Dr. Joe Vitale’s Blog

I told you about the first must-have book I’m currently reading yesterday. Today I’ll tell you about the second one:

The Culture Code by Clotaire Rapaille.

I almost didn’t pick this one up. I thought it was yet another poor spin-off of The Da Vinci Code, which I’m tired of hearing about and seeing take-offs of.

But this new book is riveting, as well as revealing.

Rapaille is an expensive marketing consultant who digs into the collective unconscious of a nation to unearth its silent system of “codes” — unconscious symbols, or archetypes.

The book’s subtitle says, “An ingenious way to understand why people around the world live and buy as they do.”

I found the book astonishing. What he declares are the hidden motivators for our behaviors is surprising, at least at first.

For example, being overweight means a person has “checked out.”

The code for fat is basically giving up on life. A fat person has “checked out” of the game, so to speak. When they check in again, they will lose weight.

And the code for money is “proof.”

We want money to show we are worthy; that we matter; that we have succeeded. It is the “proof” that validates our living and our abilities.

And you don’t want to know the code for sex.

The Culture Code goes through numerous revelations. He gives the code for beauty, health, luxury, food, shopping, work, money, sex, and more. All of it is brilliant.

My only concern with the book is how do I find out the code for any particular audience I might want to market something to? I’m left thinking the codes are priceless to know, but only Rapaille or some other Freudian trained marketer can reveal them. The codes he shares are enlightening and will help me better understand myself and other Americans. But beyond that, what do I do?

Still, this is truly a must-have book.

Get it.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS — Later I will reveal the third and final must-have book from the stack I am currently reading. What are the top three books you are currently reading? I’d love to know.

PPS – Great news: The audios, transcripts, and secret manual to the famous Manifestation Weekend are now available at www.BeyondManifestation.com If you’re ready for the “Advanced Manifestation” course, go see that site right now.

I’m reading a dozen or so books at any one time. Three jump out as must-haves. I thought I would mention them here on this blog. I’ll tell you about the first book today:

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck.

This one is really opening my eyes. Dweck says there are two basic mindsets: a fixed one and a growth one. A fixed mindset says you can’t learn anything new in a particular area. A growth mindset says you can learn something new, with time, effort and patience.

At first glance this may seem lame as an insight.

But look closer.

In the field of marketing, copywriting, publicity and online selling, I have a growth mindset. I didn’t know any of those subjects at birth. I had to learn them all. But my mindset was open. It was growth oriented. I knew I could do it, in time. And I did.

But in the field of fitness, I’ve had a fixed mindset. I felt I would never be an athlete, never lose weight, and always fail at dieting and exercise. When it came to fitness, I felt nature had dealt me a bad hand and I was doomed to accept the cards.

How do you change your mindset?

According to Dweck, all you have to do is flip the mental switch. Just being aware of the two mindsets can help you choose the growth oriented one.

For example, my trainer, Scott York, came to my gym today. I met him at the door with an enthusiasum that rocked him a little. He’s used to me being reluctant to work-out, especially with his Navy Seals bootcamp-style intense exercises.

But I’ve been reading Mindset. I realized I had a fixed mindset and I decided to give it up. After all, it wasn’t helping me. As a result, I had a terrific, though difficult, workout. And I now feel fantastic. (You’ll be able to see the workout, and hear me reveal marketing secrets, if you sign-up at www.mrfiremeltdown.com )

Obviously, in some areas of your life you have a fixed mindset. In others you have a growth mindset. The point is to realize you have a choice in all areas.

Consider: In what area of your life have you given up, or accepted that you can’t succeed or improve?

Always bad at math?

Can’t learn Internet marketing?

Always fail at dieting or learning a new language or meeting someone new or — ?

Your answer reveals where you have a fixed mindset.

You can change it.

It’s a choice.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS — I’ll tell you about the other two books that I think are must-haves later. For now, go get Carol Dweck’s book, Mindset. And read it. Like right now.

Nerissa www.thevideoqueen.com just attracted her brand new car:

It’s a 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid www.hybridcars.com/camry.html.

It’s beautiful, luxurious, and rides like an owl gliding through the night air.

That quiet, too.

She used the principles at www.attractanewcar.com to get the car from her mind into the driveway.

She began by deciding on what she wanted. Since she’s a “green girl”, meaning environmentally friendly, she wanted a hybrid: a half gas, half battery operated machine.

I bought her a tiny model of a hybrid car (a Prius) to help her start imagining the end result of having a real hybrid car.

I did the same thing when I bought a model of the BMW 645ci, which helped me internalize what it would be like later to own the real BMW 645ci luxury sports car.

The rest of the process was a matter of patience, trust, and acting on whatever actions appeared to take.

Today Nerissa has her hybrid.

We’re building a carport to park my BMW Z3. The two new cars, her hybrid and my 645ci, will go in the garage.

If you have any doubts about your ability to attract a new car, or anything else you might desire, please look at the picture of Nerissa above, meeting her new car for the first time.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS – P.T. Barnum’s birthday will be July 5th. To celebrate it, I am keeping the special offer open at www.BarnumReturns.com Go see. If P.T. Barnum were alive today, I’m pretty sure he’d have a new car, too. But it’d probably be as big as an elephant, just to get attention. He once had an elephant plow the land around his house, just so the people on the train near his home would have something to talk about: P.T. Barnum.

Seth Godin www.sethgodin.com just turned me on to a cool service:

It’s an online way to send text message reminders to your cell phone.

I just tried it and it works beautifully (but only in the USA and some parts of Canada, for now).

What you do is go to www.ohdontforget.com/ and enter your mobile phone number, the day and time you want your reminder, and the text message you want sent.

For example, I’m going to be on Wendi Friesen’s www.wendi.com radio show later today. While I doubt I’ll ever forget something as important as hanging out with the beautiful hypnotist Wendi, I thought I would test www.ohdontforget.com with a reminder to call in to her show at 6 PM Central.

The tool is a breeze to use. My only question is, what time zone does it operate in? It appears to adapt the time zone by checking the area code you enter, but I could be wrong. If you enter a a request for a call from a Pacific time zone, and it uses a Central time zone, you’ll miss your appointment. Other than that, the service is cool. And free.

Note: I just wrote my time-zone question to the programmer, Jason Stirman, and he instantly replied, saying, “Ohdontforget.com automatically knows your time zone and schedules reminders accordingly.”

WAY cool.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS – The “I love you” audio by Pat O’Bryan and myself has become a runaway bestseller. If you haven’t looked into it, why not right now? See www.milagroresearchinstitute.com/iloveyou.htm Or send yourself a reminder to look at it later.

Here’s a question I get asked a lot:

“Does anyone ever buy you an Amazon gift certificate?”

The question refers to the note above and below every entry here on my blog. Take a look above (or below) and you’ll see this statement:

So, does anyone ever buy me an Amazon gift certificate?

I got the idea to add that line after hearing about people adding similar lines, usually saying something like, “If you like this website, buy me a beer.”

You’d then see a link where you could Paypal the person a few dollars. I used to wonder if the idea actually worked, until I heard about people receiving hundreds of dollars a month this way.

I still didn’t think it would work for me or anyone else, though, until I went to one of my favorite sites at www.askdavetaylor.com/ I saw Dave has a button where you could buy him a chai if you liked his blog. Well, I love Dave Taylor’s blog. The guy amazes me with what he knows or can find out. One day, after reading his blog and feeling impressed, I sent him some money as a gift.

And that’s when it dawned on me: maybe this “buy me something if you like my site” idea would work for me, too.

I don’t drink beer, rarely drink chai, and I have plenty of coffee in the morning, so I didn’t want any of those.

But I do spend a great deal of money at Amazon. I shop at Amazon every day and buy something almost every other day. An Amazon gift certificate would be appropriate for me. In fact, it’s my favorite kind of gift in the entire world. (Unless someone wants to buy me a 2007 BMW Z4 M, of course. If you do, I prefer the color Interlagos Blue Metallic.)

So I added the “buy me” line to my blog. I figured it wouldn’t hurt and maybe somebody would actually click on it and do it.

To my amazement, the very next day after adding the line, someone sent me an Amazon gift certificate for $100.

I loved it.

Two days later someone sent me a gift of $20.

I loved that, too.

Things were quiet for a month or more until yesterday, when someone else sent me $100.

Yes, I loved it, as well.

I had a great time shopping at Amazon yesterday, feeling like a kid at Christmas, with a hundred dollars burning a hole in my cyber-pocket.

All of these gifts were joyously received. And from what I can tell, they were joyously sent.

People were glad to do it. It made them feel good. And as I explain in my book, The Greatest Money-Making Secret in History, this giving will lead to them receiving. It’s just the way the universe works.

So – Does adding a leading statement like “If you like the free articles on this blog, let Joe know by buying him his all-time favorite gift – an Amazon gift certificate. Click Here! “ work?

You bet it does.

If you’re truly inspiring or informing, entertaining or educating, people may want to thank you. A “buy me something cool” link gives them a fast and easy way to do just that, at the very moment they are feeling the most grateful for you and your writing.

I suggest you add one to your site today.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS — I know, I know. All of my “hypnotic marketing” products — all the e-books and audios and courses — have been taken off the market. People keep calling my office and saying the links aren’t working on www.mrfire.com That’s because all of my products sold through Nitro Marketing, Inc. are off the market. But, as a consolation, you can access some really good training I’ve done on hypnotic marketing (all yours free) here: www.hypnoticmarketing.com/goodstuff.o/10386 You’ll find some audios and more, including my “3 Minute Money Magnet” program. I had forgotten about it. I tried it and still love it. Go check it out. If you like it, buy me an Amazon gift certificate.