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May 25

10 Books Aspiring Leaders In Their 20s Should Read

By Ryan Avery Leadership 7 Comments

I wish I would have started reading at an earlier age, but it is never too late! As we develop our leadership skills, we can learn from others who have put their wisdom into written words. Here are 10 books aspiring leaders in their 20s should read:

7 Habits of Highly Effective People

The Five Love Languages

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership

If you read and implement even three of these books while you are in your 20s you will be light-years ahead of your peers and one day soon be the leader running a Fortune 500 company, global non-profit, or creating the “next big thing” that will change our world! Happy reading and as always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

Apr 27

Love0

How to Create An Elevator Pitch They’ll Remember

By Ryan Avery Motivation 2 Comments

You know that person who, when you ask them, “What do you do?” they ramble on for five minutes? Please don’t be that person!

Here is how you can create an 8-second elevator pitch they will remember, they will like, and that will give them clarity on what you do.

Plug in this formula:

I work with… (who)
Who want to/are looking to… (do what)

By… (how)

For example:
I work with high-level executives
Who want to win high-stake presentations
By teaching them the strategies I used to win the World Championship of Public Speaking

My wife’s elevator pitch is:
I work with wives
Who want to have a good relationship with their spouse
By sharing stories, strategies, and insights on my blog at thenewwifestyle.com

What’s yours?

People remember things that are simple! The simpler you make it, the better chance you have they will remember you and what you do! Use this formula the next time someone asks you, “What do you do?” and see the response you get and the conversation that begins! As always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

P.S. We are going to share how you can take this formula to the next level with the members of The Map to Dreaming BIG.

Apr 06

Love0

Good F-words You Want To Use When Speaking!

By Ryan Avery Motivation One Comment

My three favorite F-words in speaking: family, failure and fears!

If you want to add more emotion – which you do – you need to use more of these F-words! Why? Because…

Too many leaders are justifying themselves and their products instead of taking time to emotionally connect with their audience!

Don’t start off with your facts or stats. Connect with us on a human level. We want to feel emotionally connected to what you have to say or sell. Here are three ways to add emotion into your next speech:

Talk about Family: Why? Because everyone has one! Whether you like them or you can’t stand them, use their stories to connect with your audience.

Talk about a Failure: Why? Because it is important to show you can relate to the people to whom you are speaking. Not everyone will be able to experience your level of success, but everyone in that audience has failed once, twice, or way too many times. If you want to build trust, be likable, and have them remember you, talk about the times you failed and what you learned from your failures.

Talk about your Fears: Why? Because people like people who have faced fear and it either stopped them, or they pushed through it to accomplish something BIG. It also goes back to being relatable; everyone has fears! When you talk about things of which you are afraid and what you are doing, have done, or will do about overcoming those fears, you show to the audience you are human!

If you want people to like you, to relate to you, and to enjoy your message, then use more of these F-words in your messaging! As always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

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?

Nov 12

Love0

What would you do without social media?

By Ryan Avery Motivation 2 Comments

(DISCLAIMER: This post was written without my editor’s approval and I have been traveling for more than 24 hours! Edited posts will resume next week).

I just landed back in the United States after 17 days in China and Hong Kong! The trip was fantastic and I will be sharing stories and speaking strategies on the blog all next week.

I am five minutes away from bed because I have been up for almost 32 hours but before I do I wanted pose a question to you:

What would you do without social media?

In China, without a VPN, you cannot access social media. I have not had Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram for three weeks and truthfully it has been a bit freeing. What did I do without social media?

1) Focused: My mind was clear to not think about “What did he post?” or, “I wonder what she did this weekend?” on all my accounts. Instead I thought about my goals, dreams and what I wanted to accomplish in 2015.

2) Engaged: I didn’t have a need to bring my phone with me or set it on the table when I went out to eat. So instead of checking my texts, Facebook posts and Twitter updates I engaged in quality conversation and felt connected to everyone I was talking to at the table.

3) Enjoyed: I looked at scenery, skyscrapers and food without the intention of posting it online or looking at it through a screen but rather looking at it with my eyes.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time away from social media and I think this is something I am going to look into doing more of on a regular basis. So the question is, what would you do without social media? What are the pros and cons to using social media in your world?

As always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

Jul 30

Love0

6 Reasons Real Leaders Are Really Speakers

By Ryan Avery Leadership, Motivation 2 Comments

No one will follow you if you don’t know how to use your voice.

Amazing Speaker = Amazing Leader
Average Speaker = Average Leader

When you become a better speaker, you become a stronger leader!

6 Reasons Real Leaders Are Really Speakers

They Know Their Audience: Speakers, before they go on stage, learn as much as they can about their audience. Speakers know who they are talking to, what problem they have and how to fix it. They know where their audience is at in life and can provide solutions to help them go from point A to point B. Know your audience = Stronger leader!

They Stand with Confidence: Great speakers know their message and believe in their words! You can truly only stand with confidence when you know your message fully and fully believe in what you are saying. When you stand with confidence you present yourself as competent. Stand with confidence = Stronger leader!

They Share Their Failures: Speakers talk about their failures, not just their success. They share what mistakes they have made and how they fixed them. They are real people who make real mistakes and share these stories with their audience. They get a following because they are open, honest and are not afraid to talk about their past. Share your failures = Stronger leader!

They Offer Solutions: Speakers offer solutions to their audience. They fix a problem, offer inspiration, share stories and do it in a way that in engaging, entertaining and educational. Offer Solutions = Stronger leader!

They Speak Up: They speak when no one else wants to. They have the hard conversations. They don’t tell you want you want to hear, speakers tell you what you need to hear. They can stand their ground and feel proud to use their voice to make a difference! Speak up = Stronger leader!

They Know When To Speak: They know the right time and place to deliver their message for maximum impact. They know it’s not just about what and how you say it but most importantly, when! Know when to speak = Stronger leader!

Without developing your speaking skills, you’ll have limited leadership abilities. Take time to work on being a better speaker so you can become a stronger leader. We need more leaders in this world so that means we need more speakers! As always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

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