One Writer, Unmotivated

STEVE FORBES’s speech is making me sick to my stomach, and it has nothing to with what he’s saying. In fact, along with the most of the near-capacity crowd at the Verizon Center, a sports arena in downtown Washington, I largely agree with his anti-tax blast. But as first speaker at the D.C. stop of the Get Motivated! seminar-the “Monsters of Rock” of motivational speaking—Forbes tries to face the 360-degree audience by walking in a slow circle, moving his hands up and down consistently, rhythmically, almost lazily. From about ten rows back it looks like he’s conducting an orchestra on Valium. Sleep deprivation always upsets my stomach, and I’ve gotten up early. I skipped breakfast too. Now Forbes is adding to my gastrointestinal distress. So why am I here?

The better question is: Who isn’t here? The Verizon Center—normally home to the Washington Wizards and Justin Timberlake concerts-has just over 20,000 seats, and the place is nearly packed at 8 A.M. on a Thursday. Of course, the crowd is not here just to see Forbes. Get Motivated! is supposed to last until 4:45, and Forbes is only the first of several marquee names. Today’s headliners are Colin Powell and Sugar Ray Leonard, but other Get Motivated! regulars include Rudy Giuliani (well, at least until his campaign began in earnest), Mikhail Gorbachev, George Foreman, Goldie Hawn, Jerry Lewis, Joe Montana, Ed McMahon, William Shatner, and Benjamin Netanyahu. Past speakers have included Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Gerald Ford. (Bill Clinton does gigs for Tony Robbins’s competing organization at $300,000 a pop-but only in Canada.)

About the Author

Mark Hemingway

Mark Hemingway is a former reporter for National Review.

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STEVE FORBES’s speech is making me sick to my stomach, and it has nothing to with what he’s saying. In fact, along with the most of the near-capacity crowd at the Verizon Center, a sports arena in downtown Washington, I largely agree with his anti-tax blast. But as first speaker at the D.C. stop of the Get Motivated! seminar-the “Monsters of Rock” of motivational speaking—Forbes tries to face the 360-degree audience by walking in a slow circle, moving his hands up and down consistently, rhythmically, almost lazily. From about ten rows back it looks like he’s conducting an orchestra on Valium. Sleep deprivation always upsets my stomach, and I’ve gotten up early. I skipped breakfast too. Now Forbes is adding to my gastrointestinal distress. So why am I here?

The better question is: Who isn’t here? The Verizon Center—normally home to the Washington Wizards and Justin Timberlake concerts-has just over 20,000 seats, and the place is nearly packed at 8 A.M. on a Thursday. Of course, the crowd is not here just to see Forbes. Get Motivated! is supposed to last until 4:45, and Forbes is only the first of several marquee names. Today’s headliners are Colin Powell and Sugar Ray Leonard, but other Get Motivated! regulars include Rudy Giuliani (well, at least until his campaign began in earnest), Mikhail Gorbachev, George Foreman, Goldie Hawn, Jerry Lewis, Joe Montana, Ed McMahon, William Shatner, and Benjamin Netanyahu. Past speakers have included Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Gerald Ford. (Bill Clinton does gigs for Tony Robbins’s competing organization at $300,000 a pop-but only in Canada.)