Aug 6, 2019
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra interviews Christopher Fairbank, motivational speaker and business leadership strategist. Christopher is truly a Renaissance man. Prior to his current motivational speaking and coaching work, he was an 18-year professional ballet dancer, with experience dancing for some of the nation’s top ballet companies. Fairbank also held a career as a Sheriff’s Deputy, and his incredibly unique (and successful) transition from “ballet to bullets” in many ways inspired his motivational speaking catchphrase — Dare to be Different.
Fairbank is a storyteller extraordinaire. On the podcast, Christopher walks through his entire career thus far — from a young boy’s first foray into dance to stumbling into the police academy to stepping into the motivational speaking circuit. His incredible stories are sure to entertain and enlighten, as he ties all of his life’s events into the importance of embracing your identity and uniqueness and using those things to your advantage.
Moving Quotes:
“I am a leader. I have integrity. And I want to be the change that I want to see in this world."
“When you get to the point where you feel like there’s nothing more that you can give — or you feel like there’s nothing more that you want to give — then it’s time for you to step away and do something different."
[On working with a public speaking coach] “There was someone else there to help me and to say, ‘Hey. You can do this, and you need to do this. Because you have a story that needs to be told.’"
“Everybody is unique in their own way. When we find our own uniqueness and our own personal power, we can then share that with so many other people and bless people’s lives and help strengthen them."
“What a wonderful [ballet] career that all was, and it was all fun and games. And I never once have ever looked back and have never said, 'Oh, if I would have done this. If I could have done that.’ Because I really lived the dream of being able to dance in these different places."
Bullet Points (w/ timestamps) - Highlighting key topics discussed:
2:10: Christopher retells his first foray into ballet, which changed his preconceived idea that ballet was only for girls.
7:16: Christopher looks back at his first professional ballet role at the young age of 14, playing the role of Beast in Beauty and the Beast.
10:43: Fairbank discusses how his ballet career skyrocketed, landing gigs at some of the biggest ballet companies in the nation.
13:10: Christopher briefly speaks on at why he decided to ultimately call it quits on ballet at the time that he did.
14:28: Fairbank shares the amazing story of his life post-ballet, including his extremely successful stint in the police force and some incredible events occurring during his time at the police academy.
24:09: Christopher further describes his police academy success and looks back at his time as a police officer, where he became fondly nicknamed “No Ticket Chris.”
31:26: Christopher shares how his career took a turn towards professional public speaking and business leadership strategy.
38:06: Christopher discusses his goals for the next five years and speaks on the importance of embracing your uniqueness.
Bullet List of Resources –
Christopher Fairbank