Full Sails. Full Smiles.

Danny Brassell has delivered more than 3,500 keynotes across four continents, but he didn't start on a stage. He started in the classroom — teaching inner-city kids to love reading in South Central Los Angeles. In this episode of Ship's Log, Danny and Jeanne trace the unlikely journey from Capitol Hill journalist to kindergarten teacher to one of the most in-demand speaking coaches in the world.

Along the way, Danny shares the five lessons he took from a catastrophic real estate loss, why kindergartners are the toughest audience in the world, and what Paul Harvey taught him about how a well-placed story can change an entire room. He breaks down the single biggest mistake most speakers make (too many calls to action), and introduces his guiding principle: choices confuse and cause you to lose.

The episode closes with a Two Truths and a Lie that includes a six-year-old in India who asked Danny if he could succeed — and the story Danny told him that he'd never shared before. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you learn. Danny lives by that line.