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ARE YOU READY TO SUCCEED?!
How many of you want to get rich? How many of you want so much money that you could do whatever you want? Envision your ideal life, and say to yourself: ‘I can do it!’

By Colleen Mastony
Tribune staff reporter

I yelled these words Monday at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, with 10,000 other people. We stood together and screamed affirmations such as: “YES!” and “I AM READY!” We thought positive thoughts, exchanged business cards in a two-minute speed-networking session and watched an audience member smash a wooden board onstage with a bare-handed karate chop.

Motivational speaker after motivational speaker ran onstage amid a burst of fireworks, smoke machines and pounding music. They jumped, yelled and pumped their fists. They even urged us to pray to Jesus for success. They said things such as, “Are you ready to break through the barriers in your life?!!”

I listened to talks by former presidential candidate and magazine magnate Steve Forbes, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and Bears coach Lovie Smith — all who offered a bevy of advice including “think outside the box” and “play hard.” It cost me $29, plus a $4.99 workbook, for a total, including taxes, of $36.53. Here, in a limited-time offer (TODAY’S PAPER ONLY!!), I’ll share my newfound knowledge. Act now and read on, fellow success seekers!

My editor sent me to the “Get Motivated” seminar under the auspices of having me write a story. But I couldn’t help wondering if he had identified me as the reporter most in need of the “get-off-your-butt-and-get-to-work” boot camp, run by motivational guru Peter Lowe.

Lowe is the baby-faced CEO of Get Motivated Seminars Inc. For two decades, he has crisscrossed the country with revival-like rallies, preaching a gospel of make-more-money and typically drawing crowds of thousands. Lowe brings in about a half-dozen speakers for one-day events that usually feature an evangelical pitch that asks crowds to accept Jesus, and a headliner such as Bill Clinton who asks crowds to accept his politics. Lowe sells inexpensive tickets ($49 for an entire office!!) promising, according to recent full-page newspaper ads: MOTIVATION! INSPIRATION! CAREER SKILLS! WEALTH-BUILDING!

When my editor first dropped the advertisement for “Get Motivated” on my desk, I tried to dodge the assignment. Stone-faced, he told me, “You can’t get out of this.” So there I sat Monday at 8:15 a.m., in an uncomfortable blue folding chair, after fighting an hour of bumper-to-bumper traffic, struggling with my broken car door (which only opens from the outside) and paying $15 for parking — which left a dollar in my wallet. No matter. Today was the first day of the rest of my life. Today I would learn the secret of high achievers. Today I would see failure as a steppingstone.

By 10 a.m. I was eating goldfish crackers, dropping crumbs on my pants, and listening to Forbes tell us to “buy low, sell high” and “be disciplined” and sometimes “be prepared to break the rules.” Then he launched into a tirade against the Internal Revenue Service and lectured on the benefits of the flat tax.

I chatted up my fellow supplicants: salesmen, mail workers, small-business owners, real estate agents — many of whom had come in large groups or on tour buses, having been sent by their bosses to get fired up to work harder, faster, smarter.

The next several hours went like this: first an encouraging talk by someone who earnestly seemed to want to motivate, and then a pitch from a snake-oil salesman who tried to get us to empty our 401(k)s into an “incredible investment opportunity!” (With the low ticket price, Lowe makes his money, experts say, in “back of the room” sales.)

In the morning, a fast-talking huckster hawked an Internet investing program. Regularly priced at $10,779, today it could be had for just $995, plus $299 every six months!! Act now, he urged, and you can become a millionaire! Satisfaction 100 percent guaranteed! At the back of the arena, workers waved light-wands to direct people to the credit card machines.

In the afternoon, a drawling Texan pitched a real estate investing class. A value of $1,800, today available for just $99! “I’m telling you, this is the best deal of the day!” he declared. The event took on the air of a three-ring circus. During the breaks, we stood to eat hot dogs and soft pretzels.

Amid the come-ons and the corny one-liners, there was common sense. Treat people with respect. Learn patience. Find a mentor. Never give up. All of which seemed to fly in the face of the “get-rich-quick” schemes for sale at flimsy card tables.

Lovie Smith offered this tip: “Set goals, and stay with them.” Zig Ziglar — “America’s No. 1 motivator” — told the crowd to find ways to help other people and they, in turn, will help you.

By late afternoon, it was time for the grand finale of mega-motivation. A blizzard of red-white-and-blue confetti blasted across the stadium. Lights flashed, music pounded. And Powell, flanked by two beefy security guards, stepped into the spotlight. His strapping build and dark power suit made him the picture of leadership. He shared this advice: Inspire your team, convey a clear mission, act with fairness, and ensure your people have the tools needed to get the job done.

But as Powell spoke, the audience had already started leaving. Few were listening to the secrets. After the all-day event, the crowd had lost interest. I wanted to bar the doors and scream: “Wait! Here’s someone worth listing to!” But I said nothing.

Then the lights went up, and the last confetti flake fluttered to the floor.

I headed to the door, feeling hungry and tired. In the car, I popped open a bottle of soda, which exploded in my lap. Focus on the positive. Focus on the positive. Even in damp pants, I will write a great article. A brilliant article. I CAN DO IT!

I was speeding down the expressway in my car when a cicada flew in the window and down the back of my shirt. This is just another steppingstone to success, I said to myself, as I tried to get the bug out of my blouse. ———- cmastony@tribune.com

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‘Never give up!’

Peter Lowe sells motivation and inspiration. What he doesn’t mention in his full-page newspaper ads is that his last company, Success Events International, collapsed in December 2001. Lowe says he has since paid at least $3 million of his own money to pay off that company’s debts.

In the months leading up to the Success Events crash, Lowe came to Chicago and sold thousands of tickets promising a half-dozen motivational speakers for a Sept. 25, 2001, show. But the day of the event, seven of the top speakers, including Lowe himself, never showed up. Angry crowds demanded refunds, but the organizers instead offered vouchers for their next expo, which they said would be “bigger,” “better” and “more awesome!” Within three months, Lowe had resigned and the company went belly-up.

Since then, Lowe followed his own advice (Never give up!) and launched Get Motivated.

– Colleen Mastony

Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune

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