Lisa Nichols is considered to be one of the top speaking coaches in the world today, and her ability to command a stage and inspire audiences globally has placed her among the very best orators in history — alongside legends like Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, Nelson Mandela and more.

But before Lisa became the #1 most-requested teachers on the hit movie, The Secret, her life was filled with unimaginable scarcity and struggle.

In 1994, Lisa was a single mom barely surviving on government assistance living in South Central, L.A. And with only $11.42 to her name, she didn’t have enough money to even buy diapers for her young child — Resorting to using a towel as a desperate substitution. Forever etched in her memory as the lowest point in her life, this became the fuel that sparked one of the most remarkable journeys of self-transformation.

Today, Lisa is only one of two African American women to take her company, Motivating the Masses Inc., public. She is also an author of six best-selling books, including New York Times bestseller, No Matter What.

In addition to her numerous media appearances on prime time TV — shows like Oprah, The Today Show, The Steve Harvey Show, and Extra just to name a few — Lisa’s outreach program for teens has touched the lives of 211,650 young men and women, prevented over 3,800 teen suicides, supported 2,500 dropouts in returning to school, and has helped thousands reunite with families.