In Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – Dreams Without Actions Stay Dreams

Editor's Note: Taken before his full impact could be felt, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. remains to this day one of history’s greatest communicators. He was a man that valued knowledge and honesty, and yearned to bring hope and positivity to a country that was struggling.  In keeping with his spirit of positivity, CommPRO is pleased to share the wisdom of Chuck Hester, the man who believes in and lives the life of  "paying it forward."By Chuck HesterWe all have dreams. Big ones, small ones. Seemingly impossible ones. I’m no different.I’ve been a marketing and public relations professional for almost 30 years. For the past 10 years, I have, in one form or the other, also been a professional speaker.My dream has always been to make a living as a professional speaker full time. This year I’m taking action to make that dream a reality.Some who know me would say I’m already “living the dream.” I’ve spoken at conferences throughout the United States, in Canada and Mexico and even in Australia.But I’ve never really pursued my dream with passion. Ironic, since this is a true passion!My hope in writing this post is to inspire readers to do the same – make their dreams a reality by taking decisive action.Here’s what I’m doing to make my dream a reality:1. Getting help – I have hired a virtual assistant to help me in my speaking business. By the way, it is telling that I rarely refer to myself as being in the speaking business! She is helping me put together a speaker’s kit, and also researching potential speaking opportunities I can pursue.2. Using online resources to find opportunity – I have joined SpeakerMatch – a portal for speakers and organizations looking to hire speakers. I now have a profile and can be seen by meeting planners and organizations that might not have seen me before. You can find me at: https://www.speakermatch/profile/chuckhester3. I am publicizing my dream – through LinkedIn (my main expertise), Twitter and Facebook I am posting my information. On LinkedIn, in particular, I added a new position – Professional Speaker. By doing so, my network of more than 16,000 direct connections now know I’m a speaker. Most/some of them already know this, but for me, this formalizes my dream into reality.4. Reaching out to my network – not only did I post my new information on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, I also let people in my groups know that I’m now pursuing my dream. Many of these connections are professional speakers – many I admire and want to emulate. In a way, this will make me more accountable to those who support me, and I support in return.5. Formalizing this as a business – while I still consult on marketing and public relations, I am now officially in the professional speaking business, too. It may seem trivial to say, but by articulating my dream I am working to make it a day-to-day reality. That means setting aside time each day to promote and grow this part of my business.Do you have a dream? What are you doing to make it your reality?I encourage you to dream, then take action!If I can be an encouragement in any way, please feel free to reach out to me. [author]About the Author: Chuck Hester is a professional speaker, helping businesses get the most out of LinkedIn while teaching them how to communicate effectively. Contact him directly at chuck@chuckhester.com or invite him to connect via LinkedIn. [/author]