Born in 1945, Leslie Calvin Brown is here to let you and the entire world know one thing: “It’s possible! You have something special. You have greatness within you”. The simple yet highly inspirational motto Brown commonly uses has for decades motivated people worldwide to chase after their dreams and ambitions. But who is Les Brown, and what are some of his biggest career milestones?
To understand his message clearly, we must first take a deeper look into Les Brown’s early life. Born in a low-income district in Miami, Les Brown was put in adoption as a young boy and subsequently adopted by Mamie Brown. Although certainly considered amongst the most brilliant motivational speakers alive, Brown was initially diagnosed as “educable mentally retarded”. Despite the odds being stacked against him, Brown found support in his mother and high school teachers who, ultimately, inspired him to inspire others.
Les Brown didn’t start off his career immediately as a motivational speaker. As a young man trying to get his big break in radio, he eventually managed to get hired as a full-time DJ. Aspiring for more and eager to reach a wider audience in a way he could positively impact people’s lives, Brown ran for the Ohio House of Representatives, ending up with a tremendous win. But once again, Brown aspired to more, which eventually landed him on PBS. While on PBS, he started his own company, Les Brown Enterprises, in order to fund his own career as a motivational speaker. And this is when his career as the charismatic and insightful Les Brown we know today truly took off.
During his long and prosperous career he also the penned several books, such as “It’s Not Over Until You Win”, “Up Thoughts for Down Times”, and “Fight For Your Dream”. He also has a series of audiobooks entitled “Choosing your Future”, whose aim is to motivate and inspire younger generations.
Renowned by audiences worldwide, critics, and peers alike, he has been the recipient of several local and national awards for excellence, some of the most notorious including:
- The council of peers award of excellence in 1989;
- Regional Emmy Award in 1991 for his work while on PBS;
- The Golden Gavel Award for achievement and leadership in communication in 1994;
- One of the Top Motivational Speakers in the world.
Les Brown truly is the embodiment of “it’s possible!”, constantly proving everyone not to underestimate his dedication nor his passion for what he does and the message he shares. And perhaps those are the secrets to his tremendous success: the ability to aspire to more, reach that goal, and be passionate to share your message with those willing to listen. As one of top motivational speakers in the world, it wouldn’t seem fair to finish this short article without including a special selection of Brown’s quotes we believe best describe him and his passion.
Les Brown’s Net Worth
There is no official information about his net worth. However, some sources stated that his net worth is about $10 million. On one of his recent websites where he launched his latest book “The 12 Laws of Success”, he stated that he has earned over $61 million in his career.
Best Les Brown’s Inspirational Quotes
Below are the powerful and inspiring quotes we have collected from Les Brown:
- “Your dream was given to you. If someone else can’t see it for you, that’s fine, it was given to you and not them. It’s your dream. Hold it. Nourish it. Cultivate it!”
- “It really doesn’t matter what’s going on right now. The only thing that matters is what you’re going to do about it. Do something powerful!”
- “There are winners, there are losers and there are people who have not yet learned how to win.”
- “Leave energy drainers alone. Don’t let them slow you down and stop your dream. Your possibilities are too important.”
- “Shoot for the moon, because even if you miss you miss, you’ll land in the stars.”
- “Tell yourself that if it’s hard, I’ll do it hard. I’m unstoppable!”
- “It takes someone with a vision of the possibilities to attain new levels of experience. Someone with the courage to live his dreams.”
- “You have to be willing to allow the person you are today to DIE so that you can give birth to the person you are meant to become.”
- “It has been said, most people die at age 25 and don’t get buried until they are 65. Make an effort to live your life to the fullest.”
- “The graveyard is the richest place on earth, because it is here that you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled, the books that were never written, the songs that were never sung, the inventions that were never shared, the cures that were never discovered, all because someone was too afraid to take that first step, keep with the problem, or determined to carry out their dream.”
- “Wanting something is not enough. You must hunger for it. Your motivation must be absolutely compelling in order to overcome the obstacles that will invariably come your way.”
- “If you want to grow and develop yourself, embrace failure. If you want to become the best at what you do, you’ve got to be willing to fail, again and again. And then finally, one day, you can fail your way to greatness.”
- “If you don’t program yourself, life will program you!”
- “Other people’s opinion of you does not have to become your reality.”
- “A lot of people become discouraged too soon. The name of the game is, you’ve got to be relentless.”
- “You are the only real obstacle in your path to a fulfilling life.”
- “When life knocks you down, try to land on your back. Because if you can look up, you can get up.”
- “Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.”
- “Life is a fight for territory and once you stop fighting for what you want, what you don’t want will automatically take over.”
- “You don’t have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great.”
- “No one will take better care of your dream than you.”
- “Remember, wisdom comes from everywhere, I am always searching for ideas that can inspire me or others to reach another level.”
- “It’s necessary to know that everybody won’t see it. That everybody won’t join you, that everybody won’t have the vision. It’s necessary to know that. That a lot of people like to complain but they don’t want to do anything about their situation. That you are UNCOMMON breed.”
- “Forgive yourself for your faults and your mistakes and move on.”
- “No one rises to low expectations.”
- “I advise you to say your dream is possible and then overcome all inconveniences, ignore all the hassles and take a running leap through the hoop, even if it is in flames.”
- “Life has no limitations, except the ones you make.”
- “Life is challenging. Find ways in which you can begin to give more of yourself, ways in which you can begin to help others. Help somebody and help yourself because what you give is what you get.”
- “Make each day count by setting specific goals to succeed, then putting forth every effort to exceed your own expectations.”
- “Life takes on meaning when you become motivated, set goals and charge after them in an unstoppable manner.”
- “You are better than anything that is happening to you right now. If you’re facing challenge of drugs and alcohol or any kind of addiction, get some help. Remember that nobody can help you unless you hold on to your commitment to regain, and retain, control of your life. Like my friend, resist all temptation to backslide into the thoughts and actions that cause you to lose control in the first place.”
- “Live full, die empty”
- “Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else.”
- “If you want to begin to alter your circumstance and alter your life, it’s very important that you begin to change your attitude about yourself.”
- “The greatest revenge is massive success.”
- “Don’t waste time bathing in the negative experience. Spin your energy and focus your attention on moving on.”
- “Luck is nice, but work is something you can control. So get working!”
- “If no one answered right away, just keep knocking until you wake them up!”
- “What you have right now in your life is a reflection of your thoughts. Start by controlling your thoughts. We can’t control the thoughts that come into our mind but we can control what we dwell on. Start dwelling on the positive things in your life.”
- “Every day, we can either choose to be a victim or we can choose to live life victoriously.”
- “Align yourself with people that you can learn from, people who want more out of life, people who are stretching and searching and seeking some higher ground in life.”
- “Families are who we are, after all. They are a looking glass, and in the best of cases, they can be a source of empowerment and support for getting the thing we can’t out of life.”
- “You must find the place inside yourself where nothing is impossible.”
- “I can’t control what life hands me. What I can control is how I handle it.”
- “We were all born with a certain degree of power. The key to success is discovering this innate power and using it daily to deal with whatever challenges come our way.”
- “You need to make a commitment, and once you make it, then life will give you some answers.”
- “No one can determine your destiny but you. Will it be easy? Of course not. Can you do it? Of course you can. But it requires patience and persistence. Seize this moment of crisis as your opportunity to start fresh, and live your dreams.”
- “Perfection does not exist — you can always do better and you can always grow.”
- “If you set goals and go after them with all the determination you can muster, your gifts will take you places that will amaze you.”
- “If you put yourself in a position where you have to stretch outside your comfort zone, then you are forced to expand your consciousness.”
- “Just because Fate doesn’t deal you the right cards, it doesn’t mean you should give up. It just means you have to play the cards you get to their maximum potential.”
- “If you run around with 9 losers pretty soon you’ll be the 10th one.”
- “Be willing to go all out, in pursuit of your dream. Ultimately it will pay off. You are more powerful than you think you are. Go for it.”
- “Our ability to handle life’s challenges is a measure of our strength of character.”
- “You don’t get in life what you want; you get in life what you are.”
- “It is better to aim high and miss than to aim low and hit.”
- “We have to live life with a sense of urgency so not a minute is wasted.”
- “You may not accomplish every goal you set — no one does — but what really matters is having goals and going after them wholeheartedly.”
- “Your smile will give you a positive countenance that will make people feel comfortable around you.”
- “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”
You can definitely feel inspired and motivated just by reading Les Brown’s list of quotes above. If you like any particular saying, put it in your computer wallpaper or your phone screensaver and read it every day to stay on track to achieve your goals and dreams. If you like this list, feel free to share it by using the social media buttons below.
