Carving out a path for your own success means being able to knock through things that get in the way of you ultimately attaining success. Overcoming obstacles, no matter how big they are, is essential to growth and victory. Adam Lewis Walker is a podcaster, TEDx speaker and bestselling author. Scott Carson talks with Adam about defying the odds that obstacles have a created, especially as an entrepreneur. Let Adam’s story help you find a way to awaken your inner alpha.

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Awaken Your Inner Alpha With Adam Lewis Walker

I’m excited to be here. If you haven’t started putting in place the things that you need to do to make 2020 your year, you need to do it now. Wake up that inner beast out there. I am excited to have a special guest. Hopefully, he’ll awaken the alphas inside of you out there. I’m talking about my fellow Icon of Influence, a friend of mine that I met at the New Media Summit. I had the pleasure to hang out with him a couple of times. This guy’s energy is contagious. He’s a rock star out there. If you don’t know him, you need to start following this guy because this guy is doing some big things. I’m talking about Adam Lewis Walker.

He’s a leadership TEDx speaker, two-time best-selling author, and coach. He hosts a top-ranked podcast Awaken Your Alpha, interviewing the world’s elite minds since 2014. He helps aspiring TEDx speakers achieve their own talk through his TalkXcelerator program and complimentary TalkXcelerator podcast. He’s a former teacher and international pole vaulter. He was working towards the Olympics when his career was cut short by a freak accident. Adam gave a TED Talk, Awaken Your Alpha: How to Rise Up and Lead Your Life. It’s been featured on Huffington Post, ESPN, Podfest, Influencers Radio and many more. We’re honored to have our buddy Adam Lewis Walker joining us. What’s going on, Adam?

That was an awesome introduction. Thank you so much. I’m excited to speak to you. It’s always a good time. Every time I speak to you, I learn a lot as well.

The beautiful thing is when we get alphas in a room, we learn from each other and share ideas. That’s what I love about the podcasting community is it’s a great share-share because there’s enough market for everybody, right?

Definitely and I’m talking about some of our podcasts, yours is specific, The Note Closers Show. I love that. Stuff like that inspired me for stuff like the TalkXcelerator podcast because it’s about landing your TEDx Talk. We only interview TEDx speakers and organizers. I like the fact that some people will love it and some people who will rightly so be like, “What’s the point in that? That has nothing to do with me.”

One of the things I wanted to talk with you about is that so many people are excited about the new year. We’d spent a lot of time leading up to the new decade like, “If you’re not changing things and changing what you’re doing on a day-in, day-out basis, the new year is not going to change for you.” From talking with investors and our students, a lot of people feel like they’re going through a bit of a pivot. You went through a major one, going from being hopefully an Olympic athlete to having to change your focus. Do you want to talk about the mindset behind that and what led to help you come up with Awaken Your Alpha?

I was always inspired by the Olympic Games from a young age. That was the goal and the aspiration. I didn’t think about it too much but I was always like, “I’d love to do that,” and the specific details of what sport would be a key thing or what event. It was getting there in any shape or form. It’s dedication. I love the variety of the Olympics with other countries coming and the whole ethos behind it of mind, body and spirit. I found myself getting into the pole vault. I was a basketball player as well but some people said I’m a bit too short to be a basketball player. Back then, I was young and people do influence you massively. That, unfortunately, killed that a little bit. I should have listened to and been inspired by Spud Webb and Muggsy Bogues.

At 28 years old, I got into my biggest competition which was the UK Final. It’s an English summertime so it’s horizontal rain. On paper, my best is to get into this competition. I’m one of the ones expected to feature in the medals. Because the conditions were awful or I should say the reality of England or reality of life, it’s more of a level playing field. The guys who are in ideal conditions, technically on paper, who should turn up and smash it as in life, business and podcast, who’s the cleverest, doesn’t always work out. I handled the bad conditions well. I was in fourth place, going for a medal. There were only four of us left. It’s a pole vault elimination so the bar goes higher. I needed to do something more.

I reached the end of what I could get on that pole. I pulled out a bigger pole, the one I’m using in good conditions and attempted to use it in bad conditions. I slipped in a puddle on takeoff, tore my ACL, dislocated my knee, ripped the meniscus cartilage of my bones and bruised the bones. That was the end of the pole vault. More importantly, that was the end of my lifestyle, my goals and my identity. It took a while to dig in. I was in denial. On the surface, everything looked good apart from my knee as big as a coconut. I became depressed and had to reassess what I am. I identified myself, I can say now, too much with one specific thing. I was a pole vaulter and everyone introduced me like that. When that was taken away, I didn’t have the mental strength to back it up with much else. I relied too much on my physicality. I wasn’t as mentally strong as I had thought, which you don’t know when you’re in the crap. That’s what happened to me.

I have torn my ACL as well too. It is not an easy injury to recover from. It’s a good nine months until you’re even close to being close and stuff. Especially for you, leading up to the Olympics, which is once every four years. I can understand that identity crisis, the “who am I” aspect of things.

The cartilage was the worst part of it. They repaired the ACL with a piece of my hamstring. That was never a huge issue in the end because the cartilage was so bad. The surgeon said it was like trying to sew wet spaghetti together. They had an operation to try and save it and months later, it wasn’t quite right. They had to go in and basically take the majority of it all out. The real mental side of it was having to go back to square one. You do all this work and then we’ve got to go back into the operation. It’s just rehab, prehab, rehab, prehab, crutches and operations for about two years. It chipped away my mentality, more than anything.

It was a tough time, going through depression trying to figure out what’s going on. It took you a little while. What do you think was the major point that made you say, “Snap out of this. You’ve got to do something different?” Is there a time that you can think back that was that major focal point?

 

It links back to one of the angles I’m taking or at least the Awaken Your Alpha podcast is tied into this. Throughout the whole time when I was struggling, I was trying to get better. I never gave up but it wasn’t working. I wanted to feel better and it just wasn’t happening so I stuck with it. I remember the day my first son was born in 2010. It was about two years after and it was an extra thing to you out of it. The worst thing was that you can’t get out of your own head. It’s always all about you and even if you’re aware, it’s hard to get out. I was having that realization that I’m not in a good spot and I do not want to have any influence like this around my son. Around that stage, it was an effort to be an even keel. It’s not like having a small conversation, small talk or just general things. That’s a huge effort because you’re feeling so crappy. That was a real kick up the butt. This is not just going to have an impact on yourself to focus on something other than yourself. I hear entrepreneurs talk about how kids are a bit of a hack sometimes.

It wasn’t an instant thing, to be realistic here. It was a specific point of hitting rock bottom where I couldn’t deny it anymore. My mom rumbled me. She broke through the BS that I was saying, “I’m fine.” I started getting gradually better. I felt a lot better because I could sense and see that I was on the right path in terms of, “I was better than yesterday. Not a whole lot, but slowly getting there.” It took as long for me to drag myself out of that as it did to get down there.

That’s the thing is we sometimes like to wallow in it. It’s touchy because people know you’re going through it and the first thing they ask is, “How’s your knee? How’s rehab?” That’s the last thing I feel like talking about right now. I don’t want to talk about my failure or my injury. Let’s find something else and move that direction. You had your son. Let’s change the energy.

I talked about it now. It seems not an issue but I’ve talked about it many times. I couldn’t watch track and field for 3 or 4 years after that. That’s weird but it didn’t seem so at the time. I didn’t want to be reminded of It. I had some issues around it. It didn’t get like, “I went and started writing books and a podcast.” I was obsessed with getting to the Olympics, yet something changed. I couldn’t pole vault. That’s one thing. I actually managed to get into Great Britain sitting volleyball squad in the build-up to 2012.

Because my knee was so messed up, I was invited to try out for some of the teams. I got into that squad as a minimal disability athlete. The reality was, even though I trained and gave it my all, every time the championships come around, I would get bumped out of the squad. There are only two spots for that position. They happen to be Great Britain’s greatest standing volleyball player we’ve ever had for twenty years who was kept in Great Britain. He would just walk into the squad rightly so but for me, I was like, “Ouch. Am I going to keep banging my head against the brick wall or acknowledge that I’ve got to let this go? It’s not going to happen.” It wasn’t through quitting, as it were, but it was the reality. The sacrifice would have taken, they wanted you to be a professional but amateur, at the same time. We did well in training. After a year or so, it was clear that no matter how well I did, I was going to get bumped. I do understand it so that’s why I moved away from that as well.

That makes sense. That’s something a lot of us face. We want to get somewhere and no matter how much heart we have, we don’t have the talent or have the things working for us. Not everything lines up because sometimes there are limited spots out there. That’s a hard conversation to have with yourself like, “I’ve got to move on.” You could obviously be a professional amateur. You’ve got a kid, you’ve got a wife.

It dawned on me when I’m traveling into London on the train midweek missing my kid’s bedtime. It’s raining, it’s dreary, it’s dark, and we go training. It wasn’t particularly fun training but I’ve always made my training, even to the high level, fun. The Great Britain coach at the time, we had a different approach. He was a negative coach. If he saw his players laughing and having fun, he would get on your case. It was a whole accumulation. It was like, “What am I doing? I’m doing this and missing out on this.” Time and time again, it was not worth the sacrifice. If I set something, I’m going to do it. It’s hard to sometimes reassess and acknowledge that, “This is not worth the sacrifice and probably is not going to happen.”

That’s a tough conversation to have. I think everybody goes through that, at some point, no matter how successful or unsuccessful you are. Even the greats go through that.

You can let your ego get ahold of you. If I’d have stuck with that for another two years to the Olympics, I knew it wasn’t going to actually happen but it would have been my ego. I’m going to follow through and, in some ways, waste the next two years just because I said I would do it. Don’t let your ego get you into those situations. Hold your hands up and reassess.

Once you came to, “I’ve got to stop doing this. I’ve got to do something different,” what led to you deciding to write or come up with the Awaken Your Alpha book?

At around 2010, the day my son was born, I actually launched the UK Youth Conditioning Association. It’s something that’s been on my mind for years. It dawned on me that, “Am I going to be one of the dads who say I thought about doing this?” and “Why don’t you do this? I had this great idea when I was whatever but I didn’t do anything about it.” If I’m not going to do it now, when will I do it? That kicked off that side of things. I wrote a book around the time called Fit Kid, Fat Kid. It never came out because I wrote this whole book and then had an opportunity to be a co-author of a book. I cut it down to a chapter.

In 2013, that book came out and became a bestseller. On the surface again, I was like, “What is the connection here?” It’s such a mix of authors like a 60-year-old dentist from South Africa and a 30-something-year-old teacher from England. It was so random. It’s only when I met these people in person at the Icon Award ceremony much later that I had these conversations. I was like, “I get it.” I get the mindset and the success leaves clues thing. I was getting along well with these people. I hadn’t had these kinds of in-depth conversations in that way before. That’s when I had the idea that this needs to be shared in some format.

 

I had the idea for a book at the same time, if not before the podcast. I wanted it to be like a legacy book, dig into it and research it for years. That’s where the idea of the podcast, Awaken Your Alpha came in as an elaborate research project for the book. I dug into that. I didn’t want to set this four-year goal at the Olympics and get nothing of value in the meantime that it might not happen. The podcast was a nice way to start sharing that instantly but also researching the book. It came to a time of, “When do you pull the plug? Are 100 interviews, 200 interviews or 300 interviews enough?” I initially thought, “Maybe I’ll do the book once I land Arnold Schwarzenegger for the interview.” There comes a point, “Maybe he’ll have to go on volume two.” The quality is there and I’ve got to get this out before something happens to me.

Around that time, I was still teaching at a college in South London for three days a week. It meant I was flying to the States on Wednesday evening and landing back on Monday morning. I remember that when I land on Monday morning, I drove straight from the airport to college. I’ve always started Monday mornings with a forum time where we would sit down. They’d say, “How’s your weekend?” and I would say the odd thing. They didn’t believe the things that I would hint at things. They had no idea but I was getting pulled in two different directions too much. I was an amateur entrepreneur and podcaster. I was an amateur teacher because I wasn’t a full-time professional in both. That was a tough transition time. All advice was, “Stick with this transition and don’t make the jump completely.”

At a certain point, I had two children and I had to make the call. That’s when I launched the podcast and dove in. One of the big goals I’ve set was to move to the States, specifically in the middle of nowhere, up in the Grand Lakes, in the wilderness. I know the teaching jobs are there but only when people die and retire. A podcast can go anywhere. I made a tough decision before I left in anticipation and then I’ve been working at it. It’s a lot of ups and downs and tangents. I’m a fan of setting these markers and working out how on earth you can fill the gaps and transition and get in that direction.

Where’s home? You said in the Great Lakes, but where specifically?

In Rogers City. It’s about 4.5 hours north of Detroit. It’s a different world. It’s more like Canada. I didn’t even know it existed but it’s where my wife’s mom is originally from. We used to come to visit in the summer, as most people do. We stayed. There’s zero crime here. My boys, it’s a great place to bring them up. They can run wild. It’s beautiful. It’s a little fresh, but remember, I’m coming from rain. Snow and sun are fun. Rain, not so much fun, in my opinion.

That’s the truth. With all the people that you’ve interviewed on your podcast and the book, have you found an identifiable thread through them all of a way how people overcame things or made a big pivot and overcoming obstacles? What’s the underlying factor that you’ve seen from all your interviews with your guests?

Some kind of mission and I know that the times in my life when I’ve struggled the most, or even when I’ve had a bit of a wobble, is when that mission doesn’t exist or it’s unclear to me. You can either ignore that and plow on in what you’re doing, which is not a good idea or you can stop and take the time to ask, “What’s going on here?” That’s what I mean about reassessing. If I hadn’t reassessed, I would have been head down and focused on one thing. I would have gotten to the end of it and realized, “This is not what I wanted.” Have a clear mission, however you want to phrase that for yourself in terms of what’s important to you and what you’re striving for. It shouldn’t be these external things. It can be a mixture.

Your mission could be to be the best father ever. Everything you do comes under that funnel. It runs through that filter. Your daily habits, actions or decisions, if someone says, “I’ve got this opportunity,” will either move you towards your goal or align with your values or away from it. It’s hard to stay still and maintain. That concept of everything you do is step closer a step away is, for some people, not good to admit. They’re like, “I’m maintaining. I’m ticking over.” You’re ever-growing or you’re dying in the most ruthless sense. It’s important to know which direction you’re pointed. That all comes from having a clear mission and reassessing that mission. You don’t have to stick to a mission you set when you were eighteen years old, because when you’re older, you’re sticking to a kid’s naive opinion or goal. If you don’t reassess, you likely won’t get there. If you do get there, you’ll realize it was a bit of a hollow one or it’s not all you thought it was made up to be. You didn’t even think about it, you just followed this because of society or you, as a younger person, set this goal and haven’t reassessed.

If you don’t have a clear why, clear direction, it’s easy to drift off and squander opportunities or energy. It’s either you’re going forward or you’re failing back. That’s a huge point. I know you like to read as I do. One of my favorite books is Outwitting the Devil by Napoleon Hill. Have you had a chance to read that one?

No, I haven’t.

 

I’ve got to get you a copy.

His main one, Think and Grow Rich was the most recommended book in over 350 shows. That’s the one everyone always mentioned but not Outwitting the Devil.

It’s written by Napoleon Hill. It’s him having a conversation with the devil, asking the devil why he’s so successful. He says, “I’m successful because I get people to drift. People chase squirrels. They don’t have a clear focus on where they want to go.” That makes a lot of sense with what you said there.

I wanted to say thank you as well. You said to think about this new year thing. It’s why that’s not such a big deal in my thoughts because I break it down to the daily actions. It’s another day, it’s just another month. I like the fact that it gives people a slap on the face to think, “Let’s make some changes.” My parents were here for a month over Christmas. You would think about everyone starting their year. I didn’t start in a business or work sense until mid-January, which I plan so it’s not an issue. I’d started my year with the most important things, family and spending that quality time.

I want to get back to stuff and I felt behind. I questioned, “Behind who? Behind what?” You planned this because it’s important and then realize it was only the outside influence of being aware of everyone starting the year right. “I’ve done this in the first week of January,” and feeling that little element of trying to compare. “I’m behind.” I’m like, “By whose marker?” That was weird enough. You have to be aware of this. They still can get you. That’s purely social conditioning and comparing your situation to others, which is a stupid thing to do. I was like, “I just checked myself. Go and focus on what you know is important.” My year, if you want to look at it in that sense, started on January 14th. I had it on the calendar and I cracked on from there. I had to check myself, to relax, make the most and be present. That’s another thing that is a big pitfall. It’s great to have family around. If they’re there and you spend the whole time thinking about your workday tomorrow, all these things you can do when they’re gone, you’re not present and that’s such a shame.

I love what you said there. That’s such a truth. The Keeping Up with the Joneses, I say it’s social envy. I call it Fakebook a lot of times, “I’m so grander.” I’m like, “Really?” We get so sucked into that society facade and you’re right. You’re only competing against yourself. You can’t compete against somebody else because their situation is completely different. The picture of that iceberg is a great analogy that we go through. Most people only see the success. They don’t see all the stuff that goes into it and what we’re dealing with on a day-in, day-out basis.

When someone blankets a statement and reaches out to me and says, “You’ve done all this. You’re so successful,” that doesn’t feel right in my gut. As you said, the iceberg, that’s not reality. I’m like, “Why do you think that? How do you know that? I’ve been here the whole time. That’s not how it is.” I don’t want to not address that with someone and say thanks. It gives them a false impression. I might be striving for what they think I’ve got, which is not the reality. It’s the pursuit, it’s a daily approach to life. If you’re not enjoying that then you’ve got to make some changes. It doesn’t justify achieving great things if your daily work, habits, presence and fulfillment is not there.

So many people fill things up the time they can use for other powerful or meaningful things, like family, with stuff that’s a waste of time and not worth it. Would you mind sharing what your mission or goal is? I’m sure you’ve got one that’s pretty clearly defined, hopefully.

This is useful for talking it through because it is to amplify your mission or to help people amplify their message and mission. That’s where they go together in terms of the podcast, in a sense, why I had these two podcasts. Awaken Your Alpha is about amplifying your mission, planning a bigger game and stepping up. It’s a personal leadership show book. It’s all about that and taking responsibility. The TEDx side of things is specifically about amplifying your message. The two generally go together. If you’ve got a clear mission and something you believe in, you’re leading with that. This TEDx platform is a specific tool that is efficient in getting that message out there to a wider audience. It can open certain doors that you can smash through and take advantage of. Like anything, a podcast is not going to make everything magical. A TEDx is not going to make everything magical. I learned that with my first book. If you just write a book, put it out there and don’t do anything with it and put your feet up, you’ve done a book that barely has any point apart from it feeling therapeutic to write. That’s about it. It’s just a tool. It’s important to use these things properly to help you in your mission in terms of the mindset.

You’ve got to put the things in place. That’s what I love about your TalkXcelerator. It’s different. Most people are like, “TEDx Talks, we’re going to talk about our topic.” That podcast is completely different. Share with our readers what’s so great about that and your focus and mission with the TalkXcelerator.

The last thing I wanted is another podcast. It doesn’t make me a podcaster. I’m an experienced podcaster so I was reluctant to put it out in that format. I’ve been working with clients on the TalkXcelerator process, helped people land TEDx and all the insider stuff. You learn from only going for it for years yourself and then helping people. The podcast came off the back of, “How can I make this such a valuable podcast before it’s even launched?” For me and my clients, first, and then in getting that message out there. The whole point is visibility.

As part of my process, I reach out for my clients to TEDx events that they’ve identified are potentials for them in their area or theme. I can’t guarantee it because these are individuals, but generally, I have an interview with that TEDx organizer and find out for them what exactly they are looking for. What is the application? It gets specific and detailed. The Awaken Your Alpha, I have a structure but it’s conversational whereas the TalkXcelerator is only about how to land the TEDx. What are they looking for? If you’re not into that, it’s going to be a boring show.

 

I only interview TEDx speakers and TEDx organizers on their experience. Specifically, when things go wrong as well. You always see the polished videos on YouTube. I want to go behind the red spot, what it took to get there and how you got there. What impact has it had on your speaker’s lives? What impact has that had on your life? Why would you do it? Why wouldn’t you do it? All these minor things that you only learn from speaking to individuals. I’ve got my opinions and my experiences, which are valuable, but they’re not everyone’s. That’s where the variety comes in.

I do these interviews, and they usually end up being near 30 to 40 minutes. That goes straight to my members’ area or my client may watch that before they apply. That’s what it’s all about, ways to increase your chances because you definitely can’t guarantee it. That’s something I like about it. Later down the line, in line with TED’s guidelines, an edited eighteen-minute interview goes out. It’s jam-packed. It flip-flops between an organizer or a speaker once a week. TEDx Tuesday, I call it. There’s a lot of value in that. I understand that probably 95% of people are never going to work with me directly or do the course and get that support that way, but that is so valuable. If that inspires someone to hear, “This is the reality. It’s not always shiny. I am capable of that,” actually going to get it, I can’t lose. It’s putting a lot of value out there but it’s also visibility.

If someone wants to put their flag in the sand, “This is the year. I’m not going to wishy-washy look for it. I’m going to listen to this podcast of people who’ve done it,” then, “How can I make it happen quicker?” I do believe everyone potentially can do it. It’s a question of when you have the time. We’re all busy, that you’re doing ABC and not all the things you could do. There are a lot of things you could do. Generally, for the people who work with me or go for the course, it’s hard getting that talk as a priority above family time or business time. You don’t generate revenue directly from it or it gets put on the back burner for people. It’s surprising how many people have come in for whom it’s been a thing for months or years. It keeps sliding and it will never come to the point that it’s that level of accountability. You don’t make it a priority, just a small half hour a week and then land it and it happens. You’ll get benefited from it now and going forward as opposed to something you do before you croak right near the end.

What’s been the biggest impact from your talk that you had?

I had a nice clear one in the same year it came out. If you know someone or you’ve got a contact, that’s great. It doesn’t mean they’ll confirm you as a speaker in that format. Straight away, I used that and I ended up speaking within about four months. It was probably one of my most fancy venues. It was in the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, where they held the first Oscars. The venue is beautiful. The people who shot the video are Emmy winning directors. It looks awesome. Having gone through the TEDx as well, it was a ten-minute format. It stretched me again but I’d obviously gone through that format. I was way more relaxed in the TEDx because it didn’t have the TEDx name associated with it. They were aware of me but when I was looking into this, I just said, “Hey.”

That’s the question mark. In that environment in front of 300 best-selling authors, it’s quite a high-level event. It removes doubt. I said my TEDx. For the organizers as well, there’s a level of quality that comes associated with that. They can check it out. They did check it out. I’m pretty confident. They may even watch ten seconds of it to see how it’s going to transition. That’s a real direct thing right after it. It opens so many doors. That was one thing that sticks in the mind. You’ve got to use it to leverage on to the next one. I’m always in the process of doing it.

If I see TEDx attached to their bio, I interview them for both shows. I do way less research if any. I know someone has selected them and they’ve got an idea worth sharing that they can share in under eighteen minutes. For a podcast, I’m like, “Beautiful.” To a certain extent, I could sit back and say, “Tell us about your idea.” That’d be the show filled. I haven’t been let down yet. I’m sure there are 1 or 2 out there who have done a TEDx Talk where the quality isn’t up there. I haven’t yet to experience that. You’re going to get the best from someone. It takes a certain mindset to go after a TEDx and dedicate that time to a message. It’s a stamp of quality and it’s so far holding true for everyone I’ve run into.

That’s with anything, you’ve got to spend some time and make it a focal point, whether it’s your TEDx Talk or working out or writing a book or doing something. You’ve got to set it as a priority versus, “I’ll get to it later.”

That was my motivation behind the program and how it’s evolved to make it excuse proof. If you leave one little door open, people go for that as an excuse. It got rock solid over the years.

What’s the most surprising TED Talk that you’ve heard or personally interviewed that stood out? Was either opposite of what you thought or somebody that set you back a little bit?

A talk title I thought was quite good and fit for the person and their whole vibe. Your TEDx Talk doesn’t need to be all and everything you’re about. It can be one aspect of you and make it unique. You know who he is. It was Dr. Morgan Oaks. His TEDx was Learning the Language of Dude. That was a surprise and that was his TEDx title before. I’d met him first in person before I knew anything about him, how he carried himself, and what he’s about. He’s a doctor as well. I think he was going surfing the day after the event, so he had a bit of that vibe that was definitely authentic to him. You might assume that his talk and beyond might be more highbrow or something like that. I absolutely loved it. I was pleasantly surprised when his talk was Learning the Language of Dude. It fit with him and what he’s all about.

The TEDx has got to be something simple and catchy to understand. The best ones are taking something complex and simplifying it down into a how-to or getting you curious and learning. There have been hundreds, but I liked that one. He was confident enough to be like, “This is my moment on the TEDx stage. I’m going to go down and have some fun with it. That’s my talk title,” as opposed to, “This is how clever I am. I’ve got all this and have this complex title.” It happens a lot and I know TEDx organizers have to back people down and get back to the focus of what you’re doing. It’s not about you. You get loads of great benefits from going through that process but in the talk, in the purest sense, it is an idea worth sharing and focusing on having that impact in the world so people listen to it.

That’s such a great point there. I agree. Don’t overcomplicate it, keep it simple. That works a lot in a lot of places out there, not just speaking. You and I both have seen speakers or people who talk way above their audience. They don’t keep it simple and they lose everybody in the first five minutes, whereas keeping it simple and having some fun with it can drive that. It not only increases the energy but gets the audience or listeners involved more so.

My first TEDx Talk was Awaken Your Alpha. If I’d run it now knowing what I knew, it wouldn’t be Awaken Your Alpha. It would be one piece of it, focused in. It was 2016 and I assumed we would work on that title a little bit more we’ll get more niched down. Every event is different and that was not something in their process. They assumed I would work on it and vice versa. The working title became the title. Awaken Your Alpha is a cool podcast name and book name. In terms of a TEDx, if you’re being specific, it’s not specific enough. There’s a curiosity element to it. They chopped up the whole thing. It was too long when they put on the subtitles. These are minor things that I help people avoid now because they’re pitfalls. Once it’s happened, it’s happened. There’s not much you can do. Mine was wrapped to be eighteen minutes again. I know that the next one I do will be closer to ten. A lot of people who you probably would have had for ten minutes are going to be lost no matter how good your talk is. By fifteen, they’ve got more things to do. A ten-minute talk will take more time and effort to create than an eighteen-minute talk.

I think so, too. I’ve spoken at some events where I’ve made short appearances. When you’re a speaker, you like to talk. You like to hear yourself speak. You want to have points. In ten minutes, you better get to the point fast.

I’ve had situations like that as well where someone says, “You got five minutes,” and you think, “Brilliant.” There’s no time. I just jump up there. That’s the problem, it is no time. It’s easy to tell yourself, “It’s such a short talk. I’ll go and do a broken down version of my hour-long or my 30-minute message.” Every second count. It stands out when someone has taken a little bit of prep. You do get caught out when you have these short times and you ramble. Someone goes, “That’s your time. That’s it.” You’ve used your three minutes to set up what you’re about to say and time’s gone or something random happens like you’re talking to an audience member and that’s your time. Your time is time.

Everybody, check out his podcast, Awaken Your Alpha and the TalkXcelerator podcast. It’s great stuff out there. Adam, you do an amazing job. I can hear your passion for wanting to help people take their stuff to the next level because you’ve gone through it. You’ve pole-vaulted over those hurdles, in some cases. I want to thank you for coming on the podcast and sharing some great insights and great nuggets. Thanks for being here.

Thanks for having me. In terms of Awaken Your Alpha, we talk about digging in, being authentic and true, that is moving more and more towards men’s development focus podcast and dad’s development. I say it in a selfish sense, but that’s what interests me. It’s chipping away these things of what’s important to you and being okay with the fact. There are a lot of entrepreneurial shows out there. We still have lots of entrepreneurs, but flipping it and more focusing on the family side. Being a good dad alongside entrepreneurs or professionals and all sorts. That’s something that’s transitioning more and more and having that network of committed dads like that.

Thanks so much for being here. As he said, think back to that. What’s your mission? What’s your goal? What’s your compass in directing you where you want to be? Think about that if you don’t have direction or compass, it’s okay to falter, we all falter. Keeping that eye on the prize, eye on the mission is going to help you get there a whole lot quicker versus sitting around and letting the days eat you up. Go out and take some action and we’ll see you all at the top.

 Important Links:

• Adam Lewis Walker
• Awaken Your Alpha – Adam’s podcast
• TalkXcelerator
• New Media Summit
• TalkXcelerator – Podcast
• Awaken Your Alpha: How to Rise Up and Lead Your Life – Adam Lewis Walker’s TEDx Talk
• Awaken Your Alpha
• UK Youth Conditioning Association
• Outwitting the Devil
• Think and Grow Rich
• Dr. Morgan Oaks – episode on TalkXcelerator
• Learning the Language of Dude – Dr. Morgan Oaks’ TEDx Talk

About Adam Lewis Walker

Adam Lewis Walker is a Leadership Speaker TEDx, 2 x Best-selling Author and Coach. He hosts the top-ranked podcast Awaken Your Alpha, interviewing the world’s elite minds in over 380 episodes since early 2014. Adam helps aspiring TEDx Speakers to achieve their own talk through his TalkXcelerator Program. From this work he shares the “How To Get a TEDx Talk” in the complimentary TalkXcelerator Podcast.

A former teacher and international pole-vaulter. In 2008 Adam was attempting to reach the Olympics when his career was cut short by a freak accident. Adam hit rock bottom. He had to rebuild his dreams and identity.

In 2013, Adam co-authored The New Rules of Success, sharing his no-nonsense approach to health, family and leadership. The success of this bestselling book led to the creation of the podcast and Adam’s quest to share inspirational stories, strategies and insights to be the leader in your life. As a coach and mentor, he works to cultivate the mindset needed for excellence and fulfillment while getting results. As a speaker Adam gave the TEDx talk Awaken Your Alpha, How to Rise Up and has been featured in The Huffington Post, ESPN, PodFest, Influencers Radio and many other media outlets.

In 2018 “Awaken Your Alpha – Tales & Tactics To Thrive” became an international bestseller on it’s October release. This book is based on the 5 years of research from his podcast.

He is a proud parent to Dylan and Harrison with his wife Christina. Originally from West Sussex in the south of England. Recently Adam achieved a lifelong dream moving his family to America.

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