Business
Terry Weaver is a renowned speaker, author, event producer, podcaster, Ideapreneur. His real passion is helping people “live life alive” and he does this by traveling around the world and speaking to audiences including young school students. He leads Mastermind Groups and hosts an annual event called “the thing” where creative minds, entrepreneurs and leaders interact and receive coaching. He is the author of the book “Making Elephants Fly” which is centered on his passion and work pretty much summarized in one piece. As one who has ventured into the music industry as an Artiste manager; he has had the opportunity to work with various talents and meet lots of creative personalities along the way. Terry and his wife Leslie live outside Nashville, Tennessee. Terry’s passion and work Terry believes that he is a square peg in a round hole, one of the misfit types who can be revolutionary about the reactions they build up from their environment. He has the “one thing” idea which centers on focusing on the strengths of an individual. “There is a lot of people that really believe that you should be super focused on just doing one thing,” Terry emphasized, “I have had to learn to lean away from my weaknesses and lean in to my strengths, and some part of leaning into my strengths involves acknowledging what others might consider a weakness.” It is quite easy to deduct that Terry values a lively work atmosphere, one where his best abilities are honed and required more often. He considers himself a great starter, more than a ‘continuity-process’ type. Point of gratitude in Business As a great lover of creative work, and someone who has worked with Disney, Terry is grateful that anyone is even paying attention to his message, regardless of the medium used. “I always say that great coaches aren’t paid because they are highly successful, great coaches are paid because they failed a ton. And they can help you save yourself the time and energy from making some of those same mistakes that they made.” Terry said. Terry lives with an appreciation for the current age and time we exist in, with the level of opportunities available to professionals. About early beginnings and career growth In the 90s, Terry was a youth pastor. And over the years he grew in public speaking, having to speak at churches, colleges, and high schools. His passion grew with more engagement – he was also an Artiste manager, working with musicians – and basically, one thing always led to the other for him. At some point, Terry – his wife actually – realized that the music industry wasn’t going to be sustainable enough for his career. Hence, the focus on coaching grew. Now, Terry spends more time coaching, creating experiences, writing, and he’s part of a Disney podcast that takes a little chunk of his time weekly. Thought pattern Terry believes that focusing on what you can do, is a great way to keep winning and not get paralyzed mentally. He emphasizes this in his book “Making Elephants Fly.” He borrowed a quote from Bryan Dickson and put it thus; “What’s obvious to you is magic to others, to help someone else, you don’t have to be ten steps down the road, you just have to be one.” It is no surprise that Terry is quite huge on originality, as he prefers to be himself all the time when he is on stage, and he believes that authenticity will always have an audience. He confirms that using his own life experiences in his speeches, and even admitting that he is no expert on everything topic, has given him more of a bond with his audiences. Resources Podcast: Making Elephants Fly www.terryweaver.com