The arc of a person’s life is necessarily one of ups and downs, joys and sorrows, failures and successes. The key to more than just weathering life’s trials is perspective — and Dr. Willie Jolley has developed a perspective that has won worldwide acclaim. The core of his programs and talks is an important distinction between motivation and inspiration. As he states, “Motivation deals with your head. Inspiration deals with your heart.”
Dr. Jolley, one of the top five speakers in the world and an inductee into the Speaker Hall of Fame, is a legend in the speaking industry. His entire approach is about each of us determined to be a winner in every aspect of our lives — not in terms of beating out others, but in creating win-win scenarios that uplift, support, and encourage oneself and others to strive to be a better version of themselves step by step, day by day. He speaks from experience.
Originally on a trajectory to be a professional singer and has signed contracts with a number of recording industry leaders, life suddenly took a left turn when the mainstay of his career — live gigs — began drying up because a new phenomenon hit the scene: karaoke. Live entertainers for clubs were no longer in demand as now anybody could get up and “entertain” a crowd.
Willie had no idea what he was going to do as he had no other marketable skill sets. Life became a struggle trying to make ends meet and support his wife and children. But then life delivered another left turn.
“I was offered an opportunity to work with the Washington, DC public school system to help them develop a drug prevention program utilizing music and the arts to help decrease drug usage and dependence in young people. As part of my job, we had to give presentations to elementary school kids. I started giving a lot of presentations as part of my job — and I found what I was born to do: be inspirational, motivational, encouraging, and uplifting. I was off to the races.”
Dr. Jolley began receiving invitations from schools around the country. That turned into a 10-year stint of giving presentations to young people not just in the US, but in other countries. He did a PBS special for young people and Blue Cross Blue Shield named him one of the top speakers for young people in the country. He won numerous awards for speaking to youth about drug prevention and scholastic achievement.
Serendipitously, following one of his school presentations, a motivational rally was being held that evening in the same building. The primary speaker had been passing by and listening to Willie’s presentation. That speaker was none other than Les Brown, one of the great motivational speakers of our time.
“You’ve got quite a gift that’s different than anybody I know because you speak and you sing,” he said. “We’re putting together a tour and we’re looking for an opening act. I think you would be the answer. It’s called the Les Brown Music and Motivation Dream Team Tour.”
You can bet he accepted the invitation. He ended up going on tour with Les, Billy Preston (the great keyboard player and recording artist), and Gladys Knight (the iconic singer). The tour was fantastic because they introduced Willie to not only corporate meeting planners and corporate buyers, but also to media people. The outcome is that Willie began developing a media presence and launched his own radio show that’s now a daily syndicated show heard in over fifty markets around the country on the Radio One network.
As Dr. Jolley’s message spread, as you might expect, this led to writing several books, all bestsellers, which can be found on Amazon. All of the books speak to anyone of any age. Very importantly, Dr. Jolley’s 3-point message to young people is always topical and needed. The message was put forth in a PBS special for young people titled “Dare to Dream, Dare to Win.” In it, he covers the three primary life obstacles that he terms “dream busters.”
· Drugs and alcohol
· Negative and toxic people
· Choosing mediocrity over excellence
“We’ve got far too many young people who stunt and limit their growth and possibilities as an intellectual development activity,” Willie explained. “They create a mindset that they just want to do enough educationally to get by. But we want to encourage them to not take that mindset. There’s a direct correlation between your thinking and your income, your education, or at least your development in the capacity to think.”
Dr. Jolley relates the story of the director of a government organization whose son, though sent to the best schools, began hanging out with some toxic people, started using drugs, got involved in some illicit activity, dropped out of college, and was doing nothing with his life. The director told Willie, “I don’t know what to do.”
Willie suggested he take one of his inspirational videos and give it to his son. “But, instead of telling him to watch it, explain that you heard this speaker and you’d like his opinion.” Several months later, Willie ran into the director who described a very different young man. He explained that his son watched the video and began watching it every day. Next thing he knew, his son had gotten a job at a nearby mall, had gone back to school, and was now on the Honor Roll.
Dr. Jolley tells parents, “You must be willing and open to listen to young people — really listen to them. Of course, you want to direct them and give them your feedback and direction. But when you’re able to listen to their thoughts, you get a better barometer of what they’re aware of and what they’re thinking. And you can have a more impactful development on your relationship with them when you’re willing to listen to them and have an honest dialogue.”
For the past twenty years, Dr. Jolley has been focused not only on youth and now has expanded his focus on developing people as a whole. His book, A Setback is a Setup for a Comeback, has become a global phenomenon and PBS Special. Also, he has a new book coming out soon that delves into the difference between being rich and being wealthy.
“What many people don’t understand is that when you have a wealth mindset, you have revenues coming in, but you control the revenues, the revenues don’t control you; you control the money, the money doesn’t control you,” Dr. Jolley explained. “Secondly, when you’re wealthy, you understand that it’s not singular, just for you. It’s multi-generational. A wealth mindset is about generations yet unborn.”
What Dr. Jolley wants to do is empower and inspire people of all ages to be the best they can be, and to be successful in their lives. As a result, he now offers free e-books, music, and motivation on his www.wjwow.com website, and you can get access to his youth and other motivational materials at https://www.winwithwillie.com.
As he says, “Inspiration deals with your heart. It also breathes life into you to be able to do what you do. The word inspiration is to breathe anew. Expiration means the breath of life goes out.”
And Dr. Jolley is definitely helping people breathe life anew into their lives all over the world, essentially, choosing and shaping their destiny. And why? Because he believes 100 percent that for them — the best is yet to come! ●
