Self-Motivation: The Master Key to Unlock Achievement & Fulfillment – Interview With Chris Harris

After overcoming a tumultuous childhood and through his countless experiences teaching close-quarters combat to elite warriors, Chris Harris has witnessed firsthand the transformational power of having a healthy mindset and choosing the proper perspective. As a captivating keynote speaker, he uses his life stories of enduring homelessness, overcoming adversity, and achieving fulfillment and success to inspire, encourage, and challenge his audience to obtain the life they want by using the tools they already possess.

Chris Harris, Keynote Speaker & Executive Coach

Why do achievement and fulfillment seem elusive, and how can self-motivation help?

Newton's First Law of Motion states that a body at rest will remain at rest unless an outside force acts upon it. I believe this law can also be applied to life and motivation, let me explain. When we become too comfortable for too long in our daily lives, we can get stuck in a rut and lose forward momentum. Often, this happens due to repetitive and mundane daily patterns that are not offset by pursuing new personal and professional goals. Once we stop setting goals, we become complacent, triggering a slow retreat back into our comfort zone. The result is a downward spiral toward dissatisfaction and unfulfillment, which slowly erodes our motivation to grow as we subconsciously settle for a life of mediocrity.

Once our lives become stuck in a static position (a body at rest), we must intentionally, and metaphorically, apply an external force to break inertia. Unfortunately, many people do not know what this external force is or how to apply it, so they accept their circumstances as they watch life pass them by. Ready for some good news? The external force that breaks the inertia of an unfulfilled life, void of achievement, is action!

You heard me right, action is the secret sauce! By forcing yourself to take that first step, no matter how small, you aggressively shake and stir the master ingredients for self-motivation. Remember, taking action fuels self-motivation, not the other way around.

How did you develop your expertise in mindset, adversity, and self-motivation?

Becoming a subject matter expert rarely results from one thing; expertise is usually acquired through hard work, dedication, and many failures. My journey in mindset, adversity, and self-motivation began early in childhood when my mother became a drug dealer and an addict, which led to a lengthy prison sentence. As a result, my two sisters and I were separated by child protective services, never to live under the same roof again. This led to me living homeless on the streets and being shuffled between countless foster homes for several years. I view this time in the blazing furnace of adversity as both a blessing and a gift. It forged an abundance of mental toughness, resilience, and gratitude that has never left my side. Most importantly, it taught me the power of choosing a healthy perspective that aligns with my goals and dreams, regardless of the circumstances.

The foundation for what I teach today as a keynote speaker was poured slowly, one square foot at a time, throughout my tumultuous childhood. The brick and mortar of my content comes from what I have taught for 25 years, close-quarters combat to elite warriors. The U.S. military, its global allies, and private security firms are highly cautious about granting access to their elite. Why? The most vital asset these warriors possess is their mindset, which must be guarded because the elite are in limited supply and expensive to replace.

During the decades that I taught the physical aspects of combatives, I also taught the correlating mindset, adversity, and resilience components, which, in many cases, were of equal or greater value than the kinesthetic techniques. Simply put, the expert power I share with audiences is the lifetime culmination of my childhood and professional experiences.

Can you give an example of self-motivation transforming an area of your life?

Years ago, when I pivoted from full-time close-quarters combat training to B2B sales, I established an ambitious goal and wrote a concise 300-word plan outlining the measurable steps to achieve it. My objective was to become the top salesperson in the world for the sophisticated technology I was selling at the time. Unfortunately, my aversion to cold-calling businesses stood between me and my audacious goal. I knew my chances of hitting my one-year target were nonexistent if I did not pick up the phone consistently and routinely. Every time I looked at the phone on my desk, I saw rejection. Most businesses did not want to receive unsolicited calls from strangers, and I didn’t blame them.

I knew the only way through this mental roadblock was to do what I hated most, so I started with baby steps. I set the bar low the first week, saying, “Just make five calls!” I made 10 calls in the second week, and by the second month, I was consistently making the number of dials outlined in my plan. Every action created just enough self-motivation to do a little bit more until, one day, I no longer saw the phone as rejection, I saw it as an ATM!

Approximately one year later, I stood on the main stage in the ballroom at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego, CA, as I accepted the keys to the brand-new convertible Porsche I had just won for my first-place sales achievements.

Self-motivation is not the spark that creates action; it’s the result of action!

Please walk us through your martial arts journey and the life lessons it instilled in you.

My martial arts journey began in Dayton, Ohio, when I was a boy living in the government housing projects. Being the minority, I was chased on foot nearly every time I stepped outside our small corner unit. When you’re bullied regularly, it doesn’t take long to learn the importance of lying in a fetal position with your arms covering your head.

One day, a man from a local church showed up in my neighborhood, changing my life forever. He was a black belt in karate and wanted to volunteer his time by providing a free service to our community. Keenly aware that most of the boys living there were not being raised by fathers, he wanted to teach us self-discipline and self-respect through martial arts and offer himself as the positive male role model we desperately needed.

Eager and committed, I never missed a class and practiced diligently throughout the week. Lesson after lesson, the instructor and the class watched my skills improve with every technique I performed. It soon became apparent that I had a natural gift for martial arts, and this talent, coupled with my unbridled dedication, allowed me to evolve quickly.

This was the first time I was highly motivated about something and wanted more. As a result, the only time in my life I was not training was when I was homeless. Forty years and hundreds of trained agencies later, I was inducted into the Martial Arts Hall of Fame.

This induction was the result of finding something I was passionate about, devoting my life to improving, remaining grateful for every hard-earned lesson, and paying it forward to others along the way. When we are self-motivated, we become unstoppable!

Tell us about your keynote speaking services and the topics you cover.

Even though I am available to speak in person or virtually, I’m most excited when doing live events where positive energy is mutually exchanged between me and the audience. This translates to more passion in my messages, which means greater retention for everyone.

I’m often referred to as a motivational speaker because my primary objective is to teach listeners how to “motivate themselves” from within. External motivation is temporary and is either rooted in a fear of loss (the stick) or a desire for gain (the carrot). However, intrinsic self-motivation is a powerful force multiplier that can transform lives, and that’s the knowledge I share!

I teach a broad range of personal development and self-improvement topics, tactics, and principles, including mindset, adversity, perspective, psychological safety, and emotional intelligence. Regardless of the subject, every message I deliver has the same purpose: to teach the audience to use the tools they already possess to shatter their existing limits and perform at a much higher level in sales, leadership, and life.

When someone possesses the Master Key for mindset transformation and self-motivation, they become an unstoppable force with a new lease on life, and it’s beautiful to witness!

What are the next steps for those wanting to learn more about hiring you as a speaker?

The first step is to contact me through my website here and schedule a 15-minute discovery call. Once I understand who my audience will be, the client's desired outcomes, and the event’s date and location, I can submit a simple proposal within 24 hours.

I strive to keep the process straightforward and completely free from pressure.

Read more from Chris Harris