NSB Logo Carl Dixon Carl Dixon

Carl Dixon

Speaker

Haliburton, Ontario, Canada

Former Frontman of The Guess Who & Catastrophic Car Accident Survivor

Carl Dixon shares stories, from his rock star journey across three decades to the tale of his body-mangling MVA, with song performances and brief video clips to illuminate the key points. He takes the audience on an emotional journey with humour, insight and poignancy that will make the listeners think differently about how to meet adversity and undertake reinvention.

Keynote Speeches

Resilience

“Adversity doesn’t build character, it reveals character”.

Setbacks are no fun and we usually don’t expect them. Our best-laid plans can collapse and Now What? 

Resilience. Bouncing back. Getting up off the mat when it looks like you’re down for the count.

Resilience begins within, and it starts with love; loving yourself enough to find the will to make an effort; feeling you are worth the effort. Reconnect with the things that give your life meaning.

Here’s where you find the motivation to be strong in the face of adversity.

Teamwork

Any team begins with an idea. Somebody has an idea they want to achieve.

What IS the team? What is it for? What does it want to do?

What’s the goal ?

Do you feel like part of a team? You’re in one whether you know it or not, albeit an undeclared one, just by virtue of being a member of society.

Teams have membership requirements.

Succeeding within a team takes more than joining a great team; you also need to be a great team member.

What are you bringing to the team?

Teamwork = partnership

S.T.A.R.T. or S>T>A>R>T>

S.T.A.R.T. came to me after the tempest of my biggest test had calmed, but it describes the course I followed before I had a name for it. Knocked down? Need a plan for getting back up off the floor? The 5 steps of Stop, Think, Accept, Renew, & Thank apply to any setback or abrupt change. I describe how each step is important and must follow in sequence to help us begin again.

Motivation

Motivation is an “inside job”. It comes from our thoughts and our values. Whatever we currently value most highly will be our primary motivator.

People are social creatures. A primary motivator that we draw on in life is our place in the group, be it family, workplace, community, society or some sub-group of these.

Carl shows how motivation can be drawn from our cherished connections and brought to bear on the tasks at hand. We can change indifference to urgency through finding our meaningful reason to try.

As Carl shares, a compelling motivator is not letting others down, even when the question is as basic as one’s own existence. 

Perseverance

Perseverance is like the long-haul trucker compared to the short-haul city driver that is Resilience. If Resilience is required in bursts, Perseverance is applied constantly and vigilantly. Perseverance is the Sustained Effort, the habit of applying effort in the areas that will move you forward.

How do you create and sustain Perseverance? Get a Powerful Goal that keeps the engine humming no matter what this world throws at you.

Add a powerful thought like “No Fear, No Weakness” to keep you on track and Perseverance is unstoppable.

Platform Plus Presentations

Unique formats and ways to connect with audiences.
Entertainer
Carl also offers an interactive presentation format, infused with interstitial musical performances.

Audience reviews:

  • You may have achieved, in just a few speeches, what we would be proud to achieve in months, or years. So, thank you, for helping to keep my people safe. - CRSP Sr. Supervisor, Safety & Security, Nutrien Canada
  • Carl also showed how a few seconds of not focusing on the right can lead to a life-changing experience. I highly recommend him. - President and CEO, Veridian Corporation
  • Carl did a wonderful job of sharing his message and opening our employees minds to a new way of thinking. - Health & Safety Manager, Trans-Canada Pipeline
  • One of the hardest things we do as safety professionals is try to deliver a message that sticks. For us the hallmark of achievement is when we hear that people have adopted the information we have given them at home. Even better, shared it with their families. This tells us that they have started to develop a safety culture of their very own, one that could likely last generations. Achieving this is understandably quite rare. Carl, after your run of shows here I received feedback from DOZENS of people that they went home and shared your message , story and learnings with their families. - CRSP Sr. Supervisor, Safety & Security, Nutrien Canada
  • I’ve heard employees having some fantastic conversations since the presentation; which shows it was impactful. - Health & Safety Manager, Trans-Canada Pipeline
  • Carl’s phrase “emotionally impaired” to drive is brilliant, and should be shared far and wide – very relatable, applicable, and timely.
    - Trans-Canada Pipeline
  • Carl almost instinctively tailored his message to enhance our key message that zero injuries are achievable. He also showed how a few seconds of not focusing on the right thing can result in a life changing experience. His presentation style is engaging and the emotion of his very personal incident captivated the audience which gave him two standing ovations. If your company needs a powerful message mixed in with world-class music for entertainment, then I believe that Carl Dixon may be your best choice – I highly recommend him.

    - President and CEO, Veridian Corporation
  • Carl is a passionate speaker that inspired and entertained the audience in his presentations. His presentation will capture the audience’s attention from many different perspectives as he talks from the perspective of a professional musician, a person and a patient. I would most definitely recommend him as a speaker for any organization interested in having an excellent presentation that is entertaining and thought provoking.

    - Workplace Health and Safety Consultant
  • I highly recommend Carl Dixon for professional keynote speaking engagements. He goes the extra mile, and is passionate about both his music and his message.

    - President, System Improvements, Inc.
  • He captivated the audience with the story of how his life changed in the blink of an eye, and the road to recovery afterwards. His positive outlook on life is truly inspiring. Both entertaining and engaging, I would highly recommend Carl for keynote speaking engagements. I hope that many others are able to hear his remarkable story.

    - Communications and Events Coordinator, Saskatchewan Safety Council
  • Carl’s compelling and profound story is engaging, enlightening, and moving. He is well-spoken, intelligent and so very enjoyable to listen to. Carl already knows how to connect with an audience, and his professional grace on-stage is obvious. Carl’s story is one that I believe everyone must hear.

    - President, Northern Lights Canada
  • It was fantastic! We received so many feedback survey’s... but initial feedback was extremely positive. He sold out of the books he brought as well. - Manager, Event Planning and Program Development, ORCGA

Speaker Biography

Carl Dixon remains one of Canada’s stellar singers and musicians. A recording artist since the 1980’s he fronted and played with some of Canada’s most iconic bands including ‘The Guess Who’, ‘Coney Hatch’ and ‘April Wine’.

Carl was critically injured in a car accident in Australia. His world was blindsided in the span of two seconds in 2008. Torn apart and trapped in the car wreck, with 52 injuries, his chances of survival were rated nil by his rescuers. Somehow he lived but he didn’t just survive – he now thrives.

“A crisis like the one I experienced offers endless opportunities for learning and growth, if you keep your spirit strong. That’s how my S.T.A.R.T. philosophy was born; going through the worst patch and refusing to surrender, but instead digging down deep and paying attention” S.T.A.R.T. is Stop-Think-Accept-Renew-Thank.

Carl shares his insight and analysis of how he let go of the past and built a future as he got on with life. “After a major life event things are not SUPPOSED to be the same. You’re different now and must recognize what has changed and how to adapt.” He likens it to a filter – things fall away that are no longer a good fit. How do you choose what to let go and what to take with you?

The resources for survival and “thrival” are within us and around us. Carl Dixon’s now on a mission to share his lessons learned, of resilience and of rising above, acquired in the face of seeming no-hope. He conitinues to give many musical performances each year.

Carl lives in the woodland wilds of Haliburton, Ontario, Canada.