Believing that I have pants: NLP and the Law of Attraction compared

I've been reading "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoloeon Hill. It's one of five or six "self help" books I've read over the past month, and by far the best. I can see how it has shaped that industry ... you can see its earmarks in the work of Tony Robbins, and in "The Secret," Rhonda Byrne's bestselling world-changer.

Tony Robbins is part of what I now call the NLP camp. Neuro-linguistic programming, in short, is centered on the idea that you can model the behavior of someone and get the same results they're getting (I am, of course, paraphrasing quite a bit). "The Secret," on the other hand, falls into what I'm calling the Law of Attraction camp. The general idea here is that you can infect a universal field with your strongest desires, and those desires will be attracted to you and manifest in your life (again, copious paraphrasing in action).

On the surface, the two camps seem very different, and yet both have "Think and Grow Rich" as a staple reference. Why?

Napoleon Hill's book contains elements that are central to both camps.

Hill was a believer in "Infinite Intelligence." Call it whatever you like — God, the mind of God, the Akashic record, the Force — Hill's belief is that of billions of other humans. Ultimately, at a level beyond our comprehension, there is a creative force in the Universe (or the Omniverse ... a whole 'nother topic). And, according to Hill and practitioners of the Law of Attraction, this force responds to the strong desires of the individual. We, as humans, are continually attracting things into our lives, largely unintentionally. But, according to this group, we can begin deliberate attraction by changing the way we think.

On the NLP side, Hill's book also promotes the concept of modeling. Hill's life work consisted of contacting, interviewing, and studying the richest and most industrious men of his age. He had personal relationships with Dale Carnegie, Thomas Edison, and Henry Ford just to name a few. In the process of his study, he determined that emulating these great men would bring about the same success they enjoyed. You, the average reader, could study Edison and Ford and be like them, and thus earn as they had earned. Emulation breeds like results.

Observe keenly and you discover that these two concepts are complimentary. Hill's study of great minds led him to conclude that they are in communication with Infinite Intelligence, and they are attracting wealth and success to their lives through strong desire. So, by emulating these men, you too can be in communication with Infinite Intelligence. You, too, can direct your own life and success and wealth through strong desire.

Of course, there's more to it than just wanting it. That's 50% of the fight. The other 50% is where I personally believe NLP has a hand over Law of Attraction: Taking action.

Hill is a proponent of taking action. "Determine exactly what you intend to give in return for the money you desire," he says. "there is no such reality as 'something for nothing.'"

What you give is "action." Taking action is the cost of earning what you desire. Make a plan, work the plan. See the path, take the path. Observe the behavior, perform the behavior.

NLP promotes this concept. And some proponents of Law of Attraction see this as well. In "The Secret," there was a large focus on visualizing and believing and affirming, but little mention of taking direct action. The game was all mental, no practical.

I am a fan of "The Secret." I count it as a landmark work, and an inspiration. I've discovered, through my own personal experiences, just how powerful the Law of Attraction can be. But the significance of "The Secret," for me, is that it opened a window to a new world of thought. Because of that book and film, I have explored the Law of Attraction, and discovered a body of related work that I believe holds the key to success. Learning about the Law of Attraction helped me to better understand NLP, and vice versa. I think these two are parts of a whole, and that whole is explained very well in "Think and Grow Rich."

If you haven't read it, I recommend picking it up. In addition, here is a reading list that I believe can help you become a success in any field. Not all of these are related to either NLP or Law of Attraction. Some are for providing you with people to emulate and model from. Others provide you with a greater understanding of the world and your place in it. Read and enjoy!

- Think and Grow Rich: The Landmark Bestseller--Now Revised and Updated for the 21st Century

- The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

- Unlimited Power : The New Science Of Personal Achievement

- The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich

- How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day

- Mozart's Brain and the Fighter Pilot: Unleashing Your Brain's Potential

- On Writing: A memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

- Innovate Like Edison: The Five-Step System for Breakthrough Business Success

- The Alchemist

- The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Success by Achieving More with Less

- Rich Like Them: My Door-to-Door Search for the Secrets of Wealth in America's Richest Neighborhoods

- Millionaire Upgrade: Lessons in Success From Those Who Travel at the Sharp End of the Plane

- Free: The Future of a Radical Price

- Einstein: His Life and Universe


These books are just the beginning. I will always encourage you to read anything and everything you can get your hands on. But there's enough of an education in the books listed here to ignite a passion for learning, growing, and living abundantly.

And if reading is difficult for you, don't be afraid to pick these up as audio books. The impact is the same (I listen to audio books whenever I am driving). As you explore on the links above, you can find audio book versions of each of these titles.

Enjoy!

Free stuff about free stuff

If there's one thing I love ... one thing that will get me revved up and ready to rumble every time ... it's free stuff. You like free stuff? Oh yes. Yes, yes. I know that you do.

Ok, then, let's get you hooked up. Make sure you have iTunes (a free download, by the way) and click on this bad boy.

A little gift from me to you. Ok, not really from me. It's actually from Chris Anderson, but I'm telling you about it free of charge. For the time being, it's a free download of the audiobook "FREE: The Future of a Radical Price."

I started listening to it yesterday and I've already made two exclamations:

1) "Damn it, this guy wrote by book!" Hell, he even started it almost word-for-word the way I was starting mine.

2) "Damn. This is useful. Oh well, at least I get to listen to my book." I give up. Maybe I'll just write a cookbook.

Full of great case studies and useful tips, as well as an intriguing look at the history and origins of "free" and "zero" as concepts, I highly recommend this to entrepreneurs and just general history buffs alike, plus anyone who likes free stuff. Which is everybody. I recommend this to everybody.

Enjoy. And let me know what you think of it. Also, if you don't download it I will think less of you. You can't afford to lose those cool points.

Lessons from a hunchback

In my other blog, I'm talking up the perks of being in Paris for a week. In the Day 5 entry, I mentioned that we got a private tour of Notre Dame, and found out how Victor Hugo's book "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" managed to save the cathedral from being torn down.

I love being a writer.

So here's the thing ... this was a dilapidated building that was crumbling all around the Arch Bishop's head. It was expensive to maintain. It was becoming an eyesore. The good Parisians thought, "Why not a shopping mall? Or perhaps a nice movie theater?" Or whatever the 18th century equivalent may be. Disco?

But along comes Victor Hugo who goes and writes a popular novel of all things, and suddenly the public wants to keep the ol' girl around.

There's word-of-mouth marketing for you. One guy generates nostalgia for some real estate that's on the verge of collapsing, and now the whole world tours it, reads about it, and watches Disney versions of its story.

That kind of makes Quasimodo an early advertising mascot. Kind of like Jack from the Jack-in-the-Box commercials, but without the huge deformity. You know ... the big head?

Hunch-what now?

Anyway, as marketing goes, this kind of thing is ideal. I'm not certain anyone was even in the market to save the cathedral in the first place, but you can't argue with the results of a well-placed "campaign," nonetheless.

Charities, take note. Maybe the way to save that historic landmark is to take a few bucks and throw it at a novelist. Or, in this day and age, a well-known blogger, tweeter, or YouTube video maker. But don't overlook these tips:

1. Tell a story. Don't preach, don't whine, don't beg. Give the public a character and a tale to identify with so they'll feel a connection to what you're trying to save.
   
2. Don't worry about telling "the truth." It's a relative term anyway, where history is involved. Use your landmark as the central location for something fantastic. Fantasy trumps reality nine times out of ten. Of course, if that tenth time trumps fantasy, tell it. Just don't get locked into "facts."
3. Spread the news far and wide. Don't worry too much about making a profit from book sales (or video sales, or whatever). Profit, as far as this piece is concerned, isn't the goal. You are best paid by attention. Encourage people to tell the story to others, to mention the landmark, and to generally generate buzz about your project.
4. Be kind to your writer. We're an underpaid and under appreciated lot. Give the writer full reign to tell the best story they can, in their way. Don't censor or dictate. This isn't about ego, historic preservation, or keeping something within boundaries. This is about generating buzz with a good tale. Let your writer do his job, and when people start dropping in for tours you can "set the facts straight." Take a look at "The da Vinci Code" to see the power of fiction in drawing people to study real history.
5. Give the story away. You can sell copies in your gift shop ... that's a time-honored tradition. But your audience will be limited to those scant few who already know and care about your project. So instead, give copies away. Go to book stores and place copies with stickers that say "Free book! Take me!" on some of the stacks. Hand them out as gifts to everyone you've ever met. If it's a film, offer free screenings. Ask local theaters to run it at no charge to them and let them set a ticket price. In other words, give this thing away as much as possible, because your goal is to generate buzz.
   

Whatever form of media you choose, make sure it fits the broadest possible audience. A film, a television special, a novel, a YouTube viral ... there's virtually no end to the permutations. Just post an ad on Craigslist or elance.com and you'll find plenty of people willing to write your story for you. Then your job becomes easy: put it in as many hands as possible. The word-of-mouth you generate from this can make your project a success.

Courtesy marketing?

I'm reading "POW! Right Between the Eyes" by Andy* Nulman. The two-second synopsis is that it's about using surprise to boost consumer interest in your marketing. Sounds boring when I put it that way

A segment I just read was a story Nulman tells about being in a Chapters bookstore during Christmas, waiting in a long line to buy a stack of books. While waiting, an employee festooned with Christmas garb taps him on the shoulder to offer him a chocolate while he waits.

I don't have the exact passage, but to paraphrase, "They created a story that would later be told in a national best-selling book and in numerous public speaking engagements across the country. How many people have now heard of Chapters, for the cost of about ten bucks worth of chocolate?"

I've worked in marketing for some time now ... in fact, you could almost argue that I've been in marketing for all of my adult life. I recognize genius when I see it, and this is it.

For some reason, when I read this story, it brought up a memory from about fifteen years ago. I was at an Earth Day concert with a girl I'd been dating for a few months. We were still young enough in our relationship that I had let her convince me to see a live performance of Lisa Loeb.

To be fair, there was one really good moment where the crowd was actually chanting "Stay! Stay!" in an attempt to get her to do the one song anyone had ever heard from her. Without missing a beat, she said, "It's ok ... I'm not going anywhere." Badump-bump.

That day, the temperature was certainly in the triple digits, and the sun was brutal. People were being carted out in ambulances. Random concert goers were bursting into flame. And, of course, the vendors saw this as an opportunity to rake everyone over the glowing coals that made up the parking lot at our feet.

Water, suddenly the most in-demand substance around, was selling in small, two-ounce bottles for a startling five dollars per. Also, they ran out of water around the end of hour two of the ten-hour sweat-fest.

So, what does this have to do with free chocolate at a Chapters bookstore? I was just thinking, what if some enterprising company had said, "Hey, people like to live! Let's go buy a truck load of ice-cold bottled water, park our company-branded truck out front of this huge gathering of people, and give out free bottles to anyone who comes by!"

Imagine if they'd had the foresight to get vanity bottles, and put their name and Web address on them. Imagine if they'd done this while asking nothing in return, with maybe the hearty slogan of, "Continue to live ... compliments of Kevin." Or insert the name of someone or something YOU'D like promote ... this is my blog, after all.

Imagine that ... marketing through courtesy. That's certainly as surprise. I'd love to see more of it.

Let me know if you have examples of this, or if you are using something like this in your own marketing (or plan to). And remember the Kevin motto: Awesome is as awesome does.

* D'oh. I accidentally misspelled Andy's name. Because I'm a schmuck like that. Oh well ... Surprise Andy! Everybody gets an R!

Lessons learned from a floorboard full of water

So my car flooded.


It is now 4:12 p.m. and my floorboards are still full of water. I'm waiting on Enterprise to bring me a rental car, and the insurance folks will be here to take my car (and Kara's, the other car in this photo) in to be judged within the "next 24 hours."

It's going to cost me $200 in deductibles to have the insurance deal with the problem. Meanwhile, I spent all day working from home and waiting on someone to show up and take my car away.

Interesting day.

Oh, and I almost forgot, "Swine flu." There, I'm now part of the masses.

One interesting side note to the car flooding story ... Kara has been going crazy looking for this "Improve Your Vocabulary" book that she was reading. It had coupons for DSW in it. I'm not clear on what her actual motivation was.

Anyway, we've torn apart the vehicle she's currently driving, my car, the house ... any place where she might have left that book. Turns out it was (you guessed it) in her Malibu, which has been parked on the street with a "for sale" sign in the window for the past month or two.

And, you won't be surprised to learn, the book was completely soaked. I've managed to rescue the DSW coupons, so maybe it won't be a total loss.

Did I just write that?

Anyway, we'll see how this drama unfolds. Hopefully I get a rental car soon, so I'm not stuck hitching rides everywhere. But really, things could have been a lot worse.

Anyone else have any flood stories to share?