Dan & Suzie Potter . . . "The AMAZING EduTainers"

WHAT’S A DUZIE?

Hi there my name is Dan and I’m Suzie and together were a DUZIE!  We are “The AMAZING EduTainers”.  We blend the art forms of Education and Entertainment to create DUZIE EduTainment. We have performed to over 1 million people across America and in 60 countries since 1986.

WHERE’S DUZIE?

DUZIE EduTains in schools, churches, civic groups, private parties, government and corporate events and onboard 3 ocean going ships, as well as to Television and Radio audiences.

WHAT IS THE DUZIE BENEFIT?

DUZIE Creates Your Unforgettable Moments. They connect YOUR Educational need, to YOUR audience, through various Entertaining skills. The benefit to you is that YOUR Educational need is communicated in a creative, experiential and memorable way. DUZIE uses what they call “conneXellence” to interact, interest, involve and inspire your group.

WHAT ARE THE DUZIE SKILLS?

DUZIE blends magic, comedy, theater, communication, juggling, art, DJ music, circus skills and motion pictures to create understanding.

WHAT CAN DUZIE DO FOR YOU?

DUZIE has created over 3000 different programs and events for groups just like yours.  They have worked with Kings and Prime Ministers, Principles and Pastors, Parents and Organizational Leadership to create programs in which everyone benefits.  Please click on the tabs above and find out how DUZIE can take your next assembly, service, party or event into the realm of AMAZING EduTainment.

As you walk into our house you will notice “Hats”. They are hanging along the walls. We have “Hats” from all over the world. “Hats” of different faiths, climates, cultures, textures, and income levels that have found a place in our collection. We have “Hats” for adventures upon land and sea, for nights under the stars or for dinning among the stars.

It seems that our lives go and grow under the “Hats” we wear.

Dale, a close friend, often asks us about our “Hats”. No, not the ones upon our walls, but the ones that represent our various roles. He reminds us, that we were all created with just one head. Often we try to balance much, much too much upon our one head.

Do you ever feel that you just can’t keep up the pace? Are you “Living Life” in every direction? Soon one or all of your Hats are going to hit the ground. If you are like us, we try to balance work, parenting, faith, friendships, dreams, hobbies, and each crisis that arises. But we were not created to do everything, please everyone, be perfect, and juggle all the “Hats”, at one time.

We have begun to name the “Hats” that we are wearing. Right now we have on our “Writer’s Hat”. At 7 pm and we will be focused upon being parents, so on goes the “Mom & Dad Hat”, so if the phone rings it will just have to ring. It is now Monday night and we’ve gone to our small group, you can’t see it, but we have put on our “Connection Hat”. At about 6:30 pm on Sunday, teens start coming through our door, we take off the “Rest Hat” and put on our “Mentor Hat’ for it is time to mentor a few from the next generation.

Everyday and every moment we all wear “Hats”, because we live under so many important roles. We are Friends, Lovers, Parents, Grandparents, Workers, Singers, Musicians, Inventors, Thinkers, Artists, Hunters, Writers, Readers, Talkers, Listeners, Mentors, Shoppers, Drivers, Servants and the list goes on. Take time to give each moment purpose by wearing the right “Hat”.

Think of your “Hats”, as a life puzzle. Don’t just toss all the pieces on the table at once hoping for the big picture. Start with your significant corners. This includes your family, faith and friendships “Hats”. Next go to the edges of your life, what you do, desire and dream about “Hats”. Finally, fill in the middle with the things that will pass away quickly: the next episode, new game, urgent e-mail and latest fashion statement. The middle “Hats” are important perhaps, but remember these “Hats” are much smaller in reality.

Finally, don’t get stressed out over those occasional moments like family reunions. You sometimes have to put every “Hat” on at once. Praise God everyone eventually goes home, so we can get back to Living . . . One “Hat” At A Time!

Living Life One Hat at a Time (at least trying to),
DUZIE
2010 DUZIE.com

For the past month we have been training and performing for young people and youth workers in South America mainly from Paraguay and Uruguay.  We would like to take this moment and reflect upon the Food, Family, Faith, Friendship and Fun lessons we learned along the way.

A Food Lesson – Food is an event.  The evening meal begins when the sun is still up and finishes when the moon is well across the sky.  The meal starts with a few people and grows until every chair is filled, sometimes with two bottoms.  Many were not invited, but just dropped in and they were very welcome.  The food never seemed to stop and you spent as much time passing dishes as you did eating. Never once did anyone run from the table, to watch TV, check the computer or work on a project.  Being at the table was where everyone wanted to be.  Time seemed to be their friend and the stories and laughter surround everyone like the aroma coming from the brick grill.

A Family Lesson – Family is community.  We love family and believe it should be one’s main priority.  In the homes we visited it was.  Hugging and kissing everyone was just the beginning.  These families are multi-generational and all live in one house.  They care for each other until death do they part.  Everyone knows each other’s business because they talk about it.  They use the word “we” more than “I” because personal space is almost unheard of, but respect and understanding is freely extended . . . especially to visitors.

A Faith Lesson – Faith is Identity.  The word faith scares some today, but it is the very identity of the folks we met.  Whether Protestant or Catholic these people believe in their God and their church.  It isn’t politically incorrect to have beliefs and strongly follow them.  People talk about their opinions openly as if they were talking about the local soccer team.  Their faith still guides them and their choices.

A Friendship Lesson – Friendship is commitment.  Friendship is more than a handshake, hug, or kiss on the cheek . . . though there is a lot of that.  Friendship is commitment.  People grow up in one place, and their front yard belongs to everyone.  People do not need an invitation to drop by, because being present is what people do.  If you need help you ask a friend and they come with another friend.  It seems they don’t need so many professionals to do their work because that is what friends are for.

A Fun Lesson – Fun is simple.  Just take a walk, as the sun begins to set.  Front steps are full of people playing games, telling stories, making music and more.  Why pay for fun when we can stay home and create unforgettable moments.  It doesn’t cost much to fill a neighborhood with laughter.

These are a few lessons we desire bring north.  We invite you to join us in making shared Food, Family, Faith, Friendships and Fun the marks of our community.

Living Life – DUZIE

DUZIE.com 2010

We live in a day in which the whole idea of self-control is simply not politically correct.  We are told to live free, without limits, for in that there is joy unspeakable.  But if you take a good look around, limits are often what allows us to live free.

Take the train that passes every afternoon, for example.  Let us say this train chooses not to be confined any longer to the tracks.  One day about noon, it throws control to the wind and jumps the tracks and heads out into the open field.  How free does the choo-choo  become?

Take the Pilot who chooses to make up his or her own flight plan as they go, or the Driver who is free enough to drive on the opposite side of the road.  Control is gone and someone is going to get hurt.

Our history is filled with tragedies, where people lost control and damaged their families, friends and communities.  A quick look into the past reveals parent, church, government and business authority who abused their control, jumped off the rails and people got hurt!

What we need is NOT a new political mandate against control.  Instead, we need a new personal conviction to control self, self-control for our benefit and those we share our house and planet with.

Ash Wednesday and the 40 days of Lent is about controlling yourself.  You can put ashes on the forehead or just select a better aim forward.

What is in your life that is off the rails?  What seems beyond your ability to control?  What wild animals have you invited into your Mind, Body or Spirit that needs to be captured and restrained before they devour you and yours?

In most human tragedies you can find a person, or group of people, who choose not to control their own pursuit of pleasure, power and pick-me-ups.

Real freedom is found when people respect themselves, their creator and everyone else.

Living life is about living self-controlled.  For the next 40 days, take control over more than just the meat you are trying not to eat.  Seek to get your mind, body and spirit back on track.  If you need help beyond your control, talk to a counselor, clergy or companion.  For it is time we all show the signs of self-control for 40 days and beyond.

Living Life better for everyone,

DUZIE

2010 DUZIE.com

Those of you who know us, realize we love the theater.  We have spent the last 23 years, around our wonderful world, on one side or the other of those beautiful curtains and bright lights.

Very few people realize or remember that it all started with a Groundhog.  Dan was 7 and cast, as a furry fellow, looking for his shadow.  He remembers the excitement of crouching motionlessly in a brown box, whiskers on.  The spectacular moment took place to what seemed like a standing room only crowd, in the Kingston Elementary School cafeteria.

At the right moment, bushy Dan, leaped up looked around and with shadow in view, then sunk quickly back into the box.  He always wondered what his life would have been like if they would have given him lines?

Groundhogs!  What is so magical about this meteorological mammal to predict our much-needed spring, as well as to cause Dan to live life “Out of the Box” most of the year?

The answer to this is found deep in German folklore, where a Bagger or a Bear wakes up and starts looking for a good reason to go back to bed for 6 weeks.  In American, we must have found Groundhogs friendlier to watch.  You see if the emerging mammal wakes up on Feb 2 and decides to climb out of its burrow, (as the entire village watches) and if this furry creature is blinded by the sun (unable to see the entire village watching), he or she will turn around and notice its shadow coming from the bright winter’s sunshine.  At this point they bumble something about going back to bed for another 6 weeks.

Now if at this very moment of time the bright winter’s sun goes for a rest behind a cloud, and the Groundhog, or other unfriendly varieties of bushy mammal, do not notice its shadow, they will go for a jog: if this happens, the entire village does the same and everyone thinks it is spring.

Research shows Groundhog Day forecasts are accurate 75% to 90% of the time, except in Canada where for the past 30 to 40 years the success rate is only at 37%.  This must have to do with the alertness of so called animals on either side of the border or perhaps it is cloudier in the North and more people jog year around which causes great confusion to all, including the Groundhogs.

Whatever the case sunny or sweat suit, we hope you get outdoors this season, look for your shadow, a groundhog or a bear, then go back to bed.

See you all in 6 weeks.

Living Life (presently in Paraguay where there are no Groundhogs thus no snow!),

DUZIE

2010 DUZIE.com

PASSIONALITY – We are a PUZZLE PIECE of God’s Heart.  Each one of us is different and has our special role and place of spreading God to this world!

John 10:10 Jesus says, “I have come that they may have LIFE, and have it to the FULL.”

What we are going to do is find 3 words to describe you!  Our examples:

Dan’s Passionality:         CREATE HOPE through COMMUNICATION

Suzie’s Passionality:        INFLUENCE POTENTIAL through CONNECTIONS

#1 MY PERSONALITY        Who am I ?

Choose one or two of these words from any of these groups:

  GET IT DONE (doer personality):

¨    Create

¨    Lead

¨    Build

¨    Provide

  LET’S GO (influencer personality):

¨    Communicate

¨    Connect

¨    Teach

¨    Inspire

  YOU’RE IMPORTANT (relater personality):

¨    Serve

¨    Give

¨    Listen

¨    Support

  MAKE A PLAN (thinker personality):

¨    Develop

¨    Organize

¨    Think

¨    Focus

#2 MY IMPACT          What is my effect on others ?

Choose one or two of these words for this part:

¨    Hope

¨    Peace

¨    Direction

¨    Love

¨    Faith

¨    Growth

¨    Wholeness

¨    Safety

¨    Health

¨    Justice

¨    Solutions

¨    Support

Put it together so far:

#1 MY PERSONALITY  __________________

#2 MY IMPACT     _____________________

__________________ + __________________

      my personality                                   my impact

#3 MY ABILIBITES   What am I REALLY good at ?

Make a list of at least 5 things that you are really good at:

1  __________________

2 __________________

3 __________________

4 __________________

5 __________________

Choose 1 or 2 of these for your 3^rd word (or use other words from #1 or #2).

YOUR PASSIONALITY STATEMENT

Put it together so far:

#1 MY PERSONALITY  __________________

#2 MY IMPACT     _____________________

#3 MY ABILITIES     _____________________ 

__________ + __________ + _____________

   my personality                     my impact                     my abilities

Put it together into a sentence.

(Add a preposition before abilities – usually “through” or “by”.)

Try all the combinations of words that you have come up with to make your PASSIONALITY STATEMENT!

PASSIONALITY now what?

Talk to people you know, and try speaking out your

PASSIONALITY STATEMENT to them!

Live like you are that part of God’s heart for others!

Try to make choices in your life based on living according to how God made you!

Our examples once again:

Dan’s Passionality:         CREATE HOPE through COMMUNICATION

Suzie’s Passionality:        INFLUENCE POTENTIAL through CONNECTIONS

Your PASSIONALITY STATEMENT:

__________ + __________ + _____________

   my personality                     my impact                     my abilities

Please let us know what your PASSIONALITY STATEMENT is and how God is using you as you live it out!

www. DUZIE.com   or   info@DUZIE.com