The DO Lectures

"𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗰." If you want to win at small magical events, you have to think about your margin differently. Reality: The first thing to get cut from your event is what you spend on magic. It's easy. Dumb. And why long term you will fail. Small Magical Events who understand the event is where reputation is made, not margin. They are not chasing scale, they are chasing soul.  Because the thing that doesn’t show up on a balance sheet—   the goosebumps. All great events are built on goosebumps. #events

How to give a great talk even if you're scared: Rule No.12. 𝗥𝘂𝗹𝗲 𝗡𝗼.𝟭𝟮: 𝗕𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲. Practice until you forget you're performing. There’s a phase most speakers never reach—   Not because they’re not capable.   But because they stop too soon. They stop at 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 instead of aiming for 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. Here’s the unlock:   > If you still have to 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 your talk, you're not ready.   > If you can 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 your talk, you're in the zone. This is the realm of the effortless professional.   You’ve run the reps. You’ve pressure-tested the weak spots.   You’ve scripted, scrapped, reworked, repeated. And now, you're no longer delivering a talk.   You're telling a story.   𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 story. Bruce Lee said it best:   > “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once,   > but the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” Mastery is invisible repetition.   It shows up in your calm. Your rhythm. Your breath. And the paradox?   You have to 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺 to appear completely relaxed. 𝗧𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲. - 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺: Record yourself. Watch it at 1.5x speed. Fix what sounds robotic. Rinse and repeat. - 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹: Practice under stress — cold showers, fasted state, before workouts. Mimic nerves. - 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹: “Reps = Relaxation.” Confidence comes from over-preparation, not charisma. #events

Most small events are bad businesses pretending to be good ones. Why? Because the incentive is wrong. Most small event owners are worried about making their margin. In order to make their margin, they cut what they spend on the magic. They obsess on margins. When they should be obsessed on reputation. Build reputation. Build network. Build brand equity. Then use those to build things that compound. The right question is never “How do I make money from this event?” It’s: “What will this event make possible?” You lose money on the event. You make it back a hundred different ways. That’s the model. Most just can’t stomach it. The money is elsewhere. The reputation is at the event. #events

Dear small event owners, this is important to know. The future is AI. The future is robots. This is why your small magical events, which gather human beings together, will become some of the most valuable companies in the world. Remember, a computer can outperform any human being at chess. Yet chess, played by humans is at all time high in popularity in the history of chess. You have the wind on your back. “The most valuable things in the world are scarce: Bitcoin, real friendships, and time in the same room with great people. In the age of AI, real human gatherings will become the ultimate luxury.” #events

Rethink your small event.

How to give a great talk even if you are scared: Rule No.10. 10. Routines help. They take your mind off things, especially in the hours before a talk. Develop a routine. It calms you down. It reminds you that you have done this before. It acts as a distraction for your fears and nerves. Jerry Seinfeld used to get crippling stage fright—shaky hands, racing heart, the whole thing. His trick? A pre-show routine so rigid it became second nature: Same pre-show meal. Same breathing exercise. Same pacing pattern backstage. After a while, it was like a switch flipped—his brain recognised the pattern and knew, “Oh, we’ve done this before. Time to perform.” "Amateurs rely on inspiration. The pros rely on routine." — Jack White #events

Dear Small Magical Event Owners, AI is coming. YAY. As the world gets more digital with each passing day, your event is going to become more needed. The wind is on your back. All you have to do is just learn your craft. You don't need to get bigger. Just make your event more Magical. #events

How to give a great talk: Rule No. 9 9. Be You. Winnie the Pooh said it best: "The things that make me different are the things that make me." So stop trying to be someone else. You do you better than anyone else on earth. How to apply this? Share a personal story only you can tell. Speak in your natural voice—not a ‘speaker’ voice. Embrace your quirks—they make you memorable. Let them see beyond the veneer. The audience connects with real people, not perfect ones. #events

How an art dealer can help you rethink your event?

How to Build a Small Magical Event That Becomes #1. You can be tiny and significant. A 100 person event can have huge influence. But need to think about your event differently. The Big Rethink: Stop Copying a Broken Model Most events focus on making money. That’s why they struggle. Your priority? Reputation over margin. Break even, but pour the margin into the magic. Secret #1: Be More Worried About Reputation Than Profit Events that focus on short-term profit never last. The better the experience, the better the reputation. The better the reputation, the easier everything gets. Margin goes into creating a legendary experience. Secret #2: You Don’t Need to Get Bigger More attendees = more stress, not more success. The best experiences are small and exclusive. 100 true fans are enough. They bring their friends. They market for you. Secret #3: The Money Is Elsewhere Your event is not where you make money. It’s where you earn trust. After the event, help your audience solve their biggest problems. If you help them progress, they will pay you incredibly well. That money fuels next year’s magic. More magic → More reputation → More demand. The Shift That Changes Everything Stop selling to your audience. Start helping them. The business model isn’t event revenue. It’s leveraging trust to create value. The result? Your event stops struggling and starts thriving. #events