As a member, I will now be meeting regularly with other local professional speakers, to learn from their experience, knowledge & skills. Since I’ll be one of the youngest members, I plan to listen with both ears!  I’m really looking forward to developing my skills so that in the future I will be recognised nationally as a speaker who delivers thought-provoking, enthusiastic & entertaining performances that meet & exceed my audience’s expectations.

One aspect of becoming a member of PSASA is committing to the organisation’s Code of Ethics.  It says on the PSASA website : “By doing so, the members give notice that they recognize the vital need to reserve and encourage fair and equitable practices among all who are engaged in the profession of speaking.”  It’s great to know that I now belong to a group of people who have agreed to such high standards & values.

Through PSASA, I have now also become a member the International Federation of Professional Speakers (IFPS) which offers great benefits, including being eligible to attend conventions hosted by affiliated Speakers Associations around the world.

SPECIAL BONUS:
I also found a free resource section on the website, where you can find valuable articles, such as:

• Curse of the USP (Ian Rheeder)
• How to be a good conversationalist (Clive Simpkins)
• Immature Leaders Go Off Like Milk (Estienne de Beer)
• The day you start to believe your own PR… (Miles Crisp)
• and lots more!

Wow … I can’t wait to learn from these amazing people; you can look forward to my presentations becoming even better in the future.

Since I’m often requested to speak & perform at team-building events, I get to spend time with other speakers & trainers in my industry. Yesterday, after my team-building presentation for one of South Africa’s most innovative engineering firms, I had the incredible experience of listening to a truly amazing speaker.

In September 2003, Riaan Manser set off from Cape Town on a mission that had taken him 18 months to prepare & what he had hoped would take 1 year to complete : to be the first person to circumnavigate the African continent on a bicycle. He left Cape Town, cheered on by a small group of supporters, & started on 37 000km journey that would take him through 34 African countries & take 2 years, 2 months & 15 days to complete. He only carried as much equipment, supplies & clothing as he could fit on his mountain bike & did the journey solo without any backup team, documenting his journey with a diary & video camera.

You may have seen his story on MNet’s Carte Blanch, & Riaan started off his talk by playing a recording of the story they had done. As he says, “It’s quite amazing how they were able to condense over 888 days into a 12-minute segment!” Of course, once we had all seen the video, we wanted to hear Riaan’s story first-hand…

Riaan Manser talks about his book, “Around Africa On My Bicycle”:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PffO69X6WqU

Riaan is a real ‘down to earth’ Capetonian ‘boykie’, & although it is evident that he is not ‘professional’ speaker by the way he structures his talk, the stories & anecdotes that he shared with group were truly inspiring! He describes vividly & in detail of how he was captured & held hostage by child-soldiers in Liberia, his experiences of talking to a huge group of amputees that were being assisted by the UN in Sierra Leone (video here), how strangers constantly bought him food in Algeria, & how he dealt with mechanical failures while travelling through mountains, forests & deserts. One of the most personal stories he told, which had quite a striking impact on the entire audience, was how the effects of loneliness & not having regular contact with his family & friends caused him to befriend a mouse, “Russel”, in Tunisia! His speaking style is very personal & it’s almost like you’re sitting around a braai while he’s telling his story, with no pretences or embellishment.

Even though he experienced considerable hardships & times of despair, Riaan explains that he never considered surrendering & returning home. His dedication & focus on completing his promise to himself meant that he continued despite the dangers of such a long & arduous journey. What I cannot describe to you here though is how emotionally compelling the story is when you hear it from Riaan himself! When he says how much he needed to complete this goal, you can tell in his eyes & body language that there was absolutely nothing that was going to stop him. It is because of this that I feel honoured to have heard Riaan tell his story.

Ultimately, Riaan believes that “Quitters never win“. After hearing his story, you realise that are so many opportunities around you to make an impact, to make a real difference in the world – but we’re so used to sitting back & letting the world pass us by that we never reach our full potential. There were so many reasons for Riaan not to even start his journey, there even more opportunities for him to ‘call it a day’ & return home – but then he would never ever be remembered for his phenomenal achievement. Worse, if he had not completed the journey, others who may have considered trying it may have been discouraged from trying. Riaan is a real South African hero & his story will truly inspire you to set your goals high, never lose focus, & achieve the ‘impossible’.

Riaan has recently published the book of his story, “Around Africa On My Bicycle“, & he will be a special guest at the Cape Town Book Fair on Saturday 14th June 2008 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre at 14h00. You’ll also get to see his bicycle!

To order a signed copy of Riaan Manser’s book, or to request an appearance, visit www.africa365.co.za.

If you have, are you experiencing confusion & frustration in selecting trustworthy & professional service suppliers? Searching through the Yellow Pages, or browsing around on Google; it just takes aaaaaages to trawl through all that useless information.

Wouldn’t it be great if you had one event resource book that you page through – a resource that had, say, different categories like entertainment, or catering, or event venues – so that you could find a service partner to help you make that function extra-special?

Now imagine a high-quality publication that only lists South Africa’s best event specialists, professional ‘party people’ who are passionate about assisting you to make your life easier …

That’s difficult to imagine, but thanks to Trade Edge, it’s not only possible but also available!

The “SA Special Events Industry Guide 2008” is to-date the very best supplier guide I’ve seen, both in the quality of the advertisers & the print-quality itself. It’s jam-packed with the information you need, yet small enough to fit on your desk, beside the telephone.

Of course, Perform! Marketing Solutions are also listed for my corporate event specialist entertainment services that will make your next company function more fun, more personal & completely unforgettable – guaranteed! (See our advert on page 98)

The “SA Special Events Industry Guide” lists over 60 company profiles in the categories of :

• venues & destinations,
• travel & recreation,
• marketing & décor,
• audio-visual, sound & technology
• corporate entertainment & team-building,
• catering & hospitality, &
• support services & event management

listed by a helpful category & alphabetical index, complete with service information, high-quality photographs & contact details.

The advertisers include:

• Peermont Hotels, Casinos & Resorts
• Coachman Luxury Bus Hire
• 3D Design Exhibition Stands
• Oasys Event Infrastructure
• Stageworks Stage & Prop Design
• Conference Speakers International (CSI)
• Drum Zone Interactive Drumming
• Five Seasons Music for booking bands, singers & musicians
• Liquidchefs bars & barmen
• and even Supreme Laundry, for bulk laundry & dry cleaning requirements

For so much value, it’s almost unbelievable that you can get this valuable resource for as little as R114,00 (incl VAT)! You’ll save that much money in telephone calls alone!

To get your copy of “SA Events Industry Guide 2008″, or to subscribe to this annual publication, call them on +27 11 807 1822 or click here for full contact details.

Ps. Speak to Juan for excellent service & let him know I sent you …

Our UNIQUE special offer for YOU friend!

If you would like a FREE copy of the “SA Special Events Industry Guide 2008″, worth R 114,00 , then click here now! ALL GONE

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Marcel Oudejans, magician and corporate entertainer, has been invited to give a presentation at an international magic convention in India at the beginning of May. Marcel received a personal invitation from one of the top illusionists in India, Gopinath Muthukad, who will be hosting the convention. Vismayam 2008 will be held from 1 to 4 May at the Academy of Magical Sciences in Thiruvananthapuram, capital of Kerala.

Marcel will be speaking alongside notable presenters such as Jorge Blass, an illusionist from Spain who has appeared in a number of television shows, and Reed McClintock, a pioneering close-up and stand-up performer from the USA. The conference organisers have billed Marcel as a “new-generation magician” and a “leading figure in the corporate entertainment sector”.

At just 26, Marcel has made a solid name for himself in the events industry in South Africa. He has a host of satisfied clients, including the likes of Old Mutual, First National Bank, Woolworths and IBM. One detail that makes his style of business unique amongst magicians is that he offers a 100% money-back guarantee to any client who is not satisfied with the performance or service they receive – and so far not a single client has invoked this guarantee. He has been performing professionally for over 10 years, and his witty sense of humour, comic timing and evident enthusiasm have stood him in good stead.

Marcel’s speciality is close-up magic, which allows him to involve the audience in his performance. His performances to date have included corporate dinners, cocktail parties, wedding receptions, product launches, birthday parties, train trips and concept presentations, where he has amazed guests by bending forks before their eyes, causing bank-notes to hover in the air just above their hands and appearing to read their minds. The fact that his performances require no stage, sound equipment or special lighting makes them incredibly versatile.

Vismayam 2008 is expected to draw a large number of both international and local magicians – there are estimated to be around 6,500 magicians in India. The organisers promise that the festival will showcase a mix of traditional Indian street magic, ethnic magic and modern western magic. Being selected to speak at the convention is indeed a privilege – speakers will even be honoured with a special title by the Kerala Ministry of Culture.

For more information on the conference, visit www.vismayam2008.com.
For more information on Marcel Oudejans, visit www.corporatemagician.co.za.

Press release prepared by August Sun Projects

• Picked up by ‘The Times’ : ‘Oudejans to make magic in India’
• Picked up by ‘SA Rocks’ : ‘SA magician disappearing to India’
• Picked up by ‘MyPressportal‘: ‘South African Magician set to dazzle in India’

Thanks to Bruce for asking me to show his audience how to ‘Make Money By Magic’, & everyone who came to thank me afterwards. What a great weekend …

“Have you ever noticed that there is a pattern to the way you earn, invest and spend your money?

Do you ever get to the end of the month and there is no money left? Perhaps you earn inconsistently. Perhaps you make unwise investments. Perhaps you always manage to spend it all.

These limiting money patterns stem from your Wealth Blueprint – your unconscious set of beliefs around money. It is these beliefs that determine your financial success or failure. If you are not creating as much wealth as you would like to, it is most certainly because your Wealth Blueprint is not set for success.

International speaker and success trainer, Bruce Muzik, is back to to lead his Wealth Blueprint seminar again. He teaches people how to find your ‘path of least resistance to wealth’ and create a Wealth Blueprint that puts your success on autopilot.”

He’s giving away a free video called THE TWO PILLARS OF WEALTH at http://www.designer-life.com/wealthblueprint/ . I highly recommend that you watch and learn from this value packed video. Bruce really does know his stuff.

UPDATE: 10 September 2008

Bruce was judged as runner-up to Dr John Demartini in the prestigious XL Results Foundation eXtrordinary Lives Awards 2008!

Well done Bruce, thank you for flying the South African flag high!