Pick a card, any card, is the start of almost any magic trick involving, well, cards. Magic tricks—or illusions, some would argue—can make for great icebreakers and entertaining shows that boggle the mind. Jon Dorenbos uses them to help deliver a message.
“A magic trick does something a slide deck can’t: It bypasses the brain and goes straight to the soul,” he says. “For a split second, adults feel like kids again. Their logic shuts off, their curiosity turns on and their defenses disappear. In that moment—that tiny window of wonder—you can deliver a message that actually sticks. Magic isn’t the point—it never was. It’s the doorway.”
Magic found Dorenbos at the exact moment he needed something to believe in. After his mom died, he was a kid trying to make sense of a world that didn’t make sense.
“A neighbor showed me a cool magic trick, and suddenly I had this little universe where the rules were different,” he says. “Magic gave me control when everything felt out of control. It gave me a place to escape, to heal, to create. And most importantly, it gave me a way to connect with people without having to explain the pain I was carrying.”
IT’S ABOUT TRANSFORMATION
Dorenbos is an author, speaker, magician and former National Football League (NFL) player. He’ll be a keynote speaker (sponsored by Discover Puerto Rico in partnership with The Keynote Curators) at MPI’s 2026 World Education Congress (WEC) in San Antonio, June 2-4. There, he’ll pull from his book, “Life is Magic,” to help attendees discover a road map to shutting down self-doubt and choosing happiness in every situation.
“Business audiences are sharp. They’ve heard every buzzword, every ‘rah‑rah’ speech. So I don’t try to inspire them—I try to relate to them,” Dorenbos says. “I take my story—which is personal—and translate it into their world: Pressure. Change. Competition. Uncertainty. Then I show them the tools I used: reframing, gratitude, process, perspective. And when you mix that with a little magic, suddenly the guard comes down. They’re not being ‘motivated.’ They’re being moved. I endeavor to do this by inspiring, engaging and entertaining them in a different way.”
Dorenbos’ unique way of connecting with audiences may come from the fact that he’s had what looks like three distinct life experiences: NFL player, “America’s Got Talent” finalist and worldwide, in-demand speaker. But it took him a long time to realize that he wasn’t living three different lives. He was living one story with three chapters.
The NFL, he says, taught him discipline and teamwork. Magic taught him wonder, reinvention and problem solving. And keynote speaking taught him purpose.
“One day, I’m onstage at “America’s Got Talent,” after getting the golden buzzer to the finals, and I thought to myself, ‘Man…this is the same kid who used magic to survive trauma, the same guy who walked into an NFL locker room terrified but determined, the same guy who’s now telling that story to help someone else,’” Dorenbos says. “That’s when it clicked. It was never about the titles—it was about the transformation.”
REDIRECT YOUR LIFE
Making the most of a difficult situation is a big part of his message to audiences, and it’s something he experienced during his Pro-Bowl career in the NFL. In 2017, a doctor told him he had an aortic aneurysm that required immediate heart surgery.
“When the doctors told me I had a ticking time bomb in my chest, everything stopped,” Dorenbos says. “Facing your own mortality strips away the noise. You stop asking, ‘What do I want to achieve?’ and start asking, ‘Who do I want to be?’”
He realized his purpose wasn’t playing football. It was catching moments with his wife, daughter and friends. Moments on stage and moments where someone in the audience says, “I needed that today.”
“The heart condition didn’t end my story,” he says. “It redirected it, and keynote speaking has given me a tremendous platform to help others. I’m grateful every single time I step on stage.”
CHANGE THE OUTCOME
Dorenbos says that if he had to boil everything down to one mindset shift, it’s this: You can’t always control what happens, but you can always control the story you tell yourself about it.
“Self‑talk is the narrator. Adversity is the plot twist. Change is the next chapter,” he says. “Teamwork is who you choose to bring along. Change the story, change the outcome. My keynote touches on all these topics in a unique way.”
His keynote also touches on forgiveness, but he never presents it as a big, poetic concept. Instead, he frames it as a skill that you can practice, that it’s a choice you make for yourself and not the person who hurt you.
“I tell audiences: Forgiveness doesn’t change the past—it changes your relationship with the past,” Dorenbos says. “And when you change that, you free up energy to build a future you actually want to live in professionally and personally.”
For attendees who experience his keynote address, Dorenbos has just one request for Monday morning (June 3).
“Call someone [you’ve] been meaning to call. Forgive someone [you’ve] been holding a grudge against. Start the project [you’ve] been afraid to start,” he says. “Shift one habit, one thought, one behavior. Because a lifetime isn’t changed in a weekend. It’s changed in the next decision.”
