How To Change Lives

You know what people REALLY want to read?

Personal notes.

Every time I send out a personal note to my fat loss list, like I did last Monday, we receive dozens of thank yous and personal stories from readers.

They want to see that you – and I – are human, too. They appreciate hearing about my struggles. They are inspired to keep going after their goals when they see that we also have our struggles, but don’t quit.

You see, as Dan Kennedy noted in a recent newsletter:

“It is a common mistake, amongst info marketers, to focus too much on ‘how to’ and not enough on ‘self-help’ and personal development of customers.”

I agree.

You can really only change someone’s life – whether you have a financial investment newsletter or a fat loss training business – when you are first able to change their mindset.

So let’s talk about the importance of self-help today. But let’s be CLEAR about something.

You do NOT want to sell this…instead, you sell them “how to” and deliver this mindset change advice as follow-up or within the program.

But people will NOT pay for this. At least not as much as they’ll pay for more pragmatic blueprints to changing their lives.

That said, here’s where you should start…

At over 30 million copies sold, Psycho-Cybernetics is one of the biggest ideas in the self-help world. It’s a tremendous book, and one that you should read for many reasons.

• First, it will help you become a better person.
• Second, it will help you help more people.

Having a “just the facts” approach only goes so far. You need to show
that you care.

Here’s what Kennedy recommends you do…

1) Build esteem and connection “Your prospects care more about your connection with them than your expertise or information. They want to know that you know them, understand them, understand their fears and frustrations, desires, etc., and they want to know that you respect them, appreciate them, and are on their side. Your customer needs to feel better about themselves as a result of your words.” – Dan Kenendy

2) Create & Build Confidence Most people are plagued by self-doubt, negative self-talk, imposed personal limitations, and other insecurities. And as a result, while they believe that it is possible for SOMEONE to use your information and succeed, it is not possible for them to do so.

Personal attainability is a problem you must help them overcome. “They must be loaned confidence from you and from others you present  to them, such as your champion students.” – Dan Kennedy

That’s why, as Kennedy explains, it’s so important to get new customers off the couch, out of their house, onto an airplane, and to attend one of your live events.

Any VM members attending our Denver event last fall know the power of this.

You must also prepare your customers to deal with the negativity and “crabs in a bucket” tendencies of the people around them.

Even if you get them to believe that “yes, I believe I can do this”, you still need to protect your customers from their spouses and workmates that will say, “No, you can’t do that”, or, “why are you doing that, it’s stupid”.

These are insidious enemies that are everywhere. They need to be prepared with proper response.

Whenever someone makes a change in their thought or behavior (such as starting a new diet or exercise program, or joining the Virtual Mastermind),  there will be much resistance the people around them.

We see this all the time in our fat loss contests. People lack the real-world social support, which is why online social support groups are so powerful. As Kennedy concludes, “It is up to you to have the person mentally,emotionally, and practically prepared to withstand it, ignore it, or counter it, and persevere.”

3) Motivate People Everyone, from the janitor to the President, need affirmation and recognition.

And as our friend Bedros Keuilian points out, “Most people don’t get enough appreciation, love, attention, or enthusiasm in their life. Not at work, not at home, not from their spouse or kids, not even from themselves. Come with the love and bring the ENERGY.”

“Your customers need to be motivated by constant reminding of the grand vision (to counter the day-by-day grind), motivated by your example and other success stories, and motivated by competition and recognition,”

Kennedy says.

It’s easy to be motivated when they are at your event. But the minute they start their journey home, their self-doubt and the negative influences in their life all get stronger.

You become a distant memory, unless you are consistently motivating them and reassuring them of your constant, supportive presence.

These days people need more external motivation than ever before. Let’s face it, everyone “knows” what to do. But people have a million reasons NOT to do the one thing they should be doing.

So you need to show up every day, in every which way, and continue to deliver that motivation, encouragement, support, and even stern-but- loving-parent discipline.

You need to be a “motivational leader”, Kennedy says. And he recommends reading the following self-help classics:

• Magic of Believing – Claude Bristol
• Wake Up and Live – Dorthea Brande
• Magic of Thinking Big – David Schwartz
• The Secret of the Ages – Robert Collier
• The Power of Positive Thinking – Dr. Norman Vincent Peale
• How to Win Friends & Influence People – Dale Carnegie
• The New Psycho-Cybernetics – Dr. Maxwell Maltz & Dan Kennedy

Wake up and think Big in the belief about yourself,

Craig Ballantyne

How bad do you want it? This is where you answer with ACTION that speaks louder than words.