a dollar. And if you pick one up and put a dollar. And man alive, you know, like 90% of the people bought it. I'm not sure if they were in search of information or they were just trying to help a young man go, trying to work his way through college, but that's really how it started. It started with me doing these schools, then Rotary clubs, churches. It was never my intention to become a professional speaker. I was. I wanted to be an entrepreneur, a businessman, start a business, do something on my own. And then when I transferred to High Point, what was in High Point, College, now High Point, I pursued the same thing. Because, look, you could work in those days for a dollar an hour doing something, or you can get a couple of speeches a week and maybe make 30, $40 a speech. And you've capsulized your time, but you've enhanced your revenue. Lesson number one, Hello. It's called productivity and efficiency. And I began to do that. Well, Darren, here's the question. Here's the answer to the question you asked. Then I found out by then I was about 23 years old, out of grad school. I found out there's a man called Dupree Jordan in Atlanta, Georgia, had a speaker's bureau, and that he was having a showcase of which I knew absolutely nothing. But I applied and I went and they put me on the program and I spoke. And a guy called Ben B. Franklin had a network of clubs called the Executive Clubs Across America. So he would book a speaker, you would travel Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday to different towns, usually in the same state, and you'd give the same speech wearing the same black tie suit. And he paid me $200. And then he would sell me for 680, 880, whatever. And he would cover the travel expenses, the hotel out of that, and keep a commission for himself. And so out of that meeting, I discovered this guy who then went on to book me 200 times across America giving the same speech. It was called America's Youth, A Sleeping Giant. And, you know, I thought I told some corny jokes about how I learned the language, how I adjusted to this country. I would not called that even a good speech. But somehow when you're young and you have an accent, and these clubs mostly had older speakers. They found me somewhat attractive. Out of that, you know, came corporate speech and another one. But by 1977, I was by then what, 27 plus two, about 29 years old. I was doing about 200 dates across America. I was one of the busiest speakers in the country. And I was doing dates with Cabot, Robert and Bill Gove and Charlie Jones Jarvis and the true legends of this business who began it way, way back when. Out of that I perfected my, perfected my trade, I improved my speaking skills. And then it just busted on me. So I started getting, I focus on corporate, corporate market. I was getting a lot of those deals. And then in 1980, I discovered that if I only give a speech that's a limited supply, I can only make this much money. There are only this many dates in a year. But what if I extended that into consulting and I perfected sales? Presentation, sales pitch really of saying after the end of a talk, I would say to the meeting planner, usually a VP of sales or something, I would say, well, thank you very much, I enjoyed being with you, but you know, I'm not sure how much I accomplish with your team. You know, learning, learning has to be in a continuum. So see if you can. I'd like to come back and develop a program and you know what? Some bids, some didn't bite. But those who bid created for me a, a huge bounty of business. And then in 1982, Darren in Chicago, I was the incoming president of NSA. I became President 83. And I gave a presentation that was truly a powerful presentation for a number of the people that Jim Pancera will tell you that's how he began his business. Les Brown will tell you, Brian Tracy will tell you that's how. And my presentation was how to go from speaking to training and consulting. And I took one company that I had and I dissected everything from A to Z, how I met the person, what I said, copy the letter I sent them, copy the action plan I developed, copy the contract, copy. And that made a huge difference in the lives of many, which pleased me very much. And then I went on, of course, to have some of the biggest companies then you had to pay a million dollars a year, five year contracts, three year liquidated damages to have me personally, personally consult with your business. And then I developed of course, a staff and the rest is history. Wow.

Wow, that's a great story. And now in a fast forward, here you are at High Point, the college you attended. Tell us briefly that story of the going Full circle to where you are now.

Yeah. So, Mark, what happened was by the time High Point University came and asked me to become president, which is in 2004, you'll forgive me, please. But I became very successful at my trades. By then, I've already started half a dozen companies. I owned a business called Great Harvest Bread Company, 240 stores around the country. I was a major partner in a company called dots dots. 550 stores, women's clothing. Started with a couple of guys, a bank called American bank and Trust. In the late 80s. You know, I developed some serious entrepreneurial efforts. And I was going to be the chairman of the board of trustees of High Point University. High Point University was not doing well. Had 1400 students, $120 million, deferred maintenance, and the board could tell we've got some issues. So they came and asked me, almost begged me, really, if I would take over the helm. I was, Mark, I was at the zenith of my career. I was making all this money traveling the world, was getting a thousand invitations and inquiries to speak. I was picking and choosing. By then, Mark, I had a ton of promoters who were selling my programs all over the world. So you would go to Tokyo? I would just go to speak for three hours, but the promoter has already SOL sold 1500 tickets to. People come and hear me speak, and they would translate my materials. By then, I'd written books and CDs and cassettes in those days, and I would do it all over America and so on. So I was, you know, up here. But you know what? My friends, Mark and Darren, God speaks to you in all kinds of ways. And I took two or three months to think about it and pray about it. And it just kept coming at me like, you got to do this, Nito. And I asked some of my CEO buddies, and they said, well, you made enough money, you can afford to do this. I think, you know, you would change higher education if you did that. So at the end of three months, I came in and I said, okay, but I will not start in August. I'll start in January. Let me realign my businesses. I started in January 05. And it has been a miracle, my friend. If you have faith and if you have courage and you put the two together and have faithful courage, and if you know the difference between risk avoidance and risk management, and if you can answer the question, what is the worst thing that can happen as a result of this action, and find a mechanism where you can deal with that worst thing, should it ever happen, and believe in America and believe in the future of all those people you want to work with. Man, the Bible says with faith, you can move mountains. I'm here to tell you it's true. You can move mountains. In fact, you can move them with one hand. You don't even need two hands to move that mountain. And so what has happened here? Give me a chance. In a minute, I'll tell you what has happened here. Here is a story in higher education, unmatched, really. Not a week passes by. I don't do one or two major interviews. I did one this morning for a magazine called Business North Carolina goes to all the business people in the state. Everybody marvels at what we've done and how we've done it.

I've been led to understand that in a role of president, part of your job is to use your communication skills to generate donors long term, six, seven figures sometimes. And because we talking to presenters, some are emerging, some are new, some are experienced. What impact do you think good communication skills had on your efforts as president? And what nugget can you offer about how to use those skills to become unforgettable in our everyday presentation?

Yeah. All right, so this is a great question, so let me state it as loudly as I can. Your communication skills and your connecting skills with others drive the world for you in magical ways. After all, think about it. Your beliefs lead to your behaviors, your beliefs lead to results. You need coaches who can help you develop the right beliefs. Many people say, I can't speak. I'm scared to death, I'm nervous. I can never. All of these are beliefs that one has to realign and change. As Carol Dweck, the author of the book Mindset, says, you must have a growth mindset, not a fixed mindset. So my communication skills have been the currency of my success. And as president of the university, there is no question about it that I speak maybe 70, 80 times on this campus to all kinds of audiences, open houses where we have a thousand people like this coming Saturday, coming to check out the school, so to speak. I cannot tell you, I cannot measure it for you. I cannot describe it. The impact of the spoken word when it is used in the proper manner, in the proper order and in perspective. So you said, what is the one advice I would give? Here it is. You must understand the law of identification. This is the most powerful law about all of communication. I call it the law of identification. And the law of identification basically says when something becomes personal, it then becomes important. So, for example, you don't really think about a dentist unless you have a toothache. You don't think about an auto mechanic unless your car is broken. So when you speak, it has little to do with your ability to pronounce words or to order them in a way that is both poetic and extraordinary. Although those are nice things to have. It has everything to do with how and what you emote in your listener. So if your listener is sitting there and thinking about, I can't afford college, and you're talking about the greatness of your school, and the listeners think, I can't afford it, I can't afford it, I can't afford it. You're not connecting. You cannot connect. So you have to address that point very quickly and upfront and take it out of the way. You can simply say something like. Like some of you may be thinking that you can afford this school, but for now, will you hold that thought on the side? Because you will see, by the time we finish this, you can achieve anything you want to achieve. So the law of identification. How do you make what you say personal to the person who is receiving your message? The more you can make it personal. I don't mean just using their name and their company name and so on. I'm talking about really personal touch. They're very visceral. Then they're going to eat out of your hands. But let me, I mean, you guys know this better than I know this for many, many years. Of course, I was probably one of the best professional speakers on the platform in terms of the percentage of people who bought my products. And I sold a fifteen hundred dollar package sight unseen. I spoke less than ninety seconds about it. Unlike the speakers, all the, you know, the video and talk for 20 minutes and all that, people get criticized. You. I only spoke and then towards the end I said, if you've liked anything I talked about today and if you'd like to have everything that I know comes to you in a package, it has in it 60 CDs, five books, you know, whatever. And you get the package. And if you want it, just leave your business card there, I'll send it to you. And you, you know, it'll cost you fifteen hundred dollars. That's all I said. And people, not everybody bought, of course not $1500, a lot of money. But occasionally I offered it, by the way, in packages. Package H, package B, package A would be 495 or 1500. Let's say package B would be 495 or 500. And guess what? 80% or more, the people bought the bigger package which you see an endorsement that I want, what you're talking about. That's what great speakers do. They get you to feel. I got to have what you're offering. I want to be like you. I want those beliefs that you're teaching. And so the most important thing is to focus on the audience. Obviously, prepare yourself, obviously, be both substantive and substantial. There is a difference. You know, be. Be responsive and responsible. There is a difference. The greatest compliment, by the way, I ever got from somebody in my audience, actually, I got two great compliments. I've given 7,500 presentations. My fees, you know, got to $50,000 a speech, plus private airplane flight and so on. You know, I did deals with companies where they would have me speak maybe 70 full days or 80 full days. I would write materials for them and so on, and they would pay millions and millions of dollars for that. So I knew I had something that companies wanted and people wanted. But I got two really wonderful compliments. One of them was a person who came to me after a presentation. My presentations are funny, but also laden with content and also framed with authenticity. So I say authenticity above charisma any day of the week, and your audience knows the difference. You have to talk from your mind, of course, but your heart and your soul as well. And audiences can feel that in your pauses. They can feel it in your pace. They can feel it in your pitch. A really terrific speaker knows how to speak with power across an audience of 10,000 and how to whisper the words in the inner ear of every person in that audience. That cannot be just performance. It has to be reflective of how you feel. Must be authentic. So a guy came up to me and whispered in my ear, and he said, you caused me pain today, and I want to genuinely thank you for it. I said, sir, I don't want to cause you pain. He said, oh, no, in the best kinds of way, you caused me pain. You reminded me that I can be extraordinary, that I am enough, that I am my worst enemy, that I am the one blocking the pathways from my own progress. Another time, a lady came up to me and she said, said, you are a business poet. And I said, really? What? What do you mean? She said, you speak in very poetic ways. And so, you know, I use language like responsible and responsive, right? You know, language like that. I speak like that. I think part of that is because I'm fluent in Arabic, and Arabic is a very poetic language. So I think. I think somewhat poetically, and this person truly appreciated it. Gentlemen, here's the deal. The Deal is, how can you be meaningfully distinctive when you speak? That's really the question. It's not whether you are the best speaker they heard. Because if that were the case, how come some of the most boring speakers in America get $100,000 to stand up and speak? Yeah, some of them are famous, but some of them are not so famous. But they talk about things that you desperately want. If someone said to you, let me show you ways you can save money on your taxes starting this year, and I guarantee you'll save at least $5,000. You sit up and you listen. And the guy could be the whole time, and you still listen. You still take notes. So it's not just about a profound presentation. Now, if you have that, so much the better. But it is truly about being substantive in ways that people truly value what you're saying, and then they can do something about it in a meaningful way. So you have to create value. You have to interpret the value, you have to remove all the irritants, and you have to add wow to the experience. Those are the four things. So create value. In the first 30 seconds, tell the audience why they should listen to you. Your introduction should be one that provides value. I don't want anyone to think of me just as a college president, because the perception people have of a college president is some guy just wrote some books or whatever. I started businesses. I was very successful. I had thousands of employees, and by the way, I came back to serve my alma mater. Distinction is very different than differentiation. So most speakers swim in an ocean of sameness. Some of them swim in a lake of differentiation. Very few of them swim in a small pool of distinction. So how do you become a distinctive speaker who connects with his or her audience, who provides value and interpret it in a way they can receive it, they can connect with it, and who, by the way, is interesting and employs all the techniques of powerful speaking but really isn't. The question always is. When you finish speaking, will they remember you? Why do they remember you? For how long do they remember you? And will they advocate you? You can't build a speaking business if you don't have advocates. Think of it this way. You can have the greatest brand on the face of this earth. That's called brand awareness. But you must have brand preference. Enough people who say, I prefer Darin or Mark over somebody else. But then you must have brand insistence. I insist on these two wonderful speakers to help me in my career. But then you must have brand advocacy. Will they bring other people to your circle? So Ultimately, what is communication? You ask Mark, what is it all about? It's about this. Answering this question every time you speak. How must this person feel first? So this person will do what I want them to do. That's it. That's the magic for selling. And persuasion. And speaking is nothing more than the art of persuasion. You are persuading the listener to buy into what you are saying.

Oh, Darren, Darren, we had a mini workshop just now. We got a personal mini workshop from the Dr. Nedo cabin.

I keep listening and taking notes. I forget, I'm like, it's our podcast.

I've already got two pages of notes here. Look at this. This is just. This is Dr. Queen right here.

Mark, it looks like you misspelled one word there.

A true educator.

Nice. You have been defining what unforgettable presentations is. So thank you for that. Everything you've said for. If you're listening to this, that's what it takes to be unforgettable. You mentioned a speech that you had delivered early in your career where there were many of the legends of speaking in the audience. What do you think it was about that presentation that made it unforgettable and helped them change their trajectory of their business, of their perspective? What do you think it was about that presentation?

Well, you know, my answer may surprise you. My answer is not going to be intellectual because I don't think it had anything to do with that. I think I was young, I was hungry, I was authentic. I think I demonstrated faithful courage coming to America. And here I am in my 20s and had that opportunity. And I think if not directly and if not verbally, I must have communicated a desire to not just help people out, but to help them up. And there is a difference, right? So I want to help my audience up. I want to help them up in the way they think. I want to help them up in their wealth. I want to help them up in the. In their Building their circle of influence. Not just help them out. You help them out. You show up, you give a speech, you give them the five principles. They write them down, they go do them great. But to help them up is to create a genre of thought that could be applied and reapplied under many circumstances in ways that that person therefore evolves and is transformed. That's what unforgettable speakers do. They go beyond creativity. Creativity is about doing something differently. They go beyond innovation. Innovation is about doing something better. They go into transformation. Transformation is about achieving our fullest potential. And when you help me get on the road of achieving my fullest potential. I become devoted to what you're talking about and your leadership. And that's really what it's all about. In a positive way, in a healthy way. We ought to be not teachers. We ought to be enablers of learning. Measurable difference, right? Measurable difference. So I don't lecture my audiences. No audience wants to have a crusade aimed at them. The speaker stands up and says, let me tell you how you should do this. There are seven ways to do this, and if you do those seven ways, your life will change forever. Whoa, whoa, time out. You just assume that everybody in the audience is. Is. Is dumber than you are. You just assume that you are. You have been given the next set of ten commandments. I think not. So. So calm down and don't talk like that. You know, the way to talk is to say, ladies and gentlemen, in my life, I've discovered some things that have really helped me very, very well. Helped me in my retail business, helped me in my banking business. It's amazing how sometimes when you open up your eyes and you open up your ears, great things can come your way. And it's amazing when you. You are hungry to learn. There will be teachers who will emerge from everywhere and enable you to learn. That's the way I talk. And therefore the audience is not insulted. The audience wants to come into that little circle and they want to be part of that dialogue. And then when I speak, it comes across like it's truly a dialogue between two people, when really it's obviously I speak and they're quiet. And as you know, I've spoken to audience audiences of 10, and I've spoken to audiences of 20,000. And I'm not suggesting that there are not techniques, because there are. You teach them. If I'm speaking 20,000, my gestures are going to be much, much wider, much bolder. You know, I'm going to look differently, and so on and so forth. When I'm speaking to 50, I'm going to be much more gentle and genteel. But ultimately, isn't speaking about planting seeds of greatness in the minds, hearts, and souls of those who choose to listen to us? Isn't speaking really about enlightening the spirit of another in a way that can allow them to be prepared for the world as it is going to be? Isn't that what speaking really all about? A true speaker is not one who memorizes a speech and then goes stage after stage and pushes the button and gives it a really, you said unforgettable an unforgettable presenter is the one, of course, who perfected certain pieces. Obviously, if you hear me 10 times in a row, you'll hear me use some of the same funny lines seven of those ten times. So an unforgettable speaker, a profoundly expert speaker, obviously perfect certain segments of what they say. Right, Vignettes. Bill will go call them. And you perfect the lines that you deliver, and you deliver it with such perfect timing because we all know the laughter could differ tremendously based on the pause in the middle or that emphasis and so on. All of those are techniques that are worthy and worthwhile. And think of a basketball player. Basketball player will perfect these simple techniques. You know, how they swerve under the basket, how they go up here. But at all times, they have the power of focus, the power of teamwork, the mindset that says I can, and so on. Right. And they go to training. They practice three, four times a week, if not every day. And that's what we must, as speakers do.

And you talked a lot about what makes a speech unforgettable, which we really appreciate that that's what we're about. What are some of the mistakes that you say, even professional speakers make where they're trying really hard, but they're doing something that is actually hurting their credibility or their subject?

Yes. I think number one is I'm holier than you.

You can say that because you come.

From the Holy Landy thotty attitude. I'm special, and you're lucky that I am with you today. I believe in the speaker who comes across as authentic and if not modest, at least real. And that's one mistake. Another mistake is the speaker who thinks that because they were great last night, they're gonna great tonight. Doesn't work that way. You start at zero every single time you go on that stage. A third mistake is the speaker who just walks in from a green room and goes out to speak, and he or she has not had the time to stand where the audience is. See, I stand at the back of the room. I watch the people come in. I'm watching. Are they talking to each other? Are they laughing? Are they. What kind of an audience is this? A speaker makes a mistake when he or she has perfected a speech and they gave it yesterday, they're going to give it today and tomorrow, the next day, and they don't know how to tailor it and adapt it and change it to make it as if they're delivering it for the first time in their life. The speaker makes a mistake when they waste way too much time talking about the product or their service because audiences are very fluid and very smart and they feel abused. So as I told you, I leave mine to the last 10 minutes and then I say, if you've liked anything I talked about today and you'd like to have everything I know. So I'm not saying my stuff is the only stuff in the world. Those are, those are sort of some common mistakes that make. Obviously the biggest mistake of all is not to be prepared or not to know what you're talking about or to act like, you know, you're God's representative. On error. These are, these are terrible errors that people should not make. And I would say that those usually are made by novices, but that's not true. Sometimes it's the most experienced who begin to believe their own PR who think that I have arrived and they talk with that air about them instead of being very kind and loving and approachable with a crowd. And then the last mistake is the speaker who finishes speaking and bam, they're gone. You got to hang around a little bit and let people talk to you. And sometimes you do and sometimes they don't, that's fine. But make yourself available to them. Awesome.

Mark, you had a question.

Well, you know, I shouldn't ask, but I'm going to ask anyway because I'm sure Dr. Cobain has seen this. There are individuals who are building their business and they get pretty good. But part of the own PR, you say Dr. Cobain, is they'll say, well, you know Mark Brown, America's number one speaker to street cleaners. You know, Mark Brown, the ones speaker to home care workers. I've seen those websites. I know it's controversial, but what are your thoughts about that and how we market ourselves?

Well, I read in your voice that you're dissatisfied with that approach. So put me, put me down as a second to that motion. I think it's a huge error in judgment to call yourself number one anything unless a distinguished source called you that, in which case you can quote them in your material. If Time magazine says you're one of the 100 more influential people in the world, even though some of that is political and Mickey Mousey. But you can say that because Time magazine said that like Malcolm Gladwell was picked one of the hundred most influential. I know Malcolm Gladwell and I introduced him and I said he was selected as, that's fine. But I think what you're talking about is the guy who says, I am the world's number one AB or C. And I go, really? The world has 7.3 billion people. It has at least. At least 500 billion organizations, universities and other organizations, and they all pick different people who picked you as the one. So I think that's egotistical, Mark, at best. I think is destructive at worst. Audiences are immune to that. They don't. They don't buy that. You have to be pretty naive to buy that. And yet I see it all the time. And you see it a lot with people who sell these big seminars. You know, I won't mention names, and some of what they teach is excellent, but some of it is honestly just playing on the. It's almost like some. Some televangelist, some. Some are great, and some just play on your weaknesses and on your fears. Remember, fear is the number one motivator. It's not love, it's fear. This is why we buy insurance, right? It's fear. If I can highlight for you the needs and fears in your life, and if I can describe to you the opposite of that, your aspirations and your hopeful goals, and if I can tell you that I have got the answer for that because I'm the number one person in the world that people flock to. And if you're naive on top of all that, and you haven't been around the block a couple of times, you were born at night, and it was indeed last night, then I think we got bigger problems of magnitudes you and I can't quantify.

Well, you know, again, we've never really gone that route before. But I want to clarify one thing. My intent is not to be critical of any individual, but I do know that when. When many of us as presenters get a measure of success, as you said, Dr. Kabain, we start to believe our own hype. And sometimes people advise us, you've got to sell yourself because there's so much competition out there. You've got to show yourself to be the best. And I agree. If I can show you. If I can address your fear and show you I have a solution, then you will buy my service, my product, whatever the case may be. And that in itself is valid. But I want to encourage our viewers, our listeners, to think about how you may choose to market yourself. I was always taught under promise over deliver and let someone else praise thee and not thyself kind of thing. So I appreciate the perspective. And again, I just feel I've been to school today. I really do.

Darren, I'm going to listen to our own podcast this episode many times to absorb all that he's saying which. Which, again, we appreciate. I have to say a quick hello from Marilyn Sherman. She's one of my best friends in the world, and she loves and raves about you, Dr. Cobain. And who are some of your favorite presenters? Who do you think is unforgettable?

Well, Darren, I appreciate every person because each of us is created by God almighty in his image. I have great respect and appreciation for every individual, including some I don't like. I still have appreciation for them. And so I appreciate different people for different reasons, obviously. And I acknowledge the greatness of certain speakers, and they're unforgettable beings, if you will, for different reasons. Zig Ziglar could stand on that stage and pump that thing and just squeeze it for everything it's got for 10, 15 minutes and tell you jokes that if you or I were to tell those lines, the corny, they wouldn't work for me. I've worked with Zig many times on the platform, but he's a lovable guy. He just was lovable, and he was authentic, and he spoke in a way like, you know, I'm just kind of chatting with you, and the audiences adored him. So I love Zig for that reason. John Maxwell is one of my very dear friends. John has. God has given him this voice, you know, that God has chosen not to give me. So John took all of it. And John, in fact, is coming next week here. He comes up to the university and lectures a lot, but he's got this capacity to speak about leadership and illustrate it in ways that are absolutely marvelous. And people love listening to John. He's got a huge, huge following out there. Those are people I really like. Marilyn. You mentioned Marilyn Sherman. Marilyn. I watched Marilyn over the years grow into this really persuasive and effective professional speaker. I watched her speak in person, but I also watched her do a virtual meeting for my own chamber of commerce. And she was amazing. Just on the screen talking to people. She was amazing. But Marilyn worked very hard at her trade, and Marilyn did not give up at the first sight of challenges. Marilyn has given it all she's had for many years, and she has earned every bit of her success. So I appreciate people with different reasons. You know, I know like you guys do. I know tons of these speakers through national speakers and through other. Through other areas. And I've worked with many who are not professional speakers on the platforms, you know, like Condoleezza Rice or Laura Bush or. Or Oprah Winfrey or, you know, a lot of these famous ones or Howard Schultz, the Founder of Starbucks. I'm in a group called the Horatio Algeria Association, Distinguished Americans. There are about 280 living members and they are the biggest names in the country. I'll give you an example of one. I'll show you a favorite speaker of mine, Unforgettable. His name is Daniel Lubitsky. You may not know who that guy is, but if I was to hold up a kind Bar, you know, the Kind bars, you would know that product right away. Well, that was Daniel. Daniel Lubitsky. His father was a Holocaust survivor. He was born in Mexico, came to America and he started this kind business. And I said, daniel, why do you call it kind? He said, because I was tired of people being so uncivil, so non inclusive, so discriminatory, one to the other in all kinds of ways. The Middle East, Israelis, the Palestinian, you know, in America, you know, based on race or any other, or any other distinction. And so he said, I want to start a company that reminds people every day of kindness. So he's one of my all time favorites. He is actually going to be my graduation speaker next year. Daniel is an amazing guy. Incidentally. He sold, started the business for that reason, but the business grew. He sold 40% of it to Mars. You know, the Mars bars, $1.6 billion. 40%. The other 60% is probably worth, worth two or three or $4 billion. So sometimes when you do right, when you be right, when you speak right, when you act right, when you think right, the world somehow opens up its door of opportunities and showers you with goodness and opportunities. The kind you've never thought possible. That's how I feel. I feel, you know, you guys have not been to Hypothesis Point University, but if you came here, I showed you what we have done here, it would knock your socks off. I mean, it would blow you away. What we've been able to do, really, it came out of one philosophical point that I follow in my life, which is whatever you do, whenever you do it, however you do it, always think about the other person. It's that simple. Always think about the other person. If you're a speaker on the platform, think about that person and that person. There's no such thing as an audience, right? There's that person and that one and that one and that one and that one. And that woman sitting there could be struggling with cancer and you don't know it. So speak with kindness and love. You never know when you touch someone's life. And so if you focus on the needs of others and the aspirations of others, I can't explain it to you. The world has a way of engulfing you with a blanket of, of not only success, but more importantly, significance.

Well, I gotta say thank you. And you know what? I now have a challenge. I must at some point find my way to High Point University in North Carolina. I'm a few hours south in central Georgia and I'm going to make it happen at some point in time. Thank you for the invitation. I'm going to make it happen, Darren.

And as Mark puts together the keepers. Nito, if someone wants to reach out to you or how High Point University, how would they connect or find you?

Very simple. High Point. H I G H P O I N T. It's two words, the name of the school, but you put in one. Highpoint edu. Not.com or org but.edu me. It's n cubane q u b. You got it spelled correctly, Right behind you there. N Nkubain Q U B I N N Q u b I nighpoint edu I get 300 plus emails a day. I answer every one of them personally. And I always tell people, never write me an email more than six lines in length. Nine times out of ten I'm gonna read it and answer it on this little doohickey right here. So, you know, I can do it very quickly. I get a short email. But look, you guys, I gotta tell you, I admire you both. Mark, I've just, just met you, but apparently you and I have met spiritually way before now. I admire what you're doing. Coaching other people to have impact and influence in their lives through the spoken word and through their leadership is a remarkable pursuit for all that is meaningful. And so I admire your sacrifices because I know there's a lot of sacrifices involved. I admire your skill and your knowledge and your experience. And I know that your confidence emanates from a big source of competence because that's, at the end of the day, that's the only confidence that matters, really. And I'm a better person because I know you. I've had this chance to visit with you on this afternoon and I wish you, you know, Godspeed in every way. And I wish for you the achievement of all your goals. Small and big, in ample supply on rainy days and sunny days and even the cloudy ones too.

What do we get for keepers from this episode?

Oh, man, there's so many here. He says this faith and courage, faithful courage will bring success. Communication and connection skills will drive your success because they are the currency of your success. The spoken word in the proper manner. Add that to perspective to change your audience. Remember the law of identification. When something becomes personal, it becomes important. When what you say is personal, the audience will want what you have. So as speakers, be substantive and substantial. Be responsive and responsible and choose authenticity above charisma. Speak from your mind, your heart and your soul and be meaningfully distinctive. When you speak that way, you will create value. You will create brand insistence, you'll create brand advocacy. And always ask, how was my audience feel first. That's very important. Go beyond creativity, go beyond innovation. Go to a point of transformation and be enablers of learning as you plant seeds of greatness for your craft. Go to practice every single day. Be authentic, avoid arrogance and make yourself available to your audience after you speak so you can build relationship. If you do right, be right, speak right, act right and think right. Opportunities. Always think about the other person in the room and you will be unforgettable.

Wow Mark, this is amazing. And if I said all those things in the way that you've just said them, I'm better than I thought I was.

Thank you again for joining us. If you're listening, Dr. Nito Quebein, President of High Point University.

Thank you.

Thanks for being with us. We will see you next week. Don't make your presentations good or great. Make them unforgettable.

Unforgettable.

Bye.

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