For the second time I attended The Power Within, an all-day seminar around leadership and motivation. Again it did not let me down. Last year was Lance Armstrong, Mark Burnett (reality tv guru), the CEO of Mandalay Enterprises, the author of Smart Couples Finish Rich, and many other great speakers. This year's event started out a bit slow, but quickly picked up speed to finish with Bill Clinton, someone who has changed the world and continues to do so.
Here's a summary of my thoughts, ideas, and recaps from the event, from my limited short-term memory.
We arrived early to get better seats than last year, then realized we had not brought paper tickets. Thinking it was something we could pickup at the registration desk, we tried but found out that this was a concert-style event with a wristband policy and tickets were required. We rushed over to the hotel next door to get some proof of purchase from my amex, and managed to negotiate our way in, with around 15 other people who had a similar problem. Thanks to Lucas the registrar guy.
The best presenters talked from the heart, related the audience to their ideas, and made us laugh and think. Seth Godin had a great idea about providing "purple cows" or stand-out products and services that differentiate to become successful. (Why don't farmers paint their cows to promote their products anyway? Why isn't there purple milk?) Judy Carter did some interesting magic & was a good pick-me-upper for the morning. Steven D. Levitt was someone I could most relate to, as he didn't seem to be the greatest math genius, and yet is one of the most brilliant of economists for uncovering things other people won't find. (another book to buy, Freakonomics) I missed most of Mark & Craig Kielburger, but their contribution to society was probably the greatest in the room next to Bill Clinton.
The next presenter was a really interesting writer, with the unfortunate task of presenting to a non-captive audience. It was like a fire drill in there, with people exiting in droves. Really rude but appetite probably got the best of most of them. It was well worth staying, as he talked and read from his book (Rocket Boys), and it was as seamless as any story taken from the heart. Unfortunate that his style of speaking did not translate as well to a large audience as it should have, most likely because of some sound quality issues that were fixed midway during his speech. His key message appeared to be that everyone has freedom when they are able to read and write, and that perserverance, passion, and planning are the keys to success.
The afternoon was even more interesting than the morning, with Herb Cohen being the highlight of the day. (need to buy his books) Herb has negotiated business deals and hostage-taking situations, and could probably sell fridges (and snow) to Eskimos. (or Inuit, for the politically-correct) Leahy, the Juno award-winning musicians from the Peterborough/Lakefield area were phenomenal. Most people probably thought they were at Riverdance or watching some Irish or Eastern-Canadian superstars, not a family from Eastern Ontario.
Herb Cohen, in a Rodney Dangerfield/no respect kind of way was the funniest presenter by far. His key negotiation tactics as described were to 'play dumb', 'listen and maintain true interest', 'care, but not a whole lot' and realize when things are not going well and get out fast. He says it works well in life and marriage, except the get out fast part. I hope I translated properly, his is the first book I'm going to get. His tips will definately help my negotiating power for my upcoming trip to China, and hopefully keep my marriage going as long as his. (He said he has been married for over 45(?) years and has tour buses drive by his home)
Bill Clinton was everything that I expected, and more. He had a huge stage presence, a captive audience, and most of the huge earth-altering topics of the day to discuss. His key points (from my recollection) were on global warming and the need for change, the flow of capital from western to asian societies, and the need to work together rather than in a silo. Another key point was that security is one of the most important aspects of a society, but cannot be the only one, or none at all. He praised Canada as being like a second home to him, and remarked that many of his critics in the states would love to see him retire here.
He discussed some of the key problems facing the world today, including AIDS, water quality, and preventable disease in third-world countries. He remarked that because of his (and others') contributions, the cost of medication for an AIDS victim in Africa has dropped to $140/year, and will go down to at least $100 over the next few years. He praised the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as being the largest contributor of this effort. He talked about micro-finance as one of the better ways to opportunity.
He told his audience of a device which can power a light, heat and a stove for 1 day on solar power alone, and asked that this device be distributed to the world. In terms of world powers, he noted that China, India, and other countries were gaining huge amounts of wealth, and the balance of monetary power in the world is dramatically changing.
President Clinton's view is that he is a much more powerful figure as a former president than a president, and can reflect change much faster without bureaocracy slowing down change. By treating charitable ideas as a business problem, he can convince companies to contribute to society while helping their bottom line, in a win-win situation for all.
His view on the internet is that it is one of the greatest society-changing inventions ever (Well, Al Gore invented it, why not?). For the first time, non-governmental groups will take control of society, and every person in the world will have an opportunity to change it dramatically and contribute.
Sounds like blogging to me.
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China just removed blocking of blogger.com & blogspot.com. I wonder if anyone's reading my China blog?
