Professional Speakers and Hollywood Movie Stars Share a
Secret Path to Success

LEARN THE SECRETS

An Inside Connection.

Hollywood is loaded with nepotism babies. Stars like Jennifer Anniston, Kate Hudson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Josh Brolin, Charlie Sheen, Michael Douglas, Jane Fonda, Jeff Bridges, Sofia Coppola, Nickolas Cage, Dakota Johnson, Jake Gyllenhaal and scores of others were ushered into the movie business by their famous movie star parents.

In an industry where almost everyone fails, children of movie stars with inside connections across Hollywood are almost guaranteed to succeed. 

Professional Speakers share this same inside track, although you won’t hear much about it. 

The non-celebrity speaking business is dominated by speakers who had an unfair advantage of knowing or being mentored by someone at the top…and I should know, because I’m one of them. 

 Sure, like everyone else, I tried my best to break into the business on my own. I joined Toastmasters, Florida Speakers Association, National Speakers Association and Meeting Planners International. I spoke at every Civic Club, Chamber of Commerce and bowling banquet I could find. I paid thousands of dollars to people who promised to book and promote me. 

Nothing worked. I lost $50,000 my first year chasing this dream, with nothing to show for it. It was frustrating and disheartening. I’d watch successful speakers and wonder how they were different than me. They didn’t seem any smarter or better. I just couldn’t figure out why I was failing. 

And then one day, in the summer of 1997, by pure luck, I met the father of professional speaking, Bill Gove.

Bill Gove was the first president of the National Speakers Association and widely regarded as one of the greatest professional speakers of all-time. 

Bill was 85 years old. I was 32.

Maybe it was luck or fate.
All I know is that it was my ticket to the top.

Bill and I became best friends. Inseparable. He was a retired platform legend bored with his life on the golf course, and I was an ambitious young buck with boundless energy and nothing to lose. Call it kismet. As speaking legend Bob Proctor said of mine and Bill’s relationship, it was “a match made in heaven” 

I’ll cut to the chase and give you the Readers Digest version of our story. I became Bill Gove’s Apprentice. 

Bill groomed me to become a world-class professional speaker. He taught me the platform skills and techniques that made him a legend. He introduced me to the biggest players in the business, and they mentored me to become the fastest million-dollar speaker in history.

If that wasn’t enough, the next thing Bill did for me is unheard of in this business: he brought me on stage with him…for 5 years, in front of audiences ranging in size from 500 to 17,000. 

And by the time Bill died on December 9, 2001, I ranked among the highest grossing, non-celebrity speakers in the world. 

Over the next 24 years, I delivered over 2,000 paid speeches, sold 2 million books and opened offices in 10 countries around the world. In 2013, I was invited to attend the Oscars and offered a $20 million dollar movie contract to tell the story of my mentorship with Bill Gove. 

On December 17, 2024, I turned 60 years old. My life reads like a fairy tale. One day I was a frustrated, struggling speaker and the next I’m traveling the world living my dream. Even after 25 years, it’s still surreal.

Of all the things Bill Gove did for me, he only asked one favor in return: do the same for someone else, if you can. Before Bill passed, I promised him I would. 

Around 2010, I started the Speakers Apprentice Program, designed to do for aspiring speakers exactly what Bill did for me. 

 

Since then, my top apprentices have earned millions on stage and developed world-class speaking businesses. 

Now, in the twilight of my life, I’m searching for a small group of speakers to become my next superstar apprentice

 

Maybe this is you.
If so, I encourage you to watch this video.

 

BECOME THE NEXT APPRENTICE