Get Motivated!

Today's post is somewhat random.

Ok, it's REALLY random. :)

On Monday, my coworkers and I attended a seminar at Conseco Fieldhouse here in Indy called "Get Motivated". 

There were quite a few dynamic speakers, such as, Gen. Colin Powell, Laura Bush, Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Steve Forbes, Zig Ziglar, Dr. Robert Schuller, Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana!!!

I wanted to share some of the highlights or snippets of what each speaker said that grabbed my attention.

Picture courtesy of Tree Link

Zig Ziglar said "Integrity and truth are always in vogue."  Wow!!  How true is that, right!?! 

He has been married to his wife for 63 years!!!  And he told the men in the audience to never stop courting your wife!  That was the secret to his happy marriage! :)

Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said, "The best social safety net is FRIENDS."  He also said that he thought everyone should make it a priority to take time everyday to stop and reflect!  I wondered if we'd be calmer people if we did that.

Dr. Robert Schuller said "Wipe the word IMPOSSIBLE from your vocabulary!"  He emphasized that everyone should become a dreamer again!  He asked..."what dreams would you set if you knew you could NOT fail?"  Something to think about for sure!!  But probably what stood out to me the most was when he said, "Make your dreams big enough you NEED a GOD to succeed!" 

Steve Forbes said "Sometimes you have to take the risk even though you don't know the outcome."

Terry Bradshaw was hilarious!!  But he emphasized over and over "appreciate your life" and "practice being happy".  But one of the things he said is something I say all the time to the people I know that think it's strange that I talk to 'strangers' when I'm out in public.  Or that I smile and say hi to 'strangers'.  Or that I make it a point to hang up my cell phone when I'm checking out at the store as to give respect to the person on the other side of the counter.  He said, "You never know whose path you'll cross or what impact you might have on another person."  A random conversation or smile might just turn around another persons day!!  Has it ever yours?  I know it has mine. :)

Picture courtesy of Purdue University

There was a salesperson that spoke.  I didn't write down his name as he wasn't 'important' to me because he was trying to sell something to me...BUT he said something quite profound.  He said, "God made everyone in HIS perfect image...even the ones that don't look like you."  I have few people that could sure use some reminding of this one!

Another salesperson said was talking about PERSPECTIVE.  He said, "What you see depends on where you sit."  Think about that one! :)  He also said, "Change is not always comfortable, but is possible."

Laura Bush told a story about when she became the First Lady.  She said she was consistently asked, "Who do you want to be like, Nancy Reagan or Barbara Bush?"  She answered, "I think I'll just be Laura, I know her."  I was talking to my boss and told him I wasn't so sure about her speech being motivating, it seemed like she just went through their time in the white house.  He pointed out that her speech kept pointing to...stay true to who you are!  That's when I 'got it'.

Picture courtesy of PhotoMT.com

Two more:

General Colin Powell!  That's who I wanted to see...and he did NOT disappoint!  He mostly talked about leadership.  He was quite funny!  But the one thing he said outside of leadership was "It doesn't matter where you started in life, in only matters how you end it.  Nobody starts at the top." When I talk to kids who have not been dealt the best cards in life...this is similar to what I tell them.  I always say...you had no control over your childhood...but you get to choose what kind of adult life you get to live.  Your childhood is relatively small compared to the rest of your life.  And that part is up to you!

And last but not least is a gentleman named Krish Dhanam.  I had never heard of him prior to the seminar.  He was born in South India and moved to the states in either his late teens or early adulthood.  To be honest, I'm still not sure what he does.  He worked for Zig Ziglar for many years and lives in Dallas.  He travels the world giving his message of hope.  But he probably touched me the most with his speech. 

I wish I could have taped his message.  He spoke fast.  He said alot of things in rhymes, like, "Career is what your paid for, Purpose is what your made for."  And "Mirror, mirror on the wall, here I am, what's my call."  Because what he said, or at least the parts I was able to capture in my notes, are so important to me, who I am, how I live...I want to give more attention to Krish Dhanam (and maybe actually figure out what he does besides give great speeches, LOL).  So, I'm going to give him his own post! 

I hope you don't mind this random post!  Like I said, I found the speeches fascinating and potentially life changing!  I hope you can find something among the few words I was able to pull out that might help you in your own life!!!

Have a wonderful day!!

Until next time...