The high expectations of the crowd of more than 1,000 people who crammed the top and bottom rows of the Jamaica Conference Centre’s largest gathering room to hear Les Brown were satisfied on Saturday, November 4.

People drove to Kingston from all around the island to hear the world’s number one motivational speaker. The crowd even included international attendees from Mexico and the Bahamas. And of course, Les Brown delivered.

The day-long conference was supported by local and international guest speakers who also packed a punch of upliftment and entertainment that kept the crowd enthralled from as early as 8am to the close at 5pm.

The key take-away from the day was that getting the life you want is not easy.

You have to make hard choices that will steer your ship where you want it to go. And you have to do what others are not willing to do to have the life others only wish they could.

Patrick Brown, son of Les Brown, wowed the audience with his presentation. While this reporter missed the opening speech, it was stated by the early attendees (the conference room was packed by 9 am and I had to search for a seat when I arrived late) that Patrick Brown is the clear successor to his father.

Early speakers included Sheree Martin of Jamaica Public Service and sales trainers Paul Bryan and Duane Lue Fung.

Martin shared the push to think big. “Either you are acting out of love or fear. And it is ok to love yourself and be selfish.”

Martin urged the audience to do two things.

First, “Ask for what you want out of life because you believe you are worthy.”

Second, Martin said, “Speak power into your children. At lot of issues we have right now as adults was started in childhood.”

Bryan got the crowd hyped with his presentation which spoke to bringing clarity to your goals.

And Lue Fung was clear: “You can’t be grateful and ungrateful at the same time. Your number one enemies are the eyes and the belief in the opinion of others about you.”

Lue Fung shared the idea that we have six weaknesses that keep us back. “First is the need to be liked, the lack of commitment to success, self-limiting beliefs; emotional unbalance; lack of focus; low self-esteem.”

Lue Fung urged the crowd to educate themselves on their internal power and that the only MBA that people really should study for is a Mega Bank Account. And to get that MBA you have to work on personal development.

“Building up yourself is the weed killer of the garden of the mind. Negative thoughts are the weeds and you have got to get rid of them every day. You cannot allow them to take root in your mind.”

The formula for life success that Lue Fung shared was:

WHO MUST I BE + WHAT MUST I DO + SO THAT I CAN HAVE = SUCCESS.

From there, Alicia Lyttle, CEO of PowSocial Media and Inspire Me, the event organiser, deviated from her usual talk on building a social media-based business.

Instead, Lyttle shared her personal history about overcoming two battles with cancer and a failed marriage. “When I was diagnosed with cancer, I decided I was going to fight like a girl,” Lyttle shared with the audience. “You have to understand that it is your responsiblity to take yourself to the next level. You have to shed your past. I did not let ovarian cancer define me. I decided I was going to kick its ass! And then my marriage failed. I had to again fight like a girl!”

Lyttle urged the audience: “Remove the parasites that have attached themselves to your life! Shed the crap and start over! Decline to be a part of the negative people in your life and don’t believe what they say about you!”

And then it was time for the man himself to come on stage.

Les Brown opened with a dance to hype up the crowd and warned them not to let his 72 years of life fool them. He was pumped and full of energy.

Like Lyttle, Brown shared that he is a 27-year cancer survivor that decided to kick cancer’s ass and not give up. Brown also shared that he is currently not only dealing with the cancer battle, but also has one of this 10 children giving him hell, and so he is aware that we all face battles, no matter that his career is motivation.

WEAPONS OF MASS DISTRACTION

And so Brown charged the audience, “The day of being average is over! Doing your best at all times and in all circumstances is what is needed.”

Brown explained, “We are in a new era. First, we have to deal with what I call weapons of mass distraction. Things and people that take away our focus on our goal is real. Yet, we are in a new paradigm beyond surviving and just working 9 to 5. You can run a global business from your cell phone.”

So how can we be more and have more? Brown advised, “Invest in yourself. Most people invest in things. Want to be successful? Watch poor people and don’t do what they do. Watch rich people and do what they do. You are your best asset. Get a coach! Get a mentor! You can’t see the picture when you are in the frame. You must develop an achievement-driven mindset.”

Brown charged people to stop asking “how”.He explained, “That is a question of the mind. How is not your business. Lean not unto your own understanding. Claim what you want. Take a stand for what you want despite the fight you are getting. Follow your heart, for there your treasures lie. There is an African proverb that says: If there is no enemy within, the enemy without can do us no harm.”

So Brown charged that in reality, a “setback is a setup for a comeback.” And so we must be aware that, “you will get knocked down. You will have tribulations. It is not come to stay. It is come to pass! Winston Churchill said, if you are going through hell, keep going. Don’t stop.”

Brown said that we must embrace the idea that we will fail our way to success. And so we must pray, “Lord, help me to hold out while my change is coming.”

During your fight, Brown gave a prescription for winning. “Every morning, write down seven things you need to do to lead you to your goals the next day. Whatever you are doing, give it your best. Make yourself indispensible. Detoxify your life! You have to reach a point where you screen your phone calls. That is, if the call is not (a) positive; (b) purposeful (c ) profitable, then don’t take it!”

From there, Brown said that the only way to grow is either through people or projects. And this requires a mindset transformation, a skill set transformation, and put your money where your mouth is. Get a coach!

And finally, Brown stated that life is hard because people choose hard. “If you do what is easy, life will be hard. If you do what is hard, life will be easy.”

So go home and write down five reasons why you will not give up. Remember two things, Brown said. “Anger is the wind that blows out the mind and the best revenge is massive success.”