Empowerment Through Les Brown's Speech

Thank you. You guys look like you're ready. Repeat after me please, this is my decade. This is my decade. You know every year I used to say this is my year, but ladies and gentlemen one good year won't be enough for me. How many of you can use a good decade? Raise your hands please. Fantastic. All right, now, here's what I want to do. I want to share with you how you can begin to make this your decade. How many of you know within yourself, if you ask yourself the question, have I done all that I'm capable of doing or being and living up to my potential? how many of you have to really answer no i have not done all that i can do raise your hands please okay very good now here's what we know that people don't do what they know in life but what they do is they operate within the context of the vision they have of themselves so what i want to share with you is how to begin to get a larger vision of yourself and how to begin to make this your decade because in order to do that it's going to be very challenging it's going to require a lot of work on your part and all ongoing process of personal and professional self-mastery. And it's going to require that you begin to see yourself worthy of the requirements in terms of effort, in terms of commitment, in terms of action, in terms of preparation, or whatever it is that you need to do in order to take your life where you want to take it. So one of the first things I ask you to do is I want you to look at your life right now and think about something that's important to you, something that gives your life a sense of value. Think about something that you'd like to have or something something you'd like to create for you or your family or for society. I want you to hold this thought in mind. Now, one of the first things I want you to do is don't worry about the inner conversation that you're going to have. Don't worry about how you're going to do it. That's going to come. You're going to develop a plan of action. You will find the way. You'll become the kind of person that can attract the people, the resources, and everything you need in order to make that become reality. But I want you to be mindful of your inner conversation. I remember once I was sitting in an audience and Zig Ziglar, who I consider considered one of the greatest motivational speakers on the planet. He was giving a speech, and I was out in the audience, and I saw him going back and forth, and within myself I said, I'd like to do that. I can do that. And I leaned over to the guy next to me. I said, how much do they pay him to do that? And he said, $5,000. I said, I know I can do that. And I admired him. And then on the way home, when I was driving from Tampa, Florida, back to Miami, Florida, my inner conversation kicked in. And it said, Les Brown, you can't do that. You don't have a college. education. Les Brown, you can't do that. You don't have the money. You don't have the contacts. You've never worked for a major corporation. What makes you think that you can make more in one hour talking than you've made working for a whole month? I want to ask you a question. How many of you ever thought about something you wanted to do and you talked you out of it? Raise your hand, please. That inner conversation, ladies and gentlemen, is the reason that most people take their greatness, take their ideas to the graveyard with them. You know, the wealthiest place on the planet, a minister said recently, and it was so true, is not the gold mines in the various areas of the world or the diamond mines. The wealthiest place on the planet is the graveyard. Because in the graveyard we will find inventions that we never ever were exposed to. Ideas, dreams that never became reality. Hopes and aspirations that were never acted upon. Because most people allow that inner conversation. conversation for whatever reason to keep them from ever pursuing their goals. So let us begin to look at what's required in order to to make this our decade. Why is it that most people don't ever reach their goals or live up to their true potential? One is fear. And there are only two kinds of fears that we're born with. The fear of falling and the fear of a loud sound. All other fears we learn, like the fear of failure. The next is the fear of success. That's one of the... major challenges I had to deal with. I was working on a major project and after it began to grow and it was extremely successful, I panicked and I walked away from it and gave it to someone else because I didn't believe that I could handle it. The other thing that keep most people from reaching their goals is that a lot of people become comfortable. They stop growing, they stop wanting anything, they become satisfied. They stop looking at ways in which they can improve themselves, they stop putting things in front of them. I was reading something by a great man, George Bernard Shaw. Sure, and he said something to the effect that to have succeeded is to have finished one's business on earth. Like the male spider who is killed by the female spider the moment he has succeeded in his courtship. And he goes on to say, I like a state of continual becoming with a goal in front and not behind. I remember after giving a speech at a major corporation, a gentleman came up to me who was up in years and he said, you know, that's real great motivation. for you young guys, but I've done all my work. There's nothing else for me to do. I said, oh, yes, you've got a lot to give. You have a lot to offer. The fact that you're still here means that your business is not through yet. The other thing that keeps us from reaching our goal is not feeling worthy. That's where a lot of people get stuck. Because see, when you don't feel worthy of your goal, you'll begin to unconsciously engage in... self-destructive behavior like procrastinating, constantly putting things off, squandering your time, and that's what life is made of. Something else that keeps us from reaching our goal, and that is many times because Because we spend so much time complaining and blaming everybody or everything. I'm reminded of a friend of mine who talked about the fact that one day he was walking by this house and some people were sitting on a porch and there was a dog on the porch. And this dog was just moaning and groaning. So he was curious and he asked the owner, he said, why is this dog moaning and groaning? And the owner said, because he's laying on a nail. You say, well, why doesn't he get off? He says, it's not hurting bad enough for him to get off. How many of you know people who moan and groan and complain about life all the time, all right? They might moan and groan about their job. I'm sick of this job. I'm sick of you. And they just moan and groan and complain all the time and never do anything about it. They haven't got to the point where they're sick and tired of being sick and tired. They just have enough. energy to complain about it. And they consider that. In fact, they believe that that's equivalent to doing something about it, just complaining. No, that can't get you where you want to go. That cannot create your reality for you. The other thing that keep most people from realizing their true greatness and their true potential, circumstances, their environment. There are many people who believe because of where they're born, because of the area where they are in life and where they find themselves. else, that's all they know. Given my circumstances, ladies and gentlemen, I shouldn't be doing what I'm doing right now. See, I know something about you, even not knowing you, that you've got greatness within you. You have the ability to do things that you can't even begin to imagine. You have talents and skills in you that you haven't even began to reach for yet. No one could have convinced me, given my circumstances, given my background, that I would be doing what I'm doing right now. I was born in Liberty City on a floor in 67. 2nd Street, a twin brother and me. When we were six weeks of age, we were adopted. When I was in fifth grade, I was identified as EMR, labeled educable, mentally retarded, and put back from the fifth grade into the fourth grade and stayed in that category until I got out of high school. I have no college training, but here's what happened. I had an intervention in my life, a man who saw something in me at a time that I did not see something in myself. I never forget being in his class one day, waiting on a friend of mine who was there to help me. to rehearse for a play. He did not show up. And he asked me to go up to the board and write something on the board. And I said, I can't do that, sir. He said, why not? I said, well, I'm in a special education class. He said, what do you mean? I said, go up to the board and write what I'm about to tell you. I said, I can't do that, sir. Why not? I'm educable, mentally retarded. And he came from behind his desk. He said, don't ever say that again. Someone's opinion of you does not have to become your reality. and that changed my life. It was Oliver Wendell Holmes who said that once a person's mind is expanded with an idea or a concept, it can never be satisfied to going back to where it was. So some of you are going to experience a breakthrough. Some of you are going to go back and look at your dreams and brush them off. Some of you are going to begin to look at yourself and say, Hey, look here. I know I have not done all that I can do. Whatever goal that you have in mind, I want that to be a goal that will challenge you, something that will make you stretch. It was Osborne who said, attempt to do something beyond that which you've already mastered, you will never grow. What is it that you looked at at some point in time and you decided that you couldn't do it? That you talk yourself out of it. Whatever it is, bring it back out there. How are you going to do it? That will come to you in due time. So you don't get in life what you want, ladies and gentlemen. You get in life what you are, not what you want. And see, the good news is that we can always become more by working to develop ourselves. So the first process of making this your decade, you've got to begin to take a look at your life and look at where are you right now? What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? What gives your life a sense of fulfillment, a sense of joy? What does a full, rich life means to you? What is it that you could love doing seven days a week that'll bring a smile to your face? Think about that. In all the areas of your life, your professional life, your personal life, your family life, your spiritual life, what is it that you'd like to have? Once you begin to determine that, that takes you to the next step, and that is... once you decide what it is that you want, now you've got to decide that you deserve that. Repeat after me, please. I deserve the best that life has to offer. I deserve to find my purpose in life. Shake somebody's hand on your right and left and say, I find your purpose. Do you know by actively pursuing your purpose, it could perhaps extend your life? The number one killer in this country, of all the diseases we have, heart disease. That's the number one killer. And if you ask most people, when is it that the majority of people have their first major heart attack? Some people will tell you it's a result of obesity or smoking cigarettes or high cholesterol or high blood pressure. And all of those are contributing factors. However, the truth of the matter is that most people don't realize that the majority of people suffer their first major heart attack on Monday morning between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. People getting ready to go to jobs that they don't like. Jobs that are making them sick. You see, when you're not pursuing your goal, you are literally committing spiritual suicide. When you have some goal out here that you're stretching for, what? and reaching for that takes you out of your comfort zone, you'll find out some talents and abilities you have that you didn't know you have. I started speaking just to elementary school kids because I knew they didn't know what I was talking about. And they gave me all kinds of standing ovation. We like you, yeah, yeah. Then I graduated up to junior high school and then to senior high school and then to various community groups and church groups and civic associations and then to colleges and to businesses. Now I'm traveling across. the country and then traveling nationally and internationally. But I never would have discovered what I'm able to do right now if I wasn't willing to take a chance. And you've got to be willing to do that. You've got to believe in yourself. I was doing work for a major corporation and they were having a major downsizing. Just another terminology for major firings. And so the people that were working there, they approached them and said, listen, you are eligible for early retirement. We will give you a buyout package of $300,000 if you take it within this time frame. However, after this time frame, when we have the downsizing, you might be among the people cut, and you will lose all of the benefits that we're talking about right now. And the most you can get is two-week severance pay. Ladies and gentlemen, only 50% of the people that were eligible took this. Let me tell you something. If I'd been there, I'd have gone to ask for your check. Listen Marvin told me to get his check He's home with his mama I would have taken that money so quick and had other people checks. I said, Les got your check. See, ladies and gentlemen, life is too short trying to play it safe. It's too short and unpredictable. miserable. It's too short for that. Here's the thing. There's no safe position in life. Let me tell you why. It's a quiet secret that most people don't realize. You can't get out of life alive. Hello, you can't get out of life alive. So there's no safe position. You can die in the bleachers or you can die on the field. You might as well come out on the field and have a good time. So if you want to make this your decade, you've got to decide to be bold. See, you've got to be bold in life. You've got to take life on. I remember I was at a major corporation. I had to give a presentation. And there were two guys sitting across from me, and the guy... I said to the other fellow, looking at the last two finalists, and that involved my firm and their firm, said, listen, looking at the credentials, this guy doesn't have any credentials. We have an advantage here. We've got two PhDs between us. I got up and I went in the bathroom and started talking to myself. I said, Les Brown, what do you care about their two PhDs? You have six children and a mama to take care of. And I went in that meeting and first of all, I went there walking bold, looking good, feeling good and smelling good. All right? Thank you. Thank you. And I sat across that table and we started negotiating and I operated in a spirit of absolute certainty. I looked at them as if the only reason that they were born was to give me that contract. They survived one out of nine million sperms to carry out this transaction. And I got the contract. Hello. So you've got to decide to be bold. Most people go through life trying to creep. No, no, no. Trying to be casual about it. No, no, no. You go through life being casual, you'll end up a casualty. No, uh-uh. You've got to be bold in life. You've got to take life on. Now, here's something else. You must be positive. See, a lot of people, when things don't happen when they want it to happen, they become negative. And they turn out and start projecting a lot of negative energy. No, no. You've got to make a conscious, deliberate, determined... effort to be positive. Because see, when you know within yourself things are going to work out for you, when you know within yourself that some way, somehow you're going to make it. And this is just some, these are just some of the hoops you've got to flip through in order to get there. It's okay. Have a friend who went to get a job and the people in high and he was so negative. Well, hey, to hell with you then. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. They just don't have a job today. Don't burn your bridges behind you. Don't talk about the guy's mama. Come on. All right. Now, here's the last thing. If you want to reach your goal and have a competitive edge, you've got to be hungry. A lot of people love me to tell this story. When I got out of school, you know, my first major goal was to buy my mother a home. And my hero in broadcasting was Paul Harvey. And I wanted to become involved in broadcasting. And I loved the disc jockeys that were on the air. And I wanted to become a disc jockey. And Mr. Washington said, says something to me that I'll never forget who was my mentor in high school. Repeat this. Whitney Young, it's his quote. It's better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not have one. be prepared. See, so I started working to develop my communication skills and expand my vocabulary. I started visualizing myself being a disc jockey. I saw myself on the air having a talk show and playing records and people listening to me. That was my vision. That was my dream. I held that in mind constantly. And I would practice all the time. Practice makes what? Perfect. Absolutely not. This just dislodged that from your mind. Practice only makes improvement. Perfection doesn't exist. They need to take it out of addiction. It doesn't exist. Practice only makes improvement. You can always better your best. You have not done your best work yet. As long as you're here, you have a chance to transcend yourself. So don't believe in perfection. It doesn't exist. It only makes improvement. So I would practice, practice, practice every day, every day, every day. And finally, I went over to this radio station, asked a guy for a job named Mr. Burwell. And I said, how are you doing, sir? I'd like to get a job. I was working on Miami Beach at the Fountain Blue Hotel at the time. The jacket glitters. Gleason and the June Taylor dancers were famous. And my favorite program on television, most people would not remember it. John Beresford Tipton. Hi, my name is Michael Anthony. I have a check for $1 million. How many of you remember that program? All right. The Millionaire. That was my favorite program on television, you know. So this is my fantasy, you know. And every time we would drive from Miami Beach, I would fantasize, oh, that's the house. When I get my million, I'm going to buy my mother that home over there. So that's my fantasy. So I went up to Mr. Butterball and he said, do you have any radio experience? I said, no, sir. You have any background in journalism? I said, no, sir. I said, but I can never get experience if you don't give me the opportunity. I've been practicing a lot, sir. He said, I'm sorry, we don't have any job for you. I said, thank you, sir. He didn't know my reasons for being there. My reason, I wanted to use radio as a means to earn the money to buy my mother a home. I went back to the radio station again. I said, how you doing, Mr. Butterball? My name is Les Brown. I know your name. Didn't I just see you here yesterday? I said, yes, sir. I said, y'all have any jobs here? Didn't I tell you yesterday we didn't have any jobs? Yes, sir, but I thought maybe somebody got fired or resigned. I didn't know, sir. I went the next day. How you doing, Mr. Butterball? He said, yes. And I just didn't take it personally. How you doing? So y'all have any jobs here? Didn't I just tell you yesterday and the day before we didn't have any work? Well, I thought maybe somebody died. So I didn't know. I didn't know. I went the next day, showed up. Like nothing was wrong, like I saw him for the first time. How you doing, Mr. Butterball? Y'all having a... He said, boy, make yourself useful. Go get me some food. I said, yes, sir. See, many times when you want more, you've got to be willing to pay your dues. So I became their errand boy. I went to get their lunch and their dinner and all kind of food for them. After a while, I would take the food to them in the control room, and I would not leave until they would ask me to, and I'd watch them working the controls, and I'd memorize their hand movements. And pretty soon, they would trust me with their cars to go pick up entertainers that came into town, entertainers like Sam Cooke, and Donna Ross in the... Supremes, the Four Tops, and the Temptations. I would drive them all over Miami Beach in the disc jockey's cars. I didn't have any driver's license, but I'd drive it like I had some. Finally one day I was at the radio station and a guy by the name of Rock was drinking while he was on the air. It was a Saturday afternoon. I was the only one there. None of the other jocks were available. And I was looking at him through the control room window. Saying, drink Rock, drink. Drink Rock. I'd have gone to get him some more if he'd asked me to. Greg Rock! Pretty soon the phone rang. It was the general manager. I said, hello? He said, Les, this is Mr. Klein. I said, I know. He said, Rock can't finish his program. I said, I know. He said, would you call one of the other DJs to come in? I said, yes, sir. I hung the phone up. I said, now he must be thinking I'm crazy. I called my mom and my girlfriend, Cassandra. I said, y'all come out on the front porch and turn up the radio. I'm about to come on the air. I waited for about 20 minutes and I called him back. I said, Mr. Klein, I can't find nobody. He said, young boy, do you know how to segue the records? I said, yes, sir. He said, go in there and don't say nothing to him. I said, yes, sir. I couldn't wait. to get behind those controls. I put the headphones on. I said, look out, this is me, LBPPP, Les Brown, your platter-playing papa. There were none before me and there will be none after me. Therefore, that makes me the one and only, young and single and love-domingo, certified, bona fide, and duly qualified to bring you satisfaction and a whole lot of action. Look out, baby, I'm your love man. I was hungry! I was hungry! You feel better when you are able to have charge of your destiny, doesn't it? It gives you a good feel, it gives you choices. You can do more things. See, my first major goal was to buy my mother a home. I feel like Abraham Lincoln who said, All that I am and all that I ever hope for, hope to be, I owe to my mother. And I said to my mama one day, I said, mama, when I become a man, I'm going to buy you a home and you won't have to go to work every day. You won't have to work. You just sit down, mama. She was getting up, getting dressed to go to Eminem cafeteria. I was just following her around. I said, watch, Mama. One day, you won't have to leave here to go to work no more. It's raining outside. You won't have to go to work in the rain. You just do what you want to do. Like, stay home and fix me sweet potato pie. My mama fixed the kind of sweet potato pie you can't eat with your shoes on. You have to take your shoes off so you can wiggle your toes, all right? But that was my dream. That was my passion. I saw that, and that drove me. That was my reason for being. So one of the things in order to make this your decade in all. order to reach your goals, you've got to find some reasons that make you strong, some reasons that will make you hang in there when times get rough, because they're going to get rough. It's going to be very challenging. Whenever you decide that you want to grow, whenever you decide that you want to go to another level, all hell will break loose. Everything that will happen, or rather that can happen, will happen, and at the worst possible moment. They call it Murphy's Law. See, whenever you decide that you want to go to another vibration, it's like when you get into an airplane. The first thing they tell you to do is do what? Fasten your seatbelt. Because you're going to experience some turbulence when you're going up. And some of you are already experiencing that turbulence. Don't be frightened by that. See, whenever you decide you want to go to another level, you've got to fasten your psychological, your mental, and your spiritual seatbelt. Because it's going to be a while before you experience a comfortable altitude. You're going to get there. It's there. But you've got to go through this phase here. This is how you grow. This is how you develop. See, life is like a roller coaster. Sometimes you're up, sometimes you're down. Sometimes things go well and sometimes they don't go well. But in the down moments, that's when you discover who you are. During the down moments, see, in the prosperous time, you put it in your pocket. In the lean times, you put it in your heart. And that's when you discover who you are. So find five reasons that empower you. Why is it that you deserve your goal? What are the five reasons that you won't give up when life gets you on the blind side, when the messenger of misery visits you? What are you going to do? What will... keep you in the game when life knocks you to the canvas. See, the Buster Douglas that fought in the last fight was not the Buster Douglas that fought Mike Tyson. See, the Buster Douglas that got knocked down while fighting Mike Tyson. had gotten out of an alcohol recovery center. His mother had died. His wife was ill with a terminal illness. He was considered a nothing, a bum. So when he got knocked down, Buster Douglas had a reason to get back up because he said, I'm dedicating this fight to the memory of my mama. But when he fought the last fight that he had, and he got knocked down, and he had a guaranteed $24 million in his pocket, whether he got up or not. he just said hurry up and count me out and i don't blame him why get hurt i said no why'd you leave so soon somebody's about to get hurt me so you've got to have some reasons that when life knocks you down and it's going to hello it's going to knock you down when people disappoint you and that's going to happen when they betray you and that's going to happen when they lied to you and that's going to happen when they say oh you can count on me and they won't show up and that's going to happen when you want to throw in the towel and give up yourself and that's going to happen When life collapse on you and catch you on the blind side, it drop you to your knees and start choking you. You got a dream? No, I ain't got no dream. And that's going to happen. What reason can you remember that you can call on, that you can reach on, that can make you get back up? Find that reason. Because when life had knocked me down, I said, life, I'm doing this because I want to make my mama proud of me. I'm doing this because I want my children to have a better life than what I had. I'm doing this because all my life I've been told I'd be a loser, that I wouldn't make it. Oh my God. my life I heard people say, maybe take them back to the welfare department. I'm doing this to make them a lie. I believe like Frank Sinatra, he said, the best revenge in life is massive success. I'm doing this so I can become massively successful. And with that kind of courage, with that kind of affirmation and reason to empower me, I got a saying that when life knocks you down, try and land on your back because if you can look up, you can get up. So when you run out of money, when things don't work out for you, when things happen that you could not anticipate, what are the reasons that you can think of that can keep you strong, that can keep you in the game, that will be your rod and staff? to comfort you, that can be your bridge over troubled waters. Those reasons are very important. Nietzsche said, if you know the why for living, you can endure almost anyhow. So find out the reasons that you do what you do. Find out the reasons. that will make you strong, that will make you walk by faith and not by sight, that will make you pursue your dream when everybody is against you or don't believe in you no more. And let me tell you something, that's a lonely feeling. It's a lonely feeling, particularly people that you're doing it for, or people that stand to benefit the most, or people who should be the number one members in the encouragement club, but they end up saying, you can't do it, and they become members of the discouragement club. Oh, it hurts very badly. I know what that's like. have people that you love close to you that look at you with that look and say, why don't you try something else? Why don't you give up? I said, but this is my life. I have got to do this. Les, you had a good job at Sears. Fat man like you. Mama, I can't go back to Sears. I can't, I can't do, I got to be my own boss. I, I can't do that. I mean, you know, it's, it's, ladies and gentlemen, you know, when you work on a job that's dead. dead end. You can see the ceiling already. It's like going in the middle of a movie. And after you've seen the movie, sitting back through that over again, there's something missing. You know the hero is not going to die. You know what the outcome is already. And so that's why a lot of people, a lady was telling me, she said when she went to work, it felt like a refrigerator fell on her shoulder as soon as she stepped in. Because she knew she'd gone as far as she could go. See, they're paying her just enough to keep her from quitting. And she's worked just hard enough keep from getting fired. How many of you know people like that? Raise your hand. One of you didn't raise your hand, you the one. I'll just tease it. I'll just tease it, all right? Here's something else. Make a commitment to be happy. See, you know, I have Have you laughing a lot see life is too short going through it looking wholly tired and ugly Sometimes we take life too seriously Oh, no Make a commitment to be happy find little things just to get tickled about and laugh Find ways to be happy in the moment a lot of people say well I'll be happy when I pay off all my bills No, no, no. I'll be happy when I get my divorce. Oh, no, no, no. I'll be happy when the children go. Oh, no, no. You want to be happy now. See, there are no guarantees. No one say you're going to be here two, three, or four years from now. So you want to be happy right now. In the moment, repeat after me, I must make a commitment. I must make a commitment. To be happy. To be happy. Right now. Right now. Right now. Right now. Is all I got. All I got. Shake somebody's hand on your right and left and say, you deserve to be happy. You deserve to be happy. You deserve to be happy. Make a commitment to be happy because life now has new meaning for you. Just enjoying the sunset or just looking at life or looking at nature. you're going for a walk. It's the little things in life that counts. Here's something else that you want to begin to do in order to make this your decade. You want to begin to get all the toxic people out of your life. Hello. Energy drainers, get them out of your life. See, ladies and gentlemen, it takes a lot of energy to reach your goal. It takes a lot of emotional, mental, and spiritual energy to reach your goal. And you can run faster with a hundred. who want to go than with one around your neck. So there are two kinds of relationships. Sid Simon talks about this. Nourishing relationships and toxic relationships. Nourishing relationships are the relationships that inspire you. They motivate you. They bring the best out of you. Toxic relationships are relationships with people that always criticize you. All they can do is find fault. All they can do is just exploit your weaknesses. All they can do is remind you of the mistakes that you've made in the past. These people are bad for your health. Toxic people can run your blood pressure up. One apple can spoil a whole barrel. One negative energy drainer can spoil your whole life. I know people whose lives have been ruined because somebody wasn't good for them. See, there are some people that aren't good for you. Hello? They aren't good for you. You've got to get them out of your life. See, a lot of people put up with a lot of foolishness because they don't want to die by themselves. Here's what I believe. I believe in a one-to-a-box theory. Ask this question of yourself. Make a list of who you communicate with most and ask yourself the question, what kind of person am I becoming because of this relationship? Is it helping me to grow mentally and emotionally and spiritually? Am I becoming a better person? because of this relationship? Do they bring out the best in me? Do they inspire me? Do they encourage me to develop my greatness? Do they make me stretch? So you got to look at the people in your life and find out what kind of person are you becoming because of that relationship? My mother used to say, birds of a feather flock together. You run around with losers, you will end up a loser. Unconsciously, unconsciously, you will pick up their ways, you'll pick up their habits, you'll pick up, most importantly, their attitude about life. If you're around cynical, negative people all the time, you will become cynical and negative. So you've got to watch yourself. Many of us are living out the lies. of other people living out their conclusions, living out of their consciousness. The other thing is that you begin to look at, looking at your life and looking at what it is that you want to achieve, another crucial thing that you must do is align yourself with powerful people. Align yourself with people that can encourage you, people that can empower you, people that you can learn from, people that you can grow from. That's very important. See, if you have people around you that can contribute to your growth, when I want you If you wanted to become a speaker, I'd join the National Speakers Association. I wanted to be around the Dr. Norman Vincent Peale's, the Zig Ziglar's, the Dwayne Dyer's. I wanted to be around people that were doing what I wanted to do. I wanted to learn from them. And you want to do that too. You want to align yourself with people who think like you. People who dream like you. People who want more out of life. People that are stretching and searching and seeking some higher ground in life. As opposed to the majority of people. So somebody said, always strive to give. get on top in life because it's the bottom that's overcrowded. And see, you don't want to be on the bottom. See, it's easy to be on the bottom. It doesn't take It doesn't take any effort to be a loser. It doesn't take any motivation, any drive, in order to stay down there on a low level. But it calls on everything in you, ladies and gentlemen. You have to harness your will to say, I'm going to challenge myself. Sometimes I have to pull myself out of bed and say, come on, Les. Things I know I should do, I don't do. Things I shouldn't do, I do. I found that the biggest enemy you have to deal with is yourself. There's an old African proverb that says, if there's no enemy within, the enemy outside can do us no harm. So think about that. So as you begin to look toward making this your decade, as you begin to look toward making your life different, as you begin to look at yourself, you've got to redefine yourself. Who are you right now? And who must you become in order to create what you want? to change about you? What is it that you're doing right now that would be a liability for you? As you begin to look toward the future and take inventory of yourself, what is it about you right now that you've got to leave this behind? Because this no longer fits looking at where you want to go and the kind of person that you must become the kind of standards that you have for you what is it that you must do differently repeat out to me please if you want to keep on getting what you're getting keep on doing what you're doing see that doesn't take an Einstein for that one all right it makes sense unless you change your pattern unless you change the way you're thinking unless you change your behavior you're gonna going to continue to produce the results in your life. See, all of us are winners, but some of us are producing results that we don't want. And so all you have to look at your game plan, look at your strategy. How is it that you have been being? What is it that you've been doing to produce this? So you are the director, you are the producer, you're writing the script, you're the star of your life. And as you begin to look at your life, you can decide whether or not it's a smash or whether or not it's a flop. That's in your hands. Look at your life, look at where you want to go. Don't Don't worry about your circumstances. Don't worry about your age. I have a friend who's up in age, over 70, and she wanted to build a multimillion-dollar complex. Her name is Dr. Johnny Coleman. Lenders and bankers say, you can't do that. You're too old. She ignored them. That building now stands, ladies and gentlemen, a multimillion-dollar structure. But there are a lot of people who would have listened to that. There are a lot of people that would not have even gotten to that point. They would have talked themselves out of even going down to the bank to ask for it. because they've already said no to themselves. See, it's time now. If you want to make this your decade, you've got to start saying yes to your life. You've got to start saying yes to your dreams, yes to your unfolding future, yes to your potential, as opposed to saying no. See, 87% of our self-talk is negative. So you've got to make a conscious, deliberate, determined effort to say yes to your dreams. Why not? Why not me? Don't spend time like most people. people going through life complaining. Don't try and get on talk shows and tell everybody how life has done you wrong. Here's what's happening in the audience. 80% don't care. And 50% glad it's you. All right? So when you know that, you'll go around crying, oh, you know what they did to me? Who cares? Get away from me before they come back. I had a friend of mine that said something that's very important. He said, hey, it doesn't matter what happens to you. The only thing that matters is what are you going to do about it? That's all that matters. Okay, life knocked you down. What are you going to do about it? How long are you going to sit there and say, you know what they did to me? How long? Who wants to hear that racket? Use that energy to get up from there and move on and get on with your life. You've got to learn to let the past go so you can grow. Many people never act on their dreams because they allow them to. their past experiences to determine what their possibilities are. Whatever you've done in the past, that's not a reflection of your possibilities. That's just a reflection of your consciousness. That's just a reflection of your development and your growth. The future is unfolding for you right now. The future is unlimited for you right now. No one knows where you can go. No one knows what you're capable of or what's possible for you. You don't even know that. I had no idea, ladies and gentlemen. No one could have convinced me. that I was able to do this. I'll never forget, I was speaking in Detroit, and a high school friend of mine saw me afterwards, and he was backstage. He said, I can't believe it. I believe it's the same person. And I thought for a moment and I said, it's not. The person you know, he gone. He doesn't live here anymore. We have the power to change our personal history. Changing the direction of our lives. Changing our thoughts. Changing where we want to go. Exploring new horizons. So as you begin to look at this decade and affirming that this is your decade, as you set goals that will make you stretch, that will bring out the best in you, best in you, as you begin to remove the negative toxic people from your life, as you decide to take some chances in life. And that's one of the things that's very important. This God said, if you're not willing to risk, you cannot grow. And if you cannot grow, you cannot become your best. And if you cannot become your best, you cannot be happy. And if you can't be happy, then what else is there? I'll never forget when I reached my first major goal of buying my mother that home. I'll never forget what it was like. And you're going to have this experience when you reach some major goal. When I drove up to the house and I got out and I gave Mama the key. And I said, Mama, this is for you. I'll never forget the look on her face. She said, oh, my God. No one could have convinced me when I adopted y'all that this would happen. She said, oh thank you. She said, and you, you caused me so many damn problems. I was just one of those kids that had a lot of energy, but no one knew what I was going to become. It was a great philosopher, Goethe, he said, look at a man the way that he is, he only becomes worse. But look at him as if he were what he could be, then he becomes what he should be. be. And what Mr. Washington did was he looked beyond my thoughts and saw my needs. And he said, I see something in you. And I was there, oh God, I hope he's right. And I want to live up to his expectations. See, no one rises. to low expectations. Finally, here's one last thing I'd like to leave with you. If you want to make this your decade, find some cause that you believe in. See, this is my profession, but my greatest joy in life is working with young kids. Every Monday, I fly up to Chicago to work with 600 young kids at Christ Universal Temple Church, working with them to develop a sense of purpose and direction with their lives. We develop a training program. If they're addicted to drugs or alcohol, we help them. to get into a permanent recovery program. If they're not, we help them to develop a vision of themselves where drugs and alcohol does not fit. I love it when I go into the Cook County Jail and see the look on these young men' faces, the anger and the self-hatred. And then when we leave there, see the difference in them as we begin to touch a spark in them as Mr. Washington touched in me. And you cannot put a dollar price on that. That's my reason for being. What is it that you... would like to give the planet? What is it that you'd like to leave here? See, someone paid a price for us to be here. I believe that we live in the greatest country in the world that gives us an opportunity to make a difference in life. We are blessed to have been dropped off on this part of the planet. A friend of mine was in Manila and saw a bumper sticker that said, Yankee, go home and take me with you. So as you begin to look at your life, decide, what kind of legacy do I want to leave? What kind of statement? do you want to make with your life? What three things you want said when you die? What contribution do you want to make? I don't know what you want to do. I don't know what you want to achieve with your life. Here's what I know about you, and about you, and about you, and about you. That you have greatness within you. That you have things and gifts and talents that you've been bestowed with. That as you work consciously, making a conscious, deliberate, determined effort to cultivate and bring them out and develop a sense of purpose in knowing that your life can make a difference, and decide to make and leave a legacy with your life, I say to you that the planet will never be the same again because you showed up. As you begin to... to look toward the future and affirm that this is your decade, this is what I'd like to leave with you that I'm known by. It's become my motto. And it says simply this, what do you want to do? My goal is to be the best son that I can be to my mother. My goal is to be the best father that I can be to my children. And my goal is to create a drug-free America, be the best motivator that I can be. Whatever your goal is, this is what I'd like to leave with you. It says simply this, that if you want a thing bad enough to go out and fight for it, to work day and night for it, to give up your time. your peace and your sleep for it. If all that you dream and scheme is about it, and life seems useless and worthless without it, and if you gladly sweat for it and fret for it and plan for it and lose all your terror of the opposition for it, and if you simply go after this thing that you want with all of your capacity, strength and sagacity, faith, hope, and confidence, and stern pertinacity, if neither cold poverty, famish or gulf, sickness or pain of body and brain can keep you away from the thing that you want, if dogged and grim you... besiege and beset it, with the help of God, you'll get it. This is Mrs. Mamie Brown's baby boy, Leslie Calvin Brown, saying, it's been a plum-pleasing pleasure, as well as a privilege. Thank you all.

How many of you can use a good decade? Raise your hands please. Fantastic. All right, now, here's what I want to do.

I want to share with you how you can begin to make this your decade. How many of you know within yourself, if you ask yourself the question, have I done all that I'm capable of doing or being and living up to my potential? how many of you have to really answer no i have not done all that i can do raise your hands please okay very good now here's what we know that people don't do what they know in life but what they do is they operate within the context of the vision they have of themselves so what i want to share with you is how to begin to get a larger vision of yourself and how to begin to make this your decade because in order to do that it's going to be very challenging it's going to require a lot of work on your part and all ongoing process of personal and professional self-mastery. And it's going to require that you begin to see yourself worthy of the requirements in terms of effort, in terms of commitment, in terms of action, in terms of preparation, or whatever it is that you need to do in order to take your life where you want to take it.

So one of the first things I ask you to do is I want you to look at your life right now and think about something that's important to you, something that gives your life a sense of value. Think about something that you'd like to have or something something you'd like to create for you or your family or for society. I want you to hold this thought in mind. Now, one of the first things I want you to do is don't worry about the inner conversation that you're going to have. Don't worry about how you're going to do it.

That's going to come. You're going to develop a plan of action. You will find the way.

You'll become the kind of person that can attract the people, the resources, and everything you need in order to make that become reality. But I want you to be mindful of your inner conversation. I remember once I was sitting in an audience and Zig Ziglar, who I consider considered one of the greatest motivational speakers on the planet. He was giving a speech, and I was out in the audience, and I saw him going back and forth, and within myself I said, I'd like to do that. I can do that.

And I leaned over to the guy next to me. I said, how much do they pay him to do that? And he said, $5,000.

I said, I know I can do that. And I admired him. And then on the way home, when I was driving from Tampa, Florida, back to Miami, Florida, my inner conversation kicked in. And it said, Les Brown, you can't do that.

You don't have a college. education. Les Brown, you can't do that. You don't have the money.

You don't have the contacts. You've never worked for a major corporation. What makes you think that you can make more in one hour talking than you've made working for a whole month? I want to ask you a question.

How many of you ever thought about something you wanted to do and you talked you out of it? Raise your hand, please. That inner conversation, ladies and gentlemen, is the reason that most people take their greatness, take their ideas to the graveyard with them.

You know, the wealthiest place on the planet, a minister said recently, and it was so true, is not the gold mines in the various areas of the world or the diamond mines. The wealthiest place on the planet is the graveyard. Because in the graveyard we will find inventions that we never ever were exposed to. Ideas, dreams that never became reality. Hopes and aspirations that were never acted upon.

Because most people allow that inner conversation. conversation for whatever reason to keep them from ever pursuing their goals. So let us begin to look at what's required in order to to make this our decade. Why is it that most people don't ever reach their goals or live up to their true potential? One is fear.

And there are only two kinds of fears that we're born with. The fear of falling and the fear of a loud sound. All other fears we learn, like the fear of failure.

The next is the fear of success. That's one of the... major challenges I had to deal with. I was working on a major project and after it began to grow and it was extremely successful, I panicked and I walked away from it and gave it to someone else because I didn't believe that I could handle it.

The other thing that keep most people from reaching their goals is that a lot of people become comfortable. They stop growing, they stop wanting anything, they become satisfied. They stop looking at ways in which they can improve themselves, they stop putting things in front of them. I was reading something by a great man, George Bernard Shaw.

Sure, and he said something to the effect that to have succeeded is to have finished one's business on earth. Like the male spider who is killed by the female spider the moment he has succeeded in his courtship. And he goes on to say, I like a state of continual becoming with a goal in front and not behind.

I remember after giving a speech at a major corporation, a gentleman came up to me who was up in years and he said, you know, that's real great motivation. for you young guys, but I've done all my work. There's nothing else for me to do.

I said, oh, yes, you've got a lot to give. You have a lot to offer. The fact that you're still here means that your business is not through yet. The other thing that keeps us from reaching our goal is not feeling worthy. That's where a lot of people get stuck.

Because see, when you don't feel worthy of your goal, you'll begin to unconsciously engage in... self-destructive behavior like procrastinating, constantly putting things off, squandering your time, and that's what life is made of. Something else that keeps us from reaching our goal, and that is many times because Because we spend so much time complaining and blaming everybody or everything.

I'm reminded of a friend of mine who talked about the fact that one day he was walking by this house and some people were sitting on a porch and there was a dog on the porch. And this dog was just moaning and groaning. So he was curious and he asked the owner, he said, why is this dog moaning and groaning?

And the owner said, because he's laying on a nail. You say, well, why doesn't he get off? He says, it's not hurting bad enough for him to get off.

How many of you know people who moan and groan and complain about life all the time, all right? They might moan and groan about their job. I'm sick of this job.

I'm sick of you. And they just moan and groan and complain all the time and never do anything about it. They haven't got to the point where they're sick and tired of being sick and tired.

They just have enough. energy to complain about it. And they consider that. In fact, they believe that that's equivalent to doing something about it, just complaining.

No, that can't get you where you want to go. That cannot create your reality for you. The other thing that keep most people from realizing their true greatness and their true potential, circumstances, their environment. There are many people who believe because of where they're born, because of the area where they are in life and where they find themselves.

else, that's all they know. Given my circumstances, ladies and gentlemen, I shouldn't be doing what I'm doing right now. See, I know something about you, even not knowing you, that you've got greatness within you.

You have the ability to do things that you can't even begin to imagine. You have talents and skills in you that you haven't even began to reach for yet. No one could have convinced me, given my circumstances, given my background, that I would be doing what I'm doing right now.

I was born in Liberty City on a floor in 67. 2nd Street, a twin brother and me. When we were six weeks of age, we were adopted. When I was in fifth grade, I was identified as EMR, labeled educable, mentally retarded, and put back from the fifth grade into the fourth grade and stayed in that category until I got out of high school. I have no college training, but here's what happened. I had an intervention in my life, a man who saw something in me at a time that I did not see something in myself.

I never forget being in his class one day, waiting on a friend of mine who was there to help me. to rehearse for a play. He did not show up. And he asked me to go up to the board and write something on the board. And I said, I can't do that, sir. He said, why not?

I said, well, I'm in a special education class. He said, what do you mean? I said, go up to the board and write what I'm about to tell you.

I said, I can't do that, sir. Why not? I'm educable, mentally retarded.

And he came from behind his desk. He said, don't ever say that again. Someone's opinion of you does not have to become your reality.

and that changed my life. It was Oliver Wendell Holmes who said that once a person's mind is expanded with an idea or a concept, it can never be satisfied to going back to where it was. So some of you are going to experience a breakthrough.

Some of you are going to go back and look at your dreams and brush them off. Some of you are going to begin to look at yourself and say, Hey, look here. I know I have not done all that I can do. Whatever goal that you have in mind, I want that to be a goal that will challenge you, something that will make you stretch.

It was Osborne who said, attempt to do something beyond that which you've already mastered, you will never grow. What is it that you looked at at some point in time and you decided that you couldn't do it? That you talk yourself out of it. Whatever it is, bring it back out there. How are you going to do it?

That will come to you in due time. So you don't get in life what you want, ladies and gentlemen. You get in life what you are, not what you want. And see, the good news is that we can always become more by working to develop ourselves. So the first process of making this your decade, you've got to begin to take a look at your life and look at where are you right now?

What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? What gives your life a sense of fulfillment, a sense of joy?

What does a full, rich life means to you? What is it that you could love doing seven days a week that'll bring a smile to your face? Think about that.

In all the areas of your life, your professional life, your personal life, your family life, your spiritual life, what is it that you'd like to have? Once you begin to determine that, that takes you to the next step, and that is... once you decide what it is that you want, now you've got to decide that you deserve that. Repeat after me, please. I deserve the best that life has to offer.

I deserve to find my purpose in life. Shake somebody's hand on your right and left and say, I find your purpose. Do you know by actively pursuing your purpose, it could perhaps extend your life? The number one killer in this country, of all the diseases we have, heart disease.

That's the number one killer. And if you ask most people, when is it that the majority of people have their first major heart attack? Some people will tell you it's a result of obesity or smoking cigarettes or high cholesterol or high blood pressure.

And all of those are contributing factors. However, the truth of the matter is that most people don't realize that the majority of people suffer their first major heart attack on Monday morning between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m.

People getting ready to go to jobs that they don't like. Jobs that are making them sick. You see, when you're not pursuing your goal, you are literally committing spiritual suicide. When you have some goal out here that you're stretching for, what?

and reaching for that takes you out of your comfort zone, you'll find out some talents and abilities you have that you didn't know you have. I started speaking just to elementary school kids because I knew they didn't know what I was talking about. And they gave me all kinds of standing ovation. We like you, yeah, yeah. Then I graduated up to junior high school and then to senior high school and then to various community groups and church groups and civic associations and then to colleges and to businesses.

Now I'm traveling across. the country and then traveling nationally and internationally. But I never would have discovered what I'm able to do right now if I wasn't willing to take a chance.

And you've got to be willing to do that. You've got to believe in yourself. I was doing work for a major corporation and they were having a major downsizing. Just another terminology for major firings.

And so the people that were working there, they approached them and said, listen, you are eligible for early retirement. We will give you a buyout package of $300,000 if you take it within this time frame. However, after this time frame, when we have the downsizing, you might be among the people cut, and you will lose all of the benefits that we're talking about right now.

And the most you can get is two-week severance pay. Ladies and gentlemen, only 50% of the people that were eligible took this. Let me tell you something.

If I'd been there, I'd have gone to ask for your check. Listen Marvin told me to get his check He's home with his mama I would have taken that money so quick and had other people checks. I said, Les got your check. See, ladies and gentlemen, life is too short trying to play it safe.

It's too short and unpredictable. miserable. It's too short for that.

Here's the thing. There's no safe position in life. Let me tell you why.

It's a quiet secret that most people don't realize. You can't get out of life alive. Hello, you can't get out of life alive.

So there's no safe position. You can die in the bleachers or you can die on the field. You might as well come out on the field and have a good time.

So if you want to make this your decade, you've got to decide to be bold. See, you've got to be bold in life. You've got to take life on.

I remember I was at a major corporation. I had to give a presentation. And there were two guys sitting across from me, and the guy...

I said to the other fellow, looking at the last two finalists, and that involved my firm and their firm, said, listen, looking at the credentials, this guy doesn't have any credentials. We have an advantage here. We've got two PhDs between us. I got up and I went in the bathroom and started talking to myself. I said, Les Brown, what do you care about their two PhDs?

You have six children and a mama to take care of. And I went in that meeting and first of all, I went there walking bold, looking good, feeling good and smelling good. All right?

Thank you. Thank you. And I sat across that table and we started negotiating and I operated in a spirit of absolute certainty.

I looked at them as if the only reason that they were born was to give me that contract. They survived one out of nine million sperms to carry out this transaction. And I got the contract. Hello.

So you've got to decide to be bold. Most people go through life trying to creep. No, no, no.

Trying to be casual about it. No, no, no. You go through life being casual, you'll end up a casualty. No, uh-uh. You've got to be bold in life.

You've got to take life on. Now, here's something else. You must be positive.

See, a lot of people, when things don't happen when they want it to happen, they become negative. And they turn out and start projecting a lot of negative energy. No, no.

You've got to make a conscious, deliberate, determined... effort to be positive. Because see, when you know within yourself things are going to work out for you, when you know within yourself that some way, somehow you're going to make it. And this is just some, these are just some of the hoops you've got to flip through in order to get there. It's okay.

Have a friend who went to get a job and the people in high and he was so negative. Well, hey, to hell with you then. Wait a minute.

Wait a minute. They just don't have a job today. Don't burn your bridges behind you.

Don't talk about the guy's mama. Come on. All right. Now, here's the last thing. If you want to reach your goal and have a competitive edge, you've got to be hungry.

A lot of people love me to tell this story. When I got out of school, you know, my first major goal was to buy my mother a home. And my hero in broadcasting was Paul Harvey.

And I wanted to become involved in broadcasting. And I loved the disc jockeys that were on the air. And I wanted to become a disc jockey.

And Mr. Washington said, says something to me that I'll never forget who was my mentor in high school. Repeat this. Whitney Young, it's his quote. It's better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not have one.

be prepared. See, so I started working to develop my communication skills and expand my vocabulary. I started visualizing myself being a disc jockey. I saw myself on the air having a talk show and playing records and people listening to me.

That was my vision. That was my dream. I held that in mind constantly. And I would practice all the time.

Practice makes what? Perfect. Absolutely not.

This just dislodged that from your mind. Practice only makes improvement. Perfection doesn't exist. They need to take it out of addiction. It doesn't exist.

Practice only makes improvement. You can always better your best. You have not done your best work yet. As long as you're here, you have a chance to transcend yourself. So don't believe in perfection.

It doesn't exist. It only makes improvement. So I would practice, practice, practice every day, every day, every day.

And finally, I went over to this radio station, asked a guy for a job named Mr. Burwell. And I said, how are you doing, sir? I'd like to get a job. I was working on Miami Beach at the Fountain Blue Hotel at the time. The jacket glitters.

Gleason and the June Taylor dancers were famous. And my favorite program on television, most people would not remember it. John Beresford Tipton. Hi, my name is Michael Anthony.

I have a check for $1 million. How many of you remember that program? All right.

The Millionaire. That was my favorite program on television, you know. So this is my fantasy, you know. And every time we would drive from Miami Beach, I would fantasize, oh, that's the house.

When I get my million, I'm going to buy my mother that home over there. So that's my fantasy. So I went up to Mr. Butterball and he said, do you have any radio experience? I said, no, sir. You have any background in journalism?

I said, no, sir. I said, but I can never get experience if you don't give me the opportunity. I've been practicing a lot, sir.

He said, I'm sorry, we don't have any job for you. I said, thank you, sir. He didn't know my reasons for being there. My reason, I wanted to use radio as a means to earn the money to buy my mother a home. I went back to the radio station again.

I said, how you doing, Mr. Butterball? My name is Les Brown. I know your name.

Didn't I just see you here yesterday? I said, yes, sir. I said, y'all have any jobs here? Didn't I tell you yesterday we didn't have any jobs? Yes, sir, but I thought maybe somebody got fired or resigned.

I didn't know, sir. I went the next day. How you doing, Mr. Butterball? He said, yes. And I just didn't take it personally.

How you doing? So y'all have any jobs here? Didn't I just tell you yesterday and the day before we didn't have any work?

Well, I thought maybe somebody died. So I didn't know. I didn't know.

I went the next day, showed up. Like nothing was wrong, like I saw him for the first time. How you doing, Mr. Butterball? Y'all having a...

He said, boy, make yourself useful. Go get me some food. I said, yes, sir.

See, many times when you want more, you've got to be willing to pay your dues. So I became their errand boy. I went to get their lunch and their dinner and all kind of food for them.

After a while, I would take the food to them in the control room, and I would not leave until they would ask me to, and I'd watch them working the controls, and I'd memorize their hand movements. And pretty soon, they would trust me with their cars to go pick up entertainers that came into town, entertainers like Sam Cooke, and Donna Ross in the... Supremes, the Four Tops, and the Temptations. I would drive them all over Miami Beach in the disc jockey's cars.

I didn't have any driver's license, but I'd drive it like I had some. Finally one day I was at the radio station and a guy by the name of Rock was drinking while he was on the air. It was a Saturday afternoon.

I was the only one there. None of the other jocks were available. And I was looking at him through the control room window.

Saying, drink Rock, drink. Drink Rock. I'd have gone to get him some more if he'd asked me to.

Greg Rock! Pretty soon the phone rang. It was the general manager. I said, hello?

He said, Les, this is Mr. Klein. I said, I know. He said, Rock can't finish his program. I said, I know. He said, would you call one of the other DJs to come in?

I said, yes, sir. I hung the phone up. I said, now he must be thinking I'm crazy. I called my mom and my girlfriend, Cassandra. I said, y'all come out on the front porch and turn up the radio.

I'm about to come on the air. I waited for about 20 minutes and I called him back. I said, Mr. Klein, I can't find nobody.

He said, young boy, do you know how to segue the records? I said, yes, sir. He said, go in there and don't say nothing to him.

I said, yes, sir. I couldn't wait. to get behind those controls. I put the headphones on. I said, look out, this is me, LBPPP, Les Brown, your platter-playing papa.

There were none before me and there will be none after me. Therefore, that makes me the one and only, young and single and love-domingo, certified, bona fide, and duly qualified to bring you satisfaction and a whole lot of action. Look out, baby, I'm your love man.

I was hungry! I was hungry! You feel better when you are able to have charge of your destiny, doesn't it? It gives you a good feel, it gives you choices.

You can do more things. See, my first major goal was to buy my mother a home. I feel like Abraham Lincoln who said, All that I am and all that I ever hope for, hope to be, I owe to my mother. And I said to my mama one day, I said, mama, when I become a man, I'm going to buy you a home and you won't have to go to work every day.

You won't have to work. You just sit down, mama. She was getting up, getting dressed to go to Eminem cafeteria. I was just following her around. I said, watch, Mama.

One day, you won't have to leave here to go to work no more. It's raining outside. You won't have to go to work in the rain. You just do what you want to do.

Like, stay home and fix me sweet potato pie. My mama fixed the kind of sweet potato pie you can't eat with your shoes on. You have to take your shoes off so you can wiggle your toes, all right? But that was my dream. That was my passion.

I saw that, and that drove me. That was my reason for being. So one of the things in order to make this your decade in all.

order to reach your goals, you've got to find some reasons that make you strong, some reasons that will make you hang in there when times get rough, because they're going to get rough. It's going to be very challenging. Whenever you decide that you want to grow, whenever you decide that you want to go to another level, all hell will break loose.

Everything that will happen, or rather that can happen, will happen, and at the worst possible moment. They call it Murphy's Law. See, whenever you decide that you want to go to another vibration, it's like when you get into an airplane. The first thing they tell you to do is do what?

Fasten your seatbelt. Because you're going to experience some turbulence when you're going up. And some of you are already experiencing that turbulence. Don't be frightened by that.

See, whenever you decide you want to go to another level, you've got to fasten your psychological, your mental, and your spiritual seatbelt. Because it's going to be a while before you experience a comfortable altitude. You're going to get there. It's there. But you've got to go through this phase here.

This is how you grow. This is how you develop. See, life is like a roller coaster. Sometimes you're up, sometimes you're down.

Sometimes things go well and sometimes they don't go well. But in the down moments, that's when you discover who you are. During the down moments, see, in the prosperous time, you put it in your pocket. In the lean times, you put it in your heart.

And that's when you discover who you are. So find five reasons that empower you. Why is it that you deserve your goal?

What are the five reasons that you won't give up when life gets you on the blind side, when the messenger of misery visits you? What are you going to do? What will... keep you in the game when life knocks you to the canvas. See, the Buster Douglas that fought in the last fight was not the Buster Douglas that fought Mike Tyson.

See, the Buster Douglas that got knocked down while fighting Mike Tyson. had gotten out of an alcohol recovery center. His mother had died.

His wife was ill with a terminal illness. He was considered a nothing, a bum. So when he got knocked down, Buster Douglas had a reason to get back up because he said, I'm dedicating this fight to the memory of my mama. But when he fought the last fight that he had, and he got knocked down, and he had a guaranteed $24 million in his pocket, whether he got up or not. he just said hurry up and count me out and i don't blame him why get hurt i said no why'd you leave so soon somebody's about to get hurt me so you've got to have some reasons that when life knocks you down and it's going to hello it's going to knock you down when people disappoint you and that's going to happen when they betray you and that's going to happen when they lied to you and that's going to happen when they say oh you can count on me and they won't show up and that's going to happen when you want to throw in the towel and give up yourself and that's going to happen When life collapse on you and catch you on the blind side, it drop you to your knees and start choking you.

You got a dream? No, I ain't got no dream. And that's going to happen. What reason can you remember that you can call on, that you can reach on, that can make you get back up?

Find that reason. Because when life had knocked me down, I said, life, I'm doing this because I want to make my mama proud of me. I'm doing this because I want my children to have a better life than what I had.

I'm doing this because all my life I've been told I'd be a loser, that I wouldn't make it. Oh my God. my life I heard people say, maybe take them back to the welfare department. I'm doing this to make them a lie. I believe like Frank Sinatra, he said, the best revenge in life is massive success.

I'm doing this so I can become massively successful. And with that kind of courage, with that kind of affirmation and reason to empower me, I got a saying that when life knocks you down, try and land on your back because if you can look up, you can get up. So when you run out of money, when things don't work out for you, when things happen that you could not anticipate, what are the reasons that you can think of that can keep you strong, that can keep you in the game, that will be your rod and staff?

to comfort you, that can be your bridge over troubled waters. Those reasons are very important. Nietzsche said, if you know the why for living, you can endure almost anyhow. So find out the reasons that you do what you do. Find out the reasons.

that will make you strong, that will make you walk by faith and not by sight, that will make you pursue your dream when everybody is against you or don't believe in you no more. And let me tell you something, that's a lonely feeling. It's a lonely feeling, particularly people that you're doing it for, or people that stand to benefit the most, or people who should be the number one members in the encouragement club, but they end up saying, you can't do it, and they become members of the discouragement club.

Oh, it hurts very badly. I know what that's like. have people that you love close to you that look at you with that look and say, why don't you try something else? Why don't you give up?

I said, but this is my life. I have got to do this. Les, you had a good job at Sears.

Fat man like you. Mama, I can't go back to Sears. I can't, I can't do, I got to be my own boss. I, I can't do that. I mean, you know, it's, it's, ladies and gentlemen, you know, when you work on a job that's dead.

dead end. You can see the ceiling already. It's like going in the middle of a movie.

And after you've seen the movie, sitting back through that over again, there's something missing. You know the hero is not going to die. You know what the outcome is already.

And so that's why a lot of people, a lady was telling me, she said when she went to work, it felt like a refrigerator fell on her shoulder as soon as she stepped in. Because she knew she'd gone as far as she could go. See, they're paying her just enough to keep her from quitting.

And she's worked just hard enough keep from getting fired. How many of you know people like that? Raise your hand.

One of you didn't raise your hand, you the one. I'll just tease it. I'll just tease it, all right?

Here's something else. Make a commitment to be happy. See, you know, I have Have you laughing a lot see life is too short going through it looking wholly tired and ugly Sometimes we take life too seriously Oh, no Make a commitment to be happy find little things just to get tickled about and laugh Find ways to be happy in the moment a lot of people say well I'll be happy when I pay off all my bills No, no, no.

I'll be happy when I get my divorce. Oh, no, no, no. I'll be happy when the children go.

Oh, no, no. You want to be happy now. See, there are no guarantees.

No one say you're going to be here two, three, or four years from now. So you want to be happy right now. In the moment, repeat after me, I must make a commitment.

I must make a commitment. To be happy. To be happy. Right now.

Right now. Right now. Right now. Is all I got.

All I got. Shake somebody's hand on your right and left and say, you deserve to be happy. You deserve to be happy.

You deserve to be happy. Make a commitment to be happy because life now has new meaning for you. Just enjoying the sunset or just looking at life or looking at nature.

you're going for a walk. It's the little things in life that counts. Here's something else that you want to begin to do in order to make this your decade.

You want to begin to get all the toxic people out of your life. Hello. Energy drainers, get them out of your life.

See, ladies and gentlemen, it takes a lot of energy to reach your goal. It takes a lot of emotional, mental, and spiritual energy to reach your goal. And you can run faster with a hundred.

who want to go than with one around your neck. So there are two kinds of relationships. Sid Simon talks about this. Nourishing relationships and toxic relationships.

Nourishing relationships are the relationships that inspire you. They motivate you. They bring the best out of you. Toxic relationships are relationships with people that always criticize you. All they can do is find fault.

All they can do is just exploit your weaknesses. All they can do is remind you of the mistakes that you've made in the past. These people are bad for your health. Toxic people can run your blood pressure up.

One apple can spoil a whole barrel. One negative energy drainer can spoil your whole life. I know people whose lives have been ruined because somebody wasn't good for them.

See, there are some people that aren't good for you. Hello? They aren't good for you.

You've got to get them out of your life. See, a lot of people put up with a lot of foolishness because they don't want to die by themselves. Here's what I believe.

I believe in a one-to-a-box theory. Ask this question of yourself. Make a list of who you communicate with most and ask yourself the question, what kind of person am I becoming because of this relationship? Is it helping me to grow mentally and emotionally and spiritually? Am I becoming a better person?

because of this relationship? Do they bring out the best in me? Do they inspire me?

Do they encourage me to develop my greatness? Do they make me stretch? So you got to look at the people in your life and find out what kind of person are you becoming because of that relationship? My mother used to say, birds of a feather flock together. You run around with losers, you will end up a loser.

Unconsciously, unconsciously, you will pick up their ways, you'll pick up their habits, you'll pick up, most importantly, their attitude about life. If you're around cynical, negative people all the time, you will become cynical and negative. So you've got to watch yourself. Many of us are living out the lies. of other people living out their conclusions, living out of their consciousness.

The other thing is that you begin to look at, looking at your life and looking at what it is that you want to achieve, another crucial thing that you must do is align yourself with powerful people. Align yourself with people that can encourage you, people that can empower you, people that you can learn from, people that you can grow from. That's very important.

See, if you have people around you that can contribute to your growth, when I want you If you wanted to become a speaker, I'd join the National Speakers Association. I wanted to be around the Dr. Norman Vincent Peale's, the Zig Ziglar's, the Dwayne Dyer's. I wanted to be around people that were doing what I wanted to do.

I wanted to learn from them. And you want to do that too. You want to align yourself with people who think like you.

People who dream like you. People who want more out of life. People that are stretching and searching and seeking some higher ground in life. As opposed to the majority of people.

So somebody said, always strive to give. get on top in life because it's the bottom that's overcrowded. And see, you don't want to be on the bottom.

See, it's easy to be on the bottom. It doesn't take It doesn't take any effort to be a loser. It doesn't take any motivation, any drive, in order to stay down there on a low level.

But it calls on everything in you, ladies and gentlemen. You have to harness your will to say, I'm going to challenge myself. Sometimes I have to pull myself out of bed and say, come on, Les.

Things I know I should do, I don't do. Things I shouldn't do, I do. I found that the biggest enemy you have to deal with is yourself.

There's an old African proverb that says, if there's no enemy within, the enemy outside can do us no harm. So think about that. So as you begin to look toward making this your decade, as you begin to look toward making your life different, as you begin to look at yourself, you've got to redefine yourself.

Who are you right now? And who must you become in order to create what you want? to change about you? What is it that you're doing right now that would be a liability for you?

As you begin to look toward the future and take inventory of yourself, what is it about you right now that you've got to leave this behind? Because this no longer fits looking at where you want to go and the kind of person that you must become the kind of standards that you have for you what is it that you must do differently repeat out to me please if you want to keep on getting what you're getting keep on doing what you're doing see that doesn't take an Einstein for that one all right it makes sense unless you change your pattern unless you change the way you're thinking unless you change your behavior you're gonna going to continue to produce the results in your life. See, all of us are winners, but some of us are producing results that we don't want.

And so all you have to look at your game plan, look at your strategy. How is it that you have been being? What is it that you've been doing to produce this?

So you are the director, you are the producer, you're writing the script, you're the star of your life. And as you begin to look at your life, you can decide whether or not it's a smash or whether or not it's a flop. That's in your hands. Look at your life, look at where you want to go. Don't Don't worry about your circumstances.

Don't worry about your age. I have a friend who's up in age, over 70, and she wanted to build a multimillion-dollar complex. Her name is Dr. Johnny Coleman. Lenders and bankers say, you can't do that. You're too old.

She ignored them. That building now stands, ladies and gentlemen, a multimillion-dollar structure. But there are a lot of people who would have listened to that.

There are a lot of people that would not have even gotten to that point. They would have talked themselves out of even going down to the bank to ask for it. because they've already said no to themselves.

See, it's time now. If you want to make this your decade, you've got to start saying yes to your life. You've got to start saying yes to your dreams, yes to your unfolding future, yes to your potential, as opposed to saying no. See, 87% of our self-talk is negative.

So you've got to make a conscious, deliberate, determined effort to say yes to your dreams. Why not? Why not me?

Don't spend time like most people. people going through life complaining. Don't try and get on talk shows and tell everybody how life has done you wrong.

Here's what's happening in the audience. 80% don't care. And 50% glad it's you. All right?

So when you know that, you'll go around crying, oh, you know what they did to me? Who cares? Get away from me before they come back. I had a friend of mine that said something that's very important. He said, hey, it doesn't matter what happens to you.

The only thing that matters is what are you going to do about it? That's all that matters. Okay, life knocked you down.

What are you going to do about it? How long are you going to sit there and say, you know what they did to me? How long? Who wants to hear that racket?

Use that energy to get up from there and move on and get on with your life. You've got to learn to let the past go so you can grow. Many people never act on their dreams because they allow them to. their past experiences to determine what their possibilities are.

Whatever you've done in the past, that's not a reflection of your possibilities. That's just a reflection of your consciousness. That's just a reflection of your development and your growth.

The future is unfolding for you right now. The future is unlimited for you right now. No one knows where you can go. No one knows what you're capable of or what's possible for you. You don't even know that.

I had no idea, ladies and gentlemen. No one could have convinced me. that I was able to do this. I'll never forget, I was speaking in Detroit, and a high school friend of mine saw me afterwards, and he was backstage.

He said, I can't believe it. I believe it's the same person. And I thought for a moment and I said, it's not. The person you know, he gone.

He doesn't live here anymore. We have the power to change our personal history. Changing the direction of our lives.

Changing our thoughts. Changing where we want to go. Exploring new horizons.

So as you begin to look at this decade and affirming that this is your decade, as you set goals that will make you stretch, that will bring out the best in you, best in you, as you begin to remove the negative toxic people from your life, as you decide to take some chances in life. And that's one of the things that's very important. This God said, if you're not willing to risk, you cannot grow. And if you cannot grow, you cannot become your best. And if you cannot become your best, you cannot be happy.

And if you can't be happy, then what else is there? I'll never forget when I reached my first major goal of buying my mother that home. I'll never forget what it was like.

And you're going to have this experience when you reach some major goal. When I drove up to the house and I got out and I gave Mama the key. And I said, Mama, this is for you.

I'll never forget the look on her face. She said, oh, my God. No one could have convinced me when I adopted y'all that this would happen. She said, oh thank you.

She said, and you, you caused me so many damn problems. I was just one of those kids that had a lot of energy, but no one knew what I was going to become. It was a great philosopher, Goethe, he said, look at a man the way that he is, he only becomes worse. But look at him as if he were what he could be, then he becomes what he should be.

be. And what Mr. Washington did was he looked beyond my thoughts and saw my needs. And he said, I see something in you.

And I was there, oh God, I hope he's right. And I want to live up to his expectations. See, no one rises.

to low expectations. Finally, here's one last thing I'd like to leave with you. If you want to make this your decade, find some cause that you believe in. See, this is my profession, but my greatest joy in life is working with young kids.

Every Monday, I fly up to Chicago to work with 600 young kids at Christ Universal Temple Church, working with them to develop a sense of purpose and direction with their lives. We develop a training program. If they're addicted to drugs or alcohol, we help them.

to get into a permanent recovery program. If they're not, we help them to develop a vision of themselves where drugs and alcohol does not fit. I love it when I go into the Cook County Jail and see the look on these young men' faces, the anger and the self-hatred.

And then when we leave there, see the difference in them as we begin to touch a spark in them as Mr. Washington touched in me. And you cannot put a dollar price on that. That's my reason for being.

What is it that you... would like to give the planet? What is it that you'd like to leave here? See, someone paid a price for us to be here. I believe that we live in the greatest country in the world that gives us an opportunity to make a difference in life.

We are blessed to have been dropped off on this part of the planet. A friend of mine was in Manila and saw a bumper sticker that said, Yankee, go home and take me with you. So as you begin to look at your life, decide, what kind of legacy do I want to leave? What kind of statement? do you want to make with your life?

What three things you want said when you die? What contribution do you want to make? I don't know what you want to do. I don't know what you want to achieve with your life. Here's what I know about you, and about you, and about you, and about you.

That you have greatness within you. That you have things and gifts and talents that you've been bestowed with. That as you work consciously, making a conscious, deliberate, determined effort to cultivate and bring them out and develop a sense of purpose in knowing that your life can make a difference, and decide to make and leave a legacy with your life, I say to you that the planet will never be the same again because you showed up. As you begin to...

to look toward the future and affirm that this is your decade, this is what I'd like to leave with you that I'm known by. It's become my motto. And it says simply this, what do you want to do? My goal is to be the best son that I can be to my mother.

My goal is to be the best father that I can be to my children. And my goal is to create a drug-free America, be the best motivator that I can be. Whatever your goal is, this is what I'd like to leave with you.

It says simply this, that if you want a thing bad enough to go out and fight for it, to work day and night for it, to give up your time. your peace and your sleep for it. If all that you dream and scheme is about it, and life seems useless and worthless without it, and if you gladly sweat for it and fret for it and plan for it and lose all your terror of the opposition for it, and if you simply go after this thing that you want with all of your capacity, strength and sagacity, faith, hope, and confidence, and stern pertinacity, if neither cold poverty, famish or gulf, sickness or pain of body and brain can keep you away from the thing that you want, if dogged and grim you... besiege and beset it, with the help of God, you'll get it.

This is Mrs. Mamie Brown's baby boy, Leslie Calvin Brown, saying, it's been a plum-pleasing pleasure, as well as a privilege. Thank you all.

Transcript for:Empowerment Through Les Brown's Speech

Transcript for:
Empowerment Through Les Brown's Speech