Controversial Secrets Behind Joe Vitale's Hypnotic Success

I believe we are what we read, as well as who we hang around with.

I read about great people so some of their greatness rubs off on me---at least I hope it does.

I first heard of Bruce Barton in Robert Collier's legendary book, "The Robert Collier Letter Book." I had never heard of Barton before that. I became fascinated with the man.

I was on a mission to find out what happened to him. How did this once best-selling author and famous ad-man---an advisor to presidents---fall through the cracks of history? I wanted to know. I NEEDED to know.

The result of my two year quest was my book on Barton, "The Seven Lost Secrets of Success." But I never began my mission with the idea that I would write a book. I simply followed my interests.

No doubt my research influenced me. What I learned about Barton influenced my writing style and my marketing philosophy. Barton was very sincere. I've learned to make that my war cry.

Barton was a great storyteller. I've learned to tell stories to make my points.

Books stretched my mind, fueled my dreams, sharpened my senses, and developed my personality. The difference between an average person and a great success is often the books he or she reads. The more you read, the more successful you will be.

You can save yourself trial and error, as well as blood, sweat and tears, by reading how others achieved their results. Books rule!

I read Barnum autobiography and fell in love with the man. His humor, story-telling, ingenious way of seeing opportunities---all of it charmed me and mesmerized me. I was deeply influenced by Barnum. His sense of fun and outrageousness made me stretch my own mental boundaries. I became a much stronger publicist after reading about Barnum. And because Barnum was into Magic and Hypnosis, it all served to deepen my own interest in those subjects.

But I never planned to write a book on Barnum until after my book on the Internet, "CyberWriting," was done and I looked
around for my next project.

I proposed something on the marketing secrets of Barnum and my publisher at the time, AMACOM, jumped at the idea. The next thing I knew, I was knee deep into research on Barnum---which ended up being my book, "There's A Customer Born Every Minute."

How did I FIRST discover Hypnotic Marketing?

Am I really know about all that submodality, contextual reframing stuff that exists in Hypnosis?

I am basically self-taught when it comes to hypnotic marketing. While I am a certified hypnotherapist, and have been fascinated with hypnosis since I was 16 years old -- over 30 years now -- most of my discoveries came from putting my ideas to the test in the street.

I simply tried some hypnotic concepts in my writing and they worked. Then I tried them in my marketing and they worked, too. I then ended up writing about my ideas in my hypnotic line of books, the first being "Hypnotic Writing."

I learned to become a better writer by studying master writers. I was deeply influenced by Mark Twain, Jack London, and William Saroyan. Robert Collier, of course, changed my life. I think anyone can become a great writer by studying great writers.

As for my discovering things, I simply experiment. I think desire is a great motivator. Necessity is the father of invention. Desire is the mother of it. When you desire things---more of anything---it will move you to begin creating and discovering whatever you need to achieve them.

For example, because I desired a BMW Z3 car, I created a whole new form of marketing---the email e-class. I made about $23,000 my first week after inventing the class. And yes, I bought the car.

In many ways, the early years traumatized me. They were not easy or pleasant. I have had to go through years of therapy to get clear with those events. But there was a great gift in the events as well.

They taught me to hold to my dream, to never give up, to remain hopeful. And I learned from every job. Being a car salesman taught me about people. Being a laborer on the railroad taught me about hard work

Jonathan Jacob was one of many healers who helped me unravel my own beliefs. Beliefs are the wiring in your head that control your life. Change that wiring and you change your life.

My best advice is to find a miracles coach---someone who can lovingly help you see your limitations and go for your dreams. These days I work with Ann Taylor Harcus. Some people write me to for help, as I do Spiritual Mind Treatments for a select few.

I think reading books will nudge you towards your dreams but getting a miracles coach will blast you towards them. The key is finding an authentic coach. My advice would be to check with the clients they have. Judge them by their fruits. If people are getting results, that coach may just be the one for you.

I have done my best to help people freely. And many people have helped me. I have also learned that the greatest money-making secret in history is this---give money away. The more you give, the more you'll get. Don't expect it to come from specific person or place, but hold on to your expectation.

Related to my job as a copywriter, I have a source of writng called swipe-file. Every good copywriter and marketing person worth his salt collects the cream of the crop for inspiration later. I don't think there is any one person I like to swipe. I look for headlines, letters, ideas, concepts, that seem to work, and save them. I also collect books on how to write great copy, and probably have the largest collection in the world.

I'm a big fan of John Caples, Dan Kennedy, Denny Hatch, and Kenneth Goode. I've seen some of my own copy reproduced with minor changes all over the net. Direct copying like that is usually illegal and usually doesn't improve sales. What we all need is sincerity and originality. I use swipe files to be inspired.

That's what they are for. My own file, co-authored by Larry Dotson and me, is something I refer to every time I have to write copy.

I keep the swipe files that Larry Dotson and I created in a binder right beside my desk. When I want inspiration, I start flipping through the book. I don't believe anyone needs an organized approach to creating. I think what you need are triggers.

You can open a dictionary, take any word, and use it to trigger a new line of thinking. Swipe files act as triggers for me. But anything can be a trigger. Even my cat. The right look or meow and I'm ready to write. Well, sometimes.

I try to make my letters visually inviting. I like a strong headline, a secondary headline, then short opening sentences. I don't mind longer paragraphs later, but not at first. At first, I need to get people into a trance. So the statements are short.

Once I have them engaged, the paragraphs are longer. And I always use endorsements, quotes, and PS's, to enhance the look and feel of my letter.

Just think about what you want!

“It’s very important to visualize it and not get caught up in how you are going to get there.”

That is SO BIG! Because almost ALL of us…and I will get caught up in this, too, it’s so easy to do...we’ll say that we want to accomplish something. We want to do a publicity stunt. We want a book to be a bestseller or we want to get $100,000 by Friday. I don’t know what it might be. Everybody right now is thinking of something that they want.

The very first thing that comes up is that we start to figure out “how”. We start to wondering, “Now, how will I do that? How am I going to pull that off?” That’s coming from our ego. Our ego has a VERY limited view of the Universe. Most of the time our ego is going to suggest doing things that we have done before or we have HEARD people do before and that may or may not be correct in achieving your big goal.

What I’ve learned to do is you state your big colossal goal. My big motto that’s on my business card, it’s a 16th century Latin phrase and it means “Dare something worthy.” So, my big goal is to come up with an intention that truly dares something worthy. Maybe it IS like a Canine Concert in order to promote my P.T. Barnum book or who knows what else might come to mind for somebody else.

But as soon as you declare that big intention, you may not know how you are going to pull it off. It’s totally fine not to know! You don’t NEED to know at that point. You want to be OPEN to what comes to you.

I did not know when I said that I wanted to come up with some kind of P.R. stuff for my Barnum book, that I would end up doing a Canine Concert. I didn’t know that! My intention was, “Lets do some sort of media event, something in the public eye, that would get my book noticed by national news. It might help it become a bestseller.” I didn’t know how that would take place!

As I started to ALLOW ideas to come to me, allowing is a key word here, as I started to allow them, just kind of free associate, sleep on it, let it come in meditation, let myself be alert to whatever shows up from books or the media or in an email or a chance encounter.

The next thing I know, I’m at a meeting and there are a couple of magicians there and I just say, “Hey, I’m trying to come up with an idea to promote my books, anybody have any ideas?” They start kicking around an idea and out of that comes another idea and what surfaces over a week or so is this whole Canine Concert. But my ego did not know it and could NEVER have guessed it.

So, trying to figure out how you accomplish something could actually shoot yourself in the foot, because you can limit the possibilities that the Universe could bring to you!

You want to BE OPEN to anything.

You just, if you focus on what it is that you want, it will manifest itself because you are ATTRACTING as you focus on it.

The Story of America’s first Spiritual Marketer

You think you have it rough today?

Yes, there’s war, poverty, depression, recession, economic uncertainty, competition, unfair business practices, and more.

I’m sure if you read today’s newspaper, and/or watched today’s news, you could get yourself depressed thinking about the current situation.

I’m sure if you went online and researched all the people selling a product or service similar to your own, you could also get yourself into a funk.

But let me ask you a question:

Is it really that bad?

Play along with me here…

Imagine it’s 1902.

You’re in a small town in Wyoming. Yes, Wyoming. Not exactly Chicago or New York City. Population is only 3,000 people. They are mostly miners. They don’t make much cash. And you can imagine what they do with it on payday.

There are 22 saloons in your city willing to take the miner’s hard-earned money –on credit.

But let’s paint the full picture here:

You don’t have a phone, fax, computer, radio, television, or the Internet.

You don’t have any money for newspaper advertising.

You’re virtually poor yourself, with a wife and child to feed.

Your goal is to open a store selling clothing – at a discount.

And no one believes you can pull it off.

Every business owner, banker, and most of your family and friends say you’re nuts.

What are your chances for success?

Would you even attempt this enterprise?

Consider….and be honest with yourself….

Would you try to do business in that 1902 environment?

Truth is, I’m not sure I would, and I’m a pretty positive thinking kind of guy.

But a man with a vision can’t be stopped.

(Remember that.)
A young man with a vision who in fact did start a small store in Wyoming in 1902, under all the conditions just spelled out, went on to create an empire that’s still around today.

I’m talking about J. C. Penney.
Yes, the man who founded the famous department stores you can find in every major city (over 1,000 of them today) and where you probably bought your pants.

J. C. Penney rose from nothing to create a chain of stores originally called "The Golden Rule." He made a fortune, and lost all of it -- $40,000,000 -- in the Great Depression of 1929. But he also went on to become successful again, though never controlling the renamed company he began.

He loved people, was deeply religious, and made the people who ran his stores partners, not employees.

Clearly, this was a man different from others who walked the earth at his time in life.

The store Penney opened in Kemmerer, Wyoming on April 14, 1902, was a oneroom frame building located between a laundry and a boarding house off the main business district of the town.

He and his family lived in the attic over the store. The store was furnished with shelves made from packing crates.

Before opening, Penney studied the town, its people and their needs. (Research always pays off.) His store was called “The Golden Rule” because it emphasized the very principle he lived. Virtually everyone in business said he would fail, especially when Penney opposed taking credit on moral grounds. Yet the sales for the first day totaled $466.59 and for the first year totaled $28,898.11.

Obviously, people liked the honesty of the 27-year-old visionary.

And what a vision he had.


The Vision:
Penney envisioned a chain of stores that would cover the Rockies. To him, “The Golden Rule” represented more than a marketing strategy. It represented his deeper spiritual beliefs. It became the credo of his business. He insisted on offering customers quality merchandise at the lowest possible prices.

What a concept!

The strategy and the vision worked.

People loved it.
"Exchange ideas frequently. If you and I exchange dollars we are no better off — each of us still has a dollar. If we exchange ideas we each have two ideas where we had one before. What you gave you have. What I got you did not lose. Share your ideas — you will not become poorer — both of you will be the richer for the mutual exchange." -- J. C. Penney, a speech on salesmanship, 1934

At the end of 1912, there were 34 “Golden Rule Stores” with sales exceeding $2 million. (Imagine the wealth that represents even today, in 2005.)

In 1913, the chain incorporated under the laws of the state of Utah as the J.C. Penney Company, Inc. Penney himself was opposed to the new name, but his partners outvoted him.

Still, Penney, the company and the man, maintained their spiritual vision to serve people.

In 1913 his company mission statement was:
"To serve the public as nearly as we can to its complete satisfaction.

1. To expect for the service we render a fair remuneration and not all the profit the traffic will bear.
2. To do all in our power to pack the customer's dollar full of value, quality and satisfaction.
3. To continue to train ourselves and our associates so that the service we give will be more and more intelligently performed.
4. To improve constantly the human factor in our business.
5. To reward men and women in our organization through participation in what the business produces.
6. To test our every policy, method and act in this wise: Does it square with what is right and just?"

As you can see, even his mission statement was unique.

(Thought: Can you adapt it for your own business?)

J.C. Penney is worth study and modeling today. That’s why I’ve written this Special Report, which may be the first written work on him from a business viewpoint.

I’ve found that Penney cared about people to a degree rarely seen in any business.

For example, when his company was considering whether to accept credit cards or not, Penney said it would ultimately hurt the people, as it would encourage overspending.

He was right, but the old gentleman was the sole vote in a company he no longer controlled. He was over-ruled.

Still, you can sense his concern. While most people would be focused on all the ways to get money from their customers, Penney didn’t want to make a profit at the expense of his customers’ well-being.

This is rare.

(Ask yourself: Are you trying to drain your customers of their every dime, or are you just trying to serve them while making a little profit for doing so?)

Penney was a deeply religious man, raised by a Baptist preacher who taught him self-reliance at an early age. Penney was told he had to earn his own money for anything he wanted when he was eight years old. Talk about self-reliance!

Penney later confessed in his autobiographical book, View from the Ninth Decade, that his father’s announcement, “…came as an awful shock…I went to bed feeling utterly cast off, and by my own father!”

But this strict upbringing and early training in self-reliance made him sensitive to the needs of others. It seems it was more than religious for Penney; it was also spiritual.

This very outlook helped Penney help others, too, as you’ll see in this next section.


Sharing Wealth
I’ve often said that wealth gives you the means to help others, too. This is a very spiritual experience. Penney lived it, as well. For example:

In 1923, Penney established a 120,000-acre experimental farming community in northern Florida named Penney Farms. Some 20,000 acres were subdivided into small plots where industrious, moral, but economically destitute farmers could live and work
until they could rebuild their lives.

Next to Penney Farms, he established the Memorial Home Community — a 60-acre residential community for retired ministers, lay church workers, missionaries, their wives and families — at a personal cost of more than $1 million.

Penney lost virtually all of his fortune in the stock market crash of 1929, which became known as the Great Depression. While this event certainly knocked the man on his rear emotionally and financially, it did not stop him.

In 1954, after he had rebuilt his fortune, Penney established a second charitable foundation — the James C. Penney Foundation — which remains active today. This family foundation supports organizations addressing issues of community renewal, the environment, and world peace.

Obviously, Penney the man knew how to use his mind and his spirit to create wealth, and to use that wealth to help others.
He once said:

"Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I'll give you a man who will make history. Give me a man with no goals and I'll give you a stock clerk."

Obviously, J. C. Penney had a goal. It was to help the world. In his 95 years, he did his best. His name lives on today. He made history.

Penney was still coming to the office three days a week when he was 95.

(Note: Visionaries tend to regard work as a calling, not a vocation.)

He often expressed his desire to live to be 100 years old. But on December 26, 1970, he suffered a fall in his Park Avenue apartment that left him with a fractured hip. After weeks of recuperation, he died of a heart attack on February 12, 1971.

His middle name was Cash.

What is the Secret to Getting Rich Today?

It's Saturday morning as I write this article. I'm headed out to the lake today. A friend bought a boat and wants to take Nerissa and me out for a ride. Since I haven't had a day off in months, I'm ready for the clean air, the sun on my face, and the fast ride with good company. Still, I'm nervous.

I'm afraid he's going to ask me about my recent seminar. People paid $5,000 each and came from across the planet to attend my private intensive event on Hypnotic Writing skills. I allowed only 10 people in the room. And I screened everyone who attended. I was about to reveal the most advanced strategies known to humanity for persuading with words, and I didn't want any riff raff.

I'm not kidding. I even had a guest speaker reveal the chilling little known secrets of persuasion. He had been raised in a cult. Later, he was an undercover agent. He once had a shotgun held to his head for 40 minutes. He used words to escape with his life. It was all, well, hypnotic.

This is the kind of forbidden knowledge I revealed in my weekend intensive.

My friend knows this. Like a lot of people, he's curious. He heard that I revealed the three secrets to writing copy that I've never told anyone before. He heard that I explained my own private formula for writing sale letters -- a formula I've never revealed anywhere, ever before.

He also knows that I explained my private checklists for reviewing copy. And -- I almost regret this -- I gave away some of my original tricks for making all writing more engaging, almost irresistible to read.

I also revealed my ideas about Hypnotic Graphics, the "intimacy factor," the wisdom in comic books, a lesson from hypnosis, the power of optical illusions in words, the need to strive for the impossible, how to direct the mind, and more.

I even explained how people think, and unveiled why I call myself the "Michelangelo of Words." On top of all that, I gave the 10 people in my event a copy of my new volume, the Hypnotic Writing Mastery Manual, literally my life’s work and knowledge condensed into a tight 132 pages. (There's one graphic in the manual so gripping that the man who bound the books for me looked at it and said, "Trippy!")

My friend wants to know what I revealed. He also wants that manual. Yes, he's a friend. But he's also in business. He knows that if he learns and uses these proven methods, his business will double, maybe even triple. People who attended the event said the experience was a "20" on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being fantastic.

My friend is drooling.

They have gone home and started to immediately see results like these:

“I used a few Hypnotic Selling Secrets to rewrite in one day one email offer for one of my audio books that increased the sales by over 100%. This is amazing.” ~~ Dave Lakhani - Bold Approach, Inc. - boldapproach.com

“I've gotta say I have been utterly clueless when it comes to writing sales copy. I've done it (everyone in business has to), but up until now it has always been hit and miss. Write some words, throw 'em at the wall, and see if they stick. The Hypnotic Copywriting weekend changed all that for me. Joe gave me a step-by-step "how to and why" guide to creating powerful sales copy. I was blown away by the depth of his knowledge and manner in which he weaves together words that invite the client to come in, get excited and BUY!” ~ Jillian Coleman Wheeler - GrantMeRich.com

“On my return from your information packed weekend, I put out my first hypnotic written email blast. My results doubled in attendance at my next two events and we sold more than we ever had at any previous event. It works Joe, you are one of kind and so is your hypnotic writing training.” ~~ Carol Tuttle - Energy Therapist, Author, Speaker - caroltuttle.com


What am I going to do about my friend?

Go to the lake, take the boat ride, and prepare myself to be grilled by my friend, or stay here and work on something important?

The truth is, the question is for you to answer. That's right. You. Do you want to spend the day on the lake -- or whatever the equivalent of that is to you -- or to do you want to knuckle down and make some real money in your own business?

The question concerns choice, life direction, and your own personal power. Most people get bounced around by the circumstances of life. As I say in my forthcoming new book, "The Attractor Factor," you are the primary creative force in your life.

You can choose where you want to go, or you can let the winds blow you around like a mindless feather. This morning my friend invited me to the lake. Will I go or will I stay here and work? The answer is obvious. He's waiting for me right now.

But here I am, writing this article for you. This comes first. This is more important. This is crucial. But what's your answer? When you're torn between learning how to make a good living online, and a distraction, what do you choose?

Anyone serious about making money or even getting rich on the Internet, or anywhere else, needs to come from a position of mental strength. After all, many people say they want to get rich. But how many of them are investing in their own success?

How many invest in books, courses, seminars, and trainings? And of those who do invest in their own desire to get rich, how many actually use what they learn? How many choose to "go to the lake" rather than implement what they learn?

My question to you today is this: Who is making your choices? Your answer is the key to your success. As for me, will I go to the lake today?

Maybe.

How to Reprogram Our Mind?

What are some of the steps that we can take to basically reprogram our minds to start focusing on the things that we want and not the things that are consuming us?

I want to begin an answer to it by letting everybody know that I can REALLY relate to that experience that you just described. For those who don’t know…and I don’t even know if you know this…but thirty-some years ago, I was homeless in Dallas. It’s something I didn’t even talk about for the longest time and then when I did talk about it, I was always embarrassed.

It’s people like Mark Joyner who encouraged me to OWN it and to SHARE it, because a lot of people might relate to it. When I did finally leave that and I had moved to Houston, I was in POVERTY. I mean, literally poverty, where I struggled to pay $200 a month to live in a dump!

I was incredibly unhappy. I was taking all kinds of jobs that I HATED. I was a car salesman. I was a reporter. I was a cab driver. I worked for an oil

company looking for gas on maps. It was just doing things that were not my calling, yet at the same time, I knew what my calling WAS.

In my HEART I knew that I wanted to be an author. I knew that I wanted to write books like The Attractor Factor, though I didn’t know the concept at that time.

I knew I wanted to write books that would make a difference that would inspire people but, my God, did I struggle! I declared bankruptcy at one time. I remember at points my bills just piled up and laying in bed and staring at the stack and praying at whatever I thought would listen to me…whatever you think …God or the Divine or whatever that is and justsay, “Help me out of this! How am I going to do it?”

So, first, I relate. OH, do I ever relate!

Been there, done that!

Today, life is so different that I look back at that and it seems like that was a different person. Of course, it WAS me. But my self and my life are so dramatically transformed that I look at it as if I was reading a storybook or watching a movie about somebody else. Yet, that WAS Joe Vitale.

So, the first thing that I would say in terms of things to do is, you’ve got to find that space of peace, sanity, and gratitude in this MOMENT. That means doing whatever it takes to be grateful for what you have!

I know when I was first told that and I was struggling, it was like, “Give me a break! I want the cash! I don’t want to just sit around being grateful for what I’ve got.” I had to WORK at being grateful.

Once, I got to this point of being grateful, I would realize, that, “Wow!

Even if I lived in a basic efficiency and had a refrigerator and the bathroom is in the same room and not much of anything else to think of or speak of, I was probably living like a king or queen compared to people in third world countries. I was probably living better than actual kings and queens of past centuries ago, because they didn’t have any of the luxuries that we today
take for granted.”

When I started to play with that concept and thought, “Oh, my God! Yeah, I am in debt, but I DO have a roof over my head and I HAVE eaten. I DON’T know where the next money is coming from, but certainly SOME will come and it will come from SOMEPLACE!”

You know, I started to look around and say, “Yeah. I can be grateful. I can be grateful for my health. I’d look around and be grateful for my pens or my books or my T.V. or my computer, whatever it happens to be.” So, the very, very first step for me is to tell people to FIND SOMETHING TO BE GRATEFUL FOR. It could even be this call.

It could be this group that you’ve put together…and this is another tip…having a SUPPORT TEAM IS ESSENTIAL for leaving where you’ve been STUCK in going up a level or two. I have found that to be the truth on ANYTHING BIG that you are trying to overcome.

You CAN do it be yourself. You can CERTAINLY do it by yourself, but it is FAR easier to have a team, to have coaches, to have a mentor, to have a group of people going through the same thing. This has been true for me when I was trying to overcome self-limiting beliefs when it comes to money and deservingness.

It was true for me when I was starting to lose weight. In order for me to lose eighty pounds, I had to transform my whole lifestyle. In order to do that, I had to leave the way Joe was before and I had to have support. So, I found that there was a group that wanted to do the same thing and I participated in it. So, that’s another tip.

This might be the third tip, I guess, is starting to FOCUS ON that INTENTION of HOW YOU WANT IT TO BE. This is something that I write a LOT about and talk a lot about, especially in the movie The Secret and in my book The Attractor Factor. The Power of Intention is off the scales. When you state a very clear intention of what you want to have, do,
or be, not only do you realign your whole body and mind to go in that direction, but you somehow send a signal out into the Universe that causes the Universe to orchestrate itself to make that intention come true. It will put you in situations that will lead to the birth of that intention or it will bring things to you that will lead to the birth of that intention. I’ve seen this happen repeatedly.

The only thing that I see that’s a precaution is that people DON’T take enough time to state a CLEAR intention.

I spoke at Pat O’Bryan’s Un-Seminar, his Portable Empire Seminar this past weekend in Austin. I asked everyone…I gave the pep talk in the morning…I told everybody about the Power of Intention. I encouraged them to go see The Secret.

I asked them, “What are your intentions for being here? What do you want to get out of this? Where do you want to be when you are all done in six months from now?”

One guy stood up and said, “I want to sell my first e-book this weekend.” I said, “Wow! That’s a great intention, but that’s not a very big intention.” I said, “I’ll buy your first e-book right now! Where are you after that?”

So, I want people to have a big, bold and clear intention…so clear that if they told it to somebody else they could understand it and, if possible, they could fulfill it.

So, ALL of these things, Mike, are elements of HOW you start to LEAVE where you are at, especially if you feel like you are in debt.

As Bob Proctor says in the movie, The Secret… and I loved it when he talked about this…he said, “If you are focused on debt or you are focused on getting out of debt, you are going to stay in debt!” Because, it’s so OBVIOUS that I can laugh about it now!

But, most of us think, “Well, we are in debt, we’ve got to dig ourselves out of it,” and what we are doing is we are FOCUSING on debt!! The Law of Attraction is going to give you MORE of that!

So, instead you focus on WEALTH. You start to listen to programs that are wealth based. You start to imagine, “Oh, if I had this money, what would I DO with it?” You start to get into this place of possibilities and it’s in that higher energy when you start to take it on and feel what it would be like and get excited about it that you start to think of new ideas.

It’s like Jack Canfield in the movie The Secret where he says that he didn’t know how he would come up with $100,000 but that was his goal. He used the Power of Intention, the Power of Visualization of lying in bed seeing himself getting the check.

He had no idea HOW it would happen, but suddenly ideas started to come to him! He was the SAME guy! He’d had ideas before, but now he got DIFFERENT ideas. He was ALERT to the ideas and he was able to get $97,000 when he was going for $100,000. He didn’t think that that was a failure, because he KNEW that IT WORKED!!

All of these are elements of what to do right now.

There’s a Customer Born Every Minute

Right now I am in the middle of a MASSIVE publicity stunt. I want to tell You a little bit about this P.T. Barnum publicity stunt that I am doing?

I was more or less SHAMED into doing it. I was only going to do an online campaign yesterday to announce my new, revised, enlarged, expanded book on P.T. Barnum. It’s called, There’s a Customer Born Every Minute and the website is up right now at www.barnumreturns.com.

It was actually Mark Joyner, our mutual friend, who said. “Are you ONLY going to do an online campaign? You’re the Barnum scholar. You’ve got a Barnum book. You are a Barnum disciple and you are not going to do some sort of Barnum-like event?”

So, that began the process of creating something that, in-short, ended up being called, “The World’s First Canine Concert.” The Canine Concert had a band playing and they played music at a sound level only dogs could hear! So, this wild, preposterous, crazy, humbug of an event took place yesterday in downtown Austin. A LOT of people contributed their time and their efforts and their talents. I put the word out that I wanted to do this event.

In short, I ATTRACTED all the right people because the synergy, the chemistry, the energy-level was just off the charts. I have magicians who came to perform. I had a woman who LOVES being on stage and she was an actual mermaid. I had an illusionist come and create an over sized version of my book, like a six-foot copy of There’s a Customer Born Every Minute.

Out of it, he produced P.T. Barnum, who produced a mermaid, who then introduced me. Of course, this was all a big publicity stunt to make a big fuss out of my book.

We also had a band there who played WONDERFUL rock music, Porter Davis is their name. I’m now a big fan of theirs. They played two songs for DOGS ONLY and there WERE dogs in the park. There were three news crews who came to cover this. [Chuckling] They did interviews with me and interviews with some of the other key players.

The whole thing happened yesterday. We were worried that it would rain and it didn’t rain at all. Instead, the sun BAKED us into the earth! It was very hot and I have a DEEP sunburn to prove it.

It went over very well.

Yeah! When you want to talk about The Attractor Factor or the Law of Attraction, when I think about it, that’s really what made all of this work!

Because, I could have done what a lot of other people have done. You pull people into a project and some are wanting to be involved and some aren’t.

Some people are in alignment with the idea and some people aren’t. They all have their own agendas! But, magically, everybody INVOLVED was SO excited!

At the end of it, I felt so indebted to them because I wasn’t PAYING these people ANYTHING! I was giving them a CHANCE to do what they like to do and to perform and to be part of history, to be part of this stunt. I kept thinking afterwards, “How am I going to thank these people?” Do I have to give them money? Do I have to give them books? Do I have to take them out to eat? What do I do?

The funny thing is that each of them was thanking me like ten times EACH for the HONOR of being involved in this event! All I could think is, “Wow, Joe! That was the attraction factor. That was The Attractor Factor working!! You attracted these people that ALL wanted to participate, that ALL had a great time. I’m getting emails all day long from everybody saying HOW MUCH FUN they had!

So, yeah! That’s what it was, The Attractor Factor come to life!

The Barnum book is called, There’s a Customer Born Every Minute and it reveals P.T. Barnum’s ten rings of power for fame, fortune, and to build your own empire today. I used one of those rings of power…well, more than one…yesterday! One of them being publicity and another one being networking…working with people who look for a like-minded interest.

After our Canine Concert, I took everybody out to eat. There’s like 30 of us in a restaurant. We are dripping with sweat, but we are all just delighted because we’ve had just a zinger of a day.

We are just exhilarated by everything that’s going on…being in front of the media, the public, and the whole thing. Some of the people are looking at me and they are asking me questions like, “How do you do it?”

I’m like, “How do I do what?” They are like, “You just got off doing a month long Hypnotic Selling Secrets promotion that you were relentless in doing all this marketing for. You are on television or you are on the radio or you are doing these teleseminars almost every day. It seems like you come out with a book almost every month.”

I mean, I just finished promoting, Life’s Missing Instruction Manual a month or so ago and now, today and yesterday I’m promoting my P.T. Barnum book and I’ve signed contracts to promote and write more books with my publisher. I’ll be coming out with Hypnotic Writing. I’ll be coming out with a book on an ancient Hawaiian healing method. I’ll be coming out with another book on hypnotic marketing and aspects of it.

Of course, there are ongoing promotions and I’m also doing my OWN thing where I’m still in my own fitness program. I’ve been in four fitness contests. I’m going to be drumming up something big along those lines next month that I’ll be announcing later. People go, “When do you sleep?”

Well, you know, on one level I guess I can understand where they are coming from. But on another level, all I am doing is staying plugged in to the Universe’s energy. This goes back to the whole Attractor Factor synchronicity, being in the moment, and following your compass.

When my inner compass says, “Okay, Joe, here’s an idea for a product,” or, “Here’s an idea for a book,” I DON’T sit around and think, “Gee, I wonder if it’ll work.” I instead JUMP on it, do whatever it takes to bring it to life, do whatever it takes to kick it out there into the world, and then move on to the next thing that the compass is nudging me to do. They don’t ALL happen at once. If all of these happened in one hour, I would be dead! I just couldn’t mentally handle the information overload, let alone get it all done. But, they are being paced out.

So, I’m not pausing. I’m not self-doubting. I’m not self-sabotaging. I’m not reflecting. I’m just staying in the moment. This also ties into your statement about, “The wealthy seem to get wealthier, the happier seem to stay happier, and the poor seem to stay poorer.” Well, that ties into that fundamental principle psychology, which is really the attraction principleat work… The Attractor Factor.

You get MORE of whatever you FOCUS on. That’s really it!!

I am focused on…how would I express this? I’m kind of thinking outloud here. I’m more focused on BEING tuned in and turned on by following my passion, my enthusiasm, my bliss, so that in every moment I’m asking myself, “What would be FUN to do?”

I would say that it’s more often than not subconsciously, but I’m TUNING INTO the FEELING because the feeling is what’s telling me, “Yeah, go in this direction, don’t go in that direction.” It’s the FEELING that’s really my inner compass that’s saying, “This would be exciting to do.”

Now, as I say that, I want to be sure to point out that sometimes it feels UNCOMFORTABLE to follow your compass because it MAY say, “Get on stage and do a publicity stunt like the Canine Concert.” Well, if you’ve never done it before, that’ll feel uncomfortable. That uncomfortableness is not a feeling that says, “Don’t do it.” It’s a feeling that says, “This is unknown territory, tread softly, look around, protect yourself because you’ve not done this before, but the feeling is still saying, ‘Do it!’”

It’s IMPORTANT to FOLLOW that feeling. I think that that’s really my CUE, whether that’s subconscious or just a body-oriented, sensory kinesthetic awareness, but it’s important to follow my feeling and ACT on it.

If it feels uncomfortable, I have to pause and say, “Okay, is it uncomfortable because I’ve never done it before or is it uncomfortable because I shouldn’t do it period?”

The Unspoken Secret to Achieving Big Goals

Years ago I attended networking meetings. These were usually breakfast or lunch business meetings where people exchanged business cards and tried to help each other get new clients.
I spoke at many of these events. What I quickly noticed is that the same people seemed to be at the same meetings.

One observant friend said, "It's the same people -- and they're all starving!"

That's when I first learned about the concept of levels. That is, people tend to stay on the same level of business or social status. When they meet friends, it's usually in their circle of activity, whether church, work, school, or some club. As a result, they rarely get out of the level they are on.

That's not bad. You can stay on the level you are at and do well. But if you want more, or if you find yourself starving on the level you're at, you'll need to go up a level or two.

When I was speaking at these networking events, I was a notch above everyone in the room. This is not an ego thing. It's a social perception. I was seen as being at a slightly higher level than the audience simply by nature of being the speaker. I was the authority figure. As the higher teacher, I was elevated a slight degree on their level.

But that's not good enough. If you want to achieve big dreams in business, you need to step out of your circle or network of peers and associates. You need to go to a group with wider, stronger, richer connections. You need to go up a level.

How do you do that?

In my case, my books brought me to the attention of other circles of people, and higher levels of networks.

For example, when I wrote "The AMA Complete Guide to Small Business Advertising" for the American Marketing Association back in 1995, I was immediately put in a new level. I was now the author of an important book for a prestigious organization.

This caused new people to contact me. Each of these people had their own network of people. More often than not, these networks were at a higher level than anything I had ever touched before.

Here's another example: When I wrote my book on P.T. Barnum, called "There's A Customer Born Every Minute," for the American Management Association back in 1997, I managed to get the attention of famous tycoons Donald Trump and Kenneth Feldman. Clearly I had been introduced to a new level.

If you want to succeed in phenomenal ways today, you need to go up a level or two on the status scale of networks. The good news is email makes this a snap to begin. Anyone alive can be reached through email with some persistence and cleverness. That's how I first reached marketing superstar Jay Conrad Levinson, direct mail legend Joe Sugarman, and even gonzo daredevil Evel Knievel. I did it all by email.

People write me all the time for favors. I'm now perceived as an expert, an authority, and an Internet marketing pioneer. They want to associate their name or product with me. I love to help people, so I usually at least give people a chance. But I never endorse anything without seeing, using and loving what they have. This is important for me to maintain my level.

And now people write me from higher levels, too. For example, Dr. Robert Anthony is a man I studied twenty years ago. Last year he wrote me after reading my "Spiritual Marketing" book. Today we're coauthors. I just produced and recorded his legendary audioprogram, "Beyond Positive Thinking." Two decades ago I was way below his level. Today we're partners!

Keep in mind that going up a level is different than thinking out of the box. You can be creative and still stay on your current level. Brainstorming with your neighbor is most likely different than brainstorming with, say, Richard Branson, the flamboyant owner of Virgin Records.

The point is this: To achieve goals you've never achieved before, you may need to rise in levels and participate with new people on a new playing field.

So the lesson today is to consider your current level, consider your goals, and consider what people outside of your network can help you achieve them. You may have to step out of your level (and comfort zone) to do it, but the step is well worth taking.

It would take an entire book to fully explain the concept of levels. I don't have that space here. But before I end this short article, let me offer a handful of tips for going to a new level:

1. Write something of value new levels will admire. This doesn't have to be a book. This very article may introduce me to new levels. One of the main reasons my name is known to a vast majority of people online is due to the hundreds of articles I've written and distributed (like this one you're reading) over the last ten years. You can write articles, too.
2. Apply for membership in a prestigious organization. When I joined the Society for American Magicians, a very old club for professional magicians, I elevated my position among magicians. Joining the right country club or business group can do the same thing.
3. Create or join a master mind group. Napoleon Hill strongly urged people to form master minds. The trick to making them work is to be among people who are already successful in the areas you want to succeed in. Their presence will help elevate you.
4. Write to people in higher networks. When I was first starting out as a writer, people way above me, such as famed copywriter Bob Bly, helped me. In later years, marketing gurus such as Murray Raphel and later Paul Hartunian, all helped me. I simply wrote to them. They sensed my sincerity and offered guidance. Today I do the same for others.
5. Speak at associations or gatherings of people in higher levels. You'll need to have something unique to offer, but if you can deliver what these levels want, you'll be welcomed into their fold.
6. Again, there is nothing wrong with the level you're on. You don't want to forget your friends or burn your bridges. I'm simply suggesting that if you have giant goals and big dreams, it may be time to take the elevator up a floor or two.

The 3 Greatest Prosperity Books Of All Time

I’m fascinated by prosperity.

This past year I read numerous books on the topic. Here are mythree favorites:

Seed Money In Action by Jon Speller has stood the test of time.

This forty-year-old little booklet has gone through 53 editions, sold 1,000,000 copies, and caused 40,000 people to write the authors and praise it.

The basic message is that as you give, you will receive ten-fold in return. This ancient secret helped create millionaires and billionaires throughout time, and still works today.

There’s a catch, of course. You have a give with a mind-set ofnon-judgmental expectation. When you do, you’re in the flow. Most people who are broke are practicing the scarcity principle, not the seed money principle.

Most people who are having money problems would never eventhink of giving money away, let alone think of the proper way to think AS they give money away. Yet that’s the secret to prosperity in this famous booklet.

Then there’s The Millionaire’s Mind by two authors in a country I never heard of before last year. Two Slovenian authors wrote a book that sold out within 15 days in their country.

When they came to me, I was skeptical. When I read the book, I was amazed. Here’s a complete course on how to think like a wealthy person. Long, detailed, practical, and eye-opening, it continues to blow me away.

Do you want to know what happened in the first few hours after I announced the release of that book?

• A German businessman contacted us wanting to start selling this e-book in Germany and building his own website just to promote it to his audience.

• An Indian businessman contacted us wanting to find ways of marketing this e-book in India, and also said: "I got so excited that I decided to mail you right away since I feel this book can help millions here in INDIA."

• A Scandinavian author agent contacted us wanting to translate and publish the book in print and electronic formats in Norway.

• 15 people contacted us immediately wanting to sell this e-book through their websites and e-zines.

• HUNDREDS of people ordered the book within just five hours of getting the email.
• Dozens of people wrote from overseas, begging to find a way to pay for the book and get it right NOW.

• Still others wrote to me, asking if the book would be released in hardcover (not this year).

And all this in just a few hours after I pre-released the e-book.

Is this miraculous or what?

Finally there’s the book I co-authored with Stuart Lichtman, called How to Get Lots of Money For Anything Fast.

Stuart is a genius. I have never met anyone like him. He has spent at least four decades studying the unconscious mind. The result is that he can pin-point where our unconscious trips us up--- and show us how to correct it.

This is incredible. Where before you would set a goal and wonder why you stopped going for it, now you can discover why you stopped yourself --- and remove the block. This book really describes how to .get clear,. which is a key step in my Spiritual Marketing book.

Well, let me throw in one more book on prosperity.

When Tom Pauley wrote his masterpiece, I’m Rich Beyond My Wildest Dreams, I Am I Am I Am, he didn’t know he would begin a new business.

Since writing that book he has gone on to teach e-classes based on his simple method, give teleseminars, land a publishing contract for the book, and now sell it as an e-book, too. His book is helping people create miracles. His book helped me manifest the home of my dreams.

If you’re looking to create prosperity, I suggest you get all of the above titles. They are all e-books so you can have them instantly.

They’re better reading than the daily newspaper and will lead to far more profit.

Read them and get rich.



Resources:

Seed Money In Action is here:
http://www.mrfire.com/seedmoney.html

The Millionaire Mind is here:
http://hop.clickbank.net/hop.cgi?outrageous/vitale

I’m Rich Beyond My Wildest Dreams is here:
http://hop.clickbank.net/hop.cgi?outrageous/tpauley

How to Get Lots of Money For Anything Fast is here:
http://hop.clickbank.net/hop.cgi?outrageous/fastmoney

Where Will You Give Today?

Now it's your turn.

Where will you give today?

Ask yourself: Where did I receive the most joy?

Write down your answers.
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Now, if you want further clarity, or more questions to assist you in knowing where to give money, try these on for size:

Where were you reminded of your divinity?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
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Where were you encouraged to go for your dreams?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

Who made you feel glad to be alive?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

Whatever your answers, that.s where to give your money.

You can give some money to all the people or places you listed above, or you can pick one and give them something now.

And keep these basic principles in mind:
1. Give freely, without expectations.
2. Give anonymously, if at all possible.
3. Give joyously, with a smile.

You are making a difference in the world when you give.

You are making a difference in your own life when you give.

You are making a difference right now when you give.

Give!

How To Tell If You Will Be Rich

Do you want to know if you will ever be wealthy?

There's a simple way to find out.

Just answer this question:

Do you give freely, regularly, generously, with no expectation of return and with a joyous heart?

If your answer is yes, you are probably already wealthy.

If you have a no on any part of the question, then take a look at that, release it, and begin to give freely, regularly, generously, with no expectation of return and with a joyous heart.

The path is clear.

Giving is the way.

The Couple Who Created A Debt-Free Spiritual Empire

I want to end this book of mine with another story or two, and then a call to action.

The success of Unity Church is another case in point.

Founded in 1889 in Kansas City, Missouri, by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, Unity School of Christianity is the world headquarters of the Unity movement. After Mrs. Fillmore’s remarkable healing using prayer and affirmations, many friends became interested in how she accomplished her healing miracle.

From those small prayer circles in living rooms, Unity grew. Charles and Myrtle Fillmore managed to raise all the money they needed to build and expand their new business. Today Unity Church is a community of people interested in the practical and prosperous messages of the divine. Today their reach expands the globe. They've done it with nothing, and remain debt-free.

It wasn't until 1942 that the real secret of the Fillmore's financial support was revealed. According to Charles Braden's book, Spirits In Rebellion, the Fillmores had created a now-famous “Dedication and Covenant” on December 7, 1892, that reads as follows:

We, Charles Fillmore and Myrtle Fillmore, husband and wife, hereby dedicate our selves, our time, our money, all we have and all we expect to have, to the Spirit of Truth, and through it, to the Society of Silent Unity.
It being understood and agreed that the said Spirit of Truth shall render unto us an equivalent for this dedication, in peace of mind, health of body, wisdom, understanding, love, life and an abundant supply of all things necessary to meet every want without our making any of these things the object of our existence.In the presence of the Conscious Mind of Christ Jesus, this 7th day of December, 1892 A.D.

As Charles Braden goes on to explain in his book, “Unity has never put a price upon its services other than a nominal one, because of legal necessity, on its publications.Unity has given freely, and
yet there seems always to be money available to meet any obvious need.”

What greater proof do you need that trusting in the spiritual laws will provide all you will ever need?

And the greatest of these laws is giving.

Why Giving Is Really Hidden Selling

I was listening to Joe Vitale’s best-selling Nightingale-Conant tape set, The Power of Outrageous Marketing.

Joe’s hypnotic voice took me on a road trip.

“Who was the REAL beneficiary behind Bill Phillip’s Body For Life Challenge?” he asked on the tapes.

It rang in my head and bounced off the walls of my brain like a rubber ball. I was in deep thought.

There is probably hardly a soul on this planet who has not seen those touching .Before. and .After. pictures and how the Body For Life Challenge has radically improved their lives. People were touched. People were motivated. Who did not want to undertake their own Body For Life Campaign and try to get trim?

But aside from implementing your 20-minute aerobic solution and grazing on 6 wholesome meals with nothing but quality fat-free, low-calorie food, what else do you need to accelerate your results?
Is it no surprise that EAS Supplements just POP right into your head immediately?

Bill Phillips was the CEO of EAS at that time. Now he’s probably enjoying life on some tropical island somewhere, savoring his Myoplex Deluxe.

How much do you think EAS made from the Body For Life Challenge, and all its other sources of ancillary revenue like its Muscle Media magazine which promotes more EAS supplementsand success stories of Body For Life?

How would you feel if every success story credited their stunning success to proper supplementation of EAS products and they would never have done it without the help of EAS?

Would you want to run out to your friendly neighborhood GNC to buy a truckload of that stuff?

“Who was the REAL beneficiary behind Bill Phillip’s Body For Life Challenge?” You guess.

Yet on the surface, Bill Phillips gave hope to overweight people and changed the life of hundreds of thousands, and reaffirmed people, that they could do it, too!! And of course, the unseen bracket after that statement would imply (if they used EAS Supplements).

It stirred within me a stunning revelation of the REAL key to unlocking the secret of wealth and abundance.

Giving is really hidden selling!!

The truth about selling is, if you’re gonna sell something, you’ll encounter resistance. Doesn’t matter if you’re a Zig Ziglar or not. Even Zig Ziglar could not achieve a 100% sales closure rate.

But if you want to GIVE something, guess how much resistance you’ll encounter?

Zero. Zilch. Nada.

Not only will you NOT meet any resistance, but chances are people will RUSH to GRAB your gift with open arms. They cannot help but love you and think good things of you when you give them something.

When I started out writing copy I offered to write for FREE. I put in 10,000% of myself in these “free” services.

Were people impressed? You bet. Did they like me? How could they not? I delivered everything for free.

How would you think my .free. clients would feel about me when they start gaining a lifetime of profits from a sales letter I wrote for them --- for free?

If all I asked for was just a testimonial for my services rendered, what kind of testimonial would they write for me?

Would they have any problems writing me a raving testimonial?

Would they be willing to refer MORE clients to me?

Did I gain credibility from all the testimonials I acquired? Did my giving of myself work?

I think it did. I literally have people banging on my door asking me to write copy for them.

Recap: On the surface, it’s seem like I gave myself away as a copywriter. Let’s reframe that: I SOLD myself as a copywriter.

Claude Hopkins said, “The best way to sell anything is to give away a free sample!”

I was selling, through giving!!! Can you think of a MORE POWERFUL method to sell?

I think not.

One of the most powerful engines behind giving is the Law of Reciprocity. It’s human nature to want to give back when you receive something for free.

The Hare Krishnas knew that, and had a field day in soliciting funds by walking up to people and putting flowers in their lapel pockets.

Think about it. You’d feel literally OBLIGATED to give back if you were caught in the same situation.

That being said, however, the REAL key to giving is NOT to expect anything in return. You cannot GIVE if you’re expecting to get. A gift will cost you something. To qualify as a gift, it MUST cost you something.

The Biblical King David puts this very aptly when he had an issue with burnt offerings and said:
“I will not offer unto the Lord something that costs me nothing!”

It seems paradoxical, but if you give without any expectation, you’ll receive MORE because you never did expect anything in return.

Meditate on that.

Lastly, it’s not my intention to preach, but something metaphysical happens when you tithe. A tithe is simply offering 10% of your gross income back to society.

In organized religion, it is regarded as giving back 10% to God.

When you do that, you’ll not only experience spiritual fulfillment, but it also opens up more gateways for you to receive more abundance into your life. You can see it as good karma.

As an interesting fact, the area of tithing is the only part in the Christian Bible which allows Christians to actually CHALLENGE God by tithing, in Malachi 3:10: “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this, says the Lord of hosts, If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.”

You may or may not subscribe to this, but as my favorite author C.S Lewis puts it so eloquently:
"It’s a win/win situation. Either way, you win!"


Selah.


Jo Han Mok is my co-author on the book, “E-Code.” He is the Director of my Hypnotic Marketing Institute at http://www.HypnoticMarketingInstitute.com , President of Super Fast Profit Enterprise, and has been featured on America’s #1 Personal Development Show alongside Tony Robbins, Mark Victor Hansen and other top achievers, as the Internet’s foremost expert on Joint Venture Marketing. Visit his portal site and find out how Jo Han can help explode your sales and triple your time off in under 7 days.
See his main website at http://www.SuperFastProfit.com

The Principle of Giving and The Hypnotic Interchange Phenomenon

Many years ago I discovered the Principle of Giving almost by accident.

Initially, around 1994, I noticed that several business clients sent me markedly more referrals after I sent them a huge box of Godiva Chocolates as a thank-you for their business. I noticed that the clients who received chocolates referred around 40% more clients to me than the clients who did not receive my tasty gifts.

Actually, in earlier years prior to my chocolateering endeavors most of my clients gave me 'no referrals' whatsoever--and I might add, in those days quite regularly.

One day upon receiving a swarm of referrals I decided to deepen my commitment to giving. Initially, honestly, it was for selfserving reasons. I was simply blown away by what appeared to be a strong causal relationship between giving and receiving. At that time all I knew was that I had to learn more because I recognized a new, almost mysteriously powerful, aspect of giving at work behind the scenes here.

For the first time I understood clearly that somehow in the vast scheme of life we are rewarded in direct proportion to the value we create for others. I had heard once that the secret to abundant wealth was in creating massive value for others. But, based on my newfound experiences, I was now discovering with renewed white heat fervor that the Principle of Giving was the “gold-rush flumeride” to expedite that flow of wealth into my life.

My self-serving commitment to discover more about giving soon led to a way of life that I later realized would continue to fuel me much more spiritually than it ever would economically. Little did I realize that my seemingly rare flowering rose-like discovery would soon open up into an entire inner garden paradise for me.

I conducted several very powerful experiments on the subject of how giving leads to receiving. I made a deeper, less self-interested, but more self-enlightened commitment. It was out of my simple curiosity to see how I could change other's lives through profound value-sharing as a regular business and life practice.

I began giving more than merely chocolate candies – although Godiva certainly soothes the deepest recesses of my own soul. I gave valuable advice. There were bonus hours spent with clients, ebooks, and article clippings sent to friends about their favorite hobbies. I gave as much as I could to those with whom I had a regular influence.

If someone crossed my pathway, I figured it was for a highercausal purpose and I just shared the most appropriate level of value I could with that person. I did it everyday, one person at a time. I did it with my lists of exclusive business mastermind participants. I did it with my e-list recipients.

For me, it felt like magic. It flowed effortlessly. It transformed my soul. It replaced expensive marketing in my businesses. Best of all, my interior castle would soar into the highest heaven with each person whose life I had the privilege of touching.

Soon my hidden objective was to cause everyone I met to think of me as a value creator. My goal was to become a selfless abundant resource. You see, I had a hunch that if focused more on opening the doorway of my heart to the needs of other people by giving, that this would cause the doorway of my recipients. hearts to open back up to me.

So acting on the Principle of Giving first induces openness in others. This is a powerful precursor for relationship-building business, personal and otherwise.

I then discovered that as a value creator I must give sincerely, selflessly, abundantly, effortlessly, with absolutely no expectation of a direct immediate reward. I also realized that I must be balanced in giving in order to respect the true value of the gifts I gave. Gifts are not only reflections of us, but actual experiential portions of ourselves embodied in external expressions. The same goes for you, too. Every gift that you give which has exceptional meaning and value for your recipient is actually a portion of yourself.

The gift is a part of you that reaches out, makes a connection point and creates a powerful relationship-building bond to your recipient.

The act of bestowing value on others exerts a positive supernatural influence upon any recipient who understands and values your gift.

Shortly after committing to the Principle of Giving as a philosophy of life, I began to notice the occurrence of quite a remarkable spin-off phenomenon occurring.

As a disciple of Joe Vitale's Hypnotic Mindset and Principles, I named my unique observation "the Hypnotic Interchange Phenomenon" because it describes a result of giving that is so subtle it flies under the radar of most people's conscious "rejection detection."

The Hypnotic Interchange Phenomenon is this:

The recipient of my valuable gift unknowingly enters into an implied equal psychological exchange with me instantly upon receiving what I give them.

That’s right. By receiving what I had freely given them, my recipients were becoming programmed to look for every way possible to give something of equal value back to me. At times it would be through a kind word they said about me to a friend. Often it would be a referral to two or three other business partners.

Often I would contact someone to ask him or her if they received a gift I had sent to them, and they would usually overflow with gratitude. It was at those times I realized that my gifts were like planted seeds that would produce a good harvest in a very reasonable time.

It is vital to remind ourselves of the importance of giving something that has a true, high-perceived value for those you choose to lavish your gifts upon.

The psychology of human behavior is relatively timeless.

Master philosophers of past centuries share incredible secrets about the Principle of Giving. Here is a small sample:

Eric Hoffer, of the 20th century, a profound U.S. Philosopher, said, “Someone gives us all he has and we are his.”

20th-Century German philosopher Walter Benjamin said, “Gifts must affect the receiver to the point of shock.”

Jean de La Bruyere, 17th-century French writer, said, “Generosity lies less in giving much than in giving at the right moment.”

6th-Century Chinese philosopher, Lao-Tsu, said, “The sage does not hoard. Having bestowed all he has on others, he has yet more. Having given all he has to others, he is richer still.”

My most recent life work, over two years in the making, has expanded to spurring others to give extreme levels of value. I have been working hard to successfully funnel-influence my dearest
friends who are famous writers and authors to give massive value through me.

These are people who have earned the right to be called rich and famous because they have sold millions of books using the Principle of Giving. They are profound master contributors in our modern world. Now they are freely sharing their secrets with you.

These master contributors include Joe Vitale (Spiritual Marketing), James Redfield (The Celestine Prophecy), Dick Bolles (What Color Is Your Parachute?), Dave Chilton (The Wealthy Barber), and many others.

In keeping with my commitment to becoming an extreme value creator, we are lavishing on anyone who visits http://www.TotalBookMarketing.com over $468 worth of valuable book publishing, e-book, and infopreneur marketing insights from masters who have made millions and have given away a lot. They include the best minds I have ever known or worked with in over 14 years of publishing, marketing and consulting.

Most of all, when you visit TotalBookMarketing.com you'll be encouraged, uplifted and overwhelmed to see that there are people who truly want to help others . who take action to give by putting the needs of others before their own needs. That alone is a testimony to giving--that it works and works well.

Interestingly, Joe Vitale was one of the very first friends to jump at the chance to contribute to “TotalBookMarketing.com.” Joe is the greatest value creator I know --- because he puts his heart into giving and he is always sharing all the value he's got.

Learn and do.



To see a great example of the Principle of Giving and the Hypnotic Interchange Phenomenon at work on the Internet, visit Allen's website at http://www.TotalBookMarketing.com.


“A gift with reservations is not a gift; it is a bribe. There is no promise of increase unless we give freely. Let go of the gift entirely.

Recognize the universal scope of the law. Then the gift has a chance to go out and to come back multiplied. There is no telling how far the blessing may travel before it comes back. It is a beautiful and encouraging fact that the longer it is in returning, the more hands it is passing through and the more hearts it is blessing. All these hands and hearts add something to it in substance. It is increased all the more when it does return”

-- Charles Fillmore, Dynamics for Living

What's Better Than Your Current Goal?

I hired a pool repair person one day who told me he would be at my estate promptly at 9 am the next morning. That was five months ago. I still haven't heard from him.

Why didn't he follow through?

This isn't uncommon among self-employed people. Nerissa hired a web designer who promised to help her with a subscription box on her site. But the designer never did the work. Never apologized, either.

Why is that?

When Nerissa and I went to Ohio recently to visit my parents, we had lunch with a friend of ours. Over the meal he confessed that he had a problem.

"I find myself only doing enough work each day to survive for that day," he explained. "If I make enough money right away in the morning, I stop work for that day. If I make enough money for the week, I don't work any more that week."

Why is that?

A few days later I overheard a well-known marketing professional confess that the most money he ever made was a sudden $50,000 in one month. The thing is, he took the money and quit working for the next four months.

Why is that?

There are at least two psychological principles going on here:

1. People often sabotage their own efforts to succeed. Why? For a variety of reasons, everything from not feeling they deserve the wealth, to having limiting beliefs about money, how they use it, how comfortable they are with it, etc.
2. People often don't have big enough goals. Wanting to just pay the bills keeps you on the survival level. Having goals to make a difference in the world, or to get yourself or loved ones luxurious things, will stretch your acceptance levels and push past your limitations.

Personally, I think having a bigger goal solves most issues. But the goal has to be something that affects more people than just you. If the desire only benefits you, you may still sabotage your own efforts to succeed. But if the goal helps you and other people, you're on the way to massive success.

Here's an example of what I mean:

I have a new book coming out soon. It's the revised, expanded, and greatly enriched new version of my "Spiritual Marketing" book. It will have a new title, too: "The Attractor Factor." I'm very excited about it. One reviewer said, "This book has the potential to change humanity."

Now, a goal I have is to sell 100,000 copies of the book the first week it comes out. That's an okay goal. It certainly helps me, and the publisher, and since the book changes lives, it will help others.

But what would be an even bigger goal?

Well, selling one million books the first year it is out is better. And that would also influence at least one million people. Now THAT's a goal worth getting up early to pursue.
But what would be better than even that?

Now my mind is buzzing with possibilities. I'm thinking beyond my book, myself, and even the immediate customers who get the book right away. I'm stretching my mind to go for what others might call impossible.

This is what everyone has to do who wants to succeed in life. The people who just want to get by are just going to get by. The people who just want to pay their bills are just going to barely do that. But the people who shoot for the stars are going to hit the moon, go into space, and break records.

Where are you?

Do you just want to make enough money to pay the bills?

If so, you'll struggle to do so. When I first met Pat O'Bryan, he said he just wanted to make enough money to pay his rent. Now that we've coauthored several books and he's making thousands every month, his goals have changed. Now he wants a new truck.

Do you want to pay off all your bills, pay off someone else's bills, and maybe buy yourself something big? If so, you'll surpass all the people who just want to pay their bills. Jose Silva once said a goal should benefit you and at least two other people. When you state a goal that helps many people, you are moving beyond your ego and your limitations.

Do you want to be financially free and make a difference in the world in some giant, unforgettable way? If so, you'll soar through life with an energy others will envy. You may or may not achieve your wildest dreams, but you'll certainly make more progress and break more records than the person who just wants to get by.

My new goal is to establish an Intentional Meditation Foundation with hubs around the world, all using my book, and the meditation I teach in it, to lower crime and increase wealth globally. Now THAT is more than a goal, it's a mission.

No one knows what is achievable, or impossible, so any giant goal -- or mission -- you can imagine is fair game.

What's yours?

You see, not only do you need to take action to attract money to you, but you also need to leave your comfort zone.

You need a big goal – at least something that stretches you a little – and you need to be fearless about doing what it takes to achieve it.

How Giving Made A Book A #1 Best-Seller

Over the course of a year, I worked to heap as much lifechanging value and content on my newsletter readers: Information that would literally blow them away from what they were compared
to getting from other ezines on the Internet.

Each week, I’d ask these questions, "How can I go the extra mile for my valued readers?" and "How can I give them more than they’d ever expect?"

My newsletter subscribers grew to love me and my work. I was continuously giving them all I could.

In the middle of 2001, I wrote a book. A host of book publishers mocked us saying, .No one will read your book Conversations with Millionaires. No one wants to read your actual conversations from your little radio show." So we were left to go down this road alone.

My co-author, Jason Oman, and I were first-time authors, selfpublishing a book. We didn.t know what to do. But we knew we had a list of loyal followers. All we had to do is ask for their help.

What the publishers didn’t get is that we had thousands of people who were ready to help us because of how we first went the extra mile and served them.

That.s the power of what I call Loverage.

On January 18, 2002, 76 days after the book’s release, without spending money on advertising, public relations and without public speaking, we knocked John Grisham off the top spot at Amazon.com and claimed it!

We had ourselves a number #1 best-selling book.

Also, it brought in over $31,070 in sales!

The power of giving leads to the fountain of receiving.

We’ve received an abundance of money, new friends, and a ’path’ that helps many. Also, the book has already been translated into three languages.

Since then this ’little book that could’ has been touching the lives of tens of thousands of people, all because when you give without expecting anything in return, you get more then you could ever want. As you sow, so shall you reap.

When ’they’ mock you because you desire to serve and give, you think about the story of Conversations with Millionaires.


Mike Litman is the co-author of the #1 Best-Selling book
“Conversations with Millionaires.” http://www.mikelitman.com

How Giving and “Swiping” Led to Passive Income

It was back in September, 2001 when I completed an e-book titled The Hypnotic Writer's Swipe File. The term “swipe file” was coined by copywriters who collected sales generating words and
phrases throughout their careers to model and use in their own sales letters.

My problem was I wasn’t sure how I was going to market the ebook.

I really didn’t have a targeted customer base at the time. So I decided to ask Joe Vitale if he would co-author the book with me for a share of the profits. I was willing to give him authorship credit and share the profits with him, too.

I knew that Joe.s series of “hypnotic” e-books was already branded and famous. When you think of hypnotic writing, copywriting, and marketing, you think of Joe Vitale, “The World’s First Hypnotic Writer and Marketer.”

Joe agreed. He wrote a truly hypnotic introduction to the book, added a lot of his own material to what I had already compiled, and we released our book later that same year.

The rest is history. Since that first e-book , Joe and I have coauthored 7 more hypnotic e-books.

And when Joe was planning to write an e-book on “Hypnotic Stories” by himself --- which he was obviously capable of doing --- he asked me if I wanted to be the co-author of it. He didn't have to
do that. But because I gave to him, he felt like giving to me. That end result was a beautiful e-book called Hypnotic Selling Stories.

By giving to Joe, and him giving back to me, we both received.

We make a good amount of money every month from our e-books, and we developed a strong online friendship and solid business relationship. To this date, we still haven.t met in person, or even talked by phone. All of our co-authoring has been done by e-mail only.

And it all started from giving.


Larry Dotson is the co-author of several books with me. See
http://www.HypnoticWritingSwipeFile.com

It Took Me 30 Years to Learn This Secret

I have always given, but funnily enough, I gave out of fear.

If someone asked me for money, I would always put my hand in my pocket. If they didn’t ask, I would walk past without offering anything.

My thinking was that if someone asked, I had a choice of saying “yes” or “no”. If I gave them money, it meant I would always have money. If I said .no,. I was subconsciously attracting a lack of
money.

So it was the fear of having a lack of money that made me give.

Of course, although I was giving, it was always small amounts.

The Richard Webster Popular Fiction Award changed my life.

It developed from a slightly boozy lunch I had with some writer friends. We were bemoaning the fact that authors of popular fiction found it hard to get published and receive any recognition.

Writers of literary fiction received grants and other handouts to get their work published, but commercial writers received nothing. I announced that I’d launch an award, with a prize of $1,000. My friends laughed, and the conversation went to other things.

However, the thought stayed with me, and eventually I decided to go ahead with it. I must admit my motives were selfish. I thought that having an award with my name on it would increase my name and reputation, and that might help book sales.

I found a publisher who was prepared to publish the winning entry, and two years ago we launched it. I increased the first prize to $5,000, and added a second prize of $1,000. This seemed like a huge amount of money to give away.

To my pleasure, the award did increase my exposure, and I gave dozens of newspaper articles and radio interviews. I don’t think any author has ever sponsored an award for other authors before, and this made it newsworthy. I felt good about doing it, but didn’t expect any other benefits.

However, to my amazement, this award seemed to open a floodgate of money.

My book sales increased.

The foreign language rights sales to my books multiplied, and I received paid offers to speak all around the world.

My income, which comes entirely from my books, more than doubled in the first twelve months.

Naturally, I’m much more generous now than I used to be. I love giving money away. And the more I give away, the better off I become.

I wish I’d learned this secret thirty years ago.

Richard Webster lives in New Zealand and has written numerous books, including "Is Your Pet Psychic?" See his websites at www.psychic.co.nz and www.richardwebster.co.nz



“Act wealthy. Talk prosperously. Be a free avenue through which riches may pass to all. The world needs to learn the spiritual science of wealth, and your home can be a classroom.”
-- Annie Rix Militz, Both Riches and Honor

What to Give When You Don't Have Any Money

About two years ago, although I had several high-income businesses, I had very little personal income from those businesses - but I still felt a passion for giving - I just had nothing to give (or so I thought).

During the months that I stopped tithing (giving), I found that things got even harder - in fact - even proven marketing campaigns that my company had run many times in the past stopped pulling in revenue. At times I felt like there was a dark cloud following me.

I knew from years of experience that the more I gave, the more I would receive in return, but again, I had little to give (financially) and several business to support, along with all the families of the employees that went along with each of those businesses.

What I learned in those early days was that my giving didn’t necessarily have to come from my bank account. And that during the lean years, I needn’t give money. I just had to keep "giving" to help set up for all the "receiving" that was in store for me in later years.

I learned that when I stopped giving, I literally ’clogged up’ all the good that God had in store for me. So I began giving what I did have - time, prayers, and lots of help to those who needed my specialized help.

When I look back, I see those lean years as a test to see if I could learn how to give even when it seemed to hurt to do so. I also look back and thank God for that experience and for what it taught me -- which was -- to never stop giving. I can change the form of my tithing, I can even change the amount of my tithing, but I will never stop tithing.

I now tithe as much as I can financially, then I make up the difference in some other category. I always financially tithe first, because to reach the goals I have in life I need a lot of money to circulate through me and my businesses.

It’s been my experience that giving is the secret to keeping money, success, health, love and happiness circulating through your life.



Christopher Guerriero, Author of the best-selling book “Maximize Your Metabolism - Double your metabolism in 30 days or less!” See
www.MaximizeYourMetabolism.com

How to Get What You Want

It seems like such a strange concept, but when you give away what you want -- you really do get more of it.

We’re living proof. And here’s why...

We have an incredible relationship filled with lots of love, passion and a deep connection with each other and with our creator.

Our relationships weren’t always like this. In fact our previous relationships were in many ways a mirror for what we didn’t want.

Before getting together, totally independent of each other, we each decided we were willing to do whatever was necessary to create the relationship of our dreams.

Out of our passion to have this incredible relationship, we read every book, went to every seminar, listened to every tape and spent countless hours talking about and discussing relationships trying to
figuring out what it takes to create the relationship of our dreams.

So what did we do next?

We began giving love away.

Out of our own passion for love, connection and having a great relationship--we began sharing with others what we had discovered.

As a result of our desire to "give love away" and share with others what we’ve learned about love, relationships and happiness, not only has our own relationship grown deeper and more connected
but our bank account has grown as well.

People started asking us what we did to create such a great relationship.

So in 1999 we started an online newsletter on relationships and personal growth.

We simply shared tips and ideas we used to create a great relationship.

In other words we gave away what we most wanted: Love.

Now, almost 20,000 people get our free weekly Relationship Gold newsletter.

We’ve also written three books on relationships including Communication Magic, Should You Stay or Should You Go? andCreating Relationship Magic. We have two others planned.

We’re not counselors or therapists. We simply share from our hearts and lives what we know about love and relationships that we wish we’d known years ago.

What we have is so great that we want others to know how they can have it too.

We have discovered that just like money, there is an abundance of love that is there wanting to be tapped into.

We just have to be willing to be open to it.

What we wanted more than anything else was a deep, connected, loving relationship.

We are now happy to say that with each other we have the kind of relationship that we want.

As a result of "giving love away" --- we’re not only getting love back --- but, now we’re being rewarded with financial abundance as well.

This is an abundant universe we live in.

Give, Give, Give.

There will be more where that came from.


Susie and Otto Collins are Relationship Coaches, Authors and married Life Partners from Ohio. For more info on their books, tapes, seminars or to sign up for their free weekly Relationship Gold online newsletter, visit their websites at
http://www.collinspartners.com or
http://www.RelationshipGold.com

The Fine Print No One Told You About

Giving and Receiving:
The Fine Print No One
Told You About


Much has been written about the universal law of giving and receiving, but I have discovered in my dealings with others that there is often a great deal of misunderstanding about how to apply the principle.

The general notion is that the more you give, the more you get.

As you sow, so shall you reap. That’s all well and good, but I believe the misunderstanding of this wonderful secret could be easily cleared up with a simple corollary to the law of giving. The corollary is that it’s not what you do but why you do it. Intention and motivation are everything.

What this means is that you should only give if you are giving for the pure joy of giving. If you give because you expect to get, you are defeating the purpose. The universe is not so easily fooled.

Giving with the motive of getting is actually an affirmation of lack. Saying that you have to get because you have just given is saying to the world “I don’t have enough.” Your belief will soon be proven correct. The energy vibration of lack will only attract more lack.

Again, as you sow, so shall you reap.

Many people I know give grudgingly or feel deprived after they have made a gift of time or money. If you give out of a feeling of obligation or a sense of sacrifice, the underlying feeling is one of lack. Dressing up a feeling of lack under of mask of generosity will only lead to disappointment. It’s not what you do but why you do it.

Don’t waste your time by giving with the expectation of getting a return on your investment. God is not a share of stock that you trade on the NASDAQ (ticker symbol GODD). “If I give, I’d better get something back or else.” Such thinking originates from a position of “there’s not enough.”

While some people give with ulterior motives, there are others of us who rarely give at all because of the belief, “I can’t afford it.”

Henry Ford often said that there are two kinds of people. Those that think they can and those that think they can.t; and they’re both right. Your beliefs create your experience every time.

So much for the ways NOT to give. What to do instead?

My personal experience suggests waiting until you are in flow with life. We all have mood swings. Sometimes we feel good, and sometimes we feel bad. When you happen to catch yourself feeling good, seize that opportunity to give out of a sense of sharing the abundance that is already yours.

By being grateful for whatever you currently have, it is much easier to pass some of your good fortune onto someone else. In those moments, you get the sense that there is more where that came from.

My first experience with true giving, at least in recent memory, occurred during a relapse of cancer several years ago. Once I got over the initial shock of the diagnosis, spiritual aspects within me started to awaken and I began to count my blessings.

After several months of chemotherapy, I had the opportunity to visit New York City during the Christmas holiday season. My doctor had decided to give me a few weeks off from chemotherapy to enjoy the holidays, and a mini-vacation was just what I needed.

The Christmas lights in NYC, the crisp winter air, and the fact that I was still alive put me in good spirits. I was feeling abundant and grateful.

One evening on the way to dinner with my wife and my brother, a homeless man outside the restaurant we had selected asked me if I could spare a dollar. I was feeling great, and I gave him $20 instead.

This in turn made him feel great, and it made me feel even better that I had made his day. The important subtlety for me was that I had waited for my wife and my brother to go inside the restaurant before I gave him the money. I wanted the act to be anonymous, and I didn’t want anyone questioning the wisdom of giving away a $20 bill while I was on medical leave with a very limited income. If I had to defend or justify my actions to anyone else, it would have taken away the joy and spontaneity of the moment.

At that point, I did not know what the future had in store for me, but in that instant things were perfect. I was feeling good, and I didn’t want anyone else to ruin the feeling of that moment by telling me to be sensible. Waiting until no one was looking to give this man some money seemed like the best means to that end.

It was a win-win situation. The guy felt great, and I continued to feel great the rest of the evening. It was my secret. I was feeling prosperous for no apparent reason, and I made someone else feel prosperous by giving him 20 times more than he had asked for or expected. I happened to be in the flow of life in that moment, and it was a perfect time to give.

Over the next few months, my supposedly .fixed. Disability payments somehow increased by 20%. I don’t know how or why, and I certainly didn’t ask.

I did not know about the law of giving and receiving at that time in my life. I was just acting on pure impulse. It was only after I began my spiritual studies that I came across this principle. With my new understanding and the benefit of hindsight, I began to see the connection.

The most important aspect of this principle to me, and it bears repeating, is to remember that it is not what you do but why you do it. If you are having a bad day, or you are in a negative frame of
mind, don’t give just because you think you are supposed to. There is no extra credit for God, and it won’t benefit you or the other person under those conditions.

Instead, wait until you are having a particularly good day and are feeling great. Then give while you are in that state, and observe what happens. If you find yourself doing mathematical calculations to decide how much you can afford to give or worry over what others think is sensible, don’t bother.

You’ve lost the feeling.

Wait until you’re back in the flow and just choose an amount based on your first impulse. Go with whatever amount makes you feel good and that won’t cause you to feel poorer because there is that much less in your wallet or bank account.

This universal law may take only a moment to understand, but it can take a lifetime to master. But just because you haven’t mastered it does not mean that you can’t have fun practicing. Give it a try, and let your own experience be the judge.


John Zappa is a publicity consultant in Austin, Texas. As a refugee from Corporate America, he now chooses to invent his own work.

Giving Really Does Lead To Receiving

Whenever I speak on the topic of Networking, I always make sure to provide my definition of what the term "Networking" means to me.

By and large, the very concept is misunderstood and carries with it a somewhat negative preconceived notion (i.e., shove as many business cards into people’s faces as you can while telling
them all about yourself and your products or services while attending a one-hour business/social mixer).

I define Networking as "The cultivating of mutually beneficial, give and take, win/win relationships.”

As you can see, the emphasis is on the "give" part.

"But wait," the person asks, "Isn’t that just Pollyanna-type thinking that doesn’t work in the real world?"

Not at all. Giving works.

Let me say it again. Giving works!

And there’s nothing "Pollyanna" about it. Giving works both from a practical, as well as spiritual side. Let’s look though, at just the practical side.

What I call "The Golden Rule" of Networking is, "All things being equal, people will do business with, and refer business to, those people they know, like and trust."

When we give to - or do something for - someone, we take an important step toward causing those "know, like and trust" feelings toward us in that other person. I’ve often said that the best way to get business and get referrals is to first give business and give referrals.

Why? Because when someone knows you care about them enough to send business their way, they feel good about you. No, they feel great about you, and desire to give back to you.

Of course, it doesn’t have to be actual business that you give. It could be information, whether that information is something that would help them in regard to their business, personal, social, or recreational lives.

Perhaps you suggested a book (or bought them that book) that you know would be of true value to that person.

Maybe you knew their son or daughter was looking for work at a certain company and, knowing someone there who knew the personnel director, you made a call and put in the kind word that helped ensure employment.

It really doesn’t matter. Allow me, if you will, to share one example from my personal life. This took place several years after I had begun speaking professionally. There was one corporate client in particular - one with many divisions - I had been trying to "land."

However, I could not seem to even get a foot in the door. Not only that, I couldn’t even find the door to try and stick my foot in.

It happened that at a Speakers. convention I met a man who had been speaking professionally for quite awhile. I struck up a friendship with him and his family and looked forward to seeing them at various events.

During that time, despite the fact that I knew he was quite successful, I never asked him for anything. I did, however, help him as much as I could. Several times, when I was already booked for an engagement on a certain date, I would refer him to the person from the company who had called me.

Having articles published fairly often in magazines, I would refer him as a contributor to the editor. This was appreciated by all parties, of course, and didn’t take anything from me in any way.

That’s one of the great things about giving; it helps everyone and hurts no one.

It was only a couple of years after meeting him that I found out, through a third party, that the client I had been unsuccessfully seeking, was a major client of this speaker friend of mine.

Now, I probably could have come right out and asked him for help but I didn’t feel that would be quite right. I didn’t want him to feel that because I had gone out of my way for him that he "owed" me anything. I did feel comfortable, however, asking for his advice on how I might myself best pursue them.

I said to him, "I know this is a huge client of yours and am not in any way asking for you to make a connection for me. I’d love to know, though, how would be the best way for me to contact the person myself to at least let them know who I am and how I could help them, so that I get the opportunity to establish and develop a relationship?.

Well, to make a long story end, he would have none of that.

He said, "I’ll have the guy who’s my main contact call you."

And he did.

And that client, together will all the spin-off engagements I’ve had wetting that company’s umbrella over the years has accounted for several million dollars in sales.

And that was not the first, and certainly not the only time, that giving first has literally paid big financial dividends. It’s the way I run my business; it’s the way I run my life.

Giving first works.

There is a major caution here, however: You cannot give with the expectation of direct reciprocation or, for that matter, any reciprocation.

This won’t work if you are thinking, "Okay, what is he or she going to do for me?"

Not that you might not get something in return. But that something will more than likely be a one-time something, done out of obligation, and not inspiring the "know you, like you, and trust you" feelings toward you from that other person that will elicit this person desiring to see you successful.

No, give because it’s the right thing, without the expectation of direct reciprocation, and you’ll find this principle to be one of the truest of universal truths.




Bob Burg speaks internationally on the topics of "Business Networking" and "Positive Persuasion Skills." His books "Endless Referrals" and "Winning Without Intimidation" have each sold over 100,000 copies. To subscribe to Bob’s free weekly email newsletter, visit www.burg.com






“Love must be the guiding principle in all our giving.”
-- James A. Decker, Magnificent Decision