HOW A 30 MINUTE PRESENTATION MADE ME A MILLIONAIRE IN NIGERIA
If you live in the Southern part of Nigeria you probably have heard of my name.Youeither have heard my radio program, watched me on Television, read my article on a national daily or attended one of my seminars.
I have been a motivational speaker since 1999.
I actually became a professional speaker in 2005. By that I mean I started earning from speaking engagements from that year.
My story is actually an interesting one and I would like to share it with you, hoping that it will inspire you to also pursue and persist with your dreams
In the year 2007, I raised N1,000,000 to begin my media,training and publishing business.
I was 25 years old, just out from the University, and bustling with enthusiasm and zeal. I plunged into business with a lot of hope and expectation.I worked veryhard.The unfortunate thing was that barely 1 year after I had raised N1 Million, I was bankrupt and indebted to the tune of N 1.5 Million.
It was a very humbling experience for me.
I saw myself constantly running away and avoiding my creditors.
I was behind on my bills.
I couldn’t pay my office rent.
I was owing the staff that I employed.
As a matter of fact, at one time I had to squat with a friend because I could not pay for the flat I was staying.
My girlfriend , the one I had promised to marry, left me. I had gone as far doing an introduction with the family.
Certain people started saying that I needed to pray, that I needed serious prayers, that how could I be so intelligent but not make progress? They even offered special prayers.My contemporaries were moving forward. You know that awkward feeling you have seeing your contemporaries getting married, buying cars,having children, even building houses and you seemingly staying in one spot? That is how I felt.
A certain pastor even once told me that my life was in a mess.And I almost believed him because he was such a popular pastor in my town and one who had a great influence in my life.
It was a challenging period of my life.
It is really funny how people literally desert you when you go through valley experiences.
But I learnt one thing in those periods: To focus on making myself better (skill-wise) rather than looking at my mounting issues, debts and problems. And that was the greatest resolve I think I made in those periods.
I made up my mind to be the very BEST IN MY FIELD
To be so good that when people think of my area of industry I come to mind. Google “LEADING SPEAKERS IN NIGERIA” and see what I mean
Now even if I lose everything I have, I will use that same principle again. I WILL FOCUS ON BEING BETTER(SKILL WISE AND PERHAPS CHARACTER WISE) RATHER THAN FOCUS ON THE PROBLEMS.
Jim Rohn said it perfectly. He said, “Don’t wish for less challenges. Wish you were better. Don’t wish for less problems. Wish for more skills. Things will not change unless you first change.”
One of the skills I focused on was public speaking/presentation, persuasion and negotiation. In fact, I worked hard to master the entire mechanics and dynamics of communication, oral and written.
I remember going to meet Ubong Essien, a leading motivational speaker in Nigeria, to learn how to he was raking in so much money doing training and speaking engagements.
I also met bestselling author Praise George to share with me his ideas on effective book writing and sales.
I met with Adeolu Akinyemi, a financial consultant and MLM expert, and asked him questions.
They all kept saying that communication(written and oral) was actually the most important skill I should develop.
My quest to develop this skill of written and oral communication to appreciable level caused me to spend countless hours on the Internet devouring hundreds of material on that on public speaking, persuasion, copy-writing and negotiation.
I attended scores of seminars and meetings and watched presenters. I read and studied hundreds of copy-writings and sales letter
Fela Durotoye’s passionate presentation and depth of research excited me.
Leke Alder’s creative use of words and depth to explain concepts enthralled me.
Listening to Sam Adeyemi’s soft punchy presentations got me always thinking.
They were the masters.
They were all millionaires. And they had largely raked their millions from their ability to effectively communicate both through oral and written presentations.
I watched hundreds of videos and personally practiced before the mirror again and again.
I created and staged scenarios and imagined delivering on point always before any audience.
Meanwhile, I was still struggling financially.
I was still behind on my bills.
But like I said I CHOSE TO FOCUS ON DEVELOPING THESE SKILLS RATHER THAN ON THE MOUNTING ISSUES.
In a few years, I started getting some head way.
I reduced my debt
I found my way to be on a local TV and did motivational speeches for free on air.
I found a way to write for local newspapers, magazines and contributed to a national daily.
Some churches invited me to give presentations for little or nothing. I accepted every invitation.
My goal was to use all these platforms to create a brand and also improve my myself.
My business was still struggling seriously. But I found a way to keep it going.
When I didn’t have an office, I used a friend’s place as my contact.
When my friend kicked me out, I used a cyber café that i used regularly as my contact and did a lot of online interactions.Sometimes, I met clients at fast food restaurants.
I just kept finding ways.
You know there was this temptation to give up on several occasions.
As a matter of fact, I did.
My people told me to go look for a job.
There was also this time that I was at the British Embassy to find a way out of the country. They denied me visa.
I moved to Portharcourt and worked with a certain trainer and pastor. The venture lasted 2 months. The so-called pastor kept telling me that I had to totally abandon my dreams and follow his. I just couldn’t.
My life was making some progress; but I still thought it slow.
About this period I registered for theYOUWIN Business plan competition
I was not expecting much but I just tried.
About 161,000 Nigerians applied for the business plan competition.
I was fortunate to selected for the 3 days training.
Out of 161,000 I was privileged to be selected among the next 6,000.
The fact is that my sales copy writing skills really came handy.
You know why? Because a BUSINESS PLAN IS ACTUALLY A SALES LETTER.
All my years of horning my skills in writing presentation helped in getting me to be in the next 2500 people. My business plan was to invest funds in my Media, training and Publishing company. I had applied for N10 Million.
I guess the YOUWIN guys were having quite some difficulty picking the last 1,200. (Usually the Federal Ministry of Finance of Nigeria empowers 1,200 young people within the ages of 18-45 with a minimum of N1 Million and a maximum of N10 million. They have done it in the last 3 years.)
Now because they had a lot smart entrepreneurs (2,500), they decided to do the ultimate test: A 30 MINUTE PRESENTATION TO DEFEND YOUR BUSINESS PLAN.
YOUWIN wanted to see us.It was something they have never done before.
Yes, we had impressed them through our impressive written business plans but they now wanted to hear us speak. They wanted us PERSUADE and NEGOTIATEwith them.
By this time, I had already grown in my public speaking abilities so much so that I had started receiving a number of speaking invitation around the country Nigeria.
My speaking fees ranged from N30,000 to N150,000, depending on the distance and the people involved. I could get ranging form 2 to 4 a month.
Even in my crisis period I had put together over 40 seminars around Nigeria and had had a number public speaking students.
One of then was a potential YOUWIN AWARDEE.
Her name? Dr Anabel Ibe.
We had met at the YOUWIN Training and she knew that I was involved in public speaking training.
As our presentation period approached, she called me up and paid some sum to me to TEACH HER HOW TO DO AN EFFECTIVE PRESENTATION.
And I did.
We had to travel to Enugu for this presentation.
We were to face a panel of 4
When it was my turn, I literally wowed the panel.
The panel was so impressed they asked for my contact!
My focus on communication, my focus on effective writing and public speaking had paid off.
It had made me a multimillionaire in a 30 minute presentation!
For a 30 minute presentation, I moved from being one who was managing,one who was being ridiculed, one who was just getting by, to one who could call China and negotiate about cost of machines in millions!
And Yes! Dr. Anabel Ibe, my student, also got N10 MILLION!
From applying EVERYTHING I taught her, she got the very same result I got.
She didn’t have to spend years like I did. She just read my e-book, observed me, listened to my audios and compressed DECADES INTO DAYS literally.
Why did I share this story?
To brag? May be. (Laughs).
I actually shared this story to inspire you.
I shared this story to get you to take interest in developing the MOST IMPORTANT SKILL IN THE WORLD: EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION. Of course, that includes PUBLIC SPEAKING/PRESENTING and WRITTEN COMMUNICATION.
You just never can say when it will come in handy.
It made me a millionaire.
Let me help you.
Why share this story if I cannot help you compress DECADES INTO DAYS?
Like Dr. Anabel Ibe you can achieve what I achieved AND MUCH MORE just by exposing yourself to the information that I have been exposed to.
Here is what I want to do for you
First, I want to you to get my e-book SPEECH POWER. It is an e-book that compresses all my principles and ideas on effective communication.
It would help you. It will cost you something, though. Don’t worry, it is not something that you cannot afford.
No, it is not N15,000.
And No,it is not N10,000.
I have decided to make it just N5,000.
It will come with other freebies.
1.A link to listen to a 60 minutes audio on PUBLIC SPEAKING FOR SOCIETAL CHANGE done by me.
2.Another e-book on PUBLIC SPEAKING BASICS
3. 5 podcasts on public speaking
4. The Audio version of SPEECH POWER
Let me make a list of some of the ideas I cover in the e-book.
1.HOW TO INTEREST ANY AUDIENCE
2.THE 7 ELEMENTS THAT FACILITATE EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
3.HOW TO PERSUADE ANYONE(11 WAYS)
4.HOW TO COUNTER MANIPULATIVE PERSUADERS
5.3 KINDS OF AUDIENCES YOU WILL MEET
6.HOW TO OVERCOME GLOSSOPHOBIA, THE NERVOUSNESS OF THE TONGUE(STAGE FRIGHT)
7.HOW TO MAKE MONEY FROM YOUR PUBLIC SPEAKING SKILLS
8. 8 MISTAKES SPEAKERS MAKE
To get my offer, please send SPEECH POWER and your name to 2348187133153.
Account details would be sent to you and you would be required to send me your e-mail address. The info-product would be sent to you. The info-products are easy-to-read and listen.
If you want to get hard copies of SPEECH POWER(Audio and Manual) sent to you, you will add a sum of N2000 for it to be couriered to any location you are.
Take action today. All the best.
Sourced- https://georgeessien.wordpress.com/2014/11/08/how-a-30-minute-presentation-made-me-a-millionaire-in-nigeria/
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