If you’re looking for motivational quotes for work, amongst others, there’s no shortage.
Quotations are ubiquitous and can be found just about anywhere on social media.
When do I look for quotes?
When I’m writing a speech or an article that needs an appropriate quotation, BrainyQuote is my go to source.
I also enjoy going to Instagram. Go to #motivationalquotes and you’ll find 15 650 328 posts.
When I need to get creative I look up quotes just to get the brain cells going.
Quotes are great catalysts for creative ideas.
Some of my favourite motivational quotes for work:
Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty and persistence. Colin Powell
Youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art. Stanislaw Jerzy Lec
Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do. Rob Siltanen
If you have any favourite motivational quotes for work, please share them on the comments page.
I’ll take you a bet that I’m the only brain motivational speaker in South Africa.
Of course I’m not talking about neuroscience or how the brain works, but the workings of The Brain 10.
This tool helps me: take notes, have a non-linear system of file management and visualise ideas and relationships easier.
I use the Brain 10 to help my audience get to know me as a human being and not only as a one-dimensional professional speaker and trainer.
The brain allows me in an simple way to show my skills, real personality, interests and thoughts. It also allows me to disseminate information so that my readers can find my thoughts easily.
Beyond Mind Mapping
Besides being a mind mapping tool (and it’s way beyond that) it helps me as a brain motivational speaker in South Africa to market concepts and ideas on my website without the reader having to leave my page.
Here’s and example of how I show my readers more of me so that when they make a decision to use a professional speaker for their conferences, they have more of an idea of who I am. Click on the links and it’ll lead you through a series of thoughts. Some you can read and some will send you to a website I’ve referenced.
You may notice that I’ve pinned three thoughts to the top of the brain: My business, My interests and Jacques de Villiers’s Brain. This helps when you go too deep down the rabbit hole and need to find your way back.
It shows them my depth, range, eccentricities and intellect. It hopefully also engages you enough so that you stay on the page a while longer and actually get some value out of it.
*Giving away lead magnets
It allows be to give away all my books for free in a format that’s easy to read. Unfortunately, it’s also easy to distribute as one just has to send a link to one’s friends. Of course, the upside of that is that more people get to know me as a brain motivational speaker in South Africa.
*Lead Magnet: A lead magnet is where one gives away something for free (typically a downloadable information product) so that one can get a name and email address to keep in touch with the reader.
What’s great about the Brain 10 is that I can keep on adding chapters to the book and let my readers know. They get to keep the same link and go straight to the new chapter. This is an easier and faster process than writing into a document and converting it into PDF.
In time I’ll share more notes from the only brain motivational speaker in South Africa today so that you can find out how to apply the Brain 10 to your life and business.
The reason I love SEO is that it helps sort out the security piece in my life: it brings in money.
I realised the power of SEO when I got a cheque for £3430.00 in 2003 for placing a professional speaker (Quinton Coetzee) for a keynote in Wales.
This lead to me starting a professional speakers agency that I eventually sold. In it’s heyday, it was placing 10+ speakers a month at around R15k – R20k per speaker. I used to get 20% of that fee.
I never held a showcase, I did no marketing to speak of except for have a website. The reason it was a success was because I was in the Top 10 of Google for the keywords: motivational speakers, conference speakers, business speakers, keynote speakers, inspirational speakers.
In the day (2003) SEO was a lot easier. To rank for a keyword today is a lot harder because you’re competing with PPC (pay per click) adverts that get the top 5 spots in search. And, you’re competing with smart SEO marketers who know how to get the system to work for them.
But there’s still gold in them hills. It’s just harder to mine it. But it’s still worth mining it.
Powwow Teepees Case Study
Two years ago I helped Powwow Teepeeswith its online marketing. The company never had an online presence and were selling one teepee a month (12 a year). They took out a page with JoziKids and sales went up a bit.
We decided to build them a website that was properly SEOd. In 2016 the company sold 50 teepees. And, in 2017, around 100 teepees. In 2018 it sold 120 teepees and is set to sell 150 teepees in 2019 if the trend continues.
That’s a 1000% increase in sales. That’s called SEO.
I use SEO for my own business which is professional speaking and training. The two keywords I use to drive business to me is motivational speaker/s south africa and public sales training.
Why don’t you type those keywords into Google search and see if I’m eating my own dog food?
The URLs that should come up for those keywords are www.professionalspeakers.co.za and www.jacquesdevilliers.co.za.
Those keywords should be in the top 10 of Google if you exclude the paid for sponsored adverts. Which in terms of ‘motivational speaker’ come in at a hefty fee. Anything from 15k a month up.
Attend SEO For Beginners on 30 January 2018 from 09h30 – 12h30 at Skoobs Theatre of Books, Montecasino.
I attended the YinYang of Sales Training Bootcamp on 23 – 24 November 2018.
It was an interesting and informative piece of process delivered by Stephen van Basten and Vinesh Maharaj.
The two of them have a great interplay and are a humorous and convincing duo. I’ve never been on a training where there are two facilitators. It worked.
Stephen spoke about the inner game and Vinesh took us through the sale process.
I learned many lessons from the sales training bootcamp but 3 stood out for me based on where I am in my sales journey.
Stephen van Basten, Jacques de Villiers and Vinesh Maharaj
3 Lessons
Design a compelling elevator pitch
Of course this is not a new concept. The goal is to be as brief as possible but to inspire the person you’re pitching to become curious enough to want to speak to you at a later date (the actual appointment). I was at an advantage to the other delegates as I’ve been working on on my brand promise and an elevator pitch with personal brand strategist, Dawn Klatzko.
Doing it again at the sales training bootcamp, I realised that it’s still not where I want it to be, but it is starting to take shape: I’m Jacques de Villiers – Rainmaker. I’m really good at helping companies and individuals maximise their sales results I know that there are others who do this, but what makes me different and unique is that since 1998 I’ve spent 100s of hours actually selling in the trenches, I’ve led 10 sales teams and presented more than 1 200 programmes from Malmesbury to Milan. It’s my job to set you up for sales success, both professionally and personally.
A good elevator pitch should be like a woman’s skirt: short enough to arouse interest but long enough to cover the essentials. (liberally translated from the quote by Ronald Cox (A good sermon …).
We can all sell but we don’t have enough prospects to sell to
It was once again highlighted that I’m by far not getting enough prospects into my pipeline. Without prospects and without appointments you cannot bless your potential clients with your product or service. It was hammered into the delegates that we need to make a disciplined effort and block of time every day to connect with new prospects. Interestingly, what I got out of it is that we ‘bless our prospects/clients with our products/services.” If you look at it through the ‘blessing’ lens, then it is our duty to get in front of as many prospects as possible. I’ve realised (again) that it’s imperative to make prospecting the #1 priority in my day. So, it’s time to put on my big boy underwear and start sucking up those rejections.
State management
We went through a NLP process (Neurolinguistic Programming) to anchor a positive state. The idea is that if we are going to be in a peak, positive state, we need to anchor that state and be able to call on it at any time, especially when we face rejection, despondency and disillusionment. We had two different trigger points. The first being the right wrist where we anchored our ring of power (self confidence, self-esteem and enthusiasm). The second being our left wrist where we anchored the skills of selling so that we could be excellent influencers and persuaders.
There were a lot more valuable lessons in the sales training bootcamp and each delegate took away something different to meet the challenges he/she faced.
I thoroughly enjoyed the bootcamp and believe it is well worth attending, particularly for new sales professionals who still have to learn the actual skills of selling.
There’s Only One True Freedom … And, You Don’t Have it
“And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin’ to trade all the days, from this day to that , for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they’ll never take … OUR FREEDOM. William Wallace (from the movie, Braveheart).
Freedom is a core narrative in this world. It ‘s a fundamental concept in South Africa. The narrative being to be free from the tyrannical Apartheid system that enslaved millions of our fellow citizens. And, now of course, to be free of the tyrannical bonds of the sharks of state capture.
There’s even a Freedom Charter that was adopted on 26 June 1955 at a Congress of the People in Kliptown.
It’s a noble document with the intent to set every citizen in South Africa up for success and to give them the freedom they so deserive. The Freedom Charter has the motherhood statements to make all our hearts sing with joy: The people shall govern. All national groups shall have equal rights. The people shall share in the county’s wealth. The land shall be shared amongst those who work it. All shall be equal before the law. All shall enjoy equal human rights. There shall be work and security. The doors of learning and of culture shall be opened. There shall be houses, security and comfort. There shall be peace and friendship.
“These freedoms we will fight for side by side, throughout our lives, until we have won our liberty.”
I wonder how these motherhoods, as pure as their intent is, have worked out for you?
I’d guess that freedom as a concept hasn’t really worked out for anybody on this planet. There’s always a constraint, a trade-off or an injustice.
No man, nor woman is ever truly free when it comes to matters of this world.
But, there is one freedom that we all have the choice to make.
And, that’s the choice to give up our lives with grace and gratitude when the time comes.
The rider to the deal is that the moment of our deaths are unbeknown to us.
The only question you have to ask is that after reading this piece of text would you be ready to meet your maker … in the next instant?
If you’re not ready … this instant, then it will be a sad state of affairs, won’t it? If your life is taken and not given, the core narrative will be regret and remorse … forever.
Thus, the only men and women that’ are truly free are those that are prepared to die right this second and have no regrets about how they lived. They have no fear of what they will miss out on in the future because they will know that whatever they’ve been given up until the moment has been more than their due. Just to get to play for a while, they’ve been blessed beyond any conception.
Therefore, the trick is for all of us to make the most of the moment we have right now. Let’s hug our children. Right any wrongs we may have caused. Reach out to those we have turned from. Learn, love and live fully. That’s the only way, really. That’s the only true freedom.
In most cultures men/women can choose their career … be it an architect, lawyer, doctor, policeman or whatever.
In Sparta there was no choice in the matter. As a newborn son, if you survived the scrutiny of the magistrates and were deemed fit, your only job for the rest of your life was to serve in the military.
If you were judged physically unfit, you were taken to the wild gorge at Mount Taygetos, and left for the wolves. Your mother did not weep nor protest.
This concept of ‘you only have one job’ resonates with me.
Our ‘one job’ is to sort out our soul so that we can give up our lives with grace and gratitude when we’re called to Eden again.
After that, being a fireman, nurse, lawyer, CEO or banker is all a bit of a sideshow.
The only purpose of the work you and I do right now is to polish our intent so that we can become humans of moral character and fulfil our promise. Oh, and of course be in awe and gratitude to our creator for allowing us to play for a little while.
In Sparta there were still artists, writers, architects, builders and the like. Those, however, were just secondary jobs and bonuses.
Their real job was to protect Sparta and its citizens.
Spartans were 100% dedicated to this goal. A Spartan mother handed her son his shield as he prepared to march off to battle. She said, “Come back with this or on it.”
Seeking connection with our creator is the only worthwhile pursuit there is. That we create great art in the work we do is an bonus and a blessing.
Being able to meet our creator at anytime with grace is the only real freedom we have. If we haven’t come to terms with coming back on our shield at a second’s notice, we’re not free.
Imagine your 80-year-old self reflecting on how you played the game until this point. Looking back, did you achieve everything that you set out to do? Some of it? None of it?
Did the promise life or at least GQ, Vogue and Cosmopolitan magazines make you come true?
Did you get that perfect life? The beautiful house. The beautiful body. The perfect wife/husband. The adoring children. Two cars and three pets (two dogs and a cat).
Did it play out well for you?
What if the promise was never kept and not one of your hopes and dreams were fulfilled (not even the dogs and cat). Would you feel like a failure? Would you be disappointed and disillusioned?
I would feel like a failure, wouldn’t you?
But, what if all that you were promised came true. Even the dogs and cat were perfect. Would you feel secure, powerful, fulfilled and contented?
Hell, yeah!
Mmm, maybe not so much.
The paradox is that whether you get what you want or not, you’ll always be disillusioned, disappointed and depressed.
One day when you meet those that were given so much, ask them one and all how it worked out for them: Whitney Houston, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse, Heath Ledger, Robin Williams, Bernie Madoff et alia.
Ask your average billionaire next door how things are working out – the 10-bedroomed house, the trophy husband, the yacht and the Lamborghini. When life happens – illness, infidelity, infertility, indigestion, ingratitude and infrequent intercourse – all the glitter and gold loses its shine, doesn’t it?
We’re mostly in a state of dissatisfaction and disillusionment where all we want to do is trade in, trade up or trade out, don’t we?
If family, friends, fame, Fendi, Ferrari and favour can’t do the trick, what can?
Focusing on the process of living this life and not the outcome is one way to make it count.
Because the outcome, whether you get it or not is always dissatisfactory. It never quite plays out how you thought it would. It never scratches the itch called insecurity.
Focus on the moment. Focus in the moment. Make what you do in this moment count. It’s art.
I was at the beach a couple of weeks ago. When I swam I stayed in the shallows.
Every now and again, I’d spot a small fish or some sea shells.
It was pleasant enough. But after a while I got bored. Seriously, one can only body surf for so much.
When I’m at the sea, I always want swim deeper and further out. I never do. The bottom line is that I’m scared. I’m not a great swimmer and I’ve seen Jaws.
This means when it comes to the sea, I’ll pretty much always wallow in the shallows and never venture out to unknown adventure.
I worry that I conduct my life the same way.
I stay in the shallow, safe and superficial world. This limits my experience to the house I live in, the neighbourhood I stay in, the stores I shop at and the people I hang out with.
I strive for things that I can see – houses, cars, food and friends.
If I had the courage to don a wet suit and scuba tank, I could go deeper into the sea and discover the many beautiful and astounding creatures that are hidden from me.
I could have a fuller and richer experience.
I know the same is true for me when I go deeper into myself. When I try and connect with my soul my experiences are more fulfilling.
But, if I go too deep, I get scared of what I might find. I’m scared that the demons and angels will give me the answers I seek so that I actually have to man up and do the work in front of me. That, of course is getting to my final destination in good shape through the experiences of now.
I’m not brave enough to take charge and be really happy. I then leave the depths and come back to the shallows where I feel safe. Where I think I have some semblance of control.
But the shallows are a deceptively dangerous place to be. A shark can take me in a couple of feet of water, blue bottles can sting me and shells can cut me.
The same goes for thinking that I can remain a surface dweller, safe and sound in a world that’s familiar to me.
Dangers lurk there too. You know it and I know it.
There are risks associated with both staying in the shallows and going deep.
Staying in the shallows stops me from having a rich, full experience of this gift that I have been given … life.
Going inward and deeper has the potential to free me to become a creature of grace and gratitude.
But, it’s hard to be free because I’m used to being a slave. I’m used to pandering to the whims of my many masters so that they can feed me the scraps from the table.
It’s the safer option … being a slave. The harder option is being free but potentially starving to death.
But, what if I’m free and I thrive? What would that mean?
I have faith that if I go deep and set myself free, there’s no way I’ll starve. I’ll have abundance and way more than is my due.
The more I play on this planet the more I realise that there is no difference between the sacred and the profane.
The mundane, material and carnal activities that we do in this world are sacred. Going to work, studying, feeding a baby or changing a lightbulb is divine.
If we so choose, any day-to-day activity can have a significant meaning. There are no small tasks, only God’s tasks.
That we get to take out the trash is a mundane task so worthy of awe and gratitude.
I don’t know about you, but I’m happy to take out the trash every day for the rest of my journey here. It means I get to play a while longer. I get to love here. I get to cry here. I get to experience here. I get to live.
There is divine in everything we do. And, it is up to us to realise this and be grateful for even the most mundane aspects of our lives.
Something like breathing is a mundane activity, isn’t it? We seldom give it thought, do we? But, stop breathing and see how our world comes crumbling down in an instant.
If we reflect on it, what divine conspiracy had to come into play so that you and I could take out the trash?
All I know is that there’s four billion years or so of a grand design to allow you and me to be able to do the mundane.
No matter how tiresome the task, it’s still a blessing.
Every hum drum activity is an opportunity to polish our intent so that we get to Eden in good shape.
The way we conduct ourselves in even the most menial activity reveals our character. Everything we do is here to shape us into the human we could become. A human that’s full of character, kindness, patience, love, gratitude and grace.
Go on, wash the dishes and rejoice because it’s all sacred.
If you’re looking for sales motivational speakers South Africa for your next conference, consider Jacques de Villiers and his argument: The Story You Tell Is The Story You Sell!
For the last 20 years, my focus has been on tackling the findings from talent solutions organisation Chally’s study, which revealed that after interviewing 27,000 sales teams, 80% of your sales team is only achieving 42% of its target.
As a sales leader with 9 teams and over 1,500 speaking and training experiences, Chally’s statement really worried me. If you’re a sales manager, Chally’s statement should be keeping you up at night too.
My entire career has been built on trying to solve Chally’s statement.
Early in my career I realised that it wasn’t skill that was the problem for sales professionals. Most sales people knew how to conduct a proper sales meeting.
It’s not as difficult as it may seem. Start by building rapport, then deliver a compelling benefit statement, followed by a thorough needs’ analysis. This includes evaluating the ideal situation, the current situation, the obstacles hindering progress towards the ideal situation, and the dominant buying motive. Next, present your unique solution, address any objections, execute a false close, and finally make the real close using a direct question, alternate close, or T-chart method. Don’t forget to ask for referrals.
I have a workbook called The Architecture of Selling that you can download for free which covers all these aspects.
I came to the realisation that incentives and commissions were not the solution either. If salespeople are only achieving 42% of their target, commission might not be the only thing motivating them, right? If it was, most would be hitting 100% of their target, wouldn’t they?
Sales people don’t need more skills; they need more belief.
While many sales motivational speakers in South Africa focus on teaching sales skills, I specialise in teaching the importance of frequency in sales. And, the first step is moving from predatory attention (what’s in it for me) to receptive attention (what’s in it for you).
Predatory Attention versus Receptive Attention
It is apparent that most sales professionals are taught to have predatory attention. In other words, they need to go and hunt for business (we even call them hunters). The problem with that outdated world-view is that when one hunts something, one generally chases it away.
Hunting may have worked (and, it didn’t really, not at 42% of target) in the 90s when I was in sales. Hunting is no longer appropriate in our modern world. Movies that highlight aggressive sales techniques are “Glengarry Glen Ross” (featuring the well-known phrase “Always Be Closing”), “The Boiler Room“, “Wall Street,” “The Big Kahuna“, and “The Wolf of Wall Street” (based on Jordan Belfort’s life).
What is the correct answer, then? If I knew that, I’d have made billions and have retired to an island somewhere. I created a philosophy to guide salespeople towards their goals without using predatory tactics.
What I’ve been teaching sales professionals for 20 years is to have receptive attention where things come to you.
This is where you tap into the metaphysical and quantum world.
Create and manifest your dream world in a world of energy. A world of heart, mind and soul.
Connect with your ideal clients by understanding your and their frequency and resonating with them. As I explore this work more, I realise that the universe communicates through frequency, not English. The same is true for you and your clients.
It’s the concept of power versus force. When you are predatory you are using force (and nobody wants to be forced, I promise you). Being centred and aligned with truth, having receptive attention, and prioritising your prospect will make you powerful and attract what you desire.
The Works That Drive My Sales Philosophy
All my sales processes, including coaching, training and keynote speaking, are based on the works of:
Carlos Castaneda – Find a path with heart
Joe Dispenza – Manifest in the void
Albert Einstein – We are energy
David R. Hawkins – Understanding consciousness
Don Miguel Ruiz – The Four Agreements
Bruce H. Lipton – The Biology of Belief
A Course In Miracles
You see, you don’t need more skill, tips and tricks to succeed in sales. You need to raise your frequency and let go of negative vibrations. Believe that you were created as a masterpiece to fulfil your divine purpose.
If my philosophy resonates with you, then you might consider speaking to me with the view to me presenting at your next event.
The Story You Tell Is The Story You Sell
I have a 1-hour keynote called “The Story You Tell Is The Story You Sell.” It has been perfected and delivered on various stages for years. Its purpose is to empower sales professionals to create the life they desire. If they win, your company wins too. It’s a good deal for everyone.
The keynote covers:
You can only perform to the level of your self-esteem. It shows you how to let go of all the negative beliefs that are holding you back.
How to go from predatory attention to receptive attention.
Unleashing the power of attraction. To effortlessly attract what is best for you, change your negative and repelling energy to positive and attractive energy.
How to fall in love again with this amazing profession called sales. Become a noble warrior for good so that you can attract the right clients who need what you have to offer them.
How to manifest all that you desire through your career in sales.
Testimonials
Jacques, your talk at our conference (2024) the other day, was so inspirational and opened me up to what is possible. What truly struck a chord was the exploration of the positive vs. negative energy dynamic. Your examples resonated deeply, prompting introspection and encouraging us to acknowledge the subtle ways our choices influence our state of being. The shift in focus from blaming external factors to taking responsibility for our internal energy was empowering. Barsh Chetty
The Story You Tell Is The Story You Sell was a riveting, entertaining and inspiring talk. The entire audience (150+) was fully engaged. I’ve never been more inspired by a talk than this one. When it comes to inspiration, Jacques is a legend. JP Berger
My hell, Jacques. I liken your mind to that of the great, early atomic physicist, Frijof Capra, who wrote the original Turning Point and Uncommon Wisdom. Steve Johnson
If you have the time and inclination, you can find 80 or so recommendations on LinkedIn.
Sales motivational speakers South Africa
What Next?
Let’s set up a discovery call to explore whether I’ll be the right fit for your event. You can set up a time that works for both of us, here or pop me an email here.
