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Apr 24

Advice from Public Speaking’s Most Prolific Author

By Ryan Avery Motivation, Uncategorized 4 Comments

Holding each other’s books!

Have you ever met one of your heroes in person? Had the chance to sit down and talk with them for an afternoon? I am happy to say I got that chance recently when I met Mr. James C. Humes, one of the world’s greatest orators and authors.

His books inspire, his life-story motivates and his ability amazes me. In fact, his books are the major reason why I fell in love with the art of communication and wanted to dedicated my life to helping people improve their communication skills. Reading his books gave me the motivation in a major way to write Speaker, Leader, Champion with Jeremey Donovan.

His firm handshake, pink and blue bow tie and lion-gaze eye contact intimidated me at first. He lived up to the person I had envisioned in my mind. Randy Harvey introduced me to Mr. Humes’ books when I was training for the World Championship. Randy gave me a copy of one of Humes’ books “

Here are the framed front covers for most of the books Mr. Humes has written!

Mr. Humes has spoken in all 50 states, more countries that I could keep count and he was a speech writer for Nixon, Ford, Regan and Bush Senior. He wrote the words on the plaque that Neil Armstrong placed on the moon during the first landing! He has written more than 40 books and learned from Winston Churchill! He told me, “Meeting Churchill was like meeting Caesar or Napoleon, it was like shaking hands with history. Best advice Churchill gave me was to study history because in history lies the secrets to statecraft (government)!”

He’s the real deal and as professional speakers, he is one many of us look up to.

His home is like an American Museum with oil paintings hanging on the walls, vintage books that line the floor and his entry way table is a chest from Christopher Columbus dating back to 1501. It was an honor to meet Mr. Humes and during our time together I was able to get to know him and his lovely wife.

I asked why he has dedicated decades of his life to the art of communication. He paused, looked at me and said “Speech is power…” and proceeded to tell me about how Winston Churchill used his words to inspire a nation and as he spoke, reminiscing on the words of Churchill, he ended by saying “… words are the difference between defeat and survival.”

He is right! There is nothing more powerful than speech! Why wouldn’t you want to master the art of speaking?

I am thankful I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Humes as he is someone I very much look up to. Just listening to his stories, being allowed in his home and learning from him was a top ten moment for me. He offered me advice for the next time I talk on stage and shared the three elements of what it takes to make a great speech:

You Need A Great Man (or Woman)
Someone willing to step up when times are tough. Someone who is willing to speak out on issues they believe in. Someone who is willing to use their voice to make a difference. The world is full of great men and woman we just need more of them to use their voice to help our world! A great man or woman will not be made overnight. You need trials and tribulations, you need failures and a sprinkle of success stories- you need to experience life. All of the things that have happened and are happening in your life, prepare you to be a better person, to be a stronger man and a capable leader.

You Need A Great Occasion
There are only a few opportunities in life for a great man or woman to deliver a great speech because there are few great occasions. But look for them. Reach out and ask to be the speaker. Reach out and see what you can do to get yourself on stage, in front of that microphone and during the next great occasion. Think of how you can be remembered for the words you say.

You Need Great Eloquence
You can borrow the eloquence from someone by sharing their story and how they handled the situation. Think of great leaders of our time and how they were able to handle the situations given to them. Remember to share stories that make a point, pause to let the audience soak in what you are saying and end with what Humes likes to say a “Soul Shaker!” (inspirational story).

It took time, digging and a lot of research to be able to get in touch with Mr. Humes but it was worth every minute! Take the time this week to look over who inspires you, who motivates you and who you look up to. Reach out to them and come up with a list of questions to ask when you two meet. Your heroes are out there and they are willing to meet with you if you only ask! Remember to use your voice to make a difference and as always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

P.S. If you could interview one person this week, who would it be?

Apr 18

Love0

6 Reminders Why You Should Take a Risk

By Ryan Avery 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

Apr 11

Love0

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

By Ryan Avery 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:

1) 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:

Sell Tickets Online through Eventbrite

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!

Mar 26

Love0

Home with a Holocaust Survivor

By Ryan Avery Motivation 5 Comments

His stature reminds me of a grandfather figure, his personality is a hybrid between Mr. Rogers and the male version of Betty White and he has more energy than most people do after their morning cup of coffee.

I had the opportunity to sit down with 88 year old Holocaust Survivor, Alter Wiener, at his home and ask him questions about life, Hitler and why one should use their voice to make a difference.

His book From a Name to Number: A Holocaust Survivor’s Autobiography is #57 on Amazon.com out of 47 million books. It is a book I would recommend everyone read and learn more about his story, the history of the Holocaust and how he is changing lives around the world by sharing his message.

We sit down for our interview and he asks if I want anything to eat or drink. I politely decline but then my wife Chelsea asks if she can get up and get him any water before we start. With a smile on his face he replies “If you wanted to offer me something, you should have done it in 1945!”

We laugh and start the interview. Time gets swept away as I am mesmerized by his stories, his authenticy and ability to replay the tragedies of his three years being tortured in concentration camps. The interview lasted hours but four things stand out that are reminders for all of us going though tough times or who struggle sharing their message:

“Don’t be bitter-be better.”
After spending three years in concentration camps, getting his teeth knocked out, facing months of starvation, having his entire family murdered (only four survived out of 128 members of his family) and living conditions so horrible sewer rats had better living situations then them, he realized he could make two choices after he was free. He could be bitter his entire life or get better. He chose to get better and not blame every German for the atrocities of Hitler.

If there is anything making you bitter in life, get over it. Decide right now you have the choice to get better and live a life of love. Love creates so many opportunities for all.

“There are only two races in this world, good people and bad people.”
It was hard for Alter to comprehend why Hitler would do what he did to so many, millions in fact, especially innocent children. He told me it does not make sense to hate, to have prejudice against others who look different than you, who act different than you or who do things different than you. Only focus on two races, those who are good and those who are bad and this world will be a better place starting tomorrow.

How are you judging people based on their identities?

“Appreciate what you have.”
For months Alter would go without seeing a flower, a child or woman. He was starving, overworked and in horrible living conditions that are incomparable. As we sat in his quaint apartment, he talked about how everyday and every moment he appreciates these small things he has in life that we take for granted everyday like a refrigerator, pockets, and everyday freedoms.

Look around you, what you can be thankful for today that you have in your life others don’t? Identify ten things that you can give thanks for no matter how big or small.

“I am not telling my story for me, I am telling it for you.”
Alter does not share his story because he enjoys it. In fact, it is incredibly difficult for him to relive his story. It causes him pain, suffering and takes him back to the worst part of his life. However, he shares his story because he wants us to learn from it. He wants us to appreciate life, to learn from each other, to give back and do more good things for our neighbors. He wants to share his story so something like the Holocaust will never happen again.

What story do you have? What message is inside of you that would help others live a better life? Share your story, your message and let others know they are not alone and their is hope in the world. Your story matters!

After the interview we talk about his age, abilities and how busy he is. He gives us that similar smile and says, “I don’t have time to die, I am too busy!” He is a man I will always remember and his story I will never forget. I am thankful I had the opportunity to meet Alter and I hope we all can continue to learn from his story, history and others who share similar stories.

Keep using your voice to make a difference and as always…

Dream BIG,

Ryan

P.s. Share this article and let’s help Alter’s story stay alive and learn from his life lessons.