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Dec 12

The 16 Photos in 2016 Challenge

By Ryan Avery Motivation 8 Comments

Every year I put together the top photos that correlate with the number of years in our millennia. This year… 16! My challenge to you is to take uninterrupted time this week to scroll through your phone or review photos stored on your computer and find the best 16 photos that represent your 2016!

This process always provides me with gratitude, love, happiness and reflection on the year while also giving me hope, desire and energy for the year ahead.

Here are my 16 photos from 2016 and I hope you will share yours with me either by posting a link to your article in the comments below or by using the #16PhotoChallange on your social media!

My favorite lady and I doing our favorite thing together… traveling!

Chelsea: I know some people save acknowledging their loved ones at the end or speeches or blog articles… not me! Family comes first! We celebrated 9 years together this year and I hope I get another 93 with her! She is my best-friend, my partner in life, my partner in business and the mother to my child! She is literally… the best!

Literally… the best!

Atlas: We welcomed Atlas Turner Avery into the world this year on September 1, 2016 at 10:22pm weighing in at 8.0 lbs and almost 22 inches! Chelsea delivered her naturally at the MMC center and I got to catch her with my own hands; literally one of the best moments of my life! She has been our favorite adventure to date! It is so fun watching her grow. Everyday when I feel like I love her the most, my love for her grows even more!

My awesome family! (not pictured here are my awesome in-laws, cousins, aunts and Grammy)!

Family: This year has been ALL about family for me! My parents moved their life ENTIRE life to Colorado to be closer to me, Chelsea and Atlas. I have seen my mom and dad more in the past three months than I have in the past DECADE (literally)! I have seen my sister TEN times this year and my aunts, cousins and Grammy more than ever too as we have made it a priority to spend quality time with family! So grateful that my parents moved to CO to help with Atlas and so thankful for my in-laws who have played a HUGE role in helping us be parents!

Crossing the IRONMAN finish line has been one of my greatest accomplishments to date!

140.6 IRONMAN: When I found out Chelsea was pregnant I wanted to do something that was the “male equivalent” to giving birth and the IRONMAN popped into play! I had never run a marathon. I had never biked more than around the block and I had some swimming experience. This was going to be a HUGE challenge. My commitment to my family was that I would not do it if it jeopardized my physical or mental health and I am proud to say that after 16 hours and 54 minutes I completed the Boulder IRONMAN on August 7, 2016 fully healthy! It was the single hardest thing I have ever had to endure.

The perfect spot to raise our family!

House: I semi-joked with Chelsea at the beginning of the year that I would buy her a house for Christmas this year and we closed on our dream home 19 days before Santa arrives! We love this place. It is the PERFECT place to raise our growing family, to entertain, to have Sugar run in the back yard and we have plum trees, apple trees, grapes, hops and more types or trees/flowers than I can count! It is the perfect place to come home to after traveling and seeing Chelsea, Atlas and Sugar sitting on our couch in the living room… priceless!

This used to be our view that we woke up to every morning outside of our front door when we would take Sugar on walks! I thought I would miss it but I am really happy where we are now!

Portland, OR: I cannot believe we lived in Portland THIS year! That still blows my mind. In the past twelve months we have had THREE addresses! Portland was such a fantastic spot for us and making the decision to leave that city and our friends and uproot our life was one of the hardest decisions we had to make this year. Without a doubt, it was also one of the top decisions we made this year!

Thanks Littleton 🙂

Littleton, CO: I love our new little town! It has everything I need. I can walk to the lake from our house. I can get on the bike trails for my triathlon training. They have cute neighborhood activities and we are going to be here for a long time! I can see our children growing up here and it makes me really happy and proud to think of them as Coloradans!

Day 16: Send a care package to a solider across seas! We might have gone a little overboard!

#31DaysofKindness: This started three years ago as something I wanted to do with a few friends and over the years has grown into almost 1,000 people joining in on the adventure. We do it every year from August 1st to August 31st where we collectively do the same act of kindness around the world together. This year as a group we did more than 18,000 acts of kindness! Our goal next year is to do over 30,000 acts of kindness!

I get messages like this posted on my wall and it literally makes me SO happy!

Letters: This year I started my hand-written letter campaign where I write a letter everyday to someone who wanted one. This was one of my favorite things I did this year. I heard from people all over the world about their dreams, about their struggles, about their hopes and questions. Some of the people I knew personally and others I had never met before. Some wrote in asking me to write their loved ones and others asked for advice. I have written more than 300 letters this year and I hope people continue wanting them because it makes me really happy! Want a letter: Here are the details 🙂

I mean this dog literally might be the cutest dog in the world!

Sugar: I can’t tell you how happy this dog makes me. She is always happy. She always snuggles. She always loves to go on walks and gets excited when I walk in the front door. Dogs really are a human’s best friend (sorry cat lovers) and I am so thankful to have this little white 16 pound bundle of joy in our life!

The week I took this photo my travel/speaking schedule was insane! I did MN, HI, CO and WA in the same week!

Travel: After traveling to every continent in the world last year I thought I would go through travel withdraws sticking to North America destinations but I could not have been more wrong! I got to see so much of the United States this year from Hawaii to Hotlanta to Texas to Tennessee! I got to see and spend time with many friends and family members and Chelsea and Atlas got to join me on most of my trips! This year, if my calculations are correct, I stayed in more than 115 nights of hotels, got on 98 planes and spoke in 25 states and 38 cities!

You can learn more at www.Vistage.com!

Vistage: Vistage has been the single best professional group without a doubt for me! I get to speak at their events, I get to sit on one of their boards, I get to interact with Vistage WHQ staff, members, chairs and they let me do what I love to support those that I love and it is the best! I am so thankful to be part of the Vistage community!

The sign you get when you come visit us 🙂

Friends: I feel like I have been blessed with some of the best friends in the world; friends who challenge me, friends who make me want to dream bigger, friends who all are living out their own passions and focused on helping others succeed too!

No matter how many restaurants I eat at… home cooked food still tops the list! #BreakfastForDinner

Food: One of the best parts of my job is I get to enjoy my passion of food every week and try local restaurants and cuisine! Taste is one of the best parts of life and looking through my phone photos besides Chelsea, Atlas and Sugar… food tops the list of things I take the most photos of!

This is hanging up at one of my clients headquarters and it pretty much sums up who I am and my word of the year! 🙂

Secure: Every year I pick a word that I want to focus on and that drives my decision making for the next twelve months. I have had my yearly words be “Focus” which is the one in 2012 when we won the World Championship. “Grow” which was in 2014 when we wanted to take our business to six figures and this year was “Secure” because I wanted to be more secure in who I am, what I stand for and the people I want to spend time with. I wanted to be ok with saying YES or NO and ok with my decision. In the past I have been more of a “people pleaser” and I think it is good to make others happy but not in the expense of your own happiness!

Ryan Avery, Keynote Speaker

Speaking: Speaking professionally is the best job in the world. Everyday I get to do what I love all while being able to teach people how to be better at what they love to do! I get to meet great leaders, see fascinating places, taste awesome foods and learn about unique cultures/industries. I am always learning. I am always challenged. I am always moving. I never take my job for granted and make sure that every time I speak, I act like it is my last opportunity to get in front of an audience. Thank you to everyone who worked with me this year. Thank you to all my mentors, friends and family who support me and Chelsea in this business and thank you to everyone who attended one of my trainings/keynotes this year! As a professional speaker, I can’t put into words how grateful I am for what I get to do for a living!

I hope you have an amazing rest of your 2016 and I am looking forward to staying in touch! remember to keep working towards your BIG dreams because they matter! As always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan Avery

Jun 08

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12 Speeches in 12 Days with 12 Photos

By Ryan Avery 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!

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!

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.

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!”

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.

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!”

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.

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!

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!

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.

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!

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!

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

Jan 02

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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

Oct 01

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Three Easy Ways to Make $500 Speaking
By Ryan Avery Communication, Motivation 3 Comments

What if you could make more money in one hour than the average American makes in one week? Have you ever asked yourself, “How do I get paid to speak?” or “What are ways I can become a paid speaker this year?”

Below are three quick ways to make $500 speaking, all of which I have done myself.

The reason I am writing this article is to not promote a “get rich quick” mentality! I am writing this because I want to get people comfortable with making money for the knowledge, skills and ideas they possess-not to make a quick buck! If you can’t get comfortable making $500, how will you ever make $5,000? Your voice has power, so use it wisely!

Find a Sponsor: Find a company, organization, or person who can sponsor you to go out and talk to a group of 100+ people. In return, you will offer to talk about their product, service or idea. I recommend choosing someone whom you respect and whom you would be proud to represent. Whom do you know who owns a company seeking awareness for their product? Right now, we know that 48% of Millennials purchase products based on word of mouth marketing, and only 17% are influenced by TV ads. Convincing a company, organization, or person to sponsor you while you talk about how great they are can boost their sales and expand your reach!

Sell 50 tickets for $10: I bet you know at least fifty people. Combine your family, your friends, your social media following, those you work with, those you work for, and the strangers you could meet. You can sell fifty $10 tickets for a one-hour training. Pick a message you want to share, identify the target market who will benefit from it, and select a venue (preferably free). Send out your Eventbrite registration links to everyone you know. Go. Get started!

Get one company to pay you $500: It might sound harder than it seems but how many companies have you actually asked to pay you? Go out and ask ten people who are in charge of saying yes to things like this and see what they say. Companies spend tens of thousands of dollars each year on training their teams. What value can you bring to a company, organization or group? Take an HR or Senior Level executive out to lunch and convince them that you would like to train 20 of his or her employees on (insert subject here + outline the benefits) how to improve any area of their business. I am going to take a bet that most people don’t ask nor do they ask the right person.

Take time to make $500 in the next two weeks and prove to yourself you have valuable information for which people are willing to pay. When you speak, deliver $5,000 worth of content! Rinse and repeat. As always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

Question: What is another idea people can do to make money speaking?

Jul 25

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GIVEAWAY: Speaker Leader Champion
By Ryan Avery Motivation 4 Comments

Today I am giving away a new copy of Speaker Leader Champion in any format the winner wants (audio, e-book or a hard signed copy).

Two ways to enter. Do both of these things, get double your chances to win:

1) Subscribe, via email, to the blog in the right hand corner of this page

2) Share this article on any social media account and tag me in it so I know you shared it (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn).

Again, do them both, be counted twice! Like all my giveaways, I will put everyones name on a list, use the random number generator and pick a winner this Saturday afternoon! I hope you are enjoying your Friday and getting ready for and fun-filled summer weekend!

I write articles every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9am PST. If you’re new I hope you’ll stick around and if you have been here for a while, you are awesome, let me write you a letter! As always….

Dream BIG,
Ryan

UPDATE: Winner of today’s giveaway is subscriber (dachrismom). I will reach out to you via email as well! Thanks to everyone for sharing and stay tuned for another giveaway soon!

Jul 23

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Strategies of a Successful Book Launch
By Ryan Avery Motivation, Writing No Comments

Today’s question comes from Shruti Sharma from San Jose, CA when she asks, “What advice do you have for making your book a success once it is written?”

First you have to be passionate about making your book a success (more than just making money). No one cares more about your book than you. The harder and smarter you work, the more books get sold.

Second, define what success looks like to you! Is it the amount of books you sell, the places you get to travel, the people you help or the speeches you get from those who read the book? What does a successful book look like? Only the author can answer that.

After you define your answer above, here is what I used to make our book a success:

Write it Down: You have to put a strategy on paper to know what it looks like. Then post it up in your office and look at it everyday. I broke my written strategy into three categories (Social, Educational and Business). What can you do to be social around your book, educate people with content from your book and make money from it? I focused 50% of my efforts on social, 30% on educational and 20% on business. List, outline and brainstorm ways you can address these areas with your book.

Podcasts Interviews: Reach out to as many podcasters as you can. Let them know you have a book coming out and you can add value to their listeners. Podcasters are all looking for new content, energetic people to interview and value to add to their subscribers. Make sure to ask them to launch your episode during a week before, the day of or a week after your launch. This will drive more traffic to your site, your book and you as an author because instead of a trickle of interviews happening throughout several months, you get a big serge of name recognition in the launch window.

Social Media Team: Put together a team of people who can help promote the book on various social media sites. I would recommend a minimum of 30 people on your team. The more you get, the more your book gets out there! What can you do to entice them to share your book and get them to join your team?

Book Signing Events: You don’t have to do a big book tour. You can do three cities, shoot you can even do one! Make sure you set up at least one book signing event and invite your friends, family, co-workers and your target market for the book. This is great PR! Take photos, videos and post all over social media! You can host it at your local book store, church, coffee shop, anywhere that will let you. Get your hand ready to sign some books!

Reviews on Amazon: This is an area I lacked in for this launch. Reviews matter on Amazon and will help you sell more over time (in fact, if you have purchased Speaker Leader Champion, I could really use your help with a review on Amazon). Reviews gives the author social proof that their book is valuable and people purchase books depending on the reviews. So the quality and quantity of reviews matter!

Valuable Giveaways: What giveaways can you do to lead up to and follow up with your book launch? Giveaway gift cards or signed copies of your book. Giveaway a free hour of coaching or the first chapter away if they sign up for your newsletter. Offer valuable giveaways to make your following happy and to also interest them in getting a copy or sharing it with their friends.

I am happy with the success of Speaker Leader Champion. The book has been translated into 3 languages and my goal is to have translated into 10. I still have more copies to sell and I enjoy getting emails that readers are getting value from the book.

I have learned an immense amount this first go around and will know how to make my second launch even stronger. You have to try these things now in order to make your next one even better. When Frank Llyod Wright was asked which house was the best he’d ever built, he said “my next one.”

You have everything you need to make your book a success and now it’s up to you to put in the work. Go out there and make it happen! You are part of 1% of the population who has written a book now be 1% of authors who make their book a success! Looking forward to seeing your name on the shelf! As always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

Authors, what other advice do you have for those looking to make their book a success?

Jul 07

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9 Quotes You Should Pay Attention To
By Ryan Avery Communication 6 Comments

From hologram musicians to $35,000 live auction paddle raises, to meeting some of my speaking heroes, to learning about speaking bureaus, to content so good it makes your head swell and to friendships started that will last a lifetime, the 2014 NSA Convention was an event everyone should have attended (speakers and non-speakers a like).

As we move forward in growing the brand of NSA to now be referred to as Platform, I wanted to share with you quotes that if you read and implement will change your life and those you serve. They are taken from speakers I met this weekend who impacted my life. Please read these, digest these and revisit these as they are not meant to inspire you for brief moments but to light a fire in you that will help take your skills to the next level.

9 quotes you should pay attention to…

Are you trying to be perfect?
“The greatest damage to excellence is the pursuit of perfection.” – Alan Weiss (click to tweet)

Feel like you are not motivated to accomplish more?
“Always be happy, never be satisfied.” – Jim Jacobus (click to tweet)

Are you taking enough risks today?
“It pays to be risky.” – Eric Whal (click to tweet)

Are you being good, great or working to become the best?
“Everyone should ask themselves everyday… “What am I doing today, to make my craft better?” – Eric Chester (click to tweet)

What are you doing to build a loyal following?
“Give away everything you know, one bite at a time.” – Jay Baer (click to tweet)

Are you being a thought leader or someone who just passes though life?
“Create goals that don’t exist.” – Mike Rayburn (click to tweet)

What does it mean to really listen?
“When you rearrange the word LISTEN you end up with SILENT. Are you really listening?” – Freddie Ravel (click to tweet)

How are you interacting with your fans on a regular bases?
“Content is king but engagement is queen and she rules the house.” – Mari Smith (click to tweet)

What are you doing everyday to get used to change?
“If you don’t like change, you won’t like being irrelevant even more.” – Adam Witty (click to tweet)

Take one of the quotes today, write it down and put it next to your computer. You are capable of so much and sometimes all you need is a quick reminder!

Take time to consider being part of Platform (formally known as National Speakers Association) and learn how to grow your business, expand your network and provide value to those you serve in today’s changing world. As always…

Dream BIG,

Ryan

Question: Which one is your favorite and why? If you liked one of the quotes, please share this article with your friends by pressing one of the social media buttons below and let’s help them get inspired!