Author: Joan Arca

Scott Dolloff, a friend of mine and creator of RainMaker Martial Arts Software, recently sent me an awesome gift: a replica of Alexander the Great’s helmet.

Not only does it look incredibly cool sitting on my desk, this helmet reminds me of a great story…

A story that has an important message about how to achieve greatness.

On this blog I talk a lot about how to have an empowering mindset, how to reach your full potential and achieve the most you can in your life.

So who better an example to follow than Alexander the Great?

For a guy who only lived to age 32, he accomplished more than most people could ever imagine. In his lifetime, his homeland of Macedon went from a moderately sized Greek kingdom to one of the largest empires in world history.

And Alexander did all that without losing a single battle!

Now you might think that success like that would go to the guy’s head… that he might have been a bit egotistical in life…

You’d be wrong. And that’s why you need to read the story I’m about to tell you.

Before I can tell you the story, there’s one other guy I need to introduce…

The Philosopher

Alexander the Great is pretty well known (just look at the dozens of cities that still have his name today) yet you may not have heard of the other character in this story.

This guy may not have dozens of cities named after him, yet he was still an important man. To this day he is one of the most influential philosophers in world history…

…who also lived in a brass tub and mostly made his living as a beggar.

AND he coined the word “cynic.”

His name was Diogenes.

Diogenes sounds weird, doesn’t he? Maybe you’re wondering why anyone would ever want to listen to him…

Two things:

First, when he used the word “cynic” it just meant “dog-like,” which mostly describes his personality. He was a man of simple needs, he was happy to be alive, and he had zero patience for scoundrels and liars.

Second, Diogenes truly was a wise man. A lot of his most thoughtful quotes are still with us today, like this one:

“Simply to live is not evil, but to live a worthless life is.”

See, for all his strange behaviors, Diogenes respected hard work, and he was quite optimistic about human life. He just thought people needed a little more humility and little more honest hard work.

Now, by the time Alexander the Great was emperor, Diogenes was an old man. A humble, old, somewhat grouchy man living in a brass tub. Alexander was young, full of glory, and traveling around the world with a posse of brilliant advisors and loyal, elite soldiers.

Here you’re probably wondering how on Earth these two men relate to each other. What could they possibly say to each other? How could they possibly cross paths?

The answer is shockingly simple…

Alexander the Great was a huge fan of Diogenes, and he went out of his way to visit him one day.

The Story

That’s right: Emperor Alexander, the most powerful man on the planet, specifically chose to visit Diogenes, the beggar living in a tub.

That’s pretty mind blowing already, yet wait until you hear their conversation…

It’s a warm afternoon. The city bustles with people, the roar of their conversations echoing through the stone streets and alleyways. Diogenes sits half asleep in his brass tub, sprawled out like dog to soak up all the sweet sunlight.

In comes Alexander and his posse. Their presence is unmistakable – crowds part before them and sit watching in awe. Their heavy armor clanks and glimmers. They walk with high heads and stoic, unflinching faces.

Alexander spots Diogenes and walks directly to him. He stands so close to the humble philosopher that he casts a shadow over him.

“Greetings,” he says, “I am Alexander the Great. I come to you as an admirer. Much of the world belongs to me. Tell me what you want, and you shall have it.”

The crowd goes quiet, wondering why their emperor would stop to speak with such a strange man. Diogenes only groans and waves his hand.

“I want you to move,” he says, “and let me have my sunlight.”

The crowds’ jaws drop. The soldiers rattle their blades. An advisor approaches Alexander.

“How dare he insult you my lord!” says the advisor, “We will have him arrested – or worse.”

But Alexander raises a hand for silence.

And he steps aside and lets sunlight fill the tub.

He looks out over the confused crowd. Everyone’s jaw is hanging open. He explains himself with just one sentence:

“Truly, if I were not Alexander, I would wish to be Diogenes.”

The Lesson

Ever since that day, this story has been told and retold by countless different people in cultures all around the world. As you can probably see, it is quite a memorable story.

But what did Alexander mean by those famous words? What lesson was he trying to teach the crowd and his men?

Scholars and historians have come up with all sorts of answers here, yet I think the answer is really quite simple…

Greatness and humility go hand in hand.

This is such an important lesson, and it’s one that needs to be spread far and wide. See, I meet a lot of ambitious people in my work, and so I’ve come to recognize a lot of the mistakes that come with ambition.

Heck, back in my younger days I made a lot of these mistakes myself…

Too many people think that greatness comes from shoving your way into power, thinking you’re the smartest person in the room, and stepping all over the little guys on your way to the top.

However, that kind of behavior leads directly into failure.

True greatness comes from solving other people’s problems. It comes from making big promises and delivering even more than you promised. It comes from being warm, and generous, and kind to the people you want and NEED to help you.

And most of all, greatness comes from recognizing that you are always coachable. It comes from letting yourself be humble in front of those who are wiser than you and willing to challenge you to do better.

I’ve been a business coach for a while now, long enough so that many of my clients are far along on their own paths to greatness.

And I can tell you that 100% of the people who made it big and continue to make it big are the people who have grand visions and big ambition, but who still allow themselves to be coached. These are people who graciously accept constructive criticism and work their butts off to turn it into action.

Do you understand what I’m saying?

Do you understand the power of greatness and humility?

Are you ready to learn, take action and grow a business that will help thousands of people and let you live a lifestyle of freedom, happiness and abundance?

Committed to your success,

Bedros

I can make your video sales letter get more sales than it’s ever gotten before…

I just need to you pay attention to the 5 all-important tricks I’m about to give you.

I’ve noticed lately that a lot of you fitness business owners are going for video over everything else. You don’t want to blog, you’ve already automated your email, and you certainly don’t want to mail out letters.

Personally, I’m all about having as many poles in the water as I can get…

But I understand – video is fun! And it’s getting a lot of attention right now. You probably already know this, but I’m big on YouTube marketing.

But I gotta tell you…video sales letters require just as much care and technique as any kind of written content.

That’s why I’ve put together this list of 5 amazing tricks you can use to take your VSL to the next level.

Trick #1 – The Benefit Headline

What, you thought headlines were only for articles and blog posts?

Nope, headlines are just as important for videos – if not more so.

Think of all the millions upon millions of videos on the internet. Why should anybody watch yours?

You’ve got to grab their attention with the title – or headline – of your video. And I’m going to show you a simple, proven formula for doing that.

Here it is:

# Things + Amazing Result – Pain Point(s)

# Things is an odd number of some powerful object that your prospect will get from your video. It can be “Tips” or “Ways” or “Steps” or “Secrets” or, hey, even “Tricks.”

Amazing Result is a very clear benefit that is important to your prospect. “Lose Weight” or “Get in Shape” or “Shed 40 Pounds” – something like that.

Pain Point is something that your prospect doesn’t want to do OR doesn’t want to lose. Maybe your prospect doesn’t want to lose “Eating Ice Cream.” Or maybe they don’t want to “Spend Hours on the treadmill.”

Put those all together and you have a must-click headline! If you want to see an example of an effective headline, check out this video of mine. (Since this video isn’t exactly a VSL, I only follow part of the formula. Still, it worked!)

Trick #2 – Paraphrase

Odds are, you’re going to have text in your video at some point.

If you’re camera shy, maybe you’ll just talk over a PowerPoint-style slideshow, or you’ll have an animator draw little doodling over a white screen while you talk.

Or you’re like me and you consider it part of your 5% to hop in front of the camera and get your face out there.

You’ve probably noticed in my videos that I usually have a wipe board behind me where I write or draw out whatever I’m talking about.

And if you listen really carefully, you’ll notice that what I say out loud is different from what I write on the board.

This isn’t just me be lazy or forgetting my lines – there’s an important reason for this:

When you paraphrase the text in your video, your prospects pay more attention.

Weird, isn’t it? But it makes sense when you think about it…

If the words you speak and the words on screen match up perfectly, that means your video becomes predictable.

In other words, your video becomes boring.

BUT, if the words on screen and the words you say are different, your prospects’ brains will naturally pick up on that and try to reconcile it. As a byproduct of this effect, they’ll absorb more of your pitch and have better odds of converting.

Trick #3 – 3X Your Money Back Guarantee

You probably already know that your video (along with everything else you do) needs to include a money back guarantee…

But HOW are you including that money back guarantee?

Let me tell you: if your prospect only has one way to get their money back, you’re making a huge mistake.

Remember, the whole point of a money back guarantee is to build trust with your prospect. The last thing you want to do is make it look half-hearted for feel like a formality.

So that means you need to give your prospect three different conditions for when the guarantee kicks in.

The first one is obvious, and it’s probably the one you’re already using:

“If you don’t see the Amazing Resultafter using my product, you can have your money back.”

Makes sense, right? Now the next one is where you prove how generous and trustworthy you are:

“If you don’t feel good about my product after using it, you can have your money back.”

Notice how this condition technically still works even if your product does what it’s supposed to. It’s basically a loophole, right? Some unethical person could enjoy your product for free at this point.

But that’s not a problem, because 99% of people will read that condition and feel really touched that you trust them so much. And because you trust THEM, they will trust YOU.

Finally, the third condition is where you make yourself look even more generous:

“If you don’t like the sound of my voice, you can have your money back.”

You can come up with your own version of this one, but the basic idea is that you want something silly that has nothing to do with your product. This keeps your prospect paying attention and show them that you don’t take yourself too seriously. That way, they see you as a trustworthy, real person instead of a sleazy salesman.

Trick #4 – Imply Your Prospect Has Already Decided to Buy

This trick is so incredibly simple, but you have to keep it in mind all throughout the writing process.

And if the spoken part of your video is different from the text, you need to use it there as well.

This trick has to do with frame of mind – both yours and your prospect’s.

Here’s how it works:

Whenever you describe what your product includes or how to works, always use words that make it sound your prospect has already bought it.

For example, if you’re listing off some of the topics of an info product, you say “Youwill discover this, this, and that.”

Or if you’re reminding your prospect of the benefits, you say “Your waistline willshrink by 3 inches or more once you use my product!”

If you want to see a full demonstration of this idea in action, check out the mini VSL I have included on one of my sales pages.

Remember how I said this trick has to do with frame of mind? Here’s what I mean:

You prospect will think of your product as something they have already decided on, making them more likely to commit.

YOU will project an aura of confidence in your product, making your pitch more convincing.

Trick #5 – Highlight Subliminal Words

This last trick is also incredibly simple, but perhaps more difficult to master…

For this one, you want to pick your power words and put their font in red.

Now the really really important thing to remember here is that it doesn’t matter WHERE the words show up, only WHAT those words are.

You want to choose words that capture the overall feeling of your pitch – the primary emotion or action you want your prospect to associate with your product.

Here are some example words: Yes, Buy, Fast, Easy, Great, Simple, Life-Changing, Best, Purchase.

When you make a point to have these words pop out, most of your prospects won’t even notice the difference – but the will FEEL the difference in a big way.

This trick may sound like a really tiny thing, but it’s not – picking out the right power words is one of the biggest topics of my live coaching event, Bedros Live.

Committed to your success,

Bedros

Stories are more memorable than facts.

Want people to remember a fact? Stick it in a good story.

People connect with stories by default. It takes a ton of work to make people care about facts (why do you think the news channels have so many entertainment programs?)

So learn to tell stories. Learn to sell with stories.

The fact is that you have an idea for an info product…or maybe you even have the product already. The fact is that you’ve used your unique knowledge and skills to create something that will change a lot of people’s lives.

The fact is also that you can make yourself a great living off your idea if you know how to sell your idea.

What is the story that connects all these facts?

What is the story you can tell your prospects so that they’ll buy your product and give back some of the enormous value you’re giving them?

I know what the story is, and I’m going to explain to you.

Actually, it’s two stories…

Two stories: the Nightmare Story and the Dream Story.

Think of them a little like Good Cop, Bad Cop… they both have the same goal, but two totally different ways of getting there. And both halves depend on each other.

So let’s look at how to write each one.

The Nightmare Story

The Nightmare Story is about you.

In fact, the Nightmare Story should be a true story from your life…with one caveat.

You can and should rearrange the order of the events to create the best possible story.

I’ll explain that more in a moment, but first we need to make sure you understand the point of the Nightmare Story.

The point of the Nightmare Story is to position yourself as an expert from necessity who is only slightly better off than your prospects.

Let me break that down a bit…

An expert from necessity is someone who was forced to become an expert in their field because of outside circumstances. This is important to your story for two reasons:

One, it gives your prospect something they can relate to, since they are probably dealing with similar outside circumstances right now.

Two, it makes you look like someone who just barely made it out of their bad situation and has come back to prove that ANYONE can fix their own situation with the right solution.

That second point is especially important because it gets you past the “Expert’s Paradox.”

The Expert’s Paradox is this weird little thing where people want to get top-quality, expert solutions to their problems… but they don’t trust people who actually look like experts. Instead, they just get intimidated and self-defeating because they see the experts as something they could never become.

So back to my original point: your Nightmare Story should position you as an expert from necessity who is only slightly better off.

And the best way to do that is to take all the embarrassing and painful parts of your life BEFORE you found your big solution, and describe them in order from mildly annoying to utterly devastating… even if the actual events happened in a different order.

Then, once you’ve built up all the bad stuff and created this emotional powder keg in your prospect, you hit them with the amazing solution (which would later become your product). This will cause them to experience a huge wave of hope and relief – which puts them in the perfect mood to buy.

And once you’ve got them in that blissful mood, you guarantee the sale by giving them the Dream Story.

The Dream Story

One last note about the Nightmare Story – that story should only appear at the beginning of your sales letter.

The Dream Story is in many ways the opposite of the Nightmare Story.

The Dream Story is all about your prospect, and it should be peppered in throughout your sales letter.

 

The Dream Story is also a lot simpler…once you’ve done the research.

By “research,” I mean looking very closely at your prospects to see what they want from their goals. Notice that this is not the same as knowing what their goals are.

For example, a lot of people will tell you that they are looking to lose weight. Great, so you sell them a weight loss solution.

BUT, if you really want to sell that solution effectively, you need to understand WHY they want to lose weight.

Maybe they’re looking for more confidence…

Maybe they they want to feel more energetic…

Maybe they’re struggling to get a date…

Whatever their WHY is, THAT is the thing you need offer them in the Dream Story.

In fact, you can pretty much write half your Dream Story by just listing out the whys with the word “Imagine” in front of each one.

Imagine wearing any piece of clothing without having to suck in, so that you can walk around with perfect confidence.

Imagine leaping out of bed every morning refreshed and wide awake.

Imagine walking into a bar and having the guys form a line to try to get your number.

The word “imagine” is important here because it psychologically forces your prospect to picture what you’re describing.

Work on those two stories, and I know you’ll see a huge increase in sales.

Make sure you check out my online info product coaching program. This is where I’ll teach you the same formulas I’ve used to launch my own HUGELY successful info products.

Committed to your success,

Bedros

In the next five minutes, your business is going to either make you a 7 figure income or it’s going to go bankrupt. No third option.

Okay, that’s not entirely true… but it’s also not entirely false.

The point I want you to grasp is that every second of your day is valuable.

That means if you want to make more money and earn yourself more freedom than ever before, you need to squeeze those seconds for every drop of value you can get.

It’s time for you to 10X your productivity.

How are you going to do that?

Like I said, every second counts… which means whatever changes you’re going to make need to apply to every second of your day…

Including this very moment!

To help you out with that, here are 9 productivity tricks you can start using right this second.

Trick #1 – Delegate

Odds are, you have at least one thing to do today that you dread working on. (You might even be working on it right now.)

Whatever this thing is, you know that you’re no good at it.

And, while you know that it does need to get done, you also realize that it doesn’t directly make you any money.

So delegate it! Right now!

Delegate it the first employee you see who can do it competently.

Or hire someone.

Or have a friend do it and offer to buy them coffee.

Whatever you do, don’t let that nasty little task ruin your productivity.

Trick #2 – Starve Your Bad Habits

Whatever your biggest productivity killer is, find a way to starve it out.

Are you a TV watcher? Hide your remote, or better yet, chuck it out the window. That way your temptation to sit and slack off in front of the TV will be forced to wither away.

Maybe you like going to the kitchen for healthy snacks… only to end up looking sorting through your mail or staring at your fridge magnets. Keep your snacks right at your desk – that way you can snack without taking your eyes off the screen.

(After all, studies show that people tend to forget their current task whenever they walk through a doorway. Stay put!)

Trick #3 – Ignore the News

I was tempted to call news-watching a bad habit and lump it in with the previous trick, but a lot of you think it’s somehow important to watch the news.

See, we get all these messages from popular culture that say news-watching is for intelligent, responsible people and that there’s something wrong with you if you don’t do it too.

I call B.S.

In your case, the smart, responsible thing to do will ALWAYS be growing your business, because that’s what allows you change more people’s lives!

And watching all the negative, fear-mongering, dishonest junk on the news will only ever get in the way of that.

Guard your time shamelessly and only devote your attention to what matters to you: growing your business and changing lives.

Trick #4 – Drink More Water

Sorry, but entrepreneurs can get dehydrated too. Go easy on the coffee and energy drinks and make sure you’re drinking tons of WATER.

I shouldn’t have to tell you the dangers of dehydration, but just in case: fatigue, emotional disturbance, and lack of focus to name just a few.

Dehydration means valuable seconds down the drain. Drink up!

Trick #5 – Script Out Your Day

I talk about this a lot, and for a good reason: this is one of the most common habits among hugely successful people.

You might be thinking you can’t implement this right now because you’re already halfway through your day…

But why not script out the second half?

And then script out tomorrow?

And then script out your next week?

Good happens start right now. No excuses.

Trick #6 – Set Aside a Designated Email Time

Emails… one of the worst productivity killers.

We all have to deal with them, but if you’re not careful, each email runs the risk of completely derailing your productivity.

So set aside a designated time each day just for emails.

Use this time to reply, take notes, and organize. Move emails into a “Complete” folder as you go and write down any tasks that come up.

Don’t use your inbox as a to do list – that’s just a recipe for distraction.

Trick #7 – Create Scripted Email Responses

This one will help you use your email time more efficiently.

If you ever find yourself writing the same email over and over again, STOP!

Most email services (such as Gmail) include some system to let you create email templates. The difference between typing up a short email and using a canned email may seem like only a matter of seconds…

But remember, every second counts!

Trick #8 – Script Out Your Breaks

What, did you think I was only talking about work time earlier?

I wasn’t. Scripting out your breaks is just as important as scripting out your productive time.

I’ll explain why:

What’s the point of taking a break? I’m sure the answer is a little different for each of you, but I’m guessing it’s something to do with relaxation, keeping your mind fresh, or breaking your day into manageable chunks.

Whatever your reason, your break time is something you can maximize, just like your productive time.

Need that time to relax? Make sure you pick your #1 most relaxing activity and only do that during your break time.

Otherwise, you’ll come back from break time wishing you’d done something different. Then you’re distracted, which defeats the whole purpose of break time!

Trick #9 – Stop Multitasking

I don’t mean stop multitasking in general – I mean stop doing it right this second.

Seriously, as soon as you’re done reading this, I want you to look through all your open Internet tabs and windows and close all but one of them.

No ifs, ands, or buts.

Whatever one window is left open will show your most important task, which is the ONLY task you should be working on right now.

Committed to your success,

Bedros