Speaking
W E L C O M E T O D A R R I N C H A T T E R
I look forward to tailoring each talk to the audience, and sharing my experiences to provide insight and perspective on things that all of us face one way or another.
Whether the talk is “Sales My Way” or “Don’t Jobify your Passion”, I draw from my own experiences to share knowledge with the intent of shortening someone else’s learning curve. I look forward to providing value to your next event!
Corporate/Keynote Talks
Being the smallest guy on the field has never deterred me. As a High School wrestler, I had to practice and compete against much bigger guys at times. After a neck injury ended my wrestling season, I switched to the sport of racquetball and a new David vs Goliath battle began. Once turning Pro, I was able to have a trainer to help me prepare, and found myself training with other professional athletes and college hopefuls. Despite my small stature, I outworked may of them in certain activities, proving that it is the size of your heart that matters, not the size of your body. My “All Heart” talk shares stories of physical and mental triumphs from a guy who learned early on that it is the size of your heart that matters most.
What started out like a normal Sunday morning trip to the mountains to fish with my dad ended with a high speed, head-on collision with a wrong way drunk driver on the highway. Luckily, I was alone in my car, and climbed out of the wreckage in time to stop the cars coming down the hill behind me. My life was forever changed that morning, but I refused to be a victim of someone else’s poor decisions. This is the story of how I became a Professional Speaker, and turned one of the worst things that I ever experienced into a springboard for a life full of new experiences.
I learned the hard way that trying to make a living out of your passion can destroy the thing you love. Most passion pursuits are going to generate little to no income. If I had the chance to do it all again, I would become a fireman who played Pro Racquetball. This would have allowed me to pay my bills and pursue my passion at the same time, but not have to win matches to pay bills. If I had gone this route, I may still be playing competitively today, but instead I tried to squeeze a living out of the sport and burned out because of it. I got to the point of hating the one thing I was sure about not too many years before. I hope this story will encourage others to consider the contrary opinion of not making a job out of the thing you love to do.
One of the best lessons learned as an athlete is that resiliency is not only important, but a skill in which you can improve. Through repeated exposure to difficult tasks, you learn that failure and falling short is just part of the process. Those of us who learn to fall down but keep getting back up and trying again are the ones who can succeed; quitting is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. And by choosing to challenge yourself and face adversity, you too can develop your resiliency to the point of rising above those around you.
I was in a hurry to get to the top of my chosen sport, and I paid a heavy price because of it. Instead of learning how to be a winner, perform under pressure and live with the responsibility of being the man to beat, I leapfrogged my way to the top. When I did begin to compete at the Pro level, I was horribly underprepared. I had to completely revamp my game and my strategy, taking to big steps backward before I could truly maximize my potential. I have never let any of my students do the same as I did, it was too hard of a path. Don’t follow in my footsteps, you won’t make it.
High School/College Students