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12 Speeches in 12 Days with 12 Photos

By Motivation No Comments

I got to speak 12 times in Australia for the first time and had a blast! Here are 12 photos with 12 reminders from my 12 days in the Outback!

Photo #1: Our first ever international speech together!
Note: Australia was the first part of our

Reminder: There is power in partnerships!

Ryan and Chlesea speaking in Australia

Photo #2: Dancing after a long day of work
Note: This photo is embarrassing but also makes me smile. One of the best parts of being a speaker is being able to meet the people and hang out with the people that you spoke to that day. The members of D17 were so welcoming, generous and kind that we had to dress up in their “Gold Rush” theme and join them on the dance floor!
Reminder: Dance your heart out every now and again!

Ryan Avery - The Averys Dancing
Photo #3: Having offices around the world

Note: One of my favorite things about being an entrepreneur is that you can work from anywhere around the world. We had the complete pleasure of having Bill and Debbie take us around the Swan Valley in Perth to show us wineries, breweries, coffee shops and more, all while I snuck in some emails and enjoyed the view!
Reminder: Sometimes you get more done when you are out of your traditional office.

Ryan Avery - The Averys Office

Photo #4: Meeting a fellow BIG dreamer
Note: This man is walking from Perth to Sydney (more than 5,000 KM) to raise awareness for heart disease! He had a BIG dream and decided to go after it. I love meeting people like this! The world needs more people to go after their BIG dreams!
Reminder: He literally embodies the saying, “A journey of 1,000 miles (or 5,000 KM) begins with a single step!”

Ryan Avery Dreaming BIG with others
Photo #5: Feeding kangaroos for the first time

Note: I have officially decided if any zoo around the world is looking for foster parents of a tamed kangaroo, we will be glad to take them! Now I understand the wild ones can be a bit of a pest but these kangaroos were born in captivity and were so freaking cute I almost put one in my pocket to take home!
Reminder: Take time to visit local attractions the next time you are in a different city.

Ryan Avery - The Avery's Feeding Kangaroos
Photo #6: Eating Kangaroos 

Note: Oh Australia! I just love how you eat your own national animal. Not only do you eat kangaroo, you feed the meat to your cats and dogs! 
Reminder: We say “Don’t mess with Texas” where I am from… but maybe we should start saying “Don’t mess with Australia!”

Ryan Avery - Kangaroo Meet
Photo #7: Missing our puppy 

Note: We have been gone for more than three weeks and we are really missing our puppy. Our friends who have been taking care of her while we are gone keep sending us photos (Thank you Allison and Alison) and this one melted my heart! 
Reminder: Treat your pets well.

Ryan Avery - Sugar Avery
Photo #8: Trying Vegemite 

Note: Not my favorite! I am not going to lie… I miss a good ole’ PB&J right about now!
Reminder: Try the local favorites at least once! It is part of the adventure!

Ryan Avery eating Vegemite
Photo #9: Dreaming BIG with C.Y. O’Connor

Note: We had our first successful webinar with the Map to Dreaming BIG team and were inspired by the story of C.Y. O’Connor. His ability to take an idea and make it real, even when others (most) doubted him is inspiring! 
Reminder: Go after your BIG dreams! The world needs you!

The Averys Dream BIG
Photo #10: Getting to feel like a rockstar 

Note: After I got done speaking at Technology Park, the meeting planner asked if I could sign one of the posters so they could frame it and hang it up in the office. I am not going to lie Emma… you made me feel like a rockstar and thank you for being an A+ event coordinator! 
Reminder: Enjoy the moments in life that make your heart beat fast and when your smile reaches your ears.

Ryan Avery - Signing the Poster
Photo #11: The SUPER PIT in Kalgoorlie 

Note: 220 stories below the ground this can be considered as the Grand Canyon of Australia; one of the largest gold mines in the world! Fascinating to see and learn more about and to understand the history of what made this town so great!
Reminder: You have to dig deep to find gold!

Ryan Avery - The SuperPit in Kalgoorlie
Photo #12: My first professional speech in Australia 

Note: Thank you so much Technology Park for inviting me to speak and work with your entrepreneurs and leaders. They had a 300+ audience fill the room. I got the opportunity to share with leaders the power of storytelling and what it can do for their business, teams and  families!
Reminder: When you work hard to do work you love, it doesn’t feel like work!

Ryan Avery in Perth
Remember to stop waiting for things to happen and make things happen! Thank you again to the members of D17 for making this a life-time memory and we can’t wait to be back in the Outback soon! As always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

 

A Quick Reminder

By Motivation 2 Comments

I have been moving at what feels like 1,000 miles per hour this past week while speaking in Australia for the first time!

We have had a blast while being here in D17; gambling, brothels, creating new friendships and more! (Photos and lessons learned along the way to come next week. Oh and yes, I said brothels)! 

I woke up feeling so stressed this morning as I had four talks to give today and I wanted to make sure I was ready for them all!

Having a mini-freak out, Chelsea reminds me to: Pause (breathe). Remind myself where I am (Australia). Remember time will pass (True).

This week: Pause. Remind yourself where you are. Remember time passes.

What I am upset about today is that although I feel like I did my best, I didn’t do the best job of being in the moment to enjoy it. I stressed about going from one speech to the next and now it is 10pm in Australia and my day is over. The speeches are over and I never get this day back.

I am in a new place, enjoying great conversations with awesome people and I’m with my wife! I love having days where I get to speak, teach and meet new people! So I (we) should enjoy every moment we get like this. Don’t you think?

A quick reminder for us all: Enjoy the moment. 

Can’t wait to share with you what else I have learned while being in Australia (great group of people these Aussies are)! Remember to keep taking advantage of today (enjoy the moment), plan for tomorrow and as always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

Books Leaders Should Read

10 Books Aspiring Leaders In Their 20s Should Read

By 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 Alchemist

Tribes

Lean In

Letters from Leaders

Leaders Eat Last

Strengths Finder

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

The Five Ps To a Perfect Proposal

By Motivation, Uncategorized 2 Comments

Starting out I wasn’t getting the results I wanted nor the revenue a full-time speaker really needed to make ends meet. I had proposals in the hands of the right people, but nothing was popping up. I knew my content was valuable to professionals, but those who were buying weren’t biting.

I had to be doing something wrong when writing or delivering proposals to potential clients.

I dove in. I asked questions. I researched, read, wrote and re-wrote my proposals. After weeks of formulating a formula, I tested it on my first client. The next week I landed my first BIG five-figure contract.

How did this proposal differ from the others I was sending? It was a formula you can use that I like to call the 5 Ps To a Perfect Proposal:

State Your Position: What is your take on an issue, a problem, or a belief you have? What experience do you have with it? Why does it matter to you?

Identify The Problem: What problem is your target audience facing that they need help solving?

Give a Process: What process will you take them through to fix this problem?

Offer a Product: What do they need to buy in order to fix this? A keynote, a training, a book, a six-week course?

Illustrate the Priority: What happens if they don’t fix this problem? What will their business look like, and why does it need to happen now? Why are you the one they should go with versus someone else?

This simple formula has helped me land larger clients and get more ‘yeses’. This simple to use, simple to read, and simple to understand formula has resonated with several of my clients and created significant income for my business.

So, the next time you write a proposal state your position, identify the problem, give a process, offer a product, and let them know why this is a priority. Hope that helps. Keep using your voice to make a difference! As always…

Dream BIG,

Ryan

Can Kids Get In The Way of Your BIG Dreams?

By Motivation 4 Comments

This week, I have a guest post written by Joe Shaw; a fellow blogger, Map to Dreaming BIG member and all around good guy!

It’s 3:42am. I’ve been pacing around the living room with our one-month-old for the last hour and a half (3.2 miles of walking, according to the phone’s pedometer), thinking about an article I’m working on about parents with small kids and full time jobs and how they still find time to chase their dreams.

Time to chase dreams. That’s funny.

A few minutes later, the baby dozes off. There’s a noise upstairs that sounds like a ten gallon bucket of pasta dumped on the floor, followed by a scream and the megaphone voice of my three-year-old son.

“DAAAAD! Eliott just threw up on me!”

The screaming wakes the baby, who wakes up my wife and the rest of our four kids. I leave the baby wailing in his crib and run upstairs to keep the badness from spreading. Halfway up, my phone says I’ve made four miles. “Great,” I think. “At least I’m getting exercise.”

This is how Saturday ends and Sunday begins.

TIP #1: Nothing Ever Happens Like It’s Supposed To.

“Life is what happens when stuff gets in the way of your plans,” my Grandma used to say, and I think that’s true. I had always planned on publishing a book by the time I was 35. I’ll be 38 this year and I’m about as close to publishing as I was a decade ago.

Life gets busy. When I was 25, all I had was a job and a bunch of free time. Now I have a wife, a mortgage, and the responsibility of raising four kids into respectable adults who, we hope, won’t accidentally set the house on fire when we’re not looking.

None of this was planned, but all of it has been good. It’s been great, actually. When you chase your dream, you’ll more than likely find that things don’t always go as planned, but the off roads are often what make things worthwhile.

Tip #2: Find A Routine. Stick To it.

We get everything cleaned up, and fall into our weekend routine: kids playing games and watching cartoons, breakfast on the stove, a few cups of coffee brewing in the pot.

Things have calmed down. Time for that article.

I try to write each morning, even if it’s just a few minutes. If you find a routine that works, stick to it as best you can. Do it long enough and you can fall back into it without even thinking, like muscle memory, when the world throws you a curve ball.

Tip #3: Don’t Forget The Milk.

I get two sentences done when my phone beeps. My To-Do list tells me we have to be at church in ten minutes. I grab the non-sick kids, toss them in the car and get moving. After church, my phone sends us on a wild goose chase of tasks: library, grocery store, gas station and bank. I’m on autopilot. My mind is on the article the whole time. I unload the groceries when we get home and, of course, forgot the milk.

This happens to me a lot. I get distracted, thinking about a story I’m working on or a big project at my day job, and I miss small but important parts of the day. Sometimes it’s milk. Other times I don’t hear my kids or my wife when they speak to me. They think I’m listening, but my mind is really off someplace else.

Your dream will seep in and ruin everything else if you let it. Do too much and nothing gets your full attention. That might be okay if all you missed was the milk, but it doesn’t work well with loved ones. If you want to build full, rich relationships, you need to flip the dream switch to OFF once in a while.

Tip #4: Prioritize.

The rest of the day goes well. We watch some television, and play some games. The kids are feeling well enough for dinner. We bathe them, put them to bed, and I settle in to finally get some work done on this article I’m supposed to write.

A door creaks. My three-year-old can’t sleep. “Can you tell me another story, Daddy?”

I want to finish this article. There are other responsibilities, too; things like laundry and dishes and, of course, my favorite television shows. Then I remember an old boss who took less challenging jobs early in his career so he could spend time playing with his kids. “Our dreams are a support structure for our lives,” he said. “Not the other way ‘round.”

Sometimes chasing a dream means putting it on hold when other, more important, things take precedence. It’s not always an easy choice to make but, if we make our dreams the focus of our lives instead of merely a part of our lives, we’ll end up losing out on both.

I want to write. I want to tell stories. I want to share ideas that will move people and change the world. What better audience could I hope for than a three year old in dinosaur pajamas?

“Sure, buddy,” I say, and we spend the next two hours building a story together about a little boy who found a portal to another world under his bed.

I didn’t make it to bed myself until after midnight. That wasn’t part of my plan when I started my morning, but it was still a good ending to the day. The article had to wait till I fell into my routine the next day. I finished both the article and a big project the following day.

The next night, all four kids listened to a re-telling of the adventures of the magical world of Underbed. There may or may not have been a gigantic pasta monster and a giant, beeping robot that looked like a phone.

It is a strange and unexpected way to chase my dream, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The Shaw Family

The Shaw Family

Ryan Avery

28 Things I Know For Sure at 28

By Motivation 4 Comments

This week I celebrate my 28th birthday. Along the way I have experienced loss, joy, friendship, family, love, hate, disgust, accomplishment and gratitude.

I have loved and been loved. I have hurt and been hurt. I have spoken up when I should have and I have remained silent when I shouldn’t have! Inspired by my wife’s article, I thought I would share the 28 things I know for sure at 28:

You are the only one who is in control of how you feel.

Everyone has leadership potential but only a select few harness it.

The most powerful weapon on the planet is your voice and the most powerful ammo are your actions.

A marriage will work when you communicate often and remain intimate with your best friend.

Take a honeymoon every year. 

The bigger the dream, the bigger the reward! 

“Many people die at 25 but don’t get buried until they are 75.” – Ben Franklin

“If you are not having fun you are not doing it right.” – Jay Nodine

Do what you can while you can.

Friends come and go.

90% of the problems you have are 100% related to how well you communicate! 

Don’t let one thing, ruin the whole thing.

Success is a feeling, not a destination.

Success is not about looking good, it’s about doing good.

It’s very easy to learn, its very difficult to do.

Those who are really good at what they do, really care about what they do.

The only competition is you.

“It’s not about living forever, it’s about creating something that will.” – Chuck Palahniuk 

Who you were is not who you have to be.

How you practice is how you play.

Those who win will occasionally have epic fails, but those who never try are guaranteed to always lose!

You can’t make more money until you know how to manage the money you already have.

Live below your means.

Giving 10% of your income will help feed your soul.

I wish more people traveled.

Before anyone else is going to believe you, you have to believe you.

An awesome way to make your business successful, is to make your family successful first.

It’s the dreamers who take action that change our world.

At your age, what is one thing that you know for sure? Comment below and share this article with others if you agree with one of the above. Let’s learn from one another and see what advice we can get from others! Thanks for reading and as always…

Dream BIG,

Ryan

How to Create An Elevator Pitch They’ll Remember

How to Create An Elevator Pitch They’ll Remember

By 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.

6 Reasons Why I Am Moving To Mondays

By Motivation 4 Comments

Hey Todayers, I have been evaluating how my core values tie in with what I am doing and what readers want in my writing. My number one core value is to produce quality.

Readers are looking for simple success strategies they can use to make a significant impact in their personal or professional lives. With that said, I am going to be moving my articles from Monday, Wednesday and Friday… to Mondays.

Here is my reasoning and what we all should consider when creating content:

Choose quality over quantity: I want to keep producing quality. I can tell from the way my schedule has been growing that I have been creating content to create content rather than to share strategies of high quality. Lately, I have caught myself saying things like, “Well, I just need to get an article out” or “Let me think of something creative to write, so I can get more followers” rather than taking time to do more research, learn about my readers/industry, and give you the best content. I am not saying I have not produced quality. In fact, I am proud of what I have done with this blog. What I am saying is that I have begun catching myself thinking about wavering with my core value, and I don’t want to go down that route. I want to keep producing quality content while managing my time, my growing schedule, and my upcoming opportunities.

Write in hopes it will stick: There is a lot of content out there. I want to make sure I don’t give you too much, but rather give you content you can immediately take, use, and implement.

Be the leading resource for readers: I have heard from a few people that I can overwhelm you with blog updates or content. I want to be seen as a leading resource for you, not as a spammer whom you gloss over when my email lands in your inbox with a new article.

Give time to building your brand: I am making some big changes in the next few months. I have hired a brand strategist, a videographer, and a photographer. I keep reaching out to my long-time followers and clients who are helping me identify the value I bring and lining it up with what I want to do. This takes time, and I want to get it right!

Listen to your statistics: My views on Mondays are almost double the views as my other days. When I sent out my questionnaire for last year to my readers, the most popular day was Monday when I asked, “What day do you want to read blog articles?”

Identify the purpose of your blog: The purpose of my blog is to share with my readers what I am doing and what I have learned along the way. I want to use this space as an opportunity to share stories and strategies that teach success principles and to connect you with leaders who offer advice that will change your life!

That is why I am moving to Mondays. I hope you stay with me! I hope my content continues to add value to your life. Together, we can continue to grow to be stronger leaders, better speakers, and accomplish our

Dream BIG,
Ryan

Three Best Ways to Start a Speech

By Communication No Comments

You can start a speech a variety of ways, but please, pretty please, never start a speech by saying something like, “Hi, thanks so much for having me today, it is an honor to be with you… blah… blah… blah!”

What a waste of time!

Remember that more than 90% of people don’t change their first impression about you. If you come out doing something boring and generic in those first few seconds, you will be remembered as being boring and generic!

Begin your speech by talking about one or all three of the following:

Talk about the Culture: What do you find fascinating about their culture? What art, music, or fashion have you experienced while in town that you really appreciate?

Talk about the Cuisine: What local restaurant did you just eat at that your audience will know and love? What food did you try and not like, but are glad you tried it? What food do you want to get more of and wish you had in your town?

Talk about the Contributions: What has the organization or city given back to the community or world? What inventions, stories, people, or leaders have come from there? What contributions have they given, and why are you happy they made them? How has it helped you in your life?

While speaking in China for example, I started off my speeches saying, “Hello, how are you doing today?” in Mandarine (Culture). Then I went into talking about eating jelly fish and cow stomach (Cuisine) for the first time after we visited the Great Wall (Contributions).

This technique helps you build trust with an audience, gets you to explore their world and shows them you care about what they have done! Start your next speech using one or all three of these things. You will capture their attention, their minds and more importantly their hearts! As always…

Dream BIG,

Ryan

Good F-words You Want To Use When Speaking!

By 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

A BIG Mistake People Make With Their Business Cards

By Motivation 4 Comments

I went to a couple of events last week and collected a bakers’ dozen worth of business cards. After the event, I sat down and responded personally to everyone whom I had met and connected with him or her online.

When I started emailing a few, I caught A BIG mistake people make with their business cards! The BIG mistake people make is when they put their “given” name rather than the name they want to be called, or the one they used when they introduced themselves. For example:

Susan, who really goes by Sue!

William, who really goes by Bill!

Jonathan, who really goes by his middle name, Jake!

Felecia, who really likes to be called Fay!

Don’t put a name on there that you don’t introduce yourself as, or you don’t want to be called! Also, if you are one of those people who say, “Oh, it doesn’t matter which one you call me, I go by Susan or Sue,” please pick one!

This happened to me a few years ago when I used to go by my last name, Avery. I had Ryan on my business card, but introduced myself as Avery.

I didn’t know how much I really confused people until this moment sitting down at my computer looking at four business cards with names of people who introduced themselves differently.

Having a different name on your card is very confusing for the person on the receiving end. It can make the person who is reaching out to you second guess themselves. They might look at the card and think, “I could have sworn she said her name was “X”, or “Well, if that is what he goes by, how do you think he spells it?”

Don’t let the first impression you give to people confuse them!

What do you want people to call you? Put that on your business card. I know, I know, you have a professional side that you are trying to portray, but remember, people don’t do business with business professionals; they do business with people!

We want to know the real you!

So, if you want to be called Sue, Bill, Jake, Fay – or anything else – let us know what your friends call you, because in business the more friends you have the more business opportunities you have!

Some of you need to reprint your business cards, today! As always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan