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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.

I just announced to my email list that I am holding a “Manifestation Weekend” for 25 people in Austin, Texas on May 20 and 21.

I got inspired to hold this weekend — which might be considered part two of my famous Spiritual Marketing Super Summitt of years ago www.attractorfactorblueprint.com — after spending several days with Dr. Len, who I wrote about a few days ago, and who 75 people came to see on Feb. 25.

Everyone at that dinner with Dr. Len got something personally transformative. In my case I got a new understanding of how to create or allow miracles. This is leading-edge and mind-expanding. I wish I could tell you about it here, but it would take too long.

Since writing my book, The Attractor Factor www.attractorfactor.com, I learned how to accelerate the manifestation process. I want to share these insights with you in a small group setting, so you can fully experience their power.

The weekend will be about the basic 5 steps as explained in my book, as well as my new insights, discoveries, and processes.

I’m not going to write a long sales letter or send you to a website to convince you to attend, because this isn’t about words, it’s about inspiration.

I’m looking for the 25 people who are reading this and saying, “This feels right to me. Count me in. I’ll be there.”

If what I’ve said here resonates with you, and you feel you want to be one of the few to attend this weekend with me, here are the details —

• The first 10 people to register get in for $1,000.
• The second 10 people to register get in for $2,000.
• The last 5 people to register get in for $3,000.

Obviously, if you feel the nudge to attend this private training, then I suggest you let my assistant know right now. Send her an email at [email protected]

“If you can perceive your desire, it exists.” — Neville www.attractanewcar.com

Expect Miracles.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS — Five people instantly registered for the Manifestation Weekend. They know that money likes speed. Action is rewarded. Miracles are possible.

PPS – The audio recording of the Feb. 25 dinner with Dr. Len will be given away with a book purchase as part of my new book promotion on March 7. Circle that date and look for an email about the big event to promote Life’s Missing Instruction Manual.

Thanks to my dear friend Mark Ryan, my recent one-hour teleseminar is now my most recent podcast. It’s at https://www.mrfire.com/podcast.html

On it I reveal the 7 secrets of Invincible Marketing.

I surprised myself with all the information I revealed on the call — all of them proven to work for any on-line or off-line business — everything from —

* What most people never do in marketing
* The real secret behind P.T. Barnum’s fortune
* How I orchestrated the greatest hoax in modern history (!)
* How I got 3,000 people to visit my blog in a day
* How to reach new customers for free
* How a woman went from broke to $10,000
* How a “positive addiction” can help you
* Where to look for the gold in your life
* What you must do every day to succeed
* My private secret for always growing
* The truth about the fear of failure – or success
* How to discover what you really want
* My secret to productivity
* And….well, the list just goes on and on.

Just go to my podcast. Sit back. Relax. Soak up the information.

And don’t say I never gave you anything.

Enjoy,

Ao Akua

Joe Vitale
www.mrfire.com

PS – On the podcast I mention my Executive Mentoring Program. It’s described at http://www.joe-vitale-executive-mentoring.com/info.html