Introduction
I love being a motivational speaker.
I also happen find it incredibly stressful. I don’t sleep well the night before. I worry about whether I’ve prepared enough. My palms get sweaty.
The other day my friend Brad observed that it is interesting how something I love so much could also cause me such stress. I agreed that yes, that was what you might call a paradox.
But then I got to thinking and noticed a common parallel: Children.
I don’t yet have children of my own (to my mother’s great dismay), nor do I intend to anytime soon (to my mother’s even greater dismay), but from my observation, most children are to their parents both an object of nearly infinite love and a source of equally infinite stress.
Like how I feel about speaking.
Here are some more similarities.
the top ten ways giving motivational speeches is like raising children
10. You are always sharing life lessons and advice, but you can never tell if you’re getting through to them.
9. Occasionally you have to raise your voice for dramatic effect.
8. You are looked up to. Often too much.
7. It would be nearly impossible without coffee.
6. The first time you do it, it’s really scary and you feel totally inadequate.
5. You have to be fully present. They can always tell if your mind is somewhere else.
4. A big part of the job is coordinating rides and transportation.
3. In the early days, you rely mostly on formula. (Get it? Like baby formula?)
2. The goal is to better the world, to leave a legacy.
1. Some of them turn out better than others, and you never quite know why.
