Motivation nation: A new vocation for the duration.    (ap)

Mary Lou Retton has done it, why not former President George W. Bush? The ex-president joined the lineup as keynote speaker for Monday's Get Motivated! Business Seminar in Fort Worth, Texas.

It does get close to answering the persistent question: What is Bush doing with his time? We know he's writing a book, and working on his presidential library at SMU. He recently turned up in Saskatoon, and he now owns a Blackberry.

Motivational speaker, though — it does sound (as some have suggested) like a headline from The Onion. But it's also classic Bushie — the president who frequently described himself as “optimistic.” One of his favorite anecdotes:

“I called Laura. I said, 'They've asked me to design a rug in the Oval Office; I don't know anything about rug designing; will you help me?' She said, 'Of course.' But I said, 'I want it to say something' — the president has got to be a strategic thinker — and I said to her, 'Make sure the rug says 'optimistic person comes to work.' Because you can't make decisions unless you're optimistic that the decisions you make will lead to a better tomorrow.”

Other speakers include former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw, Zig Ziglar, Rick Beluzzo and Rudy Giuliani.

“The Get Motivated! Seminar packs more into a single, life-changing day than any other event in America!” the website promises. “Register now and super-charge your career.”

Tickets are $4.95 a piece, or $19 for an entire office.