Dr. Joe Vitale’s Blog

Back in December I wrote a post about gifts. http://mrfire.blogspot.com/2005/12/why-does-santa-give.html

I openly informed everyone that the best gift for me and probably anyone else with a book addiction is an Amazon gift certificate.

But not everyone reads my blog.

A well-meaning friend who I absolutely love and admire sent me an email a week ago, saying he was sending Nerissa and me a surprise.

He asked if we would be home, because he didn’t want the surprise to perish sitting on the front steps.

I figured he was sending fruit, which I love, or a plant, which Nerissa loves.

I was pretty sure it wasn’t an Amazon gift certificate.

Then the other day Fed-X brought the big white box.

I carried it inside, called Nerissa into the kitchen, peeked at the return address, and shuddered.

“I think it’s live lobsters,” I mumbled to Nerissa.

She whipped around, angry, and said, “You’re messing with me! Nobody would do that to us!”

I opened the top flat, careful not to open the inside of the carefully packaged box, and saw a recipe on how to cook live lobster.

I also heard a scratch from inside the box.

You can’t imagine how nauseated we felt.

Sending two animal loving people live animals to cook is not the right gift for us.

I’m sure some people would relish the idea of receiving live lobsters. Not us. If we had to kill animals to eat, we’d be vegetarians or we’d starve.

The point of this blog isn’t about whether it’s right to eat meat or not, the point is about what do you do when you make a mistake?

I wrote the friend who sent the gift to us, thanked him, and said it wasn’t right for us. I was loving and polite in my note to him, careful not to hurt his feelings, but I wanted him to know this gift missed the mark.

If you were him, what would you have done?

This dear friend wrote back, apologizing, letting me know how terrible he felt, and asked me to Fed-X the lobsters back to him, saying he would take them to the ocean and free them.

That was a brilliant answer.

Not only did he know enough to ask for their return, but he knew that we would love knowing he freed those critters.

I sealed the package, gave it back to Fed-X, and the two lobsters with the most frequent flyer miles in history went back home.

But this beautiful turn-around story doesn’t stop there.

My friend sent us the above picture of him freeing the lobsters, and wrote the following email (which he gave me permission to share with you):

“Attached is a photo of me about to release the lobsters.

“Below zero with the wind chill out there yesterday. Also recorded it on video, but having trouble uploading video to my computer.

“I had a crazy idea to launch a “free the lobsters” website, put out a bunch of press releases, put fliers up around towns on the seacoast, etc.

“Would have tons of videos and photos about how “A Crazed Couple From New Hampshire Are Buying Up All Of The Lobsters In New England And Setting Them Free Back Into The Ocean.”

“The site was going to sell tee-shirts that said, “Free The Lobsters”.

But due to the cold, the amount of pictures and video that we were able to take without getting frostbite wasn’t enough. That is something that would have been in ALL of the newspapers around here. Would have been known as the great lobster hoax.

“Oh well. At least they are free and happy now. Again, I am sorry.”

In my book, The Attractor Factor www.AttractorFactor.com, I talk about TIISG.

That means “Turn it into something good.”

My friend who sent the live lobsters turned the negative moment into something good.

Remember TIISG.

And “Free the Lobsters!”

Ao Akua,

Joe

www.mrfire.com

www.HypnoticMarketingInc.com

PS – I still prefer an Amazon gift certificate http://www.amazon.com/gp/gift-certificates/ over just about anything else you could name, unless you’re planning to send me a 2006 Bentley Continental GT. www.bentleymotors.com Then, I’ll make an exception.

PPS – My latest book, Life’s Missing Instruction Manual, is still an Amazon bestseller. Was #1 for four days. Still in Top 10 on bestseller list right now. You can still grab $13,000 worth of bonuses for getting the book. See www.TheMotherofAllBribes.com Tell friends. They’ll love you for this news. It’s the deal of 2006. It’s sure better than live lobsters in a Fed-X box.

To celebrate my latest book, Life’s Missing Instruction Manual, hitting #1 at Amazon and staying there for four days, I want to give you some more gifts. To wit —

A short but upbeat Business of Success interview with me is at – http://snipurl.com/mismanual

An hour-long “hypnotic” interview by the mesmerizing Wendi Friesen is at – http://snipurl.com/ne23

A longer interview with Simpleology founder Mark Joyner carefully probing into my early years of struggle, and learning my three secrets to success (inspired by blues-rock guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan), is at – https://www.mrfire.com/a/earlyyears.html

All of the recordings are free for you to listen to right at your computer.

If you somehow missed or mis-placed the offer to get my new book and claim $13,500 in bonuses, it’s still up (for now) at – http://www.TheMotherofAllBribes.com

Thank you for your support.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS – A few seats remain: If you haven’t heard about my Manifestation Weekend, read about it on my blog at – http://snipurl.com/ne2m

My latest book, Life’s Missing Instruction Manual, shot up the Amazon bestseller list within hours yesterday — despite some unexpected bumps in the road. For example —

We offered an “ethical bribe” to get people to buy my new book. We sent them to www.themotherofallbribes.com where the offer is explained.

Basically, get a copy of my new book and you’ll get 59 original bonuses – worth over $13,500.

Good deal, right?

The thing is, my web guy didn’t finish the site. He had the landing page done at www.themotherofallbribes.com but he didn’t finish the download page. He was struggling with personal issues and gave up and quit. He left me an email saying he’d talk to me in a few days.

Days?

My promotions were in full swing. I couldn’t turn them off. Yet the download page where people collected their bonuses wasn’t ready. They would buy books, go to collect their bonuses, and see — nothing.

I started to panic.

About then I received an email from Mark Joyner, Internet legend and dear friend. It was 2 AM in New Zealand, where he lives now, but he just “happened” to be online.

He said some wise words about how people will forgive me and how there is always a way to turn any negative into something good.

I felt better.

We then exchanged a fury of emails as we searched for a solution to the download page.

But then my computer died.

My main pc, the life blood to my business, just quit.

And this is all while I’m doing radio shows and answering emails and otherwise working on my book promotion.

What would you have done in this situation?

(Well?)

I took a breath and decided to get centered.

Since I had just spent several days with Dr. Len, learning his updated ho’oponopono Hawaiian method for healing, I decided to practice it.

I kept thinking of my web guy and how I wanted to send the police to his door.

But then I thought of how he and I are connected and how I have to take total responsibility for his and my actions.

This is not easy.

Blame is far easier.

But total responsibility is the door to freedom.

I then asked for forgiveness and sent my request within myself to the Divine (whatever you want to call that force bigger than all of us).

I did this for twenty minutes.

I kept saying “I love you” and “I forgive you” to the world, not to myself or even to my web guy, but as a general tonic to all that is.

I ended up feeling total peace.

When I checked my email (on my Blackberry phone) there was a message from my web guy.

I thought he was out of action for days?

He apologized, said he was back on his feet, owed me his life, and would work to get the site at www.themotherofallbribes.com done.

What a relief.

Oh. My book hit #1 on the Amazon bestseller list last night and is still there today.

This is the fastest I’ve seen any book become a bestseller on Amazon.

We even nudged Wayne Dyer off the throne.

And left Harry Potter in the dust.

And my book hit #1 at Barnes and Noble online, as well.

But this opera ain’t over.

You’ve seen nothing yet.

Stay tuned.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS – I am reading a riveting book about all the modern day hoaxes online and off. This thing is eye-opening. It blows the whistle on “facts” you accepted as true, and makes you wary of everything brought to you by the media or an email. Covers eBay auctions, ads, politics, food, birth, death and more. Get this book. Get it! It’s Hippo Eats Dwarf by Alex Boese, who also wrote The Museum of Hoaxes. See www.museumofhoaxes.com and www.hippoeatsdwarf.com I’m hoping my Great Lotto Hoax, reported on this blog yesterday, will make it into the next edition of one of Boese’s books. Or maybe I shouldn’t wish for that…

PPS — Thanks to my friend Bill Hibbler for sending me the screen capture above. Bill and I are coauthors of a book you’ll want. But beg all you like, I’m not telling you what it is — yet.

If you heard my recent podcast/teleseminar on Invincible Marketing https://www.mrfire.com/podcast.html , then you know my little secret.

In short: I am directly responsible for the recent national hoax where a man claimed to win the largest lottery jackpot in American history — and for a while convinced the media he found the lucky numbers while reading my bestselling book, The Attractor Factor www.AttractorFactor.com

If you haven’t figured out why I financed this event, here’s the inside scoop: The entire publicity stunt was an Internet Marketing Strategy.

Let me explain this to you —

Since I wrote the only business book on P.T. Barnum in There’s A Customer Born Every Minute, I know the value of a good hoax, humbug, or publicity stunt. Not only can they be fun, but they can lead to enormous publicity. Barnum did them all the time, and people loved them. Humbugs were the entertainment of his day.

But founding father Benjamin Franklin did them, too.

For example, he never flew a kite to discover electricity. According to Tom Tucker, in his book, Bolt of Fate: Benjamin Franklin and His Electric Kite Hoax, it was a stunt created by the dear Franklin. As a writer and printer, Franklin knew the value of getting the public’s attention.

One of the greatest hoaxers of modern times is Alan Abel www.AlanAbel.com, who I now call a friend. After reading his books, interviewing him for my www.HypnoticGold.com membership program, and wishing I was like him, I hired him to pull the greatest lotto hoax in modern history.

He orchestrated a smaller version of the lotto hoax once before, in New York City in 1990, when he made an unknown actress by the name of Charlene Taylor famous overnight.

I wondered if he could do it again — but on a national scale.

He could, and did.

When the Powerball Lottery announced a winning ticket for the largest lotto jackpot in history — a delirious $365,000,000 – Alan and his team put on warm clothes, grabbed copies of my book, and caught a plane.

They then staged a show worthy of an Oscar. Bob Pagani, a radio DJ and cohort of Alan’s, used the name Bob Pagano and pretended to be the lotto winner. He carried my book and said he found the winning numbers in it.

Pandemonium broke out. TV cameras were everywhere. They covered every moment of this event. So did the press. Even Good Morning America reported the story. So did the Associated Press. One headline said “ABC Duped By Lotto Hoax.” http://www.lotterypost.com/news-129113.htm

Radio stations called me for interviews.

Newspapers ran my name, my book title, and some even printed my book’s cover on their front pages.

Reporters wanted to know why I did this.

I jokingly said, “I tried to win the lotto for real. It was just easier to fake it.”

It was all in fun — but there is a master Internet Marketing Strategy behind it all, too.

After all, I am a marketer.

All of this publicity is only Step One in our grand strategy.

Step Two is to leverage all that publicity – now caught on video – into book sales. There’s quite a lot to that step, and it hasn’t begun yet. Alan is still doing interviews for such notables as Howard Stern, so the publicity machine hasn’t cooled off and may not for a few more weeks.

So Step Two will be book sales. I can’t talk about this step because it isn’t activated yet. But you might want to watch sales increase for my recent books, such as The Attractor Factor and Life’s Missing Instruction Manual http://www.LifesMissingManual.com.

In fact, I am implementing part of the book sales step today, with the largest “bribe” in Internet history http://www.theMotherofallbribes.com. Some of the publicity generated by this lotto hoax will drive people to that site, where book sales will kick in.

Step Three will be to create products to sell, such as a DVD about The Great Lotto Hoax and a book about The Making of the Great Lotto Hoax.

Just as there is currently a documentary about Alan Abel’s life http://www.abelraisescain.com/, there will soon be a documentary about this event.

And a book.

And a Special Report.

And T-shirts, an audio program, and a seminar.

And — who knows?

This publicity stunt will net a lot of mileage over the years to come.

My friend and mentor Paul Hartunian got publicity for selling the Brooklyn Bridge back in 1983 — and he’s still milking that story today. http://www.prprofits.com/bridge.html

Obviously, this lotto hoax will have legs for decades, and will lead to bottomline profits in a variety of ways over the years ahead.

My small investment could potentially turn into millions of dollars in sales.

Few people in business have the guts to pull something this huge in order to get attention for their products or service. But in this day — in any day — you have to do something to stand out in the crowd.

For example, two weeks ago I had breakfast with Andy Dallas, the next president of the Society of American Magicians http://www.magicsam.com/. He told me about his stunts to promote his magic act – such as hanging upside down from a helicopter while struggling to escape from a straight jacket.

He, of course, was simply upgrading an old stunt Houdini used to do to get attention for his magic shows in the early 1900s.

Again, you have to do something to get noticed today.

I admit I was nervous about hiring Alan Abel to create this stunt for me.

But I’m a disciple of him, and Barnum, and knew that many successful authors did outrageous things to get attention, such as Robert Allen, who promoted his real estate book by challenging the media with —

“Send me to any city in the United States. Take away my wallet. Give me $100 for living expenses. And in 72 hours I will buy an excellent piece of real estate using none of my own money.”

Robert went on to become a New York Times bestselling author.

Robert’s still issuing challenges. See http://www.robertallenschallenge.com/

And besides, didn’t I record the bestselling audio program called The Power of Outrageous Marketing for www.Nightingale.com ?

I couldn’t let fear stop me.

When it comes to having fun, making money, and making history, a good publicity stunt may just be the ticket.

Just ask P.T. Barnum, Benjamin Franklin, Alan Abel — or me.

Ao Akua,

Joe Vitale
www.mrfire.com

PS – Read one version of the lotto story at http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060224/LIFE01/602240331&lead=1

PPS – P.T. Barnum never said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” That’s another hoax. For proof, read my book, There’s A Customer Born Every Minute (revised version d
ue out April, 2006 from J. Wiley, Inc.) and/or see http://www.historybuff.com/library/refbarnum.html

PPPS – If you want to know how the world’s #1 book publicist gets publicity, see
http://www.everythingyoushouldknow.com/mrfire/

PPPPS – Be sure to see http://www.theMotherofallbribes.com You know you want to.

Yesterday Nerissa and I went to see the new movie 16 Blocks starring Bruce Willis and Mos Def. We loved it. It’s a fast-paced thriller with a positive message.

Bruce Willis, Mos Def, and Frank Nugent give command performances and Richard Donner makes the movie sing with action. I urge you to see it.

But that’s not why I’m writing this.

When we relaxed in front of the television last night, which is our norm before going to bed, we decided to watch an old re-run of Don Knotts as Barney Fife. We miss Don Knotts. Watching him on TV would be a bitter-sweet experience.

The Andy Griffith Show episode we watched was filmed in 1962. It was about Don Knotts/Barney entering a choir but not being able to sing a note.

Everyone knew Barn was a lousy singer except Barney himself. The thing is, no one wanted to break the news to Barney about his singing.

The entire show was about protecting Barney’s feelings.

Contrast that to the TV sit-coms of today. Most of them gain their “humor” by taking cheap shots at the other characters. The comedy comes from belittling or hurting others.

I couldn’t help but feel we need more wholesome shows based on love and respect, like the old Andy Griffith/Mayberry ones.

Since television is programming our minds, at least unconsciously, it is shaping who we become. It would help all of us if it offered better role models and behavior. Barney proves that it is possible.

The Bruce Willis movie 16 Blocks has positive character messages in it, so I know there’s hope for us, and for the media.

My assistant, Suzanne, saw the same movie on the same day we did. She asked me if I noticed what was on the side of the bus in the movie.

I hadn’t.

I was hoping it was an ad for my next book.

It wasn’t.

Instead, the bus ad conveyed something better:

“Send love.”

Exactly.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS – We miss you Barn.