Maybe you know such a person all too well. Here’s a question to consider…

What if there was no such thing as “bad luck”? What if the way you viewed events in your life actually altered the meaning of those events?

I won’t try and convince you.

But I urge you to try the following approach the next time some so-called “bad luck” shows up in your life. Consider the so-called “problem”, and ask the following questions about it:

1. What is good about this?
2. What can I learn from this?
3. How can I use this?

The only unacceptable answer is “Nothing!” You can’t answer any of the questions with that response.

Watch and see if you begin to notice that each bit of “bad luck” carries the seed of something good and even great for your life.

It is about attitude. And it is about more than attitude, too.

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” James 1:2-3

You only have to listen to what they say.

Jesus said, “…out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”

Here are some things I’ve heard various people say over the last 48 hours:

• “That drives me crazy.”
• “You’re breaking my heart.”
• “He makes me so mad, I could kill him sometimes.”
• “I just can’t get a break.”
• “I’m such a loser.”

What’s interesting about all of these things, is each of them were said in a tone of voice that seemed to indicate it was only a joke.

I wonder.

Is it harmless to say such derogatory things about ourselves, about others, about the quality of our life?

Or does saying such things reveal (perhaps even reinforce) what we really believe?

What do the words you say reveal to others about what’s in your heart?

Recently, I was very nearly run down by a woman driving a minivan in a grocery store parking lot.

As I watched my apparent doom racing toward me, I clearly saw that she (the driver) was looking away from the windshield, apparently fascinated by something inside the cabin of her vehicle.

Fortunately, I narrowly (miraculously) escaped an intense encounter with her front bumper. I shouted, she looked shocked, and we both went our way.

“What was she thinking?” I wondered.

The simple answer is: she was thinking about something other than what she was doing.

It seems to me we spend a lot of time thinking about things other than what we’re doing: checking e-mail while we’re talking on the phone, talking on the phone while we’re driving our car, reading while eating, and so forth.

Perhaps we would be happier (not to mention safer) if we could simply manage to do what we are doing when we are doing it.

Just sayin’.

Here are some of my crazier ideas, for anyone willing to try:

• Cancel your cell phone.
• Delete your e-mail account.
• Cancel your cable television.
• Kill your actual television, now that I’m thinking about it.
• Shift your sleep cycle forward six hours.
• Stop reading the news.
• Go visit someone new every day.
• Talk to strangers.
• Write down everything you assume is true, and then ask yourself: is it really?
• Don’t eat any food that comes in a box, a bag, or that is handed to you through a window.

Hey, I told you they were crazy. If you are brave enough to give any of these a try, I’d love to hear how it goes.

Some will argue that apes or dolphins or dogs have that ability too; I doubt it, but that misses the point.

How often do you consciously choose response, instead of just reacting out of reflex or conditioning?

Really, really consider that question.

The honest answer may surprise you.

1. Exercise. I know, for most this is not the most exciting of prospects. But it’s a proven scientific fact: if you get your heart rate elevated, for at least 20 minutes of good aerobic exercise, you’ll feel better. More relaxed, happier, and more optimistic.

2. Do something from your “dread list” first thing in the morning. My mother talks about having this thing she calls a “dread list”-stuff she dreads doing. Nothing boosts your confidence like getting one of the items off that list at the start of the day.

3. Make a list of people you need to call, and call them. This is another piece of advice that is deceptively simple. Do it anyway. You might be surprised at what new business it will lead to, what old problems it will solve, and new opportunities it will open up. And yes, you’ll feel better.

I thank God for that.

I’m also thankful for you, Constant Reader, for taking time to peruse what I write here.

As a way of expressing that gratitude, I am hosting a free webinar this week to share my biggest most fundamental earthly distinctions about how to enjoy more free time, more fulfillment and yes, more money.

Now, you know me well enough by this time to know I don’t love money… but I also don’t discourage it from coming into my life! Register for the webinar (free) by clicking here.

On this webinar, called “Shaping Your Destiny: How to Make 2011 Your Best Year Yet”, you will discover:

• How I was able to slash my workweek from 60+ hours to less than 20 hours… and yet dramatically INCREASE my profits in 2009-2010! (Plus, I will explain EXACTLY how I believe anyone can do what I did, no matter what your business)
• How I took 3+ months to tour the USA in my motorhome with my wife & son… yet had the most profitable quarter to date in our business, all while working less than 20 hours a week in coffee shops, campgrounds and national parks as we made our 7,500 mile journey.
• The revolutionary goal-setting method I learned from one of my Private Clients that guarantees you will ALWAYS achieve your goals, and causes many seemingly “outrageous” goals to ACHIEVE THEMSELVES, as if by magic (it’s NOT magic, and I will explain ALL of this on the webinar!).
• The most powerful earthly question I know that transforms you mind, your perspective and your ability to achieve more of your dreams. And no, this has nothing to do with “affirmations” or “positive thinking”. I will give you the entire question and teach you how to start using it yourself right away.
• My advice about “product launches”, based on behind the scenes experience as the copywriter most hired for these things. Are they a thing of the past? Has their time come and gone? Do they still “work”? Are they even morally right? I will give you serious answers to these questions.

I want to reiterate that this is a free webinar. It should last about an hour and a half.

Register now by clicking here.

This past summer, my family and I spent over three months on the road traveling in our motorhome. We logged over 7,500 miles, and visited the four corners of the United States (and part of Canada).

The most common response I got from friends and strangers alike, when I told them what we were doing, was simple: “I wish I had the time to do that.” Or something similar.

The common thread was not the potential expense of such a trip, nor even how it’s possible to support oneself while taking such a trip — it was how it’s possible to spend that much time traveling.

In his excellent book, Vagabonding, Rolf Potts shared this from Edwin Teale, lamenting the harried life of the modern world. “Freedom… with its wealth of time, it’s unregimented days, it’s latitude of choice… such freedom seems more rare, more difficult to attain, more remote with each new generation.” Teale wrote those words in 1956. It hasn’t gotten easier to enjoy time freedom since then – but it also hasn’t gotten harder.

It seems to me that wealth today can be defined largely by how much freedom of choice we have about how we spend our time. The interesting thing is, having more freedom of choice about your time does not necessarily require more money. In fact it often requires less money and more ingenuity and resolve. And a determination not to live like “the mass of men”.

Let’s say your house just burned down.

And your office and all your business stuff was inside along with all your personal stuff.

Nobody was hurt – even your pets made it out just fine. And let’s say you’re doing okay with the shock of losing everything – heck, the insurance company has cut you a big fat check, so you’re not hurting for money.

Here’s the thought-experiment: you’re starting with a clean slate. Building up from scratch. How will you re-construct your life?

Most people will, after accepting the loss of things like family mementos, relish the idea of starting from simplicity and carefully building the “new” life they really want. What if you found this “new life” idea so appealing… you decided to go ahead and do it, even though your house hasn’t burned down?

What’s stopping you?

We buy into these images, don’t we?

The problem is, they’re founded on lies. The lie says that if you want to succeed, you have to sacrifice your free time, your personal life, your values.

That’s why so many workaholics end up divorced, addicted, broke, and sick.

Workaholism is not romantic; it’s stupid. That’s true whether you’re a CEO, a freelancer, or in ministry.

Let a word to the wise be sufficient.

Realistic does not change the world; it does not shake up the status quo; realistic does not create legacy.

The greatest advances of history were created by unrealistic people?

2. Stop trying to act like you’re rich.

3. Do what you love, and the money will probably follow. It may not be as much, but at least you’ll be doing what you love.

4. Seek first after the things that cannot be bought, because once you’ve lost those… well, I think you understand.

5. Don’t be a “second hander”. Stop living your life according to what other people think.

These days, business panic seems rampant;  it’s the go-to response for many faced with their very first recession. What’s the proper answer when you start to feel this business panic?

It’s probably the most difficult advice I’ve ever given: ignore it.

Use the one faculty that makes us different from all the animals: your ability to choose your response.

Decide that you will feel the panic, but that you will neither fight nor flee. You will, instead, calmly face the situation — and refuse to be reactive. Some concrete steps to help you do this:

• Get some exercise every day.
• Cut out the sugar and caffeine.
• Cut out television, and media in general.
• Focus on your primary mission as a company, as an entrepreneur, as an artist-as a “whatever it is you are”.
• Wait. The Japanese, in particular, seem to be very good at this. Often, simply waiting is the very best response when you’re in a state of panic.
• Finally, remember the timeless advice of Douglas Adams: “Don’t panic.”

Can you introduce these qualities into your way of doing business? Yes, you can.

Will you? We’ll see.

Fortunately, the reverse is also true. Here are a few words that could help stop your dwindling profits (and I’m saving the best one for last):

• “Let’s figure out new ways to make sales.”
• “What are some ways we can make our products more valuable?”
• “What would wild success look like? How can we increase the chances of that happening?”
• “What can we learn from the bad thing that just happened, and thereby turn it into a good thing? What value can we extract from this problem?”

And now for my favorite…

“However…” use this word whenever following up a declaration about a negative thing that just happened.

For instance: “Yes, I know we just had our lowest sales month in the company’s history. However…” and then fill in the blank. Finish the sentence. Put yourself on the spot.

Become a “however” person.

Regardless of what your situation currently is, what if you set aside one hour each day to do something about it? I know what you’re thinking… where will you get this “extra” hour? You could take it away from watching television, from goofing off on the net, from gossiping and chit chatting with neighbors, you name it… but we could all probably find one hour. If we really, really wanted to.

Now, here’s what to do with your extra hour per day:

1. Exercise for 20 minutes.
2. Read a positive, nonfiction, enriching book of some kind for 20 minutes.
3. Make a real, one-on-one connection with another human being for 20 minutes. This could be a phone call, or a handwritten note-but not an e-mail, or “social media”. Go old school on this one.

What’s the point?

If you do this every day for the next three months, you will be in better shape, you’ll be better informed, and you’ll be better connected than almost every single person you know. It won’t guarantee you a win, but it almost certainly guarantees you’ll be better off than if you didn’t carve out that extra hour each day.

Something to think about.

I offer the following with this caveat: I’m still workin’ on it, and I don’t always follow the system perfectly. But each time I fall “off the wagon”, I get up, dust off my britches, and climb back on. So far it’s worked pretty well.

A “day in the life of Ray” is a busy one. Here are current projects I’m working on:

1. Private Client product launch. This is for a new product that teaches a system of “workforce leverage”; this is a sophisticated product that is aimed squarely at real business owners, not “biz opp” seekers, and includes a robust web application. This one keeps me very busy; and it has huge potential. Of course I get a piece of the sales, so my hard work should pay off handsomely.

2. Private Consulting Client. This relationship translates to weekly phone meetings, a small in-house launch every quarter or so, and reams of copy generated for upsells, ridealongs, retention, phone scripts, etc. This is a retainer + revenue deal, just like the one above.

3. Private Retainer Client. This client retains me strictly for two sales letters per month, for different products each month; again, I have a piece of revenue.

4. Private Client in the real estate market; we did a product launch together (for which I still receive royalties over a year later — than God for honest clients!), and we also work on periodic promotions. And, once again, I share in the revenue (detecting a theme?).

5. Inner Circle Program. This is a monthly “coaching club” I run for those who cannot necessarily afford to hire me but who want to learn from my work, get me input, and receive training from me each month.

6. Book Promotion. My new book on copywriting for the web will hit store shelves soon, and I’m working with my publisher on developing the sales promotion for this book.

7. Three books in progress. One is a business book (first draft completed), one is a book for Christ-followers on the importance and power of forgiveness (first draft about 75% complete), and one is a book I’m not ready to talk about publicly just yet (still in outlining phase).

8. Two monthly newsletters. I write one for my clients, and one for paying members of my inner circle.

9. Workshops. I have three scheduled for the next 4 months, each taking place in my offices in Spokane. These workshops are small, for 5 participants only, and focused on Strategic Writing for the purpose of Influence.

10. Copywriting Protege Program. My students write for clients who either (a) can’t get on my schedule soon enough or (b) can’t afford my fees. My team writes your copy, I critique the drafts for re-writes, and then I approve the final work that is delivered to you. This means we can deliver affordable copy that still receives my “touch”. (To inquire about a project, please submit your request here: http://RayEdwards.com/contact )

The Big Question

How is it I’m able to juggle so many priorities and projects? Through careful conscious choice, and good systems.

And quite frankly: it’s a work in progress.

In order to deliver the very best work to my clients and partners, and to still leave room in my schedule for rejuvenation (sleep, family time, time with God, and time to just plain relax)… I have to guard my time vigorously. And I have to be on guard against what Dan Kennedy calls “Time Vampires”. Some tactics that work for me in my current system:

MSR
My Morning Success Ritual is vital to my most productive days. While I don’t manage to get this in every day, I’m getting better at it. My goal between now and the New Year is to achieve 95%+ compliance with this ritual every day.

The MSR is summed up by the acronym WWW B PREP, which stands for:

• Wake
• Water (16 oz. filtered)
• Walk (at least 20 minutes)
• Bible
• Prayer
• Eat
• Plan (the day)

The days when I follow this MSR, starting the minute my feet hit the floor out of bed, are invariably my best days (most productive, most joyous, most satisfying). Probably because the most important things were done first – and when I’m still in the “NDZ”: No Distraction Zone (meaning no email, no voicemail, no phone calls, etc.)

Writing
The first thing I *must* do each day, after my MSR is complete (and after I have showered, driven to the office, etc.) is WRITING. I am primarily a writer. So this is my #1 Revenue Producing Activity (RPA). At this point my phone is off, I have still not checked email, not checked voicemail, etc. Still in the NDZ. I write for a large block of time at the beginning of the day — often 4 hours. NOTHING gets to interrupt the writing — including (and even especially) the clients for whom I may be writing.

Email
My auto-check feature in Apple Mail is turned OFF. I only get email when I press the “Check Mail” button. I check it twice per day, Monday thru Thursday. Usually around 11am Pacific and 4pm Pacific.  This is one of my policies that tends to be unpopular with those who are “urgency addicts”, and who want me to have a constant email discussion about minutia with them. I refuse to sacrifice my highest valued commodity (time) for the sake of what usually amounts to trivia. I suggest you adopt the same policy.

Meetings
Any meeting that lasts longer than 15 minutes is probably too long. Not always, but most of  the time. Any project that requires multiple meetings each week is probably in trouble. Long meetings = inefficiency at best, and postponement of the inevitable at worst. (As a sidebar: frequent short meetings are just a disguised way of having long meetings. HEAR ME: if you have “meeting-itis”, either you just want an excuse to talk about work instead of doing it, or something is wrong with the project … something another meeting won’t solve).

Phone Meetings / Conversations
Same as meetings, only worse. Conversations and phone meetings should be 15 minutes or less. Anything longer and you’re probably wasting time for at least some people in the group.

Instant Messenger
Just say no. The only time I use it is when I have SCHEDULED events on Skype (usually interviews). Also, I occasionally chat with family or friends — but again, this is SCHEDULED. I am NEVER “just available” to be interrupted. (If I was, that would mean that I was either doing something unimportant, or that I was doing NOTHING. If I’m doing something unimportant… WHY? And if I’m doing NOTHING, it’s a PLANNED nothing and it’s important that this not be interrupted!).

Office Hours
Yes, I have an office outside my home. I lease currently. I’m considering buying an office building. I keep regular business hours most of the time: Mon – Thurs, 8am – 5pm Pacific.

By the way, my office phone is answered by a LIVE HUMAN (not some stupid voicemail torture device) Monday – Saturday, 8am – 6pm Pacific time. Why do I have the phone covered even when I am out of the office? Because other members of my team keep different hours… and because emergencies DO happen, and I like to be available if a TRUE emergency arises. My  phone team knows how to reach me in those cases.

Why The Emphasis On Not Being Interrupted?

Interruptions cost you dearly.

As a writer, I know that allowing myself to be interrupted by a client or vendor (“Hey Ray – got a minute to talk about the new logo?”) can seem harmless… but it isn’t. That interruption costs me (a) the state of “flow” I was in while working, maybe impossible to recover, (b) the time of the interruption itself, and (c) the time it takes me to get back into the “zone” with what I was working on… minimum 20 minutes, maybe longer.

I can’t afford to let that happen.

My clients and customers can’t afford for me to let that happen.

I once had a client who loved to call me at 11pm at night and talk for two hours. I tried to tell him I worked set hours and was available at those times, but he didn’t seem to understand. When our first project was finished, I fired him. His dysfunction did not automatically become my problem. Be warned – people will WASTE your time if you let them. Will you let them? be polite, be loving… but don’t be a victim.

In the end, if you guard your time, you are being most respectful of other people. Think about it: if you allow yourself to be interrupted, or your time wasted when you should have been doing something else… who suffers? Your clients. Your customers. Your family (“Sorry honey, I have to stay late because I wasted 2 hours today listening to the web team make excuses…”).

You’re not serving anyone by being a poor steward of your time.

New Experiments In Time Management

I’m currently going through a re-vamping, refining, and re-evaluating phase and I thought it might be useful to you if I shared some ideas I’m trying out. While I’m sold on the stuff I mentioned previously, I’m telling you right now these next items are EXPERIMENTAL. If they prove successful, I’ll have more to say here in the future about them.

1.Three-Sentence Emails. If you receive a lot of email, you know what it’s like to feel overloaded by it. This is a personal policy that all email responses regardless of recipient or subject will be three sentences or less. Read more at http://three.sentenc.es/

2. Fifteen Minute Meetings. Just like the above, only not quite so regimented. *Most* meetings will be 15 minutes or less. That’s my default meeting length. If it needs to be longer, we can negotiate in 15 minute blocks. If it needs to be longer than 45 minutes, we better be working on something like the Middle East Peace Talks.

3. Free Days. I used to cheat on this. I’m sorry to admit it. But no more. A “free day” is one in which there is NO business activity of any kind: no emails, no blogs, no IMs, no phone calls, no reading articles, no business books… NOTHING. Right now, I have at least one scheduled FREE DAY per week (Sundays). The purpose is to allow for real refreshing, rejuvenation, and creativity to arise. My goal is to eventually reach 3 FREE DAYS per week. This does not mean that I’ll be spending 3 days a week doing NOTHING… these days will be filled with family time, spiritual and charitable pursuits, and yes, even recreation. For more on this, see Dan Sullivan’s “The Time Breakthrough”.

This was a long post – I hope it was useful to you. If you have questions or want to add some ideas of your own, please do it below!

The shortcuts.

The backdoors, secret paths, and arcane formulas that will allow us (or so the purveyors of these products propose) to bypass the hard work it takes to achieve success.

It is seductive.

And, unfortunately, most of the time it is untrue.

If you’ve known me very long at all, you know I am a fan of information products. You know that I have spent lots of money on learning materials, seminars, and the like. And you’ve heard me say that I have enjoyed improved results because of those products.

So how do I reconcile the fact that success requires work, with the fact that I’ve enjoyed a shorter route to success thanks to the intelligent use of continuing education products? The answer is surprisingly simple.

Despite what most buyers believe, it has been my experience that sellers of information products usually go out of their way to point out that none of the results from their product will happen without work. Most info product sellers go overboard in stressing the fact that work will be required. Yet… these same individuals are often labeled as purveyors of “get rich quick” material. It boggles my mind. And yet…

People will believe what they want to believe. People buying info products are often looking for a “get rich quick” solution. So even though the products are considering buying is not a “get-rich-quick” product, even though the sales copy on the website clearly states that work will be required to get the illustrated results, even though the copy further states that the results being cited are not typical, that they are in fact outstanding results… the buyer will believe what the buyer wants to believe.

I created and sell a product called The Seminar Profit System. It is a simple audio product that teaches people how to profit by attending seminars. The product itself is all about what actions one needs to take before, during, and after a seminar that will increase one’s chances of profiting from having attended the seminar. In other words, the product teaches you how to work. Yet…

Would you be surprised to learn that some buyers of the product are dismayed that they haven’t made money by attending a seminar, even though they did little (if any) of the work described in the product? No… I wasn’t surprised either.

What does surprise me is people who buy a product like this, steadfastly refuse to take any of the recommended actions in the product, and then self righteously demand some form of refund or apology because their dream of “instant riches” didn’t happen. Never mind  that “instant riches without effort” was not what was offered for sale.

Ask them if they took the actions recommended within the product, and you’ll get an answer that starts with something like this: “No, but…”

Makes me  think about one of my earliest business mentors, Earl Nightingale, who said “successful people consistently do the things that failures don’t like to do”.

These days, that is not a popular point of view. But it is true, nonetheless.

The road to success is rewarding-but it is also frequently uncomfortable.

What if you discovered you possessed superpowers?

What if you were the last hope for humanity?

What if you had the power to change the world for the better?

What if… you treated everyone you met as if all those things were true of them, too?

What if you conducted business that way?

• “Why didn’t I see this coming?”
• “Who is to blame?”
• “Why does this always happen to me?”

More than likely those questions are not going to help us access our best personal resources for dealing with the problem we’re facing. Here are 3 questions that will:

1. “What’s good about this?”
2. “What valuable lesson can we learn from this?”
3. “What opportunities might this create?”

If you have some empowering questions of  your own, share them in the comments below!

It really is that simple; everything else is little more than wishful thinking at best, and manipulation at worst.

A good question to start asking continuously: “How can I add more value right now?”

Key words: “right now”.

Not tomorrow.

Not someday.

Right now.

Social groups here in the real world work much the same way. Those in control of the group decide what constitutes “right thinking” and “wrong thinking”. The group will dole out the punishment and rewards – sometimes in subtle ways and sometimes with no subtlety at all. Break the rules – be shunned. Follow the rules – be rewarded.

Not an inefficient system, but there is one problem: every single advancement in history started off with someone engaging in “wrong thinking”. Usually resulting in their being punished. Often the punishment was severe – being stoned to death or crucified, for example. But thanks to these brave souls we have seen life improve here on Planet Earth. No, it’s not perfect, but in many measurable ways, it is better.

This is not a recommendation for “wrong thinking” for its own sake; but it is an exhortation not to mindlessly stop at the first resistance you encounter. That resistance might be a sign you’re on the right track, whether the “group” realizes it or not.

“I just don’t think I can make a living online,” said Jack.

I was on the phone with Jack because he’s one of my subscribers. He sent me an email saying his back was to the wall.

He had been trying and trying to make this “online business thing” work, and had spent thousands of dollars over the last year or so.

He had only made about $200 to show for all his efforts.

Jack was ready to give up.

“Jack,” I said, “if you’re willing to listen, I think I can help.”

“I’m ready to try anything,” he said.

I smiled.

“And that is your first problem,” I answered…

Which leads me to the reason for writing this article.

Maybe you’re not in Jack’s situation. Maybe you’re not desperate.

But I know that a lot of people are asking the same questions as Jack. Among those questions:

• Can I really make a living online and quit my day job?
• If I put in all this effort and work, will I make money?
• Am I being ripped off by people who sell me all this “make money” stuff on the Internet?
• Are there secrets being held back that I don’t know about?

My best answer is the same one I gave to Jack (not his real name, by the way): yes, you can make a living online…and yes, you are probably wasting some money right now.

The good news is, if you’d start taking the right actions, you could turn it all around in just a day or two.

Here’s what I mean:

Most people struggling to build an online business are too busy buying the latest “system” or “course” or “software” or “service”…too busy BUYING stuff to ever MAKE any money.

For these people, their primary online “business” activity consists of evaluating their next purchase!

Think about it.

How much time do you spend reading salesletters, or reviews of products, courses, and seminars?

How much time do you spend reading and posting in online forums, discussing the merits of this or that new program?

And once you buy that new “thing” – whatever it is – how far do you get with it?

Do you have any big courses sitting on a shelf that you haven’t finished yet? Haven’t watched all the DVDs or listened to all the audios?

Have you any courses that you DID watch all the stuff, and got all excited by it…but didn’t follow through with all the STEPS?

Be honest.

It’s just you and me here.

My guess is that this line of thinking leaves you a bit uncomfortable.

Don’t worry – I think we’re all at least a little bit “guilty” of this syndrome.

But there is a solution – and I’m going to offer you three steps that may help you finally get your business “off the ground”.

The same three suggestions I offered to Jack.

Action Step 1: Set an Achievable Short-Term Goal

We spend too much time trying to figure out how to achieve some huge goal, like “make $10,000 a month”.

Set a more achievable, short-range goal.

For instance, why not just shoot for $500?

Once you make $500 online, you can work on increasing it, right?

The power in this is simple: once you MAKE that $500, you have a lot more BELIEF that you can do it again…and again…and again.

And there is REAL power in that belief.

And if $500 seems out of reach for you, then just set a goal you CAN believe in. Even if it’s only $100.

On the other hand, there are those reading this letter who are already making $10,000 or $20,000 per month…you’ll need a bigger goal, but the principle is the same no matter where you are.

Action Step 2: Pick a Tactic For Achieving That Goal

Notice I didn’t say pick a “Strategy”.

That’s because if you’re struggling to get your business off the ground, “Strategy” may be too big for you to tackle right now.

What you need is one effective “tactic”: a specific set of actions you can take to achieve your objective.

For instance, if you want to build a list of subscribers, one tactic to use is: post in forums to drive traffic to your “squeeze page” (a forced opt-in page used to get subscribers). Make your posts helpful and informative, and put the link to your “squeeze page” in the signature block.

If you work at the above tactic diligently, you WILL start seeing subscribers signing up for your list within a few short days.

There are many other tactics you might choose, I only offer this one as an example.

There a lots of tactics that do in fact work.

Your problem is likely not a lack of good ideas for tactics. It’s that you have too many good ideas and can’t focus on any one of them! Which leads us to…

Action Step 3: Stick With It Until You Achieve The Goal

Too often, I see people get started with a tactic they’re excited about – only to watch them give up on it too early.

Stay with your tactic.

Notice what works.

Notice what doesn’t.

Adjust your approach accordingly – but stick it out until you’ve made your $500 (or whatever your goal was).

Until that time, keep blinders on.

Ignore all the other offers, emails, and attractive “tactics of the week” that come along.

Just focus on YOUR chosen tactic until you have that $500!

And Then What Do You Do?

Once you’ve achieved your goal, you’ll be faced with a decision: what do you do next?

Do you keep at it, employ the same tactic for the next $500? Maybe.

That choice will be up to you, and is beyond the scope of this article.

But keep this in mind: what you will have learned from this exercise is vital.

You will have proven to yourself that:

1. You can make money with your online business.
2. You can achieve a goal you set for yourself.
3. And you know at least one tactic for doing it.

Don’t you think the next step will seem just a little bit easier now?

I hope that if you, like Jack, have been wondering whether you can “really” make it in your online business, you will take this message to heart and at least give my suggestions a shot.

And if you do, I hope you’ll let me know about your success story!

1. Coffee
2. Oatmeal
3. Relationships
4. Websites
5. Success

That last one hangs people up. Many people want instant success, but few want the years of preparation that lead up to it.

While we may prefer the “microwave” solution, some things only reach their potential when they “marinate” instead.

As RT Kendall once wrote, “The worst thing that can happen to a person is that they succeed before they are ready.”

I don’t feel that way anymore, because I have realized every human being on the planet practices affirmations. It’s simply that most of us do it unconsciously. Most of us didn’t even take the affirmations we use.

Here’s what I mean: it seems to me that most of us have certain phrases, thoughts, and thinking patterns that we inherited from our nurturing environment as we were growing up. From our parents. From our peers. From our teachers. And those phrases ring in our minds no matter how old we might be today. Some common examples:

• “Money doesn’t grow on trees.”
• “Look before you leap.”
• “A penny saved is a penny earned.”
• “Haste makes waste.”
• “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

I’m not here to debate the truth of any of those statements, I’m just illustrating that we all have phrases we repeat to ourselves over and over throughout our lives. There are, I believe, many other such phrases (and unconscious patterns of thought) that we repeat on a daily basis. We are unaware of these patterns, for the most part. They may be subtle, or they may be quite obvious (like the examples I’ve already given).

The spooky part, at least as far as I’m concerned, is the fact that most of us didn’t choose these affirmations. We are not even aware of them. We simply accepted them without critical evaluation. You might want to let that sink in.

As a business owner or entrepreneur, you’re automatically thrust into a leadership position. Others look to you for example. Don’t you agree it’s valuable to be aware of what you are thinking, day in and day out?

Suggested exercise: pay attention to repetitive patterns in your speech and thinking today-and ask yourself whether those patterns are helpful, or perhaps not so helpful.

Comments or observations? Leave them here on this page, please!

But…

…there are no real secrets.

Just information you don’t have.

The big PILLARS of success in any business are simple and clear:
1. Find that group of passionate people
2. Find out what they want
3. Make what they want
4. Sell it to them

And as long as you do that, you’ll make money.

Now, are there refinements?

Are there little tricks, tweaks, and tactics that can get you where you want to go… FASTER?

Yes.

But those aren’t secrets. You can get access to the information – either free (sometimes time-consuming) or for pay (sometimes the best way to go FASTER).

Still, no matter  how you get the needed information, it’s not “secret”… it’s just information you don’t yet have.

I dragged my course out and surveyed the material. Hours of video, poorly indexed. A word-for-word transcript, capturing all the stream of consciousness rambling of the presenter. A mass of material. Worthless to me.

Especially since the system claimed to allow you to manage this particular marketing method in “as little as 15 minutes a day”.

I wanted to say to this particular product’s purveyor, “Surely you could just take 15 minutes and show me. Maybe an hour, if you explained every step?”

He wanted to sell me 30 pounds of DVDs and manuals, bulking up the course, so I’d pay more for it.

All I wanted: show me how to do it.

I think there may be a lesson here.

“BS Excuses” people use to explain why they can’t do things.

Now I’m not saying we don’t sometimes just have a tough go of it. We all do from time to time.

I’m talking about “loser’s limp”… where you start limping early in the race, just so you can later explain why you lost.

Some language that is a sure tip-off you’ve wandered into the “Land of BS Excuses”…

- “there are just no jobs/clients/opportunities in this market/niche/city …” (that’s funny. what are all those people doing on the freeway every day at 9am if they’re not going to WORK? Or how do so many new businesses start every month if there are no clients?)

- “there’s no room for the little guy in this company/ town/ industry” (people were spouting this SAME BS when Steve Jobs and his pal Woz started a little company named Apple Computer out of a garage… and it’s just as much BS now as it was then…)

- “the government has killed this market / business / country” (the government interfering in business is not NEWS… it’s part of doing business! And plenty of businesses make a profit despite that fact. Get over it!)

- “people are just not buying cars/ boats/ books/ airplanes/ swimming pools these days” (ummm…. BS! In fact, DOUBLE BS! They ARE buying all these things and more… and I’ve seen plenty of data showing the sale of LUXURY items are UP lately. Just because they’re not buying from YOU does not mean they are not BUYING…)

- “long sales copy doesn’t work any more” or “I can’t write sales copy” (all you have to do is get a good course on the subject, like my own http://webcopywritingexplained.com , and it’s just “follow the instructions” to copy that will sell your stuff for you)

Today’s take-away: If you suspect that you even occasionally engage in any of this “BS Excuse” nonsense…

I hereby challenge you to Ten Days of Zero BS Excuse-Making.

Here’s how to play: for the next 10 days just don’t make a single BS excuse about anything in your life.

If you mess up on, say, Day 3… re-set the clock and start over at Day 1.

It may take you a while to get all the way to 10 days, I warn you.

But once you have, I can almost guarantee:

1. Your results in whatever it is you do will have improved (because you will have taken away your biggest impediment – your own EXCUSES)… and…

2. You will never want to go back to your old, excuse-making ways.

Are you in?

All the best,

Ray Edwards

I believe every one of us was endowed by our Creator not only with “rights” but also with “potential”.

And I believe part of our mission here on Planet Earth is to unlock that little mystery box and enjoy the potentials that have been embedded inside us.

You may ask, “If we were created with that potential, why does it have to be a mystery?”

Because, sunshine, that’s what makes it fun.

Believe it or not.

So… homework for today?

Start working on your own “mystery box”. What were you sent here to do?

And if you don’t believe all that stuff about being “sent here” to do something… just pretend: what if you WERE sent here to do something? What would it be?

And what on earth could be more important than (a) figuring that out and (b) DOING it?

If you think this has nothing to do with business… well, you’re just not thinkin’ hard enough.

Aloha,

Ray Edwards

PS – If your mission here on this planet involves using the Internet to communicate, you may want to check out my quick & easy guide to success online: http://21Fundamentals.com

Our culture is replete with stories of people who had every disadvantage yet succeeded wildly – and that not through luck but through focused effort.

Submitted as proof: Ray Charles, Stephen Hawking, and Helen Keller.

So what is it about our thinking that so often holds us back – especially when we have no great physical disadvantage? (Note: the aforementioned cases preclude any healthy person from excuse-making… and they also demonstrate that what I’m about to say applies even to those who are blind, deaf, or crippled.)

Here are three lies that hold you back. Escape these lies, and escape the limitations you’ve imposed on your self.

1.    The past equals the future. The perfect lie for convincing you to not even try anything, since it’s “never worked in the past”. Good thing Thomas Edison, the Wright Brothers, and Abraham Lincoln didn’t buy this lie.

2.    Ready, Aim, Fire. Sounds like good wisdom, until you realize most get stuck on “Aim”. So that it ends up being “Ready, Aim… Aim… Aim… Aim…”

3.    Proven methods are safest. Maybe they are, but if we relied only on “proven methods”, we’d have no space shuttle, no antibiotics, no Apple computer, and no polio vaccine.

There are of course many other lies that hold people back.

For instance, one of the lies of online marketing is that it’s hard to get traffic to your site.

The truth is just the opposite.

In fact, it’s pretty easy to get hundreds of other people promoting your site for you – free – when you know how (see http://MySalesArmy.com for details on how to do it).

What lies are you believing that bar you from greatness?

Believing a lie means you are, in a sense, partnering with a liar. Think about it.

And then do something about it!

Life is full of stuff we don’t like.

Car accidents, business bankruptcies, illness, divorce, war, crime. Being in business carries its own seemingly endless catalog of potential problems (yeah, I call ‘em problems and not “challenges”… because they are problems. Keep reading. All will become clear.)

Pretending that these problems don’t exist – or that they don’t change things – is folly. It’s irresponsible.

In the business world, lots of people like to yammer on about how much they love Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich”. But whenever I hear people praising that book, most of them neglect one of the points Hill made: the importance of accurate thinking.

And accurate thinking involves accepting reality. Whether you like it or not.

Instead of engaging in “positive thinking” and denying the reality of  your situation, start by thinking accurately about what has really happened. As my friend Armand Morin says, “It is what it is.”

Too many times we try to put a “positive spin” on  things, thinking we will somehow make things better if we simply don’t admit things are what they are.

Now, I am not saying you should dwell on the problem. I’m not suggesting your live in the Land of Pessimism (I am an Optimist, through and through).

No, the trick is to spend about 10% of your time accurately assessing and appreciating the scope of whatever problem you are facing – whether it be business trouble, relationship problems, illness, or what have you – and spend 90% of your time focusing on how to make it better.

Living in denial will not make things better; and neither will living in the Land of Eternal Pessimism.

Only accurate thinking equips you to really deal with whatever life throws your way.

It’s not always comfortable. But it is always the best wisdom.

So the next time life throws you a problem, please don’t put on the Helmet of Denial. Instead, put on your big-boy face, look at that problem with your eyes wide open, and say, “It is what it is.”

And then ask, “So what am I going to do about it?”

Ask Darth Vader.

I mean, for almost a DECADE we all thought Darth was the villain of Star Wars.

And after more than 20 years in the making, the series of movies in the Star Wars saga tells the whole story.

Darth Vader started out as a good guy.

He got off track. WAY off track.

Then, in the end, he did the right thing.

And turns out he was STILL a good guy.

Why? Because people in his Mastermind Group – the Jedi – got him back on the right path.

Even if it WAS at the last possible moment.

Between the training that Darth got from Obi-Wan…

…and the example his former master set for him…

…and the direct appeals of his son Luke…

Darth did the right thing, and killed the Emperor.

He saved his son… the Rebellion… and his own soul.

That’s what a Mastermind Group – a good one – will do for you.

They will tell you what you’re doing wrong, even when you’re completely full of your own crap.

Even when you think you’re about to Rule The Universe.

Because the moment you start believing your own bull is usually the moment when you’re about to take a big fall.

QUESTION: who do you have in YOUR life who’s willing to tell you that you’re about to “blow it”?

If you don’t have somebody who’s willing and committed to doing that, you need to find them. Pronto.

There’s several ways to do it.

For instance, you can set up your own Mastermind Group. Find the members, recruit them, and set up the meetings, etc.

It’ll take some legwork, but it’s worth the effort.

You could also join an existing small group, but good ones are hard to find and harder to get into. Just make sure you’re not getting yourself into a negative gossip-group that is PRETENDING to be a true “Mastermind”. You’ll know pretty quick.

You can also pay to join a Mastermind.

This is often a good option, because the fact that there are “membership dues” helps weed out the people who are not such a good fit.

Whatever you do, make sure you get yourself involved in some kind of “Mastermind group”.

If it can save Darth Vader… what can it do for you?

Back in my radio days, one of the shows I was in charge of was a morning radio team.

And this particular morning team had a regular feature where a couple of psychotherapists woud come on each week.

When I say a “couple”, I mean it. They were actually a COUPLE, and they were both actually THERAPISTS (can you imagine the dinner table conversations?).

Anyhow, I knew this couple only as characters on this particular morning show. “Judith and Jim” was how I knew them. And I knew only their voices.

Fast forward a few years later.

I had left the radio business, and was at an Internet Marketing seminar.

During one of the presentations, I noticed this couple sitting near the front, and I noticed  they were asking lots of questions. And their voices sounded familiar. And their names were… Judith and Jim.

We connected for the first time in person, and we’ve been friends ever since. (Okay, so it was “funny” as in “coincidence” and not funny as in “LOL”).

To continue my story…

I discovered that Jim and Judith ventured into online marketing just four years ago. Along the way, they had to overcome their technical deficiencies and learn to make friends with their computer. Even more so, they had to, in their own words, “open our minds to an entirely new way of being in the world, a whole new and very different mindset-a marketing/business mindset”.

But there was a problem. As they attended lots of marketing conferences, they felt something was wrong.

According to Judith and Jim, “We always felt a sense of displacement, a feeling of not belonging, of somehow being outsiders.”

As they connected with people at those same  conferences they learned that others had the same complaint. And they noticed a pattern: All those who voiced this kind of discomfort were service providers, care-givers, change agents of some kind, men and women who had dedicated their lives to helping others-heart-to-heart.

“It became clear that there was a segment of the Internet marketplace that was not being served,” says Judith.

Jim chimes in, “That segment is peopled by soft sell marketers-all of us who are care-givers and life-change artists as distinct from accumulation artists whose focus is money first and foremost.”

And now these two friends of mine have written a book on the subject of soft sell marketing for service providers… and for people who don’t like hard-sell approaches. I recommend you get a copy of The Heart of Marketing.

I should be working on other stuff.

For instance, I have 8 more small business profit boosters to write for you (I’m up to #13 and I promised 21). But…

I felt compelled to write this post instead.

I’ve been reflecting on who I owe my success to in the copywriting and internet marketing world. Because you know, none of us do this on our own. I’m not an island. I’ve been helped by a number of people along the way. And as we move into the new year, I want to publicly thank and acknowledge a number of them.

Disclaimer: making a list like this always opens up the risk that I’ll leave someone out. If you have helped me, and I somehow forget to mention you, remind me privately and I’ll add your name to the list.

Armand Morin. Armand is the guy who has taught me the most about Internet Marketing, and he pushed and prodded me to create my own info-products (I went from zero to over 20 in less than a year) and to get serious about my speaking career. Without a doubt, I recommend Armand’s Big Seminar and his Internet Marketing Newsletter.

Alex Mandossian. Alex taught me how to use Teleseminars to build my business (even though I was a copywriter at the time, my first year using Alex’s techniques easily made me over $100,000). He’s also a man of deep integrity.

Brad Callen. One of my top clients, I am actually involved in a site with Brad and his brother Matt. These guys have been with me as clients for a long time now, and have been a great encouragement to me.

Willie Crawford. One of the first friends I made in this business. Willie and I had some pretty amusing adventures together.

John Carlton. Possibly the world’s greatest living copywriter. I have learned so much from John, I can’t even begin to tell you. I attended a seminar once just so I could buy his “mother of all offers” where he sold a $5,000 box of his materials. Pay attention: I went to a seminar so that I could spend $5,000 with John. That ought to tell you something. I had the privilege of hanging out with John in Vegas recently, and it was the highlight of my trip.

Harlan Kilstein. Killer copywriter and Carlton’s top student, Harlan is also a master of hypnosis and NLP. Harlan taught me how to get paid what I’m worth as a copywriter. Seriously. After attending one of his seminars, I TRIPLED my fees. Thanks Harlan.

Matt Bacak. One of my top clients, Matt was one of the very first people to hire me to write copy. We met because I saw him sitting in the bar… with his laptop! I knew he was a kindred spirit. We’ve done some great things together (recently we did a $3.5 million promotion), and I’ve learned a lot from Matt. He’s also been a good friend.

Mike Litman. Mike was the first Internet Marketer to pay me for copy. He paid me a scandalously low amount of money. When he ordered 2 more sales letters from me, he coached me on raising my prices – on his project! His was the first IM event I ever attended, and it’s where I met my long-term friends (and now clients) Armand Morin and Matt Bacak.

Mike Stewart. Mike showed me “lifestyle business” at its best when he invited me to spend a couple of days at his lake place in Georgia. We played around on the lake, ate a lot of good food, and created a new video product (on copywriting) in his home studio (said product to be released soon).

Frank Kern. I’ve learned a lot from Frank, and he’s hired more than once to write copy for him. Frank gave me my all-time favorite testimonial (it’s a bit off-color, so I won’t quote it here). It’s through Frank I first met John Carlton, Sarkis, Neil Strauss, and a bunch of other “fancy people”. And Frank recommended me to Tony Robbins for some copywriting work – so how could I not acknowledge Captain Kern?

Ed Dale. I actually met Frank Kern and Ed Dale at the same time. They had hired me to write copy for their Underachiever Conference before we ever actually met. What endeared me to Ed first was his love for all things Apple. Instant bonding. And Ed actually gave me the testimonial that ties with Frank’s for my all-time favorite. Since it doesn’t contain the “F Word” I’ll quote it in full: “Ray, I bless the day your copy met my bank account”.

Jeff Walker. The creator of the Product Launch Formula, Jeff taught me the art of Product Launches. I was one of the first customers for the original PLF, and ended up in Jeff’s high-end Platinum Coaching group. Jeff coached me through my first launch (of my own product). Jeff had made me… well, a lot of money. And he’s also a good friend. Jeff credits me with being the first person he’s ever actually paid to write copy for him. I can’t thank him enough for all the guidance, encouragement, and generosity he has shown me.

Jon Walker. Jon is Jeff’s brother. I actually got to know him before I got to know Jeff, and I count Jon as one of my very favorite people. He’s kind, diplomatic, and has a razor-sharp business mind. He is truly one of those “guys behind the scenes” who is responsible for some big stuff in the online world. Jon has given me some invaluable counsel, advice and insight on my own business, and he’s one of the people I love to bounce ideas around with.

Michel Fortin. One of the first people I got to know in the copywriting world, I owe Michel several debts of gratitude. I’ve learned a lot from him about copy, marketing, and online technology (Michel convinced me to migrate from Movable Type to WordPress, for instance… and was at least partially responsible for getting me hooked on Photoshop). He’s also helped me navigate through a couple of difficult situations, and has unselfishly helped me grow my business.

Sylvie Fortin. Sylvie is one of the most vibrant, determined and principled people I know. She has the courage to speak her mind even when it might be unpopular to do so. I am astounded by her willingness to share personal challenges publicly so that others may benefit. And her keen insight played a crucial role in rescuing me from total burn-out in 2008. Really. I love Sylvie Fortin for these reasons and more.

Craig Perrine. Smart, funny, intelligent, and willing to encourage me in my tendency to sit in the back of the room and cause trouble, Craig is a great friend and a smart marketer.

Kirt Christensen. One of the first people I bought an information product from, Kirt agreed to meet with me not knowing for sure whether I might be a stalker. We ended up become friends and business partners. Kirt helped me form my pursuit of the ideal business: working 20 hours a week and making $100,000 per month. That’s not too much to ask, right?

Eric Graham. I’ve never met a person more dedicated to rigorous scientific testing of copy, marketing tactics, and web page factors. Eric takes the “voodoo” of marketing and makes it science. From him I’ve learned discipline and tenacity. Plus, he flies stunt planes. Yep, upside down, loop-the-loops, and all that stuff.

Christina Hills. Christina is the CEO of “Shopping Cart Queen” – a company that educates online businesses on how to use their shopping cart software. They also teach a lot more stuff, including other software and systems. Christina was crucial to my first product launch coming off well, and she’s helped me in a pinch on more than one occasion.

Stu McLaren. Stu was one of my early clients. I wrote the copy for his Idea Incubator Seminar. I was so excited by it I decided to attend. Stu and I became friends, and through him I met Stephen Pierce, David Frey, Alex Mandossian, Jeff Walker and many others. Now Stu not only is a big-shot Internet Marketer but is now working with his wife Amy to change the world. Bravo!

Mike Filsaime . I met Mike before he was “famous”. We had a conversation outside the seminar room in Denver where Mike told me the story of this new product he was creating called “Butterfly Marketing”. We have remained friends over the years, and Mike recently had me work on the “7 Figure Code” launch with him (which was a blast).

Tom Beal. Tom and I were in a Mastermind Group together for a while, and when we met through that group I only had a vague idea that he worked with Mike Filsaime. Tom and I have laughed together, hung out in the back of many a seminar room, and worked together on a few projects. I count him as both a friend and a great marketing mind.

Joel Comm. Joel and I knew each other a while before we ever did any work together. Joel has been a true friend, and has done a lot to help me as a person and on a business level. Joel got me my publishing deal, invited me to be a guest expert on The Next Internet Millionaire, hired me to write copy, and has been a true supporter.

Andy Jenkins. You know him as the StomperNet guy – and so do I. I’ve written some copy for the Stomper guys (Andy and Brad Fallon). Andy has been encouraging, enthusiastic, and promoted me in places where it counted.

Rich Schefren. Controversial, smart, challenging, and able to wear you down. And that was just my first dinner with Rich! Rich is not only a client, he’s one of the people I’ve learned some of my most valuable business lessons from.

Brian Johnson. You may know him as Schefren’s right-hand guy. I know him as a trustworthy friend and tireless supporter. He’s also a guy who will be there to get the job done, even when other people have gone home.

Ryan Healy, Ben Settle, John Angel and Daniel Levis are all part of a secret mastermind group I belong to. The weird thing is we’re all copywriters. And it’s one of the most profitable and enjoyable groups I’m a member of. This group has been referred to as “The Five Horsemen of the Copywriting Apocalypse”.

Jeanette Cates. She’s organized, she’s diligent, and she’s one of the best teachers I’ve ever met. She’s also fun to hang around with.

Dave Bernstein. One of the first products I ever created, I created with Dave. He’s absolutely nuts about all things audio. And he is smart enough to live where it’s warm all year.

George Callens. George works with Armand to run a $25 million dollar a year company and makes it looks easy. He’s on top of things, he’s in charge, and he’s one of the most stunningly competent people I know. George has helped me sort through some important challenges in my business.

Chris & Jim Howard. I’ve been friends with Jim & Chris just about as long as anyone in this business. They are a continuous inspiration, and “go to” people when I need help or advice.

Dr Mike Woo-Ming. He’s a friend, he’s a client, and he’s an International Man of Mystery.Remember that time you rented that house in Vegas and we all hung out there? That was awesome.

Howie Schwartz. One of the smartest and funniest people I have ever met and someone I am proud to know and call friend.

Yanik Silver. Brilliant marketer, tireless entrepreneur, and peerless promoter. I love the Underground Seminar, and his YSS is brilliant. I’m also inspired by what he’s been doing with the Maverick Brand.

Dan Kennedy. What can I say about Dan that hasn’t been said? I think he mostly invented the info-product/coaching business. He’s a writer’s writer. He lives the life he chose to live. And he seems to be a true genius when it comes to this stuff.

Jason Moffatt. Jason and I are probably about a much alike as East and West – but I count him as a friend, a keen marketing mind, and one of the very best salesmen I have ever met.

Tracy Childers. Tracy and I have held a few late-night brainstorming sessions involving large quantities of what another friend of mine calls “barley pop”. Every time I talk to him, I get about two dozen new ideas. And Tracy is inspiring in his ability to get products created, and his integrity and kindness.

Marlon Sanders. The first marketing product I ever bought was “The Amazing Formula”. It blew me away. Since then I’ve had a chance to get to know Marlon as one of the funniest, most intelligent, and most interesting people I know. Plus, have you seen this guy’s hats?

David Frey. He’s the “gentle giant” of Internet Marketing, He’s been an encourager, a good teacher, and someone I’ve felt inspired by since we first met at Stu McLaren’s Idea Incubator.

Ken McArthur. One of my favorite clients, Ken has been another ardent supporter of mine. He’s someone who is universally loved by everyone who knows him. And he invited me to speak in Orlando in February (Disney, here I come).

Clayton Makepeace. One of my copywriting “heroes”, Clayton is one sharp guy. And Clayton is the guy about whom I have the strangest “how we met” story of all. Sorry, I’m not telling. Not today, anyway.

Mary Mazzullo. She took the pictures that make me look good. Of course, that ‘s what she does. She also got me into the mysterious “Club 33”. And she’s a true friend.

Bob Bly. The copywriter’s copywriter, a scholar, and a gentleman. Bob really got me started down this road, and one of the highlights of my career was being quoted on the cover of “Secrets of a Freelance Writer”.

Mari Smith. First she was my student (in copywriting) and now she is my teacher (in Social Media Marketing). Thanks Mari!

Seth Godin. Some of the most intense learning I ever did, I did at Seth’s office. Thanks Seth!

This post grew as I was writing it.

The truth is, there are so many people I should thank I probably could never write it all down. So please, if you don’t see your name here, don’t take it personally. I love and appreciate you — and if you know me at all, I hope you know that’s true.

Bear with me, I have a couple more acknowledgments: my business could not exist without the support of my family (both near and far).

My wife and son are the two most important people on earth to me. I love you both with complete and reckless abandon.

Finally, and most importantly, I would be nothing if not for the love and grace of Jesus Christ. Every good thing I have (or ever will have) comes from Him.

For most companies this is a disaster.

Every contact with your prospects and customers is either an opportunity, or a problem. There is no in between.

Question: why do we leave these interactions to chance?

We all instinctively know there is usually a “best way” to answer the phone, greet a customer, run an interview, or deal with a customer service issue.

Yet we (and more frighteningly, our employees) do absolutely nothing to prepare for these interactions. What if you changed that?

Write a script for every interaction you can anticipate with your prospects and customers. This means you’ll have a script for:

• Answering the phone
• Greeting customers
• Conducting a client needs analysis interview
• Running a consultation
• Giving a presentation
• Dealing with customer complaints
• And every other interaction you can think of

Creating a script for each situation-and making sure your employees actually use the script-can make a world of difference for your company.

So get busy. Write your scripts. Know your lines.

And make sure your people know their lines too.

Right. Me too.

Well, let me save you some money and time. Forget the gurus for a moment.

Here is the real, true, ‘Master Secret of Success’:

Just get started!

Don’t laugh.

The problem most business people, entrepreneurs, and companies have is that they spend far too much time coming up with new buzzwords and management systems — and almost zero time just getting down to the work that needs to be done.

For the individual or entrepreneur, I offer this tactic that will help you ‘get started’ on something that will generate new revenue…

Think carefully about your answer to this question: If you could only do one thing to generate revenue immediately, what would that one thing be?

I really want you to think about this.

If it was a “must” – for instance, if it meant being able to pay the mortgage on your house this month – what one thing
would you do right now? Some possible examples:

• Write a letter and mail it.
• Make a phone call.
• Send an email.
• Drive to see a prospect in person.
• Complete and deliver a proposal.

Okay, do you have your “one thing”? Great. Write it down. Then…

JUST GET STARTED!

When it’s done, do the whole exercise over again.

I know that right about now you’re thinking, ‘Ray, this is the most elementary, simple, stupid thing I’ve heard all week.’

That’s okay. Try it anyway – and after you have tried it, I’d love to hear from you with your success story.

And remember, you heard the Master Key To Success right here. In case you forgot already, it’s this:

Just get started!

This myth has always struck me as false — or at least only partially true.

I believe that when it comes right down to it, you must have some writing talent. If you don’t, your copy will not be brilliant. It may not even be good. In most cases, it will just be bad.

I see plenty of evidence that the last is the most common result.

There is another myth that if one studies enough of the right manuals, or attends enough of the right seminars, one can learn to write well. Frankly, if you don’t have some native talent — a “knack”, if you will — I don’t think all the classes, courses, or seminars in the world can help you much.

Stephen King would agree with me, I suspect. In a recent article he penned for the Washington Post, King wrote: “The only things that can teach writing are reading, writing and the semi-domestication of one’s muse.”

So there it is, then.

My opinion is that not everyone can learn to be a great (or even good) writer. Everyone is born with a certain aptitude (or lack of it), and they’re pretty much stuck with that aptitude. They can take classes or be taught to make the most of it, but they are always limited to a certain range in the development of their craft.
What do you think?

This is a question I am asked often, and my answer to this question is in two parts. First is an answer appropriate if you’re already selling something online and the second part is the answer for those who haven’t yet decided what product or service you’re going to sell.

Let’s start with the first situation. You’re already selling something — a product or service –online. If you want to re-energize your business you simple find a new product line or service to offer your existing customers. Survey those existing customers and ask them what their needs are. You can use a service like the Ask Database to take this survey. Ask Database is a very simple way to survey your customers and it also offers some sophisticated data analysis tools. Another option is SurveyMonkey, which is not as sophisticated but is easier for beginners to use.

So when you’re surveying your present customers, what exactly do you ask them? You might want to start with something simple. First determine what your category is. If you have an existing business that sells dog training materials for instance you might do a simple survey where you ask your customers, what’s your biggest problem when it comes to dog training? I didn’t invent this method — I have to give credit to Alex Mandossian, who teaches this in his Teleseminar Secrets course.

Now… what if you’re not already selling something online and you’re trying to determine what your product or service is going to be? The answer is remarkably similar. In this case you also want to do a survey, but this time you’re going to survey yourself, your colleagues, friends and associates.

What are you looking for? You’re looking for things that you’re both good at and passionate about. If you can find that combination, you’ll have a much clearer idea of what you should be marketing. Here’s the exercise…

Sit down with two clean sheets of paper and ask yourself this question.: “What am I good at?”

Make a list. Your list might include things like

• Teaching
• Writing
• Graphic design
• Ideas
• Connecting with people
• Etc.

Don’t make any judgments about which of these things might be marketable. That will come later. For now, just write down a long list of things you’re good at – even the little things, like organizing your daily tasks, keeping your home or office in order, or even playing video game!

On the second sheet of paper, answer this question: “What am I passionate about?”

This list may surprise you. You may have written down that you’re good at keeping your checkbook up to date – but now you may write down that you hate accounting! Don’t worry about it. Just keep writing.

Make this second list as long as you can… then compare the two and see if there are any items that show up on both lists. You want to pay attention because these may be potential areas where you want to focus your efforts.

Now I want you to ask your colleagues, friends and associates a similar question. Ask them to tell you what you’re good at. Don’t prejudice their answers; just get their initial first impressions of what they think you’re good at. Then compile those answers and again go back to your other lists. The things that show up on all the lists will give you some big clues of what you want to focus on and what you want to sell online as a product or service.

I believe that focusing on an area that you’re both good at and passionate about is the best answer. There are those who recommend focusing on where there’s a market need. Those who hold this opinion would say that your personal preference doesn’t matter.

While it’s true that you must be careful not to make the entire decision based only on your feelings, I don’t think it’s wise to disregard them either. Do you want to be stuck with a successful business that you hate?

My opinion is that if you want to stick with your business, to remain excited about it, and if you want the joy as well as the money — focus on something you’re good at and that you’re passionate about.

What do you think? I invite your comments below…

Right. Me too.

Well, let me save you some money and time. Forget the gurus for a moment.

Here is the real, true, ‘Master Secret of Success’:

Just get started!

Don’t laugh.

The problem most business people, entrepreneurs, and companies have is that they spend far too much time coming up with new buzzwords and management systems — and almost zero time just getting down to the work that needs to be done.

For the individual or entrepreneur, I offer this tactic that will help you ‘get started’ on something that will generate new revenue…

Think carefully about your answer to this question: If you could only do one thing to generate revenue immediately, what would that one thing be?

I really want you to think about this.

If it was a “must” – for instance, if it meant being able to pay the mortgage on your house this month – what one thing
would you do right now? Some possible examples:

• Write a letter and mail it.
• Make a phone call.
• Send an email.
• Drive to see a prospect in person.
• Complete and deliver a proposal.

Okay, do you have your “one thing”? Great. Write it down. Then…

JUST GET STARTED!

When it’s done, do the whole exercise over again.

I know that right about now you’re thinking, ‘Ray, this is the most elementary, simple, stupid thing I’ve heard all week.’

That’s okay. Try it anyway – and after you have tried it, I’d love to hear from you with your success story.

And remember, you heard the Master Key To Success right here. In case you forgot already, it’s this:

Just get started!

The Point: While there’s a lot of debate about Britney’s musical talent, career choices, and parenting potential, nobody can argue that she doesn’t know how to get our attention.

You can learn a lot from a diva.

The Resource: Attention Age Doctrine

Keys To Capturing Your Prospect’s Attention:

1. Be relevant to their lives.
2. Give them more of what they want.
3. Don’t betray their expectations.

Click for the Podcast Audio:

Click Here

You can’t “manage” time.

The Point: To get past the feeling of overwhelm, you need to overcome procrastination and manage your activities.

Doing so will clear up “space” in your day to get things done.

The Resource: Sedona Method

5 Ways To Feel More In Control Of Your World:

1. Let go of needing to control everything, do everything, know everything.
2. Check email only twice daily.
3. Check voicemail (or return calls) only once daily.
4. Have a Sabbath (day off) each week.
5. Focus on the 20% of activities that yield 80% of your results.

Click for the Podcast Audio:

Click Here

His name is Ben Settle, and if you don’t know about Ben you should. He has one of the best copwriting blogs on the ‘net.

Anyway, the interview was supposed to be a one-hour interview. It ended up being well over 2 hours.

After listening to the finished product, I realized it was pretty darned good (Ben is a great interviewer).

Here’s some of what we covered in the interview:

• Why studying successful ads can actually hurt your copywriting!
• How to use an ordinary copyright notice to instantly banish “writers block.”
• A free piece of software that can realistically nab you well over an 80% opt-in rate on your squeeze pages!
• What to do if you’re starting from scratch online and need to make a lot of money—fast!
• How to set up profitable online joint ventures—even if you live in a cave with no friends, contacts or business connections whatsoever.
• A little-known way to build a hyper-responsive email list without turning on your computer!
• How to use dopey little ad “jingles” to drive thousands of qualified leads to your websites.
• An almost unknown way to make a TON of money from your email list… without sending them any emails!
• How to make more profits from your sites by purposely getting a lower opt-in rate.
• A secret trick (even an “SEO dummy” can use) to almost instantly get top google rankings on any key words you choose!
• How to use video on your sites for little or no money and without any big learning curves.
• A little-used “loophole” in the Warrior Forum that lets you quickly add a few thousand cash-in-hand subscribers to your email list—without spending even one thin dime.
• Why your telephone is your #1 most profitable “tool” for making money online!
• The secret of getting world-class marketers (with gigantic lists of buyers) to joint venture with you—even if your list is puny and they have no idea who you are.

Grab your copy of the interview by clicking here.