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Norwich University continues its 2018 Todd Lecture Series with “The Psychology of Illusion, the Power of Perspective,” a presentation by entrepreneur, magician and motivational speaker Vinh Giang on Tuesday, June 19, 2018, at 7 p.m. in Plumley Armory.

This lecture is free and open to the public and will be streamed live at tls.norwich.edu.

The College of Graduate and Continuing Studies welcomes Giang to campus as the 2018 Residency Conference keynote and Todd Lecture Series speaker. As a magician, Giang is both a “surprising and provocative speaker,” in keeping with the Todd Lecture Series’ mission. His experience and message supports Norwich University’s goal to be a learning community that is “global in perspective, engaged in personal and intellectual transformation and dedicated to knowledge, mutual respect, creativity and service.”

Giang’s drive as an entrepreneur and his methods for constant self-improvement reinforce the week-long Residency conference theme of “Build on the Past. Lead into the Future.” His presentation will cover a wide range of topics including: influence, perspective, goal-setting, and creative thinking. Giang will use magic to illustrate how these topics have affected his life and business practices. His personal experiences align with Norwich’s focus on experiential learning and its values of teamwork, leadership, critical thinking, perseverance in the face of adversity and personal responsibility.

With only six months to graduate, Giang left his degree in commerce and law to become an online magic teacher ultimately building a hugely successful online business, 52kards, which now serves over 800,000 students all around the world. This earned him the award of Top Young Entrepreneur in Australia.

Giang’s real magic journey began when he finally understood what Robert Houdin (a magician) meant when he said: “A magician is an actor playing the part of the magician.” Once Vinh understood the meaning behind this quote, he focused all his energy on studying the art of performance and not the art of presentation. As such, he has spent the last 15 years mastering the art of performance-enhanced communication, helping thousands of professionals worldwide to learn these skills.

Giang is also the CEO of Luminary Productions, which produces exceptional video for individuals and companies all around the globe.

According to Giang: “I believe that magicians are salespeople; they sell one of the most difficult products in the world. They sell magic – they sell the illusion. The way they’re able to sell magic is by working ridiculously hard. It takes thousands and thousands of hours to be able to sell the illusion, to be able to really sell the magic. Imagine if you applied the same mindset to your company – imagine if you applied the same dedication to your business – think about what you could achieve.”

Norwich University’s Todd Lecture Series is named in honor of retired U.S. Army Major General Russell Todd and his late wife, Carol, in gratitude for their dedicated service to the university. General Todd, a 1950 graduate of the university, also serves as president emeritus. With this series, Norwich brings national thought leaders from business, politics, the arts, science, the military and other fields and endeavors to its Northfield campus. Lectures are streamed live at tls.norwich.edu.

For more information, please visit the Todd Lecture Series website tls.norwich.edu or call (802) 485-2633.