Page 59 - Sorry, We're Not Hiring Any Visionaries Today

CHAPTER 7
did research. In fact, at the time, there was no such thing. This is how I got into coaching and speaking.
I remember this lady who I will call Angelique. She was my first mentor and motivator. She believed in me. She saw something in me and kept telling me, “You have such a potential for success.” I couldn’t see that in myself, but she would say, “Maryam, if you keep going, you will succeed. And it’s not going to be just a small success. It’s going to be huge. But you have to keep going, and you have to remember one thing. Never be afraid. Never let fear take you down.” She said, “Always be unstoppable.”
I hesitated to attend a networking event one day, so I called Angelique. I said, “I’m so hesitant. I’m afraid to go out.” That’s when she repeated,” Be unstop- pable.” That was how I came to my first networking event and started sharing my story with people. As I told people my story, others began approaching me, telling me about their struggles. That’s when I realized I could make a living sharing my story. I could become a speaker. Fast forward a couple of years, and I’m a speaker.
And I don’t know how it happened, but I started talking to the Center’s direc- tors. They invited me to speak at a board meeting and then asked me to be part of their committee. This is how I started working again. I was working with people with visual impairments. I was helping them with their path, with their slight loss.
They sent all these people with the same challenges I faced, but they didn’t want to accept it. I started the coaching process and got involved with disabil- ity sensitivity training. It was more educational and was different from the motivational speaking I sought, but it was something I could do.
Things just evolved from there, and eventually, I joined Toastmasters. I’m get- ting gigs due to my 3rd-place finish at the World Competition. It propelled me because it gave me a lot of visibility and credibility. So now, people are asking me to speak for money.
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