Growing up in Fort Worth, Johnny Wimbrey always knew he would be successful. He just didn’t know how. Despite living in poverty and being surrounded by violence at a young age, Johnny made a name for himself as an insurance agent. He started traveling across the country to help other agencies train their personnel. That fire to inspire others and share his story of overcoming obstacles led Johnny into the world of public speaking.
“I had a heart to help people,” Johnny says. “I then realized you can get paid to speak. It’s a career. That’s where my international success came in.”
While jetting around the globe and speaking to countless crowds, Johnny saw an opportunity to build a brand and provide mentorship to those who want to learn how to share their voices.
“I had a mentor help me find myself. He helped me find a voice within me,” Johnny says. “While traveling, I saw people in Singapore are exactly the same as people in California. You start realizing that we all want the same thing. We want to feel good about who we are. Success comes from the inside.”
He shared his story and vision for success on a broader scale in the bestselling book “From the Hood to Doing Good” as well as through his business, Wimbrey Training Systems. The mentorship-focused organization provides educational systems, personal coaching and training to help entrepreneurs, as well as larger companies, improve their bottom line. After building up a list of clients, Wimbrey Training Systems moved its headquarters out of Johnny’s Southlake home into a brick and mortar in Southlake Town Square’s Spaces in 2018.
While COVID-19 impacted everyone, Johnny says several of his mentees, as well as his core business, have thrived this year.
“Crisis normally drives my business because people are more open-minded,” Johnny says. “Those individuals have been more hungry over this past year.”
Johnny is also thriving, releasing his latest book “Building a Millionaire Mindset” at the end of last year. In it, Johnny shares the secret of not only gaining but also maintaining success. Johnny also says he believes it’s easy to keep that mindset sharp when in a motivational community like Southlake.
“The innovation of Southlake is contagious,” Johnny says. “I think it would be very hard to live somewhere like Southlake and not be motivated to start a business — to do something that’s generational.”