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Legendary Sports Motivational Speaker Joins DN
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- Inspires audiences with tales from his improbable life and career
- Offers lessons in leadership from the championship coaches he played for, including the legendary John Wooden
- Recounts the rocky road to recovery after catastrophic spinal collapse changed his life
Bill has faced some serious challenges in his career and life. Walton is the most-injured player in NBA history – missing 9½ full seasons in his 14-year career. Yet – he was still inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Just imagine what he would have accomplished had he remained healthy! Then after his playing career was over, Bill transitioned to broadcasting but first he had to covercome the serious stutter that afflicted him all his life. Just another challenge for Bill to overcome.
Most significantly, Bill has had 37 surgeries – his last one life-changing. Recovery was rough but he is back on his bike and just completed (on Sunday!) the USA Pro Challenge bike race – a 7-stage 600+ mile race from Steamboat Springs to Denver, CO.
Walton traces his resiliance back to the days when he was fortunate enough to play for legendary UCLA coach John Wooden. Nicknamed “The Wizard of Westwood,” Wooden’s teams had a then-record winning streak of 88 games and four perfect 30–0 seasons. I could cite dozens more impressive stats, but the important thing was that with all his success, Wooden never talked to his teams about winning. He DID ask his players to go out and “do your best – and don’t beat yourself.” As a sports motivational speaker, Wooden was in a class by himself so Bill Walton had a chance to learn from the best.
Walton was forever touched by Wooden’s beliefs. That influence carries on to this day. He infuses the wisdom of John Wooden into all his talks, whether referencing the Pyramid of Success or quoting Coach’s timeless maxims like these:
Being Average Means You’re as Close to The Bottom as You Are to the Top
Don’t Let Yesterday Take Up Too Much of Today
It is What You Learn After You Know it All That Counts
Goals Achieved with Little Effort are Seldom Worthwhile or Lasting
Failing to Prepare is Preparing to Fail
Never Mistake Activity for Achievement
When Everyone Thinks Alike, Nobody Thinks
Winning Takes Talent – to Repeat Takes Character
Failure is Not Fatal – but Failure to Change Might Be
Wooden used to say “Basketball, like life, is not a game of size and strength – it’s a game of skill, timing and position. It’s not how big you are – it’s how big you play. It’s not how high you jump – it’s where you are and when you jump.” That philosophy translates to business too.
Bill Walton inspires audiences with his enthusiasm for life – whether talking about what it takes to be a winner, or leadership lessons from Wooden and his other Hall of Fame coaches, or talking to healthcare audiences about his personal story and the 37 surgeries he endured. He is a remarkable man – a sports motivational speaker in a league of his own with a remarkable story to tell.
About Tony D'Amelio
Tony has spent his career putting talented people and audiences together, first in the music business and later representing the world's leading speakers. After concluding 27 years as Executive Vice President of the Washington Speakers Bureau, Tony launched D'Amelio Network, a boutique firm that manages the speaking activities of a select group of experts on business, management, politics and current events. Clients include: Mike Abrashoff, Mariana Atencio, Chris Barton, Lisa Bodell, Geoff Colvin, Daryl Davis, Suneel Gupta, Ron Insana, Katty Kay, Polly LaBarre, Nicole Malachowski, Ken Schmidt, and Bob Woodward.
