I honestly can't think of a better way to start my year off than with a D1 sports program. It also happens to be in a state that I've not been to previously. So I was doubly excited to kick off the year with all of the Cyclone athletes. This is a market that I've been slowing inching my way into and i've had some pretty exciting leads that i'm hoping transpire later this year because I feel strongly about my message with athletes, especially those at the top of the heap!
I knew coming into this event that Iowa was going to be quite the cold state and it did not disappoint. It was literally -4 degrees the morning after my presentation. The day of the presentation there was basically a blizzard I had to drive 2 hours through to get to the area I was staying at. I was scheduled to speak the evening that I arrived in Des Moines and to be honest the conditions were so harsh I was worried they might close the roads getting there, holding me back from speaking.
My speech is never just a "motivational" speech, or "substance abuse" speech that covers my trials to success or the forecast of the United States current opioid crisis, especially with athletes. I really try to dive into the mechanics of my story so it pushes people internally to be better, think differently and become aware. This is why my message is so great for a multitude of audiences, such as D1 sports programs that are required to have some kind of wellness training but you don't want to lecture them about not using drugs. The students were extremely engaged and many stayed after my speech to have a conversation and many others messaged me on instagram their questions, comments or thanking me for my time. I'm looking forward to more sports team speaking events, this one went great, thank you to all the Cyclones who were in attendance!