Productivity

Why you’re not getting anything done

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“What do you want me to say?” I snapped.

My mom gave me a call yesterday. “What’s your plan for today?” she asked.

“I’m trying to work,” I said, “but I’m not being very productive.”

That was a mistake. Because it was really an invitation for my mom to ask me the worst possible question:

“Why do you think that is?”

I’ve written before about Tony Robbins. I’ve learned a lot from the guy. Perhaps the most valuable thing was the power of asking the right questions.

It really works.

By asking myself the right questions, I’ve made my way out of seemingly impossible situations, by doing less and by having more fun than I would ever have believed possible.

And vice versa.

By asking the wrong questions, I just agitate and muddle the mess I am already in. It starts to feel hopeless.

“Why do I think I’m not being productive? Let’s see… because I’m lazy? Because I’m frustrated with the project I’m working on? Because I feel the deadline looming… because I worry that I will miss it… and because I’m not strong enough to control my own brain, so this is turning into a self-fulfilling prophecy? What do you want me to say?”

Well. I didn’t say most of that stuff. But I was thinking it, while biting my lip. So I told my mom I would talk to her later, and I got back to staring at my half-complete, frustrating project, head in hands, wondering where it all went wrong.

Because asking WHY primes your brain to focus on failure and shortcomings. And while that might sound smart, it’s actually a bad way to spend your energy, and unlikely to do anything to move you forward. So don’t do it if you’re trying to be productive.

BUT!

Focusing on WHY is a great thing to get your prospect to do. Particularly if you have a new answer to that question.

As I’ve written before, a new answer to “WHY do I always fail” can allow you to “get one up” on jaded, hostile prospects who think they are too smart to fall for your marketing. And if you do it right, you can even become a star in your niche.

I won’t lay out the whole case for you here. That’s because I’ve written about this topic in detail already. You can find it as Commandment VII of my short book, The 10 Commandments of A-list Copywriters. In case you’re interested:

https://bejakovic.com/10commandments

Trolling for productivity

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Last year during the U.S. Open, Russian tennis star Daniil Medvedev started getting booed by the crowd.

Earlier in the match, Medvedev had tossed his racquet in frustration. He also threw a towel that one of the ball children had handed him.

The U.S. Open crowd, which loves fair play and sportsmanlike behavior almost as much as it likes bullying a man when he’s down, smelled blood. Medvedev was losing, and in poor style. So the crowd booed and heckled him after every lost point and at each changeover.

And then, like a Russian phoenix feeding off the fire of righteous pride, Medvedev turned things around and won the match. In his post-match interview, as the crowd sat stunned, Medvedev started his trolling:

“Thank you guys, you gave me the win. Without the energy you are giving me, I would lose. [At this point, the crowd booed loudly. Medvedev closed his eyes and made motions that seemed to say, let it rain on me.] Thank you guys. You gave me energy for my next five matches. The more you do this, the more I will win for you.”

A beautiful moment in sports, don’t you think?

Now with that out of the way, let me give you a productivity tip:

Whenever you’re faced with an overwhelming and unpleasant task, rather than biting down on the bit and trying to bully your way through the work… rather than visualizing success and hoping the universe will manifest it for you… rather that sitting paralyzed and hoping things will be better a little later… just ask yourself the following question:

“How can I get this done and also enjoy the process?”

… and then write down the ideas that pop up in your head.

​​I’ve done this a few times since I found out about this technique earlier this year. And each time — for example today, with this very post — I find it works. I get the task done, and I enjoy the process along the way.

Your brain is a powerful tool. And when you ask the above question, your brain can take a seemingly awful situation and reframe it in a positive way. It can spot things you wouldn’t have spotted before, which energize you or even make you enjoy your unpleasant task.

And then, in your post-match interview, when you’re being interviewed about your unlikely success, you can troll all the obstacles that once lay in your way:

“Thank you to the papercuts… the rug burns… and the alarm clocks. You gave me the win. I will go forward and keep winning — just for you guys.”

And now for the climax:

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Going back to the Mark Ford well and pulling up a goldfish

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Over and over in these emails I’ve cited a quote made by entrepreneur and copywriter Mark Ford:

“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.”

I’ve used this quote to talk about the trouble with marketing secrets, about A-list copywriting wisdom, and even about Tim Ferris’s 4-Hour Work Week. And why not? I think the quote itself vindicates that I keep going back to the same well.

So here I am again, dropping the bucket in, and coming up with a little goldfish that surprised even me.

Since I’ve taken Mark’s advice to heart and started paying attention to good advice lying around in plain sight, I believe I’ve become better at writing copy. That’s because I’m noticing small and valuable bits of knowledge dropped by a guru that have little or nothing to do with the main secrets in the actual offer.

For example, I’m working on a real estate investing promo right now. And while I was going through the guru’s main “secrets” of lead generation and creative financing, I noticed a few throwaway comments he made. I took these comments and twisted them a bit to get some solid bullets going:

* How a $75 gadget (available at any electronics store) can get you thousands off the seller’s initial asking price

* The 5-word under-the-radar phrase you can use to uncover a seller’s true motivation — without the need to ask prying personal questions that put the seller on guard

* How to ethically piggyback on bandit signs put up by other investors (including investors you’ve never met) to get more sellers calling and emailing you

The point is, you can do this, too. There’s no secret, and there’s no magic.

Stop letting your attention be guided by others… and start directing it to the valuable and useful info hiding out in plain sight, all around you, right now.

​You’ll save yourself time and worry by not getting sucked in to expensive but low-value secrets. And you might even make money — assuming you’re in the business of writing fascinations.

But maybe you’re not convinced. But maybe you want more secrets. In that case, make sure to sign up to my secrets-filled daily email newsletter.

The criminal secret to getting any job done quickly and easily

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A few days ago, I watched an inspiring movie called “At Close Range.”

It stars Sean Penn as Brad Whitewood Jr, a criminally inclined yute. Christopher Walken plays Brad Whitewood Sr, the yute’s criminally proficient deadbeat dad.

Brad Jr wants in on the action that Brad Sr has going — stealing tractors from dealership lots.

Eventually, Brad Sr relents and decides to bring his son into the gang. So they take a walk through the woods, smoking a joint, while Brad Sr explains how the whole operation works.

“And this group of guys,” Jr asks him, “it’s all over the country? It’s organized?”

“Organized?” Brad Sr says in his halting, nasal way. “It’s just guys. I know guys… My brothers know some… Everybody knows some people. Before you know it, you know everybody you need to get the job done.”

This reminded me of a bit of wisdom I heard from real estate guru Joe McCall.

Joe does 50+ real estate deals each year, while comfortably pulling in $50k-$100k each month.

And to hear him tell it, he doesn’t work very hard at it. That’s because one of his success principles is “Don’t ask ‘how’, ask ‘who.'”

​​Joe explains in more detail:

“While it may seem smart to ask ‘how’ questions — like ‘How do I set up a website,’ ‘How should I create my bandit signs,’ or ‘How do I do the direct mail?’ — it’s much better to ask ‘Who,’ as in ‘Who can do this for me?'”

That might be something to consider, whether you’re engaged in tractor stealing or real estate or direct response marketing. If you’re not achieving the success you want, maybe the trouble is you’re trying to go it alone.

Fortunately, the fix is simple. Everybody knows some people. And they know people… Pretty soon, you know everybody you need to get the job done.