Colonel Harlan Sanders, 65, dead broke, sleeping in his battered old car, driving around the United States for years trying to convince restaurant owners to serve the pressure-cooked fried chicken recipe he named Kentucky Fried Chicken. . .

Sylvester Stallone enduring years and years and years of rejection by every Hollywood studio as he shopped his unheard of screenplay about a mythical boxer he named Rocky. . .

What is the connection linking Jan Vermeer, Colonel Sanders, Sylvester Stallone and you? Relentless diligence. Thats the connection. How relentlessly diligent are you? If youre a successful speaker, you know about relentless diligence.

If youre not enjoying the speaking business success you long for, listen up. These articles are for you. For Over 20 years (Where did the time go) Ive been speaking, training, writing and mentoring at the national (now international) level.

Heres proof that relentless diligence is a major key to speaking business success. Im a good speaker, not a great speaker. I proved that anybody can be a success in this business.

My version of relentless diligence: Living in Santa Monica, (Pacific Time Zone) Up shortly after 4 AM., run 3 miles, meditate, shower, eat, dress. On the phone by 5 AM calling Eastern Time Zone decision makers. Smile and dial, smile and dial, smile and dial. Work Westward through the time zones until 9 AM. Always phoning early in the morning while the day is young.

Ask the right questions, always empathetic and caring. Way more concerned with adding value to a meeting than with my fee. Following up carefully. 15 hours a week of this (When not on the road) yield about 75 breakout sessions and just a few keynotes each year. Nice fees. Six figure income. Comfortable lifestyle.

Of course you must have words of wisdom to share from the platform. A decent one-sheet. At least an audio demo. A video demo is better. A web site, even a modest one. A home office from which to function. And you gotta never give up, never give up, never give up.

Lets face it, life is not fair. And hundreds of wanna-bes move from aspiring to surviving to being successful to being significant every year. Why not you? Do a thousand and one little things better every day. Focus on making a difference, making a difference, making a difference.

Model relentless diligence, model relentless diligence, model relentless diligence. It never ends. This is the price you pay to be successful as an expert who speaks. Every successful expert who speaks is a champion.

Success in the speaking business: You can have it if you want it. And youve got to want it enough to have it.