Captain Bob – A Simple Q & A (part 1)

Captain Bob – A Simple Q & A (part 1)

Captain Bob” Smith is a retired firefighter and fire captain. As a motivational and public speaker on the topics of overcoming stress and developing superior communication skills, Captain Bob has written 2 books:  Eat Stress For Breakfast and  Fire Up Your Communication Skills.  With three successful start-up businesses, education, and over 40 years of research, Captain Bob thoroughly enjoys helping others. Enjoy this Q & A, part 1,  with Captain Bob.

Q. What has been the best thing about becoming a motivational and inspirational personality?
A. This is a great question. Truth be told, I’ve been speaking for well over 25 years. Topics like stress, communication, and relationship are my primary area of expertise. As a retired firefighter and Captain, I was constantly working on improving in these 3 areas. So – one career led me to the other. I didn’t retire from something. I transitioned to my speaker/author passions. The best thing about what I do as a motivational and inspirational speaker is helping others to achieve their dreams.

Q. How difficult is it for most people to effectively deal with the stress?
A. Sadly, stress is a part of life. It seems to be everywhere. I believe stress has families and careers on a collision course. For many, it’s the pressure of the work, family, and life. Many are seeking that balance, which is not attainable.

A few years back, I spoke at a large software company.  I asked the audience, “How many  have read the books, articles, or watched the TV shows on how to balance your lives?” Not surprisingly, every hand went up in the room. Then I asked, “How many of you are able to balance your life today?” The room went silent. You could have heard a pin drop.  Not one hand went up.  Here is what I realized. Folks everywhere are overwhelmed. They don’t know when, or if,  they’re going to catch up.  As I see it, the problem is that nobody knows where the life is going.

The manager of a software company told me that things were so hectic in the business that it could be compared with trying to repair an airplane while it was in flight.  Can you imagine that scenario? I encourage people to reach out and create dream teams of employees, customers, vendors, families, and friends to start blending stress in our careers and personal lives and start using some of this stress to our advantage.

Q. What was the turning point that led you to make communication a key part of your life?
A. That’s easy. The turning point for me was when my wife, Harriet, told me to go live somewhere else. This is just about every married person’s nightmare. I felt if I left and got into another relationship, I was going to repeat what I was doing with Harriet. I decided to learn and develop new skills in the hope of making life better with my wife and family. Long story longer- It saved our marriage.

As these new communication skills were working for our marriage, we were asked to share them with others at a marriage builder’s group. We were pleasantly shocked by the reception of our ideas. Harriet and I learned that many shared the same communication and marriage problems.

I wrote an article about our success.  It has turned into a 52 short burst chapter book Fire Up Your Communication Skills”. I call it a great bathroom book. You go in constipated and come out motivated. It is perfect for today’s busy reader.

Here is the long and short – What started as a very painful experience, gave me a national speaking career. We have now been married for well over 35 years. I’ve become a frequent talk show guest (completing over 123 interviews in the last year.) I have appeared on ABC’s Barbara Walters Show “The View,” been featured in USA Today, and listed in Who’s Who in Professional Speaking. It is all good!

Fire Captain Bob

(NOTE: The above Q & A is in part from an interview that Captain Bob previously gave to The Motivational Speakers Hall of Fame)