Kevin Hurley’s
In Search of Entrepreneur Heroes Interview
Ralph Zuranski: This is Ralph
Zuranski. I’m on the phone with Kevin Hurley. Kevin is
the world’s foremost hypnotist and also is recognized as
one of the funniest of all the hypnotists in the world
today.
Ralph Zuranski: He has wowed
audience from one side of the planet to the other and
has basically been on the stage with some of the most
important people. Kevin, how are you doing today?
Kevin Hurley: Ralph, I’m doing fine.
How are you?
Ralph Zuranski: I’m doing well.
Would you be able to tell us a little bit about your
career and what you do?
Kevin Hurley: Absolutely. I’ve been
in show business and entertaining, making people happy
since I was ten years old. I started out as a magician
and a slight of hand artist and an illusionist. Then
eventually I moved over to hypnosis.
Kevin Hurley: I’ve been so fortunate
to train with some of the best hypnotists around the
world. I really believe in doing my own material so I
took what I learned and developed a 90-minute stage show
that’s taken me all over the world.
Ralph Zuranski: That’s really
amazing. One of my friends, Robert Channing, who is the
world’s foremost mind reader, I did a Heroes interview
on Robert. He was how I was able to get connected with
you.
Ralph Zuranski: I was just amazed at
just how incredible you are and how you can transform
people’s lives in such a short period of time just by
working with their mind. How do you do the hypnosis
thing?
Kevin Hurley: Well, you know,
hypnosis is based on a psychological principle called
suggestion. Basically, we’re walking around - you,
Ralph, myself, everybody listening to us is walking
around with the most powerful computer in the world
inside of them right now.
Kevin Hurley: Scientists are always
arguing that we use somewhere from 7% to 14% of our
brain. So that’s all that we’re tapping into right now.
Everybody feels they’re exercising in hypnosis. We could
use a little bit more.
Kevin Hurley: It’s called
pyramiding. Somebody goes into hypnosis by progression,
by listening to my suggestions, by trusting me and they
just go deeper and deeper. I do a combination of things.
Kevin Hurley: Obviously, I make
people all over the world happy by watching the stage
show. It’s a comedy stage show. I come out. I do some
stand up comedy. I get some people out of the audience,
15 to 20, sometimes 30, and 40 depending on the size of
the stage. I hypnotize them and I make them do
extraordinary things.
Kevin Hurley: They’re happy after
the show because I just made them the stars of the
evening. They’re going to be so popular in their
communities, the talk of the town for weeks to come. I
made the audience happy because I made them forget about
their problems for 90 minutes. All they were worried
about was what outrageous thing is going to happen next.
Kevin Hurley: I did that for a
while. Then I found something else out. People kept
asking me afterwards, “Kevin, can you help me stop
smoking? Can you help me lose weight? I am so stressed
out. I’m afraid of flying. I grind my teeth. I bite my
nails,” and so on and so on.
Kevin Hurley: I kept a notebook of
all these requests from all over North America and all
over the world. Now we’re actually developing products,
audios, CDs and entire programs of self-help to utilize
the hypnosis, to use progressive relaxation in the
comfort of your own home and accomplish these goals
while you’re completely relaxed or sleeping.
Ralph Zuranski: Well, you know,
that’s pretty amazing. I know that you’ve met a lot of
really important people and a lot of individuals that
others would consider as heroes. What is your definition
of heroism?
Kevin Hurley: My definition of
heroism is on so many levels. But, you know, I don’t
think you have to be in the Wall Street Journal or make
headlines to be a hero. A hero is somebody that claps
their hands when their feet hit the floor out of the bed
in the morning; they just want to make a difference.
Kevin Hurley: An old wise hippie
told me the definition of an intellectual is somebody
that gets up and thirsts for knowledge every day. I just
think a hero is somebody that can go out in their
community and make a difference. I don’t think it should
be measured by money and publicity. It’s about,
obviously, how many lives you can touch.
Ralph Zuranski: Did you ever create
a secret hero in your mind that helped you deal with
life’s difficulties?
Kevin Hurley: A secret hero in my
mind? You know, to be honest with you. I have an extreme
schedule. I perform over 300 stage shows a year all over
the country. So you can imagine.
Ralph Zuranski: Wow.
Kevin Hurley: I’m in busses. I’m in
cars. I’m in airplanes. I’m meeting different people,
constantly traveling. It’s stressful. It’s tough to
manage a family life with a really strong career.
Kevin Hurley: Here’s just a funny
little thing. One of my heroes is Rocky from Sylvester
Stallone movies. Any time I can’t get out of bed, I
always think of Burgess Meredith when he’s down on the
mat with Rocky. He says, “Rocky, get up you son of a
bitch because Mickey loves ya.” So there’s just a little
hero.
Ralph Zuranski: So what are the
qualities and attributes of that particular heroic
character that you think are beneficial for others to
emulate?
Kevin Hurley: Well, I think anybody
can be a leader or a hero when the going is easy. When
everybody is going with you, when there’s no turmoil,
hey, that’s easy to lead. The ultimate captain, the
ultimate hero, the ultimate leader is somebody that can
lead through diversity or when things are going wrong.
Kevin Hurley: When it gets intense,
that’s when I think about it. You’ve got to finish it to
the end. Really, what I found is anything worthwhile is
worth working at hard. Something amazing is it going to
be accomplished in a day or a week or a lot of times
even in a year.
Kevin Hurley: I really feel like
what I’m doing with the hypnosis and the entertaining
and stuff, I’ll never finish it. It’s going to be a
lifelong quest.
Ralph Zuranski: What is your
perspective on goodness, ethics and moral behavior?
Kevin Hurley: Gosh. Again, with all
the traveling and working and coming in contact with so
many people, you really have to have a keen sense.
That’s what I look for most when I do business with
somebody. Or, even have a personal relationship with
somebody. It’s of the utmost importance.
Kevin Hurley: There’s so many people
out there that I could deal with. I’m going for somebody
that I trust implicitly.
Ralph Zuranski: What principles are
you willing to sacrifice your life for?
Kevin Hurley: What principles am I
willing to sacrifice my life for? Obviously, freedom is
an important thing. I think that’s why I’m a United
States citizen. I love this country. I wouldn’t live
anywhere else at any other time. The ability to
enterprise.
Kevin Hurley: I took something that
I love; I picked something that everybody made fun of me
for. Nobody thought I could do it and become one of the
best at it. That’s my favorite thing about America.
Ralph Zuranski: What was the lowest
point in your life and how did you change your life path
to win a victory over all obstacles?
Kevin Hurley: The lowest point in my
life would probably be about six or seven years ago when
I really decided to focus on this full time. It’s an
incredible challenge to build a business or to build
anything up from the ground.
Kevin Hurley: Obviously, financial
burdens are a difficulty for many people. That would
encompass, just having the faith, just thinking of the
Rocky movies and to keep going and to keep going.
There’s going to be light at the end of the tunnel. That
would be my best advice. If you believe in something,
lock onto it and don’t let go.
Ralph Zuranski: Do you have a dream
or vision that sets the course of your life?
Kevin Hurley: Yeah, greatness,
really, just to touch as many people as I can. I’ve been
saying through this interview and I just did one for
College Power Performance Radio, it’s just touching
people individually.
Kevin Hurley: It means so much to me
when somebody comes up and says, “Thank you. Thank you
for helping my son or daughter, they were obese and you
brought them up on stage and you made them a star of the
show. They weren’t popular for two years in the school.
Now they’re the talk of the town. Thank you for helping
me lose 50 pounds. I was a slave to cigarettes for 25
years. I listened to your CD for a month. I was able to
throw them down.”
Kevin Hurley: I think the thank
you’s is what I’m going for.
Ralph Zuranski: Do you take a
positive vision and positive view of setbacks,
misfortunes and mistakes?
Kevin Hurley: Yeah. It’s funny,
especially doing what I do, hypnosis. It’s really
cutting edge. We’re still learning stuff. It’s still not
exactly mainstream. I really believe it’s going to
become that.
Kevin Hurley: I just heard this guy
Don Motten say, he put out a program that I was just
learning some techniques from. He said, “Boy. If I put
out a program on techniques that didn’t work, there
would be 500 DVDs.”
Ralph Zuranski: That’s true.
Kevin Hurley: I think it’s like the
Edison thing, creating the light bulb. Actually, I used
to get frustrated constantly at the beginning of my
career when something wouldn’t work, something wouldn’t
work. Now to tell you the truth Ralph, I get excited by
it because that just means that you’re one step closer
to the right answer.
Ralph Zuranski: Are you an optimist?
Kevin Hurley: I try to be. I’m a
realist though, too. I like to look at things always
positively, but you know, let’s face it. You’ve got to
deal with reality and sometimes things how they are. You
can’t always have what you want but you can get as close
to it as possible.
Ralph Zuranski: Do you have the
courage to pursue new ideas?
Kevin Hurley: Absolutely.
Ralph Zuranski: Why are you willing
to experience discomfort in the pursuit of your dream?
Kevin Hurley: I guess that comes
down to faith. The reason I’m a performer, the reason I
travel and make people happy and help them and hypnotize
them is because I can’t see myself doing anything else,
really. Sometimes I feel like it’s almost a calling, not
in a religious aspect but I was meant to do what I do. I
believe in that. There’s just no other option. It’s
either this or nothing.
Ralph Zuranski: How important was it
to believe in your dreams that they’d eventually become
reality?
Kevin Hurley: It’s very important.
What people have to understand is in today’s society
it’s very competitive and a lot of people will either
believe that they’re encouraging your success. Then all
of a sudden you become successful, you’re going to
experience jealousy.
Kevin Hurley: That really roots out
who your real fans and your friends and family and the
real believers in you and who is not. Again, believing
in what you’re doing is, for me, 100%. Then everything
else will just fall in place. You’ve got to be willing
to put the time into it. You’ve got to understand that
it just doesn’t happen overnight.
Ralph Zuranski: Everybody has doubts
and fears. How were you able to overcome your doubts and
fears?
Kevin Hurley: Well, you know. I
actually utilize hypnosis. I have a fear of flying. I
have to fly from 100 to 200 times a year. I’m really
tall and it’s crampy. I have sensitive ears. I use
progressive relaxation to do that which is something on
my audio CDs that I teach people how to do.
Kevin Hurley: I just use a lot of
meditation and a lot of belief. It’s a natural instinct
to be afraid of something. It seems to me that a lot of
people are afraid of things that they just don’t
understand. A lot of people are afraid of hypnosis. A
lot of people even think that hypnosis is in some sense,
mind control or demonic.
Kevin Hurley: Then after they see
the show and they see how powerful and how positive it
is, it completely changes their mind. I think it’s just
important for people to be educated on what they’re
making an opinion about.
Ralph Zuranski: Who helped to give
you the willpower to change things in your life for the
better?
Kevin Hurley: Strong faith and a
strong community for sure. I grew up in the city of
Pittsburg in a small neighborhood. I was raised Irish
Catholic in an Italian neighborhood with a really strong
sense of community and honor and discipline. I guess it
all stems from that.
Ralph Zuranski: How important is it
to forgive those who upset, offend and oppose you?
Kevin Hurley: You know that would be
a tough position for me Ralph, to sit here and pass
judgment. Every scenario is different. There have been
some people that have done things that are completely
out of line. Again, you asked the question earlier about
how important ethics and morals are for somebody I work
with - 100%.
Kevin Hurley: But as far as
forgiveness goes, I don’t hate anybody or anything. In
fact, I’ve found the anger and hatred towards anybody is
just a useless emotion. It really ties up your mind,
your body, your spirit. Forgiving is one thing.
Forgetting, I guess it depends on what happens.
Ralph Zuranski: Do you experience
service to others as a source of joy?
Kevin Hurley: Absolutely.
Absolutely. I do a lot of charity work for animal
friends, some high school organizations and actually I’m
a board member of something called DECA, Distributive
Education Clubs of America. It’s something I was in as a
student. I really think it gave me the confidence in the
business world because you know, I’m in show business.
Kevin Hurley: There’s the show which
I’m really good at and then there’s the business. I’m a
little bit business savvy, but I have a lot of agents
and representation that help me. This organization,
DECA, is all about training young kids to become the
next business leaders for the future, almost like FBLA.
Kevin Hurley: I give a lot of my
time and efforts to that because it’s something I
believe in the next generation being schooled on the way
it should be.
Ralph Zuranski: What place does the
power of prayer have in your life?
Kevin Hurley: The power of prayer?
It’s important. It’s important to constantly search
within myself for the power and the wisdom and others to
continue.
Ralph Zuranski: How important is it
to maintain a sense of humor in the face of serious
problems?
Kevin Hurley: Again, people have
coined me as America’s Funniest Hypnotist. Obviously, I
have a huge sense of humor. In fact, that’s one of my
ways I deal with things. To be honest with you,
sometimes that offends people. But that’s the way that I
cope with things, with humor. If that’s your
personality, it makes it a lot easier.
Ralph Zuranski: Who are the heroes
in your life?
Kevin Hurley: My mother would
definitely be one. Here’s a lady that’s lived in the
same community her whole life and just really believes
in the system, really believes in America, really
believes in the community and doesn’t want anything
other than her health to get up and go to work. She
works for a bank downtown. She’s there every day. That
would be a hero.
Kevin Hurley: Let’s see. David
Copperfield, who is a famous illusionist, is a hero of
mine because he’s pushed the envelope harder than
anybody. This guy has been in show business for 25
years. He still does 500 shows a year. So what does that
say to me? That says it’s not all about the money. It’s
about love and passion and making people happy.
Kevin Hurley: I’ve received a lot of
help on the way up from people like Zig Ziggler and Tony
Robbins.
Ralph Zuranski: How did they make a
positive difference in your life?
Kevin Hurley: Well, you know each
one in a different way. Obviously entertainers, there’s
been some standup comedians, even like Richard Pryor,
George Carland. To see what they do, to see their
greatness, their awesomeness, has really inspired me to
go foreword.
Kevin Hurley: People like Tony
Robbins and Zig Ziggler have inspired me to use what I
have. That’s the thing. Everybody’s different and you’ve
got to play, as they say in the business, you’ve got to
play to the room. You’ve got to know who you’re in front
of. Really, I think it’s about taking what you believe
in, taking your natural abilities and talents and really
magnifying them to help others.
Kevin Hurley: Then again, my Mother,
just for supporting me through everything. I come from a
broken household. She’s just a woman that lives by the
system, wants to get up, have her health so that she can
go to work and take care of business. To me, that’s a
hero.
Ralph Zuranski: Who do you feel are
the real heroes in our society today that aren’t getting
the recognition that they deserve?
Kevin Hurley: I think you get any
community, especially in America, and find heroes.
Volunteers, I’d like to see some more people volunteer
for literacy. It really is one of my favorite things to
do and it’s almost a sarcastic or cynical thing.
Kevin Hurley: When I go to a town,
what I like to do is to watch their local news. I just
see crappy production value and scare tactics. It seems
like that’s what gets rating now in the media.
Kevin Hurley: We’ve got to scare them. We’ve
got to show some negativity, somebody got shot,
something is going wrong, this or that.
Kevin Hurley: Would it really kill
them to do five minutes a day on what’s positive that
happening?
Ralph Zuranski: Yeah. That’s why I
created the Heroes program because you have to counter.
If it bleeds, it leads philosophy in the media. The only
way you can do that is a grass roots level like the
Heroes program.
Why are heroes so important in the lives of young
people?
Kevin Hurley: That’s your most
impressionable time. I find myself wishing I would have
learned how to speak more languages. That’s one of the
things that fascinates me is speaking languages. If I
would have learned that by the time I was twelve, put
two or three under my belt, it would have been a lot
easier.
Kevin Hurley: I always keep that in
mind too when I do my charity work. I still sometimes go
in and work with the younger kids in schools. It’s a
very impressionable time. What kids pick up, I would
say, between kindergarten and the time they get out of
high school are really the things that are going to
stick with them the rest of their lives.
Kevin Hurley: Obviously, negativity
is going to breed negativity. If we could get this out
positively is going to breed positively.
Ralph Zuranski: How could anyone
become a hero?
Kevin Hurley: I would say take
everything that I just said. Take what you believe in.
Find out what your strengths are because is it really
worth doing if you don’t believe in it? If you’re just
after something about the money, that’s not going to
happen. There are a lot of people that are even
successful financially; I really don’t think they’re
happy.
Kevin Hurley: To me, money is just
evidence that you’re good at what you do. So find your
inner strength. Find out what you’re good at. Find out
what you like and then make a difference in your
community. Is it that bad to help people?
Kevin Hurley: I really find it
interesting physically speaking, that people that have
less are across the board always to give more to charity
because they understand that there are other people that
have even less than they do.
Ralph Zuranski: Boy, you know,
that’s true. I just saw a report on the people that gave
the greatest amount to charity and they were the people
in the middle income range. The people that are up in
the millions of dollars gave just a small fraction of
what they earned.
Ralph Zuranski: You seem to think
that maybe they’re in a position where the love of money
is a thing that drives their lives. Where do you think
heroes are located? I came to the conclusion that
they’re everywhere and most importantly they were in the
lives of the people and the families like the grandmas,
the grandpas, the teachers, the coaches. What do you
feel about that?
Kevin Hurley: I feel that they’re
everywhere too, Ralph. I’ve met so many of them. I keep
a photo journal when I take pictures of what I make. My
life consist of flying into a town and getting picked up
by complete strangers. I’m only there for a day. So no
matter how good it is or how bad it is, I’m there for
about 24 hours.
Kevin Hurley: I get to have a meal
before we go to the theater and I do the show. I find
that the majority of the time people were good and
they’re completely touching. Everybody is a hero on a
different level. But you’ve got to give back, especially
if you are successful, especially if you have had a good
life.
Kevin Hurley: A good friend of mine,
Rick Abrams is a really successful financial investor.
He’s made millions and now he’s constantly raising money
for rehabilitation programs and for really positive
things in the community.
Kevin Hurley: I say, “Rick, you
could do anything you want. You could be in the Islands.
You could be on vacation. Why are you doing this?”
Kevin Hurley: He goes, “You know, I
had a good life. If I don’t give back, I could get
struck by lightening at any point.”
Ralph Zuranski: Well, Kevin, how
does it feel to be recognized as a hero?
Kevin Hurley: I’m honored. I’m
honored and really I hope I can continue to just make
people happy. I can’t thank people enough that have
supported me over the years through all this, the true
fans and the people that keep in touch. It’s a beautiful
thing.
Kevin Hurley: After all the
traveling, there’s something fantastic going on all over
North America, all over the world, in small communities.
Ralph, I really hope this program helps put a magnifying
glass on that.
Ralph Zuranski: Well, I hope so too.
I’ve been working on it for almost 12 years to try and
counter the bad press and the fear tactics that the
media uses. By doing a grassroots level like this, I
think that we can all work together to make the world a
better place.
Ralph Zuranski: What are the things
that you’re doing to make the world a better place?
Kevin Hurley: Well, you know. One of
my biggest, biggest, people that I look up to would be
Frank Sinatra. For the reason that he could go into a
town or a theater community and just make people forget
about their problems for the hour or the two hours that
he was on stage singing his songs.
Kevin Hurley: I’m just trying to
spread good will and cheer and educate people on the
fact that there are alternatives if you need help. If
you feel overweight, if you’re not self-confident, if
you have nervous habits, if you have smoking, I really
try to use my name, my image, just make it better for
people. The bigger I get, the more I’m going to give
back.
Ralph Zuranski: Kevin, do you have
any good solutions to the problems facing society,
especially racism, child and spousal abuse and violence
among young people?
Kevin Hurley: I think when you see
the media and you talk to people, everybody blames the
kids, the kids, the kids. Well, you know. Where did the
kids come from? The parents, right?
Ralph Zuranski: Yeah.
Kevin Hurley: I really think and not
being a parent myself, I hope I’m not out of line this
way. I really think bad parenting leads to bad
adolescence and bad children. Give me the question one
more time, Ralph.
Ralph Zuranski: Okay. Do you have
any really good solutions facing the problems in
society, especially racism, child and spousal abuse and
violence among young people?
Kevin Hurley: I’m a big fan of this
movie, Big Fish. The guy says in Big Fish, “Most people
are scared of things that they don’t understand. They
just lack the social skills.”
Kevin Hurley: I think that is so
true. Most people are just afraid of the things that
they don’t understand. As far as racism, for myself, I
was educated in a private school and a public school
which I could see advantages and disadvantages to both.
Kevin Hurley: There’s a real problem
in some of these guarded communities with exposure to
different cultures and ethnocentrism. I would like to
see that gone. A person is a person. Culture is a
culture. Hanukah, Christmas, Kwanza, Dolly Llama,
whatever you want to do. People should be educated.
Kevin Hurley: I was just in a school
yesterday. It’s a complete private school. They were
wonderful academically, but I saw a real lack of culture
there. I think that’s really important part of the
education process, not just reading and writing and
arithmetic but learning how to deal with other people.
Kevin Hurley: Unfortunately it seems
to me that a lot of kids don’t get that until they get
to a college or a university.
Ralph Zuranski: Yeah. Boy, that’s so
true. Well, if you had three wishes for your life and
the world that would instantly come true, what would
they be?
Kevin Hurley: I guess success, peace
and prosperity.
Ralph Zuranski: Yeah. Those are good
ones. What do you think about the In Search of Heroes
Program and its impact on you the parents and business
people?
Kevin Hurley: I think you’re doing a
wonderful job like I said, Ralph. I hope everybody is
listening up. I hope it’s inspiring you to become a
hero. Again, you don’t have to go out and make a million
dollars; you don’t have to be on TV. You could go to the
local food bank and help put some stuff together for the
holidays.
Kevin Hurley: I’ll be down at the
Salvation Army Christmas Day serving up some stuff.
Ralph Zuranski: Oh. That’s great. I
know that you’re not a parent yet but what do you think
the things parents can do that will help their children
realize that they too can be heroes and make a positive
impact on the lives of others?
Kevin Hurley: I think parents have
to realize that the globe is becoming more and more
diverse. This is the United States of America. It’s not
all one religion and it’s not all one race.
Kevin Hurley: You can, obviously, if
you’re one faith, or of one ethnic background, you’re
going to raise your kids like that. For me, being a
parent, if I’m ever lucky enough to be married and to do
that I just want them to understand that there are good
people and there are bad people and that’s that.
Kevin Hurley: It doesn’t matter
where you’re from, what you look like, what you believe
in. A good person, either you have moral ethics from the
way you were raised or you don’t.
Ralph Zuranski: Yeah. Boy, that’s so
true. Well, Kevin, I know you’re a busy person with over
300 dates a year. That’s pretty amazing. That’s a lot of
traveling. I know that Robert Channing does a lot of
those also. It’s just a heavy strain on his family. I
really admire you and how many people’s lives that
you’re changing by helping them understand the power
that’s resident within their own minds.
Ralph Zuranski: Do you have one
parting thought that you’d like to leave with the people
listening to this interview?
Kevin Hurley: Believe. If you can
dream it, you can have it. You can become it. You’ve
just got to be patient. You’ve just got to persevere.
Isn’t that really what a hero is? You just lock onto it
and you don’t let go until you accomplish it.
Ralph Zuranski: Boy, that’s so true.
Kevin I really appreciate your time and thanks again.
Good luck on all of your gigs that you’re doing. That’s
astounding. Are you going to continue that level of
going out that often for the next couple of years?
Kevin Hurley: Yeah. I’m going to do
it as long as I can. We’re going to see what happens. My
products are becoming more and more popular and I’m
spending more and more time developing programs to help
people off the stage.
Kevin Hurley: But I’ve got to be
honest, Ralph. I didn’t get into this for the money or
any other reason other than I love what I do. I don’t
think it’s going to be possible for me to be able to put
it down. It just wouldn’t be me. I have to do this.
Ralph Zuranski: Oh, that’s great.
Well, thanks again, Kevin Hurley. I really appreciate
your time.
Kevin Hurley: Thanks Ralph.
