2.5 million people.

That was the population of the United States at the time of the Revolutionary War in 1776.

During that first year of the war, the citizens of the new country were excited, patriotic and strongly supported the war.

But that didn’t last very long.

When it became apparent that the war would drag on indefinitely, popular support waned.

Most people were able to go back to life as normal and they did. The Continental Congress was weak and did little to raise troops, money and supplies.

But the small army, usually less than 10,000, marched on.

They followed their Chief even when wracked with disease, lacking shoes, blankets and even the most basics of food.

They followed him across the icy Delaware, late at night in the middle of a snow storm.

The snow was colored red by blood from their feet – wrapped in rags because they had no shoes.

Washington was furious to see his troops sacrifice so much for the nation – with so little reciprocation, acknowledgment or appreciation.

But he fought on. And his people followed him. And the world was forever changed.

Today is Washington’s Birthday.

It’s a good time for every entrepreneur to remember the story of George Washington and his small but stubborn army.

You, too, are out there every day. You know that there are many people who will benefit greatly if they’d follow your lead. If they buy your product or invest in your service.

And some do. But most don’t. And they never will.

History shows us a remarkable pattern: Leaders with character who had the best interests of their followers at heart; who sacrificed tremendously and selflessly, were almost always unappreciated and even vilified by the very people they worked so hard to set free.

Washington’s story should encourage us all.

He was a man with an idea. With beliefs about what was right and what was wrong. And he was willing to sacrifice his own comfortable home life and spend years on the battlefield for what he believed was right.

A few followed him. Most stood by and watched.

But in the end, today we recognize his greatness, foresight and sacrifice for we who came later.

Remember this:

Washington’s army was small, but his impact was monumental.

You don’t need every sale. You don’t need every customer. You don’t need every client. Most will never appreciate what you can do for them – and that you really do care.

March on.

Your guiding ideas must be clear in your own mind. What you believe is right and wrong. What and who is worth fighting against and sacrificing for.

Today let’s remember that nothing great is achieved without tremendous effort and sacrifice. You’ll be called upon to do all sorts of things that the people around you will never do.

But in the end, you’ll also have a story to tell. And your story will be told, often by the very people who failed to recognize who you really were.

I invite you to share your reflections and experiences in a comment below.

Dov Gordon

If you want to attract and close deals with first rate customers, you need to be highly skilled at controlling and directing conversations.  Not in a stifling way, but in a way that exhilarates your prospect.  A way that leaves them  feeling free, understood, and hopeful because of the new possibilities you helped them see for themselves.

“Robert,” who is currently enrolled in my “12 Weeks to Your Ultimate Selling System” one-on-one coaching program, recently had some frustrating conversations with a few active customers. 

It turns out that Robert’s combination of outsourced products and services had done such a good job that:

“All my clients now talk about, ‘Geez, I really need a full time person, Robert.  I need somebody in my office.’

“They don’t need anyone in their office, but that’s what they’re thinking…”

Hiring someone full time would make Robert unnecessary. So I asked Robert how he responds.

“I say, ‘Really!  You haven’t even maximized this, and now you think you need a full timer, which is $80,000+ in salary, and that’s not including all the technological infrastructure…’”

Oooops.  That’s not gonna do it!

*

Here’s the simple secret for controlling and directing conversations:

You need see beyond what your customer SAYS to what she really MEANS.

So Robert’s customer SAYS

“Your XYZ has proven so important, that we need someone in-house to run it going forward.  And since you can’t be here yourself, we may need to find someone who can…“

BUT, what Robert’s customer MEANS is

“I can see how valuable this is. And we’re only just scratching the surface. And that’s the problem! I don’t like the feeling of not getting all I can from this.

“Help me figure out how we can get even better results with you so that I’m not tempted to look elsewhere!”

If Robert responds to what his customer SAYS, he’ll talk about how his company’s solution is really much cheaper than someone in house.  And about how it doesn’t pay for them to invest in all the infrastructure.  And about how if the customer would do just a bit more of what Robert was telling her, she would see that there’s no need for someone in house.

But none of this answers the customers REAL frustration, what she MEANT.

Here’s how you respond to what the customer MEANT:

“Customer, this is what I live for!  I love when someone gets it like you do.  You’re so pleased with the results so far, and frustrated with your inability to really maximize your results, that you want to explore ways that we can help you more easily get the full benefit that my products can bring to you, isn’t that right?”

If you have a good relationship, and you did correctly hear what your customer really wants, this kind of sentence will make your customer FEEL GREAT because you’ve just articulated what she really wants far better than she could ever do it herself.

*

POP QUIZ FOR MY REGULAR READERS: There is a simple “structure” lying beneath what Robert’s customers have been telling him. Robert didn’t see it, so he almost broke himself over it.  I did see it, and therefore I was able to formulate a powerful reply.

What’s the structure?  Post your thoughts with an explanation in the comments section below.

I read biographies of great men and women.  Do you?

If you admire them, you probably see some of their qualities in yourself. Your potential for similar greatness.

And when you learn how they navigated the nettles in their lives, it helps you navigate your own.

Take Theodore Roosevelt, for example. To me, the man was amazing.

I envy his ability to speed through thousands of books and remember everything he read.

His physical stamina. His moral clarity. His knowledge and expertise on a dizzying number of topics.

His ability to express himself in a vivid and enrapturing way. His tremendous output as an author, both in quantity and quality of books and articles.

It’s easy to conclude that such a person was gifted and us mere mortals can’t hope to achieve at his level.

Until you read Edmond Morris’ biography and you get to a paragraph like this one:

“As always, he found it difficult to marshal his superabundant thoughts on paper. A perusal of the manuscript of Volume One [Ed -of his book "The Winning of the West"] shows what agonies its magnificent opening chapter, ‘The Spread of the English-Speaking Peoples,’ cost him. A veritable thicket of verbal debris—interlineations, erasures, blots, and balloons—clogs every page: only the clearest prose is allowed to filter through.

“DURING ALL THE SPRING and summer of 1888 Roosevelt complained about the slowness of his progress on The Winning of the West: ‘it seems impossible to write more than a page or two a day.’”

- from “The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt” by Edmond Morris

And you read about how his first public speech was a flop. And that he also had days when he just couldn’t get himself to write – so he went hunting.

Sure, he was brilliant and talented. But he was also human. He struggled with his limitations, like you and I do.

Once you see how he was in fact human, you want to know how, then, did he do it?!

It was his discipline. His persistence. With physical exercise. With study. And with everything else he did. (Including pursuing Alice Hathaway Lee, who became his first wife.)

You are reminded that the rules of personal growth and success really do apply to everyone. They are just rules. You can harness them if you choose. Or you can break yourself against them.

And you realize that those are things you can imitate – in your own way.

Most quit because they feel there must be a shortcut being kept secret from them.

When you let the air out of the illusion that others have it easier, my, you suddenly remember what you could achieve.

Dov Gordon

PS – Who’s biography inspired you? Did reading about someone else help you become aware of what you’re capable yourself?  Share with us in the comments section below.

I’m glad I’m not a cheetah.

A cheetah’s life is almost a cosmic joke.

The cheetah runs faster than any animal on earth. This speed enables it to hunt and kill and have something to eat.

It’s body stores no fat. This keeps it thin and muscular so it can run at top speeds

Sounds pretty good, right? I know many people who’d like to be all muscle, no fat.

But there’s a downside: Since it’s body stores no fat, it feels always on the verge of starvation.

And so the life of a cheetah looks like this:

“I’m starved! Good thing I’m thin so I can run fast and catch me some gazelle. Mmmmmm that was a good one, but I’m still starving! Gotta go catch me another gazelle.”

She stores no fat so she can run so she can eat so she can live till tomorrow with a feeling of near starvation so she’s thin enough to run and hunt again.

And it gets worse! After running so fast the cheetah is so exhausted that a lion or hyena will often saunter by and snatch the freshly killed gazelle.

Sounds an awful lot like my early days in this business. Running around in circles, frustrated and broke. Every now and then a little bit of success. Just enough to keep me in the game. Not enough to store up any fat.

We humans need some stored up ‘fat.’ We need time to think, to read, to reflect and to contribute.

It’s the extra fat that allows you to do something special with your wife, your kids and others dear to you.

It’s that extra fat that enables you to have time to take care of yourself. Body, mind and spirit.

For a small business entrepreneur, the key to acquiring and storing up ‘fat’ is having your very own steady, consistent, predictable flow of ideal clients.

My 1-1 clients get the best of me. But there’s a dirt cheap way to get my help on a daily basis. And it has helped many entrepreneurs stop living day-to-day for the kill and start to enjoy living with some fat.

It’s my Manual – called “How to Systematically and Consistently Attract First-Rate Customers.”

Go get it now. I recommend the middle option – it comes with a free month in my Oasis Forums where you can get my hands-on help as you build your marketing and selling system.

Go here to read what you can expect.

Come inside and join the fat lions. Sure beats being a cheetah.

Dov Gordon

Don’t set big goals. Big goals keep you small.

I know that’s not what you hear from many, but here at the Alchemist Entrepreneur we’ve learned that the herd is usually wrong. And every now and then they run themselves off a cliff.

Also, we’re practical. And big goals don’t work. Even when clothed in charming corpora-babble and called a BHAG – big goals keep you where you are.

For years I followed the classic advice and set big goals. And it was during those same years that I found myself spinning my wheels. And whenever someone shares their really big goal with enthusiasm and faith – I know the wine in their cask has some maturation to go through.

What does help you move fast in the direction you want is a little secret prescription called “Rapid Growth Through the Optimization of Greed.”

Sounds sinister, I know. But that’s because most people assume that greed is evil.

But is it?

The ancient Jewish sages observed that “He who has 100 wants 200.”

That’s brilliant because in one simple statement they’ve described the reality of human nature and also prescribed a process for growth.

They didn’t say “He who has 100 wants 1,000,000.”   That would simply be stating the obvious: People want more.

They also didn’t say “He who has 100 wants 110.” That would have lacked the powerful prescription I’m about to spell out for you.

We humans are wired to want more. To be more. To create more. Wanting more is neither good nor bad. It is what you make of it.

Who doesn’t want to win the lottery? Instant riches. The ability to do what you want. When you want. With people you love and care about.

We imagine that more is always better. But the statistics of lottery winners and those who inherit sudden wealth are pretty grim.

More money is only better when anchored to more maturity.

Why big goals don’t work.

Big goals don’t work because you don’t really believe you can achieve them. And so our Tragic Hero says “I’m going to earn a million dollars this year.”  But it is so far out, that he doesn’t have a clue how to make it happen.

A goal without a simple, clear-cut plan, a process, for its achievement is a mere fantasy.

And “fantasy goals” take a very tangible toll.

Since he doesn’t really know what to do, and lacks the true belief that he can achieve it, he’s afraid to act. This non-action (busyness is not action) erodes his self confidence. Which further increases his fear. So he doesn’t invest in himself and in his ideas. He says “When I get results, then I’ll invest.” But the way of the world is “When you sow, you’ll have something to reap.”

Without the guidance of a mentor and without the requisite tools, nor a clear plan for how to get to the 1,000,000, our Tragic Hero stays stuck.

He starts with 100. And he remains with 100. Such is the fate of “He who has 100 and wants 1,000,000.”

The secret prescription for Rapid Growth Through the Optimization of Greed:

Now let’s look at our Triumphant Hero – the person who has 100. And all he wants is 200.

He honestly knows it’s attainable. He also may not know exactly how. But he knows that if he commits to it fully, eventually, he’ll figure it out.

He’ll seek out and hire mentor. He’ll invest in training. He’ll make sure he has the tools – the ingredients to bake a 200 cake.

Sure, he is afraid. But fear is part of growth. And it’s a different fear. He acts in the face of this fear. He builds a real plan. And every step he implements builds his confidence.

Pretty soon he’s at 200. He’s grown. He’s more mature, too.

And here’s the magic – now he wants 400!

Our Triumphant Hero repeats the process. And before long, he’s at 1,000,000.

And that’s the Secret Prescription for Rapid Growth Through the Optimization of Greed.

Be careful who you share this with. Most won’t understand. They’re looking for something flashy and this sure ain’t flashy.

But if you ‘got’ what I’m sharing, hold it tight and live it. And as you ascend from 200 to 400, and from 1600 to 3200, you’ll attract other Triumphant Heros who are earlier in their journey. And they’ll be grateful for your wisdom.

—-

So, what do you think?  Please share below.

Joel, a friend with an office down the hall, just came back from New York. He’s from London, lives in Israel and this was his first time in the Big Apple. He went with his wife and their three year old.

As they emerged from Penn Station onto a crowded Manhattan sidewalk, their little boy’s eyes opened wide with wonder. Those buildings. They’re so TALL!  He’d never seen anything like it.

Even Joel was amazed. “It’s just like in the movies,” he said. “Ambulance sirens. Really tall buildings and lots and lots of people.”

But those of us who grew up there – we’ve lost that sense of wonder, if we ever had it.

And that’s the way life is. What gets you excited at three brings on a yawn at seven. And what’s fascinating at seven is borrrrrring at ten.

We’ve conquered those worlds. Time for new terrain.

It’s also true about fear. What scared you at three doesn’t scare you today.

If you were scared of the dark, one day you found yourself in that dark room and realized that there was nothing to be afraid of. Or maybe you were terrified of your bike. But when you finally got the balancing thing worked out, suddenly you could go far fast. That opened up a world of possibility, didn’t it?

Overcoming fear frees you up to experience new wonders. Which sets you up for new fears to overcome – so you can experience new wonders.

THAT is living: Doing what scares you until it no longer does. And then using that new-found freedom to experience a new wonder.

As an entrepreneur, you have this opportunity more-so than your employed friends and family. They’re bound and restricted by bosses and mindless corporate “this-is-how-we-do-it-here’s.”

Today, a single fear that, more than any other, is keeping you stuck. What it is? Make up your mind to over come it because that’s the only way to experience that new sense of wonder, amazement and thrill that means you’re alive.

You’re as free as you make up your mind to be. Your life will be as rich as the fears you overcome and the wonders you experience.

—

If you liked this, please share it with your friends on Facebook and Twitter.   And I’d love to hear your opinion in a comment below.

Dov Gordon

You’d think we humans would find this easy. But it’s HARD.

I’m talking about a simple thinking skill: Knowing what you want.

Nearly everyone who grabs one of the five free “Consistent Flow of Customers” strategy sessions I do each month makes the following mistake.

I’ll ask: “If you could have it any way you want it and didn’t have to worry about how to make it happen, how much do you want to be earning a year from now?”

And I’ll get an answer like “$150,000.”

“Why $150,000?”

“Because if I can get up to 30 billable hours per week, then I should be able to reach $150,000.”

Okay. Let’s analyze what’s wrong with this THINKing.  And why it’s keeping him and millions of others stuck.

Also, I’ll teach you a simple thinking skill you’ll start using every day – and your life will never be the same.

What this guy just did was confuse WHAT he wants with HOW he’ll get it.

The question was “If you could have it any way you want it and didn’t have to worry about how to make it happen, how much do you want to be earning a year from now?”

To answer this question, he began by looking at where he is today and extrapolating forward. But that’s what he thinks is POSSIBLE. Not what he WANTS.

Before letting himself dream, he asked “Well, HOW will I get there?”

It’s saying “I don’t know HOW I can get what I really want, so I’m going to settle and aim for something less.” Got it?

So now his target is something he doesn’t really want. But he figures it’s the best he can hope for.

So now he’ll lack the passion. And he won’t be willing to take the risks because who wants to take risks for something you don’t really want?

When passion is out, fear steps in to lead. And our friend the entrepreneur, who has so much to offer to so many people will stay stuck.

Remember I told you that it’s not enough to learn techniques and tactics – and that you need to learn how to THINK?

Well master this WHAT / HOW thinking skill. Practice separating the two.  When you’re talking about WHAT you want, don’t talk about HOW.  And when you’re talking about HOW, make sure you first know exactly WHAT.

This little skill will change your life because it frees to finally focus on what you really, really want. That unleashes your passion. Helps you overcome fear. And keeps you focused on only what matters.  (Which helps you stay out of the grip of the well meaning but dangerous marketing plumbers.)

My advice to you – learn simple, practical THINKing skills.   It will change your life and brings you customers.

What do you think? Let me know below.

How smart entrepreneurs use simple strategies to grow without overwhelm.

Here’s a brief preview of the talk I’ll be giving at the Kishor Conference tomorrow, Monday, June 13th.

Right click to download the .mp3

For conference overview and registration, go here.

IMPORTANT:  The Kishor talk will be very different from the post below on “Stop Doing God’s Work” even though I will touch on it.  We’ll be taking a strategic – but simple and practical – view of your  business to find the critical 10% of activities that will give you 90% of the results.

Any questions?  Post them below.

Dov