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Motivational speaker and New York Times best-selling author Les Brown sits down with Tech and Energy CEO and MBA: Minority Business Access podcast host Solomon Ali for an interview that will shift people’s perspective on what’s possible.
Excerpts from Les Brown’s Interview with MBA: Minority Business Access podcast:
“When I was asked what college I attended, I would reply, ‘I have no college education.’ In fact, I was labeled educable mentally retarded and held back from the fifth grade to the fourth grade, and I think that’s going to give me an advantage when I tell my story.” – Les Brown on using what was meant to hold him back to propel him forward
“Early on in my career, my ex-fiancee’s friend asked me, ‘What do you do young man?’ I said, ‘I’m a motivational speaker.’ She asked me who I spoke for, and I said, ‘No one yet, but I’m going to speak for major corporations all over the country and around world.'” – Les Brown on speaking dreams into existence
“[Early on] I was told by a psychiatrist that I had delusions of grandeur, and I said, ‘Is that a bad thing?'” – Les Brown on being labeled unrealistic at the beginning of his career
“I was sleeping in my office and hiding in the closet when the janitorial staff came in to clean up. I then spoke at a place called The Church of Today. I did a six-week series called Choosing Your Future. On the sixth week, news reporters came out to interview me and one of the King brothers (from television syndication company King World Productions) saw the news interview and he called me. Three days later, he offered me a $5 million contract to do a talk show. What were the chances that he was in that hotel on that day watching television, and I was being interviewed and it just happened to catch his attention.” – Les Brown on attracting a multi-million-dollar television deal into his life in the early 1990s
“I encourage you to make rejection and the word ‘No’ your vitamin.” – Les Brown on not letting rejection discourage people from chasing their dreams
Listen to and watch the entire inspirational and informational conversation between Les Brown and Solomon Ali here.
Additional guests on Solomon Ali’s MBA: Minority Business Access podcast have included: Married to Medicine‘s Lisa Nicole Cloud; Jeff Hoffman, the founder of Priceline.com; Chris Ryan of Tiger Investment Group; Noel Lee, inventor of Monster Cables and a collaborator on creating Beats by Dre; and Alec Stern, a co-founder of Constant Contact.
About MBA: Minority Business Access Podcast
Host Solomon Ali advises listeners on how to avoid common pitfalls to build and thrive in business. Episodes address areas of concern and opportunity for both new and established businesses. Learn all you need to know about gaining access to capital to jump start your entrepreneurial success.
About Solomon Ali
Solomon Ali scales companies across healthcare, technology, and energy sectors through the acquisition of funding and management consulting. Of the less than 20 African-American-owned publicly traded companies in the U.S., Mr. Ali, has held a seat on the board of directors of three of these companies. His team has successfully closed more than 140 mergers and acquisitions and arranged more than $250 million in structured investment capital and financing.
