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Dec 12

Ryan Avery: 12 Photos for 12/12

By Ryan Avery Motivation 4 Comments

Several of us are getting together to go through all of our photos this year and selecting twelve photos that highlight the best, worst, happiest, saddest, coolest, most adventurous, or most terrifying moments of our year! Here are my #12x12x12 and looking forward to seeing yours! Remember to use the #12x12x12 on social media so we can see your 12 photos!

Photo 1 – Completing the 2013-2014 North American Tour: I learned so many lessons, met so many fantastic people and visited 50 cities in North America with my wife! We lived in hotels for half the year and it was more than difficult to pack for three months at a time but it was worth every minute! Thank you to everyone who came to one of our workshops. Remember, don’t wait for things to happen, make things happen!

Photo 2 – Taking my family to Alaska: The thing I look forward to is spoiling the people who have taken care of me! My mom and dad have always wanted to go to Alaska and after Chelsea and I got on our feet this year we decided to take our family on a 7-Day cruise to say thank you for all they have done for us! We laughed, ate way too much cruise food, went whale watching, played cards and took home a life-time full of memories! I can’t wait to take them on another trip soon!

Photo 3 – Starting the 31 Days of Kindness Challenge with you: This was for sure a highlight of my year! One day I posted this idea on my personal Facebook page and 48 hours later I had over 500 people sign up and jump onboard. We shared photos with our #31DaysofKindess hashtag and together we did more good than most people do in a lifetime! We will do this again next year and make it even bigger, better and spread kindness around the world together! Thank you to everyone who joined in this year!

Photo 4 – The World Record Attempt with Speaker Leader Champion: With the help of 60+ day-of-event volunteers, family and friends all over the world, 16 local and global organizations and partners like McGraw-Hill and CSU, we came together to do something BIG! Our goal was to sign and sell 5,000 books in 12 hours. We sold 1,300 in nine hours. Although we did not reach the goal this time, we raised money for a good cause, showed the world what happens when people come together and helped more than 1,000 people be better leaders! We will break this world record one day and thank you to everyone who supported this attempt, we could not have done it without you! Always go for your BIG dreams, they are worth it and no one benefits from us being average! Even if you don’t make it on your first try, you learn, you get better and you try again!

Photo 5 – Getting our puppy: I mean look at this photo! Sugar (our dog) and Chelsea (my wife) bring so much joy to my life. I will have to say they have made it even harder for me to work from home now that I get stare downs like this! Sugar has been such a joy in our lives (she is even sitting right next to me as I type this article) and thank you mom and dad for saving her life and sending her our way!

Photo 6 – 17 speeches in 17 days in China: Thanks to D85 and D89 this was at the top of my speaking experience this year! It started out with me planning to give four speeches in China and two weeks before I arrived in China we had book events with Speaker Leader Champion, corporate speeches and even more trainings. When I found out it was 17 speeches in 17 days I thought, “Let’s do this!” They treated us so well, we experienced culture, tasted delicious foods and meet so many amazing people! We can’t wait to be back soon!

Photo 7 – Becoming Toastmaster of the Year in my home District (7): This award means a lot to me! District 7 has done so much for me over the years and they are like a second family! When they asked to do a group photo, I thought, “It’s time to beat Ellen’s tweet and make our own!” This one got about 400+ likes so we were only off by only a couple million! Thank you D7 for all you do and have done for me!

Photo 8 – Scuba diving with one year old whales: One of my hosts and meeting planners asked what I would like to do while I was in town and I usually look for places to scuba dive. Well, they gave me the best gift as they took me to a “Sea World” type place and let me scuba dive with whales in one of their aquariums. They gave me a full scuba tank and let me stay in as long as I wanted! It was an experience I will always remember!

Photo 9 – Becoming an approved Vistage Speaker: When I speak at Vistage groups I feel like it is where I am supposed to be! They are all professionals who have businesses and are looking for ways to improve themselves, their customers and their employees! I teach leaders how to use the power of storytelling to sell and motivate others. I am looking forward to speaking to several Vistage groups around the world, starting with four in January 2015! They are a great group of leaders and Garth… if you are reading this… thank you for taking the chance on me, I could’t have done it without you!

Photo 10 – 5th Honeymoon in Thailand: Chelsea and I received advice when we got married to take a honeymoon every year and I think that is some of the best marriage advice we received! This year we explored Thailand and sat on the beach, went scuba diving, played with baby monkeys and relaxed as we reflected on our relationship! If you are married, start planning to take a honeymoon every year to rejuvenate your relationship and reflect on what you like and how you want to improve it moving forward!

Photo 11 – Walking into the Convention Center I am speaking at and seeing myself on the billboard: I start walking to the venue where I am about to speak and look up and there I am! This was one of those “Oh, wow, I am a real speaker!” feelings and I had such a smile on my face I felt like I was an avid football fan and someone told me I just won Super Bowl tickets! Thank you Tim for making this happen and thank you to everyone who came out that night!

Photo 12 – Seeing my book sitting on my nightstand: Without Jeremey Donovan as my co-author, McGraw-Hill as our publisher and my awesome literary agent Jackie, this book would not have been possible! Writing a book was one of the most mentally exhausting challenges of my life with edits, re-writes, edits and more re-writes! Did I mention re-writes? But it was worth it as we created a resource that helps leaders become more influential leaders and succeed at work through the power of public speaking! I am so proud of this book. It has hit #1 on Amazon, been translated into four languages so far and I enjoy receiving emails from readers. But this photo was the one that stopped me in my tracks one night as I was getting ready for bed after a long trip back home I walked into my bedroom to find my book next to my nightstand! It was one of those moments where you get caught off-guard and no one knows why you are smiling other than you! For me, this photo says so much! Thank you to everyone who supports this book, learns from it and shares it with others! Please keep speaking and using your voice to make a difference! Our voices are the most powerful tools on the planet and if we learn how to master the art of communication, we can make a big impact while we are here!

This was a fun exercise and a great way to reflect on your year. I hope you too take the #12x12x12 challenge with us. I am looking forward to seeing your photos! As always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

Dec 10

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The 12 Photo Challenge on 12/12

By Ryan Avery Motivation 2 Comments

Where has 2014 gone? I still can remember partying like it was 1999 as we shot off fire-works on the street in my hometown neighborhood in Houston, TX and thinking how crazy the world would be in ten years! Well, it is 15 years later and here we are!

So what better way to remember this year than taking a night and looking at all of your photos from 2014. All of them!

But here is the challenge! Go through all your photos and remember all your ups and downs, twists and turns, and lessons you learned along the way. Choose twelve photos that stand out for you the most–twelve photos that depict your year!

Pick these twelve photos and share them with us on Facebook on 12/12. Include the following information when you share your blog article or photo album:

NAME: 12 photos for 12/12
(Example: Ryan Avery: 12 photos for 12/12)

Here is text for the album or blog description:
Several of us are getting together to go through all of our photos this year and selecting twelve photos that highlight the best, worst, happiest, saddest, coolest, adventurous, or most terrifying moments of our year!

Here is the hashtag for the album and photos:
When sharing your photos or article on social media use: #12x12x12 so we can all follow each other and see what others post. Tell us about your year’s greatest lessons, stories, insights, sorrows, and triumphs! Let’s see how we can portray our year using twelve photos from the past twelve months!

I am looking forward to seeing your albums and seeing what photos you pick for 2014! As always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

Dec 03

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2014 Holiday Special for Toastmasters

By Ryan Avery Motivation 2 Comments

Happy Holidays to my Toastmasters family! What a year this has been and I am so excited to be starting my fourth year as a Toastmaster in 2015!

Highlights of my 2014 Toastmasters Year

Earned my first DTM
Toastmaster of the Year for District 7
Gave speeches in 12 Districts including the US, Canada and China!
Completed the 2013-2014 North America Tour
Attended the International Convention in Kuala Lumpur
Helped Start Competitive Speakers Clubs Around The World
Co-authored the #1 Best-Selling book on Amazon, Speaker Leader Champion, that shows you the power of Toastmasters and what it can do for our careers

Because you have supported me so much this year, I wanted to put together a special promotion for my Toastmaster family! This discount is for Toastmasters and $5 of each sale will go to support the MFA Grant; where Chelsea and I pay the first year of membership dues to those who are 18-25 and cannot afford joining.

Your Toastmaster Holiday Special Package is Perfect For:

Toastmaster Clubs
Club Members
Aspiring Speakers
Family and Friends
And of course yourself!

I hope you take advantage of this offer as it will help us support more young people to be able to join Toastmaster clubs around the world! In addition, the package will show you how to be a better speaker and leader and show you how you can use your voice to make a difference in 2015!

I hope you have an amazing Holiday Season! Let’s keep making things happen for Toastmasters and our fellow members around the world. Let’s keep growing as speakers, leaders and champions and let’s always remember to…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

P.S. I only have a limited amount of these so first come first serve.
GET ALL THREE PRODUCTS: ONLY $49.00 + FREE SHIPPING (US ONLY)
OFFER ENDS DECEMBER 5^th
(or while supplies last).

– Or –

Signed Book: $29.00 each
Two-CD Set: $29.00 each
Push Past it DVD: $29.00 each

What do you get in this package?

BOOK: Signed copy of Speaker Leader Champion: Succeed at Work Through The Power of Public Speaking

After reading this book filled with 90+ speaking strategies, you will understand how to:

1) Gain the speaking edge and how to develop/deliver engaging stories
2) Use humor, body language and stories like a champ
3) Manage fear and anxiety while speaking

* PLUS: You get the transcripts from 12 World Championships speeches and inside tips from 12 World Champions on how to be an influential speaker!
______________________________________________________

CD SET: The Averys’ Strategies: 30+ secrets, insights and tips for winning the World Championship of Public Speaking

In this two-hour, two-cd set, you will uncover:

1) Key components in delivering a World Championship Speech!
2) How to keep your audience engaged with your every word!
3) How to deal with nerves and feel confident on stage!
4) What it takes to practice like a champion vs. how most people practice!
______________________________________________________

DVD: Push Past It: The evolution of a competitive speech

In this one-hour DVD, you will learn what it means to:

1) Have your wife as your coach and get your loved ones on board with your big dreams!
2) What it’s like to have another World Champion as your mentor and what they can teach you!
3) What goes into making a six minute winning speech!
4) Why you (yes, you) should compete in the International contest!

______________________________________________________

GET ALL THREE PRODUCTS: ONLY $49.00 + FREE SHIPPING (US ONLY)
OFFER ENDS DECEMBER 5^th

(or while supplies last).

– Or –

Signed Book: $29.00 each
Two-CD Set: $29.00 each
Push Past it DVD: $29.00 each

Aug 25

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4 Reasons to Co-author Your Next Book

By Ryan Avery Motivation No Comments

I get a call from Jeremey Donovan saying he would like to do an interview with me the week after I win the World Championship of Public Speaking.

We talk, and I mention I would like to co-author a book with him. Contracts are drawn up, writing begins, and three weeks later I have taken our idea of helping people be better speakers and made the book all about me.

He decides to terminate the contract, and we move on our separate ways. Like my friend John Garcia says, “Your ego is not your amigo.”

Six months later, I realize I was entirely in the wrong and call Jeremey to apologize. I tell him I let my ego get in the way, and that if he ever wants to write a book together I would love to.

He replies back with, “You will never believe whom I just got off the phone with?” I ask, “Who?” He responds, “McGraw-Hill. They want me to write a book about the World Championship! Would you like to write it with me?” I say yes and we get to work!

First, this goes to show you how great of a guy Jeremey is. Second, never underestimate the power of an apology. So we draw up another contract, he connects me with an amazing literary agent, and ten months later we have a #1 best-selling book on Amazon translated into four languages helping leaders be better speakers!

Here are 4 reasons why you should co-author your next book:

1) Drives you to be a better writer: I am a better writer because of Jeremey — no question about it. Not only did he teach me along the way, he stretched me to think and write differently and gave me skills I can use to write my next book.

2) Helps you hold yourself accountable: It can be easy to say “I will write that chapter next week.” With a co-author you both give each other deadlines. You do not want to be the one who lets the other down.

3) Double the marketing: You reach twice as many people! This is a no-brainer!

4) Develops a stronger product: Speaker Leader Champion is a book I feel proud of because it comes from two very different style speakers who thought long and hard about the value we could add to our readers. Because of it, we produced 92 tips with 44 insights from twelve World Champions on how to be a better speaker!

If you have ever wanted to see your book on the shelf and in the hands of many, start looking for a co-author today!

Looking forward to reading your book! As always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

Check out Speaker Leader Champion and learn how to advance in your career through public speaking!

Aug 18

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5 Lessons Learned Being a World Champion

By Ryan Avery 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

Aug 04

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5 easy ways to live in the present moment everyday

By Ryan Avery Motivation, Productivity One Comment

Today’s question comes from Kapil Patel from Ronkonkoma, NY when he asks “How do you live in the present moment everyday?”

This can be difficult now that we are conditioned to be distracted with the temptation of multitasking and the various communication channels we use. But is necessary if we want to taste what life has to offer!

They say, “Today is a gift, that’s why we call it the present.” I know sometimes I will wake up and say, “Where did my weekend go?” or “How was that day was so quick?” It’s because I numbed out or while or was focused on something else. There are times when I am trying to complete a task and the whole time I will be thinking about the next thing I have to do. Rather than put my energy and focus in what I am doing I am out in la-la land and wake up feeling like I didn’t live that day.

We only get one life. Some of us get better lives than others. Some get more years. Very few find ways to be happy everyday but it is possible!

Here are five things to do to center yourself and be present everyday:

Remind yourself you will be gone one day: This can be hard to think about but if we can remind ourselves we are not immortal and one day their will be a last page to our autobiography it can help get us focused. I know when I think about this it brings me back to what is important in my life; family/friends, adding value to others and being adventurous.

Give thanks for all your senses at night: I used to do this for years. I would lay in bed and go through all of my senses one by one and think about what would I see that day? What did I feel ? Hear? Taste? Smell? Now I don’t wait till the end of the night. I do it when I experience it. This exercise has heightened my senses and makes me appreciate the small things.

Do something random: That photo you see above! I took a run the other day and all these kids were playing in that fountain so I decided to run through it. I have always wanted to do this and decided “What the heck, I am sweaty anyways, why not get wet!” I think some of the moms might have judged me, but who cares, I still want to feel like I am 12 sometimes and I smiled the entire way home. It’s like in the

Set up reminders: Put a reminder every 3 hours in your phone during the times you are awake that says, “Are you being present right now?” Or put quotes up around your house, car, bathroom or office! Set up visual reminders and make sure you change them often so they don’t become things you look at and pass over.

Take 5 minutes of alone time: This has been one of the best things I have done in the past few years. Everyday I take five minutes of alone time. No phone. No computer. I don’t think about what I need to get done or what I did wrong or where my future will take me. I sit, walk or lay in an area that is calming and I won’t be distracted for at least five minutes. Sometimes this can be me locked in a laundry room or on a hotel balcony overlooking the ocean.

The Latin word for present is Ostendo, Ostendo is defined as: show, reveal, make plain or declare. So being present is more than a “feel-good” feeling. This can often be the time when you come up with the best ideas, when you reveal who you really want to be, when your inner self declares what you want to accomplish in life. It can also be a great way to feel alive and happy!

Take time to implement these five action items into your daily routine and start living in the present moment. Thanks for the question Kapil and as always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

P.s. What other ways can we be in the present moment? Remember to sing up for my blog in the top right hand corner if you want to receive posts similar to this every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9am PST!

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?

May 30

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What Made Maya Angelou Successful?

By Ryan Avery Adventure 2 Comments

She has been known as an author, actor, activist and a poet, prostitute and producer. Maya Angelou had many titles in her nine decades on this planet, my favorite being “speaker!”

She inspired many with her wisdom-filled words, her stories that within two lines can make your gut sink and your heart flutter and her ability to stand up for what was right when things were wrong.

Her ability to remain focused, to speak up for those who were suffering and feed her need to live her passion have helped me be a better speaker.

There are many things that so many can say about Maya Angelou but here are three actions she lived by that made her successful:

Work Hard
She worked everyday. She wrote, she re-wrote and edited and did not wait for things to happen, she made things happen! She stayed up late, woke up early. She had a fire inside of her to do something positive in this world and understood that hard work is what it would take to make a difference! “Nothing will work unless you do.” – Maya Angelou

Stay Positive

Her life could have been that of a Lifetime movie plot with rape scenes, poverty, abuse, teenage pregnancy, prostitution and struggling to build a life from the ground up. Growing up, she had two ways to view her life and she decided to say positive and help others by sharing her story and living by example. “You are the sum total of everything you’ve ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot – it’s all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive.” – Maya Angelou

Speak Up
She shared her truth. She spoke up for civil rights, human rights and women’s rights! Since the 1990s, she made almost 80 speaking appearances a year and continued to do this until the very end. She spoke up, out and about to those who would listen so she could use her voice to make a difference in the lives of millions around the word. She motivated others by sharing her life story and speaking up when others were sitting down. She knew that speaking was an art and that it required time to master it. She used her voice, her story and her gift of writing to achieve so much and it was not granted to her overnight. “All great achievements require time.” – Maya Angelou

The world lost a person of tremendous value but we are thankful for the value she added while she shared the planet with us. What are you working hard for? What are you doing to remain positive? When will you speak up for those who need a voice?

Maya Angelou is an inspiration and was successful because she lived by example and made things happen. Take the time to reflect on what you can do right now to make this world a better place when you leave it. Think of the possibilities when you work hard, stay positive and speak up! As always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

Question: What is your favorite Maya Angelou quote? (If you are a fan of Maya and thought she was an inspiration, share this article by clicking on one social media icons below).

Feb 18

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WORLD RECORD ANNOUNCEMENT

By Ryan Avery Leadership, Motivation 9 Comments

I am excited to announce that on April 16th with the help of McGraw-Hill, 800 CEO Read, Alpha Kappa Psi, local Toastmasters, Fort Collins community members and students at Colorado State University, together we will break the record for the largest book signing in history!

The current record according to the Guinness Book of World Records is: The most books signed by one author in a single session is 4,649 by Sammy Lee (Hong Kong), who signed his book “Autopilot Leadership Model” in Shenyang, Liaoning, China, on 19 January 2013.

There will be more to come and in the next eight weeks. I will blog about our journey, planning and what it takes to break the record. Make sure to subscribe to the blog posts (right-hand corner of this post) because I will send out information on giveaways, ways to help and how you can be part of this World Record!

We will sign 5,000 copies of my (and Jeremey Donovan’s) new book – Speaker, Leader, Champion: Succeed at Work Through the Power of Public Speaking on April 16th. Email me at ryan@averytoday.com if you have ideas of how you can help, people you know who can promote the event or if you want to volunteer the day of the signing!

I am beyond excited to be breaking this world record with you and can’t wait for us to make history at CSU!

As always….

Dream BIG,
Ryan Avery