Editorial by Kelly Elbert –
I had the opportunity (well, begged, actually) to attend the “Get Motivated!” seminar in Des Moines Tuesday as a part of a class trip. How could I pass up the chance to see super achievers such as Billionaire Steve Forbes, 49’ers Joe Montana and headliner Bill Cosby, amongst others, offer insight and advice on how to get the job done? Since I couldn’t find a logical reason not to go, some classmates and I loaded up our borrowed trailblazer and headed south (at 5 AM) to the Wells Fargo Arena.
We found the arena filling up quite quickly and the atmosphere was electric. Get Motivated Seminars Inc. promises a motivational Woodstock of sorts, and the drug; enterprise. They wasted no time appealing to Hawkeye country. Pyrotechnics announced the first speaker, Kirk Ferentzhead, football coach at the University of Iowa. He told us that “the key to success is learning how to prepare.” He emphasized teamwork, good work ethics and the ability to be a good listener. He then ended his speech encouraging us to have a positive attitude. Then there was a quick word from the zany and spirited Kari Michaelson acting as MC for the event. My classmate Pamela swore up and down that she had seen her on television before, and after some fact checking I determined that she may have been Uncle Jesse or Uncle Joey’s girlfriend from 90’s sitcom “Full House”, then BAM! More pyrotechnics and Steve Forbes came bounding on to the stage to BTO’S “Takin care of business”.
Mr. Forbes said that “you can’t do what everyone else does; you’ve got to do things differently.” He also advised; “learn from failure, don’t let it discourage you.” The publishing executive also spoke about monetary policy stating that the US dollar will be linked to gold. He touched base on free enterprise in the health care industry and then addressed the audience, stating “you are over taxed”, to which he was met by a very enthusiastic applause.
A couple of speeches later, something quite puzzling happened, a man who I had never even heard of, nor was on the billing to be a speaker, came out to teach us about investing. His name was Phil Town, and he had a rags-to–riches type story about how he had saved the life of a big wig stock broker and five years later was a hippie turned millionaire. Now, I must say that being in sales for as long as I have, I can recognize a pitch when I see one, and sure enough, mysterious lights appeared at two ends of the arena and the audience was encouraged to “head for the light” and sign up for Mr. Towns three day seminar at a special discounted price of 99 dollars to “Get Motivated!” attendees (a 3000 dollar value).
After lunch, we came back to our seats to find the party in full swing. DJ X and KJ 52 were put in charge of getting us to dance for a chance to win a trip to Disney World and everyone was on their feet. Red, white, and blue beach balls fell from the sky. Some poor fools were rushed on to the stage and the one who made the biggest fool of themselves won the grand prize. Then the turn table were hoisted off stage, more fireworks went off and the theme from the Harlem Globetrotters filled the arena, and the MC announced: “You’ve known him as Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable from The Cosby Show, please give a warm welcome for MR. BILL COSBY!” and the crowd went wild.
Maybe it was the fact that we were in high girlish spirits from all the dancing, maybe it was the over indulgence of highly priced coffee, or maybe it was the excitement from the beach balls magically appearing out of nowhere. I do not know, but as we sat back down in our seats I kind of lost my head for a minute and screamed at the top of my lungs “WE LOVE YOU!!!” My voice echoed around the arena and Mr. Cosby, without skipping a beat, looked up at us girls and said “Thank you, but where were you the last time I was in town?”
Get Motivated Seminars Inc. has been met with some criticism, and it comes as no surprise to me; while it felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity to hear Dan Rather, an icon in the field of journalism, genuinely and warmheartedly share his four points to success, at times I felt like I was locked in some sort of “get rich quick” sales pitch that could have easily been seen on a late night infomercial. All gimmicks aside, it still was quite entertaining, and all of the speakers had valid points. Would I pay 225 dollars to attend? Heck no, maybe if I was stock market mogul Warren Buffett and had a few to spare, but some things did resonate with me and that makes the entire experience well worth it. I was certainly glad to get motivated.
