Posts tagged inspirational speaker
A Way to Bring Happiness and Good Will Into the Holidays
December 24, 2013,2:48 pm
It’s that time of the year when you are thinking about how to spend your time, money (or resources as I like to call them!!!) Whether or not you have a traumatic brain injury (TBI), you may have these kinds of challenges: 1) no money to buy gifts 6) no desire to want to engage in any of the holiday madness!! My suggestion for anyone who feels this way is to think outside the box like the clients at the Freedom Center. We have decided to visit a nursing home in the area, and give not money nor purchases, but rather something more meaningful – we are giving our presence to people who are shut-ins. You may be wondering how this will help you with other people like friends, family members, acquaintances, whom you may feel you have let down. I have the solution for that situation… when you give love by doing something like our group is going to do..take a picture of the event or incident, makes copies of it and give them away as “presents” to your friends, family members and acquaintances. Because that is what Holiday Giving is all about – Giving Love! |
Self Interest in Business and Life
December 11, 2013,10:47 pm
Have you noticed that everyone does things for their own self-interest? Think about this for a few minutes. Even when we do a kind and generous act – I am hopefully bringing awareness into your life, Let’s take a business relationship, for example. Realize that after the “honeymoon” phase is over, You and your “partner” may both have completely Here are some tips: 1) Take a step back and make sure you have a written agreement 2) Have realistic expectations of yourself, and whomever you are interacting with. 3) Don’t expect things to always go the way that you want them to. 4) Don’t convince yourself that something is OK when you feel it is not. 5) If you feel you’ve been wronged, take a day or two to reflect on the issue before retaliating harshly 6) Have clear direction of who is running the show. 7) Have you delegated critical work to that other person, 8) And if all these steps don’t work or no longer work Think about this in your own life and whether you agree or disagree, I would love to hear from you! |
Enter this contest and get on TV!
December 4, 2013,4:47 pm
Do you remember me telling you about Clint Arthur’s Celebrity Launchpad got me on local TV all across the country? All you have to do is enter the contest with “Fantastic Frank sent me” at the end of your comment. That’s it! I want you to have the same opportunity I had: With the segment proposal that Clint crafted for me,11 Celebrity Launchpad TV producers said “Yes” to me! You deserve the same chance! Enter, and put “Fantastic Frank in your comment. Go here: www.voteclintarthur.com by Fantastic Frank Johnson 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/
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Branding for Superheroes and You
October 17, 2013,6:39 pm
Just as the Nike “Swoosh” trademark is recognized worldwide, so is the Superman Shield. In marketing this is called “brand recognition.” Now globally known giants, these symbols had humble beginnings. The Nike “Swoosh” was created in 1971 for $35 by a graphic design college student, Carolyn Davidson. The Superman Shield started out as an “S” on a yellow police badge, and has gone through changes in how it looks and what it means. Every superhero has an identity or brand. A powerful way for you to reinforce your own heroic nature and your unique talents, is to create your own superhero shield. No one else has to know what it means – it will be just as potent for you to have in your pocket, as long as you know it is there. Find your own expression – you don’t have to wear a costume like me! Just make it Fast, Visual, and Powerful. Words are also part of branding. Nike’s slogan “Just Do It” is just as recognizable as their symbol. Our minds and bodies are affected by words. You may not realize it, but you are already branding yourself with words that you use to describe yourself. Understanding this is a key element in embracing being a hero. If I live my life as “Disabled Frank”, that means I am disabled; it becomes my identity. When I live as “Fantastic Frank”, represented by the “FF” on my superhero suit, I am better defined. I encourage you to find your brand and have fun with it! by Fantastic Frank Johnson 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/ |
Embrace What You Resist
,3:12 pm
Sometimes we reject our own talents. Be patient with yourself – some comic super heroes also initially rejected their unique gifts. “The Thing” comes immediately to my mind. Before “The Thing” became “The Thing”, he was part of a team on a scientific mission to outer space. During that voyage, they were all bombarded with cosmic radiation, which resulted in the super powers that made them the “Fantastic Four.” Some heroes have two identities – the one in which they look totally normal and blend in with society, and the one in which they are wearing their super hero suit. “The Thing” transformed into a grotesque, huge, stoney looking character that looked that way all the time. Over about 50 years of comic books, this character struggled with seeing the positive aspect of his abilities, because he felt ashamed by his appearance and struggled with his new identity for many comic book issues. In the movie “The Fantastic Four”, The Thing also struggles, but relatively quickly gets to the epiphany where he embraces and even chooses his appearance as “The Thing” to help his team defeat Dr. Doom. As is the way with superheroes, The Thing’s embrace of what he resisted sprung from compassion. He was in a unique position of being the only one who could help, and he put the lives of others above his own self interests. Remember the Thing, and take a look at your own motives. Something you are rejecting may be exactly what will save someone else’s life. by Fantastic Frank Johnson 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/ |
From a Liability to a Talent to a Superhero Power
,1:50 pm
Something you consider to be your liability may actually be a unique talent to be developed into a super power! How about you? What’s holding you back? What do consider to be your liabilities? Now is the time to flip the hero switch, and turn them into assets. These hidden talents get discovered through adversities, which are tests; and life is full of them! Even positive events, such as falling in love, buying a house, getting promoted, or taking on a leadership role, can be an ordeal. In the midst of an ordeal, hidden talents rise to the occasion by necessity. You do things you’ve never done before; that you didn’t even think that you could do. It may not look like a big deal to someone else looking on, but inside, you know you’ve been through a life-altering change. If you’ve heard me speak, you’d know why I thought my voice was a liability. When I was rescued from the fire, the emergency tracheotomy which saved my life also destroyed my voice. Even after years of speech therapy, just speaking clearly is a challenge. For years I avoided conversation by living a rather isolated life. I was afraid that people would think I am stupid when they listen to my voice. I felt it was a liability, and not an asset. Today, it is hard to shut me up! My voice inspires others when I speak on stage, as a radio host, or on TV. I discovered that there is much more to a “voice” than what it sounds like. “Voice” is a message, a connection, and heart. According to Statistic Brain, 74% of people have a fear of public speaking, and this certainly included me! When people with this fear see and hear do public speaking, they are inspired. They think “If Fantastic Frank can get up there with a traumatic brain injury and damaged voice – so can I !” Time, dedication, inner strength, and passion can develop your talent to a level of proficient skill and expertise. For it to be a superhero power, it must be used selflessly to help others. by Fantastic Frank Johnson 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/ |
Have your Hero seeds already been planted?
,12:10 pm
If you are doubting that you will ever have something hero-related in your life – consider the possibility that the seeds have already been planted. A foreshadowing of what is to come may have already happened, but you didn’t see it that way. Sometimes past events need time to germinate, to grow, and to blossom. For me, a foreshadowing of becoming “Fantastic Frank” happened when I was working for Eastman Kodak Co. This was about 6 or 7 years before I was trapped in a fire, when I wrote the lyrics to a song, for a project to raise funds for the United Way in Rochester, NY. The song I wrote is called “Today’s Not Gonna Be Like Yesterday.” To get ideas for the lyrics, I visited a facility for people with disabilities. At that point in my life, I hadn’t had any contact with people with disabilities Now that I have a traumatic brain injury, I am moved to tears when I recall some of the words that I had written many years ago, because I feel they were a foreshadowing of the event that was going to happen to me. The song begins with these words: Today’s not gonna to be like yesterday And I met the girl with the sunshine eyes, Little was I to know that about 6 years later, I would be the one who could no longer speak clearly. The other words that really get me are: “Today’s not going to be like yesterday, Remember, when you point your finger at someone, three fingers point back at yourself. I suggest that you revise your life, while on the look-out for moments that really struck a chord with you. Then compare that event to what you are doing now, and what you’ve become passionate about. How do they relate? What is the foreshadowing in your own life? by Fantastic Frank Johnson 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/ |
Hero Foreshadowing in Your Childhood Inspiration!
,12:10 pm
You have probably not “planned” to be a superhero. In my logo, I am wearing my signature “Fantastic Frank” suit. The costume was “planned”, but being “Fantastic Frank” certainly was not! By the same token, being Fantastic Frank was foreshadowed in my youth. When you look back, your superhero nature may already have been foreshadowed in what captivated and inspired you as a child. As I share with you my own Hero’s journey, connect the dots to your own life, and uncover the hero within you. I became fascinated with super heroes when I was a little boy, and my father bought me my first comic book. It was a Super Man comic. The golden age of comics unfolded before I was born, and I slowly became aware that there were hundreds, maybe thousands of different characters that had been created over the past 20-25 years or so prior to me getting my first comic book. Because of when I was born, I fall more into the silver age of comic books, which is when the Fantastic Four, Spider man, and the other Marvel superheroes, which we are all familiar with, were created. Even as a child, what impressed me the most was that ordinary people were transformed into super heroes, through seemingly random, unexpected events. I didn’t classify the events as “traumatic” until I had my own traumatic event much later. I faithfully got every new hero comic that came out each month. They captivated me. They inspired me. They gave me hope that one day I could become a super hero and help other people. This was the first “foreshadowing” of my becoming Fantastic Frank. How about you? What captivated and inspired you as a child? Is there something about your life now that parallels that love? Do you still live based on inspiration, or has that been stomped out? What makes your heart soar the highest? These questions are a good start to unravel your superhero identity. Start here, and inquire further. by Fantastic Frank Johnson 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/ |
Turn a Traumatic Event into a Super Power
October 16, 2013,3:08 pm
The Classic Hero Storyline.In the classic storyline, heroes are created during traumatic events. My life matches this storyline, but your personal hero creation may take a different route. Super Heroes such as Superman, the Flash, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and Captain America were all endowed with Super Powers when something traumatic happened to them. Superman was ripped from his home planet of Krypton and sent to earth in a spaceship. The Fantastic Frank storyline My traumatic event was being trapped in a fire and carried out in a body bag over 30 years ago. As a result, I got a traumatic brain injury, which I overcome every day. There were times that having a traumatic brain injury felt like a “problem” – even a curse. In “AH HA Moment”, I realized that, the life-changing trauma, of getting a TBI and losing the “life” I had known, gave me the “power” to deeply touch and inspire others as a motivational speaker. My “curse” has become my “blessing.” Although not as flashy as the heroes of my youth, with this “power” of inspiring others, I have been granted my childhood wish of growing up and becoming a super hero. Your Personal Hero Storyline The fact that you are here right now, reading this message, means that your mission or your purpose on Earth has not yet been fulfilled, because you are still here.Whatever your story is, whatever challenges you have to overcome, there is something unique to you; something wonderful and powerful. I know this because this is true of everyone. It just needs to be recognized and tapped into. Celebrate life by acknowledging the super and heroic things you have been empowered to do. Give thanks for your “powers”, and use them for good. Share your Super Hero story with someone; your spouse, kids, friends… If you say you have no one, share it with me! by Fantastic Frank Johnson 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/ |
Opportunity is a Choice
October 9, 2013,5:42 pm
Trapped in a Box of “Real” Problems?Feeling trapped under the weight of just trying to keep up can make you feel trapped in a box of “real” problems. There could be slashed budgets, sparse resources, and a whole host of factors undermining your success. Sometimes it seems that everywhere you turn, there is another obstacle. Getting out of the box is heroic work.When problems are all you see, things can get pretty dark and depressing. Being a hero may seem out of reach, when in fact this is a great time to embrace the hero in you. It is in the face of adversity that your real strengths are showcased. It is heroic indeed to completely alter your perception, and break out of your “problem” box into an exciting stream of opportunities, full of possibility, growth, and light. Opportunity is a Choice.When you have a “problem” you only have one choice, which is the problem. Do not accept this. You deserve more. Face that problem head on, with all its warts, and shout “opportunity” at it. Make it a mantra, if you like – as you visualize the challenge, keep calling it an opportunity. Hint: Suspend your limiting belief that there is no solution, and get psyched that you will triumph in the challenge! by Fantastic Frank Johnson 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/ |
