Archive for the ‘Motivational Speaker’ Category

The Alchemist

Saturday, September 20th, 2008

alchemist

A terrific book…

This is one of those books that you want to read over and over again. The alchemist is a short story (160 pages) about a shepherd boy chasing his dream.

It is an international best seller that has sold more than 9 million copies worldwide. Read it. You’ll be glad you did.

Here is a little bit right out of the book:

“People are afraid to pursue their most important dreams, because they feel that they don’t deserve them, or that they’ll be unable to achieve them. We, their hearts, become fearful just thinking of loved ones who go away forever, or of moments that could have been good but weren’t, or of treasures that might have been found but were forever hidden in the sands. Because, when these things happen, we suffer terribly…

Everyone on earth has a treasure that awaits him. We… seldom say much about those treasures, because people no longer want to go in search of them. Later, we simply let life proceed, in its own direction, toward its own fate. But, unfortunately, very few follow the path laid out for them- the path to their Personal Legends, and to happiness. Most people see the world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out, indeed, to be a threatening place.”

- Paulo Coelho

Get it, read it, and you’ll know what I mean.

Olympic Motivational Speaker Ruben Gonzalez
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Success Tips From Ruben

Tuesday, September 16th, 2008

1. Your attitude determines your altitude.
Positive thinking doesn’t ensure success,
but with it, you’re more likely to succeed.

2. Make the law of averages work for you.
The more you fail, the more likely you are
to succeed because every time you fail, you
learn from the experience.

3. Focus all your efforts. When you focus
all your efforts on one goal, your chances
of success are almost guaranteed. If you
split your focus on two goals, your chances
drop to 66%; three goals mean only a 25%
chance of success.

4. Take control of your own life. Whenever
you take personal responsibility for your
own actions, you maintain control.

5. Work through other people to create
win-win situations.
Learn leadership skills
so you can enlist other people to team up
with you to achieve your goals.

6. Go for the Gold! Focus on doing everything
with excellence, and you will build a
reputation that will take you to the top.

7. Always set goals. The purpose of goals is to
focus our attention. The mind will not look
for answers until it has a clear direction.

8. Become a person of action. Focus on what
you can do NOW!

9. Don’t make excuses. Excuses are a waste
of time. Successful people don’t waste time.
They use their time to figure out ways to
become successful.

10. Take advantage of opportunities.
Winners don’t hesitate. They jump,
knowing the net will appear.

Olympic Motivational Speaker Ruben Gonzalez
Motivational Speakers
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Balancing Life and Work

Wednesday, September 10th, 2008

Full Engagement

Definitely worth reading…

It seems that lately, whenever I’ve done a Q & A session after one of my speeches, one question that comes up is, “How do I manage to balance my work and family time (especially since I’m now training for a 4th Winter Olympics)?

I do a lot of things that Jim Loehr discusses in his book, “The Power of Full Engagement.”

It turns out that since most Americans are overworked, managing time is not the solution. Managing energy is the key. For over 20 years Loehr studied tennis players to see what made the top guys so successful.

It was not what they did in training. It was how they took advantage of their down time - even the down time in between points in a tennis match, to take a few beep breaths, lower their heartbeat, relax, and mentally prepare for the next point.

The not so elite tennis players never slowed down between points and by the last set were exhausted. They just didn’t manage their energy nearly as well as the top players.

How does that apply to you and me at work?

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A Hero Americans Need to be Proud Of

Sunday, September 7th, 2008

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Most people don’t know Mccain’s whole story

It sure is nice to finally have some great people in a presidential race.

Did you see the biographical video that was played right before John McCain’s Republican Convention speech? Most of America knew he was a POW but nobody knew the details.

McCain’s plane was shot down over North Vietnam. He suffered two broken arms and a broken leg. He was thrown in a cell and his arms never set right.

When the North Vietnamese realized that McCain’s father was the 4-Star Admiral in charge of the Pacific theater of the war, they offered McCain early release as a public relations ploy.

McCain said no. He would honor the “First in, first out,” like everyone else. And so, he chose to spend 4 more years as a POW. THAT’S character!

But that’s not all…

After being released, rather than being embittered towards the North Vietnamese, who had tortured him for 5 1/2 years, McCain lead the efforts to nornalize relations with North Vietnam.

Five and a half years in hell and he chose to go back because, “It was healing for America.” If that is not Country First, I don’t know what is.

Here’s the video in case you missed it.

 

Olympic Motivational Speaker Ruben Gonzalez
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My Favorite Books and Movies

Sunday, September 7th, 2008

books

The books you read and the people you regularly associate with will determine whether you realize your goals and dreams.

Everyone is always asking me about my favorite books and biographies. Here’s a list of the books that have made the greatest impact in my life.

You’ll also find a list of some of my favorite inspirational movies.

Enjoy!

Olympic Motivational Speaker Ruben Gonzalez
Motivational Speakers
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The Success Incubator

Saturday, September 6th, 2008

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Before I got into the speaking business, I used to sell Minolta copiers in downtown Houston. Every day I drove 40 miles to the Minolta dealership, 20 miles to my territory, 20 miles back to the office, and 40 miles back home. 120 miles every day!

The reason I was willing to do that was simple. My sales manager, Linda Shepherd, was an incredible salesperson and a a great sales trainer. Driving 2500 miles a month for the opportunity to learn from Linda was a small price to pay.

The whole time I was in the car I listened to self-development tapes. I never wasted time listening to the news. You could say that I was putting myself through an intense success university during those years.

After a few years I was a different person.

Working for Linda was a little like training at the Olympic Training Center. The Olympic Training Center is an environment condusive to success. It’s a place designed to help people be the best that they can be. It’s a very special place. Kind of like a magical incubator where you put chicken eggs in one side and after a while, EAGLES come out of the other side.

eagles

I just spoke for Weichert Realtors here in Katy, TX. Taylor Stout, their broker, is an incredible person. He has created an Olympic Training Center type environment in his office. Taylor is genuinely interested in helping his Realtors succeed.

When he hires new Realtors, he finds out exactly what they want to achieve personally and how they think real estate might be a vehicle that could help them realize their personal dreams.

Then, he pours his heart into his people to develop them into the type of person that can succeed in real estate. He has created a success incubator that regularly takes in chicken eggs, and after a couple of years hatches eagles.

Taylor is not in the real estate business. He’s in the personal development business.

Moral:

If you want to get better results from the people in your life, whether in your own business, in your office, in your little league team, or even at home, do what Taylor Stout does.

Become genuinely interested in your people’s personal goals and dreams, take the time to develop them and encourage them, and after a little incubation time, you’ll have a flock of eagles around you. And you will have created a legacy that will be around long after you are gone. 

 

Olympic Motivational Speaker Ruben Gonzalez
Motivational Speakers
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Whatever it Takes…

Saturday, August 30th, 2008

I am proud to say that I have never missed a speaking engagement ever since I started speaking professionally 6 years ago.

But last week I came really close…

I was speaking in Orange County, CA for the leaders of a top insurance brokerage firm. My presentation was scheduled for 9:00 AM. I was flying to John Wayne airport on the 7:20 PM fllight from Houston the night before.

On the way to the airport my wife called me from home to let me know that the 7:20 flight was cancelled and I was now scheduled to fly out of Houston on the 8:50 flight (the last flight out).

When I got to the airport, they announced that the flight would now leave at 9:00 PM, then 9:10 PM. At that point I knew that unless I did something quick, I might be spending the night in Houston and miss my speech the next morning.

I figured that my best bet was to get myself to California and cross the next bridge when I got to it.

I found a 7:30 PM flight to San Diego and got them to switch me. Once I got to San Diego I paid $150 for a hotel shuttle to drive me two hours to Orang County. I checked into my Hotel at Midnight and made the 9:00 AM presentation with no problem.

Moral -

When I tell my audiences that they need to do whatever it takes to reach their goals, most of the time they don’t understand what that means.

Whatever it takes means, as long as it’s moral, legal and ethical you are willing to do anything.

It’s simply the attitude that if there are 50 things you could possibly be asked to do to reach your goal, you are willing to do any of them.

Average people let their pride get in the way of them reaching their goals. Their attitude might be “I’m willing to do 1 - 49 but I’m not willing to do #50.”

Life will seldom ask you to do all 50 things but since you don’t know which of the 50 you will have to do, you’d better be willing to do all of them -even paying $150 for a bus ride to your destination.

It’s just an attitude.

Olympic Motivational Speaker Ruben Gonzalez
Motivational Speakers
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No Regrets

Sunday, August 24th, 2008

old people

You can learn a lot from older people…

When I was a sophmore in high school I read about a survey where octogenarians (80-year-old people) were asked what their biggest regret in life was.

Their top regrets were “not taking enough risks” and “playing life too safe.”

I decided right then that I would live my life in such a way that when I was 80, I would not have those regrets. I made a decision to always face my fears and to make my life an adventure so that when I was a grandfather, I would have so many great stories to tell that all my grandkids would always want to be around me.

Aristotle said, “You become what you repeatedly do.” If you regularly face your fears, you become more courageous and fear of the unknown (which is what holds most people from achieving what they are capable of) dissappears. If you do what you fear, the fear dissappears.

I made a list of 100 things I’d like to do in my life, 100 places I would like to visit, and 100 people I would like to meet. I regularly check items off of my lists, and I constantly add new items to my lists.

Doing this helps me make life an adventure and helps me become stronger inside (plus, I’ll have some great stories for my grandkids!).

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Flying Aerobatics in a 1944 WWII Stearman

Saturday, August 23rd, 2008

CIMG3021

Ready to fly on a 1944 Stearman

I just got back from Orange County California where I spoke for the leadership of a top insurance brokerage firm. I had a couple of hours to kill so I decided to cross out one of the items in my bucket list - flying aerobatics in a Stearman biplane.

I’m a private pilot but all I have ever flown are Cessna 152s and 172s. Flying on a Stearman, the plane World War II pilots used as a trainer, has always been a dream of mine.

The Stearman is a stick and rudder open cockpit taildragger. Truly a classic plane. I contacted the folks at  www.BiplaneFun.com and arranged for a 45 minute flight.

Biplane Fun is owned by Mike and Kendle Hanson. They are passionate about showing people the wonder of flight.

Stearman ride

Flying over the California coast.

You can go for a sightseeing tour of the rugged California coast or for a thrilling aerobatic ride filled with loops, spins, barrel rolls, hammerhead stalls, and more. I’m sure you know which option I chose…

Since I’m a pilot, Mike let me fly his plane for a few minutes. It was a thrill to fly that beautiful machine.

CIMG3052

80 foot long Blue Whale off our wingtip.

Mike spotted some blue whales and dolphins and he dove the plane to about 200 feet above sea level to get a closer look. It was amazing watching the whales dive and surface.

Flying aerobatics is not a daredevil thing. It’s actually a higher level of precision flying that makes you a better and safer pilot. It allows you to be able to get yourself out of trouble a lot easier than someone that is simply trained to fly straight and level.

Needless to say, even though Mike was putting me through the paces, I felt completely safe and secure.

I have not flown in about 15 years but when I get back into flying, I’ll make sure to get my aerobatics license simply because it will make me a better, safer pilot.

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Next time you’re in Southern California, you owe it to yourself to call Mike and have an unforgettable experience.

Olympic Motivational Speaker Ruben Gonzalez
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How to Recycle Steel

Friday, August 15th, 2008

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The USS New York

It was built with 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center.

It is the fifth in a new class of warship - designed for missions that include special operations against terrorists. It will carry a crew of 360 sailors and 700 combat-ready Marines to be delivered ashore by helicopters and assault craft.

Steel from the World Trade Center was melted down in a foundry in Amite, LA to cast the ship’s bow section. When it was poured into the molds on Sept 9, 2003, ‘those big rough steelworkers treated it with total reverence,’ recalled Navy Capt. Kevin Wensing, who was there. ‘It was a spiritual moment for everybody there.’

Junior Chavers, foundry operations manager, said that when the trade center steel first arrived, he touched it with his hand and the ‘hair on my neck stood up.’ ‘It had a big meaning to it for all of us,’ he said. ‘They knocked us down. They can’t keep us down. We’re going to be back.’

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The ship’s motto? ‘Never Forget’

Olympic Motivational Speaker Ruben Gonzalez
Motivational Speakers
Motivational Speakers
Motivational speakers