Why Not Me? (ft. Peter Sheahan)
Peter Sheahan shares how he wins, changes lives, and even how he inspired one of the world’s most impactful voices to share her message
OPENING QUOTE:
“I think it's such a beautiful growth oriented mindset. And really it takes the locus of control from outside back inside, like gives you a sense of agency over your life. I can't remember the exact phrase, but it was something like, if not now when, and if not you, who? And I'm sitting there in my early 20s just going, ‘Yeah. Someone's got to be successful. Someone's got to do inspiring things. Why the heck can't that be me?’”
-Peter Sheahan
GUEST BIO:
Peter Sheahan is one of the most prolific speakers in the business. Peter has delivered over 3,000 keynotes and earned over $30 million in speaking fees over the last 20 years. He's also built and sold two businesses, written seven books, and is one of the most outspoken leaders on leading through change, growth strategy, and navigating disruption.
Links
[7:24] - The Power of Repetition
If you want to do something great, do it a lot.
When Peter was starting out, he delivered 485 speeches in one year. For those counting, that’s significantly more than averaging a speech every single day. This didn’t just build his reputation, it gave him the repetitions necessary to move beyond worry about what he would say and into focusing on how he could more deeply connect with his audiences.
[11:26] - Target, then Target Some More
Many speakers think they’re ‘niche.’ Few really are.
Peter discusses how many speakers who think they’ve carved out a great targeted niche are actually more general than they think. Instead of worrying about making your target market too small, identify what only you can speak on with real authority and watch how your demand skyrockets.
[12:53] - Backstage with Brené Brown
Lessons from a chance encounter
When international mega-star in the thought leadership space Brené Brown gave her first executive keynote, Peter Sheahan spoke to her backstage. More than just being inspired by her message, he took the opportunity to inspire her along her journey— and now both of their lives have never been the same. Never miss out on the opportunity to be in the right room at the right time.
[18:04] - Protect Relationships. Period.
Your distribution channel is your speaking lifeline
Peter shares how he would rather have a hundred agents waking up every morning and selling his message everywhere they can than the possibility of something going ‘viral.’ He’s eliminated conflict, built deep relationships with bureaus, and always focuses on what will give him a 20-year career, not a 2-year flash of success.
[26:01] - Talking Numbers
Fees are a fact of speaking life
Don’t miss Peter and Josh’s detailed discussion about setting fees based on demand, and how setting your fees too low and setting them too high can be equally devastating to your career in different ways.
RESOURCES:
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ABOUT MIC DROP:
Brought to you by eSpeakers, hear from the world’s top thought leaders and experts, sharing tipping point moments, strategies, and approaches that led to their speaking career success. Throughout each episode, host Josh Linkner, #1 Innovation keynote speaker in the world, deconstructs guests’ Mic Drop moments and provides tactical tools and takeaways that can be applied to any speaking business, no matter it’s starting point. You'll enjoy hearing from some of the top keynote speakers in the industry including: Ryan Estis, Alison Levine, Peter Sheahan, Seth Mattison, Cassandra Worthy, and many more. Mic Drop is produced and presented by eSpeakers; sponsored by 3 Ring Circus.
Learn more at: MicDropPodcast.com
ABOUT THE HOST:
Josh Linkner is a Creative Troublemaker. He believes passionately that all human beings have incredible creative capacity, and he’s on a mission to unlock inventive thinking and creative problem solving to help leaders, individuals, and communities soar.
Josh has been the founder and CEO of five tech companies, which sold for a combined value of over $200 million and is the author of four books including the New York Times Bestsellers, Disciplined Dreaming and The Road to Reinvention. He has invested in and/or mentored over 100 startups and is the Founding Partner of Detroit Venture Partners.
Today, Josh serves as Chairman and Co-founder of Platypus Labs, an innovation research, training, and consulting firm. He has twice been named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and is the recipient of the United States Presidential Champion of Change Award.
Josh is also a passionate Detroiter, the father of four, is a professional-level jazz guitarist, and has a slightly odd obsession with greasy pizza.
Learn more about Josh: JoshLinkner.com
ABOUT eSPEAKERS:
When the perfect speaker is in front of the right audience, a kind of magic happens where organizations and individuals improve in substantial, long-term ways. eSpeakers exists to make this happen more often.
eSpeakers is where the speaking industry does business on the web. Speakers, speaker managers, associations, and bureaus use our tools to organize, promote and grow successful businesses. Event organizers think of eSpeakers first when they want to hire speakers for their meetings or events.
The eSpeakers Marketplace technology lets us and our partner directories help meeting professionals all over the world connect directly with speakers for great engagements.
Thousands of successful speakers, trainers, and coaches use eSpeakers to build their businesses and manage their calendars. Thousands of event organizers use our directories every day to find and hire speakers. Our tools are built for speakers, by speakers, to do things that only purpose-built systems can.
Learn more at: eSpeakers.com
SPONSORED BY 3 RING CIRCUS:
From refining your keynote speaking skills to writing marketing copy, from connecting you with bureaus to boosting your fees, to developing high-quality websites, producing head-turning demo reels, 3 Ring Circus offers a comprehensive and powerful set of services to help speakers land more gigs at higher fees.
Learn more at: 3RingCircus.com
PRODUCED BY DETROIT PODCAST STUDIOS:
In Detroit, history was made when Barry Gordy opened Motown Records back in 1960. More than just discovering great talent, Gordy built a systematic approach to launching superstars. His rigorous processes, technology, and development methods were the secret sauce behind legendary acts such as The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.
As a nod to the past, Detroit Podcast Studios leverages modern versions of Motown’s processes to launch today’s most compelling podcasts. What Motown was to musical artists, Detroit Podcast Studios is to podcast artists today. With over 75 combined years of experience in content development, audio production, music scoring, storytelling, and digital marketing, Detroit Podcast Studios provides full-service development, training, and production capabilities to take podcasts from messy ideas to finely tuned hits.
Here’s to making (podcast) history together.
Learn more at: DetroitPodcastStudios.com
SHOW CREDITS:
