Today is Tony Bennett’s birthday. He’s 81, and I am so in love with him.

I’m listening to him now. He’s singing, “Keep smiling at trouble, for trouble is a bubble, and bubbles will soon fly away…”

Sing it, Tony! You are the MAN!

Why am I so in love with Tony Bennett? Maybe because as a singer who is now 50 years old, I find it extremely encouraging to hear someone sing so damned well at age 81. But it’s more than that.

He has a charisma that isn’t showy, over-the-top, or confrontive. He just is who he is, humble, sweet and so in love with what he is doing. He lets the song be the star, not him. Though there are those moments when he’s belting the bejeebers out of the final phrase of “For Once in My Life.” By the way, you MUST check out the duet with Tony and Stevie Wonder on the Duets CD. It is unfreakin’ believable.

All of that and he sings so beautifully. As he’s aged, his voice has gotten a little husky around the edges but it only makes him sound more real, human and believable. But hey, I am sooooo biased. An infatuated fan.

But my infatuation aside, Tony teaches us that being real without any flash, pomp or antics is what real charisma is all about. Authenticity is the essential ingredient in charisma, otherwise it’s just superficial shenanigans. He also is a great example of someone who is so in love with his “message,” which is every song he sings, that he always bows to the meaning and nobility of each song, letting that be the thing that comes above all else. Just like your message, your offering of information or even entertainment needs to be the focus or “the star” of your speech or show.

Or maybe I just needed an excuse to share with you my crazy love for Tony and so I’m trying to make it relevant to the subject of this blog. But I don’t think so. I don’t fall in love too easily. And there is a reason why Tony Bennett is still selling records and singing to sold out crowds.

Happy Birthday, Tony! Thank you for the music. And the lessons in real charisma.

You gotta give it to Mark Victor Hansen. He knows how to put on a show.



As many of you know, I attended the “How to Build Your Mega Speaking Empire” in Los Angeles, CA, on November 4-6, created and hosted by Mark Victor Hansen. You know, the guy who wrote and made a mega-empire out of the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” book series. Mark’s Mega events (Mega Book Marketing, Mega Marketing, and Mega Speaking Empire) provide a platform for some diverse and exceptional experts in the field of marketing, multiple streams of income, and information marketing. And hypnosis. But more on that later.



I was excited to attend this event because I wanted to gather some gems for you on how to be the most amazing public speaker you can possibly be. But once I saw the line up of experts who would be presenting and what they would be talking about, I knew that I was going to get a lot of Mega Marketing without a lot of Mega Meaty Material. Luckily, I was wrong.



But I’m getting ahead of myself.



My mission with this very long post is to give you a review of the whole three days in a way that will give you a glimpse of each of the presenters (I missed two presenters due to information overload and a desperate need to hide away in my room to remember who I was) as well as some of the very fun people I met during lunch.



For example, Selena and Alberto Hoyos, whom I met and fell in love with immediately. They are an adorable couple who do life coaching through ballroom dance. And what amazing dancers they are. On the last day they got to dance on the conference stage and they were intoxicating, inspiring and passionate. Here are some photos.



Day One: November 4, 2005

8:20 am

I perused the 17 or so exhibitor tables that lined the lobby of the Grand Ballroom as I waited for the doors to the ballroom to open. These exhibitors were selling all kinds of information products, from “How to Write a Book in Five Days” to Conference Recording Services.



At 8:30 am, the doors to the Grand Ballroom were flung open and we were blasted loud, pulsing, pump-you-up music. You know, the kind they would play before a hockey game or some other beat-‘em-to-a-pulp event. The room was dimly lit except for the fifty yards of theatrical lighting that was hitting the stage with colored swirling lights and throwing fast moving spotlights throughout the room. On stage there was a huge, white, standing backdrop with the words “MEGA” on it.



Keep reading for a photo and the complete review.

(more…)

Oh, I’m so sorry I haven’t been able to keep up with the daily goings-on here at the "Building Your Mega Speaking Empire." The schedule is so intense that there’s hardly time to eat or sleep, so I haven’t been posting.

But I go home tomorrow, and after I prepare and deliver a presentation of the Women in Business luncheon in Rohnert Park, I will write a full review.

For now, I will say that the second day, yesterday, was amazing! T. Harv Eker of Peak Potentials and the book Secrets of a Millionaire Mind was fabulous, as was Les Brown. They were both completely different in their craft and approach towards public speaking. Les is almost evangelical, wild, spontaneous and so loveable. Harv is all about being a trainer more than a speaker, which I loved! I learned so much from him. I’d love to take his Train the Trainer 5-day training, but it’s $7,500! Gulp!

And I’m learning so much about myself and the tricky path of a confident life. Oh yes, there’s nothing like being around giants in their field and multimillionaires to put you on your confidence edge.

More on that later…

Here I am in L.A. at the Westin near the airport. My room is great. I have a view of Century Blvd. and just outside my window there is a big billboard displaying a huge photo of Kevin Bacon. He looks good.

The "Building Your Mega Speaking Empire" conference begins in full fiery force tomorrow morning, 9:00 am and it’s pretty much non-stop until 6:00 pm on Sunday, November 6. I just picked up my heavy binder of material and my name tag, which I have to wear to get in anywhere, and I’m looking through the program schedule.

It’s as I suspected. It’s all about money. The focus of this convention is how to make millions as a speaker, which is not a bad thing. I was just hoping there would be more on creating speeches or presentations that rock and roll, presentations that have people on their feet screaming and applauding and asking for more. I was hoping for creativity as well as millions of dollars.

The good news is that I will get to see these professionals, these Mega Speaking Empire professionals, do their thing, and they should really know how to do their million-dollar thing.

I’m looking forward to seeing Harv Eker, who wrote "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind" and gives workshops on the same subject. I heard him on a teleclass once, and he was wild! On Saturday, he’s speaking about Accelerated Learning Techniques: Secrets to Having Your Audience Learn Faster, Remember More, and have Ten Times the Fun.

My friend Victor tells me that Les Brown is great as well. He’s speaking on Saturday as well. His topic is "Step Into Your Greatness as a Platform Speaker: Effective Strategies That Impact Every Audience You Speak To. My mom would hate the grammer of that title.

Mark Victor Hansen, the Main Man, kicks off the morning sessions with Your Future as a Speaking Superstar: Building the 7 Pillars of Your Speaking Empire.

Oh, and there’s so much more. I’ll fill you in as it happens. But now, it’s time to order room service and watch a movie. Man, I love hotels!

Check back tomorrow for the First Day Review!