When you’re not mentally fit, you feel mental stress — anxiety, frustration, or unhappiness — as you handle work and relationship challenges. The bad news is that 80% of people score below the minimum level of mental fitness required for peak performance and happiness. The great news? With recent breakthroughs in neuroscience and technology, you can now improve your mental fitness significantly within 6 weeks of practice.
During this session, you’ll get a sneak peek at what’s standing in your own way of peak performance and happiness and how to begin to move forward.
During this workshop you will gain insight on:
• The 10 most common ways we self-sabotage and which way is yours.
• The neuroscience of happiness & peak performance and 10-second techniques to activate your “right” mind.
• How you generate your own stress, and how you can generate peace of mind instead (even in the midst of great challenges).
• The “Three Gifts Technique” and how to use it to convert failures and setbacks into gifts and opportunities.
• The mental muscle that gives top performers their edge, and how you can grow it with a few minutes of daily practice.

This session is based on the Positive Intelligence work of Shirzad Chamine, a New York Times Best-selling author, Stanford lecturer, and coach to hundreds of CEOs and executive teams.
YOUR ACTION ITEM prior to the session: Take the free 5-minute Saboteur Assessment (results will not be shared) Previous participants have enjoyed discovering which Saboteurs present the greatest internal obstacles to their optimal achievement and well-being. And they are thrilled to learn simple science-based tools to remove these obstacles.

In 2010, the Sunday Times published a picture of Liezel van der Westhuizen and her sister, dubbing them the “Giraffe Sisters” due to their towering height. What could have been taken as an insult became the foundation for Liezel’s thriving personal brand and business, the Giraffe Brand Academy. Instead of shrinking from criticism, she embraced her unique attributes and built a personal branding empire that helps leaders stand tall and rise above the competition—just like the giraffe.

In her keynote, Personal Brand: Your Strategic Asset, Liezel shares how building a strong personal brand is essential not only for individuals but for organizations that want to thrive. By encouraging employees to build their personal brands, companies can unlock numerous benefits, from increased loyalty to greater marketplace visibility. Liezel will demonstrate how personal branding empowers both individuals and organizations to stand out in their industry.

This engaging keynote is ideal for personal development and leadership conferences, as well as corporate teams, focusing on how to leverage personal branding for career progression, organizational success, and greater exposure. Attendees will leave empowered with actionable techniques to take control of their careers while boosting their organization’s reputation in the marketplace.

Key Takeaways for Organizations:

1. Boost Employee Engagement and Retention: Employees who are encouraged to develop their personal brand are more likely to stay with the company. A top employee values ongoing mentoring and support for their personal branding initiatives—without this, they may seek opportunities elsewhere.
2. Attract and Retain Top Talent: Employees are more likely to choose and remain loyal to organizations that foster personal growth and development as part of their culture. By integrating personal branding into your marketing game plan, you enhance employee satisfaction and retention.
3. Positive Marketplace Attention: Strong personal brands within your organization boost your company’s reputation in the marketplace. This positive attention can lead to new customer acquisition and deepen loyalty from existing clients.
4. Increased Productivity and Commitment: Employees who are encouraged to fulfill their own goals and aspirations are generally happier, more productive, and committed to the organization. A personal branding strategy can create a more motivated and engaged workforce.
5. Long-term Talent Relationships: Even if top employees decide to move on, your open-minded approach to personal branding means they are more likely to return to consult for your organization in the future. This reduces the need to frequently rehire and ensures that talent remains connected to your brand.
6. Strengthening the Organization’s Reputation: Building strong personal brands among your employees brings lasting benefits, including reduced turnover and a loyal client base. Customers will seek out your organization, and existing clients will stay loyal because they trust the personal and professional credibility of your team.

Benefits of this Approach:

• Increases positive attention for the organization.
• Reduces the need to rehire every 24 to 28 months.
• Attracts new customers while ensuring loyalty from existing clients.

Target Audience: Corporate Teams, Graduates, Managers, Leaders, Talents.

Style: Content-rich, upbeat, interactive, and fun, with a serious message about personal and business growth.

Length: 30 – 60 minutes
•• This keynote can be customized to suit your individual/corporate needs ••

Transform your workplace with a unique approach to wellness and team cohesion through Laughter Yoga. Renowned wellness coach Liezel van der Westhuizen brings a wealth of experience and passion for personal development, stress management, and team building to every session. Laughter Yoga is more than just an activity; it’s a powerful tool that has proven benefits for both individuals and organizations.

Why Laughter Yoga?
In today’s demanding corporate environment, stress management and team synergy are more critical than ever. Companies worldwide are integrating Laughter Yoga into their wellness programs to unlock a happier, healthier, and more productive workforce. With Liezel’s expert guidance, your team can enjoy:

• Improved Employee Wellness: Boost mental well-being and enhance resilience.
• Reduced Absenteeism: Lower stress-related absences and burnout.
• Enhanced Team Dynamics: Improve communication, collaboration, and overall morale.
• Increased Motivation and Engagement: Cultivate creativity and a positive work environment.
• Cost-Effective Wellness Solution: Laughter Yoga is accessible, time-efficient, and impactful.

Workshop Features
Liezel’s Laughter Yoga workshops are designed for inclusivity, requiring no prior experience with yoga or comedy. The sessions combine laughter exercises and simple breathing techniques, fostering a sense of connection and well-being across your team. Participants will experience immediate benefits, including:

• Elevated energy and focus
• Reduced stress and tension
• Enhanced mood and positivity
• Greater team cohesion and empathy

Why Choose Liezel?

As a well-known television and radio presenter with a strong background in fitness, wellness, and corporate coaching, Liezel van der Westhuizen also brings expertise as a certified mental fitness coach. Her unique blend of skills and experience enables her to deliver a holistic, motivating, and engaging experience to your workplace. Liezel’s approach ensures that laughter becomes a powerful catalyst for both personal and professional growth, empowering employees to thrive in today’s fast-paced corporate world.

Book a Workshop Today

Invest in your team’s wellness and success with a Laughter Yoga workshop led by Liezel van der Westhuizen. Embrace the opportunity to enhance your workplace environment with a fun, innovative, and proven method for stress relief and team building.
Contact us today to schedule a workshop and start creating a happier, healthier workplace!

Length: 60 – 120 minutes

•• This keynote can be customized to suit your individual/corporate needs ••

This keynote is aimed at business leaders (corporate or entrepreneurial) – as it addresses how they can make their personal brands as relevant in the future, as they are now.

Notably, Liezel will go into how far ahead the recruitment industry is, when it comes to the use of artificial intelligence (AI); and how important it is to ensure you have all the relevant profiles in place (a website, LinkedIn profile, Facebook Business Page) – and that they are well aligned with each other.

Target audience: Graduates, Managers, Leaders, Talents, Senior Executives, Business Leaders, Entrepreneurs.

In this talk, Liezel will cover the following six (6) points.

• How AI is already used in recruitment.
• Which profiles you should ideally have in place.
• How to keep these up to date.
• An explanation of telepathic marketing and other hot topics in AI.
• How important it is to stand out from the “crowd”.
• The danger of shying away from online promotion of your personal brand in these highly competitive times; the opportunities you stand to lose out on.

Style: Content-rich, thought-provoking, allowing for some interaction with an impactful business message about the power of personal branding in cyberspace.

Length: 30 – 60 minutes

•• This keynote can be customized to suit your individual/corporate needs ••

Unstoppable Resilience: Liezel van der Westhuizen’s Story of Grit and Corporate Success

Keynote: 45 – 60 minute session

“You’re just a blonde TV presenter; stick to your day job.”

That’s what Liezel van der Westhuizen was told when she set her sights on conquering the Ironman Triathlon—a grueling event that combines a 3.8km sea swim, a 180km cycle, and a 42.2km marathon, all within 17 hours. Rather than letting doubt and criticism stand in her way, Liezel harnessed it to fuel her determination. She crossed that finish line and silenced the skeptics.

Her journey didn’t end there. As she geared up for the Dusi Canoe Marathon, which spans approximately 120 kilometers (about 75 miles) along the Dusi River from Pietermaritzburg to Durban, she faced another obstacle the following year. “Haven’t you learned your lesson?” they questioned her. Her reply was straightforward: “I’m just learning, but I’m not stopping.” This attitude propelled her through remarkable achievements, such as guiding a blind athlete across the Himalayas at 16,500 feet on a tandem bicycle during an inclusive biking expedition from Manali in India to Khardungla, the world’s highest motorable road. The journey from Manali at 6,500 feet to Khardungla at 18,350 feet showcased the strength of human connection and courage. Additionally, she bravely tackled the chilly 11°C waters of the Robben Island Freedom Swim, an extreme 7.5-kilometer (4.7-mile) open water race from Robben Island to Big Bay, Bloubergstrand in Cape Town, South Africa.

Liezel’s message is more than just about athletic endurance. In this keynote, she shares how the same resilience, focus, and mental toughness she built in extreme sports translate directly into the workplace. Her experiences serve as powerful lessons for teams and leaders in how to develop grit, adaptability, and a winning mindset.

Why should this keynote matter for your corporate environment?

• Building Resilience: Liezel demonstrates how to embrace obstacles as opportunities for growth, teaching teams how to bounce back from setbacks with renewed energy and focus.
• Fostering a Growth Mindset: Whether learning to canoe or tackling a new business challenge, Liezel’s story shows how persistence and adaptability lead to success. She inspires employees to break free from self-imposed limits and push beyond their comfort zones.
• Strengthening Leadership: Liezel emphasizes the importance of mental fitness in leadership, showing executives how to build endurance to lead effectively in high-pressure environments.
• Enhancing Teamwork: Her unique experience of guiding a blind athlete across the Himalayas offers powerful insights into trust, collaboration, and achieving a common goal under challenging conditions.

This keynote isn’t just a motivational story—it’s a toolkit for navigating today’s fast-paced, ever-changing corporate world. Liezel equips your team with strategies to enhance mental toughness, foster innovation, and drive performance, making it a must-have experience for organizations looking to inspire and empower their workforce.

Duration: 45 minutes

Overview:

This dynamic 45-minute keynote introduces mental fitness as the foundation for peak performance, emotional agility, and sustainable leadership. Combining neuroscience, the Positive Intelligence (PQ) framework, and endurance sports wisdom, Liezel equips professionals with science-backed tools to train their minds for clarity under pressure, faster recovery from setbacks, and resilience in high-stakes environments.

Key Takeaways:

• Why grit alone isn’t enough – and what truly drives consistent performance
• The role of internal saboteurs like The Judge, Hyper-Achiever, and Restless – and how to intercept them
• How 10-second Reset Reps shift the brain from stress to steady focus
• A live guided reset exercise to demonstrate the power of mental recalibration in real time
• A practical 3-step mental fitness plan to implement immediately
• A powerful reframe: train your mind like you train your body – daily, strategically, and with intention

Audience Experience:

Attendees will walk away with:

• A heightened awareness of what’s sabotaging their energy and clarity
• Simple tools to reset in high-stress moments
• A renewed sense of control and confidence – both at work and in life

Perfect For:

Executives, leaders, high-performance teams, sales professionals, and wellness-focused audiences who want to manage stress more effectively, unlock untapped potential, and build mental resilience as a competitive edge.