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Former NFL player-turned magician and world-class speaker Jon Dorenbos featured a mixture of personal accounts and sleight-of-hand tricks to entertain and inspire the crowd on the opening day of MUFC.
Dorenbos captured the attention of the audience from the outset with a self-deprecating description of his role as a long-snapper during his 14-year career in the NFL. He performed several jaw-dropping card tricks and spoke of his early love of magic as a child growing up outside of Seattle.
For those unaware of Dorenbos’ personal story, his keynote address took a shocking turn as he spoke openly about coming home one day when he was 12 years old to learn that his father had murdered his mother. By using magic to cope, along with intense therapy and perspective over time, he was able to view life not as what is lost but what can be achieved. Dorenbos said tragic circumstances in life should not define people. During low points, it’s important to keep striving for happiness and success.
“I tell myself every day that life is magic and it is a great day to be alive,” Dorenbos said. “Shame on me and shame on everyone in this room if we don’t wake up every day on time, prepared, and ready to work for the business, for our souls, and for the ones around us so that we can take pride in protecting everything around us and make this world a better place for the next generation and make this world a better place for us right now.”
Dorenbos discussed overcoming the odds to play college football and appear in 162 consecutive games over 11 years with the Philadelphia Eagles. Toward the end of his career, he gained national popularity by twice making it to the finals of “America’s Got Talent.”
During a routine physical after he was traded to the New Orleans Saints, doctors discovered an aortic aneurysm, which required emergency open-heart surgery, ending his playing career. Dorenbos said that experience was another example of not letting life’s setbacks derail your dreams.
Despite the sudden end to his playing career, Dorenbos pivoted to a successful second act as a magician and motivational speaker, which has given him a platform to share his powerful story. Seven years ago, shortly before the birth of his daughter, Amaya, he decided to revisit the darkest point of his life. As a release from the bitterness and anger he had held on to for decades, Dorenbos visited his father and forgave him for killing his mother. He said it was a feeling of peace he needed before he became a dad himself. He told the crowd that regardless of our circumstances, we can all rise above our hardships and serve those around us.
While performing one final card trick, Dorenbos reflected on his journey from tragedy to professional success. He talked about his near-death experience, saying “I forgive you” for the first time in his life, and experiencing fatherhood. He then told the crowd how they could apply some of the lessons he learned to their lives.
“I appreciate how everyone of you prepares and executes and delivers every single day for people like me,” he said. “May all of us wake up each day and say it is a great day to be alive and hate just a little less. May we blame a little bit less and forgive just a little bit more.”