Motivational Speaker Film, “The Motivator” – Part 1
and those of laughs and
to kiss my
okay
I first met Victor at a conference he
was giving here in South Florida where I
lived after the conference we learned we
had several things in common for one we
were both from large Puerto Rican
families and secondly neither of our
families had very much money we were
growing up we spoke about the
possibility of one day working together
and kept in touch there after a couple
of months ago I got a call from Victor
he told me that he was gonna be the
keynote speaker at the National
Conference for the Society of Hispanic
Professional Engineers he asked if I
would take my camera and accompany him
from his home in Georgia up to
Philadelphia where the conference was to
take place and document his experience
sort of like a weekend in the life of a
motivational speaker now for those of
you who aren’t aware the
self-improvement market is a billion
dollar industry that’s billion with the
beam and I was always curious about the
motivation of a motivational speaker
they really care whether you succeeded
or failed or were they in it just for
the money
so the Friday before he was to speak at
the conference I flew up to Georgia and
met Victor at Atlanta’s International
Airport where he was also flying in from
a speaking engagement in another city
from there we drove to his home in
Alpharetta and that’s where our story
begins when he comes home he likes to be
he likes to spend time alone and and you
know work in his office but he does have
a lot of energy and you know after a
week home with him I’m ready to send him
off again he’s you know he’s got so much
energy anyway when I come home this is
what I like to come home to it’s a real
quiet neighborhood a far cry from what
I’m used to so if you’d asked me many
years ago what ever had something like
that I wouldn’t believe it
but then he gets kind of annoying and he
goes away I would say since the kids
were born he has been travelling more
than 50% of the time ever ever since
then so I’m used to that there’s not
noise it feels like there’s a huge part
missing because my mom’s really low-key
my sister’s really lucky and I’m pretty
low-key but my dad’s just sets off the
balance from everyone else in the house
so it’s a lot different having him in
the house than when he’s not here when
I’m done and I’m on the road one of the
things I don’t want to do is really see
anybody that may sound surprising but I
don’t really want to see anybody I I
don’t know I think they’re plugged in so
much you’re always talking to people
you’re always hanging out with people
that when you get home it’s just you’re
done he doesn’t like to be home you know
he that’s true but he’s still just
talking a lot yeah Boehner is like I
said bothering us um we first moved to
Georgia I’m one of these guys I actually
like to cut my own lawn I’d like to trim
my own hedges that’s kind of one little
semental things you do it’s kind of
relaxing so one day car pulls up
beautiful BMW and the man said rolls
down his window now keep in mind that I
have my baseball cap on a t-shirt some
shorts and sandals and the guy rolls up
right there as I’m trimming the hedges
and he says pulls down his windows says
hi so what do I say hi
anyway he says do you know who lives
here now you know who he thought I was
right he thought I was the gardener so
anyway I remember reaching him head
inside go hi my name is Victor Gonzalez
I’m one of your new neighbors that I
could see his face go wow there goes the
neighborhood
I’ve never seen him live speaking no
because public speaking to me would be
terrifying so I think that if I’m in the
audience you know I’ll be I’d be nervous
for him you know so I don’t even want to
you know do that I really want to
and they’ll be quiet my family’s from
Puerto Rico I was born and raised in
Chicago as you know and I always get the
question Victor do you have a green card
do you need one to be here what you see
out there is how he is at home basically
what do you think I say to that no but I
do tell him I have one it’s called
American Express he acts a lot more
different on the house he’s not as calm
as a regular dad most dads will be you
know just mellowed out more he goes
around the house singing dancing you
know you could see the motivational
speaker in him because I’m motivational
speaker would not act as calm as most
dad’s you know when I go to my friend’s
house it’s just not the same he’s not
he’s not a normal dad that’s for sure
you
