Neal Petersen, who has spoken at Million Dollar Round Table 2008, addressed IBM, Cisco, Genentec, National Governors Association and many more standing ovation events, is a South African-born adventurer, business executive and professional motivational speaker whose life story reflects the powerful message he delivers in his presentations: “In life there are no barriers – only solutions!”
Born in Cape Town, Neal grew up in the grip of apartheid, classified as “coloured” and subject to arrest if he didn’t follow the system’s segregationist rules. Racism wasn’t his only challenge; he also was born with a defective hip. But Neal would turn these barriers into doorways. While recuperating from surgeries, he spent hours reading about sailing adventures, dreaming one day that he too would sail around the world. Swimming was his physical therapy, and he eventually became a commercial diver, toiling in Africa’s brutal underwater diamond mines to scrape up enough money to build his own sailboat. Through sheer persistence, he ingratiated himself with the “whites-only” yachting community and learned to sail. His hard work would pay off.
In 1999, he completed the Around Alone, a 27,000-mile round-the-world sailing race. He did so in his 40-foot home-built boat, www.no-barriers.com, which some dubbed “the floating coffin” because of its small size. Alone in this tiny boat, he sailed through the swirling Southern Ocean, battling building-sized waves that often smothered the boat – and even turned it upside down. He pressed on and eventually beat some of the most experienced and well-funded solo sailors in the world. His award-winning book , Journey of a Hope Merchant, documents his struggles and victories, before and after the race, as does a PBS documentary, No Barriers, the story of Neal Petersen.
Today, among his other pursuits, Neal is a founding partner and board member of Sequence Holdings, an investment bank and corporate advisory company headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina. In sharing his extraordinary adventures, Neal shows that dreams can be as powerful as an ocean wave, and that by having meaningful goals and an attitude in which “disadvantages become advantages,” people can ride these waves to more success than they dreamed possible.
As a professional speaker, Neal has over 10 years experience internationally delivering keynotes to corporations and associations. His high energy, inspirational keynotes are based on real life experiences which set him apart from speakers who speak on topics.
Neal is known for his high energy, subtle humor, adaptability and flexibility. He can change gears instantaneously to keep the audience engaged. Plus, he is extremely easy to work with.
Neal’s powerful messages include:
* The importance of realizing goals, perseverance, determination in reaching them.
* Choosing conquest over adversity.
* Learning to turn “perceived” disadvantages into advantages.
* The power of positive attitude and how it affects ones performance.
* With choice there are consequences – choose wisely.
Our goal is to be a part of your conference to assist meeting planners in generating maximum results for their audience. We are willing to do in-house welcome videos, build excitement, media appearances, executive breakfasts and any special requests you may have to maximize audience impact.
Neal was rated the best speaker ever at IBM’s Global Systems and Technology Group. After the presentation to 8,000 attendees Neal personalized 1000 copies of his 2005 NOBA Award winning autobiography "Journey of a Hope Merchant" with a solid line out the door for 6 hours!
Neal has a wonderful spirit and an incredible talent for storytelling. He is unique in his delivery and audiences walk away amazed. They find the key messages in Neal’s keynote are not just a topic - rather a realization of “In Life There Are No Barriers ~ Only Solutions”. His accent tends to make audiences lean in and listen more intently. This combined with his storytelling talent keeps people on the edge of their seats wondering what's going to happen next.
• Neal represents the need to constantly expand the horizon of the possible; cross new frontiers; seek out new challenges and accept no limitations within oneself or in the external environment.
• Neal’s dedication to achieving goals is an inspiring testament to all of those who seek to be in “the company of the best.”
• His ability to overcome obstacles and solve problems on a daily basis mirrors the daily challenges of audience members. By sharing his approach to problem solving and overcoming challenges, he will provide to the audience an inspiring example of perseverance and dedication in pursuit of important goals.
The common values and goals of Neal and the audience members will make for a valued experience at conferences. Neal’s ability to apply his own attitudes, values and experiences to reflect on the values and mission of the audience will make your event a powerful and meaningful experience for all.
Neal has appeared on CNN, National Public Radio, PBS airs a documentary about his life story.
To book Neal Petersen today for a keynote presentation, please contact your speaker's bureau partner.
Watch his 4 minute speaking preview video...
