Candidly, I wasn’t expecting a whole lot from the Get Motivated seminar in Greensboro last week. However, I was surprised to find the first 1/2 of the program was great. The second half seemed to get a little “infomercial like” so I ended up leaving early.
Here are my notes in their mostly unedited format:
Rudy Giuliani –
Reagan believed in a lot of things whether they were popular or unpopular. He also said popular sentiment is sometimes right and sometimes wrong. Thus to be an effective leader you have to have strong beliefs.
To be a leader you have to be an optimist.
Not only do you have to be an optimist to be a leader you need to even have to fun.
People follow problem solvers.
Optimists turn setbacks into opportunities for the future.
The key to getting ahead in life is to prepare 4 hours for every 1 hour of action.
Get up and practice your public speaking 4 hours for every 1
Looking for a job? get up and practice job interviewing 4 hours for every 1 now.
He also highly recommended the following advice you cannot accomplish anything without the help of others.
Rudy placed a high emphasis on the following:
Ask “what don’t I do well and who can do it to help me?”
Ask your wife, husband, children, and associates get a second opinion on what you don’t do well and then find out who can help you.
Rick Belluzzo
Chief Operating Officer at Microsoft
Spoke mostly about career advancement.
He said “you are the enterprise.”
“Individuals have to reinvent themselves several times each career.”
Pursue each opportunity is if you can make an enduring impact.
Rick’s 4 keys to advance your career:
- be easy to manage
- except bad news
- be an active listener and learner
- and stay humble.
Dr. Robert Schuller
He’s still at it at 80 years old… 36+ books written
Dr. Schuller had a short 20min. appearance.
“you must make a commitment to be either a positive or negative thinking individual.”
“using the word impossible is not intelligent.”
Phil town
I’d never heard of Phil Town. He’s an investment advisor and offers the following:
His main point is with a little research an individual investor can beat mutual fund managers and analysts.
Mutual fund managers shoot to beat the S&P 500 that’s their only goal. However he’s seems to think that amateurs have been investment advantage the experts do not using the following steps:
1. Buy covered calls or stocks is covered calls (I need to research what covered calls are)
2. you treat stock investing as acting is if you’re building your own business
3. But stock in low-tech companies
4. Buy stocks that are “on sale”
5. Look for excellent cash flow growth.
He recommends the sites Wealth Magazine and InvestTools’ (investor toolbox) for managing your portfolio on your own. (I am not recommending this it’s just in my notes)
Phil Town’s Investing Fundamentals
· Look at trend analysis
· Also do not invest emotionally the stock market is the most irrational place in the world the ideal investment position is good price valuation analysis. And minute mall minimal acceptable return on investment.
· He shoots for 15% per year is the minimal acceptable return on investment but he says the most important consideration is Margin of safety — always by stocks 50% off retail.
· 80% of the money in the stock market is managed That means that 80% of the money in the stock market lumped in with mutual funds, 401(k)s and group held stocks.
· He also talked briefly about group rotation — I need to research what that means
· Insider trading — if insiders are buying it is a clue. If they’re selling that is a clue to.
Zig Ziglar
I was surprised to find out Zig Ziglar had experienced a brain injury during a fall down a flight of stairs. His injury causes the possibility of additional falls and severely limits his short term memory. To address these limitations his presentation was in “interview” format conducted by his daughter Julie Norman.
As the seemingly frail Mr. Ziglar took the stage, I secretly felt apprehensive. “Oh my,” I thought. “This is a little awkward.”
But after 2 questions Zig was fired up. He wasn’t missing a beat. Frankly, I was stunned because, he gave many of the prior speakers a spanking in terms of presentation.
Like when I saw him over 20 years ago, his anecdotes and jabs were right on target. Further cementing him as one of the kings in motivational arena.
P.S. I was so impressed, I contacted his son Tom during the seminar to let him know my thoughts. Tom was grateful, but for some reason, he didn’t seem surprised. 
Final thoughts
Like I said in the beginning, I wasn’t expecting a lot. I went with a family member who wanted to go. But I was happy that the first half was as good as it was.
For first timers, I’d say the $20 investment is probably worth it. But the real expense comes in if you sign up for a side seminar. There are other seminars and products some of the speakers are pushing pretty hard. I cannot speak to the quality of these other offerings. Many are very expensive. So, like anything, do your research and take your time…you don’t necessarily have to buy right there. I certainly didn’t.
Did I leave more motivated? Not really. However, I didn’t want to get motivated – per se. I went mainly due to curiosity, social reasons and to keep up to date with what the motivational speakers are up to these days. Some of my Twitter friends said they did get motivated though. So if you need some motivation, this might be an inexpensive way to get rollin’.
Your thoughts?
Have you attended a get motivated seminar? If so, what are your thoughts? Do you have any questions for me? Post them in the comments.
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We attended the Get Motivated Seminar in Anchorage, AK. The seminar was good, a little over the top as well. We did sign up to go to the seminars in Anchorage that followed. PLEASE BE VERY VERY CAUTIOUS. We signed up for the tax lien study and now they are in Bankruptcy. One member of our group returned the materials in the timeframe they gave to us at the seminar. We have been trying to get a refund of $1495 for three months only now they have told us they cannot refund the money because they are in bankruptcy. Be very very cautious about these seminars. I am not saying all of these are scams but be careful.
That was very well said, Simon. I wouldn’t dare get into a pissing match with someone as intellectual as you. You are obviously lucky enough to have some legitimate business savvy. Unfortunately, many people aren’t nearly as adept in their due diligence. You are also right in that you can’t win if you don’t play. Knowledge and experience are the key and everyone learns through their mistakes or the mistakes of others. Caveat emptor or “let the buyer beware” is paramount in this type of big venue setting and that is exactly why I didn’t buy into their hype but elected instead to patiently and methodically research it when I got home and believe it or not, there are some alternatives to paying as much as $16,000 to recieve there “Doctorate in Day Trading”. No matter how you look at it, it is still ranks as history’s biggest bait and switch events ever committed.
P. S. Do you own a time share?
Rick, no I don’t own any time share.
I attended the seminar last summer in Phila., and have commented before on this forum. I’m just surprised at all the recent negative comments — no, not negative — hostile! Most have agreed that the premier speakers: Colin Powell, Rudy Guliani, Zig Ziglar, Bradshaw, Laura Bush, etc., were worth the price of admission. Did they not speak of personal success and motivation? So why all the venomous remarks? If the sales pitches, or the references to Jesus so offended you — then get up and leave! As far as the “snake oil” aspect of the sales pitches: Caveat Emptor! If you are naive and emotional enough to be roped in by these obvious sales pitches — then shame on you! Take it for what it was and stop the blame game!
Not disclosing the fact they are a Christian revival meeting disguised as a business seminar is like buying a chocalate and biting it and discovering it was filled with anchovies.
Donna, I don’t think that most folks are against sales pitches or at least shouldn’t be against the pitches considering the price paid. Folks are simply warning those new people who attend a Get Motivated seminar about the sales pitches and quality of the products offered.
I agree with you: Caveat Emptor. Folks are adults. If they want to be hoodwinked, let them. I don’t feel sorry for anyone who thinks that buying a $3,000 trading software without first checking on the company, is a good idea. When they then get told that they need to spend an additional 20K in order to “really benefit from the software,” I don’t feel sorry for folks who didn’t ask for their money back.
Simon,
I am glad that it is working for you. However for most people they hurry up to the table at the venue and give their credit card information. Then $99 later and two days spent they find out that they need to spend a couple thousand dollars, most people do not have. Most people have other things they can do with $3000, like pay their mortgage or electric bills. For the few that take the next step it can work however for most they are not willing to risk the house so to speak. If they would say up front that you will need to spend $3,000 $5,000 $10,000 or more dollars to be successful how many people do you think would go up front to sign up for the seminar. I didn’t think so….
Patrick,
I see your point and respect it fully. You are right, “most people” “have other things to do with $3,000, like pay their mortgage or electric bills.” I know this because I was there at one point in my life.
But you know what happened? I didn’t want to live like “most people” anymore! I wanted more than to just pay the bills. There’s a great saying that goes, In order to catch a fish, you have to be willing to risk the bait.
If I said to you that you could make $10,000 extra this year guaranteed, but you are going to have to invest $3,000 to get started, would you do it? Some people may do it, but most still won’t.
The problem is that most people lack belief that they can do it in the first place. Because they lack this belief, they self-sabotage their own success. So it wouldn’t matter how affordable or expensive a course would be, they would make up stories in their own mind or create situations to enforce their sub-conscious belief that they can’t succeed. So they will forever live like “most people.” If that’s ok with them and they are happy – I’m happy for them. But I was once there myself and until I WORKED ON MY THINKING, nothing changed.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, If you didn’t hear that message at the Get Motivated seminar from at least one speaker, then you missed the whole point and you’ll likely always be like “most people.”
And to Rick, you are very right in that there are other programs that can teach you the information for less then what Investools charges. In fact you can get all the information FREE at the library. I just chose to invest in a program that can streamline the process so I can get to earning back my initial investment quicker. But “most people” don’t even go to the library anymore unfortunately…
To all of you contributing comments to this thread, please remember that ever word that you say, every word that you type is a reflection of your subconscious mind. If the predominant message is negative, it will manifest in your life as negative. This is the law of attraction. How I corrected this in my life started when I read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. You can get it for free on the internet and at the library. I dare you to read it.
Simon,
It’s been a few months now that you have been working the InvesTools method. I was just wondering how it is working out for you. My results have been mixed. Just wondering how things are going for you.
E
I have attended several Get Motivated seminars over 12 years. The reason I went to my second one was precisely because I didn’t get what I expected- a big sales pitch. I found that the speakers who were offering something for sale spent about 80% of their time on saying something useful and only about 20% of the time, usually at the end, pitching a product. I’ve never felt any pressure to buy anything. You don’t need to spend any money at the seminar to enjoy it or get something useful from it. You do need to have an open mind and pay attention (take lots of notes) and then apply what you’ve learned. You don’t need to buy anything to do that. Years ago, after my first seminar, I did buy the Success Talk tapes; several years later, listening to Joan Lunden speak, I was finally motivated to get my real estate license. I didn’t have to buy the tapes and I didn’t rush to apply the lessons learned, but eventually they proved worth the purchase price. I would still buy them if they hadn’t been canceled.
As it happens, I am attending another Get Motivated seminar in Tallahassee. Get there early in order to find parking, and bring change for vending machines, parking meters and/or the bus. Plus, in Tallahassee, you have to deal with the stench of the Florida Legislature and Florida State University. Go Gators!
We went to the Fort Worth presentation on Oct. 26. We went because George W. was there; he was still PRESIDENTIAL, unlike someone who is in the White House now. Terry Bradshaw was GREAT, Colin Powell was excellent, Giuliani was Giuliani! James Smith was an expected (marvelous) surprise.
As for the sales pitches, you don’t have to buy anything. The cost for us $4.95!
CARPE DIEM, my friends!
I can tell you are a leader Brad. Good job!
Why do you all feel the need to get on here and post your negative comments. Of course they are there to make money;that is there job! Don’t you get paid for your job? If they were not doing a good job they would not be rich, and if you were already motivated you would not have paid for a ticket. Why waste your money if you are going in the arena with a negative attitude, obviously you don’t want to change, so why waste time?
I attended the Seminar in San Antonio, TX and was highly motivated when I left…Some speakers were definately more motivating then others but that is always the way it is. It is like Tamara Lowe said, people are motivated by different things. Obviously all the people on this site with negative comments, are heavily unmotivated people and have no desire to change their perspectives on anything.
From a christian I can say that if you were worried about something having religious input why would you attend an event that has religious speakers on the bill at all. Zig Zigler who might not have been what he was 20 years ago was still by far more amazing than you will ever be, when did people pay money to hear you talk? Zigs catch phrase “see you at the top” refers to heaven, so I am not sure what you were expecting, please get a grip and a life…..
They do not advertise the fact that they are a Christian organization and sell thier goods while preaching about Jesus.
As far as I am concerned it is nothing more than a scam and the owners understand two things.
1) The majority of Americans identify as Christian so they know they can get away with it.
2) They know when you mention Jesus people open their wallets.
These people are nothing more than evangelists for your money…selling snake oil.
Unfortunately, if we all just went there to just get something out of it and be content with what we got, they wouldn’t have the seminars anymore. The reason being, is that they wouldn’t have anyone to scam and they wouldn’t be able to make millions and millions of dollars. They are relying on one out of three or four people sitting next to you to buy into one of their get rich schemes. They have taken P T Barnum’s famous quote to a whole new level and from what I’ve heard they sucker every dime out of you they can, once they manipulate you with their clever psycho babble. Just like leading lambs to the slaugher and they are laughing all the way to the bank. I didn’t buy in to the hype and actually enjoyed the key note speakers but it sure bothers me to no end, that I was invited because they were hoping I would be one of those 3 that they could cheat a bunch of money out of. Maybe you don’t care about the next person getting scammed but I’m not sorry to say, that I am, and it infuriates me that some of those key note speakers can even be remotely associated with the switch and bate tactics of the Lowe’s.
I almost associate people that enjoy these seminars to the likeness of the people living in the German villages near the concentration camps of WW2. They knew they were there, but pretended they didn’t know. Wish the American public would get wise to these types of big venue seminars and stop going. That being the case, the Lowe’s might have to resort to robbing banks and go to jail like the real criminals they are. No one seems to care?
some people like Rick harrington will never move out of that little box they live in. They will live paycheck to paycheck for the rest of there lives. P.s. hey rick i’m hiring you need a job.
I agree with you Rick.
Amen Rick. It was as if each speaker picked a demographic to target and sure enough those people marched down stairs to sign up. One of the speakers focused on single mothers and almost made it sound like “if these women can figure out how to trade, ANYONE can” and 3 single women from my office jumped up and ran down to plop a hundred bucks on the table. You can not get rich quick unless you have money to spare… its just like a diet… no pill will automatically get your thin without effort. Everything takes effort and I can learn what I need to through books that I chose on my own, not because Jesus tells me to. Overall some of the speakers were great, but come on, its primerica on a more religious platter.
Iv been to this seminar as well and it does have some educational and motivational value.. The chance to listen to some of the people is worth $5. But the sales pitches on the stock software and tax lien programs are misleading without a doubt. One truth is that I have nver, I repeat never personally met anybody who has paid that type of money for the software and become successful at trading stocks.Same with the tax lien programs…The people who say it worked are always on blogs, and the internet and speakers at the seminars. But never anybody YOU MEET…The Devil is in the details. The reality is that if these programs were so easy and simple…they wouldnt spend their time on the seminar circuit, they woud be using their own product to roll over their money time and time again.
I might sound like a pessimist but the get rich quick and easy pitch is a time honored way to get people to open their pocketbooks…Study and experiance are truly undervalued in our economy.
I went to one of these not knowing that it was a sales pitch for the software (duh!). Anyway, they touted that all these great speakers were going to be there and the only one that showed up was Colin Powell. I had not heard of any of the others. I think Donald Trump was on the bill, but he was not there and I don’t remember the rest because they weren’t there. When my husband went today, I told him that he would be lucky if ONE of the named people on the bill was actually there. Apparently Sarah Palin opened. However, I doubt he will see Lou Holtz, Zig Ziglar, Rudy Guiliani AND Colin Powell this afternoon since only Palin had spoken up through lunch time. Here’s what you need to ask yourself: if I had REALLY had a sure fire way to make money on the stock market or real estate, etc., WHY would I tell YOU the tricks of the trade? WAKE UP PEOPLE, IT’S A SCAM!! It’s the same with all of these “motivational” seminars whether it be real estate or stock market. The way these people actually make their money is by selling your their books, CDs, DVDs, courses, seminars, etc. Sure they may have made some money in the stock market and/or real estate, but the REAL money is what they are selling YOU! If they were really all that successful at investing in stock sitting in their living room, then they would have no need to travel around the country hocking their scams and putting on these big productions. Think about it! I’m a Personal Trainer, and when people ask me about this pill or that product that burns or melts or blocks fat, I say, “if you could REALLY lose weight by taking a pill, do you think anyone would be fat?”
I attended the meeting in Houston yesterday. Palin did open the speaking, following a strong singer, a brief video and the openint words of our emcee.
Lou, Rudy, Colin and even Zig were there; Zig was my Sunday School teacher in the early 90′s. I was uncomfortable watching him on stage, fearing he was going to fall at any moment.
The buck hustlers probably stole the show (and eventually some people’s money, from what I’m reading here) with their style of presentation. However, I felt that Krish Dhanam seemed to reach the audience more effectively than anyone else, even if that offended folks who are whacked out by the mere mention of the name “Jesus.”
Rick Belluza was interesting, as well.
Did it change my life? No, but I’m not sure they really think it’s supposed to. It did open my eyes to the reality that I’m not getting any younger, and that I had best take better care of my family while I still have it.
We got tickets and beacuse of road bloacks and traffic we did not get in and it was so over crowed cars got towed. We sat in traffic 3hours trying to get to the event here in houston texas
I attended the seminar in El Paso yesterday, and I would agree with Brad that the first half of the seminar was the best part, and well worth either the 5 dlls I would have paid, or the 20-someting dollars a company would pay to take a whole office. The second half did seem indeed like an infomercial, but out of about 10 speakers, only two tried to sign you up for a seminar. Some make it seem like every single speaker tried to get you sign up for something and that was not the case. Those offended by the references to God and Jesus… if these people truly believe they owe their success to God, and want to share that “secret” with you, all you have to do is either take it or leave it. It’s just amazing how so many people get offended at the mere mention of “Jesus.” I have read a lot of reviews about the seminar, and most seem to be negative… most reviews that is. Tens of thousands of people attend the seminar, and I found only 20 negative reviews in one website, that doesn’t mean everyone else enjoyed it, but that doesn’t mean the majority didn’t get anything out of it either.
Just got back from first 1/2 of this “GetMotivated” seminar. Don’t waste your time. It was very dumbed-down. Rudy Giuliani had charisma but only added that we should “read” and learn technologies like “computers” and “smart phones”. Dr. Schuller, the religious leader that has the Crystal Catheral in California, he kept saying something about not be believe in “impossibility”.
Bland messages for a bland public. It’s easy for millionaires to be up on stage professing their advice but (1) the message was very watered down (2) they don’t have the guts to offer a complex message.
Example- Ok, Rudy G., we’ll learn how to use computers and a smart phone….then we’ll realize that ALL MEDIA is a conduit for useless news. That’s right, we live in a country where we are made to believe that reading the news about a bombing in Afghanistan, or earthquakes, or political scandals, is RELEVANT to us. It is not.
Example- Ok, Dr. Schuller we’ll believe in “possibility” not “impossibility”, until you tell someone you’re idea and they shoot you down.
Cynical on my part? Yes, and very realistic.
American people now worship money and millionaires. How about an employed person up in front of 12,000 people with a message of hope? A lot harder to find than these smug millionaires.
The only thing I can say is that I called it before it started, it was a waste of time. GetMotivated, yes, realize that you have to dumb-down everything to be at the level of most of the American public.
Go ahead and post your comments ’cause I won’t be back on this site anyway.
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