Listen To My Latest Radio Interview For Professional Speakers

DeWayne Owens

Greetings!

I want to invite you to listen to  my latest radio interview this month on the Martin Presse Booya Radio Hour. I discuss my journey into the industry of professional speaking.

Here is the link: http://www.toginet.com/shows/booyaradiohour.

Enjoy! 

Visit DeWayne at http://www.DewayneOwens.com

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Lessons From Zig Ziglar

DeWayne Owens hanging out with Zig Ziglar

I have been fortunate over the years to have learned from the best in the world of professional speaking, Mr. Zig Ziglar. When I started out in the business of professional speaking I was living in Carrollton,Texas and Zig’s corporation was in walking distance of where I lived. I met Zig’s son Tom at a gym where we both worked out and after a while I was invited by their human resource director, Ed Bianci, to come speak at the corporation. That was back in 1997 and it was my biggest thrill at that time to meet the great Zig Ziglar live and in person.

To my surprise, Zig turned out to be one of the most humble men I had ever met. Over the years I developed a relationship with both he and Tom. Zig has always gone out of his way to make me feel at home at his corporation and I have been privileged to speak at his corporation several times over the years. I would have to say that the greatest lesson I have learned from Zig stems from one of his greatest quotes which is, “You can have everything in life you want, if you will help enough other people get what they want in life.” He has truly lived up to his quote and I have to say that as great a speaker and motivator that Zig Ziglar is, I have been more impressed with the man he is off the stage than the man he is on stage.

Zig truly has a heart for blessing and enhancing the lives of others and as a result he has been immensely blessed in the great industry of professional speaking. I continue to strive and live by that great quote because I believe it makes all the difference in the world in my speaking career success. It makes all the difference both professionally and personally. My council to up and coming speakers as well as veterans speakers is this, as lucrative as this business may be financially, it is truly all about others and not about us. The more you passionately invest in the success of others, the more reward you will receive in this business. Make it your business to help others succeed in their business and your speaking business will always reach higher levels. You can never out give the spirit of giving.

Thank you Zig!      

Visit DeWayne at http://www.dewayneowens.com

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Are You a Motivational Speaker, Trainer or Both?

I found out very early in my professional speaking career that there are two entirely different sets of speaking skills when it comes to motivational speaking and speaking while training. To acquire two sets of speaking skills for motivational speaking verses training communication may seem to be obvious, but I have seen people try to apply the same set of skills to both avenues of speaking. Big mistake! I have actually sat in on speakers who were supposed to deliver hands-on training and found myself, along with the rest of the attendees sitting in on three hour motivational speech. Trust me that did not go over well at all. On the other end of the spectrum, I have witnessed motivational speakers who try to inspire, but utilize so many props, technical gadgets, and power point slides, that you forgot you were supposed to be getting motivated instead of receiving an in-depth teaching and information overload in a 45 minute session.

There are different distinct sets of skills involved in training and motivational speaking. When you are delivering a motivational presentation or a keynote address to an audience, your objective is to be educational in an entertaining fashion. Your style must be delivered in a nice flow filled with signature stories, stories of other peoples’ successes, quotes, jokes, and humor. You must use illustrations that drive your points home to your audience. Typically you will want to avoid the use of a podium and definitely get rid of the notes or keep them to a very bare minimum if you do utilize the podium. When you are in training mode, people are in attendance to learn, not be motivated. If you are a good teacher people will be motivated by virtue of the content they are hearing and by the style in which you present the information. As a trainer it’s not about you shining, it’s about facilitating learning objectives through interaction, activities, and Q and A periods. This is what businesses, associations, and meeting planners expect from their return on investment. If you want to succeed in the speaking business and continue to get paid, give the people what they pay for.

Great speakers know how to interchangeably use these skills when in motivational mode or training mode. You must decide if you are a motivational speaker, a trainer, or in some cases, like myself, both. I am very passionate about delivering motivational speeches, because it allows me to be entertaining while delivering some life-changing information. I also like it because I get paid very well for such a short period of speaking. I also love training aspect of speaking as well. My trainings sessions are highly interactive and I create a fun yet content rich learning environment. My typical training sessions range from half-day to full-day trainings. Believe me when I say that it takes a great deal of skill to be able to hold peoples attention for a full day. When you continue to get paid to continue to come back to facilitate more trainings, that is a good indication that you are doing the right thing. You have to be aware of your speaking style and always work on improving your craft be it motivational speaking or facilitating training sessions. Please do not try to be a motivational speaker for three hours and definitely do not fall into a trainer style when speaking to inspire or motivate others. Keep this council in mind when creating your programs and your presentation delivery should be outstanding.  

DeWayne Owens facilitating training session

DeWayne Owens interacting during training session

 

DeWayne Owens giving motivational speech

 

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Mrs. Mamie Brown’s Baby Boy

DeWayne Owens with Les Brown

I have always believed in giving credit where credit is due. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Les Brown. When I was on the tail end of my fifteen year drug addiction and I wanted to change my life for the better, I began listening to Les Brown’s motivational tapes. His speeches ingnited so much positivity and motivation in me, that I had to begin to have a larger vision for my life. It was through listening to Les Brown’s messages of hope and possibilities that I began to really believe that I could beat my drug addiction and have a better life. It was also because of Les that I became interested in becoming a motivational speaker. To him, I owe this grattitude.

In 1996 Les Brown was the inspiration to many African-Americans that wanted to enter the arena of profesional speaking. He was the one who paved the pathway for many African-Americans, including myself, to not only dream of becoming professional speakers, but for making the dreams a reality. I loved his preacher style delivery and his fiery passion when he spoke. What an increduble source of inspiration he was to me during that pivitol time in my life. Les Brown raised the bar for platform articulation and motivation.

I have never tried to model my speaking style after Les, because there can only be one Les Brown, however he definitley influenced me to speak with passion and the power to move people to action. It was because of Les, that I began listening to other great speakers like my friend and mentor Zig Ziglar, Norman Vincent Peale, and others. I guess in some sense, the industry of motivational speaking owes a debt of gratitude to Les. He opened the doors of opportunity to all motivational speakers regardless of race.

So, to Mrs. Mamie Brown’s Baby Boy I say, Thank you  Les for what you have given to the speaking industry and to me!

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Living The Dream

 

DeWayne Owens, Motivational Speaker

Over the years I have recieved many different requests from people for business advice, however I can no longer avoid the most common request I get from people around the world. That request is how did I become a professional motivational speaker? Because of this overwhelming request, I have decided to dedicate my future blogs towards the speaking industry and to those who want to become professional speakers.

I realize how fortunate I am and I count my blessings daily, because I am living a dream in making my living through the speaking industry. Dreams do come true and if you have aspirations of becoming a professional speaker, it can become your reality. I have spoken all across the United States from corporate meetings to prisons. I have spoken from colleges to elementry schools. I have spoken from national association conferences to churches. I have met many interesting people, traveled to new places and I know that my presentations have made positive impacts on thousands of lives. On top of all that good stuff, I also get to make good money doing what I love to do.

What drew me to this fascinating industry? I know without a shadow of a doubt that it was a God-given call upon my life. Prior to becoming a professional speaker I was wrapped up in fifteen years of drug abuse. I was able to come out of the private hell I was in into a life of purpose. It was through my relationship with God that I discovered I had a talent for speaking.

My question to you is, do you feel you are called to make a difference in the lives of others? Do you feel that you can make that diference from the platform of public speaking? Would you like to know more about how to develop yourself to become a professional speaker? If your answer is yes, then I highly encourage you to stay tuned to my blogs because that is exactly what I am going to be focusing on from here on out. I am very passionate about this industry and I take pleasure in sharing my passion with you.

Stay tuned, I’ll be back soon!

God bless,

DeWayne Owens   

http://DewayneOwens.com

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Realizing Your Value During Tough Times

DeWayne Owens Speaking at Employment Network Meeting

DeWayne Owens, Featured Guest Speaker

DeWayne Owens Encouraging Unemployed

A couple of weeks ago  I gave a presentation at an employment networking meeting in Dallas.  My presentation focused on the spiritual essence of understanding one’s  value and purpose while going through unemployment. Webster’s dictionary describes value as a principle, standard, or quality that is regarded as desirable or worthwhile. If you are currently experiencing the sting of unemployment, you must take the opportunity to reinforce your understanding  of your value in a time when your confidence level can take a dip southward. 

The good news is that despite whatever problems, challenges, and setbacks you may encounter,  you never lose your value. I often illustrate this point when I give a presentation by showing my audience a brand new $100 bill. I ask for a show of hands for those who would like to have the $100 bill. As you may well have guessed, all those hands go up. I then take the bill and crumble it and throw it to the ground. I step on it and rub it around on the floor. I then pick up the bill and show it to the audience. Of course, the bill no longer has it brand new look, in fact it is actually down right dirty. I then ask my audience if they would still like to have the $100 bill. All the same hands go up once again. I inform my audience that the reason they still wanted the $100 bill is because they realized that even though I had crumbled the bill, threw it to the ground, and rub it around in the dirt, the $100 bill still maintained it’s value. Life may crumble you up. It may knock you down and roll you in the mud, but you still maintain your value. Nothing or no one can take your value away from you. You can begin to increase your value by utilizing an acronym for value I created.

• V-Value
• A-Appreciation
• L-Love
• U-Uniqueness
• E-Education

 V – Value (understanding that you are valuable and realizing your value). First and foremost, you are a child of God created in His image; therefore you were created to become successful. Realize this truth and you automatically catapult your value.

A – Appreciation for life. Be thankful for everyday you wake up because that is a brand new day of opportunity. Because our days are not guaranteed, you should live each day to the fullest.

L – Love yourself and love others. It is truly amazing what degree of positive impact you have on yourself and others when you decide to walk in love. God said the greatest gift is the gift of love. We may not always have the answers to ours and others problems, however, when we choose to handle adversity in the spirit of love  the answers will reveal themselves to you.

U – Uniqueness. If you want to increase your value just be yourself. There is no one on this earth that can be a better you than you. You were born to do things in this lifetime that purpose has reserved specifically for you. Being the best you that you can be is invaluable.

E – Education. To increase your value, you must continually strive to educate yourself. You must learn how to grow in whatever field of endeavor you choose to achieve in. Make it your objective to grow personally, professionally, physically and spiritually. Even if you cannot afford to attend an institute of higher learning you can always check out books on the topics of your desire at your local public library. Guess what? The cost at the library is absolutely free! In other words, there are no excuses for lack of self-education.

Realizing your purpose in life is realizing your value. Realizing you have a calling and that you have been blessed with special talents and gifts to offer represents your value and service to this world. You were born to make an absolute difference in this world. Realize this and you realize your value!

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Drop The Score Cards

We live in a society where many people’s attitudes are controlled by their score cards. These people have been keeping score on their relationships all of their lives. They keep score with family members and friends. They keep score on their co-workers. Every time they feel that they are treated unfairly it is a mark against that person. If they do not get the raise they feel that they deserve it is a mark against the supervisor. If a family member does not loan them money when they need it, they think to themselves, “That’s okay, I’ll remember that!”

People who keep score cards against others are led by selfish and vengeful motives, whether their perceptions are valid or not. Keeping score against others for not meeting your needs or desires is a potentially devastating way of bringing yourself down to the level of psychological imprisonment. If one chooses to keep score against other people for negative reasons, they have in fact, chosen to give up mental and spiritual freedom. The cost of keeping score cards against others comes at a very high price. Keeping score against others is making a conscious effort to focus on the negativity of others which in turn lends you over to pessimism. It allows your happiness to be controlled by others and circumstances.

 

Are you a person who keeps score and feels that you have to get back at others who have done you wrong? Do you have odd against people who did not come through for you when you needed them? If the answer is yes then you are mentally and spiritually dragging an invisible ball and chain around your ankle through life. You have allowed the quality of your life to be controlled by others. You have absolutely given them power over your life without you even realizing it. The good news is that there is a solution to your problem. Simply forgive those people that you are keeping score cards against. Choose to release others so that you will be released. The forgiveness of others is the most liberating experience you can have. You take control of your life by forgiving others. Whether or not someone may deserve forgiveness is not key. What is key is that you free yourself from other people’s psychological or spiritual control of your peace of mind. Trust me; life is too short to go around having grudges against other people. By choosing to forgive others you make a conscious decision to take back control of your life and the happiness that you deserve. Instead of choosing to keep score cards, choose to give mercy to others. Choose to be free!

DeWayne Owens Speaking

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Are You Hooked On Empty Calories?

Weight loss advertising is sweeping the country now more than ever before. One can hardly look at a magazine, newspaper or television show without the constant advertising of supplements or excercise machines. Why is this great phenomenon occurring? Because too many people are consuming empty calories. One of the greatest reasons that people fail on their diet plans or begin gaining weight in the first place is due to their love of “empty calories”. What are empty calories? An empty calorie is simply a calorie that comes with no other nutritional benefit. To lose weight effectively you must eat foods that provide calories with other nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and proteins. The best known empty calorie foods are sugar and alcohol. These two ingredients are found in the foods that people who are battling weight loss love to eat. The foods taste fabulous; however there is a price to pay for consuming them. They provide you with temporary satisfaction, but they contribute tremendously to obesity and other life threatening problems. Just because something taste good to you does not mean that it is good for you. To even begin to make an impact on a successful weight loss journey means ridding yourself of the empty calories as much as possible.

The empty calorie syndrome also parallels our pursuit of happiness and our significance for existence. Many people are accepting empty calories in their relationships. They search their whole life for “Mr. or Ms. Right” They want the person with all the great looks and gorgeous body and believe that is the person that can make them happy. Over time people become disappointed because that right person was all wrong for them. They accepted the empty promises that they were hoping were going to be true. They held on to that so-called special person to change their ways. They now understand that they were looking for love in all the wrong places. They sacrificed their dignity for the sex. Again, every thing that feels good isn’t always good for you. Some people fall into consuming empty calories through their careers. They figure if they can just get that dream job they will be happy and their life will be fulfilled. They find themselves climbing up the ladder of success only to discover that they climbed up the wrong building. They discovered that even their dream career could not give them the happiness they were striving for. They enjoy their job, but they do not know how to effectively handle life outside of the job. What they felt would be a nutritionally-rich job turned out to be empty calories. Some people felt that if they had enough money and could afford the finer things in life that would make them happy. They consumed themselves with empty calories. They purchased the finest clothes and had the latest name-brand material play toys. They spent the money for these items to keep up with the Joneses so that they could be head and shoulders above everybody else. On the outside they smiled, but on the inside they were crying. That found out material possessions are not what life is all about. Some people seek meaning through spirits and I’m not talking about the Holy Spirit. I learned a long time ago that everybody who’s at Happy Hour isn’t always happy. People try to escape the challenges of life through alcohol and drug abuse. It’s all empty calories. I condemn no one because I was once the biggest consumer of empty calories. I strived for significance through relationships, sex, drugs and career moves. Although some of these things provided some temporary joy it did not provide long-term happiness, purpose or peace of mind. It is my opinion that the only way to truly transform your life is through a spiritual transformation. I have found that God is the rock and foundation of my happiness. When people, loved ones and friends let you down, God is there. When your job lets you down, God is there. If you really want to avoid the temptation of consuming empty calories in your life whether it be through people or things I suggest you invest in a spiritual change. Allow your relationship with God to be the foundation of your happiness. That relationship will truly be fortified with all the nutrients that you will ever need.

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Goals versus New Years Resolutions

Greetings!

 

Now that we are in the third month of the new year many people have developed New Year resolutions in hopes that they may change a particular habit or some aspect of their behavior. At the gym that I work out at, there has been a predictable increase in the number of people who start working out at the gym. I know by now that I will probably see the new faces around for about one more month before they all begin to stop coming back to the gym. I see this phenomenon occur year after year.

 

If people make New Year resolutions why do most people fall short of achieving them? Are they just not motivated enough to succeed? Are they just too weak-minded? I believe most people are truly sincere and serious when they develop New Year resolutions. The problem is simply this, just because you say you want to change does not mean you will. It is not enough to want to change. That is called wishful thinking. In order to truly make a change in your life you must have compelling reasons why you should do so. People fall short of achieving their resolutions because there is not enough passion and purpose in wanting to succeed. They have also not calculated the sacrifice that comes with the cost of thier resolutions. The first sign of adversity comes along and people are ready to give up on their aspirations.

 

I am a messenger of positive and successful living. I am a strong advocate of setting goals. In order to succeed in meeting your goals you must be real with yourself and determine whether or not a particular goal is truly worth going after and are you prepared to pay the price to make it happen. First, you must WRITE your goals down on paper. This is one of the most important aspects of establishing and achieving your goals in life. We live in an age where we are constantly filtering information in our minds throughout the course of the day. There are too many things to remember, too many deadlines to meet, too many errands to run. All this “stuff” can become very distracting and can easily take your focus off of your goals. That’s why it is important to write them down on paper so that you can constantly remind yourself of your course of direction, despite the constant distractions you will encounter. Writing your goals down helps to increase your focus. Without focus we can easily get side tracked and knocked off course.

 

Once you have established your goals, you must determine if they are worth achieving. You must determine if it is worth paying the price for the success of your goals. You can do this by asking and writing down your answers to the following five questions: 1. How will I benefit from this goal? (There has to be something in it for you.) 2. Will this goal benefit others? (If others cannot benefit from your success it is not a goal worth having.) 3. How can I reach my goal? (Make a realistic assessment of how you can accomplish reaching your goal.) 4. Where can I get information and guidance? (Who or where will your competent sources come from?) 5. Date you intend to complete accomplishing your goal? (You must have a target date for reaching your goal.)

 

If you can answer all five questions with confidence and conviction then your goal is worth going for. The answers that you come up with will sustain you and keep you motivated during the tough times. Your answers are the reasons you will remain encouraged even when you may want to give up. They are the reasons why you will NOT give up. That is the difference between setting goals and setting New Year resolutions.

 

Once you have established what goals you want to achieve, the process to reach them must contain three requirements. Your goals must be specific, realistic, and measurable. Try out the format mentioned in this article and I am confident that you will find the necessary reasons to succeed at achieving your goals. May 2009 be your best year yet!

 

DeWayne Owens and Doug Parker, CEO of RMCN, Credit Services, Inc.

DeWayne Owens training employees of RMCN, Credit Services, Inc.

DeWayne Owens training on "Goal Setting"

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Greetings! It’s been awhile!

Welcome to the DeWayne Owens Blogshow!

It has been quite awhile since I have communicated to you via the internet. This year has been incredibly busy for me with my speaking and training with Maximum Motivation Training Systems. I am looking forward to sharing more with you through my new blog.

You have to understand that I am old school and this blog thing is a new challenge for me. The one great thing about my blogshow is that I have never had a problem being transparent. I know that my blessings come from God and I take very little credit for my successes. I welcome you to visit often and offer your well recieved comments.

At this time I would like to thank the faculty and freshmen students at Bristol Community College in Fall River, Massachuesetts for a great reception at the Freshmen Orientation Program. The auditorium was jam-packed with enthusistic students ready to take Bristol Community College by storm!

DeWayne Owens speaking at Bristol Community College

 

Student volunteer helping DeWayne Owens with presentation

I look forward to the opportunity to return to Massachusetts again. I had an awesome time giving my The 10 Commandments For College Success program. I realize as a former freshmen student myself, many moons ago, how important it is to have competent information in order to have a successful college career. it is both a pleasure and privilege to present at colleges, because I know the difference great advice can make to new college students. I just wished there were speakers around during my college years who could have inspired me to do better. To the freshmen of Bristol Community College – More Power To You!

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