Les Brown - World-Renowned Industry Leader

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Empowerment Expert

Les Brown Quick Facts

Main Areas: Empowerment; Success
Career Focus: Author; Motivational Speaker
Affiliation: Les Brown Enterprises, Inc

Les Brown is a top Motivational Speaker, Speech Coach,
and Best-Selling Author, loving father and grandfather, whose passion
is empowering youth and helping them have a larger vision for their
lives.

Les Brown's straight-from-the-heart,
high-energy, passionate message motivates and engages all audiences to
step into their greatness, providing them with the motivation to take
the next step toward living their dream. Les Brown's charisma, warmth
and sense of humor have impacted many lives.

Les
Brown's life itself is a true testament to the power of positive
thinking and the infinite human potential. Leslie C. Brown was born on
February 17, 1945, in an abandoned building on a floor in Liberty City,
a low-income section of Miami, Florida, and adopted at six weeks of age
by Mrs. Mamie Brown, a 38 year old single woman, cafeteria cook and
domestic worker, who had very little education or financial means, but
a very big heart and the desire to care for Les Brown and his twin
brother, Wesley Brown. Les Brown calls himself "Mrs. Mamie Brown's Baby
Boy" and claims "All that I am and all that I ever hoped to be, I owe
to my mother".

In
the fifth grade, Les Brown was mistakenly declared "educably mentally
retarded" and placed back in the fourth grade and later failed the
eight grade, due to his inattention to school work, his restless
energy, and his teachers' failure to recognize his true potential. He
was referred to as "D .T." for "Dumb Twin". The label and stigma
severely damaged his self-esteem for many years. Mamie Brown's believe
in her son's ability to achieve whatever he set his mind to achieving
made a difference in his life. "Her strength and character are my
greatest inspiration, always have been and always will be."

Les
Brown’s determination and persistence searching for ways to help Mamie
Brown overcome poverty and his philosophy “do whatever it takes to
achieve success” led him to become a distinguished authority on
harnessing human potential and success. Les Brown's passion to learn
and his hunger to realize greatness in himself and others helped him to
achieve greatness in spite of not having formal education or training
beyond high school.

"My mission is to get a message out that will help people become
uncomfortable with their mediocrity. A lot of people are content with
their discontent. I want to be the catalyst that enables them to see
themselves having more and achieving more."

Les
moved to Detroit and rented an office with an attorney, where he slept
on the floor and welcomed his reality stating that he did not even want
a blanket or pallet on the cold, hard floor to keep him motivated to
strive. In 1986, Les entered the public speaking arena on a full-time
basis and formed his own company, Les Brown Enterprises, Inc..

In
1989, Les Brown was the recipient of the National Speakers
Association's highest honor: the Council of Peers Award of Excellence.

In 1990, Les Brown recorded his first in a series of speech presentations for the Public Broadcasting System.

In
1991, the program entitled "You Deserve" with Les Brown, was awarded a
Chicago-area Emmy and became the leading fund-raising program of its
kind for pledges to PBS stations nationwide.

In 1992, he was selected as one of the year's Top Five Outstanding Speakers by members of Toastmasters International.

He
has also been honored at the International Convention of the National
Speaker's Association with the organization's most prestigious award
for excellence in the field of communication and leadership: The Golden
Gavel.

Les Brown rose from a hip-talking morning
DJ to broadcast manager; from community activist to community leader;
from political commentator to three-term State legislator in Ohio; and
from a banquet and nightclub emcee to premier Keynote Speaker for
audiences as big as 80,000 people, including Fortune 500 companies and
organizations all over the world.

As a caring and dedicated Speech Coach, Les Brown has coached and
trained numerous successful young speakers all over the nation.

Les
Brown is also the author of the highly acclaimed and successful books,
"Live Your Dreams" and "It's Not Over Until You Win", and former host
of The Les Brown Show, a nationally syndicated daily television talk
show which focused on solutions and not on problems.

Other Programs & Highlights

Les was selected as one of the World’s Top Five Speakers for 1992 by Toastmasters International. He is also the recipient of the Golden Gavel Award. In 1990, Les recorded his first in a series of speech presentations called You Deserve, which was awarded a Chicago-area Emmy. It became the leading fund-raising program of its kind for pledges to PBS stations nationwide.

Favorite Quotes & Thoughts from Les Brown

• Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you will land among the stars.

• You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.

• Other people’s opinion of you does not have to become your reality.

• Change is difficult but often essential to survival.

• One of the most essential things you need to do for yourself is to choose a goal that is important to you. Perfection does not exist—you can always do better and you can always grow.

• When you face your fear, most of the time you will discover that it was not really such a big threat after all. We all need some form of deeply rooted, powerful motivation—it empowers us to overcome obstacles so we can live our dreams.

• Your goals are the road maps that guide you and show you what is possible for your life.

Getting Started With Les Brown

When I think of Les Brown, I think of his speaking ability and the manner in which he empowers people. Les is a master communicator and motivator, and the best way to experience him is to listen to him speak. I would recommend that you get started with the Choosing Your Future audio set (available on CD or cassette) or the Live Your Dreams audio cassette.

If you’re a reader, start with the Live Your Dreams book. Through his “Nine Principles of Life Enrichment,” he stresses that anyone can succeed by “stoking the fires of hunger for a dream.”