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When I was a student at Northwood University, Jeff Hoffman came to campus to speak. Without exaggerating, this speech changed my life. It was so inspiring and captivating that I still listen to it today and continue to practice the advice Jeff gave in this speech. I wanted to share it with other entrepreneurs and small business owners who may need a little motivation, advice or just simply want to learn from the absolute best, Jeff Hoffman.

“Jeff Hoffman is an award-winning global entrepreneur, proven CEO, worldwide motivational speaker, bestselling author, Hollywood film producer, a producer of a Grammy Award winning jazz album, and executive producer of an Emmy Award winning television show.

In his career, he has been the founder of multiple startups, he has been the CEO of both public and private companies, and he has served as a senior executive in many capacities. Jeff has been part of a number of well-known successful startups, including Priceline.com/Booking.com, uBid.com and more.” (jeffhoffman.com)

After the speech, I was able to connect with Jeff and have kept in contact since. He truly is a one-of-a-kind human being. He is humble, motivating, sees opportunity in everything and continues to be role model for people of all ages.

While I highly suggest listening to the speech in its entirety, I’ve time stamped my favorite parts of the speech for your convenience:

15:33 – What to do when the world calls you crazy

19:32 – Entrepreneurship is a mindset. It’s a way of thinking and solving problems.

23:09 – A lot of people want to see you fail. You know why? Because then they don’t have to try.

23:20 – The story of how Jeff started his first company

26:33 – How your attitude determines your outcome and the story of the Ferrari

33:30 – The events that led Jeff to start Priceline.com

40:12 – How do you become a successful problem solver?

46:05 – The formula for achieving your biggest dreams

54:28 – The definition of success

1:07:43 – Don’t chase money. Chase excellence. Money follows excellence.

1:14:45 – Network, network, network.

1:15:36 – No 299’s (my favorite part of the speech)

To learn more about Jeff Hoffman, click here.