Schools Out For Never

Dear Friend,

Ever been stuck in a rut you can't seem to get out of?

Like maybe you just can't bring youself to finish your project... or else for whatever reason, perhaps you're "afraid" of starting something because you really aren't sure if your idea will work?

Well, today I'm going to show you a guy who's built a wall around himself so big, he can't possibly crawl out of it, and he hasn't done so for 12 years.

Here's the deal:  Occasionally, you'll hear people debating over "going to college", especially in the direct-marketing realm.

Because so many direct-response info-marketers are making such HUGE amounts of money, and since many of them didn't go to college, they feel college is a real waste.

To me, that's like telling someone eating healthy is a waste.  For some it's critical, and for others it's immaterial.

I don't think there's a "right" answer to this issue.

I went to college, and got a 4-year BBA in Public Accounting, of all things.

For me, it was a good experience and it was my way out of the bad situation I was in at home, and bluntly out of the misery of living in a negative and unambitious place in general, and it exposed me to a higher level of thinking I DEFINITELY would not have had access to, otherwise.

At the time, I knew of no other way of getting access to these things.

Plus, what would I have done?  Although I had a good work ethic, ambition and some brains, I had no guidance and no clue about where to go.

I knew there was another world out there, I just had no idea what it looked like or where it was located.  I didn't know the answer to both of these questions, was... "in between your ears".

I knew as much about making money and being successful at age 17, as I know about Australian fertilizer today at age 42.

Now my kids are in a different situation.  They know a thing or two about making a buck and they aren't "unaware" of success.

And fortunately, I've shared loads of my failures with them as well.

However, if they want to go to school, more power to them.  (As long as they pay for some of it, of course.)

Because one thing about college, is... it's not necessarily what you get "out of" going there, it's what you become "afterwards".  Somehow, it works on you growth-wise, and in my case at least, it helped mature me a bit as well.

Now here's a story about someone who's used college to "brand" himself, and in my opinion, this guy's going to have a tough time getting out of this "rut" he's put himself into.

Johnny Lechner has been a student at the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater...

For 12 years now!

And... he still hasn't graduated. 

When he started school, the internet was an infant, and his current girlfriend was in the fourth grade (that sounds twisted, doesn't it?).

Allthough he has well over two-times the amount of credits you'd need to graduate, none of them are concentrated enough to have earned him any kind of degree, and he's actually used his "status" to market himself and get on David Letterman's Late Show and "Good Morning America".

What would a guy like that use as his USP?

"I'm Never Going To Leave"

"The REAL Van Wilder"

How screwed is this guy?

I mean, who would ever hire him?

Imagine -- his whole identity is wrapped up in this "permanent student" persona.

Sheesh!

You know, when I first got into sales years ago, and I was working for a big national financial planning and asset management firm, I hung up a sign on my wall inside my office.

Things were pretty rough... success did NOT come easy... and my "sales training" consisted of some horrible dipshit of a manager -- one of those guys who's wife kicks his ass the second he walks through the door at home, so he had to take out all his frustration on the staff in the office -- anyhow, his training consisted of tossing an old copy of the yellow pages onto my desk and saying "start calling at letter C".

Needless to say, you didn't feel great about your production, so the sign I hung up on my wall said "Who You Are" on one side... and on the other side it said "What You Do".

I wanted to make sure in my mind, that the two issues were kept separate.

I now know this isn't true.  I was naive and didn't know what it took to be great.

I "thought" you'd become successful by being the "smartest" guy... and the most "honest" person to deal with.

In reality, and especially for men, what you do is a HUGE part of who you are.  And although you should be sharp, and you damn well better be honest or things will back-fire on you eventually... the trick is... to just find out how to be great at marketing what you're doing...

And the rest will ALL fall into place.

Johnny Lechner may be dying on the vine, so if you know him... tell him the one thing that'll pick him up and change his life is... my newest marketing field-guide, which he can check out right here at:  http://www.kingofcopy.com/22ways

Now go sell something,

Craig Garber

P.S. If you have your own marketing issues and you need to be "un-stuck" from them, then there's only one way to do that.  Go here now to find it:  http://www.kingofcopy.com/salescopyreview

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!

You can reprint, or link to this article, or to any article on this web site, as long as you include the following text-box:

• Home
• Intro
• Bio
• NEWSLETTER
• Products & Coaching
• Testimonials
• Writing Samples
• Archives I
• II
• Contact