Personal Change

Channeling the coleslaw of attraction

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A few days ago I was talking to a friend when, like a snake in the grass, he sprang on me with a deadly question:

“What do you think of the law of attraction?”

Uff.

​​I told him two things. And if you want, I’ll tell you as well.

First, I think the law of attraction doesn’t have to be actually true, but if it makes you act like it’s true, then it will still help.

And two, even though I don’t actually believe the law of attraction to be real…

Sometimes I experience weird coincidences that make me say, what the hell do I know?

Because I read an interview several years ago, and it changed the way I see the world. The interview was with a cognitive scientist named Donald Hoffman, whose big thing is claiming that “reality” is not real.

Hoffman had all sorts of technical explanations for why this is true.

But all I remember is a powerful metaphor he used.

If you turn on your computer, said Hoffman, you’ve got a desktop.

On that desktop, there are likely to be some files lying around.

It’s a useful way of thinking about the computer and what it does.

Of course, it’s completely untrue. Those files are not on the desktop. In fact, there isn’t even any such thing as a file (the way you think of it). What you really have is a bunch of random electrical signals, cut up and spread around your hard drive, along with algorithms for how to piece this vibrating mess together and present it in a meaningful way.

It’s all a big mishmash and it’s way too complex to be useful to an end user.

And that’s why the little file icon, sitting pretty on your desktop and ready for you to double-click it, is so useful.

This desktop-and-file-icon idea is Hoffman’s metaphor for every mental concept.

And to me that includes the law of attraction.

Sure, it’s just a made up way of looking at the world.

But if the messy true nature of the world (the coleslaw of attraction?) is too complex for our limited minds to grasp…

Then why not choose the most helpful and useful file icons to help yourself manage it?

Anyways, that’s the way I look at it, after reading the Hoffman interview and discovering his desktop metaphor.

Anyways, that’s the way I look at it, after reading the Hoffman interview and discovering his desktop metaphor.

Maybe this will help you in case you too can be too rational and skeptical at times.

For less ethereal discussions, such as how to write advertorials that spawn clients out of the ether, channel your positive energy and direct it this way:

https://bejakovic.com/advertorials/

An ode to hate and burnout

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I worked late last night.

In fact, I worked from around 9:30am, into the afternoon, and, with a quick break to go for a swim, until around 10pm.

Along with working on my own projects, I had promised a client I would deliver some copy — an advertorial and a FB ad for a new product. And though it wouldn’t have been a major crisis had I not delivered last night, the promised deadline drove me to finish.

And I did. I got both the advertorial and the FB ad done. I was happy with the copy.

But I’m paying for it today. I feel burned out.

I’m staring at my feet.

Hours are passing and my daily todo list remains untouched.

I might fill up a bucket with ice water later and dunk my head in it over and over.

The point is that, for me, work never seems to get easier. I know I don’t deal well with long workdays. That’s why I’ve organized my life so I almost never have them. But even when I churn through my usual, not very taxing days, I have to will myself to work.

Even though I like my work.

Even though I’ve managed to create a comfortable life for myself by working this way.

In other words, even though I’ve “arrived” by any criterion I would have set for myself 5 years ago. This reminded me of something I’d read in a James Altucher post a few weeks ago:

I got an email, “You’re ugly. Shut the F up.”

It was the first time I got hate mail. I had an opinion about the stock market, wrote it, then got this email. It was 2002.

I showed a friend of mine. “That’s a badge of honor. It means people are paying attention to you.”

“Or it could just mean people think I’m ugly.”

Altucher writes that after almost 20 years of being in the spotlight, after 20 years of getting such messages, it still hurts him when people say hateful things to him. Which to me was reassuring. Here’s a guy who’s much further along than I am. And he still struggles.

I’m not sure that, with my fried brain today, I can formulate the point I’m trying to make. But there is a point. Maybe you can see it.

Anyways, if you’re looking to find out how I write advertorials, and how I manage to get the research and the writing squeezed down to its most efficient form, you might be interested in the following:

https://bejakovic.com/advertorials/

The sales secret of girls who “AirPod” it in

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I read an Atlantic article today titled, The Case for Wearing AirPods All the Time.”

The case, according to author Marina Koren, is that it keeps women safe — or at least a bit safer – from various sidewalk catcallers, escalator harassers, and assorted bus and subway pervs.

And you know what? I agree with Marina. And this is coming from one such sidewalk harasser.

As I’ve written before, I have previously had and continue to have the habit of occasionally stopping a girl on the street to tell her she looks nice.

Most of the time, the girl will say thank you and then continue on her way.

Sometimes, we get into a short conversation.

On occasion, it goes much further.

The thing is, it’s never stopped me if a girl has her headphones in. But I know other guys, who would like to do the same thing I do, for whom it’s a deal breaker. “She must be on the phone,” they say. “If only she’d take her headphones out, I’d go and talk to her.”

So yes, I definitely agree with Marina Koren. I encourage more girls to wear headphones all the time to discourage all those other guys.

The incredible thing, however, is that the girls who seem most unapproachable are actually “airpodding” it in.

Sure, they have those things in their ears to present a barrier to guys they don’t want to talk to. But once that barrier is overcome, many of those girls turn out to be very ready to stop and chat — and yes, even to a stranger on the street.

At least, that’s been my experience.

And I don’t think I’m completely crazy or so far down Harasser Lane that I’ve lost touch with reality.

In fact, I think this approach of “airpodding it in” is a common feature of human nature.

I remember listening to an interview with sales trainer Stan Billue who discovered that leads who seem most guarded, off-putting, and hostile to a sales pitch were that way because they were actually the best and easiest opportunities — if you could only get past their spiky exterior.

Maybe that’s something to keep in mind the next time you’re evaluating an opportunity, whether personal or financial. And maybe consider that the more repulsed you are by the difficulty of a situation, the better the situation might actually be.

You might even find that closing such opportunities is very simple. You might just have to say something like:

In case you’re looking for info on how to write effective sales copy — specifically emails — then I might have a thing to help you out. Simply go here and see if it’s a fit for you:

https://bejakovic.com/profitable-health-emails/

Memorial Day master lessons with Tony Robbins

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“Instead of your spirit animal, what is your spirit plant?”
“Rhododendron. Requires very specific conditions, but even when those conditions are met, it is unlikely to thrive.”
– Reddit user fhost344

As I was riding through the streets of New York today, I noticed how calm the city looked.

It’s Memorial Day, and most people have the day off and are taking it easy.

And since it’s such a calm and reflective day, I wanted to share some deep and reflective stuff with you.

It’s a fraction of a 13-year-old Ted talk given by Tony Robbins.

Says Tony, there are two master lessons in life.

One is the science of achievement.

That’s what most of us focus on all the time: “How do you make your dreams happen? Your business, your contribution to society, money — whatever, your body, your family.”

The second is the art of fulfillment.

That, according to Tony, is about appreciation and contribution.

And like the rhododendron fail-to-thriver above, many of us don’t do too much about this second master lesson, even if we have all the resources we might want or need.

The point being, its never too early to start thinking about how to appreciate, enjoy yourself, and give back. These aren’t things you should wait to do until you achieve some massive level of success.

Of course, if you are like me, then mastering the art of fulfillment won’t come too easy…

And it might take time.

That’s why you might as well get started on it now.

So no pitch from me for today.

But in case you want a whirlwind overview of the magical world of success and fulfillment, courtesy of Tony Robbins, here’s the link to that Ted talk:

Dread Pirate Leonardo’s to-do list

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Leonardo Da Vinci used to keep many notebooks and in some of them, he entered his daily to-do items. It’s not your typical laundry list:

– Examine the Crossbow of Mastro Giannetto
– Ask about the measurement of the sun promised me by Maestro Giovanni Francese
– Draw Milan

When did Leonardo find time to do all this plus paint the Mona Lisa plus design the first tank plus make important anatomical discoveries?

I don’t know.

But I suspect he had the same attitude as Westley from The Princess Bride.

Westley is just a poor stable boy when he sets off into the world to make his fortune.

But before he gets anywhere, his ship is captured by the Dread Pirate Roberts, who never takes prisoners. So when Westley offers to become Roberts’ valet, the Dread Pirate agrees, but just for that one day.

In the evening, Roberts says, “Good night, Westley. Good work. Sleep well. I’ll most likely kill you in the morning.”

This goes on each day. Westley learns as much as he can in that one day. He makes himself as useful as he can aboard the Revenge, DPR’s fearsome ship.

And each night, he hears the same. “Good night, Westley. Good work. Sleep well. I’ll most likely kill you in the morning.”

In time, Westley becomes a master of fencing, he learns how to run a pirate ship, and he even inherits the title of “Dread Pirate Roberts” when the current Dread Pirate Roberts decides to retire.

And he does it all done one day at a time.

With the threat of imminent death hanging over him.

Which is basically the situation we all find ourselves in.

So personally, when I get overwhelmed with future plans and goals and things I’d like to accomplish but I haven’t even started on yet…

I just remember the encouraging words of the Dread Pirate Roberts — “I’ll most likely kill you in the morning” — and resolve to learn and do as much as I can for today.

That might be something to consider if you’re feeling overwhelmed with your own to-dos. And if learning how to write effective sales emails is among your to-dos, then check out the following:

https://bejakovic.com/profitable-health-emails/

How to become a multimillionaire if you’re not smart or lucky

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Yesterday, I watched a video by Mark Ford in which he shares his 7 essential elements for wealth building.

If you know about direct response marketing, odds are you’ve heard of Mark or his work.

He’s one of the guys who built up Agora into a $500 million (soon to be $1 billion?) business.

He also started AWAI, a training school for copywriters.

He’s got stakes in other multi-million dollar companies, owns dozens of real estate developments, and — as if all his other activities aren’t enough — he is also a broker of fine art from Latin America.

Mark’s personal wealth is not public, but based on hints he drops, I assume it’s in the tens-of-millions to hundreds-of-millions range. In spite of this, he will flatly claim he is not smarter or luckier than other people. When a guy like this decides to share his advice on wealth building, it makes sense to listen.

So, according to Mark Ford, here are the 7 elements you should have to become almost as rich as he is:

1. Time
2. Financially valuable skills (one or more of marketing, selling, creating, managing, and buying)
3. A high net investable income
4. Knowledge of how individual businesses create profits in individual industries
5. Seeking average returns for each asset class
6. Diversity among 4-5 asset classes
7. Risk aversion

In the video, Mark admits this list isn’t sexy. But, he says, he’s discovered (along with Bill Bonner, the founder of Agora) that…

“…there is an inverse relationship between the value of knowledge and what people are willing to pay for it. The most important things in life you’ve probably heard a hundred times before, but you’re not paying attention. When you’re in the right place and you hear it, you have that ‘aha’ moment and everything changes.”

Like I said, when a guy like Mark Ford speaks, it makes sense to listen.

At least that’s what I’m doing. I guess I’m on a decent path because I’m well along in developing a financially valuable skill — marketing.

In case you’re more of the creating or managing type, then we might be able to help each other out. Get in touch with me, and we can discuss how to get richer together.

My number one productivity tip for fellow white rabbits

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Major Valerie “Twitch” Wetzbarger is an instructor pilot with the 56th Fighter Wing of the US Air Force.

She is also one of the very few pilots who get to fly the F-35, the multi-billion-dollar stealth fighter that Lockheed Martin has been developing over the past decade or so.

Asked what lessons she has drawn from flying the F-35 (which is essentially a sentient death rocket that melds with the pilot’s body and shoots her into the clouds at 1,200 miles per hour), Major Wetzbarger commented:

“Some of my favorite advice is, ‘Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.’ This means slow down, do your part right the first time, and that will be quicker in the end.”

I read the above quote a few weeks ago, and it resonated with me. So I’ve taken Major Wetzbarger’s advice and I’ve refashioned it for myself:

“Go slow, and do one thing at a time.”

It’s been working very well. I’ve been getting more done by slowing down, plus I feel much better during the day. But here’s an important disclaimer:

This productivity tip works for me.

That’s because my brain is like a skittish white rabbit that makes its home in the future and only rarely and briefly comes into the present.

In other words, I’m always thinking about things that are coming up — and never things that are here.

Not only is this a recipe for being inefficient with whatever I’m working on, it’s also a recipe for needless worry and stress (“Oh my ears and whiskers, how late it’s getting!”)

And that’s why, if you do NOT have the problem of constantly living in the future, I won’t presume to give you productivity advice.

On the other hand, if you have the same white rabbit tendency as I do, then try slowing down instead of hurrying up. It might make a lot of difference in what you get done.

And finally, if you want some profitable info on email marketing and copywriting, specifically for the health space, then take the following steps very slowly and one at a time:

1. Click on the link below
2. Read over the short offer that’s described there
3. If it suits you, sign up with your email
4. And witness how good and productive you feel

https://bejakovic.com/profitable-health-emails/

Hungry Hamza’s ISIS diet fail

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A few weeks ago, news surfaced that British jihadi Hamza Parvez was being held in a Syrian prison.

Hamza was one of the first Britons to join ISIS — he ran away in 2014 to Syria, after convincing his UK family that he was going to study in Germany.

So what was Hamza doing in Syria?

Well, along with standard ISIS duties, he appeared in a recruiting video. He also tried to create a social media following back home in the UK, to convince other young Britons to come join him in the land of jihad.

But he failed in his social media quest.

The trouble seems to have been that Hamza, who was solidly built at the start of his ISIS career, lost almost 70 lbs. while in Syria.

He wasn’t happy about the distribution of food within ISIS.

And unfortunately, he decided to complain about this online. At one point, he even wrote on Twitter how he had a dream — ordering food from KFC, Nando’s, and even his fave Thai place.

As a result, his online followers started to mock him as “Hungry Hamza,” and his jihadi credibility went down the tubes.

There’s a lesson here for hungry marketers as well.

It’s from a throwaway comment I heard Ben Settle make in his now-dead podcast.

“Whatever you do,” Ben said, “you want to make it look easy.”

He was talking both about the content of your marketing (ie. don’t complain about being hungry)…

As well as about the form (ie. keep sending out an email each day, as though it costs you zero effort).

Of course, the reality might well be that you’re hungry…

Or that producing a constant stream of marketing content is costing you effort.

But your audience — jihadi or not — never needs to know that.

Hopefully this helps you in your own marketing.

And if you want more advice of how to write fresh daily emails that never sound hungry, check out the following:

https://bejakovic.com/profitable-health-emails/

An inspirational sermon on the world’s greatest art thief

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In February of 1997, a man named Stephane Breitwieser walked into the Rubens House in Antwerp, Belgium.

It wasn’t his first visit to the museum.

In fact, he and his girlfriend, who helped him in many of his capers, had already staked it out multiple times.

You see, Breitwieser, only 25 at the time, was an expert in stealing art.

During his career, he stole over $1.4 billion worth of paintings, statues, jewelry, tapestries, chalices, weapons, musical instruments, and religious relics — all in broad daylight, without any violence, threats, or damage.

On this particular day, Breitwieser walked out with a small ivory figurine by a 17th-century master.

And he got away with it.

In fact, he kept getting away with it.

And as his successes mounted, he kept getting more brazen — and more addicted to stealing.

The amazing thing was he wasn’t doing any of it for money.

He never sold anything he stole.

Instead, he stashed it all in his room, on the top floor of his mother’s house, where he would lie around and admire all the beautiful things he now owned.

Of course, eventually Breitwieser’s extraordinary run came to an end.

He was arrested after returning to the Richard Wagner Museum in Switzerland, where he had stolen a little curled bugle several days earlier.

Once arrested, Breitwieser broke down at the police station, and wound up confessing to the theft of over 300 pieces, from over 200 museums.

Now here’s the instructional part.

Breitwieser eventually got out of jail.

And while he was legally forbidden from setting foot into the museums he had stolen from, he nonetheless made his way back to the Rubens House in Antwerp.

He looked at the statuette he had stolen twenty years earlier, which was reinstated in the exhibit.

And he realized that that day in February 1997 was probably the very high point of his life.

He had gotten such a rush from stealing.

He had amassed such a treasure trove of beautiful objects.

And he felt invincible — for a while.

But that was all long gone.

Now he was on the outside, and he would never be able to reclaim his former thieving glory.

Kind of a strange thought.

That a moment in your life, 20 years ago, was as good as it will ever get.

And that the rest of your life will only be one long anticlimax.

But here’s the thing.

Fortunately, you are probably not an art thief — real or aspiring.

And so, even if you look back in your past and realize that things used to be better than they are now…

There’s nothing stopping you from working towards a new goal, which will overshadow whatever pinnacle you had achieved in the past.

And the thing is, the very act of working towards that goal will give you more meaning and satisfaction than any past achievement could.

At least, that’s how I see it.

And how I try to live my life.

Maybe you disagree.

And if you do — or you need some inspirational copy written for your email list — get in touch with me and let me know what’s up.

My growing respect for the beat-up Irish clown

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A few weeks back, MMA fighter Conor McGregor announced he would retire.

At one point, McGregor was the UFC lightweight champion. Right now, he’s best known for trash-talking, street brawls, and taking any opportunity to promote his own brand of Irish whiskey.

For me personally, he’s an easy guy to hate.

How could you not?

McGregor talked a lot shit prior to his last fight. He then got his ass kicked convincingly over four rounds, and had to tap out. This didn’t keep him from talking shit — and he still keeps it up, even now that he is supposedly (but unconvincingly) retired.

​​To top it all off, he looks and acts like a clown — albeit a dangerous, aggressive clown.

That’s how I felt. Until recently.

Recently, as I watched various clips of Conor McGregor prior to his last fight, I got a strange impression.

I realized that in spite of all the boasting, here was a man who realized full-well that he would go into the cage and probably get beat up, and beat up badly.

He was willing to get punched and kicked and strangled by one of the most dangerous men on the planet.

And he was willing to make a fool of himself before and after the physical beatdown.

And for what?

For long-term success, that’s what. McGregor reportedly earned $100 million last year — only a few million of which came from his fight money. The rest came from endorsements, and increasingly, from his own business ventures.

Like that whiskey company, which is now selling more bottles than Jameson.

And that was my strange impression — that McGregor’s provocative fight persona is all done with an eye to the future. And it’s working for him.

Because of this, he reminds me of another sports figure who went on to have big success in business (and further).

I’m thinking of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

And so I wasn’t surprised to find that McGregor and Schwarzenegger hold each other in very high regard.

But anyhow, what’s the point of all this?

It’s simply to recommend a bit of Conor McGregor’s attitude.

Of course, you don’t have to allow yourself to literally get brutalized in pursuit of massive amounts of money.

But figuratively? Maybe learn to take a punch. And allow yourself to get laughed at, to be mocked, and to be humiliated.

After all, you’ve got a plan. And you will be a success one day, while everybody else will still be cackling at their keyboards and behind their TV’s.

At least that’s how I look at it. And if you want more of my thinking on the psychology behind success in marketing, you can find it here:

https://bejakovic.com/profitable-health-emails/