Learning from Colin Powell, Rudy Giuliani, and Larry King at a “Get Motivated” seminar

As I write this post, I am staying a long weekend in the Atlanta area for 2 seminars.  One of those seminars starred Rudy Giuliani, Larry King, and Colin Powell yesterday.

It was one of Peter Lowe’s huge stadium-packed, traffic-clogging, “Get Motivated” seminars where he brings in these huge star speakers to speak and teach.  I have to admit I couldn’t resist.  The thought of watching and learning from these heroes of mine was too irresistable to pass up.

Rudy Giuliani’s presentation was a bit short at 35 minutes.  However, he did make an impactful speech of how his leadership role model came from President Ronald Reagan.  Rudy believed that Ronald was a fan of “big ideas” and holding true to them no matter what public opinion was.  Being true to what you believe was a big theme in Rudy’s speech.

Rudy Giuliani also believed that leaders must inherently be optimistic and decisive.  He related his experiences of 9/11 and what carried him through.  It was very inspiring to hear his leadership style.

Larry King was very entertaining.  I was disappointed he was not on the Atlanta stage.  However, he did appear through a satellite link talking to our audience.  He was funny and told some great stories.  However, the life lessons were less obvious.  As I listened to him, I felt he was very modest but despite this, he subtly mentioned how willing he was when he was young to try all kinds of things such as broadcasting, newspapers, radio, etc. before he found his stride as an interviewer.

Last but not least was Colin Powell.  I can honestly say, Colin Powell was my favorite.  He is a complex, multi-faceted man.  He was a soldier, diplomat, author, and now a venture capitalist, speaker, innovator.  So many sides came out as he spoke.  I was busy scribbling down notes of many of the comments he made on leadership and management.  I was inspired, humbled, and listening intently.  I knew his time of teaching was extremely limited and my chances of meeting him in the future live would be very slim.  Nevertheless, I felt I learned some life lessons from the wisdom he gleaned during his career.

Colin Powell was impressive, thoughtful, and insightful.  He made us think of the world as many of us never did before.  And for me, he left some ideas that I hope will resonate for years to come.

Because of backed up traffic, I never got to hear Michael Eisner.  Zig Ziglar and Tom Hopkins were also in attendance to speak. 

All in all, it was a very heady day listening to some of my real-life heroes speak to us in the huge audience.