Confessions from the Golden Hamster Wheel

Chapter 3 of the Great American Entrepreneur Story? Liberation Seminar Day One Participate at No Charge Get the Details Here   Mel,   How does Chapter One of your version of "The Great American Entrepreneur Story" read? For me it was...   Drank the Amway Pink Kool-Aid.   Punched the clock in the Dilbert Cube, played the office politics   and suffered under a boss who wanted to cut my fingers off one   knuckle at a time. I scurried through those mazes long enough to realize there wasn't any cheese to be found there. No matter how fast I ran. No matter how brilliantly I strategized. No cheese. And fortunately, I escaped. If you've done the same, congratulations.    End Chapter 1 of the "Great American Entrepreneur Story". How does Chapter 2 read? If yours reads like mine, it goes something like this... You've busted out of the maze only to find yourself still stuck on a hamster wheel. You've got a better view than you had in the maze. Basics like your daily cheese are no longer a worry.  Maybe it's even a golden hamster wheel with shiny rims and leather interior, but it's still a hamster wheel. If you stop running, the wheel grinds to a halt. The cheese stops dropping from above. The water bottle dries up. My confession: I'm still on the golden hamster wheel. Stuck in Chapter 2. Every month I have to pull a rabbit out of my hat to make my nut. Every week I give in to the insistent urge to redouble my efforts and make things work through sheer effort and will power. Every day I still answer to the to-do list and the tyranny of the urgent.  A quick glance at my jam-packed calendar will tell you that "Mr. 80/20 Sales & Marketing" has a long way to go before he reaches Chapter 3 of the story. And what does Chapter 3 even look like? Great question. Most entrepreneurs don't realize there is a Chapter 3. We always thought Chapter 2 was the end of the book, with maybe a short epilogue titled "Retirement" tacked on at the end.            But that's not how your story has to end. There is a Chapter 3 that you can write. I've read it. I know what it looks like. It looks like what I saw in southern Spain when I visited Richard Koch. (I'll tell you more about that next time.) But for now I'll tell you this...I want my Chapter 3 to read like what I saw in Spain. And if you're stuck in Chapter 2 like me, you should do everything in your power to grasp the vision of "Chapter 3". The best way to do that is to participate in Day One of the Liberation Seminar with Richard Koch in Chicago, September 28. And you can participate at no charge with your Mastermind 12 membership. Get the details here.    It's been a good story so far, let's make it great.   Carpe Diem, Perry Marshall   ***NOTE: Please do not reply directly to this email, instead go to http://support.perrymarshall.com     Free Video We manage our emails with Infusion. This Guide and Video explain my secret marketing sauce. If you no longer wish to receive our emails, click the link below:  Update subscriber options   Perry S. Marshall & Assoc 159 N. Marion Street #295 Oak Park, Illinois 60301 United States (312) 386-7459   Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

Your 48-Hour Business Breakthrough with Bob Regnerus

Introducing: 4-Man Intensive with Bob Regnerus “Same-As-Perry” Guarantee for Less October 16-17 Apply Here   Mel,   For the last couple of years, I've been conducting an experiment.  The laboratory for this experiment has been my home office during my 4-Man Intensives.  4-Mans are where you, me, and three other hardcore entrepreneurs sit down and force your website to overcome every obstacle that’s been freezing, holding back, and frustrating you.  We go hammer-and-tongs on your business for a half day. We fix it, change it around, look at every facet of your marketing plan & sales funnel, and at the end of 48 hours you’re rolling out a glistening new, brushed up, totally brainstormed, kick-ass sales machine.  So, what's the experiment?  Well, for the last couple of years I've been turning over more and more of the fast-paced, rough-and-tumble 4-man time to  Bob Regnerus.  In fact, the last several 4-Mans have evolved into as much “Bob Regnerus 4-Man” as “Perry Marshall 4-Man ”.  And almost to a man, the participants have left saying, “I got as much keen insight from Bob and the other three participants as I did from Perry”.  I call that a successful experiment.  Not every consultant has the chops to handle the bewildering array of business challenges that get tossed around at a typical 4-man, address them, and provide actionable insights right there on the spot. But Bob's got them in spades.    Find out all about Bob's impressive track record here.   So, if you've always wanted to attend a 4-Man Intensive with me, but hesitated because of the investment, I've got a perfect opportunity for you to get the “Same-as-Perry” guarantee at a reduced fee.    Find out all about Bob and apply for the Bob Regnerus 4-Man Intensive Here.   Carpe Diem,  Perry Marshall     ***NOTE: Please do not reply directly to this email, instead go to http://support.perrymarshall.com     Free Video We manage our emails with Infusion. This Guide and Video explain my secret marketing sauce. If you no longer wish to receive our emails, click the link below:  Update subscriber options   Perry S. Marshall & Assoc 159 N. Marion Street #295 Oak Park, Illinois 60301 United States (312) 386-7459   Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

"Just Tell Me What to Do!" Haircuts and the Tyranny of the Left Brain

80/20 Liberation Seminar Participate in Day One for No Charge Mastermind Club 12 Membership Get the Details Here   Mel,   I was consulting with a client, Michael, recently and he made this comment... "Perry, I've been applying 80/20 to my life and business for the last year or so, and now I have a very odd problem. I don't know what to do in my free time. Tell me what I should be doing because I feel like I'm just wasting time." If you're a go-to guy or gal, you're probably unaccustomed to enjoying downtime. When you're truly free, do you feel itchy, agitated, anxious? Do you feel like you're procrastinating? Do you feel like you're shirking your responsibilities? "Just tell me what to do!" Does the idea of carving out time in your schedule to "do nothing" -nothing but let your mind wander and play- does that make your pulse beat faster, do you break out in cold sweats at the idea of doing NOTHING? Do you know what my brain tells me when I get like that? Do you know what odd compulsion I feel when I'm doing some powerful, but unstructured, musing and reading and thinking? "Perry, you need a haircut. Go get a haircut today." Bizarre, I know. I used to let that odd feeling of agitation and anxiousness get the better of me. But now I know that the "haircut" nagging is an indication that I'm on to something big. Something good. Because my left brain is trying to interrupt me. Trying to assume control again.  Trying to get me back on the routine, mundane, comfortable track again.   Michael's day to day business problems are pretty much under control. Now he needs to answer the BIG, STRATEGIC questions. And you don't solve problems like that unless your right brain has ample time to play.  But your left brain will nag you until you learn to quiet it. It will tug at your sleeve incessantly, begging, "Just tell me what to do!" Your left brain, the brain you use when you're putting out fires and consciously solving problems, your rational brain, is limited. Period. Your business will have limited success if all you ever do is apply left-brained thinking.  But most of us apply ONLY left-brained thinking. Your right brain, however,  is unlimited. It makes connections that the left brain would never dream of. But it only makes those connections when you're "not around". It only makes those connections when your ego, your rational, controlling left brain has "left the building". When you're playing, when you're recreating, when you're free-form journaling, when you're praying or meditating, when you're sleeping. (And I'm not talking about the five-hours-per-night, burning the candle at both ends kind of sleep that most of us entrepreneurs get).   Realizing that you have to turn your rational brain off to achieve breakthrough success can be a slap to your ego.  Realizing your brain is more powerful when your conscious mind is not directing it - when YOU are not controlling it - can be humbling...and, for a while, very uncomfortable.  But I assure you, it's essential to achieving your business and life goals. On September 28, Richard Koch will show you how to let the more powerful side of your brain regain control. How you can go from working 60 hours a week to working 20 hours (or far fewer) a week and earn more than you do now. This is not your run-of-the-mill time management seminar. This is brain-changing, life-changing stuff. And you can participate in Day One for no charge with your Mastermind 12 membership. Get the details here.   Carpe Diem, Perry Marshall     ***NOTE: Please do not reply directly to this email, instead go to http://support.perrymarshall.com     Free Video We manage our emails with Infusion. This Guide and Video explain my secret marketing sauce. If you no longer wish to receive our emails, click the link below:  Update subscriber options   Perry S. Marshall & Assoc 159 N. Marion Street #295 Oak Park, Illinois 60301 United States (312) 386-7459   Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

Letter of desperation from a guy circling the drain

Mel, This week I received a desperate letter from a 27 year old man, a long-time customer who's "circling the drain," pleading for help. I took it to my Roundtable meeting yesterday and read everyone the letter, omitting his personal details. This triggered a wide-ranging 25 minute conversation among my Roundtable members, spanning tactical moves he should make to all kinds of "inner head trash" stuff. Pure gold. This is well worth a listen: http://www.perrymarshall.com/23925/letter-of-desperation/ Perry Marshall ***NOTE: Please do not reply directly to this email, instead go to http://support.perrymarshall.com

 

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Perry S. Marshall & Assoc
159 N. Marion Street #295
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Stop Doing What You Do Best

From 80/20 Kindergarten to 80/20 Liberation September 28 Participate in Day One at No Charge   Mel,   80/20 Liberation is not about eliminating the tasks that you don't do well. 80/20 Liberation is not about eliminating low-skill, low-value tasks from your daily to-do list.   80/20 Liberation is not about hiring a personal assistant or a cook or a house cleaner.   80/20 Liberation is not about spending more time doing what you do best.                 All those steps are 80/20 kindergarten. 80/20 Liberation is not about DOING at all.   Here 's an example... Writing copy for my business is a task I do very well.  I enjoy writing copy.  Writing copy is a highly-skilled, high-value tasks on my "to-do" list. I can't hire an assistant at $15/hour to do this work. According to most time management methodologies, writing copy is something I DO best and should DO more. But that's 80/20 kindergarten. Or at least 80/20 elementary school. According to Richard Koch, (who should know, since he works one hour a day and is worth over a quarter of a million dollars, and attributes his success to systematically DOING less), if you're focusing on DOING anything, you're DOING it all wrong. So, I've trained John Fancher to do something that most time management experts would tell me I should do myself: Write a lot of copy for me. And if you think that training a few people to do the tasks that you're not good at, and the tasks you don't want to do, and the tasks that aren't highly-skilled or highly-valued enough for you to do has made you more productive...well, all I can say it, you ain't seen nothing yet.   Because eliminating the tasks that most experts say you should DO more...that's the real power of 80/20 Liberation. Everything you DO should be DONE by someone else. Period. Is that hard to swallow?   Yes. It is for me too. I'm not there yet, but I'm working my way there deliberately and steadily. I'm convinced it's the only way I (and entrepreneurs like me) can take our businesses to where we want them to go. I'm looking at everything I DO and asking how I can train someone else to do it. Because real 80/20 Liberation has nothing to do with DOING. It's not about reducing your workload by a few hours a week so you can get more done (although that's a happy by-product of the first baby steps). It's about liberating you so that your business works better when you're not even there. Works better when you take 2 weeks or even 2 months off and nobody can reach you. That may be hard to swallow too, but that's how profound 80/20 Liberation is. So, if you thought 80/20 Liberation was just another time management seminar, think again. Everything you do should be done by someone else. Period. And Richard will show you how to get it done...by someone else. This is just one of the secrets that Richard will share Day One of our seminar, to help you graduate from 80/20 kindergarten to 80/20 Liberation.   And you can participate in Day One at no charge with your Mastermind 12 membership.   Get the details here. Carpe Diem, Perry Marshall     ***NOTE: Please do not reply directly to this email, instead go to http://support.perrymarshall.com     Free Video We manage our emails with Infusion. This Guide and Video explain my secret marketing sauce. If you no longer wish to receive our emails, click the link below:  Update subscriber options   Perry S. Marshall & Assoc 159 N. Marion Street #295 Oak Park, Illinois 60301 United States (312) 386-7459   Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

Speeding up to slow down to speed up

Mel, Do you ever have days where you do nothing but sit at your computer and answer emails, and at the end of the day you're completely exhausted and you still don't feel like you got anything done? In my early days as a salesman, somebody told me, "Massive action solves every problem." That has to be one of the worst pieces of advice I ever got from anyone. Did you know that it's possible to be productive without being frantic and rushed all the time? Lots o' people are celebrating the US 4th of July by taking today off. Today is the perfect day to slow down for a minute and see how you can get more done with LESS effort and less stress. A few weeks ago I did an interview with RC Peck about the "Critter Brain" or "Lizard Brain." It's the part of our brain that hijacks our best intentions when we most need to be strategic and deliberate. The lizard brain takes over and we do stupid stuff. RC said, "The way to speed up is to slow down. Rarely is a rush of frantic activity helpful." If you're a spontaneous person like me it's hard to slow down and really think. I don't know about you, but I get excited about new things and generate a whirlwind of activity. A lot of energy gets wasted. TIP #1: The worst place to get REAL thinking done is with your hands on your keyboard. The best place to think is in your favorite quiet spot with a pad of yellow notebook paper. TIP #2: Get up and go for a walk. Physical motion switches your brain on. I guarantee you, you will have more thoughts, better thoughts, more creative thoughts when your body is active than when your butt's on a chair. If you play a sport, run, ride your bike or play music, that's even better. When I put on my shoes and head for the door, I say "Time to go give my head a shake" and my family knows exactly what I'm talking about. I go for walks even when it's freezing cold outside. It stimulates my brain. TIP #3: Learn to recognize when you're stuck in reactive mode. If you can't get your mind to focus and all you seem to be able to do is react to emails and click on things and surf, it's a good sign you need to bleed off some excess energy. Yes, there are times when you just need to answer emails and phone calls and take care of miscellaneous things. Much better to do that stuff within a deliberate time slot instead of all the time. My formula is: Speed up to slow down to speed up. Which means: Stop the frantic activity and plan your work. Plan your work by physically speeding up (a brisk walk or run gets your juices flowing) then (slow down) write down your plan on your strategic yellow pad of paper. You'll speed up getting more done. You're an entrepreneur, which means the world does YOUR bidding. YOU are the person who organizes resources and moves things from low value to high value. You don't just sit there and let your day get nibbled to death by a thousand mosquitoes. There has never been a time when one person could accomplish so much in so little time. But you need to run the world, not let the world run you. If today is a day when the phones aren't ringing and people aren't demanding your time, then it's the perfect day to go for a walk, figure out what you want to accomplish in the next weeks and months, map out your plan and EXECUTE. Seize the day - and start by going outside and getting a breath of fresh air - right now. Perry Marshall Your stories & comments are invited at http://www.perrymarshall.com/speeding-up/ ***NOTE: Please do not reply directly to this email, instead go to http://support.perrymarshall.com

 

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Which Brain Are You Using Today?

Liberation Seminar Participate in Day 1 No Charge with Your MM12 Membership Get the Details Here     Mel,   In The 80/20 Manager, Richard Koch tells the  story of a Prussian army commander and his unique method for utilizing his officers, according to their intelligence and their work ethic... 1. Officers who are both lazy and stupid - leave them alone, they do no harm. 2. Officers who are both hardworking and stupid- fire them at once, they create trivial work for everyone else. 3. Officers who are both hardworking and intelligent- useful for administrating and executing plans. 4. Officers who are both lazy and intelligent - promote them to the highest ranks. They will have the best ideas and will see how to implement them without creating trivial work for everyone else.   Great advice for managing your staff. But also great advice for managing your own brains. I believe that I have two brains.   One brain is an intelligent and hardworking officer. Let's call it my rational mind. It kicks in when I'm working very hard.   It's dualistic. It's black and white. It makes snap judgements. It "disqualifies" and ignores as much sensory input that it possibly can in order to keep me focused on the (often trivial) daily tasks that I've set before it. It loves routine. It loves logic. It loves order. When I have many routine, daily tasks to get through, it serves me well. It is a trusty little, inside-the-box tool. A good soldier. But it serves me poorly when I need grand ideas. When I need breakthrough ideas. When I need to see things from outside the box. In fact, if I let my good soldier brain stay in charge too long, I completely miss what is truly important. My good soldier brain wants to keep me "on the job". I need my second brain for real breakthrough. My lazy and intelligent brain. My commander brain. This brain looks twice, three times, four times at a problem and turns it over, meditates on it, considers it deeply. It makes revelatory connections that the good soldier brain will always miss. It's holistic. It's comfortable with gray areas. But here's the thing...it doesn't WORK on problems, it PLAYS with them. And it does it mostly subconsciously.  And it only plays when I'm not working at all.   My breakthrough ideas come ONLY from my lazy and intelligent "commander" brain, never from my rational and hardworking "good soldier" brain. Which brain are you using today? If you'd like to find out how to use your commander brain more often, get breakthrough ideas, work less and make more, and discover it all directly from Richard Koch himself, join us for Day 1 of the 80/20 Liberation Seminar September 28. And if you click below, you can find out how to participate in Day 1 at no charge with your Mastermind Club 12 membership. Get the details here.   Carpe Diem, Perry Marshall     ***NOTE: Please do not reply directly to this email, instead go to http://support.perrymarshall.com     Free Video We manage our emails with Infusion. This Guide and Video explain my secret marketing sauce. If you no longer wish to receive our emails, click the link below:  Update subscriber options   Perry S. Marshall & Assoc 159 N. Marion Street #295 Oak Park, Illinois 60301 United States (312) 386-7459   Having trouble viewing this email? Click here