Jeff Hopeck.
The Talk · The Story · About Jeff · For Bureaus · Check Availability
KEYNOTE SPEAKER • FORMER U.S. SECRET SERVICE OFFICER
The Flight That Changed Everything
One moment of curiosity. A decision that changed the next 20 years. And a question most people never think to ask.
Signature keynote · UNSETTLED MINDS
Grit keeps you going. Curiosity gets you started.
THE TALK
Unsettled Minds
Grit keeps you going. Curiosity gets you started.
Not another motivational talk that makes you feel great for an hour and then fades away by Monday morning.
I want people to leave looking at their lives differently. I want them questioning things they've accepted for years. I want them to recognize that some of the biggest obstacles standing between them and the life they want might not be what they think.
And I want to give them a practical way to do something about it.
FORMATS
Keynote
Workshop
Fireside chat & Q&A
Virtual
BUILT FOR
Conferences & associations
Leadership teams
Company culture events
Entrepreneur groups
THE FRAMEWORK
The Curiosity Loop
A process that started 20 years ago, thousands of feet above the Atlantic Ocean, and has shaped almost every major decision Jeff has made since.
ALSO AVAILABLE
The 3-Foot Connection System
“Stay within three feet of human beings and you will never starve.”
THE STORY BEHIND THE TALK
Somewhere Over the Atlantic
Twenty years ago, I was sitting on an airplane coming home from an overseas detail with the United States Secret Service.
I had a career most people would have loved. But somewhere over the Atlantic, I started thinking about something that had absolutely nothing to do with my job.
01 · THE QUESTIONS
I started getting curious about myself.
Why did I want the things I wanted? How much of what I believed about success was actually mine? And if I kept doing exactly what I was doing, where would I end up 20 years from now?
That last question bothered me more than I expected.
02 · THE DECISION
I walked away from the United States Secret Service and started a business.
I wasn't chasing some enormous financial goal. I was chasing something that, at the time, felt a whole lot more important to me.
I wanted to own my time.
THE PROMISE
“If this business ever became successful, I wasn’t going to allow it to take over my life.”
03 · TWENTY YEARS LATER
I’ve been there.
I've coached my sons' baseball teams. I've picked them up from school. I've been there for the conversations, the struggles, the adventures, and the little moments that never make it onto a calendar.
I was going to build my business around my family, not my family around my business.
THE PROCESS
Nine areas of life. Three questions.
I started examining nine different areas of who I was and how I was living. Not casually, either. I really dug into them.
Some of what I discovered surprised me. Some of it made me uncomfortable. And some of it forced me to confront things about myself I'd spent years avoiding without even realizing it.
Three questions that changed the way I made decisions.
They're deceptively simple, but when you really sit with them and answer them honestly, they have a way of exposing things you didn't even realize were holding you back.
HOW JEFF OPENS THE ROOM
“When someone is speaking to you, do you listen to understand or to reply?”
THE COST OF NEVER ASKING
But what if things never slowed down?
I picture myself sitting at work, looking down at my phone as another picture comes through from my wife. One of our boys hitting a baseball. Our daughter doing something hilarious. The family out enjoying a beautiful afternoon while I'm counting down the hours until I can get home.
Our children don’t wait for us to figure everything out. They just keep growing.
What if I spent 20 years waiting for a life I could have started building today?
WHY I SHARE THIS
The greatest return on my curiosity wasn't the millions of dollars I made. It was the thousands of moments with my family I didn't miss.
— Jeff Hopeck
THE POINT
It’s not really about the Secret Service.
The real story is about what can happen when an ordinary person becomes curious enough to question the direction of their own life.
Most of us spend an enormous amount of time learning about the world around us. We study our careers, our industries, our competitors, and the people we admire. But how much time do we spend genuinely trying to understand ourselves?
Why we think the way we do.
Why we keep making the same decisions.
Why we tolerate things that make us unhappy.
Why we chase goals we never stopped to question.
I share that process on stage because I know what it did for me. And I've often wondered how many other people are just one honest conversation with themselves away from changing the direction of their lives.
JEFF, BRIEFLY
My story is the brand.
Former U.S. Secret Service officer
Founder, Killer Shark Marketing, a growth agency for private dental and medical practices
Built an eight-figure net worth from nothing
Husband and father of four
Sober, and out loud about what it cost and what it gave back
Founder, Inspire Humans: "Train your mind. Lead your life."
HEAR JEFF
Host, Interesting Humans Podcast
Host, 20-Minute MBA
Creator, Hey Dad Can We
ASBN: The Small Business Show
WVIA: Northeast Pennsylvania Business Journal
FOR BUREAUS & EVENT PLANNERS
Everything you need to pitch Jeff.
Download, copy, and forward. The bureau one-sheet carries no contact details, with space for your agency's information.
One-sheet — Bureau version (PDF) · Direct version (PDF)
High-res photos — Portrait (JPG) · On stage (JPG)
Full story — Read the story →
SHORT BIO · 50 WORDS
Jeff Hopeck is a former U.S. Secret Service officer who served at the White House before walking away to build a business around his family. Twenty years later, he runs a multimillion-dollar marketing company, hosts the Interesting Humans Podcast, and is a father of four. His keynote is Unsettled Minds.
FULL BIO · 150 WORDS
Jeff Hopeck began his career with the United States Secret Service, working at the White House and traveling the world. On a flight home from an overseas detail, he started asking questions about his own life he had never asked before, and soon walked away to start a business.
Twenty years later, that business, Killer Shark Marketing, is a multimillion-dollar growth agency for private dental and medical practices, one Jeff runs from his phone while traveling with his wife and four children. He hosts the Interesting Humans Podcast, created the fatherhood community Hey Dad Can We, and founded Inspire Humans. He is sober, and open about what it cost and what it gave back.
In his keynote, Unsettled Minds, Jeff shares the process behind it all: nine areas of life, three questions, and the case for getting curious about ourselves.
BOOK JEFF TO SPEAK
Check Jeff's availability.
Speaking inquiries go straight to Jeff. No list, no spam. If it's not a fit, he'll tell you himself.
Getting curious about ourselves.
The Talk · Full Story · For Bureaus · Book Jeff · © 2026 Jeff Hopeck