Ep. 77 We Double Dog Dare You!

Hey there, Mark Brown. I don't know if you remember the movie the Christmas story, a classic, but I remember. I double dog dare you to put your tongue on the cold pole. But I remember the OO when it was a double dog dare. I don't just dare you. I double dog dare you.

Well, you know what? I think it's time for us, Darren, to double dog dare our listeners and our viewers to take it to the next level so they can be unforgettable.

Anyone can give a presentation. Few deliver unforgettable presentations. What's the difference? You're about to find out. Welcome to the unforgettable presentations podcast 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.

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

All right, Mark Brown, I love this one. I double dog dare you. I dare you to be unforgettable. So what does it take? We definitely are here to stretch you, to push you. You're gonna be a little uncomfortable. Perfect. No one ever had a mentor. Nice them into growth.

I love that. And you know, you say double dog there and yes, you mentioned a movie, a Christmas story. You shoot your eye out, kid. But you know what came to my mind, Darren? What came to my mind is now my kids are in their 30s and in the 1980s, between I think 86 and 93 on Nickelodeon, woo, throwback, they had a program called Double Dare. It's a game show. You had to answer questions. If you mess up, you gotta do physical challenges and you could get slimed and really sloppy. And the thing is, little known fact is the host of that program, his name is Mark with a C. Mark Summers was the host and he'd get slimed. He get messed up. He gets so sloppy sometimes as the host. But the thing is, get this. Mark Summers admits he has obsessive compulsive disorder. And the idea of being slimed and messed up by people was just so freaky to him. But he did it while hosting a program where he double dared people to do strange challenges. He was actually daring himself to overcome his OCD on camera for the world to see and get slimed, get sloppy. And he was very successful at it. If a talk show host and a game show host can overcome his OCD and take on a double dare, well, we double dog dare you to take on our challenge today.

Yeah. And before we give you the challenge, Mark, you wanted to stretch yourself to be like your big brother.

Now, only the viewers are going to see this, but I have an older brother, a year and a half older than I am. And when I was 10 years old, I wanted to be so much like him. I wanted to stretch myself. I wanted to reach up. Now, don't laugh at the skinny, you know, ashy knees. That was a long. It was 50 years ago. Give me a break. But you can see me on my tippy toes trying to stretch myself to be like him. He was very, very wise, very smart. He was very, very good in school. And I couldn't quite measure up, but I made the effort to stretch myself. And I wonder if our listeners and our viewers will take a challenge to stretch themselves as well.

Yeah, here we go. Let's just dive in. Let's not add to the tension, though. I would love to. It's about you really getting to that place that when I started working with Mark Brown, when you got me to really look at myself, when you held up a mirror, when I thought I was good enough, you helped me get to another level. But I had to stretch myself. I had to challenge some of my own thinking. I had to realize, even though I was passionate, I wasn't saying anything. It's like watching a. Yeah. Watching a train wreck. It was. It was. I was fascinating to watch. But what. That. What is he trying to get to? So I think if anyone wants to reach their full potential. Look, if you become a presenter, if that's your chosen career field, passion, you gotta stretch yourself. How can we dare encourage others and try and motivate others if we're not actually doing it ourselves? How dare we? How dare we?

Nicely done. You know what? Very, very quickly. I'm glad you mentioned that. How can we ask them if we aren't doing it ourselves? I won the Toastmasters world title back in 1995, and I became a pretty big deal in New York when I lived in New York, you know, and I would go and do these programs for these clubs in New York City. And one ToastMaster named David O' Neill took me aside one day and he said this to me, said, mark, we know who you are. World champion, keynote speaker, deep voice, six foot one, great state presence. That's great. What you need to do now is to stretch yourself, and I dare you to do something you have not yet done before. And I was like, what? And then I remembered that coming spring, I had a request to do a conference in Montreal, Canada. Montreal Provence de Quebec, where they speak French now. I don't speak French. I did French in high school in the 1970s. And I thought to myself when they asked me, you know what? It'd be so cool to tell my opening story in French because I could really show the audience how much I respect them. And then I realized I thought that out loud to the meeting planner. So I was committed to telling my opening story in French, and they were really excited. So. So I had to get a friend of mine who was from France, Stella, at Reader's Digest. I got my story. I had her translate into French. We'd meet every twice a week for like a month, and we would rehearse the story complete in French. And I went to Montreal. I told a story, solomon en Francais, only in French. I got a standing ovation after two and a half minutes. Not because how great the story was. I hope that's part of it. But the audience acknowledged I had dared to stretch myself in service to them, and they respected it. That was 1996, Darren, 25 years ago. And I still remember it all because a man named David o' Neill got in my face and he double dared me to do something different and to stretch myself. And I only tell that story because I want to back up what you said. How dare we challenge you when we don't do it ourselves?

I remember Mark being in Vancouver, Canada. A lot of weird things happen in Canada.

I won't touch that.

I mean, they're polite about it, but. No, it's good. It's good, it's good. I remember doing a session for Toastmasters up there, a seminar. I went up there for that. I taught it. And at the end, there's a Q and A. And there was this young kid, he was in his 20s, and he raised his hand and he said, what are you doing now? What's your big goal or dream now? And I spoke into existence. You know, I'm thinking about, no, I'm gonna write a movie script about my story. I was like, you are? But it was a commitment, because I've been thinking about it, but it was a commitment to stretch. And it comes from questions. It comes from other people. Daring. I went on a journey, as you know, to write a script. I'm on version seven now, I think, and it's getting better and better and better. But it took me seven years to write the first one. But here's the coolest part, because I dove into that. I had to learn screenwriting and storytelling from a different perspective. But what I Learned from that we now use and teach in presenting. So stretching myself in a screenplay that's telling a story in 100% dialogue, which is a different animal, but I learned from other teachers. But what I learned from them, I brought over to this. So when we stretch ourselves, we get better, which allows us to be at a whole nother level. But we double dog dare you.

Now, Darren, I understand that you are double dog daring members of your stagetime community to also stretch themselves. How's that going?

It's going actually really well. And because of that, I wanted to bring it to our podcast listeners, which I know some of you, or if you're listening to this, you may be a stage time member and a podcast listener. Here's the key, here's. It's been going so well. And Mark, I've been so inspired by the people, not the experienced people. I mean, that's good, I love that. But the people who are just, let's say emerging speakers, and they're stretching themselves so much, and that is inspiring. Yeah, other people seeing you stretch is inspiring. So, all right, so enough, enough with the build up.

What is it? All right, what is that? What's happening?

It's the 77 day video challenge, Mark, and I challenge you to do one video a day. A Facebook Live, an Instagram Live, a LinkedIn Live, whatever your chosen platform is, but do one live every day for 77 days. This is a simple two minute content that you're gonna. Maybe it's new content you're testing out, maybe it's a new version of old content you've done before, but if you're alive, you have lessons, you have ideas, and it's just taking a lesson from your life and preferably in your expertise. Now it's okay to do some personal ones as well, but. But mix it up. But every day to turn on Facebook Live, LinkedIn Live, Instagram Live, and give a lesson from your life, something that you learned. And that might seem like, well, why? Why? How is that gonna help me? It's gonna help you find your voice. And when it's live, I'm not talking about doing a recording and uploading it. No, no, no, no, no, no. You can do 32 takes and, oh, this is the best one. No, you gotta do it live. And guess what? If it's horrible, you can delete it and do it again, but you got to do it right away. So live changes things, especially now that we have to get used to this virtual. Mark, you even called me out when I did some of My first ones, I'm looking at my phone in the wrong place. I know this, I teach this. But it helped, it helped me by doing it. This is the application. And the cool thing is you don't have to be great at this. This doesn't have to be professionally produced. In fact, we don't want you professionally producing it. We just want you to take the challenge to grow yourself, to test new material, to push yourself. Talk about content you've never even considered before. It will help you. It will train you to look at the lens. It will. I just, I love the concept and it's been so exciting.

Mark, you know what I find also helpful is some people are planners. Okay, I'm going to do a Facebook Live or Instagram Live today. So I'm going to choose a topic of overcoming fear or of recovery or whatever it may be, and that's fine. But sometimes friends, sometimes you're walking down the street and you see something unusual and your brain goes, aha, perhaps that might be a good time right there on the street to pull your phone out, hit Facebook Live and say, hey friends, you know, it's Josh here. I just walking down the street and I saw this most amazing thing and you just do a two minute discussion about what you saw, what you learned and how it could apply to us. So I know many people are thinking planning structure will happen. Also is the spontaneity of doing a Facebook Live in the moment is equips you for those times when you get asked a random question or an odd question or you get called upon to present. It's like for Toastmasters table topics on steroids. But it also expands your creativity. The spontaneity becomes less challenging and less fearful for you and you find yourself able to converse in very, very difficult situations. But now you're able to throw your thoughts there. And by practice of doing this, what happens is you find yourselves being able to on the spot create content in a mini structured speech format. And Darren is going to kind of go a little deeper, dive on that format to help you with this particular challenge. We double dog dare you, Darren.

Yeah. And if you're an expert, what are some of the questions that you get regularly? Just answer one question a day. That can be 10 of them. So a couple quick answers to questions that you may have in your head. Why 77 days. It took me 77 days from when I met Mark Brown to delivering the world championship speech. So that's the only reason I transform completely during that time. So it's not just 30 days, it's not. Whatever. It's not 365, it's not. It's just what I experience. So I believe if you truly commit to this, you're going to help some people as well. Consider this. You're teaching a lesson from your life. And some of the people who are watching you, who know you, who are connected to you, they might not even know what you really do or some of your stories. So the cool thing is they're your friends. They're going to give you a little extra grace. It's not a paid keynote. So I think so 77 days, that's just the number. It's the experience that I had working with Mark. So that's why I chose 77 days. Number two. It's going to get you over yourself. When your intention can be more about helping your friends behind the lens, as Mark says, than how you look, than if you have a pimple today, who cares? We don't care about your pimple. That's your issue. So pimples. Bring the pimples. On one of my Facebook lives, I was. I had just done 4 virtual TLIs for Toastmasters leadership the day before. So all day, it was draining. I had a blast. I loved it. So the next day, I had, like, bags under my eyes. I was exhausted and I didn't want to do it. I didn't want to do it. But guess what? I knew I committed to the challenge. I knew my friends were watching. They knew I committed to the challenge. So there's some accountability there too, right? And I just talked about it, and that became a lesson. Look, I don't wanna do this. Look at these bags. Oh, I'm tired and I'm exhausted. And I talked about it, but then I remembered words from our friend Cathy Ermias. Consistency beats ability. Consistency beats ability. So if you do 77 days of videos, each day, more people are gonna get to know you. Mark, you have that great saying about people really want to hear you.

Yes. Your audience wants to hear you, but they really want to know you. And this is a great opportunity. Besides, Darren, you know what I discovered? You will find and uncover stories that have lain dormant in your mind, in your heart, for a long time. And by pushing yourself to come up with 77 of these in 77 days straight, you're going to find some old stories. You're going to resurrect some of old stories that take on new meaning now at a later point in your life.

And you go, aha.

I didn't see it that way before. So give yourself the chance to reveal yourself to your audience. Remember, authenticity plus vulnerability equals credibility.

And for those of you who are perfectionists out there, okay, the pimple people. All right, I am going to triple dog dare you. I don't even know if that's a thing you're gonna say. Well, I'll start it once I, you know, I'm gonna write out all my, you know, my 77, and I'm gonna plan it. No, no, no. That's the point, is that it shouldn't be well planned. Hey, now, I'm not just saying wing it every day. No, think it through. But have a sheet of paper, notebook paper is what I use. And I only know maybe two or three ideas for the next two or three days. And Mark, if you remember in the Secret Jack Canfield had that great analogy goes, you don't have to see the whole journey, but it's like headlights on your car. You can drive across the country, but you can only see 200ft in front of you. But you can still make it across the country. Literally. Just have some ideas. When some thought is going to hit you. When you're in the restroom, when you're in the bathroom, when you're taking a shower, driving, just sitting, having coffee. Ooh, I could talk about this. Okay, go write it down. Go write it down. Go write it down. And then you're going to realize, okay, what do I talk about today? You look at the options you have there. Pick the one that right now, today, resonates the most with you. That's what I do. Go with that one. And of course, the other question is, well, what do I say? Well, number one, it's your life. They're your lessons. So that's up to you. But what we're going to do is give you a quick structure. If you look over my shoulder here. So number one, something that relates to their life. You start off with a question or curiosity, but relating to the listener, to your listener. Give us an idea. Give us a question. Have you ever had that time where you were ready to quit? Some way to draw them in? So first, just a simple question, and then you state it. Something that draws them in. And then number two, tell the story about the lesson you learned. Whether it's one of your clients, maybe, or yourself, even better. But let's just tell that story. Don't overcomplicate this. And then finally, just sum it up. Here's the lesson learned. Here's what I took away. What do you take away? And Then at the end, you might just ask people to share this if it might be helpful to someone they know. Now you're getting your story in front of someone else that is a friend of a friend. So it's kind of like, Mark, the Kevin Bacon thing. We don't know who it's gonna get to. Seven degrees of Kevin Bacon.

Six degrees degrees of separation.

Six degrees of separation. So you never know. But if it's good and they like it, they'll pass it along. So make that your goal. That make it good, but don't be perfect. This is Facebook Live. This is not a $20,000 keynote. Something that relates to their life. The listener, your viewer. Tell the story and then what's the lesson learned? And then ask them to share it. The hashtag is 77 Day Video Challenge. 77 Day Video Challenge. You can go look at some of the people out there who are doing it. You can check out mine. This is my day 30, by the way. Start now. Whenever you hear this, start today or start tomorrow. There's no certain day, but you'll be inspired by other people. The hashtag 77day video challenge. This is me. Day 39. This is Anatech. A friend of ours who is. Who had just started it out. A little Tom Brady reference. Day 38 down to Lake Las Vegas. Notice I have different backgrounds, so they don't look like the same video all the time.

And Darren, by the way, about the background, you're showing people what's happening in your life at the time. And one of the cool things is you're not preparing it. Okay, I'm going to be on set. I'm going to look really good. Like I said, you're walking down the street. Something strikes your attention with your family. Your child does something or the dog does something, and it reminds you when you were a kid. Whatever. A package comes to the house. Oh, wow. You know, a lesson there. It's your life, it's your story. And I always say this, Darren, one of my markisms, your story, it's about you, but it's for your audience. It's about you, but it's for them. With that thought in mind, you can do this and you can really. You're gonna find such new material. And I love what you said, Darren. Don't be in one particular place and say, here is my recording space challenge. I'll get my radio voice going. You're gonna love this. No, be you. Be real. Be authentic. You got lessons for us. We want to hear him. You got to share it. We want to hear him. You got to share him, Darren.

Yeah. And the more you do it, the more you're going to get good at this. Don't beat yourself up. There's new day tomorrow. And by the way, that one where I was tired and exhausted is one of the highest viewed ones that I have. The day that I didn't want to do it, that I didn't feel like doing it. But here was a key. When Mark, you talk about authenticity, Authenticity that was so authentic, it was so real. I really didn't want to do the video that resonates. When I did this a couple of years ago, I did a 90 day video challenge. And the last day I was literally in tears telling about some incredible challenge that I had in my life where I thought I was going to lose my business. And I was just being real about it. And some people joined the challenge this time because they remembered that video. Kathy, our friend Kathy Calucia, she went and she found that video. Wow, that was huge to me. So I was like, okay, that must have been good. So I went and I grabbed it because I want to have that one. I want to use that again somehow, some way.

Lessons there for all of us, for me, for you, for our viewers and listeners. You never know the impact you can have with one of your 77 videos. You don't know who's going to hear it, how they're going to respond to it. You never know what impact you may have. You may have a 90 second message that you deliver that literally transforms someone's thinking and puts them on a path that leads to who knows what. So I encourage you, don't judge yourself too harshly. Put it out there. You never know what can happen when you share.

Yeah. And remember, I always love saying from my program, your hero's journey. Your failures are your assets. Your failures are your assets. But you only get value when you give them away to other people. With the lesson learned, not just you failed, but then, okay, what did you learn that you didn't do? Again, your new insight, the new way you live, that new belief that you've installed. I just think there's so much to help you, there's so much to help the listeners, and you'll grow in the process. Stretching, you know, you gotta see if you haven't. If you're listening to the podcast, go check out the YouTube version of the video of the podcast, which is under the same title, Episode. I don't know. What episode are we on now, Mark?

No, 77. I think it's 77. I think it's 77, actually.

Is it? Oh, my.

I think it is. How crazy is that?

Thank you. Thank you, Jesus. Jesus is coming along. And that would be something I would plan. Mark. I did not plan that. I didn't even know.

Wow, that's crazy. I think it is. I'm going to verify that, Darren. I'm going to verify that. That's. That's really awesome. We can even man Unforgettable Presentations podcast. Okay, let's see what we got here. I'm sure Apples will tell me which one we have. Yep. Yeah, we did. Last week, we did episode 76. Does your presentation need a little salt? This actually podcast episode 77. And we did not know it, people. We're not kidding. We didn't even think about that. Wow.

Yeah. I was praying this morning about what are we going to talk about? We got to get another one done. And it came. You rock, God.

Thank you.

Thank you. But you have to go and watch the video version. Episode 77. And to see Mark Brown stretching. Mark, you've got to use that photo when you present.

I am.

It's adorable. And he's up on his little tippy toes. Wow. When they took that picture, did they use the little gunpowder?

Oh, man, that's brutal. I know. It's black and white. It was 50 years ago in our front. On our front lawn in a little house in Kingston, Jamaica. But thank you, Darren. I love you, too, buddy.

I love you, bro. I love you. I couldn't picture doing this with anybody else, man. So, the 77 day challenge. Mark, final thoughts of encouragement, guidance, anything. Like, what would you tell somebody saying, well, you know, it sounds like a good idea, but you know what?

I wanted you think about your mindset here. I believe I've said this for decades. Your life tells a story, and there's someone out there who needs to hear it. I could tell you story after story to back that up. We don't have time for that now. But I want to tell you this. I also use a Marxism. One person's mundane is another person's magnificent. What you think is your boring life holds lessons for the world. You can be a blessing to someone else if you get out of your own way. As Darren says, get over yourself and share your experiences. As a bonus, there are other people who are doing this right now who are sharing their life stories, their experiences, and they can be a blessing and a support to you. We can really build a stronger community by sharing these messages, and you will grow as you develop the skill of doing live impromptu videos. You will learn more about yourself. You will find old stories, you revisit your life with a new perspective. And you never know the blessing you can be if you accept our 77 day challenge on this, our 77th podcast episode. I dare you. No, I double dare you. I double dog dare you to accept.

This challenge and one more quick review. What do you say? Keep it simple. Something that relates to your listener's life. Tell a story about it and then what's the lesson learned? Or ask a question, the question that you get all the time and answer it as succinctly as possible. Ask for comments. You'll be able to tell by how many views when you compare it to your other ones by the comments you get. It's going to tell you such valuable feedback about that idea and that story that is going to serve your regular presentation. So join us on the 77 day video challenge.

Mark one final thought. @ the end of this process you will find you have material for your ebook, for your newsletter, for a book you will write, for a new page presentation, for a workshop, for a training program, for a keynote, and if nothing else, just great conversation with your friends and family. Accept this challenge and you will be unforgettable.

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