Thinking positively does not always come automatically in Scotland, a
country where the put-down is much
more common. Colin McSeveny meets the man determined to defeat the 'Ah
kent his faither' syndrome
JACK Black reckons that if he can succeed in Scotland, the rest of the
world will be a piece of cake. ''If any other people can match the Scots
for moaning-faced 'Ah kent his faither' under-achievers then I have yet
to come across them,'' he says. And this is even when he is feeling
relatively positive towards his compatriots.
Feeling positive is what Black is all about. In only three years he
has established his MindStore company as one of the UK's leading
personal development firms.
His evangelical crusades on both sides of the Border are designed not
to convert the audiences to religion, but to fulfil what he sees as the
grossly under-used potential in all aspects of their lives.
Americans have enjoyed a near-monopoly of this kind of ''I can and I
will'' self-help philosophy since it first emerged in the twenties. It
is, therefore, something of a shock to hear Black working a crowd in
classic fashion -- in a strong Glaswegian accent.
In fact it probably adds to his credibility on this side of the
Atlantic, as his platform style is direct and down-to-earth. Slightly
frenetic, but relaxing at the same time. A bit like Billy Connolly on
Valium.
The spiel is also thankfully free of the cringe-inducing schmaltz and
pseudo-religious jargon that often accompanies the American versions.
''But does it work or is it just a con designed to make Black a rich
man?'' the archetypal ultra-sceptical Scot will ask.
In terms of wealth, he is probably well on his way.
Whether his mental fitness programme works or not is a trickier
question, though MindStore's popularity -- both with companies not
renowned for throwing their money away and with successful sports stars
-- suggests there is something in it.
Allied Dunbar, Texaco, Glaxo, Compaq, Thorn EMI, Scottish Enterprise,
and the Metropolitan Police all feature in a long list of heavyweight
companies and organisations that commission Black to give regular
lectures to their executives.
Sports stars include Gavin Hastings and Liz McColgan, while Rangers,
Aberdeen, and Dundee United are among the football clubs to have called
on MindStore's services.
Black, a Celtic fan, admits that he is still awaiting the call from
his favourites.
One businessman unstinting in his praise of him is Jim McColl, the
young chief executive of the revitalised Clyde Blowers. He makes sure
all his executives take the MindStore programme.
''The course instils a motivation and self-belief that can make all
the difference between running a successful and an unsuccessful
company,'' McColl says.
MindStore's turnover has rocketed from #100,000 to nearly #1m as
companies queue up to pay #250 a head for a two-day business-orientated
session. The public pay #150 for a similar stint.
The seminars are held regularly in most parts of the country and
anyone who has attended one can take free refresher courses.
The programme, devised after almost a decade in the business of
personal development, is not a great deal different from the others.
The main focus is on controlling your life rather than letting life
control you. According to Black, ''comfort zones'' are where most of us
spend our days, vaguely aware that we could probably do better but
convincing ourselves that it would not be worth the bother.
''Right from school days, particularly in Scotland, we sub-consciously
learn not to rock the boat by becoming too clever or too successful,''
he tells an audience of 300 in an introductory lecture held in a Glasgow
hotel.
''In other words, we learn from an early age to sabotage ourselves
because of peer pressure.''
Such negative thinking is holding back not only most individuals but
also the country as a whole, as business executives are happy to accept
what cannot be done rather than raise their expectations.
The MindStore programme teaches the participants a battery of
psychological ploys to increase self-confidence, lessen stress, improve
communication, and widen problem-solving ability.
At the core of the method is the theory of self-fulfilling
projections. In other words, the individual faced with a problem or
challenge imprints on his mind's eye an image of himself succeeding.
Thus, he vastly increases his chances of success in reality.
Black himself is no doubt busily imprinting on his mind the successful
completion of his first book, due to be published by Collins later this
year. If the popularity of his tours and of previous best-selling works
by authors such as Anthony Robbins and Dale Carnegie are anything to go
by, he should be on to a winner.
A dapper, compact figure, Black, 38, exudes all the health and
vitality his position demands.
Yet in a true psychological rag-to-riches story, he maintains he was
once a neurotic hypochondriac, driven to nervous collapse by stress
after a decade working as a social worker in Easterhouse.
His conversion came shortly after two close friends in the social work
department died in their early 40s -- ''basically because of stress''.
He swore he was not going to follow the same path.
A growing interest in personal development and business techniques led
him to set himself up as a small tour operator, drawing on his
experience arranging trips for youth clubs.
By the late-eighties, he was working as the UK representative of a
leading American mental and emotional fitness group. ''After a few years
I began to develop my own ideas and decided that the best way forward
would be to set up my own company.''
MindStore was established in Cumbernauld as a one-man operation in
1990 and, mainly through word-of-mouth recommendations, has now grown to
employ seven people.
Aside from the planned book, the company produces instructional tapes
and has compiled a special Discovery programme for children, using the
expertise of Black's wife Norma, a former primary teacher.
Black has held seminars, public and privately commissioned, in every
major British city, occasionally addressing as many as 400 people. But
he points out that Anthony Robbins attracted 3000-strong audiences
during a recent visit to the UK.
''Just as most people now accept the idea of healthy eating, so I am
in the business of convincing them there is such a thing as healthy
thinking,'' he says. ''And one of my ambitions will be achieved when I
fill the Royal Concert Hall here in Glasgow.''
Not if, it should be noted, but when.
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