The professional speaking business can be intoxicating. Especially as your popularity and fees grow. It’s easy to fall into the trap of assuming it will continue forever. In the past 20 years, speakers have had two massive wake up calls that shocked and decimated thousands of careers: the great recession and Covid 19. I skated through the recession, but got hammered with Covid-19, just like everyone else. Luckily the business recovered, but make no mistake: the next major disruption is right around the corner. It may be 5 months or 5 years from now, but it will happen, and more speakers will suffer. Professional speaking is more of a career than a business, because when you stop speaking, you stop getting paid. My mentors, Bill Gove and Larry Wilson, two of the biggest legends in the history of the business, advised me to save as much money as possible when I was on top, so when the next major disruption occured, I’d be able to maintain my lifestyle. If I hadn’t banked money when Covid-19 hit, I would have been in deep trouble. Thousands of speakers lost everything because they were unprepared. In this episode of the Author Speaker Podcast, I discuss the various aspects of living below your means when you’re in an industry that celebrates wealth, abundance and opulence. #professionalspeaking