Help define my business

kg

Review my profile and you will see that I need direction.  I want to become a motivational speaker.  Why?  I inspire people and enjoy lifting people up to be more than they think they can be.  But I don`t know how to do this for myself.  I once knew how to be a property tax consultant, an architectural designer, an art exhibitor, I even wrote articles about gifted education and was published.  I had mutliple strokes several years ago and almost lost everything.  It took me a very long time to recover physically and mentally.  It took even longer to recover emotionally and spiritually, although my faith helped me through it all.  I tried to reinvent myself last year and learned to trade stocks to pay for medical debts.  I learned to ride horses again and I try to play polo.  Two years ago I couldn`t keep my foot in the stirrup.  I like a challenge.
My children have seen me go from a wheel chair to walker to running, now I play tennis.  My husband changed the sheets out from under me and now wants me to be part of a start-up business he is developing.  But I need to do something for me that leads our future.  My family needs coherence and a future that is uncompromised, one of truth.
I have always inspired others and that is all I have ever really wanted to do.  I built a website to give people a place to rest while surfing the internet.  I haven`t touched it in years but I think it is part of this big picture.  I am writing a spiritual book with a colleague that I intend to publish.
I once helped a stoke patient, a beautiful woman only 28 years old, who thought no one would want her and her life had ended.  I atalked with her and asked her two questions:  Life from now on will not be about each syllable that you will learn all over again so you can speak.  It is about "what do you want to say now?" and life is not about learning to walk all over again.  It is about "where do you want to go from here?"  And God is waiting for you to respond.   She recovered and is married.
Please, look at my website:  georgeshome.com  and see who I am and where I should go from here.  Thank you in advance,
Katherine 
 
 kg2007-1-9 14:4:49

kg

I am ordering Become a Motivational Speaker.  The table of contents include Intro to Speaking, what is a motivational speakers, Skeakers can Touch lives, Getting Ready, Speachwriting, Speaking skills, Setting up a Speaking Business, Getting Hired, Types of Employers (Speaking Engagements with companies, colleges), Bureaus, Success on the Job, Selling Products, Seminars.
According to the desciption, I will be able to take an inventory of my skills and experiences that will define my stories.
Katherine

kg

Thanks Craig:
It was the hardest thing I have ever been through and still is.  I had 30 - 40 seizures per day to overcome.  Every step was hard and no one believed in me or that I should even try.  No physical therapist, no doctor, just a word of advice to go home, tell my children and prepare my things.  I was given a year to live.  And here I am, five years later.  I didn`t die.  I take injections daily to stay alive but that is a small pain to experience each day.  I have two aneurysms, both inoperable, one is a dissection in my carotid artery.  So, it isn`t over.  But I don`t think about it.  If I suddenly die riding a horse or playing tennis or dancing with my family, I have had a very good life.
Now, I`m not the same person, I hold all the same values and beliefs but I live in a different dimension then everyone else.  I am so thankful to just be alive.  I have to tell my story to people, on a stage.  I have to finish my book and it needs to be soon.
I appreciate your words of support,
Katherine

keycon

Katherine,
Here one day and you have connected. I spied you earlier today reading some replies to posts. Very well written. I read this post, and I say, "Damn, this lady is a survivor!" You got my attention.
I sit here, typing, listening to the song on your home page. Who is the artist? I feel there is more behind this song and all the songs on your website. Please tell.
I am glad you beat the odds. I know your husband and family are glad, too. Don`t ever stop living. You have stories to tell. You will be a motivatinal speaker. You are a motivational speaker.
I reviewed your website. I will not critique it - we have website gurus at SuN who can do this. I do like all of your songs. There are stories behind them ... maybe you will share one day.
This post title is "Help define my business" and I assume this is your business - not your husband`s business you speak of in the post.
You are a story teller. A story teller can be a motivational speaker. You have what it takes. First, you have an insprirational story. You write well. Do it.
Suggestions as you asked:

Finish that book . IMHO, every human has a book in them ... most don`t write `em. Write it. There are plenty of published authors here at SuN .... I hope they will chime in and help you finish it and use it to your advantage. A  published book can lead to many other opportunities. The SuN can help you here on this matter.
If public speaking is a fear, I highly suggest Toastmasters International. A super organization. Great support. Find a chapter near you on the site. Best decision I ever made. Changed me as far as public speaking goes. Plus, they have advanced courses designed just for motivational speakers after you complete the basic training of the Competent Toast Master course. Check it out ... I think you will get a lot from it.
Well, this is my second go around on this post ... the last one crashed for some reason. Still sitting here listening to your home page song ... who is it? I reckon I had to re-do this post for a reason. Maybe to ponder Katherine for a little longer.
Welcome to SuN. We`re here to help. Glad you stopped in and posted. Look forward to communicatining with you more in the coming days and months and years.
I wish you the best Katherine. You DO have a story to tell.
R@keycon2007-1-9 23:50:5

kg

Hello R@:
The song is by Enya.  Many are by Celine Dion.  Music kept me walking.  I could only take one step at a time and not much of a distance, a few yards at first.  I imagined someone waiting at the other end.  Eventually, I imagined him always in front of me beakoning me on.  I tried to walk through one song, then three songs, and so on.  I discovered it was my heart that was weak and needed strengthening.
I built the website to have a way to reach out to people through the internet.  I wanted to give them a place to rest.  I wanted each photograph and song to connect with a viewer`s soul, staying with them when they leave, coming back as often as they wanted.  It has been several years and I haven`t added or changed the webpages.  I think it`s time.
Katherine

kg

I am in the middle of a 235 page manual on how the become a motivational speaker.  I am starting to understand the big picture and steps to get there.  I hope to have goals and objectives outlined in a week.
Katherine

keycon

I second Maria`s recommendation on Speak and Grow Rich ... super book.
R@

kg

I want to thank everyone for your responses.
I am ready to take this on.  I am reading about how to become a motivaitonal speaker first and then I will move on to Speak and Grow Rich.  My bookwriting process continues.  I now realize that the two are very interconnected.  My story is motivational in multiple ways, not just a physical survival.  A motivational speaker "encourages and motivates audiences to overcome challenges, acheive their dreams, and improve their lives."  Now I need to answer why I want to do this.  When I develop a working mission statement, values, and guiding principles, and a business model. I`ll let you know.
Katherine