Using My Hidden Power and Finding Yours

Day 9 of 100 Days to 10,000 Copies

Today is day 9 of 100 Days to 10,000 Copies, my project to launch my new book - Easy Discipline (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Audible).

THE WALL

What I Did

Today I am in Charlotte, still speaking on stage. I recorded the following, and had a room full of people raising their hands to buy my book. It’s an improvement from yesterday.

I’m headed to Houston for another event tomorrow. I don’t know what to do yet… maybe karaoke on stage? Do a split for the audience in exchange for a book purchase (and possibly a visit to the ER)? I have no idea.

Now, I’m not going to bore you with my next speech, but I do want to share my thoughts on public speaking itself.

Lots of people ask me how I became good at speaking.

In this article, I talk about how to use weird thoughts to generate humor in public speaking. Today, I want to share another principle of Easy Discipline: Find Your Power.

EASY DISCIPLINE PRINCIPLE - Find Your Power

If you told 16-year-old Jia, or 30-year-old Jia, that one day he’d make most of his money being a keynote speaker, he would have said: “What’s a Keynote Speaker? Is that another iPhone app?”

Let’s be honest - a Chinese immigrant who stutters and speaks with an accent isn’t exactly what screams “professional speaker.” In fact, I bet the next conference your company hosts, your keynote speaker will not look like me or sound like me… unless it’s me, of course.

I didn’t even know that could be a thing. But when Rejection Therapy became a trend, people started inviting me to talk to their groups and tell them my story. My first speaking event was in a chiropractor’s office lobby, and the upper half of my face was blue due to a broken projector. I was rambling, stuttering, and went way too long. If my current speech is a Lamborghini, that first speech was a Honda Civic with a plastic bag on the window.

But… people loved it! No one cared about my terrible delivery. They loved my story! In fact, it was because of the rawness of my talk that people knew I was real and authentic.

But more importantly, I LOVED IT! Telling stories and inspiring people is so fun. I discovered a hidden talent I didn’t even know I had - I could move people with my words, all because I said YES to my first invite and performed with sincerity.

Then I kept getting invited from one event to another. I kept getting better and better, more polished, more insightful, funnier. To prepare for my first big stage, I even practiced speeches on the street to strangers.

Then came the real discovery. One realtor offered me $500 to speak at her event. That was the moment it dawned on me: I could possibly make a living off this someday, because I was providing real value to people who needed it.

In the famous book Ikigai, author Héctor García writes about finding your purpose at the center of four circles - what you LOVE, what you are GOOD AT, what you can be PAID FOR, and what the world NEEDS. Finding the center of those four circles is called Ikigai.

10+ years later, I’ve spoken at 400+ events. Now I’m a master speaker and storyteller, traveling around the world and inspiring people with words. I’m about to launch my second book, and I’m working on my third.

I found my power - my Ikigai, because I was willing to try things, say YES to opportunities when they presented themselves, give my best, and get better.

Now, do you have any hidden talents - things that come to you naturally, that you just haven’t sincerely explored? If you do, let me know in the comments. I’ll chat with you on how to possibly create opportunities for yourself.

And if you don’t, it’s time to find one. Try new things. Say yes to opportunities that make you uncomfortable. Because EVERYONE has hidden talent. You just haven’t dug hard enough yet.