“Mr. Blunt. What a perfect name....you speak the truth without hesitation or apology. Thank you for inviting me into your world...you have affected my perspective.”
Chernetta
Chernetta Whiteside Byl
“Dear Ed, I want to take this opportunity to tell you how much the August 18 call meant to me. It was very helpful in having me think through a work challenge that resulted in a positive outcome. What helped me the most were your comments about guarding against pervasiveness, not focusing on negative moments and being careful about not using my own belief system and values to measure others.
I encourage you to keep on your mission of helping others design a more positive future for themselves and look forward to tomorrow's call.”
“I got a lot of value out of yesterday's workshop. I woke up today with a different energy. I pulled out the book "Think and Grow Rich " which was collecting dust on my shelf. I never read it but I will begin to do so. Today I also reviewed your cd set Positive Power I & II to assist me in changing my mindset. I also had the energy to do some things around the house that I had been putting off. “
Gretchen
“Hi Ed! I still listen to your PP I II & III. It helps me to be a much better orator and to be comfortable enough to talk in front of many people. I still carry your book around to
read when I need to. It does help!”
Pama
“Ed, I've just experienced the best investment in my personal development to date. Thank you for staying focused and sharing yourself in the special way you did. I found your presentation liberating beyond my greatest expectations.
PS. This brother will never roll out without his business card again! Lesson learnt from one of the best in his field and an anecdote for my family tree. Give thanks my brother. Keeping doing what you do."Malik Muhammad
London UK
"I thought Ed Blunt's workshop was fantastic. His use of questions and prompts to immediately connect with the audience, and create connection and resonance was very helpful and spot on. Great tool for any speaker, and once again, reconfirmed what I know, the more vulnerable you are as a speaker, the more you give permission for your audience to share their humanity. And that's where the healing happens. Brava!"
“Ed was very generous with his energy, with his time, with himself!”
Architect Workshop Participant
“Ed’s course is transformative as he guides you to uncover your belief system as he leads
you to patterns of success.”Bridgette Maston
“Ed is one of the most captivating and truly honest speakers that I have ever heard. After
listening to Ed for one hour on a Saturday morning, I had one of the most productive days of my life.”
Justin Finkelstein
CPA & Professional Networker
“I'd like to extend my heartfelt thanks for your sessions at the spring Toastmasters conference in May 2008. I was deeply moved by your presentation on Presentation Communication Success. One statement in particular really resonated with me: "you are only as good as the chances you take". That statement alone was worth the cost of the conference, I felt not only a shift in my thinking, but understood clearly that I must harvest my gifts or let them die on the vine.”
Jacqeuline Keggins Shaulis
“You are an amazing speaker and quite a noble and passionate gentleman. Thank you for sharing your heart and soul with our Sales Team. I look forward to hearing you speak again.”
Carolyn Bethea
Novo Nordisk, South Atlantic
“I heard you speak and I couldn’t sleep that night!”
Amin Lelieveld
Entrepreneur, Holland
“I am truly grateful for your many encouraging words. Much of what you said touched my heart and gave me the inspiration to continue aspiring for great things. I now know how important it is to start dreaming.”
Amber Robins
Xavier University
“Thank you for your encouraging words of wisdom and for motivating me not to give up! I have never felt so revived and invigorated to begin with confidence.”
Karina Ledezma
University of Southern California
“I got the Positive Power CD. I must admit that I couldn’t place a value on the message. I’ve heard them all, but after listening to Positive Power I & II… it’s PRICELESS! No price can be put on the success that these practical points provide.”
Michael Bates
“I want to thank you for changing my life. I don’t fly with pigeons anymore!”
Elizabeth Giron
Columbia Medical School of Physicians & Dentists
“I’ve listened to your Positive Power CD almost every day. I didn’t realize how much of an effect it would have on my life. I now find myself going through different experiences, whether positive or negative, seeking to focus on the solutions rather than staying in the problem.”
Walter Fauntleroy
Actor Stephen King’s ‘The Stand’
“Ed Blunt’s life, dreams and work are always characterized by integrity, commitment, and excellence. He has an undying fire of authentic inspiration to be at his best in all endeavors while motivating others to do the same.”
Rev. Dr. Otis Moss Jr.
Pastor, Scholar & Civil Rights Pioneer
“Your Artistry has reshaped me in a way that cannot be undone. You have pushed the ‘insecure’ me out of her comfort zone and around a corner that the ‘effervescent’ me has been wanting to turn for a very long time.”
Leonette P. Joseph
Architect Participant
“Ed is a master storyteller. He is a rare breed of heart, soul and integrity determined in his mission to better the planet. I have no doubt that he will far surpass me in this industry.”
Les Brown
THE MOTIVATOR
Ed Blunt recently spoke to Cleveland State University theater students. This encounter with Ed and his wise perspectives on life has made a significant positive impact on the students.
CSU's metropolitan campus attracts a wide variety of students from many backgrounds. Our diversity is one of our greatest strengths but also presents a wide variety of difficulties. Students deal with issues of attitude, appreciation, self confidence and self worth. As they begin their studies in theater, a field full of rejection and disappointment, we understand the importance of giving them tools to deal with stumbling blocks along the way. Sometimes it takes a fresh voice from an outside force to make a difference. Ed Blunt has been part of that difference.
Through sharing his own experiences Ed Blunt was able to give our students a fresh perspective on set-backs as a means of learning, revealing unseen possibilities in life. he illuminated the importance of solidity, celebration, and clarity of goals. He made us laugh at ourselves, at the ridiculous obstacles we put in our way. he revealed the humor and seriousness of the shared human condition and our journey toward meaning and significance in our lives.
The energy and excitement following his presentation was palpable. He was generous enough to speak to a long line of students personally, addressing their individual needs and questions. The weeks since have shown a significant improvement in their level of enthusiasm, outlook, and self-motivation. We've been so encouraged that we purchased Ed's CD's for a listening station where students can get a "tune up". We are looking forward to his return and what it might mean to our future potential.Holly Holsinger & Michael Mauldin
Cleveland State University, College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences
The seminar on Saturday, March 1, 2008 was fantastic! I appreciated getting to know you better as you shared your story and things that were meaningful for you in your life. It was especially moving for me that I was able to understand some of the failings and hardships that you experienced; those things helped me realize that we all struggle, yet we all can achieve far more than we realize.
The sections of training that resonated with me were about our own personal identities and our inner monologue. Overall, there were many things that were talked about that I had previously learned, and you helped me make those distinctions become even more powerful for me. It was especially good to talk about the four steps to the action plan: 1) Integrity, 2) Commitment, 3) Agreement, and 4) Alignment. In fact, I wish we could have had more time to dive deeper into the Action Plan implementation. I wanted to know more about the words to use for an Action Plan, and specific examples of how it has benefited someone who has used it.
I observed that the other participants felt that the information shared and the growth they experienced to be of great value. It's all about action! Since the event, I and another participant are one another's accountability partners in the area of personal fitness. It works! We are both becoming healthier through morning exercise, and I'm not wasting my mornings hitting the snooze button up to five or six times each morning.
I especially appreciate the personal attention you have given me and the willingness you have to be a mentor to me as I keep learning, growing, and doing. I never expected you to follow up with me or the others involved in the event; that has been a wonderful value-added service you have continued to provide.Matt Willard
Keller Williams Results Realty
It is with great pleasure that I write this letter in support of Ed Blunt. I have know Ed since 7th grade but only recently got back in touch with him when planning a conference at Connecticut College where I have served as a visiting faculty member from 2007-2008. I served on the steering committee to plan, "The Right to Security of Person: Human Rights vs Acquaintance Rape at Connecticut College." This was a conference sponsored by the department of Gender and Women's Studies and the Office of Student Life and it took place from March 26-28, 2008. I believed that it would be important for those in attendance to hear from a man speaking as an ally against violence against women.
The conference encouraged us to ask tough questions of ourselves, of each other, and of our community. We were faced with the challenge of creating at Connecticut College what communities all across the nation have been struggling to do as well which is to create a meaningful, sustained, and creative coordinated community response to deal with the problem of violence, specifically the structured gender inequality that exists in violence targeted at women. In his highly motivational talk, Ed addressed the complex nexus of issues such as intimacy, sexuality, dating, gender, social justice and personal and social change. I know that he raised the bar for male and female students alike; male students found in Ed someone worthy to emulate and female students were left with the message from a man to never, ever settle. When Ed told the group, "Never make someone a priority who makes you an option," his words had strong resonance with the students. I spoke with many students after he left campus and it was a comment like this that pushed their thinking and struck a cord in them.
Ed carries himself in a way that radiates grace and beauty. He possesses verve and intensity while gently and quietly but still very powerfully inspiring people with a sense of dreams being possible. College students today need--and gravitate to--this message more than ever as they are faced with navigating complex and painful realities and injustices in our world. I had the good fortune to watch Ed interact with students, staff, faculty, and administrators in multiple meetings, classes and programs throughout his two day visit; the content of his message changed given the context but the form and process of his delivery was consistent. In each session in which I observed him, he was exceptional and creative, weaving together artful storytelling, life experiences, honest self-reflection, pithy quotations, and social critique into a tapestry that felt at once colorful, textured, nuanced, and constructed in way that appeared virtually seamless and effortless.
Ed is a superior and articulate communicator: captivating, tactful, facilitative, warm, animated, and absolutely hilarious. Conversations with him are always insightful, evocative, down-to-earth, and lively, and I, and hundreds of others, came away from time spent with him more energized and interested in unpacking and exploring in greater depth whatever we were discussing.
It is truly amazing and awe-inspiring how Ed, as one person, connects with so many hundreds of people in a way that makes this experience of connection so universal for so many of us yet so simultaneously authentic, rich, and real for each of us as it is happening. Being with Ed has a pace and rhythm all its own; he is quick-witted and fun, and his perspective on everything under the sun is intriguing. Full of integrity, liveliness, verve, and a brilliance that is without parallel, I recommend Ed Blunt fully and wholeheartedly for consulting with your organization.Deborah J. Cohan, Ph.D
Asst Professor, Connecticut College & Regis College
It is with tremendous gratitude that I commend Ed Blunt for the exemplary work he has done with the Baraka Youth Empowerment Fund in Baltimore, Maryland.
I oversee the administration of the Master of Public Health Program at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. I met Ed Blunt through his involvement with an organization that my students initiated, the Baraka Youth Empowerment Fund (BYEF)--an organization dedicated to empowering Baltimore boys, in response to the documentary "The Boys of Baraka,"
For the adolescent African-American boys in urban Baltimore with whom our organization works, negative social and community pressure3s often overwhelm life-decisions, resulting in unfulfilled academic potential, frustrated families and depraved communities. We invited Ed to speak with our young men about the tools needed to fulfill their academic, social and leadership potential.
Ed's stunning, interactive workshop, "Architects of the Future," inspired and moved our youth and staff alike. The turn-out alone was an incredible testament to the compelling power of Ed's message--on the day of Ed's workshop, young African-American boys from Baltimore City arrived early and throughout the day, streamed in with groups of 5, 10 and 15. Still, the simple fact that our youth--many of whom have dropped out of formal school, listened and indeed, remained captivated, engaged and compelled for a four-hour period, demonstrated Ed's powerful ability to lead and instruct with empathy, passion and vision.
Ed's acting experience with industry greats such as Denzel Washington and Ralph Feinnes, as well as his academic accomplishments at Morehouse College, Oxford University in England, and the Yale School of Drama are impressive. I was surprised that a successful actor and accomplished intellectual could connect with such ease with urban youth--young people who are surviving in the real trenches of American society. Few can enter a new urban community and command the attention, trust and respect of youth and adults in a few hours in the way that Ed did naturally and gracefully.
Impassioned and inspirational, Ed is honest and sincere. Above all else, he is fiercely devoted to soul-stirring, live-saving truth. He communicated this devotion in both action and word to a group of young men who can be extremely hard to reach, even for the most skilled instructor.
I am deeply appreciative of Ed's decision to share his wisdom, his life and his time with a group that so often goes ignored. In so doing, Ed met our young men at an important crossroads--a tenuous and critical space between childhood and adulthood. For our boys, Ed was more than a presenter; he was the embodiment of hope--a living example of what they can become. Ed's lessons, delivered with creativity, sincerity, compassion and honesty, will ring true in their ears and lives for years to come.
Follow Ed!