The revolution is happening and I’ve got mixed feelings. Positive attitudes, goal setting and self improvement is all good stuff but I'm not yet sold. I spent the weekend at one of these motivational, NLP style seminars. My friend had a free ticket so I thought I might as well have a go at fixing my problems. Chris Howard was the feisty guru at the helm of the proceedings. Sporty and clean-cut, he reminded me a bit of a sports coach with lots of hi-5’s, whooping and hollering. Full of spunky energy and vitality, Chris urged us all to get up and take ACTION and achieve our DREAMS!

As expected, I did have some breakthroughs. I probably hi-5ed and hugged more people than ever in my life. I got to the root of some of my unresolved issues, learned to overcome some of my long standing fears and even banished a few demons. I also learned new technologies for severing restrictive emotional ties and staying focused on positive outcomes and replacing negative fears and insecurities. Yes, I was grateful for the things I learned from Chris Howard. It was powerful stuff.

So why did I wake up feeling a bit sick this morning? Maybe the thing I found disturbing was the relentless emphasis on sales. Though I understand the necessity of sales to keep the enterprise going, I didn’t entirely agree with the excessivness. But the seminar was a big, bold, exuberant and pricey production and the hardcore sales seemed to be necessary to sustain it. I should be used to it. After all, I am American and sales is today a large part of American culture. But I thought I had escaped all of that, by living as I do in the UK. Chris Howard seems like a nice enough guy and his heart is in the right place, but somebody needs to speak to him about the virtues of balance, moderation and modesty.