The students were all inspired by his stories of resilience, his dynamic speaking and his enthusiasm and motivation.
POSTED ON THE SCOPE TASMANIA WEBSITE, October 2009
On 30th October, SCOPE facilitated an inspiring presentation to young people by Brad Smith, founder of BRAAAP and champion of Mini Motorcross in Auistralia. The event, which was open to all schools in southern Tasmania and held at St Michael Collegiate's Performing Arts Centre, drew a crowd of over 200.
“Brad is not a motivational speaker. His job is to provoke thought and create curiosity so that you (students and teachers) make your own change. He then provides tools and strategies that have been used throughout time for you to use to take action. These life tools and life strategies will help in all aspects of your life.”
Some of the topics Brad talked about were:
- Goal setting
- Proximity is power – role models, people we “hang out” with is who we become
- Throw away your excuse book
- Taking action
- Do whatever it takes to succeed
After his presentation, Brad spent time talking to students one-to-one and signing autographs
The event was best described by one of the attending teahers who wrote:
'The students were all inspired by his stories of resilience, his dynamic speaking and his enthusiasm and motivation. He had an easy rapport with students from this age group and they hung on his every word. He talked about goal setting, taking action and responsibility for your own life, and most importantly, that ‘proximity is power’. He believes it is important to surround yourself with positive people who will support you in your goals, mentor you and support rather than distract you in what you are trying to achieve.
His strong message to the students was to make a decision, define their goal, plan out their approach and then most importantly take action. Brad talked about working smarter not harder, and not giving up if you really want to achieve something.
He is the perfect embodiment of the adage “if it is to be, it is up to me”.'
