l received this email and thought it was worth sharing.

 

Hi Joshua,
I want to give you a big tip that can really change your financial future.

I call it The Big Ugly Sign Theory.

I recently had a beautiful block of land with sweeping ocean and lake views in an up market area.  I gave it to the local real estate agents to sell. 

They placed their well presented signs on it and after 2 months told me there was very little interest.

So I took matters in to my own hands.

I got a big, rugged piece of plywood and with a cheap and nasty paintbrush wrote in rough, giant letters the following words:
Private Sale
Good Price
Phone xxxxxxxx now

I can tell you this was one big ugly sign - nothing "professional" about it.
The phone rang off the hook and I sold the land.

You see the problem is that most businesses are into looking good and so present all their marketing in a very "professional" way.  However, I know from studying copywriting for years, that often if you make the copy too professional then you get less results.

I know of one very big event business that used to do very professional, glossy, 4 coloured brochures.  They hired a friend of mine who started writing direct response, long copy sale letters-all on plain paper. 

Their stats went up 50% which is huge.  However, they stopped after a few months because they got complaints from clients that it looked unprofessional.  They went back to their old brochures and the stats dropped!

Frankly most people live their entire life based on other people's opinions.  They live in the "right" house and drive the "right" car because this is what you are "supposed to do if you are successful."  - even though in many cases it is debt funded.

They put their logo at the top of all their marketing pieces because it's professional - profoundly dumb!  We know from years of testing and measuring, this approach will lose you money.  Prospects look at all marketing pieces through a filter of, "What's in it for me?"

They don't care about you - they want to know what is in it for them.  They want a headline at the top that grabs their attention and hits the right buying response.  They don't want cute or funny - they might like that from an entertainment point of view BUT they buy when it handles their problem and hits the right buying trigger!

Most business people are so wrapped up in their image that they just don't want to take a risk with their marketing.  And yet we know the number one sin in marketing is being boring.  Richard Branson built an entire empire using outrageous marketing.

Have a look at most people's advertising - it is so 'me too'.  Real Estate agents advertise dilapidated houses with a headline like, "Renovators Dream".  I used to say, "This House is a Bomb - But it's Cheap!" 

The first headline is 'me too', safe and predictable.  The second one is edgy, a bit outrageous BUT it sold!
Remember, just because everyone is doing something doesn't mean it is the best method, in fact it is usually the opposite.

(photo: helgasms!)

Vanity is extremely prevalent in our society. We all want to look good, feel great and be the envy of others. Despite the desires we have to be the best, many of us forget that underneath that initial first impression is someone (or something, in the case of a business) of quality.

A lesson on looks
Regardless of whether we want to admit it or not, looks play a part in our assessment of others. Guys always stare at the most attractive woman at the pub, girls like guys with nice abs and a toned body and we all like to be complimented positively in some way for the way we look.

But as we begin to get to know someone more our perception on them begins to change. Someone who was once attractive now appears plain. On the flipside, a once average looking individual becomes so much more attractive due to their personality and charisma.

This poses the question... should we be really judging a book by its cover?
Unfortunately, by not being prepared to look beyond the initial beauty we see we often miss out on meeting new people and growing true friendships that breed happiness. When we cut the nose of to spite the face, we miss a lot of new people, experiences, entertainment and fun that life offers us.

The same is true for business

There are a lot of great businesses (and business opportunities) out there that provide a fantastic product or service but are often overlooked due to the way they market of present themselves. Their sales copy may be average, they may have a poorly designed website, etc. The product/service they offer will still add value to the lives of many people, however due to poor presentation it is often overlooked.

Bloggers face the same reality too. We often setup on the economical (read cheap) side and try to run a blog and gain followers without investing much money into our appearance. This is not a bad thing and is actually a great way to start getting the ball rolling to help you improve your writing style and expressing your thoughts and opinions to others.

I still run this blog on a Blogger format, and apart from putting a template layout on it, have done very little in the form of capital investment to improve it visually. While this may deter people (as we are often more attracted to the better looking sites and people) it does help have our personalities shine through. I am getting a lot of positive feedback in person on my content, which is great to see that people are actually spending the time reading it.

How to get past beauty

There are two things we can all do to begin to improve this situation, whether as a business owner, a blogger, an individual, etc. These are:

1. Begin to appreciate the inner beauty that lies behind looks: When we strip away looks, we begin to focus more on the quality within. With less visual distraction (and less attention paid to it) we can begin to find true value in places we may have never before considered.

2. Do what we can to improve our looks within reason: We can all do something to improve our looks a little. This may involve going to the gym, eating healthier, practicing good grooming, updating our site slightly to reduce visual clutter, buying a better looking business card, etc. These are all great steps but they should not get in the way of realising the true inner beauty. Don't spend thousands of dollars on these things at once, realise they are a lifetime improvement process and focus on changing slowly for the better over the long term.

We all have times when we like to think we are entitled to a life of success, without having to work for it. The reality is however, that success for most of us requires a working component. This requires that we begin to assume the lead and take action in our lives.

Taking Charge
To escape the entitlement mentality, we need to begin taking responsibility. This is a part of growing up in society, but is often overlooked in relation to success. Most people don't see success as a responsibility and therefore aren't willing to put in the many hard yards required to achieve their goals and ambitions. This leaves them demoralised and with ambitions they believe they will never fulfill.

By beginning to take small action steps, anyone can begin to realise their dreams. Although action is perceived as being difficult, the reality is that it isn't. For example: A lot of individuals would be happy to have $5,000 extra in their savings account in six-twelve months time. Without accepting responsibility and taking action, it is unlikely that this goal will be achieved. However by taking charge one can begin to realise this dream by:

1. Setting up a savings account.
2. Putting the first $100 in it.
3. Contributing a set amount monthly ($5,000 divided by six months equals $833.33)
4. Refusing to withdraw the money from the account.
5. Increasing contributions to the account.

Accepting the responsibility of success
Maintaining success is dependent on how responsible you are with you are given. I see in the media on a regular basis Chief Executive Officers who are being paid millions of dollars while losing investors significant amounts of their money. This is not being responsible.

This reminds me of a story in the Bible about a businessman who entrusts three employees with various amounts of money while he takes a holiday. When he returns, two of them have double there money, showing they have been responsible with what they have been given and that they have put it to use wisely. The third however has only managed to maintain what he has been given, not even lending it to the bank for interest, which greatly disappoints the businessman.

When we start our own business, gain a position of importance in a career or gain another level of achievement, we need to be responsible. The onus is on us to ensure that we do all that we can to provide the best level of service and return we possibly can for all parties involved in the equation. Doing so will ensure our reputation and long-term success.

How to start
How can we begin to take responsibility? There are a number of things you can do, but the main thing is to work on your character. This includes multiple areas:

• Honesty and Integrity.
• Punctuality.
• Persistence.
• Motivation.
• Patience.
• Humility (Which is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less).
• Compassion, etc.

Maintaining your nobility and credibility as an upright character and being responsible with that which you are entrusted is a great start on the path to success.

- Established an emergency fund.
- Updated this site with a new layout.
- Learned a number of skills for online business.
- Paid off my non-interest loan.
- Successfully passed my university classes.
- Stopped smoking for over six months.
- Read the following books:

1. How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie.
2. Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T Harv Eker.
3. 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch.
4. Letters from a Stoic by Seneca.
5. Dialogues and Letters by Seneca.
6. Gain confidence with the power of NLP (stands for Neuro Linguistic Programming).
7. How to be rich working two days a week by Brendan Nichols.
8. I will teach you to be rich by Ramit Sethi.
9. Think and Grow Rich, 1937 version (previously only read the 1960's version) by Napoleon Hill.

- Realised there are other books out there other than business books that are interesting (thanks to Seneca, now looking at a much wider reading selection).
- Developed a new perspective on life and my goals.
- Started to decrease by online life. Facebook and Myspace in particular seem to be costing me more time than the satisfaction they bring.
- Spent more time with family and loved ones.
- Started to embrace the minimalist life by reducing clutter and distractions.
- Become more content with where I am in life (still not with university, it is really slow for me).
- Was offered and subsequently accepted a position in the Golden Key International Honours Society.
- Traveled interstate twice with work.
- Identified the importance of having a work/life balance.
- Rekindled old friendships.
- Found the cure for cancer (I wish).

Looking back some of these achievements tie into my goals, others do not so much. Sometimes it is good to look back and notice the forward progression, especially when things seem to be a little stagnant.

What have you achieved in 2009? The three things to consider when reflecting upon your what you have achieved is:

1. What have I learned?
2. What am I learning?
3. How am I progressing forward?