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20 Things You Didn't Know about Les Brown

Les Brown

Inspiration speakers are essential in your lives for they encourage you to look at things from a different perspective and to become more attentive to your talents and abilities. People naturally tend to focus on all their problems.

The inspiration speaker will assist his audience in putting more focus on the many favorable circumstances instead. Almost all motivational speakers relate their personal experiences to an audience, which means they can come from any background and use that information to inspire others.

Les Brown is one of the most fabulous motivational speakers. The following are amazing facts published on Encyclopedia that you probably didn't know.

1. Brown was labeled mentally retarded

You could expect that for a person to be very successful, one must have been smart from an early age. On the contrary, Brown was a weak child in school. He had a superficial concentration level and was also weak in reading. When in grade five, he was taken back to a previous class since Brown couldn't keep up with the rest. Brown's teachers lacked confidence in him, and most people thought that he was mentally retarded, leading to low self-esteem.

2. Les is a divorcee

Les Brown was once married to a famous singer, Gladys Knight. They stayed in the marriage for two years and divorced later in 1997 due to issues that they could not solve. He, however, never discusses his marital status in public during his presentations. He fathered ten children who bore him fifteen grandchildren and is a great grandfather of two.

3. A foster mother raised him

Les Brown and his brother Wes were given out for adoption to a middle-aged woman, Mamie Brown. Their biological mother could not bring them up since she conceived them out of wedlock. Brown acknowledges his foster mother for being supportive in his career. She is his most significant source of inspiration. Although she was not well off, Brown's adoptive mother did manual jobs in hotels and also worked as a house help to raise them.

4. Les is passionate about everything he does

Brown was very determined to meet his dreams. He could take up any job to support his visions. Les Brown once worked as a city cleaner. He put himself through school to study radio broadcasting. While still studying, Brown looked for casual jobs in the radio stations. He was keen on all operations around him and could carefully observe and learn the undertakings.

In one station a particular disc jockey drunk too much alcohol and was unable to deliver successfully. Brown stepped in and relieved his colleague. He mixed the music so perfectly that the owner of the station was impressed. The owner hired him part-time then later promoted him. It was a turning point for Brown's life for he passionately realized his potential.

5. He was a great politician

After working in the radio station, he got fired after sometimes for unknown reasons. He heeded to a friend's advice to vie for a position in Ohio state legislature. He did good campaigns.

Through his perfect communication skills, he expressed himself to the people in the region; they trusted him and voted him in. When in the legislature, he was competent in all his undertakings. He developed an excellent reputation for making the best rules and developments to help the people of Ohio. It was also an added advantage to him for he got elected as the overseer of the human resource committee.

While still in politics, his mother became unwell. He was compassionate and stepped down his position to nurse his ailing foster mother. At home, he continued empowering youths at his local place and tried to solve the social issues preventing development. He was a great leader who led by example.

6. Les has been recognized severally on his excellent speaking skills

Les Brown has worked to perfect his speaking skills. He is original and always has very captivating and encouraging words. He has won the heart of many people and got awarded for being the best motivational speaker. His first award was in 1989 when he got recognized by the Council of Peers Award of Excellence and National Speakers Association. He didn't stop at that: Les continued working smart and won an award in Chicago in 1991 for having the best motivation speaking program. He has continued to be a perfectionist, thus receiving appreciations in many platforms.

7. He has published many books

Brown is a great author. He has mastered the art of perfect writing and is known for compiling very captivating books. He has published various books whose main aim is to motivate people in their businesses and also on their day to day lives. The books include; "Live Your Dream," "The Law of Success," "Living Your Goals," among many more. He also has videos and audio recordings.

8. Brown is academically qualified

Les Brown was enrolled in school by his foster mother. Although he was not a bright student, he worked hard and was able to go to high school. He worked enthusiastically in his teenage and proceeded to college to study radio broadcasting. He was later employed as a disc jockey and later on television.

9. Les Brown's Net worth

Les Brown net worth estimated up to $12 million. He is among the best paid and influential inspirational speakers. He led many people to follow their dreams and become happy. With his ambition, he will continue amassing more wealth.

10. He is a cancer survivor

Les Brown got diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1997. After that, he decided to find out all about those that have survived prostate cancer. Les sought information on how to handle cancer, diet patterns, and healthy lifestyles to suppress cancer. He consulted the cancer survivors and also read their articles on what they did, what they did not do, their diet, and the type of medication they took.

11. Brown is a professional motivational speaker

He developed his great speaking skills through television broadcasts. When he joined politics, he also interacted with a large number of people that supported his skills. He has grown in his career, and he is one of the best inspirational speakers in the world. He speaks to people cutting across various dimensions, including school children, entrepreneurs, investors, organizations, and clubs. Talking to people has become his primary source of income, and Les has had numerous presentations. Throughout his career, Les has accumulated a large number of clients, thus a high salary, making him an accomplished speaker.

12. Les had a humble beginning

Brown grew up in a poor background. His biological mother gave birth to him on a floor, and later, he was adopted by a low-income earning woman. He had little when growing up, and at times had to take a casual job to help feed his family. Brown grew up with other children in the low-income earners class, and he played all the boyhood games.

He didn't go to the best schools since his mother could not afford it. In college, he did manual jobs at the radio stations which provided him with money for his upkeep. He could not afford to pay house rent, and in one instance, Les slept on the floor of an office he had rented, without a blanket.

13. He is determined, hardworking and self-motivated

Les Brown builds his life out of nothing. He is very diligent and determined to see great results. When Brown worked at the radio station, he was always the first one to arrive in the workplace and last to leave. He survived with all he had to ensure he was a great motivational speaker. He is even known for moving from one country to another to deliver speeches.

Les Brown is very keen to maintain good relations with his support institutions by ensuring that he has attended all the meetings invited irrespective of the numbers. At times he moves from one country to another with minimal resting time. He is self-motivated and never allows circumstances, situations, or failures to demotivate him.

14. Les Brown teaches by example

He has been through a tough life, and he managed to overcome it all. Brown bases his teachings on his real-life stories. He addresses many issues like believing in yourself, conquering all odds, and working hard to achieve your dreams. Les addresses financial constraints and how to overcome them based on how he was able to change his life and that of his family. He encourages his audience not to give up on their dreams and pursue them restlessly as he did. His ambition is a great virtue that you can learn from him, implement it in your life, and maybe you can progress as he did.

15. The people around him also inspired him

At an early life, Brown was motivated by his foster mother to work towards becoming a great person. He said in one of his shows that his mother was his greatest inspiration for she believed in him and invested in making his life great. While in high school, Brown's drama instructor noticed his talent and encouraged him to pursue it.

He also listened to motivational speakers and used their quotes to command his destiny. The decision to join politics was also influenced by a friend who showed him that he was great and had the potential. Having gathered so much from motivational speakers, Les Brown still listens to them.

16. Les Brown has compiled a list of powerful motivational quotes

Brown is one of the best inspirational speakers, and he came up with numerous quotes that most people use to encourage themselves in their situations. He bases most of his quotes on the need for unity, caring about others, and moving up as a team. He has greatly emphasized on having a dream and working very hard to achieve it. Sometimes reading a motivational quote on a dull day is all you need to lighten up your world and build hope for a better tomorrow. His quotes are shared widely on social media platforms, and a large number of people often quote him in their daily lives.

17. He has a high interest in entrepreneurship

Les Brown has tried businesses that didn't pick up well, portraying his high interest in entrepreneurial activities. Despite the challenging entrepreneurial journey, Les has been invited severally in business conferences to speak to the business owners. He has also published books, recorded videos, and audios to motivate people in business and to advise them on how to plan resources towards the success of their companies. Listening to Brown can provide you with techniques to solve dynamic problems in the business world.

18. His zodiac sign is Aquarius, and his birthstone is Amethyst

Zodiac signs and birthstones are believed to describe a person's character and attributes. Les Brown's birthday is in February, and his Zodiac sign is Aquarius. He is, therefore independent, short-tempered, humane, emotional, intellectual, and a good listener. He dislikes disloyalty, loneliness, and fights. These qualities go hand in hand with those depicted from the birthstone Amethyst. It is believed to protect the wearer from getting drunk and helping him remain sober as we can see from Brown.

19. Les Brown is empathetic

He can quickly get into other people's shoes and understand their feelings. He analyses his audience carefully and speaks to them in relevance to their age, business levels, and themes in various shows. Brown's empathy is evident in most of his books, interviews, and stage speeches. Insight enables him to make speeches that genuinely appeal to his audience; to inspire, and empower them.

20. He has a great sense of humor

Les Brown tries to gain undivided attention from his audience by incorporating jokes in his speech. Humor helps in keeping the address lively and fun, preventing his audience from getting bored. Having expertise and credibility, he knows when and where to incorporate jokes without diverting the audience from the actual theme.

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Allen Lee

Written by Allen Lee

Allen Lee is a Toronto-based freelance writer who studied business in school but has since turned to other pursuits. He spends more time than is perhaps wise with his eyes fixed on a screen either reading history books, keeping up with international news, or playing the latest releases on the Steam platform, which serve as the subject matter for much of his writing output. Currently, Lee is practicing the smidgen of Chinese that he picked up while visiting the Chinese mainland in hopes of someday being able to read certain historical texts in their original language.

Read more posts by Allen Lee

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