Posts tagged motivational speaker

Share Your Knowledge With The World

Are you a workshop junkie? Do you enjoy going to seminars and listening to speakers, but then fail to take action on your knowledge? What will your life, and the live of others, be like when you take action and share your knowledge with the world?

PS – Do you need an Inspirational Speaker? Check out my site and get in touch to see if I have your dates available http://www.fantasticfrankjohnson.com/speaker/

This Time It Wasn’t a Dog and Pony Show!

Do you ever take something for heartburn or GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux), such as Tums, Tagamet, Pepcid AC, Zantac, or Prilosec?  Beware of presuming you are having heartburn, when in fact, you may be suffering a heart attack! This is what happened to me!

Over the last 5 or 6 years I’ve been to the emergency room at least once a year for chest pains. After they do bloodwork, a stress test, and an EKG – they discharged me from the emergency room without any further hospitalization. This is what I call “A Dog and Pony Show”.Fantastic Frank Johnson - Motivational Inspirational Speaker

The last time, it was different.  The thing is, I assumed it was going to be the same drill, so when I experienced chest pains on a Friday night, I waited until Saturday morning to call a friend to take me to the emergency room. It was a very low level pain, and seemed to be identical to what I had before, except that it didn’t go away. Turns out, I did indeed have a slight blockage in a very small artery.

My message to you is – don’t do what I did – take each and every incident of chest pain seriously, and get your butt to the emergency room!

Fortunately for me, I was home within 4 days with no apparent damage to my heart, but who knows what the outcome would be in your case? Please, do not try to be your own doctor, and diagnose what’s happening with your body! You are too valuable, and too important to those whose lives you touch, to not take your life seriously!

PS – Do you need an Inspirational Speaker? Check out my site and get in touch to see if I have your dates available http://www.fantasticfrankjohnson.com/speaker/

 

Are You Depriving the World of Your Gifts?

Fantastic Frank and Sean Stephenson

Fantastic Frank Johnson and Sean Stephenson

Last week I had the opportunity to spend some time with motivational speaker Sean Stephenson. What an awesome example of someone who has gone “From Flawed to Fantastic.” Sean has obviously “flipped the hero switch” which is something I often talk about.

You know what I found myself doing? Comparing myself to Sean, and feeling that my own story was not as dramatic and compelling as his was. This was a real revelation to me, because on the way to that event, I was speaking to a man on a plane, and after telling him my story, I asked him “What’s your story.” He said he didn’t have one! The man explained that, compared to my story, his was not as dramatic or compelling.

The “AH HA” moment that I want to share with you, is that we all have a story worth telling, and worth sharing with the world. If you catch yourself comparing yourself to someone else, remember your own inherent worth! Remember that you have a moral obligation to share your unique knowledge, experience, or gifts with the world!

PS – Do you need an Inspirational Speaker? Check out my site and get in touch to see if I have your dates available http://www.fantasticfrankjohnson.com/speaker/

How to Say Goodbye to Holiday Buyer’s Remorse and Enjoy the Highest Value of Every Investment

Have you ever invested in something, with money, time, or emotion…that didn’t work out the way you had hoped?  Did you regret having made the investment, as a type of “Buyer’s Remorse”? Well, I have found a way to always enjoy the highest value of every investment!

This tip is especially useful during the holiday season, when there are often significant investments made involving relationship, family, money, time, etc. It relates to something I talk about in my book “From Flawed to Fantastic,” and has to do with the mindset involved in turning a “curse” into a “blessing.”

Have you ever noticed that the perceived value of something changes over time? Let’s say, for example, you buy the latest and greatest gadget, and happily paid top dollar. Then when it’s quickly made obsolete by a newer model, you’re not feeling so happy about the money you spent.

Here’s how my tip works: When “Buyer’s Remorse” creeps in, intentionally shift your focus to the moment in time when your perceived value was the highest. Whenever you think of that something, just go back to the moment of emotional high. It’s like looking at a rotten apple, and remembering what a fresh, crisp, juicy apple tastes like.

So, let’s say you “invested” in an expensive romantic dinner, had a wonderful time, but then 2 weeks later the relationship was off. Most people probably fall into the trap of resentment at paying for the dinner, because the perceived value of the dinner went down. Let’s change that around. When you find yourself spiraling down into anger, bring yourself back to that moment of the dinner itself, and feel the blessing to have had that time of connection and enjoyment.

What’s the point? Well, did you know that resentment and regret have negative health effects, where as happier people tend to also be healthier? What you focus on, you maximize, so by picking out the highest point of value and satisfaction, you magnify value and satisfaction in your life!

Now, perhaps you feel that the examples I have given are too superficial. Well, 36 years ago, precisely during the holiday season, is when my “investment” into a restaurant business resulted in my getting trapped in a fire, and incurring a traumatic brain injury for the rest of my life. Using this special tip of focusing on the highest value, I have come to understand all of what happened as the highest blessing, because it led me to my soul purpose of inspiring others.

To purchase “From Flawed to Fantastic” stocking stuffers, CLICK HERE

Faith, Your Message, “The Day After”, and President Ronald Reagan

 

Some things can take the wind out of your sails – like having your passionate message met by a deadpan response, or ridicule. That has happened to me on occasion, as I strut about in my superhero costume!
Inspirational Speaker

 

What keeps me going? Well, did you ever have a negative initial reaction to a new idea, and then later (hours, months, years) come to the realization that you actually embrace that idea yourself? That may be what is going on with the person you are trying to inspire, or impact in some positive way. Just because on the surface it seems that you did not get the desired outcome, doesn’t mean that you did not make the impact you had intended.

Let’s take, for example, the 1983 Film “The Day After” which was a wake-up call as to the potential outcomes of nuclear war. Producer Nicholas Meyer was even ridiculed as a traitor by the New York Post, and labeled “unpatriotic” by the National Review… Yet years later it was revealed in President Ronald Reagan’s diary that it was upon watching a prescreening of the film, that Reagan resolved “to see there is never a nuclear war.”

 

Where would our world be today, if Nicholas Meyer had collapsed under the judgments made against them, and given up on the project?

 

Faith is sometimes compared to the mustard seed, which is very tiny, and yet grows into a tremendous plant. The response to your message may at times seem tiny to you – but oh, the difference you can make! You might never find out the impact of the seeds you plant. Keep faith in your dreams. Live by your passion. And love.

 

by Fantastic Frank Johnson
Author of “From Flawed to Fantastic”

PS – Do you need an Inspirational Speaker? Check out my site and get in touch to see if I have your dates available http://www.fantasticfrankjohnson.com/speaker/

Excellence,  Marva Collins, and Defying “Disability”

Inspirational motivational speakerA friend sent me a quote about “Excellence” by Marva Collins, which inspired me to dig deeper and get to know the originator of the quote. If you haven’t heard of Marva Collins, you need to – just knowing her story will touch your heart, as it has mine.

This is the quote that first got my attention: “Excellence is not an act but a habit. The things you do the most are the things you will do the best.”  This resonated me, because it reminded me of my outlook that you get what you focus on. It also reinforced the concept of forming habits, which for me has been an absolute necessity in thriving with a traumatic brain injury.

That just scratches the surface, when it comes to Marva Collins. She started her own school in 1975 for kids who were spit out by the Chicago inner city public school system, and labeled as being “learning disabled” or “problem children.”

Which brings me to another one of her quotes: “I have discovered few learning disabled students in my three decades of teaching. I have, however, discovered many, many victims of teaching inabilities.”

The most inspiring example to me, of her efforts, was about a little girl that the public schools labeled “borderline retarded,” which was the terminology used in 1975. She was taken in by Marva the first year she opened Westside Preparatory School. That little girl grew up to graduate college as Suma Kum Laude.

Have you ever been labeled as “disabled,” or something else?  Don’t buy into it.

Years ago I started using the term “differently-abled” as my own way of reprograming the damage a label can do. Stand Up. Be Proud. And Shine.

by Fantastic Frank Johnson
Author of “From Flawed to Fantastic”

PS – Do you need an Inspirational Speaker? Check out my site and get in touch to see if I have your dates available http://www.fantasticfrankjohnson.com/speaker/

Fantastic Frank in the Rochester Business Journal

The “Fantastic Frank” story written by copywriter Michele Camacho, and published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Recovering from Traumatic Brain Injuries, spurred on this story in the Rochester Business Journal.

Fantastic Frank in Rochester Business Journal

Are You Ready to Be a ‘Silent Angel’ ?

Fantastic Frank with Angela Leigh Tucker

Fantastic Frank with Angela Leigh Tucker

A friend of mine, Angela Leigh Tucker, was recently awarded the “Silent Angel Award” by the Brain Injury Association of NY State (BIANYS). You can find her story, along with mine, in The Chicken Soup for the Soul: Recovering from Traumatic Brain Injury.

The Silent Angel award “Recognizes those who make it possible for others to be in the forefront of the association’s activities.”

I just love this concept of a “silent angel” and came to find, from searching the internet, that there are many, many “silent angels” out there. I found groups related to animal rescue, real estate, Rett syndrom, etc… the point is that, there is help.

A great quote from one of them is: “So why are we silent? Because doing the right thing is all that really matters.”

This got me thinking of all the ways that each and every person can be a silent angel to someone else. Don’t be daunted – it doesn’t have to involve raising millions of dollars to charities….. How about a smile?

What is it that you can do to uplift another person?

No matter what your own circumstance, there is something you can do/share/be. Take my friend Angela Leigh Tucker – she incurred a traumatic brain injury in a car accident that killed her husband. And she found a way to make a difference. Sometimes when we lift others up, it uplifts our own spirits as well.

Give it a try.

Researching The Proper Knowledge Can Save Your Life

Fantastic Frank JohnsonThe Brain Injury Association of NY State (BIANYS) recently had its Annual Conference, at which I had the opportunity to talk to an audience of about 200 people. Something rather eye-opening was that about half the audience was not aware of the resources I was telling them about!

This really shouldn’t surprise me, because I encounter it all the time, perhaps even more outside the “differently-abled” community. When someone is “differently-abled” they know on some level, to varying degrees of acceptance, that they need help.

How about you?

What keeps you up at night?

Is there something you need help with, and are afraid to admit it?

My life-saving advice to you, is to take the first step, by researching help on the internet. You will be amazed at the wealth of resources available for every kind of challenge. Once you see there are others that share your pain, it will become easier to make the next step, which is to reach out to someone and share your story.

Depending on your needs, many organizations and professionals provide confidential services in which you may remain anonymous. The key is to PRESUME THERE IS HELP, and look for it with the EXPECTATION that you WILL FIND IT.

 

 

 

“Fantastic Frank” Story by Michele Camacho in Chicken Soup for the Soul – Rochester In Focus Interview

WHEC, Rochester In Focus, interview with myself and Michele Camacho. Hear the endearing backstory of why “Marvelous” Michele wrote the story “Fantastic Frank”, which is published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Recovering from Traumatic Brain Injuries.

by Fantastic Frank Johnson
Author of “From Flawed to Fantastic”

PS – Do you need an Inspirational Speaker? Check out my site and get in touch to see if I have your dates available http://www.fantasticfrankjohnson.com/speaker/

Go to Top