Speaker Bio
Mark Black is a Heart and Double-Lung Transplant Recipient – turned – 4- Time Marathon Runner. A resilience expert, coach, and author, Mark helps people “Thrive in Challenging Times.” His programs provide the tools to transform your adversity into your advantage.
Mark doesn’t just teach resilience, he embodies it. Born with a life-threatening heart defect, Mark underwent two open-heart surgeries before the age of one. He battled his condition and its limitations for twenty-two years until he was forced to deal with the biggest obstacle of his young life. His doctor informed him that his heart was failing, and without a rare and dangerous heart and double lung transplant, he would not see his 25th birthday.
In 2002, Mark was fortunate that a suitable donor was found. He not only survived the surgery, but less than 3 years later, Mark became the only man in history to run a marathon with someone else’s heart and lungs.
Mark is now a Certified Speaking Professional, a designation held by less than 1000 speakers in the world. He has inspired more than 150,000 people in more than 450 presentations, and has worked with global brands including Exxon Mobil and Mercedes Benz, as well as many national and regional associations.
Mark lives in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada where he spends as much time as possible with the most important people in his life; his wife Marise and their three children.
Speaker Topics
How do you cope with the unprecedented challenges we face? By mastering adaptability. This program offers a roadmap to stay strong, evolve your mindset, and lead with impact. In a rapidly changing world, those who serve others are stretched thin. Leaders face burnout and emotional strain. They don’t need motivation, they need tools to adapt, grow, and stay anchored in purpose.
In The Adaptability Advantage™, Mark equips your team with tools to reframe challenges, shift perspective, and reignite professional zeal. He reveals how to harness The Adaptability Advantage, a mindset and method for rising through challenge, staying steady under pressure, and leading through change. Drawing from his journey, running marathons with someone else’s heart and lungs, Mark doesn’t just talk about grit; he lives it.
Key Learning Outcomes:
- Discover the traits that define highly adaptable people, and how to build them
- Learn how to respond to change with less stress and more purpose
- Get practical strategies to build mental and emotional stamina
- Leave with renewed energy to lead, serve, and thrive, even in hard seasons
If your organization is struggling to cope with the fast page of change, the Resilience Roadmap is the program you need. In this presentation Mark provides the strategic framework your organization needs to develop Radical Resilience in your people.
This program will help you:
– Decrease employee absenteeism
– Eliminate excuses and whining
– Increase productivity
– Improve morale
– Enhance company culture
The Resilience Roadmap provides your company with the strategic framework your organization needs to help your employees develop Radical Resilience.
Are you ready to propel your organization to unprecedented success? In a world of relentless change and high stakes, the key lies in a compelling vision and unwavering team commitment. Level Up™ is more than a program, it’s a catalyst for transformation and journey into the heart of what makes teams excel.
After surviving a life-threatening illness, undergoing a heart and double-lung transplant, and completing four marathons, Mark’s journey is an extraordinary story of resilience. In Level Up™, he doesn’t just share his story, he connects it to your organization, igniting a clear and powerful vision for the future. Elevate your results through the transformative power of vision and resilience of Level Up™.
Key Learning Outcomes:
- Discover what’s holding your team back from greater achievement
- How to cultivate REAL motivation that lasts
- Help your people understand and leverage internal drivers for better performance
- Stretch your team’s vision of possibilities and create an action plan for meaningful results
Transform your team’s mindset and reignite their passion with Live Life from the Heart™, a pivotal program designed to elevate resilience and restore joy amid professional challenges. In today’s high-pressure environment, it’s easy to lose sight of purpose. An ideal opener or closing session, Live Life from the Heart™ is more than a talk, it’s a transformative experience.
This program helps your team reconnect with what matters most — unlocking potential, energizing their day, and renewing pride in their work. Mark shares his profound personal journey, guiding your audience through the art of acceptance, offering insights and practical tools to navigate the uncontrollable, reframe challenges, perspectives, and focus energy where it truly counts. Expect a powerful shift leaving them empowered.
Key Learning Outcomes:
- Master the art of acceptance, focusing on what’s within their control.
- Heighten presence in a distracting world
- Rediscover the deep pride and passion in their work.
- Emerge as the best versions of themselves, motivated and inspired
Testimonials
You often hear of people who have stories to tell and can deliver a message however I must say Mark had the package. Mark’s message is profound and I’d recommend every organization to have Mark in to speak to their people.
When Mark came on stage, he immediately connected with the audience. Mark Black is THE keynote speaker you need for your next event.
Mark provided exactly what we wanted our people to hear. Since he spoke to us, I have heard from our management team about how powerful Mark’s content was for their people.
We really enjoyed Marks presentation and his approach- -so much so that we bought books on the spot for everyone after hearing him speak! He had a lot of emotion telling his stories. Big takeaways for me: think on the positive; use the experience of hardships in your life to better yourself and when setting a goal—focus on steps—not the obstacles. We are really pleased with the service LimeLight offers as well. I expect to be in touch next year to book a speaker for our next annual meeting.
I was extremely pleased with Mark’s talk at out event; it was excellent!!
The fact that Mark was 100% authentic and real instead of sharing a bunch of clichés everyone has heard before, made his a presentation I won’t soon forget.
Sometimes “motivational speakers” do little more than entertain. Mark entertained, but he also provide tangible strategies and concepts that people could APPLY immediately which is even more valuable.
Of all of the speakers our company has ever hired, Mark Black has been the one who had the biggest impact on our staff.
The thing that made Mark’s presentation particularly valuable to our members was that he had clearly done his homework on us. Mark was able to make relevant connections between his story and our professional and personal lives.
I’ve been with the company since the beginning thirty years ago. We have had many speakers… Mark was among the best.
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