Motivational Speaking by Dick Beardsley
In business, a leader faces very UNIQUE AND DISTINCT challenges in the organization. Dick understands that and will cater his talk to your specific needs.
OVERCOMING ADVERSITY
Organizations reflect life. It can be a series of ups and downs. Nothing can be more demotivating than an organization that reaches the greatest of highs and then falls to the lowest of lows. Dick personally knows in an incredibly powerful way how this feels and how to climb back up to greatness again, going from world class athlete at the top of his field to confessed drug addict, falling to the depth of the valley. Dick shares in a personal and poignant way how to get back to the top of the mountain again. |
HOW TO TAKE ON GOLIATH BY BEING YOUR BEST
Many young organizations are faced with the daunting challenge of taking on, in the marketplace, market leading brands and companies, that have decades of success and pedigree. This is exactly what Dick faced in the 1982 Boston Marathon by taking on the world record holder and never before challenged, the “King” Alberto Salazar. Starting with training, both mentally and physical, to the starting line and to the brink in this unbelievable finish, Dick shares the underlying learnings of how to take on the “Goliaths” in life and give them a run for their money. Dick will show you how to reach for excellence and make it a reality. |
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE WORLD CLASS?
Dick was ranked as one of the top 5 marathoners in the world. He won some of the world’s most prestigious races. He ran world record holders into the ground. Dick knows the simple truths of what it takes to be world class and be the best that can be. The same principles that apply in sports apply as well in life and business.
Dick will share his life with your clients and they will leave knowing that anything is possible, despite any roadblocks or doubts. With perseverance and courage, your clients will know they can take the next step when they don’t think that they can or have it in them. They will leave with the ability to believe in themselves and embrace life’s challenges, not matter how daunting. They will leave inspired and he will bring your listeners to laughter, tears, the pinnacle, the bottom, and back up again. They will be walked through his exciting highs and his dark valley of despair and through the anguish to that great light of hope and redemption.
Whether Dick is talking about his world class running career or series of numerous accidents, where he started at the very bottom of the running world to becoming a world class athlete or he’s talking about the beginnings of his horrific addiction to narcotic pain medicines, your clients will leave the event a changed person. They will be encouraged and inspired to face their own demons with courage and to continue getting up no matter how many times life may knock you down.
Motivational. Inspirational. Captivating. Dick Beardsley is a bestselling author and professional motivational / inspirational speaker who has been the keynote speaker at Fortune 500 companies, non-profit organizations, conferences, conventions, corporate events, fundraisers, sporting events, prisons, schools and drug treatment centers, to name a few. His comfortable style and inspiring message has endeared him to audiences all over the world. Dick has received the Minnesota Meeting & Events Association Best Speaker Award.
Dick was ranked as one of the top 5 marathoners in the world. He won some of the world’s most prestigious races. He ran world record holders into the ground. Dick knows the simple truths of what it takes to be world class and be the best that can be. The same principles that apply in sports apply as well in life and business.
Dick will share his life with your clients and they will leave knowing that anything is possible, despite any roadblocks or doubts. With perseverance and courage, your clients will know they can take the next step when they don’t think that they can or have it in them. They will leave with the ability to believe in themselves and embrace life’s challenges, not matter how daunting. They will leave inspired and he will bring your listeners to laughter, tears, the pinnacle, the bottom, and back up again. They will be walked through his exciting highs and his dark valley of despair and through the anguish to that great light of hope and redemption.
Whether Dick is talking about his world class running career or series of numerous accidents, where he started at the very bottom of the running world to becoming a world class athlete or he’s talking about the beginnings of his horrific addiction to narcotic pain medicines, your clients will leave the event a changed person. They will be encouraged and inspired to face their own demons with courage and to continue getting up no matter how many times life may knock you down.
Motivational. Inspirational. Captivating. Dick Beardsley is a bestselling author and professional motivational / inspirational speaker who has been the keynote speaker at Fortune 500 companies, non-profit organizations, conferences, conventions, corporate events, fundraisers, sporting events, prisons, schools and drug treatment centers, to name a few. His comfortable style and inspiring message has endeared him to audiences all over the world. Dick has received the Minnesota Meeting & Events Association Best Speaker Award.
DICK'S AMAZING STORY
For a brief moment in the early '80s Dick Beardsley became the most famous runner in the world - by losing a race. In the 1982 Boston Marathon, Beardsley, foiled by a motorcycle that cut him off near the end, finished two seconds behind Alberto Salazar in a contest often called one of the most memorable in marathon history. It was the closest finish ever at the world's premier marathon, and both runners broke the course and the American records. This famous 1982 Boston Marathon has also been dubbed the "Duel in the Sun".
Dick's inspirational autobiography, Staying the Course: A Runner's Toughest Race recounts the stunning race that made Dick Beardsley a celebrity and the difficult years that followed, including his recovery from a near-fatal farm accident, his subsequent addiction to painkillers, and a very public arrest for forging prescriptions. His story of overcoming extreme obstacles speaks to anyone who loves competition, who has survived catastrophe, or who has pursued a seemingly impossible goal.
Honest and engaging, Beardsley recalls his rise from Minnesota small-town kid and mediocre runner to celebrated athlete. He gives an exhilarating description of the Boston race and its unexpected obstacles: he was accosted by a fan, sideswiped by a bus, hobbled by a charley horse, and derailed by a motorcycle cop. He also writes with great candor of his retirement from marathoning to run a dairy farm, the accidents that followed, his addiction, the humiliation of his arrest, and his struggle to sobriety.
Since 2009, Dick has had two total knee replacements and has faced many challenges with dignity and grave.
For a brief moment in the early '80s Dick Beardsley became the most famous runner in the world - by losing a race. In the 1982 Boston Marathon, Beardsley, foiled by a motorcycle that cut him off near the end, finished two seconds behind Alberto Salazar in a contest often called one of the most memorable in marathon history. It was the closest finish ever at the world's premier marathon, and both runners broke the course and the American records. This famous 1982 Boston Marathon has also been dubbed the "Duel in the Sun".
Dick's inspirational autobiography, Staying the Course: A Runner's Toughest Race recounts the stunning race that made Dick Beardsley a celebrity and the difficult years that followed, including his recovery from a near-fatal farm accident, his subsequent addiction to painkillers, and a very public arrest for forging prescriptions. His story of overcoming extreme obstacles speaks to anyone who loves competition, who has survived catastrophe, or who has pursued a seemingly impossible goal.
Honest and engaging, Beardsley recalls his rise from Minnesota small-town kid and mediocre runner to celebrated athlete. He gives an exhilarating description of the Boston race and its unexpected obstacles: he was accosted by a fan, sideswiped by a bus, hobbled by a charley horse, and derailed by a motorcycle cop. He also writes with great candor of his retirement from marathoning to run a dairy farm, the accidents that followed, his addiction, the humiliation of his arrest, and his struggle to sobriety.
Since 2009, Dick has had two total knee replacements and has faced many challenges with dignity and grave.
"I have heard Bill Clinton, Lance Armstrong, and even the Dalai Lama speak. None of them meant as much to me as hearing Dick speak. His message of hope and redemption is moving and stays with you forever."
Stewart Weepers, New Balance
"Dick came out to speak at the Society of American Florists' Annual Convention. Dick's moving stories of his drive to become a world-class runner to his battle with Alberto Salazar in 1983 to his epic struggle to overcome drug addiction are almost beyond belief. You think to yourself “It’s a wonder he’s still alive.” But then you’re so thankful he is because his message -- delivered in his down-to-earth, easy-going style -- is heartfelt, pure and, above all, incredibly inspiring." Drew Gruenburg, Chief Operating Officer Society of American Florists