Yahya Bakkar:
Perspective Creates Patience
Episode 161: #DroppingBombs with The Real Brad Lea (TRBL)
There’s more to life than success.
We all know that, when you’re on your deathbed, work isn’t going to be there by your side. So, what would you do if you only had one year left to live?
Yahya Bakkar started as a speaker in the education market.
I was on the path to becoming a doctor, then dropped out one semester short of when I was supposed to graduate. I realized it wasn’t for me. It was for my parents. Then, a buddy of mine said, ‘You know what, you’ve got a big ass mouth and you’re kind of positive. Why don’t you just become a motivational speaker and life coach for young people?’
With $50,000 of debt, no degree, and no job, Yahya stayed with a friend and realized he needed to go all in.
With only 47 bucks in my bank account, Yahya found two programs online.
One was by a guy named Tony Robbins. the other was a program called Youth Speaker University. I am living proof that without knowledge, I would be nowhere today.
The only problem? The two programs combined cost $9,000.
I’m like, how the hell am I going to get $9,000? And then there was a video on YouTube by Tony Robbins where he talks about resources versus resourcefulness.
Yahya realized that his success didn’t have to be determined by how much money he started off with, but whether or not he was resourceful enough to figure out a way.
He started by cold calling everyone he knew.
ya started cold calling a bunch of people he hadn’t talked to in 20 years.
There were people I hadn’t spoken to for 20 years. I called and said, ‘Hey, I don’t know if you remember me, but my name is Yahya. I want to become a motivational speaker and life coach for young people. I just need $9,000 to fulfill my dreams…..’ People kept hanging up, hanging up, hanging up. And then two people who I’ve known, they said, ‘You know what? You’re a good dude. I’m going to take a stab at you.’
Asking for help from family and friends helped him gather about $4,000 in total. For the rest, Yahya got two jobs — one as a waiter and one as a chiropractor’s assistant.
He took everything he earned and reinvested it into those two programs.
Within one year, I quit both jobs and became a full-time speaker. I had over 50, no, excuse me, 40 speaking engagements that year and I was the youngest graduate from the Tony Robbins coaching program.
For the next eight years, his career skyrocketed. Yahya was on a winning streak.
Yahya realized living life on his own terms was an option.
I’d bought into the idea that in order for you to be successful, you need a college degree. You need to get into debt. This is security, this is all that… to my Middle Eastern parents. And so I’m the first person in my family to ever get an education in America. And, coming in and saying, ‘I don’t think this is working out for me’ didn’t go over very well.
While it started out rough, Yahya is glad that he stuck to his guns and followed his heart.
Yahya wanted to build the family he never had growing up.
My Dad gifted me with certain challenges and shortcomings. I decided, ‘You know what? I’m going to turn that mess into a powerful message. I’m going to use those trials to create a transformation that can create a new possibility for generations to come. I’m going to change the direction of my family tree and I love entrepreneurship.’
Yahya wanted to find a way to do business without sacrificing the things that gave his life the most joy and meaning: family, friends, fitness, and health.
How would he live differently if he only had 365 days left?
This year, I’m going to become fully alive and I’m going to create an epic life. And epic for me stands for four words — exciting, priceless, intentional, and courageous. It doesn’t all have to be like physical stuff. Like you have to jump off a building or whatever. It could be something that, you know, having a conversation that you never had with someone because they hurt you five years ago.
Yahya learned the value of wearing his heart on his sleeve…
When you become unapologetically self-expressed, when you wear your heart on your sleeve, when you put yourself out there and you unconditionally love yourself for who you are… not like, ‘Oh my God, I love myself so much.’ No, but like, ‘Man, I’m PROUD of myself. I love me. I showed up so hard, you know, to get to where I am today.’
When you have that level of self-respect, you can’t help but be more magnetic anywhere you go.
If you’re interested in learning how to be a better speaker or how you can get booked to speak, head to www.worldclassspeaker.com/blueprint/ to get a free, downloadable guide of five tips that you can implement immediately!
About Yahya Bakkar
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Yahya Bakkar is a motivational speaker, success coach and health educator who has spoken at Harvard University, Georgia Institute of Technology, TedX and various nationally recognized conferences and organizations. He’s the author of Beyond Motivation: Why Teens Seem Disconnected and What You Can Do About It and The Ultimate Guide to Teen Life. Like what you heard from today’s guest? Help Yahya Bakkar reach his online engagement goal by following him here!
