Secret

I love movies.

But not just any movies.

They need to be ones that inspire me, entertain me, even change me.

I long to find movies that are riveting to watch, yet also work on me on the inside, causing positive changes in my life.

The movie Back to the Future was one such movie.

I remember watching it and realizing that what I do right now will cause a ripple in time and influence the future me, as well as all the people I’ll touch in the future.

That movie made me realize that I need to be fully aware of my actions right NOW, as it’s those very actions that will create my future.

Movies that change you are being made all the time.

The other night we saw the movie Once.

It’s about an Irish guitar singer-songwriter who meets a woman who awakens his dream to create a demo of his music.

The original songs in the movie made me feel the passion for life and living we all need to express every day.

There are numerous movies that have inspiring messages. They include such greats as SeaBiscuit, It’s A Wonderful Life, Quiz Show, The Man Who Would Be King, The Natural, and so many more.

Why am I writing to you today talking about movies that change you?

Because I’m inviting you to make a new decision today.

A decision about watching what you do today — to be aware of your choices and even more aware of your decisions — and to live each moment with passion and purpose.

When you and I both come from that place of core strength and spirit, we create a world that works.

So I’m asking you to —

Consider the moment.

Consider your choices.

And come from power and passion.

That’s it.

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS — Speaking of movies…This new one may be the best of all.  Beyond Belief reveals how you are attracting everything  you have — by explaining the *hidden factor*  operating in your life. The movie just came out  on DVD. You’ll want it. Go watch the trailer for  the movie and get more details over at — http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=3434472

PPS – Yes, I’m in the movie. But don’t let that stop you from watching it.  🙂

Yes, I own the world’s only Alien Guitar. I attracted it via Ireland and outer space. I don’t know how to describe it. But I’ve been letting some people see it. Mathew Dixon got to meet it yesterday. His expression was priceless. Watch it by clicking on the below image:

Mathew wasn’t the only person to meet the Alien Guitar.  Recently Sarah Marie dropped by and was also introduced to it.  I’ll tell you about that, if you’re interested, soon.

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS — While you’re scratching your head about the Alien Guitar, be sure to read my latest book for free by clicking the banner below:

When I earned my private pilot’s license in 1972, I learned the value of a checklist. No pilot then or today is allowed to take off from the airport without going through the checklist. It’s a simple but essential tool to ensure safety. Since flight problems were often due to pilot error, or in not knowing how to handle a problem that surfaced in flight, having the pilot use a checklist virtually guarantees nothing gets overlooked.

According to a new book by Atul Gawande, called The Checklist Manifesto, some hospitals are starting to use checklists. Given the chaotic nature of emergency rooms and numerous medical situations, creating a checklist for every scenario is a long, tedious process. But once it’s completed, it saves lives and reduces complications. Ever since 1972 I wanted to write a book on checklists, or many even create a checklist for every industry or profession. For example, I’ve used checklists for writing advertisements, sales letters and websites. (Most are in my out-of-print book, The AMA Complete Guide to Small Business Advertising, written for the American Marketing Association in 1995.) Assuming you don’t need a checklist is the ego trap that causes errors. We all need them.

The pizza parlor needs one. So does the CPA, speaker, web site designer, SEO expert, blogger, baby sitter, luthier, and everyone else.

I suggest you sit down and write out all the steps you take to accomplish what you do for a living. For example, if you are a consultant or therapist, what are the steps you take to help your client reach success? I’m aware that there is often a need for space to allow intuition, but the basic steps should be mapped out so you don’t forget them.

When you consider that pilots with thousands of hours of flight time still have to use a checklist before they take off, you should create and use one for what you take for granted. It’ll increase your success rate and keep your ego in check.

I don’t think you need to read Gawande’s book to get his message. But if you want to read about the history of the checklist, and the adventure of creating one for hospitals, his book is riveting.

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS — Check this: Read my latest book for free by clicking on the below banner:

In 1855 P.T. Barnum was attracting a world-wide name for himself. He turned a dying dime museum of New York City into the thriving Barnum’s American Museum, the Disneyland of the day. He wrote his autobiography and saw it become a bestseller. He created General Tom Thumb and entertained royalty with him. But not everyone loved Barnum’s success. In 1855 someone wrote an article titled, “How to Kill Off Barnum”. Here it is:

As you can see, the strategy of the unknown writer was to cut off Barnum’s success by keeping him out of the newspapers. The ironic thing is, the article appeared on the front page of a newspaper. Here it is:

Obviously, this “strategy” was poorly thought out. Not only did it assist Barnum in remaining and maybe becoming even more famous, but the young showman went on to become one of the wealthiest and most well known people in the world. The writer of the article, however, remains completely unknown.

I find this relevant today. Too many people are criticizing others who are achieving success. Instead of focusing on their own goals, they spend their time and energy writing negative posts and reviews. They don’t seem to see that (a) their work isn’t stopping anyone and (2) their work is a distraction from their own calling.

Reading Will Bowen’s new book, Complaint Free Relationships, is helpful. Listening to Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art is also enlightening. Both show that complaining about others is a way to avoid doing your own work.

P.T. Barnum said, “We cannot all see alike, but we can all do good.”

Do something good today.

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS — My book on P.T. Barnum is There’s A Customer Born Every Minute. It’s at Amazon, in book stores, etc.

Now that my breathtaking new office is done, with wall to wall and floor to ceiling bookcases, I’m trying to decide what should be the first book I bring into the new sacred space.

Should it be one of my own books?

One of my friends?

Or one of the many rare, even autographed books by authors I love, such as Neville Goddard, P.T. Barnum, Claude Bristol, Joseph Murphy, Edward Bernays, Jack London, Mark Twain, William Saroyan, Shirley Jackson, Robert Collier, Napoleon Hill or – ?

I have a huge collection of books on marketing, copywriting, publicity, metaphysics, spirituality, fitness, muscle building, magic, hypnosis and more.

But of all these books, which one deserves to be the very first to gain entrance into my new office?

I went out to dinner with friends and told them of my challenge. One of them was an author and of course wanted his book to be the first in my office. Another friend suggested I have a contest and let people vote on the book that should be first.

None of it felt exactly right. We left dinner and went walking. We stumbled across a new art gallery. Inside was the artist showing his work.

It was called “Art that makes you laugh.”

I asked the artist why it was called that.

“Follow me and I’ll show you,” he said.

He brought me to a painting of two sharks swimming, headed to a judge’s bench in a courtroom.

I didn’t see anything funny about that.

“Read the caption,” the artist said.

I looked and read, “Counsel approaching the bench.”

I laughed.

Turns out the artist has been drawing humorous pictures like that one for decades. He’s known for his unique art. He’s a former advertising guy turned artist. Apparently he’s doing just fine.

I bought three of his paintings for my new office.

And a copy of his book.

His book is a collection of his funny art, titled, Are You Laughing At My Art?

I took it home and put it in my office.

Before I knew it, I realized I had finally brought a book into my new space.

But it didn’t feel like the right first book, as I had no previous relationship with it, so I didn’t put it on a shelf.

Instead, I grabbed my signed copy of Napoleon Hill’s famous book, Think and Grow Rich, and a first edition of Hill’s book, How to Sell Your Way Through Life.

Those two books are classics of success literature. They look wonderful on my shelf, too.

Now, what will be the third book I put on the shelf?

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS — The artist is Jeff Leedy. That’s him in the photo with me. Funny guy. His site is right here. Top photo is of my new office with Food Powers Queen Nerissa Oden posing in it.