MindStore Part Two: On the course

What happened?
Well I'm writing post this a month after attending the 'Best of MindStore' course at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow.
This is part 2 of my Mindstore post, and covers my attendance on the course and my thoughts and feelings on the content.


I booked first class tickets on the train to and from 
Glasgow as I love the journey up the east coast up through Northumberland and into Scotland, and in the mostly empty quiet coach I could fully appreciate the passing countryside. The borders area is stunning, and it's an area I fully intend to visit sometime very soon. Plenty of huge beaches for an energetic two year old to explore! A little tip here too, for those in the know, first class is often cheaper than standard! 
I arrived on the Friday evening, and after an early meal and a few pints (well it's rude not to isn't it) I retired to my hotel room to relax and do some meditation without fear of interruption, which with a two year old at home isn't the easiest thing to do! 


Saturday dawned, and after the obligatory Scottish fried breakfast, I made my way through the rather quiet streets towards the Concert hall, which is a grand rather imposing building at the top of the hill on the junction between Buchanan and Sauchiehall streets.
After a short wait outside the venue room which was made quite pleasant by a good spread of books on personal development for sale arranged on trestle tables outside, I went inside to get seated.


We were in a large room with a stage at one end, onto which Jack had placed a desk, chair, a few flip charts, and some other materials. Don't expect videos, keynotes, or other big visual presentations, the flip charts are ideal to get the point across, and Jack relies on his awesome presence on the stage for maximum impact, and believe me it works.  
While we all got comfortable and settled down, which wasn't easy as the room was at capacity with around 500 people, The man we had come to see came onto the stage to introduce himself. 
I won't go into details of the course content, all of that is available on his website, blog, and in his book too. But what I will do here is tell you how I felt about it.

Jack the lad

At first you might mistake Jack for the man who has come to sort the sound, or adjust the lighting, or maybe one of the other attendees who has accidently wandered onto the stage. This is no showy guy in a suit, no flashy salesman. Jack is relaxed in jeans and a shirt, and looking very 'smart but casual'.

But appearances can be deceptive. The first thing you notice about him is the energy. He has buckets of it. It radiates from him like it's a visible power. 

He doesn't stay on the stage either, he jumps down, and he's talking to the audience, answering questions, passing on his enthusiasm, getting amongst it.

Even with 500 people in the room, it seemed almost a family atmosphere. Jack recognised many people from previous courses, and the whole thing was really very informal and relaxed, and at some points it was laugh-out-loud funny! 

Jack immediately launches into the course, and I'm not kidding here, every bit of time is accounted for. The course runs from 9 to 5, and every second is utilised to the maximum.

The day went so fast......

Turn off your phone! 

A word of warning here... If you attend one of Jack's courses, switch your phone off. If you don't it's going to cost you! The money will go to a charity, but it's still going to cost you, I believe the one woman who owned up to her phone ringing paid £50 to a very worthwhile charity. So there you go, he takes no prisoners!

The reason for the lack of phones, is to gain maximum benefit from the day you need to listen, give it 100%, and enjoy it, and you can't be doing that if you're on Facebook, Twitter, or texting your friends.

Tools and techniques

Interspersed throughout the day were a series of meditation sessions designed to get your brain functioning in Alpha rythms, and these were in my view, the highlight of the day. To be seated in the middle of 500 people all meditating at once is a mind-blowing experience. You can really feel the energy flowing, and when you are all focussing on the same thing you become aware of the power.
During each guided meditation Jack plays a soundtrack that is a mixture of water flowing, and soft synthesised beats that get steadily slower as they go on. All this is designed to bring you right down to your foundation, and enable you to put your creative right brain to work at maximum advantage.


Subjects such as kinaesthetics, and were discussed and demonstrated, and there were plenty of opportunities to ask questions. Jack himself had only a very short lunch break and made himself available at the front of the stage, where he sat and answered questions from plenty of people.


To be quite honest I have never seen such a broad cross section of people all in one venue with such open minds. It was an absolute pleasure to sit down and swap stories and meditate with such a diverse group, and they all seemed to have one thing in common. They were here to gain an advantage. They came to learn, practice, and benefit from the techniques, and certainly by one show of hands there were people who were not only repeating the course, but had been doing MindStore courses for many years.
Every time I asked someone if the techniques really worked, the answer was always 'Yes' a firm, and undeniable 'Yes.'


During the day Jack gives you a lot of techniques to go home and use, but he does make it perfectly clear that you have to use them daily. This is no quick fix and he's not going to do it all for you. The onus is on you to practice every day, and to make it a way of life. Certainly the people I talked to who had successes with the techniques, and believe me there were some very successful people in the room, all said they religiously used the techniques to plan each and every day, and that you really do get out what you put in. 

The next step

At the end of the course we all filed out, and as I walked down the steps into the bright sunlight of a bustling Buchanan street, I felt like I was floating on air.
Overall I was very impressed, not just with the course content, but the way Jack has so much passion for his subject. You come away with no doubt that he knows this can change your life, and he just wants you to get started! Some of the methods he tells you about are certainly nothing you will have come across in any other personal development course, I guarantee you. 
It takes an awful lot of confidence to stand up in front of 500 people and tell them about the benefits of coffee enemas! And no he's not joking! 


The next part of this series will be posted once I have got to the six month stage after the end of the course, and I will let you know how I have progressed, and how useful and successful the techniques have been to me in day to day life. 


If you have been on a MindStore course, feel free to say 'hi' and tell me what you think! I always welcome comments and feedback, your views are important to me!