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DEREK DALY — MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER & AUTHOR OF – Race to Win: How to Become a Complete Champion Driver

April 24, 2013 in Authors, balanced living speaker, business speaker, Creativity & Innovation Speakers, derek daly, Featured Speakers, Inspiring Lives & Stories, Leadership speakers, Motivational Speakers, speaker on change, Speaker on Creativity and Imagination, Speakers for Business Groups, Speakers on Innovation, Sports Speakers

Great race drivers win races and the occasional title. Juan Montoya, Kimi Räikkönen, and Tony Stewart are all examples of great drivers who will win, given the right car and team environment. Complete champions win year after year and are more often than not in the title hunt at the end of each season. Drivers like Dale Earnhardt Sr., Michael Schumacher, Mario Andretti, and Jeff Gordon are perennial favorites and “complete champions” who always find a way to make it to the front of the pack.

What separates these drivers from their peers is a raw talent and courage to drive the car to its limit, combined with a special ability to work with a team to develop and engineer a car to run up front consistently.

daly derek bookIn Race to Win, world-class race car driver, commentator, and entrepreneur Derek Daly draws on his research and firsthand experience with some of the legends of auto racing to explain why some individuals and teams reach their potential and others fail. In this unique analysis of the mechanics of success and the principles of sustained high performance, Daly outlines the six key aspects of becoming a more complete race car driver. He describes the strengths and weaknesses of different star drivers and details how these come into play in creating a sustainable champion.

Designed to give a never-before-seen view of the makeup of a true motorsports champion, this book offers insight to dedicated race fans and concrete advice to aspiring drivers, parents, and team managers.

DEREK DALY 
Formula 1 and Indy Driver, Master of Fast, Entrepreneur, Best-Selling Author, Professional Speaker, International Racing Champion.

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Mallory Weggemann – Motivational & Inspirational Speaker — Paralympic Gold Medalist

April 23, 2013 in balanced living speaker, Inspiring Lives & Stories, Motivational Speakers, Sports Speakers, Teamwork Speakers, Women's Issues

You’re the Best, you can make a Difference, and you can Change the World 

The phrase spoken to Mallory and her sisters by her father every night before they went to bed, is something which Mallory lives by today. Mallory emphasizes that everyone goes through struggles, and everyone has some sort of “disability,” some of them just not as obvious as hers. Yet, everyone has the ability to overcome their “disabilities” and make a difference (big or small) in the world.

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2012 Paralympic Gold Medalist Mallory Weggemann had her life changed on January 21, 2008. A routine epidural to help treat back pain left the college freshman paralyzed from the waist down. However, having been a competitive swimmer since the age of seven, she found one thing unchanged – her love for swimming. On April 8, 2008, Mallory returned to the pool, and has been breaking national and world records ever since. However, just days before the 2012 Paralympics, a controversial decision to move Mallory up a class left her competing against swimmers with full use of their legs. Nonetheless, she defied the odds and won Gold in the 50m freestyle, which became one of the signature races during the Games.

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[Motivational Speaker] DON YAEGER — Great Resilience

April 15, 2013 in Authors, business speaker, Inspiring Lives & Stories, Leadership speakers, Motivational Speakers, Sports Speakers

Each week, it seems the sports world captures our attention and sends us on an emotional rollercoaster worth the price of admission.  But this week’s thrill ride inspired me to focus on perspective.  Under what lens would you view emotional moments of failure, tragedy or triumph?  If you were Baylor’s 6-foot-8 women’s basketball sensation Brittney Griner, would you focus on losing to 5-seed Louisville and not being able to win back-to-back National Championships, or would you reflect proudly about a college career that finishes with you as the 2nd leading scorer all-time in NCAA history and the inevitable reality that you’ll be the first pick overall in the upcoming WNBA Draft?  If you were Texas ace pitcher Yu Darvish, would your outlook be a complaint about your rare perfect game bid being ruined by a basehit up the middle in the ninth inning with two outs?  Or would you allow the sensational start and a first victory of a long season motivate you to your next game?  If you were Louisville guard Kevin Ware, how would you view your circumstance after a gruesome compound break of the right leg during the Elite Eight of a tournament run that your team is favored to win?

 

I must admit it was remarkable to see that despite being in excruciating pain, Ware visibly urged his teammates to win their tournament game.  Two days after arguably the worst leg injury during a nationally televised sporting event since Joe Theismann, Ware was seen on crutches and intent on making the trip to Atlanta to watch his teammates compete for a National Title.  It’s that kind of attitude that already has him working on a comeback story.  That kind of resilience is a pathway to Greatness.

 

In recent months, I’ve had the pleasure of working with David Covey as he builds a new company, SMCOV.  One of the things he pointed out in his study of business excellence is that the biggest key to successful people is resilience—their ability to bounce back from failure, disappointment, or adversity.

 

The truly Great companies or Great business leaders have shown the ability to recover, regroup and rebuild their success.  Should there be a valley or pitfall, the Great ones refocus their efforts and energy on climbing up to new peaks.

 

Author Dick Ruhe recently shared a few tips for finding “Resilience in Challenging Times”. Simply put, he urged that you first cope with whatever failure you encounter with an omission of obsession.  The next step is to keep all concentration on sustaining a normal routine. By not continuing a depressing or downward path, you’re more likely to eventually deal with the failure and take action.  Once that happens, the only step left is to move on and to attempt a new start to success—with the lesson learned stowed away for safe keeping.

 

In talking to Covey, he was unwavering in suggesting that the ability to bounce back is a singular essential to all high achievers.  So here’s this week’s challenge: Think of a time when you’ve had to bounce back from defeat. What did you learn from your failed business opportunity, unsuccessful sales pitch, bad decision, mishandled company crisis, or major health scare that has influenced your current perspective?  How has your own resilience unlocked your true Greatness?

 

DON YAEGER 
Award-Winning Keynote Speaker, Seven-time New York Times Best-Selling Author, long-time Associate Editor for Sports Illustrated and Business Leader

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Peter Vidmar — Motivational Speaker &

April 9, 2013 in balanced living speaker, Inspiring Lives & Stories, Leadership speakers, Motivational Speakers, Olympian Speakers, speaker on change, Speakers for Business Groups, Sports Speakers

Overcoming the Odds: World Class Performance in any Environment

You don’t need to tell Olympians that some things don’t always go according to plan. Every athlete has had to deal with setbacks and changing conditions. If organizations and individuals are going to thrive in any environment, they will need to take calculated risks, continually innovate, and take their products or service to entirely new levels of performance. This process never ends. Using his effective ROV principles, Peter vividly describes the lessons learned from setbacks and mistakes, how to fuel the creative process, and how to achieve world class performance, even when circumstances are less than desirable. Peter’s personal experiences, as well as those of recent Olympic athletes help to reinforce the message that with proper planning and focused drive, we can overcome hardships and achieve results that elevate us above the rest of our competitors.

 

PETER VIDMAR 
Olympic gold Medalist, Sports Commentator and Performance Expert

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Eddie George could have retired a proud man, with a strong legacy as a history-making athlete.

March 21, 2013 in Motivational Speakers, Sports Speakers, Teamwork Speakers

After all, his accomplishments on the football field were legendary–Heisman Trophy winner, star running back at The Ohio State University, NFL rookie of the year and holder of a host of NFL records.

Instead of resting on his records, Eddie took on the challenge of his lifetime—during the past decade he has quietly built businesses aimed at helping improve the quality of life for all Americans.

Eddie, who will soon receive his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Chicago, understands that he is mostly known for his athletic accomplishments.

“Since I’m mostly known for winning on the football field, a lot of people seem surprised when they hear that I’ve used my education, experience and passion to build these exciting businesses. They say ‘you’re a businessman, too?’ I like that reaction,’” Eddie said.

Eddie’s vision of healthy people and healthy places is being brought to life through the commitment of everyone at George Enterprises. Learn more about our Commitment.

Eddie’s companies include EGX Lifestyle working to help people develop healthy lives, and EDGEthe planning and design firm helping create healthy communities.

Beyond leading these organizations, Eddie’s business life is filled with media appearances, entertainment roles, hosting Radio, By George!, speaking engagements and philanthropy. Eddie finds his work with charities very rewarding, donating his time and money to various organizations, including his own non-profit organization, Visions with Infinite Possibilities (V.I.P).

Eddie is married to Tamara “Taj” Johnson-George, a Grammy®-nominated singer with the soul group SWV (“Sisters With Voices”), which sold more than six million records.Taj was also featured on the Survivor television show in 2009, and voted one of the fan favorites. Eddie also made a guest appearance on the Survivor program.

Taj and Eddie live in Tennessee. They are the loving parents of two sons, Eriq and Jaire. They enjoy a busy life of friends, family and kids’ sporting events.

As an example to others, Eddie continues to train hard and find balance to maintain his peak physical, mental and spiritual condition to meet the challenges of his demanding schedule.

Legendary Football Career
With his passionate and competitive spirit, Eddie has carved a special niche for himself in the professional sports arena, particularly the NFL where he is only the second NFL running back to rush for 10,000 yards while never missing a start, joining Jim Brown. Only Walter Payton (170) has started more consecutive regular-season games than George’s 128.

In addition to the Heisman Trophy, George won several NFL Rookie of the Year awards in 1996, and was the Tennessee Titans’ starting tailback until 2003.

Throughout his tenure as one of the NFL’s premier running backs, Eddie not only possessed an explosive combination of speed, power and toughness, but was the epitome of durability. Eddie’s punishing north-and-south running style won him the 1997 AP’s “Offensive Rookie of the Year” honors as well as four consecutive trips to the Pro Bowl from 1998-2001. Drafted in the first round by the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans, he owns virtually every franchise rushing record. Eddie led the AFC Champion Titans to Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000.

EDDIE GEORGE 
NFL Rookie of the year, Heisman Trophy Winner, Tennessee Titan

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STEPHEN A. SMITH – - It’s all on Carmelo, right? Wrong! (Via ESPN.com)

March 19, 2013 in Motivational Speakers, Sports Speakers, Teamwork Speakers

Despite Stoudemire’s absence, Knicks need to find time to rest hobbled Anthony

 

First things first: Let’s stop fooling ourselves into thinking Amar’e Stoudemire is coming back this season. He’s not!

Not with the same old bad knee. Not with him scheduled to be out six to eight weeks after some form of arthroscopic surgery called a “debridement procedure.” Not with his history of knee issues.

Stoudemire is gone, and with him goes whatever reprieve the battered-and-bruised Carmelo Anthony was scheduled to receive. Or does it?

Because now more than ever, it’s necessary to protect Melo, their $85 million man, who sat out the past week with a sore knee of his own.

“Amar’e is a huge loss for us, there’s no doubt about that,” Knicks coach Mike Woodson said recently. “No matter how long it is, we all feel bad for him because we know how hard he’s worked. But we also have to move forward and continue to look for ways to win while getting ourselves ready for the playoffs. Obviously, Melo is key to all of that. Hopefully, nothing else will happen with him.”

Let us pray.

When the Knicks take on the Warriors on Monday night, the good news is that Melo will probably be on the court with them. The bad news, aside from Amare’s injury, is that they’ll face Stephen Curry, who had a 54-point explosion Feb. 27 vs. the Knicks.

Curry shot 18-of-28 from the field that night, 11-of-13 from 3-point range, boogeying on the Knicks in such a way that it not only conjured memories of Madison Square Garden performances by Michael Jordan or Bernard King, it actually had folks like myself surmising that it may have been the greatest Garden gem we ever witnessed.

The thing is, Melo scored 35 points that night. Tyson Chandler grabbed 28 rebounds. Stoudemire had 14 points and J.R. Smith made sure to chip in 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field. And yet it still took late-game heroics, plus some inconsistent play down the stretch from the Warriors, for the Knicks to escape with a 109-105 victory on their home floor.

“There was nothing we could do against (Curry),” Melo would say that night.

Knicks fans are hoping the Knicks won’t find themselves saying such things during the stretch run.

Yet here we are with just 22 games left in the regular season and Stoudemire is out, Melo is just returning and the Knicks’ definition of relief has arrived in the form of aging veteran Kenyon Martin – primarily because he’s a healthy big body.

The Knicks may have the league’s second-leading scorer in Melo (28.2 ppg), but they’re more hobbled than ever before. Jason Kidd is trying to find his groove. Same with Iman Shumpert. So the Knicks can ill afford to leave their fortunes solely on Anthony’s shoulders.

“Melo is incredibly important to this team,” Woodson has explained to me many times. “It’s no secret. We essentially go where he takes us. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have faith in the rest of our guys. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I truly believe when we’re clicking all cylinders, we can compete with anybody in this league.

“We want to win the Atlantic Division crown first. We want to get out of the first round. And we want to compete for a championship. Our goals haven’t changed.”

Woodson believes that way because Melo is still able to play. So for him to continue feeling that way, he’ll have to ensure that Melo stays healthy, no matter what it takes.

Diminished minutes. Fewer responsibilities. Missed games.

Whatever it takes.

STEPHEN A. SMITH 
ESPN TV and radio personality, Sports Journalist & Social Commentator

 

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JOHN NABER -Olympic Champion medal winner and network television and radio sports broadcaster

February 26, 2013 in Sports Speakers

John Naber has observed and personally attained excellence and goal achievement throughout his 33-year professional career. Through his two books, over 1,000 keynote speeches and his “Going For Gold Sales Improvement Program” and “Award Winning Presentation Skills Program” Naber teaches how to set world-class goals and achieve world-class results.

John Naber’s Speech Topics Include:
An Observer of Excellence

During Naber’s climb to the top of the sports world and his subsequent role as a TV sports commentator and host, John has become an observer of excellence and outstanding motivational speaker. He has worked as a Master of Ceremonies, keynote speaker, seminar leader, panelist, moderator, and dinner speaker for small audiences of twenty to full auditoriums of 50,000.

The Gold Medal Process

What has made him a successful motivational speaker is that John has conceptualized an effective eight-step method (which he calls the “Gold Medal Process”) by which all people can see their dreams come true. His wide variety of Olympic stories involving discipline, dedication, sacrifice and teamwork, can make anyone feel like “going for the gold”. Mr. Naber uses his experience as an athlete and a television commentator to draw analogies between the graphic world of sports and the less easily seen battleground of business.

Naber customizes his material for each new audience, and using humor, he shares the “behind-the-scenes” stories of the athletes and their accomplishments while matching his comments to the specific needs of his audience. John is always well received by his audiences… the standing ovations, powerful reference letters, and return engagements testify to his speaking abilities.

Discipline: Keeping the Promises You Make to Yourself

Every Olympian must have it, but not every Olympian uses it outside their sport. What is this magic ingredient and how can people amplify its effect on a daily basis? A handful of skills can make any uphill climb that much easier. By keeping focused on the goal, the price is more easily paid..

Teamwork in a Competitive World

In many cases, the greatest challenge to an Olympian’s hope for the gold is often a fellow countryman. How do the great Olympic athletes achieve excellence without losing the ability to be good team players? Learn how your people can lift the whole division/company, while still seeking individual glory..

Discipline: Keeping the Promises You Make to Yourself

Every Olympian must have it, but not every Olympian uses it outside their sport. What is this magic ingredient and how can people amplify its effect on a daily basis? A handful of skills can make any uphill climb that much easier. By keeping focused on the goal, the price is more easily paid..

Character-Driven Accomplishment

Winning doesn’t have to be sacrificed, when we decide to play by the rules. Good guys don’t always have to finish last. Here’s how people can remain competitive in today’s cutthroat business environment, without sacrificing their ethics and character. It’s another way of looking at the ethical dilemmas we face every day. “Olympic champions are not extraordinary people; they are ordinary people who have accomplished some extraordinary things in the area of their lives that matter most to them.”John Naber .

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Peter Vidmar on Overcoming the Odds: World Class Performance in any Environment

February 20, 2013 in balanced living speaker, Motivational Speakers, Olympian Speakers, Sports Speakers, Teamwork Speakers

PETER VIDMAR
Olympic gold Medalist, Sports Commentator and Performance Expert

You don’t need to tell Olympians that some things don’t always go according to plan. Every athlete has had to deal with setbacks and changing conditions. If organizations and individuals are going to thrive in any environment, they will need to take calculated risks, continually innovate, and take their products or service to entirely new levels of performance. This process never ends. Using his effective ROV principles, Peter vividly describes the lessons learned from setbacks and mistakes, how to fuel the creative process, and how to achieve world class performance, even when circumstances are less than desirable. Peter’s personal experiences, as well as those of recent Olympic athletes help to reinforce the message that with proper planning and focused drive, we can overcome hardships and achieve results that elevate us above the rest of our competitors.

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Bus: My Life In and Out of a Helmet – Jerome Bettis

February 14, 2013 in Authors, Motivational Speakers, Sports Speakers

He was one of pro football’s most beloved and respected stars, admired not only by NFL fans and his own teammates, but by his opponents as well. Super Bowl champion; six time Pro Bowler; NFL Comeback Player of the Year; NFL Man of the Year; fifth all-time leading rusher in the NFL; future Hall of Famer; now NBC Sports commentator.

You may think you know Jerome Bettis, but you don’t.

In The Bus, Jerome Bettis tells his full, unvarnished story for the first time–from his sometimes troubled childhood in inner-city Detroit to his difficult transition at Notre Dame, to a pro coach who almost caused him to quit the game, to a trade for the ages that resulted in ten glorious seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

As a chunky child wearing glasses, Jerome’s only sports-related aspiration was to become a professional bowler. But growing up in one of the roughest neighborhoods in Detroit, he eventually found his escape on the high school football field, thanks to the devotion of hard-working parents, a concerned coach, and his prodigious talent. He arrived at Notre Dame as one of the nation’s best prep players, but despite his incredible performances, he never stopped worrying that he would somehow blow his chance to make good. Drafted and later discarded by the Los Angeles Rams, it was in the football-obsessed city of Pittsburgh that Jerome found his home and became a legend.

The Bus captures the sweetness and honesty of Bettis, but also details the jaw-dropping, violent nature of the game he loved, the mind-boggling injuries he endured, and the cut-throat NFL business tactics he overcame and later mastered. Through it all, Jerome was also a loving son, an adoring father, and the ultimate teammate and mentor.

The Bus not only takes you under the helmet, but inside the huddle, the locker room, the practice field, the negotiating table, the owner’s office, and the Super Bowl sideline. You’ll learn how Bettis became The Bus, how he helped engineer the greatest trade in Steelers history, how he almost cost Pittsburgh a conference championship, and how sweet it was to win – finally – one for the thumb.

JEROME BETTIS
Superbowl-Winning Running Back and NBC Sports Analyst

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STEPHEN A. SMITH Speech Topics ->

February 5, 2013 in Motivational Speakers, Sports Speakers

Adversity: Keep Your Head in the Game!

From heart-wrenching defeats to capturing glory, rarely is anyone faced with adversity more than the modern-day athlete. True champions have learned not only to overcome their adversities, but to use them as a tool. From his roots in Hollis to covering some of the biggest names on planet Earth, keynote speaker Stephen A. Smith uses his life experiences and sports-as-life references to offer his perspective on how to keep your head in the game using courage, determination, and patience so you too can use adversity to your benefit.

The Road to Great Leadership

Stephen A. Smith”s career has allowed him to be up close and personal with great leaders, and he has learned firsthand and through interviews about the trials and tribulations on the road to great leadership. Leadership is now more important than ever, and Smith”s anecdotes will enthrall, entertain, and educate as he talks about goal setting, motivation, tough decision making, and inspiration.

Ethics, On the Field & Off

What is the right thing to do when the lines of ethics are increasingly blurred? Being the best and having more power and money enables those on the way up to be filled with praise, big paydays, and role-model status. But the headlines are filled with fall-from-grace storylines all the time. Is there a new model for success, or do we just have more access to information?

From sportsmanship to gambling, steroid use to point shaving, sports journalist Stephen A. Smith has seen and covered a wide spectrum of ethical issues both on the field and off… and interviewed a lot of the major players. He uses this unique insight to offer perspective on today”s current events, politics, and youth. This engaging presentation will make you think and feel about ethical decisions in a new way.

STEPHEN A. SMITH
ESPN TV and radio personality, Sports Journalist & Social Commentator

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