The Hard Truths and Rewards of Speaking with Chase Livingston
The Speaker Lab Podcast
The Speaker Lab
4.8 • 575 Ratings
🗓️ 24 June 2025
⏱️ 41 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
“When you understand going into [speaking] that it’s going to suck for a while, it’s going to take longer than you think and it’s going to be harder than you think. When you know those things up front, when you meet them, you can anticipate it.”
Stepping onto the stage as a speaker is about more than nailing your performance—it’s about persistence, honesty, and the courage to start before you feel ready. On this week’s The Speaker Lab episode, Chase Livingston opens up about his journey from theater hopeful to youth motivational speaker, sharing the hard truth: real progress takes both time and tenacity.
Chase doesn’t shy away from discussing the realities of building a speaking career, sharing candidly about the slow start, the necessary unpaid gigs, and the doubts that come with venturing into this path. He highlights the importance of steady action—sending countless emails, making connections, and learning when to charge for his expertise.
His message is clear: Know the cost, be ready to persevere, and lead with authenticity. If you’re waiting until everything is perfect before you step forward, Chase’s story proves that consistent action is what moves you from dreaming to doing. For anyone looking for proof that their story matters and that hard work pays off, tune in to Chase’s journey!
You’ll learn:
- The importance of anticipating obstacles
- Criteria for selecting paid vs. free gigs
- Using discernment and open communication in negotiations
- Benefits of building reciprocal relationships
- Overcoming comparison and frustration
- Gaining confidence through small wins
- The importance of consistency
- And much, much more!
“Why did I hype [speaking] up in my head? It’s hard work, but it’s easier than I was making it…You get to make the rules, which is the coolest thing about this career path.”
Episode Resources
- Chase’s Website
- 2 Day Booked and Paid Bootcamp
- Get Free Speaker Resources
- Book a Call with The Speaker Lab
- Calculate Your Speaking Fee
- Join The Speaker Lab Community on Facebook
- Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
- Subscribe on Spotify
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, Fran, Graham Baldwin here. |
| 0:01.4 | Hey, what if I told you that there was a single marketing asset that you could use to book tens of thousands of dollars in paid speaking gigs before you even have a website? |
| 0:10.2 | Well, that tool exists. |
| 0:11.4 | And Dan Irvin, one of the speakers on our team, used it to book over $36,000 in speaking gigs without a fancy website or any social media presence. |
| 0:19.6 | Even better, we're going to teach you exactly how |
| 0:22.1 | to create that tool for your speaking business in under an hour. For a limited time, we're going to |
| 0:26.9 | be offering a free live training on how to build and use this marketing asset to start booking |
| 0:31.9 | paid gigs in just a few weeks. If you want to hear more, go to thespeakalab.com slash marketing. |
| 0:38.4 | That's what you got to do is go to the speakelab.com slash marketing and we'll see you there. You've got to understand before you ever go into this thing that it's going to be a while, |
| 1:02.4 | most likely, before you get your first paid gig. |
| 1:05.3 | It may be a while before you get your first gig. |
| 1:08.1 | But when you understand going into it, this is going to suck for a while. |
| 1:11.7 | This is going to take longer than I think. And it's going to be harder than I think. When you know |
| 1:16.2 | those things up front, you can anticipate it. It's almost like obstacle course racing. When you are |
| 1:20.8 | doing an obstacle course race, you anticipate there's going to be an obstacle that you have to |
| 1:24.9 | overcome. That way, when you get met with it, |
| 1:32.1 | it's not a surprise to you. You've been training for this. You've been preparing for this, |
| 1:33.7 | and it allows you to overcome it. |
| 1:39.4 | Hey, what's our friends? Grant Bolton here. Welcome back to the Speaker Lab podcast today, |
| 1:44.0 | chatting with Chase Livingston, who is a successful speaker inside the speaker lab community. So excited to hear his |
| 1:45.3 | story, hear his journey. Chase, welcome to the show, man. How are you today? Grant, oh my gosh, |
| 1:50.3 | thank you so much for the opportunity to come on. Let me just start off by saying to any aspiring |
... |
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