1. SPeaKeR
nOveMber 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 EMERGE
FROM CRISES
TRAVEL SAFELY
IN A DANGEROUS WORLD
WORK. PLAY. GIVE.
SHARE YOUR TALENTS
WITH NONPROFITS!
The Official Magazine Of The naTiOnal SpeakerS aSSOciaTiOn • www.nSaSpeaker.Org
THE BIG IDEAS ISSUE
WHAT’S
YOUR BIG
IDEA? SELL FROMTHE STAGE?Page 8
SPEAKER November 2016_SPEAKER 10/21/16 5:59 AM Page 1

2. SPEAKER November 2016_SPEAKER 10/21/16 6:02 AM Page 24

3. I thought about re-enlisting in the
Army, but that didn’t seem so valuable
since I was long past “fighting age.” So
I asked myself, “What can I do that has
the most value to others? Even if I
don’t get paid for it, what skills can I
bring that will make things better?”
Most often, in a big crisis individual
identities are suspended; we join forces
so everyone can contribute to the com-
mon good. Following 9/11 what mat-
tered most was whether our country
would survive. I kept thinking, “How
can I help? What do I know? What
could I offer that others can use?”
Then, my big idea struck.
THE IDEA
I know how to teach people to get
things 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 speaker
and trainer, I had much to offer. Maybe
I wouldn’t be valuable as a soldier, but I
knew 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 conventions
around the country were canceled. We were in a state
of 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 that
professional speaking, as I had known
it, no longer existed. All of my meet-
ings and flights over the next several
weeks had been instantly canceled.
The career I had built as a motivational
speaker and trainer was no longer
relevant to society’s immediate needs.
Intense fear and uncertainty replaced
“life as usual.” As a nation we had no
idea how long this would last or if this
would signal the beginning of World
War III. One thing we did know in the
midst of this shared tragedy was that we
were all Americans now, regardless of
any labels we might use. We had a big
problem to solve without knowing
exactly how big that problem was.
Sometimes a big idea emerges from a crisis
BORN
TRAGEDY
Out of
November 2016 | SPeaKeR | 25
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4. What Can I Do?
W
hentragedystrikes,asitdid
onSeptember11,clearheads
areneeded.It’satimetoask
yourself:WhatamIgoodat?Whatcould
Ido?WhatresourcesdoIhave?
In times of crisis, forget what you
normally do, and instead, consider what
you 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 steps
beyond the crisis.
When crises happen, leadership
emerges from places never considered
before. I encourage you to allow your
leadership to emerge.
26 | SPeaKeR | November 2016
speaker I could show others how to
recruit and motivate volunteers, how to
organize projects and find local
resources. I could help people generate
innovative solutions to problems and
teach them how to lead despite lacking
power or authority. My skills could help
make things better in this grim situation.
These thoughts generated another
round of questions:
• What if, from now on, no one could
travel very far?
• If planes remained grounded, what
local untapped resources would be
available to citizens?
• Who is trained to step up and lead in
situations like this, and who could be?
• How many people even live near
here? (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 in
the 12 cities in this region along 45 miles
of California’s Highway 101. That
equates to 12 city councils, 12 school
systems, a regional chamber of com-
merce, police departments, colleges and
universities, and more. I met with may-
ors and deans and corporate and govern-
ment leaders, persuading them to join
hands in teaching local citizens ground-
level leadership skills. The plan was to
grow a continuing flow of people who
would know how to get things done dur-
ing tough times and major crises.
FROM SUMMIT TO ALLIANCE
After assembling a small team, I pro-
posed an event called The 101 Leaders
Summit. We put together a series of
small meetings with the most influential
people in our region. We started by
gathering all of the nonprofit and vol-
unteer leaders from these 12 cities for a
day 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 full
day at the Sherwood Country Club that
was led by the Ventura County Sheriff,
business school deans from Pepperdine
and California Lutheran University, Cal
State Channel Islands VP, the Ventura
County Community Foundation and
the 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 new
initiatives leading to several years of
training under the banner The 101
Leaders Alliance. I made personal calls,
conducted training on my own, and
delivered presentations to recruit oth-
ers. Once everyday travel returned, we
offered a lecture series, bringing in
best-selling authors and Hall of Fame
speakers from across the country.
The 101 Leaders Alliance became a
multi-year endeavor that touched thou-
sands of lives and increased the sense of
community among the people in this
45-mile section of Southern California.
This local coalition was spawned from
a tragic event that thrust us into an
uncertain and scary situation, necessi-
tating that I set aside my need to be the
main man or to earn big fees from the
effort. The net effect is that the people
who live here continue to receive train-
ing; major leaders of learning and gov-
erning are joining hands and
collaborating more. I am now well
known in my community and better
connected throughout the region. My
speaking business was revitalized as
well. When our big idea is bigger than
we are, big things happen for everyone.
YOUR TURN
Think about yourself. You are much more
valuable than you may realize. Day-to-
day business may keep you focused on
profit margins or achieving goals, but
underneath it all you are a human being,
just like the rest of us. And you need the
rest of us, just as we need you. What and
where can you contribute?
Consider that if you and hundreds of
strangers found yourselves in a threaten-
ing circumstance with unpredictable
outcomes, how could you help? What
basic or advanced contributions could
you make to rally local resources and
assist survival? What talents, experience
or ability do you have that can help
make this world a better and safer place?
It’s my hope that these questions will
inspire 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.
SPEAKER November 2016_SPEAKER 10/21/16 6:02 AM Page 26