Les Brown

As a child he was labeled educable mentally retarded and flunked two grade levels before graduating from high school.

As an adult Les Brown is a best-selling author and highly sought after speaker who teaches audiences how to succeed.

Les Brown
1945-

Les Brown and his twin brother, Wes, were born on the floor of an abandoned building in Liberty City, a low-income section of Miami, Florida. Their birth mother gave them up for adoption when they were three weeks old.

At six weeks of age, both boys were adopted by Mamie Brown, a 38-year-old single woman who was working as a cafeteria cook. Les has always credited his success to the strength and character of his adoptive mother. She continued to believe in her son's ability to achieve whatever he set his mind to achieving even when he was labeled "educable mentally retarded" during his fifth grade year and put back into the fourth grade.

He would carry that label for years to come and never dared to challenge it until he met LeRoy Washington, a speech and drama instructor at his high school. A few simple words spoken by this high school teacher one afternoon literally changed this young man's life. Mr. Washington said, "Someone's opinion of you does not have to become your reality."

That awful label "educable mentally retarded" had finally been shattered. Les decided it was time to focus on his dream. He was poor and had not had much success in school. After high school he got a job as a city sanitation worker but was determined to pursue a career in radio broadcasting. Though a local radio station owner rejected Les many times Les would not give up. Finally, the owner gave in and hired Les to be a gofer at the station. His dream was to be a disc jockey. That would not come easy but he finally proved himself to the owner after he had to step in and take the place of a disc jockey who had become drunk while on the air.

In the late 1960's Les moved to Columbus, Ohio where he had a top-rated radio program and was eventually given added duties as broadcast manager. His voice and his words became a powerful tool and he wanted to use them to help others. He ran for the Ohio State Legislature, winning the seat of the 29th House District. During his first year, in 1976, he passed more legislation than any other freshman representative in Ohio legislative history.

After serving three successful terms in the legislature, founding a youth career training program in Florida, and holding community meetings where he spoke out against social injustice, Les decided to pursue a full-time career as a professional speaker. With no formal education after high school, most people hearing of this young man's dreams must have thought he was crazy!

Les moved to Detroit in the mid-1980's with only his clothes and one tape of his motivational speeches. He rented an office with an attorney. Since Les could not afford an apartment he slept on the floor in the office. He welcomed this lifestyle for the time saying that he did not even want a blanket or pallet on the floor. He said that he wanted the floor to be hard and cold so he would be motivated to keep striving.

Well, it worked! In 1989 Les received the National Speakers Association's highest award-the Council of Peers Award of Excellence-becoming the first African-American to receive such an honor. By the early 1990's Les had become one of the highest paid speakers in the nation with his company earning $4 million a year from his speaking tours and the sale of his motivational tapes and materials.

Relentless pursuit is the constant theme I hear in Les Brown's message as I read his best-selling book LIVE YOUR DREAMS and watch the videos of his PBS television specials. He has said many times, "It's not over till I win!"

It's not over because someone tells you that your dreams are impossible to achieve.

It's not over because your first ten or twenty or a hundred attempts end in failure.

It's not over because it takes you longer to achieve something that others can achieve in much less time.

It's not over because you get rejected, hurt, criticized, laughed at, insulted, or ignored.

It's not over until you win!

It's not over until you achieve your goal!