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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I was indeed grateful that you contacted me by twitter. Dad is still traveling because he believes his example in a tough stiutation can inspire others. Nobody is perfect, but those who have the toughest physical and mental challenges can often inspire those of us who are blessed. I think of Christopher Reeves and Michael J Fox. The risk of looking awkward or not being perfect is much less than the risk of not inspiring someone in their time of need.
Embrace the Struggle!
Tom Ziglar,
Proud Son of Zig Ziglar
Tom Ziglars last blog post..A Song of You
Tom, I think we all can learn from your father’s example. I could not help but think about what performer “Sting” said in an interview I saw once. He said “charisma is appearing to your audience that you cannot do what you set out to do and then proving everyone wrong by doing it extraordinarily.” I am paraphrasing because that was probably 15 years ago… anyway like I mentioned above when Mr. Zigler got on stage I felt uneasy in a little bit unsure whether he was going to be able to pull it off. He ended up being one of the best speakers of the day!
If we fall down doesn’t mean we cannot get up and continue on our journey. Maybe we have to make some alterations as your father did in changing the format of his presentation to from a one-man show to a interview format. It worked exceedingly well for him.
Side question: If you have a moment, could you comment your thoughts about what I’d call the circus-like atmosphere of the presentation or the latest get motivated seminars? I remember seeing Brian Tracy your father Zig Zigler 20 years ago and it was not extravagant. There were no fireworks. Yet I came away with a 20 year dedication and respect for both of them. The glitz and glamor of the G.M. seminar seemed a bit over the top to me. Your thoughts?
I too was at the Get Motivated Seminar in Greensboro and signed up for the $99 Investools 2-day Workshop that was offered by Phil Town. The information I learned was very very valuable. I’m excited to begin managing my own retirement account in a self-directed IRA with the tools, data and education I received from Investools. The workshop was WELL worth the $99….they did of course offer another level of education that I did not sign up for at this time, but will in the future as I begin the reap the rewards of my knowledge from the past 2 days.
Just to point out, not every opportunity that is presented is a scam…and Investools certainly is not! It is a genuine opportunity to become actively involved in establishing long range financial goals and working toward them. It doesn’t take a genius to learn the info. and apply it successfully. I know I can do it after the 2 day workshop!
All the best,
Christina
I attended the seminar in Philadelphia on June 17th. All I can say is what an awful, awful event. I felt terrible for the great Zig Zigglar who has been reduced to a rambling senior citizen (they had no business allowing him to speak), Tamara Lowe was dreadful! She is one of the most self serving people I have ever seen. Photo after photo, story after story, of how great she is and how famous she is, blah, blah, blah. Who cares!! Now she wants us all to come to Jesus. She is eveything that is wrong with Christianity. Her book is lame too.
The Bad
Donavan McNabb-terrible speaker, Charlie Manuel-terrible speaker, Phil Town-infomercial, James Smith-vulgar and racial, Keith Craft-orange tan, bad emcee, Colin Powell -added nothing of significant value other than the “cool factor”
The Good
Steve Forbes-American Hero, Rudi Guliani-American Hero
Overall, a real waste of time.
Alec, tell us how you really feel.
Just kidding. Like I said above, Zig did a good job in GSO – too bad he wasn’t up to par in Philly.
Re: Tamara Lowe, I too had problems with her presentation. Too many, really. But I had hoped to get some women to comment as to whether she was good or not before I got into it.
James Smith… was he the guy who kept saying “Watch this, this is huge!” ??
I attended the Get Motivated Seminar in Cinci, OH.
What pulled me to the event was the VIP speakers like Dr. Robt. Schuller, former First Lady-Laura Bush–and she was a true lady, General Colin Powell, and of course Zig.
All of the VIP were spectacular–I even liked the presentation that Tamara gave on the DNA of success. I found it very helpful in knowing how to detemine what motivates ourselves & others.
There were several speakers–including that James Smith that you were referring that gave some good information but a very strong pitch. He is one of the worst speakers I have ever listened to in terms of delivery–although I did get a few good notes from him. His ‘watch this’ got very old very quickly. Nobody loves him more than he does.
All in all I am glad I went–I didn’t purchase a thing–but it was worth it to listen to those VIP’s in person and spend some time with a friend of mine that went with me.
I also did some networking & met some other great people at the event.
I also attended the Phila. seminar yesterday. So here’s a woman’s take on the event (with a few asides to Alec). I too felt Tamara Lowe was a bit over the top, but just a bit. I did find her a little too southern-belle-sugary in demeanor. But, I must disagree with Alec; didn’t think she was “dreadful”. And I certainly didn’t think she embodied “everything that is wrong with Christianity”. (Actually, I wasn’t aware that there was anything “wrong” with Christianity.) It’s obvious Alec doesn’t share her beliefs, but what’s wrong with her relating those beliefs to the audience if that’s been a large part of her experience? Don’t be so quick to be offended. Be polite, listen, and take what you can from it! Found her “Motivitational DNA” theory very interesting and wished she’d spent more time on it.
As far as McNabb and Charlie Manual — Alec, are you sure you’re from Philly? Everyone knows Charlie isn’t much of a speaker, but that’s part of his down-home charm! Thought they both, along with Cole Hamels, did a good job. Were you listening to what they said, or just how they said it? Lighten up — they’re sports guys, not poets or diplomats.
Speaking of diplomats, Gen. Colin Powell and Rudy Giuliani were high points of the event for me. Both polished speakers, and well, how can you not be impressed? When they say they’ve been there and done that, you know its true! Thoroughly enjoyed both their presentations. Again, have to disagree with Alec, especially his smarmy “cool factor” crack.
As far as Phil Town — didn’t think his entire presentation was an infomercial. Some useful life lessons there. But when I realized it was going in that direction, I used the time to get a snack and return some voice mails.
Didn’t think Zig Ziglar was that embarrassing. Maybe its because my parents are his age, and I’m familiar with their struggles. So what if he repeated himself a few times? He’s a true legend and I’m glad I had the opportunity to see him.
The one speaker who was my absolute favorite was Krish Dhanam. His presentation was exactly the right amount of humor, sincerity, motivation and enthusiasm. Wished his stage time was twice as long. Would pay to see this guy again!
So…was it a perfect day? No. Am I glad I went? Yes!
The investools seminar is one of the old-school hard-sell ripoffs. Shame on the organizers of “Get Motivated” for partnering with these snakes. This country needs stronger oversight.
I attended the seminar in Albany NY on 7/21/09. I did find this to be a very faith based seminar. I did not take offense, but know many people did. It is advertised as a Motivational Business Seminar. I felt terrible for Zig Zeigler, please do not embarass this man futher to make money.
I did sign up for Phil Town’s seminar which I am scheduled to attend
this weekend (think I got scammed, we’ll see).
Colin Powell, hurray! Rudi….well, what can I say I’m a NY’er… other than that, would not recomend…I agree the “catch this” guy, Jim Smith
pompus, not impresive AT all..
Saw the Get Motivated seminar in Pittsburgh on August 11th. I signed up for Phil Town’s seminar and was wondering what you thought of it Pam.
I attended the seminar in Pittsburgh on August 11th, 2009. I also thought that it was awful.
I agree that everything that was already stated about Tamara Lowe, I had to ask myself, “Is everything that she is saying a big fat lie?”
I sldo that that the whole thing was a big SCAM!!!!!! Huge SCAM!!!! I’m glad that I didn’t pay for this (my employeer did) I left there feeling unmotivated and depressed thinking that all of those people sat there believing every word that these people said.
Terry Bradshaw was very funny, but did he tell me anything about motivation? NO!!! He told stories of the past as well as everyone else.
This seminar had nothing to do with MOTIVATION!!!!!! It had a very religious undertone!!! Everyone knows that religion sells, for most.
Phil Town must own stock in the company that he promotes. And come on….a $3200 program for just $99 you have 20 minutes to sign up for this program. What a joke!!!! I saw about 1000 people getting in line to sign up for this class, just giving their credit card information………I said to my friend, do you really believe that all of those people are going to be millionaires? Another get rich quick scam!!!!
Zig Ziglar, though I felt soory for the man, he needs to retire. His family must be money hungry in order to put him up there on that stage!!!!! Poor man!
I attended the seminar in Pittsburgh, 8/11. We had different speakers about the same mixed reaction. Loved Terry Bradshaw, really enjoyed Krish, liked Phil Town (I’ve been to an Investools workshop before) Tamara Lowe took me by surprise – had no clue I was going to be asked to do an affirmation for Jesus Christ! Quite a downer before lunch… Rudy Guiliani & Colin Powell were excellent. I enjoyed Zig and his son because I’ve always enjoyed Zig and seeing triump over adversity rings with me. Then – the worst speaker ever – James Smith. My group was absolutely stunned. Racist, sexist, smug – way too controversial. Kept talking about being saved – then, wham – talked about shooting an old lady between the eyes with a “dead skank” tag. Yikes – stunned. Google him and “scam”, “fraud” everything bad comes up. Then to end with another infomercial from Bob Littell – we left. I don’t care if I have a chance to win $10,000 – I felt like the life had been sucked out of me.
I had the same take on the Pittsburgh day as Barb. James Smith was so offensive. Phil Town came off very knowledgeable and we signed up for the Invest Tools workshop which was terrible. I could tell a big, hard sell was coming and by the end of the 1st day we were give the news that their PhD program would be $35,000! I attended the Internet Marketing seminar today and they were selling a $6,000 program. Toward the end of the day, the presenter was withholding the rest of the information because “people here are taking notes who have told their counselors no to the program”. He kept berating the audience asking why would we come and take notes if we aren’t going to take advantage of the program. He told us we were wimps for not being able to spend $6,000. I think the Get Motivated seminar is just one big infomerical and way to prey on Americans. I am surprised that some quality speakers are associated with this event.
I attened the seminar in Albany NY…I too felt it was a HUGE scam..
Poor Zig Ziglar please do not use a person who is in his condition, it is an unjust to the man. His daughter and family should be ashamed!
The only thing worth the wait was Col. Colin Powel. What an amazing man.
Pam, please see my post above. I believe Zig’s appearances have little to do with his family and everything to do with what HE wants!
Toni, I can relate to much of what you said. However, I don’t want this to get tooooo negative. There were some good points to the program and some bad as well.
I also disagree that Zig Ziglar’s family is money hungry. I know his son Tom and that’s not the case at all. Zig has a big motivation to help other people and spread his wisdom. I am sure despite his injury, his motivation is still strong to do this. It’s not a matter of what his children and family want. They are there because Zig wants to keep going – at least that’s what I know of the situation.
Try telling someone who loves their career that they are “too old” and need to retire and you’ll see what I mean…
We should support people (despite their handicaps) who have a lot to offer like Zig instead of making sweeping and hurtful generalizations.
To all who have commented about Zig at the Get Motivated Seminars. As his son I have a little bit different perspective than most. I understand how different people have different perspectives. Please know that we get dozens of responses from each and every event, and the responses are overwhelmingly positive. For every person who is concerned that Dad should not be on stage because of his current health, there are 15 people who are encouraged that he keeps on despite the challenges. Over the last several months we have changed the format substantially adding in more video and vintage video of Dad so that people who do not know him can see him in his “prime”. I put the word “prime” in quotes because even though he is not the speaker he was a few years ago from a professional standpoint, his example and his presence speak louder than anything he has ever said.
The question we will all face (if we are lucky) is how are we going to respond or react when we are dealt a cruel blow by life. Dad’s fall was very tough, but make no mistake about it, his heart and soul are about making a difference, and he believes that people will benefit more from his message of embracing the struggle than if he simply gave up. We are traveling and making the trips as easy on him as possible because that is what he wants. Yes it is tough, and yes some people don’t understand. I appreciate the comments on this site because I believe most people have the right intentions. Thanks Brad for creating this discussion.
.-= Tom Ziglar´s last blog ..Big Scar, Little Man =-.
Tom,
I was at the seminar and saw your Dad this afternoon. I have heard about him for years and was thrilled to have the chance to hear him speak. I was surprised and saddened to hear of his brain injury. I noticed that he repeated a few things over and over again. All I can say is, if I had to hear anyone repeat something over and over again, I would hope to hear a man who’s been married to the same woman for over 60 years say how much he loves his beautiful wife. I’d love to listen to a man who believes you need to show your love everyday, not only for the sake of each other, but for the well-being of your children. Your family should continue touring with your Dad as long as he wishes. It was a priviledge to see him today.
Brad, I have to comment on your remarks to Toni, about Zig Ziglar, and Tom Ziglar’s subsequent e-mail. I attended the seminar in Phila., and cannot agree with you more when you say: “We should support people (despite their handicaps) who have a lot to offer like Zig instead of making sweeping and hurtful generalizations.”. I think some are so adamant about Zig’s retiring because his appearance is uncomfortable for them. People are so used to seeing scripted, “perfect” performances that they can’t handle anything that is more akin to the realities of real life (as opposed to “reel” life). So they think his family is up to something nefarious because they support him. With the stellar career Zig has had, I sincerely doubt his family is hurting financially. More to the point, Tom Ziglar’s comment: “The question we will all face (if we are lucky) is how are we going to respond or react when we are dealt a cruel blow by life.” should be considered by those who would wish to turn away from the realities of infirmity and old age. I applaud Zig and his family for continuing to share his many years of knowledge and wisdom. If he isn’t the embodiment of motivation, I don’t know what is.
I also attended the event in Pittsburgh on August 11 and I am glad Tom Zigler chose to respond. I didn’t know what to make of his family’s presentation and he helped me put it in perspective. However, I don’t see how Zig in his prime would be found on the same stage as James Smith.
As for the rest of the event, there seemed to be two underlying agendas. Lowes’ organization obviously is trying to put some kind of down home Christian gloss on the event (to disarm the crowd and/or maybe they think they are reaching people), but the real reason these events happen is so he and James Smith can share in the subsequent seminar profits. “Scam” might be a little strong, but not by much.
I attented one in BUffalo,NY yeaterday.Get motivated stuff was just a scam. Except one or two speeches it was just a bull shit. We could just youtube it for real motivational videos. I was just disappointed by Zigler’s appearance. I expected a lot from him. Not from the interviews shown on the big screens but from real life Zigler. After that I youtubed Zigler and had a lot of his old videos. If you are not associated with christian missionary you will hate it. and Democrats dont go there!!
Thanks for commenting, Tom. I can’t wait to see your dad in Cincinnati on 10/06/2009. He’s the driving reason I want to attend, in fact.
Have any of you guys even see these guys personal websites. You can buy there DVD’s with special tips to get motivated and so on for hundreds of dollars. Sorry i am in no position to go out and spend 100, 200, 300 and sometimes 500 and more on one dvd or a series to get motivated. Yes this getmotivated i honestly believe is a scam to get you in at a low price. Build you up, give you just a bit of tease and then say “hey we have side shops or these DVD’s where you can learn more” but wait theres more. You choose to buy the dvd’s or go to the side meetings and guess what you encounter another meeting where more light and more info is ready at a larger cost. Im sorry that Zig, Colin, and Rudy and laura have ammounted to this.
You wanna get motivated, you will need help from your friends and families not some rich Tamara Lowe jesus loves me crap, or Laura Bush wife of doouchbag. Jesus christ will not come down and bless you will millions on a lucky lottery ticket or via a windfall……. Im sorry he just wont.
Think of it as this, getmotivated is just like those infomericals you see at late night promiseing millions by doing this and that on the internet, or by buying properties. Did you know that over 90% of those infomericals are being investigated by Attorneys Generals from numerous states but yet they still air those commericals. Did you know that each infomerical will automatically sell your info and offer upgradable programs that you must buy in order to find the real secret to help you make money, then when you buy it there really is no secret. A website had on it where you can go online and do surveys and get paid like $20-$50 per survey, so my sister thought hey she would do it. She paid the $40 to get started and did a survey on DR Pepper, it took 50 minutes and all she got was 15 cents, yes 15 cents. Good luck to you all
Just attended the Hartford, CT., G.M. Seminar-9-9-09. Line-up was pretty much the same. There was Tamara, Krish, Phil Town, James Smith, Laura Bush, Forbes, Guliani and Gen. Powell, Montana and Zig. There was another speaker after the General, but we left.
This was a pyramid scheme of sorts. You charge 5.00($10.00 if you bought the useless workbook)/head X 19k people=somewhere between 100-200k is made. Tamara takes the cash and pays her speakers- 10-25k each, only the big names, Zig, Colin, Laura, Montana. The others don’t get paid but reap the rewards of the side seminars where they will teach you how to sell and buy property, stocks, etc. Thats the scam in a nutshell.
Phil Town, James Smith, Tamara, are the ones who benefit. They get you there with the names and then sell you a bunch of snake oil. Story after story about how they made money etc…
The religous overtone makes you think wow, how could someone so ripe with belief in God and Jesus rip us off???
They say over and over how you need to be nice to others, “do onto others as you would want done to you” sort of stuff. Attempting to gain your confidence and your trust that anyone who quaotes the Bible and tells me to be good to others can’t possibly be trying to screw me…ha ! Watch your wallet on this one kids. The best part of the seminar was the two beers and greasy sandwhich my buddies and I enjoyed at a local Irish Pub on the lunch break. Otherwise, keep your 5 or 10.00 bucks.
As far as Zig, I felt bad for the man. Wish I saw these posts before I went, however then I maynot have had those wonderful beers !!!
My take on the Hartford event is very similar to Alfio’s. They used the big names (Montana, Forbes, Giuliani, Powell and Laura Bush) to attempt to establish some level of credibility in order to promote their financial agendas. Lead generation at its’ finest, and it worked with thousands of people signing up for future “discounted” seminars at which more money will be extracted from the attendees.
Personally, I enjoyed the presentations of most of the speakers, even James Smith who came across as “in your face” and somewhat confrontational , but he certainly was interesting and memorable. Montana was good, Giuliani was good, Forbes very good, Powell wasoutstanding as always, even if its basically the same speech he has been giving for several years.
I truly felt sorry for Zig Ziglar. He repeated the same stuff four or five times, and didn’t realize it. I hear that he was an outstanding speaker and motivator in his day, but he was in a fog on Wednesday, even with guidance and coaching from his daughter at his side.
I found Tamara Lowe to be less than credible, and still find it hard to believe that she is the #1 female motivational speaker in the world. Nothing that she said seemed to be true. Phil Town and James Smith were both interesting, but it was clear that they were there to make money off the seminars, software, coaching, etc. that will follow in the coming weeks.
The emcee was a very milfish blonde woman who was very easy on the eyes. However, I could have done without the fireworks, rap artists, transparent use of patriotism and our armed forces, and religious overtones.
The whole thing reminded me of a timeshare presentation, with some big names on the bill to put lots of butts in the seats.
One pleasant surprise was Krish Dhanam, a Ziglar disciple. Krish is an EXCELLENT speaker and made a very good impression on everyone I talked to. He has a few videos on Youtube worth watching.
All in all, it was an interesting way to spend a day and I’m glad I went. If you go to one of these “Seminars” just take it for what its worth, a hyped up infomercial.
I enjoyed most of the speakers, particularly those that relayed life experiences that could motivate all of us. However, just like church and state are separate there’s a line in the sand that religion and business should also be separate. It was insulting and offensive to go what was portrayed as a business motivational seminar and hear about God and Jesus Christ. That may work well in the deep south or mid West but not in the Northeast. The “born again” theme resinated throughout many speeches. If I want to hear about Jesus Christ, I’ll accompany my Christian friends to church. I don’t believe the businessess that paid for employees to attend would have done so had they known about the underlying theme of religion.
My prior post was based on my opinion only and not necessarily based on fact. You should check out my comments for yourself
Sam, I am confused. Who are you speaking to? And what post?
Get motivated seminar! What a great name. However, they leave out the rest of the title, which is “Get Motivated to buy our overpriced, crappy products” Everything about the seminar encourages this from the music, the the constant comments about avoiding procrastination, to the hard sell etc.
Sadly, they found a lot of suckers taking the bait. For example, if you have a great stock trading software that identified great bargains and market trends, would you tell anyone about it…..let alone sell it? No way! You would hoard it and make billions. Even if you were to sell it, if it worked so well, why not sell it to one of the wallstreet firms for billions and not have to sell it at seminars? Doesn’t this occur to anyone? Even worse, when you go to their training, don’t they hard sell you on a $25,000 upgrade package in order to get the real value from the software? My opinion is that they are doing this because they found some suckers. Why not keep it up?
The get motivated seminar is fine as long as you take it for what it is: A giant informercial to buy their products. As long as you leave your wallet at home, you should be fine. However, paying $5 for entry, what did you expect?
I actually feel sorry for the seminar groupies that keep coming back to this program.
How on earth did Colin Powel and Laura Bush get teamed up with the “Get Motivated Seminar”. I saw them in Des Moines Sept. 17th. Don’t get me wrong, the seminar was fantastic and they had some great speakers but as a whole, it was very deceptive in regards to it’s purpose. The “Lowes” (who put on the show that tours the nation) that put the whole thing, have teamed up with at least 3 other companies that solicit their get rich schemes throughout the show. The real estate and web site seminars appear to be fairly harmless, although I am sure they try to suck you in to annual contracts with their web services.
The shock is that the stock market seminar is actually tied up with “Investools” which is under investigation for fraud by almost every attorney general in the nation. After the initial 2 day training school for $99, they scam you in to paying as much as $16,000 more to attend more schools to actually use the full extent of their web tools. There are hundreds, if not thousands of complaints about this company on the internet and yesterday, virtually hundreds if not several thousand people signed up for one of their 10 upcoming schools in Des Moines.
I can’t believe that Colin Powell and Laura Bush could possibly know that they are involved with the likes of this operation. Obviously the “Lowes” get a good percentage of these other 3 companies revenue from these seminars. Please help save a lot of people in the Des Moines area from losing thousands of dollars on a scam. They actually have 3 days to get back their $99 for the initial seminar. Let the buyer beware….. but a little help from the media goes a long ways.
Also, I would love to contact Colin Powel and Laura Bush to explain what kind of company they are really associated with. Do you have any suggestions for contacting them. Somehow, I can’t believe that they would be giving their speeches to tens of thousands of people throughout the US knowing that they are partially responsible for sucking all of these innocent people into these scams.
I agree, I can’t believe some of the speakers know the kind of organization they are lending their names to. I was also in DSM on the 17th. You skip over the infomercials and come away with a reminder of what you already knew. Good to get out with friends for the day & hear a caliber of people speak that you would not normally have the opportunity to hear (Dr. Shuller, Powell, Bradshaw and others). I’d do it again.
Just attended Get Motivated in Des Moines, IA on 9-17-09. I feel the same way that most of the other posters: Robert Schuller was great; Laura Bush was okay; Colin Powell was terrific–the best of the day. Terry Bradshaw was funny, but didn’t teach me anything. Tamara Lowe was full of herself. She had some good information about Motivational DNA, but it was lost in her self-promotion and scripted altar call. I was really disappointed in Zig Ziglar. I understand he wants to continue his legacy, but this can best be done by selling DVDs, not personal appearances. If I want to see someone dealing with short-term memory loss, I will go visit my dear grandmother in the nursing home, not watch it on stage. Phil Towne was interesting, but I don’t need to buy software that costs me $600/year to invest. That would take a big return to cover the cost of that. I agreed with most everything James Smith had to say, just not the way he said it.
I enjoyed spending the day with my friend at the seminar–that was the best part of the day. It was a well run seminar, but seeing Zig Ziglar was supposed to be the biggest highlight and was the biggest disappointment.
Donna notes,”I agree, I can’t believe some of the speakers know the kind of organization they are lending their names to. ”
______________________________
Response: Are you kidding? First, these speakers didn’t investigate what was being sold at the seminars and didn’t have the time to do so.
More to the point, however, is that they had at least 20,000 to 50,000 reasons ( reason= dollars) to not care! I have seen money affect people very badly. I am sure these folks rationalized as follows:
” I am not selling this stuff and therefore aren’t responsible. In addition, aren’t the buyers of these products adults capable of making their own decisions?”
I would bet that Laura Bush, Terry Bradshaw and even Colin Powell used the rationale that I gave.
This workshop was a great way to get the lost saved through Jesus Christ but they don’t tell you about the extra costs when you attend the seminars at a later date.
To get more information you have to spend more later and it may be good for some but not all.
Lots of times it takes money as well as risk to make money…..well nothing in life is truly free and sure except for salvation and eternal life in heaven when you accept Jesus as your personl Saviour.
Scranton / Wilkes Barre “Get Motivated”. 09/22/2009
WORST. SEMINAR. EVER.
I attended the Get Motivated Seminar in Des Moines last week. Yes there were great speakers and yes there were infomercials. I knew this going into the seminar. Of course they tried to sell me books and seminars. I’ve been curious about the stock market and the investools web site is useful. Is it a magic trick? No. Does it take some time and judgement about what to buy/sell? Yes. I could spend $99 on books at Barnes and Noble about stock market trading. No big loss. Anyone attending the seminar should have done enough research to know that it would be a sales pitch, otherwise why are they in business?
My thoughts on the speakers:
Dr Schuller – good as always, not much different than on tv
General Colin Powell – excellent I had never seen him before. I liked his personal anecdotes especially about the first trip to the airport as a private citizen.
Phil Town – good speaker, professional, methodical, and he believes in what he sells. I will post about the seminar but I know that it is not his company and I will let the hard sell for “phd” go over my head.
Laura Bush – the only speaker that used a podium and notes but her points about education were timely and she is very polished.
Tamara Lowe – cheesy. She runs a good event but she should stay behind the scenes. She has a tendency to punctuate her sentences with a “tschk”, pat her belly, and she wore an awful bright pink wool suit with white fluffs of lint all over. I think that she thought it was a designer suit, but even Jackie O could not have made that thing work.
Terry Bradshaw – funny as ever, dynamic, entertaining, and yes he believes in God.
James Smith – he was abrasive but at times funny. He also really believes in what he sells. I think if you spend all day every day learning about real estate you can probably make a profit but it was not my thing.
Rudi Guiliani – exactly what I expected about 9/11/2001 and a little more background like when he clerked for a judge. Nice way to make the point that you have to be prepared. Just like the Boy Scouts.
There was another guy that talked about making money by running a business on the internet. His talk was just okay. I was really there at that point to see if I won $10,000.
The you have to be here to win is a bit of a scam. They draw one name and by the time they draw 80% of the crowd is gone. Seems to me it would increase my odds. They draw one name. They do not draw until they draw a name of someone who had the tenacity to stay until the end. Smart move for the organizers, shame on me for being surprised.
Enjoyed the seminar yesterday, though, as expected there were lots of offers (priced low just for today!) to attend other seminars. I was saddened by the state of Zig Ziglar – time to retire. If you weed out the obvious come ons there were some good speakers. I particulary enjoyed Rudy Guiliani and Krish Dhanam, may be a coincidence that they weren’t selling anything.
I am curious if anyone has actually seen anyone win the $10,000. I expected big fan fare in announcing the winner, but they announced it almost as an afterthought and immediatley walked off the stage. There was no one whooping in the audience because they had just won $10,000. Do they really give it away?
Yes, the do give it away and did give it away yesterday at the end of the seminar in Louisville. The woman was present and was asked to come claim her prize.
I haven’t found anything anywhere to prove that anyone has ever won the $10,000 in one of their seminars. All they want, is for people to get through their final get rich scheme speech.
This is the BIGGEST BAIT AND SWITCH EVER –
These people make Bernie Madoff look like a saint.
A Lion In Sheep’s Clothing:
People need to know how millions of people are being fleeced out of billions of dollars from this seminar.
One of the biggest bait and switch scams ever seen is making its way across America and no one is doing anything about it because it is being disguised and masqueraded as a motivational seminar with celebrity speakers including Colin Powell, Laura Bush, Rudy Giuliani, and Terry Bradshaw to lure millions of these people into a big venue arenas. These people make Bernie Madoff look like a saint. Please write me for more information or google “Get Motivated scams or rip-offs”. No one really understands or sees the magnitude of the money that this scam generates. The sad thing is that it has been going on for years. President Clinton was on the tour with them in 2002.
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A motivational seminar sounds innocent enough. Who among us doesn’t need a little motivation once in a while. With the economy the way it is, most of us need a boost. Wouldn’t it be even better if such a seminar included speakers such as Colin Powell, Laura Bush, Rudy Giuliani, and Terry Bradshaw to lure thousands of these people into a big venue arena. It would be better yet if the arena was filled with giant jumbotron televisions, some exhilarating music, fireworks and a light show.
Well, a company called “Get Motivated” is doing that very thing. The only problem is that they are using the stage as a platform for perpetuating a giant fraud. They are ambushing the unsuspecting audience when they least expect it and when they are most vulnerable. It is fraud and deception at its worse. They’re dangling carrots in front of the horse and then bringing in the vultures later to clean out their pocket books. Never has there been such a “Bait and Switch” scheme of this magnitude where they lure you in on a premise to do one thing and then, very tactfully and quite effectively, sneak something else in to sell you. This should be advertised as a “Get Rich Scheme Seminar”. The only problem is that they are the ones that are getting rich.
Please check out all the feedback on the internet regarding the participants of this fraud. Look up the players and ad rip off, scams, and reviews behind them and you come up with thousands of posts. Someone needs to do something about it. You can’t advertise one thing, sell a ticket, and then magically change the format.
These famous speakers are being dooped and so are all the attendees. The venue promises the big celebrities but nothing is said, about having to listen to 3 get rich speakers that aren’t even on their posted agenda. The “Lowe’s” (who run the seminars) are pulling off a scam to rip people off. Caveat emptor or let the buyer beware doesn’t really hold true when the captive audience is at the prey of their deception and deceit. The audience is highly vulnerable in this setting and are easy victims in their emotional state of trying to learn to be successful. Their highly unethical and possible criminal approach to promising people riches isn’t necessarily new but it has definitely taken on a new approach with their wide scope of celebrity speakers as a decoy. Their big venue approach in soliciting unsuspecting and susceptible targets for their deception has taken on a whole new meaning of fraud. http://www.getmotivated.com/city.aspx?a=5106
Perhaps the biggest scam in this, is hiding the highly suspect “Investools” company under the name of “Wealth Magazine Investor Education”. This “Investools” company is under investigation from almost every Attorney General’s office in the United States. (check out the internet for scams and rip off reports for both this company and “Get Motivated”. They are selling a $3950 dollar, 2 day course in day trading, for an unbelievable price of $99 with the idea that you will get rich from their award winning software. What they don’t tell you is that after the course, you will not be able to use the complete software without taking an advanced course for as much as a $1000 more and then after that course, taking another PHD course for as much as $10,000 or more. The illusion is that you can get rich for $99 but the reality is that they will keep after you until you use up all the money on your credit cards plus whatever else you can borrow.
I think it is one thing for such a seminar to sell their books and CD’s but these events are designed to suck you in and bleed you dry. I saw about 15,000 people pack the Wells Fargo Center in Des Moines, Iowa on the 17th of September and maybe as many as 5000 or more bought in to their hype and maybe more.
Please bring this to everyone’s attention.
Just attend and leave your wallets at home!!
I just attended the Get Motivated Seminar in Cincinnati 10/06/2009. The excellent headline speakers were worth the $4.95 ticket. I could have done without Tamara Lowe, Phil Town, James Smith, and Bob Kittel. I found it interesting that a former employee of Get Motivated as quoted below revealed that it is not really Phil Towns program, but he is just being paid by Get Motivated to promote it for Get Motivated! Another case of deception.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kaoss
Hello everyone.
I am actually a former employee of Get Motivated Seminars. I was bored surfing the net and I stumbled over this thread. Get Motivated Seminars is such a scam. All they want is your money. The reason the give out so many damn tickets for “almost free” is so they can get as many people to go to the seminars so they have a higher percentage of people to buy their over priced workshops. Did you know that Success Magazine is the same company as Get Motivated Seminars? I took calls for people calling in to cancel their workshops and I took ticket orders from the same phone. They just told us to answer the phone differently. Anyway… I don’t really think it is a good idea to waste your money on these workshops only to be conned into spending even more money. Yeah… it might help you, I don’t know, but it is way over priced and they will only keep raising the price ($495 up to $995 then up to $1995) just to see how much people are willing to spend to possibly make a little money. What are you really gaining here? Not much. You have to spend $300 every 6 months to keep the damn website on top of all the classed and personal mentors you wasted your money on. I actually did go to one of the seminars but I didn’t get to see the whole thing. I did however get to see Phil Town, who I thought was a surprisingly good speaker. Very good at persuading people to buy someone else’s work shop. That’s right folks… This is not his program. Get motivated seminars just pays him to sell it. Also I really didn’t like the fact that this is a religious based company. They would try to persuade the employees to go to bible studies while on the clock and take special “Motivated You” classes. No one can move up in the company unless you take these classes about religion. Also Peter Lowe has his “optional” 15 minute religious speech right in the MIDDLE of the seminar. Who is really going to get up with the risk of loosing their seats, its general seating (except the floor seats that they don’t even tell you about b/c they want you to get 150 tickets for $49) Anyway its almost like a religious cult there forcing people to hear about someone else’s beliefs. People should be able to believe what they want with out someone trying to push something else onto you. I just thought that was odd. Anyway I just thought I would give you all the inside view. Take it as you will.
Just one last thing… THEY WILL NOT CHARGE YOU IF YOU DON’T SEND BACK THE MATERIALS AFTER YOU CANCEL AND GIVE YOU YOUR REFUND!! DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON SHIPPING!
-Anonymous
Has anyone else had a problem with getting them to quit emailing you? The link to request to unsubscribe on the bottom of their email does not work, it comes back undeliverable. I’ve called them for 4 months now & requested to be removed from their email list. I’ve left messages for their marketing director and evidently they just don’t care unless you’re spending money on their scam products. I finally gave up this past Friday when I received yet another unwanted email from these phonies. They now have a formal complaint against them with the FTC for spamming. If anyone else has this same problem, forward your spam email to [email protected].
I was very angry this morning. My wife and I both took the day off and drove 50 miles to attend the Get Motivated seminar in Colorado Springs, Colorado. We finally found parking five blocks from the venue. When we got there, we found that they had sold more tickets than what they had seats available for. There wasn’t even room to stand in an isle as there were people everywhere. What a waste of time and money from several different standpoints! When you take into account earned income lost, mileage, parking, ticket price, meals, etc, it adds up to several hundred dollars! I’m furious!
I attended a Peter Lowe event in the past and enjoyed it immensely. I can assure you I won’t be attending any more of them and I have every intention of sharing todays experience on the Internet every chance I get. This was absolutely unacceptable!
I attended the seminar in Denver today and was disappointed. I was hoping to come away with some useful information but felt like I was sitting through an incredibly long infomercial. Some of the speakers were funny but not enough to make up for the sales pitches -quite a let down.
I attended today’s Get Motivated seminar in Denver, Colorado (10/13/09). I sat WAY up in the 3rd level even though my ticket stated “Premiere Seating”. I was not happy with this. Much to my surprise it was a sold out event. The parking fee of $10 cost more than the event ticket! Anyway, I did enjoy most of the morning speakers. Dr. Schuller was ok, he seems like a fairly down-to-earth man, and I certainly respect his longevity in Christian service. I thoroughly enjoyed Laura Bush. She is a classy lady, very much like my mom, and I identified with her. Colin Powell was amazing – I didn’t realize he could be so funny. I saw him speak a few days after the Columbine killings in 1999 at the memorial service on a cold, rainy day and of course he was quite solemn. So today’s speech was a treat. He seems like a gracious, honest man. Phil Town, a great speaker, who I had never heard of, was interesting until he started selling a $3200 seminar for $99. No thanks. Tamara Lowe – I guess I liked her as I listened to her more, but the God/Christ pitch at the end was inappropriate for a “business” seminar and I could hear the reactions of people around me that they were not comfortable. I am a Christian, and I fully believe in having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, but this was not the time/place for that. I left at the lunch break. So, I missed Rudi, Terry, Zig, and John Elway and my chance for $10k. I sure hope my name wasn’t called!
Denver’s Get Motivated Seminar was 10/13/09 and as you can see from the comments above, it was disappointing for many reasons. I’ve calmed down since that afternoon, but I, along with the four other people I attended with, had a very emotional response to this enormous event. We were misled, intentionally, as are all attendees of the Get Motivated Seminars. How can this business, in good conscience, not make it clear this is a Christian event? Reading advertisements and online information, it’s far from obvious that Christianity will be the thread running through most every speaker’s message in the afternoon. Tamara crossed the line with her speech, making it clear that her religion (not to be mistaken for a simple tempered spiritual message) is her agenda and that she’s there to propound that being a believer in Jesus is a key to being motivated.
Check her out on the 700 Club websitehttp://www.cbn.com/700club/guests/bios/tamara_lowe042309.aspx ….she believes attendees come to her Get Motivated seminars to “connect with God”. She’s traded a drug addiction for an addiction to the bible. These are not my words, but her’s and her bio on this site. Funny, I could have sworn it was billed as a motivational seminar, not a revival. I knew we’d be worked over to buy services or products (which was the case with Phil Town and others), but never did it occur to me that we’d be assaulted by the God-Squad, and so it went, with each speaker after her making a point to discuss being on the mound, the Lord, and numerous other Christian euphemisms and references.
I returned to my office late in the day and fired off a letter to Tamara Lowe, [email protected], for those who feel compelled to do the same. The following morning, while still unhappy about being duped, and in a state of awe (not religious awe, but that anyone could have the nerve to pull in 20,ooo people to fulfill their own agenda and cloak it as a business motivation seminar), my caller ID flashes up Tamara Lowe’s name. It was very kind and great customer service, we had to agree. She wanted to defend herself she said and she explained she felt if we took away anything good from the day, we need to look at that and disregard what we didn’t like. She agreed the Denver seminar was heavily Christian weighted based on the speakers of the day, but wanted to point out that other cities have speakers from other faiths speaking. She said she would refund us our cost.
We talked for about 15 minutes, and she seemed to hear that we weren’t upset she wanted to spend time expounding on Jesus, just that we should have been informed it was a big part of her “show” so that we could decide if we would want to partake of it. A discussion about being more forthcoming on the religious side was going to take place with her staff, she said to quell us. She was to follow up with her assistant calling us for information to credit us and my husband’s work group who paid almost $750 to sit near the stage. They too left early disgusted by the way we had been misled.
If you too feel this was a bait and switch, please contact them and request a refund. Perhaps, if they feel it in their pocket book, they will see that it’s unethical to pretend this was a motivational seminar so much as a pulpit from which Tamara and Peter’s business could expound on very personal beliefs of their own.
Three days after speaking with her, we’ve yet to hear from her assistant or be credited and will be curious to see if the website or future ads explain that the “spiritual” reference truly means a specific way of being spiritual is touted, a whole other gig. And attendees should know that Tamara’s fervor for Christianity results in those around her feeling quite heavily the “mission” she is on. Her attempts to draw together being successful and motivated require that one be a “believer” is presumptuous, haughty and has taken what could have been a wonderful day and left us wondering how people can justify making millions of dollars off unsuspecting crowds from city to city. I’ve learned to do more research before attending seminars in the future. Now that’s the best take-away lesson of the day.
Haven’t touched on the speakers – Zig (it was difficult to watch him in this state and we feared for him falling down the stairs, repeated himself many times), Colin Powell (he was the draw for everyone I spoke with). But, why they are associated with this group is beyond understanding. Each speaker should realize they are being complicit with Tamara and her agenda. Shameful.
Just a follow up to my earlier comments – As of Friday the 24th, we were credited for our fees to the Get Motivated Seminar in Denver, as promised. I URGE ANYONE WHO IS DISSATISFIED WITH GET MOTIVATED SEMINARS TO REQUEST A REFUND, NO MATTER HOW SMALL YOUR TICKET PRICE WAS. We’re still waiting to see if she will credit the higher price tickets my husband bought – close to $700. So far, they have not been refunded.
Heads up -In am email communication to Tamara, I did list several blogs, including this one, where comments were being left regarding her seminars and told her I felt reaffirmed by the numbers and the messages that were appearing. I am not surprised to suddenly see some of the exact same verbiage and “defense” (Tamara’s word, not mine) supporting her seminars appearing on this blog that she used during our conversation. Coincidence? I think not. Thank you for the money back Tamara!
Vicky
Glad you got your money back. Hope your husband does too. (I’m afraid I’d have to bet against it though)
I travel for much of my business, and do some work with the kind of companies who attend these seminars. As such, I have attended over 50-60 of these “Get Motivated” seminars over the past several years. I have much I COULD say about the events, but I choose to take the high road.
Except for one thing. The playing of the “God” card to separate people from their money, is just too much for me.
You said, in your call from Tamara, that she said YOUR event was heavily Christian based because of the speakers of the day. And that, other cities/events had speakers from other faiths. (She said this on the Rachel Maddow Show too) In my experience, this is just not true. I have seen this event dozens of times, all over the country, for years, and I have NEVER seen anyone “express” any faith other than Christianity. Some of the speakers may BE of other faiths, but I have NEVER heard anyone express ‘other than Christian’ views from the stage at any event that I have ever attended.
Someone once said….. “Beware of those who praise God the Loudest”
Happy Travels,
BT
I attended the Get Motivated Seminar Oct. 15 in Springfield, MO. Thoroughly enjoyed Colin Powell, thought Krish Dhanam was pure dynamite, even liked Tamara Lowe’s Motivational DNA concept. And it was an honor to see Zig Zigler. Period. On the opposite end of the scale was James “Can You Tell I’m Different” Smith. We left the arena after a few minutes of his crass diatribe…all capacity to “get this” quickly vanished. Excluding Smith, I enjoyed the seminar enough that I will probably attend again when they come back to town. Sales pitches aside, I was thrilled to hear a couple of world-class speakers for $5. I was even happy to shell out an extra $5 for the workbook – it has some good articles in it. HOWEVER, I’m glad I found this site because I signed up for the $99 Phil Town seminar (with some reservation, but did it anyway) – but after reading comments here, I will un-sign myself tomorrow and advise my friends to do the same…but I’m keeping the red bag!
Springfield, MO on October 15, 2009. Not a wasted day–since it was my boss’s idea to go, I was paid for the day there. And the good speakers (Powell, Zig, Dhanam) were worth it, for sure. About 3 hours after signing up for the seminar Phil Town pushed, I was already regretting it. Will NOT be going to that, but like Lynette–definitely keeping the red bag!
I’d like to know if anyone has received the 10,000 dollar prize to. maybe one of the ex-employees can comment. I won the prize about 8.5 (Aug 20th) weeks ago and was told that it would take 4-6 weeks to receive it. Well its been 8.5……… Anyone no how they actually work. They wont respond to my calls or emails. I was told they would check with accounting 11 days ago and have not heard back.
I don’t want to bash the company, but if you want to build trust at least respond.
If you have any paperwork stating you won. I would get a lawyer and try to get your money. In all of the seminars I’ve seen. I only ever saw one person “win”. and I have no idea if she was ever paid or not.
BT
I thought that the event in Springfield, MO was not a complete waste of time. I was sent there from work, as many others were, but was fortunate enough to be one of the service members down in the VIP section.
I found most of the speakers to have at least some kernel of value in them. Gen Powell was great, Bradshaw was funny and down to earth. I had never seen Zig speak, but the boss is always talking about him, so I paid close attention. I was a little disappointed when I heard he had his fall, but soaked up everything I could from the video screen.
I did sign up for Town’s seminar, and although I’m uneasy about it, I will still go to see what it’s all about. One thing I’ve learned is that if something is real, there will be the testimonials AND nay-sayers, I’ve found several of both, so I’ll see for myself.
The “catch this” got annoying real quick and didn’t really know where he was going with anything. Information came and went randomly, tangents were a plenty. I did write a couple quick things down in the workbook, but in the end I was dead set on NOT signing up for his class.
Was I motivated when I left? A little I guess, but I think it was because I had met several people and networked with business owners of the community more than the speakers of the event. Then again, nothing is sweeter than hearing your own name, and I’m in the Army. ‘Soldier’s', ‘Service member’s', etc were mentioned almost every time, and it makes you smile when you get recognized.
I still don’t understand how the celebrity speakers can live with themselves knowing how it is them that are attracting all of the lambs to the slaughter. The Lowe’s are getting rich using these big venue seminars as a platform for ambushing the unsuspecting audience to buy into one of their several get rich schemes. The problem is that once you buy into one of these other seminars, they keep making money off you. They get a piece of all of the action. Shame on them and the deception that they are bringing to millions of people.
Thanks to all
I’m going to tomorrow in Hershey PA. Too bad Gen. Powell is not going to be there. Can’t wait to hear Rudy. Laura I won’t miss.
I’ll be impressed just to finally see Zig. My plan is to park several blocks away, walk to the event, not sign up for anything and take my own lunch Out of pocket $10.00, how bad can it be? More to follow in 24 hours
I attended the seminar in Cincinnati, of which I thoroughly enjoyed. I’m thrilled to have been able to see Zig Ziglar! Zig is an institution, my my estimation, and a long-time favorite. Additionally, I wasn’t offended (at all) by the mention of God at this seminar. Many have said that this wasn’t the arena to bring God into the matter. For me personally, I don’t pick and choose the areas in my life of which God is accepted. I choose to have God included in all aspects of my life. I’d like to think it keeps me focused and centered. Ironically, every one of these highly credentialed speakers mentioned their strong faith …see a connection? Perhaps they all mentioned God because their strong faith is what helped them to be the successful, credentialed leaders they are? I believe faith is their common denominator, yes? Leaders don’t become leaders by being politically correct.
Look, I’m a business owner and I understand numbers. So if you are a numbers person, consider this…Statistically speaking, all of these speakers have a common denominator, which is their faith, so perhaps faith is something we should be considering in our own journeys to be leaders as well. It has worked for all of the speakers that were on the panel (the successful leaders that you paid to see and listen to their words of wisdom.) I personally do not want to deviate from a successful plan. Again, it has worked for the successful speakers. I’m going with what works. I want to know all of their formulas to success…not just the ones that make me feel comfortable.
I attended a Get Motivated seminar in San Jose in March 2009. For $20 I was skeptical too but was pleasantly surprised. Since they were doing a simultaneous event that day in San Francisco I imagined they would have half the speakers present by simulcast, but Rudi Guliani, Colin Powell, Zig Ziglar and all did appear in person. You get out of anything what you put into it. I came away impressed by the speakers and with a lot of new ideas.
I’m just home from Get Motivated in Hershey PA.
My opinion is it was what it is. You don’t complain about the quality of the shopper is Walmart. It is what it is.
It was an inexpensive day, I walked so no parking$, sneaked in my lunch. James Smith is arogant but I was motivated to go plastic for $49 and a 3 day seminar satisfaction guaranteed.
Rudy Guliani was excellent, Zig is old but his son Tom handled the interview quite nicely. Terry Bradshaw was funny.
I do not see this as a scam, just a darn good sales and marketing effort. I’m a senior citizen still active in a national sales role.
I attended one of the Get Motivated Seminars, it was interesting. However, I was double charged on my credit card bill and that has been even more interesting trying to get it rectified. I have been shuffled around from person to person, never able to talk to the same person twice, they are always tied up and can not return my call so you have to start EVERY TIME from point A, with absolutely no satisfaction. I have been disconnected from calls, basically been given the run around. Suddenly I’m beginning to figure out how the Lowe’s have acquired their wealth.
I went to the Get Motivated Seminar in Hershey. Overall a nice day off of work. I did like the speakers they had different aspects of being successful. Mr. Ziggler was ok, I can understand him still trying to make a difference, this is probably what keeps him going. But I feel if there is someone that can fill that slot better, it should be done. They do give you a sales pitch and you can not let your financial emotions get away from you here. They do sell hard real estate, and the stock market (I plan to cancel). If you take it at face value meaning to be entertained and can learn something then it is worth it. Overall I did not mind the religious overtones I am personally glad to see Christianity is still alive in this country. Go with an open mind and know they are also there to make it worth their time (selling items) you should find it worth your time. Patrick in PA
I attended the Get Motivated seminar in Hershey PA October 20th. I have attended several of these seminars in the past hwoever, the last was in Boston back in 2000. That one had great, relevant speakers all day and some had books or CDs to sell…no problems.
This one will ensure that I never go again. It is an all day infomercial. Rudy Guiliani, Bradshaw and Zig were great to hear. The rest is an unabbreviated attempt to sell you their product and do it nice and hard. I am a bit miffed that I took the bait on the Wealth Investor education and was suckered in to the hook. I look at all of the complaints about this company online and I have sent in my cancellation notice. I’ll probably have to show up anyway, go through some crap, and get my cancellation notice directly from them. Tamara Lowe has perfected this medium…you can compare it to the evangelical tent showing up in town and healing everyone and taking your money, skipping town, and on to the next one. I should have seen it coming…bah!
So many of you whiners are playing the victim part so well! “It’s a SCAM!!!!” “Beware!” “Don’t go in there!” “They’ll take your money!”
That type of “thinking” will keep you all in the poor house for the rest of your life. Don’t be such a baby! Less than 5% of the population ever builds wealth for themselves. Of the 5% that do, do you think they say the same B.S. you guys are spewing?! Grow up. If you need to “boo hoo” over a cheap ticket to see some of the most influential personalities alive today, you deserve to be broke!”
You have obviously missed out on a common message that was repeated over and over again at the seminars: Your thoughts rule your life!
I went to the Investools 2-day seminar for $99 dollars. Best $99 dollars I’ve ever spent! With the information I learned, in two months I have opened a brokerage account starting with $2,000 and have made over $360 in profits by picking the right stocks. That’s a 263% return on my initial $99 dollar investment. Or 18% on my $2,000. Applied knowledge is power.
But if you think acquiring knowledge is a SCAM, stay broke!
BOO!
I am very impressed that you made $360 without falling into their deception of shelling out a few more thousand dollars on their other courses. Many do this so they can use their software that they thought they could use with their $99 course.
The reality is, that this is still the biggest con that anyone has ever perpetrated and the celebrity speakers are performing the dubious honors of luring in the unsuspecting lambs for slaughter. If Billy Mays were still alive they would probably be having him selling you snake oil at these events and it would all be in the name of Jesus. Wonder if Jesus would have approved of Tamara Lowe taking advantage and misleading millions of people to make herself rich? I just think it stinks that these speakers are foolish enough to jump on her bandwagon and reap the awards of her speaker fees.
I for one, would be very thrilled to have the news media pick up on this so that Americans aren’t lured to these events anymore. If people stop going to these seminars, it will most certainly bring this dog and pony show to an end. Maybe the Lowe’s could do better by using their database to start a business billing Medicare?
Rick – What are you talking about?!?! Seriously!
You said – “falling into their deception of shelling out a few more thousand dollars on their other courses.”
On what basis are you saying that if I were to invest in their further courses that I would be “falling into their deception”?
Too many people can’t see the forest for the trees and it is really irritating and ignorant. How many people spend tens of thousands of dollars on going to college and university that don’t even get shown how to get a job or start a business when they graduate…? Why don’t you go and label the school system a SCAM too? Or complain about how we’re “lured” into paying tuition for an education that for many doesn’t amount to squat!
Next month I will be signing up to the Basic Options online course through Investools, or as you say “falling into their deception” so I can LEARN more about making more money. I’m investing in my education so I can learn more to earn more; obviously a concept that you still haven’t grasped. Poor you and everyone else who hasn’t gotten the message.
I also spent $3,000 to take a real estate investing course with Robert Allen’s Institute. Another course that I have seen people label a “SCAM” online . Shocking! Well with the knowledge that I learned there and their continued support, I bought a property, flipped the contract to another investor and made $7,500. That paid for the course and put $4,500 in my pocket. And I’m working on doing it over an over again. Maybe I got scammed because I didn’t make more on the first deal…..
You also said – “Many do this so they can use their software that they thought they could use with their $99 course.”
F.Y.I. – You get three months of free use of the software for your $99. But you and many other people wouldn’t know that because you didn’t go! You’re too chicken to step outside of your comfort zone and aren’t ready to stop playing a victim to every so called SCAM artist out there trying to sneak their hands into your wallet.
You said – “I for one, would be very thrilled to have the news media pick up on this so that Americans aren’t lured to these events anymore.”
Did I enjoy every minute of the “Get Motivated” Seminar? No. There were some speakers that didn’t resonate with me at all. But some did. Thankfully they had enough speakers that there was something for everybody.
I’m incredibly grateful for the fact that Phil Town and several others were there and exposed me to Investools. I know that by going to that course and the knowledge that I gained will make me a lot of money.
You can’t win a race if you don’t take the first step.
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