Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot? Yes.

So the New Year is upon us and again, a bevy of choices and resolutions will be made.

Goals will be set and dreams will be dreamt.

One of the surest ways of squashing your dreams and killing your future is in fact, by NOT forgetting your old acquaintances. You need to kick those folks to the curb, who don’t understand that success ISN’T only for rich folks, and that dreams DO come true, all day long, for many many people just like you -- all over the world.

Sounds harsh, but success isn’t for the weak.

Letting go of your past really is the best way to walk into your future. Any future you want, in fact. Cut loose all the emotional quadriplegics you’ve known and start surrounding yourself with doers, people who are moving in the right direction, and preferably people at least as successful as you, or MORE successful than you.

Look up, not down, I always say.

Do this ONE thing alone, and it will be damn-near IMPOSSIBLE not to reach your goals in 2007. NOT doing it, will also have the opposite effect -- this I can promise you from experience. It’s all up to you though.

Today is your LAST day to get your hands on the final issue of my offline newsletter, Seductive Selling. In this month’s blockbuster issue, you’ll discover:

* Why some of my Mentoring and Mastermind Group members “pity no one”, and the dramatic success-benefits having this attitude delivers!
* How to write compelling and effective sales copy -- even if you don’t speak English!
* Extra pages of live examples showing you how to structure a killer offer, and the RIGHT way to remove all the risk from your prospects shoulders!
* How to “imply” celebrity status -- regardless of WHAT you do for a living (page 4)!
* On page 6 you’ll find out what “Value” really means to your customers and clients!
* On page 12 you’ll see how a harsh lesson I learned years ago, taught me a valuable lesson to remember many many years later, and how this lesson helps YOU increase your own prosperity, right now, as it’s helped me and thousands of others!
* And, much much more.

When you take a 30-day FREE test-drive of this offline newsletter, you get $1,391 Dollars worth of FREE Bonus gifts, but only while this offer lasts!: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl

Peace.

Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S. Listen to my Seductive Selling Radio Show, premiering January 4th on WorldTalkRadio.com

A Dismal Forecast For 2007 - Make Sure Y

Here’s something that’s disturbing.

Some recent government statistics indicate that television is the favored media of the average American, but what’s even WORSE is that during the next 12 months, the average American is going to spend approximately 4 ½ hours a day watching TV.

This is far more than they’ll spend listening to radio (which is the second most popular media)... the internet (third most popular) and newspapers (fourth).

Now the good news is radio IS second, and that’s why I’ve signed up to start broadcasting the Seductive Selling Marketing Show, starting weekly on January 4th at 1pm Eastern, on WorldTalkRadio.com

Meanwhile reading and listening to music -- two of the most productive and mind-expanding medias in the history of media -- are nowhere to be found.

Last week I was on vacation and I read THREE books. I’m sure if that’s the only reading I did this year, the information I learned and the wisdom imparted to me from those books would FAR outweigh watching even 1,000 hours of television.

Rest assured, if you are in the 4.5 hour of television watching, you need to look no further than that, for the reason why you don’t have enough leads or prospects to call on. Last time I checked, there were no marketing channels on the boob tube, and no unique ways of increasing the response to your marketing, or of creating unique marketing strategies on there, either.

I hope no one who is reading this is in this category of television addicts, but if so, you can always attend my new program called “TA”. It’s a twelve-step program that eliminates all dependency on television, breaks your habit of buying shitloads of merchandise from QVC and HSN on your credit cards, and eliminates any fears you may have, of not being in the loop about what’s going on with your favorite soaps operas.

And if you’ll send me a check for $297 dollars, you can get in this program, but we’re only accepting the first 2,000 applicants. The program is on TV on your very own channel -- it’s on every Monday night at 9pm, after the Waltons, on ATV -- Addict TV.

Now, if you are NOT a dum-dum who spends all their time in front of the television, then you want to see page 4 of this month’s OFFLINE Seductive Selling Newsletter, because I’ll be showing show you how to put together a very simple, but AWESOME Headline that completely removes all the risk from your prospects shoulders, and how two of the members of my Mentoring Program are using it! Subscribe for FREE, and get $1,391 Dollars worth of FREE Bonus gifts, just for test-driving it NOW, while this offer lasts!: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl

Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S. Listen to my Seductive Selling Radio Show, premiering January 4th on WorldTalkRadio.com

I Truly Thought I’d Taken My Last Breath On This Earth

As youthful as I feel, and as good overall health and condition as I’m in -- especially (sadly) compared to most of my peers, I notice signs of myself getting older.

For instance, I don’t “feel” as bald as I am, and I don’t “see” it when I look in the mirror, but I sure see it in photos.

And it’s a lot more difficult now to take off weight. Even an extra 5 pounds takes longer to shed than back in the old days. Not that I need to lose much, but I need to lose some, for sure.

And mostly, there are my knees. They are so riddled with arthritis it’s not even funny anymore. When I was 30, two different sets of doctors told me that I had the knees of a 70-year old. Now I’m 43, and if the numbers just go up one-for-one at this point, I can tell you being 83 isn’t fun.

The biggest problem I have is that I can’t seem to do any more cardio work on the treadmill -- and to some extent -- even the elliptical machine, without excruciating pain in my knees, either directly after I exercise, or later on that evening when I’m trying to fall asleep.

Now I’m not really sure why I never thought of this before, but I know everything has a reason so it simply wasn’t meant to be at the time, but the other day I suddenly thought about taking a
Spinning Class to satisfy my cardio needs.

I figured it would be easy and low-impact on my knees... and since I haven’t seen anyone EVER leave a spin class less than soaking wet with sweat, I figured the caloric burn would be just what I needed to melt these last few pounds away.

So I took my first class yesterday and maybe it wasn’t such a good idea, because...

About 45 minutes into the deal, I literally felt like... I was going... to die!

My lungs felt like they were going to burst! Time slowed down to a crawl! Minutes felt like HOURS, and I simply couldn’t do anything about it!

Well, I could of course, but I wasn’t about to get off that bike with all those other people in the room with me.

So, like the big bad wolf, I kept huffing and puffing; only this time... instead of blowing the house down, I just managed to stay alive.

When we were finished, I sucked in enough air to fill up the Goodyear Blimp flying over a football stadium at half-time, and I was dripping wet as if I’d just gotten out of the shower.

I did have a very annoying pain right below my family jewels, but I think that’s just because I’m not used to sitting in a seat like that for so long. But... my knees felt great and I felt like I’d lost some weight already.

This exercise may wind up being the greatest thing since sliced bread. Sure it’s a little bit of a push to deal with the pop music they play, as opposed to what I’m normally listening to, but... if I keep this up, there’s no WAY I can’t burn off the extra pounds I’m trying to shed, and what’s even more important, is that my knees will stay intact.

I’ll keep you posted, one way or another, for sure.

If you want to get your own ASS moving, then you’ll want to subscribe to my OFFLINE newsletter, Seductive Selling, for FREE, and get $1,391 Dollars worth of Bonus gifts, just for test-driving it NOW, while this offer lasts! Only 4 days left to get the FINAL blow-out issue of 2006! http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl

Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S. Listen to my Seductive Selling Radio Show, premiering January 4th on WorldTalkRadio.com

He Really Was A Sekxs Machine.

Hope you had a great Christmas. I spent my holiday just relaxing around the house with Anne and the kids. We actually had a tornado-like storm down here, so the weather wasn’t really conducive to anything else, although the day before I did go out fishing with my younger son and daughter and I actually got a fish -- if you want to call it that. I caught a bass so small; my puppy could have used it for a chew toy.

It’s very difficult to fish this time of year -- too cold for the fish to come out of hiding for the most part.

Was wondering if you saw the same sad news I did yesterday? The “Godfather Of Soul”, James Brown, passed away at age 78. During the course of Brown’s career, he was also referred to as “Soul Brother Number One”, “Mr. Dynamite”, “The Hardest-Working Man in Show Business”, and several other nick-names -- all alluding to his feverish performances and work ethic.

Brown, who helped support his family by picking cotton as a young child, did not have an easy life - often times as a result of the decisions and choices he made about the situations he found himself in.

But like most leaders and people who break down new barriers and set new standard, James’ dissatisfaction with the status quo was one of his greatest attributes, and one of the driving forces behind his inventiveness. In fact, one of the mourners at Brown’s funeral put it best when he said, Brown “did with music what Martin Luther King did with laws…it just made you want to go and do things for yourself.”

Brown started cranking out one hit after another in the early 1960’s, including Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag... I Got You (usually known as I Feel Good)... and one of my favorites from 1965, “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World.”

In fact, Brown had over 3 dozen hits make the Billboard top 10 over his career, including his now-famous “Sekxs Machine”. Pretty impressive for a guy who used to shine shoes in a radio station for a living, isn’t it? (In what SCREAMS of poetic justice, Brown later BOUGHT the radio station where he used to shine shoes.)

Brown once said, “This is a man's world, but it would be nothing, nothing without a woman to care.” And who would know this better than Brown -- he had 4 wives and MORE than his fair share of women over his lifetime.

Rest in peace James.

URGENT!: How Do You Define “Value” For Your Clients And Prospects? Find out the ONLY way on page 6 of this month’s Offline Seductive Selling Newsletter. Test-drive it for FREE, and get $1,391 Dollars worth of FREE Bonus gifts NOW, while this offer lasts!: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl

Now go sell something, Craig Garber

Illegitimi non Carborundum

This week, down here in the Caribbean on vacation, I’ve spent a lot of time with my younger son Casey -- who at 14 isn’t really so young anymore.

I don’t talk a lot about Casey -- not because I’m less involved with him than with any of my kids, and certainly not because we’re not as close -- but probably because he’s the most quiet of my three kids.

Casey is probably the most genuinely giving and kind human being I’ve ever met. He’s the first one to offer any of us help when someone in the family is in crisis and he’s always there for you. Kind of like a big giant puppy dog -- loveable and always ready to be by your side if you want him there, no questions asked, no self-serving purpose involved.

One thing most people do not know is that when Casey was born, he weighed less than 4 pounds. For the first 5 weeks of his life, I used to visit him every morning and every night in the hospital because he was on a respirator.

The doctors said they didn’t know what kind of quality of life he’d have or what would happen to him, so obviously I was scared shitless. Being 28 with two kids, and frankly, with not much sense of direction in my life at ALL at that time, and with a marriage that was crumbling around me (that ultimately ended 11 months later) I was completely lost and alone out there.

Casey had some fine motor skills issues when he was younger, and today he walks with a slight limp, most likely as a result of being born premature. But that pales in comparison to what else he’s experienced.

When Casey was (I think) in second grade, he was in the lowest reading group in his class. He came to me one day and was flat-out disgusted with what was going on and he said something like, “Dad, I’m in there with all these stupid kids and I’m not dumb.”

So I told him, “Do something about it.”

“Work yourself out of it.”

By the end of that same semester, Casey was in the “regular” reading group, and by the end of the year, he found himself in the level just below the TOP reading group in this same class. He did what I told him to do -- he worked himself out of it.

Casey was late walking, taking his first steps at 18 months, but he played t-ball, soccer, tennis, baseball, basketball for 4 seasons (I coached 2 of them), he swam, and he played street football with his friends.

Last year -- his first year of high school -- he joined the swimming team and he was only one of TWO athletes on the team who were honored for their academic performance, and he improved his time over the course of the semester by 30 seconds. (That’s HUGE.)

He’s a red belt in Tae Kwan Do, and he’s now on the wrestling team, competing side-by-side with his big brother Nick. Casey’s in the 103 pound class, and he’s put on a substantial amount of muscle in the last 2 months alone since joining the team.

Oh, and he’s on the honor roll in school.

Kids still make fun of the way he walks sometimes, but he’s a strong kid with an amiable personality -- doesn’t get pissed off too much, doesn’t piss too many people off -- and so stuff like that usually slides right off his back.

I told Casey when he was little -- and I still tell him today -- that he’s in control of his life, and so if he’s frustrated about something, he can either cave in to it, or do something about it, it’s his choice entirely.

In Latin, there’s a saying that goes Illegitimi non Carborundum. It means “Don’t let the bastards grind you down.”

In Casey’s situation, they didn’t grind him down, they polished him.

And that was his choice too.

Have a great weekend -- I’ll be back in town next week with pictures of my vacation, saying “Hey mon -- bring me a Red Stripe, will ya?”

Even an IDIOT can write highly effective copy, if you know the one simple secret I reveal on page 3 of this month’s OFFLINE Seductive Selling Newsletter, which was mailed out last week! If you don’t already subscribe, test-drive it for FREE, and get $1,391 Dollars worth of FREE Bonus gifts, right here: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl - Just think, you can be sitting there in your draws reading the thing in only a few days from today!

Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S. Do like Casey and kick fear right on its ASS: http://www.kingofcopy.com/science

Oscar The Yellow Grouch

I’ll give you more on my bonefishing report next week, but right now, I just thought of something and I was wondering if you remembered this.

Do you remember that guy on Sesame Street called Oscar The Grouch? He lived in a garbage can and had a pet worm called Slimey? Remember now?

You know, in season one, Oscar was originally yellow... and then he was orange... and then they turned him green. No wonder why that guy was so freaking grouchy. Imagine if you changed colors every season, completely outside of your control.

Well, here’s a slice of trivia you probably don’t know: Oscar was actually modeled after an obnoxious waiter who worked at Oscar’s Tavern in New York City, back in 1969 (Obnoxious waiter in New York City -- you’re shocked, right?).

It’s true! I remember when Sesame Street came on TV -- it was revolutionary at the time. Great stuff really.

Look, I don’t really have very much to say today, except this: Don’t ever regret anything you don’t do. Make plenty of mistakes and make adjustments afterwards, but never EVER make the mistake of NOT doing something you should do.

I’m having the time of my life here in the Caribbean, enjoying my family and making up for some lost time with each of them -- especially my sons. And if I wasn’t willing to get out of my comfort zone and completely put my business on hold for a week, I’d have never got to experience this.

And that is something I would have regretted for the rest of my life.

And the good thing about getting out of your comfort zone is, if you’re a little nutty like me -- you only need to do it once, and from there on in, it’s “normal.”

In fact, I can’t tell you how I’m writing this, and how I’m getting this message to you (I will spill the beans in my OFFLINE newsletter next month), but I didn’t even bring my PC OR my cell phone along with me on this vacation!

I’m not working at all! Instead, I’m lying on the beach doing nothing!

And I certainly do NOT regret this either. I’m out!

*****
On page 3 of this month’s OFFLINE Seductive Selling Newsletter, you’ll discover when and why... it’s totally O.K. to use your USP as your headline! Test-drive Seductive Selling for free, while this offer’s still available, AND get $1,391 in FREE Bonus Gifts on top of that, right here: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl
*****

Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S. Make 2007 Your Best Year Ever by applying to my Mentoring Group: http://www.kingofcopy.com/maverickmentoring

Can You Figure Out Why Cleo Flipped The Switch?

Last night’s dinner with my wife was simply outstanding. I’m not one for eating a lot, but the food (I had grilled shrimp something or other.) was really excellent, and the ocean breeze over a couple of drinks, and spending time with the woman I love more than anything else in the world, felt even better.

Tomorrow I’m going bonefishing with my 2 sons and I’m really looking forward to this.

Did you know the Caribbean has some of the best bonefishing in the world? You can literally see sometimes HUNDREDS of bonefish, right from your boat (the boats are called “flats” boats)!

These fish are EXCELLENT fighting fish. That’s because sharks actually prey on them, and their only defense is their ability to swim as fast as 25 miles per hour.

Sheesh, that’s faster than even a lawyer will run to chase down an extra billable hour!

Another reason why I like it down here is because everybody sounds like that Tarot card reader on TV who got busted by the FTC for fraud (You’re kidding, that stuff isn’t real?).

Remember her? Miss Cleo was her name and she started The Psychic Readers Network. She was supposedly from Jamaica, but she was really from Seattle, Washington, and actually, just a few months ago, Miss Cleo -- err... sorry, her real name is Youree Dell Cleomili Harris -- actually came out of the closet and revealed she was a lesbian.

Hey, good for her. After all, the cards don’t lie. So call me, now!

*****
On page 3 of this month’s OFFLINE Seductive Selling Newsletter, you’ll discover when and why... it’s totally O.K. to use your USP as your headline! Test-drive Seductive Selling for free, while this offer’s still available, AND get $1,391 in FREE Bonus Gifts on top of that, right here: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl
*****

Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S. I’ll be talking about this more in my offline newsletter, but this coming March I am raising the price of my full-day of coaching rates from $5,000 to somewhere north of $6,000. If you want in, to discuss and plan out one of your upcoming projects, now’s the time bubba. Now’s the time.

Reminds Me Of Hawaii... Sort Of

Gosh this place is beautiful. We’re staying at a Beaches Resort here in the middle of the Caribbean and this place is simply fantastic.

I had absolutely NO idea what to expect or where the place even was, and frankly I still don’t know exactly where I am, but I don’t care either. See, a friend of mine who is very successful, recommended to me that I take my family there on vacation.

And I’ve been around the block enough times that I know to “look up”. Meaning, if I want to continue to move “up” the ladder of success and the ladder of life in general, I need to take advice from and listen to those folks who are ahead of me in those areas, not behind me.

So for example, if you’re sick, you don’t go and ask your brother-in-law the lawyer what’s wrong with you, you ask someone who has a frame of reference that’s valid. Because whenever you’re trying to learn something, there are only TWO components you need to be concerned with.

One, you need to be asking the right questions. Doesn’t do you any good if you want to know what time it is and instead you’re asking what day it is, now does it?

And second, you need to be asking these right questions to the right people in the first place. Again, just because someone is familiar with something, doesn’t mean they’re qualified to give you advice about it. For instance, take direct mail. Most people will tell you direct mail doesn’t work. Ask these folks how many letters they’ve mailed and they’ll clam up fast, because for most of them the answer is “zero.”

I see this often when I’m speaking to coaching clients or copywriting clients. They’ve gone and done the wrong thing because they took advice from very well-meaning but seriously unqualified people, and then they wind up coming to papa to make it all better.

Anyway, back to my vacation.

When a smart successful guy tells me to go to a certain place because it’s great to relax there, I just “go.” Remember, I’m interested in the end result, not necessarily the way he got there. When I wrote copy for this same person, he -- for the same reason -- didn’t sit there asking me why I used this headline or that, or how come I had 3 P.S.’s instead of only two. He just wanted results.

It’s called “not wasting time.”

And I am VERY glad I didn’t waste time either, because this place is simply awesome. In fact, tonight Anne and I have a romantic candlelit beach-side dinner booked and that is awesome.

This place is so pretty, and the resort is so cool, it reminds me a lot of Hawaii, which is where we got married.

With one exception of course, when we got married, we didn’t have three kids in tow like we do now.

Thank goodness for that.

*****
On Page 2 of this month’s Seductive Selling Newsletter -- my OFFLINE publication -- you’ll get the inside scoop from one of the members of my Mentoring Group about decision-making and why success really is NOT for the weak of heart. If you teeter on the edge of the fence when it comes time to making those “ethically tough” decisions, you do NOT want to miss this one. So test-drive The Seductive Selling Newsletter for free, and get $1,391 in FREE Bonus Gifts while this offer lasts! Get it here: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl*****

Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S. Make 2007 Your Best Year Ever by applying to my Mentoring Group: http://www.kingofcopy.com/maverickmentoring

When Deception Is Good

I’d been suffering with terrible sciatic nerve pain for about two months now, and like most “non-life-threatening” medical issues, it was only when the pain of not taking care of it became greater than the pain of taking care of it (pain, in my case, being having to take time off and schlep to downtown Tampa), I decided to deal with this issue and visit my chiropractor.

So, early last week I did exactly that.

Part of the deal was getting a massage, and frankly I was looking forward to this. It had been a while since I’d had a massage, and Lord knows I needed to lie down and relax for an hour, so I was pretty excited about this. (Excited about relaxing -- that’s GOT to be some kind of an oxymoron, no?)

This very sweet Japanese woman comes in -- she’s no more than 5 foot 2, and says she’s going to give me a shiatsu massage and get all the knots out of my legs. I figured she’d be sweating and working her tail off, but boy oh boy was I wrong.

Turned out, I was the one sweating and working my tail off. After sitting with her for an hour, I felt like twisted pretzel dough. It was as if I’d literally been beaten up by a band of thugs looking to steal my wallet or something.

After it was over, I had no idea whether or not the pain in the back of my leg was gone -- much greater throbbing pains had replaced it, all over the rest of my body. In fact, I actually woke up in the middle of the night, more sore than even after a VERY intense weightlifting workout.

The next day though, sure enough, the lion’s share of the pain was gone and I felt much better than I’d felt in a good long while.

This gal -- her name was Mimi and she had a fantastic personality -- was deceptively strong. And, it just goes to show you that like lots of things in life, you really can’t judge a book by its cover.

By the way, today I’m enjoying the first day of my very L-O-N-G overdue vacation down here in the Caribbean, and I’ll definitely have some photos to post up to my blog next week, so make sure you don’t miss out -- and tomorrow I’ll tell you how things are going down here.

*****
Why would I devote a page and a half to smoking weed (No, I’m NOT kidding.) in my OFFLINE Marketing Newsletter? Well, you’ll have to subscribe to find out, and right now you can test-drive The Seductive Selling Newsletter, for free, AND get $1,391 in FREE Bonus Gifts on top of that! Get it here: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl*****

Announcing... The World-Wide Seductive Selling Radio Show!

About two years ago I mentioned to a friend of mine that I wanted to get an internet radio show. I thought radio is an excellent medium for my personality to really shine, and I still believe internet radio is a HUGE untapped future medium, similarly to how the internet itself was still an untapped and underused medium 10 years ago.

As this medium grows and becomes more accepted, it’s going to go from being a mystery, to being a leading source of information, and frankly I want to be on this cutting edge.

My dream has been realized!

On January 4th, 2007, you’ll be able to listen to the first (of many) Seductive Selling Radio Shows, from 1 to 2 Eastern Time. The show will air live every week at that same time, and will be downloadable and archived on my site and on WorldTalkRadio’s site, so you can download and listen to the show whenever you want, over-and over-again at your own convenience.

And while e-mail deliverability is not controllable, Lord knows you can communicate a hell of a lot of information -- that can’t be blocked, spam-proofed, or anything else like that, when you’re broadcasting over a microphone, that’s for sure.

Over the next few weeks you’ll be hearing more about my show, but... for now, mark your calendars to listen to The Seductive Selling Radio Show, every Thursday at 1pm Eastern time on WorldTalkRadio.com. There will be some live call-ins and special guests, so do NOT miss this for anything!

PAGE 3 is HUGE!: $1,391 in FREE Bonus Gifts for you, just for trying my OFFLINE Seductive Selling Newsletter -- On page 3 of this month’s issue, you’ll discover how to use your USP as your headline in a REAL life example! Get it here: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl

Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S. Make 2007 Your Best Year Ever by applying to my Mentoring Group: http://www.kingofcopy.com/maverickmentoring

Steve McQueen Did It -- So Can You.

I’ve been watching a lot of older movies lately. Stuff from the late 60’s and early 70’s.

Not sure why I’ve been feeling so nostalgic, perhaps it’s watching my kids get old, perhaps I’m getting old, not really sure -- but I’ll tell you one thing -- it’s pretty “comfortable” regardless. Kind of like sitting down with an old friend you haven’t seen in a long time. You don’t have to struggle to get to know that person and you can just sit back and relax and “be yourself.”

Familiarity may breed contempt in a relationship, but not in a relationship with a movie.

So last night I got through about half of Steve McQueen’s “Bullit”. (I bought the McQueen box set on Amazon.) I always liked Steve McQueen and when I did some research on his background, I liked him even more. Apparently he grew up doing things HIS way, in spite of getting a very difficult start in life.

This is a model for success, in case you didn’t know that -- as long as doing things YOUR way, means doing things that are legal, positive and productive -- albeit perhaps a little unconventional.

Sadly, McQueen died at a young age of cancer, but boy did he leave a classic body of work behind him. He was also one of Hollywood’s leading “studs” of his era.

Anyway, at one point in time during the movie (which was made in 1968), Robert Vaughan (in his first role after just finishing The Man From U.N.C.L.E. series) turns around to Simon Oakland and says, “Boy, it must be tough raising kids nowadays.”

Now how many times have you heard that one? Doesn’t matter if it’s 1968 or 1978... and in fact, chances are out STANDING you’ll be hearing it in 2008, right?

The point is this: THINGS change... environments change... products and goods and services change... but people -- and the things that keep them up at night and the things they WANT out of life -- simply do not change. Keep this in mind when you’re speaking to your prospects and you’ll be all right.

Steve McQueen did it, and now so can you. Kick FEAR and self-sabotage right on its ass, right here: http://www.kingofcopy.com/science

Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S. In this month’s OFFLINE Seductive Selling Newsletter, you’ll see why you can be absolutely BRAIN-DEAD and still write an effective ad, by using Example #2 as your model. Test-drive this newsletter for free while this offer lasts, AND get a $1,391 Dollars worth of FREE Bonus gifts to boot, right here: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl

Is Bigger Better? Is Quantity Your Measuring Stick?

First, as a heads up, I’m leaving town soon, for a very L-O-O-N-G overdue vacation somewhere out in a nearby ocean where it’s warm, where there are no clients of mine... and actually no computers either.

In fact, chances are outstanding if you DO hear from me; it won’t be on a regular basis. I’ll be bone-fishing, swimming, smoking cigars, drinking champagne, reading and doing a whole lot of nothing next week, and like I said, this has been a long time comin’.

Anyway, it being near the holidays and all, I’ve been making a few observations about things lately.

Have you ever noticed that really young kids tend to want a whole bunch of little things that individually don’t really cost a lot, but can add up to a lot? And not only are their gifts little, but ALL the things they seem to want, break into like, a thousand pieces all over the place?

Who builds this stuff? Do they really think a box of crap that has more plastic pieces in it than a table-top jigsaw puzzle is a smart gift for young kids?

I mean, what’s up with that?

And then, as the kids get older -- to be teens and pre-teens, they still want “small-sized” gifts, but now they cost more. Video games, video game players, ipods, TV’s, all that jazz.

So not only are the kids causing you more headaches, but now you (literally) have to pay more for this privilege. This also doesn’t seem fair, does it?

And of course, if you keep your eyes opened -- you know that we as adults usually get bigger-sized gifts, and even more expensive gifts. Maybe some new tools for yourself, or furniture for the house, a bedroom set, whatever.

The point is, why do we always want more? I’m not saying this is bad or anything, because frankly I don’t know if it is, but... it’s very intriguing, isn’t it? Because we want more not just in “toys” or books, or cigars, or whatever floats your boat, but we also always want more success, more money, and more business.

More more more!

Is quantity our measuring stick? I’m going to try and do some research on this one and let you know what I come up with.

Meanwhile, in this month’s OFFLINE Seductive Selling Newsletter, along these SAME lines, I’m going to show you why it really IS good to be the king, right there on the cover on page one. And you can test-drive this newsletter for free while this offer lasts, AND get a slew of MORE Bonus gifts to boot, right here: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl

Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S. Get your hands on the very BEST present you can give yourself this year -- The Seductive Selling System - http://www.kingofcopy.com/seductive -- Here’s what Cris Chico from Hollywood Florida has to say about it: “I have a few copywriting courses and they just simply gather dust on my bookshelf (I have three of them right now just like that). One of them from a well known copywriter has 12 dvds and 4 huge workbooks…. Who has the time to sit and go thru all that stuff. I need fast and simple information that I can use to write better copy and sales messages to make my phone ring TODAY!!! That is why I found your Seductive Selling System so much easier and valuable than the big huge copywriting courses out there for sale. Just the main manual alone gave me a ton of ideas for USP’s and sales copy for my letters and postcards. I have not even gotten thru the rest of the stuff and so far the money has been well spent. Bottom line is that if you are looking to invigorate your copy and sales message to get more customers WITHOUT having to go thru thousands of pages and days worth of dvd’s then then Seductive Selling is a MUST HAVE course. Thanks, Craig”

3 Simple Ways To Create & Strengthen Your Headlines And Build Your Entire Sales Pitch

Here are 3 simple ways to create and strengthen your headlines and build your entire sales pitch:

One of the many reasons I always write my headlines first, is that by doing so you get a number of ideas you can ultimately build your entire marketing campaign around -- or at least the lion’s share of your “big reason why” your prospects should buy.

For example, one strategy is to define the “size” of your claims, like this:

“Drop Your Golfing Score By FOUR Strokes In Less Than 30 Days!”

I cheated a little bit on that one, because I defined the size of the claim and I also defined the speed of it, but, you can only do one if you want, like this:

“DOUBLE The Number Of Fish You Catch Next Time Out!”

Similarly, you can also define the “speed” of your claims alone like this:

“Eliminates Back Pain In 90 Seconds Or Less!

Or... “Whiter Teeth In Just 7 Days!”

Another thing you can do is state something completely unconventional -- that’s something that catches EVERYONE’S eyes.

Like this, “How To Gain Muscle By Training LESS!”

Or... “Now Fly First Class For Half The Price Of A Coach Ticket!”

Make sense?

Don’t ignore these simple but highly-effective techniques -- they’re easy to use and proven to work, and you don’t need to be a rocket-scientist to figure them out.

And that... is good.

**********
$1,391 in FREE Bonus Gifts for you, just for trying my OFFLINE Seductive Selling Newsletter -- discover why it really IS good to be the King!: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl**********
Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S. Make 2007 your BEST year in business, EVER... try and qualify for my Mentoring Program and change your life right here: http://www.kingofcopy.com/maverickmentoring

What Ray Croc Wouldn’t Have Dreamt Up Even In His Wildest Imagination

When Ray Croc founded McDonalds, he looked at his business differently. He didn’t look at his business as a “burger joint”, he looked at is as real estate with a set of systems planted firmly on top of it, that would keep him in cash-flow heaven, for many years to come.

And over the years, let’s face it; there’ve been some pretty creative ways of marketing what are basically hamburger stands. You had drive-in shops during the 50’s and 60’s (there are still some drive in Sonic fast-food chains today, that are similar -- one not too far from me as a matter of fact)... and of course, you can’t go an hour without seeing some kind of promotion or giveaway from McDonalds and Burger King on television.

But here’s something that puts a brand new spin on the old hamburger stand. Out in Tempe, Arizona, there’s a burger joint called the Heart Attack Grill. They sell menu items like the Quadruple Bypass Burger and the Flatliner Fries, which are cooked in pure lard.

And the waitresses, boy oh boy! The waitresses are little hotties dressed up as nurses wearing skimpy outfits, high heels, and thigh-high stockings. If a “patient” finishes a Triple or Quadruple Bypass, one of these “nurses’ wheels them out to their car in a wheelchair. Now just think how many lonely guys out there want that!

The owner of the place has generated quite a buzz, not only with all the free publicity he’s getting by being so outrageous, but from the nursing association in Arizona.

They’re all bent out of shape about the restaurant referring to their waitresses as nurses, but instead of removing the word, the restaurant has simply put a disclaimer on all their published materials and their web site that says “The use of the word "Nurse" above is only intended as a parody. None of the women pictured on our website actually have any medical training, nor do they attempt to provide any real medical services. It should be made clear that the Heart Attack Grill and its employees do NOT offer any therapeutic treatments (aside from laughter) whatsoever.”

The place has gotten SOOO much publicity they’ve been interviewed by Geraldo Rivera and a slew of other television and radio shows. They’re half-way to Hooterville if you ask me!

See, what happens is, when you’re thinking along the lines of continually promoting yourself, new ideas suddenly seem to sprout out of nowhere. Articles you read, signs you see on the roadway, even a book on the shelf at Barnes and Noble -- they’re all a wellspring of ideas waiting for you to grab them. For instance, the latest idea from The Heart Attack Grill is “Sponge Bath Saturdays” -- use your imagination on that one.

Making your ordinary business, extra-ordinary isn’t that difficult. All you need is a good imagination... lots of things to stimulate your imagination... and a good sense of what’s going to entertain your audience.

No Hooters this issue, but... the Seductive Selling Newsletter is my OFFLINE publication and now you can try it for FREE. December’s year-end blowout issue is out and right here: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl

Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S. $60,000 in EXTRA income!: Patrick Precourt, a go-getter entrepreneur from Rocky Hill, Connecticut recently sent me in this e-mail: “Hey Craig, I thought you would dig this.....(See below) there were no previous sales here......just straight to the $20,000 coaching program.

Truth is, I used your techniques taught in your Seductive Selling System: Empathy, scarcity, pride......just to name a few. More importantly, I charged 5 times the amount I had originally planned on charging for my coaching program (prior to meeting and consulting with you).

Your copy is cool, really cool and even cooler (at least to me) is your business mind set and street smarts........In the short three months since starting your Maverick Mentoring coaching program, I have completely revamped our positioning, redefined our USP, increased our prices (and profits) across the boards and of course, learned a ton about copy writing....which by the way, I absolutely have no interest in doing my self!

Great for me to know about as it relates to our verbal selling as much as it does written copy, but I'll leave the writing to you.

I can account for $60,000 in additional income in 12 short weeks NOT including the additional rate of response we have received from all our marketing. The day I called and signed on with you goes down as a one of those few "bring you to the next level" events that one may experience in a business life time. Life is good! Cheers, Patrick H Precourt

Ps This was not meant to be a testimonial.....just really amped up and excited to see what each new day brings going forward!”

If you want to make 2007 your BEST year in business, EVER... and for more information on my Mentoring Program, or to try and qualify, check out http://www.kingofcopy.com/maverickmentoring

What To Do When You Have No Testimonials….Simple...

Offline Newsletter member Marcus Fisher, from Milwaukie, Oregon (no relation to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, or to Brooklyn, New York) recently sent in a VERY good question.

Marcus had this to say:

Craig,

I listened to your teleseminar the other day and I’m getting ready to write a new piece of copy and I just have one question. How do you handle not having testimonials? My information product is brand new so no one has even seen it. Not sure what to do about that since all my
"competitors" have plenty of testimonials. Thanks for the time.

Regards, Marcus

This is an excellent question and it’s one worth answering (unlike lots of the questions that get sent in to my office).

Testimonials are absolutely a CRITICAL aspect of seductive selling and persuasion. What someone else has to say about you is FAR more important than what you have to say about yourself.

Marcus, Testimonials are THAT important, that you should give away copies of your product just to get them if you have to. And don’t just think of testimonials as “selling” material. CANDID testimonials will also give you incisive feedback about what’s good (and bad) about your product, as well as excellent ideas for back-end and follow-up products.

In fact, testimonials are SO important, that in the June 2006 issue of Seductive Selling, I devoted an entire page to them (page 10), including HOW to gather testimonials and a checklist of actual questions to ask people when gathering testimonials. If you want to order this back-issue for only 49.95 (current subscribers only) you can fax Anne in my office at 954-337-2369, or call at 813-909-2214.

Oh, and by-the-way, for what it’s worth, in a world filled with abundance, there really is no competition.

*******
The Seductive Selling Newsletter is my OFFLINE publication and now you can try it for FREE. December’s year-end blowout issue is out and right here: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl
*******
Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S. Don’t under-estimate the value of testimonials, and never stop collecting or giving more and more of them.

FRE.E Teleseminar Being Removed! - “It changed my life”

The other day I ran a free teleseminar. Here’s a comment that was sent in to me from a listener. For personal reasons as you will see, I’m obviously keeping this one confidential, but rest assured we received this the morning after the seminar:

“Craig, I was on the teleseminar last night. I actually got there by mistake and it was fate. I am recovering from a near fatal horse accident (as a horse trainer/breeder that's not a good thing). But, I stayed on the call and it changed my life. I have been struggling with the internet trying to generate an income since my 40 horses still eat (I love them).

I am selling this ranch, it has not sold yet, but I have found the place I know I am supposed to be.

It also became very clear to me what I am supposed to do. I am going to turn this horrible tragedy into my bliss. And I will do whatever it takes to do it because it is absolutely my plan in the universal law of things... Listening to you last night for some reason reached way down into my soul and pulled this out.

Thank you Craig. I am sure that with no internet experience, no money and no list, living out in the boonies, can't drive and going from being the most outgoing, passionate, successful animal therapist entrapaneur to where I am now seemed hopeless. Not any more.

Again, many thanks, Craig.”

You can listen to this teleseminar until tonight, and you can do this right here:

http://www.kingofcopy.com/2007
Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S. This was not only my LAST teleseminar of the year, but it was also my very best! Discover How To Make 2007 Your Best Year Ever, and listen today!

15-Hour Crazy Sale!

TWO things:

At the stroke of midnight tonight, the cost of the Seductive Selling System will go up by $100 Dollars. As you know, I do NOT run sales on my products, so effectively, this is a RARE 15-hour sale, and it’s the only one you will ever receive.

The System comes with a 180-day GUAR-UN-TEE, and the amount of testimonials and success stories about the system is HUGE. You can see them all, and get your hands on the system, right here: http://www.kingofcopy.com/seductive

WARNING! Do NOT piss and moan if you don’t get to order the system on time... and don’t send me any whiny excuses about what you were doing today, and why you missed this deadline, or how you had an appointment with your vet because your cat was in heat or whatever. There are NO exceptions!

Now go order something, Craig Garber

P.S. I am dead serious about exceptions. There will be NONE! Get it here, NOW: http://www.kingofcopy.com/seductive

The Man In The Arena

I’m sure you’ve heard this quote, from a speech given by our 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt, on April 23, 1910, in Paris, France. During part of the speech, he said...

“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood - who strives valiantly, who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming but who does actually strive to do the deeds. Who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Last night, for the second time in his career, it was my son Nick, who was again, the man in the arena.

The second wrestling match of his career took place around 8pm. He again, weighing only 151, was going up against a guy weighing 160, and on top of that, the guy was ranked third in last years State championships.

Most people figured the match would be over in a flash.

In fact, the coach gave Nick the option of just forfeiting and not even wrestling at all, to avoid risking either an ass-whipping, or being humiliated.

Forfeit?

Not my kid.

There’s far more embarrassment in forfeiting than in losing -- in being the man in the arena whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood.

Nick went out and IMMEDIATELY tried to shoot in. He got his arm around his opponent’s leg, but the state champ used his experience to quickly get out of any trouble.

Then it was the champ’s turn. He shot in against my son and immediately went for the pin.

This time it was Nick who flipped the champ over and evaded a loss.

After about 15 seconds of grappling, the state champ then managed to use his legs to hold Nick’s legs down across his body in what I think is called a banana hold, and after a solid 10 seconds of resisting, he managed to pin Nick.

There is a moment in time, during those 10 seconds, when life suddenly slows down to a crawl. Instead of things moving at a “normal” pace, it’s as if you’re watching a movie in slow-motion. Everyone’s yelling and screaming, but you sort of hear it in the background.

All you see is your son struggling and fighting for his life, and instead of seeing things in real time, you see them in micro-seconds. You want to rush over to where he is, battling to not go down, and just toss his opponent over and give him a hand...

And you just “know” you can, because you’re seeing the world in slow motion, and you know you’ve got enough time in that slow-motion world, to rush over there and make it all better for him.

THAT is a powerless feeling, whether your son is 7, 17, or -- I would imagine -- 27.

Losing sucks even if you DO fail while daring greatly, so that your place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

They say third times a charm; I guess we’ll find out in a few days, now won’t we?

*******
The Seductive Selling Newsletter is my OFFLINE publication and now you can try it for FREE. December’s year-end blowout issue is out and right here: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl
*******

Now it’s time for YOU to get in the arena and go sell something, don’tcha think?

Craig Garber

P.S. ONE MORE DAY to save $100 Dollars! Order The Seductive Selling System now; otherwise I will beat you out of $100 bucks, because the price is going up tomorrow night! Get every marketing trick, strategy and technique to boost your sales, whether you’re selling in print, belly-to-belly, or in person. Get it here, NOW: http://www.kingofcopy.com/seductive

Why Bicycling Is The New Golf

Here’s a new trend that’s pretty interesting, and pretty “common sense-like” if you think about it.

One of the hottest new rages amongst baby boomers is buying high-end bikes. For instance, there’s a brushed silver, custom-made bike called the “Guru”, which goes for around $9 grand... and then there’s the Cervelo, made of black carbon fiber, which is a little more pricey at $10 g’s.

One of the primary reasons for this increased consumption and increased demand is the aging of the baby boomers, of which I’m one of the youngest. (The “boomer” cycle ended in December 1963, I was born in November of that year.)

See, we were the first generation to embrace physical activity (believe me, our parents weren’t jogging and pumping iron in the gym, they were smoking Parliaments and having a whiskey and water after work) and now, our physical activity has embraced us.

Weak shoulders, sore backs, and cartilage-meshed knees have taken over, and one of the few things left for us (besides the wheelchair) is... the bicycle.

And since a good chunk of us boomers have a few extra dollars lying around here and there, and since we’re used to having it “our way”, it makes TOTAL sense that the demand for new foreign and custom bikes is on the upswing.

My friend Dwight Miller from New Jersey has confirmed this for me, as he’s an avid rider with a cool set of wheels.

Also, the bike shops where these bikes are sold aren’t your regular greasy mechanic-infested run-of-the-mill old retail stores you’ve seen in the past. For instance, at Signature Cycles in Manhattan, as part of your buying experience (remember how I keep mentioning that word) you get a “range -of-motion analysis” on a massage table... you can shower there, because you may be sweaty after testing your new rides... and while you’re perusing bikes, you can sip fresh espresso.

Hey, if you’re gonna spend 10 Grand on a bike; you may as well have a 10,000 dollar experience too, right?

Pay attention to trends in the marketplace and it’ll pay off -- for your customers, and... of course for you.

In this month’s Seductive Selling Newsletter, you’ll see a VERY smart way of selling another “tren-dy” product that boomers are buying -- wine. Check it out for free, right here: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl
Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S. TWO DAYS LEFT - Then you’re out $100 Dollars! Order The Seductive Selling System now; otherwise I will beat you out of $100 bucks if you order after this Friday, because that’s when the price is going up. Get every marketing trick, strategy and technique to use, for whether you’re selling in print, or belly-to-belly, in person. Get it here, NOW: http://www.kingofcopy.com/seductive

Marketing Schizophrenia!

Do you have “marketing schizophrenia”?

Do you read “this” one day and “that” the next? And then try out bits and pieces of each thing you read?

Do you take two or three different sales letters (that someone else wrote), cut them into bits and pieces, and then use them as your own?

Know what happens when you do that?

Well, besides it being illegal (plagiarism IS illegal) and “bad karma”, the “new” letter usually bombs. See, it’s the same thing as if you took your favorite three outfits, and then switched around the pants, jackets, shirts and ties -- just because things go right when they’re together, doesn’t mean they’re going to work when they’re split up.

Make sense?

I can tell you now, I've been involved in marketing for almost 7 years, and one of the reasons I’ve come so far, so swiftly, is because I picked one or two sets of ideas (and a small handful of people to listen to) and worked with dogged persistence applying them to whatever it is I was working on.

Believe me, although it’s a lot less exciting (delivering the baby is always less exciting than making the baby), it's FAR more productive to follow something through to the end -- tweaking it along the way -- than to constantly be bouncing around from one place to another, one thought to another.

Make yourself goals you will stick to no matter what and then stay laser-focused on them.

If I had to name the top two things that have affected my results the most, they would be consistency and intensity. If you can accomplish both of those, you will be setting yourself up for good results.

And this doesn’t just apply to your business, but to anything you want in life, in general.

May not be as thrilling as the alternative, but are you looking for results... or excitement?

**********
$1,391 in FREE Bonus Gifts for you, just for being a subscriber of mine: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl
**********

Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S. THREE DAYS LEFT - Then you’re out $100 Dollars! Order The Seductive Selling System now; otherwise I will beat you out of $100 bucks if you order after this Friday, because that’s when the price is going up. Get every marketing trick, strategy and technique to use, for whether you’re selling in print, or belly-to-belly, in person. Get it here, NOW: http://www.kingofcopy.com/seductive

Why Kramer Really Isn’t A Racist

Boy-oh-boy is that guy from Seinfeld in a heap of trouble!

Last week, Michael Richards, the guy who plays “Kramer” on the Seinfeld television show, exploded on stage during his stand-up routine. He was being heckled by a couple of black guys and instead of rolling with the punches like every single other comedian does, or instead of having some canned lines to say that would shut the hecklers up, Richards EXPLODED with anger, making a bunch of racist comments and flinging the “N” word around repeatedly.

Now I have never even watched one episode of Seinfeld. I know that sounds like heresy to most people, but I just do not watch a lot of TV.

But I can tell you right now that Kramer really isn’t a racist at all.

Here’s why: You see, anyone who explodes with rage like that doesn’t just hate blacks -- anyone filled with that much anger is a “rage-aholic” and hates everyone.

And if you hate everyone, you really can’t be considered a racist, now can you?

I’d bet Kramer’s an equal-opportunity hater. I think he has the same contempt he showed for those fellas heckling him, against everyone -- whites, Asians, Jews, Spanish, old ladies, small annoying children -- you name it, he probably doesn’t really like anybody them too much, and he probably hates most people and life in general.

So when he’s running around saying the horrible comments he made “have nothing to do with black people” -- I actually believe him. They have to do with people and life in general, and the guys who got in his way that evening just happened to be black.

Do you punish someone for being an equal-opportunity hater?

I think not -- the life he’s living, filled with all that misery and hatred eating him up from the inside out -- repelling every warm, kind, nurturing and giving person around him, is punishment enough.

Just ask him.

**********
$1,391 in FREE Bonus Gifts for you, just for being a subscriber of mine: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl
**********

Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S. FOUR DAYS LEFT, Then you’re out $100 Dollars! Order The Seductive Selling System now, otherwise I will beat you out of $100 bucks if you order after this Friday, because that’s when the price is going up. Get every marketing trick, strategy and technique to use, for whether you’re selling in print, or belly-to-belly, in person. Get it here, NOW: http://www.kingofcopy.com/seductive

There Goes My Hero... Watch Him As He Goes

In May of 2003, the Foo Fighters released a CD called The Colour And The Shape. I used to listen to this CD before I wrote sales letters -- it would get me totally fired up and focused to write with passion and vibrance.

There’s a song on that CD called My Hero, which is excellent, and the first line goes, “There goes my hero, watch him as he goes... There goes my hero, he’s ordinary.”

And the truth is, most of the heroes who will come into and out of your life, really are ordinary. Ordinary people just like you and me, maybe some who’ve just done a few extraordinary things.

Today I want to tell you how very proud I am of one of my heroes. Oddly enough, I’ve not had very many heroes in my life. Perhaps I’m not easily impressed... perhaps I haven’t been around enough (not likely)... or perhaps I’m just too stubborn to recognize them when they’re right in front of me, or too stubborn to find them. Who knows?

But one of my heroes has ALWAYS been an unlikely hero -- my oldest son Nicholas.

Nick who’s 16 and a half, for a while when he was a kid, had it pretty rough. Let’s just say that when he was living with my ex-wife, even though it was years ago, he didn’t deserve to be in some of the environments he found himself in, and he damn sure wasn’t treated the way he deserved to be treated, either.

So I guess going through a few years of this -- and of course, every day of misery is much longer than even 10 days of mediocrity -- it often feels like Nick and I have served some sort of prison sentence together, for there truly is nothing more imprisoning than not being able to control and eliminate tragedy that’s being unfairly shoved into your loved one’s lives.

It’s almost like he was my partner in the foxhole for all those years, and I’ve always admired him for his survival and leadership skills. And when you spend that much time in the foxhole with someone, you become VERY close, and very protective of each other.

He’s also very intuitive and very bright and I know he is going to have a very fulfilling life, in spite of having to “grind’ it out during these teenage years. He’s a bright light on the horizon and I hope I’ve taught him a thing or two about life that will help him.

Plus, there’s this “thing” dads have with their first-born sons. Can’t explain it any more than you can explain why you can “sense” someone is staring at you or coming up behind you, but... it’s there.

I don’t always agree with Nick, but I love him dearly, and he and I will ALWAYS be close, no matter what, through thick and thin.

And he’s always had my back.

For example, I remember one time when I was working as a financial planner. I rented an exhibit table at a “business” expo, in... of all places -- Costco. Yes, I know -- wrong message to market match, but this was L-O-N-G before I knew about direct marketing and all that stuff.

Anyway, we literally had NO ONE approach the table, ALL DAY LONG, and the only people who came near me, were old women wanting to steal all of my Hershey’s Kisses and free pens. I was discouraged as hell, but Nick, who came along with me that day... Nick kept encouraging me every single minute, “Don’t worry dad, it’s not over. Someone’s going to come along and make an appointment with you.”

And then he’d say, “Well, at least we got to hang out and spend all this time together talking.”

And that was TRULY, the best part of the day -- far more valuable than I would have thought.

I will always remember that support and vote of confidence, which came at a period of time when my own support and confidence wasn’t particularly strong.

Yesterday, at around 7:30 pm, Nick made me VERY proud. After losing 55 pounds over the last 18 months, and going from a fat unhealthy kid, to a lean, shredded, muscular athlete, bigger and stronger than I am, Nick, who joined the wrestling team just 6 weeks ago... had his first wrestling match, with his brother, sister, Anne, and I watching him. (He’s also a red belt in Tae Kwan Do, so watch out brother!)

He weighed 148 pounds and was wrestling an experienced wrestler who weighed 160, and... frankly, even though my son fought like a soldier, the match was over pretty quickly.

Nick was pretty disheartened and disappointed, and after the meet, I held on to him and told him how very proud he’s made me, and how happy I was for him. And then, I congratulated him.

He looked at me like, “Why are you congratulating me?”

And I explained he should be thrilled, because he just experienced the very WORST performance he was ever going to have. The worst wrestling match of his life. From now on, every single match he will ever have, will be better, and better still.

And you can forgive yourself for just about anything, and release yourself from disappointment pretty easily, once you accept that every single performance you will ever do, moving forward, will be a hell of a lot better than the one you just gave.

There goes my hero.

**********
$1,391 in FREE Gifts, for being a subscriber of mine: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl
**********

Now go sell something, Craig Garber