120. Jim Love: Speaking to Young Audiences

Jim Love is 27 years old and was born and raised in the south side of Chicago. Jim attended Marquette University, graduated in 2013 with degrees in Corporate Communications and Marketing, and currently resides in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After years of exploring leadership development, Jim decided to follow a calling and spread his message of authenticity and positivity. He has spoken to several thousand high school students both in Illinois and Wisconsin. Jim shares his life experiences and connects with you on a personal and real level. As a lifelong stutterer, he understands what it takes to overcome obstacles and adversity and motivates the crowd to take on their own obstacles in a real way. Authentic leadership Few words describe what authentic leadership is: Love who you are and what you became. Who I am is exactly who I am called to be. The most important thing is that you accept yourself. Jim particularly admires the following people as authentic leaders of today: Chris Pratt (movie star, gave a speech at the MTV Movie Awards recently) Erika Nardini (CEO of Barstool Sports-influential woman in journalism) Ellen Degeneres (talk show host, comedian and all around positive influence) Speaking to Young Audiences Jim gives us a few ideas to pay attention when speaking to high school and young college students: * Don’t be something you’re not. Be yourself. * Don’t think you’re so different from them. We all want to be part of something bigger. The main difference is that they’re in Instagram, Snapchat a lot and that pulls them away from where they want to be. * Relate to them and listen. * They don’t want to be lectured at. Have a dialog. Related: Let Your Leadership Voice Shine Through Favorite quotation “Your imperfections are marks of authenticity, and that is the beauty of you.” —Isaac King Fowler Recommended book The World’s Most Powerful Leadership Principle (How to become a servant leader) by James C Hunter Routine to Shine * Practice gratitude on a weekly basis. Thank for something that a person has done for you in the past: write a letter, call, send a sms.