Originally from England and now a resident of Canada, Charles Marcus has come a long way. For over 25 years he could not do what most of us take for granted–speak. He lived with a severe stuttering disability, sometimes going for long periods of not being able to speak at all, suffering much ridicule, rejection and prejudice and dreaming one day of being able to speak fluently in public. He was finally able to realize this dream after making an important decision: to take full responsibility for his life and confront his challenges and fears head on. Today he is an inspiration to people all over the world combining his story of overcoming adversity and winning against the odds with his street wise down to earth business and leadership savvy. With his unique “tell it like it is” style and approach, he delivers highly customized and dynamic keynote presentations and workshops to Fortune 500 organizations and clients internationally such as American Express, Sun-Life Insurance, Mercedes-Benz, Northrop Grumman, Freedom 55 Financial, Prince Edward Island Teachers’ Federation, McGill University and T.D Canada Trust. His powerful story has also been featured in the international press and media. His thought provoking ideas resonate with participants in a very special way. They identify their own circumstances, challenges and situation to his story. Above all, his message empowers each person to identify and unleash the magnificent potential and greatness that lies within each of them. His whole focus is to motivate, inform, educate, entertain, challenge and inspire his audience to take action! Charles’ message and presentation will leave a lasting impression on his audience long after the event is over.

Keynotes and Speaking Topics

• Success Is Not a Spectator Sport – We choose to be successful in business and life the moment we decide to step out of our comfort zone to do whatever it takes to reach our goals. Based on Charles Marcus’ highly acclaimed book “Success Is Not a Spectator Sport”. This keynote will help your audience to develop the mindset, create the game plan, shape the strategies, and find the discipline and motivation to complete the plays necessary for success.Leadership Matters: Creating the environment that is critical to your success Companies today that are truly successful know how to retain, recruit and motivate the best team. It takes a new way of looking at leadership, a different mindset. This thought provoking presentation challenges participants to take the necessary steps to lead in a different way.
• Dare To Be Great: How To Get To World Class in Business and in Life Drawing on his personal and professional experiences and his success principles of Vision, Courage, Responsibility and Commitment, Charles illustrates that no matter what the circumstances or fears in life, once you take full responsibility for your own actions, and make that choice to be the best you can be, there is no limit to what you can discover, learn and achieve.
• Seize The Moment; Winning In a Changing World – As a person who lived with a severe disability for many years of his life, Charles knows all about taking charge in times of change, and creating change when the opportunity presents itself. This dynamic presentation demonstrates that regardless of the situation, the opportunity always exists to seize that moment in life to make significant personal or professional change in order to achieve goals and win in our ever-changing world.The Business World is Evolving: Are You? Whether you are an entrepreneur, sales person or business owner, you must be willing to evolve, be innovative and stay in tune with your ever changing client base. It is about creating outstanding value for your customers, being a problem solver and positioning yourself and your company as the experts in your field. It is about understanding how business is done today, how it will be done in the future and figuring out where you want to fit and succeed in that changing environment.
• Winning the Heart, Mind, and Loyalty of Your Customers Today, business is not about just taking an order. You have to nurture a win-win relationship and focus on making the customers or clients feel so important and special that they will not only want your product or service, but will recommend others to you. Drawing on his years of experience, Charles shows participants that no matter how good your product or service is, if you do not build a connection with your customer and earn their trust, you cannot win their loyalty.

Books and Articles

• Success is Not a Spectator Sport; How to Take Action and Achieve More.

Client Reviews

• “You took the time to understand our organization and what drives us to ensure that your message would hit home. A great speaker connects with the audience and holds their interest. You definitely achieved this” – American Express Corporate Services
• “ EXCEPTIONAL….Your message was spot on, and your style combined all the important elements of a great presentation: motivation, inspiration, humor, life lessons and passion. We at Mercedes-Benz were delighted with your moving and powerful presentation” – Mercedes-Benz of Canada
• “Wow! I have to let you know that everyone was so impressed with how well you knew Toronto Dominion Bank and could refer to very relevant company results and comments by some of our leaders. This made your message so meaningful for us The managers have not stopped talking about you” – T.D. Canada Trust
• “The Vice-President for our Region, stated, ‘Your talk was one of the finest, most customized presentations that I have ever seen.’….The feedback we received from your talk was a straight 5 across the board for your presentation” – Clarica Financial.
• “The feedback from your talk to our financial security advisors and management team has been phenomenal. You were terrific, and a breath of fresh air. While I had heard a lot about you and you came highly recommended, you surpassed even my expectations” – Freedom 55 Financial.
• “You were awesome, a wonderful start to our conference and a real pleasure to listen to. We all felt inspired by your story” – The Special Olympics.World Management Forum
• “Thank you very much for your involvement in helping to make our annual Gala & awards dinner a truly special event this year.
• Your speech was both inspiring and uplifting. Everyone I spoke to after the event told me that they had been positively impacted and touched by your story. It was certainly a lesson in how personal strength and determination can triumph over adversity. You are a powerful, passionate and persuasive speaker, and  have a unique ability to ignite an audience into action which makes you one of the most exciting, relevant and memorable speakers that I have experienced.
  I look forward to working with you again some day soon. On behalf of myself and the CanRad team, thank you. -Craig Barton, Senior Vice President of Sales, CanRad Beauty
• You took the time to understand our organization and what drives us to ensure that your message would hit home. A great speaker connects with the audience and holds their interest. You definitely achieved this.” - American Express Corporate Services
• “Wow! I have to let you know that everyone was so impressed with how well you knew TD Canada Trust and could refer to very relevant company results and comments by some of our leaders. This made your message so meaningful for us. The managers have not stopped talking about you.” - TD Canada Trust
• “The vice-president for our region stated, ‘Your talk was one of the finest, most customized presentations that I have ever seen.’ … The feedback we received from your talk was a straight 5 across the board for your presentation.” - Clarica Financial
• “The feedback from your talk to our financial security advisors and management team has been phenomenal. You were terrific, and a breath of fresh air. While I had heard a lot about you and you came highly recommended, you surpassed even my expectations.” - Freedom 55 Financial
• “You were awesome, a wonderful start to our conference and a real pleasure to listen to. We all felt inspired by your story.” - The Special Olympics
• “Your words were chosen with great care and the message and content were tailored to exactly what our group was looking for. Each person was able to take your words and apply them to their own personal situation and now realize that most problems can be overcome. Your calmness while presenting was both motivating and peaceful.” - International Association of Administrative Professionals
• “You clearly hit a home run Charles with our sales and service team. Your true life stories and experiences on customer service and relationship selling made your insights and thoughts even more real to us” - Bank of Montreal
• “I look for people who understand both the importance of motivating and inspiring people to make a move towards improving their lives, but also have a legitimate plan of action. Charles is that type of speaker, consultant and teacher… He is kind-hearted, funny in his style, and direct in his message. I was thrilled with the mastery of his audience, and was overjoyed by the results.” - John Paul Mitchell Systems
• “Your heartfelt and insightful presentation made a tremendous impact on our group.” - Royal LePage
• “You were ‘right on the money,’ you inspired, informed and educated our highly successful associates, as well as making them laugh.” - Fundex Investments
• “You were clearly in tune with our challenges, issues and successes… I was even more impressed with the way you tailored your message for us.” - Ontario Association of Credit Counseling Services (OACCS)
• “Exceptional. This is the word that comes to mind in reference to your close to our recent sales meeting… You were able to connect your powerful story and tremendous message in a way that made it personal for us and connected to our industry.” - Mercedes-Benz
• “Your message and insights not only helped to re-energize our managers but gave them relevant ideas and strategies on motivating their own teams.” - Mercedes-Benz
• “You offered the audience a dynamic combination of creativity, visualization and an ability to focus not only on the big picture but also on the many tiny details of life that make the magic… 90 percent of the participants indicated that your motivational speech was the favourite part of their day.” - USC Education Savings Plans Inc
• “We required a world-class speaker for this special event to set the tone for the two day seminar. You more than delivered on all counts… You have an innate ability to ‘speak the language’ of your audience, in this case some of the future business leaders of Canada, and to keep them riveted for the entire presentation.” - McGill University
• “The rousing standing ovation that you received from the 1,600 people present showed us that you not only won our hearts and admiration but that you also made us feel so proud and special about the work that we do” - Prince Edward Island Teachers Federation
• “I’ve heard many of these speakers over the years and thought I had heard it all…Charles got me!” - Ratner Companies
• “You live your message. Words like sincere, inspiring, credible, honest, entertaining and awesome were echoed by the attendees we talked to afterwards… A lot of speakers say they customize, you truly go to extraordinary lengths to learn about your audience. I know your prep work was extensive and that impressed us greatly.” - Canadian Tire Financial
• “You may not know this but in my 23 years with Investors Group, I have probably listened to hundreds of keynote speakers from all walks of life at various conferences and meetings. I can name but a few of them. Most speakers are good, even excellent; they have to be, to reach an Investors Group Podium. But few are memorable. You, Sir, are MEMORABLE.” - Investors Group Financial Services, Inc.
• “One behalf of the McDonalds IT Team, thank you for your courage, passion and delivery of a fantastic presentation and inspiring message” - McDonalds Corporation
• “Spectacular… Blew the audience away… off the charts. Thank you Sir Charles.” - Schneider Electric
• “Charles Marcus is one of the great motivational speakers and storytellers of the 21st Century” - The Healthy Wealthy and Wise Corporation