THE WHY

During my Sophomore year of high school, Jason Evert came to give a talk to the student body.  I was looking forward to dozing off for an hour... until he started his talk by carrying the biggest guy on our football team on his back.  Jason made me laugh, but he also made me take a hard look at myself and change my life for the better.  

That was the first time I recognized the power speaking can have to change lives, it was far from the last.

I saw that impact again my Sophomore year of college, spending the summer driving around the state giving talks to groups of junior high and high school students. I saw the same impact when I lectured at mass. I saw the same impact giving talks to the clubs I was a part of at Bradley University.

But the moment that hit me most profoundly was a talk I gave at Rock Island Alleman High School.

I was going into my second year at a finance company on the Fortune 100 list. Hours were long, expectations were high, but I believed that I was making an impact in the lives of my clients. I thought being an advisor was the best way to make a positive difference for others.

Then I walked into a room of 100 seniors and my perspective changed.

As I spoke, I looked them in the eyes and saw the high school version of me. The same fears I had, they had. The same hopes and dreams I had, they had as well. I could see in their eyes that they were searching for the same things I had searched for. They were looking for hope in a world that far too often focuses on the negative. Encouragement to face the problems in their life instead of running away from them. Belief in themselves, even when no on else around them cares. The fact they paid attention for nearly an hour suggested something: no one else was telling them this.

That day I realized there was a greater need than advising people on their finances. I walked away from my career as an advisor to focus on speaking.

Why did I do it? To help others see their full potential.  By inspiring them to live out their faith, by giving them the courage to face adversity, the skills to lead, and by stirring the fire that is inside each one of us.  A fire that lays dormant, waiting to awaken.  

Let's crush it together. 

-Stephen Tony