.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} Like most little boys his age, Steve Siemens knew in the seventh grade that he wanted to be a professional speaker when he grew up.

OK, so maybe he wasn’t like every other boy.

Siemens is the first to admit he is a little different from most people.

“What I do for a living is my passion, so in that respect, I haven’t worked a day in my life,” he said. “Kind of nice when you look at it like that.”

Mix that passion with an inescapable positivity and you have the blueprint for his company, Siemens People Builders.

Siemens travels all over the world preaching his message to businesses in the hopes of improving their relationship skills, strategic thinking and leadership.

“I’ve been in 22 countries and every state except Rhode Island,” he said. “I’ve been doing it since 1989, and I still haven’t lost the joy.”

Michele Matt understands where he’s coming from. She may not have known quite as early that she would be a motivational speaker (in second grade, she wanted to be a teacher, and now “I’m a teacher for big kids”), but her passion is just as palpable.

“I love to solve problems,” said Matt, who founded her own company, Inspiring Solutions Inc., in 1991. “I want to help people accomplish their own goals and get along with those around them.”

And for those properly motivated people out trying to inspire the masses, business has never been better.

Self-help and motivational books routinely populate the best-seller lists, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the demand for motivational speakers seems rivaled only by the supply.

They’re going to learn a lesson, and they might not even realize it.

– Steve Siemens owner, Siemens People Builders

More than 500 organizations around the world exist just to promote, book and otherwise serve speakers. They range from speakers.com, which handles political and celebrity speakers charging tens of thousands of dollars for a single appearance, to the National Speakers Association, whose 3,800 members, including Siemens and Matt, are relative unknowns scrambling for attention and ascension.

“Today, companies are being forced to do more with less,” Matt said. “They need well-trained employees and must provide the knowledge to help their workers do their jobs to the best of their abilities.”

So while bringing in a motivational speaker, business consultant or “people builder” might have been seen as a luxury several years ago, Matt said it is a necessity today.

“People with career ambitions are hungry to learn and improve themselves,” she said.

Siemens says he’s going to live to be 110 years old.

“On my deathbed, I’ll be surrounded with family and friends, laughing and reminiscing,” he said. “And I’ll give the best speech of my life.”

He assures that the message he delivers on stage to thousands of people every year is far from shtick. It’s how he lives his life.

Every morning he wakes at 5 a.m. to make sure he has time to write notes of encouragement to the people in his life.

“My wife gets one every week,” he said. “My kids usually get one a couple of times a month, my grandkids every month. I usually write at least five a day, but sometimes many, many more.”

Siemens sees these notes as a way to celebrate the memories he’s made with the people in his life.

“It could be a note to my grandchild because he hit a home run in the big game,” he said. “Or maybe he struck out. We want to celebrate them doing their best and not giving up.”

The biggest portion of his business is delivering keynote addresses at conventions.

“I do that a lot,” he said.

Siemens’ method is to “pull at their heartstrings, make them laugh and then deliver that nugget of truth.”

“They’re going to learn a lesson, and they might not even realize it,” he said.

He doesn’t like to refer to himself as a motivational speaker, because he says people have a preconceived notion of what that means.

He prefers being called a people builder, focusing on showing people that though motivation determines what you do, attitude determines how well you do it.

“Calling myself a people builder opens up a whole new conversation,” he said. “I want to help people succeed not just by motivating them, but by giving them the tools for their personal and professional lives.”

Matt said she’s like a doctor for many organizations.

“I go in when they’re sick and need someone to make them better,” she said. “But I’m also starting to see businesses calling me as a preventative measure.”

Motivational speaking is just a part of what Matt does. She does speak at conferences and conventions, but mostly she holds leadership retreats, small seminars and team building workshops in order to help businesses that may see a problem on the horizon.

“Companies see employees leaving the company or customer satisfaction starting to slip, and they don’t want to just sweep it under the rug,” she said. “Human resources is a huge cost, so they should get the greatest value out of it.”

Matt was a corporate consultant for seven years before she founded Inspiring Solutions. She said she started getting that “seven-year itch” and wanted to do something where she had more independence.

“I figured, the worst-case scenario is that I have no clients and I have to go get a job,” she said. “Luckily, things worked out great.”

Now, she travels every week to companies all across the country, working with them in many different capacities.

“I have two different speeds,” she said. “I have 110 mph and zero. I’m on the go a lot, so I’ve learned the glory of power naps.”

Both Matt and Siemens are published authors with new books in the works. Some of their best pieces of advice end up in those books, advice they say they don’t just preach but also live by.

“Don’t die until you’re dead,” Siemens said. “Make every day count, and whatever you do, do it with excellence, enthusiasm and passion.”

Matt’s next book is titled “Attitude: The Choice Is Yours.” It’s an idea she said she truly believes in.

“People can get control of their life by getting control of their attitude,” she said. “That is the message I try my best to get out.”