Austin Motivational Speaker-Giani

07/18/2025

If one does presentations, many will use PowerPoint. Yes, it is still used after all these years. While most speakers use bullets as a guideline, I use images to enhance my program. The image below is in the planning stages for my longer programs. I will try to post images of my current program after my Florida keynote next week.

Scenario:
You are walking in a park and see this bench. You are tired or just want to sit. Which part of the bench would you sit on? The choices are one of the ends or the middle.

07/10/2025

A few years ago, I had a keynote in Indiana. I was picked up at the airport by the host of the event, and we began to talk about hackers and scammers. She told me her son worked at Google. I asked her which anti-hacker and virus protection I should buy. She told me none. I am speaking about Microsoft because I have Windows 11 on my work laptop.

She told me just to keep Windows updated, and I do. The Windows Defender updates sometimes multiple times a day!! I have replaced laptops many times over the years, but my current one is at least 5 years old and not one virus or wiped out bank account yet. Video below with info. Nothing to sell here.

Here we take a look at what Security intelligence updates are and why Microsoft release them regularly for Microsoft Defender Antivirus and other Microsoft a...

07/01/2025

Morgan Freeman once said:

"There comes a day when you no longer feel the need to prove anything to anyone. Not because you’ve given up, but because you’ve grown."

You grow tired — tired of explaining, of justifying, of shrinking yourself to fit into other people’s lives.
Tired of waiting for messages that never come, apologies that never arrive, people who don’t know how to love.

The truth is simple:
Not everyone will understand you.
Not everyone will stay.
Not everyone will treat you the way you deserve.
But they don’t have to.

Because there comes a moment when you choose peace.
You choose silence over reaction.
You stop lowering yourself into other people’s storms.

Because sometimes, the most mature response is silence.
The strongest move is to walk away.
And the greatest act of self-love is to stop putting yourself last.

It’s not selfishness — it’s healing.
It’s the courage to choose yourself.
To rebuild your soul without anyone’s approval.
To keep moving forward — even alone — but with dignity.

And when you do that… life begins to realign.
Because the right people don’t ask for explanations.
They see you.
They feel you.
They respect you — without you having to beg for it.

— Morgan Freeman

06/20/2025

Miss my nights working at NSA. I liked nights because they were quiet and not filled with the chaos that many jobs are. Take a moment today and just be still. For me, it’s be still and know I am God. For you, it may be different, but the point is to allow your brain and body to reset.

05/25/2025

Max Lucado (Oak Hills Church) today asked why the rearview mirrors on our vehicles are so much smaller than the front windshield. Life application? Our subconscious minds are always reverting to the past, but we live in the present. The future (windshield) is ahead, but it seems we never arrive at our destination because of the past. The Bible tells us to be anxious for nothing, but it seems it works for a while, then something triggers our past, and here we go again.

Whether you are a person of faith or not, you can't control your thoughts, but you can control where they lead.

The rearview mirror is important, but do not focus on it. Stay in the now and don't veer off course. Keep eyes on the road ahead.

04/10/2025

Off to Colorado.

12/09/2024

With 72,000 thoughts a day—it’s a given most of these thoughts are not always pleasant. Take every thought captive. You don’t need to think about what you think about.

12/06/2024

Have you ever wondered why people get over the loss of a loved one, job, or tragedy faster than you do? My best college course was a class in Gerontology. We examined the five stages of grief (Kubler-Ross model). I learned a lot from that course and over the years I have found what helps me not just with tragedy but with any bump in the road. Of course, my faith and prayer help but I use what I call a "grief clock."

When I try to rush the grief process it only prolongs it. The calendar is your friend, do not rush it. Each day gets a little better. Sure there can be regression and some days are worse than others but let time be your friend. Focus on gratefulness and name the things or people in your life who are still here. We cannot change the past and we do not know the future—focus only on the present. Let the Grief Clock work for you.

10/14/2024

Do you ever complain? I don't mean just out loud but silently, too. I know I do. Lately, it has been about traffic and crazy drivers. Complaining (especially about things that are out of our control leads to anxiety. It is also contagious. Want to know a quick fix? It's being grateful. Next time you feel yourself complaining, name a few things you are grateful for. You cannot complain and acknowledge what you are grateful for at the same time. It is a positive and a negative which are opposite like a magnet. Try this next time you become frustrated.

09/15/2024

Back in Indianapolis for Cresline’s annual meeting—an interactive talk on perception and how it affects our decision-making. Mind-blowing mentalism magic and content. Let the mind games begin!

08/31/2024

I made the summit of Texas's highest peak but it was the hardest challenge of my life. This is not a class 1climb! I had all but quit because of dehydration. I brought 4 liters of water and electrolytes and still not enough. Families were being rescued this week and another guy was also having severe cramps following me. We had agreed to notify the park rangers of whoever made it down first. Aside from one couple going up to the campgrounds —I was the last climber left on the mountain. God came through lots of prayer. I never knew I would be scrambling to the top on all fours—so many cliffs and edges. One seasoned climber said this climb was harder than Mt Elbert in Colorado. The photo below is just one ledge of the climb. I have a severe fear of heights (acrophobia). I gave up but I didn’t. I was stuck on a ledge with cramps so bad I couldn’t get up. As I sat there on that ledge I had 3 fears running through my mind.

1) Fear of Death

2) Fear of heights (ie death)

3) Fear of failure

I had decided to go down as soon as I could safely stand up.

As I was looking down the slope for a way down, I see a nice couple (from Dallas) climbing up.

They sat beside me and first told me to turn around then said “but you are so close.”

That did it.

Only ten climbers all day and most of the day I was alone. When I arrived at 0630 there was only one car in the parking lot. Uncanny for a week before a holiday.

Never stop challenging yourself. You only have one life on this blue rock. We were not born to just stay in one rut. I’m still not over my fear of heights but the more one is exposed

To a fear—the less it has a stronghold on us. God orders our steps—we need to do the walk. Pushing through life’s obstacles is seldom easy. Just enjoy the journey. Thank you Jesus. Psalms 32:10

Takeaways:

1) Don’t let others set

limitations for you. We all have a mountain.

2) Fear is an emotion and emotional decisions are mostly unreliable.

PS: Check out the DPS rescue video from here. Being sick or injured in the wilderness is no joke.

08/28/2024

It is said the mind always gives in before the body wears out. Emotional decisions are unreliable. Keep pushing before closing that door. Learn more at your next annual meeting.