Louise Hay, the American motivational author, speaker and founder of Hay House, passed away earlier this week. Admired, respected and loved by millions of people, she will always be known as one of the founders of the self –help movement.

As one of the countless people whose lives she has touched and as a beneficiary of Louise’s work, I’d like to recognise and honour her talent and gift as a speaker. Every now and then the world presents us with a leader who makes a small but significant dent in the universe. It’s normally someone who has a message which is so clear, so real and so powerful that it resonates with us in our hearts. As sceptical, busy and cynical as many of us are, those people present their message with such unwavering conviction, passion and belief that even the toughest amongst us are compelled to at least listen.

Ambassadors of self-help are often disregarded, dismissed and even ridiculed by some people who consider their ideas to be nothing more than:

Common sense

Unrealistic

Oversimplified

Out of touch

I believe that most of us wish we could improve certain things about ourselves at some point in our lives but find it extremely difficult to do so. We have evolved in a world of habit, conditioning, complexity and a level of pressure and noise that keeps us on the ‘treadmill’. Although we are all extremely intelligent, creative, talented and responsible people, many of us long for change but remain stuck in the quagmire of repetition.

Louise Hay’s work has extended to help people all over the world through some of the darkest and most dismal circumstances imaginable. Whatever your thoughts may be on ‘self-help’, it seems to me that Louise gave people hope. She helped millions of us to believe that we could change our lives and even change the world.

The work we do at Mindful Presenter is arguably trivial and insignificant in comparison to the many lives Louise Hay has undoubtedly helped and even probably saved over many years. Despite that, her legacy continues in the work that we do in our own small way that revolves around Louise’s belief that:

“The universe loves grateful people”

“The point of power is always in the present moment.”

“Every thought we think is creating our future.”

“We are each responsible for all of our experiences.”

“Love is the great miracle cure. Loving ourselves works miracles in our lives.”

Purely from a speakers perspective I’d like to take a moment to look at each of Louise’s quotes in turn.

“The universe loves grateful people”

Every opportunity we have to present our ideas and speak to others is an opportunity to connect, lead and inspire change. Whilst it’s human nature to be fearful of the prospect of public speaking, if we spend a few moments being grateful for the opportunity, everything changes.

“The point of power is always in the present moment.”

The greatest gift we can give any audience when given the opportunity to present our ideas or to speak in public is to truly be in the room with them. Many of us are in the room physically but our minds are elsewhere. Learning to be in the present moment with your audience is the route to connecting with them

“Every thought we think is creating our future.”

It’s all too easy for us as presenters and speakers to focus on the unhealthy, limiting thoughts such as:

‘What if they don’t like me?’

‘I’m rubbish at presenting’

‘What if I forget what to say?’

If those are the thoughts we continue to hold in our minds then don’t be surprised at the outcome.

“We are each responsible for all of our experiences.”

We have within our gift and control the ability to create our own experiences. I believe that the simplest (but not easy) route to that is through our:

Physiology – How we stand, breathe, move and hold ourselves in any given moment.

Focus – The images we hold in our minds for any length of time.

Language – The words we use and the conversations we have with ourselves over and over again.

“Love is the great miracle cure. Loving ourselves works miracles in our lives.”

Some readers may struggle with this last principle when it comes to the idea of presenting and speaking in public, although it is the most powerful.

The moment you stand to speak take a moment to pause, breathe and send thoughts of love to yourself and extend them also to your audience.

Louise Hay died this week at age 90. I believe that her spirit and work will live on and continue to inspire millions of people all over the world.

If you’re not familiar with Louise’s work take a few minutes to watch this video with an open mind and open heart.

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