The motivational nomad
By Dan Fagan
University Communications
publicinformation@minotstateu.edu
Ryan Fila ’18 believes your response defines who you are.
Fila has spent the past two years traveling the world, working odd jobs, and spreading a message that aims to inspire others.
While still a student at Minot State, Fila gave a presentation entitled “College: My Story, Your Story,” that highlighted his experience as a student-athlete attending three different colleges and the challenges he faced along the way. The presentation also delved into Fila’s loss of his father to suicide in 2016.
The day of the presentation a spring blizzard hit Minot and Fila was certain that no one would turn up to hear his talk, but to his surprise, students, and local residents showed up in droves.
“That was the first time I realized that if I have something to say, people will show up to hear it,” Fila said.
After graduating from Minot State, Fila moved to Sydney, Australia where he lived out of a van, coached football, and worked part time selling solar panels. Fila was nearly living his best life, the only thing that was missing was an audience.
Fila volunteered to speak at a few local schools in Sydney, receiving four invitations, and in some cases, compensation for his services.
“I was just looking to get some speaking experience. Ultimately I want to inspire people to reach their full potential and make a difference in their community.” Fila said.
After six months in Australia, Fila traveled to Brazil where he continued speaking in schools and fine tuning his motivational speaking skills.
Upon returning to the United States, Fila formed Motion Impact, a non-profit motivational speaking organization, with the mission statement of creating a better world of tomorrow by inspiring the individual today.
Fila’s first major step with Motion Impact was a six-month tour across the U.S. and Canada speaking at colleges, high schools, and community groups.
To cut down on costs, Fila converted his late-father’s truck into a living space, and office, on wheels. The bed of the truck, covered by a shell, contained a bed, a computer, and his video equipment. To power his computer and video equipment, Fila installed solar panels in the roof of the truck.
“It’s hard to pinpoint a typical day on tour,” Fila said. “I parked on the streets of South Central (Los Angeles), and I parked in Yosemite National Park. It was 106 degrees when I was in Tranquility, California, and it snowed a foot-and-a-half in Calgary (Alberta).”
The sacrifices of living on the road were well worth Fila’s chance to speak to his audiences and spread his message that how you respond, defines who you are.
“One of the most rewarding things is speaking to young people, and then having them come up to me afterwards and tell me how they were impacted,” Fila said. “They tell me about all kinds of challenges and struggles that they’re dealing with, and I just listen to them.”
In order to stay connected with the people he speaks to; Fila has invested considerable time into creating motivational videos he posts on social media.
“Ultimately, I want to inspire people to reach their full potential and make a difference in their community,” Fila said. “Staying connected with people is an important part of that.”
About Minot State University
Minot State University is a public university dedicated to excellence in education, scholarship, and community engagement achieved through
rigorous academic experiences, active learning environments, commitment to public service, and a vibrant campus life.
| Published: 12/02/20 |
