Wednesday August 15th, 2012 – Des Plaines, IL/Libertyville, IL
My grandpa had what seemed like an endless supply of catchy phrases and bromides that I still think of today. One he used frequently was “What you get for nothing is good for nothing.” That pretty much summed up my experience at the Dan Kennedy seminar, but I don’t regret attending.
It wasn’t entirely what I was expecting, but it was still valuable to check out how they chose to structure the program. I’ve put events together, and I know how difficult it is to coordinate all the smaller pieces into one big machine. There are always glitches, and nobody can predict them all.
To their credit, they did manage to get people in a room. I’d estimate there were about 300-350 in a space sized to fit not many more than that. I found a seat in the back row, and there weren’t a whole lot of others to be found. Getting that many people in a room for any reason is a challenge.
They promised Dan Kennedy, and they delivered. I walked into the room at precisely 9:02 and he was already on stage. He spoke for an hour, and then gave way to a person I’d never heard of who was a representative of the software company who was responsible for setting up the event.
I had expected a sales pitch, but I expected it from Dan Kennedy. At least I’d heard of him and wanted to see him at work. I’d never heard of this other guy, and he was less than stellar. He was on about an hour and fifteen minutes, which seemed like a month of Sundays. I tried to pretend I was interested, but he lost me in the first ten minutes and never got me back. He had no presence.
I wasn’t angry, and in fact I was encouraged. This guy hadn’t spent the decades of paying dues I have, and no matter how hard he tried he just didn’t grab the audience. Dan Kennedy was much better, but I know I could have held their attention for that hour just as well or better than he did.
That doesn’t mean I don’t respect who he is and what he’s done, but I could step in and do this too. Dan Kennedy focuses on business and sales training, and he has for years. He’s got probably a dozen books, and they were all available in the back of the room. That was an important lesson.
Most of these guys have their own product line, and that’s the first thing I need to have. Even a single book will set me apart from being the average schmucko off the street and propel me into the world of schmucko elite. If I learned nothing else, I definitely need to do that in a big hurry.
About the only thing I’m an authority on is standup comedy. I could write several books about it and not run out of things to say. It’s my passion, and I know I could sell it to an audience better than the guy today did. I didn’t even stay for the promised ‘free’ lunch. I couldn’t endure the guy any longer even if it was filet mignon and caviar. Gramps was right. It was worth the admission.
Tonight I had a comedy class graduation show at Improv Playhouse in Libertyville, IL. I never get sick of doing those, and tonight was a stellar evening. The students shined and the crowd was into it, and it went exactly how it was supposed to. It was a busy day and night, but worth all the effort. I’m going in the right direction, and I can feel it. I may just have a chance at success yet.
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