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Ty Howard:
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Yes.
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Sylvia:
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Hello Ty. Welcome.
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Ty:
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Hello Sylvia. Thank you for having me.
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Sylvia:
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Thank you for being here Ty for this interview.
Ty, this is the first question. What inspired you to get started in the motivational speaking business?
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Ty:
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Sylvia, what inspired me to get started into the motivational speaking business started with an experience I had when I was in the United States Navy and stationed in Norfolk, Virginia. My ship, the Harry E. Yarnell (CG-17) participated in an adopt-a-school program, where the sailors would all go to a local middle school twice a week to be teacher aides.
One day, the teacher I was assisting asked me to get up and speak to the students towards the end of the class period. She wanted me to talk about why I joined the Navy, where I had been while in the Navy, and what I had gotten out of the Navy up to that point.
I stood up and I spoke to the young people for about ten minutes, and when I was done the teacher was inspired and impressed. Her response was, "Wow Ty! The students don't normally sit so quiet and listen attentively to anyone other than myself and the school’s Principal the way they just listen to you." She asked me would I come back to the school and be their guest speaker for the Black History Month Program in February. I replied, yes.
I came back in, in February, to be their Black History Month Program guest speaker. The teachers, students and Principal loved my presentation.
But another thing happened on that same day. A Chief Petty Officer from my ship came up to me and he too was very impressed. He asked me, was I aware of professional motivational speakers like Les Brown, Zig Ziglar, and Tony Robbins. I replied, no. I was only 21 years old at that time.
The Chief started bringing in audio cassette tapes at that time for me to listen to of Les Brown, Zig Ziglar, and Tony Robbins. He explained to me that it was actually a career, a business that these men were doing for a living. So, I became interested and started to research motivational speaking as a possible career. It all started from that experience. That's what got me going.
The next experience is what inspired me most thought in the beginning. When I was stationed at my next military command in Washington, DC, a friend of mine that I went to high school with in Baltimore, Maryland was dating a local school teacher. He told her about my motivational speaking services that I had started to offer to youth and teen audiences. She called me up to invite me to come speak to the students at the elementary school in Baltimore, Maryland where she worked.
At that time, I was moonlighting as a motivational speaker while in the Navy. So I made the necessary arrangements to come speak to her students. This was a group of 70 first graders. Sylvia, I spoke to her students, and I must say, it worked me, and stretched me like never before. I enjoyed every minute of it.
I spoke to the students about living their dreams, and not allowing weeds to come out around their dreams and kill their dreams. I also encouraged and inspire them to live their life to the fullest.
At the end of the presentation, I went around and shook every student's hand. I asked the students what he or she wanted to be, what they dreamt to be. The students said things like: I want to be an athlete, a princess, a model, a lawyer, a doctor, a teacher, a policeman, a firefighter, the President of the United States. Their eyes lit up and they opened up to share their innocent dreams with me.
Yet, one student really connected with me, she stood out like no other student present on that day. She told me, “My dream is to live. I’m not ready to die.” She then pointed in the air and said, "I'm not ready to go up there. My dream is to live."
On that day Sylvia, that experience connected with me and validated for me that motivational speaking… sharing encouraging positive messages and words was to be my life’s purpose, passion and work. That's why I believe I'm still passionately doing and enjoying it today.
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Sylvia:
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Wow. That's an inspiring background story, giving us some insights into how you began in the motivational speaking business. We're curious to also know what motivated you to create, publish, and launch MOTIVATION?
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Ty:
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What motivated me was a charge to actually strive to have a greater impact on the world. I remember years ago hearing Steve Jobs saying two profound statements, "Be Different!" and “Put a dent in the Universe!”
MOTIVATION is my way and vision to “Be Different!” and to “Put a dent in the Universe!” I believe I can establish and create something that will inevitably become something special, reliable, and a definitive source for people, business, students, professionals, and families around the world.
After hearing Steve Jobs say those two things motivated me to begin researching how to create, publish, and later launch MOTIVATION. Also, being just a motivational speaker made me feel like I was not doing enough, service wise, with my God given talents and abilities. MOTIVATION is a big endeavor that will establish and launch a diverse pool of expert writing talents and a passionate balance of motivation on the worldwide web that will be uniquely different and leave a positive and lasting impact on the world.
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Sylvia:
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Okay. And ultimately, what is your vision for MOTIVATION magazine?
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Ty:
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My vision for MOTIVATION and MOTIVATIONmagazine.com stems from knowing the world is in great need of reliable and consistent encouragement and motivation. So I plan to increase hope and motivation through providing the world with practical strategies for success, answers and solutions, and a balanced platform of motivational articles, interactions, discussions, interviews, videos, and continual growth learning products and services.
Sometimes initiatives like this come about and people only see and hear from the A-listers of the world. I plan to go into the grassroots communities so you can hear from and see those who are teaching and mentoring young people, those who are working with and coaching people with special needs, those who are fighting in a positive way to improve their communities and quality of life, those entrepreneurs who are staying motivated to grow a successful business, those educators who truly believe the children are our future, and those business professionals with skills and strategies that can help everyone to stay Green & Growing. I want to talk to and share with everyone the people on all levels and from all walks of life when it comes to motivation.
The vision for MOTIVATION is to bring the world a global balance of quality motivation and empowerment through the power of the Internet and the many trending digital technologies that can connect and expand our reach around the world.
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Sylvia:
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A very inspiring and huge vision, Ty. Now that we know a little bit more about the vision that you have for MOTIVATION. What do you foresee as your three toughest challenges in moving forward with MOTIVATION?
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Ty:
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The three toughest challenges I see moving forward with MOTIVATION. The first challenge is staying consistent, living up to, and growing the vision, standard, brand, tone, and energy that MOTIVATION will start out with from the beginning.
The second challenge is making sure that the MOTIVATION Team of Expert Writers remain consistent and reliable on delivering on the vision, standard, brand, tone, and energy set forth for MOTIVATION. That's the second challenge.
The third challenge would be to keep myself, as well as my behind the scene magazine development team, in-tuned with harnessing the new technologies that are out there and that are coming soon; technologies that will empower and enable us to take MOTIVATION digital seamlessly around the globe. Staying head of and controlling this challenge will ultimately ensure that we will reach and impact lives, careers, communities, families and businesses more than what we could ever imagine.
We're starting MOTIVATION out in 2012 as an online magazine. By 2013, we will launch the digital application side of MOTIVATION for iPhones, iPads, iPods, Androids, Kindles, Tablets, and other capable digital technologies. So we have to make sure that in this first year we stay committed to learning what technologies will help us to seamlessly take the magazine in digital form around the world.
Those are three challenges ahead for MOTIVATION, Sylvia.
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Sylvia:
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Keeping those challenges in mind, I'm curious to know what motivates a magazine publisher?
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Ty:
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What motivates a magazine publisher, Sylvia, I believe is being consistent and remaining passionate about delivering quality content to its readership. This is the lifeline and the required backbone to continuously increase and sustain subscribers, readership, and to generate and grow advertisement revenues.
Another thing that motivates a magazine publisher is to not become boring, an afterthought or a “once was.” Not becoming relaxed on the standard of providing quality and consistent content. You have to listen to and provide readers with what they say they like, need, and want more of. Also, remaining committed to the vision so that you cannot get caught up in things that are going to distract and take away from vision, purpose, and confirmed standard of the magazine.
That's what motivates me now as a magazine publisher.
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Sylvia:
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Ty, the following could be said about you in two or five years, "When Ty Howard writes the whole world listens." How does that possibility make you feel?
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Ty:
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It makes me feel humbled. It makes me feel privileged to have been blessed with such a gift and talent. Also, keeping in mind that we win in life with people. I am honored and privileged to have friends and expert writers to partner with me on such a great vision and initiative that what you asked could possibly evolve into such a humbling fact.
So, if and when I hear such a statement... again, I will feel honored and privileged, and I believe will remain humbled. It will also make me stand firm to the challenge of living up to the vision and standard of MOTIVATION, and not faltering from it in any way.
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Sylvia:
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Ty, there must be a lot of pressure on you with a new online magazine endeavor. How do you sleep at night?
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Ty:
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Good question, Sylvia! How do I sleep at night? Since I've been working on this magazine, the idea, the concept, the energy, the standard, the brand... it has been very challenging and difficult to sleep at night because the wheels are always turning. The hamster is always on the wheel inside my head being his nocturnal self throughout the day and night.
Sylvia, I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and I have to grab a pen and a pad to write and get the idea out on paper. Or I will grab my digital voice recorder and speak into the recorder just so I can capture my thoughts. Then there are also those nights where I'm working into the early morning hours; I maybe up until 2, 3, 4, 5 a.m. in the morning going after it, getting the job done. I call it “Capturing the Energy” and “Staying Green & Growing.” Yes, there are a lot of pressures; however, I am up for the challenge!
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Sylvia:
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Up for the challenge. That's great, Ty!
I will now ask the ultimate question that I believe is very important to this interview and to the MOTIVATION readers, how does a person find his or her motivation, and use it?
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Ty:
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Well Sylvia, I look at that question as a two-fold concept. How does a person first find their motivation, and then second, use it?
When I think about how a person can find their motivation, five things come to mind.
The first thing is a person has to assess what other people say they're always good at. Sometimes when we struggle and we lose our motivation, we have to find some type of source or connection to get it back again. For some, it's not so easy. Yet, if you look at what other people say you are always good at, and start doing it to empower yourself and others, you may be able to find your motivation again.
The second thing is to assess what gives you the most joy when you do it. If you're passionate about writing, if you're passionate about cooking, if you're passionate about using your hands to fix things, helping others, etc. What is it that gives you joy whenever you do it? Your answer could be the very outlet that re-connects you to finding your motivation.
The third thing, give yourself a checkup. Check your current attitude and mental toughness state. Sometimes when we become unmotivated and we adopt the toxic habit of negative thinking or stinking thinking, it can be due to a shift in our attitude and mental toughness state. When this happens, you have to look at and conduct a check up on your current attitude and mental toughness state. If you can move it back to a positive and healthy state, then it can reconnect you to finding your motivation once again.
The fourth thing is for you to set and work towards a meaningful goal. When we set meaningful goals and work towards accomplishing them, it motivates us to see a purpose-driven life through again. When we're just doing things, being blown to and fro, and we get to the end of the day, the end of the week, the end of the month, and we feel like we haven't accomplished anything or achieved anything, that's where the challenge of becoming demotivated or unmotivated sets in. Set a new meaningful goal and work towards it, and that new action can put you back on the path of finding your motivation again.
Fifth, use the many available resource tools to assist you in finding your motivation. They work for me all the time. You can use upbeat music. You can use self-help CDs. You can read an inspirational, motivational, or self-help book. You can read religious books and materials. You can watch an inspirational or motivational movie. You can go online and look for positive quotations and poems. And you can also go online onto YouTube.com and look for inspirational music, motivational videos, poems, or anything motivational in nature. These are all sources that you can use to help you find your motivation.
Sylvia, those are the five strategies that I strongly recommend for people to find their motivation.
Now, how do you use it!
The first way to use your motivation is to use it in your work. Let it be on your job, in your career or starting and growing a business, continuously put your motivation to work. If you like quilting, quilt. If you like writing, write. If you like speaking, speak. If you like taking care of others, take care of others. Whatever type of work you do, bring your motivation to work and put it to work. Use your motivation!
The second thing, serve others. Go to a soup kitchen to volunteer or clean out your closets, give people the clothes that you don’t wear anymore so that you can serve others. Participate in the causes that are visibly there… Walk for Cancer, Run for Autism, etc. Whatever it is, serve others. Use your motivation!
The third thing, contribute to, empower and love your family. Be motivated for and about family because when the family is happy and motivated to love one another more, you are happy and motivated more. Use your motivation!
And the fourth thing, create a significant project, cause or purpose that can impact your life, family, community, and the world. There is a project or cause within you that you can bring into existence. Just think and put yourself in the same frame of mind as Steve Jobs “Be Different!” and “Put a dent in the Universe!” Use your motivation!
Those are the four things that I believe a person could do and should do to use their motivation.
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Sylvia:
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Well, certainly, very inspiring and thoughtful things on how to find your motivation and use it. Before we go Ty, are there any additional words of motivation, inspiration, or words of encouragement that you'd like to share with your readers and listeners?
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Ty:
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Yes. I want to conclude our interview by saying, Motivation Is—As Motivation Does! I encourage everyone to make it their business, passion, and personal mission to go out each day to Find Your Motivation, and Use It!
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