Less than a decade ago, I was sitting in a rental car in Salt Lake City, contemplating my future. I never would have guessed that I would be one of the best motivational speakers in America.
I kept asking myself where I should start this story. Do I start it when I was eight years old and homeless? Do I start it when I was eighteen without a penny to my name? Do I start it when I was twenty-six and at rock bottom?
Like any hero’s journey, we start at the beginning.
This is the story of how I became the best motivational speaker in America.
When I was four years old, my mother, who was a drug addict and alcoholic, cut off my right index finger. I had multiple skin grafts and surgeries. To this day, I am still reminded of where I come from every time I look at my hand.
When I was eight, my mother married my stepfather, who was beyond abusive. A real coward who liked to beat up kids.
For most of my childhood, we were deeply in poverty and homeless. This was simply my reality. In fact, we lived with thirty other families and bounced from place to place.
Now I know what you are thinking. This is a crazy story. How do you become a motivational speaker from this kind of background? Hang with me for a minute, and I will tell you.
Growing up in chaos.
Fast forward a bit to when I was twelve. I was living in an abandoned house for six weeks during a blistering hot Indiana summer. When my grandmother found out about this, she took me and eventually adopted me. In some sense, this was a godsend, but I am biracial, and my grandmother was an old racist white lady from a town in Tennessee you have never heard of.
Like any twelve-year-old in the chaos of this childhood, I turned to drugs and alcohol to numb myself from the pain I was feeling. There was a real sense of freedom about letting go of the real world and disappearing into the nothingness of whatever substance I could get my hands on.
People often ask me how I survived such a crazy childhood to be able to motivate people with my keynotes, speeches, and masterclasses on the impact of childhood trauma. Sometimes, when I am giving my inspirational keynote to businesses, corporations, and entrepreneurs, I can see in their eyes that they understand the power of becoming the hero of their own story. My vision as a child was that I was meant for something great, and somehow, being a motivational speaker would eventually be the career path that has allowed me to showcase the power of my resilience to change the world. Of course, I didn’t know that then.
I continued on the path of self-destruction for years. In fact, I got kicked out of High School three times, and fired from multiple jobs, and at eighteen, I was dead broke with no future in sight. I knew I had to make a change in my life, but I didn’t know what I was supposed to do.
As I sat in my car after being fired yet again, I started to think about the life that I wanted to have. I started thinking about how disappointed I was in myself. I was deep in thought about growing up in the environment that had shaped me into the person I was. As much as I hate to admit it, I was being a victim of my circumstances. But I knew deep down that I could break free.
The Price of not healing trauma
So, I started giving myself inspirational speeches and keynotes. Of course, these were in my head, but they were working. I was brainwashing myself to be a better version of myself. I was I motivating myself in my self-talk, in my journals, and in the mirror.
I started setting goals for myself, like making $100,000 by the time I was 21 and getting my dream car. Because I grew up in poverty, I didn’t understand that money is a tool that shows you who you are. I just wanted something different and chased it with all my energy. I put countless hours into allowing myself to have a different life.
They say luck is when preparation meets opportunity. After two years and hundreds of rejections, I landed a job with a Fortune 10 company and started making six figures. I went from barely surviving to making more money than anyone I knew. In fact, by the time I was twenty-six, I had made a million dollars.
But I paid a massive price for that wealth, one that I wouldn’t understand for years. I didn’t realize that money doesn’t heal trauma, it doesn’t make you love yourself, and it will never give you more than you can give yourself.
At twenty-six, I was 350 pounds, smoking two packs a day, drinking myself to sleep, cheating on my girlfriend, and all my friends stopped talking to me. And to make things worse, I was $50,000 in debt, my car got repoed, I was borrowing money to pay my rent, and my little brother told me to never talk to him again.
I had found rock bottom.
Changing the story in my head
If you have ever seen me give a motivational or inspirational keynote speech, you may have heard this story before. I share this because, like anyone who becomes the best speaker in the world, there is an origin story. Now, do I believe I am the best motivational speaker in the world? No. But I believe I will be. And that is because, like some of my heroes, our origin story is where we stay or blast off from.
As I lay in bed, looking at my life, I realized I once again needed to do something different. Once again, I needed to stop blaming the world for my problems, and I went back to giving myself inspirational keynotes in my head. If I could motivate myself enough to get the ball rolling, I could allow discipline to come into play and help me get the job done.
But this time was different. I was really stuck and bad. Nothing was working. Time and time again, I found myself right back in that bed, not working, not trying, deep in depression, hating the world, and looking for a way out.
Then, on one life-changing Saturday, I gave myself the best motivational speech ever. I picked myself up out of bed, looked in the mirror, and I was honest with myself for the first time. For lack of a better word, I went to WAR with myself. And I needed to because this was the first time I had acknowledged my role in my own life. I was finally taking accountability for myself. This moment not only changed me forever, but it was also the cornerstone to my inspirational keynotes and speeches.
The next four years were the most brutal four years of my life. I felt like I was taking one step forward and ten steps backward daily. But I didn’t give up. I kept pushing forward. I keep trying to create a better future for myself. I went to therapy, got a coach, and did a deep dive into personal development. I started going to courses, workshops, conferences, and seminars. And I tried every healing modality that I could to overcome the impact of trauma.
And yet, I knew there was more.
As I turned thirty, I noticed little things that were still not shifting in my life. I could see patterns and understand more in-depth why I couldn’t get myself out of the slumps I was facing despite progressing. As I learned this about myself, I went to a new level of learning.
This is where I started to study the best motivational speakers in the world. And it’s not that I had this grand plan to be a motivational speaker or give keynote speeches at conferences or events; no, I was just trying to change my mindset and the way I thought about the world. So, every day, as I rode the bus around Portland, I would listen to these incredible inspirational speakers and try to take in what they had to offer.
Top ten list of the best motivational keynote speakers
Each day I listened to this rotation, I created a top ten list of the best motivational keynote speakers, including
- Tony Robbins
- Les Brown
- Bob Proctor
- Eric Thomas
- Tom Bilyeu
- Marie Forleo
- Brendon Burchard
- Gary Vaynerchuk
- Oprah
- TD Jakes
- And more
I was slowly becoming obsessed with absorbing this knowledge. I was brainwashing myself. Each day, I listened to these inspirational speakers, whether they were black, white, yellow, or green. I consumed their award-winning keynotes regardless of their background or upbringing. I soaked in every word of their knowledge because I needed their guidance. The more I listened, the more I grew.
The first steps to becoming a motivational speaker
Then, one day, something began to shape my imagination of my potential future. I started thinking about becoming one of the best motivational speakers in the world. Now, remember I had spoken to approximately zero people, didn’t have an award-winning keynote, and needed to learn how to craft a motivational speech. But I couldn’t seem to let go of the idea. It was in my heart, and I knew I needed to investigate it.
Of course, like any motivational or inspirational speaker, my avenue for getting on stage for the first time would be at a stand-up comedy open mic. My rationale for choosing to pop on stage at an open mic was this idea I had if I wanted to be the best motivational speaker in the world. I should be able to speak in the most uncomfortable spaces. And what is more painful than the stand-up open mic? This is a 100% true story, by the way.
I thought about this for weeks and weeks. And during that time, I prepared my two-minute routine, working on punch lines, pauses, structure, and flow. I got clear on my message, and I worked out every little detail over and over. I did this all while knowing there was a possibility that I might not even get on stage the first time I signed up. But after all the preparation and firm decision that I was ready, I went to Helium Comedy Club in Portland and put my name on the list. It was time.
I waited patiently to see if I would be selected from the list of fifty people for ten spots. And sure enough, and maybe this was the universe testing me, I was drawn to go first. This was the moment; it was time to put my money where my mouth was and get on stage. I was ready. Nerves and all, I was ready.
I paced in the green room, replaying the set until I heard, “Now welcome for his first time ever, Michael Anthony.” I was not yet using the moniker Michael Unbroken.
What was really interesting about this particular night was that I had been to this club for an open mic at least a dozen times, and I had never seen such a big audience. There had to be over a hundred people in that room. Usually, there were twenty or thirty people. As I looked out over the crowd, the adrenaline in my body felt electric, and as I spoke every rehearsed line and heard the laughs, I knew that I was, in some odd way, meant to be on that stage. But, despite an amazing first showing and over a year of open mics, having fun, making new friends, and telling insane jokes, I knew deep down that I wanted to be a speaker for conferences, events, masterminds, and seminars. There was something in me that was so drawn to the idea of being a motivational speaker that I had to cut a line in the sand and choose to move toward my calling.
Now, I would like to say that I magically decided to become a motivational speaker and was on stages around the world helping millions of people. That would have been something, wouldn’t it? However, the reality is that I had no idea what I was doing and really didn’t know where to begin.
How Do I Become a Motivational Speaker
So, I did what came naturally and started researching and learning what it meant to become a motivational speaker. I kept asking myself, “How Do I Become a Motivational Speaker” and I read countless books, articles, and even hired a coach. I was off to the races because I started learning how to speak on stages, and create a keynote that people would remember and what to do to get booked. And even with all the learning, it was a brutally slow and painful process.
I was terrible at the beginning of my quest to be a motivational and inspirational speaker. Not bad in the sense that I couldn’t stand on stage and talk, but bad as in that I didn’t understand the difference between an amazing, life-changing keynote that wowed an audience and me making word sounds out of my mouth. But I didn’t quit. I had the speaking coach, books, and videos, and joined Toastmasters to dive deeper into understanding the structure.
My First Motivational Speaking Event
And so, full of grit and determination, I hosted my first-ever event. I put my all into it and would have to turn people away at the door because I was sure this would be the best motivational workshop ever. I was ready to go!
Two people showed up.
Two people showed up, and I gave them my all. And while I could have looked at that as a failure or been embarrassed because I was so focused on being the best speaker in the world, I took it as a lesson. I once heard someone say, I either win or I learn, and that day, I learned more about myself as a public speaker, mentor, and coach than I had ever imagined.
It’s not in me to quit. So, I kept going, I kept speaking, and I kept learning. I was doing everything I could to offer people value, make my keynote speech about the best in the world, and learn everything I could about delivering a message to people who needed an inspirational speaker in their lives. I just kept going.
Life was really starting to become the picture I had imagined. I traveled the world, speaking at conferences, events, masterminds, and seminars. I was writing my first book. I was growing my business as a coach and seeing so much of my hard work pay off. I wasn’t yet the best motivational speaker in the world, but I was making a real effort to build the dream.
Then the pandemic…
I learned so many lessons during this time about what it means to push through losing momentum as a business owner and speaker. I also learned about some of my general wants and needs as a man. The time of navigating this stress was both problematic and profound.
Winning the Title of Best Speaker in America
One of the things I spent the most time doing since I was stuck at home was to better educate myself as a business coach and speaker. I was reading every book I could get my hands on, attending every virtual conference, and speaking at every event I could. And one day, as I was online, I saw an ad for the book The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone. To be honest, I thought nothing of it because I had been buying books almost daily. I added this one to my “I’ll read it eventually” list.
Something about that book kept calling for my attention as it sat on the top of the pile. I had no idea who Grant was or what he was about, but the title made me curious. I wanted to be the best motivational speaker in the world, and if there might be a nugget in that book then I was willing to dive in. So, I cracked the cover, dove into chapter one, and read the entire book that day. The next morning, I downloaded and listened to the audio, but I had to have more. Something about the idea that we are all meant for more was inspiring to me.
There was no way I could guess what would happen next in the world. As I searched for more information about who he was, I found out about his conference, bought a last-minute ticket and flight, and headed to Miami. I had no idea what I was walking into, but his conference had some of the best motivational speakers I had ever seen.
At the end of the first day, I was given the opportunity to speak in a Shark Tank-style pitch-off for an investment from Grant in your business. At that moment, I knew that nothing was going to stop me from winning that speaking opportunity and that investment.
This story is far too long to blog, and I made a video about it in detail that you can watch here: https://youtu.be/H1PS2DlFEsI?si=rqRkKs-ykxSNTRsO
The TLDR; is this. I did a motivational Keynote in front of 10,000 people, against 9 other business owners, with only 2 minutes on the clock, and I won the title of Best Motivational Speaker in America and a cash investment from Cardone. It was one of those Rocky moments that reminded me why I work so hard.
Shortly after that, I won another competition and another and was racking up keynotes, conferences, virtual events, and podcasts as the best trauma-informed motivational speaker. But I still had so much to learn.
The realities of being an award-winning Motivational Speaker
What I didn’t know was the toll it would take to be on a plane 150-200 days a year, to miss events, to lose a relationship, and to actually touch physical exhaustion more than once. I was in a stark season of learning and really understanding that old phrase, “be careful what you wish for.” But, to be honest, I love it. I love standing on stages, sharing the journey of motivation, teaching people how to overcome self-doubt, and breaking down the stereotypes of what a motivational and inspirational speaker should look and sound like.
Today, I have refined my craft, learned the power of an inspirational keynote, and created a curriculum and content to help others breakthrough in their health, wealth, and relationships.
The other day, I was a guest on a podcast. I was asked why I am so passionate about being a motivational speaker and what I want from this career. I told them I don’t see myself as a motivational or inspirational keynote speaker. I see myself as a truth-teller. I see myself as this man who stands on stage and teaches. I see myself as a leader. But most importantly, I see myself as someone who figured out how to break free of The Matrix of the impact of childhood trauma to be me.
As I share my message, connect with audiences, and leave an impact on those who see me speak, my only hope is that I play all out, that I don’t leave anything on the table, and that one day, I become the best motivational speaker in the world.
And as I sit here today, I am still on this journey. I am still striving to be the best motivational speaker in the world. I am still working on my craft, learning, growing, and sharing my story.
Because I understand that the journey to becoming the best is never-ending. It is a continuous process of growth, learning, and improvement. I am committed to this journey, committed to becoming the best motivational speaker in the world, and committed to changing lives.
This is my story, and I am proud of it. This is my journey, and I am grateful for it. And this is my mission, to inspire and motivate people to become the hero of their own story.