JACH NEWS SERVICE

LAFAYETTE – Travis Brown’s road to becoming a motivational speaker, or what he prefers to be called a motivational teacher, is paved with a lifetime of ups and downs.

Brown, who could be called a young man’s Tony Robbins, has been crisscrossing the Greater Lafayette area with his brand of leadership coaching as “Mr. Mojo.” He’s been speaking to junior high and school students, colleges, business leaders and public officials as part of his Travis Brown International.

“Throughout my life, I’ve had a lot of successes and a lot of failures,” Brown said. “When you look back, you try to figure out how did you get through them. How did you make it through those tough scenarios? I always liked to watch successful leaders, successful teams and successful companies and ask what is it about them that allow them to make it through tough times.

“By the time I decided to start my own companies, I though how can I deliver the message that people can do it and achieve and become more. That became my angle. How can I help people become more than what they are today?”

Locals already had some knowledge of Brown as a standout athlete at McCutcheon High School, where he graduated in 1995. By his senior year, he was an all-state defensive back. He played briefly at Illinois State and Purdue. In the business world, Brown freely talks about his successes and failures and uses those experiences to help others learn from his experiences.

“I tell students the only difference from where I’m at and where they are is that I’ve had a lot more failures,” Brown said. “I want them to understand that regardless the bad financial situation they grew up in, if they had to grow up too fast or just made a lot of mistakes in their lives, it is possible to be successful.”

So who is Mr. Mojo and what is the Mojo Factor anyway?

“It’s what the best has and what the rest of us want,” Brown said. “It’s what they have to overcome difficult times and situations. It’s using the right skills and attitudes to make a difference. At the end of one of my sessions, a kid stood up and said, ‘Excuse me, Mr. Mojo, what is your name,’ and that stuck.”

Brown said he has developed 10 factors to help the people he coaches to catch “the Mojo.” He said it’s more of a vision or action plan they can use to take ownership of their life and – like he has – build upon past failures to create successes.

Brown’s lessons and motivations have been a hit. He is conducting leadership seminars with Tippy Connect, an organization made up of local young professionals. Brown has also been helpful in working with the Greater Lafayette Commerce’s Diversity Roundtable and Ivy Tech Community College to develop diversity leadership training.

He’s spoken at many of the public schools in the area. He was hired by Lafayette Jefferson High School to create a leadership academy, which kicked off Oct. 31.

“We wanted to get the kids engaged with something bigger than themselves,” Jeff principal Jeff Studebaker told the Journal & Courier about Brown’s academy. “We’re trying to show there is a broader world than Jeff.”

While Brown has spoken to businesses, schools and groups around the country, he has a special connection with local kids. He was born and raised in Lafayette. Brown said while his athletic ability gave him notoriety, people often dismissed him from becoming anything more than an athlete.

“As long as I can remember, I was always being very competitive in the area of sports,” Brown said. “People always believed in my ability to be a great athlete. Few people gave me a shot outside of that. They told me, ‘You could play collegiately and maybe beyond that, but if that doesn’t work out, you’re in trouble.’

“I had a failed job experience,” Brown said. “I had a failed relationship experience and I started to think maybe they were right about me. Maybe I can’t do anything else. I think it was that situation that inspired me to overcome and try to do more.”

Brown has continued to use that inspiration in his speaking and writing. He has written 11 books along with his speaking gigs and motivational workshops.

“Travis is the most dynamic and motivating speaker I ever heard,” said Allison Jones, a program director in DesMoines, Iowa. “He kept us on the edge of our seats the whole time. He motivated me to develop a new leadership mindset.”

Dawn Booker, a marketing director in Detroit, said Brown’s motivation there helped give her the ability to take more risk on the road to success.

“I loved the ownership factor,” Booker said about one of Brown’s speeches. “If you take responsibility for where you are, you can control where you want to go. I just got excited and I realized what was holding me back.”

Others listening to Brown’s presentations said Mr. Mojo’s presentation taught him to be a more positive leader.

“I learned many tools that I can apply at work and home,” said Sean Crum, an operations manager in Dallas. “I now realize I can change how I react to certain situation and become a model of positive behavior.”

Brown said he would like to work more with young people and help them realize their potential. He said he also would like to be an inspiration for his eight-year-old daughter Jayla. He said working in Lafayette has enabled him to spend a lot more time with her.