I Am So Motivated!

I attended the "Get Motivated" seminar this past Tuesday. It was a long day, but overall, I think there were some excellent presenters. We got there about 645 am, and were sitting in our seats about 710 am. It's a good thing we got there early, because the crowds were unbelievable, which eventually brought traffic to a standstill. In fact, the Get Motivated Seminar overbooked the event by about 2000 people, and initially, those folks were turned away, but eventually, they opened up a side room to let them in.

The speakers were engaging, and I felt in awe to be able to hear some of them. The first speaker was former Husker coach and current US representative Tom Osborne. He didn't really have a clear message, but he did pump up the crowd to get them ready for the day. After that, the next speaker was an immigrant at one time, but is now the Vice President of Operations for Zig Ziglar's motivational company. While he spoke very fast, he was very enthusiastic, and I actually enjoyed his presentation very much. His name was Krish Dhanan, and he had some very humorous stories to tell.

The next presenter was Top Hopkins, a former real estate guru. His presentation was on sales tactics, and the skills necessay to close deals. I found his presentation to be a little creepy, and he really opened my eyes to the slimy things salespeople will do to get you to sign the contract. It really kind of left a bad feeling inside, knowing how low salespeople will go. Hmm.

The best presentation of the day was Rudolph Guiliani, former mayer or New York City. Honestly, I think he's positioning himself for a presidential bid for the 2008 race. When he entered, the PA system played "New York, New York", red white and blue ticker tape shot out of cannons on the stage, fireworks were sent off (yes, this was indoors), and red, white and blue confetti streamers fell from the ceiling. It was really cool, I have never seen anything like it. His speech was so interesting. I just felt that he made such a unique connection with the audience, and he seemed incredibly genuine. His speech was definitely worth it, and probably the best speech of the day.

After that, we listened to Phil Town as he pitched his stock buying methods. I was initially really turned off by this guy, knowing that he was ultimately trying to sell his stock seminar for $995, discounted from the original price of $6000. What a joke. But, his enthusiasm was catching, and he really sold his product well. In fact, there were literally hundreds of people signing up for the seminar after his speech. I considered it, but feel that it's not in my best interest right now, although I truly believe his approach will work. He had some really good ideas, and he was definitely a good salesman. It's easy to see why he's a multi millionaire, especially when he convinces so many people to drop a grand to learn his program. Although, I'm sure there's another catch, in that you'll have to spend a lot more to really get what you need from the class.

Lunch was interesting to say the least. Just imagine 18,000 people all trying to eat lunch at the same time, from the few snack stands that were available. It was a disaster. I know some of the folks I went with didn't eat at all. I finally found a lunch area on the other side of the arena, without a line. All of the other counters were 100 people deep, and I walked right in and had lunch in 10 minutes. It was $10, and people were complaining about spending the money. But, you would have spent that much at one of the regular vending booths, so I'm not sure why people were grumbling so much.

After lunch wasn't as much fun. Zig Ziglar spoke for about 1 1/2 hours, and I was truly unimpresed. I've never heard him speak before, and frankly, I could have done without his presentation. I think perhaps he's past his prime. I understand he's been doing motivational speaking for a long time, and overall, I think he should retire. His message was so disjointed, as he kept going in to many different directions. In other words, I never got a clear sense of direction of exactly what he was trying to convey. I'm not sure why it was so hyped up, but it really didn't do much for me at all.

Then, John Smith spoke. He was selling he real estate investing seminar. He had a really weird sense of humor, kind of like Stephen Wright. Overall, he wasn't a really good presenter, but I did undertand some of his concepts. Like Phil Town, his ultimate goal was to get you to attend his 3 day real estate seminar, for only $99. I was shocked it wasn't more. There were a few people signing up, probably about 1/10 as many as signed up for the stock investing seminar. Basically, he buys real estate through various methods, cheaply I might add, then trys to get low income families into the homes. One of programs he runs is that if the families rent from him for 180 months, they get the home free and clear after that time. He does a lot of other deals too. I know thought that after hearing others talk, they didn't particularly enjoy his presentation, so I'm not sure how much of a connection he made with everyone else.

After that, George Ross from the Apprentice television show spoke. Again, he didn't really have a clear message that he was trying to convey, and was only there for the TV celebrity factor I think. He's 77 years old, and still going strong. I thought he was amusing to see, if only because he's become somewhat of a TV personality, but that's about it. I thought he might have had more to say, but he really didn't.

Beyond then, we left. It was already 430 pm, and the others that I went with wanted to go home. Suze Orman was speaking when we walked out the door. I know who she is, but don't really know what type of message she wanted to present. Jerry Lewis was also scheduled to speak. I understand his presentation was entirely humor based, and had some really good stories to tell, but again, we didn't get to see him.

Overall, I had a really good time, and felt that I picked up some valuable pieces of advice. These seminars are designed to expose you to a multitude of ideas. It's not intended that you absorb every bit of it, and encorporate everything into your personal character. It's a process. If you keep discussing these kinds of ideas, you become a better person because of it, without an overnight transformation. It was time well spent.