Press kit for event planners, producers, and media
Jabari Sims
Self-Leadership Speaker & Mental Performance Coach
Keynote speaker and author. He gives your audience five steps to stop waiting for permission and start running their own story.
35 YearsWorking with young people, from YMCA camp counselor to program director
20+ YearsCoaching youth and high school athletics
0 to 100Daily members in an after-school program he built in under three months
Age 48Deployed to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad with no military background
See the room change
One minute from real stages. The story, the energy, and the IT'S ME Protocol landing live in front of students, athletes, and adults.
Book Jabari for your event
A story your audience will see themselves in
Jabari Sims spent more than two decades inside schools and on sidelines before he ever picked up a microphone. He coached high school basketball at Tesoro High School. As the former program director at Boys and Girls Clubs, Garden Grove, California, he grew an after-school program from zero to 100 members showing up every day in under three months. He led AYSO Region 5 as Regional Commissioner.
Then he stopped waiting for permission. At 48, with no military background, he self-funded his Protective Security Specialist certification and deployed as a private contractor to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. At 50, he started his own business, even though the fear of failing in public had kept him quiet for years.
Out of that reinvention came the IT'S ME Protocol and his work as a self-leadership speaker. Jabari doesn't speak from the mountaintop. He speaks from the climb, which is why rooms full of students, athletes, and working professionals lean in instead of checking out.
"The lights are on. The camera is rolling. The script is yours to write."The closing line of Jabari's signature keynote
- The classroom
Educator and substitute teacher from kindergarten through high school.
- The sideline
High school basketball coach, plus middle school basketball, flag football, and track. More than 20 years coaching youth athletics.
- The community
Former program director at Boys and Girls Clubs, Garden Grove, California. Former AYSO Region 5 Regional Commissioner and host of the region's first Opening Day.
- The deployment
Protective Security Specialist, U.S. Embassy Baghdad, as a private contractor.
- The stage
Self-Leadership Speaker & Mental Performance Coach. Creator of the IT'S ME Protocol. Author of the upcoming memoir Don't Roll the Credits Yet.
Credentials
- B.S. in Psychology
- Certified Life Coach
- Certified Anger Management Instructor
The IT'S ME Protocol
Your audience doesn't leave with theory. They leave with five steps they can run in a meeting, a locker room, or a hard conversation the same week.
I
Identify It
Name what is actually happening instead of reacting to the feeling.
T
Take Responsibility
Claim the part that belongs to you, without collapsing into shame.
S
Stop Scanning
Cut the search for approval that drives hesitation.
M
Make the Main Character Decision
Choose from your own standard, not the room's.
E
Execute
Act before the doubt reassembles.
A main character doesn't need permission from anyone else to act. They make the decision, then do what needs to be done. An extra accepts whatever happens and waits to be chosen. Every keynote is built to move people from the second group to the first.
Built for the room you're planning
Pick your audience. Every version runs on the same protocol and is tailored to the people in your seats.
An assembly students actually talk about the next day.
Jabari has worked with young people since he was 15. He knows how students think and the difference between a gym that claps and a gym that changes. He arrives early, connects with staff, and leaves teachers and counselors with tools to keep the message alive.
Stop the Scan Student keynote
Students walk in scanning for where they fit. Jabari replaces that scan with self-leadership.
Act Two Resilience
Every great story has a second act where everything falls apart. Setbacks are the middle, not the end.
The Director's Mindset
Growth choices over comfort choices, and habits that match the life you want to direct.
Your school walks away with
- Language students repeat back: "IT'S ME"
- Follow-up materials for classrooms, counselors, and student leaders
- A debrief with your leadership team and a momentum plan
Capable people lose their best work to hesitation. Jabari teaches your team to cut it.
Most people in a meeting are scanning: reading the org chart before they speak, waiting for a signal that it's safe to act. It feels like diligence and works like delay. Jabari bridges the locker room and the boardroom with a high-energy session on ownership that sticks past the next quarter.
Stop Scanning Signature
Main character energy for high performers. A five-step sequence for acting from your own standard.
Main Character Leadership
For teams tired of excuses. How ownership becomes a default rather than a slogan on a wall.
The Victim Loop Audit
How external blame quietly stalls personal and organizational momentum, and how to break the loop.
Your team walks away with
- A shared language for ownership that leaders can reference in one-on-ones
- A five-step sequence to run before hard conversations and decisions
- The 30-Day Director's Cut Journal, so the session produces something measurable
The gap between talent and results lives in the mind. Jabari coaches that gap.
More than 20 years on sidelines, from high school basketball to flag football and track. Jabari speaks to athletes and coaches from inside the locker room, with a mental performance message built for a season, not a single day.
The Athlete Within Team keynote
Mental performance framed around athletic identity, purpose-built for teams and departments.
Act Two Resilience
How to respond when the season, the injury, or the depth chart goes sideways.
Team Talk and Workshops
Shorter sessions for preseason, captains, and coaching staff, on site or virtual.
Your athletes walk away with
- A five-step reset to use after mistakes, in games and in practice
- The 14-Day Director's Cut: Locker Room Edition journal
- A common language coaches can keep using all season
The opening or closing keynote people are still quoting at the reception.
A cinematic comeback story, a framework anyone can repeat back, and the energy to carry a ballroom. Jabari tailors every version to your theme and your members, and he's easy to work with on logistics.
IT'S ME: Becoming the Main Character Flagship
Jabari's signature message. Five steps from passive spectator to the lead in your own story.
The Power of It's Me
Radical accountability applied to every outcome, turning failures into plot points instead of verdicts.
Grit Beats Status
What becomes possible when people stop waiting to be selected and start selecting themselves.
Your attendees walk away with
- A memorable framework that ties back to your event theme
- Story-driven moments built for photos, clips, and social posts
- A digital copy of the 30-Day Director's Cut Journal
Ways to bring Jabari in
From a 20-minute breakout to a full-day intensive. Every format is prepared for your room, not pulled off a shelf.
Keynote
20 to 60 minutesOpening, closing, or general session. Optional Q&A.
Breakout session
30 to 60 minutesA smaller room and more interaction, built around one protocol step.
Workshop
90 minutes to 2 hoursHands-on application with exercises and the journal.
Half-day intensive
3 to 4 hoursKeynote plus workshop for leadership teams, captains, or staff.
Full-day intensive
6 to 8 hoursThe full protocol, applied to your team's real situations.
School assembly
30 to 60 minutesTailored by grade level, from elementary to high school.
Virtual
Any lengthLive online keynotes and workshops for remote and hybrid teams.
Every audience leaves with something in hand
Keynotes are judged on the energy in the room and forgotten by next quarter. Every attendee gets a digital copy of the 30-Day Director's Cut Journal, and athletes get the 14-Day Locker Room Edition, so your event produces something people use after the applause.
What people say after the room clears
What a great speech that was. But more importantly, what a great man that is.Erania Johnson
I promise you, this brother is dynamic.Dr. Brandon Kimmins
You got to hire this man to your conference.Anthony Edwards
Jabari captivated the room with his message of radical accountability and personal ownership through his transformative "It's Me" Protocol. He challenged us to shift our mindset, take control of our narrative, and step fully into our power.
Mr. Sims has an exceptional ability to engage students and create an atmosphere where they feel both seen and challenged. He brings a unique perspective, blending professional authority with the relatability of a parent.
His high-energy personality makes him someone that both students and staff want to be around.
His journey left a lasting impression... a true testament to resilience, grit, and unwavering self-belief. Thank you, Jabari, for inspiring our members to think bigger, act bolder, and lead with purpose.
It is truly incredible what Mr. Sims managed to build in such a short period of time. There is no limit to his creativity or his passion.
He has a unique talent for inspiring and mobilizing others to move out of their comfort zones and into active participation.
Rooms Jabari has worked
- Laguna Niguel Rotary ClubKeynote
- Rancho Alamitos High SchoolStudents and staff
- John Muir High SchoolStudents and staff
- AYSO Region 5Opening Day host and speaker, about 250 young athletes
- Boys and Girls ClubsGarden Grove, California
- National League of Young MenAll League Meeting, January 2027
On stage and in the room
Download hi-res photosWhy planners pick Jabari
He has lived the message
Baghdad at 48. A new business at 50. When Jabari tells a room to stop waiting for permission, he's describing his own last ten years, and audiences can feel the difference.
He's trained for people
A certified life coach and anger management instructor with a psychology degree and 35 years of working with young people and families. He reads a room and adjusts in real time instead of reciting a script.
The message outlasts the event
A framework people repeat, a journal they keep using, and follow-up materials for your leaders, teachers, or coaches.
He's easy to work with
Responsive on logistics, minimal technical needs, and prepared for your room. He arrives early and connects with your people before the mic goes on.
Before the event
- Discovery call to learn your audience and goals
- Keynote tailored to your theme and outcomes
- Promo video and copy to build buzz
On the day
- Arrives early and connects with staff and attendees
- Cinematic storytelling, humor, and real interaction
- The IT'S ME Protocol taught live, step by step
After the room clears
- Journal delivered to every attendee
- Follow-up resources for your leaders
- A debrief on what landed and what comes next
Press assets
Approved bios, an introduction for your emcee, photos, and one sheets. Copy or download what you need for programs, websites, and promotion.
Bios
Jabari Sims is a Self-Leadership Speaker & Mental Performance Coach who helps students, athletes, and teams take ownership of their lives. His IT'S ME Protocol gives them five steps to stop waiting for permission and act. He is the author of the upcoming memoir Don't Roll the Credits Yet.
Jabari Sims is a Self-Leadership Speaker & Mental Performance Coach who helps people stop waiting for permission and start living as the main character in their own story. After more than two decades as an educator, coach, and youth program leader, he self-funded a Protective Security Specialist certification at 48 and deployed to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad as a private contractor. That reinvention became the IT'S ME Protocol: Identify It, Take Responsibility, Stop Scanning, Make the Main Character Decision, Execute. Jabari speaks to corporate teams, conventions, schools, and athletic programs, and is the author of the upcoming memoir Don't Roll the Credits Yet.
Jabari Sims is a Self-Leadership Speaker & Mental Performance Coach who helps people stop waiting for permission and start living as the main character in their own story.
Before he ever stepped on a stage, Jabari spent more than two decades inside schools and on sidelines. He coached high school basketball, taught as an educator from kindergarten through high school, and served as former program director at Boys and Girls Clubs, Garden Grove, California, where he grew an after-school program from zero to 100 daily members in under three months. He also led AYSO Region 5 as Regional Commissioner.
At 48, with no military background, he self-funded his Protective Security Specialist certification and deployed to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad as a private contractor. At 50, he launched his own business. Out of that reinvention came the IT'S ME Protocol, a five-step framework: Identify It, Take Responsibility, Stop Scanning, Make the Main Character Decision, Execute.
Jabari is a certified life coach and certified anger management instructor, holds a B.S. in Psychology, and speaks to corporate leadership teams, conventions, educational audiences, and athletic programs. His debut memoir, Don't Roll the Credits Yet, is coming soon. He lives in Huntington Beach, California.
Introduction for your emcee
Our next speaker spent more than twenty years in classrooms and on sidelines, coaching, teaching, and building youth programs from nothing. Then, at 48, with no military background, he deployed to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. At 50, he started his own business. He's here to show us what happens when you stop waiting for permission. Please welcome self-leadership speaker and mental performance coach Jabari Sims.
Photos
Audio and visual
Wireless handheld or lavalier mic. Projector and screen with HDMI for slides. Confidence monitor if available.
Lead time
Four to six weeks is typical. Shorter timelines are possible, so ask.
Travel
Based in Huntington Beach, California. Available nationally, in person or virtual.
Investment
Varies by format, date, and location. Available on request.
Check Jabari's availability
Share your date, venue, and audience. Jabari's team follows up within 48 hours.