Not in a Deli, with Izzy Gesell

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Izzy Gesell. Izzy is a former special education teacher, restaurant owner and stand-up comedian. He knows some great money jokes. Here are a few he shared with us:

Why did the robber take a bath before he stole from the bank? He wanted to make a clean getaway.

Why can’t you borrow money from a leprechaun? Because they’re always a little short.

Why is money called dough? Because we all knead it.

Years ago, someone Izzy knew approached him about buying a deli. The person described it as a goldmine. Izzy thought to himself, “I’ve eaten deli food all my life. How hard could it be?” Izzy quickly learned that all mines have shafts. Unfortunately, the deli didn’t make it. As Izzy tells us, he walked away from this business experience with important money insights and takeaways.

Today, Izzy is an “organizational alchemist” who helps people navigate their internal logjams and emerge more confident, spontaneous and effective. Through keynotes, workshops and coaching sessions, Izzy delivers meaningful material in an enjoyable way. His unique approach to personal and organizational development is rooted at the intersection of improv, facilitation and coaching.

Among the first to use improv theater concepts as tools for personal and organizational learning, Izzy is the author of “Playing Along: Group Learning Activities Borrowed from Improvisation Theater,” “Instructional Moments: Facilitating with Applied Improv,” “The Resilient Caregiver: A Path to Managing Stress & Change Through Humor & Play” & a coauthor of “Humor Me: America’s Funniest Humorists on the Power of Laughter”.

Izzy’s video course for LinkedIn Learning, “Leading with Applied Improv,” was their first on the topic and their first shot as a live-action workshop. His other LinkedIn courses are “Humor in the Workplace” and “Building Your Team.”

Izzy has earned the CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) designation from National Speakers Association. Less than 15% of NSA 4,000 members are CSPs. Izzy also has a BA in Psychology, an MS in Education and a P…. that’s 1/3 of a PhD.