Jan
20
Written by:
Knockbeg College Blog
20 January 2012
Motivational speaker Kevin Kelly visited Knockbeg College on Monday, 16th January. Kevin is one of the country’s foremost motivational speakers, keynoting at events across the world from the US to Korea. He has worked for Fortune 500 companies including Pfizer and Coca-Cola, and prestigious professional trade associations like the Million Dollar Round Table.
He has written several books including "Basics Before Buzz Life: A Trip Toward Trust "(available free as an e-book on his website: Kevinkellyunlimited.com) and the bestselling" How? When you don’t know How." He has also produced several motivational CDs. He was the keynote speaker at the Small Firms Association Annual Conference at the end of September 2011. During the morning he spoke to the Leaving 11, Leaving 1 and Transition Year classes for an hour each. He also addressed the staff.
In his keynotes with the students Kevin focused on the following areas:
- The intimate link between the way we think and the way we look. Ultimately Kevin argued that to get an assessment of anyone’s thoughts all that was required was to open your eyes. He also mentioned that the amount of time you have to make a good first impression is minimal – many people are assessed within seconds. “To make a positive first impression, it is critical we have the right mindset,” he asserted
- One way he suggested of improving your mindset is setting goals. He warned that if you detail the pros and cons of any dream it is likely you will end up with enough reasons not to act. That is why he argued you should focus on the dream. Kevin shared the story of how he set the goal of writing a Best Selling Book with a “D” in English in both his Junior and Senior exams. His first book sold 15,000 copies.
- Kevin also emphasised the importance of active listening in the context of negotiation – he believes we are living in an attention deficit society where listening is becoming a rare skill.
- He also focused on the key mistakes made in the context of job preparation – “why do you want the job?” is probably the question that eliminates most participants – believe it or not. Why because their answer shows jobseekers are going for any job and they are not committed to this one – and they end up getting nothing. Kevin shared with the students how to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that you want the job – he also informed the classes how you can have your own virtual research team for zero that will make you, relatively speaking, an expert in your chosen field.
- Finally Kevin provided us with examples from our own life where we showed we had what it takes to succeed He argued that if a person benchmarked off the strategy they used as a toddler everything would appear possible. During that time we had many achievements including learning how to walk and talk – the mindset of no fear and realising that failure brought us closer to success is the mindset we need if we want to excel in our chosen path. This is the mindset of a child!
All in all it was a fun, challenging and interactive session.
Kevin’s visit was sponsored both by the Parents’ Council and one individual parent to each of whom we are very grateful.