The average Utahn got up Tuesday morning, fought traffic, plodded through an eight-hour workday, scooted home, watched television and went to bed.
But about 11,800 people took a fork in the road that day. They were looking for excitement, motivation, energy. They did not want just another day at the office. They were on a quest for suc-cess.Their destination was the Delta Center and Peter Lowe's Success 1998 seminar. They listened to music and big-name speakers, laughed and cheered and yelled, did the wave and bought books and tapes.
Dan Knox was one of them.
The Coastal Chemical employee drove down from Evanston, Wyo., and landed in the front row, just a few feet away from people like "The Book of Virtues" author William J. Bennett, motivational speaker Zig Ziglar, Utah Jazz star Karl Malone and former President George Bush.
Knox said it was his first experience at a full-day seminar, and he was drawn by the "impressive" list of speakers.
"I think if you look at another (person) who has achieved a level of greatness, you could pick up things to help yourself grow," he said. "I don't think people would have paid the fee to come here if they didn't want to learn and inspire their lives."
Seminar attendees shelled out $54 to $120 in advance, or about $200 at the door, for a chance at inspiration.
David Peterson, who works for a Salt Lake City payroll company, said it was worth the money. Ziglar alone would have drawn him to the event.
"I've read his books since I was in high school," Peterson said. "I want to start my own company . . . I want some entrepreneurial courage, I guess."
Elenoa Moala, employee of a Salt Lake skin care products company, wanted to see Ziglar and Bush. A veteran of other motivational seminars, she said she was out for an uplifting, positive experience.
"I need to change," Moala said. "It does give me a little booster."
Randy Dusenbury of Salt Lake attended one of Peter Lowe's past seminars here, and he said it helped him deal with people. He is another Ziglar fan.
"His voice alone is enough to motivate you," Dusenbury said.
Ziglar, 71, bounced around the stage during a morning session, gesturing, running and stopping to kneel every now and then. He was part motivational speaker, part business and productivity guru and part marriage counselor.
Ziglar and many of the other speakers took a few minutes out of their presentations to promote their books and audio tapes, which filled several tables in the Delta Center's concourses. The products ranged in price from $20 to more than $100, and thousands of people put their money down for autographed copies before the end of the day.
However, Ziglar said, "I'm not in the book and tape business. I'm in the life-changing business."
Peter Lowe, the seminar's mastermind and master of ceremonies, said all of his speakers share that business. Lowe took it upon himself to pump up the audience between speakers, dashing back and forth with his red hair blazing and his arms flying.
Lowe said he started his seminars 17 years ago - after quitting his job at age 22 - for "crowds" of about 20 people. This year, he will produce 21 seminars with a projected total attendance of about 375,000.
He loves to do them, he said, because he wants people to achieve success in their financial, family and spiritual lives.
"One of the great challenges is that people used to think of (the seminars) as get-rich-quick schemes," Lowe said. "We don't put a dollar sign through the S in success."
Not everyone in Tuesday's audience will point back to the seminar as a life-changing experience, Lowe said, but all 11,800 had a motivational "feast."
"You can always move to a higher level, no matter where you're at," Lowe said. "It's the growth that counts."
Nancy Rigby, who works for Franklin Covey Co. in Salt Lake, did not think the seminar would change her life. But she thought it would be good for her son Jeremy, a Utah State University English major, to hear success stories and planning tips.
Jeremy Rigby said he was excited to spend the day at the seminar with his mom, although the only speakers he knew much about were Malone and Bush.
"I want to get ideas of what to look for," he said. "It will give me a good direction for the future."
Nancy Rigby's boss, Franklin Covey Chairman Hyrum Smith, was one of the seminar speakers. Franklin's own time management seminars now reach about 40,000 people each month, Smith said, and their main theme is the acquisition and maintenance of inner peace.
"Inner peace comes when what you are doing matches what you value," he said.
To get to that point, Smith said, people need to figure out what really matters to them and organize their lives around it.
Lowe urged people to change themselves and get involved in the lives of others in order to find success. And any definition of that word should include love, joy and peace in one's life, he said.
Other speakers, notably Larry King, did not have such a deep message. The host of cable television's "Larry King Live" interview show said his talk was "filler" and different from the others because, "I don't have anything to sell."
Richard and Marsha Lee of Helper were among 200 people who attended a luncheon with King after his speech. They said they attended the seminar because they respected the speakers and thought it looked like fun.
"I thought (King) was outstanding," Lee said. "They're all supposed to stimulate you and make you think."
Bill Lehman, a training program coordinator with the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls, made the trek down to Utah with several of his colleagues. They saw ads for the event in the paper, he said, and they were excited to listen to Ziglar, Bush and business consultant Brian Tracy.
Lehman said he was particularly interested in Ben-nett.
"He's not high-profile, but the word is more important than the image," he said. "And it was always good seeing Karl Malone."
Lehman said he was not impressed with all of the speakers, but his goal for the day was to gain a reminder of principles he already knew.
"I think they're practices that you can put into your life," he said. "I know subconsciously there will be some things I remember tomorrow and next week and next month."
As she left the Delta Center, Jonna Carpenter, who works at a local direct-mail advertising firm, said the seminar was about what she expected.
"A lot of it, to me, seems like common sense, but it's a reminder of the importance of getting back to basic ways of living," she said. "It's very motivational . . . It will make me a better person."
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Peter Lowe success seminars
Age
Percentage
16% 25-34
31% 35-44
32% 45-54
14% 55-64
Marital Status
Percentage
75% Married
25% Single
Income
Percentage
24.5% $50K/below
14% $50K-60K
20% $60K-75K
21% $75K-100K
20.5% $100K
Occupation
Percentage
34% Professional/Technical
30.6% Sales
29% Management
25.5% Self employment
6-8% Other
Gender
Percentage
75% Male
25% Female
Financial
Percentage
85% Home ownership
94% Bank cards
36% Travel & entertainment cards
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On the Web
See the business section of the Web Edition for an additional story with tidbits of advice and humor handed out by some of the day's speakers at Peter Lowe's Success 1998 seminar.