When my second-grade teacher, Mrs. Jenks, asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I had big plans.
New York Knick.
Yankee.
Astronaut.
Yankee.
Astronaut.
“Author” was not on the list.
I wasn’t much of a reader back then. Or a writer. I was more of a go-outside-and-play kid. But I was a businessman early, so I learned how to delegate. My sister Jill—five years older and an actual reader—handled my reading assignments. She’d give me a summary just good enough to survive class.
This system worked great… until it didn’t.
Because every now and then, I had to stand in front of the class and talk. Book reports. Reading aloud. Explaining something I half-understood, hoping no one asked a follow-up question.
Sweaty palms. Racing heart. Zero confidence.
Fast forward a few decades and here’s the irony: I now write books and speak for a living.
What changed wasn’t talent. It wasn’t intelligence. It was a system. I LEARNED the art of speaking. Confidence built slowly. Fear turned into fuel. The same skill that terrified me in second grade became one of the most valuable tools in my life….and it’s teachable.
And in a world where AI can write your emails, your reports, and maybe your next résumé, it still can’t stand in a room and communicate like a human.
That skill is becoming more valuable, not less.
That’s why I’m hosting an intimate in-person 3-day public speaking retreat in February. Not to turn you into a keynote speaker—but to give you that same cheat code and make sure you never feel like that kid winging a book report again.
Mrs. Jenks would be proud.