Daily Motivations - IT'S TIME TO GET OVER IT!
Episode Date: April 7, 2025It's time to leave your comfort zone! If you know someone who could use this episode, share it with them! To get notified of uploads, click the follow button! Speaker: Les Brown As one of the world...’s most renowned motivational speakers, Les Brown is a highly sought-after resource in business and professional circles for Fortune 500 CEOs, small business owners, non-profit and community leaders from all sectors of society looking to expand opportunity. For three decades, he has not only studied the science of achievement, but he’s also mastered it by interviewing hundreds of successful business leaders and collaborating with them in the boardroom, translating theory into bottom-line results for his clients. Instagram - @daily_motivationsorg Facebook- @daily_motivationsorg
Transcript
Discussion (0)
I was in my comfort zone. I was doing just enough to get by. I was working on a job
They paid me just enough to keep me from quitting and I worked just hard enough to keep from getting fired
How many know people like that? Blank your eyes if you understand what I'm talking about.
I was parked. I knew I could do more
But when my mama died
It took something out of me. When I went through a divorce, it took something out of me.
When my best friend died, it took something out of me.
I popped.
And somebody said that life is like an onion you have to peel it one layer at a time and
sometimes
You cry
Life's gonna happen to you when you have a dream. You're gonna get slapped around
And don't take it personal. Don't ask why did this have to happen to me? Why not you who would you suggest?
You want to give us some names some email addresses and don't tell everybody 80% don't care and 20% glad
is you it's called life suck it up and move on get over it it happens to everybody here's the other thing as you
look at your goals and look at your dreams when you're going through some
stuff repeat out to be pleased when things go wrong don't go with them. Yes, write that down. When things go wrong, don't go
with them. When you're working on a business deal, you're counting on some
money, someone said you will get the loan and it falls through. You have an event
and the people that you thought would be there and support you, they don't come
through. Or someone turns against you or you get ripped off. It's gonna happen to you.
Happen to me. Someone stole all my products, my database, over a hundred and
eighty thousand names and addresses. It's not personal. It's gonna happen to
everybody. It does. Eight out of ten millionaires have been financially bankrupt.
Walt Disney had seven, he profiled bankruptcy seven times and had two nervous breakdowns.
It's called life.
But I got a saying, when life knocks you down, try and land on your back because if you can look up, you can get up.
You've got the power in you to do that.
You've got something special. You've got comeback power. Here's the other thing. Let us say
together, it's possible. It's necessary. It's me. Yes, write that down. It's me. Take
ownership for your life. Nobody can live your dream for you but you. Nobody's gonna take care of your business like you.
Stop coming up with excuses.
Don't give yourself permission to continue
to live a small life.
You can't fit a big dream into a small life.
Give yourself permission to go for it,
to test yourself, to challenge yourself, to live full.
I like the saying, always strive to get on top in life
because it's the bottom that's overcrowded.
The reason you're here is because there's
something in you that says, I can do more.
This just can't be it.
There's something in you.
There's a calling on your life. There's something in you, there's a calling on your life. There's
something in your heart that costs you to get dressed and and spend the money
to go to seminar after seminar and listen to message after message and
speaker after speaker. Because there's something in you that tells you this is
not it for you. You have not peaked here. There's more in you that you are
expressing. Eye is not
seen, ear is not heard, nor is there in the heart of mankind what's in store for you
if you challenge yourself. If you persist and persevere. If you take
ownership for your life. George Bernard Shaw said the people that make it in
this life, they look around for the circumstances that they want and if they
can't find them they create them
create what you want you have the power to do more than you can ever begin to imagine to control your destiny to make a difference in our children to make a difference on the planet
to make an impact let us say together it's me and let us say together it's hard
It's me. And let us say together, it's hard.
Say it like you know it.
Say it's hard.
Ladies and gentlemen, it's hard.
The people who have seen their retirements taken away from them by the corporations that
they work for, they were within two or three years of retiring and they had it taken from them. The number one
entrepreneurs in this country now are senior citizens. The number one employer, number
two, McDonald's and Walmart. And there's nothing wrong with those jobs. I guarantee you those
people did not have a plan to end up living their lives at the end of life with those types of jobs.
And they didn't have a plan like you have, and while you're investing in yourself, not to.
And it's hard. There are people making choices between purchasing prescription drugs or paying for gas or mortgage note.
It's hard when you're working on a job for 20 years, 30 years,
give them some good years and then they come in and tell you we've downsized. In other ways,
other words, you're fired. And then you have to start all over again. How many of you know it's
hard? Raise your hands please. It's hard. And it's not fair. One of the things I like about
T. Harvest, he talks about work and investing in yourself. It's not fair when people are going up
against that kind of stuff to tell them just think positive and be enthusiastic and everything
will work out all right. Ain't that kind of party? It's hard. Life will put some knots on your head. I bought my
first home from my mother. I was rushing, didn't know what I was doing, and I bought
a home that had a lien against it. And they called me, Mr. Brown, yes, there's a
lien against your property. We need $55,000 if you're going to stay there.
Wait a minute,
sir. I just bought this home. The guy told me there were no liens against it. I'm not
the one that owe you the money. You should have checked that out, Mr. Brown. Come on.
I called my attorney. We followed up. Yes, Les, there's a lien against the property.
But he told me there were no liens. He lied obviously. Oh my god. He told me he wanted to help me because he admired the
fact that I was buying this home for my mother and that he was adopted and he
identified with me. Les he suck at you. He played you man. So what well would
they take payment arrangements? can i what about
five thousand dollars a month? they want all the money less. they want all the money or you're
gonna have to get out the house is going up for shelf sale. do you have it? no i don't have them.
can they give me some time? tell them to give me give me three months please give me three months.
i my mother's in her 70s man. She has a bad heart
Don't do this to me. This is my dream. Don't do this man
Please let me talk to them less. I'm talking to their attorney. They don't want to talk to you
I've got to talk to the attorneys. Do you have the money?
No, will they give me three months? No, what about two months? No less
They want the money in seven days
Oh my god. Let me call you back. I'm not sure. And I walked the floors thinking, God, how could this happen to me?
I got to figure this out. I got to figure this out. And seemed like the days are just ticking off,
ticking off. Thursday, I had to call up and let them know they call me less. Do seemed like the days are just ticking off, ticking off. Thursday I had to call them and
let them know they call me. Les, do you have the money? No, I don't. Friday you have to leave.
The chef will be there. You're gonna have to leave, Les. They're gonna take my house. What
about my down payment? You lost it, Les. You lost it.
Okay. I got to go. Yes. I prayed, Lord, please.
If you show me that you're real, if, if it's, if you're really real, you think Paul worked for you, you haven't seen anything.
Don't let me lose this house and watch what I'll do for you.
I was trying to cut a deal. Have you ever tried
to cut a deal? It's amazing how spiritual you get when you get in trouble, you know
what I mean? When I was diagnosed with prostate cancer, I was going to bed with
the with the Bible and the Holy Quran and science of mind and Joe Goldsmith,
everything I could find. I was paying to Jesus, Yahweh, Melchizedek, everybody.
I was calling out everybody. It's amazing. And, and there I was walking the floor at three o'clock
in the morning and I had to go and wake my mother up. I got on my knees and I said, mama,
I said, I need you to wake up. She said, what's wrong, Leslie? I can, I can hear you walking back and forth. I'm not sleep son.
I said, there's something I need to tell you. She said, your eyes are red. Why your eyes red? Because I feel so stupid now. Why?
We got to move tomorrow. Why Leslie? There's a lien against the property and they want $55,000 and I don't have it
and we're going to be set out tomorrow. We have to go back to Liberty City." So she
said, it's okay. I don't like this house anyhow. I said, why? She said, because of my arthritic
knees it hurts my knees when I go up the steps. I said, why didn't said, because of my arthritic knees, it hurts my knees when I go up the steps.
I said, and why didn't you tell me?
Because you were so happy.
I just said it because you were happy.
I'll live in a shack with you, boy.
I love you.
It's not the house.
I love you.
I love all my children.
I said, thank you, mama.
Thank you.
And the next day, the next day when we were in the
truck going back to Liberty City and we pulled down 68th Terrace, the neighbors
came out and said whoa Mamie, Mamie y'all coming back? Are you back? Yes. What
happened to the home your boy bought for you? Those boys you adopted.
Leslie didn't do a title search. He made a mistake. And boy I was, I was so humiliated. How many
ever made a mistake that you were just humiliated? Raise your hands. I was devastated. I was taking the furniture off the truck and
my mother came and I was crying and she said, boy, I said, yes, ma'am. She said, hold your
head up. I said, mama, I can't. She said, hold your head up. I said, why? Look what
I've done. She said, it's okay. It It's okay. You are gonna make a lot of mistakes in life young man
You're gonna fail your way to success
You have nothing to be ashamed of
Keep your head up and take that furniture back in the house. I said, yes, ma'am
And I learned something for that
If you ever go through something
Hold your head up If you ever go through something, hold your head up.
If you ever make a mistake,
hold your head up. If you ever do something that everything goes wrong,
life catch you on the blind side, hold your head up.
It's not over.
Gerda said,
that which does not kill you will make you stronger.
Hold your head up.
Shake someone's hand on your right and left and say hold your head up.
Here's something else ladies and gentlemen.
Repeat after me please.
You gotta be hungry. Everybody together, you got to be hungry.
I'll never forget Mr. Washington said, Mr. Brown, yes, sir. What do you want to do with your life,
young man? I said, sir, I want to be a disc jockey. He said, Mr. Brown. I said, yes, sir. He said,
you got to be hungry. I said, what do you mean by that? He said, people that are hungry are willing
to do the things today others
won't do in order to have the things tomorrow others won't have. People that are hungry are
willing to invest in themselves. People that are hungry will go to seminars and workshops.
People that are hungry are always searching, always seeking higher ground. So how do you want to make
it? I said I want to be a disc jockey. He says good. Here's what to do. He said I want you to read 10 to 15 pages of something
positive every day. He said you don't get in life what you want, you get in life
what you are. You must program yourself to success. He said why don't you listen to
Earl Nightingale and Zig Ziglar. Listen, faith comes by hearing and hearing and
hearing. He said I want you to change your relationships.
And I don't want you to ever lose your hunger.
I said, what do you mean by that?
He said, people that are hungry are unstoppable.
People that are hungry are no matter what people.
They make it happen no matter what.
He said, I want you to listen to Paul Harvey.
Who is he?
He's the world's greatest communicator.
Success leaves clues clues young man.
Always listen and follow people who are doing what it is you want to do at the level you want to do it and learn from them.
I told T. Hobb when we were standing by the stage. I said hey man. I want to work more with you.
I want you to coach me. I want to learn from you.
See I found you're never too old to learn, and you're never too young to teach.
Always have a thirst for learning.
So I listened to Paul Harvey every day on the radio.
While in school I would go out and listen in his car. He gave me his keys.
I was working to develop myself.
And I continued to listen
to motivational messages and he would take me to see the late nor Dr. Norman
Vincent field who wrote the book the power of positive thinking. I toured with
him before he passed. You, you have something special. You have greatness
within you. Don't allow your circumstances to determine who you are.
Don't allow your negative thoughts to hold you back.
You, you have something special.
You can do more than you could ever begin to imagine.
Dr. Peel was an incredible man.
I admired him when he spoke.
He gave me goose pimples.
I can feel him in my heart.
And I'll never forget, we were coming back to the school and Mr. Washington said, Mr.
Brown, yes sir, when Dr. Peele spoke, you didn't move.
When he spoke, you were hanging on everywhere.
When he spoke, we didn't have to tell you to sit down and be quiet.
Why?
I said, sir, I could feel him and he talked.
I felt like he was talking to me, sir. He said, sir, I could, I could feel him. And he talked. I felt like he was talking to me, sir.
He said, he was. I said, but he doesn't know me, but he was speaking to you.
Did you feel him in your heart? I said, yes, sir. He said, most people feel him in their head.
If you felt him in your heart, he said, listen to him, son. Follow him, learn from him.
And I would go to seminars and workshops. Anywhere I would find where Dr. Peel was, I would be in the audience.
I would drive two and three hundred miles just to hear him speak.
And my dream and vision was, was to share the stage with him.
I thought about it.
What is your goal?
What is your vision?
I want you to hold it in mind.
There's some power in that.
Because when I became involved in speaking, I never
forget I got a call from odd Mandino who wrote the book, The Greatest Salesman in
the World. He said, last I'm stuck in Philadelphia, need to be in Kinkakee.
Dr. Norman Vincent Peel is appearing, I can't make it. I heard you're in Chicago.
I said, yes I am. Can you go and open for me? I said, yes man, oh my god. Dr. Peeler, I said, yes I'd love to do it.
And I went there and I came, I said, hi I'm I'm Les Brown. He said, you're not the band of renown?
I said, no I'm I'm Mrs. Mamie Brown's baby boy. I'm here to speak. He said, come backstage and his
wife Martha was there and she said, Papa, Les Brown is here, the speaker. And he said,
Les Brown, Les Brown shoot for the moon because even if you miss your land among
the stars, I said, sir, that's my quote. I wrote you when I was in the 11th grade. I was a part of a special
special education class project. That's my quote. He said I know. I end all my
speeches with that quote. And Dr. Peel had a great sense of humor. A young man
was backstage and I had so many questions to ask him and my mind froze
up and young guy said Dr. Peel how old are you? And he was up in age. He said, Sonny, I'm, I'm 92. Young
man looked at him and said, I don't know if I want to live to get 92. He said, that's
because you've never been 91. So I did the things that Mr. Washington suggested. I listened
to motivational tapes on a regular basis. I would go to seminars and workshops whenever
Zig Ziglar and Dr. Dennis Wadley and Jim Rowan would come to town. And I
said, sir, I said, what do you want me to do now? He said, Mr. Brown, I've given you
everything that I can give you. He said, develop your mind, put your money where
your mouth is, continue to learn how to be an effective communicator, because
once you open your mouth, you tell the world who you are. And always surround yourself with OQP, only quality people.
So I went to apply for a job on Miami Beach.
WMVM radio station, Milton Butterball Smith
was the program director.
Hello, Mr. Butterball, how are you, sir?
My name is Les Brown, sir, I like to be a disc jockey.
He said, young man, you have any journalism
in your background?
I said, no, sir, I don't. You have any experienced in broadcasting? I said, no, sir, but I practice
all the time, sir. Let me audition for you, sir. Let me show you how good I am. All I
need is a shot, sir. He says, no, we don't have any job for you. I've never been rejected.
Raise your hands, please. I was devastated. I went back and I told Mr. Washington, I said,
Mr. Washington, they said, no. He said, don't take it personally. Most people are so negative, they have to say no seven times before they say yes.
He said, you got to be hungry.
Make no your vitamin.
Go back again.
I said, yes, sir.
Hello, Mr. Butterball.
How are you, sir?
My name is Les Brown, sir.
I like to be a disc jockey.
Young man, weren't you here yesterday?
Yes, sir, I was.
Didn't I tell you no yesterday? Yes, sir, you did. Then why are you back today? Well
sir, I didn't know whether or not somebody was laid off or somebody was
fired, sir. Nobody was laid off or fired. Now get on out of here. I came back the
next day. Hello Mr. Butterball, how are you sir? My name is Les Brown, sir. I like
to be a disc jockey. I know what your name is
Weren't you here the last two days? Yes, I was didn't I tell you know the last two days. Yes, sir
You did why are you back? Oh, sorry. I didn't know whether not someone got sick or someone died sir
No one got sick or died no one was laid off a fire now, don't you come back here again?
I came back the next day talking loud looking happy like I was seeing him for the first time. I said,
hello Mr. Vadaval, how are you? He looked at me with rage. He says, go get me some
coffee. I said, yes sir. My favorite book says the greatest among you will be your
servant. How many of you serious about your goals and dreams? Raise your hands.
Very good. Write this down. Provide more service than you get paid for. Provide
more service than you get paid for. I go to a lot of seminars and workshops and
one of the things I know about Teehaw Eckert and when I was sitting in the
class of Robert Rolpelle and all of the other presenters, they hold themselves to high standards and they provide more information than anybody
else in the industry bar none.
They hold nothing back because their commitment is for your success.
And when you hold yourself to high standards, write this
down, impact drives income. That's why you're here. Because the training, the
seminars, been making a difference in your life. If there did not have impact,
two or three hundred people would be here, if that amount. Impact drives income.
So I became the errand boy for the disc jockeys. I would
go get their lunch and their dinner and I would bring it to them in the control room
and I'd watch them working the control boards knowing my time will come. Write this down.
I expect to reach my goal. Yes, you want to operate with a spirit of expectation. I expect to reach my goal.
So I started preparing for the next position.
Never forget one quote that I heard.
As you look at your life, look at your goals and dreams, it's better to be prepared for
an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared.
If you expect to reach your goal, prepare yourself now.
And so then pretty soon the guys at the station, they begin to take a liking to me. Write this down.
Build relationships. As you're aware, people deal with people that they know, like, and trust. And so they would say, Leslie, yes, sir. Come here. Yes. Come out
of that. Who did this? Oh, your car. Yes. Who cleaned my car? I did, sir. I would wax
their cars in the weekend inside and out. How much are you charged? Oh, nothing, sir.
I just sworn to help out. I was providing more service than I got paid for. I was building relationships.
They said, whoa, look here.
Donna Rawls and the Supremes are coming to town.
The four tops and the Temptations, here.
Here are my car keys.
Pick them up for me.
Take them to the Fountain Blue Hotel on Miami Beach.
I said, yes, sir.
I would drive them all over Miami Beach
in the big long Cadillacs.
I didn't have any driver's license,
but I was driving like I had some. Then one day it was a Saturday afternoon a
disc jockey by the name of Rockin Roger was drinking while he was on the air. It
was a Saturday afternoon and I was the only one there. Rockin Roger got so
drunk he could not complete the show.
He started slurring his words.
He's about to fall off the chair.
And there I was, looking at him through the control room
window, walking back and forth, young, ready, and hungry.
I was saying, drink, Rock, drink. Drink, Rock. I'd have gone get him some more if he'd asked me to.
Then pretty soon the phone rang.
It was the general manager, and I answered the phone.
I said, hello?
He said, young boy, this is Mr. Klein.
I said, I know.
He said, Rock can't finish his program.
I said, I know.
He said, would you call one of the other DJs in I said yes
sir I said to myself he must be think I'm crazy I called my mom and my
girlfriend Cassandra said y'all come out on front porch and turn up the radio
I'm about to come on there I waited for about 20 minutes and I called him back I I said, Mr. Klein, I can't find nobody.
He said, young boy, you're not a worth the controls? I said, yes, sir. He said, go on
there and segue the record, but don't say nothing here. I said, yes, sir. I couldn't
wait to get old Rock out of the way. I put on a fast record. I said, look out, this is
me LB Triple P, Les Brown, your platter playing popper
There were none before me and there will be none after me therefore that makes me the one and only
Young and single and loved Domingo certified bonafide and duplably qualified to bring you satisfaction and a whole lot of action look out
Baby, I'm your love man. I was hungry. I was hungry get old man a of applause. I was hungry. I was hungry
You got to be hungry
Shake someone's hand on your right and left all around you and say you got to be hungry
You got to be hungry
To get those dreams out of your head and step into your greatness, you got to be hungry.
To get those ideas, that talent, that gift out of your system, you got to be hungry.
To get up off the canvas of life and understand what Willie Jolly meant that a setback is
a set up for a comeback for a comeback. You gotta be hungry.
People that are hungry are willing to do the things
that they others won't do in order to have the things
tomorrow others won't have.
How many of you got value out of what you've heard?
That's right, raise your hands please.
Very good.
I'd like to leave this with you.
I don't know what your goals are.
I don't know what you want to do.
Here's what I know about you.
You have greatness within you. Here's what I know about you. You have greatness within you
Here's what I know about you. I can help you to live full and to die empty
I can show you what I've learned if anybody told me that I would be doing what I'm doing now
I leave here today. I go to New Orleans and speak there then I'll be flown to Barcelona
If anybody told me given my circumstances
Born an abandoned building
on a floor in a poor section of Miami, Florida called Liberty City of both my birth parents
sit up and said hello son I would not know either one being labeled educational middle
retarded put back from the fifth grade to the fourth grade fail again when I was in
the eighth grade no college training anybody told me the principles that I would teach
you that they would have the impact
that it has had on my life, this Les Brown that you see, I did not know he existed.
And I tell you that you have greatness within you.
You have the ability to do more than you can ever begin to imagine.
Come into the room with me and I guarantee your life will never be the same again.
I like to leave this with you. I guarantee your life will never be the same again. I like to leave
this with you. I don't know what your goals are. Mine is to find a cure to autism. Mine
is to find a cure to breast cancer and to prostate cancer. Mine is to work with our
youth and to reduce the recidivism rate in our prisons and help young people learn how
to become an asset to our society rather than a liability.
Mine is to train speakers to become great communicators, to speak from their heart,
not their heads, and teach them how to impact and create a new conversation
so people can see the possibilities of life and overcome the possibility blindness
that held me hostage for 14 years. I don't know what your goals are, but here's what I know about you, and I don't know you.
You've got greatness within you.
And I like to leave this with you,
something my mother used to love to hear me say.
Leslie, yes ma'am, mama, say that thing for me, boy,
that makes me feel good.
I dedicate this to you, to the greatness in you,
and to the dream that you showed up on the planet to produce.
And it's simply this. If you want a thing bad enough to go out and fight for it, to work day and
night for it, to give up your time, your peace, and your sleep for it. If all that
your dream and scheme is about it, and life seems useless and worthless without
it, and if you gladly sweat for it and fret for it and plan for it, and lose all
your terror of the opposition for it, and if you simply sweat for it and fret for it and plan for it and lose all your terror of the opposition for it.
And if you simply go after that thing that you want with all of your capacity, strength
and sagacity, faith, hope and confidence and stern pertinacity.