September 23, 2008
Motivational Seminar
I had been looking forward to this seminar for weeks. I had listened to Zig Ziglar and read many things written by him but I had never been to any of his seminars before. In addition to Zig, other speakers such as Rudolph Giuliani, Joe Montana, Brian Tracy, Rick Belluzzo, and Gen. Colin Powell were all listed in the days agenda. HUGE names that I was more than anxious to listen too.As the day began yesterday, I realized that my alarm that was supposed to go off at 4:45 in the morning did.not.go.off at all. Somewhere out of nowhere I woke up at 5:25. Fabulous! We were to leave at 5:45. I fixed my hair, got dressed, and grabbed my makeup bag and was out the door by 5:45! Go me!
There were 8 of us so we car pooled. We did not know how bad the traffic was going to be so we wanted to get there early. The doors opened at 6:45. We had no problem getting there and found a parking garage one block from the new fabulous BOK Center in Tulsa!
We walked up to the BOK Center and there was already a pretty good line. I sat on the steps and applied my makeup in nothing more than some of the building lights! Ha!
They soon opened a new line at a 3rd door to keep the lines out of the streets. We ended up being the first ones in that line. As they opened the doors they had us walk the entire arena to the opposite side that ended up being right by the doors had we went right instead of left. :( Crowd control I am sure.
The seminar started at 8:00 a.m. but there were reports that as the arena was being filled there was still standing traffic at 9:00 with people trying to get parked and get inside. The entire arena was eventually filled without a seat to spare .
The speakers:
Rick Belluzzo, legendary President of Microsoft was the first to speak. He had a great outline and positive, useful information. His presentation was by far the easiest to follow.
Some of his great advice included, "Times are unprecedented and full of opportunity. Believe in yourself!" "Be hard headed and soft hearted." "Pursue each assignment believing you can leave an enduring impact. Be proactive." "Take on tough assignments. Challenges lead to personal growth."
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Brian Tracy, noted as 'America's Top Authority on Selling', was next. He was funny. He spoke of "Someday Isle" a.k.a "Someday I'll". Someday, I'll get started. Someday, I'll be rich. Someday I'll..... etc.
He said to "vote yourself off 'someday isle'!"
He mentioned that you become what you say to yourself. Say positive things to yourself. It is not lying, it's telling the truth in advance. :)
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Next came Krish Dhanam, a man from India whom I had never heard of and was not on the main advertising propoganda. I must say that he was by far my favorite. He came out popping jokes, diminishing preconceived ideas about how many motels and gas stations he owned because he was from India. He was not only motivational, he was inspirational. He spoke of his 'bride' with admiration and of his 'boy' with pure joy. His zeal for life and his passion was contagious.
The four points he spoke on was for the acronym G.L.O.W.
G -Give more than you ever have.
L-Leave more than you take - dignity
O-Offer admiration and applause to the inner circle (family and those important to you)
W-Whose applause matters?
His humor and sincerity captured the entire audience.
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Gen. Colin Powell, Legendary Soldier-Statesman. I must say that he was one of the ones that I was looking foward too. Quite frankly, I was.not.impressed. His self-pity story of his lack of popularity today got old after his intro. Instead of motivating us, he made us feel sorry for him. At one time, he was one of the greatest. It was very apparent his time is over. It is too bad he still lives in the past. I was truly disappointed in his presentation.
The only thing that stood out to me worth writing down from his speech was the point where he said you need to make a connection. Recognize the human being on the other side of the window. He told a story about talking with a valet and what made the valet determine whether the cars were placed first to get out or third deep in the line. The valet said whoever pulls up and greets me and asks me about my day goes first. Whoever drives up looking straight on and never acknowledges me standing here, goes last.
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Phil Town spoke on investments and dealing with the stock market. He had very useful things to say and had an interesting presentation. My father has taught me several things about the stock market as that is his interest. There is a lot of money to be made in this industry if you know what you are doing and you have the time.
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Tamara Lowe, the Master of Ceremonies, spoke as well. She spoke on the DNA of motivation. She had good things to say. Although she was a good Master of Ceremonies, her presentation for motivation sounded more like a memorized monologue. Someone mentioned that she had not been a part of the lineup for long so this may be the attributing factor in this.
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Zig Ziglar! Wow! I had not been prepared for what happened. Apparently, a while back he took a fall that resulted in permanent vertigo and short term memory loss. It was very sad. They brought 2 stools: one for him and one for his daughter. His daughter asked him "interview questions" and he would answer to keep him on track and to keep him from repeating himself. He still mentioned several times that he reads 3 hours everyday and pointed to the row in front of him saying that his wife was there and they had been married 60+ years. (his wife was in the front row to the right of him but he kept forgetting that.)
His advice was to be a constant student and do everything with intergrity. They did play a few clips from his previous seminars as well.
He may not be on the agenda much longer. He has been an astounding motivational speaker for many years, it would probably be to his further detriment to take him out of the agenda. Kudos to them for allowing him to participate in something that has meant the most to him for so long.
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Joe Montana. I couldn't imagine even a die hard Montana fan being intrigued with his speech delivery. Granite, to say to someone that you have been in the same room with Joe Montana is bonus points, but motivational techniques were definitely lacking. Not impressed.
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James Smith. That sums it up. There is no speaker like him. His analogies are graphic and to the point. Yet, he was my other favorite speaker. He is a real estate investor. He seems to have a good grasp of tax benefits and the best way to use them in your favor. He spoke highly of his wife and sons and spoke of "loving everyone". The greater you treat those around you the more successful you are. He had great things to say and he was very motivating.
The rest of the speakers for the day put me to sleep so I left. Ha ha! I didn't even get to see Giuliani but I heard I didn't miss anything. How sad.
Overall, it was a great day! I truly enjoyed the seminar and was glad that I was able to attend.
link | posted by Sweet Yet Sassy at 9:37 AM
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