Most people that know me personally know that I am not a fan of motivational speakers.  I have even taken this feeling and turned it into a keynote presentation known as “Why I Hate Motivational Speakers”. This sentiment is not directed at the people (the speakers themselves), but rather their general message.  I often ask:

• If motivational speakers were effective why has the industry grown instead of decreased?
• Why do audience members at these events need the permission of a stranger to accomplish the goals that they wish to achieve?  (Can’t they give themselves permission?)
• Do people know that they can become addicted to this industry?
• Isn’t success relative to every one’s own reality?  (Speakers that climb Mount Everest couldn’t have done so without their Sherpas, but while the speakers return to North America to talk about their accomplishments, the Sherpas are already going up Everest with another soon-to-be-motivational speaker.  We think this accomplishment is special, but if we lived in Nepal it would seem ordinary.)

So when I was asked by JCI Calgary to find a speaker that all of our members would enjoy it was no easy task to find the person that I felt could deliver a solid and unique message.  Thankfully, I had the good fortune of meeting Les Hewitt several years ago.

Les is the author of The Power of Focus (co-written with Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield).  His presentations (and his book) focus on the tools that you need to accomplish your goals and the introspection required to figure out what your goals should be.  Having seen him present I know that he is different from all the “motivational speakers” that I lament against and will have thought-provoking insights for even the most skeptical attendee.

Fortunately, this event is not closed to the public.  If you are interested in learning from the expert on goal achieving you can join Les and myself (I’ll be “hosting” the event that day) on February 7 from 12:30pm until 4:00pm for this interactive workshop.  Tickets are only $50 as the event is being underwritten by JCI Calgary.  All the details (and advance tickets) can be found online at JCI Calgary’s site by clicking here or through the Facebook event page by clicking here.

I hope to see you there!

After last week’s review of my show from Calgary’s comedy blogger – I thought it might be fun to turn the tables from reviewee to reveiwer.  I’ve spent the last couple of weeks writing a review of the 2008-2009 Magic ‘N Miracles Tour produced by Murray Hatfield and Teresa Midbo.  The final version has been written and sent off to the Canadian Association of Magicians for printing.  Here’s the first couple of paragraphs, to wet your appetite:

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Magic N’ Miracles Proves Show Business Saying
by Donovan Deschner

In front of me is Calgary, Alberta’s premiere live performance stage.  Behind me are over 2,500 empty seats.  It’s nearly dead-silent except for the last-minute preparation of the technical crew.  This is the calm before the storm.  There is a click at the back of the theatre and the opening of the doors is quickly followed by the sounds of hundreds of children and families rushing to get the best possible seats to watch the twenty-first “Magic ‘N Miracles” produced by and starring Murray Hatfield and Teresa.

Watching this show has become an annual tradition for countless Canadians but not every audience is treated to this first-class theatre (although a first-class show is guaranteed in every venue).  While I have never seen some of the smaller venues, the phrase “cafa-gyma-torium” does paint a very accurate picture.  I count myself lucky as the music begins to play on a state-of-the-art sound system and the gorgeous main curtain rises to begin the show…

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Suffice to say it was another great show this year which I thoroughly enjoyed.  The full review is over 2,500 words – but the previous sentence sums up my sentiments.  I don’t know where the final draft will be published (or when), but as soon as I know I will let all my blog-followers know as well.

Quick Note: A lot of friends have been asking about last week’s TV pitch that Steve Nagy and I delivered.  It went exceptionally well and I would like to thank Paula, Scott, and Michelle for their time last Wednesday.  (And a second “thanks” to Scott for the bottle of wine… delicious!)

Just when people thought my ego couldn’t get any bigger, Kerry Rasmussen, Calgary’s own comedy blogger/aficionado/reviewer, saw a guest appearance I performed last Wednesday night for The Comedy Detour.  Here’s a link to the review of the show (my part is about half-way down, but be sure to read the whole article):

http://kerryrasmussen.wordpress.com/2009/01/08/a-cut-above/

I’ll be back at Comedy Detour on January 21 hosting for a yet-to-be-announced featured performer.  It’s always a fun room to perform in (not to mention watch the shows).  If you have nothing else to do on a Wednesday it’s a great choice… in fact, even if you already have plans it is usually worth cancelling them.

The remainder of this past week has been spent doing a lot of TV-related things:

• CBC Calgary Television filmed a short feature on me to be aired during “Living In Calgary” at some point in early February.  (I’ll keep you posted when I know more.)
• One of my best friends, Steve Nagy, and I have been working hard on a TV pitch which we are delivering/presenting for the first time tomorrow.  It’s been quite a learning experience as it’s trying to sell something that exists only as an idea… we’ll see how we fair.  (Wish us luck!)
• A proposal which I made to SHAW TV was completed and submitted… now is the “waiting time”.
• I’ve started watching the US version of “The Office”.  I know that I am late on the pick up, but I have been enjoying it immensely.

For now it’s time to put the finishing touches on this TV pitch and re-read Kerry’s review of my show to build some more confidence.  (Granted, it will be the nineteenth time that I have read the article… but it does still bolster the self-esteem.)

Several times over the past few weeks I have been asked the same question by several different people: “What is your biggest goal in your career?” Combined with last week’s post on rewarding yourself for goals set and achieved I thought that now was a good time to answer this question.

As I mentioned last week, I do make goals.  However, I don’t have THE goal – the ONE that needs to be achieved.  I used to.  Then I achieved it.  After accomplishing what you thought was impossible or the “end of the road” you can be left with a very empty feeling with no sense of direction.  I am thus leery to make any more career goals because achieving it could imply the end of the career.

Add to this fact that there is no singular huge goal to accomplish in show business – there is always something bigger.  Let’s say I get my own 60-minute HBO special… that’s a really good and really big goal… but after this has been accomplished there’s still something bigger.  Maybe it’s my own talk show (ala Ellen Degeneres) or a new special every year (ala George Carlin).

So the short answer to this question is that I don’t have any single goal for my career – just a collection of goals that I work towards with the intent of not stopping performing until I absolutely have to.