World of Speakers E.27: Leon Logothetis | Inspiring through meaningful connections

This is no sort of figurative exaggeration, this guy, I have seen his videos in pretty much every single corner of the Earth that you can imagine.

Ladies and gentleman Leon Logothetis. Leon, how are you doing today and are where are you in the world?

LL: I am doing very well, and I am in Los Angeles today.

RF: Excellent, well welcome to my side of the world.

Let's start off with people learning a little bit about you. It's pretty amazing what you're doing, but what is that and how did that all come to be?

LL: Sure, so I used to be a broker in the City of London and on the outside I had pretty much everything you'd want.

On the inside I had not too much you would want, I was very depressed, very disconnected, I had no real sense of purpose.

I stumbled across the movie "The Motorcycle Diaries" which is a romanticized version of Che Guevara traveling around South America relying on the kindness of strangers.

After watching that movie—I call it my tipping point. It was a tipping point where I realized I had to quit my job and really start living my own life.

I did just that, and I started to travel around the world relying on the kindness of strangers. It sounds simple, but it wasn't.

RF: Does that mean you just go with no money, no place to stay and you just sort of figure out how it works?

LL: Yes, the first thing I did was I hitchhiked from Times Square to the Hollywood Sign.

I had $5 a day, so every day I could use $5 and I had to rely entirely on people like you and people like your listeners to help me.

I wanted to be inspired and I wanted to inspire others to know that kindness really does exist in the world.

RF: And how long did it take you to get from New York all the way to the West Coast?

LL: It took me about a month.

RF: Wow. Any crazy stories from that journey across?

LL: Many, many crazy stories. I'll tell you one of them.

I met a lady in Indianapolis and she had a one-year-old kid, and I was sitting on a bench and we got talking and I told her what I was doing.

And she turns around to me and she says,

"Well look, I live in Chicago which is about three hours from Indianapolis, I have to be in Indianapolis today because I am going to a wedding tonight."

"But if you want, here is my only set of keys and you can find your way to Chicago and you can eat the chilli from my fridge, you can sleep on my couch and you can leave the keys in the flap the next day."

And that is exactly what happened. A total random stranger gave me the keys to her house.

RF: Wow, that's powerful, I mean it's a message that these days is nice to hear in such a divisive time really, when you just hope that there are people out there across the board that are using their kindness as a sort of currency right; like a currency kindness I guess?

LL: Yeah, I mean, to me I show up and the world matters profoundly and sometimes people say to me, "Well Leon, I can't quit my job, I can't go around the world on a motorbike."

I say that that wasn't the aim of what I did. The aim of what I did was just to inspire people to be kind, moment to moment.

And that's the most important thing, is how you show up, and how you show up matters.

I am not suggesting you need to be perfect, because you don't. I'm not perfect by any stretch of the imagination.

If I were to give you the telephone numbers of my ex-girlfriends, they would show you and tell you with much glee about how imperfect I am!

But that doesn't mean that I don't go out and try and be kind, as much as I can.

RF: Right. And so what is the result?

What is your finding? Have you found that people are kind?

Is this the through line? What is the overarching consensus based on your hands-on research?

LL: It's more often than not kindness. Not more often than not—definitely kindness is part of who we are. It's wired into us.

Many hundreds of thousands of years ago whenever it was, we were all living in caves and we had to have a sense of community to stay alive and we had to work with each other and we had to be kind.

Of course, there were moments where people are not kind, I get it, but part of who we are is wired for kindness.

I'd say the biggest thing for me is that many people have lost trust, or they have lost faith in other people, in themselves to a degree, and when you lose trust in others, it's difficult to be kind.

RF: So you're going around, you're documenting the stories, right? I've seen some of the videos and whatnot, you even have a Netflix—is it a program, is it a series, tell me about that?

LL: Yes, it's a Netflix show called "The Kindness Diaries".

In that show, I've bought myself a vintage yellow motorbike called “Kindness One,” and I drove it from Los Angeles all the way around the world back to Los Angeles, relying entirely on kindness and no money, no food, no gas, no place to stay.

There was a twist and the twist was the unsuspecting good Samaritans received the life-changing gift.

RF: Kind of like "Undercover Boss", but “Undercover World”?

LL: Exactly. “Undercover Traveler”.

RF: Yeah, “Undercover Traveler”, I like that.

Is this something where the exercise is done or is this something that you're going to continue to do?

What are the next steps for you?

LL: Yeah, I am definitely continuing.

As you mentioned earlier, I am doing a lot of speeches to schools and to businesses.

I was bullied, so I know what it feels like to feel alone, but I go back into schools and try to inspire kids to treat each other with respect.

I will also be doing another journey, another version of the show, which is Alaska to Argentina. That starts in March.

RF: Wow, well, the whole speaking at schools, that's very dear to my heart. That was where I really started my speaking as well.

I was also bullied, I'm a ginger so I've got freckles and here in Orange County, there aren't too many gingers.

I was singled out early on and yeah, it's empowering to have gone through that, but then come through the other side and help inspire children to be kind as well.

I'm assuming you're using these diaries and these travels to sort of feed the stories that you're sharing with these children in the talks? Is that correct?

LL: Absolutely.

My aim is to make kindness cool, because if a man can travel around the world relying on kindness, and get a Netflix show, that's pretty cool.

You could be cool too, by simply being kind.

RF: Now, were you always a traveler or was this something that you just kind of stepped outside of your comfort zone to jump into?

LL: Prior to leaving my office job in London, I had done some traveling and that did kind of inspire me a little bit to really go out into the world and see it, head on.

So yes, I definitely became a traveler. I'd like to call myself really an adventurer, I like adventures. I like going out into the world and meeting people and being put in difficult situations.

Although, when I'm in those difficult situations I don't particularly like them. But they do make me better.

Adventures are a beautiful way of finding yourself, I find.

RF: I'm fascinated by these probably little mini-speeches and conversations that you're having with people, as you are trying to communicate through language barriers to gain assistance or create a bond, or just to have that communication.

How have you prepared, and what have you learned, not from not the speaking on the stage standpoint, but from these actual human interactions?

Because I'm assuming you’ve had more experience than most people when it comes to meeting someone who doesn't speak the same language, and trying to communicate?

How have you dealt with that? Are you versed in many different languages, or do you just use body language?

LL: I am very well versed in the language of being human, and what do I mean by that?

I mean that yeah, I don't speak Spanish, I don't speak Cambodian, or whatever language they speak there, I do not speak Italian either.

But I understand people and I only understand people because I've had the privilege of being able to travel the world.

And what I've noticed is that we are all the same.

Sometimes when you turn on the news, you're told that we are different and they are bad because they're following a certain religion or because they are a certain color, and the reality is that at base we're all the same, we just want to be seen.

And what do I mean by being seen? I mean that ultimately, we want to be loved, we want to be heard, we want to be respected, we want to be valued.

When you see another human being, that is a beautiful way to tell that person that they matter; and when you tell a person that they matter, then you are communicating with them, even if you do not understand their language.

You can communicate with body language, you can communicate with how you show up, you can communicate with a little language you know, so that is one of the most important things I learned, it was the simple power of seeing another human being.

RF: I like that idea of little language, right.

A friend of mine talks about how you can't not communicate, even if you are trying to not communicate, you're communicating that you're not communicating, right?

LL: Yeah, absolutely.

RF: Tell us about some of the little languages, or these small snippets of conversation that are relevant to people who speak the same language?

Are there certain things that you look for, or certain cues that really let you know that you're connecting with people from those little conversations?

LL: For example, when I go up to people to start talking with when I'm doing my journey, I am very careful of my distance.

I never go up to them and speak to them standing really close, because that's suggestive.

I stand away from them and that tells them okay,
a) he's being respectful and
b) he is respecting me enough, he is not being aggressive.

And these little things, like for example I saw an ad many years ago in English in London where there was an English soldier who had sunglasses on, and he was screaming with a local and then all of a sudden, he took off his sunglasses and they both calmed down because there was eye contact.

Little things like that make a very big difference, it is not just about what you say and how you say it, it's also what you do and how you show up.

RF: I like that.

I'm assuming you're able to translate these sort of micro communication skills to the stage and I personally know how hard it is for middle school students and high school students to pay attention or to be into what's happening.

Are you using some of these nuances to really create kind of a different type of talk or a unique type of communication when you're on the stage?

LL: Absolutely.

For example, one of the things I do to get the kids, I tell them about my personal stories and I open up, and I become vulnerable.

I tell him how I was bullied, I tell them one of the stories about how I was bullied. And then I ask them to come down,

"Who wants to come down and share with us what it feels like when someone's mean to you?"

And you know, a few people put their hands up, they come down and they get the chance to come up and share, and then I say to one of them, I say,

"Does it feel like someone's turning their back on you when they are mean?"

And they are like, "Yes, that is exactly how it feels."

Then I turn to the audience and I tell everyone,

"I want you— the whole school, I want you to turn your back on me and all the kids that are standing here."

Notice I say me as well so that kids do not feel like they are alone, now I'm with them.

Then the kids turn their back and I say to the kid who is standing next to me,

"How does it feel when everyone has turned their back on you?"

And they are like, "Well, it feels terrible."

And then I get each of them to say what it feels like, and then I tell everyone at the school to turn around and face us.

And I say to the kids who were standing up with me,

"How does it feel when they turn around and look at you?"

And they are like, "Wow, I feel amazing."

So, that is just felt experience, and something that I kind of do as well.

RF: “Felt experience” I don't think I've ever heard that term before, is that your coin to term? It is now?

LL: It is now.

RF: Wow, that's powerful.

Let's get into the type of moods and speaking skills and advice that you would give to somebody who is an upcoming speaker or they are already a speaker and they want to get better?

I really love this angle coming from the trenches really.

You maybe have people who are speaking on stage that want to connect with the audience, but you're spending months at a time connecting with people on the same stage, and it's the street or it's the bar.

What are some of these like, these “felt experiences”? Let's take some time and learn from you.

What would you share with somebody who came to you and said, "Teach me the best that you know when it comes to speaking."

LL: I would say the first thing you have to do is not worry about connecting with the audience, it's about worrying about connecting with yourself.

What I mean by that is that what I now do before every single speech without fail is, I spend 10 to 15 minutes listening to a very, very calming song whilst doing breathing exercises.

I do these breathing exercises, I listen to the song that centers me and then I go in and give the speech and I feel connected to myself and then I feel connected to the room.

So that would be the first and the most important thing, because I have done speeches when I haven't done that and the speech was nowhere near as good as when I am fully connected to myself.

RF: Let's unpack that just for a second.

You say breathing exercises—what would that be, are they belly breaths?

Is it sort of mind to body breath connection from a tactical standpoint?

Do you listen to Enya, or your favorite soothing cool song?

What is an example of a breathing exercise somebody can do?

LL: For example: I breathe in deeply for five seconds and then I breathe out deeply for five seconds, and I do that 30x.

Also the 30th time, I get rid of all my breath for like 15 seconds and then I breathe in all my breath for 15 seconds.

This is something that I actually got from reading a book, a Dan Brule's book. Dan Brule is a famous breath master.

I really changed my speaking capacity by doing that. I do it without fail.

RF: That's amazing. So you've got breathing in for five seconds, out for five seconds, you just do that 30 times, right?

LL: Yeah, for me, it lasts 10 to 15 minutes, because I do it twice.

RF: And then do you do the empty and hold it out and bring it all in, in between those smaller five-ins five-outs, or is that after that?

LL: I do five-in five-outs, 30x. Then I do breathe out until I need a breath and then I breathe in for 10 to 15 seconds and then I repeat it.

RF: That's awesome, okay cool.

Now you have done your breathing exercises, you've connected with yourself, which I love, because most people instinctively say, "You've got to connect with the audience," but you're saying, "Unless you connect with yourself first, that's going to be difficult."

LL: Yeah, that's been my experience.

RF: So you're walking up on the stage now; what next, or what do we need to be aware of?

LL: Funnily enough, just before I get on stage, I am always—I'm not suggesting that people do this, but I am always like, "Oh my god, this is the speech I'm going to mess up."

RF: Do you tell yourself that, or is that what you are thinking?

LL: That's what I think.

I am always thinking that, but I never mess it up.

Maybe some people would say I have messed up, but my point is that sometimes your mind takes over, so don't listen to everything your mind tells you.

Because if I listened to what my mind would tell me then I wouldn't ever give a good speech.

What I do is try to warm them up, I try and get the vibe going, try and get them to connect with me, then to connect to my story and to connect to whatever the message is I am about to share.

The next thing I do, maybe I tell a joke. When I'm with the kids, it's funny.

Depending on the age group of the kids, not always, but let's say from the ages of 5-12, I will go on stage, and normally I wear a hat, and I will tell them, "Who wants to hear a secret?"

And they all put their hands up and like, "Yeah, I want to hear a secret." Then I say to them, "Well, the secret is—do you promise me you are not going to tell anyone?"

And they are like, "Yeah, we promise, we promise."

I say, "The secret is that I used to be a child."

And they all start laughing.

And then I tell, "Do you want to hear another secret?"

They are like, "Yeah, yeah." And then I take off my hat and I say, "I used to have hair."

And they start laughing, and that way, everyone is in, we're in it together now, they know me, I know them.

Now obviously, I can't do that joke with 20-year olds or with 50-year olds because it's not funny. But with kids, it is.

I try and enter with something humorous or something like a hook. For example, sometimes I say to them things like,

"When was the last time you felt truly seen? When was the last time another human being truly saw who you were, that you felt to the very bottom of your heart, that this person sees you?"

That's another way to get it, because then you are touching them with the heart.

RF: How do you warm up the older crowd?

Do you have any tactics for that, like let's say it's more of a conference where you're dealing with business professionals of a...mature age?

Do you have any good little stage tricks to get them having a felt experience?

LL: Yeah, sometimes I just make them find someone in the room, and connect with them.

That's one way.

Other times I make jokes, like for example, if I'm in Iowa, I'll tell them, "As you can tell I wasn't born around here," and they'll all start laughing.

But a “felt experience”, it depends on things to feel in the room. Every room is different.

I've been doing speeches for a while but I gave a speech a couple of weeks ago at a school and there were two groups that came in, the same age.

With the first group, I felt that energy in the room and I gave a certain speech.

The second group, same age, different kids and it was a bit of hard work. So I shifted how I started and how I spoke to them.

You really have to figure out the energy in the room, that's a really profound way of doing it.

Because if you go into a room and give a speech, and the energy isn't a workable energy, then it is going to fall flat, so you really have to figure out what that energy in that room is.

RF: Are you the type of person that basically has the same material that you present every time?

Or are you the flip—every time you talk is different, because it's just pulling from so many different stories?

What is your our structure when you go after this, because you do a lot of different talks?

LL: It depends.

The majority of my speeches—my last two were one speech, it was just the “Kindness Diary” speech, which is the show on Netflix.

Every time I have a different story, something new comes up, that doesn't mean that the slides aren't the same, because they are, but there's a different story that comes up and I will share something different, depending on who I'm talking to.

If I'm talking to a maximum security prison, I will speak differently than if I'm talking to a situation in—

RF: In a library.

LL: Exactly, exactly.

RF: Very cool, so do you follow a certain structure? Is there some sort of arch that you try to go after.

It sounds like you warm them up first, and then you know, I've heard some people really address the problem in the room and bring them down the value of despair and then bring them back up?

How do you structure your motivational talks, or your inspirational talks?

LL: I structure them based on my adventures and my life.

I have to, obviously, introduce myself and why I am here; why is an Englishman here? Like, who is this man?

I give my backstory and then I tell my story in an arch, how I started work, how I left and went back, and then had these experiences, what I learned and what you can learn too.

And look, the speech is about me, but I try my very best to make it not about me, because kindness is a universal and it's about you, I'm just a vessel.

RF: I think that's an interesting concept, the talk and the speech, a lot of people will talk about their own experiences. It's about them.

How do you make a talk about you not about you and for the audience?

Is it more universal lessons, or is it, "Here's a story, look for it in your life."

What are some of those nuggets to make your story not about you?

LL: It's universal. Kindness is universal. I am just the chap who is talking about it.

But for example, I talk about my dog Winston Churchill who is a Boston Terrier, and I love him very much.

I then get people to say they have dogs, and if they have dogs, I bring them up on stage to tell them about their dogs and how much they love their dogs.

And ultimately, I say to them, "Well, if you could love your dog, then you couldn't love anyone. You get to choose." It's a choice.

So it is about me, but it's really about you.

RF: It sounds like you engage with the audience a lot, I think a lot of speakers are fearful of bringing somebody from the audience, right, like being on a live radio show taking live calls.

But from what I'm hearing, it sounds like you are really connecting with them through your story by bringing them physically on stage, and having them share their stories?

LL: Absolutely, I try and do that as much as I can because their story is part of my story and my story is part of their story.

It's important that they get to speak too, it's not just a monologue.

RF: For those speakers who are listening, it is not a monologue, it is not a broadcast, this is communication going both ways.

Let's talk a little bit about how you structure the business side of your speaking.

I know that it's not the easiest to get booked at a school let alone the easiest to get paid to speak at a school; let alone have these crazy tours you have with like 20, 30 schools lined up one after the other.

Did you sort of develop a certain strategy, or is it just the amount of time that you've been doing it?

I am curious to know sort of what we can learn from how you've built your business of speaking?

LL: Sure. The way it started was, first of all, I agreed to do it for free.

I would do tours across America, and I would do it for free. I would go to 30, 40 schools and they wouldn't pay me.

Then, the next stage was to take hopefully the positive feedback from these schools and to offer to do it for a small amount of money, and to give them free books, so they gave me a small amount and I gave them free books. So it was free, but they had to pay something.

Then I started charging, and look, I was in a unique situation that I have this Netflix show so people would reach out to me and book me.

That's kind of how it started to work. Like I said, I just did a little bit for free to start with.

RF: I think that's interesting because still, I believe that there is a misconception about how there is some magic secret to getting paid to speak. A lot of time it starts from paying it forward, and then charging little, and then bringing the value, then building a brand and reputation.

LL: Absolutely.

And you have to really feel it and you have to really want it.

People sometimes say to me, "Leon, are you just doing this kindness thing to make money?"

I don't say this but inside, I am thinking to myself, "You obviously don't know me."

Again, I'm not perfect, but kindness and how we treat people is part of who I am, and it's my passion because I know what it's like to be treated disrespectfully.

I do everything in my power to inspire kids and others to know that there are a river and an ocean of kindness within all of us and you get to choose if you want to jump into that river or if you want to just ignore it.

RF: Would you suggest for people who are coming up in their speaking experiencing career to leverage speaking at schools?

Because it is a unique audience and speaking to a bunch of six to 12-year olds is different than a bunch of 40 to 60-year olds.

What are your thoughts on people who are considering taking this path and getting some stage time at schools?

What do they need to look out for, what would you warn them about?

LL: The most important thing they need to know is that their message is going to touch a life at a school, there's no point in going to school and speaking about something that's just not going to touch lives.

If it's going to touch lives, then they should do it, for sure, because it's very rewarding and it helps people.

RF: I think that's a huge determining factor that makes a lot of sense.

So if you've got something that's life-changing, who would be the point of contact at the school?

Are you going to the principal or the activities' director, let's navigate and kind of unpack how you book it at school?

Even if you are going for free, I think that there are still some steps that you have to go through.

So for people who are interested and have a life changing-message, where would they even start?

Step us through this process of somebody who wants to learn how to at least get booked at a school?

LL: Well, the way that I did it which I am not sure is the way for everyone, but the way that I did it was that I had some contacts in schools and I also had some books and some shows that made it easier.

I would send them a message and they would look me up online, they would be like, "Okay, he's legit, let me talk to my principal," or whatever.

Going through the internet is a good way, maybe finding schools' twitter handles or all the schools' Instagram pages and asking them. That would be the low-cost way of doing it.

RF: Ahead of that basically is the fact that you should have something established, you should have something that people can find.

Because it sounds like these schools and whoever, they're most likely going to look you up with a polite cyberstalking, turn to google?

LL: Yes, it helps. Does it mean that if you don't have it you can't do it— no.

Maybe your kids at school would be willing to have you come in and talk about your inspirational message and then through that, they're so inspired by it, that they tell a friend and they call you up.

So it can be done in many ways, it's just the way that I did it.

RF: Now, are you bringing the same kindness message to the older crowd or is your primary market sort of the younger crowd?

LL: It's definitely older crowd too.

RF:Do you find that you are speaking more at conferences, or do you go into corporations?

How does the adult market side of your business work?

LL: Conferences, corporations, non-profits, the beauty of my message really isn't my message, it's just a universal message.

I can speak about kindness to a 3 year-old and to a 90 year-old. It's because it's part of who we are, so it's a universal message.

I speak to maximum security prisoners about kindness, as I speak to kindergarten kids about kindness, I just change the message a little bit, but the ethos of the talk is the same.

RF: This idea of a universal message, like another one could be finding happiness or another one could probably be overcoming struggle, or something along those lines.

How important is it to hone in on one of those, versus being somebody who could speak on a variety of those universal topics?

LL: I can speak on a variety of universal topics.

I can speak about happiness but I'm more astute and capable of speaking about kindness per se. When I do my Q&As, if someone asks me about happiness, I'll answer it.

I will do what I need to do. But I do focus primarily on how we treat each other and how we show up in the moment.

RF: Yeah, and having that focus probably helps you just become known for that and helps build your brand for that, as opposed to sort of being more of a generalist in the universal topics.

LL: Yes, exactly.

RF: Now, do you have people that come to you and say, "I love what you're doing, how can I do the same thing?"

Do you inspire other people to do that?

LL: Sometimes yeah, a lot of people facebook message me or email me and I pretty much respond to everyone, and if I can help you, I will.

Because, I was helped by a lot of books I read, by a lot of wise people I met and if I can help you I will help you.

RF: So speaking of help, I love books and you just basically made me realize that you are probably a great person to piggyback the book club with.

Do you have any books that have helped you really from the speaking perspective or something that is a go-to book for people who are trying to find a message that they want to communicate to the world?

LL: Specifically about speaking—no, I haven't.

I don't have any books, but Seth Godin is very, very good.

He has a lot of really powerful books. I've read many, many books that have really touched me in a profound way, but specifically around speaking— no.

RF: Okay. I could see a lot of Seth stuff, like the "Purple Cow" kind of relates to having a topic that everybody maybe would pass by, unless you change the color, right.

Like, your kindness to some extent, the fact that you are going around the world on a yellow motorcycle that's kind of your purple cow, it's like a yellow cow, right?

LL: Yeah exactly, that's exactly what it is.

RF: So, for people who want to share a message similar to yours, what is your advice as far as taking the same route?

And not necessarily going and traveling and doing something, I don't want to call it a gimmick because it's not a gimmick, but this concept, this adventure is definitely like the single thing that came out all this other stuff, it creates your content.

What is your advice for finding that one thing, or that inspiration that you will then either embark on or have to then create content around?

Do you help people through that process at all?

LL: Look, I would say that the most important thing is to follow your heart, is to follow your passion, is to allow whatever pain you may be in to guide you out of the hole that you may find yourself in, that's what moved me.

I was in a lot of pain, pain propelled me, so I think it's really up to you.

Many people can turn around and say, "Well, you know, I can't do that because I have a family," or, "I can't do that because I have kids."

Or, "I can't do that because I've got a mortgage."

And that's a very valid excuse. Maybe you can't.

But if you really put your mind to it, and if there is a WHY to why you do what you do, then anything is possible.

Sometimes people say to me, "I have a dream but I don't have money."

And I say, "Well, let's say you wanted to be a baker. How much money does it cost to go to the library and get a book on how to start a baking business?" It doesn't cost anything!

Take that book out and read it!

And then, when you finish that, maybe it will have inspired you enough to start baking for your kids, it doesn't cost any money, start baking for your kids and then take little baby steps.

Anything is possible, I'm not saying it's easy, it's not.

But it's very rare that something is not viable for us to do, specifically in the western world we live in.

Sure, in certain countries the poverty is so systemic that it is in some ways impossible to get out of, but where we live it's not so impossible.

It's not easy, but not so impossible.

RF: So, this idea of letting your pain guide you to motivate you to create change, based on not something that you need money to accomplish, but just to study with, I think it's a very powerful kind of a universal concept of that sharing of the message.

With your message of kindness, I'm a big pay-it-forward kind of guy, and I see a lot of similarities with that, right.

The person who let you go eat their chilli in the fridge, they're paying it forward and it's going to come back to them tenfold.

What are some ways that people who want to spread their message—they have an inspirational talk, or they have a life story that they want to share—how are some of the ways that they can be kind in the world or pay it forward that will return opportunity and more exposure and things such as that?

LL: First of all, I would like anyone listening to know that if at any stage they want to send me an email or a message and ask me directly any questions, they can do that.

They can just find me on Google, on Facebook, on Twitter, Instagram. They can go to my website and they have my word that I will respond to them.

When it comes to paying it forward, the best way to pay it forward is win-win. By that, I mean that when you have something that you are passionate about, go out into the world and spread that message.

The person you are spreading it to will feel your passion, will feel your heart, and will get something from it and you will get something from it too, because you're spreading your message.

Find what it is that you want to do in life, what your heart wants you to do, what you're passionate about, where you have a calling, and go out into the world and spread it.

It doesn't have to even be in a speech setting, if it is, great, but go out and spread it on a daily basis, go out and show up in the world and be present.

RF: I think that that concept of being mindful of just communicating what it is that you want to share, not necessarily on or off the stage, but anywhere.

You are an example of that, because you're talking with people all over the place, you have almost eliminated the stage, because if you think about it, when we are all conversing in real life in the streets like we're on that same page.

I love the idea of speaking this message wherever, it doesn't just have to be on stage.

LL: No, it's about embodying it.

It is about going out to into the world and not just being one person on stage and another person out there in the world, you are the same person on stage that you are out in the world.

Sometimes people say to me, they are like, "Leon, are you the same person that you are on the show in real life?" Because obviously in the show, it's kind of glorified in some way.

I say to them, "Yes, I am, except the person in real life is more flawed, he has more flaws, and that's just part of being human."

What you do in your day to day job, what you do on stage has to be who you are, because what's the point of faking it?

RF: That brings a really interesting perspective where someone who's trying to build a speaking career, they might look to other people who are successful and mirror or mimic those individuals, versus having basically the courage to say,

"This is who I am, and this is what I'm doing."

LL: Yeah, and look, there's nothing wrong with taking what other, let's say, masters do.

I listen to many speeches and I've taken things that other people have done, but you have to have it all based around who you are, and you can't be them, you are you.

If you listen to a speech and they say something good and you want to use it in your speech—great.

If they give out a certain, let's say there’s something at the end of their speech that you think is cool—great, go for it.

But if you lose your sense of identity and you just become a clone of them, then the audience is going to figure it out.

RF: I love how you pretty much started with the same advice which is that the most important thing is knowing yourself, and regardless the help you get from whatever masters that you can or whatever library books that you can, it all comes down to that self-awareness that being present in the moment and at the end of the day, the kindness.

So, very inspiring story.

If you were going to leave our listeners with one sort of final thought or one message that you basically would like to leave them with as they go on to spread their messages, what would that one message be?

LL: Never, never give up. I don't care what happens to you, never give up.

If there's a moment when you are on the floor and you are psychologically or emotionally in a bad place, I understand.

Stay on the floor for as long as you need to. But, there will come a point when you will stand up. Never give up.

RF: Wow, that's super inspiring. I'm excited to check out this documentary which, I am assuming people can find on Netflix, but the name again is "The Kindness Diaries"?

LL: "The Kindness Diaries" on Netflix.

RF: Alright, and for anybody out there, the idea here aside from not giving up is helping others to not give up, and that's another form of kindness.

You have somebody who you know is working on their speaking career and they're down and out, they are proverbially on the floor, like help pick everybody up, I think that there's an abundance mentality when it comes to speakers, no matter what your topic is.

I'm excited that you are spreading that kindness message out there Leon, and I'll probably hit you up and have a continued dialogue.

Keep up the great work and travel around the world and I will look for the yellow, the kindness—what is the name, Kindness One?

LL: Yeah, Kindness One is the name of the bike.

RF: I'll look for the Kindness One coming through my town, and everybody else should too.

Leon, thanks for being a great guest Leon, and we will see you later on and hopefully share the stage some time.

LL: Thank you so much, I am looking forward to it.

RF: Alright, thanks.

A bit about the World of Speakers

World of Speakers is a weekly podcast that helps people find their own voice, and teaches them how to use their voice to develop a speaking business.

We cover topics like: what works versus what doesn't, ideas on how to give memorable presentations, speaking tips, and ideas on how to build a speaking business.

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