Cgw #3

[Marc Robertson]

I'm in the process of deciding on attending the May 14th-16th CGW. I am near the top of the hurdle already. Once I lock in my decision, it's all downhill from there.

To give a bit of background on how I came about to this point is I found out about this blog just over two weeks ago. I never considered personal development before it fell out of the sky on me. I started reading it and noticed my resonate response with material in the blog and bought PDSP. I quickly read it cover to cover. In the process, I have developed an insatiable appetite for personal development. Furthermore, I have applied what I have learned to my own life. The results have been quite valuable to me right out of the gate. I believe that the workshop could be quite beneficial in solidifying my development and putting strong momentum behind it.

Conversely, the reluctance that I'm feeling against me comes from many sources. First, I've never been to Las Vegas or anywhere near that side of the country. It's a 2,000 mile journey from Michigan for me. I'll be doing it alone and I don't know anyone there. I'm 25 and have never even booked a flight, or hotel room. This is pushing me way out of my comfort zone with the slew of personal firsts. Plus I am an electrical engineering student who doesn't have a lot of slack in case I run into cost overruns such as fees, food, etc.

I can see all of the negatives turn into positives, but the hurdle is largely that I'm overloaded in figuring out all the details with no experience. I noticed as I was researching options that I might have accidentally booked a flight to Las Vegas, NM.

Currently, I am considering flying in on Thursday May 13th, staying at the Flamingo, going to the workshop Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I've noticed that many people wished that they stayed the Monday after so I tacked that on. Plus if I'm going all the way out to Las Vegas, I'm also going to visit the Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon. I tacked on Tuesday to do that. Then I am looking to leave on Wednesday. In a way, it's turning into a personal vacation and I haven't been on one in 7 years. In fact it will be my first off week after 364 on weeks.

The biggest 's for me is how much is food going to cost in Vegas? What sticking points can I run into with the flight, Hotel getting to the hotel, possibly renting a car for the Monday and Tuesday? What can I expect? I'm not planning on Sin Cities many Sins, at least the ones that cost a lot of money.

Okay, I guess I lied a little. I am already rolling downhill on the side of going, I'm just trying to figure out the details and what to expect. Also, I am trying to sucker someone else in going to the Grand Canyon so I don't have to do it alone.

-Marc

[spirit4711]

Originally Posted by Marc Robertson

Okay, I guess I lied a little. I am already rolling downhill on the side of going, I'm just trying to figure out the details and what to expect. Also, I am trying to sucker someone else in going to the Grand Canyon so I don't have to do it alone.

-Marc

If you were the only one, you'd get 3 days of coaching by Steve for a very low fee.

I haven't done CGW and probably won't either, but I've done other seminars. Early in the first day you'll have met lots of other people also going there alone. No worry. Have a good one!

[Marc Robertson]

Haha.

Thanks for your encouragement.

-Marc

[Bing Wu]

Hey Marc, congrats on posting this here. I guess you need to take off the saran wrap and have some fun!

Seriously, you are going to have an awesome time at the workshop. There are lots of people our age (I'm 24), and even younger who've made the journey from all the corners of the earth, and it's generally been life transforming. I'd say the best part is the friends and connections you make. The people I now consider my best friends were all CGW attendees, and we just kept in touch afterwards. I even went on a road trip this past month from Ottawa, Canada all the way to Las Vegas, and then up the West Coast, with a CGW friend. That was a first for me, and I'm really glad to have stepped out of my comfort zone to do that.

I recommend booking the flight/hotel earlier rather than later, as prices tend to increase. The cost of food really varies - budget anywhere from $25-50 a day, depending on how often you plan to head off strip to the raw restaurant/other vegan restaurants. If you're an omnivore and stay on the strip, then it'll be on the lower end of that range, except if you want to deck out with the Bellagio buffet. I'd recommend banking on splurging a couple times while you're there, 'cause sometimes a big group from CGW will head out for a nice dinner and some good conversation usually accompanies.

The last couple times I went, I spend about $500-600 on food and fun. And by fun, I mean trips to the hoover dam, red rock canyon, seeing shows, indoor skydiving, gambling, etc.

For now, just get the hotel and flight booked, sign up for the workshop, and relax. You're going to have an awesome time if you let yourself :-) Oh, and I recommend heading there no later than Thursday, and stay until at least Tuesday. Personally, I like doing Wednesday to Wednesday, as it gives me lots of time to hang out with the friends I meet there.

[Marc Robertson]

Well, I'm locked in with the bookings so there is no going back now.

I'm booked to fly in on Thursday and fly out on Friday with 6 nights at the Flamingo.

Thank you Alex for your input. It was very helpful in my decision. Your reflection on CGW is amazing. Thank you for sharing that.

The bookings ended up costing me time and money because I waited a bit before book. Oops. For food, I'm open for anything really. Hopefully good food AND good conversation. I did test out going straight from an unhealthy college diet to raw last week. That only lasted 2 1/2 days. On the other hand, lately I've been eating much more healthy.

Now, if only there was an option to book great weather. Hrm

-Marc

[theorique]

Marc,

Regarding food and other expenses...
If you do rent a car, you'll make lots of friends who would like to go for lunch or dinner to off-Strip places such as Whole Foods that provide greater selection at better prices, or specialized places such as veg*n / raw restaurants such as Go Raw or Red Velvet Cafe. If not, you will certainly be able to connect with others who will be willing to drive to pick up bulk groceries and supplies. This can cut your food budget quite a bit depending on what you buy.

I'd agree with Alex's assessment of "fun" budget - depending on what you're looking for, $100 per day for entertainment and taking advantage of what Vegas has to offer is not hard to spend (e.g. Cirque du Soleil and other stage shows). I earned back the price of my flight playing blackjack, but that's hardly guaranteed (that's why they call it gambling after all...), so if you choose to gamble, you will likely want to include this in the budget also.

I strongly recommend taking at least a couple of days before and after, and it looks like you have already done that. Three days goes quickly, and it's great to share more time with new friends after the formal workshop is over.

[KazeCraven]

Alex Wu: You book Wednesday to Wednesday? Do you have a meeting plan before you leave for Las Vegas? I thought the workshop was where you meet the people and then it was afterwards that you hung out.

[Bing Wu]

A few of my friends from previous workshops will be there earlier, also I'll likely meet up with some local friends (that I met thru the workshop and Powerhouse Pros Toastmasters) as well

[Marc Robertson]

It looks like I made a mistake in my last post and the edit button is missing on my posts. (edit: It's still missing on my first two posts, but not this one. Hrm) I'm flying back on Wednesday, not Friday. Sorry about the mistake.

About the toastmasters, I looked back and noticed that the first CGW had an Monday meetup at Steve's Toastmasters. Is there going to be something similar for the toastmasters for the May CGW #3? I saw Steve's blog about quitting toastmasters. Notwithstanding his decision, I am interested in attending the famed chapter that Steve attended.

I'm interested in attending Go Raw and Red Velvet Cafe when I'm in Vegas. I'll have to wait and see how much omnivoir I have left in me when I get there. I've been moving in the Vegan / Raw food direction as of late. I'll keep that in mind

[Erin Pavlina]

On May 17 you can come to our Toastmaster meeting. I'm the president of the club so I'll be there for sure. Steve may or may not be there. He can still attend as a guest.

[Marc Robertson]

I'll be sure to check it out. Thank you Erin.

[OliNorwell]

Good to hear you decided to go Marc! I'm in a similar boat in that I umm'ed and ahh'ed about it for months from when Steve first posted about CGW #1. Then the other day I realised I simply had to do it, and any other decision was a mistake. For sure it's costing a fair bit (I'm flying in from the UK), but as other posters have said I've no doubt I will benefit hugely from the experience!

I'm also keen on seeing the Grand Canyon, so I'll be in the same boat of trying to find people to go with. I'm sure there will be plenty of us like that there.

As for costs of food etc, I wouldn't worry about that at all. If you feel you need to then I've no doubt you could manage to eat on a minimal budget. I've done quite a bit of backpacking and can offer some easy tips to eat cheaply should you blow your budget in casinos!

[Marc Robertson]

When I first read about the event, I had just finished Steve's book. I didn't have the money at the time. I though, that would be nice, but I simply can't go. Magically enough money fell onto my lap. That was weird. I must have just read the articles on intention manifestation.

I wrote the first post in this thread, I started at trying to justify spending the money. As an engineer with economics practically as a minor, I think about spending money from a benefit/cost ratio or rate of return point of view. As I though about the details, I realized that I couldn't afford not to go. The rate of return of investing in myself for this is potentially extremely high. Since then I've read many books, have had some interesting conversations with the few conscious people that I know, and am intending to milk every bit of value out of this event that I can squeeze. I am making myself more ready for this event with every day that passes.

[OliNorwell]

Same here, though once I thought about it I realised that it was a no-brainer.

In total it might cost me £1000-£1500 ($1.5k-$2.3k) for the trip, plus about a week of my time. But I realised I'd be benefiting from a holiday in Las Vegas (which I'd always wanted to do), three days listening to Mr Pavlina (which again I'd value very highly), and the opportunity to spend time with and meet other similarly minded people.

It will only take one moment in the three days of the seminar for something to really click with me (which I expect it will), for me to perhaps double my business income. Even in the unlikely event that the workshop is a total flop with me (extremely unlikely I'm certain!), the boost I'm getting from 'taking action' is already helping in other areas of my life. So I could argue again increased earnings will follow, which could easily pay for the trip.

Once I really started thinking from a cost benefit analysis I realised that it was an easy decision. It's not a gamble, but if someone said give me $1,750 for these potential upsides, I think even if only half of them actually manifested then I'd be making a 'profit' so to speak.