You’ll be amazed at what candles can do! Candles create such atmosphere and beauty instantly. These little flickering flames can change my mood.We have a picnic table on our back patio where, on many evenings, Tanya and I relax, play cards, and listen to Pavarotti. We watch the radiant California sun setting in the distance. And you can bet on it – the candles are burning! I travel a lot, as you may have guessed. Even on the road, some candles and nice music can turn even the most drab hotel room into a glowing retreat center. You can gaze at a candle and see it as a metaphor for your own “life torch.” A candle is luminous only when it’s burning…and so are you. When you become a professional speaker you have the royal opportunity to light a flame in a audience each time a speak. As a professional speaker I get to bring some truth and light up new thoughts and possibilities for the company when I stand to the microphone. I’m humbled by this thought and everyone who’s thinking of becoming a professional speaker should consider it sacred. For me as a professional speaker the following quotes summarize my thoughts here in this post.

“There isn’t enough darkness in all the world

to snuff out the light of one little candle.”

– Author unknown

“How far that little candle throws his beams!

So shines a good deed in a weary world.”

– William Shakespeare

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He always dreamed and hoped to be an author and to own his own company. He has accomplished both of those lofty goals. I recently sat down to interview James, at a recent speaking event at the Point Clear Resort outside of Mobile, Alabama. I asked him what public speaking opportunities would be next and about some goals he had for 2009, he said, “My immediate goal is to launch my new book, which I’m very excited about, in the 1st quarter of 2009″. With a gleam in his eye he spoke with passion about the content of his new book, he said: “The title of this book is ‘Life’s 3 Burning Questions’ that is, if the publisher doesn’t change it” he said with a chuckle. “This will also be my newest professional speech next year that I can’t wait to deliver.” He would not let me in on the secret 3 questions but I’m guessing this will be a deeply reflective kind of speech.

I’ve had the opportunity to hear James as professional speaker on several occasions and I have to say he has a rare and gifted way of connected with every person in the audience. I often hear people say “I felt like this professional speaker was talking directly to me” after he delivers his signature riveting professional keynote speeches. The people who were sitting near me jumped out of their seats to give him a standing ovation not unlike what you’d see after and NFL touchdown. That is what audiences all over the world have come to expect from motivational speaker - James Lloyd.

By: Ron Clendenin

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Even as I write this, I feel my torch burn more brilliantly. Make new friends and nurture the old ones. Return that phone call, or better yet, initiate the phone call! Always embrace these sacred bonds. I’m blessed with awesome friends:
•  Charlie, in Denver. He is so encouraging, and he also
taught me to live life with a positive attitude.
•  Carl, in Raleigh. We played college football together
and now trust our deepest secrets with one another.
•  Tamara, in San Diego. Being a Wake Forest Alumni,
I never thought I would love a graduate from the
University of North Carolina, but this woman has had
a monumental impact in my life.
•  Ron, in Atlanta. He is my mentor in the challenging
arenas of integrity, perseverance, and fitness.
•  Suzie, my sister, in Concord. She and I share wonderful laughter. I cherish building  a history with someone and developing a true friendship.

I’ve found that when I want to get together with someone, it works best when we’re specific about the details. Instead of “Let’s get together soon,” how about “Let’s see a movie this Saturday afternoon.” And by all means, get up from your desk at work and go chat with someone for five minutes.  It might be the best part of your day – and theirs! And that co-worker might just become a friend. I like the way Horace Bruns puts it:  “Friends are treasures.” You can’t really be successful in becoming a professional speaker without lots of friends.

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To become a motivational speaker I must be relentless in this quest. Refuse to focus on the negatives!
I promise that this will transform all of our relationships. As one who makes their living in their motivational speaker career I make a conscious effort every day to look for the best in other people. Granted, for some it’s easier than others. About a year ago, I was recommending someone for a motivational speaker job and I kept praising her, “She’d be great for your next business meeting. She’s funny, she’s kind, and she’s intelligent…” The person stopped me and said, “James, she’s only that way with you.” I started thinking about her comment. Was that true? Why? Maybe it’s because I always want to find the best in others.
Maybe that’s why they’re being their best when I’m with them. This is a common message I want to give to managers and senior leadership at all the business events I speak at. Let’s find the best in others.
And while we’re at it, let’s also try to find the best in ourselves. In my Motivational Speaker Training school I overemphasize the strengths of each person and maximizing those in our training.

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Here are 5 Reasons why you need to make your audience laugh as professional speaker.

1)  Laughter relaxes us and chases away depression.
“Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects.”
– Arnold Glasow
2)  Laughter enhances creativity.
“At the height of laughter, the universe is flung
into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities.”
– Jean Houston
3) Laughter is the ultimate escape.
“Laughter is an instant vacation.”
– Milton Berle
4)  Laughter gives purpose and meaning to life.
“The most wasted day is one in which we have not laughed.”
– Sebastian Chamfort
5)  Laughter is spiritual.
“Laughter is the closest thing to the grace of God.”
– Carl Barth

Don’t miss the opportunity to get professional speaker training that will take your speaking career to the next level of being a great professional speaker.

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“It’s amazing the difference a bit of sky can make.”
– Shel Silverstein
You already know that Big Sur is my first choice of mine to travel and get some inspiration for my motivational speaking career. And I’d have to say that Yosemite National Park is a close second. Winter is glorious there, but my favorite time to visit Yosemite is in early Spring (think maximum waterfalls). Another favorite is San Diego where I’ve seen ocean waves that actually glow. It’s nothing short of spellbinding. When the waves crash, they light up – almost like they’re on fire. What’s your idea of paradise? Maybe it’s your garden or a hiking trail near your home. Maybe looking up at the night sky inspires you. (I dare
anyone to look at the beauty and vastness of the night sky and remain pessimistic.)
Are you near the mountains or desert? There’s some  exquisite sky-viewing in the desert. One of my friends
always heads for the desert if there’s going to be a meteor shower or a lunar eclipse. Are you lucky enough to live near water? One glimpse of the ocean and I’m like a new person. Take advantage of each opportunity to travel and visit a place that gives you wonder. Then see how your life becomes and how career in motivational speaking.

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In the 1960s when Marta was in her mid-40s, she should have been making her final concert tour and concluding her dancing career. Instead, when she and her husband Tom had a flat tire near the ghost town of Death Valley Junction, California (population 10), she discovered an old abandoned
theatre and immediately became inspired. She never left. After years of renovating and rehearsing, the doors were opened. Marta committed to performing her show whether or not people attended. With the nearest town more than 25 miles away, some evenings the only admirers of her craft were the spectacular life-sized figures in the audience murals she had painted on the walls.

She kept dancing. A few years later, her husband left her to return to New York. She kept dancing.
At the time of this writing, Marta is 82 years old. She is still dancing. Nearly every show is a sellout. Talk about living your passion! I keep a picture of Marta in my office. Every glance brings
me a surge of passion. Who’s your inspirational speaker? IThis will set your soul on fire! Then you may become someone else’s inspiration! Now she restores in my speaking career!

“Long before anybody invented the term ‘performance art,’
Marta Becket was doing it, in an abandoned opera house in
Death Valley Junction. She restored it, and it restored her.
– Jay Carr

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“Enough individualism,” I believe they’re saying.“It’s time to conform!”
We now must sit in our chairs. The chairs are in rows…and every room looks the same.The conformity has begun. A child laments, “No nap time now?”“No, just pay attention and sit up straight in your chair!”
“No, you may not go to the bathroom without a lavatory pass!”It goes on.“Did I hear someone speaking or whispering? You don’t speak in this class without permission.”“Who brought these crayons? This is no place for crayons. You should have outgrown them by now. And by the way, the
only pencils you’ll use are #2 pencils!”(I don’t even see #1 pencils in the stores – I think they’ve actually been discontinued due to all this conformity!) We’re not all #2 pencils. No wonder Neil Poston wrote: “Children enter school as question marks, and exit as periods.”
In his motivational book The Four Agreements, Don Miguel Ruiz concludes: “All our normal tendencies are lost in the process… We create an image of how we should be in order to be ac- cepted by everybody.”

In becoming a professional speaker you must-Be yourself. Be your authentic self as motivational speaker. Here is my shameless plug. Attend my Motivational Speakers Training school and I promise you it will be the most authentic and real training course you’ve every been apart of.
“A man must consider what a rich realm he abdicates
when he becomes a conformist.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Professional Speaker, Dale Carnegie, once said: ““You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” With a wince, I confess I chose the less noble option for many years in my speaking career. As a minister, I allowed my ego to run rampant. Of course I would have never uttered the words, “Well, here I am.” But, sadly, that was my attitude. Thankfully, I have repented, and I now work hard to honor others. It is my theory that the first moment of interaction in speech and with a person says it all. Think about it: in just one second, the audience to whom we are professional speaking is able to perceive how excited we are. What tone of voice are we using? What about our body language? I am especially challenged with this concept as I walk into my home after a day at work, sometimes half expecting a welcome home party. It is so easy to enter with an attitude of, “Well, here I am.” Thankfully, I have a friend whose example I strive to emulate – my dog, Phoebe. She is a beautiful golden longhair Chihuahua. Although she is housebroken, Phoebe has a “tiny accident” while greeting me every day at the front door. I don’t scold her because she can’t help it. She is just so excited to see me, she loses her control. What an example! What if we all greeted one another the same way? (Occasionally my analogies go a bit too far.) However, in my motivational speaking job I make it a priority to arrive early and stay late in getting to know those who were in the audience. In professional public speaking it is my honor to be able to speak to them.

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