I had the chance to see and hear Kevin Brown speak earlier this week about The Hero Effect® and talk about his own personal experience in business and in life, and how to recognize those important moments and qualities it takes to make someone’s experience exceptional.
Kevin Brown is a highly sought-after keynote speaker and best-selling author. He has spoken to a wide variety of organizations including State Farm, Delta Airlines, ExxonMobil, H&R Block, AIG Financial, and Direct Federal Credit Union, which is where I got the chance to see him on an invite from a friend.
He was funny, personal, authentic and informative. He talked about himself humbly, and his relationship with his wife, Lisa, and with his mentors who had meant a lot to him in his life. He had to overcome a lot of difficulties in his early years and went on to succeed in business and had the additional challenge / blessing of raising a child with autism, his son Joshua Brown. Josh had an experience with a chef named Bea on a visit to Disney World that turned out to be Heroic. (I won’t spoil the story, but it’s the central tale of his book The Hero Effect.)
He talked about heroes in his own life and the people that had stood beside him and who had been helpful to him in reaching his level of success. He spoke about how people become heroes. He flipped the script a little,
“A hero is an extraordinary person who chooses not to do ordinary things.”
How do we become heroes and recognize them and encourage them? What are the opportunities to raise people up, or to make a difference? How can we find the courage to change what we are doing in the moment to be a hero for the people in our lives?
Kevin’s wife Lisa had encouraged him to look in the mirror and to imagine all of those people that helped him to get there, and that lifted him up and made a difference in his life. It was an inspiring speech with an important and simple message.
That we all have the choice to make what we are doing right now, in this very moment, exceptional.
He spoke about what Heroes do:
Heroes have the ability to help people with no strings attached.
Heroes create exceptional experiences for the people they serve.
Heroes take responsibility for their attitude, their actions and their results.
Heroes see life through the lens of optimism
Kevin suggests in his book not to let anything hold you back and to try to do what Superman would do. Superman would fight with all his might to get away from the Kryptonite.
But you might say Superman is isn’t real, he is a fictional character.
Kevin would say so is your Kryptonite! What holds people back is made up and pure fiction.
“The reality is that unless you listen to them, other people’s opinions, have no bearing on what is in you and what you are capable of. “
Thank you Kevin for a great speech with some powerful ideas. You can learn more about Kevin at https://kevinbrownspeaks.com/