• With a dash of magic, he has motivated thousands

• “I was a very shy kid”

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In talking with Jon Petz, you would not imagine him as an introverted person. After all, he is a frequent guest on podcasts, radio and television and stands in front of thousands as a motivational and keynote speaker.

But it didn’t start that way.

“I was a very shy kid … and I started learning to do magic. I think that’s what a lot of shy kids do – we don’t know how to talk to people,” Mr. Petz says.

He says the hobby helped him break his shyness even to the point where he traveled the world for years as a combination comedian and magician.

There’s nothing like comedy to help survive in the corporate world. “I started using those tricks and those elements as icebreakers and ways to open doors in the sales world,” he says, explaining how he moved into C-suite sales for a lengthy career.

Now, after 16 years as motivational keynote speaker on performance and the power of human connections, the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing him to rethink his business.