Feeling motivated all the time may seem somewhat impossible – perhaps it is? Sometimes, you just want to get through the day. With deadlines, presentations or events looming, the need for some motivation is beyond doubt, but it’s not always the easiest to seek. Speeches occur at conferences, elections, campaigns, awards ceremonies – the list goes on. Cutting down the never-ending flow of successful and moving speeches couldn’t prove to be more difficult. From people of high profile to people of lower profile, we have a real mix of different individuals expressing their different emotions and messages to the world.
Martin Luther King
Predictable? Yes. Undeservedly? Absolutely not.
Martin Luther King was an American Baptist minister and civil rights activist who revolutionised the way we look on particular subjects today. Although undoubtedly everyone is aware of his “I have a dream” statement, not everyone knows the content of the whole speech that the quote stems from. In the speech, Martin lists his numerous dreams for the future of humanity, particularly in relation to the way individuals are viewed and that their appropriate values are taken into consideration, rather than judging them by their appearance.
Although the original speech is 17 minutes long, this five minute clip is just enough to allow you to listen and admire what a courageous and inspiring individual man he was.
Severn Cullis-Suzuki
Severn Cullis-Suzuki is otherwise known as ‘the girl who silenced the world’. At the time this speech was expressed in 1992, she was representing ECO (The Environmental Children’s Organisation) who were “a group of 12 and 13 year olds trying to make a difference”. The group had raised enough funds to allow them to attend the ‘Earth Summit’ in Rio de Janeiro, to carry out the speech and truly make the difference they were hoping for. You cannot help but admire the sheer extent of determination and willpower that this girl has. Throughout the entire speech, she has her audience captivated and offers many opportunities for their thoughts to linger and deeply think about what she is saying. Using her youthful stage in life as an advantage, she practically pleads with the adults she is faced with, to change their ways, taking not only the environment into consideration but also her generation – which makes her speech even more engaging. Severn is now a Canadian environmental activist, speaker, television host and author. She continues to implement her ideas and promote her messages across the globe in hope to make the vital changes that she yearns for. Five minutes is all you need to gain some motivation to make a change. Let someone so young yet so powerful, show you how.
Steve Jobs
Another revolutionary man, but this time, he changed the way we view technology and animation. If you are less aware of his background, you need to listen to this speech. Steve outlines the battles he has faced, the unconventional start to life that he had and how he picked himself up and managed to carry on pursuing something he loved. He not only reflects how failure is a motivation for success, but also how everything will eventually fall into place. Being sacked from a company developed on his own idea – yes, it has been proved that it’s possible, he took a positive outlook on the occurrence. Without this turn of event, Steve didn’t believe that Next or Pixar would exist in the same way as it does, as these were the companies he developed after being fired from Apple. Listen to the journey Steve Jobs’ speech ‘How to live before you die’ takes you on through the, perhaps unknowing, life that he led.
J.K. Rowling
Globally well-known for being the author of the ‘Harry Potter’ novels, J.K. Rowling offers more than just imagination and literary genius. In 2008, she carried out a speech at Harvard which initially begins fairly humorous but soon becomes more serious. She explores the meaning, benefits and outcomes of failure and how she dealt with it.
Setting her attention on what she loved, even when having to disregard the views of others, got her to where she is today. J.K. Rowling shares how valuable our imagination is and what part it plays to create distinction between each and every one of us. Being the basis of her success, imagination is an individual’s key for uniqueness and invention that allows us to share non-existent ideas with the world.
Although this speech is aimed at graduates, there is no reason why it cannot be listed as motivational for all. J.K. Rowling
Barack Obama
Barak Obama does not need much of an introduction. In 2004, he delivered arguably one of his best motivational speeches to date. He chose to explain his background to help display where he has come from and what he has now become. In modern American history, this speech is definitely up there with one of the best political speeches to exist. With a confident and polished performance that is scattered with facts and questions to help aid your thought process. Empathising with other people’s situations other than just his own, Obama reflects how he values the position of others in America and the state that the world has become. He addresses the issues that have arisen in the upcoming years and how we should change, how we should fight and how we should outline our values. Obama has asserted countless speeches across the globe in order to put his points across. Listen to just how he accomplishes audience engagement in this particular speech.