Skip to main content
ways to be more grateful

Five Ways To Be More Grateful

By World Records 11 Comments

I sometimes go through my day thinking, “If I only had XYZ, it would make my life so much easier!” But when I stop and think about the access I have to things, people, and technology I realize my thinking is off. Instead of thinking, “If I only had XYZ” I need to do a better job thinking, “What can I do with XYZ?”

First, I can do a better job being grateful for the things I do have. To do that I need to be aware of the things in my life which make me happy and present me with opportunities.

Here are five ways to be more grateful in your everyday life:

Redefine your statement: When you find yourself saying, “If I only had XYZ, it would be so much easier!” try rewording the statement to be more positive and show gratitude for the things you already do have. Instead, say “What can I do with what I have, now?”

Give thanks for your senses at night: I used to do this before I went to bed every night. I would go through all of my senses one by one and think about everything that I smelled that day, everything I tasted, felt, saw, and heard. It made me appreciate the simple things more and to be aware of what I was experiencing in the now.

Make a list: This was the best thing I did recently. Write down everything that makes you happy and everything you have for which you are grateful. There will be negative things, but if you are reading this right now, then you might be surprised how many positive things will show up on your list.

Volunteer once a month: My friends and I are doing this every month this year. We started with the food bank and planting trees in our community. This month we are volunteering with American Veterans. Volunteering will give you a greater outlook on life. Remind yourself that you do have a lot of things in life for which you can be thankful.

Remind yourself of the greats: Most of the greats out there – the ones we talk about, remember and admire – all struggled at the beginning. In fact, the bigger the struggle, the more we tend to like them and feel good about their success. Be thankful you get to work hard, are going though tough times, or don’t have everything you want right now; one day it will make for a better story that will relate to more people and ultimately inspire others to do the same!

Those of us who can improve our awareness of the things we have, let’s start today! Let’s make a list, reframe our mindset, volunteer, or think about the greats that came before us! Enjoy this awesome day, and as always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

If you want to be the best…

By World Records No Comments

This article will be short and sweet! If you want to be the best, then all you need to know is this: the only competition is you! You can’t be the best by comparing or holding yourself to other people’s standards. If you want to be the best you need to do your best!

What are you doing today that will make you the best at what you do and remind yourself you have the potential to be number one in your desired category? Stop competing against others and start competing against yourself! As always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

What is Passion?

By World Records No Comments

The book I am reading this week is Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki. He talks a lot about money in this book but more importantly passion. What is passion?

PASSION = LOVE + ANGER

Most people have one or the other. They give too much (love) so they get taken advantage of or they hate so much (anger) they don’t do anything productive with their potential. If you can find a balance between what makes you angry and what you are willing to do about it because you care about others, that is where you find passion!

If you are lacking passion right now, ask yourself “Am I balanced in love and anger?”  What can you do to find that balance? As always…

Dream BIG,

Ryan

5 Lessons Learned Being a World Champion

By World Records 6 Comments

Two years ago today, with help from my mentors, coach, family and friends, I became the youngest World Champion of Public Speaking in history.

I have since learned that being a full-time speaker is the best job in the world. You get to travel, make a difference, and earn an income doing something you love.

During these past 730 days I have learned a lot of lessons through many mistakes, trials and error. Five lessons, which include:

1)   You are as good as your last accomplishment: What are you doing today, to be better tomorrow?

2)   You can’t make everyone happy: No matter how good you are, there will always be people who do not like you and people who will. Whom do you want to invest your energy towards?

3)   You have the power to empower people: Your voice carries weight! What you choose to say or not say can make a difference in someone’s life. What are you doing to make sure you are using your voice to empower those around you?

4)   You have a lot more to learn and do: Once you start thinking you are good, you aren’t even close to being great. What can you learn, what can you do, and whom can you meet to help you reach new heights?

5)   What you do with your achievements are up to you: Can you name the last five winners of American Idol? They each had 10,000,000+ people a night watching them sing. Where are they now? The only excuse we have is ourselves!

Remember: You are not successful when you become a world champion; you are successful when every day you train like one.

What are you doing to be the best at what you do? It doesn’t mean you have to be the best today–it means you are working towards being the best one day! Let’s keep making things happen and learn more, do more, and always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

Ryan Averys Book Signing

6 Reminders Why You Should Take a Risk

By World Records 9 Comments
This week more than one thousand people came together to do something BIG! Many people planned for months, spent thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours to plan for an event where we didn’t reach our target goal. Was it worth it? Absolutely!

Whenever you have the word “world” in front of what you are trying to accomplish like “world record” or “world’s largest” or even “world’s best” those goals don’t come easy.

We promoted Toastmasters around the world, raised money for a good cause and helped hundreds of people become stronger speakers! We worked hard, we held ourselves to the highest standard and I am proud to say we took advantage of wanting to create history! Going for the world record reminded me why you should take that risk:

“Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.” – Thomas Jefferson

So many people wait. They think and think and think and never act. This week we acted. The world belongs to dreamers who take action. We are defined by what we act on, not the ideas in our head. Go out there and find out who you really are by taking a risk and going for those big goals of yours!

“To be wholly devoted to some intellectual exercise is to have succeeded in life.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

Devote yourself to one thing and you will accomplish so much more. We planned, acted, worked, trained and collaborated on one idea of breaking this world record and that is a success in my book. Devote yourself to a bigger goal or mission in life and change the course of history!

“You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.” – Henry Ford

No one cares what you are going to do, they want to see you going for it! They want to see you accomplish your dreams! Don’t talk about what you will do, talk about what you are doing to make your goals happen. What actions are you taking to build your reputation so you can inspire more people and accomplish more things?

“The first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment in which you first find yourself.” – Mark Caine

There are enough average people in the world. There is plenty of room for you to be great if you decied to step out of the environment you are in, hold yourself to the highest standard and take that risk. Don’t be average, don’t be good, shoot don’t event be great, be the best at what you do and help change this world!

“Do something wonderful, people may imitate it.” – Albert Schweitzer

I want to thank everyone who wrote me, messaged me and called me saying how they feel inspired to go for their goals after they saw what happened with the world record. At first I was disappointed with not reaching our goal and truthfully felt embarrassed for a minute but when each of you reached out to me and encouraged us to keep going, it meant more than you know! You might not reach your goal when you go for the BIG ones at first, but you inspire people along the way. Is that worth it? Absolutely!

“Dust yourself off and try again.” – Aaliyah 

As my wife likes to remind me, “What is the worst that can happen?” I am already thinking of where we can try this World Record again. I am going to reach out to a few contacts to see how we can pull this off because you have to keep going for what you believe in. You have to keep making things happen. You have to because the world deserves your energy, your passion and guts!

Thank you to everyone who supported this 1st attempt at breaking the World Record for the largest book signing in history. Together we made this event happen. This title is ours and together we will make it happen in the near future. Let me know if you have an idea for where we should try it next or how we can improve the event. Should you take a risk today, this week and this year? Absolutely! The world belongs to dreamers who take action! As always….

Dream BIG,

Ryan
Ryan Avery and CSU

7 Things You Need To Break The World Record for The Largest Book Signing In History

By Motivation, World Records No Comments

We are working to get ready for the World Record on April 16th.  Want to know what it takes to break the World Record for the Largest Book Signing in History? Here you go:

Ryan Avery book signing1) 100 Sharpies
Thanks to my uncle and his connection with Sharpie, they have supported this event and provided us with 100 red (branding matters) sharpies to sign more than 5,000 books in 11 hours.

2)  5,000 copies of your book on hand waiting to be sold and signed
Thanks to the CSU bookstore and McGraw-Hill Publishing, we have 5,000 books on hand waiting to be signed. I don’t think I have ever seen 5,000 of the same book before, it is a total of three pallets and more boxes than I can count!

3) Close to 100 volunteers
From Toastmasters International, Alpha Kappa Psi, NRHH and CSU support all the way from friends and family, several CSU clubs and the Fort Collins Lions Club, this event takes almost 100 volunteers to put together! Not to mention all the teams, departments and organizations who are helping spread the event through their channels!

4) A social media team
I call them “Team 34” because it sounds amazing and well… there are 34 of them. They have come together to help spread the message across social media, to their fans and following and have posted during the pre-event, have posts ready for the day of the event and will shout out once it is over! They are amazing and give legs to the social aspect of this World Record!

5) Marathon energy  
It will take more than 10 hours to sign continuously to break the record and create history with you. I will be smiling, standing, eating very little, talking, taking only 20 minutes worth of breaks and doing exercises so I don’t break my wrist! It will be a lot of energy, but worth it when we create history together!

6) Training schedule 
I have been practicing like I would for a marathon. I have been practicing smiling for hours at a time (even when I do my ab routine. Try smiling the entire time you do P90X abs!), signing my name thousands of times a day, standing for long periods of time and I even taught myself how to sign with my left hand. There is a major training schedule involved with this record because to get to 5,000 signatures without permanent damage, you need to be smart about it!

7) Most importantly…. 5,000 people!
We can’t do this record without you! If you have ever wanted to be part of history, we need 5,000 people to show up onsite or online on April 16th and be part of history! You can pre-register now and we will send you an email with the order link to purchase your book on that day! Help us create history and get your names in the record books! If you need three reasons why you should join us, click here! Or, if you are ready to be part of history, Register below:

This is what you need to break the World Record for the Largest Book Signing in History! Join us on Wednesday April 16th and as always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

P.S. Please share this article on your social media accounts or via email with your friends and family. Together we can do this! 

Ryan Avery's Letters

100+ Letters Later

By Motivation, World Records No Comments

After writing more letters than I can count, I am finished with the letters you requested to help me train for the World Record on April 16th. You rock!

It has been an experience, I have spent way more money than I thought I would ever spend on postage and I enjoy when people post on my wall they received their letters! I still have one month to train for the World Record and for those of you would like a letter, I am going to write ten more to those who have not already received one.

How you enter!

1) Share this post with your family or friends via at least one social media network where you tag Ryan Avery or @AveryToday

2) Send me your address via email at info@averytoday.com

I will send ten letters to the first ten people who email me and share this article! Can’t wait to keep producing letters and thank you to everyone who sent in their addresses and let me write them! Y’all are amazing. Keep enjoying your week and as always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

P.S. If you still need to register for the World Record, make sure to do so today and break a world record with us on April 16th and be part of history! 

CSU World Record with Ryan Avery

One Month Countdown

By Motivation, World Records No Comments

We are less than one month away from the World Record for the largest book signing in history! Ahhhh yea!

The website, marketing materials and announcement will go out next week but wanted to give you a sneak peek into what the website looks like, allow you to be one of the first to register for the event (We have some fun giveaways for the first 100 people who register) and share in the excitement that on Wednesday April 16, 2014 you and I will break a World Record and be part of history! 

Three things to do for the one month countdown:

1) Register: For the onsite or online event and reserve your spot in history now! If you can’t make the onsite event, you can still participate by getting a book online on April 16th through the CSUworldrecord.com website.

2) Share the website: Let your network know you are going to be part of a world record on April 16th and they should join in on the action!

3) Get ready to break history: Get ready to tell everyone you know that you created history on April 16th and broke a world record! No big deal!

Three reasons why you should be a part of this event:

1) All profits go towards supporting CSU scholarship funds for first generation students.

2) You become part of a Guinness World Record and create history.

3) You receive a book that will help you become more successful, more employable and a better speaker.

I am excited to be doing this with you and will need your help to make this happen. We need to sell and sign 5,000 books on Wednesday April 16th in order to break the World Record and I know together we can make this happen. Share with your fiends, family and co-workers and let’s get our name in the history books. As always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

Weekend Training Update!

By Motivation, World Records No Comments

This weekend I spent training for the World Record on April 16th. One of the hardest parts of this World Record is sitting still for 11 hours!

Ryan Avery's apartmentI get antsy after sitting for one hour let alone doing the same thing over and over again (signing my name) and sitting in the same spot! So we decided to watch the entire 4th season of Breaking Bad on our couch while eating carbs that are allowed on the P90X diet!

Things I did not consider for this record was the Sharpie smell that my nose will digest for those 11 hours. I was starting to get a headache after 2 hours so I have some work to do in that category! My hand starts to get tired around 2,000 signatures right now but I have a great training schedule that will keep me on track.

Ryan Avery sending lettersI am 75% done with the letters I am writing everyone who sent in their request for me to write a hand written letter. I got WAY more than I thought I would but I want to make sure everyone gets one who met the deadline. It has been fun to write these and think about the times when hand written letters were the most popular form of communicating over far distances.

The website is coming along. It’s not 100% ready but if you want to check it out before we launch… here it is: www.CSUworldrecord.com. Register for the 16th online or onsite! We will launch next week and start getting the 5,000 people we need to break the World Record.

This has been a challenge and I am glad I had the weekend to practice. Now this week is all about strengthening my wrist, writing more letters and figuring out how not to get high from the Sharpie smell! Enjoy the start to your Monday and as always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

World Record for the Largest Book Signing in History with Ryan Avery

1,000 Signatures and counting…

By Motivation, World Records 4 Comments

I have started my training for the World Record on April 15th. 5,000 signatures in ten hours will be what it takes to take home the gold.

I wanted to see how many times I could sign my name before my wrist got weak and I got to about 1,000. Then I switched to my left hand and as you can see from the photo above… I have a lot of work to do before then… especially with my left hand signature.

At first, 5,000 signatures seems doable… then you try it and you tell yourself you better get training!

So today I am putting together a training schedule to get ready for this record. It will include signing my name more 100,000 times, writing 500 letters, doing push-ups everyday and working with one of those 5-pound hand grips with a spring.

If I want to do this, training is a must.

This week I am in Fort Collins meeting with campus and community organizations to help market the event and get people on board to break a World Record at CSU! Remember to stay in touch by signing up for the blog at the top right hand corner of this page and email me at ryan@averytoday.com if you have ideas or contacts that can help with the event!

Once I get my training schedule completed, I will share with you my plans to get ready to sign 5,000 books on April 15th! Together… we will break a world record!!! As always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan Avery

Ryan Avery - World Champion of Public Speaking

You Don’t Have to Be Great to Start

By World Records No Comments

This is the video that started it all. A decision to start something bigger than me. Have you ever been in the mood to do something big? Dream of something and then do it? This goal meant I had to push myself, challenge myself and hold myself to a higher standard.

I pushed this video out on my YouTube channel eight months before the World Championship in 2012. I had never given a professional speech before (notice how I can’t even say the word vocabulary) and my storytelling was less than average.

But Jim Rohn reminded me… “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great!” This quote has forever changed my life. What are you waiting for? Are you doing what it takes to make your goals happen? Are you living your dream? The only person stopping you from you becoming great is you.

You don’t need to know how to do something, you need to know what you want to do and why! The how comes once you make the decision. Once you find clarity, you can commit and go all in.

This is my first blog post on RyanAvery.com and I am looking forward to sharing stories, updates and lessons with you along my journey that will help improve your life. If you are committed to making a difference, if you want to make your big dreams happen, if you are ready to move on and move forward… stick around!

I will post articles every week that will help improve our lives. The best thing you can do after reading this article is to start. Start what you know you have been procrastinating. Start what you know you are capable of and stop making excuses and start creating your own opportunities! As always…

Dream BIG,

Ryan Avery