26 CHOICES | 2013 SPRING ISSUE
FIND A MENTOR
The last year of hard work
“ has finally paid off ,” he said .
“ Your delivery , presence , modulation — all of it work . I ’ m proud of you .”
I beamed .
“ Of course ,” he continued . ” This is only regional theatre and there ’ s nothing wrong with that . Many speakers make excellent money doing regional theatre .”
“ What do you mean ?” I asked , sensing a set up .
“ Well , Ridge ,” he went on . ” I don ’ t know if you want to , and I don ’ t know if you ’ re good enough , but if you want to be great , you ’ ll have to dig deeper . No one on Broadway does other people ’ s stuff . Top speakers write their own materials .”
“ Of course I want to ,” I answered , fired up .
“ Then I ’ ll help you .” He paused . “ It won ’ t be easy and I ’ ll be tough . We won ’ t stop until it ’ s done and we ’ ll pull in experts to evaluate you when the time is right .”
“ I ’ m ready ,” I asserted vigorously . “ Whatever it takes .”
“ Start walking the beach in front of your house . Think and reach . Find your message . We ’ ll soon find out if you can handle this or not .”
Ouch . Ugh . He knew exactly which buttons to push , what to say to drive and motivate me . Mentors always do . I hit the sand .
Recently , I attended a seminar hosted by Mark Victor Hansen , the founder of the Chicken Soup empire . He assembled an all-star cast of speaking giants , the elite of the industry .
At an intimate luncheon , Mark shared his story of emerging from bankruptcy 30 years ago , with little more than a dream and a burning desire to become a speaker — oh , and a tape — his first mentor .
He listened to that tape repeatedly , until the principles began to internalize . He sought out and found a mentor in the flesh , spent months perfecting his skill set , speaking anywhere and everywhere at no charge .
Throughout the process , he checked in : “ How is this working ? What else do I need to focus on ? Am I ready ?” His mentor offered advice , pushed him to continue , suggested corrections and improvements . Finally , he got his first paying gig .