Talk Topics

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.

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE WORLD CLASS?
Dick was ranked as one of the top 5 marathoners on 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.

NEVER GIVE UP HOPE
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 or the tragic suicide of his beloved son, Andy, 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.

HOW TO TAKE ON GOLIATH BY BEING YOUR BEST
Have you or your organization struggled against circumstances far beyond your control? Many of us are weary from an onslaught of challenges, such as COVID, economic hardships and global political unrest. In the 1982 Boston Marathon Dick Beardsley was tasked with taking on the world record holder and never before challenged, the “King” Alberto Salazar.  From the start of training to the unbelievable finish, Dick shares deep insights about how to take on the “Goliaths” in life.  Each of us will learn how to reach for excellence and make it a reality.

STAYING THE COURSE
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.