Burning Man Review - Part 2 & Pictures!

Yesterday, I told you about the cast of characters who were in my camp at Burning Man and gave you a description of some of what happened at this wild, some might say, "freak show" of an event.

I won't keep you in suspense any longer about who the other major player was who I spent a lot of time with. It was...

Alexis' ex-husband Todd.

That's right, I was on vacation with Alexis, her two kids and her ex-husband! More on this later.

First, let me tell you what I did NOT like about BM and then I will tell you the lessons I learned.

There appeared to be a lot of anti-American sentiment. I was angered and disturbed when I saw idiots flying or hanging the American flag upside down. It's ironic that these people who think America is such a bad country, enjoy the freedom to have an event like this because of this great country. To show disrespect to your country, especially in a time of war, when our brave, young men and women are giving their lives, is unacceptable and disgusting to me.

But that brings us to the first lesson: What you focus on expands. Out of the 50,000 people who attended the event, I only saw three such flag "incidents." Don't get me wrong, that was three too many and there were probably more I didn't see ,BUT had Ifocused on just that, my BM experience would have been very negative, which it definitely was not.

If you focus on things that are going bad in your business, the economy and your life, that's what you'll get more of. On the flip side, if you focus on your goals, solutions and the good things in your life, you'll get more of that.

What are you habitually focusing on?

The attendees at Burning Man were, well, a bit freaky -and that does include my girlfriend. Alexis had the observation that some people (not all) come to this event to be able to express parts of themselves that they can't accept in normal society without judgement or condemnation.

I used to be VERY judgemental. After my divorce last year, I realized that I was in no position to judge any other human being. But I had to be very aware of not judging people at BM because some of them were so different and, quite frankly, offensive to me.

A personal "aha", moment for me came when I was deciding what "costume" I would wear at BM. "How could I express myself?", I asked. Then it hit me that I am authentically myself almost all of the time. I know who I am and act that way on a daily basis. There is no part of me that I don't express in everyday life. What you read in my daily email and blog entries is, for better or worse, is me.

One of the best ways for you to really connect with your customers, is to be authentically you. Let your real personality shine through. Let people know who you are. With that being said, you might have to downplay parts of your personality that might not jive with your customer base.

This does NOT mean you should be phony. It means reveal all parts of your personality but not all parts in great detail. For example, it'd be okay for you to tell your customers and prospects that you're going to Burning Man but you might not want to tell them what you DO at Burning Man.

And now for the conclusion of this saga...

The actual burning of the man (a HUGE wooden statue like structure) was AMAZING. The fireworks display before the actual burn was the most spectacular fireworks display I had ever seen. It took my breath away. Also, I was under the impression that the actual burning of the man was going to be a drug infused crazy event with a lot of nudity. Nothing could be further from the truth. Tens of thousands of people watched this and I did not see ANY of that. In fact, sitting next to me was a young couple with their child.

We were going to leave the next evening but a "white out" occurred. This is a major sandstorm where you can't see anything. We had already packed up the camp so Heather, Tammy, Starla (the screaming 18 month old) and Todd - all of which were not staying in the RV - had to join Alexis, Kaia, Noah and myself in the RV OVERNIGHT. Think about the dynamics here, mi amigo. Todd, the ex, slept with the kids in one part of the RV while Alexis and I slept in another part of the RV!

The next morning we left Burning Man, after some last minute drama with Juicy and Tammy, for a 17 hour drive back to LA. We arrived, exhausted, at 6:00am the next day.

Would I go back to Burning Man? Yes, in fact I will be going next year. Although I did not LOVE it, I did love how it helped me grow and step outside my mainstream box.

(As always, your comments are welcome and I really do read all of them.)

Kick butt, make mucho dee-nero!


~Dave Dee

P.S. Alexis just forwarded me an email about a Tantra workshop happening on Friday in LA. Good Lord...

PS #2: Did you mark your calendar for November 8, 2008 and January 16-18th, 2009. On these dates I am going to be holding amazing, wild and cutting edge events. The first one, you won't have to leave your house for (and it's NOT a teleseminar or webinar - it's something much bigger.) The January event will require that you leave your house - but those three days away from home will be three of the most important days of your life. Seriously, highlight these dates on your calendar now.

PS #3: Here are pictures of me at Burning Man. The first is of Laura (the sweet woman who drove me to the event) and I making "desert angles." The second is after I rang the bell and screamed, "I am no longer a virgin!".