This
week, I say it is time for a little more borrowed genius. Seeing as,
last week, I violated the rules of copywriting, this week I figured I
should make a nod to the experts.
Do
you know much about a gentleman named Frank Kern? If not, Kern is
usually labeled an “internet marketing expert.” I think that
label is kind of silly. Kern is an adman. Among other things, Frank
is mostly a copywriter.
At
any rate, in his typically irreverent fashion, Frank wrote a great
blog post, and I wanted to pass it along to you. The rest of this
post are the words of Mr. Kern:
A
few weeks ago, I was on the porch knocking back a Modelo Especial
working
and I noticed one of my friends walking up to the front door.
So
I eased on down the steps, let him in, and invited him to up to the
porch to take in the scenery with me.
He
readily agreed so I grabbed us both a couple of Mexico’s finest
beers and we took our seats.
But
something was wrong. My (normally laid back) buddy was all weirded
out.
“Poor
bastard’s probably suffering from a beer deficiency”, I thought
as I went to grab us a few more.
They
didn’t do the trick so I finally asked him what was wrong.
Turned
out he’d been disappointed with a recent “Guru” experience. I’m
not talking about spiritual guru stuff here …I mean
“get-your-shit-together-in-business” stuff.
That
type of Guru.
No,
there’s no drama to report …nobody felt ripped off or hosed or
anything. It’s just that the relationship didn’t work out as
planned and my buddy was bummed.
“I
really thought this was the guy who would take me where I want to
go”, he said.
And
There You Have It …The Root Of The Problem Revealed
See
…here’s the deal (and this is what I tried to explain to my
friend without sounding all high and mighty):
YOU
are the only person who can take you where you want to go. There is
no Guru, teacher, mentor, author, speaker, shaman, or whatever who
can or will do that for you.
Ever.
Sure,
they can show you cool stuff. They can show you what worked for them,
they can give you encouragement and motivation …and they can help
you keep your head on straight when the going gets weird.
But
in the immortal words of Hunter S. Thompson,
“When
The Going Gets Weird, The Weird Turn Pro”
And
what that means in the context of this little rant is simple:
DON’T
FUCK AROUND AND EXPECT SOMEONE ELSE TO SAVE THE DAY.
They
won’t. Hell, they can’t! Not even if they want to. Only YOU can.
So
whenever you’re considering buying advice, coaching, mentoring,
seminar tickets, or whatever – understand this:
They
Are All WORTHLESS
...Unless
you’re bull-headed enough to immediately put what you learn into
action. (And then get right back to work when your first attempts
inevitably present some challenges).
And
if you’re waiting until you get some big amazing revelation before
you actually do something, you’re going to be waiting a long time.
There ain’t one.
Well,
that’s not entirely true. There is one …but it’s just kind of
anti climatic. Here it is:
Some
Stuff Works, Some Doesn’t.
And
the stuff that’s worked for lots of other people will probably work
for you too …if you put in the effort.
See
…that’s the key word there.
Effort.
Let’s
juice it up and add the word “educated” to it.
Now
we have “educated effort”. And that’s a hell of a thing.
See,
with “educated effort”, you can do anything you want.
Add
in a little “determination” and you’re damn near unstoppable.
Then
throw in a little bump of what my teacher Dan Kennedy calls
“stick-to-it-iveness” and you WILL get to where you want to go.
Let’s
take a look at the last part of that sentence.
YOU.
Will. Get. To. Where. YOU. Want. To. Go.
We
didn’t say “[INSERT GURU HERE] will get you where you want to
go”, did we?
Nope.
You.
All
a Guru can give you is education.
But
the fact remains that’s only 25% of what you need.
You
still need throw in 25% effort, 25% determination, and 25%
sticktoitiveness.
...And
that’s the 75% that YOU and ONLY YOU can provide!
So
that's why YOU are really the only Guru who can EVER get you to where
you want to go!
Hell,
how much education do you need, anyway?
Imagine
a guy wanting to lose weight (ahem). How many books does he need to
buy? For the love of God, it’s easy! Put the fork down and walk
around for a few hours a day.
Do
that for a month or so and you’ll weigh less. (Duh!)
That’s
been the winning formula forever, right?
But
There’s A Gazillion Dollar Industry Delivering “New” Weight
Loss Stuff Every Day!
There’s
a new diet book every 20 minutes or so it seems.
And
the books aren’t the problem. I’m sure they all work if the
reader takes the education they just got, adds in a lot of effort,
determination, and sticktoitiveness.
But
that clearly doesn’t happen. People just keep buying books and
gizmos that go unused. Same thing happens in the marketing world. We
buy courses and seminars and then jump to the next one …without
implementing any of the stuff we just learned.
Why?
Because
The Short-Term Pain Of Effort Is Often Perceived To Be Worse Than The
Long-Term Pain Of Failure
There
it is. The ugly truth.
It’s
hard to get out there …try …work like hell … probably hit a few
road blocks …and then keep busting ass until you succeed.
It’s
a LOT harder (and less fun) than buying the latest “shiny object”
and enjoying that temporary mental “high” that comes from the
false sense of productivity you get from making the purchase.
But
the fact is, the ONLY way you’ll get anywhere is to realize that
YOU ARE THE GURU and that ONLY YOU can make it happen.
So
if you keep on buying advice without putting forth determined and
consistent effort to implement what you’ve learned, you will NOT
succeed.
But
if you’re willing to endure the short-term discomfort that stems
from stepping outside your comfort zone and actually working like
crazy for a while, you’ll get to where you want to go.
All
the “Gurus” can do for you is give you the car, so to speak. It’s
still up to you to get gas and actually drive it.
My
Challenge To You
1.
Don’t buy any advice this month. Go back and re-read whatever
you’ve bought in the past. It’s still good.
2.
Turn off the damn computer and write down all the good stuff you
learn. On a legal pad. (OLD SCHOOL!)
3.
Review those notes and write down every possible action you could
take to start making money immediately. Do whatever actions jump out
at you. Don’t over think this. Just do it. Life is short!
4.
Write a new offer for your products. You’ve probably bought a ton
of stuff on writing offers and copy …so dig it out of the closet
and put it to use. Nothing happens until something gets sold. So
start selling (and quit buying).
5.
Take the money you would have spent on whatever new marketing product
you were thinking about buying this month (but didn’t) and use that
money to drive traffic to your offer. That’s right! Invest in
business
instead of buying more stuff about
business.
Revolutionary concept!
6.
Measure the results of your activity (note the word ACTIVITY!) and
tweak accordingly.
7.
Repeat 1-6.
Oh
– and if you’ve ever looked for a magic formula, that’s pretty
much it.
I
know because I’ve been at this now for 11 years and I’ve tried
everything.
It’s
simple:
1.
See what worked for other people.
2.
Try it for yourself.
3.
Adjust according to results.
4.
Repeat
Now
Let’s Kick Some Ass
We’re
heading into the 4th quarter and ’tis the season to SELL THE HELL
OUT OF YOUR STUFF.
This
is the time of year when people love to buy things more than ever
…and that means your odds of success are even greater!
So
get to work and let me know how you’re doing with my challenge.
Leave me updates in the comments below.
