Look and Listen

Biography

Diana S. Zimmerman www.kandide.co Vanishing avocados, mega-million dollar conferences, haute couture jewels, and mysterious beings—all are part of Diana S. Zimmerman’s amazing life. Like the first book, “Kandide and the Secret of the Mists,” in her fantasy adventure trilogy, Diana’s role in the performing arts, as well as the business world, transcends the ordinary. She has been a performer, entrepreneur, and businesswoman since the age of eight when she invested all of her resources into a small magic trick. With a total capital outlay of 47 cents, Diana parlayed her investment into a spectacular 25-year stage and television career as the "World’s Foremost Lady Magician.” During this time, she also invented magic illusions for Lance Burton and David Copperfield, among others, and remains a highly respected lecturer, writer, and teacher in this field. She sponsors the Junior Magicians’ Club—a youth group she founded in 1974 with the help of legendary actor, Cary Grant—a t Hollywood’s famous Magic Castle. Leaving her hometown of Phoenix, Arizona at the age of 18, Diana filled her car with magic tricks, costumes, and a great deal of ambition, and headed for Los Angeles with $45.00 to her name. “Even back then,” she explains, “that wasn’t very much money. But when you grow up living on the wrong side of the tracks, what have got to lose?” Admitting that it was pretty tough getting started in a town like LA, and she wasn’t always sure where her next meal would come from, nothing mattered to Diana except pursuing her dream of becoming a world-class performer. Doing magic to support herself (and pay for college), the novelty of a women magician, along with her remarkable creativity and talent, eventually catapulted her into the limelight. Diana starred in her own television show, “Enchanted Palace” as well as her own magical revue show in Lake Tahoe. She appeared on virtually every major TV talk and variety show, toured the world, and later became a much sought after corporate spokesperson for companies as diverse as Ore Ida Potatoes and the Avocado Advisory Board. She also became known for motivational speaking. Her speech, “Success, Mastering the Art of Illusion,” garnered standing ovation after standing ovation in the corporate world. Her transition into the world of corporate business saw the creation of CMS Communications, Intl.—an international marketing communications/event production agency whose clients rank among the Fortune 500. Successful Meetings Magazine named CMS in the “Top 50 Event Companies” for an unprecedented seven years straight. Today, Diana is CMS’ President and CEO, and has garnered almost as many standing ovations for the executives and CEOs that she works with and frequently coaches in the art of speaking, as she did in her own illustrious performing career. She sits on three Boards including the prestigious Academy of Magical Arts Educational Foundation, Inc. and was an Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” finalist. Her dazzling road of business achievements is also paved with equally impressive journalistic credentials. Having had 100’s of articles published in the elite haute couture jewelry industry, “Kandide and the Secret of the Mists” is the first of her three fantasy adventure novels. Diana is also the co-author of the business strategy book “Tactical Abyss.” An avid collector of faery art, her collection of bronzes, clocks, paintings, sculptures, books, and porcelains is one of the largest in the world with pieces dating back to the 1700s. A painting by Australian artist, Maxine Gadd, now in Diana’s private collection, inspired the literary legacy of Kandide. www.kandide.com

Inspiration

The “magic of me”—believing in yourself, especially when it seems like everyone else is scoffing at your ideas, or doubting your talents—is the greatest inspiration of all. With this belief, a scrawny little girl from the wrong side of the tracks can transform into the “Worlds Greatest Lady Magician;” she can become the CEO of a multi-million dollar enterprise, and even a published author. The “magic of me”—make it your inspiration, your guiding light, and never, ever let anyone tell you that you can’t do it—especially anyone who is an “expert.” An expert told Lucile Ball she couldn’t act. Dozens of “experts” turned down JK Rowling’s “Harry Potter.” They also turned down Alex Haley’s “Roots.” Fortunately, for the world, these remarkable individuals believed in the “magic of me.” Fantasy adventure or business, it is an underlying theme of everything I write.