One of Singapore's Best Motivational Speakers, Andrew Bryant, interviewed

I’m often asked, how I got started as a Motivational Speaker and Self-leadership champion, and so I’m sharing this interview by Success Resources, Singapore, which answers these questions for you.

Could you share your story of how you began your journey to becoming one of the best Motivational Speakers in Singapore, and achieving the success that you have today?

Sure, I started my career as a Physiotherapist in the U.K. in the early 80’s. I was working with sports teams and athletes and soon realized that success was as much mental as physical. I studied psychology, NLP, hypnosis, meditation, and even Chinese medicine to help my clients get a competitive edge. When I moved to Australia, I continued to coach athletes but kept getting asked to coach business people to use their minds to be successful. Because of the impact, I was having on performance on and off the field I began to coach and speak about my approach and my Self-leadership Methodology.

 What is Self-leadership and why is it important to learn about it?

Self-leadership is the practice of intentionally influencing your thinking, feeling, and behaviors to achieve your objectives. As Lao Tzu says;

"Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power."

Self-leadership teaches us the self-awareness and self-motivation to take responsibility and intentionally take the right actions needed to be successful in all areas of life (Bryant & Kazan 2012).

What do you think are the key traits of great leaders? Are great leaders made or born?

Great leaders are constant learners and are themselves Self-leaders who encourage others to step up to be Self-leaders. Self-leaders are intentional; they act with purpose and have a vision for the future. They are accountable; they are committed to achieving the goals they set or agree to and they are adaptable and resilient.

What are the common pitfalls people face that prevent them from becoming great leaders?

The common challenge is focusing on the wrong things. To be successful as a leader we need to zoom out and see the larger perspective. Typically, people get focused on small things which leads to small thinking and small results. Often people forget ‘why’ they are doing things and to inspire others we need to have a compelling purpose. But most of all people fail when they make it about themselves. That is why as a motivational speaker, I talk about Self-leadership because Self-leaders are not selfish and know how to take action with intention and influence others to willingly follow for shared success.

As a Motivational Speaker, you’ve studied NLP, positive psychology, hypnosis, organizational behavior & leadership, & even traditional Chinese medicine. What are the key insights you’ve learned about how to excel after studying so many different fields?

The key insights include how the mind works, how groups function, and how small changes can reap big results. Most importantly I have learned that you create meaning out of everything that happens to you and you can choose how to frame your experience for success or failure in health, relationships, and business.

 What are the most important lessons you’ve learned about living a happy, successful, and meaningful life?

I have learned that success is deeply personal and that it is not quantifiable as a number or as a position. For me, happiness is living with awareness and purpose; choosing to do the things that make a difference in my life and in the lives of those I choose to serve.

How are you unique as a Motivational Speaker?

As both a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) and a Professional Certified Coach (PCC), I understand how to engage an audience at both a rational and emotional level. I use humor to facilitate the audience to step back from their existing paradigm and be challenged to see things anew. The methodology of Self-leadership is one that I have researched and written about and some of the psychological aspects I share are new to business, but make a significant impact on productivity, sales, and culture.

Who or what inspires you most?

I am inspired by seeing people with the courage to honestly look at themselves and make the changes required to get what they want.  I am inspired by the possibilities of facilitating a change in culture, whether that is for a small team the whole company or the community.

What is the most amazing experience you have had as a Motivational Speaker?

Well, apparently size does matter because being able to inspire an audience of 12,000 people was a real rush for me. And on a smaller, but no less significant note, finding a solution to include a deaf and dumb participant in one of my workshops was amazing because it challenged me to really consider how to communicate my message.

If anyone wants to hire you as a motivational speaker, how should they go about this?

That's easy, check out my speaking website and there is a contact link there.