When I first met Dan Peña in June I996, I thought I was doing pretty well in life. With fifteen years of business experience under my belt, and a net worth of several million pounds, I reckoned I was somebody. I was quite smug about my achievements. I'd arrived. I was one of the big boys now. A real company director with a secretary and even some employees! In short, I was snuggled warmly into my comfort-zone with just the tip of my nose peeping over the blanket-top…
Then my life changed. I attended a unique seminar given by Dan Peña – the Grim Reaper of Guthrie – who personally slapped me around ten hours a day, for three days. He ripped that blanket off me and made me shiver in the cold light of a new day. And now friends, I'm a wiser and humbler (oh, and by the way…richer) man.
Here's the story of how I met this remarkable man.
Like you, I get mailed with lots of seminars. Jay Abrahams, Tony Robbins, Rod Hull and Emu, you know the sort of thing. A few years ago I received another one advertising Dan Peña. Dan Who? Never heard of him. Tony Robbins, yes. Now there’s a real seminar man. Why, he can get a whole audience clapping, laughing, crying even dancing around with looks ecstatic joy on their faces…but Dan Peña? Sounded a bit serious to me. The seminar was expensive (three grand) which got my attention. Anyone who charges $4,800 (£3,000) to hear him speak has got something important to say.
So why would I want to attend such an expensive seminar?
Well, the truth is that there was something about the description of Dan, his methods and his considerable achievements which made me think perhaps this man had a message for me. So I stumped up the three Gs, and (more seriously) I sacrificed three days to go to the Sheraton Skyline at Heathrow. I was pleased to see that the other attendees were serious about getting rich and not the usual happy-clappy seminar junkies. Good beginning.
Dan's an impressive-looking guy. I guess six feet tall; distinguished and aggressive. As soon as he started speaking it was WAKE UP time! We were riveted. He had our full attention and we knew this was going to be different! He was easily the most exciting speaker in the history of the universe and it was all we could do to restrain ourselves from leaping to our feet and shouting out:
‘Yes! Yes! You're right. Hit us harder Dan! Abuse us! We've been very, very naughty boys. Let me be first to receive the whip… ’, ‘No, lash ME first, Dan!’
All those serious director types were lapping it up. Begging for more. This man had more balls, more guts, more energy and more enthusiasm than anyone else in the room. More importantly, he had passion which is something we had all long ago forgotten about. There was no way I was leaving that seminar! I wanted MORE PAIN. In fact, I thought Dan was being a bit too soft on us.
The seminar was called Quantum Leap Advantage. Dan runs this as a 1-day intensive, and as a 5-day course at his superb 15th Century Castle in Guthrie, Scotland, complete with private 18-hole golf course. They are truly life-changing experiences, but the important point is this: even if you don’t want to shoot for the millions using Dan’s superb method, your brain will receive a Quantum Leap in consciousness through reading this book, or attending one of his seminars.
There's something about being bombarded with big numbers (hundreds of millions)which makes £1million seem like chump change – which, by the way, In the three days following that seminar, I completely reorganized my company's strategy, wrote a mission statement, came up with twenty-seven new ways to increase revenue and created an exit strategy. In other words (and I quote) – ‘How to GET OUT of the clutches of the hideous monster you have created, preferably with your pockets so loaded with loot that they need a f***ing CRANE to winch you out from the middle.’
Was the seminar worth the money? Oh sure. I made, at a conservative guess, an extra £300,000.00 as a direct result of attending.
Any contact with Dan’s Wisdom will raise your ceiling by a factor of ten at least. Dan will try to raise it by a factor of one thousand, and if you have the guts, the passion and the sheer determination to follow this giant, you will make your first millions.
Sounds good to me!
The money you paid for this book is small change compared to the incalculable benefits you will receive from reading it. If you do not make an absolute minimum of one hundred times the price of this book as a result of reading it, then I will be amazed. So get to it. As the saying goes, ‘If you reach for the stars, you might not get them, but you surely will not come back with a handful of mud.’
Dan’s made several hundred million from this system, so he walks the talk – and that’s important. Next time you’re thinking of going on a seminar, ask yourself if the speaker has made any serious money before he started telling others how to get rich. The answer is nearly always “No.”
I had dinner with Dan at Claridges in London that night after the seminar. There were five other seminar attendees at the table, chatting away. Small talk. For the first hour I didn't say a word (which drew some attention). After the events of the day, I couldn't make small talk with this man. He wasn't interested, anyway. It's a bit like having lunch with Ghandi and saying: "Tell me something. I've always wanted to know this. Which brand of soap powder do you use to keep your robe so white?"
Dan is not Ghandi. Believe me. He has feet of clay and the sort of angst normally reserved for Auschwitz survivors. But his hard upbringing, mingled with a dash of genius, sheer guts, energy and charm flow together to form the truly unique and inspiring person which is Dan Pena.
