SPeaKeRnOveMber 2016THe aRT aND BUSINeSS OF SPeaKINg

GET INSPIRED!HOW 5 SPEAKERS PUT

IDEAS INTO ACTION

YOUR NEXT BOOK? IT’S ONLY AN IDEA AWAY

MAINTAIN YOUR MOMENTUM:

7 STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

BORN OUT OF TRAGEDY

SOME IDEAS EMERGEFROM CRISES

TRAVEL SAFELY IN A DANGEROUS WORLD

WORK. PLAY. GIVE. SHARE YOUR TALENTSWITH NONPROFITS!

The Official Magazine Of The naTiOnal SpeakerS aSSOciaTiOn • www.nSaSpeaker.Org THE BIG

IDEAS I

SSUE

WHAT’S YOUR BIG IDEA?

SELL FROM THE STAGE?Page 8

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I thought about re-enlisting in theArmy, but that didn’t seem so valuablesince I was long past “fighting age.” SoI asked myself, “What can I do that hasthe most value to others? Even if Idon’t get paid for it, what skills can Ibring that will make things better?”

Most often, in a big crisis individualidentities are suspended; we join forcesso everyone can contribute to the com-mon good. Following 9/11 what mat-tered most was whether our countrywould survive. I kept thinking, “Howcan I help? What do I know? Whatcould I offer that others can use?”

Then, my big idea struck.

THE IDEAI know how to teach people to getthings done. After many years as a vol-unteer and national leader in the Jaycees(U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce)and 30 years as a professional speakerand trainer, I had much to offer. MaybeI wouldn’t be valuable as a soldier, but Iknew how to organize a group quickly,find resources and get things done. As a

W hen the planes hit the World Trade Center on Septem-ber 11, our skies went silent. Except for the military, all U.S. air travel ceased. Meetings and conventionsaround the country were canceled. We were in a stateof paralysis. I was stunned and heartbroken by the hor-

rible plane crashes in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C.

By JiM CathCart, CSP, CPae

Once the shock of the tragedy sub-sided and reality set in, I realized thatprofessional speaking, as I had knownit, no longer existed. All of my meet-ings and flights over the next severalweeks had been instantly canceled. The career I had built as a motivationalspeaker and trainer was no longer relevant to society’s immediate needs.

Intense fear and uncertainty replaced“life as usual.” As a nation we had noidea how long this would last or if thiswould signal the beginning of WorldWar III. One thing we did know in themidst of this shared tragedy was that wewere all Americans now, regardless ofany labels we might use. We had a bigproblem to solve without knowingexactly how big that problem was.

Sometimes a big idea emerges from a crisis

BORNTRAGEDY

Out of 

November 2016 | SPeaKeR | 25

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What Can I Do?

When tragedy strikes, as it didon September 11, clear headsare needed. It’s a time to ask

yourself: What am I good at? What couldI do? What resources do I have?In times of crisis, forget what you

normally do, and instead, consider whatyou can do to:

� Alleviate fears.� Diminish panic.� Prevent further damage.� Plan beyond this crisis.� Strengthen communication

among your colleagues.� Help people conquer their fears.Be that voice of reason, that calm

assurance we need in a storm. Stay optimistic, and focus on the next stepsbeyond the crisis. When crises happen, leadership

emerges from places never consideredbefore. I encourage you to allow yourleadership to emerge.

26 | SPeaKeR | November 2016

speaker I could show others how torecruit and motivate volunteers, how toorganize projects and find localresources. I could help people generateinnovative solutions to problems andteach them how to lead despite lackingpower or authority. My skills could helpmake things better in this grim situation.

These thoughts generated anotherround of questions:

• What if, from now on, no one couldtravel very far?

• If planes remained grounded, whatlocal untapped resources would beavailable to citizens?

• Who is trained to step up and lead insituations like this, and who could be?

• How many people even live nearhere? (Here, in my case, is the“Gold Coast” of Southern Califor-nia, the region between Santa Bar-bara and Los Angeles.)

There are about 700,000 people inthe 12 cities in this region along 45 milesof California’s Highway 101. Thatequates to 12 city councils, 12 schoolsystems, a regional chamber of com-merce, police departments, colleges anduniversities, and more. I met with may-ors and deans and corporate and govern-ment leaders, persuading them to joinhands in teaching local citizens ground-level leadership skills. The plan was togrow a continuing flow of people whowould know how to get things done dur-ing tough times and major crises.

FROM SUMMIT TO ALLIANCEAfter assembling a small team, I pro-posed an event called The 101 LeadersSummit. We put together a series ofsmall meetings with the most influentialpeople in our region. We started bygathering all of the nonprofit and vol-unteer leaders from these 12 cities for aday of training and discussion.

By this point we had recruited oth-ers to the cause, which opened doors to

even more. We scheduled a similar fullday at the Sherwood Country Club thatwas led by the Ventura County Sheriff,business school deans from Pepperdineand California Lutheran University, CalState Channel Islands VP, the VenturaCounty Community Foundation andthe Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.In all, 60 organizations sent representa-tives to this meeting, which was cov-ered by NBC News.

This event inspired a series of newinitiatives leading to several years oftraining under the banner The 101Leaders Alliance. I made personal calls,conducted training on my own, anddelivered presentations to recruit oth-ers. Once everyday travel returned, weoffered a lecture series, bringing inbest-selling authors and Hall of Famespeakers from across the country.

The 101 Leaders Alliance became amulti-year endeavor that touched thou-sands of lives and increased the sense ofcommunity among the people in this45-mile section of Southern California.This local coalition was spawned froma tragic event that thrust us into anuncertain and scary situation, necessi-tating that I set aside my need to be themain man or to earn big fees from theeffort. The net effect is that the peoplewho live here continue to receive train-ing; major leaders of learning and gov-erning are joining hands andcollaborating more. I am now wellknown in my community and betterconnected throughout the region. Myspeaking business was revitalized aswell. When our big idea is bigger thanwe are, big things happen for everyone.

YOUR TURNThink about yourself. You are much morevaluable than you may realize. Day-to-day business may keep you focused onprofit margins or achieving goals, butunderneath it all you are a human being,just like the rest of us. And you need therest of us, just as we need you. What andwhere can you contribute?

Consider that if you and hundreds ofstrangers found yourselves in a threaten-ing circumstance with unpredictableoutcomes, how could you help? Whatbasic or advanced contributions couldyou make to rally local resources andassist survival? What talents, experienceor ability do you have that can helpmake this world a better and safer place?It’s my hope that these questions willinspire some big ideas for you!

Jim Cathcart, CSP, CPAE,

has been an NSA member

since 1976, and served as the

1988-89 president. He

recently published his 17th

book, The Self Motivation Handbook, and

is helping to found the China Professional

Speakers Association.

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