Creative Speakers Agency
Dr. Willie Jolley
SPEAKING TOPICS
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SETUP FOR COMEBACKS
IGNITING MOTIVATION & INSPIRATION
NAVIGATING CHANGE
RESILIENCE
Biography
Dr. Willie Jolley is a man on a mission! He is a Hall of Fame speaker, singer, best-selling author, and popular media personality. In January 2023, he received the Joseph R. Biden Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award. In July 2023, he was the recipient of The National Speakers Association’s highest and most cherished award, The Cavett, named after the association’s founder, Cavett Robert.
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Dr. Willie Jolley has achieved remarkable heights in life, after coming from humble beginnings. His father died when he was a teenager and he put himself through college by singing in nightclubs and recording jingles for radio and television commercials. He went on to become a multi WAMMIE (Washington Area Music Association) award-winning nightclub performer. Yet, at the top of his nightclub career, he was fired and replaced by a karaoke machine, during the karaoke craze that swept America! Dr. Jolley decided that he was not going to give up, so he took that setback and turned it into an amazing “Comeback!”
Dr. Jolley started his speaking career as a drug prevention coordinator for the DC Public School System and went on to speak to millions of young people around the world. He produced and starred in the first PBS Special for teens, “Dare To Dream, Dare To Win,” which has become the #1 selling youth video in America. He was named “One of America’s Top Youth Speakers” by Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA).
He has gone on to be named “One of the Outstanding Five Speakers in the World” and “Motivational & Inspirational Speaker of The Year” by the 175,000 members of Toastmasters International. In 2005, he was inducted into the prestigious Speaker Hall of Fame and received the CPAE Award (Council of Peers Award of Excellence).
Dr. Jolley soon started receiving speaking requests from other industry sectors and went on to great success speaking to colleges, associations, and corporations. He was the expert Ford Motors called on in 2006, when they were on the brink of bankruptcy. He worked with Ford from 2006 to 2009, and they were able to reject a government bailout and go on to billion-dollar profits.
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He has achieved the distinction of Certified Speaker Professional (CSP) by the National Speakers Association. He is a recipient of the Ron Brown Distinguished Leadership Award and was named “One of the Top 5 Leadership Speakers” by Speaking.com and “Legend of The Speaking Industry” by the Veterans Speakers Association.
Dr. Willie Jolley became the featured speaker for The Moneywise National Tour in 2012 and in 2014 he was chosen to replace the legendary Zig Ziglar on the National Get Motivated Tour. On that tour he joined a who’s who of world-renowned speakers such as Les Brown, Shark Tank star Daymond John and sales guru, Tom Hopkins. Dr. Jolley was recently invited to be an “Personal Development Expert Artist in Residence” at High Point University, where Dr. Nido Qubein is president. He joins a list of high-profile individuals including Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Inc., and best-selling author and leadership guru, Dr. John Maxwell.
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Dr. Jolley was the first African American President of the Washington, DC Chapter of The National Speakers Association (NSA) and was able to double membership and revenues in one year. As a result, he went on to become the first African American elected to the National Board of NSA. He is a former Chairman of The Speaker Hall of Fame Leadership Committee and is the first African American to hold that position.
Dr. Willie Jolley uses his public platform to pursue his mission of empowering and encouraging people to rise above their circumstances and maximize their God-given potential!
No matter the venue, from his exciting global television appearances to his Sirius XM radio show to corporate audiences like Walmart, General Motors, Comcast, Verizon, Marriott, Johnson, and Johnson Dubai, Coca-Cola US, Coca-Cola South Africa, Prudential Australia, and Prudential Malaysia or The Million Dollar Round Table. Dr. Willie Jolley keeps it moving with high energy and enthusiasm. He delivers powerful nuggets on how every person can live a better life and win more, every day!
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Dr. Willie Jolley is the author of several international best-selling books including, It Only Takes A Minute To Change Your Life, A Setback Is A Setup For A Comeback, Turn Setbacks Into Greenbacks and An Attitude of Excellence (which was endorsed by former Ford Motors CEO, Alan Mulally and Dr. Stephen Covey, author of the landmark book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People). And contributing author of Chicken Soup for The Christian Soul, where he is featured on the front cover with Joyce Meyer, Dr. Tony Campolo and Naomi Rhode.
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Dr. Jolley is co-author, with his wife of 37 years, Dee Taylor-Jolley, of the popular marriage book, Make Love, Make Money, Make It Last! - 10 Secrets To Shape A Great Marriage. Their TED Talk from the book entitled, “How To Never Argue Again in Marriage” is a big hit for relationships globally.
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Dr. Jolley is a popular media personality and can be heard and weekly on his #1-rated The Willie Jolley Wealthy Ways Show on Sirius XM Channel 141 and heard daily on the syndicated "Get Up! Mornings with Erica Campbell" show on the Radio One Network. Plus, his popular podcast, The Willie Jolley Wealthy Ways Podcast, can be heard on iHeart Radio, C-Suite Radio, Spotify, TuneIn, and Apple Podcasts. All his radio and podcast programs are sponsored by Truist Financial. Additionally, his “Dr. Willie Jolley Motivational Minute” daily TV program was a popular staple on many television stations across America and now is available globally on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram, where Walmart has been a sponsoring partner. Dr. Jolley and his wife host a weekly marriage advice show called “The Jolley Marriage Show” airs Monday nights at 9 pm ET on Facebook Live, Instagram Live, Twitter Live, and LinkedIn Live. All episodes can also be found on his YouTube channel at JolleyMarriageShow.com.
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Dr. Jolley’s philanthropic interests are expressed through his non-profit organization, Jolley Good News, which focuses on helping reduce prison recidivism and encourages youth, particularly urban youth, to pursue leadership and academic excellence.
Ford Motor Company
Your message of the importance of taking a positive approach to a less than desirable situation was refreshing and inspirational, and exactly what the employees needed to hear. The professional style in which you delivered your message gave you instant credibility and allowed the audience to value the information that you were providing. Your willingness to adjust to adverse speaking conditions at several venues was greatly appreciated, as was your flexibility exhibited in accepting last minute changes to both scheduled dates and times.
Sagicor Life Jamaica Ltd.
We are truly amazed each year at the amount of work and effort it takes to plan and execute the Sagicor Motivational Seminar. My eyes have only now been opened to the fact that we truly are on a NEW MISSION each time we set out to raise the bar year after year with our seminar. A significant part of the mission is to find world class speakers who will inspire, uplift and resonate. We accomplished our mission when we found you!
Raytheon Company
I wanted to thank for your involvement in our face to fact meeting this week. Willie's speech was very well received to the point that a number of the team either referred back to it over the course of our meeting to emphasize a point or rally around an idea. I think everyone thought that it was a great investment of our time and helped get the team aligned for the tough conversations we needed to have around organization and team work. So again, THANK YOU for your very positive message and we look forward to working with you again in the near future.