Joe Vitale

 Lynn Reardon, founder of LOPE, a loving service that rescues Texas ex-racehorses and finds them new jobs after their racing days are over, came to my book signing yesterday.

She told me how she used my attract a new car material to get a truck and I asked her to write the story for me. She sent me the following email, used here with her permission:

Dear Joe,

It was great to meet you yesterday at the book signing. I just finished reading Zero Limits last night too!

You asked about our new truck — but first off, let me warn you — all of my stories are long 🙂

I am one of those people who always drive beat-up vehicles. Until recently, LOPE’s truck was a mammoth 1992 dually truck — the clutch was dying, the A/C had been gone for years and the front driver’s door wouldn’t open. Still, I stubbornly held on to it, the notion that LOPE couldn’t afford a new truck firmly fixed in my mind.

The truck continued to decay, until finally I had to use my husband’s even MORE dilapidated, tiny Toyota truck to do ranch errands. That truck is shown in the DVD you saw — it was down to about 1.5 cylinders, went through gallons of oil and shook incessantly.

Did I mention I am stubborn?

Anyway, I saw your “attract a new car” website and also listened to you describe it with Bill Harris (on the Masters of the Secret interviews). Inspired, I decided to contact everyone I knew and tell them LOPE was ready for a new truck. I specified our ideal truck (F250, 4WD, excellent condition, icy A/C, “ranch tough” exterior, gooseneck hitch for towing, stick shift if possible) and casually mentioned (“oh by the way”) that LOPE was looking for creative solutions to financing the vehicle.

Our budget was small but our ambitions were mighty.

The response blew me away. Several people offered to research auctions for us; another sent a letter to local truck dealers requesting a discount for LOPE; someone else scouted Carmax daily. 

None of these quite panned out, but I sure appreciated the help and support.

But then one of our sponsors, Equine Express, recommended a dealer up near Fort Worth. Equine Express buys lots of trucks (they are a cross-country horse shipping business) from this dealer.  I called the dealer, and they were great to work with. They had a good truck for us, offered us a nice discount and figured out some wonderful creative financing — with a monthly payment LOPE could afford.

What type of truck was it? A Ford F250 with 4WD, low miles, icy A/C, a gooseneck hitch, tough truck bed rails (for tying down hay bales, etc) — and automatic transmission (well, I did say standard was optional). It even had rubber floors and vinyl seats — the ultimate in ranch chic!

So I boldly agreed to buy the truck over the phone — just needed to drive there to sign the papers & pick it up.

Attached is a photo of the truck — it’s the perfect ranch vehicle — I feel very rugged in it 🙂

That’s the first long story — pretty neat! I didn’t even have to sign up for your attract-a-new-car course (though I was planning to — seemed like a terrific deal) —  just reading the site inspired me to action.

There is a second long story — about how we picked up the truck in a tornado-laden storm — but I will spare your eyes and send that in another email.

Also attached is a photo of Woodford Lad, a racehorse we adopted out to a new home. As you can see, his new owner is very happy with him 🙂

Thank you again — your work has helped LOPE and racehorses like Woodford Lad very much.

Lynn
www.lopetx.org

My friend Mark Ryan just posted two short videos of me visiting a fan of The Secret on YouTube:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=6tmaRCEk35Y    Part 1

http://youtube.com/watch?v=sa54udOilfY       Part 2

Enjoy.
 

A few months ago I spoke at a restaurant marketing convention and suggested, even begged, that one of the restaurant owners hold a “hypnotic dinner night”. 

My idea was to have a hypnotist put patrons into a trance. They could then imagine eating anything they wanted without fear of gaining weight, and they could dine with anyone they wanted, as well, from celebrity to fictional character to whoever.

I knew it was outrageous, but I’m the guy who recorded The Power of Outrageous Marketing for Nightingale-Conant, and I’m a disciple of P.T. Barnum, so it seemed fitting.

Anyway, I just received this email…

Hi Joe,

I wanted to send you a personal invitation to my first ever Hypnotic Pizza Night! 

I own Big John’s Pizza in Pendleton, Oregon and attended Rory Fatt’s Boot Camp, which you spoke. 

You truly inspired me on two of your ideas, cross-promotion with other businesses and the hypnotic night with a hypnotist. 

When I returned from boot camp I immediately took action with a cross promotion and teamed up with our local food mart/gas station (Dave’s) and we teamed up to give away FREE gas for a year in a scratch-off promotion. 

This promotion alone brought $22,000 of additional revenue to Big John’s Pizza from May 1st through June 10th! 

Thanks for the inspiration to take action with cross-promotions.
 
Now I am taking action on your next big idea of a hypnotic night at my pizza parlor. 

Our Hypnotic Pizza Night is scheduled for Thursday, August 23rd at 7:00pm.  I have booked Ron Stubbs as the hypnotist (www.hypnodude.com). 

At book camp, you mentioned you would like to attend a hypnotic night at a restaurant.  I would like to personally invite you to a night of fun at our first annual Hypnotic Pizza Night at Big John’s Pizza! 

Please let me know if you can attend, we would LOVE to have you as our guest!  Pendleton, Oregon is a town of 15,000 in a rural Oregon.  We are home of the 3rd largest rodeo in the world!  www.pendletonroundup.com.  Amazingly, we do have an airport that you fly directly into Pendleton via Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air.

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Andy McAnally
Big John’s Pizza

P.S. My family was in Mexico for two weeks in June, I read The Secret, it has also changed my life!

I love people who take action — especially on my ideas!

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS — Fit-a-Rita is getting world-wide media coverage!

The rains finally stopped here in Texas. All we have left are rivers where there used to be dry land.

The sun is out, the sky is clear, and I can return to the pool and read while I work on my tan.

Today I read the mind altering From Here to Here: Turning Toward Enlightenment by Gary Crowley.

It’s a wonderful companion to Zero Limits. In the beginning of it Crowley quotes Wei Wu Wei as saying:

“Free, we are not number One, the first of all our objects, but Zero – their universal and Absolute Subject.” (italics his)

The book contains insightful quotes and optical illusions to prove “you” aren’t in control of your life, so you might as well surrender to what is.

The book is a quick read unless you try to actually understand it. That will take time.

But the book is designed to carefully take you by the hand and lead you from here to, well, here.

It will definitely make you think, until the point where you decide to just watch the thinking. 

You can get a free sample at www.garycrowley.com 

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS – If you aren’t in charge, who or what is?

PPS – It’s raining here again.

The 12-string custom made collectible Taylor guitar that I wrote about and ordered the other day arrived.

After I opened the box and played with the contents, I wrote the following to Pat O’Bryan (used here with my permission):

IT ARRIVED!

It’s so smart, it opened the case itself, levitated out of it, and floated over to me.

As I held it, it purred.

When I began to play, the guitar made me sound like a muscial version of Shakespeare with a touch of rock and roll seeping out.

The 12-string Taylor 655ce black w/Florentine Cutaway is as light as a feather but as loud as 12 musicians all playing custom guitars in the most harmoniuous way.

This thing is a work of art.

It needs hung on a wall.

Under glass.

With an armed guard in front of it.

I have a telseminar to get on right now and then a business meeting to go to, else I’d shut down and just play this angel.

Thank you for inspiring me to get this.

What a great gift.

You.

And the Taylor, too.

joe

A little later in the day Jim Steilberg of Steilberg String Instruments at http://store.stringinstruments.com/ called to check on the guitar and me.

An interesting marketing lesson about upselling (“Do you want fries with that?”) happened while we were on the phone.

After he answered all my questions, and just before we hung up, Jim spontaneously (?) said, “If you ever want an acoustic amp to go with that precision instrument, let me know. I have the best one on the market.”

He then told me about it.

And before you knew it, I ordered one.

That’s upselling.

I had already bought from him, so I was still in a buying trance.

Saying “yes” to the Fishman Loudbox 100 Pro Amplifier was a snap to do.

I now have everything Michelle Malone needs to rock the house the next time she comes here to play for me.

And I bet Pat can’t wait to give me another guitar lesson, if only to get to play my Taylor angel.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS — You can see the amp I bought at  http://store.stringinstruments.com/pm-392-16-fishman-loudbox-100-pro-amplifier.aspx