Reg Gupton posts two tips about selling stuff.

Hi Reg Gupton here.

A few days back one of the members on my Mastermind Group, Scott Birkhead, sent the message below. He rec'd it from a direct response marketing genius, Dan Kennedy. You can learn more about Dan here.

Here is what I rec'd from Scott.

"THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT SALES YOU'LL EVER MAKE:

I believe the most important sale you'll ever make in your life is selling yourself on selling. You must decide to master selling, to enjoy selling, and to sell.

The day you commit to a life of selling can be the day that turns your life around. When you start viewing your activities in the context of making sales, you'll get much more done, much faster, and much more effectively.

The second most important sale is selling you on you. Do you really believe you have what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur? How you feel about yourself and how you see yourself (self-image) combine to regulate what you permit yourself to do and be, much like the thermostat on the wall regulates temperature. No one can outperform his or her own self-esteem or self-image.

HOW TO BRIDGE THE CONFIDENCE CHASM

For new entrepreneurs, and sometimes for experienced entrepreneurs, there can be a wide gap between the capabilities a person thinks he or she has and the capabilities he or she perceives necessary for the tasks ahead. Facing that chasm can be as intimidating as standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon and contemplating Evel Knievel's motorcycle leap.

It has consistently been my experience that people underestimate themselves and overestimate what's necessary for the success they seek. The millionaire entrepreneurs that I know are not much smarter or more knowledgeable than the average person on the street, nor are they gifted or somehow pre-ordained for exceptional achievement. In many cases, they're not as smart as most people - believe me, I've met some pretty dumb rich people. Just about anybody could do what they do, it's just that few will do what they do."

I'm starting to understand that the real work of the entreprenuer is belief. Not forced, hyped-up, smiling ""fake it til you make it' belief in myself or some idea. I tried that and it's pretty cheesy, and frankly you can't build anything substantial on it.

But a critical foundational piece for any entreprenuer is a genuine belief that somewhere there is a market that needs exactly what they are and what they have to offer. And that when they find that market, they have the right (the duty even) to sell well. While excellence and effort and consistency are all required for success, being confident about yourself and committing to a life of selling is more foundational than any other process or skill.

I hope your week is full of confidence in who you are and what you're all about...and successful selling.

Cheers,

Scott Birkhead
www.SensibleHire.com
www.In-Control-Job-Coach.com
scottb@sensiblehire.com
6306 Holman Street
Arvada, CO 80004
(303) 887-3679

Enjoy your read.

Reg Gupton

Reg Gupton posts a book review of Think and Grow RIch

Think and Grow Rich
by Napoleon Hill

Reviewed by Reg Gupton

The other day a friend and I were talking about progress and getting unstuck. I mentioned that over the years I had received much support and incredible ideas from my Master Mind Group. “What is a MasterMind Group. I’ve never heard of one” my friend said.

I then launched into a story about Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. “Never heard of it” he said. Being a passionate reader, I take time to read all sorts of things. Magazines to articles to mysteries to techno thrillers to business books. I am guilty of assuming that others read the same amount. I know that this is not true and I can dream.

Andrew Carnegie, 1835-1919, the multi-millionaire of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century challenged Napoleon Hill, to study more than two decades and interview more than 500 extremely wealthy men to reveal the source of their riches. He did as challenged. Think and Grow Rich is the result. The book was first published in 1937.

Hill interviewed people like Henry Ford, George Eastman, Charles Schwab, Theodore Roosevelt, William Jennings Bryan, J. Ogden Armour and too many other successful men to list here. They were the wealthiest and most prominent men of the early 20th century.

Quoting from the notes from the author, “…all achievement, all earned riches, have their beginnings in an idea.” Very, very true.

Hill lists 13 principles of success. For example:

desire, the starting point of all achievement,
faith, visualization of, and belief in the attainment of desire,
autosuggestion, the medium for influencing the subconscious mind
and 10 others.

The book characterizes a meeting of minds or better put, "Mastermind Alliance" where many people put their thoughts, ideas, and experiences together to create a synergy and compilation of ideas that benefits each individual. Read Think and Grow Rich to learn more about the Mastermind principle and many other ground breaking ideas that I have found so useful in my life.

While re-reading my copy, dog eared, marked up, I recalled that for years I read this powerful book every year between Christmas and New Years. Every year when I revisited the book I took something new away. The book was the same and I was different.

I have slipped out of the habit over the past several years. It is now in my reminder system to be re-read every year from now on. You should read it too.

You can add this timeless classic to your library here: Think and Grow Rich: The Andrew Carnegie formula for money making

Reg Gupton

Reg Gupton's Top 10 reasons to join a MasterMind Group

Napoleon Hill described the concept of a MasterMind Group in the classic book, Think and Grow Rich. The book published in 1937 was based on research conducted about the successes of the most powerful and wealthy individuals of that time.

In a properly configured MasterMind Group you will be surrounded with positive thinking people who are strong, independent, and focused. One of the principles that Hill discovered in his research was that people achieve great success in life through collaboration and alliances with others.

You will be the same person in the future that you are today except for the people you associate with and the books you read and the audio programs you listen to.

1. All of us are smarter than any one of us.

2. You will be nurtured in the MasterMind Group environment as the members encourage and support you and what you do.

3. You will have an opportunity to share something positive that has happened since the last meeting.

Many times we have limited chances to tell someone who really cares about a success that we have had in our personal or business lives.

4. We all need an accountability structure in our lives so we can achieve greater progress and more successes.

5. The environment fosters intimate, honest relating. In this safe place there is nothing that is too silly or small that the others will not care to hear.

6. You can brainstorm solutions to your problems and struggles so that you can multiply the number of available ideas that you have to work with.

7. You will have complete access to a repertoire of resources and ideas by associating with the
wisdom of the group.

8. You will have the chance to cleanse your spirit as you get things off your chest (so they can be left behind and you can move on).

9. You will experience the principle of giving and getting.

10. Everyone comes to the meeting with something to contribute and expects to take something good away from the meeting.

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton