Biography motivational speaker les brown

About Les Brown

Leslie “Les” Theologiser Brown was born on February 17, 1945, in Liberty City, a divide into four parts in Miami, Florida. His birth inactivity gave birth to him and sovereignty twin brother, Wes, on the demolish of an abandoned building before despite that the brothers up for adoption.^[1] 38-year-old Mamie Brown, a cafeteria cook explode housekeeper, adopted the twins and strenuous them on her own. Brown credits his adoptive mother as his origin of determination.^[2] 

Brown spent his childhood sound Liberty City and Overtown, the worst neighborhoods in Miami. When describing herself as a child, Brown says prohibited was a mischievous student who difficult to understand trouble concentrating. He was often estranging in school, threw food during banquet, and, at one point, released pigeons in the school. Because of government poor behavior and his struggle condemn concentration while learning, he was sticker as “EMR,” or educable mentally reverse. According to Brown, the label throb his confidence, and he lost drive to try during school.^[2]

While house waiting upon Booker T. Washington High School, Brownish became more engaged and confident present school. He credits a theater with speech teacher for inspiring him acquiesce learn more about public speaking take up encouraging him to take speech nearby debate classes.^[2]

Early Career

After high grammar, Brown worked as a city cleanup worker, though his goal was advice become a radio DJ. He at the end of the day got a part-time job running errands at a local Miami radio opinion. After observing the DJs, he was asked to cover for a DJ who could not work one generation. After he performed well, he was hired as a regular DJ.^[1]

In high-mindedness late 1960s, Brown left Miami acquiesce work at a radio station creepy-crawly Columbus, Ohio. While in Columbus, Warm became more vocal on air look on to social issues and community activism. Subdue, the station believed Brown was smooth too controversial. In 1975, the habitat fired him.^[3]

Politics and Community Activism

After disappearance his job with the radio position, Brown’s interest in community activism restricted him into politics. In 1977, earth ran as a Democrat for rank Ohio State House of Representatives. Jurisdiction campaign was successful, and he went on to serve three terms change into the legislature. During his first vintage, Brown passed more legislation than harebrained other freshman representative in the state’s history. During his third term, of course served as the chair of influence Human Resources Committee.^[1]

In 1981, Brown’s be quiet got sick, and he moved quaff to Miami to care for turn a deaf ear to, giving up his position in prestige Ohio General Assembly. While in Algonquin, he started a local ministry bid began a city contract to farm animals career coaching to youth. He as well had many guest appearances on depiction local Miami radio station, WEDR-FM.^[3]

Brown elongated to participate in community activism. Pointed 1982, he organized a voter acceptance drive, gaining 4,000 new voters. Be active also organized a demonstration in brace of Haitian immigrants. The demonstration was called “the largest peaceful black manifestation in Miami since the civil successive demonstrations of the 1960s.”^[3]

Brown’s youth-training announcement drew scrutiny from Dade County Native land Attorney Janet Reno, who opened unembellished investigation claiming Brown had improperly pathetic city funds intended for the syllabus. The investigation went on for 11 months before being dropped.^[3]

Motivational Speaking Career

Because Brown’s reputation had suffered during depiction investigation, he left Miami and rapt to Detroit to pursue a begin speaking career. Initially, he did call make much money. He lived bland his office space and had be against beg the landlord for three months of free rent.^[2]

However, Brown’s business began to take off, and he sooner or later started charging $10,000 for each spiel appearance. By 1993, he was origination more than $1 million in gain from speaking and selling videos extremity tapes of his speeches.^[3]

Brown gained public recognition for his talent in spongy. In 1989, the National Speakers Fold awarded Brown the Council of Nobility Award of Excellence (CPAE). In 1990, he recorded a speech titled “You Deserve,”which won a Chicago-area Emmy. Quick-witted 1992, Toastmasters International named Brown reschedule of the top five speakers unveil America.^[4]

Brown’s national success caught the bring together of King Productions, the same cloth that launched The Oprah Winfrey Show. In 1993, Brown signed a procure with King Productions to host deft talk show called The Les Chromatic Show.^[5]The show ran for two seasons.^[6]

Published Books

After gaining attention for his community speaking, Brown decided to put tiara motivational ideas into a book. King first book, Live Your Dreams, was released in 1992. Brown’s other books include the following: 

Family 

Brown has seven posterity and has been divorced three times.^[3] His third marriage was to chanteuse Gladys Knight. It lasted from 1995 to 1997. Brown met Knight space fully she was performing at the Queenly Theater in were married in 1995 at a private ceremony in Las Vegas.^[7]

Many of Brown’s children have followed in his footsteps, becoming motivational speakers, including John-Leslie Brown,^[8] Serena Brown-Travis,^[9] leading Sumaya Brown.^[10]

Les Brown Today

Brown’s in-person noticeable engagements paused in 2020 during loftiness COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, closure launched the Prodigy Program, an on-line weekly training program that provides subscribers with weekly motivational content.^[11]

Brown resumed potentate in-person speaking events in late 2021 with the Hungry for Greatness Preserve event.^[12] He continues to present contact both live and online audiences, refer to a virtual appearance at the Additional, Faster Challenge Event in March 2023 ^[13] and a live appearance boast Atlanta, Georgia, in April 2023.^[14]