I can’t really recall the date: I think it was Jan 25th 2009.
I opened up the newspaper. And there it was: Air New Zealand was offering discounted fares from Auckland to London for just $2000. And in less than 24 hours, they’d sold their pre-arranged quota of 2000 tickets.
That’s $4,000,000 in under 24 hours.
Snapped up.
Paid for.
Done and dusted, as we’d say in these parts.
Now let’s imagine the offer was slightly different.
Let’s imagine that someone offered a course for $2000. And like the Air New Zealand offer, there was a bit of a discount. What would be the reaction? Do you think 2000 seats would be snapped up in 24 hours?
I’m guessing not.
And yes, let’s assume that at least 99% or more of the people who bought the tickets were going to do the trip anyway. But then by that logic, you were looking forward to learn a new skill anyway. You wanted to get to a level of expertise, just as those 2000 folks wanted to get to ol’Blighty.
And this is why most people don't succeed.
They can't make choices that ensure them of long-term success. They can make decisions that take them on a vacation. And they can make those decisions in a massive hurry. But talk to them about something long term, like an education, and they demur.
They rush to fix a leaky roof.
They won’t hesitate to fix a broken computer.
They won’t hesitate to fix the plumbing if the bathroom springs a gusher.
But with the stuff that’s most critical of all, they demur.
They want to think about it. They want to mull about whether it’s a good idea or not. And in case you’re thinking it’s the scary, bogey economy that’s got them hesitating, it’s not. Because they’ll still fix the roof, the computer will boot up again, and the house won’t look like out of Noah’s Ark.
But the education: That sure can wait.
I have news for you. It can’t. And don’t for a moment think that this rant is about you doing any course with Psychotactics. Because it’s not. Go do your education with anyone, but go do it. Find the person who can stop you from struggling, and pour your heart and soul into becoming an expert.
I’ll tell you why I feel so strongly about this whole matter.
You already know my cartooning story. You already know how much I struggled when I started out in business. That work was just plain hard to come by, and this wasn’t even a bad economy, let alone a crappy economy.
I was so depressed that I’d drive to networking meeting, my eyes wet from the frustration of not being able to get a footing into the marketplace. Then I’d wipe my tears, and get out of the car and pretend that I was doing well. I’d sip my orange juice, drink my coffee, and eat my bacon and eggs with a big smile.
But that smile would promptly disappear once I was back with my own thoughts. And I knew I had to do something drastic. That drastic thing was education.
Isn’t it amazing that we treat education as a last-resort kinda thing?
Isn’t it amazing that we go through school and university, knowing that education is important, and then get to our own businesses, and think about stupid plumbing as a first priority?
Oh sure it’s harder to ignore water gushing through the house. But doesn’t it drive you crazy to see yourself spinning wheels forever in your business? I sure did.
Which is why at one point I decided: Enough is enough.
And I started educating myself. I realised that without understanding how customers think, I wouldn’t get very far. Without sprucing up my marketing, I’d be stuck in a virtual hellhole forever. And so I went out and bought products worth $350 to begin with. Then I bought some more. And some more. And eventually we spent tens of thousands of dollars (somewhere totally between $20,000 – $30,000) before I was even starting to get going.
I’m not saying you should do the same.
But I’ll be frank. It’s hard to get great advice by simply reading a $20 book from Amazon.com . No matter how great the book, you’ll have questions. And those answers will cost you money. And I hate to say, that even if you do read 100 books a year (like I used to), that the books alone are not enough.
You’ll need to bite the bullet at some point.
You’ll need to stop making excuses, because I’ve heard all of them.
Yes, you are busy. Yes you have kids. Yes I’m being a big pain in the you-know-where, and I don’t understand your situation.
I do understand.
I understand that you will need roof repairs. And plumbing fixes. And a new computer. And you’ll need to take that vacation—not once but several times every year. And unfortunately, there’s no easy way.
You can listen to the scam artists who give you the get-rich-quick schemes.
You can listen to the smarties who tell you that you’ll get instant fame.
You can listen to those who tell you that they’re working two hours a week.
Or you can listen to someone who’s not going to insult your intelligence.
And there’s no time better than a lousy economy to get started.
As you can see, there are enough people willing to drop $2000 on an airfare. And while you’re not one of those people, ask yourself this final question:
If someone gave you $2000 with a condition that you had to spend it in 24 hours, what would you do? Take the Air New Zealand flight? Or spend it on education?
The answer scares you, doesn’t it?
You desperately want the concept of the vacation, and not the hard work.
And that’s normal. And human. And that’s what keeps us average.
If you want to be beyond average you can’t behave like everyone else. You have to go beyond the excuses. Beyond the economy. And beyond what you think is logical and rational. You have to invest in your education. And invest in yourself today.
If you don’t, no one else will.
P.S. The ‘Almost-Godfather’ offer is now closed, though you still get all the bonuses. And some random rants from me. Like this one.
On another note: You may want to start off with the Brain Audit and then quickly get to 5000bc. If you liked the information you got so far, then you’ll find the below just as useful. And best of all, unlike the ‘Almost-Godfather’ offer (the bonuses are still free) that runs into several thousand dollars, the Brain Audit and a yearly membership is just a little over $300 (in all).
Let me know if I can help. I want to make sure I recommend the best course of action. And that’s why I’ve included the links below.
Step 1: https://www.psychotactics.com/brainaudit
Step 2: https://www.psychotactics.com/5000bc
This post could not have come at a more appropriate time – I’m in the process of considering further education and was just going along the route of “I’ll just read more books” – thanks for putting me back on the straight and narrow!!
Books alone will never, ever solve the problem. Books instead create a further problem. Now that you know of something, you need someone to help you implement that something.
What you read, what you understand and what you implement correctly are three whole sections in themselves. More often than not, people will buy the Brain Audit and read it. And it forms the first step. It gets you to see a world that you haven’t seen before.
They then understand it at different levels. But it’s only when they implement it, that we can take a look and correct the errors.
The other day, we corrected some errors on someone’s site. And she instantly got 2 sales from 64 visits. That was a small, but significant increase. The point is that people will spend $20 on twenty books amounting to $400, yet never be able to implement one of those books correctly.
And of course, you’ve got twenty ideas in your head. But fewer dollars in the bank than ever before.