At the end of September, I attended Fabienne Frederickson’s 3-day Mindset Retreat in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Fabienne, a highly successful entrepreneur and business coach, is the founder of Boldheart.com (formerly ClientAttraction.com). Anyone who reviews and implements one of the many free ideas on her site or in her YouTube videos is sure to improve their business.
Before I go further, let me say that I like Fabienne. I like her approach, and I like the results I’ve achieved with her methods. She always gives me some new way to think about things in my business.
I spoke with her briefly at the conclusion of the Mindset Retreat. She asked whether I would feel comfortable speaking on camera about the event. At first, I declined, but, after thinking about it a few minutes, I decided I would leave a video testimonial.
However, I didn’t speak on camera for her. I did it for ME. Speaking before a camera was a way to move out of my comfort zone and do something new. I also considered that experience as preparation for my October presentation at the Georgia Romance Writers Conference. I said something like this:
Hi, I’m Karen Commins, and I’m a professional audiobook narrator. You can find my audiobooks on Amazon, Audible, and iTunes.
I have studied the Law of Attraction, but I have not heard it taught the way Fabienne teaches it. She brings together concepts from a wide variety of sources.
If you’re thinking about attending the Mindset Retreat, I encourage you to give it a try.
As a performer, I’m already successful in my business. I’m just not at the level where I want to be. The concepts that Fabienne teaches work for all types of businesses.
I don’t know whether Fabienne will use my video in her marketing. However, I wanted to write a balanced review about the event so that people can make a more informed decision about its value.
4 Aspects That Made the Event Totally Worthwhile
1) Fabienne lives the Law of Attraction, pulls from a variety of sources, and teaches these principles in a unique and compelling way.
Much of the material covered during the 3 days was already known to me. While it’s always great to get reminders of these ideas, I did have several “Aha!” moments where I heard some things I hadn’t heard or read previously. Per my notes, here is one big revelation:
When you ask, it is given 100% of the time.
Most people ask for results and expect the result to show up.
We get confused because we wait for the result to show up.
The opportunity for you to get that thing is what shows up.
Opportunities don’t come from a person but through them.
2) The structure of the event forced me and gave me time to deeply reflect on how I want my life to be and how my life is going at the moment.
Fabienne would speak for a bit before giving us journaling prompts and 5-15 minutes of quiet time for writing. For instance, one of the first prompts was the Ideal Day Exercise. Basically, if money were no object and you could do, have, or be anything you wanted, what would your ideal day be like? You have to write as much detail as possible to visualize where you are, who you’re with, what you do each day, where and how you live, etc.
I first did this exercise in 1992 while reading Barbara Sher’s life-changing book I COULD DO ANYTHING IF I ONLY KNEW WHAT IT WAS. I’ve just about achieved the ideal day I wrote back then! It was helpful to write down a new ideal day vision because I hadn’t really taken that step and needed to do so. I’ve previously written about why it’s extremely important to WRITE DOWN your goals.
I originally was concerned because the chairs were set up in long rows without tables. I never like sitting so close to people that we touch shoulders or any other body part. I always chose an aisle seat so that I could move my chair slightly away from the one next to it.
In addition, being in such close proximity is a fast way to catch colds. Since my job is dependent on my voice, the risk of a cold is an even greater concern for me.
The room is set up without tables in order to accommodate the many times that we were also instructed to share what we wrote with other attendees. Fabienne encouraged us to talk with people we didn’t know. This tactic had the side effect of helping some people to gain much-needed confidence that they need to be an entrepreneur.
3) Through the exercises, I identified opportunities and subsequent concrete actions I could take to increase my business.
The subtitle of the event should be: You can’t get results from your opportunities if you don’t take action on them. This theme was often repeated over the course of the 3 days.
If I only learned and did 1 particular exercise, the entire trip was worthwhile:
50 Ways to Make Money Right Now.
The point of the 50 Ways exercise is to change your mindset from “I can’t afford it” to “How can I afford it?”. You have to write down 50 ways you could make money. They could be either in your personal life or business life. You can’t stop until you list 50 ways.
I tried to make most of my ideas business-related, but I also listed ways I could utilize assets that I already have. I listed ideas I had already considered, like directing other narrators, and some I’d never even thought about, like renting out my pool.
Somewhere around idea #26, some really inspired and exciting business-related ideas came to me!
I ended up with 57 ideas, with 9 of them using some of Drew’s talents and skills. I have already taken action on a half dozen of the things I wrote on my list and am quite pleased with the results! I wrote in my journal on Day 2:
Those 3 ideas [particular ones on my list] are brilliant! Maybe I wouldn’t have had them if I hadn’t come, so I will hereby declare the trip an amazing success!
I am really getting the importance of taking action on my opportunities. I [took 2 steps] before going downstairs at 7:40am. It felt good to take actions before breakfast.
4) I spent time analyzing my emotions and belief systems and re-learned ways to improve them.
Fabienne gave us laminated copies of the list of 22 Emotions found in Abraham-Hicks’ landmark book Ask and It Is Given, along with copies of several powerful affirmations. While I had read these materials in the past, I realized that I need to work with the Emotions list every day in order to maintain a true positive mindset.
6 Aspects That I Didn’t Like
1) Many of the phrases, pictures, and segments throughout Fabienne’s presentation are highly manipulative to lead you toward a decision to join her Client Attraction Business School (CABS). In fact, the whole Mindset Retreat is a “sell” for CABS. The slides are almost subliminal advertising.
Without a doubt, Fabienne is a brilliant marketer. She encourages everyone to market themselves “with authenticity, integrity, and love.” I’m just not sure that she always uses her expertise in this way.
During the sessions, she talked about joining a “tribe” and being part of a “loving, supportive community”. On day #2, the late afternoon session was devoted to an Internet live stream of 8 (count ’em, 8!) of her CABS students gushing about their successes after joining the program. The session was supposed to be “inspirational”, but I considered it more in the category of “self-promotional.”
I checked out mentally while listening to the first of the 8 people. I wasn’t feeling well, so I checked out of the room altogether.
I wasn’t in the room when the cost of CABS was finally revealed. However, another attendee told me it was $8000 a year.
According to that person, Fabienne said that you would pay $40,000 for the same education at a traditional business school. Like I said, Fabienne is a brilliant marketer, and the “comparative value” is a tried and true marketing technique. A logical person could evaluate the statement and reach the conclusion that you could take that same $8000 and get a college degree that would actually mean something in the work place.
That attendee was torn about whether to commit to that much expense. I told her that she could get the necessary marketing tactics and increase the number and quality of her clients just by spending 15 bucks to get C. J. Hayden’s fantastic book on marketing, GET CLIENTS NOW! (I was wrong. The book only costs 10 bucks.)
2) The 50 Ways to Make Money exercise, while extremely valuable (pardon the pun), was scheduled for maximum manipulative advantage.
The evening session on Day 1 was labeled as a “Bonus Session: Juicy Stuff”. Over the course of 46 slides, Fabienne talked about how the company you keep and your environment directly affect your income level and success.
She stated that we must study the people at the level we want to be and learn everything we can from them. I wrote in my notes:
If someone in your industry is doing better than you, stop resenting them and start looking at what they’re doing. Whoever you want to be like, be with them.
On the surface, that point is sound advice. However, it followed numerous comments about taking action on opportunities. Looking back in the context of the session and those to come, it seems a bit like brainwashing people as they join a cult.
She led us down a path toward agreement that we need to invest in ourselves and our business. Then, we were told that people use many excuses, starting with “I can’t afford it”.
We were given the 50 Ways exercise at 9:45pm as we concluded the evening session. Fabienne said we needed to have it done by 8am the next day. Even though I was worn out, I stayed up past midnight working on that exercise. I listed 32 options before I just had to quit and finally get some sleep.
With this exercise, Fabienne proved to everyone that they COULD find a way to afford anything, just in time for the next day’s opportunity to sign-up for CABS.
3) The 30 to 60 minutes we spent on the first day in the fund-raising drive to support a village in Africa was inappropriate.
It’s Fabienne’s personal cause, and I didn’t appreciate her using time I paid for to have this pitch be a part of the content. It’s not like we were at a fund-raising dinner where everyone knew the appeal was coming. It was in a section called “Unstoppable Giving” that meandered and morphed into this unexpected request for funds.
I have my own philanthropy goals and avenues, so I didn’t contribute to this campaign. I was astonished that the Retreat participants pledged a staggering $115,000!
Those committing money signed a Client Attraction banner. Fabienne showed a video of her taking such a banner to Africa. The banner makes it look like Fabienne’s business is actually donating the funding (and potentially taking the charitable deductions on taxes) rather than the many individual contributors.
Not only was I flabbergasted by the large amount, but that outcome was totally incongruent with the next point.
4) The event is billed as “Mastering the Inner Game of Abundance” yet is managed as a conference for penny-pinchers.
Prior to the event, attendees could access a Facebook group. Most of the messages I saw in the group were from people looking for roommates at the hotel and shared rides to/from the airport. The rooms had double beds, and many attendees were staying in a room and potentially sleeping in a bed with people they didn’t know.
The sessions extended well into the evening each day. Day 1 had a session from 7:00-9:00pm and then HOMEWORK. Day 2 had a session from 7:30pm-9:30pm. The last session on Day 3 was from 4:00-600pm, but many people had already checked out of the hotel and left the meeting by that point.
Why have a conference at a luxury hotel on beautiful Ft. Lauderdale beach if the attendees will never have the time to enjoy the beach except at sunrise and lunch? This question deserves a close look.
Ft. Lauderdale beach is a definite draw. Many attendees flew in from other countries. Presumably, they would have been less inclined to attend if the event were held somewhere less beautiful, luxurious, and exotic.
Once the people are there, though, Fabienne obviously has learned through the years of hosting this event that a large percentage of her audience will not pay the hotel bill for more than 3 nights. Therefore, she has to cram the most material into 2 very long days. If she dropped the fund-raising pitch and the self-promotional live stream from Days 1 and 2, both days could have ended at normal conference times, like 5pm.
One person told me that she didn’t have enough open credit on her card to pay the hotel. She felt hassled because the hotel staff demanded a security deposit of $300 because she had to pay part of her bill with cash. Not to be unkind, but I wondered why she was attending this event if she was maxed out on credit. Perhaps she would say that it was a leap of faith to be there so she could get in an abundance mentality and start earning income to erase her debt.
The attendees were charged differently depending on when they signed up. You paid more for the event as it drew closer. I would have preferred that all attendees were charged the same price.
5) The constant up-sell spiels for VIP Access were as frequent and annoying as Florida palmetto bugs.
Attendees could pay an additional $199 above the event fees for early entrance to the meeting room, reserved seat cards, a bonus Q&A session one day with Fabienne and her husband Derek, and lunch each day. Every communication about the Retreat included a “reminder” about the VIP Access.
When I registered and picked up my badge, the girls manning the registration table told me it still wasn’t too late to upgrade to the VIP experience. I said, “That’s okay. I’m a VIP as I stand here.” I don’t think they were too amused.
6) If I never hear Katy Perry’s song Roar again, it will be too soon.
That song is Fabienne’s theme song. Don’t get me wrong — theme songs are great. I have used them myself. I didn’t even have anything against this particular song.
My issue was that it was PLAYED SO **LOUDLY** that it could be heard in the next county! We had to hear this song — in its entirety — BLASTED at the beginning of each session, 4 times a day, so that Fabienne and the CABS students could sing and dance to it. It also was played during the breaks. Enough!
Thanks you so much for this review, I attended her half day event and it was basically a pitch for the mind retreat. I am thinking about going to the October 2015 mind retreat but I am looking for an event where it is actionable and implementable.
Greetings, Felicia! Thanks for the note. I can’t tell you whether to go. Any event is only as good as the actions you take once you return home.
Even without joining CABS, I can say that a direct result of my attendance of the Mindset Retreat is that I have taken my business to a higher level. If I had not gone, I wouldn’t have spent 3 days reflecting on my life, both current and planned.
If you like Fabienne and her approach, you probably will enjoy the Mindset Retreat. Whether you go, it’s up to you to figure out the kind of life and business you want and take action to move in that direction.
Good luck!
Karen
Thanks for your review, Karen! I just attended a half day free seminar with Fabienne today. I knew ahead of time that her goal was to market the Mindset Retreat. I was pleased with the information provided, and of course I was not put off with the marketing because you get what you pay for (FREE!). I am tempted to attend her retreat in October, and will take your review to heart as I make that decision. Right now, I am leaning towards not doing it. I can only take so much of Katy Perry 😉 Thanks again!
Blair
Hi, Blair! Thanks for the note. When you’re assessing the Mindset Retreat or any other class or opportunity, pay attention to your gut reaction. If something on the inside of you lights up and feels excited when you think about going, the decision is made for you!
I felt ambivalent about attending the Mindset Retreat last year. I’m not going this year, but I am curious whether Fabienne will present the same material. If you do decide to go, I hope you’ll come back here and let me know what happens!
Best wishes for your continued health, prosperity, and success!
Karen
Thank-you Karen for this insight. I signed up for the retreat after attending the half-day solution in July. I’m very much looking forward to it. Last Friday I attended a virtual half-day & was pleased that a recording was made so my husband could view it.
He too, has questions about the hard sell for CABS. He’s not unwilling to consider the possibility of me enrolling next spring, however he’s concerned about what is their track record working with someone like myself who’s literally just getting started as an entrepreneur. Can’t say I’m mad at him about that; it’s a definite question for my 60 minute phone call later this morning.
I’ll be forwarding this blog post to Hubby.
Namasté
Greetings, Debj! Thanks for the nice note. I apologize for the delay in my reply.
We do all need to invest in ourselves and our businesses in order to succeed. You’re taking the right steps to see whether the investment in CABS is the right one for you.
I’d love to learn about your experiences at the Retreat and your decision about CABS, so I hope you’ll comment again or send me an email after you get home.
Karen
Hi Karen,
Thanks so much for your review. I’m going to be attending the 2015 retreat later this week, and found this post when I was Googling for some info about the content of each session…my husband and I were shocked that the schedule has sessions to 9 pm. It’s really helpful to know that when the Giving section or the testimonials start, we can head out. Our 13-year-old son can only be on his own, or with his grandparent who are spending a couple of days nearby, for so long.
Hi, Jan! Thanks for your note. I apologize for the delay in my reply.
Of course, the content and/or structure of the Retreat may have changed. At least you are prepared!
I’d love to hear your thoughts about it after you get back home, so please drop back by and fill me in.
Karen
Hi Karen,
I am thinking of doing the virtual course which is now being offered but at $997, it seems very pricey (for a a virtual course!) Would you mind sharing how much the in-person course costs? I can’t find info about it anywhere on the website.
Thanks,
Natalie
Also if there is anyway you could respond to me today, I would be ever grateful. If I sign up today, I get all kinds of bonuses. Marketing tactics, I know!
Thanks,
Natalie
Greetings, Natalie! I also watched Fabienne’s live stream this morning, and I commend you for doing your research.
I paid $995 for the 3-day Mindset Retreat when I signed up for it August 2014. I believe the cost went up to $1,495 as the event date got closer.
In today’s video, Fabienne used the same slides from the introduction at the Retreat. It looks like the on-line course is exactly as she said — the same great material covered at the event without the travel expenses or the other negative aspects.
I also believe that this course could be a more helpful approach to changing one’s mindset. You probably would feel more energized and might even have different insights by attending the live event. However, permanent mental change is usually not achievable within 3 days.
If I hadn’t already gone to the event — or if I thought this course contained new info — I probably would get it today at the special, discounted introductory price so I could also receive the bonuses. You’re right about bonuses being a marketing tactic, but the addition of the Monetizing Your Message course makes today’s offer especially attractive.
I hope these thoughts are helpful. I’d love to know what you decide to do!
Best wishes for your continued health, prosperity, and success!
Karen
I am doing the online version of the Mindset Retreat right now and I totally agree that the pitch for charity (I too have my own causes I support) and the endless promotion of CABS is annoying. I am class 9 of 15 and so far two of the classes have been self-serving. She is a shameless self-promoter.
I will post again once I get through the program. The golden nuggets in the program are being over shadowed by the promotion at this point.
Thanks so much for this update! I’m a bit surprised that the online course still includes the pitch for charity. However, I’m not surprised by the promotion of CABS as the live event was a sell for it.
I’m looking forward to learning your opinion of the course after you finish it.
Karen
Thanks for this thoughtful review. It’s fair and honest and helped me make my decision on whether to attend. I bought the online version and was able to fast forward through the CABS promotional stuff and the fundraiser portions. Considering the live event and the points you brought up were exactly the concerns I have, so thanks again.
Thanks again
Hi, Nicole. I’m glad you found this post to be helpful. Best wishes for your success!
Karen
Wow. So glad I decided to review her school. I was considering the online course but something hit me that it was an insane amount of money ; especially to now hear that there is so much promotion in such an expensive course. ! Something feels very off.
Hi, Laura! The CABS program seems to work for some people. However, consistently following the steps and implementing the marketing techniques in C.J. Hayden’s book GET CLIENTS NOW! and reporting one’s progress to an accountability partner every week can accomplish much of the same results of the CABS Growth Track.
Thanks for the comment. Best wishes for your success!
Karen
Thank you for giving your opinion, Karen! I watched two free video’s and certainly got some valuable ideas. It’s very clever to build a business as big as CAB on something like ‘NLP for dummies’. (No disrespect intended). Still I felt a little bewildered by hearing someone say basically that ‘you can do anything’ and then suddenly turn 180 degrees by saying that you cannot change your mindset on your own. You just confirmed my doubts. I ordered the book you mentioned; thank you for the tip! Best wishes from The Netherlands, Elsa
Hi, Elsa! I’m so glad you found this article to be helpful. I would be even more reluctant to sign up for Fabienne’s program now since she has moved to Paris and is in the process of closing the doors on CABS and announcing her new brand. In recent blog posts, she calls her upcoming offering a “big leap” and “something bold”, so I won’t be surprised if the cost of it will have a big leap, too.
Aside from the positive mindset, I’ve found my success level has gone up dramatically by having an accountability partner. I don’t need worksheets or someone to tell me what to do. I need to bounce ideas off a trusted person. I need encouragement and someone to cheer for my successes. I need a mentor who can help me learn things I don’t know and point out opportunities I might otherwise miss. My accountability partner does all those things and more for me, and I do the same things in return. If you look around at people in your industry, you may find some a gem of a person to work with on your own….for free!
Thanks again for the comment. Best wishes for your success!
Karen
I am so happy to read this review, I agree with it 100%. However, I bought into CABS, now Boldheart, and have been incredibly disappointed. This was truly one of the worst ways to invest my money. I was sold on CABS and convinced it would fit any business and that is simply not the case. Much of what was taught were practices that I previously taught in my prior 20 year career (which I went into detail about with them) and they tried to turn my products “selling” business into a coach based service business. NOT something I am trying to accomplish. While I think Fabienne is a brilliant marketer, I cannot in good conscience recommend this program.
Hello, Lisa! Until you posted, I hadn’t communicated with anyone who had actually been through the CABS or Boldheart programs. I really appreciate your sharing your experience in this discussion!
When I attended the Mindset Retreat, I was surrounded by coaches and consultants. While audiobook narration is a service, it is integral in product creation. I need to market myself rather than my expertise. I can’t systematize the business to run without me because I AM the business!
One reason I always recommend C. J. Hayden’s book GET CLIENTS NOW! is because it requires a very small investment of money and time to go through the book and develop your own marketing plan. She explains how you can use your expertise to market yourself, for instance through writing as I do with this blog and articles elsewhere. Her tactics work for both product- and service-based businesses.
Thanks again for the note. I hope that your business continues to flourish and prosper!
Karen
I have been considering the online version of the training after watching her video. I recognized the marketing “tricks” of have to sign up right now for gifts, you can’t do this alone, where will you be if you don’t sign up, etc. I am sure there are valid advantages but not at the price being charged. Thanks for your insight and your suggestions for helpful books. My business is product based – I am a tile maker/designer – not service based, where these tactics are more prevalent and useful, but not in a way that would make me feel good about what I am doing.
Hi, Cyra! You have some glorious tiles pictured on your site! Perhaps all you need to get to help you grow your business is an accountability partner, a structured marketing plan, and a person or team to whom you can outsource tasks.
In one of Fabienne’s free videos, she talked about determining your Quadrants of Brilliance. I explained it in this article. The biggest take-away was that 80% of your revenue comes from your Quadrant of Brilliance, so it’s critical to figure out those tasks that could be best done by someone else. While we’re in different businesses, the rest of that article on outsourcing may spark a few ideas for you.
At any rate, you can trust your gut instinct about signing up for this or any other program. If you feel energized and excited inside, the class is probably for you. Otherwise, it probably is not a good fit.
Best wishes for your continued success and in taking your business to your ideal level!
Karen
Thanks so much for your tile love!
Appreciate your additional information. So glad I found you site!
Cyra
Hi Karen,
I have never attended any of Fabienne’s events but have listened to her on and off for about 10 years.
She uses a common approach: a short event that leads to a 2-3 day event where content is taught and opportunity to join a mastermind or tribe is offered. I find this method problematic for many of the reasons you state. I have had my own 2-3 events in luxurious locations for about 25-30 attendees, where much soul work is done. I offer an opportunity to work further with me because there’s only so much that can be done in a few days. These events are my passion. I love to see the transformation that takes place.
I have been encouraged a number of times by coaches to go bigger and seed the event to sell a big package at the end. I have resisted because I hate manipulation.
My question to you is, is it the presentation of the offer that bothers you or how much of the event is feeling like a lamb being led to slaughter? If you knew the offer was going to give you what you really needed at the stage you’re at, would that be valuable to you? And these programs seem to be a minimum of $8000 up to 30k. I question the sense of that… though I’ve paid that many times over. True confessions.
Anyway, your insights were very intriguing to me as I have been in this arena for a while and sometimes question all these strategies and tactics. I appreciate any further comments you have!
Hello, Maryann! I appreciate your thoughtful comments, and I’m pleased to continue this discussion with you.
You asked: is it the presentation of the offer that bothers you or how much of the event is feeling like a lamb being led to slaughter?
Both things annoy me. In fact, I’ve even written a separate post alerting people to the tactics of information marketers.
If I’ve paid for an event, I expect ALL of the time at that event to be focused on the content I was there to absorb. Just because I’m at the event doesn’t mean I want or need any additional interaction with the host.
Rather than spending event time to tell the audience about other programs, products, and services the host offers, I would prefer that the host make a simple statement lasting no more than 5-10 minutes at the END of the event to mention the upsell. They could also include a single page of printed matter at the END of any course materials to describe their other offerings.
At that point, the host could invite anyone who is interested in obtaining more of whatever the host is offering to stay for more information and/or give permission to receive future marketing messages. Everyone else should feel free to leave.
I think of it like this — At a restaurant, the server has multiple chances for trying to sell us a dessert: when we sit down, while taking our drink order, as we eat our appetizer, when we eat our dinner, and/or as the server refills our beverage. Except in the cases of a soufflé or other special dessert that takes considerable time to make, a server will hold the question about the add-on until AFTER the diner finishes the meal. We get the meal we paid for before they ever ask us if we want more food.
A lot of factors go into the decision of whether we get dessert. If we don’t want dessert today, at least we have the info about it and might get it some other day.
Of course, all of the information marketers would shudder at the suggestion of letting the audience go without trying to extract more money from them!
You also asked: If you knew the offer was going to give you what you really needed at the stage you’re at, would that be valuable to you?
Ah, but how could I truly KNOW the offer would give me what I really needed until AFTER I bought and experienced it? The host can present the offer in such a way to make you think it’s exactly what you need.
The host will try to persuade me that their product, class, or coaching is the perfect thing for me at this time. However, the host wants the sale, the new client, and the additional income and will use every tool to convince people to make an emotional, impulsive response.
We only need to scroll up in the comments section of this post to read Lisa Pilottos’ words of regret about buying into a program that she thought would help but didn’t work for her.
Whether I’m considering purchasing time or a product from coach or an extravagance on eBay, I strive to analyze the pros and cons of the expense. I walk away from the emotion of the pitch for 3 days. I do research. (You can see some of my considerations about voiceover coaches and demo producers in this article.) If I decide the offer is indeed right for me, I do some math to determine how and when I would afford it.
I hope these thoughts are helpful. Thanks again for the great questions, and best wishes for your success!
Karen
I am grateful you wrote this. I signed up for CABS a year ago and feel so taken advantage of and lied to. The 1:1 coach I was assigned to was not a coach but a student of her leverage track who showed up late and even forgot about one of our calls. I attend the first live event where I was pitched by an attendee who saw me as her ideal client. I was clear on what I was looking for but I was mislead that it was a good fit. When I complained about my coaching I was not receiving I was ignored no response until suddenly I would get a call to sell me on another year. They just kept telling me the “handled it” and offered me a mindset course for free as an apology when I told them I didn’t want an online course I was looking for 1:1 work from the beginning. I hope others don’t fall into the same trap and spend that kind of money because the value is not there at that cost and if the company makes a mistake they won’t own it or make it right which tells me I am not the only one who had these issues.
Hi, Karen! Thanks for sharing your CABS experiences with other readers.
If it’s any consolation to you, I always think that things happen for a reason. Sometimes the reason is not about us and may be about someone else; in fact, we may never know the reason or the ways in which we helped somebody. Your comments are sure to give other people food for thought and aid their decision process.
I hope you find the resources and support you need to achieve your view of success and live the life of your dreams. To that end, you might want to check out the courses on Barbara’s Club. Barbara Sher is the original and inimitable life coach who was catalyst for me to make changes in my life. While I haven’t participated in her “Hanging Out” program, I love all of her books and may subscribe to this very affordable and fun-looking membership site in 2018.
I hope these thoughts are helpful. Best wishes for your success!
Karen
Thank you Karen!
Much appreciate the heads up on the coaching program. I’ve been chasing my tail for a long time trying to become a business owner instead of being self employed. I’ve been approached by Boldheart but didn’t sign up.
All the Best!
Lee
Hi, Lee! I’m glad you found the info in this article and the comments to be useful.
I think every moment has meaning. I’d therefore like to suggest that you shift your mindset and your words about your past efforts into a more positive light. You’d feel differently if you could think of everything you’ve done as preparing for your destiny instead of chasing your tail.
I encourage you to read this article, which expands on that thought.
As for the coaching program, I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “when the student is ready, the teacher appears”. I also like this one: “chance favors a prepared mind”. I looked at your web and am impressed with the tremendous amount of info you provide. I have no doubt that you are already a savvy business owner, and your preparation to date has positioned you to SOAR in your field!
Thanks again for the comment, and best wishes for your continued health, prosperity, and SUCCESS!
Karen
Thank you for sharing!
Hi Karen, thank you so much for this article, and for shedding light on the subject.
I too participated in an event (the Paradigm Shift – Proctor Gallagher Institute) where I found that there was so much promotional material and also a fund raising session DURING the actual event hours, that at first as I was very disappointed. I did, however, get some amazing results in the weeks to come, so my bottom line is that it was totally worth it.
I very much enjoyed reading your article as well as the responses you provided above, and I have to say that I agree with you in that regardless the program or event one may participate in, the content is only as valuable as the action they take after the event is over.
Thank you for “distilling” your wisdom and experience in such clear and simple way so that anyone gets it (English is not my native language, obviously, I actually learned English on my own, and I appreciate the clear content where valuable information is relayed in a simple way, without any fancy artifices). Excited to check out the book you recommended 🙂 All the best to you!
Hi, Georgiana, and thanks for the nice note! I would never have guessed that English is not your first language! You express yourself very well. You should feel proud of your accomplishment in learning the English language.
I usually get some golden nugget from every training session I attend. It’s important to keep learning and growing to become the people we are meant to be!
Best wishes for your success!
Karen
Thank you Karen, same to you!
BTW: Got the book already 🙂
Thank you for the article. I just finished the free video as a replay. Therefore as I realized the next subject was a plug for her system, I skipped forward a bit. I realized after I was done that I had been able to skip almost 30 min. of the hour long replay. That caused me to hesitate on signing up. So I went searching for complaints – and found your review. You present it evenhandedly and the downsides you pointed out were enough for me to decide to take a pass. I certainly want to improve, however, I give $$ and time to MY chosen charities and would not appreciate her pitch for hers.
And in reading some of the comments, especially two that were not satisfied with the results nor the response to the dissatisfaction, figured it would be best to move onto some of your suggestions. Just purchased the Get Clients Now book for $9.99 and looking forward to working through that. Thank you again!
Hi, Mary! I’m glad you found the article to be useful in making your decision.
In addition to the GET CLIENTS NOW book, I also suggest that you look at C.J. Hayden’s free resources, especially her newsletter.
Best wishes for your success!
Karen
Thank you so much for sharing your insight and the Get Clients Now book recommendation which covers exactly what I need to do for my business. It will also save me a massive £18k not joining the Boldheart programme. I just had my first strategy call to join the programme but got even more confused after the conversation. I realise no business school will replace what I have to do to be successful! I need to do the work!
Hi, Christine! I’m happy you found my article to be useful.
You might also benefit from reading Is This Coach Right For Me?. I think it will further validate your decision about how to move forward with your business.
Thanks again, and best wishes for your success!
Karen
Does anyone have feedback on the Paris Growth Track programmr at BoldHeart? I have been considering signing up and have been saving for it but at a whopping e6000 I need to know it works!
Hi, Giuliana! You’ve replied to my blog article, not a forum. You’d be wise to do further investigation with some Google searches.
In addition to (mostly favorable) reviews and company responses on the Boldheart Facebook page, I quickly found comments here and here. You’ll note that the company specifically does not (and cannot) guarantee any particular outcome and expects each registrant to take responsibility both for understanding the agreement and doing the activities required in the program.
I also found this Boldheart Program Guide, which outlines the tracks. The same info may be on the site.
I will say that being an entrepreneur means you will need to take risks. Only you can decide your comfort level with the risk involved after you perform your due diligence about the offering. No one ever will be able to tell you in advance whether your €6000 investment will be worthwhile for you.
I hope these thoughts are helpful. Best wishes for your success!
Karen
I’m just reading this 7/2019 cause her ad for Boldheart is my my FB feed. I attended a 1/2 day seminar around 2014 in which I paid a fee, stayed in a hotel and drove 4 hours to attend. Once there she was giving that event away for some that day and future. It was 50% advertising for upgrading to other seminars. My gut told me my work is about providing service not taking clients and mesmerizing them to continue to update my services so I can body about my income and huge clientele…… I didn’t see this as integrity on her part. We could always create widgets to sell to a hoarder but is it really in alignment with our life. That was my last expsrysith her.
Hi, Cheryl! Some programs and offerings are for us, and others aren’t. It’s good you followed your gut instinct. As I wrote in this article, our intuition can offer us so much guidance when we listen to it.
Best wishes for your success!
Karen
Good morning – I am on the verge off the mindset retreat and am deciding no after reading this. I just purchased th 90 Day Cash Infusion program and it was $500 USD. I am not self-employed and specifically asked if this could work for me with regard to a side hustle. I was told a resounding YES, so I joined. Now, they want the Mindset Retreat which for me is a HUGE stretch that will go onto a credit card (which I am trying to pay off). I need a sincere place to work through some serious mindset issues I am struggling with – and financial lack is a part of it.
Anyway – DOES ANYONE KNOW ABOUT THIS 90-DAY CASH INFUSION PROGRAM? It starts today for fall and I only have 30 or 60 days to ask for a refund. I cannot find any reviews on it. I do believe i am passing on he retreat – no position to spend that kind of money especially in the state of mind I am in. I feel I am far too vulnerable and likely to jump into things emotionally that I cannot afford. Thanks for this post. SC
Hi, Sharon. Thanks for the note. You’ve replied to my blog article, not a forum. You’d be wise to do further investigation with some Google searches.
Your last sentence tells me you already know what needs to happen:
“I feel I am far too vulnerable and likely to jump into things emotionally that I cannot afford.”
I know you didn’t ask my opinion about what you should do, but, since this is my site, I feel free to give it to you. 😃
Here’s the short-term game plan I suggest for you:
1. Request a refund for this 90-day program NOW while you still are within the refund grace period. If you later decide this program is the right tool at the right time, you can always sign up for it again.
2. Watch this :62 video from change strategist Kristine Oller and read her additional comments on that page. She’ll clarify my comment in step one about tools.
3. Get the books I mentioned in the article above: Get Clients Now! by C. J. Hayden and Ask and It Is Given by Esther and Jerry Hicks. The first will help you with client attraction and retention tactics, and the second will help you understand and change your mindset based on Law of Attraction principles.
4. Whatever you say after “I AM” is a self-fulfilling prophecy. I recently read Wayne Dyer’s book Wishes Fulfilled in which he stated that your sub-conscious would begin to believe and act upon your bedtime thoughts. Therefore, rather than dwell on issues of the day at bedtime, repeat positive mantras to yourself just as you are falling asleep, such as “I am debt-free”, “I am prosperous”, and “I am living my dream life.”
4. Do the exercise on this page. I wrote about this exercise in the above review about the Mindset Retreat, but the article expands on it.
5. Find yourself an accountability buddy with whom you can have business-related conversations and share support for each other. If you don’t know someone, a Google search for “how to find an accountability partner” will give you plenty of ideas and even web sites where you can get matched with a like-minded person.
In the long range plan, get laser-focused about paying off your debt. I found these simple tactics to be very successful and effective:
1. Bank your raises and spend your bonuses from the day job. By saving your raises, you’ll start to live below your means. It may not seem like much at the beginning, but the cumulative effect over time can be staggering!
2. Pay cash for things whenever possible and round up to pay with full dollars. For instance, even if you have exact change for a $1.27 purchase, pay with $2 even. Save the 73 cents you receive in change and deposit it in your bank once your piggy jar is full.
3. When you want to go shopping, analyze whether you are doing it to make yourself feel better in the moment or really NEED the item. Most of the time you will find you can talk yourself out of the purchase. The self-gratification from your discipline will outweigh the momentary pleasure in buying something new.
I hope you find these thoughts to be useful. Best wishes for your success!
Karen
Hi Karen
Thank you for your insightful comments which match my impressions of the Boldheart business proposition. I have recently attended their free introductory session in London and would like to share some of my impressions to help others make a sound decision:
1. First of all the session is “brilliantly” built in a crescendo aimed to touch your heart, grab your emotions and hold your mind. In other words it is a highly manipulative construct cleverly designed to control an attendee’s mind and lead a person to sign up to their program through emotional illusions and not rational thinking.
2. There were several elements that I found a bit disturbing during the session, namely the mix of business concepts with a tearful outburst on stage, the use of “Amen” and semi-religious connotations on a few occasions. The whole atmosphere created and the people invited to speak (current clients) gave the impression of a highly fabricated event.
3. I found it particularly worrying to see how this company takes care of the DNA and fabric of small businesses who commit to them. In the current globalised and competitive business environment this practice appears to me to be as naive as dangerous as unique ideas held by start-ups can be easily accessed and cloned ( shared/sold to larger companies) by organizations such as this one.
4. The list could go on with signs of an organization that clearly puts its financial interests and gains at the centre of its activities. I refer however to a point that for me was an obvious sign of that and concerns their “feminine approach to business” (as advertised). Is there such a thing?? A successful business leads a holistic approach based on sound commercial principles aligned with the current digital age and culture.
That said there were some really valuable points I have learnt with Fabienne and people I met there which turned this event into a great networking opportunity for me. Other than that there are currently numerous resources and educational programs available both online and offline to help entrepreneurs and businesses succeed at a fraction of the price. That I consider the right investment to help a business grow.
Thanks Karen for adding your excellent book recommendation to my personal library. Worth reading this post for that.
Best wishes
Maria Almeida
Hi, Maria! Thank you so much for adding your well-considered comments about the Boldheart event you attended.
Although you, other commenters on this article, and I all wrote that we found the presentation to be emotionally manipulative, I haven’t seen a lot of negative reviews about Fabienne’s programs. I think the lack of negative reviews may be more due to the fact that it’s difficult to admit you’ve made a mistake, especially if that mistake cost a lot of money.
In fact, this article popped up 3 lines below my article today when I searched for “Boldheart Reviews”. Neither Boldheart nor Fabienne are mentioned by name in this version of the article. However, like a hunting dog pointing at a duck, Google seems to think this article has or had Boldheart’s name in it. I note that the article was updated 2.5 years after its original publication date. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a cached copy of the original story to confirm whether it originally discussed Boldheart.
Even if the other writer is talking about a different coach, her point about “followers under some kind of spell”, shame, and intimidation tactics could relate to the lack of reviews.
I’m glad that you found some positive benefits to attending the introductory session. Thanks again for sharing your experiences here, and best wishes for your success!
Karen