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Speaking: How I got my start...

Greetings, Friends!

Susie Larson here...

I'll be here on the fourth Thursday of every month to chat with you about the ins and outs of developing a speaking platform. Please feel free to ask questions along the way. 

First, please allow me give you a little background on how I got started as a speaker. God built my platform out of the ashes of my pain. When I was a young mom battling a vicious disease (and the financial hardships that followed), I wondered if God had lost my address. My prayers seemed to bounce off the ceiling and God seemed especially silent. Then one day a woman from my church called and said the most amazing thing to me:

"Susie, I've heard about all of the hardships you and your family are going through and I took those concerns to God in prayer. The Lord showed me a picture of a platform that He's building with your pain. Lean in and learn during everything you can during this time, then you'll have something to say when you get to the other side of painful journey."

That's all I needed to hear. God was up to something. In spite of the fear, fatigue, and despair that swirled around me, I leaned in. I listened. I took lots of notes. And I trusted God.

One day, out of the blue, I received a call from the leader of a MOPS group. Somehow she had heard about me and wanted me to share my story with her women. I was a weak, scared, and wounded little bird, but God used me in my weakness. And thus began - from very small beginnings - my speaking ministry.

For me, every new stage of growth in this ministry has always been preceded by a deep (and somewhat painful) character cleansing time. I now know to lean in and learn during those refining times so that I can stand strong in the next place He has for me.

That blessed phone call came about 17 years ago and in His wisdom, God has established my platform in pace with the ages of my kids and with the state of my health. Now that my kids are grown and I have the time, I'm running to keep up with it all. I'm represented by a wonderful national agency (Ambassador Speaker's Bureau) and my platform is steadily growing. I say no to more events than I say yes to, but I have to in order to keep up with my writing and the occasional radio work that I do. It took a while, but now I've got some great momentum and to tell you the truth, I'm hanging on to the Vine for dear life!

I tell you all of this to encourage you. If you have a heart to speak...lean in - right where you are - and learn everything you can from your current season of life. Take lots of notes. Notice how God is working all around you. Be a student of God's Word and a helper of the human condition. Be faithful right where you stand. Be fruitful with what you have. And believe Him for open doors and new opportunities. 

God wants to use you more than you want to be used by Him! 

Next month my blog topic will be: Hone Your Craft and Humble Yourself. 

Until then~

Be blessed, my friend.

Susie Larson

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Life in the Fast Lane...

Hi, Everyone!
Susie Larson here...

I feel like a putz.

Ever felt like that?

I'm moving so fast and juggling so many things that some of the balls are dropping!

It's time for me to purse my lips and say the word "no" when I know I should. It's time for me to play. If I can echo the turtle star on the Comcast commercials, I need a little "me-time."

I love the picture above because it was taken on Thanksgiving day of last year. We had beautiful weather and a field full of family members playing football. I wasn't juggling that day and so my hands were free to catch the ball...the football.

Back in my fitness days, we talked about a little thing called homeostasis which describes our body's effort to find a new level of balance when we place a new demand on our systems. If I am used to running 5 miles an hour and I step it up to 6 miles an hour, I'm going to struggle at first, but only until I find a suitable pace that will allow me to sustain that speed for a long period of time.

What does that have to do with the author? Well for me, it's a reminder that we also need to pace our schedules.

If we're lethargic, we need to take some initiative and get the creative juices flowing.

If we've been running a while, we need to make sure we're not burning up our muscle by pushing too hard or too far.

How about you?

Are you pacing yourself?

Is God a Salesman?

Greetings, Fellow Scribes!
Susie Larson here...

Several weeks ago and for several posts in a row, I mentioned the book, "The Slight Edge." A man handed me this book when I was at the airport waiting to catch a flight home after a speaking engagement.

Resulting from that post, I received a request to review Mark Steven's book, "God is a Salesman" published by Hachette Books Group USA.

Though for some reason I bristled a bit at the title and I wondered at times about his theology, I have to admit, this man knows how to sell, and he is a great communicator.

So what's in it for you?

Read on and find out...

Do Things GREAT in 2008!

Happy New Year, Everyone!
Susie Larson here...

I hope you had a beautiful and joy-filled holiday season.

The picture above was taken during a carriage ride in Vienna. I was with the Hearts-at-Home international team. We were there to equip and encourage moms. Everyone on the team but me made it into the carriage. The man with the top hat made me sit up front with him. At first I was painfully embarrassed but then I decided to make the most of it by waving to everyone and pretending to be royalty. I don't think I fooled anyone.

As we venture into the new year, we will probably hear many more snazzy phrases like, "Feel great in 2008" or "Lose weight in 2008" or "Find your mate in 2008." I'm sure we'll all be sick of them by the end of January, but indulge me anyways since we are only the first week into the month.

I believe God wants to do some GREAT things through you in this upcoming year. I believe He wants to do great things in you as well.

Most of us have one or more Bible characters with whom we identify for one reason or another.

I've repeatedly identified with Joseph from the Old Testament. God gave him a vision for his life, and then he sent him into one refining season after another.

One thing that stands out to me about Joseph, is how he always rose to the top of the heap. He found the highest ground in his pit and he was faithful there. He positioned himself for promotion.

Giving Up...

Hello, Everyone!
Susie Larson here...

I trust you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and are well into your Christmas preparations.

I want to chat with you today about giving up, because success can't happen without it.

When I was a young gymnast doing flips in my backyard, my best friend was at the gym training for the Olympics. When I was out at the ice cream shop working on a Lollapalooza, my friend was at the gym, training for the Olympics. And when I was sleeping in on Saturdays, guess where my friend was? At the gym, training for the Olympics.

After high school my friend was awarded a full-ride to a college known for their gymnastics team. Unfortunately, during her practice routine on the bars, she landed her dismount wrong, severely hyper-extended her knee, and her career was over.

Her eggs were definitely in the gymnastics basket and she suffered a huge loss as a result.

But still, what she accomplished in her youth was phenomenal.

This may not even be the best story for my point, but I'll express it anyway: We, by nature, are adaptable beings, which, makes us prone to plateaus. To move to the "next place" in anything, something else has to give.

My friend gave up a lot to achieve her dream, and though she didn't make it all the way, she still has a thousand medals, framed awards, and pictures of herself flying through the air. What a fun thing to show her children!

As you close out this year and look forward to the next, think about the different areas of your writing/speaking life. Have you plateaued in anyway?

Are there places in your schedule to carve out time so you can invest more in your dream?

Can you think of anything you need to give up, so you can gain in an area that really matters to you?

The Little Things...

Hello, Friends!
Susie Larson here...

I hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving holiday.

In my post two weeks ago, I told you about a millionaire man who handed me a book while I was waiting to get on a plane to head home after an engagement.

The book greatly challenged me and that's why I want to use at least of couple of weeks to explore some of the wonderful concepts in this book.

In his book, The Slight Edge, author Jeff Olson writes this:

"You've probably read and heard lots of statistics. Happy versus unhappy marriages, health versus illness, how many retirees barely survive on a fixed income versus how many reach their golden years in comfort and security. There are a hundred and one ways to measure it, but if you simply look around you, you can see it: most of us aren't making it.

"My observation is that about one person in twenty is achieving a significant measure of his or her goals in life: financial, professional, personal, marital, spiritual, in terms of health, in whatever terms you want to look at. Ninety-five percent are either failing or falling short.

"What are the five percent doing that the ninety-five percent are not?"

Interestingly enough, the author says that what the five percent are doing, anyone can do, because it's easy to do.

Unfortunately most don't because it's just as easy not to.

Write On!

Hi Friends!
Susie Larson here...

I think it's safe to assume that you are not reading the CAN Marketing Blog on Thanksgiving.

But just in case you are, I want to give you a little gift.

My agent sent me this great clip and if you are a writer, I'm quite sure you'll enjoy it.

Here it is:
For all of you writers out there...

Also, I blogged today on "Growing Gratitude." Stop by if you're interested:
Susie's Blog

Happy Thanksgiving, Friends!

Peace to you~

Gaining the Edge...

Hello, Everyone!
Susie Larson here...

This past weekend I was sitting in an airport waiting to go home after a speaking engagement.

On the flight home from my events I usually treat myself to a great novel and get lost in the story until the plane lands.

I sat at the gate and rearranged my bag, trying to get at my novel. I lifted up a large Ziploc bag of gluten free muffins and cookies made by one of the sweet ladies from the host church where I spoke. I held up the bag of muffins to get to my novel, and man who was sitting a few chairs away said, "Wow, that's a lot of bread."

I laughed and felt instantly like I needed to defend myself and say, "Well, I'm not going to eat it all at once." He struck up a conversation with me and in a matter of moments I realized I was talking to a millionaire. He works six days a week and does what he wants on the other 24 days of the month.

He writes books and lectures to business leaders and individuals who want to reach the height of their potential. It was clear that the man before me was disciplined, organized, and focused, and that God had put him in my path to teach me a few things.

Gift Marketing?

Hi Friends,
Susie Larson here...

With the holidays approaching, let's look at a different aspect of sharing our message (a.k.a. marketing). We give gifts for the sake of blessing others, right? So is it a self-serving marketing ploy to give our books to those who may benefit from them?

Not necessarily.

At the end of the day, everything comes down to motive, and those motives are known by God Himself. In other words, whether or not you should "gift market" is totally between you and the Lord.

But wouldn't it be fun to throw a gift basket together with a couple of your books, some hot cocoa mix, and a couple of nice mugs and make a few deliveries?

Practicing Restraint...

Hello, Friends!
Susie Larson here...

Last week I returned from a whirlwind trip arranged by my publicist. I spoke at two events for two different churches and was interviewed for two one-hour-live-call-in shows. I also did a taped interview, met with my acquisitions editor, and had lunch with the marketing people. My publicist and I were hopping for those couple of days.

After coming off of the live interview where people were calling in left and right with painful heart-wrenching stories, I was once again overwhelmed and amazed by the pain and the suffering out there. I wanted so much to go back to my hotel room, curl up in a ball, and pray for all of the needs I learned about that day.

But instead, I need to go to my next interview. Thankfully, it was taped which allowed me to exhale and relax a bit.

We had a great interview but I must have exhaled a bit too much because when the host concluded the interview by thanking me for coming, I absent-mindedly replied, "Well, it was nice to meet me."

His eyebrows arched and my publicist's eyes opened wide and both suppressed their laughter. I thought to myself, "It's taped. Just give it another try." So I opened my mouth and said, "Thanks, Greg. It was great to have me." Ugh!

By then the host, the producer, and my publicist were holding their stomachs and laughing out loud.

So I of course continued with, "Why stop here? Enough about me; let's talk about you. What do you think of me?"

We were all laughing and the host said, "This will definitely go on our bloopers CD!" The producer piped in and said, "Bloopers? This thing is going on YouTube!"

Now, I promise you, I'm not so self absorbed that I really thought that they were lucky to meet me. I was just tired and thus let my guard down a bit too much (ya think?).

Even though this is a funny story, it made me think that with all of the pressure on us authors to market our work, just when is it good to pull back practice some restraint?

I mean, we aren't necessarily called to run out into the world with guns blazing and shouting, "Look at me! Look at my book! If I don't sell it, I won't get another contract so I am going to promote my work every chance I get!"

Of course that's an exaggeration and paints more of caricature of what not to do, but are their times when it's good to practice a measure of self-restraint?