RALEIGH -- With unemployment stuck near 10 percent and career advancement a fading dream for many of those who do have jobs, there are plenty of people looking for extra workplace motivation.
Thousands on Wednesday decided the RBC Center would be a good place to start, cramming the arena to hear speeches on motivation and leadership by former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and others as part of a "Get Motivated!" business seminar.
The event seemed to draw the gamut: people hoping to make more money, improve their workplace attitudes or fire themselves up about work, along with those hoping to embrace their spiritual side and/or learn about investing in the stock market.
The Duke women's basketball staff attended as part of a retreat in advance of the coming season.
"It's a time for us to get motivated," said Bobby Sorrell, assistant to head coach Joanne McCallie. "Our goal is to be the best staff in the country."
Judging by the logos on company-issued attire, businesses of all stripes dispatched people to the seminar. Pepsi, Golden Corral, Sonic, Progress Energy, Anheuser Busch and Rex Healthcare were among the companies represented. A group of career counselors who work with the Special Forces Command at Fort Bragg also made the trip.
Ticket prices provided some of the motivation for attendance. Ads touted deals in which entire office staffs could attend for $19. The actual ticket boasted a price of $225, supposedly the at-the-door admission cost. Tables outside the box office were filled Wednesday morning with tickets, free for the taking.
But what attendees got to keep in one pocket was taken from the other: parking was $10, and a "workbook" filled with inspirational stories was $20.
The seminar started at 8 a.m. After struggling through traffic snarls, attendees found an arena set up with about 18,000 seats. By 10:30 a.m., there seemed to be a person in nearly every one. Downtown at the Raleigh Convention Center, 2,000 more watched a simulcast of the event.
A seminar specialist
Seminars have long been a part of Zig Ziglar's business model. Ziglar, 83, is a best-selling author, motivational speaker and corporate trainer. His company, Ziglar Inc., sells a variety of motivational books, CDs and DVDs. The seminars introduce potential customers to his products and services.
Since suffering a head injury several years ago, Ziglar makes only short appearances. He leaves most of the talking to the big guns.
After remarks from televangelist the Rev. Robert Schuller and businessman Steve Forbes, Giuliani hit the stage. He challenged listeners to embrace technology, to read more books and to listen more to other people. "Most of what I've learned about leadership I've learned from other people," he said.
Giuliani also emphasized the need for planning. Although New York City did not have a plan to deal with a disaster exactly like the Sept. 11 attacks, it depended on the plans it had for smaller emergencies to evacuate people and secure perimeters around additional potential targets.
"People who know where they're going have a much better chance of getting there than those who don't."
Inspiration, or a break
Although it was subtle, Wednesday's event also had a religious overtone. Several speakers mentioned their faith in God. One asked those who were willing to accept Christ to fill out a form on the concourse. Those who did would receive a CD in which Ziglar talks about his own spiritual journey.
Though some people obviously made the trip to the RBC Center because their bosses made them, or because it meant a day out of the office, others came looking for something deeper.
Martha Johnson, who lives outside Wilson, got up at 4:45 a.m. so she could meet her co-workers in time to catch a ride. Johnson is a social worker with the Wilson County Department of Social Services, where she specializes in helping seniors.
Since the economy crashed, Johnson has dealt with more homeless people than ever. She routinely has to tell people that there is no money for assistance. She hoped the seminar might provide inspiration for ways to deal with the toughest cases. "It would be nice if you could give them some motivation and some hope," she said.
