“How To Eliminate Stress...
By Listening... For A Whisper!”
by Craig Garber
Last week I told you I was going to start talking about the "mental" side of success. So let's cut to the chase and get right to it.
We're going to begin with a simple but very powerful story about 2 young brothers... the bond between them... and the power it wields. Maybe they're like my sons, and maybe they're like yours too.
The story is called...
“Whisper, Or A Brick?”
And it goes something like this:
A young and very successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar.
As his car passed by a street corner, from out of nowhere... a brick smashed right into the side door of his Jag.
The executive slammed down on his brakes, spinning the Jag around, and immediately raced back to the spot where the brick had been thrown from.
He jumped out of his car, and then grabbed a hold of the young kid that was standing by the side of the road, pushing him up against another parked car, and began shouting, "What do you think you're doing, boy?"
Building on an already explosive head of steam, he then went on:
"That's a brand new car and that brick you threw is going to cost me a TON of money in repairs. Why'd you do that?"
The boy, now shaking with fear, timidly said "Please sir, please. I'm sorry... I didn't know what else to do," he pleaded. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop."
As the boy confessed to the executive, tears were dripping down both sides of his face. He pointed around the parked Jaguar and said "You see... it's my brother sir. He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up."
Then, he continued sobbing and began hugging the executive -- half out of fear and half out of mercy.
"Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair, sir? He's hurt... and... he's ever too heavy for me."
Moved beyond mere words could express, the busy executive tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump inside his throat. Then, he lifted the young man back into his wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and began dabbing the scrapes and cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be O.K.
"Thank you and may God bless you sir," the grateful little child said to him. The man then watched the little boy push his brother down the sidewalk towards their home.
For the overachieving executive, however, it was a long walk back to his Jaguar. A very... l-o-n-g... slow... walk.
Although this happened some time ago, to date, the busy executive never did repair that side door of his. He kept the dent to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention.
God whispers into your soul and he speaks to your heart. And sometimes, if you're not listening -- he has to throw a brick at you to get your attention.
In the end, it's your choice:
Listen to the whisper, or... wait for the brick.
***
I found this story very powerful on many levels.
For starters, don't wait too long to start enjoying your life and bathing in the things that are really important to you.
No one is promised tomorrow, and sadly, there are no exceptions to that rule.
You don't need permission to start living out your fantasies... or waiting until "the time is right".
After all, what are you waiting for?
Do you think you'll be better able to enjoy things when you're 10 years older?
Will you be "more ready" then? Or perhaps more deserving?
Why not enjoy them today?
Do yourself a favor: write yourself out a permanent "permission slip" to start living your life to its fullest -- right now.
Second, there's a very important copywriting message here. And it's this: Use stories to sell your items.
Always Tell 'Em A Story.
Listen, didn't you feel compelled to get through that story I just told you, once you already started listening to it?
You're not alone, because everyone loves a good story.
And using a story to make your sales pitch, cuts right through the heart of all the B.S. that people normally get when they're being sold on something... and actually captures your prospects attention.
And do you know how difficult that is to do?
It's damn near impossible when it comes down to it!
Look, like I've said before, sending someone a sales message is like crashing their party. And if you can't give them an REALLY GOOD excuse to let you stay, within about 5 seconds... you're getting tossed out the door on your rear end.
And what better way to get someone to listen to you, than by telling them a good old fashioned, heart-to-heart story.
So use stories in your sales messages, whenever you can.
That's the very best way to teach someone something and it's surely the absolute best way to sell them something too.
Lastly, don't ignore whispers -- in fact, be on the lookout for them. If you're closed to hearing them, you're only going to listen (and learn) by getting hit on the head with those heavy bricks.
And if you ask me, that's a difficult way to be learning things.
Because usually when those bricks come, and believe me, we've ALL felt them... they come very hard... very furiously... and typically, with a very loud THUD!
And the last thing you need when those bricks do come, is a pile of regrets to mop up. You usually won't be able to at that point.
Sometimes, when you're pushing too hard to get something done, and you constantly find you're up against resistance, each-and-every step of the way...
You need to stop what you're doing and listen closely, because that resistance you're getting, may in fact be your...
Lucky Little Whisper.
I say lucky, because if the messages you're getting are telling you to stop -- then most of the time, you should listen to those messages and do exactly that.
And as I'll explain in a minute, sometimes failing is actually good.
Here in America, we often mistake "giving up" for "giving in", and that's just NOT the same thing.
"Giving up" when everything around you is telling you you're moving in the wrong direction -- in spite of what you originally expected -- is a very wise decision. It doesn't mean you're not persistent... it doesn't mean you can't handle adversity... and it certainly doesn't mean you're a failure.
It just means that particular project, wasn't meant for you. At least, not at that particular time.
"Giving in" on the other hand, is different. "Giving in" means jumping ship without even giving yourself a fair chance. And that's not the same thing at all, is it?
Never give in.
Instead, be optimistic and hopeful, but try and have realistic expectations about things.
For example, here are a few that've helped me keep my sanity:
- Remember, it’s very unlikely things will go exactly as you planned, straight out of the starting gate.
Why?
Simple, you have no way of knowing what's ahead of you, especially when you're traveling down a new road for the first time.
So expect to hit a few bumps along the way. This way when they come, you'll be prepared and your expectations won't get shot down.
- Be open to hearing those gentle whispers blowing in your ear. If you're not open in the first place, then expect to get hit with a lot of bricks.
And Which Of Them Would You Prefer?
- Think you're having a tough time? Feeling down? Frustrated because your life's not in order?
Here's a GUARANTEED way to fix that, and I mean it. It sounds absolutely ridiculous, but keep an open mind and try it.
Seriously though, don't just listen to me and take my word for it -- you must actually DO this, for it to really work.
Go to tvguide.com, and find out the next time your local television station is running the Jerry Springer show.
Then mark it down on your calendar to remind you when it's going to be on.
Set your alarm, or record it on your VCR or your TiVo or whatever you use.
Then, sit down and watch it.
I know sometimes things seem bleak and you're feeling low and everything around you seems to look muddy, but...
Those people... the one's on Jerry's show... are the ones with problems.
THEY are truly going nowhere.
YOU, on the other hand, are just in the middle of a very temporary (albeit painful... frustrating... and deep) rut.
THEY, however, will be scraping along the bottom rung of life's murky ladder, for a very... very... l-o-n-g... l-o-n-g time.
But YOU, will be back to full speed in a little while.
Make sense?
Good.
- Do Something!
In spite of all the difficulties you'll encounter, whenever you're actually taking action, 5 times out-of 10... new things will pop up that you never expected to happen, and many of them will open bright new doors for you to walk through, filled with fresh ideas and incredible new opportunities!
Things happen when you're in motion, not when you're sitting around in front of your computer "thinking" about being in motion.
So Get Moving, NOW!
- And lastly, always assume you're destined to succeed -- whatever your definition of success is.
Then, just look at obstacles you encounter, as "redirects", keeping you on the path to success. This way, it's always a win for you, regardless.
Here's an example of what I mean: Remember before when I said sometimes it's "good" to fail?
Here's where I was going with that.
The truth is, if not for a very unusual series of events that subsequently happened, I wouldn't be one of the top freelance copywriters around, if I hadn't have failed on something else I was working on way back when.
The entire course of my life would have been different.
And while I have no idea where I'd have been or what my life would be like if this particular task had succeeded, I know one thing for sure:
I'm literally happier than I've ever been in my entire lifetime, and I wouldn't trade what
or who I am now, for anything.
I hope some of these ideas at least give you some food for thought.
And if you liked that story, "Whisper - Or A Brick", you can find it in a book, a friend of mine wrote.
His name is Dr. Mani, and if you occasionally get stressed about things -- even a little -- I'd encourage you to order his book right now.
Dr. Mani is a cardiac surgeon in the beautiful beach-side town of Chennai, India.
He works with newborn children who are experiencing critical heart problems, and so he deals with life-or-death, daily.
Imagine how powerless you'd be feeling, holding tiny lives in the balance, and they slip right through your hands, only days... weeks... or months old.
Mani's come up with a pinpoint system for effectively eliminating stress and anxiety.
And since you probably don't encounter anything nearly as traumatic as this in your life, his system will work even easier for you.
Mani's book is called "The Emotion Prism."
It shows you 3, simple and proven ways of looking at things you're coming up against, and explains how to handle them so your outcome is both natural and acceptable to you.
And in some ways, more controllable and a helluva lot less frustrating.
If you want to order Mani's book, it's dirt cheap, especially considering the life-lessons you're going to discover in it. These are answers to questions some people spend a lifetime looking for and never find, and you can order your copy right here:
Grab Your Copy Of The Emotion Prism, Right Now!
(sorry, no longer available)
Thanks for listening. See you next week.
P.S. If you've ever listened to a whisper and found yourself benefitting from it, or... if you've ever ignored a whisper, and instead got slammed by a brick, do me a favor and drop me a line. I'd love to hear about it and I promise to keep it just between us -- confidential.
Any comments?
Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them -- I appreciate your feedback!
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| “Craig Garber is America's top direct-response copywriter. Join the ranks of Garber's swelling list of global VIP's who subscribe to his unconventional weekly marketing moments, and discover how to dramatically boost your sales and improve the response to your sales copy, on his website at http://www.kingofcopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.” |