The real problem for most aspiring motivational speakers is that they don’t have a life story that is actually motivating.
If you are Chesley Sullenberger and you landed an airplane in a river and saved the lives of hundreds of people, there is going to be a demand for you to tell your story. If you are Les Brown and you are labelled educationally retarded in the fifth grade but still manage to overcome such horrible situations such as labels and poverty and gone on to fame and renown, that is motivational.
But if you are just a guy or a woman and you are simply bored in your boring job and think, “Wouldn’t it be neat to become a motivational speaker?” and you have never done anything motivational except for going to a couple of Anthony Robin seminars, then I have sad news for you: nobody is going to pay you money! Nobody wants to hear you speak about generic motivational messages unless you are speaking for free in their kid’s elementary school.
So my recommendation is that focus on accomplishing something with your life that when people hear about it, they are compelled to hear more. If you do not have something like that and you want to speak, then focus on a particular skill or subject matter in which you can really help people in a tangible way.
Forget about the motivational speaking stuff until you really have a life story that motivates.