As an author, speaker, speech coach and more, this multifaceted personality has been empowering leaders and aspiring leaders through the joy of public speaking, the transformative power of promises, and the seven habits of SUCCESS.
It is always a pleasant surprise to encounter standout professionals who follow less-trodden paths to create their unique niche. They embrace the pioneering vision of making a positive difference in others’ lives. This is precisely what Matthew Cossolotto – also known as ‘The Empowerment Pro’ – has been doing on his journey as an author, speaker, speech coach, and multifaceted talent.
Matthew offers a refreshing perspective on personal empowerment, emphasising that success is an inside job. With decades of experience in business and political speechwriting, leadership coaching, and personal development, he has crafted a distinctive framework designed to help individuals reach their peak potential. Matthew has introduced readers and audiences worldwide to a philosophy centred on the joy of public speaking, the seven habits of SUCCESS, and what he calls PromisePower. These ideas form the basis of his Triad Empowerment System, a personal change and achievement framework that connects empowering mindset shifts with measurable action.
After studying political science at the University of California, Berkeley, and at Lund University in Sweden, Matthew began his professional career as an aide to then-Congressman Leon Panetta of California. He later served as a speechwriter for the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Some years after that, his executive communications expertise took him to NATO headquarters in Brussels as a speechwriter for the Secretary General and other senior officials. Along the way, he wrote speeches for and coached top executives in leading organisations, including PepsiCo, Mastercard, and GTE (now Verizon), as well as the Chancellor of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
After a disappointing setback in the late 1980s – when he failed to launch a cable venture called Comedy TV – Matthew was determined to turn this misstep into a stepping stone. So, he began studying why some people succeed while others fall short. He devoured scores of self-help books, including a best-seller by Stephen Covey, titled The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. That book was a gamechanger, sparking a stunning and original epiphany: that the words ‘Failure’ and ‘Success’ both contain seven letters.
Inspired by this remarkable coincidence, Matthew began to develop two side-by-side acronyms. For every habit of FAILURE, Matthew envisioned an equal but opposite habit of SUCCESS. A book containing this clever structure, Matthew thought, would help readers more easily remember these habits and thereby facilitate the transformative power of the book.
As the months passed, Matthew had not made much progress in pulling these ideas together, despite frequent friendly reminders from his mother that he should knuckle down and finish writing the book. Eventually, after his mother was diagnosed with cancer, Matthew made a solemn promise to her that he would write the book and dedicate it to her memory.
Spoiler alert: Matthew kept that make-or-break promise. As a result, what began as an exercise in self-reflection had evolved into a life-changing mission, which has led to his trilogy of personal empowerment books. Today, Matthew’s trilogy forms the foundation of his Personal Empowerment Programs (PEPTalks).
- The Joy of Public Speaking: Helping people move from stage fright to stage delight with this how-to guide for speaking success and personal empowerment.
- Harness Your PromisePower: With a foreword by Jack Canfield – co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series – this newly published book explores how turning goals into heartfelt promises can drive personal change and achievement. Indeed, Matthew asserts that a promise is like a goal on steroids.
- Harness Your HabitForce: An updated and expanded edition of Matthew’s original HabitForce volume focused on the habits of FAILURE and SUCCESS. Matthew refers to this book as “the user’s guide for your personal operating system.”
Matthew stands out in the crowded personal empowerment arena because of his unique talent for making complex ideas accessible and memorable through the clever use of acronyms, checklists, and creative teaching tools. One example is his innovative initiative called ‘Make a Promise Day’ (MAPD) on May 4 – the only ‘holiday’ dedicated to personal empowerment, goal achievement, and integrity enhancement. See the model MAPD Proclamation.
With his personal empowerment books and PEPTalks, Matthew Cossolotto is more determined than ever to achieve his mission – to empower millions of people around the world – and he extends an open invitation to join him on an exciting journey of self-discovery, personal empowerment, and making a positive difference in the world.
