Les Brown is a prime example of how anyone coming from poverty can achieve great success if the dream is powerful enough. Serving as an inspiration for many others, this is the story of one of the greatest motivational speakers of all time.
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Born in poverty
Les Brown was born as Leslie Calvin Brown on February 17, 1945 in Miami Florida (Liberty City).
Les was born together with his twin brother on the floor of an abandoned building during peak poverty of his biological mother.
Soon after their birth at only 6 weeks old, Leslie was given up for adoption to Mrs. Mamie Brown.
School setbacks
As a teenager, Les was considered not mentally fit by his teachers, this made him drop back a grade when he was in 5th grade. Les was also signed up for several special education classes as his teachers thought this would benefit his learning capabilities.
After finishing his basic education, Les went to T. Washington High School and became inspired by a speech during drama class that made him decide to pursue a career in radio broadcasting.
Errand boy
After graduation Les worked one of his first jobs as an errand boy for Miami Beach Radio Station, where he would watch the local DJ's inspire him. One day a DJ fell sick and Les was asked to stand in for him, immediately the station was impressed by his drive and talent for the role and hired him to do it full time.
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Building the dream
In the 1960's Les got his first share of some money and moved to Columbus Ohio where he was hired to work for WVKO Radio.
It was here that Les truly became intrigued with sharing a message while on the radio and decided to take it another step further by becoming active in the local community.
Politics
Several years went by as Les his enthusiasm and community service started to be truly appreciated by everyone around him in his area.
After some time Les was encouraged to become a political activist and it deserved him a seat in the 29th district of the Ohio State Legislature.
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Back to Florida
In the early 80's Les his mother needed assistance due to old age so he decided to eventually leave the House of Representatives to go and take care of her back in Florida.
Being back in Miami, Les didn't want to stop with actively changing the world around him so he decided to develop a youth centre training program where kids out of all areas in life gained the opportunity to also chase their dream.
Public speaking
In 1986 Les felt it was time to share his story to a broader audience and went on pursuing a public speaking career as he started the company, Les Brown Enterprises Inc. Learn more by clicking here
Rather quickly his story was appreciated by audiences across the country and everyone wanted to hear and see more of Les Brown speaking.
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Awards
In 1989 Les received his first award by The Council of Peers Award of Excellence.
In 1990 Les recorded his speeches (You Deserve) which became a lead program to all public speaking stations nation wide.
In 1991 Les was awarded with the Golden Gavel Award representing him as one of the best public speakers worldwide.
Never quit!
Les didn't settle down as he continued to further develop himself and his business.
In 1993 Les hosted his very own talkshow (The Les Brown Show) where he discussed several topics involving personal development.
In 1997 Les published his best-seller book (It's not over until you win).
In 2020 Les published another best-seller book (You've got to be hungry) that was heavily inspired from his first book.
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Les Brown is currently 79 years old and is still president of Les Brown Enterprises.
The company is still hosting coaching programs and services to motivate and inspire other people worldwide.
Les is father of 6 kids, and lives in Fort Lauderdale Florida.
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Thinkark is not profiting from this story!
This is written out of my uttermost respect for the Les Brown family and the impact they made on my personal life!
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