What is it really like to live with a high school motivational speaker? After more than two decades of marriage to Glen Gerreyn, I can tell you it is exhausting and hilarious. Honestly, it is also one of the greatest gifts of my life. This is the story of what happens when the message follows him home. It follows him into the kitchen, into the car, and into every ordinary moment of family life.
1. The Man Who Never Runs Out of Energy
He speaks to thousands of people each year. Quite surprisingly, many of these young men and women often sit in his midst feeling somewhat exhausted. They are wearied by two things. Firstly, the energy that oozes from him with every word makes you wonder where your own dose of life got lost this morning. You conclude it was probably redirected to his biceps.
Secondly, what he expects of his audiences makes you wish the ground would swallow you. Does he actually mean we must stand from this comfortable chair and take action to change our world? The big dilemma is that Glen Gerreyn believes in the potential of his audiences. He knows, in his heart of hearts, that they are capable of more than they are currently achieving. This is exactly why he leaps from his bed each day to deliver this message to his next unsuspecting audience.
You have more strength, more courage, more hope, more wisdom, more faith, more determination, more skill, more experience than what you had yesterday.
Glen Gerreyn
Try living with him
I write now to those audience members who have felt overwhelmed by this belief Glen has in humanity. To you I say, try living with him. You felt inundated with his big message after a couple of hours. Imagine how I feel living with it every single day.
Hi, my name is Belinda. I am the wife of Glen Gerreyn, besieged daily with a motivator in my own home.
2. The Voices That Live in My Head
When a wife and working mother of four wants to collapse on the couch at the end of a busy day, I hear a familiar line. “There is more in you than what you think you’ve got.” When I want to leave the house in a mess and switch on Netflix instead, another one arrives. “You have one life to give, what are you going to give it to?” And when I want to give up entirely and eat a whole block of chocolate, there is always this one waiting. “If you’re not going to find the time to exercise and eat well, you had better find the time to be sick.” So if you feel exhausted by his endless motivation, spare a thought for me.
When his words become your own
My scary revelation about these statements is that they no longer come from Glen’s mouth. They now live as little voices in my head, trapped in my brain indefinitely. Glen and I have been married a long time now. I have to admit I am a changed person for having taken that journey down the aisle. One of the most significant changes is that I no longer eat chocolate before three in the afternoon. For those who knew my former self, this simple fact is ground breaking.
I have had the privilege of experiencing many of Glen’s seminars. I have heard these phrases spoken with gusto and passion more times than I can count, and each time I have been impacted. What is more remarkable, however, is that I see Glen living what he teaches, face to face, day after day. This firsthand witness has left me with no choice but to try to follow suit myself.
3. Living What He Teaches
As a married couple, our disagreements are few and far between. In our early days, the few that did occur erupted because of my negative self talk. Glen simply does not tolerate it when I speak badly about myself.
The photo that started a five-kilometre walk
Once we collected some photos we had developed at the mall. Flicking through them, I commented, “I look terrible with brown hair.” I had just dyed my hair in one of those weak moments we women have. In great frustration, he barked, “Why must you speak like that about yourself?” Then he grabbed the photos and walked five kilometres home, unwilling to stay in the presence of such negativity. It hurt him that I would speak like that, because it went against his core beliefs. It grated against his very being. This is one of the many attributes that makes him so good at what he does, and why his work as a high school motivational speaker is so vital for Australian teenagers.
4. Building a Resilient Family
He has created a home for our growing family that is positive, inspiring and safe. By safe, he certainly does not wrap us in cotton wool. He wants to see both myself and his kids fail at things we pursue. However, he is always present to encourage us to pick ourselves back up, dust ourselves off, and try again.
A generation who tackle challenges head on
He is building a resilient and courageous family. This is exactly what he seeks to create in schools through his work as a high school motivational speaker. He envisions a generation of resilient, robust teenagers who do not shy away from challenges. Instead, they tackle them head on, no matter how unsuccessful their attempt may seem. Trying leaves them with more experience, and a greater chance of success next time. In short, wellbeing is not about avoiding hardship. It is about building the capacity to meet it.
5. The Joy That Refuses to Quit
You will never hear from Glen the words, “I had a bad day.” He will be the first to admit that moments of his day were bad. However, you will never hear him surrender an entire day to the bad side. His enthusiasm as the sun rises each morning will never be squashed by a single person, circumstance or event.
Even suffering from an incurable disease will not steal his joy. Actually, I think his cure to this incurable disease is the very joy he embodies. For decades he has lived with Ulcerative Colitis, and yet his present health has never been better. For Glen, there is always something to be thankful for. There exists beauty in his life to be acknowledged. I am sure this transpires into health for his body as much as his mind.
6. Why Authenticity Matters for Student Wellbeing
Glen’s level of motivation, positive self talk, hope and belief can seem exhausting to us mere mortals. However, this is precisely why his message resonates so deeply with students. A high school motivational speaker who only performs wellbeing on stage will never build the same trust as one who lives it daily.
What the research says about authenticity
Research from the Student Wellbeing Hub consistently points to trust and authenticity as central to effective student wellbeing programs. Students can tell the difference between a message that is performed and a message that is lived. I have watched Glen live his message for over a decade now. I have seen it in our kitchen, in our car, on our worst days as much as our best. That consistency, more than any single speech, is what makes him effective in front of a hall full of teenagers.
7. How We Met, and Why I Would Do It All Again
Despite all of this, I could never express my gratitude for the day he first sauntered into my office. He interrupted with, “Tell me a bit about yourself.” Whatever he saw that day was enough for him to ask me out on a date, and the rest is history. If what he saw was a raw, unmotivated specimen he could test the tricks of his trade on, I do not care. I could not have dreamt of a better husband, even if I had sat through his very own seminar where he gets you to stretch, and stretch, and stretch again, your dream.
For now I had better sign off. Glen is looking over my shoulder because my deadline is approaching in a matter of minutes, and my next task awaits. There is no rest for the wife of a motivator. And to think this pace will continue now his sights set on how he can make and even more lasting impact. But we would have it no other way.
Finally, it would be remiss of me not to put out a warning to those future audiences in Glen’s path. There is a day approaching when in front of you a crazy, bald headed man will appear with microphone in hand. His truly incurable disease of hope, passion and discipline just may infect you and change your world forever. You will not remain the same.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Want to bring this energy into your school? Glen Gerreyn is a high school motivational speaker delivering seminars on wellbeing, resilience and hope to school communities across Australia. Explore our seminars or visit The HopeFULL Institute to learn more.