Neal was the perfect bow on the conference package. Warm, generous with his story and his spirit. His enthusiasm was infectious and his determination is a lesson to anyone. I think his story would be received and appreciated by business and personal development audiences alike. Thank you for suggesting Neal to me – he would have slipped through my fingers had you not recommended him. Keep booking Neal he is a treasure!!!!! Neal's presentation was absolutely outstanding both from a content perspective & his ability to relate numerous inspirational messages to our conference themes. Neal, On behalf of the CIT Organization within Genentech, we want to thank you for delivering a very motivational, passionate, phenomenal keynote message. It was my personal pleasure to work directly with you from preparation through your final keynote delivery. Thank you for customizing your keynote messages to parallel with our business opportunities and challenges. I met Neal in San Diego two years ago, when I was at the lowest point in my professional career. His story left more than a lasting impression on me; it changed my life. (After Neal's keynote Vikram resigned and started Blade Network Technologies!) I?ve had the opportunity to hear this great man and friend tell his story three times; and I?ve read his autobiography twice. On every one of these occasions I?ve walked away with many valuable messages. Neal and Darlene: It is rare that I am asked by my senior management at IBM to immediately hire a keynote speaker when he is barely off the stage to give another keynote speech the following week - but that is in fact what happened with you Neal. And I want to take this opportunity to thank you not only for the extraordinary presentation you gave in San Diego but for the follow up presentation you gave in Barcelona with virtually no prep time as well. - I can tell you that you generated some of the highest ratings and most positive feedback I have seen in many years of running events in this division. I was particularly impressed with the amount of time you put into your presentation to customize it to the audience and make your points valid within their line of business and the context of the attendees overall job scope. As any event person can tell you we always go into show day with a great deal of trepidation with any outside keynote we hire - particularly with a sales audience who can be one of the most skeptical audiences I have - but I truly was in awe of the spirit you drove into the audience and how you made your own journey so very relevant to every person in both locations. You were nothing short of a genius by utilizing our event theme and messaging within the context of your presentation and it was exactly what we needed to reinforce our theme. I particularly admire this given that you spoke to over thirteen thousand attendees ranging from America to Canada to Europe to Latin America to Asia Pacific - the feedback across all the geographies was equally compelling - which is again unusual given that the backgrounds of the attendees are in fact so varied. When we first discussed your selling and autographing your books in our solution center - I anticipated a good turnout but happened was absolutely extraordinary and a testament to the success you received at this event. I don't know what the total number is that you sold but I can tell you our security team advised me that we had to shut it down with well over 200 people still in line after your inventory ran out which I believe was well over a thousand books. That is just a record at our events - even with some famous athletes we have used in the past. So in closing Neal I owe you a great deal of gratitude - you truly provided the inspiration and motivation for this team that I was looking for externally and the success of this presentation has been heard throughout the IBM Corporation. Thank you for your professionalism and commitment throughout this project. You are also an inspiration to work with! Neal is a masterful storyteller. He was able to weave humor with inspiration into a very powerful message. The audience was engaged for the entire presentation. Prior to the event, Neal and I talked about our company and current marketplace dynamics which he then customized into this message. It made his message even more impactful and meaningful to my audience when he talked about local market issues and obstacles. He was by far the most talked about speaker of the day. I highly recommend Neal to any organization that is looking for a impactful speaker. “Neal you have received our highest ratings ever for a keynote speaker and this covers hundreds of events over more than a decade. Before you, we had never had a single standing ovation, yet I can't remember a time that you did not get one! You also go out of your way to spend time with attendees afterward." "I have been very fortunate to work with Neal Petersen - we brought him in to speak to 3 of our top producer meetings. He is a great speaker and he has found ways to help financial advisors take Neal's experiences and to apply it to their practices in such a way to grow their businesses through the tough times and enjoy the good times." "Neal is one of the most inspiring, dynamic and thought provoking speakers you will ever witness, he is mesmerizing. His presentation takes you on a journey from his personal struggles and childhood, of just being able to walk, to becoming the first black man to race solo around the globe, and in doing so breaking down every barrier put before him. Neal's story of conquering political issues and the oceans of the world will challenge you by opening the mind, with new hope and a determination to break down the barriers, real or perceived, that now exist and to take adversity head on and demonstrate that with determination and hard work you can achieve your goals." "Neal, what a pleasure it was to be able to spend some time with you! Very fascinating! I really enjoyed the time I got to spend with you. It occurred to me that the huge effort that you employed to launch your maritime career has now been focused into the investment arena. You have more global-macro insight than the vast majority of advisors that I have had the opportunity to discuss such matters with - for sure."