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 3600, 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.

Not 1 in 100 understand what I just said. So pay close attention to this story:

A $20,000,000 manufacturing company needed a new strategy. They coughed up many tens of thousands of dollars to an international consulting firm and waited.

The Consultants rolled up their sleeves and got to work. They interviewed suppliers, employees and customers. They watched. Asked questions. And scribbled notes.

After three months, the big day had arrived. Time to deliver their “strategy.” And this they did, in the form of a 52 page book.

The CEO looked at it and shook his head. “We can’t use this,” he concluded. “All they did was take all the ideas we already had and put them in a book!”

(It’s almost certainly the corporate consultants – not the street-smart solo guys – who are responsible for that famous joke about a consultant taking your watch to tell you the time.)

The “strategy” was a collection of good ideas. Things they could do. But listen carefully. The company didn’t need any more good ideas. They needed help choosing a very few of good ideas to implement!

It worked out OK in the end. The CEO found me and for tens of thousands more, I walked them through a process that actually helped them make a decision.

Notice the difference: I walked them through a PROCESS that helped them make a few important DECISIONS. They then knew exactly what to DO without being distracted by second guessing and shiny objects.

And all this was etched out in just seven pages.

Yes, a simple seven page process was far more valuable than 52 pages of good ideas.

If you’re good at what you do, but struggle to create a consistent flow of clients, then I bet your problem is the same.

Too many good ideas, no simple process.

It’s all them marketing plumbers out there waving their favorite shiny object at you. Each uses up more of your time and takes you in another direction. And many are actually good ideas.

BUT too many good ideas keep you going in circles. You don’t need more good ideas. You need a process. A process that helps you decide what few things you really should be doing.  So you can get to work and do them well.

Now, if you really ‘get’ what I’m saying here, that’s excellent.

But if you’re even a little unclear, go listen (or relisten) to my most popular free teleseminar: “The 5 Steps to A Consistent Flow of Clients.”

You can get it here for free.

After you’ve listened you’ll understand what a marketing process really is. And how to start building yours.

After you’ve listened, post a comment below and tell me what you think.

Dov Gordon

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

Most likely someone handed you a pole, some bait, pointed to a
creek and said “This is how you catch fish.  That’ll be $50.”  And
sent you on your way.

These guys are deceptive because it looks like they’re teaching you
how to fish.  But really, they’re taking your money and not even
feeding your for a day!

To catch fish in the real world – consistently – you need to
understand why one rod works better  for one kind of fishing and
not another.  Why one lure works here and not there; for these fish
and not for those.

The business equivalent of “teach a man to fish” is “teach a man to
think.”
—
Register:  Marketing that Works – The Chain of Conversion
http://DovGordon.net/dannyiny 
—

When marketing plumbers say “Do this with that” but don’t teach you
the underlying thinking, they set you up for disappointment.

And that’s why I consider it my job to not only tell you what to
do, but even more importantly to teach you how to think.

Which is why you should meet Danny Iny.

Back in December, Danny and I met in the quieter “back room,”
behind the bar at Cafe Hillel in Tel Aviv’s Azrieli Center.

Over enormous mugs of strong cappuccino I said “Danny, my
subscribers will appreciate your approach.  They’re not the
glassy-eyed get rich quick type.  They know better.  They want to
learn how to think about marketing so that everything they do
begins to add up.  Let’s do a webinar.”

He agreed.  And the result is:

Marketing that Works: The Chain of Conversion
Register here:   http://DovGordon.net/dannyiny 

Yes, he’ll mention his training at the end, but the webinar is
going to be mostly content. He’s going to share the “chain of
conversion” framework from his program, that he uses with his own
clients, plus several real live case studies.

If this interests you at all, then you should block out this date
on your calendar: Thursday, February 16th, at 3pm eastern. Sharp!

Register now for free by clicking below:
http://DovGordon.net/dannyiny

Dov Gordon

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.

I’d been looking around the room when I noticed him and realized what he was doing.  And where.

Turns out it wasn’t his cube.  He’d found it on the table and wanted to leave things better than he’d found them.

“Tell me,” I asked later, “There must be a system for solving those, isn’t there?”

“Sure,” he said.  “There are pattens. You need to learn to recognize the patterns.  It’s math.  You just need to memorize some algorithms.”

He lost me at math.  And my eyes glazed over when he said logarithms.  But PATTERNS – THAT I get.  Because it’s the same in building a consistent flow of customers.  And that’s an area where I’ve paid my dues.  I’ve learned to see the patterns – and it changed my life.

You’ve probably done your own twisting the Marketing Cube this way and that, hoping to get the thing solved.  You may get lucky and solve one side.  But to solve the whole puzzle, you need to learn to see the  patterns, the structure that makes it work.

In any area of human excellence, many pick up a cube, spin it this way and that, and put it down with a chuckle.  “This can’t be done.”   They quit before they started.

There are also those who, like my nine year old, take the cube apart and put it back the way he wants it. These are the marketing plumbers and the wide-eyed techno-zealots.  They discover you can peel the stickers and put them where you want them – and no one will know!  Imagine that!

I beg you – don’t be like them.  There’s no pride in that work.  And not much money, either. Unless you’re the cult leader.

Finally, there are those who stand there twisting and hoping and turning and hoping until one of two things happen:

• They’re forced to get a job.
• Or they realize someone out there must know the pattern.  And they go learn it.

1.  You’re eyes will be opened to the patterns that make your marketing work.  You’ll learn how to THINK – a skill that keeps you ahead, whatever the technology.

3.  Hands on help from me  via my private Oasis Forums.  Do the worksheet and post your work in the Oasis for feedback and help.

1. Lots and lots of information to keep you stuck in the illusion that you don’t know enough.  Because the truth is you know more than enough to get moving.  What you’re lacking is someone to simplify it and help you focus only on the critical 10% that will make you look brilliant 90% of the time.

3.  No fluff.  No padding.  No math. And no algorithms. You get only what you need to know to create a system that brings you a consistent flow of customers – within weeks.

Dov Gordon

Losing patience, the prince takes out a cigarette.

“Please don’t do that,” Lionel says.

“I’m sorry?” replies the prince.

“I believe sucking smoke into your lungs will kill you,” Lionel says.

“My physicians say it relaxes the throat,” says the prince.

“They’re idiots.”

The prince is taken aback.  “They’ve all been knighted!” he says.

“Makes it official then,” says Lionel.

I love this little repartee. Just because someone is well known, highly regarded and has many who agree with him, doesn’t mean he’s worth listening to.

Is there wisdom in crowds?  No.  If everyone is doing it, that’s reason enough to question it.

If you’re a regular at The Alchemist Entrepreneur(TM), I’m going to make a guess about you.  Tell me if I’m right.

You have a deep inner belief that you are on this earth for a reason.  That you have an important contribution to make.  That you are capable of much more than your record reveals.

You also look around at what others have achieved.  What others say.  What others do.  Sometimes you wonder. It doesn’t seem to make sense.  Something seems to be missing.  And yet, look where they are.  They must be smarter, more charismatic, more talented…  They’re certainly richer and more famous.  They must know something you don’t…

And you wonder to yourself, “Will I ever know, have and be what they know, have and are?”

Goodness, I hope not!  They’re idiots!  They’re loud today, and they’ll be gone tomorrow.

Shut out the experts.  Quiet your mind. Allow your own native common sense to shine through the smoke and mirrors.

There were many speech therapists in London.  But there was only one Lionel Logue.  At first the prince assumed Lionel would be like the others he had already seen and dismissed.  Eventually he realized that Lionel’s difference was also his genius.

You, too, my friend have your own genius. Don’t stifle it by trying to be like the others out there. The world doesn’t need more of them.  They need more of you.

Dov Gordon

Your comments and stories are welcome below.

They follow “recipe” advice without understanding why it works.

We all need the occasional expert opinion.  But how can you tell if the advice you’re getting is based on true wisdom or regurgitated platitudes?

One day I decided to create an audio preview for a public seminar I was doing.  If the group’s members could hear me for a few minutes, I reasoned, it would make them more likely to attend.

Of course, it could also turn them off, so I sent the podcast to an acquaintance and asked for his opinion.

“Like everything you do,” he said, “it’s too long.  People won’t listen to it.”

Well, yeah, I have a tendency to go on a bit.  But length is only one factor in determining whether someone will listen.  And this podcast was less than six minutes long.  If people find it stimulating, provocative, relevant or entertaining, they’ll listen for an hour.

“How long should it be?” I asked, trying to gauge where his advice was coming from.

“Sixty seconds or less.”  He went on to recommended I read someone’s ebook about selling online.

Well, I concluded he was parroting back a “recipe” he had heard somewhere without really understanding what he had heard.

“An online video shouldn’t be longer than three minutes,” one expert will say.  “Make your sales letter short,” says another.  “No one reads the long ones.”   And a social media “expert” with tens of thousands of followers tweaches (tweet + preach) this: “Spend a 1/3 of allocated blogging time commenting on other blogs & you’ll see engagement on your blog skyrocket.”

Advice like this is one reason why comments on so many blogs are mindless and fawning agreement.

Think about it this way:  The amateur cook and the master chef can both follow the same recipe.  But the master chef will produce a far tastier dish.

What’s the difference?

The amateur follows a recipe.  But the master understands the properties of each ingredient and how they interact with each other.  He understands what kind of pot or pan is best for what.  He understands how to substitute.  And so his results are superior.

There are thousands upon thousands of people out there telling us what we need to do to get rich, be successful, and so on.  Often they boil it down to a recipe.  Do this, that and the other thing and you’ll be successful.

Many of our naïve and fearful comrades, eager for a quick salve, gobble this stuff up as if it were something magical.

To say that a podcast shouldn’t be longer than 60 seconds is missing the point.  Length is only one factor and a relatively insignificant one.  People listen to podcasts that are thirty minutes long, watch movies for two hours and audio books that can be thirty hours long.

It’s not the length.  To know if something is likely to interest people, you need to understand the underlying properties.  Does this podcast have the ingredients that will catch someone’s attention and draw then through the end?

If it’s relevant or entertaining they’ll listen to the whole thing.  If it’s a good story they’ll read all 963 pages.

As you build your business, be very wary of people offering blanket recipe-style advice.  Ask lot of questions to determine if you’re hearing from an amateur cook or a master chef.

Don’t assume they know something you don’t.  The opposite is probably true:  You probably understand something about which they don’t have a clue.

—–

If you liked this post, you’re friends will like it too.  Please share it on Facebook and Twitter.

And then share your personal reactions below.

Dov