06/17/2026
This past week, I had the privilege of speaking to more than 150 teens, in two workshops, through United Way Broward’s Youth Leadership Initiative.
The workshop was called:
✨ Own Your Voice. Own the Moment. Lead Your Life. ✨
And while many people think I was there to teach public speaking, I wasn’t.
I was there to help students understand something much bigger:
Most people don’t have a public speaking problem. They have a voice problem.
I asked the students to stand if they had ever wanted something but didn’t ask for it… had an idea but kept it to themselves… didn’t stand up for themselves… or stayed silent when they knew they should speak.
Almost every student was standing.
That’s when I reminded them:
Your voice is not what you say.
Your voice is revealed in the moments you disappear.
When young people learn to share their ideas, experiences, passions, and stories, they build confidence, self-trust, and influence.
The world doesn’t need a smaller version of them.
It needs their ideas, their courage, and their voice.
Because the moment you stop disappearing is the moment you begin to lead. ❤️