Stop Asking How to Get Booked. Start Becoming Bookable.

Most people are asking the wrong questions. Whether you're a speaker, creator, entrepreneur, or professional, the biggest mistake you can make is focusing on the outcome—like “how do I get paid?”—instead of focusing on the process of becoming great.

Over the weekend, a friend asked me to talk with his nephew who wanted to get into the speaking industry. Naturally, I agreed. But within 30 seconds of that call, I knew exactly how it was going to go. I get these conversations a lot, and they typically go one of two ways:

1. "How do I get booked?"

2. "How do I improve?"

One leads to frustration and burnout. The other leads to mastery.

You Have to Become Bookable

I told him, "You're asking the wrong question. You're asking how to get booked. You should be asking how to become bookable."

You want to be great at anything? You better become obsessed with the building blocks of your craft.

Before I jumped on the phone with him, I had spent three hours researching amygdala hijack recovery and studying acute stress reactions in military case studies. Why? Because if I want to include it in my next book or use it in a keynote, it has to come from a place of deep understanding—not just feel-good fluff. People come to hear stories, but the stories must be rooted in substance.

Behind every great speaker, there’s a researcher. Behind every expert, there's a student.

The Wrong Questions Will Cost You

Too many people want the shortcut: “How much do I charge? How do I get gigs?” Look, money matters, but it comes after mastery. The right question is:

“What systems do I need to build so that I can improve and consistently deliver value?”

You don’t ask, “How do I lose weight?” You ask, “How do I structure a lifestyle that allows me to lose weight and keep it off?”

Greatness isn’t in the hacks. It’s in the habits.

Study Like It’s a Craft

When I get a compliment about being a good speaker, the truth is, what I really am is a dedicated researcher. I read, I study, and I test. I treat small gigs—like Rotary Club speeches—as proving grounds to refine material. Just like comedians test out their jokes in small clubs before a Netflix special, I test concepts in smaller rooms before they hit main stages.

The end result might look smooth and polished, but it's born from repetition, failure, revision, and relentless curiosity.

Growth Questions Over Money Questions

If you want to stand out in your field, change your approach when you're around someone you admire. Don’t ask how much they make—ask what they’re learning. Ask what they struggled with and how they built the routines that led to their breakthroughs.

It’s not about income. It’s about infrastructure.

Be a Fan of Mastery

We live in a society where everyone wants to be the star, but few are willing to be fans. That’s a shame.

I love watching people who excel at things I’m not built for—people who are committed to mastery, who pay attention to the smallest details, who refine their systems day in and day out.

You know who gets remembered in life? Not the ones with the flashiest start, but the ones who fall in love with the fundamentals.

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Key Action Items:

• Focus on becoming bookable, not just “booked.”

• Develop systems around your habits, not hacks.

• Ask better questions—ones that lead to growth, not just paychecks.

• Treat every opportunity as a chance to refine.

• Be a fan of greatness, wherever you see it.