Speaking

Past speaking engagements

Testimonials

Charles has been a speaker to several cohorts at UC Davis over the years and we are always so thankful to have him inspire our students. He has a powerful story that speaks to resilience and the mindset all of us need to overcome challenges and those limiting beliefs that stop us from living our best lives. His speaking style is eloquent, compelling, and funny. He empowers us to see beyond our limits and motivates us to tap into our true potential.

Michelle Payne, MCC, Co-Director for Coach Certificate Program at the University of California, Davis

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It was truly inspiring to learn about Charles’ story from going to prison to working in corporate America. He showed us how we’re all capable of doing great things when we get out of our mental prisons. Hearing about the bias and discrimination he faced due to his criminal record gave us a glimpse into the overwhelming challenges newly released individuals are experiencing. I admire and appreciate Charles for making it his mission to use the hardship in his life to educate, motivate and inspire the people around him, all while not losing his sense of humor.

Claudia Lehmann, Senior Software Engineer at Google

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Charles presented his challenge to my class of freshmen criminal justice students: how are you going to escape your mental prison? Deftly and compassionately weaving his deeply personal story of prison and heartbreak with a message of hope and affirmation, Charles invited my students–many of whom come from underprivileged backgrounds and families marked by economic insecurity–to journey with him across the turbulent seas of bias and self-doubt. With the kind of humor and wisdom only obtained through hard work and hard knocks, Charles deftly led my students across these seas to the shores of self-confidence and transcendence, inspiring several students to approach him after his talk to share their own story of overcoming.

Blake Wilson, PhD, Department of Criminal Justice, California State University, Stanislaus

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Speeches

 

The Prison Inside My Head

This powerful signature keynote explores the worst prisons in the world: the ones we create in our own minds. Fear, hopelessness, anger, negativity, racism, discrimination, guilt, shame, and physical neglect are a few examples of these dysfunctional mindsets and beliefs. Companies, leaders, and teams are often in the mental prisons of low self-esteem, imposter syndrome, anxiety, unhealthy communication, and lack of social responsibility. These prisons stop them from innovating, becoming more profitable, retaining customers and employees, being effective leaders, and finding happiness and purpose.

The speech begins with my compelling life story – from going to prison for manufacturing meth to having a successful career in tech to going back to prison to educate and inspire incarcerated individuals. This entertaining and deeply insightful speech will inspire people and companies to identify their self-limiting behaviors, take massive action, and begin reaching their full potential.

*This speech also has an optional 1.5-hour or 3-hour workshop. Contact me for more details.

Takeaways:

  • The common mental prisons that affect people, teams, and companies
  • How people and teams stay stuck in these prisons
  • How to escape from these damaging prisons by using mindfulness, cognitive psychology, and a story from the life of Harry Houdini
  • Improve leadership, authenticity, and self-awareness
  • Improve your employees’ performance, clarity, health, and fulfillment both at work and at home

Social Responsibility: the New Path to Social Value, Happiness & Business Growth

After watching countless companies engage in greed, scandals, and corruption for many decades, consumers, employees and shareholders are now expecting more from companies and holding them to a higher standard. That standard is social responsibility (SR). In this speech, I address it from two perspectives:

  • How socially responsible companies have strong operational, financial, and growth advantages. They attract more customers, better employees, and more investors.
  • The valuable lessons in SR I learned from helping underprivileged people and non-profit organizations

Takeaways:

  • The advantages of cultivating a socially responsible company culture and disadvantages of not doing it
  • The rise of a new form of capitalism that generates money but also has a deep social purpose
  • Why social responsibility is critical for business growth, employee engagement, and employee retention
  • How being socially conscious creates happier employees, leaders, and consumers