Les Brown

Les Brown Profile

Some motivational speakers will tell you about how to overcome adversity, but the inspirational Les Brown has lived the things he speaks of and then some. Abandoned at birth, he was lucky enough to be adopted by a very caring woman, but problems came throughout his education as teachers repeatedly and incorrectly judged him “mentally retarded.”

Despite not having any education beyond high school, Les Brown decided that he would “do whatever it takes to achieve success” to take care of himself and his dear adoptive mother. He has distinguished himself in whichever field he has chosen to work, moving from being a DJ to a broadcast manager, community activist to community leader, political commentator to triple term State legislator in Ohio and from master of ceremonies at banquets and nightclubs to one of the most noted Keynote Speakers in the world, addressing audiences up to 80,000 people. He has been invited to speak to Fortune 500 companies and many prestigious organizations across the globe.

Just three years after becoming a full-time speaker (backed by his own company, Les Brown Enterprises Inc), Les Brown was awarded the Council of Peers Award of Excellence by the National Speakers Association, their highest honor. His show “You Deserve” on PBS won a Chicago area Emmy and has been used as a model for fundraising by PBS stations across the USA. Toastmasters International have chosen him as a top five speaker of the year, and he has been awarded the Golden Gavel, the highest award for excellence of the International Convention of the National Speaker’s Association.

Always looking to give back, Les Brown has offered his coaching services to many of the most successful young speakers in the USA. His books Live Your Dreams and It’s Not Over Until You Win were very well received by critics and public alike, as was his nationally syndicated daily television talk-show, focusing on solutions rather than problems, The Les Brown Show.

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  Les Brown is a top Motivational Speaker, Speech Coach, and Best-Selling Author, loving father and grandfather, whose passion is empowering youth and helping them have a larger vision for their lives. Brown’s straight-from-the-heart, high-energy, passionate message motivates and engages all audiences to step into their greatness, providing them with the motivation to take the next step toward living their dream. His charisma, warmth and sense of humor have impacted many lives.

  Les Brown’s life itself is a true testament to the power of positive thinking and the infinite human potential. Leslie C. Brown was born on February 17, 1945, in an abandoned building on a floor in Liberty City, a low-income section of Miami, Florida, and adopted at six weeks of age by Mrs. Mamie Brown, a 38 year old single woman, cafeteria cook and domestic worker, who had very little education or financial means, but a very big heart and the desire to care for Les Brown and his twin brother, Wesley Brown. Les Brown calls himself, “Mrs. Mamie Brown’s Baby Boy” and claims, “All that I am and all that I ever hoped to be, I owe to my mother.”

  In the fifth grade, Les Brown was mistakenly declared “educably mentally retarded” and placed back in the fourth grade and later failed the eight grade, due to his inattention to school work, his restless energy, and his teachers’ failure to recognize his true potential. He was referred to as “D.T.” for “Dumb Twin.” The label and stigma severely damaged his self-esteem for many years. Mamie Brown’s believe in her son’s ability to achieve whatever he set his mind to achieving made a difference in his life. “Her strength and character are my greatest inspiration, always have been and always will be.”

  Les Brown’s determination and persistence searching for ways to help Mamie Brown overcome poverty and his philosophy “do whatever it takes to achieve success” led him to become a distinguished authority on harnessing human potential and success. Les Brown’s passion to learn and his hunger to realize greatness in himself and others helped him to achieve greatness in spite of not having formal education or training beyond high school.

  In 1989, three years after entering the public speaking arena on a full-time basis and forming his own company, Les Brown Enterprises, Inc., Brown was the recipient of the National Speakers Association’s highest honor: the Council of Peers Award of Excellence. In 1990, he recorded his first in a series of speech presentations for the Public Broadcasting System. In 1991, the program entitled “You Deserve” with Les Brown, was awarded a Chicago-area Emmy and became the leading fund-raising program of its kind for pledges to PBS stations nationwide. In 1992, he was selected as one of the year’s Top Five Outstanding Speakers by members of Toastmasters International. Brown has also been honored at the International Convention of the National Speaker’s Association with the organization’s most prestigious award for excellence in the field of communication and leadership: The Golden Gavel.

  Les Brown rose from a hip-talking morning DJ to broadcast manager; from community activist to community leader; from political commentator to three-term State legislator in Ohio; and from a banquet and nightclub emcee to premier Keynote Speaker for audiences as big as 80,000 people, including Fortune 500 companies and organizations all over the world.

  As a caring and dedicated Speech Coach, Les Brown has coached and trained numerous successful young speakers all over the nation. Brown is also the author of the highly acclaimed and successful books, Live Your Dreams and It’s Not Over Until You Win, and former host of The Les Brown Show, a nationally syndicated daily television talk show which focused on solutions and not on problems.