WEEK     JOB: MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER

LOCATION: DENVER, COLORADO

EMPLOYER: GENERATION WHY, INC.

WAGE: $5,000–$25,000 PER PRESENTATION

Generation Why is a training and consulting firm that helps organizations recruit, train, manage, motivate, and retain the emerging workforce—me. Eric, the founder/president, delivers around sixty-five keynote presentations and training seminars per year to major organizations throughout North America.

INDUSTRY IQ:

• Eric was inducted to the CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame in 2004, an honor shared by less than 2 percent of all professional speakers.

• In 2008, former president Bill Clinton earned nearly $6 million in speaking fees.

WHAT I LEARNED: You must be willing to start at the bottom.

Eric, gen-Y expert: “If you think you want to be in television, don’t go in saying, ‘I want to be the star of the show.’ Go in and say, ‘I want to clean toilets, I want to make coffee in the morning. I just want to be around here to find out what it’s really like.’

“You want to be a lawyer? Don’t just start applying to law schools—do a little job shadowing. Be willing to make photocopies, be a courier. Just get into the profession, and see it from a different view to find out if it’s something you’re really passionate about and if you’re willing to pay the price to get there.”