What do you do if setbacks keep plaguing your motivational speaking journey?

Como palestrante, eu amo fracassos -- e você deveria amá-los também. Isso, por um motivo simples: cada fracasso é uma nova história que você pode usar nas suas palestras e torná-las ainda melhores. Desde que você não desista, ser um palestrante é uma posição essencialmente antifrágil. Quanto mais você tropeça, mais repertório você acumula. Quanto mais você fracassa, mais novos caminhos de abordar o seu tema você conhece. E assim, você se torna um palestrante melhor. Eu amo fracassos como palestrante porque cada um deles me torna mais forte, mais capaz de agregar valor ao meu público, e mais caro. E é por isso que você deveria amá-los também.

I have always looked at my failures as the stepping stones to my upcoming success and when I look back at the so called "failures" in my life I realise that things that looked like they were falling apart were just falling into place. I bounce back fast and tell myself been there, done that and got the t-shirt, what's my next move.

Not all that we label "failure" is a failure. Sometime we set ourselves to higher expectations that did not materialized the way we envisioned it. Example: We prepared an event to x amount of audience and only fraction of them showed up. It is outside of our control. Our job, as a speaker is to act as what we preach: Serve! You have only 5 people who did show up? Give them the best, like you have 500 people in the room. They are the one who deserve to hear your message and you never know if today you saved their lives. And possible your career! Turn every obstacle into an opportunity! Those who will enjoy your attention might buy your higher ticket item. Having 5 ideal clients are better than 500 that are not...

Feedback during failure is a gift. HOWEVER - I will say that not all feedback is GOOD feedback. I have been told in the past that I am "extra." But that "extraness" is exactly what makes me special. And while I am not for EVERYONE I am for MANY PEOPLE. Do not shy away from feedback, but do not let it derail you. Take valuable feedback, iterate, and leave the rest. But keep putting one foot in front of the other.

feedback is a gift! There is no "good feedback" and a "bad" one. Each reflection of our action - teaches us if we are on the right route. At the end of each presentation- ask the audience to rate your talk/ workshop in several areas: The material, the way you delivered it, how did it matched their expectation. etc. Keep it simple! easy to fill it. Even offer a freebie to those who are filling it. Otherwise all will know what they think about you, except yourself! Read EACH feedback! and, as the old saying advices: "If ten people tell you that you are drunk, go to sleep, even if you did not have one drop of alcohol!" If you see common point among the results, take it seriously and seek a mentor to help you grow.

You can only improve by embracing feedback, no matter how negative it feels. If you stop looking for feedback you stagnate and fail to see things from your audiences perspective. Your transformation into a great speaker happens at those critical moments, they help you refine your presentation to perfection. Those offering you honest feedback want you to succeed; they see your potential and you will NEVER be perfect; always know that you are a work-in-progress. Be open to change.

Feedback of any kind is a valuable data point, treating it as such helps keeps emotions aside. What I have found useful when handling feedback: - Stay open minded and try to understand perspective and context - Listen to understand, not to respond. - Use it as motivation (both good and bad feedback) - Take responsibility and share success. - Adapt and keep learning

Remember it is not always time to pivot, you need to allow time for your activity to take hold. Only change one thing at a time to ensure you are truly making improvements and not moving away from your goal. Every strategy should have some metric you can measure and learn from to continually improve. Whether you analyze how many engagements you book or your social media campaigns, understanding what success means for you will help you stay on track. Your strategy should focus on your personal definition of success, and that can change over time. You need to be willing to receive and incorporate the feedback you receive across your engagements and show incremental improvements. This will ultimately keep you on track.

Speaking and using your voice is like playing a musical instrument, you will never meet a pianist or violinist who excels by themselves. They get lessons and tutoring and they practice, practice, practice. So investing in courses and workshops is just part of the process of refining your craft. And don't try to reinvent the wheel, learn from the best orators, watch their videos, see what makes them great then step into the essence of who YOU are becoming.

Setbacks are common and will happen. Sometimes our personal life gets in the way or in my case we have health challenges. All we can do is regroup and rebuild. Many times we may rise to the top and then fall down. We use that as inspiration and share that with our audience and continue to move forward.