Sitting in the audience, you can hear the vibrant cheers of proud mothers, fathers and relatives “That’s my baby!” or “We love you!” You can also catch a glance of the educators and administrators sitting proud among the sea of caps and gowns (displaying an occasional thumbs up). As my children (students) walked across the stage, some smiled, some cried and some even broke out into an hilarious dance (you know who you are

This year I had the privilege of being asked to administer two graduations. As I listened to the roar of the crowds and the jubilant responses of the graduates, for the first time I WAS STRUCK WITH FEAR!

Ok, let me please explain, before you stop reading this blog. Yes, graduation is a joyous occasion and Yes, it is a milestone in a student’s life. The Fear was not about the appropriate length of the gowns or would someone stumble while delivering their valedictorian speech.

The question arose in my chest like a bolt of lightning surging the sky during an electrical storm. The question was simply “Had we done enough?”

I know these students have passed the reading and mathematics sections of the FCAT, and had earned 24 credits and had a minimum of a 2.0 grade point average and most of them had repaid all of their school debts; for losing their library books (wink).

The true question was had we prepared them for the relevant rigors of life.  Had we prepared them for their matriculation through college or technical school, the reality of paying bills, the seriousness of becoming parents, the maturity necessary for marriage and also instilled in them the willingness to work.

I know, I know you are saying “Well, they have to grow up sometime and take responsibility for their lives.” Yes, you are correct, but these are our children. At any point during the school year we became their teachers, their mentors, their guidance counselors, their friends, their coaches and sometimes, we are even had to step in as their father or mother.

Extraordinary Educators have a HUGE JOB!

The question still remains “Have we done enough?” Did they only learn reading, writing and arithmetic or did they understand our deeper philosophical lessons of Respect, Responsibility, Honesty and Discernment?

I hope, I wish, I pray they got it!

Students, Children, Friends, and Family as you depart for the Real World as  Adults!

Please Remember the poem by Maltbie Babcock

Be Strong!

We are not here to play, to dream, to drift,
We have hard work to do, and loads to lift.
Shun not the struggle; face it. ‘Tis God’s gift.

Be strong!
Say not the days are evil, – Who’s to blame?
And fold not the hands and acquiesce, – O shame!
Stand up, speak out, and bravely, in God’s name.

Be strong!
It matters not how deep entrenched the wrong,
How hard the battle goes, the day, how long.
Faint not, fight on! To-morrow comes the song

Educate, Empower & Inspire,

Mr. Adrian Anthony, MBA

by Adrian Anthony

Since 1925, Jabberwock has been presented nationally by Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, to raise scholarship funds for youth across the globe. The idea of the Jabberwock comes from the poem told by Lewis Carroll in his famous book, Alice in Wonderland. The Jabberwock, a mythical character, called together the members of his kingdom at least once a year to put on a show. In a like manner, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority calls its members and friends together to enjoy an evening of pageantry and entertainment.

I had the privilege of being the Master of Ceremony for the momentous 2011 Jabberwock hosted by the Tampa Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. The theme was “Learning is FUNdamental.” One of my favorite topics is EDUCATION. I presented several awards to historic educators who have personally inspired me and transformed children’s lives for over eighty years.

We honored the gracious Dorothea Edgecomb from the Hillsborough County School Board, Area Director Henry “Shake” Washington, Doris Scott and representatives for the late Dr. Sam Horton, Howard W. Blake and Mary Bryant. These educators are directly and indirectly responsible for motivating millions of lives and influencing my personal and professional dreams.

Let’s pause… I want you to think about who has influenced your life, including your parents. What did they say to you? How did they help you? How can you honor them? How can you help someone else?

“Shoot for the moon – and if you don’t make it, at least you’ll be among the stars…” – Anonymous

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of being asked to speak again at the National FBLA/PBL conference in Orlando. The first time I spoke I spent weeks memorizing every aspect of my talks, but this year, I took a different approach. In order to flow with the audience, I planned the activities and a few points for each talk. It was great the first time, but this time…it was amazing! We talked, laughed, and several of the attendees stayed through my first, second and third talks! The talks all revolved around social media and business, and one of the best moments was when one student expressed how he had been trying to get a job in education with no success. After weighing in on his situation, the group rallied around him with so much support and encouragement. It’s such an honor to watch my audiences achieve breakthroughs and leave with so much more understanding! I literally get chills every time I speak and the audience is touched! Here are a few of the tweets that came through before the talks were even done:

Kyle Buthod: Thanks for coming to speak with us @erinsanthony #youdabest #bestspeakerhere

Erik Ramsey: Pay attention @Erinsanthony !!! She has valuable advice for up and coming job seekers!! Thanks Mrs. Shell-Anthony!!

This Labor Day weekend, I had visions of spending time on the beach, reading a book and generally relaxing…however, those plans didn’t exactly happen – instead, an even better plan unfolded!  I was recently asked to be featured in a book about “40 women leaders under 40″ by an amazing young leader, Ardre Orie, CEO and Executive Director of the Pink Wish Foundation!

The Pink Wish Foundation is a non-profit organization with one goal – “to empower women and girls to dream, believe and achieve,” and after talking with Ardre, I discovered she was hosting the NEXT Generation Leadership Summit the Saturday of Labor Day Weekend and she invited me to come.  I have a passion for the empowerment of women and girls, so it was a pretty easy decision.  My mom and I got up early on Saturday morning to begin the drive up to Gainesville.  Immediately upon walking into the location, I was greeted with pink and green Pink Wish Foundation signs and so happy to see a room full of young girls who were excited and ready for an afternoon of learning about leadership and goal-setting!

Ardre was in full educator mode and had the full attention of the young ladies who learned how to stand when presenting (press your shoulder blades together and clasp your hands behind your back), how to see their dreams come true (set goals and verbalize them) and how to speak before a group (make eye contact and speak loudly & clearly).   These may seem like simple steps, but they make all the difference when you’re a 9 year old explaining to an audience why your goal of becoming a doctor is important to you (which the girls did, one by one!)!

I enjoyed participating in a community “think-tank,” charged with understanding how to bridge the gap in our children’s modern day experience, and identifying what success factors caused our group of panelists to succeed in life.  This was such a great event – just watching the young ladies break through shyness and be assured of the support of their community through rounds of applause for each – this is what left me feeling so fulfilled at the end of the day!

Each girl expressed their Pink Wish, and my Pink Wish is for more opportunities to spread the message of empowerment on every level!  Great job & kudos to Ardre, as well as Leadership Rockstar Chris Chestnut, Esq. (Pink Wish Board Member featured in my book), high school classmates Erica Thomas-Reed and Sherrick Orie and my fellow business school classmates Carlarta Baskin & Aswad Hodges!  Keep inspiring young ladies to make their “pink wish” come true!

It has been a really busy few weeks!  Besides several speaking engagements right before the holidays, I’m now getting ready to launch my new leadership speaking brand for corporations and school districts, right in the middle of a busy season – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday and Black History Month, where I’m a speaker and/or on program for several events.

I just returned from one event that was particularly poignant for me – The Keeper of the Dream Awards Banquet for the MLK, Jr. Commission of Florida, held in Gainesville.  For those of you who know me, you know that this is where I grew up, and I also happened to have won the Keeper of the Dream award my senior year in high school!

Seeing friends and mentors who believed in me, supported me and loved me for the first time in a very long time made me teary-eyed!  So many things had changed, and so many were different.  As I stood on stage, looking out at the audience, the familiar faces smiling at me touched my heart.   It feels good as a speaker to be in front of so many people you know!

As I spoke to the founder of the commission, Hon. Rodney Long, he commented about how fast time flies by, and I jokingly asked him “Why didn’t you guys tell us it would go by so fast??” and we both laughed.  Time really does fly by, and it makes you think about how you are using your life.

In honor of this wonderful holiday approaching, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, I want to encourage you to keep the dream of healthy relationships alive and take the opportunity to inspire someone through your leadership.  We all have it…and it’s in you!  Look for a chance to forgive even if you don’t forget, to help even if you don’t get recognized, and to love even when it’s difficult.  Time may fly by, but every day is a gift and opportunity…so let’s maximize every moment!

I consider it an honor to be associated with such an awesome person like NY Times Bestselling Author and International Leadership Expert John  C. Maxwell – who leads and writes according to the two principles that are so important to me!  Here’s a look at the cover of the book, Everyone Communicates, Few Connect, which is set to come out in March of 2010!

I’ve always been intrigued by the mega-series Chicken Soup for the Soul, so when the opportunity came about to contribute in the primary field that I speak and write about to college audiences, I knew it was a perfect match.  I shared a story about the leadership experience that has most impacted my life, career and development as a leader.  It was through this experience that I learned how to be myself, I began to understand the primary things every leader needs to know and most importantly, I was able to begin allowing my authenticity to shine through in every decision.

If you want a sneak peek at the story that I submitted, make sure you join my mailing list by entering your information here or below!

Traveling over to Orlando, FL the weekend before Thanksgiving was a great idea – my family went to Disney, and I went to speak!   The event was the National Fall Leadership Conference for FBLA-PBL, and I had the pleasure of meeting students from all over the United States, from Ohio and Oregon to Florida (even some students from high schools in my home city of Gainesville, FL)!  Over the course of two days, I delivered Rockstar Leadership, Making College Count and a special program developed just for this event, YES!  You C.A.N. Achieve – and it was a great experience!   One set of students liked one program so much that they came back to hear it again later on that day.  Getting the students involved and up out of their seats made it even more interactive and fun – check out what they had to say about participating below!

Erin Shell Anthony, MBA is one of America’s top leadership speakers for Black History Month and diversity workshops, especially for your college!   Combining inspirational stories with humor, call and response and spoken word, Erin delivers a presentation that your group will always remember!  This is a popular time of year, so book Erin today and make your event unforgettable!

Below is one of Erin’s most requested programs for Black History Month:

Diversity Success

Successpectations™:  Embracing Diversity

Perfect For: College Orientation & Welcome Week, Black History Month, MLK, Jr. Day Programs, Graduation Programs

Offered As: Keynote or Interactive Workshop

Summary: We are proud to announce our newest program, the SUCCESSpectations™ Programs, which works to create an expectation of success despite past or present challenges!  The SUCCESSpectation for Diversity program is a fascinating keynote or workshop which explores the modern need to embrace diversity in every area of our lives. The workshop experience includes activities which helpsstudents to see that they have more in common with each other than they may have originally thought.  Students learn inclusive, team-building strategies that break down walls and build unity!

Concepts Communicated: Team building, Sensitivity, Communication

Students are Empowered To:

• Learn real techniques for increasing sensitivity across your team!
• Develop common bonds that connect students and create like experiences!
• Increase involvement as students reach out and eliminate apathy!
• Exponentially advance your self-esteem & self worth!
• Book this program now!

Do you believe that one person can make a difference in the world?  It’s absolutely true!  I had the pleasure of sharing this message this weekend with a phenomenal group of student leaders at the annual FAASA Fall Leadership conference!  I did 4 presentations back to back – talk about marathon speaking!  Next time, I’m going to have to sip some yogi tea in between presentations – a speaking tip I picked up from my good friend, Lawrence Cole, America’s Educational Empowerment Coach!

Working with the coordinators, we decided to go with 3 principles from my book Leadership Rockstars, which were Be YOU!, Take Smart Risks and Serve Others.  Students shared with me that two highlights of the presentation really stood out – my signature story, and my signature activity, Each One Reach One – but my favorite part of the presentation was talking with the students afterward….WOW – the insights that they shared with me were absolutely AMAZING!

While talking with a group of students, I saw one young lady hanging around in the background.  After everyone started leaving, she slowly walked towards the front table where I was.  As she approached me, I saw that there were tears in her eyes.  She said, “I really don’t know what to say…but the part of your presentation when you talked about how everything happens for a reason – I’ve been feeling like I was so alone since I moved down here to go to college, and after I heard you, I knew that everything was going to be ok.”  I just gave her a big hug!  No words were even necessary.  This is what means the most to me…and it confirms one thing that I know is true – one person CAN make a difference!

One of the coordinators of the conference, and a new friend of mine, had some wonderful things to say about my presentation!  Check it out!

Over the last two years, some of the most popular questions I’ve been asked are “How did you write your book so fast?”  and “How did you publish your book?” and probably the most popular, “How did you sell so many books in such a short time frame?”  When I started thinking about the answers to these questions, and coaching clients on how to duplicate what I’ve done, I realized that there were quite a few components that made the books I’ve written so successful.  I’ve sold thousands of eBooks and books that have been shipped around the world – from Australia and Canada to Iraq and London.  After all, anyone can write a book, but not that many people know how to segment their book and find and market to their niche in a way that makes their book absolutely irresistible! You need someone to guide you through the process – a coach – and that’s exactly why I’m here for you.

I’ve designed a 12-month eCourse that covers two topics per month via teleseminar, with private one-on-one coaching, an exclusive online forum, a monthly mailing directly to you and so much more, including the specific information you’ll need to accomplish what we’ll be doing over the course of 2010 – writing your book (you’ll complete this by month 3), designing and launching your website (you’ll complete this by month 6) and teaching you the strategies to become a pro marketer of your book (you’ll complete this by month 12)! I have spared no expense in compiling this information just for you!

If you know that you’re serious about becoming an Author in 2010, and would like to find out more information about reserving your spot in my eCourse and join this exclusive group, you need to enter your information under Coaching Events by clicking here.