Joe Vitale

  Dan Kennedy is my favorite living marketer.

He’s a grumpy guy with a negative attitude about many things, but he also has a surprising sense of humor, a hypnotic writing style, and a marketing genius brain.

I studied and still study his books and courses on copywriting, advertising, direct marketing, speaking, writing, management, marketing, and no BS this and no BS that. I soak up everything he writes and says.

When his monthly gold newsletter arrives, I drop everything and read it. In fact, I always look to see if he has anything new for me to buy, and I’m disappointed if there isn’t an ad insert for a new product of his.

That’s how much I respect Dan Kennedy.

So you might imagine my surprise when he asked me to write the foreword to his latest book, No B.S. Marketing to the Affluent.

I was stunned, delighted, and so honored that I spent three days writing and rewriting my foreword for him.

I chiseled the thing into perfection. I felt like Michelangelo must have felt smoothing marble into David.

Dan loved my foreword. It’s called “How to Easily Attract the Affluent.” I’m proud to say it’s mentioned on the cover of his new book — a book you can get at book stores right now, or from Amazon, of course.

More than that, in the back of Dan’s new book he has me listed as a resource. In the section for www.joevitale.com he says,

“Vitale is a true marketing, sales and promotion genius.”

You know I loved that. 🙂

But forget about me and my foreword.

Dan’s latest book is a masterpiece. There are so many tips and insights and practical suggestions on how to make money marketing to the affluent, that I wouldn’t know where to begin.

The book’s under twenty bucks, which I think is a ridiculous steal.

My only complaint about Dan’s new book is that he didn’t autograph it to me.

Go get it.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS — If you’re at all interested in marketing, you must be reading books by Dan Kennedy. There’s just no two ways around it. See www.dankennedy.com or just go to www.amazon.com and buy every book by him. NOW.

 Diane Watson moved from Pennsylvania to Texas when her husband transferred to a new job. 

She became depressed.

She didn’t know anyone. Didn’t have a job. Missed her family and friends and familiar surroundings.

She found my book The Attractor Factor, read it, applied it, and began to do things that made her happy.

She smiled more. She became a realtor. She made friends.

And then she discovered that the author of The Attractor Factor lived down the street from her.

You might imagine her surprise.

She wanted to meet me but was nervous. She saw my bright yellow Steven Tyler Panoz AIV Roadster outside a coffee shop and knew I was inside. She got out of her car, took a picture of my car, and left.

She saw me walking to my mail box one day as she drove past, and instead of saying hello, she ducked behind the steering wheel and stepped on the gas.

She wrote me a long letter, sent it by snail mail to me, and I read it and replied to it. But she never wrote back.

We finally met at a party. I liked her instantly and we arranged to have lunch.

Over lunch Nerissa and I learned she was a realtor. We told her our plans for a green mansion. Diane took on the project. She’s been helping us find the right property ever since.

But something else happened at that lunch.

Diane told me she had been studying my marketing material, too, and loved my book on P.T. Barnum, There’s a Customer Born Every Minute.

She told us she had a dream of opening a site that would be a one-stop clearing spot for people wanting to buy or sale land or homes anywhere in the country.

But she wasn’t sure if it was a good idea, or if she could do it.

I saw the diamond in the rough and encouraged her to take action.

“But where do I start?” she protested. “There are rules and regulations for each state. And I don’t know how to make a website. Or how to get traffic to it. Or what to call the site. Or –”

Her list of objections went on and on.

Both Nerissa and myself encouraged Diane to start now, and to start with something. As she took action, I explained, the next steps would become clear.

I wasn’t sure if Diane would take action or not. I hoped she would. But you never know what people will do. Will they step forward, or step back? It’s up to them.

Well, the other night Diane came by to pick us up in her new car (which she says she attracted with my attract a new car program) and with new business cards proudly displaying her new website: www.propertyhugger.com

She is going for it.

This is how dreams become realities: you start with whatever you can do, learn what you need to know for the next steps, and just keep moving forward.

It helps to have encouragement, of course. That’s why I have a Miracles Coaching program. But maybe you, like Diane, don’t need it. (Actually, Diane had me has her neighborhood Miracles Coach.)

Whatever the case, begin and begin now.

Go for your dreams.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS — In my next post I’ll answer the question, “When did I start encouraging people, and why?” It’s an eye-opener.

 Mandy Evans is the first Miracles Coach. She knew me when I was poor and desperate, and helped me. She knew me when I was unpublished and struggling, and encouraged me. She knew me when my wife died, and helped heal me. She recently came to visit me, and we had a blast. Her version of the story is on her blog here http://beliefbreakout.blogspot.com/2008/06/best-thing-about-abundance.html And you can see me interacting with her on a short video clip here www.youtube.com/watch?v=9v8nM2PAacw or by clicking the below image. Don’t bother trying to hire her, though, as she’s retired from miracles coaching. That’s why I set up www.miraclescoaching.com You can get her books at Amazon or off her site www.mandyevans.com Enjoy. 🙂

I wrote one of the first books on Internet marketing long, long ago. It was called CyberWriting. It became a quick bestseller due to one secret – a secret revealed in the following brief video clip. At the recent World Wellness event in Austin, I met a comedy writer who once worked for one of the greatest magicians of all time. Click the below image to see it (or go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3ayqloL1YA) and learn about magic, marketing, and more, as my co-author (of Inspired Marketing) Craig Perrine looks on.

 I entered and completed seven fitness contests and lost eighty pounds because of one man — a man I finally got to meet a week or so ago.

I was a featured speaker at the World Wellness Weekend event in Austin, along with Marianne Williamson, Marci Shimoff, and Bill Phillips.

Bill Phillips created the Body for Life challenge over a decade ago. It was a brilliant movement to get people to transform their bodies and their lives in only twelve weeks.

His book became a six million copy bestseller and the movement captured the imagination of an estimated two million people.

I still remember reading his magazine, Muscle Media, and seeing all those before and after pictures of average people who were now stunning looking.

I got the bug and the dream, and went for it. I couldn’t complete the first two challenges. Working out and dieting for twelve weeks was too much for my mind and body at that time.

But when I combined the Body for Life system with the Mental Toughness Institute for Weight Control‘s support and education, I got results.

As I mentioned above, I entered and completed seven contests. I lost 80 pounds. And I received an honorable mention for one contest.

So you can imagine how much I wanted to meet the man behind all this: Bill Phillips.

My friend Mark Ryan and I went to the event on Friday night to set up my booth. I didn’t know it but Bill was speaking that night. We figured we’d go see the room where I’d be speaking on Sunday. As we wandered around, I thought I saw Bill Phillips over in the corner.

But the guy I saw looked too young. This might be Bill’s son, or younger brother. But not Bill. He looked like a California surfer dude. Was that Bill?

I tried not to stare but my eyes kept wandering back to the guy. I wanted to know if it was Bill. If so, he sure seemed unassuming, humble, and natural.

After a while he went on stage to have a sound check. That’s when I knew the young fella I had been watching was in fact my hero: the legend himself, Bill Phillips.

He wasn’t ready to speak yet so I felt this was my moment. I took a deep breath, looked at Mark, and said, “I’m going in.”

I took two steps up the stairs to the stage, looked at Bill and said, “My Phillips, I’m –”

“Hi Joe,” he said, smiling.

I almost fell down the steps.

“You know me?” I asked.

“Oh, I’m well aware of who you are.”

He was smiling a little sheepish, shy smile but his eyes glowed.

“How do you know me?” I asked, baffled that this fitness inspiration would know my name. “From the movie The Secret?”

“No, I knew you before that,” he said. “From your marketing books and methods.”

Now THAT was flattering.

The man behind one of the most legendary movements to get people in the gym, who’s marketing is brilliant, knew me from my marketing.

“I saw you in the movie, too” he said. “We call that movie the Joe and Michael show, since you and Michael Beckwith are the stand-outs in it.”

I was stunned.

But I also wanted Bill to know how he helped me.

“Bill, I want you to know you transformed my life. I entered your contest seven times and dropped eighty pounds.”

“No!” he exclaimed, truly impressed.

We made some small talk for a while, had our photos taken together, and exchanged information so we could stay in touch.

It was a historic moment for me: meeting one of the heroes of my life.

Thank you, Bill Phillips.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS — Bill has another movement in the works and another book coming out. He wants to transform the nation’s youth from childhood obesity to healthy and fit. See www.transformation.com