This ONE TRAIT Determines Whether You Will Be SUCCESSFUL OR NOT! | Les Brown

You can do more than you can ever begin to imagine. See, we all have a choice. You make choices. Now choices make us.

Class, how you doing, man?

I'm great. And so are you. I'm sitting in the presence of greatness, and it's a wonderful thing.

Well, you know what? I've got a. I've got a story. I would normally come straight out of the gate with a question, but the audience needs to hear what I'm about to say. And I want to honor you, and here's why. 22 years ago, you came to Greensboro, North Carolina for one of the network marketing businesses that were large and in charge at the time. I had just gotten broken free from being homeless. I am dyslexic, adhd, high school dropout, belief game. My dad told me a long time ago, the Skoggins don't get ahead, they get by. And I heard it's possible.

Les. I went home. I gave my life to Christ.

In a litter box situation. From that standpoint on. Two weeks later, out of the trash piles of a job site, I started the first of seven businesses that now is well into the combined business totals of 8 and 9 figures and employ hundreds of team members across three states.

I wanted to let you know how impactful you were specifically in my life. Your story and transparency and vulnerability and everything that you brought to the table. And this is not something I know that you speak about quite a bit, is the ability to connect with an audience, with a real. With the realness and not the showboating. It transformed my life.

So you are now creating an additional legacy outside of the legacies you've been creating, my friends. So thank you.

Well, thank you. To God be the glory. Wow. So I'm glad he connected us again.

That's right. That's right. It's time to go look at the.

New and improved version.

That's right.

Sure.

Well, look, I guess I'll come out straight out the gate with a question now. You know, there's so many different directions that we could easily go with our conversation. You have done so much to help people get massive breakthrough in their life. But one of the things that I know that you talk about a lot is this importance of basically removing the labels, if you will, and getting outside of your comfort zone. Let it go, man.

Well, first of all, I want to thank you so much for this opportunity to speak with you and for the commitment that you made with your life. A lot of people were there, but only a few heard me. And you're one of those Individuals and what it proves that behind each person, their voice, there's an energy signature that's going to reach certain people. My favorite book says, he who has ear, let him hear my sheep shall hear my voice. And so you heard me, and you heard me not just in your ears, but most importantly, you heard me in your heart. And that's major. And so as we look at ourselves and look at where we are, one of the things that disturbed me now is that the speaking and presentation industry has been hijacked by people who speak just to sell. And I believe that if you speak to transform people, you're going to increase your sales. People are going to want to develop a relationship with you. And even if it's been 22 years, they can say, you know what? I remember that dude. Yeah, come on, bring him on.

So we have the ability with our story. Steve Jobs said, the storyteller is the most important person and the most powerful person in the world. Why? Because storytellers create cultures. Storytellers created eliminate hopelessness and powerlessness. And people that. That are feeling suicidal, if they hear the right story, that will stop them dead in their tracks. If they hear the right story, that will open their minds to living above and beyond their adversities, that's in their lives and will ignite in them what Elizabeth Browning called a spirit that will allow them to become a pencil in the hand of God. Come on.

Hey, we're going to have a blast, my man. I can tell you that now, you know, when it comes down to it, one of the biggest lies that I had to overcome, and I know this will resonate with you a little bit because I know a lot about the stories that you've shared, obviously over the years is this term that I mentioned to John Leslie that scoggins don't get ahead, they get by. Come straight out of the mouth of my father. And it was interesting because until I got hired and rewired, so to speak, until that actually happened, you know, that that was a truth. But I've discovered that in. In 500 years of Skagen's history, I'm the one to change the generational tree. How important is it to break through those limiting beliefs and those negative things that you either believe about yourself or you, you know, that kind of thing to actually helping you actually get unstuck and well on your way to unstoppable?

It is very important. Most people, according to Darren Benzie, who wrote a book called Misplaced Life, most people are living a misplaced life because someone spoke to them like your father did to you. And if he knew better, he would have done better. And what you listen to. Listen to me now. What listen to you turn into.

You decided you didn't know me, but you heard my voice. You decided to listen to me. I say your goal, your dream, it's possible. You have greatness in you. You can do more than you can ever begin to imagine. See, we all have a choice. You make choices, and our choices make us. And you chose on that day, choose ye this day whom ye shall serve to recognize and serve the greatness that is within you. Greatest he that's in you than he that's in the world. I'm coming for you. I'm coming for you.

I love it.

Well, what is.

What are some keys that you. I mean, so we both had major mentors that seemed like they were almost like a divine lifeline in the hand of God himself. You know, mine was a guy by the name of Steve. Mark was my dad's employer. And my audience has heard that story several times, but essentially gave me a choice. What's the difference between a rich man and a poor man? It's the way they think. And then he followed up with that with, well, do you want to think like me or your father? And I know that you had one of those, like, pivotal moments where you were head. Your life trajectory was heading this direction, and then it took a radical shift of growth. Talk to us a little bit about that, because I think that. I think it's so important to make sure we're listening to the right people.

Yes. Well, first of all, you're going to have a great deal of appreciation for this. I got to send you a video about this. Can you believe I just discovered my birth parents? I laid eyes on a picture. Wow. Birth mother and birth father. I got to send you the you as you've been following me. It will touch you very deeply. What's very important is that to recognize that we have been indoctrinated in our culture to live a life of mediocrity and notice I didn't say educated. Indoctrinated. When you spend 12 years in school.

That teach you what to think, not how to think, then you must become engaged in a process that you decided to discover the truth of who you are. Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free of living within the context of the conversations and the adversities that you've been confronted with. We learned from conversations, from experiences, and from observation. And you made a conscious, deliberate, determined Effort to get on this path. Adam, where are you? That was not a question for location. That was a question of where are you? You have the power and authority and dominion over everything in your life. What have you done with it?

Yeah.

And so what most people are not doing because we heard something that was a lie that we were living from those words. I was in this gentleman's office and his class, and he said, young man, go to the front of the room and work on this problem for me. And I said, sir, I can't do that. And he said, why not? I said, I'm not one of your students. He said, look at. Do it anyhow. I said, sir, I can't. And then the other students started laughing, saying, he's Leslie. He's got a twin brother, Wesley. Wesley's smart. He's dt. And he asked, what's dt? He's the dumb twin. And they all laughed at me. And I said, I am, sir. And he came from behind his desk, and he looked at me. He said, don't you ever say that again. Someone's opinion of you does not have to become your reality. You hear me? And I said, yes. Yes, sir. How we live our lives, as you are aware, is a result of the story we believe about ourselves. What you do in your program, in your coaching, in your training, when you speak, you distract a person from their story when they hear you and the things that you've overcome. And in the process, you allow them to make an imaginative leap from feeling like a victim to saying, hey, if he can get through it, I can get through it. So you dismantle their current belief system and empower them to become, as Mother Teresa would say, a pencil in the hand of God and start writing a new chapter in their lives.

Amen to that. Amen to that. All day long. You know, it's interesting. You know, I had the catalyst event of what I refer to as the Great Awakening or the great aha. You know, getting to that place of understanding that it is possible and potential is possible, but only if I pursued it. And as a result, I took the next step, which is recognizing the patterns that created that belief system in the. In the first place. What have you seen that's been most successful in all your career? That helps interrupt and rewire those patterns on a consistent basis, because it's a lot of work to kind of rewire your brain. I didn't do it overnight. It took me years to kind of, like, really break free from some of my old beliefs.

Well, what's. What's important in what I said earlier.

We have to do maintenance work on our minds.

And as a man thinketh, so is he. As he continues to think, so he remains. Nothing gets in the mind except through the eyes or the ears. So when people listen to you, when you say to them, you can do more than you're now doing, and they listen to you and follow your program on an ongoing basis, each time, they're pulling away the layers of thinking, the layers of thoughts of mediocrity and self loathing and victimhood that the world has imposed on them. So we have to work on ourselves continuously because as James Allen says in the book, as a man thinketh that negative thoughts are like weeds. You can't kill weeds. You can kill them for a minute, but if you stop watering them and if you stop de weeding them, they're going to come back with a vengeance. So we have to be engaged in the process. I'm 76, but I still read a minimum of 30 to 40 pages every day when I first get up in the morning. Why? Because whatever you expose your mind to the first 20 minutes when you wake up in the morning, it will affect the spirit of your day.

Yeah.

And so I read, I listen to motivational messages. I have one of my favorite quotes. Lord, you know, all things work together for good for those who love God and for those who are called according to his purpose. I have an affirmation that I say, lord, whatever I face today, together, you and I can handle it. Yeah. This is a ritual that's empowering me to handle whatever life throws at me. Think it not strange that you'll face the fiery furnaces of this world? You will not. You might. You will have tribulations.

Yeah.

And now that you get to understand what Forrest Gut meant, life is like a chocolate box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get. And that's all I got to say about that. That.

Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness. You know, I've said on the show many times, I'm a big believer that one of the greatest purposes in life you'll ever have is serving the person. Used to be. I was telling John Leslie before we hopped on that that's kind of like my. My battle cry. Right. I remember the homeless kid. I remember the broke kid. I remember the broken down kid and stuff like that. And it lights me up as from a fire perspective. Now, when I look at your life and I look at the stories that you've told and the lives that you've Touched. It seems like your hidden purpose is almost very much in the same vein, given the fact that you went on to inspire people who have yet to be inspired. So how important is it to find this ultimate drive or ultimate why, so to speak, to take you over the hard spots.

I'm so glad you asked that. But you ran across something that's easy for you to say because it's a part of you and it came out of you. But it's what I do. But I never language it the way that you have done it. I've been living a life to serve the people that I used to be. I never looked at it like that. You see the power of words.

Let's go.

I'm gonna take that one, brother.

Hey. What? Just share it with me.

I'll go share it with you. Let the record show and that we're here to serve. The greatest among you will be your servant. And so what we have to do is decide. Choose ye this day who you will serve.

The highest that's in you are the lowest. We cannot control the thoughts that come in our minds, but we can control the thoughts that we dwell on. That's what we can control. Those negative thoughts, they're going to be there and they will show up. And so we have to discipline ourselves to create a ritual to crowd our mind with the things that can serve us, the things that will strengthen us and understand. And know that you're going to have challenges.

Why?

Because faith, not tested, can't be trusted.

Yeah. Absolutely.

And so life is going to test you. It's only a test. It doesn't want to destroy you. Life is on your side. Even the things that are thrown at us, that we find to be depressing or create a level of anxiety, be anxious for nothing. The things that. That. That we find very painful.

Yeah.

That there's a reason that Paul said, count it all joy. That in all things, give thanks. Because what we have to do in the midst of adversities is find a way to make it work for us.

Yeah.

This is an incredible time.

Yeah.

Let me tell you something, man. Unlike anything I've ever seen. You know, they said, okay, we got the coronavirus, right? So we're looking at building our lives in and out of the virus. Then they have the mutation that. The Delta virus, okay? Now they got another one called Llama. What?

What?

Come on.

I'm just done living in fear, man.

I'm just gonna live my life. Look here, look here. I just said. Okay, all right. Let me tell you something. You Know, Lord, I feel like Mother Teresa. She said, lord, I know you know how much I can bear. I just wish you didn't have so much confidence.

I hadn't heard that before.

That got me a little bit. Oh, my God.

You say that one got you a little bit.

I hadn't heard that one before. Yeah, I just knew all the lessisms. I thought I knew all the lessisms. Oh, well, so much for that.

Yeah. So let me share something that happened to me.

Come on.

I was at the cancer centers of America last week and they said three weeks ago, they said, Mr. Brown, are you aware that you have four stage cancer? And I said, yes. It reminded me the first time that I was diagnosed with it. Dr. Alfred Golson, who very much had a personality like you, he said, Mr. Brown, you have four stage cancer. I said, I do. He said, yeah. I said, is there anything else? He said, it's metastasized to seven areas of your body. I started smiling. He said, why are you smiling? I said, Man, I'm one of seven children. I was born February 17th. Joshua marched around the walls of Jericho seven times. Naaman dipped himself in the River Jordan seven times. I said, is there anything else? He said, yes, and you're ugly, too. I said, you. Come on.

That's a matter of opinion. Come on. Yeah.

I said, you didn't just me ugly? He said, yes, I did. But you got this.

Yeah.

I never tell my patients they're terminally ill. He said, what I say is that my knowledge, my abilities, my skills have terminated. Yeah. Now I determine the diagnosis. You and God determines the prognosis. Come on now. Yeah.

Amen.

And I left there as a result of that. Most people in a fearful situation because. But cancer is the most feared word in seven different languages. I left there with a mindset of facing everything and rise as opposed to facing things and run scared.

And so what he did when we were laughing and said, you got this, man. Yeah. Your PSA is 2,400. You got this. Had I judged according to appearances, I would not be here to experience that. My PSA is now 1.0 minus 0. You're going to have to experience that.

You're going to have to explain that to me. I'm not sure what those numbers mean. What does that mean?

Your PSA, which stands for prostate specific antigen 1 to 4, is normal.

When it goes above 4, that means that cancer is active to create prostate cancer. My PSA was 2,400. That one, that number. There ain't no sense of going home they just drive you out.

Wait here a minute while they dig a fresh grave for you, okay?

You're not allowed to go nowhere yet, my friend.

You got that right. But now is 0.0. That's what it is now. And so what? Life is a fight for territory. And once you stop fighting for what you want, what you don't want will automatically take over. Yeah. And so it was. It has been a fight. And it's okay because we're gonna always be faced with stuff. And as a result of that, that we will have to know that it's going to be a fight that Viktor Frankl calls it unavoidable suffering. That think it not strange that you're going to go through some stuff, that you're going to have to deal with stuff, and that we have to fortify ourselves with our faith, perseverance, persistence and understanding that we were created on purpose, with a purpose, to achieve a purpose. And as a result of that, we can be focused on igniting the healing process by working on our mind, by changing our habits in terms of taking care of our health. Iyanla Von Sant said, give to yourself until your cup runneth over, and then give to others from the overflow. And so I learned to discipline myself, to take better care of myself, to exercise, to do what I know, not what I feel. At 76, I don't feel like getting up, going for a walk in the morning, but I know that it keeps me here, younger and stronger. And so I never regret going. You know, I might be upset to go, but every time when I come back, I say, boy, I'm glad I did that. Well, and so this thing called life, it's so fascinating.

Well, I'm so. I mean, well, I'm glad you get up and you go do the walking, because obviously that that means we get to hear your voice more and more and more. And I think we're all good. Definitely use more and more of it. You know, I'll just give you one of my little pet peeves that I've seen right now. You know, you kind of alluded to it a little bit at the beginning of the show, where there's an element of people who are searching for fame or searching for the spotlight, but they. They haven't necessarily really weathered any storms in order to have the stories, in order to give the testimony, in order to give the principles in the process and so on and so forth. And meanwhile, there are a lot of folks that have weathered storms and have been fighting and then fighting, you know, like my even, like, myself uphill my entire life. Right. It's. You brought it up a second ago with you, you're a warrior, right? You got. You got the warrior mentality, right?

Yeah.

As a result, I'm finding it difficult even now to discern because I'm like you. I'm always going to be mentorable. I'm always going to find myself a mentor in any given area. But even now, myself, I'm having a hard time discerning who was a guide and who's trying to be a guru. Like, who has the experience and the talents and the testimony, the test and all that kind of stuff that can really help me versus who's just saying they've got it. But there's nothing surface level under that. Right. Because of social media and websites and stuff. What are some tactics that we can use to better choose the people that mentor us to make sure we don't get led astray?

I'm glad you asked that question.

There is common sense.

Uncommon sense.

And commercial sense.

There are people who have not gone through anything.

But they know how to market, have commercial sense. And even though they haven't gone through anything.

Many times, they will run circles around you and I because they know how to market. There's a philosophical question, if a tree falls in the forest, did it make a sound?

Yeah.

And so the same thing in business. If you have the best story in the world, and if you don't know how to tell the story, will anyone hear it?

Yeah.

And so what we have to do is continuously sharpen our superpower. In the beginning was the word thou shall decree a thing that shall be established unto you. Death and life is in the tongue. Notice Death and life is in the tongue. Why? Because we speak more death than we do life. So what we have to do.

Is to encourage people to invest in themselves. When Warren Buffett, who has billions of dollars in real estate, billions of dollars in the stock market, when he graduated from Harvard, one of the things I learned a long time ago, you want to be successful, watch successful people and do what they do. Warren Buffett, when he graduated from Harvard, the first thing he did, he invested in himself to take a communications course.

Why? Your ability to advance, if you work for a Corporation, is 85% dependent upon your ability to present yourself, your communication skills, 15% of your technical knowledge. So this is a world we're going from brick and mortar to click and order. So now, sitting in front of a computer, we can have a global business. I did a workshop virtually in Hong Kong, from my home in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and South Africa. London, England, from my home. So I'm teaching people now how to use their voice, their personality, their energy, their power, their passion to communicate, to transcend this blue light that's looking at me, and to create a significant emotional event that will transform people individually and collectively. That we're now in a space where the computer eliminates geography.

Yeah.

There are people who are now in a place where corporations say, you can come back now. They say, I don't want to do that anymore.

The office always smelled anyway. Right.

You know, and so.

When there are disruptions, as you know.

We must transform to accommodate the disruptions. We either expand, as Robert Shuler would say, or we are expendable. And so we have to continuously look for ways to expand our knowledge, our skills, our network, relationship, currency.

Our abilities, our talents to be versatile and adaptable so that we can take on this thing called life. And it's got all kind of stuff.

Waiting for you, and a lot of it you don't even see coming.

So, no, you don't see. All right, let me share this with you. So my son went on one of these.

Platforms, his site, and found my birth mother and father. I didn't. I didn't expect him to be able to accomplish that. And then when I saw a picture of my father for the first time at 76, and my birth mother and I heard a.

Presentation she gave and saw her give it when she's giving an inspirational poem that. My birth mother was a motivational speaker. What? Teacher? Yes.

Are you serious?

This is what I'm talking about. This is just too much. My birth mother was a motivational speaker. Her name was Dorothy Rucker. And my grandmother, who is Beulah Rucker, People can Google that. They have a museum in her name, Beulah Rucker. She built the first school in Gainesville for African American kids. And she was a motivational speaker. So that's why they have a museum after her name. I come here to Atlanta, and I've always felt a connectedness with Atlanta. And they were born one hour from here in Gainesville, Georgia. Wow. You can't make this stuff up.

And they said when my mother spoke that people would be on the edge of their seats. And I said, wow, this is where I got this from. To God be the glory.

Amen. Well, not only that, it was awakened. You know, one of the things I do love about your story is your adopted mother and the sacrifices that she paid. And she paid some heavy sacrifices. Yes, she did for you to be successful. I'd like to honor her, if it's all right with you, with maybe a one or two stories, if that's okay. Because without her, there might not have been a Les Brown that we get to see all over the world.

You got that right. Yeah. Dorothy Rucker. She gave me life. Mamie Brown. She taught me how to live life. She gave me love. God took me out of my biological mother's womb and placed me in the heart of my adopted mother, Mamie Brown. I feel like Abraham Lincoln, who said, all that I am and all that I ever hope to be, I owe to my mother. And I remember as a kid working with my mother on Miami beach, and she's cleaning homes, and I would say, mama, what is it, Leslie? When I become a man, I'm gonna buy you a big, beautiful home just like this. She said, leslie, you don't have to do that. I said, I know, but you didn't have to take us in as foster kids. You didn't have to say yes and adopt us either.

But you.

Yeah. And so everybody who knows me as a kid, they call me Mamie's boy.

Because I'm just like Mama. Yes, indeed. So I have this song, man, that I've been working on. I got two mothers, and I'm not ashamed. I've got two mothers, and I love them just the same. But you can't handle the John Legend voice. No, no, I know.

Combination of Nat King, Colon, Sinatra. No, it's Les Brown.

Well, you're all about reinvention. May as well reinvention. Reinvent yourself into the music industry now.

Yes.

Well, I'm just honored. I'm honored by everything that has become your life. When it comes down to it, you mentioned, obviously, having two moms, loving them the same. What did it mean to actually discover your parents, your biological parents, you know, a little bit later in life? How has it touched or impacted your life now?

It was humbling because what I got from Mamie Brown, my adopted mother, was drive, was faith, was trusting.

A reporter asked her when I had a talk show, and they paid me $5 million to do it. How did you know you could raise seven children by yourself? And she said, I just felt that the Lord would make a way somehow. All the projects and things that I accomplished and going into television and running for the Ohio legislature and winning three times and retiring and coming back to Miami to take care of Mama, to prevent her from being put into a nursing home, I felt that the Lord will make a way Somehow. And that led me to speaking professionally so I could be available to her. And so there are things, as you are aware, that happened to you, but as you begin to move forward in life and you look back, you realize they happen for you.

Because had it not been for those things, you would not be the person that you are right now. And that allows you to serve those people who are stuck where you were once stuck. And when they hear your truth and embrace that truth and put in the time and the effort to develop that expanded vision of themselves, it allows them to become inspired, to create the next greatest version of themselves.

Now, is that why you're so passionate? I mean, hungrytospeak.com is amazing, and it's a great program. Is that what kind of led you to create that is to awaken those inner voices inside of other people to get them to the marketplace? Yes.

Because, you know, I was reading scripture one night, and it just hit me like a ton of bricks. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. And asked the Jewish carpenter, when the kingdom of God shall come? And he said, the kingdom of God cometh not by observation. They shall say, it's neither low there or lo, here, behold, the kingdom of a God is within you. Well, there can't be a kingdom without a king. Kings rule.

And here's the heavy part and the liberating part. That potential, that greatness. These things ye shall do and greater things shall ye do. Voice activated.

Yeah.

There are people that, when they hear your show.

That there's something that happens in them when they hear your voice.

That you will introduce them to a part of themselves that has been waiting for you to speak to them and waiting for them to. That. To discover that part of themselves that they were unaware of. I'm not a religious person. I'm a spiritual person. I'd say religious people afraid of going to hell. Spiritual people have been there.

Sorry, that's another one. You got me again.

All right, but listen, get ready for this one here.

All right?

Hell, to me, is what you experience when you die and you discover the person that you were supposed to become.

Let that sink in for a minute.

That is so true. That is so true.

You know, but it's the work that you were supposed to do that you did not do.

Yeah, well, that's. I think that's part of the reason why I think hungry speak.com is so powerful. No entire program is so great is because I think it. Not only does it help you realize kind of that inner voice or have that. That kind of that inner awakening. But it actually, I think, you know, some a big believer that in order to change the fruit of your life, you got to change the roots of your life. Because the roots drive out the fruits, right?

Yes.

But that program, not only does it teach you to share, but it also teaches you to address. Talk to me a little bit about how powerful Hungry to Speak has been for so many of your other students.

First of all, I just love your languaging style.

In order to change the fruit, you got to change the roots. Oh, there you go again.

You taught me it's all your fault.

It's very important because.

Evil prevails when good men and women do nothing. Benjamin Franklin said, until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are affected, change will never take place. So when we train people how to use their story and their voice strategically to create love, peace, and harmony, as we multiply those voices, we'll be able to make an impact and live a life that will outlive us.

Amen.

And that's why we're here. We've been chosen for this. What you're doing, this choice that you made with your life, is the greater work. That's what you say. I know all this stuff is going on, but I'm aligning myself with God. God is love, and he who dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in them. And I'm going to use this as a platform.

Amen.

To transform people's lives, to give them a larger vision of themselves. I'm going to help them to realize that as you look at yourself, look at your life and look at where you want to go, he said, I'll give you all your eyes can see. I'm going to stimulate a hunger in them. Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, right thinking, right words, right feelings, right relationships, right decisions. Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, they shall be filled. And that's the mission that I'm taking with my life. Mission possible.

That's right. And I'm still hungry.

I'm still hungry.

So let's go.

Yeah. Some people said, I'm starving.

Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness. You know, it's. I made this interesting discovery. You know, obviously I had my own situations and things that I walked through, the fire, the. And everything. And I had a lot of various awakenings along the way, a lot of. Lot of levels up. And I, you know, at first, you know, one of my, One of my flagship business like, my first business is a construction company. And I put on siding. Siding. That's how they say it here. North Cackalack is siding. We got siding on the wall. We got all that. Right. Well, I didn't realize it at the time, but when I began pulling the lumber out of the trash piles and began, like, building the stuff that I needed, I focused far more on the things that I already had surrounding my inner circle in order to build something special. Not knowing that that's what I was doing, I also discovered that while I thought that maybe I had to have a high school or a high school diploma or I had to have all these different years of degrees and all this kind of stuff, that maybe somehow I. That was going to prevent me from being successful. Well, when I went through that process, I learned something very interesting, right. The construction process taught me how to use my hands, which then taught me how to use my head. And then people like you have taught me how to use my heart. And it seems like people resonate with the frequency of the heart when they know it's coming from an honest place.

What are one, maybe one tip you can give to someone right now to help them resonate and show them show their vulnerability of their heart to bring people towards light, so to speak.

That when you look at your life right now, in and out of the pandemic.

Ask yourself the question, start listening to the still small voice within.

What do I want out of my life? Why am I here? A friend of mine was going across Europe on a train, and he said at different places, soldiers boarded the train and asked them three questions. Why are you here? Where have you been? And where are you going?

And we have to ask the people who are listening, why are you listening to us?

Where have you been with your life up to this point? Is it you? Does it serve you? Are you the person when you look in the mirror that you thought you would be at this point in time?

And where are you going? Because at the end of the day, life is a question.

And how you live your life is the answer. So we have to take the time.

For self reflection.

The two most important days in our lives. The day that we're born and the day that we realize why we were born. Mark Twain said that.

Yeah.

And so there are a lot of people that are rethinking their lives. The divorce rate up 40%. People been together for a long time. They've been dying together rather than living together. Look across the table, they say, I feel lonely whenever you are around.

That'S not a good sign.

Yeah. I don't want to do this anymore. You know, it's better to be alone than to wish you were.

Oh, my goodness. Oh, behave. Hello. I'm having such a wonderful time with you.

Likewise, my friend. This is. This is. This is a gift from God for me to spend this.

Oh, yeah. You're a blessing to me. You bring out the best in me.

Let's roll. Well, I know we're almost out of time, which I hate, but you're welcome on this show anytime you want to. Come on. But thank you. I have one final question.

Yes?

For people like myself, how can we best be. An extenuation of your legacy.

Is to do the work that you're now doing.

Because what you're doing.

You are expanding a person's vision of themselves.

So that they step out of living a life of mediocrity.

And step into their greatness. Greater is he that's in you than he that's in the world. Simba, you're more than that which you have become. And you're reminding people every day, don't settle. Yeah, don't settle. You know why you do this show? Because you got the. Can't help sit.

Yeah.

It's out of your head.

That's right.

You were chosen to do this work. A job is what you get paid for.

Yeah.

You were called to do this work. Calling is what you are made for. You got to. Can't help it.

I can't help it.

That's the only disease I'll say that I want. How about that?

That's right. That's right.

You know what?

Yeah. A side note. It's just really crazy is I have tried to give up on this numerous times. I know that sounds. I sound. I know that sounds nuts because most of us are trying not to give up, but, you know, my. You know, the. The pressures that come on your family and your businesses when you're. When you're traveling and you're speaking and you're writing and. And you're on camera and. And I know you know, all this weight far too well is. Is as heavy as a mantle as I can experience outside of the. The. The responsibility of what comes out of my mouth.

Right.

I recognize, you know, by following your career, how important it is that for me to spend time cultivating the words.

That awaken.

Right.

And never destroy, you know, and again, I just. I can't thank you enough for the impact that you've made in my life. And I know we just became. Hopefully we Became, just became fast friends.

But no, you, you a family member now.

Let's go. Let's go.

Yeah, for sure.

Well, I know we're out of time, but where can everybody, if like you need to have any idea where to find you, but where can everybody find you?

Well, I want people to go to Hungry to speak if they, they're interested in learning how to use their presentation skills and their voice and their story to make a difference or how to monetize it. We teach people how to do that. Those who are interested in one on one coaching with me, they can go to Les Browngrytospeak.com Les Brown@Hungrytospeak.com for one on one coaching. But those who would like to become a part of our community and let me share with you. A community is very important. Sidney Poitier wrote a book called the Measure of a Man and there was something in there that grabbed me. He said, when you go for a walk with someone, something happens. Either they adjust to your pace or you adjust to their pace. Whose pace have you adjusted to?

That's right.

And so we have created a community.

Of people that you can learn from, people that you can grow from, people that will hold you accountable. Iron sharpening iron. We earn within two to three thousand dollars of our closest friends, people that's going in the same direction that you're going. There are many people that's listening to us and watching us now that will never achieve their goals because they have too many toxic, negative energy draining people in their lives. You have to let go or be dragged. And that could be family members as well as friends. And so we've built a community because you can't do this thing, life by yourself. Jesus said, all power's in my hands. But he got four. No, 12 homies to work with him. 12 say y' all. Come, come.

He got 12 homies to work with him. I got some work. We're gonna do this thing up in here. We're gonna change the world. And so we, we're living in an incredible time where we can make a difference. And we owe it to our children. They're 40% of our population, but they're 100% of our future. That's why I have my children behind me. The Lord said, be fruitful and multiply. I took him seriously.

Yeah. So they speak and train as well then. And it's a wonderful thing. I'm very, very grateful. Please keep me in your prayers.

See me Got it. You got it.

Cancer free. Cancer free and kicking cancer's butt continuously. The cancer centers of America say we don't know nobody that had four stage cancer this long. This positive stuff you talking about, it really works. I said yes and I'm so grateful.

Oh, my goodness. You got it, man. Prayers all day long. Obviously. Anything I can do to help you continue to build this legacy out, I'm here. I'm here for you guys. Love you guys. Huge fan.

And I'm here for you. And I'm here for you. I'm here to serve you. Whatever I could do to serve you, I will. I want you to know I would be more than willing to do that. Alrighty.

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Absolutely.

Thank you.

Well, I appreciate it.

All right, take care. Giving you a virtual hug. Yeah, you don't have to put a ring on it, but I'm a hug anyhow.

All right. There's your hug right there.

All right. All right.

Take care.

I love you and appreciate you. God bless you.

If you love that interview, go ahead and check out this next one right here. Life's going to be brutal no matter what for the next 10 years. You might as well focus on what you do have. Focus on where you can go and be resourceful as hell, because that's where real success comes from.