Who is he?
Known to his fans as the father of motivational speaking, Dyer grew from impoverished beginnings to become one of the leading authorities in the self-help industry. With millions of books, cassettes and CDs sold, Dyer is a much sought-after public speaker focusing on self mastery and how we are ultimately responsible for our own happiness.
The backstory
The self-help industry is littered with stories of gurus turning early trials to triumph and Dyer is no different. Born in Detroit in 1940, Dyer was abandoned by his alcoholic father. Dyer and his brother were sent to an orphanage by his mother after she could no longer take care of them.
Dyer links his empowering philosophy back to his days at the orphanage. Speaking to Success magazine in 2009, he said those times taught him the value of initiative. "I was the richest kid in the orphanage," he said. "It was very simple: When it snowed, I'd go out and shovel the walks along the street. I didn't ask for anything. I'd just go back and tell people, 'I shovelled your walk.' People would always give me money."
The rise
After completing high school, Dyer joined the US Navy from 1958 to 1962 before returning to Detroit to work as a high school counsellor. Through counselling the students in one-on-one sessions and lectures, he began perfecting his positive thinking and motivational techniques.
Dyer's public lectures caught the eye of a literary agent who convinced him to turn his ideas into a book. In 1976, Dyer published his seminal work Your Erroneous Zones, giving readers practical tips on tackling negative thinking.
Putting in the work
Your Erroneous Zones may have been a bright idea, but the public wasn't initially welcoming of the concept. To stop the book from ending up in bargain bins across America, Dyer quit his teaching job and loaded up the camper van for a year-long publicity campaign across the US, speaking at TV stations and book stores in each city stop. Once Your Erroneous Zones made it on the bestseller list, it remained for more than 60 weeks and eventually sold more than 35 million copies.
The theories
While Dyer is no revolutionary when it comes to the themes of his work, his success lies in his blend of charismatic presentation and self-made persona. Dyer's books and lectures borrow heavily from his life experiences while presenting key principles such as creating the conditions for success, developing a system of tackling negative thoughts and eradicating guilt as a motivating factor.
From the 1990s onwards, Dyer's theories took on a more spiritual bend with the books Real Magic and Your Sacred Self discussing how to harness your spiritual energy and "defining your sacred quest".
The effect
Dyer's message has influenced generations of self-help authors and motivational speakers such as Anthony Robbins and Gabrielle Bernstein. He has been interviewed by Oprah Winfrey and spearheaded pledge drives for the American public broadcasting television network PBS. An excerpt from one of Dyer's lectures was used in the 2010 Pixar animated short film Day and Night.
Muntada
Dyer's Abu Dhabi appearance is part of the Muntada lecture series run by the Sheikha Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation at Manarat Al Saadiyat. The free talks tackle a range of topics from spirituality, technology and social sciences. The foundation already hosted speakers including the spiritual author Karen Armstrong, the 1,000 Awesome Things blogger Neil Pasricha and the co-creator of Twitter, Dom Sagolla.
Catch Dr Wayne Dyer on Tuesday at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Saadiyat Cultural District, Abu Dhabi, at 7.30pm. A ladies-only session will be at 10.30am. For more details, go to www.sshf.ae
[ sasaeed@thenational.ae ]
The five pillars of Islam
'Manmarziyaan' (Colour Yellow Productions, Phantom Films)
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Haltia.ai
Started: 2023
Co-founders: Arto Bendiken and Talal Thabet
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: AI
Number of employees: 41
Funding: About $1.7 million
Investors: Self, family and friends
If you go
The flights
Return flights from Dubai to Santiago, via Sao Paolo cost from Dh5,295 with Emirates.
The trip
A five-day trip (not including two days of flight travel) was split between Santiago and in Puerto Varas, with more time spent in the later where excursions were organised by TurisTour.
When to go
The summer months, from December to February are best though there is beauty in each season
Types of bank fraud
1) Phishing
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
