American Ninja Warrior's Alex Weber To Inspire Attendees At The PPAI Expo 2024

Jonny Auping - December 19, 2023

At 8:30 a.m. on January 16 in Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Convention Center, thousands of promotional products professionals will be an hour away from walking through the trade show floors of The PPAI Expo 2024, the industry’s largest and most important event.

All of those who have attended in past years know what they are about to experience: an overwhelming, fruitful and ultimately energizing couple days of networking, business, idea generation and connections. All the first-timers have already been told they can’t know what to expect until they go through it.

This year, instead of anxiously sipping coffee until the organized chaos begins, attendees can hear Alex Weber, former American Ninja Warrior, discuss adversity, achievement and elevating your performance in key moments.

Weber’s session will take place 8:30-9:30 a.m. in Oceanside D.

A ‘Human Shot Of Espresso’

Achievement is a familiar topic for Weber.

He went from on-camera host of American Ninja Warrior to one of the show’s competitors.
He is one of the youngest coaches ever to win U.S. Lacrosse Coach of the Year.
A career as an international speaker and communicator has paired with his book, Fail Proof: Become The Unstoppable You.

Goal-setting and direct competition with others is what Weber has faced his entire career, and what he shares with audiences and readers is that his motivation doesn’t come from the need to win or accomplish more but from a direct resonance with what he is trying to make happen.

“Anything great or meaningful or enriching in my life, whether in sports or speaking or relationships or anything has come from listening to a sincere spark or desire or want within me,” Weber says. “So, I definitely share with audiences to have that clarity or courage to ask ourselves, ‘What do we really want?’”

Weber’s session at The PPAI Expo 2024 is titled “The Unstoppable You."

There has never been a more pressure-filled time of comparison, distractions and judgments than right now. This causes people to fall into the trap of underperforming, burnout, delaying goals or not stepping up into opportunities altogether.

Actionable, empowering steps lead to small and large goals.
From Weber, audiences are not told that they aren’t working hard enough. They are given concrete ways to work within their own mental health to overcome their challenges.

The PPAI Expo 2024 Is ‘A Moment Derived From Other Moments’

Weber doesn’t let audiences walk away thinking he is someone who has never failed.

“I’ve been on both sides,” Weber says. “I know what it’s like to be a leader or peak performer trying to take it to the next level or be struggling. Or maybe you’re nailing the mark professionally, but maybe there’s a relationship where you’re not even speaking even though you love this person, but you’re fighting or there’s a distance.”

As a competitor, Weber balances the importance of stepping up in crucial moments versus understanding preparation leads to performance.
This might resonate with attendees of The PPAI Expo 2024, which is a commitment of time, energy and money for any promo professional.
There’s a temptation to put pressure on what is accomplished in those few days in Las Vegas, to see it as the moment where it all comes together, rather than a series of moments that will produce results later.

“The choice is either you give the best of yourself to this thing, hoping and understanding that good things may come from it, or you hold back,” Weber says. “You give in to fear, you delay.”

So many people who have come to The PPAI Expo for years have come to create great memories and can trace back career advancements to different moments that took place in Las Vegas. Weber tries to help people buy into the idea of enjoying that journey for what it is.

“I’m all in on my life,” Weber says. “It's freaking hard being a human, especially if you want do things like run a successful business or have great relationships. I think that people decide, ‘You know what? I am in, even if this last month has been tough, even if there's a dark corner of myself that I'm working on, I'm all in on me today.”