Dena and I had been talking about our periodic out-of-town getaway, and it was intriguing when she pointed out the Get Motivated! seminar on tap at the Peoria Civic center last Tuesday.
You look at the itinerary and eyebrows raise. The speaker list included nationally recognized names. Colin Powell. Laura Bush. Terry Bradshaw. Rudy Giuliani. Zig Ziglar. The last two guys have been well-chronicled through their books via Hidden Blog.
The ticket cost was... $5. FIVE DOLLARS? Unless you bought the tickets at the door. Then it was over $200.
What is the catch here? I tried to figure out how they'd manage to surprise us with hidden costs, or somehow the speakers listed were not the real speakers. Couldn't solve the mystery, and in the end there was no catch. This was eight hours of these and other polished, entertaining speakers for a supremely reasonable price. Our seats were unassigned, meaning that we had our pick of seats in the upper bowl of the arena (and it did eventually fill to the rafters).
Surprises?
I didn't know that 83-year-old Zig had experienced a fall that severely damaged his short-term memory, causing an altered, interview format with his daughter. Her role was to trigger some of his more popular phrases, while gently guiding him back on track if he started repeating himself. Still, he was beyond entertaining and they showed several clips of highlights from past speeches of his.
Two different fellows, charming and witty speakers, came up at different time to talk investments. It provided another visual lesson to me of how easily people can be persuaded by the right presentation. Convinced that a $3,000 get-rich-quick web site and seminar series could be had for just $99, hundreds of people stormed tables to scoop up the opportunity.
Even though we pitched in over $200 in hotel rooms to cover our two night Peoria date (featuring also a movie night and Italian restaurant trip), the Get Motivated! investment was well worth its tiny investment. And Hidden Blog readers will benefit too from a palette's worth of inspirational snippets to come!
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