They still sell snake oil

They still sell snake oil

A hundred years ago, it was common in the United States for travelling salesman to cross the country selling cures for all that ails you. And guess what? A lot of their cures worked! Well, at least they worked for a short time.

 

What few people knew was that some of those magical potions contained cocaine and alcohol. So naturally those who purchased the products got a short term good feeling. This led to their success. Long term? No benefit.

 

Today, we have a different kind of 'snake oil salesman'. The modern version peddle a pile of self-help products that have now been proven to not work.

 

One such product is subliminal tapes. Million and millions of tapes have been sold to a gullible public to help you lose weight, quit smoking or to attract incredible wealth. Science has now proven beyond any doubt through countless studies,

they have absolutely no benefit! This is a multi-million dollar industry based on a sham.

 

There is a short term placebo effect where people claim to feel something. However in terms of concrete results.....nothing! The only thing they do is make money for the producers of this scam.

 

"If it seems to good to be true....it might be snake oil"

 

Here is an urban myth that is often used to sell these tapes and other products. You only use 10% of your brain. Again scientific studies prove conclusively this is an impossiblity. If you only used 10% of your brain people would look at us and say, "look at Eduardo he is laying there motionless and not breathing, it's almost like he is dead" Because that is what you would be, dead. Sellers of subliminal tapes often profess that their tapes will help you access the 90% of your brain that you haven't been using.

 

There is a new branch of phsychology that has been expanding rapidly, it is called Positive Psyhcology and it is examining things like what is it that leads to happiness and success. The good news for us is that we can find out what really works and what is just todays version of snake oil.

"its like springtime in my mind beautiful ideas keep popping up everywhere"

 

 

 

 

 

Think tropical vacation if you want to be more successful

Powerful persuasion tips that you should know

Imagine that you are at this tropical beach. It is a beautiful hot day with a gentle breeze off of the ocean. You are warm, relaxed and peaceful. The sun feels sooo good on your body. You are totally contented and happy.  Swaying gently in your hammock the thought occurs to you, if I have any problems I can't remember them.  Live is good and you are at total peace with yourself in this warm tropical paradise.

Now think about me the writer (that would be me). How do you feel about my personality? Odds are that if you really allowed yourself to imgine being in that hammock on the beach that you will feel better about me also. Just by imagining being warm and relaxed improves your feelings about me or anyone else you immediately come into contact with.

So why am I telling you this? Because the feeling of warmth is very seductive. If you want to persuade someone to your point of view or buy your product or service you should always try to warm them up first. This is a persuasion technique called priming. It is priming you with a good feeling before introducing any request.

I'm not saying that you should bring them pictures of tropical beaches (but it might help). There are many ways to warm up a person. Here are a few...

Give them a hot drink. Researchers found that even just holding a hot drink (without drinking it) caused people to feel warmer towards others. They also found that when people were given a hot drink they became more generous and more likely to give to others. So you want your sweetie to do something for you, give them a hot drink first.

A warm handshake warms up you both. Now if you live in a cold climate location you need to ensure that you warm up your hands before shaking hands with someone. If you are going to introduced to someone and if you can discretely warm up your hands you are going to perceived much better. Just rub your hands together rapidly. They won't know why but they will instantly feel a closer bond with you by shaking a warm hand. Cool huh?

 

TIP.....Imagine you are about to meet someone.   Just before you are introduced you are holding a hot cup of coffee in your hands.   When you go to shake hands yours will be nice and warm.   Sub consciously the other person will just assume you to be a warm person.   That first impression is so powerful and research says...lasting.  Try it!

Who doesn't love a good hug? Sadly there are a very few who don't like to be touched but not many. The problem is its not a good idea to hug people you just met in a business situation. But if you are going to persuade someone you know and you can safely hug them they will melt in agreement. Just thinking about this makes me want a hug?

 

I know a business lady who hugs her clients when they meet.   They love her and wouldn't dream of taking their business elesewhere.   Because...

 

"When you earn your business with the best price, product or service...you might lose that business if someone else has a bertter price, product or service.   But if they really like you....you really have to screw up before they go elsewhere"

A great smile will warm any heart. You've got it so use it! It's darn near impossible to resist returning a great smile.

Warm words. Reaserchers found that when bell hops went to carry bags from a room for guests that if they mentioned it was a beautiful sunny day their tips increased. Just talking about a sunny day was enough to warm up the other person. So words matter. Oh, by the way did I mention its going to be a beautiful sunny day today? And how would you feel about buying me a Baileys and coffee?

And finally....

That's right....its good to have beautiful sunny images to warm  up  you and your clients.   Researchers have found that just by looking at pictures like the one above it also makes you more creative.   So right now my desktop background picture is that one.    

Now that I've warmed you up to my ideas, would you like to buy a great book?

The seductive sound that can make you wealthier and more persuasive

 

"The sweetest sound to our ears is our name"

 

 

The biggest lesson I've ever learned about being persuasive is to put the focus on the other person and not yourself.  And that's why using the other person names is so vital to being heard.   We love the sound of our own name when it is spoken by others.

 

So is it enough to just use the other persons name frequently in all forms of communication?   No, how you use it can increase its effectiveness.  So here is a valuable tip I've learned....

 

"make sure you end all conversations and written communications with the persons name"

 

Doing this ensures that whatever is being said has a better chance of being remembered and being believable.    So instead of ending a conversation with a quick 'bye' or 'talk to you later' try ending it with the persons name.  For example..."it was great talking to you Rick"   or "lets chat again soon Ashley".  Most of us are good at first impressions but poor at last impressions.  And because of that its easy to stand out by just adding the persons name at the end of the conversation or communication.  So make you bye as good as you hi.

 

Using a persons name also softens the blow of criticism.   It makes the other person feel like more than just an employee if you ended a criticism with something like..."I'm sure you understand the importance of making this change and will do your best Bill".

 

And sometimes its best to not put your name at the bottom of the email.   They know that the message is from you so why not just end it on their name.    If you want you could put your initials but even that is not necessary.   Better to just end it with the sweetest sound to their ears....their name!

 

 

 

 

 



The little know proverb that changes lives

If at first you don't succeed remember this....

This proverb was written over 1,000 years ago by a very wise sage. It has been passed down from one generation to another and to this day it has reminded men and women to persevere and not let life's little setbacks and disappointments knock you off your path. The great proverbs are short, simple and contain a great truth. They are easy to remember because of their simplicity while still containing an important lesson.

CONFESSION TIME.....I just made that little story and the proverb up. I thought it would make my attempt to write a proverb sound wise and important. Did it work? Ok, it may not go down as one of the worlds great proverbs but I still like it anyway.

But wait it gets better....

I also re-wrote the Serenity Prayer

CONFIDENTIAL ...Rules of the World (for Guru's)

(click on picture to enlarge)

 

 

 

Psst...before you can graduate from 'Guru U' you must commit to this!

Anything is possible if you can have fun doing it

 

“Success and happiness are inversely proportional to anything that is hard and difficult”

The really good news is: If life hasn’t worked out the way you dreamed, it might be because you just aren’t having enough fun. Isn’t that beautiful? Oh, don’t worry, I can hear that annoying voice in your skull whispering to you…this guy is nuts! Well, that may be true but the paradox is not. By the time you are finished this book I am more than confident you will be a convert to the fun easy way to abundance and happiness. So let’s begin.

“Our mind plays tricks on us all of the time so it’s time to give it some of its own medicine"

 

When things are going poorly, we feel overwhelmed and this is when the mind starts playing its tricks on us. It starts telling us things like: you are not smart enough or you just aren’t working hard enough. That’s stupid because we both know you are a genius and hard work has nothing to do with success or happiness. (maybe you don’t know that yet but stay tuned).

One of my ‘aha moments’ came when I realized how much effort I will put into sports. After a game of squash, I would come off the court drenched with sweat, physically drained and yet on a high. I thought to myself, wow it’s amazing how hard I just played. I get incredible fitness out of the game and I love it. Now, if you put me in an aerobics class or on a stationary bike, I know I would not keep at it anywhere long enough to get the same benefit. I just don’t have that kind of willpower (nor do I want to). But make it a game and I will expend incredible effort. So being the bright and lazy guy that I am I reasoned that if everything was a game or just plain fun, then logically anything would be easier and thus possible.

Work is really good for those who want to make a modest living. So if that’s all you want go to work and forget about this book. Now for those who want to do something exceptional you need to have more fun. Fun at work, fun at home, fun in your relationships and even fun in your spiritual life. Remember the wisdom of the bumper sticker that says…

“If work was that good for you they wouldn’t have to pay you to do it"

While writing this chapter I got to thinking about the great inventions of mankind. It occurred to me that many inventions came about because someone was trying to make work easier or attempting to avoid it. So I guess you could say the lazy guy has great potential to change the world.

Then there are people like Steve Jobs and his buddy Woz who were so busy playing with computers in his dad’s garage that they ended up creating Apple computers and becoming billionaires. And how about that guy Zuckerman, he was just trying to score with the college girls when he invented Facebook. These guys played their way to fantastic success.

When it’s something you have to do for a wage it’s work. When it’s something you love to do it’s play. And getting paid to play is about the sweetest concept man has ever invented. One requires work and the other effort. Same thing only different (in a really good way).

Just because I say so doesn’t mean it’s true! You’ve probably been habituated to the mantra… life is hard and difficult and then you die. I expect to have a challenge proving to you that you can live life like play. But a challenge is nothing more than a game and I really like to play. So let the fun begin…

“Life must be lived as play”  (Socrates)

I may be a nut but I’m not the only one! And it isn’t just Socrates that shares my point of view. Here’s what another great philosopher Heraclitus had to say….“Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play.” Yeah, it’s true, those guys were hanging around this planet a couple of thousand years ago, but the billionaire Richard Branson says…“We won’t take on any venture unless we can have fun doing it.” So if it’s good enough for philosophers and billionaires it’s good enough for me. 

“You can only be profoundly absorbed in doing what you love”

That’s going to be demonstrated to you in this book. I love my philosophy that….life was meant to be fun, easy and abundant. So I’m going to have a blast convincing you with the kind of book you’ve never encountered before. You see I learned awhile back that you can’t bore anyone into wanting to learn. And if I had to write the typical boring philosophy book it would never have gotten done. I wanted to have fun writing it and guess what? I did.

 

"You will never be good at seducing life until you master the art of fun”
 
Fun is not a trivial matter it is the most important thing in the universe. Later you’ll learn that energy flows to fun and fun is the path of least resistance. Once you understand the power of fun you will realize it’s a lot like when you were in elementary school. The difference here is recess goes all day long with 15 minute work breaks.   

“This won’t hurt a bit"

In keeping with my philosophy that things are better if you can have fun doing it I promise a fun easy read but with a HUGE return on insights. Then perhaps one day you will become a goofy guru like me and together we can start a new movement and make the world a better and happier place.

Pssst…I will confess, there is no denying that hard work has gotten lots of warrior types great success and wealth. My point is that hard work is just a one way path and it sure as heck isn’t the fun one. 

 

Chapter 1 How to Seduce Life....Confessions of a Seducer

I’m a seducer not a fighter!

One of the most persistent metaphors for success is that of a warrior. It sure sounds noble to charge out there and conquer life. To overcome every obstacle and defeat any foe. To never back down from a fight, and through sheer will power to impose your intentions on the world. The problem is that for me it just doesn’t work, as it doesn’t for millions of others. For we are the lovers not the fighters. So what are we supposed to do?

“it is far easier and a lot more fun to seduce life than to try and conquer it”

As epiphanies go that was one of my favourites….to seduce life. I’m a big fan of seduction. The whole idea excites me. To seduce life is to entice life to give you back what you want freely and lovingly. It requires a whole new skill set, but it sure sounds like fun doesn’t it? Admit it, wouldn’t it be great to have success and happiness given to you instead of having to take it or conquer it? Now that I think about it….that’s a seductive thought!

“nothing is good, bad or funny, but thinking makes it so”

Before all of you warriors come looking to impose your will on me for a perceived attack on your philosophy let it be known I’m okay with you guys. I really don’t care how you conduct your affairs. It’s just not for me and my tribe. While you are out conquering your worlds, we seducers will be out seducing ours. 

“warriors compete and seducers create”

To a warrior life is a competition that they must win. To a seducer life is a game to be enjoyed and savoured win or lose. To a warrior happiness is delayed and then celebrated with the final victory. To a seducer happiness is in the process, it’s the game silly! Sure there is an extra boost of happiness in the winning, but it would be a hollow victory if the game was not enjoyable. What would be the point?

“what would it benefit a man if he conquered the world but didn’t have any fun doing it?”

Seducers don’t see any benefit in delayed happiness. As I said earlier, delaying everyday happiness until the goal is achieved is pretty much like delaying sex until you are old. Life is too important to be taken seriously by us. Warriors as everyone knows are very serious on the path to victory, seducers not so much. In fact seriousness is terminal to us. If you see us being serious it’s probably just a game we are playing to mess with you. (big secret….we love messing with warrior’s heads).

“life is the only game where we get to make up own rules and yet so few do”

The reason so many people aspire to be warriors is because that is what they were taught by parents, teachers and self-help gurus. It is one way to win but it’s not the only one. In this book I will attempt to show you a better way to play the game of life. It’s a lot more fun, easier, plus the results can be even better than the warrior game. The really great seducers understand the importance of playing the game under their own rules. They are constantly searching for ways to amp up the fun. Seducers love surprise and unpredictability because they are as flexible as a breeze.  

“you deserve a life of pleasant surprises and gifts, and that is what I promise to share in this book”

Like most of us you were probably taught that life is hard and difficult and then you die. Perhaps it’s time for a change of pace, time you joined us seducers who believe that life was meant to be fun, easy and overflowing with abundance.
  
You choose….