Figmentations

Isn’t it great when you attend an event and it greatly exceeds your highest expectations for it? Last weekend’s Empowerment Retreat did exactly that for me.

Right from the beginning, when I first arrived and opened the window of my air-conditioned car, I was gently greeted by the natural scent of pine trees in the serenity of the YMCA camp where this event took place. Not overcrowded, and nicely situated away from the day-to-day hassles of everyday life, there was an intimate feel right from the start.

At first I didn’t know what to expect. Most of the speakers slated to present at this event, I had not heard of before, yet I had high hopes just from having read their posted biographies. They did not disapoint. The event’s organizer, Carson Tang, can certainly be trusted to bring together a great set of quality speakers and attract a great audience of like-minded folks.

I came away from this weekend with a great deal of inspiration and some concrete tips to use right away. Needless to say, I was very glad to hear that a date has already been set to do this again next year: it will be May 29-31, 2009. Especially for those of us living in the northeastern US, this is a great way to see and hear some great speakers that we might not otherwise have the opportunity to travel to see.

So, without further ado, let me give you a taste of tips and advice from some of the speakers that impressed me the most. (Note: There were more speakers than those listed here, I just wasn’t able to catch them all this time around.)

Bill Cawley : What an inspiration! Who would think that someone who became a quadriplegic ‘without warning’ in a diving accident at the young age of 24, could sincerely state that, now, sixteen years later, he is “doing everything he wanted to be doing with his life.” Bill explained how ‘random change’ can happen at any time. And, that the way to come through it on top is to be “forward-focused” with your time and energy. Listen to his story yourself if you get a chance. He’ll share how he set goals by breaking things down into smaller steps; and how to measure, share, and celebrate your results so you can see for yourself and can show progress to others. He communicates a great message of believing in yourself and how to look at unexpected events as ‘life-changing’ but not ‘life-limiting’. He got it right by saying that “the ability to walk doesn’t guarantee you a better life.” (What’s even more impressive is that he figured this out on his own.)

Ken Cushman of “Summit Education”: At many of these type of empowerment events, it is typical to see experiential activities that are metaphors for facing and overcoming fears, or breaking through limiting beliefs, such as :”board breaking”, “fire eating”, and “fire walking”. Ken had a cool twist on this with his “arrow breaking” exercise where you use the soft, vulnerable part of your lower throat/neck area to snap an arrow in half. Pretty cool metaphor. (Everyone that wanted to do the arrow-breaking was given the opportunity to do so.)

Larry Benet, “The Connector”: Larry pointed out the important distinction between having “contacts” versus having “connections that you can call on in a time of need”. More than just a name dropper, Larry is great at knowing the right questions to ask — the answers from which a good connection can then be built when appropriate followup is done. His key questions center around “giving and adding value first”.

Peter Fields: Anyone need a great attorney in the New York area who specializes in media and entertainment law, in particular: intellectual property? If so, Peter Fields is your man. He can clearly explain the differences between: copyrights, “fair use”, trademarks, patents, and trade secrets. He was great at answering questions in an understandable way. His experience is clear in the amount of real world examples he could speak from. And, I like how he stressed that “all attorneys have to act in their client’s best interest”, so he let’s his clients know if there are things they can do on their own without an attorney’s assistance. He went on to say, “it’s not about being a great guy…it’s good for business.” I would go to him if (and when) I need his services.

Jairek Robbins: Before the event began, I heard a number of people ask, I wonder if Jairek is as good as his father, Anthony Robbins? From experience, I can now say, that he knows his stuff. He has a slightly different personality than his father…I would describe Jairek as a little more gentle…but I would say that he is equally caring, sincere, and knowledgeable in his communication. There is no doubt in my mind that he is someone who likes to have fun and knows how to enjoy life. He’s fun to watch and listen to also. For example, I’ve heard people teach the RPM goal setting process before, but when Jairek explained it, it took on a new life…it wasn’t a boring exercise. There is something, too, in the way that Jairek listens to questions from the audience, it was just so genuine. He is totally respectful of his father’s legacy and is knowledgeable in his own right, too. I was truly impressed.

Fran Capo: Fran is truly a refreshing and funny speaker. She spoke of her adventures and her attitude of “just say ‘yes’ and figure it out later”. She lives a life and raised her son with the belief that “nothing is impossible” and “to find humor in anything”. I loved her message that “you can do anything you want; fear it, but do it anyway…it’s all in your mind.” “Find your talent and let it shine.” Not only entertaining, but uplifting, too!

Dr. Antonia Martinez: Antonia presented a system she created for how to tap into your energy in order to bridge the way from ‘where you are’ to ‘where you want to be’, so as to overcome obstacles or challenges in your life. What I liked best about Antonia’s system is how it can be used with people that might not be able to verbally articulate what’s going on inside them. Antonia has great energy and enthusiasm herself. I love her commitment to wanting to use this with children and in prisons. She is definitely someone worth watching in the future.

Steve Linder: Now, this is the one speaker/educator who I was familiar with before attending this event. I have trained with Steve in the past year and I still learn new distinctions every time I hear him speak. He never holds back on the information and insights he shares with his audience. His slogan as “The Strategy Guy” is “The World Demands Results, Not Excuses. Which will you Deliver?” He delivers. The easiest part to remember about what he teaches is the following: give empowering meanings to the events that happen in our life; find positive learnings in those events; integrate and use those learnings so that you don’t revert back to your old behaviors; and then share those learnings to both help other people and to integrate those learnings at an even deeper level for yourself. He teaches so much more that that, this is just a taste.

So, I hope the above account provides you with a good sense of the quality of people at the event and gives you a glimpse at what it was like to be there. All the speakers were selfless in what they shared and in how they made themselves available to answer questions both before and after presenting.

I truly came away from this event feeling empowered and inspired to approach life with a new sense of enthusiasm. And, I met some great people that I plan to keep in touch with to keep the momentum going until the next event.

Also, go to Powermastery.com to sign up for updates on this event and from this event’s organizer!

Thanks to Carson, all the great speakers, and attendees for creating such a great event! Looking forward to the next one(s)!