CGW#3, Well?? How was it?!

[Divajules]

I couldn't attend this time but am anxious to hear how it went from those who did attend. If anyone would like to share, I'd love to hear about any and all experiences.

[Margarita888]

I'm dying to know as well. Although I bet we're probably not going to hear anything for a few days. As you know, it takes a while for the 'shock' to wear off or to be able to articulate the experience

[bluelighth]

Asking the same question... I think I know what the hot topic in the next skype call is... :P

[Divajules]

Originally Posted by bluelighth

Asking the same question... I think I know what the hot topic in the next skype call is... :P

Ha, ha...you got that right! Especially now that you are safe from the clutches of the military

[mattyblu]

Some initial thoughts. More to come later, of course.

* Day one was awesome. Lots of fun interactive exercises that made the principles stick.
* The written exercises on days two and three were comprehensive and insightful.
* Day two was disappointing on the whole. Less interaction and connection than in previous CGWs.
* Good crowd. Lots of awesome, conscious people.
* Smallest crowd of any CGW, which made things more personal, although we may have suffered a bit from a lack of right-brained people.
* Steve was great. Surprisingly funny as well.
* He made some excellent on-the-fly changes to the structure.
* Less shock value for me than CGWs 1 and 2, although I'm willing to attribute that partly to this being my third go-around.
* Fantastic group exercise to close out the day on Sunday.

[seeker5]

Good:
1) Much better understanding of the principles than before.

Bad:
2) Much less connection and interaction with other attendees.

Therefore, this CGW seemed more about understanding the principles and less about community-building or creating connections.

[KazeCraven]

I actually found days 2 and 3 to be the most beneficial, but the catch is I got the most benefit when I shared something from a specific area of my life in each of the exercises. I was pretty confused about what my purpose was and what I should pursue, but by sharing I attracted other people who essentially got me moving in a direction. I haven't gotten any clearer on any area of my life per se, but I do know what I must do for now in nearly all areas of my life.

I'd have to let the material sink in more to really know what Day 1 did for me. I already knew the seven principles, but the activities seemed to give me an understanding of how to use them that I didn't have.

I'm glad I attended this particular workshop, because even with the lowered social connectivity I was pretty tired of socializing by the end of it. Overall it exceeded my expectations. I expected to get a motivation boost and deep connections with some of the attendees. Instead, I feel like reality slapped me in the face a few times. I have a much better understanding of where I am and (I think) what my major blocks are.

[TrashyMcTrash]

I don't know if the universe is trying to tell me something, but I couldn't attend the last day because I got sick. Probably bad food.

Day 2 was pretty "dry", so I had hoped that Day 3 would be different. And from what I hear, it was. Bummer I didn't experience it. But lying in bed, trying not to throw up every half-hour was an interesting experience as well.

Anyway, I've met some pretty amazing people, and I'd love to stay in touch!

[staceyterry]

This was my first CGW experience, though I came with someone who attended the first workshop, so my expectations were for an experience similar to what I'd heard about. As it turned out, this CGW was apparently quite different and had a different energy than the one my friend experienced.

The first day was fantastic, and I really enjoyed the activities, getting to know the principles again, and interacting with the other conference participants. The pace was good, Steve appeared comfortable and his communication was framed with great analogies and examples! Hip Hip Hooray!!

Unfortunately, I really struggled with the Day 2 activity. I probably looked a bit like a fidgety and sulky 7-year old squirming in her desk and wishing she could just get outside and interact with all her new friends. While I appreciated the depth and the opportunity for deep written introspection, it was the sort of activity I felt I could have done from home. I'd mentally and emotionally checked out of the process by lunch time and coming back for more of the same afterwards actually put me in a pretty negative vibe. Honestly, I was in venting mode by the end. Buuut... still didn't have the courage to speak to Steve and express some hopes... Thankfully, he's a pretty intuitive guy!

But yeah... something was definitely in the air as I too was bit by the flu bug that attacked a few of us and also spent Saturday night retching my guts out. But I steeled myself and attended Day 3 anyway, and was sooooo delighted when Steve changed up the pace and the afternoon. I felt things ended on a very positive note.

But even with the Day 2 drawback, the value in reinforcing the principles and having the opportunity to connect with the other participants was still there. I faced a lot of decisions and paths that I hadn't before going. I didn't fully take advantage of all the social opportunities, but I found that my energy was so high and focused throughout the days that I almost wanted to retreat after the conference and sleep a little before venturing out, so I probably missed some great interaction with the other participants.

But I had one WICKED experience at the start of Day 3:
Green Smoothies From the Universe

Steve's principles still resonate with me as being very powerful tools for change, and I fully felt his good intentions in helping us and making sure we had a deep understanding of them. It was a good experience overall, but it would want to know a lot more about the future format before deciding to attend again. But I think Steve's already addressed this in his blog, so I think things continue to go in a good direction... just a little disappointed I was part of an experiment that didn't fit my particular style... but oh well! Learn and grow eh?

[Savage]

Glad you had a good time, Stacey, despite the illness. Your green smoothie story is awesome!

Every CGW is going to be an experiment of sorts since I'm a constant tinkerer. I doubt I'll ever deliver this workshop the same way twice -- since that would mean I didn't learn anything from the previous one. Continuous improvement also means that repeat attendees can gain a lot of value from coming to multiple CGWs since each workshop will cover the material in a fresh way.

It's like trying to decide when to buy a new smart phone or computer. Wait a year or two, and a better one will be on the market. But if you hold back and never buy one for that reason, you miss out on all the benefits. The upside is that when you do buy, you can get the very best version available at that time, including years of refinements -- and often for the same price as the original, less capable version. And you always have the option to buy a better version later.

[mattmcc]

My thoughts basically echo those of others regarding the content of the workshop. Unfortunately, I also got food poisoning and rested Sat night, Sun night and most of the day Monday so I missed out on a lot of the social activities.

I haven't read Steve's book and while I've read his blog for a number of years, the TLP triangle explanation was very valuable to me. I have been lacking in the contribution area and have been noticing that aspect more when hearing stories about successful people. Steve did a great job of explaining the different areas on Day 1 in an easy to understand and remember manner.

For me, one of the revelations was that I am overly focused on Career and Finance and hardly at all focused on Social and Relationships. I have already had opportunities to improve this area. Even after the Toastmasters meeting on Monday, I was able to challenge myself with this.

A few days after the workshop, I find that there are too many things I want to jump into. One part of the exercises was identifying the top 2 actions that we could take after the workshop for each area. It adds up to a lot of action steps.

[Burris5000]

Where did you guys eat that caused food poisoning? I plan on avoiding that place when I attend CGW in July. Or was it an outbreak of Norovirus? I had that a couple of times, and that is NOT a fun experience !

[mattmcc]

We couldn't figure it out where the illness came from since we all ate at different places. I thought later that it might have been the tap water. It did taste a little funny to me.

[Erin Pavlina]

Most likely it was norovirus as the Flamingo had an outbreak several years ago.

[DonnaBiz]

I don't have anthing additional...over all, I got a lot out of it and loved interacting with everyone.

Thankfully, I did NOT get sick. I've got a pretty strong immune system going.

I'm so glad Steve changed Day 3 to be more interactive. Ususally I thrive on written exercises, but Day 2 had me checking out mentally at about halfway through. I was still writing, but I took sort of a detour and I was definitely not "with the program".

Day 3 had just enough writing to fulfill that part of me and then more interaction which was much more fun.

So for a revision of Day 2, I would suggest about half as much writing as the upper limit.

[Divajules]

Thanks for all the replies. It sounds like there could have been a fair amount of healing going on based on all the stories of illness! Illness can be a sign of resistance but I'm sure there wasn't any of THAT going on at the conference, LOL!

Steve, I don't know what you did to these poor people on day 2 but I'm guessing we end up at the workshop that we are supposed to go to...meaning there are no coincidences. Power and social interaction were strong themes at #2 so that was definitely the one for me! I'm not sure I would have reacted to the revised day 2's festivities the same way as everyone else seems to have but kinda' glad I didn't have to find out.

Glad to hear it was another success. Just keep on inspiring me, Steve! You are immensely good at it.

[Miro]

If you speak German (or wanna give it a try) , please check out my travelogue at Las Vegas 2010 - Conscious Growth - Home.

Alex

[Divajules]

Well Miro, I don't speak German so I figured I was screwed in trying to read your travelogue. I felt a bit dismayed that I can only speak one language but not motivated enough to actually learn, LOL!

However, "by accident", I discovered I have a translator on my computer. So, I set it to English and clicked on your link. Voila, it translated whatever I hovered over. Too cool! I do wonder about how well the translator really works because some of it didn't make complete sense. I think, however, I can get the gist of it if I take my time and use some common sense on the stuff that might not exactly translate flawlessly with this type of tool.

Ha, technology is pretty f'n cool! Thanks for sharing.

[Marc Robertson]

The easy way is to use google translate. Type in the words or web page address, select the translation from and to, then hit translate.

Here is Alex's website translated to English.

[Divajules]

Ah, thanks Marc. That definitely works, ha.! Enjoyed reading it, Miro.

[Miro]

weird translation ... but almost poetic sometimes.