Comfortably Uncomfortable (ft. Sterling Hawkins)
From rock bottom to top of his game, discover Sterling Hawkins’ keys to ultimately excelling as a speaker and expert— including a sneak peek at his keynote
OPENING QUOTE:
“When the company crashed, so did I. No job, ran out of cash. I go from this gorgeous, big, beautiful penthouse in downtown San Francisco to my parents' house. And just to make sure I was firmly grounded in rock bottom, my girlfriend broke up with me. True story. It's like a depressing country song. I hit every single beat.”
-Sterling Hawkins
GUEST BIO:
Sterling Hawkins is the founder of the No Matter What Movement, a powerhouse speaker, and an all-around terrific human being who performs over 50 keynotes a year on some of the world’s biggest stages . From running a $500 million venture-backed startup in Silicon Valley to mastering the world of professional speaking, Sterling is absolutely overflowing with insights into everything from crafting a message to leading an organization.
Links
CORE TOPICS + DETAILS:
[3:23] - Sterling’s Keynote Opening: Part 1
From top of the world to rock bottom
Sterling opens his keynote with his story, told with flair but also a frankness that’s captivating. He had it all. He lost it all. Here he’s both establishing an emotional thread to which we can all relate— success and failure— and establishing the setup to the key insight that will define his keynote. But that won’t come yet. First, he has to hit rock bottom, and he takes us right along with him for the ride.
[5:17] - Sterling’s Keynote Opening: Part 2
From despair to determination
This is the turning point. We join Sterling in his parents’ house, alone, his career gone, over a hundred thousand dollars in debt. He lets us sit in the darkness with him for a bit, and then comes the turn. He shares the declaration to himself that changed everything: No Matter What. Now we’re beginning to accelerate toward the inspiration and insight that will guide us forward in Sterling’s message.
[8:12] - Sterling’s Keynote Opening: Part 3
From big picture to five simple things
At this point in Sterling’s opening, notice how he moves from the big picture— the world’s greatest innovators, the world’s biggest challenges— to the close-up and concrete. Like pouring all of the big ideas he’s mentioned into a funnel, he focuses our attention on where we’re headed next: Five things that will lead you to breakthroughs No Matter What.
[16:12] - When All Else Fails: Community
The people around you are your lifeline
When you face something unprecedented to you, you have to rely on a network of people who have been there— or at least somewhere similar. Sterling speaks of how vital his network of relationships— including with Josh— helped him navigate the uncharted waters of the last two years. Never neglect your network. It’s more than a professional launchpad, it’s your community when everything else fades away.
[23:12] - Turning Cons Into Pros
The power of embracing discomfort
When COVID hit and all in-person keynotes were canceled, Sterling found himself in a familiar place. He may not have been in his parents basement, but he could have easily let himself slip into “basement thinking.” Instead, he embraced the advantages of virtual speaking— like the fact that you can deliver multiple virtual keynotes per day. What negatives could be hiding positives within them in your career?
[29:52] - Run Away or Push Through
Universal advice for emerging speakers
Sterling’s parting advice for rising speakers trying to reach the next level? No surprises here— embrace discomfort. See it as an obstacle to blast through rather than a monster to run from. This will open all kinds of possibilities, like when Sterling pushed past his discomfort and asked to speak at a conference with no experience after receiving a simple automated invitation to attend as a guest.
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:
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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.
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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:
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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.
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