Richard Saldan

Richard Saldan (born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American magician, motivational speaker, and inspirational writer. He began receiving great praise in the training industries in 1997, when he created his seminar company, Motivational Magic. Since this time, more than 4,000 magicians in the United States have pursued and developed this relatively new performance art in the world of professional magic, generally termed motivational magic.

Saldan’s website lists 60 letters of commendation citing his skills as a professional speaker, with a varied client base including large corporations, law firms, financial firms, universities, professional associations, inner city schools and government agencies. Saldan’s posted commendations include receiving praise from employees of the two largest seminar organizations in the world today, Dale Carnegie and Anthony Robbins.

Early in his career, Saldan traveled the USA to study professional stage magic with celebrity experts in the field, such as Johnny Thompson, Rocco Silano, Jeff McBride, Mio Rodriguez, Martin Lewis, Haruo Shimada, Marc DeSouza, and Todd Robbins.

In 1990, Saldan became homeless and penniless for several months. He also became afflicted with systemic lupus erythematosus. Saldan’s biography states that these harsh and unbearable experiences sparked a "determined sense of purpose, being to research, uncover and develop the world’s most powerful tools and methods for motivating and inspiring others." He adopted the moniker, “The Magician on a Mission to Motivate.” In less than eight years, by 1998, Saldan said that he had “transformed from being homeless to earning an annual income exceeding one hundred thousand dollars.” Saldan has become a public advocate to spread awareness of homelessness and systemic lupus erythematosus.

In 1992, Saldan launched the "Panorama Toastmasters Club" for public speaking training while President of the "1500 Locust Residents Association". In 1998, Saldan was retained by Lord Abbett, an international financial firm, to create the firm's first Technology Education Department. He created more than 60 technology courses to teach advanced skills in computer technology in the financial industry. Saldan created the Lord Abbett Public Speaking Club, their most successful voluntary training program in the 70-year history of the firm. In 2001, Saldan graduated from the Dale Carnegie Basic Instructor Course, and the Dale Carnegie Sales Instructor Course. Saldan is a recipient of the Dale Carnegie Highest Achievement Award and served with Dale Carnegie for eight years. Saldan has been awarded 9 Public Speaking Trophies for his speeches in public speaking competitions within Toastmasters International, and also 14 additional Toastmasters First Place Ribbons for public speaking. While serving as a reservist with the U.S. Marines, Saldan was nominated by Inspector-Instructor Captain Ross Schwalm, USMC, for the Gold Congressional Award for 1200 hours of community advocation among senior citizens, runaway teens, prisoners, and homeless people.