that's dedication for you

It may seem incongruous for someone who is deeply suspicious of self-aggrandising powerbrokers, but I have held a long fascination in the pursuit of prosperity. I actually differentiate those who have made it through entrepeneurial acumen and those who have got there by cheating.

Which hopefully serves as some kind of preamble as to how it is that I found myself spending three days straight at a Breakthrough to Success seminar. Normally this kind of rah-rah bravura would be nauseating but, given that the goal was improvement for every individual in the room, on their own terms, it became bearable. And I really got something from it. I'm just not clear on what exactly.

The presenter was Christopher Howard, an alternative Tony Robbins if you like, and he brought the more cautious intelligentsia into his sway by demonstrating a profound knowledge of the areas of hypnosis and neuro-linguistic programming he was working. Not to mention that, if you're a public speaker, you could not help to be damn impressed at how he could hold the stage for hours on end. I'm good for probably two hours and then it helps to have notes.

Of course if you wanted to be cynical, you could say that he offers free tickets to this event in order to get you to go to further events that cost thousands of dollars. But I didn't say that.