My latest music video is a six minute behind-the-scenes look at the making of my sixth singer-songwriter album, The Great Something. There are lessons in it about going for your dreams, asking for what you want, hanging in there, and more. You’ll meet my band of legends, hear a little of my new music, discover the unusual creative process that helped me write songs, etc. You’ll also find me talking about the person I dedicated the new album to: rock icon Melissa Etheridge. I’m proud of this new music video. I hope it inspires you, too. Here it is:
I’m going to share a hot off the press story with you here. Then we can look at how to apply the principles in it to your life.
Ready?
I just finished recording my sixth singer-songwriter album. It’s called The Great Something.
While the previous five albums all reveal a musician growing in confidence and ability, each one better than the last, this latest one broke all boundaries.
The songs are better than ever.
The singing is hands down the best ever.
The music is stellar, going from swing to ballad to rock to (as my drummer put it) “improvised symphony of genius.”
Why is this album so much better than all the others?
What happened?
I used everything I teach about self-help, goal-setting, and manifestation to create this album; from setting a clear intention to gathering my band of legends, to taking action on the ideas and opportunities that arose as I moved toward the recording date.
While all these elements are part of what make The Law of Attraction work in your favor, clearly the biggest turning point for me was attracting my private two-hour songwriting lesson with rock icon Melissa Etheridge.
I’ve already written four blog posts about my time with her. (See PS below for links to those “Attracting Melissa Etheridge” articles.) I won’t repeat myself (much) here, but I openly declare that my time with Melissa deeply influenced this entire album.
In fact, I’ve dedicated it to her.
Let me explain:
First, I used some of her music dynamics to create new songs.
The song “Melissa Said” is, as my producer called it, “The greatest thank you card of all time.” It’s an original song I wrote for Melissa, using some of the arrangements she shared with me about making music. My band got goose bumps listening to my homage to Melissa. It is stellar. It is three minutes of gratitude. (Wait till Melissa hears it!)
Second, the title track song was directly influenced by my time with Melissa.
While Melissa was too wise to tell me what to do, her feedback helped me learn lessons for myself. It was the Socratic method. Socrates didn’t give you the answer. He helped you think of it on your own. Being with Melissa helped me realize the title track song (and the album) needed to be called The Great Something, my phrase for God or the Divine. (It was originally going to be called The Miracle.) That insight redirected the entire album.
Third, and more importantly, Melissa urged me to write from the first person.
“The Great Something,” the title track song, is raw. It’s from my view of life, my hard times, and my discovery of The Great Something. The band was blown away with the power and depth of it. It is riveting. It is revealing. That is a direct result of taking to heart what Melissa told me about writing in the first person.
Fourth, when I was with Melissa, I shared the opening lines of a song that had come to me in my sleep.
Melissa liked what she heard. Because of that, I felt encouraged to complete the song. I did. It is the most hauntingly beautiful thing I’ve ever penned. It’s called “Hey You,” and it’s designed to heal any hurting heart. Guitar Monk Mathew Dixon added his sweet guitar on it and it is deliciously healing.
Fifth, Melissa taught me to feel my message when I sang.
As a result, my singing on a singer-songwriter ballad I wrote was, as my producer called it, “Sinatra-est.” It was probably the highest compliment he could give me. My voice compared even remotely to Frank Sinatra’s was enough to make me speechless. I just followed what Melissa taught me and felt the song as I sang it.
Obviously, I absorbed Melissa’s wisdom and vibe and infused it into this new album.
But we aren’t done with the album yet.
I’m hoping to have Grammy nominated saxophone great Mindi Abair add her happy sax to my “Glad Game” swing song.
I’m hoping Grammy nominated singer Ruthie Foster will add her soaring vocals to the spiritual I wrote called “Look for the Light.”
And I’m hoping Melissa Etheridge will add voice or guitar to any track.
I have big dreams for this new album. As Daniel Barrett, producer (and coauthor of the book, The Remembering Process) told me, “You can’t think average thoughts and expect extraordinary results.”
So, I’m thinking BIG.
This post isn’t about getting you to buy my new album. It isn’t completed yet, let alone ready for sale.
Instead, I’m sharing all of this with you to demonstrate how the Law of Attraction, magic, and miracles work.
Here’s a quick recap:
I’m sure you can do this, too.
You have a dream, don’t you?
You could set an intention for it, gather allies, and start to move toward it, right?
Are there any real excuses or limitations for doing what you really want to do, if you really want to do it?
Isn’t today a good day to begin?
The Great Something says YES!
Ao Akua,
PS – Here are the links to my four blog posts about my songwriting lesson with rock icon Melissa Etheridge:
https://www.mrfire.com/law-of-attraction/attracting-melissa-etheridge-part-4/
https://www.mrfire.com/law-of-attraction/attracting-melissa-etheridge-part-3/
https://www.mrfire.com/law-of-attraction/attracting-melissa-etheridge-part-2/
https://www.mrfire.com/law-of-attraction/attracting-melissa-etheridge/
Note: In case you are curious, samples of my five singer-songwriter albums are here: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/JoeVitale1
Back on September 1st I wrote about how I used the Law of Attraction and the Law of Right Action to attract legendary singer-songwriter-guitarist Melissa Etheridge.
At that time I hadn’t met her yet or had my songwriting lesson with her.
Well, now I have.
As I write this in Los Angeles, I had my session with her yesterday, at her home.
She met me outside her door, hugged me, gave me that Melissa million dollar smile, and said, “I didn’t know you were a fan.”
A “fan” is an understatement.
I’m a fan-atic.
I’ve been in awe of her performing and her music since around 1995.
To be standing with her was surreal.
As it turns out, Melissa is a fan of my work, as well as the work of the rest of the teachers from the movie The Secret. She’s personal friends with Tony Robbins. (Tony introduced ho’oponopono to her and her sweet spouse.)
She reads all the deep-end metaphysical books. She says she began around 2003 by picking up Ken Wilber’s The Theory of Everything, which is like learning how to swim by being dropped in the Atlantic ocean.
Her spirituality and understanding of manifestation has helped her awaken and achieve even greater levels of success in more recent years.
She told me that laying on her back, with cancer, and watching the movie The Secret, forced her to think about what she wanted in her life.
“If I am this powerful being who gave myself cancer and can create whatever I want, then I want healed, I want to make more music, and I want to win an Oscar.”
Of course, she went on and did all of that.
My time with Melissa was about songwriting, but she began it by asking about my life in music, my books, and then showing me her guitar collection.
Her favorite guitars are in the trailer that goes on the road with her. But she has a guitar room with them lining the walls like playable art.
And she has a studio with old and new and prototype guitars. (Ovation is releasing a ME electric in January). She also has more guitars in storage.
Of course, I related, understood, and told her of my own collection, which she says she wants to see one day.
We went in her home studio to focus on my actual lesson.
We each had a guitar. I had my songbook, where I jot ideas and snippets and songs. She said the songbook is sacred. (Later, I had her sign mine, making it even more priceless to me.)
From there she had me pick a song idea. She wanted to know the why for writing a song.
“What’s important to say in the song? Why do you want to write it? What’s the intention for it?”
She told me how she wrote some of her own songs, first thinking about why she wanted to write them.
She explained that for her song, Pulse, she wanted people to know that the person who went into a nightclub and shot dozens of people did so because he was in pain.
She also explained that for the Al Gore slide show about global warning, she wanted people to know that “I have to change,” not anyone else.
I found her to be a deep thinker, cutting to the core with her messages.
I told her about wanting to tell people how they could be happy now, and manifest their lives using the Law of Attraction, and more.
She nodded, accepting my reasons.
From there, for Melissa, it all begins with what I call a brain dump.
“Just write words,” she said. “Let it be okay whatever comes.”
She also advised to “fall in love with words.”
She uses a paperback thesaurus to look up other words, so she isn’t using too common or too cliche of words.
While I had been using Masterwriter, a popular software for songwriters, I found using a printed thesaurus slower but more enlightening.
The time spent looking up a word gave my mind time to think, and the alternate words were often surprising and triggered other thoughts.
We began with me wanting to write a song about Miracles, since my new book is titled The Miracle.
But within minutes the song became about The Great Something, a concept I write about in my book The Secret Prayer.
Instead of saying God, or Divine, or Universe, I refer to the super power behind all of life as “The Great Something.”
Melissa loved “The Great Something”‘ because it made you want to know more.
In a song, it would make you want to listen.
I got excited watching the song unfold with Melissa’s help.
Melissa often writes pages of words and phrases, knowing that later she will edit them.
“Editing is the fun part,” she told me.
She pointed to the back cover of my album, One More Day, to the line, “Self-help messages in 3 minutes or so.”
“That’s the challenge,” she said, smiling bright. “To condense pages of ideas into a three minute song.”
“That’s why I’m here,” I said. 🙂
Her songwriting template, more often than not, is to write a verse, then go right to the chorus, then to a versus, chorus, bridge, and chorus again.
“It’s stating the problem in the verse, and often a solution in the chorus,” she explained. “The next verse might spell out the problem more, and the chorus will again offer the upbeat solution.”
One of the biggest insights for me was the idea of writing in the first person.
Melissa says that first person songs are more personal and hit home with people.
Second person, or ‘you’ oriented songs, are one step removed from the listener and have less impact.
More often than not, she writes in the first person.
I started to play with the idea of writing The Great Something song in the first person. I instantly felt more connected to the song, and felt more power in the message.
I also saw myself get more excited and inspired.
“Always write from inspiration,” she had told me earlier.
“Get to that place where you have tingles of excitement for whatever you are about to write,”she added. “Never write without the tingles.”
She doesn’t meditate but often walks in nature, looks at trees and flowers, reads some poetry, reviews songs from people she admires, from Bruce Springsteen to Neil Diamond, all to ignite her inspiration.
I told her I smoke cigars.
She didn’t seem to relate to that.
Of course, she lives in a state where cannabis is legal.
Later she asked me to sing for her.
Now try to imagine that.
I’m a star-struck beginner at singing, sitting in the home studio of a rock and roll legend who has the most soaring voice of all time, and she says, “Sing for me.”
That’s like having Elvis ask you to sing.
Well, I did.
I played a snippet of my song One More Day, off my One More Day album, and a snippet of my song Today’s the Day, off my Strut album.
I also played a little instrumental, to give her a sense of what Guitar Monk Mathew Dixon and I create.
I was off key, out of step, and out of tune, but I did it anyway.
Melissa smiled big and said she bets the recorded versions with the band are stellar.
I then asked about singing advice.
Melissa took a breath and gave me a long, wise, hypnotic answer about watching the Ed Sullivan Show on TV and being influenced by Tom Jones, Janis Joplin, Robert Plant and others.
She noticed their joy in singing was what was so captivating.
She went on to say she wanted her music to be ballsy, not girlie.
She didn’t want to sing head voice, though she could.
She wanted something deeper and harder.
I related and told her I often felt more comfortable singing with a baritone guitar, which lowered my voice into my chest.
“That’s a good place for your voice,” she said. “It’s at home there.”
She also gave advice on performing.
“Never perform sitting down,” she said. “It cuts off your breathing.”
“And always eat, be hydrated, and get plenty of rest, so you can deliver your performance with full power.”
I’ll be processing my time with Melissa Etheridge for the rest of my life.
I found her open, loving, generous, spiritual, fearless, talented, present, friendly and wise.
She even invited me to speak on her next cruise ship concert. (!)
I was a fan (fanatic) before meeting her in person.
Today I’m in love.
Hey Melissa, I want to come over – again!
Ao Akua,
Joe
PS – Please note that whenever you have an expert coach you, your experience and expertise leap in incalculable measures. Melissa Etheridge heard a limiting belief come out of my mouth that I didn’t hear and I was the one who said it. We all need a coach. Consider Miracles Coaching.
I’ll be 62 years old (young) at the end of this month.
While that means I’m a member of AARP, I can get discounts at certain stores, and my remaining hair is turning gray, it doesn’t mean that I have stopped growing.
In fact, I’m aging backwards.
I’m youthing.
In the last year alone I —
— attended a strongman training and bent a horseshoe, a steel bar, and a nail, all with my bare hands, and drove a spike through a board with my fist. I was the oldest person in the room, even older than the instructor, and probably the most inexperienced when it comes to feats of strength. But I attended anyway. I learned a lot, too, including the fact that virtually “Nothing is impossible.”
— attended an advanced guitar camp with legendary player Tommy Emmanuel. I was one of the oldest in the room, was surrounded by players far more advanced than me – including a 14 year old girl who dazzled everyone with her skills – but I attended anyway.
— attended an online class to learn how to play the baritone saxophone, wrote an article about playing for a sax mag, recorded an entire album of saxophone music, hired Grammy nominated sax sensation Mindi Abair to perform for me and tutor me, and more.
— discovered a synthophone — an alto sax turned into a midi instrument — and bought one and learned how to play it, using it to help make another healing music audio with Guitar Monk Mathew Dixon, called The Enlightenment Audio.
– went into the studio with one of my favorite singers in the entire world – Grammy nominated Ruthie Foster – and producer Daniel Barrett and created an album called Stretch! with me writing lyrics, playing baritone saxophone, and singing with Ruthie. Talk about a stretch! But I did it.
— traveled to Kuwait to speak to people interested in self-improvement and curious about positive psychology, but also traveled to numerous domestic spots, as well, including to one where we discussed my having my own television show in 2016.
— despite having written more books than most people read in their entire lifetime, I released several more, including the best selling The Secret Prayer and volume 3 of The Miracles Manual. And I just signed a publishing deal for my next book, coming out April 2016.
— and even though I’m an author of books designed to help people, I’m still buying and reading other people’s self-help books, too. I’m always searching for new authors, new voices, new books, new material, to help me expand my thinking and my life.
Why?
Why do I continue to invest in courses, books, audios, coaching, classes and more?
Why am I continuing to do this as I turn 62?
Because I’m still learning, growing, improving, stretching and discovering myself.
Because I don’t know it all and am eager to discover more about myself and life.
Because as long as I keep moving forward, they won’t throw dirt on my face.
I have no idea your age, and it doesn’t really matter.
My father is 90 and still enthusiastic about life.
He gets up earlier than you or me or the sun every morning and wallops a standing dummy five hundred times.
And that’s before he does light weight lifting, walking, and other exercise – with a hernia.
Actor Dick Van Dyke is 90 and still dancing.
Turn on the right music and he’ll start free styling it without a word or a prompt but with a gigantic bright smile on his happy face.
I’m sure you are younger than 90.
I’m reminding you to think big, do big, and move forward in big ways, no matter what your age.
Or, drop the “big” and just think, do, and move.
“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.” ― Sophia Loren
It’s the end of this year.
The new one is firing up.
Ready or not, here it comes.
What would you like to accomplish in 2016?
You can begin right now by signing up for a course, or a class, or coaching.
The idea is to joyfully experience life.
It’ll keep you young, bright, happy and healthy.
“You’re never too old to become younger.” – Mae West
And isn’t that what life is all about?
Happy Birthday to me.
Happy New Year to you.
Let’s make this new one rock.
Ao Akua,
PS — Consider my father. He’s 90 years old. He still gets up every morning and works out for two hours. He also is the primary caregiver of my ailing, bedridden mother. And, at 90, my father became an author. His book, The Most Contented Man, is on Amazon. He’s starting another book. He’s ninety. I’m sixty-two. Do you really have any excuses not to stretch and grow, learn and do?
Brace yourself. This is the first time I’ve ever made this offer. It is limited to 10 people. It will transform your life. It is BIG. Details below…
“Joe Vitale is a true marketing, sales and promotion genius.”
– Dan Kennedy, in his book ‘No B.S. Marketing to the Affluent’
“Just when you think you understand how the world works Joe Vitale comes along and takes you to a whole new place. He’s engaging, entertaining, enlightening and – oh boy – does he ever stretch your thinking.” – Ian Percy, Reg. Psych. and member of both the US and Canadian Speaker Halls of Fame.
“No one else I know of could help someone come up with a Barnum-like Big Idea and then help them take it to fruition = becoming a huge phenomenon, which means BIG money, fame, recognition, and unique world positioning. See Joe Vitale’s outrageous list of accomplishments to know this is the real deal.” – David Garfinkel, Copywriter, Author, Consultant
What else is possible?
What’s left undone?
What can you attempt to attract or achieve that would stun even you?
Yes, you can stay comfy.
You earned it.
But we both know that life begins at the end of your comfort zone.
That’s where “the rush” is.
That’s why people do dare devil endurance feats and climb mountains and open businesses.
They want more.
That’s why people in Kuwait, already wealthy, open retail shops.
They are seeking the gusto of life.
They want to feel alive.
What’s your next dream?
While you think about your answer, allow me to share my own answer.
My own big dream is the desire for a vintage Gullwing.
That’s a Mercedes SL300 Gullwing.
That’s the iconic car considered by many as the world’s first super car.
Gullwing doors.
Leading edge engineering.
Futuristic design.
Built in 1954-55 and sought today as investment grade masterpieces.
And fetching upwards to two million dollars.
Each.
I want one.
I want one because the desire for one is melting my limits about what I think is possible.
If a once homeless man like me can attract a vintage Gullwing, what else is possible?
It’s not about the Gullwing.
It’s about The Stretch.
So, what’s your Gullwing?
It doesn’t need to be a car.
It can be anything that makes you suck in air.
It can be anything you long for but have yet to achieve.
Anything that gives you chills.
Anything that makes you a little scared and a lot excited.
What’s your Gullwing?
What would you like to experience just because you want it?
I’m looking for 10 people to join a Gullwing Mastermind with me.
This is a full year program for creating miracles.
It’s what Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, declared was the key to success.
He wrote –
“The “Master Mind” may be defined as: ‘Coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose.'” – Napoleon Hill
The Gullwing Mastermind private group that I am inviting you to join consists of –
ALSO –
AND –
And you will have the power of a mastermind to help you achieve your goals.
Some of the most successful people I know are in one or more mastermind groups.
I met a man recently who is in five masterminds.
These are powerful, inspiring, life changing.
You not only draw from my experience, but you have the collective power of the entire mastermind group on your side – the wisdom, energy, support, experience, education, resources, contacts, and more.
Obviously, this is a priceless experience.
But maybe you need to know more about me —
* I started as a homeless nobody, lived in poverty for a decade, and went on to fame and fortune. Today I live the lifestyle of the rich and famous. Incredibly successful people hunt me down for consultations and engagements, like the princess in Kuwait who paid me six figures to speak at her event, and the son of the man who produced The Beatles who wants me in a movie and television show he is producing.
* I wrote more books than most people read in a lifetime – about 50 so far, with numerous ones being bestsellers, such as The Attractor Factor and the recent The Secret Prayer. These books have become #1 bestsellers on Amazon, in the overall category of ALL books. I have been published in every way you can name, and have secrets and insights about each approach.
* I recorded multiple bestselling self-help programs, for the largest and most famous audio producer in the world, and saw many of them become record-breaking bestsellers – even out selling Earl Nightingale’s famous programs. I know how to create, package, and sell programs so the world hears about them.
* I pioneered Internet marketing, wrote one of the first books every published about it in the 1990s, created outrageous attention grabbing stunts like being the first to hypnotize someone live online, using the Internet to out sell a Harry Potter book, and selling a hefty package and making half a million dollars in three days.
* I traveled around the world, speaking in countries as diverse as Russia, Peru, Poland, and Kuwait, and of course being a keynote speaker at major events in the USA, including for the National Speakers Association, and at mega-wealth events with Donald Trump and Tony Robbins on the same bill as me.
* I invented Hypnotic Writing, Hypnotic Marketing, Buying Trances, The Secret Mirror, The Secret Reflection, Miracles Coaching, Wealth Trigger, Hyper-Wealth, and much more, all of which are staggeringly successful. I know how to generate ideas, package them, and market them to the masses.
* I wrote sales copy for more authors, speakers, consultants, CEOs, celebrities and more, than I care to remember, increasing their sales, improving real world numbers, and more. I’m talking everyone from The Red Cross to hospitals and non-profits to Abraham of Jerry and Esther Hicks fame. I created Hypnotic Writing and wrote a book explaining it.
* I have attracted national media exposure being on everything from Larry King Live (twice) to Donny Deutsch’s Big Idea show, to being on ABC, Fox, CNN, CNBC and more. I’ve been in the New York Times and Newsweek. I know the value of media exposure in establishing you as an authority and the “go to” person.
* I have been in 15 movies, with The Secret being the most famous, and three more coming out in 2016. And I got in one of the movies because of a mastermind.
* I am coming out with my own television show in 2016. It’s going to combine a TED-style talk with Oprah-style interviews and the selling power of QVC, and is designed to inspire people to go for their dreams.
* I wrote Attract Money Now and give it away as a list builder and gift to humanity. I also give away numerous other books, including The Miracles Manual and The Abundance Manifesto. I know the value of “karmic marketing” in helping the planet and yourself.
* I brought ho’oponopono to the world, through my books, Zero Limits and AT Zero, reaching an estimated 5,000,000 people.
* Near the age of 60 I recreated myself as a musician and, at my last count, recorded 15 albums. I called myself the world’s first self-help singer-songwriter to separate myself from the overwhelming competition. Reverbnation voted me #1 singer-songwriter. My music videos have attracted hundreds of thousands of views. I have over three hundred thousand fans. My albums with Guitar Monk Mathew Dixon have made more money than most musicians ever make in an entire career. I know how to reframe and repackage to market to success.
* I developed a spiritual approach to wealth, ignoring cutthroat methods and always focusing on a balanced, healthy approach to success, based on passion and purpose. I know how to create win-win-win negotiations and conduct business from the heart.
* I can listen to virtually anybody for about 20 minutes and see or create a unique money making idea specific to them. I have done it with friends and strangers, helping them create products, and with my own wife, helping her create a bestselling cookbook.
* I created a movement to end homelessness, raised funds for those in poverty, and compiled a book to help others who struggle. I know how to think big, confront limitations, and urge people to go for their highest ideals.
* I discovered the “missing secret” in self development, the idea of counter-intentions, and have been teaching it to people for over a decade, in my books, audios, and Miracles Coaching program. This one method alone can accelerate results for anyone.
* I’m considered an expert on the Law of Attraction, and know how to use it, teach it, and go beyond it. I’ve explained deeper concepts than it in my books and audio programs, such as The Awakening Course. Most people have a superficial or erroneous understanding of LOA. I help them get clear. I help them get results.
* I invented e-classes back in the 1990s, which everyone and his brother offers today. I know how to repackage material as an authentically new product.
* I wrote There’s A Customer Born Every Minute, the only business book on P.T. Barnum, the famous circus promoter who was also a speaker, writer, politician, entrepreneur, publicity genius, and more. Studying Barnum (and others like him, like Houdini, Branson, and Trump) gave me the ability to “Barnumize” almost any business by finding or creating the Big Idea and promoting it to the world for fame, fortune and immortality.
* I created the Rolls-Royce Phantom Mastermind, where people flew in from all over the world to spend a few hours with me in the famous luxury car, going to dinner, sharing, and getting coaching from me. ABC television news covered one of them. I know how to think bigger than big and light a fire under people to go for their dreams.
I could go on.
The point is, you not only will get the collective genius of the mastermind, but you will also draw from my own experience as well.
But I have to warn you –
This won’t be cheap and it won’t be for everybody.
After all, when I offered the Rolls-Royce Phantom Mastermind, people paid $5,000 to $7,500 each for just the evening with me.
An entire year will of course be a much larger investment.
If you qualify, we can arrange a payment plan, too.
If this idea makes your palms sweat, but makes your heart race with anticipation, then contact my assistant for details.
Write Suzanne at suzanne @ mrfire.com (close spaces to make it a workable email address).
Are you ready to fly?
Are you ready to stretch?
Are you ready to go for the biggest dreams of your life?
What’s your Gullwing?
Ao Akua,
Joe
PS – What would you do if you weren’t afraid?
Note: If this offer to join my Gullwing Mastermind ends up being too pricey for you at this time, remember that you can always join Miracles Coaching right now. And you can always read many of my books, such as Attract Money Now, for free.