March 24th, 2009 by Kevin Ngo

I attended the Get Motivated Seminar in San Jose, CA today. There were lots of valuable information. Now some people might have gotten a lot out of it while others didn’t.

I always try to learn something from any speech I listen to. Even if I already know the material, it helps reinforce what I already know. And even if it was a bad speech, I still try to learn something even if it’s about how not to do a speech.

So here are the key points I gathered from the speakers. There were lots of information presented and I was only able to write so fast but I got the main lesson of each speech, and here they are.

Dr Earl Mindell

Without health, you have nothing!

Top 10 Foods to Avoid

1. Twinkies
2. Sugared cereal
3. Hot dogs, sausages, bacon, luncheon meats (eat turkey, chicken, or tofu instead)
4. Potato chips (if you’re going to eat them, eat the baked kind)
5. Mayonnaise
6. Fast foods
7. Colas both diet and regular (depletes the calcium in your bones, good for cleaning toilets though)
8. Artificial Sweeteners
9. Margarine (use olive oil instead)
10. Don’t eat, drink, or take anything advertised on TV (Blood sugar level is lowest at 10am, 2pm, 4pm, 8pm, and 10pm… advertisers know this and choose these times to market their unhealthy products)

6 Core Principals for Optimal Health

1. Drink 6-10 glasses of water daily (dissolves fat, clears skin, helps you lose weight)
2. Eat whole foods
3. Add movement to your life (exercise)
4. Maintain a healthy weight (40% of cancer wouldn’t occur if people were at normal weight)
5. Get acquainted with natural healing remedies
6. Get on a vitamin / mineral plan

Steve Forbes

The key point was to think differently, embrace change, and go against conventional wisdom. He gave examples of companies that took common products, put an edge on them, and became the best in their industries. (Google, Walmart, McDonald’s, Starbucks)

He also talked about his confidence that we will get out of this recession.

Phil Town

The key point was that you must take responsibility of your finances and not rely on someone else (fund managers) to do it for you.

His speech was about the tools he uses to know when to buy and when to sell a stock. The main concept is to buy great companies that are on sale and how his software can help identify those companies by using tools such indicators like moving averages, MACD, and William %R. (By the way, you can find these 3 things on Bigcharts.com… the secret is in knowing how to use them and I guess that’s what he was selling and the company he represents will be upselling.)

He had a great presentation and a funny story about river rafting but I felt he made making money in stocks sound WAY too easy. When someone promises you the world with little to no work (just follow the arrows), be weary. He’s a great guy, but he should’ve touched on the true risks of trading for the short term in my opinion.

Krish Dhanam

This was one of the more motivational speeches of the event. His basic message from what I gathered was on what to do during turbulent times.

• Develop leadership skills
• Build partnerships and create multiple streams of income
• Take ownership (you’re accountable for your future, no one else. At the end of your life, the choices you make will lead you to say either “I wish I had” or “I’m glad I did”.
• Restore relationships
• Practice stewardship (give more than you have and leave more than you take)

Realize that you are unique, of the over 6 billion people on this planet, no one is exactly like you. Realize that you are here for a reason and that success is measured in relation to where you are to where you began and not where someone else is.

Do that which you have passion for.

Get Motivated Seminar

Tamara Lowe

The key point is that the way we are motivated is built into your DNA. Everyone is motivated differently but it comes down to 6 things that give us motivation.

1. Drive to Produce
* Driven by results, competition, and opportunity to originate and initiate ideas.

2. Drive for Connection
* Loves cooperation, people, and providing help.

3. Need for Stability
* Likes systems, consistency, and routine. They are motivated by facts and logic.

4. Need for Variety
* Motivated by fun and personal growth. Loves enthusiasm.

5. Internal Awards
* Making a difference and contributing to a greater cause

6. External Awards
* Motivated by public acknowledgement, opportunity to advance, and hates limits and glass ceilings.

By knowing how different people are motivated, a person in a leadership position can better motivate their people. If you want to motivate your employees, realize that not everyone is motivated the same way. Figure out what makes each of them tick and use that method to get them going.

Final point: Get pass your past. Circumstances happen to everyone, stop making excuses and start taking charge of your life.

James Smith

Mr. Smith was an in-your-face speaker, which I found entertaining. The key point is to become a player in the game of life. You need to take responsibility of your life and position yourself for success by creating multiple streams of income. You’re always making a decision, even if you do nothing, it is still a decision. The decisions you make today will determine where you’ll be in the future.

Mr. Smith also talked about making money through Real Estate with the basic system of…

1. Buying a house 30-50% below market value
2. Obtaining financing
3. Doing cosmetic improvement
4. Sell, occupy, or rent

He also emphasized on investing in tax liens and deeds. Like Phil Town, to me, he sort of made the idea of making money too easy. With the workshop at $49, you can be sure there will be another sales pitch with TONS of upselling. Nothing worthwhile comes easy and if it did, it will easily leave.

The most important thing is to become successful so that you can help others. All the little things you do or don’t do will ultimately determine your success in life. Although I’m sure some of what he said may have offended some people (certain people are losers, morons, etc.), his main purpose was to make people realize that until you get out of the stands and into the field and take control of your life and quit complaining and whining and feeling sorry for yourself, your life is never going to change… and that is the truth.

Michael Phelps

The key point was that when you want something bad enough, you have to be willing to make sacrifices. Nothing worthwhile is easy so you have to build up your mental strength and get yourself to do the things you need to do in order to achieve your goals even if you’re tired, in pain, or feeling uncomfortable.

He is competitive by nature so he uses failure as a motivation since he hates to lose. He said that the difference between good and great is that anyone could go out there and do what needs to be done when they are in good shape and feel like doing it. The ones who are great are the ones who go out and do what they need to do even when they don’t want to do it.

While other swimmers practiced 6 times a week, Phelps practiced 7 times a week, 365 days for 5 years. He made some big sacrifices but he knew that’s what he needed to do to become the best in the world at what he does. Have that kind of commitment and you are sure to make huge progress towards your goals.

It’s about how strong you can be mentally that will get you through obstacles and hard times.

Zig Ziglar

“You can have everything you want in life if you’ll just help enough other people get what they want.”

Motivation is temporary, but so is bathing. If you do both, you’ll live longer and smell better.

I have a lot of respect for Mr. Ziglar. He’s 82 years old and is still out there helping people improve their lives. I saw him speak 10 years ago when he was still moving around and kneeling down. Even though he doesn’t do that anymore, I could still sense the passion in his words. He’s a man who lives by what he preaches.

The main thing I got from his talk is that the more you have of what money won’t buy, the more you’ll get of what money will buy. You can buy a house but you can’t buy a home. You can buy a bed but you can’t buy a good night’s sleep. You could buy an acquaintance but you can’t buy a true friend.

Like some of the other speakers, he also talked about how it’s the little things that make all the difference in your life like telling your spouse you love them each and every day.

Colin Powell

The key point is that leadership comes down to trust. When people trust you through your actions and character, they will follow you. Inspire them with your vision, confidence and purpose. I didn’t really get much else out of his speech except that he misses the luxuries of being the Secretary of State.

Rudy Giuliani

Had to leave so didn’t get to hear him speak.

The most important take away I’d like to leave you with from the Get Motivated Seminar is that it’s not what you learn that will make a major difference in your life, it’s what you do with what you learn. Even if you just learned one thing, go out there and use it!

Until next time…

Love Life. Do Good. Live Well.

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