Tips On How To Fund A Youth Speaker

Share the speaker with another school in your area on the same day. The speaker's fee is cut nearly in HALF for your school if you share them with another school. They can speak at your school in the morning and a neighboring school in the afternoon. The speaker speaks to more students, and you save money. Check with your school administration for funding from the Associated Student Body fund. For teacher in-service programs, ask about Staff Development. Plan to integrate and highlight the speaker into a major theme such as cultural awareness week, peace programs, etc... Depending on your theme, federal grant money might be available. For example, Agencies might approve a funding request for a speaker who addresses alcohol and drug prevention, sexual abstinence, tobacco use, teen pregnancy, gangs, crime and violence prevention. Check with your school district or federal government office to find out who has available funds in your state. Request an application form. Apply for other grant monies from your state by contacting your State Department of Human Services and State Department of Education. They can direct you to the correct office. Contact other local agencies in your county that already have grant monies from state agencies. For example, the Criminal Justice Department or Department of Public Safety might have distributed funds into mental health agencies or programs for mentoring youth. Contact your school's PTO or PTA. Share your plans with them. They are more likely to contribute funds for a well thought out plan. Have student leaders contact local business organizations: Rotary Club, Kiwanis, Lions Club, Elks, Chamber of Commerce. Present your plan and request their sponsorship. Contact several of your larger local businesses, especially those related to services for teens and their families. Ask for the owner, CEO or Community Services Department. If they are willing to help sponsor the speaker, you can exchange the favor by announcing their support to your students and parents.

"Are You Not Crazy Enough?"

"Are you crazy?"  It's a question that we have all heard before.  Some of us may have been asked this question and some may have asked others this question.

It's a question, when asked, that is usually followed by a stern warning, or some other kind of discouragement of the action being questioned.

You see, people normally don't like change.   Most thoughts, actions, and ideas that are outside of the "norm" aren't normally well received.  

Well, first of all, who said that "normal" was a good thing?  In fact, if you look at most successful people, you will find that most of them were crazy.  The "world as we know it" was molded and shaped by crazy people with crazy ideas.

It is my suggestion that in order to be successful you have to be a little crazy.  Crazy thoughts, plus crazy ideas, plus crazy actions, equals crazy results!

You would have to be crazy to drop out of Harvard University to start a company that sells a product for a device that most American families didn't have, but Bill Gates did it.

You would have to be crazy to pack up your family, jump on a boat, and move to a foreign land that you have never been to before.  But that is exactly what some of the most influential and famous immigrants who have shaped our country did.

You would have to be absolutely bonkers to move across the country, sleep in your car, and not know where your next meal was coming from.  But Jim Carrey did it. Tyler Perry did it.   And so did many of the actors, singers, and artists the we enjoy today.

For the most part, everybody wants to "make it".  We all want to be successful, accomplish our goals, and see our dreams.  Whether it is being rich and famous or simply being happy.  So what's stopping us?  Are our ideas too crazy?  Are our dreams too far fetched?  What goal seems far from ever being reached?

What I am suggesting is that many of us are not crazy enough!  Not crazy enough to leave.  Not crazy enough to start that business.  Not crazy enough to just do "it"!

The problem may not be that you are crazy. The problem may be that you are not crazy enough!

"Michael Vick Perseverance"

Michael Vick

Perseverance- It means to persist; to keep moving forward in a course of action, in spite of difficulties, discouragements, or obstacles.

I don't know about you, but I love a good comeback story.  Something or someone that you can relate to, that is inspiring.  In my quest to encourage and inspire others myself, I am able to make some wonderful discoveries of people and events that are life changing, to say the very least.

In the midst of all the doom and gloom in the media about how bad the economy is, the crimes and scandals, and other sad news, we desperately need some good news sometime.  A quiet (or loud) reminder that it is not all bad, and motivation to keep moving forward.

There is no stronger motivator, or what I call "the source of motives", than love and passion.  We all need what I call,"Michael Vick Perseverance".

The story of an NFL quarterback, who had the drive and determination to make one of the biggest comebacks in American history.

Michael Vick is an NFL football player for the Philadelphia Eagles football team.  He is one of the most talented players to ever play the game.  Vick played college football at Virginia Tech, where as a freshman he placed third in the Heisman Trophy balloting. He left after his sophomore year to enter the NFL and was drafted first overall by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2001 NFL Draft. He became the first African-American quarterback to be selected first overall in an NFL Draft. In six seasons with the Falcons, he gained wide popularity for his performance on the field, and led the Falcons to the playoffs twice. Vick ranks second among quarterbacks in career rushing yards.

But in August 2007, he pleaded guilty to federal charges of illegal dog fighting, and served 21 months in prison, followed by two months in home confinement. He lost his NFL salary, he lost product endorsement deals, and combined with previous financial mismanagement, Vick filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2008. Falcons owner Arthur Blank did not want Vick on the Falcons, and after attempts to trade him failed, Vick was released.

But Vick had perseverance and drive.  He signed with the Philadelphia Eagles and was reinstated in Week 3 of the 2009 season.  


<sup>This season, Vick is on track to be the most valuable player, make it to the pro bowl, and lead his team to the playoffs.  He regularly speaks to youth about making good choices in life. 

Despite of difficulties, obstacles, and discouragements,  he kept moving forward.  With a love and passion, (and God given talent) for the game of football as his motive, the world now has a story of one of the greatest comebacks and examples of perseverance ever told.

And that is what we need to have.  We need to have "Michael Vick Perseverance".  I'm sure that their were times where Vick wanted to give up.  Times where he threw up his hands and said, "what else can go wrong"? But he persisted and kept moving forward.  

So what's your difficulty?  A breakup or divorce? What's your discouragement? A failed business? What's your obstacle? Foreclosure? A bankruptcy?  Keep moving forward! Use "Michael Vick Perseverance"!</sup>

"The Invisible Box" (Called Limitation)

A box.  Have you ever felt boxed in?  To be boxed in is to be shut into a small space, preventing free movement.  It can be in a mental way, such as thoughts or beliefs, or it can be in a physical way, such as boxed in a corner.  A physical wall can be seen, touched, and felt.  It can be observed from a far.  Someone or something that is boxed in, can be observed from the outside looking in.

But what about the invisible box?  What about the boxes or the things that prevent free movement in our minds? What is the invisbible box? I has a name. And the name is limitation.  The invisible box is the mental limitations that we put on ourselves, our lives, and our potential.  It’s a limited or lower way of thinking that prevents us from going beyond normal, common, and just existing.

A good example of an invisible box is the fish bowl example. If you put a fish in a fish bowl and put a glass divider in the middle, the fish will try to swim to the other side.  But the glass divider separating the sides prevents the fish from getting to the other side. The fish will try repeatedly to get to the other side, then after a while give up.  Even if you remove the divider the fish will not try to go to the other side, because it has conditioned it’s mind that it can’t get on the other side.

We do the same thing with our minds.  Nobody has to enslave us. Nobody has to trap us.  Nobody has to put us in a box because we do it oursleves with our own thoughts.  The box is invisible, but it is there.  We can see racism, divisions, and oppression that other things put us in, but we fail to see the invisible box that we put ourselves in.

It’s an illusion.  The mental limitations that we put ourselves in are a paper thin image.  The invisible box is the manifestation of fear; false evidence appearing real.

What’s your box? What are some of the  invisible boxes that we put ourselves in? We must free ourselves of the good or bad opinion of others.  We must realize that we are not the product of  bad circumstances or events that we gone through.

We have to break out of the invisible box!  To do this, we must change our thinking from I want, to I can.  And from I can, to I will.  And last, from I will, to I am!

We are the offspring of God.  We need to become more aware of our connection to God, our source, and everything, and everyone around us.  With God, (being connected to our Source) all things are possible.

The invisible box can be removed by raising your level of consciousness of being connected to God, everything, and everyone.  Remove the box today!

"The Power Of One"

The power of one.  Books have been written about it. Songs have been made about it. Movies have hit the box office with this concept as the underlying inspiration.

The power of one has changed lives around the world. A concept so strong, so powerful that without it, the world as we know it, would not exist.

What is the power of one?  It's the will, drive, and determination of one person to make a difference.  It's the passion, perseverance, and persistence to accomplish a goal.

Jackie Robinson had the power of one.  The courage to step forward.  A passion and drive to go against the grain.  The first African American to play major league baseball had the power of one.  Through the power of one man, major league baseball is what it is today.

Thomas Edison had the power of one.  If it wasn't for this one inventor, scientist, and businessman; technology and energy would not be what is is today.

Jesus Christ had the power of one.  Because of one man, a universal school of thought exists all over the world.

One person can change a life. One person can change an organization.  It only takes the influence of one person to motivate a generation and start a movement.

Everyone has their hero. That special person that inspired them to be, do, or love something that has a lasting impression their life.

For me, that special person was my uncle, Winford Taylor.  He was that special person that I looked up to when I was young.   I watched his life. I looked at his moves. I listened to his words.  He inspired me to be a Realtor, Investor, and Entrepreneur.  He inspired me to be a Father, a Husband, and a Provider.  If it wasn't for "the power of one", my life wouldn't be what is it today.

In addition to "the power of one" I am also a firm believer of "paying it forward".  We have to realize that we have "the power of one" also, and the responsibility of "paying it forward".

One speech can change a life.  One quote could inspire a generation.  One book can start a movement.  I am committed to "the power of one!'

"Our Dreams Are Worth It!"

 

At one time or another everybody has, will have, or has had a dream. A dream is a goal, a plan, or a vision of what you would like to have, be, or achieve in your life.

I have always been a dreamer. For as long as I can remember, I could always close my eyes and imagine what the future could hold for my life.

Now some people think that having a dream is a waste of time, or something that can never be obtained. Many because of difficulties, discouragements, and obstacles have even given up on their dreams.

But in the back of our heads, no matter how far or distant that dream my now seem, it still exists. And every now and then a picture, a commercial, or conversation reminds us of our dream.

We often ask ourselves the question, "what would my life be like if I would have done that?" Or make statements like, "I used to want to be that".

Is your dream worth pursuing? Is it worth the time to even consider in this time period and present state of the economy? Will people "get" your dream? With everything that has happened in your life, is it really worth it?

Let me tell you about my dream. My dream will allow me to do what I love, and to love what I do. My dream will allow me to provide for my wife and children, and their children. My dream will help the world live a better quality of life on a daily basis. My dream will teach, motivate, and inspire others to pursue and reach their dreams.

I have determined and decided that my dream is worth it. Our dreams are always worth it. Contrary to popular belief, we are not the product of our circumstances. No circumstance is never enough to give up on our dreams.

Today, let us put one foot in front of the other and see our dreams. We are worth it!

"The Incredible Edible Egg"

"The Incredible Edible Egg"

The incredible edible egg is hard on the outside, soft on the inside. Its inner contents are very valuable and beneficial. One egg has 13 essential vitamins and minerals, as well as a high quality source of protein.

The incredible edible egg is protected by its outer shell. Often that shell is placed in a package to protect is delicate contents. The egg is eaten, and enjoyed by many people everyday. It can be scrambled, boiled, or even eaten raw. This valuable source of food can be added with many other ingredients to make many things.

One of the most famous uses of the egg is during Easter. During this holiday people color, dye, and decorate eggs. They put them in baskets, and have Easter egg hunts with them.

My favorite egg is the hard boiled egg. A boiled egg is placed in hot boiling water until its inner contents become hard. When this happens, then the outer shell is cracked, peeled off, and is eaten.
People are like eggs. We need to come out of our shells and feed the world with what is on the inside of us. All of us have gifts, talents, and abilities on the inside of us. We have greatness on the inside of us. But we are afraid to come out of our shells. Our shells are our outer appearance, our jobs, and our associations. Our shells are our apprehensions and our places of comfort ability.

Our "boiling water" is the trials, difficulties, and discouragements we face in life. This boiling water is producing a product on the inside that would not be, if not placed in this position.

You see, the world is waiting to "eat" or receive the gifts, talents, and abilities that are on the inside of us. Solutions, cures, and inventions are on the inside of us. In our shells are great businesses, books, songs, and many more great things.

But many are afraid to come out of their shells. Scared to expose what is on the inside. So they hide behind the color of insecurity, the dye of mediocrity, and the decorations of the temporal things.
Come out of your shell today. The world is starving for what is on the inside of you. We are incredible edible eggs.