We are often asked about public speaking as a career. It is true that many famous speakers are making their fortunes on the circuit and that their profiles have altered dramatically in the last decade or so to include diversity speakers and black leaders.

A young man asked me the other day what he could do to become “just like Cousin Jeff”. I had to tell him I didn’t know what he was talking about.

Then I realized he was referring to Jeff Johnson BET of Black Entertainment Television fame, a political activist who speaks to the minority youth on subjects ranging from hip hop to sexism to obesity.

I had to break it to this young man that there is more to signing up with an agency such as 4thDimensionMngt.com, doing the tour and raking in the dollars. Jeffrey Johnson is a good example of a minority speaker who has what it takes.

Much as a writer will not succeed if she has nothing to write about, so a public speaker will not succeed unless he has something to say. Where you get something to say comes from your experience prior to hitting the public speaking circuit.

Jeff Johnson has fulfilled roles as an activist that range from serving as the National Youth Director for the NAACP to being the founder for My Nation Online.com connecting young people interested in activism. He has also served local and national organizations and started a lifestyle consulting firm called Truth Is Power.

In short, behind his public speaking persona lies a lifetime of grassroots activism, media savvy and proven leadership. Other American speakers such as Omar Tyree, Ephren Taylor and Marshawn Evans have similarly impressive backgrounds. Taylor was a self-made millionaire by age 16 and Evans was a beauty queen, among other things, before becoming a public speaker.

Public speaking is not a career, it’s a second career. Look at the CVs of global speakers and you will find that the above is true of international speakers too – with interest.