SCHOOLS

"You Have No Idea How Great You Are"™

Leadership, Motivation, Diversity, Success [45-60 min]

*high school, college, student assembly, career day, or state / national teachers’ conference.

Have you ever reached a point in your life where you had no idea where to go or what to do? Have you ever asked yourself a question like, "What in the world am I doing here?" Have you ever faced disbelief and self-doubt? If you have, imagine how your students must feel. Pedro has learned throughout the years that most people carry with them hidden doubts and fears that seldom ever come to surface. And that happens because they are afraid of what others might say about them and about their feelings. Added to those elements, our students today are specially afraid of the future, and uncertainties like, "Will I ever get a job after I graduate?" and "What am I going to do with my life?" are grown day by day on the back of their minds. Students today face more pressure than ever - and the more pressure they receive, less they seem to know what to do. The result? Poor relationships, poor planning, poor belief in themselves, and, consequently, poor grades.

You will be amazed how Pedro will take you on a roller coaster of emotions, going from a poor boy from Brazil with nothing but a dream living in a small one bedroom apartment with five other people, to a successful entrepreneur and one of the top students in America. He is the true embodiment of the American Dream and the proof that anything is possible.

Pedro's message is funny (often sharing a few anecdotes of him in the jungle in Brazil), inspirational, and grabs all the doubts one has about life and achievement by the neck, pushes them out of the audience and lets them know that it is OK to fail, that it is OK to go through trials and tribulations. A true tale of success that leaves any audience exclaiming to themselves, "If he can do it, we can do it!"

Pedro is not your regular motivational speaker. Opposed to other speakers with little to show for, Pedro not only gives advice on how to succeed in life and in school, but he practices what he preaches. He has co-founded a successful business, holds a 4.0 GPA, and maintains a foundation that teaches chess to children by the name of the Check Mate Foundation. He has been there, done it and still does it. Pedro is only 23 years old.

Topics covered:
- The three Ps for absolute student-success
- Leadership in today's world
- Diversity and how to coexist
- Surviving peer pressure
- Being your best at all times

Students will learn:
- The tools it takes to succeed in and outside of the classroom
- How to handle adversity
- What to do when tough times come around
- How to make life choices and handle bullying
- How to identify, be your best and lead

Audience reaction: "You are the best speaker to ever come to this conference. Even I, as a meeting planner, felt the power of your message and words. All the students felt like you really understood them - and I felt like you really understood me, even though I was just another person in the room. I am still laughing from your funny stories and reminding myself daily that the best is yet to come." - Claire , meeting planner, SC

"Most people want quick results, and what's more - people give up when the quick results don't come. Excellence takes time. One says you are successful and 'lucky', but he/she did not see you crafting your spirit and paving your way in solitude for years. Only the carbon that can take the pressure and the heat will ever be shot back to the earth's surface in the format of a diamond."
- Pedro De Abreu

Follow @pedrodeabreu