testimonials

"Thank you very much indeed for a truly outstanding and unique performance at our Leaders Forum meeting on June 6th.

It was without doubt a rich learning opportunity for everyone, and your unique approach to overcoming our own "personal demons" was truly magical and will live for a very long time in our memories, but even more importantly, it will be incorporated into our individual approach to overcoming our fears and shortcomings.

Heartiest congratulations on a truly great performance, and I will not hesitate to recommend you to other ACE Chairman."

"After hearing Jim's speech and learning more about "Taming Tigers" on his website, I was truly inspired and started immediately to incorporate the principles learned on how to approach my work, family, and social activities. After 12 months, I have to say that it has changed my life. I have done things I wouldn't have otherwise and most importantly accomplished things that I thought were well beyond my abilities. Everyone should hear Jim story and "Taming Tigers" principles. He delivers them in such a fun way!"

“Jim certainly tamed his tiger in facing an audience of forty Learning and Development professionals !

His dynamic and engaging delivery really hit the spot and created a buzz in the team. Sometimes it's easy to 'talk the talk' but Jim is different in that he 'walks the walk' and the way he spoke so eloquently of his experiences in becoming a jockey was inspiring. It's always good to hear it from the horses mouth so to speak !”

"We at Apple pride ourselves in thinking differently, that is why we work in partnership with Jim. Our big conference ptiches and our key sales presentations have both been inspired by the Lawless touch."

"Your talk/presentation/performance was a highlight of our Legal Conference. The delegates were captivated by the story you had to tell - and it's not easy to capture the imagination of a group of hard-bitten (well, some of them!) in-house lawyers. And we organisers were impressed with the way that you adapted what you had to say, and how you said it, to this particular group. OK, it's the same story, but you went out of your way to find out about the delegates, the event and the company, to ensure that you made as many connections as possible with the 'audience'. The fact that you yourself had been a lawyer added an additional layer of credibility - you were able to talk as a peer. I have no hesitation in recommending you for any similar event."

"Life is about good communication skills and this has helped move my communications skills forward"

"Your understanding of the human psyche, combined with a 'real life' (and almost near death!) experience, along with an energetic and humorous delivery had our people engrossed, even after a long day strategising, AND you captured OUR business environment AS WELL! The 'tiger' is the talk of the town today, long may it continue!"

"You're an inspirational, highly motivating and informative speaker. Your sense of fun is infectious and left everyone with the feeling that anything is possible!"

"Sometimes in life you realise that you are experiencing something that will move you forward and that you will never quite be the person you were ever again. I had a life changing experience as I listened to you and watched you.

Your Rules for Taming Tigers are so appropriate, I have read and listened to Stephen Covey on the "Seven Habits of Highly Successful People" many times and found him refreshing, sound and practical.

However, you have inspired me in a way that Mr Covey was unable to."

"I have worked with Jim on stage at three high-profile Barclaycard leaders' conferences. Not only is he engaging, challenging, inspiring and very funny but he delivers a practical, compelling model for achieving results - which he has risked his life on the racecourse to prove."

“Jim is larger than life and a character whom people can easily relate to. He spoke about the emotions and experiences involved with meeting a huge challenge head-on and the message he has to tell, works on so many levels - not only to people may take their life into their own hands on the back of a race horse but also the average man faced with that "impossible" project at work or parents with their first child.

>External speakers are generally received well at these events but I was genuinely surprised at how many people approached me after the event to express how uplifting they had found Jim's presentation. He made them feel as though they could take on the impossible challenges and to have the faith in themselves to be successful despite the inevitable obstacles."

"Fantastic and really inspired our delegates. When the conference finished everyone was talking about Taming Tigers!"

"Motivational, Useful, Fun. Jim has an infectious energy!"

"I want to thank you for your excellent and well-received presentation at our Senior Management Conference last Friday. You injected real energy into a difficult afternoon slot and made a lot of powerful points which give us all food for thought. Delegates were overwhelmingly enthusiastic and motivated and we all look forward to time spent taming our individual tigers in the exciting period ahead."

"An enlightening and extremely useful session providing highly important tools and insights"

"I have received superb feedback from your session and numerous enquiries about your Rules for Taming Tigers. They especially loved the visual explanation of the trials and tribulations of horse racing aboard a dining room chair! You had clearly researched your audience well and it paid dividends, they thought you were great!"

"How to tame tigers" was the high point of our kick-off this year, you not only lifted the day but gave the team's self-belief a lift too!"

"Jim facilitated a very important client event for us with humour, spontaneity and sensitivity. He also took the trouble to be very well briefed whilst not trying to pass himself off as in industry insider. An excellent investment for a very important event."

"Jim teaches you that public speaking is really performing using all the tools a trained actor uses. I would strongly recommend this course to anyone that must do platform presentations as part of their job"

"In a long career in Corporate Sales Jim Lawless is the one person that I truly believe has made a difference to my team and me in the area of Presentation Skills. The coaching and training we received was truly inspirational and more importantly 100% effective"

"After twenty years in sales I thought there was nothing I could be taught. I was 100% wrong, I learnt a lot."

"Thanks a million for your presentation last Friday. From a corporate perspective, content was extremely appropriate; you provided attendees with much 'food for thought' and practical guidelines for growth in all areas of life. Also, and importantly, your delivery was very enjoyable. Lots of attendees approached me afterwards to say how much they enjoyed it. On a personal note, you've been a pleasure to work with. I wish you continued success."

“ Jim spoke in an international setting to mainly finance executives. After just two minutes, it was clear to me: the organizers did not hire a stand-up comedian. On the contrary, Jim struck a nerve deep inside: his message and the way he brought it resonated very well and it held up a mirror to the audience: gentle, humorous but striking: he confronted us with our self-created limitations, fears and borders: our self-created tigers. His autobiographic speech radiated in his most wonderful way a deep spiritual message: The only limits we have are the ones we impose upon ourselves. Speaking from his own experience, the message was brought with power and enthusiasm, which resonated long after this gala evening ended. What you radiate, comes back. Tenfold. After his speech, I noticed that a lot of conference delegates put his speech into practice: a lot of “tigers” disappeared…. A big thanks to Jim, he reminded me of our own power and of who we really are.”

“Organising an event with Jim is a little like riding in the Grand National. He approaches the entire process with dedication and professionalism, takes all of the hurdles in his stride and completes the process taking the cheers and applause of the crowd!”

"A fantastic force, full of high energy, dramatic details of his life’s journey…inspirational and human all at once"

"Working with Jim and being in Jim's seminars are an inspiration and great fun. You can actually watch people grow into themselves."

"I wanted to thank you again for your efforts on Tuesday this week at our European Sales Kick Off. Your presentation hit the mark and everyone I spoke to said how much they enjoyed it. The conversations about Tigers took on a life of their own for the rest of the day and as the evening progressed in the bar about 15 sales guys became expert Chair Jockeys much to the horror of the bar staff but as you can imaging by then there was no stopping any of them. It brings a whole new meaning to the tiger rule “do something scary every day”

From taming tigers through to learning to become a jockey, Jim Lawless provides a masterclass in taking control and accepting personal responsibility, in the management of change.

A high energy and engaging presentational style makes his message accessible for all, promoting engagement in organisational change, individual and collective reflection and personal growth."

"Many, many thanks for your input on Thursday night. It was just the right balance of fun and the messages that we had been putting over throughout the day. I am sure that we will be able to arrange a return visit. You will be pleased to know that there is some scary stuff being done here today so you have had a big impact!"

"The De Beers client lunch at Ascot during De Beers Diamond Day 2006 was greatly enhanced by the amusing anecdotes from Jim Lawless. His insight into the world of racing and his personal experiences as a jockey fascinated all our guests. Working with Jim was an absolute pleasure and it certainly made it a most entertaining pre race lunch. I would certainly endorse any company's invitation to him to be the speaker at their lunch or dinner, be it relevant to racing or not."

"Captivating! A great way to end the conference - on an inspiring and thought provoking high note which appealed 'personally' as well as to the business."

"Just wanted to extend my thanks once again for the excellent talk you gave on Friday morning. It managed to lift people after a particularly big night, make them laugh and also gave them a lot to think about in terms of shaping their own careers.

I hope to be able to work with you again in the future"

"Jim provided an object lesson in how to be thought provoking and entertaining at the same time. There are many people who claim to offer lessons in how to become more positive about the challenges we all face, what marks Jim out from the crowd is that his isn't just a theoretical approach, he has done it and has the video evidence to prove it"

"Jim Lawless's talk on Ten Rules for Taming Tigers was a fast paced, informative and entertaining presentation which owed much to a charismatic presenter and a very innovative style. I don't think I've ever seen anyone else speak for over half an hour whilst standing on the arms of a chair in a crouched position as if riding a horse. It has to be seen to be believed.

Jim held the audience's attention whilst putting over valuable tips on dealing with day to day situations and encouraged the participants to make positive commitments towards achieving personal goals within a defined timescale. I think most people would have got something positive out of this - I know I did."

"Having arrived at the conference immersed in apathy and cynicism, I was both delighted and, candidly, surprised by Jims unique approach. Here was somebody who chose not to rely on off the shelf management-speak; he had actually done it (and had the DVD to prove it!) and spoke about his experience with such enthusiasm that I could very easily have believed that it had culminated on the previous day.

Put bluntly, Jim woke me up. I realised that I could continue pining for missed chances and blaming everybody but myself for not being where I had planned to be all of those years ago, or I could simply accept that life, almost by definition, is littered with misfortunes and setbacks that must be viewed as challenges, the solutions to which lie only with me. I have chosen the latter path in both a personal and professional sense and there is certainly no turning back."

"I have worked with Jim on a number of occasions, most specifically, I engaged him to speak at the kick-off events for our high potential programme. His sessions were fantastic: funny, energetic, inspiring and real. He managed to have us in stitches of laughter but at the same time got us to naval gaze and ask ourselves what we have in our control and what we can do differently to be even more successful. Even now, months after the event people at E.ON are still quoting Taming your Tiger phrases and pushing themselves in ways they wouldn’t have dreamed if before – thanks Jim."

"On behalf of EphMRA I would like to thank you for an excellent presentation on Thursday. Looking around the room and watching the reaction to your presentation I observed lots of interest and enjoyment. "

"We were looking for something to motivate and energise our salesforce in this challenging environment, and we had high expectations of Taming Tigers.

The results were fantastic, feedback from a Questionnaire to 140 salespeople, Taming Tigers scored 75% of the audience rating the session as outstanding and 24% rating it as Excellent.

These are the best scores we have ever seen either for an external or an internal speaker. The benefits are already visible just weeks after the conference.”

Thank you for a very thought provoking talk to help us launch our new products. You inspired everyone in the room to think differently and to think about what to do differently tomorrow. But it wasnt just inspiring and practical. It was also highly entertaining and sent my whole team off to our gala dinner with a smile on their faces and full of ideas."

“Jim, We fraud managers have a responsibility (to society) to do our work well, and having the right attitude and approach works wonders. Your talk really will help the youngsters to become courageous leaders”

"Jim was hugely entertaining and had some key messages to the audience. It really made people think about their behaviour and how they can work more positively in the future to benefit themselves and the business. Probably the best speaker I have seen."

"Jim really understood the brief for our meeting and delivered an inspirational session to really make the teams challenge themselves and believe they can successfully hit their targets. Jim’s approach was certainly new and entertaining, and the theories aligned well to our priorities."

“Jim had 20 timber traders hanging on his every word while he was riding a chair in a conference room. No mean feat on either count!”

"I just wanted to say how much I, and I am sure many others, enjoyed your presentation this week. I have a self confessed attention span of half a nano second ( well, I am in sales!) but I cannot remember being drawn into another person topic as much as yours.

I can't promise that you will see me on the telly on the back on a rampaging beast but I shall be having a long look at the attitude I have taken towards certain aspects of my life - mainly the chronic fear of success - but I am probably not alone on that one.

Your speech yesterday was so motivating and as it was driven by your own experiences, it made me realise that I should make this a turning point in my life. "

"Thank you so much for coming in this morning and talking to my class. Apparently, they were so full of excitement that they buzzed all the way through their Latin lesson!

You inspired me too so thank you. It was a shame we only had 40 minutes. Thanks again for taking the time to speak to us."

"He truly delivered."

"Jim was great and all the feedback was really positive."

"I just wanted to send you an email to thank you so much for the wonderful and inspiring performance you gave us at Sopwell House. I enjoyed every minute and gained so much from it. The most fascinating thing was knowing that what you said really does work and you are absolutely right, never, never give up!! So, once again thank you for inspiring me to move one step closer to reaching my dreams and goals of the future."

"Jim, it was very good to meet you last week and as I said on the day I thought your talk was excellent and exactly what was needed to kick off the day.

The business transformation work (a revolution in the way things are done around here) that I am leading requires ambition, tenacity and considerable risk taking - the more I look at your 10 rules the more I understand how they articulate exactly what my team and I need to make this programme a success!"

"Your Key Note presentation was spot on and linked perfectly. You managed to bring across a strong inspiring message, packaged in a story that was also a lot of fun."

"I was enormously impressed with your session at the Alton Towers meeting. Thank you so much. You were truly inspiring, and have made me re-think how often I hold back when I should press forward. Thanks for making a positive difference to my life and business."

"Jim's session was very thought provoking, empowering and entertaining. It was refreshing to hear from a motivational speaker that had actually practiced what they preached. I highly recommend him"

"The initial feedback from [major events organiser] has been excellent. They said you were a very impressive speaker, fitted the brief perfectly and were a delight to work with. I work with them a lot and they don't hand out praise lightly, so you obviously made a fantastic impression!

Thanks again for doing a great job, I look forward to working with you again soon."

“Jim was inspiring and refreshingly different. The room became alive and the audience energised.”

"In a very animated, motivating und funny way, Jim gave us many useful ideas how to tame "our" tigers...gladly for us not in the form of race horses"

"We chose Jim to speak at our Life Fitness 'Elevate' customer event because we felt his approach fitted perfectly with what we wanted to achieve - to engage and inspire our customers through differentiation.

Jim did not disappoint. He was an entertaining and motivating speaker who reached out and touched his audience on both a personal and business level.

His key themes of leadership, change and teamwork were delivered in a powerful yet fun way, but most importantly he gave our customers the tools to go back to their businesses and make a difference immediately."

"Everything great looks impossible first - you just have to tame some tigers"

“Jim was a huge success at our recent conference for senior relationship directors. Not an easy lot to please but with a massive 95% “excellent” rating his session was described as “insightful, thought provoking and really great fun”. Taming the Tiger has a real relevance to us all as we strive to ever improve, to manage change and to tackle issues where perhaps avoidance would be easier. Not only are the theories relevant and logical but proven by Jim’s life experience. A great session and I would recommend him to any other organisation looking for that guest speaker who will add fun and something different alongside the delivery of some really key messages”

"Solid tips, delivered with honesty and sensitivity. Very useful"

"Right on the brief. We needed to give our day a lift from an external speaker, bring new ideas to our people and challenge preconceptions. I had heard about Jim but I hadn't seen him. I took a risk. He delivered!"

"This was a very important event for my department. Your challenging and inspiring presentation and professional (but hilarious) hosting made the day for us. One of the delegates went straight back and ran a "Taming Tigers" training session for his own team! No racehorses were involved, thank heavens."

"Jim was brilliant yesterday. The whole audience thought he was great, and in the closing speech the CEO said Jim was one of the best speakers he had seen in years."

"Could you please pass my sincere thanks on to Jim for his flawless, thought provoking and entertaining presentation at our conference on Monday. The feedback after the event was fantastic and Jim had certainly made a big impression - delegates were still discussing tigers well into the small hours. You must also tell him that during a fairly lengthy meeting the next morning it was clear that people were referencing the rules on the fold up cards and tigers were being tamed. In fact we had a really engaging session developing our plans for this year's Harrogate exhibition, previously closed minds were opened and we have some fairly bold ideas for the event. I think we will see some interesting changes in people over the next few weeks.
I would like to personally thank Jim for signing all the books as well."

"I know I’ve said this already, but I just wanted to drop you a quick note of thanks for your memorable performance today. I’ve been practising my jockey posture since you left and even on terra firma it isn’t easy. I shall have a whole new respect for the riders I see on the Downs in future – and for your ability to tame the tigers that could have stopped you winning your bet.

Thank you for injecting a real burst of energy into the event, and for giving us all plenty to think about!"

“Jim spoke at our annual partner event in 2006. I was truly impressed with Jim’s impact and Style. His speech was motivational and inspirational in many ways. Our partners and employees commended us for having Jim share his thoughts and experience in our event”.

"Jim Lawless was one of the most inspirational and motivating speakers I have had the pleasure of listening to. I thoroughly enjoyed his mix of humour, insight and enthusiasm"

"The conference has been a big success and you have played an important part in this. I would like to thank you for your contribution. It is a sheer joy to see you present. You master the art of key note speaking.
You really are able to connect with an audience and I was impressed by how well you could bring your key note across."

"We have worked with Jim for many years with varied clients, audiences and objectives. Without exception every client has been delighted and we trust him implicitly as a business partner who is always flexible and adds value to our proposition. He understands business, has been there and this together with solid messages, excellent delivery and racing adventures has made him a favourite of our clients and our internal team"

"Jim was hugely successful at our recent learning event, we had a very mixed audience from a variety of healthcare settings across northwest London (both clinical and NHS management) and Jim's light hearted brand of charm and persuasion worked very well in the NHS setting to inspire people to step beyond the boundaries of the way 'we usually do things'."

"Inspiring, Entertaining, Excellent!"

"I learnt more today than I have in any previous, lengthier course during my career"

• Flawless presentation, entertaining, funny and informative. A perfect way to wind down a conference
   
• Enjoyed his use of humour to deliver key messages. Good session to finish with. Left feeling very up beat
   
• Loved his sense of humour and presentation message. Have downloaded the book already and have the cage prepared. More like this please, please
   
• "A profound message delivered in a humorous and irreverent way. We need to learn to be more perceptive...
   
• Innovative approach to facing out innermost fears. Really enjoyed and took some valuable lessons from this
   
• Excellent session to end the 2 days, summed up the atmosphere of the conference

"Your session last week wasn't just inspiring it was life changing! It is easy to feel defeated by the endless bureaucracy in the NHS (Gerry Robinson was right!) but your session gave me the will to continue with the battle....and to NEVER give up. "

"Following your presentation I have been delighted how our senior management team have aligned themselves behind the process to manage change. You had a positive impact on our senior leadership team and have helped us to remove our filters as we continue to deliver breakthrough growth"

"Jim Lawless related Taming the Tiger to our current situation – an organisation going through massive change – with wit, enthusiasm and challenge."

"Jim delivers a strong message heavily disguised with fun and humour. He is utterly professional and a pleasure to deal with – we cannot wait to get him back again."

"If you can have such a thing as a highly focused and effective breath of fresh air, I think we just met one!"

“Jim is great at showing two things. One, ordinary people can do extraordinary things. Two, the key to delivering this is to ‘act now’ on the difficult but necessary tasks. He does this in an entertaining and engaging manner”.

"Jim is a Stimulating and Motivating speaker of the highest order"

"His presentation was brilliant – fun, motivating and inspirational. At the feedback session today everyone said it was the highlight of the 24 hours. I was absolutely delighted with this outcome."

"Thanks for the first royalty cheque courtesy of "Taming Tigers"."

"Jim's enthusiasm, humour and vigour exactly complemented the mood of our event. He made a lasting impression on the people in our business, who were galvanised with a clear vision of how they must act and think in order to 'go the extra mile' and achieve outstanding things for our business. Highly recommended."

"Jim. Your brief was to enlighten, inspire and entertain our Salesforces and I am delighted that you achieved all of these in equal measure. I was particularly impressed by the way you took the time to understand our business, spend time with our people and ensure your session both supported and reinforced the other key messages from the day. Thank you!"

"What sets Jim apart is how very real his ten rules are; everyone can relate to them. Jim has presented to over 300 colleagues within my organisation to fantastic effect - more than just being thought provoking he challenges people in to action - and his ten rules have become a part of our vocabulary. Brilliant!"

"The content and style of Jim Lawless' presentation is both interesting and enjoyable. He has an ability to reach people and encourage them to raise their sights and expectations."

"I put the new techniques into practice in a large group session straight away. The feedback was excellent and immediate. Thanks!"

"Our creativity is our reputation. We pride ourselves on being at the forefront and it is cutting-edge techniques like those that you brought to us help us shine and keep us there"

“Jim managed to enthuse our entire audience and managed to achieve the fine balance between driving home some very important business messages laced with an appropriate amount of humour. He is also great value for money.”

“If you want motivation combined with great entertainment value you are on a winner with Jim Lawless. He is an odds on favourite to not only leave you inspired but also chuckling with laughter."

"Jim is not only a brilliant motivational presenter but he also stimulates purposeful and reflective contributions from team members in follow up activities.Simply outstanding!"

“Jim's enthusiasm, humour and vigour exactly complemented the mood of our event. He made a lasting impression on the people in our business, who were galvanised with a clear vision of how they must act and think in order to 'go the extra mile' and achieve outstanding things for our business. Highly recommended. ”

"Jim supported our 2006 Conference programme and made an outstanding impact. Jims ability to convert his own life experiences and challenges into a commercial context left the audience with enduring motivation. In addition Jims cheerful and positive approach made him a pleasure to work with and we strongly recommend him to any potential customers. Thanks again Jim, your influence on the success of our Conferences was essential!!"

I have to say that Jim was first class. Comments ranged from "a real thought provoker" to "an inspiration to change my approach" to "so much better than anyone we have seen before".

"Across the business the conference has left an enormously positive effect, indeed many say it really hit the spot better than any before. Also, many of the teams have been reciting rules at me since your presentation, so thank you again for your personal involvement. Rules 1,3 and 6 seem particularly to resonate with some of the challenges the team have."

"Natural, Spontaneous, great Q and A and very well briefed on the subject matter"

"Jim's sessions are always a breath of fresh air: lively, relevant and challenging - what more could you want?"

"Thank you Jim for a fantastic presentation you really added huge value to our event. Your section was inspirational, amusing and very insightful. The feedback from our delegates has been wonderful. Our expectations were far exceeded and I look forward to working with you again"

The event was a great success and all the attendees have given us tremendous feedback...
"Jim Lawless was motivational and funny 10 out of 10 – will talk to my tigers now!"

"A true professional, great eye to detail, captures the mood of any event"

"Jim was a very bright, enthusiastic speaker who brought a very relevant presentation to life through his experiences in becoming a jockey. He also managed to connect his 10 Rules for Taming Tigers to the audience through what they may wish to achieve both professionally and personally and he gave them a very simple toolkit for doing that. "