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112 thoughts on “Review: Get Motivated with Colin Powell, Michael Phelps”
Wrong and wrong. The religious and conservative messages were woven in throughout this BUSINESS seminar. Nobody said anything about that in the session I attended. You were simply meant to conform or sit there uncomfortably.
Your and their insensitivity is breathtaking: the insensitivity of the dominant majority. Imagine me coming to your meeting and surprising you by talking (off subject) about how to remove religion and other superstitions from your life, and then saying “well, if you didn’t like it you could always have left.” It would be palpably inappropriate for me to do, and it was for them too.
As for the founding fathers, I don’t agree with your characterization. Jefferson was clearly a deist, if religious at all. He rewrote the bible, taking out all parts that contained supernatural elements. Thomas Payne was an atheist. As long as we’re quoting, consider this one from him: “I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church…
All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.”
But why talk about the founding fathers at all? What burns me, and many other people, is the dishonest publicity by the seminar leaders, and the
substitution of Christian and conservative rant for the advertised discussion of business skills and “motivation”. The only motivation I got was to walk out, which I did.
Then you simply weren’t listening. They said it right before the session began. You act as if somebody quoting Christian beliefs is damaging. I thought you liberals were supposed to be inclusive and open minded??
And as to Jefferson’s “Deism”, I’ll let him answer in his own words in his letter to Benjamin Rush on April 21, 1803:
“I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus.”
Exactly… what Jefferson was saying was that the DOCTRINES that Jesus professed were fine… they had nothing to do with religion per se or whether he was the son of God. I’d like to see the pseudo-Christians today actually live by His doctrines… then perhaps those of us that don’t buy into all the “Blessed Be” garbage would wouldn’t be so nauseated. Nothing flags a scam to me quite as fast as a business person leading with or advertising that they are a Christian business. LIVE your principles, don’t wear them like they are a uniform.
Ken, I am embarrassed for you. I looked up the letter you referred to and it does not say what you “quote” at all!
Here is what Jefferson actually said in that letter: “I am a Christian, in the only sense in which he wished anyone to be: sincerely attached to his doctrines in preference to all others, ascribing to himself every human excellence, and believing he never claimed any other.”
I think that the REAL Jefferson would fully agree with Carol’s point.
If Jefferson is “sincerely attached to the doctrines of Jesus (who else is he referring to??” then that makes him a Deist??? Whatever. Believe what you will. You took that sentence out of context, Irish. What he said in the prior sentence was: “They are the result of a life of inquiry and reflection, and very different from that anti-Christian system imputed to me by those who know nothing of my opinions.” In other words, I am not anti-Christian, as so many people today are.
It is those revisionist, biased, beliefs that is turning our country into the moral and financial wasteland it is. It is so funny to listen to you liberals whine about tolerance and then show such anti-Christian bigotry. (i.e. “Don’t pray in public to Jesus. Buddha, Mohammed are ok, but not Jesus) And yet, the Christians are the “hypocrites.” Again, believe what you will. I have a degree in history. My knowledge isn’t based on what I googled on the internet.
You did what was best, Irish: walk out. That’s your right. Now do what’s best for everybody else: Let this go. You don’t know what you’re talking about.
James Smith Company / Get Motivates Seminars Scam News
Utah woman going to prison for scamming dozens, including widow …
Oct 28, 2010 … Professed real estate expert Jolee M. Tibbitts told Joyce … about half from Utah — lost a total of $1.2 million in Tibbitts' scam, … http://www.deseretnews.com/…/Utah-woman-going-to-prison-for-scamming- dozens-including-widow-Iraq-solider.html – Cached
Robinson v. Tibbitts et al :: Justia Dockets & Filings
Dec 29, 2009 … Tibbitts et al – Justia Federal Dockets and Filings. … Torts to Land, – Tort Product Liability, – All Other Real Property … Torts – Property, – Other Fraud, – Truth in Lending … Under Equal Access to Justice, – Constitutionality of State Statutes … Defendants: Jolee Tibbitts and JMT Concepts …
dockets.justia.com/docket/utah/utdce/2:2009cv01149/73394/ – Cached
GOING GLOBAL – EAST MEETS WEST – ARTICLES OF INTEREST: Utah woman …
Oct 28, 2010 … Professed real estate expert Jolee M. Tibbitts told Joyce … Tibbitts, of Herriman, earlier pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in …
articlesofinterest-kelley.blogspot.com/…/utah-woman-going-to-prison-for- scamming.html – Cached
Utah woman going to prison for scamming dozens, including widow …
Professed real estate expert Jolee M. Tibbitts told Joyce Robinson she owned. … Finance, fraud and foreclosure. 2 days ago. In the book, 'Too Big to Fail' …
topics.npr.org/article/03LybbF98Y3KX – Cached
Utah woman going to prison for scamming dozens, including widow …
Oct 27, 2010 … Professed real estate expert Jolee M. Tibbitts told Joyce Robinson … CA – OCTOBER 11: Socialite Kathy Hilton and real estate broker Rick …
mma.msg.com/article/03LybbF98Y3KX?q=Hawaii – Cached2009-11-16
by CNJ -1 Votes Utah
The fraud committed by NRI – James Smith, Jolee Tibbitts, Roger Williams, Aaron Asmond has personally effected me. I paid 20K to learn how to lose 200k cash. I am a single mom with 8th grade education. The properties were presented as GREAT investments and leveraged my home and bought each one out of trust and presentation. The Personal Coach processed all 11 of the Utah loans through his comapany. Broke confused and struggling…Jolee Tibitts offered to sell me a no-brainer home to flip from her sister to save me from the horrible situation, ("Stop the bleeding" they call it), only to find out, the house was not worth what I paid, but that NRI personal coach got it appraised and funded somehow. I reached out again to James Smith, Roger, Jolee who all stated I had bought horrible homes. Only to be offered another seminar. The embarrassment and the humiation of trusting the many years of expertise represented is my payment for investing in " guarentee satisfaction", "learning the ropes from the 20yrs experienced investment experts and coaches",
California
"I attended the M-5 in Salt Lake City; this was immediately after attending the three day.
We found ourselves exhausted at the end of 5 days, as I think most people are following an M-5; however we were totally committed to Real Estate investing. We were so touched by the “passion” that we saw in many of the presenters. The emotion and tears shared and shed by attendees and presenters was incredible. One of the most passionate presenters was a woman by the name of Jolee Tibbitts."
RE Success Group James Smith | RIP OFF REPORT: 249594
May 21, 2007 … James Smith and the James Smith Real Estate Coaching Company strongly … Use our complaint form to report a scam. Site problems? … the pressured purchase involving Jolee Tibbitts, a then presenter for NRI). James' … http://www.ripoffreport.com/…/national-real-estate-investors-mxba2.htm – Cached –
Jolee Tibbitts Sentenced to 4 years in Federal Prison.
WORKED MENIAL JOBS TILL JAMES SMITH HIRED HER:
"“Theft is one thing. Lying is another. You did them both, ” said Judge Dee Benson, of the U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City. “And you did it for an awfully long time.”
Tibbitts’ attorney, Daphne Oberg, said Tibbitts worked menial jobs until she was suddenly promoted to a real-estate training and motivational speaking job that quintupled her income. Later, when hard times hit, Oberg said Tibbitts’ life spun out of control.
“She kind of became involved in this fast-moving life, trying to keep up this public image, ” Oberg said. “But it wasn’t an image based in reality.”
During Wednesday’s sentencing, a handful of victims spoke of the medical problems, failed marriages and shortened retirements they said came as a result of their investments. "
rinsfo 2 weeks ago
"Tibbitts’ attorney, Daphne Oberg, said Tibbitts worked menial jobs until she was suddenly promoted to a real-estate training and motivational speaking job that quintupled her income."…
Promoted by James Smith and his org that's still very active in UT. Run, don't walk to the nearest exit when you come across these grifters."
Who cares what James Smith does in his personal life? The question is, does his training work? Personally I don’t know, but I don’t see how his personal business should be dragged into discussions about his business activities.
BTW, I’m not a supporter of James Smith, nor a detractor, just not understanding the connection. I’ve known many guys who were great business men but didn’t have such a great personal life. Everybody can’t be successful in every aspect of their life and I think a persons personal life should be that, personal.
It is important that people are honest. If a person is not successful/practicing integrity in their personal life, they should not be giving advice about anything other than their area of success, until they are on the right path in their personal life and can be honest about it. James Smith sells himself not only as a successful business man but as a successful husband and father, so it IS important what he does in his personal life. The fact that his son works with him is a positive for him, and I think if his wife was by his side in public, that would also be a plus for him because of the message he is proclaiming.
I attended the Get Motivated Workshop in Seattle. What an amazing Bait and Switch operation! From saying that it was being held at the Key Arena then sending folks to a place in Kent to watch it “Live” onscreen to the workbooks which were from last year’s speakers to having the speakers talk about politics instead of success and motivation.
If Republicans want to have a patriotic feast and happy dance so be it. But, I think it should be marketed as such. It should not be presented in the way that it currently is. They are really quite slimy. The way they sold this Workshop was for a completely different sort of MOTIVATION. What they are really selling is a brain-washed, dumbed down, rah-rah session motivating the masses for a revision of history – Republican-style!
God forbid that Republicans have any opinion or motivation whatsoever, eh? It’s not as though you could have looked at the list of featured guest speakers, put two and two together, and figured out that this seminar wasn’t exactly going to be the sort of hippie love-fest one sees every single day on most major media outlets.
It seems like most of the complaints I see about these seminars (on this website and others) are mostly from liberals expressing outrage and disbelief that anyone not of their political persuasion could possibly have anything motivational to offer–much less the concept of success in a capitalist economy, which is what much of the business-related speeches by the likes of Forbes and Putnam related to.
In any case, if you prefer your own version of dumbed-down, brain-washed rah-rah sessions with revisionist history (Democrat style), there are plenty of outlets for that, none of which liberals seem to have any ‘righteous indignation’ about. God forbid you get over your own political/religious leanings for one day in order to gain anything positive from a few speeches by some truly successful people.
I also went to the Seattle seminar tonight. While your view isn’t too far off track, I don’t believe there was any misleading as to the location and “Live” format of the seminar. It was held in the Key Arena, which was at max capacity (people were sitting on the stairs since no seats remained by 930am; probably against the fire code). My ticket said Key Arena and had a “satellite” location listed for overflow. I’m surprised if anyone was mislead on that.
The speech was more conservative in politics than I expected – well, just more politics than I expected in general. It was a political soap box mixed in with what was very effective salesmanship by James Smith. For anyone attending future seminars, be aware that is what you are in for. Nothing is free in our country (someone is paying for it somewhere). From my perspective it seemed the sales for James Smith’s seminars are the principal driving force for this seminar. I’m actually a little shocked so many respected politicians, leaders, athletes and so on from our nation come out and speak at what ends up being a well disguised sales pitch.
As someone who has not utilized the methods presented and I assume taught by the various James Smith seminars, I cannot give claim to their effectiveness. I do know that if something seems too good to be true (“$5million in 3 years”, “purchase 33 homes in your first year”), at a minimum it should cause enough alarm in your brain that you should research it before acting.
And finally, before providing your credit card information to anyone to sign up for anything, read the fine print. Understand your refund limitations and when and how you will be charged (because its likely on a monthly basis without you being “further” informed). I initially signed up for the WealthMagazine Investools investing seminar and will likely cancel. I don’t expect this to be a problem based on their return policy, but I will update the blog should one arise.
I went to one in upstate NY yesterday and so glad i found this site because i felt the same way. I was offended at the religious propoganda being of another faith and although i did pick up a few tips on business skills, i did sign up for one of later scheduled class *at the urging of my colleague so we could split the cost* and will cancel it. As a beginner in stock trading, I am not interested in their method after reading here. I was actually searching online to see if my instincts were right about the shady nature of this.
Why do you think all these scams like this one, MLM, Amway stuff, etc., are all geared toward christians? If you’re gullible to tithe 10% of your money to somebody telling you you’ll live forever, you’re going to fall for this stuff too. The more religious you are, the easier it is to dupe you. Simple as that.
I used to be suggested this web site via my cousin. I’m no longer certain whether this publish is written through him as no one else recognize such unique about my trouble. You’re wonderful! Thank you!
I attended today in Tulsa. I agree that looking at the speakers you should be able tell that the event leaned to the right. That’s okay with me, even though I‚Äôm not a republican. I thought the line-up of speakers was interesting enough to take my office staff.
However, I thought the advertising was somewhat disingenuous because it was billed as a business seminar, not a religious or political one. And I am a Christian. That said, to profess to be one (Christian) starts with being honest. I really did not appreciate feeling like I was the subject of a sales pitch without it being advertised that way. After a while, I found myself feeling the same way you feel when dealing with a used car salesman and that’s unfortunate. I felt a little embarrassed subjecting my staff to that.
About the speakers, you cannot deny that the line-up of speakers is impressive. You may not agree with their politics but their life experiences are interesting. I do try to see the best in everyone so I thought General Powell was terrific, Lou Holtz was funny and Laura Bush was good as well. I truly got very little out of Rudy Giuliani.
I even enjoyed the investment strategy session and the real estate portion (for what it was, a live infomercial or QVC live). I like to think I’m not so gullible that I throw down my credit card for every snake oil salesman; I do a little research first. After all, as the old saying goes, ‚Äúif it looks too good to be true, then it probably is‚Äù. And in this case, you can find similar tools on line for free.
Overall the day was just okay. It would certainly have been better if I felt better about the integrity of the event. Right wing or not, Religious or not, most adults just want to be told the truth when they give you’re their time
I’ll always remember this post because it was the one on which there was some kind of fight and someone sued WordPress (Automattic) because of comments made on my blog, on this post. Like a person posting knew where someone was going to be and they shouldn’t have know that and so it was investigated, but at the time—and I still don’t know–I did consider that the whole thing was just a ploy to be able to personally “persuade” me to take down anything about their day trading program that might keep them from making as much money on it. So, I got a lawyer who let them know who I was (social security number level who) and also successfully made my case that loss of my anonymity on a blog might reasonably be expected to reduce my ability to produce the honest content I was posting. Anyway, a lot of my future (to present) thoughts on privacy go back to being freaked out by this stuff. I was aware, later as a moderator for Steve Lookner, that it is at least possible for trolls to start fake fights to get the host shut down (or to at least influence what is being said) if they want to silence something. No proof of that, just my gut feeling of what might be going on, which could well be wrong.
Wrong and wrong. The religious and conservative messages were woven in throughout this BUSINESS seminar. Nobody said anything about that in the session I attended. You were simply meant to conform or sit there uncomfortably.
Your and their insensitivity is breathtaking: the insensitivity of the dominant majority. Imagine me coming to your meeting and surprising you by talking (off subject) about how to remove religion and other superstitions from your life, and then saying “well, if you didn’t like it you could always have left.” It would be palpably inappropriate for me to do, and it was for them too.
As for the founding fathers, I don’t agree with your characterization. Jefferson was clearly a deist, if religious at all. He rewrote the bible, taking out all parts that contained supernatural elements. Thomas Payne was an atheist. As long as we’re quoting, consider this one from him: “I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church…
All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.”
But why talk about the founding fathers at all? What burns me, and many other people, is the dishonest publicity by the seminar leaders, and the
substitution of Christian and conservative rant for the advertised discussion of business skills and “motivation”. The only motivation I got was to walk out, which I did.
Then you simply weren’t listening. They said it right before the session began. You act as if somebody quoting Christian beliefs is damaging. I thought you liberals were supposed to be inclusive and open minded??
And as to Jefferson’s “Deism”, I’ll let him answer in his own words in his letter to Benjamin Rush on April 21, 1803:
“I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus.”
Disagree with Mr. Jefferson.
Exactly… what Jefferson was saying was that the DOCTRINES that Jesus professed were fine… they had nothing to do with religion per se or whether he was the son of God. I’d like to see the pseudo-Christians today actually live by His doctrines… then perhaps those of us that don’t buy into all the “Blessed Be” garbage would wouldn’t be so nauseated. Nothing flags a scam to me quite as fast as a business person leading with or advertising that they are a Christian business. LIVE your principles, don’t wear them like they are a uniform.
Ken, I am embarrassed for you. I looked up the letter you referred to and it does not say what you “quote” at all!
Here is what Jefferson actually said in that letter: “I am a Christian, in the only sense in which he wished anyone to be: sincerely attached to his doctrines in preference to all others, ascribing to himself every human excellence, and believing he never claimed any other.”
I think that the REAL Jefferson would fully agree with Carol’s point.
If Jefferson is “sincerely attached to the doctrines of Jesus (who else is he referring to??” then that makes him a Deist??? Whatever. Believe what you will. You took that sentence out of context, Irish. What he said in the prior sentence was: “They are the result of a life of inquiry and reflection, and very different from that anti-Christian system imputed to me by those who know nothing of my opinions.” In other words, I am not anti-Christian, as so many people today are.
It is those revisionist, biased, beliefs that is turning our country into the moral and financial wasteland it is. It is so funny to listen to you liberals whine about tolerance and then show such anti-Christian bigotry. (i.e. “Don’t pray in public to Jesus. Buddha, Mohammed are ok, but not Jesus) And yet, the Christians are the “hypocrites.” Again, believe what you will. I have a degree in history. My knowledge isn’t based on what I googled on the internet.
You did what was best, Irish: walk out. That’s your right. Now do what’s best for everybody else: Let this go. You don’t know what you’re talking about.
James Smith Company / Get Motivates Seminars Scam News
Utah woman going to prison for scamming dozens, including widow …
Oct 28, 2010 … Professed real estate expert Jolee M. Tibbitts told Joyce … about half from Utah — lost a total of $1.2 million in Tibbitts' scam, …
http://www.deseretnews.com/…/Utah-woman-going-to-prison-for-scamming- dozens-including-widow-Iraq-solider.html – Cached
Robinson v. Tibbitts et al :: Justia Dockets & Filings
Dec 29, 2009 … Tibbitts et al – Justia Federal Dockets and Filings. … Torts to Land, – Tort Product Liability, – All Other Real Property … Torts – Property, – Other Fraud, – Truth in Lending … Under Equal Access to Justice, – Constitutionality of State Statutes … Defendants: Jolee Tibbitts and JMT Concepts …
dockets.justia.com/docket/utah/utdce/2:2009cv01149/73394/ – Cached
GOING GLOBAL – EAST MEETS WEST – ARTICLES OF INTEREST: Utah woman …
Oct 28, 2010 … Professed real estate expert Jolee M. Tibbitts told Joyce … Tibbitts, of Herriman, earlier pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in …
articlesofinterest-kelley.blogspot.com/…/utah-woman-going-to-prison-for- scamming.html – Cached
Utah woman going to prison for scamming dozens, including widow …
Professed real estate expert Jolee M. Tibbitts told Joyce Robinson she owned. … Finance, fraud and foreclosure. 2 days ago. In the book, 'Too Big to Fail' …
topics.npr.org/article/03LybbF98Y3KX – Cached
Utah woman going to prison for scamming dozens, including widow …
Oct 27, 2010 … Professed real estate expert Jolee M. Tibbitts told Joyce Robinson … CA – OCTOBER 11: Socialite Kathy Hilton and real estate broker Rick …
mma.msg.com/article/03LybbF98Y3KX?q=Hawaii – Cached2009-11-16
by CNJ -1 Votes Utah
The fraud committed by NRI – James Smith, Jolee Tibbitts, Roger Williams, Aaron Asmond has personally effected me. I paid 20K to learn how to lose 200k cash. I am a single mom with 8th grade education. The properties were presented as GREAT investments and leveraged my home and bought each one out of trust and presentation. The Personal Coach processed all 11 of the Utah loans through his comapany. Broke confused and struggling…Jolee Tibitts offered to sell me a no-brainer home to flip from her sister to save me from the horrible situation, ("Stop the bleeding" they call it), only to find out, the house was not worth what I paid, but that NRI personal coach got it appraised and funded somehow. I reached out again to James Smith, Roger, Jolee who all stated I had bought horrible homes. Only to be offered another seminar. The embarrassment and the humiation of trusting the many years of expertise represented is my payment for investing in " guarentee satisfaction", "learning the ropes from the 20yrs experienced investment experts and coaches",
California
"I attended the M-5 in Salt Lake City; this was immediately after attending the three day.
We found ourselves exhausted at the end of 5 days, as I think most people are following an M-5; however we were totally committed to Real Estate investing. We were so touched by the “passion” that we saw in many of the presenters. The emotion and tears shared and shed by attendees and presenters was incredible. One of the most passionate presenters was a woman by the name of Jolee Tibbitts."
RE Success Group James Smith | RIP OFF REPORT: 249594
May 21, 2007 … James Smith and the James Smith Real Estate Coaching Company strongly … Use our complaint form to report a scam. Site problems? … the pressured purchase involving Jolee Tibbitts, a then presenter for NRI). James' …
http://www.ripoffreport.com/…/national-real-estate-investors-mxba2.htm – Cached –
James Smith Real Estate / Net Marketing, LC Complaints – Celebrity …
We backed out of several deals and were told by Jolee Tibbitts one of their …
http://www.ww.complaintsboard.com/…/james-smith-real-estate-net-marketing-lc- c3195.html
Jolee Tibbitts Sentenced to 4 years in Federal Prison.
WORKED MENIAL JOBS TILL JAMES SMITH HIRED HER:
"“Theft is one thing. Lying is another. You did them both, ” said Judge Dee Benson, of the U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City. “And you did it for an awfully long time.”
Tibbitts’ attorney, Daphne Oberg, said Tibbitts worked menial jobs until she was suddenly promoted to a real-estate training and motivational speaking job that quintupled her income. Later, when hard times hit, Oberg said Tibbitts’ life spun out of control.
“She kind of became involved in this fast-moving life, trying to keep up this public image, ” Oberg said. “But it wasn’t an image based in reality.”
During Wednesday’s sentencing, a handful of victims spoke of the medical problems, failed marriages and shortened retirements they said came as a result of their investments. "
Comment from
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/50552405-76/tibbitts-court-estate-million.html.csp
rinsfo 2 weeks ago
"Tibbitts’ attorney, Daphne Oberg, said Tibbitts worked menial jobs until she was suddenly promoted to a real-estate training and motivational speaking job that quintupled her income."…
Promoted by James Smith and his org that's still very active in UT. Run, don't walk to the nearest exit when you come across these grifters."
[Comment removed due to potentially defamatory statements.]
[Comment removed due to possibly defamatory statements – Xeno]
I was at your site and did not want to disturb you. I would like to talk about doing some business. PLease give me a call
Who cares what James Smith does in his personal life? The question is, does his training work? Personally I don’t know, but I don’t see how his personal business should be dragged into discussions about his business activities.
BTW, I’m not a supporter of James Smith, nor a detractor, just not understanding the connection. I’ve known many guys who were great business men but didn’t have such a great personal life. Everybody can’t be successful in every aspect of their life and I think a persons personal life should be that, personal.
It is important that people are honest. If a person is not successful/practicing integrity in their personal life, they should not be giving advice about anything other than their area of success, until they are on the right path in their personal life and can be honest about it. James Smith sells himself not only as a successful business man but as a successful husband and father, so it IS important what he does in his personal life. The fact that his son works with him is a positive for him, and I think if his wife was by his side in public, that would also be a plus for him because of the message he is proclaiming.
Has anyone who went to the Memphis seminar March 29th received any of the emailed free books or book summaries?
I’ve called Customer Service (SIC) four times only to be lied to each time.
Last night I got a call saying I had been selected to receive a ‘free’ gift. This scam needs to be stopped.
I attended the Get Motivated Workshop in Seattle. What an amazing Bait and Switch operation! From saying that it was being held at the Key Arena then sending folks to a place in Kent to watch it “Live” onscreen to the workbooks which were from last year’s speakers to having the speakers talk about politics instead of success and motivation.
If Republicans want to have a patriotic feast and happy dance so be it. But, I think it should be marketed as such. It should not be presented in the way that it currently is. They are really quite slimy. The way they sold this Workshop was for a completely different sort of MOTIVATION. What they are really selling is a brain-washed, dumbed down, rah-rah session motivating the masses for a revision of history – Republican-style!
God forbid that Republicans have any opinion or motivation whatsoever, eh? It’s not as though you could have looked at the list of featured guest speakers, put two and two together, and figured out that this seminar wasn’t exactly going to be the sort of hippie love-fest one sees every single day on most major media outlets.
It seems like most of the complaints I see about these seminars (on this website and others) are mostly from liberals expressing outrage and disbelief that anyone not of their political persuasion could possibly have anything motivational to offer–much less the concept of success in a capitalist economy, which is what much of the business-related speeches by the likes of Forbes and Putnam related to.
In any case, if you prefer your own version of dumbed-down, brain-washed rah-rah sessions with revisionist history (Democrat style), there are plenty of outlets for that, none of which liberals seem to have any ‘righteous indignation’ about. God forbid you get over your own political/religious leanings for one day in order to gain anything positive from a few speeches by some truly successful people.
I also went to the Seattle seminar tonight. While your view isn’t too far off track, I don’t believe there was any misleading as to the location and “Live” format of the seminar. It was held in the Key Arena, which was at max capacity (people were sitting on the stairs since no seats remained by 930am; probably against the fire code). My ticket said Key Arena and had a “satellite” location listed for overflow. I’m surprised if anyone was mislead on that.
The speech was more conservative in politics than I expected – well, just more politics than I expected in general. It was a political soap box mixed in with what was very effective salesmanship by James Smith. For anyone attending future seminars, be aware that is what you are in for. Nothing is free in our country (someone is paying for it somewhere). From my perspective it seemed the sales for James Smith’s seminars are the principal driving force for this seminar. I’m actually a little shocked so many respected politicians, leaders, athletes and so on from our nation come out and speak at what ends up being a well disguised sales pitch.
As someone who has not utilized the methods presented and I assume taught by the various James Smith seminars, I cannot give claim to their effectiveness. I do know that if something seems too good to be true (“$5million in 3 years”, “purchase 33 homes in your first year”), at a minimum it should cause enough alarm in your brain that you should research it before acting.
And finally, before providing your credit card information to anyone to sign up for anything, read the fine print. Understand your refund limitations and when and how you will be charged (because its likely on a monthly basis without you being “further” informed). I initially signed up for the WealthMagazine Investools investing seminar and will likely cancel. I don’t expect this to be a problem based on their return policy, but I will update the blog should one arise.
I went to one in upstate NY yesterday and so glad i found this site because i felt the same way. I was offended at the religious propoganda being of another faith and although i did pick up a few tips on business skills, i did sign up for one of later scheduled class *at the urging of my colleague so we could split the cost* and will cancel it. As a beginner in stock trading, I am not interested in their method after reading here. I was actually searching online to see if my instincts were right about the shady nature of this.
Christians are easily duped.
Why do you think all these scams like this one, MLM, Amway stuff, etc., are all geared toward christians? If you’re gullible to tithe 10% of your money to somebody telling you you’ll live forever, you’re going to fall for this stuff too. The more religious you are, the easier it is to dupe you. Simple as that.
I used to be suggested this web site via my cousin. I’m no longer certain whether this publish is written through him as no one else recognize such unique about my trouble. You’re wonderful! Thank you!
I attended today in Tulsa. I agree that looking at the speakers you should be able tell that the event leaned to the right. That’s okay with me, even though I‚Äôm not a republican. I thought the line-up of speakers was interesting enough to take my office staff.
However, I thought the advertising was somewhat disingenuous because it was billed as a business seminar, not a religious or political one. And I am a Christian. That said, to profess to be one (Christian) starts with being honest. I really did not appreciate feeling like I was the subject of a sales pitch without it being advertised that way. After a while, I found myself feeling the same way you feel when dealing with a used car salesman and that’s unfortunate. I felt a little embarrassed subjecting my staff to that.
About the speakers, you cannot deny that the line-up of speakers is impressive. You may not agree with their politics but their life experiences are interesting. I do try to see the best in everyone so I thought General Powell was terrific, Lou Holtz was funny and Laura Bush was good as well. I truly got very little out of Rudy Giuliani.
I even enjoyed the investment strategy session and the real estate portion (for what it was, a live infomercial or QVC live). I like to think I’m not so gullible that I throw down my credit card for every snake oil salesman; I do a little research first. After all, as the old saying goes, ‚Äúif it looks too good to be true, then it probably is‚Äù. And in this case, you can find similar tools on line for free.
Overall the day was just okay. It would certainly have been better if I felt better about the integrity of the event. Right wing or not, Religious or not, most adults just want to be told the truth when they give you’re their time
I constantly spent my half an hour to read this blog’s articles every day
along with a mug of coffee.
I’ll always remember this post because it was the one on which there was some kind of fight and someone sued WordPress (Automattic) because of comments made on my blog, on this post. Like a person posting knew where someone was going to be and they shouldn’t have know that and so it was investigated, but at the time—and I still don’t know–I did consider that the whole thing was just a ploy to be able to personally “persuade” me to take down anything about their day trading program that might keep them from making as much money on it. So, I got a lawyer who let them know who I was (social security number level who) and also successfully made my case that loss of my anonymity on a blog might reasonably be expected to reduce my ability to produce the honest content I was posting. Anyway, a lot of my future (to present) thoughts on privacy go back to being freaked out by this stuff. I was aware, later as a moderator for Steve Lookner, that it is at least possible for trolls to start fake fights to get the host shut down (or to at least influence what is being said) if they want to silence something. No proof of that, just my gut feeling of what might be going on, which could well be wrong.