Ryan Avery, Author at Ryan Avery

Jan 12

How to Live Before You Die

By Ryan Avery Family & Personal Life 5 Comments

Last Monday, my aunt passed away. My cousins lost their mom, my uncle lost his wife, and my Aunt Becky and mom lost their sister.

Death hasn’t occurred too much in my family. I am not a religious person, so I can’t say with certainty what happens after this life. But what I can say, what I am reminded of when someone we love leaves this earth, is that we should live life before we die. Here’s how…

Soak up Your Family. How much time are you spending with those you love?

Fall in Love. What are you doing to make more room for love in your heart?

Smile More. How much do you smile?

Travel Often. Where in the world do you want to go? Go there!

Share Your Feelings. Don’t hold them in. Share what you feel and believe!

Take a Break. Take time to breathe in the air and really see your surroundings. Give thanks for what you have!

Live Your Life, Not Someone Else’s. Are you living the life that is true to you?

Create a Bucket List. What do you want to do before you die?

Actually Start Your Bucket List. What are you doing to check things off the list?

Volunteer More. How do you give back on a regular basis?

Make Money but Don’t Let it Consume You. Money gives us options, but are you too consumed with it?

Be Adventurous. When is the last time you have done something adventurous and fun?

Create Something That Helps Others. What are you doing to offer your talents to the world? Will the world be better off once you leave?

Dream… Then Go After Them. Please, please dream! The world belongs to those who dream and take action! The bigger your dream, the more you give the world! So please, please dream!

There is a saying that, “Everyone wants to go to heaven, but no one wants to die!” I don’t know what the next life will look like, but for now I want you and me to live our lives before we leave this earth!

I want more people to have fun, enjoy family time, and work to accomplish something bigger than themselves! Live life, live today, and as always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

Jan 09

Love0

Thank You, Ryan Avery!

By Ryan Avery Motivation 2 Comments

It took me almost two years, a bucket full of emails, and a few “Benjamins” to secure RyanAvery.com.

It’s all possible because of Ryan Avery…

I reached out to him saying I would like to purchase it; he thought about it for a while before answering with “not right now!”

For months I checked in with him offering to set him up with RyanAverysMusic.com or RyanAveryTheMusician.com, but he was adamant about keeping the domain.

After reaching out to him at least four times, he finally agreed and offered me the domain for sale. In this post, I am saying a huge… THANK YOU!

Thank you, Ryan, for believing in me and giving me the domain. It has helped my business, and I hope I can continue to support you and your music. You have no idea how much it means to me! I give thanks for your generosity on a regular basis! For those interested, I recommend checking out his music. It’s awesome! You can also check out his popular songs “Diamond in Disguise” and “Sleeping on The Interstate“.

GIVEAWAY: For fun, I will give a copy of Ryan’s new album to one lucky winner who comments below listing your favorite (or personal) blog or website and telling us what it is about. I will share the winner in the comments below in the next 48 hours!

For those of you looking to secure the domain of your dreams: be patient, be persistent, and offer the other person value – as much value as you can! Always approach each new venture with a plan to make it a win-win situation.

Ryan Avery the Musician, I thank you so much, again, and as always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan Avery the Speaker

Jan 07

Love0

6 Ways to Be More Attractive (PART II)

By Ryan Avery Motivation 2 Comments

So, by now you know why you should be more attractive and the benefits attractiveness gets you in the business world, but what are ways to be more attractive? Some of us might need a few tips on how we can make ourselves feel and look more attractive (inside and out) so we can get paid more than our peers, have more people trust us, and increase our confidence!

Here are 6 ways to be more attractive:

1) Clothes: Get clothes that fit you and don’t look ratty. I am not asking you to buy a Burberry shirt and tie. Go to Macy’s, Express or Calvin Klein and get clothes that make you feel more attractive. Find deals! I just did a rehaul on my entire closet at Express and spent less than $500 for a new wardrobe!

2) Smile: The benefits of smiling are endless! Smiles boost your immune system, they are contagious, they relieve stress for you and others who see you, and the list goes on! Smiling makes you more attractive. We all can smile a little more!

3) Posture: From TED sensation Amy Cuddy to writer Jeff Grabmeir, the power of your posture can determine the level of your confidence. Confident people are more attractive! Sit up straight; walk with your shoulders back. Where are your eyes and hands when you are talking with people? Fix your posture right now and instantly see an increase in your attractiveness level!

4) Haircut: Do you have a Donald Trump or Miley Cyrus haircut or do you have a haircut that matches your style, profession, and attractiveness level? One of the best $50 investments you can make is going to a real hairstylist who can tell you what would look best on that beautiful brain of yours and more importantly what product you should be using! It took me five years to realize my hair does not do well with gel, and I am a pomade guy!

5) Breath: There is nothing that shoots your attractiveness level down faster than talking to someone with bad breath! I mean get a Tic-Tac; they are $0.99 USD for a pack of 100! Constantly be checking your breath and doing what it takes to make that tongue squeaky clean!

6) Body/Mind: Take care of your physical and mental health. We only have one body and brain. You don’t need Channing Tatum abs, the mind of Buddha or Angelina Jolie body parts; all you need is to feel and look healthy. That is for both sides of the spectrum from too thin or too wide. Hundreds of healthy and challenge workouts are readily available. Recipes abound which are easily made and packed with flavor and goodness for our insides. I may or may not use Nike Training Club for Women (don’t judge) and I enjoy any recipe that I can do in our crock pot!

Anyone can do the above six things. They will make you look and feel more attractive starting now! I am not asking you to inject your lips with collagen, slather on makeup, or drink only protein shakes!

Again, feeling and looking attractive is 90% how you feel about your attractiveness and portraying that feeling to the world.

Show them what you are made of and how attractive you really are and see how much more fun you’ll have! As always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

Reminder: If you like my articles, subscribe via email in the right-hand corner of this page! I write every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to help keep you motivated and offer strategies to help you reach your goals! I would love to stay in touch!

Jan 05

Love0

6 Reasons You Should Be More Attractive

By Ryan Avery Motivation 3 Comments

This sounds harsh, but it is true! Prettier people have it easier than ugly people! I am not only talking about your appearance, I am talking about having an attractive attitude, outlook, and energy! The good thing about our individual beauty is that we can do a lot to improve the way we look and feel without changing our core values.

We also need to do a good job identifying what attractive looks like to “us” and not “them” because being attractive is more about a feeling than a look. It’s more about confidence than about your cheekbones or chic clothes! Being attractive is all about how you feel!

So here are… Six Reasons Why You Should Be More Attractive:

1) You get paid more: According to Daniel Hamermesh, a professor of economics at the University of Texas at Austin, and author of the new book Beauty Pays: Why Attractive People Are More Successful, says a good-looking person will earn, on average, $230,000 more over the course of a lifetime than someone who is perceived as less attractive.

2) More people like you: More people want to be around attractive people than they do ugly people–both physically ugly and emotionally ugly! If you don’t agree, look at any magazine on the shelf. You will see a supermodel who gets paid millions or politicians without brains, but a little more beauty can help win an election!

3) You feel more confident: This is the most important one. Remember: being attractive is a feeling, not a look! Plus, if you want to be a leader, you have to look and feel as though you have confidence. Simon Sinek says the only things a leader needs are followers. Well, you can’t and won’t get those followers if they don’t have confidence in what they see in you!

4) Things are easier for you: I mean all you need to do is read all eight reasons from this Business Insider article to see why!

5) You appear to be friendlier: According to PickTheBrain.com those who smile more bear less stress, a smile is a universal sign of happiness, and smiling helps us get promoted! And if you think it is all about looks, think again. According to Orbit Complete, 69% of people find women more attractive when they smile than when they wear make-up! When you seem happier, less stressed, and confident, more people are going to want to be around you!

6) You are more likely to get a job: According to the 2011 Economic Letters attractive people are 10.3% more likely to be considered for a job compared to 7.6% for less attractive people. Have you ever wondered why some companies ask for your photo in a job application? Are you guilty of looking at someone’s social media before you hire them and judge them based on their looks? I have been guilty of this myself!

In two days I will post an article called “Six Ways to Be More Attractive“. I believe everyone is attractive in his or her own right, but all first have to believe they are! As sad as it is, pretty people (both inside and out) have it better! The good news is we all have the opportunity to look and feel more attractive on a daily basis! As always…

Dream BIG,

Ryan

Question: In your opinion, why do you think we put so much value on being attractive?

Jan 02

Love0

New Sizzle Reel

By Ryan Avery Motivation One Comment

Here is a look at my new “sizzle” reel for my keynotes in 2015! Stay tuned for a post on Monday to show you how, you too can create one, and the benefits it will bring you and your business! I hope you are having a great start to your new year! Let’s go after our BIG dreams in 2015! As always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

Dec 31

Love0

Top 10 People I Met in 2014

By Ryan Avery Motivation 5 Comments

Here are the top ten people I am glad I met in 2014 and why!

Alan Wiener, Holocaust Survivor – I had the chance to interview Alan and he said I could ask him any question I wanted to about his years spent in concentration camps and losing all 100+ members of his family. The thing that stood out the most was his attitude, humor and ability to find the positive in everything. He ended with saying “Instead of being bitter, I chose to be better!”

Tom Rhodes, Comedian – He taught me how to laugh and make other people laugh on the spot! I went to his show with a friend of mine and he was so good at improvising and being his true self on stage! I left that night thinking, “Wow… I have a lot of work to do!” Make sure you are always working to be better at what you do!

Sean Stephenson, Motivational Speaker – Sean had the best opening and closing of a speech I have ever seen! It was one of the most motivating stories I have ever heard and he got me fired up to bring my A-Game when speaking on stage! What are you doing to be the best at what you do?

Jim Jacobus, CSP – Jim was my buddy at the NSA Convention this year and I could not have had a better person to be partnered with! I came to him at the beginning feeling low in my career as a speaker and he supported me, encouraged me and gave me a line I will always remember, “Always be happy, never be satisfied!” Thanks Jim!

Geoffrey Tumlin, Communication Consultant – Geoffrey wrote one of my favorite books on communication called, “Stop Talking, Start Communicating” and I read it several times this year. We had the chance to have lunch while I was speaking in Austin, TX and his insights, friendship and passion for communication left me feeling inspired and motivated to improve my abilities as a speaker and coach!

Darren Rowse, ProBlogger – I met Darren at a conference I attended in Portland, OR where he spent the day talking about how to grow your blog. He was the one who inspired me to put together the 31 Days of Kindness Challenge and while he was on and off stage he demonstrated what it means to be a leader in your niche! What are you doing to build your community on and off line?

Alan Weiss, Million Dollar Consultant – Meeting Alan is like you meeting one of your heroes. One of the first keynotes I ever watched and studied was Alan’s and I remember saying to myself, “One day I want to be as good as him!” I had the chance to meet him this year and learn from him during the NSA Convention! Biggest thing I took away from him was, “Go for it! You already don’t have the business, the contact, the relationship… so reach out. You can’t go into a meeting and come out worse off than you already are so you better reach out and start growing your business!”

James C. Humes, Author and Speaker – I was introduced to James by my mentor Randy Harvey who gave me his book “Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln” when I was competing for the World Championship. I interviewed James at his house this year and it was the best interview I had! He taught me about the power of speech and why communication is king! #SpeechisPower

Chris Guillebeau, NYT Best Selling Author – There are a few leaders I like to follow on a regular basis and Chris is one of them. He ads a lot of value to the world, continues to reach new and bigger goals and is a genuine guy filled with a lot of passion! Remember, you become who you surround yourself with, so make sure you have the right people motivating you in your life!

Continue to meet people in your life who inspire you, who make you stronger, better and more successful! Surround yourself with those people who bring out the best in yourself! I hope you have a great New Year and I am looking forward to seeing what we accomplish together in 2015! As always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

Dec 29

Love0

GIVEAWAY: Merry Christmas Todayers

By Ryan Avery Motivation, Uncategorized 28 Comments

I want to wish all the Todayers out there a Merry Christmas from the Averys! For those Todayers who don’t celebrate Christmas I hope your holiday season has been amazing and you enjoy spending time with your family and friends, eating way too many cookies and watching enough reruns of A Christmas Story to last all year!

December is a month of reflection and opportunity to give thanks for those we care about most! This week we are spending time with our entire family. We haven’t all been together since Chelsea and I married four years ago, so it really means a lot to us!

With that, I have decided to take a week off and spend it with my family! My next article will pick back up on December 29th and we have an awesome schedule or articles already planned for 2015!

As for the GIVEAWAY: I have wrapped a present I want to send to one of you! If you want it, all you have to do is write in the comments below what you are thankful for this year and why! One random winner will be selected by December 29^th and the winner will be posted in the comment section. All I ask is if you are selected you are willing to share with the group what was in the box!

Soak up the time with your family and friends this week. I am looking forward to starting a new year with you in a few days! Merry Christmas, Happy Giveaway Day, and as always…

Dream BIG!
Ryan

Dec 17

Love0

2 Things Everyone Should Experience Before They Turn 22

By Ryan Avery Motivation 4 Comments

I have been getting questions from college students so I thought I would share my opinion on what you should do before you graduate! For those of us over 22, we can share this with our friends, family and neighbors who are asking the question, “What should I do before I graduate?”

My hope for everyone under age 22 is that you get to experience these two things:

1) Travel to another country. Go and see that your way is not the right way; it is just the way that works well for you. The more we travel, the more we get to see how different–but how alike–we all really are. Don’t let the biased media tell you what to believe; feel, taste, smell, see, and hear the attractions rather than merely viewing them through an LCD screen. Travel to another country and see what else is out there. It will open your eyes and keep you curious, connected and grounded with other humans sharing our planet.

2) Do something that makes its own money: Taste what it feels like to make something or provide a service for which people will pay. Do something where you can prove to yourself that no matter what happens in your future you can always do something with your brain that can make you your own money. Who knows? Maybe you will find out you are meant to be an entrepreneur, or that you don’t like it at all! The point is to have a memory when times get tough, that if you made $1 you can make $1,000!

For those of you who are over aged 22: What else would you say is one of the most important things someone should do while they are age 21 or younger? As always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

P.S. If you are about to graduate, and reading this article… Congrats! Keep working hard and go after your dreams!

Dec 15

Love0

4 Things You Should Know About Your Followers

By Ryan Avery Leadership No Comments

One reason I like to blog, speak, and train is because it builds a community around those who have big dreams and want to accomplish them! I like pulling people together to make things happen and to build a team for those who want to work hard toward accomplishing their goals. My community is made of what we call “Todayers!”

Todayer: One who takes advantage of today, plans for tomorrow, and works towards accomplishing a big dream!

In order for you to build a community and understand your followers, there are four things you should know about them at all times:

1) How do they like to digest and view your content? I am a speaker, not a writer. Even so, half of my audience enjoys reading blog posts instead of watching videos. I do record videos, but I also take time to write it out to give people what they want. Just because you like to deliver your information in one format does not mean that is how your audience likes to digest it!

2) What is cohesively holding your community of followers together? What is the one thing that all followers have in common? For Todayers, we all go after BIG dreams. We like to accomplish things and then move on to the next. We like to help others accomplish their dreams, and we like to have fun doing it. Our common thread is accomplishing BIG dreams! What holds your community together?

3) What problems do they face on a regular basis? Todayers can face procrastination, lack of motivation, lack of clarity in goal setting or purpose; my goal is to provide secrets, strategies and insights to keep them motivated to pursue their dreams and to be honest and open about going after mine.

4) What motivates them to share your content and stick around? Do you need giveaways, webinars, and/or consistent content posted weekly? Ask them what motivates them to stick around. I am still working on this as more than 40% of my monthly visitors are new, and out of those almost 30% leave each month. I have to do a better job of finding out what keeps them coming back to me (if you are a regular reader, I would love your insight in the comments below).

Know your followers and give them what they want because most often they are giving you what you want; a voice and opportunity to help change the world! When you are ready to become a Todayer, and join 200+ others, sign up to get articles like this one by filling out your email in the right-hand corner of this page.

We have some fun things coming up in 2015 for all Todayers and we hope you will join us. We are excited to learn about what you want to accomplish! As always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

Dec 12

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Ryan Avery: 12 Photos for 12/12

By Ryan Avery Motivation 4 Comments

Several of us are getting together to go through all of our photos this year and selecting twelve photos that highlight the best, worst, happiest, saddest, coolest, most adventurous, or most terrifying moments of our year! Here are my #12x12x12 and looking forward to seeing yours! Remember to use the #12x12x12 on social media so we can see your 12 photos!

Photo 1 – Completing the 2013-2014 North American Tour: I learned so many lessons, met so many fantastic people and visited 50 cities in North America with my wife! We lived in hotels for half the year and it was more than difficult to pack for three months at a time but it was worth every minute! Thank you to everyone who came to one of our workshops. Remember, don’t wait for things to happen, make things happen!

Photo 2 – Taking my family to Alaska: The thing I look forward to is spoiling the people who have taken care of me! My mom and dad have always wanted to go to Alaska and after Chelsea and I got on our feet this year we decided to take our family on a 7-Day cruise to say thank you for all they have done for us! We laughed, ate way too much cruise food, went whale watching, played cards and took home a life-time full of memories! I can’t wait to take them on another trip soon!

Photo 3 – Starting the 31 Days of Kindness Challenge with you: This was for sure a highlight of my year! One day I posted this idea on my personal Facebook page and 48 hours later I had over 500 people sign up and jump onboard. We shared photos with our #31DaysofKindess hashtag and together we did more good than most people do in a lifetime! We will do this again next year and make it even bigger, better and spread kindness around the world together! Thank you to everyone who joined in this year!

Photo 4 – The World Record Attempt with Speaker Leader Champion: With the help of 60+ day-of-event volunteers, family and friends all over the world, 16 local and global organizations and partners like McGraw-Hill and CSU, we came together to do something BIG! Our goal was to sign and sell 5,000 books in 12 hours. We sold 1,300 in nine hours. Although we did not reach the goal this time, we raised money for a good cause, showed the world what happens when people come together and helped more than 1,000 people be better leaders! We will break this world record one day and thank you to everyone who supported this attempt, we could not have done it without you! Always go for your BIG dreams, they are worth it and no one benefits from us being average! Even if you don’t make it on your first try, you learn, you get better and you try again!

Photo 5 – Getting our puppy: I mean look at this photo! Sugar (our dog) and Chelsea (my wife) bring so much joy to my life. I will have to say they have made it even harder for me to work from home now that I get stare downs like this! Sugar has been such a joy in our lives (she is even sitting right next to me as I type this article) and thank you mom and dad for saving her life and sending her our way!

Photo 6 – 17 speeches in 17 days in China: Thanks to D85 and D89 this was at the top of my speaking experience this year! It started out with me planning to give four speeches in China and two weeks before I arrived in China we had book events with Speaker Leader Champion, corporate speeches and even more trainings. When I found out it was 17 speeches in 17 days I thought, “Let’s do this!” They treated us so well, we experienced culture, tasted delicious foods and meet so many amazing people! We can’t wait to be back soon!

Photo 7 – Becoming Toastmaster of the Year in my home District (7): This award means a lot to me! District 7 has done so much for me over the years and they are like a second family! When they asked to do a group photo, I thought, “It’s time to beat Ellen’s tweet and make our own!” This one got about 400+ likes so we were only off by only a couple million! Thank you D7 for all you do and have done for me!

Photo 8 – Scuba diving with one year old whales: One of my hosts and meeting planners asked what I would like to do while I was in town and I usually look for places to scuba dive. Well, they gave me the best gift as they took me to a “Sea World” type place and let me scuba dive with whales in one of their aquariums. They gave me a full scuba tank and let me stay in as long as I wanted! It was an experience I will always remember!

Photo 9 – Becoming an approved Vistage Speaker: When I speak at Vistage groups I feel like it is where I am supposed to be! They are all professionals who have businesses and are looking for ways to improve themselves, their customers and their employees! I teach leaders how to use the power of storytelling to sell and motivate others. I am looking forward to speaking to several Vistage groups around the world, starting with four in January 2015! They are a great group of leaders and Garth… if you are reading this… thank you for taking the chance on me, I could’t have done it without you!

Photo 10 – 5th Honeymoon in Thailand: Chelsea and I received advice when we got married to take a honeymoon every year and I think that is some of the best marriage advice we received! This year we explored Thailand and sat on the beach, went scuba diving, played with baby monkeys and relaxed as we reflected on our relationship! If you are married, start planning to take a honeymoon every year to rejuvenate your relationship and reflect on what you like and how you want to improve it moving forward!

Photo 11 – Walking into the Convention Center I am speaking at and seeing myself on the billboard: I start walking to the venue where I am about to speak and look up and there I am! This was one of those “Oh, wow, I am a real speaker!” feelings and I had such a smile on my face I felt like I was an avid football fan and someone told me I just won Super Bowl tickets! Thank you Tim for making this happen and thank you to everyone who came out that night!

Photo 12 – Seeing my book sitting on my nightstand: Without Jeremey Donovan as my co-author, McGraw-Hill as our publisher and my awesome literary agent Jackie, this book would not have been possible! Writing a book was one of the most mentally exhausting challenges of my life with edits, re-writes, edits and more re-writes! Did I mention re-writes? But it was worth it as we created a resource that helps leaders become more influential leaders and succeed at work through the power of public speaking! I am so proud of this book. It has hit #1 on Amazon, been translated into four languages so far and I enjoy receiving emails from readers. But this photo was the one that stopped me in my tracks one night as I was getting ready for bed after a long trip back home I walked into my bedroom to find my book next to my nightstand! It was one of those moments where you get caught off-guard and no one knows why you are smiling other than you! For me, this photo says so much! Thank you to everyone who supports this book, learns from it and shares it with others! Please keep speaking and using your voice to make a difference! Our voices are the most powerful tools on the planet and if we learn how to master the art of communication, we can make a big impact while we are here!

This was a fun exercise and a great way to reflect on your year. I hope you too take the #12x12x12 challenge with us. I am looking forward to seeing your photos! As always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan