Are You a Noun or a Verb? - Insights From a Motivational Speaker

For years, I defined myself by my job title.

“I’m a cameraman.”

Correct? Yes.
Practical? Yes.
Limiting? Absolutely.

I was stuck in a box of my own making. Until I asked myself: What if I stopped being a noun and started being a verb? 

Instead of I’m a cameraman, I became I’m a person who shoots documentaries for TV.

Then I widened it further:
👉 I’m a person who records factual events on film.
👉 I’m a person who tells stories with pictures. 

And that’s when everything changed—because I realised: I tell stories. 

That one shift in thinking cracked open a world of possibilities. If storytelling was my skill, then where else could I apply it? What else could I learn to expand it?

A decade later, I found myself on stage, telling stories in a way I never imagined possible—as a motivational speaker.

And along the way, this mindset unlocked a life of extraordinary experiences:

🎭 The Day I Literally Fell Into the Arms of Murderers – A real-life scene that I wished I wasn’t part of.

🎯 The One Item Snipers Never Go Without—And Why It Matters – A tiny object with massive significance.

😂 Need a Good Laugh? Meet the Happiest Man on Earth

🚀 The Time I Told Elon Musk to Shut Up—To His Face – Yes, really.

☕ How I Spilled Coffee on Priceless Jeffery Smart Paintings – Not my finest moment.

🎩 Performing Magic Tricks for the Infamous Bali 9 – Making wonder happen in the darkest places.

🎉 Inside a Kazakh Circumcision Party—What Do You Even Wear? – A cultural deep dive I never expected.

🥪 An Unexpected Lunch with Sir Edmund Hillary – A meal with a legend.

✈️ Up, Up, and Away—Flying with the Real-Life Flying Nun – Some stories take you to the skies.

🐻 Staring Down a Brown Bear—No Cage, No Barrier – A face-to-face moment with nature’s raw power.

🎬 The Day I Shook Hands with Jack Nicholson

🛕 From Builder’s Boots to Monk’s Sandals—Frank’s Unlikely Transformation – The surprising journey of a Taoist monk.

🎲 Three Times I Should Have Died—And How I Got Lucky – Close calls and life lessons.

🐪 How I Became an Accidental Camel Dealer

🪖 My First Day in the Army—And the Strange Power of Smiley Socks – How a small detail changed everything.

🎹 The Life Lesson Victor Borge Taught Me – Wisdom from a master storyteller.

⛓️ Walking Through the Gates of Death Row—And the Sign That Greeted Me – A chilling moment.

All of this happened because I stopped being a noun and started being a verb.

So, are you limiting yourself to a title? Or are you expanding into possibilities?

The difference between where you are and where you could be might just be one simple shift in thinking.

What’s your verb?