Your voice isn't a cost. It's capital - the kind that grows every time you speak.
Public Speaking is how you multiply it into trust, impact, and legacy.

📌 In This Issue: 

• From DJ booth to keynote stage 
• Why communication is the true currency
• Late bloomers: who they are and why you should never give up

The Turning Point - From DJ Booth to Keynote Stage

How did I become a public speaker?
It wasn't a straight line - and that's exactly why this lesson matters.

For years, I was a DJ - on radio, in clubs, at big events. On the surface, it looked glamorous. Thousands of people dancing, lights flashing, my voice booming through the speakers. But here's the truth: my voice was there to fill the space between songs. 

When I outgrew that world, I went searching for my next stage. I know I loved entertaining  people - but it had to mean more than filling silence. 

I could sing, but being in a band didn't feel like my path.
I enjoyed magic, but I didn't have the patience to master every trick.
Hypnosis, thought? That fascinated me. It felt like a direct line into how people think and act.

So I went to Vegas and trained to be a stage hypnotist. Later I became a certified hypnotherapist and NLP practitioner. I ran comedy shows, helped poeple quit soming, lose weight, and beat stress. It gave me results, but still not the deeper meaning I was searching for. 

Then one night came the turning point. A corporate boss pulled me aside after a show:

"Dave, when you talked about mindset before the show... could you share that insight with my sales team?"

He didn't want the performance. He wanted the lesson.
And he offered me the same money - for just the intro.

Here's what I realised:

• Music can move people for a night.
• Magic can impress them in a moment.
• But a message? That can change their future.

That short talk became the start of my speaking career. And it taught me the real ROI of public speaking.
Not just applause, but trust.
Not just entertainment, but influence.
Not just a gig - but a career.

👉🏾 And here's why this matters to you:

Every time you speak with clarity and conviction, you're not just delivering content. 
You're compounding your influence, building opportunities, and accelerating returns that no résumé ever could.

Communication: The Currency of Influence

Most people think communication is about what they say.
It's not. 

It's about what the other person hears - and whether they act on it. 

You can talk for hours, but if no one's listening, you're wasting your breath. Either you train people to take action on your words... or you train them to tune you out.

That's the real balance of influence.

You can be the smartest person in the room. You can have world-changing ideas. But if you can't communicate them clearly, those ideas stay locked inside you.

Here's the truth: the world doesn't reward the best thinkers. It rewards the best communicators - because they turn ideas into influence.

Some are genuine experts. Others are smoke and mirrors. But both understand the same principle:
👉🏾 Attention is currency.
👉🏾 Trust is compound interest.
👉🏾 Communication is the multiplier that turns both into influence.

Now layer in AI.

Fake news. Fake avatars. Fake authority.

In a world like that, your live, spoken voice becomes a weapon no algorithm can match. When people see your lips move, hear your story, and feel your conviction - that's real. That's irreplaceable.

Right now, 99% of jobs are predicted to be replaced by AI.

But the one thing it can never replace is your ability to stand in front of an audience and be undeniably you.

That's why public speaking isn't just a career skill. It's your insurance policy for the future.

🎯 Your Voice is Your Blueprint

You've just learned how communication compounds. And nothing carries your voice further than delivering a keynote.

In last week's newsletter, I shared how Baddy and I worked together to craft his keynote. With the right mentoring, he delivered with confidence - and walked off stage to a standing ovation. Today, he's fully booked until 2028. That's the ROI of owning your voice.

That same process is inside The Keynote Speaker Blueprint is about: four private, high-impact mentoring sessions where we co-create your keynote, build your media kit, and position you as the speaker people call first.

👉🏾 Craft your keynote. Build your media kit. Become the go-to speaker.

Icons Don't Just Work, They Impact

Why should every thought leader - like yourself - step up to the mic?

Because when you speak, people gather.
When people gather, they listen.
And when they listen, your influence multiplies.

That's how industries are shaped.

History is full of voices that shifted the world - not just with inventions, armies, or strategies, but with their words. They rallied nations, inspired teams, and drove revolutions becuase they knew how to communicate.

Here's the truth:

If you can't speak, all you own is a job.
If you can speak, you own the ability to persuade an industry that your way is the only way.

That skill is worth 300% more across y our career. Not because you're louder, but because you're clearer.

And once you have attention, you carry responsibility:
To lift people.
To improve them.
To leave them better than they first met you.

Speaking isn't about ego.
It's about reach - and the responsibility that comes with it. 

👉🏾 And here's what that means for you: every time you step up to speak, you're not just filling time. You're multiplying your career, your credibility, and your capacity to lead.
That's the compound return of public speaking. 

Humaid's Breakthrough

Back in the day, I'd just been promoted to station manager at a radio station in the UAE. With the role, came big responsibilities - I had a hundred fires to put out, tough changes to make, and a team to lead. But even with all that pressure, I still believed in giving other DJs the space to grow. That's something I've always stood for.

So I promoted a young Emirati from production into a presenter's role - making him one of the first Emiratis to broadcast in English at our station.

He is Humaid. He was raw, but he was hungry. And he shone.

Fast forward a few years, I'd left radio behind and moved into a new career. At GITEX, one of the world's leading tech conferences, I spotted a familiar beaming smile in a dishdash. 

It was Humaid. He rushed over, gave me a big hug, and said, 

"I want to thank you for everything."

Then he introduced me to his boss - a Sheikh. Humaid is now head of communications and PR for the Sheikh's family office, overseeing multiple businesses.

That's the power of a platform: when you give someone a voice, you change their future. 

What began as one shot at a radio mic turned into a career at the top table of influence.

Speaking doesn't just make you visible.
It makes you valuable.

Because every time you speak, you create a chain reaction:

Reputation -> Trust -> Currency: access into rooms where real decisions - and real deals - happen.

The Career Impact of Public Speaking

Every time you step onto a stage - even a small one - you create ripples.
Those ripples spread through your business, your reputation, and yes, even your bank account.

So why do most people still stay silent?

Fear.
Fear drilled into us at school.
Fear of rejection.
Fear of being truly heard.

The reality is: the loudest and the clearest voices are the ones seen as leaders. 
And leadership always pays dividends. 
Speaking has a compounding effect.

Each time you step up, you multiply your reach, your trust, and your earning potential.
That's the real ROI.

And it starts with one decision:

👉🏾 Own your voice.

Your voice. Your ideas. Your delivery. Your community.

Here's what you can be - if you step up and own your voice.
Each stage multiplies your impact.
(These are the first 3 stages of the ladder - the full 10-stage version is in the member handout.)

1. Internal Communicator 👥 -> Influence your immediate team.
   Build respect in meetings. 
   Think: the manager who always brings clarity. (Multiplier: x1)
   
   
2. Confident Voice 🎤 -> Earn recognition company wide.
   Become the go-to person others call on to present. (Multiplier: x2)
   
   
3. Persuasive Leader 💼 -> Drive decisions.
   Close clients. Lead with authority in rooms that matter. 
   Think: the consultant who turns a pitch into a contract. (Multiplier: x4)

And that's only the beginning.

Because if you keep climbing, the ladder stretches to Level 10: Tsunami of Influence 🌊  - where everything you say shapes industries, shifts markets, and build legacy.
That's the stage where voices like Indra Nooyi, Barack Obama, Taylor Swift, or Richard Branson operate. Every word becomes currency.

That's the power - and the payoff - of owning your voice.