Bring Shaun Hays to Your Next Assembly
School leaders across the country are facing an unprecedented crisis. Traditional, lecture-style drug prevention programs simply do not register with today’s middle and high school students. To break through the noise, you need a message that couples unorthodox, laugh-out-loud humor with hard-hitting, modern neuroscience.
In his highly anticipated new book and dynamic presentation series for Red Ribbon Week—“A Life of Substance: Choosing to be a Champ”—renowned motivational speaker Shaun Hays bridges the gap between raw reality and teenage culture.
Below is an exclusive excerpt from Chapter 1. Read how Shaun takes the complex medical science of neuroplasticity and translates it into an unforgettable, high-energy lesson that inspires students to claim their true potential.
Chapter 1: The Great Play-Doh Heist Inside Your Skull
An Excerpt from A Life of Substance by Shaun Hays
Let’s be real. Your brain right now is not a supercomputer. It’s not an iPhone. Right now, your brain is basically a bright, squishy, slightly salty lump of Play-Doh.
I say this with total love, and with the authority of an adult whose brain works a little differently. My mind thinks fast and bounces around like a pinball machine. Sometimes it feels like I have 50 tabs open on a computer at the exact same time—and three of them are playing loud music and I can’t find where it’s coming from!
When you are young, your brain is like Play-Doh straight out of the yellow plastic cup. It’s soft. It’s stretchy. You can mold it into a dinosaur, smash it, and turn it into a spaceship five minutes later. Doctors call this neuroplasticity. That is just a fancy way of saying your brain is built to change, learn, and grow based on what you do every day.
Now, old-school science used to say that when you grow up, your brain hardens like rock and you can never change. But modern science proved that is completely false! Your brain stays like Play-Doh your entire life. You can always change your brain pathways.
So if you are reading this right now and you’ve already made some bad choices—if you feel like you are completely stuck in the mud—listen to my voice: You are not permanently broken. You can remold your mind starting today.
But here is the warning: while you can change your brain at any age, doing drugs, alcohol, or vaping right now is like dropping a handful of dirt directly into your clean Play-Doh. It makes it way harder to shape your future, and it stunts your developing mind right when it’s trying to grow.
The chemical brain hackers
To understand why substances are so dangerous, you have to realize that your brain is its own natural factory. It makes its own awesome, natural chemicals that help you feel happy, excited, focused, and proud of yourself.
When you introduce outside chemicals like nicotine or drugs, they act like high-tech hackers. They break into your brain’s factory and shut down your natural feel-good chemicals.
Suddenly, your brain stops making its own happiness. The hacker takes over. Now, the only way your brain thinks it can feel good is if you feed it more of that artificial gas-station chemical. It tricks you into thinking you need it just to feel normal. That is what addiction is. It’s a chemical heist that steals your joy and hinders your success…
Transform Your Next Student Assembly
Give your students more than a standard lecture—give them a shield against peer pressure. “A Life of Substance” delivers the exact blend of humor, authority, and modern insight required to change choices and save lives.
To secure Shaun Hays for your upcoming Red Ribbon Week presentations or to pre-order bulk copies of the book for your classrooms, contact our booking team today.
email us or Call 1 (630) 659 – 8480
Shaun Hays - Author, Speaker, Artist 
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