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First and foremost let me state the old cliche, “There’s no place like home.” Last week was great. I flew out to Dallas, Texas to spend a few days learning a “modern” approach to selling. This was hilarious to me because as a Sales Trainer myself, this was the same approach I've been teaching for the past 5 years. I like to stay current with everything I’m about which is why I don’t complain when I have to sacrifice my time and money on the educational aspects. Simply said, being fake is a weak and fearful way to move through life. You have to be what you claim you are if you want to powerfully represent yourself. There’s Game in that (for those that know). “Fake it until you make it,” doesn't cut it when you have Game. Real recognize real and anyone who is real will rip your “faking it” façade apart. You lose, period. Why set yourself up for failure? You should always be thinking of winning. You won’t always win, but why go into a situation with the odds already stacked against you? Especially when you’re CHOOSING to stack the odds against yourself? That’s like trying to teach a dog how to climb a tree. Not saying they can’t, but you’re fighting an uphill battle. You could spend that same time training the dog to do something more suited to their natural abilities. So, despite my time constraints, I made my way to the Stockyards in Fort Worth, Texas. It’s basically a few blocks of bars, restaurants, gift stores and more bars. I’m not a drinker so this didn't really appeal to me but I did have some smoked fish at one of the restaurants. It was damn delicious. After that, the group I was with (all Caucasian and one Latino) decided to go to “Billy Bob’s”, the largest Honkey Tonk in the World. Now I don’t know about you, but I thought a Honkey Tonk was just a clever name. But no, it’s a real place full of rednecks, cowboys and a lot of country music. Many of you who grew up in the South are probably laughing at me right now. Actually to me, it’s nothing but a huge night club, just with country music and less half naked women. Let me state, as a black man, to walk into a place where everyone is giving you double-takes didn't bother me. I expected it because I've experienced similar things in the past. I deal in reality. In fact, out of this huge country club, I spotted only 2 other black people. And 1 was the cook – go figure. It’s the Game in me. I’m comfortable just about anywhere because I have the Perception that I’m always where I’m supposed to be. The highlight for me, which might seem uninteresting to you, was actually seeing a Spanish couple tearing up the wooden dance floor salsa-ing to country music. I didn't even know that was possible but they did their thing! No one said anything offensive to me and even if they did, I have the confidence and mouth-piece (verbal skills) to talk a person in circles. Some of my people reading this would have never been caught dead in a place like that. And despite your excuses, justifications and rationalizations, somewhere in there is also fear. This brings me to the point of this post. At a basic level, there are 2 main ways to learn something (and yes there are deeper levels to this but just follow me): (1) You experience it yourself – Like putting your hand in fire. Once you get burnt, you know from that point on. (2) You learn from other people’s experiences – If someone jumps off a building and they fall to their death, from that point on you know the results of that course of action. If what I just said is real, then by avoiding experiencing things yourself (or paying close attention to others), you cut yourself off from truly LEARNING things. Natural ability aside, you want to know why some people excel in a given area? They learn through experience – trial and error, analyzing and adjusting and going at it again. Many people do things, just to do things and overlook the lessons of the experience. And other people are so filled with worry, doubt, fear and low self-esteem that they fear trying anything at all. They keep themselves jailed in the cell called their “comfort zone”. Let me put it like this. Anything that is not changing and growing is dead. Everything in nature, from the smallest blade of grass to the largest tree is changing and growing. Your physical body itself is constantly changing and growing. But mentally you can be “dead”. A mental place of no change and no growth. Mentally you can be in a place of limits – never wanting to experience new and different. You feed your mind the same thing day in, day out and then wonder why you feel like your life has no real meaning or purpose. Stop me if you heard this, “Same actions, same results.” Now let me say it like we say it in the Game, “If you don’t put anything down, you can’t pick anything up.” Part of growing and changing on every level imaginable involves movement. Mentally, if you’re not constantly “moving” (no, I’m not talking about thinking a lot) then you’re mentally dying. Keep your mind stimulated with learning and growing experiences. I’m not talking about laughing at videos on Social Media either. Your Purpose and goals in life should be something that you approach with seriousness and focus. Because when it's all said and done, the only things left of you, are what you've said and done. Change and growth in life involves movement. You can't get there by standing here. I'll leave you with my favorite line - "Keep it moving..." Until next time.
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You know, street Hustling is probably one of the most volatile “occupations” you could ever have. No retirement plan or 401K. No medical, vision, dental or life insurance. No guarantee that everything you worked for won’t be taken away in the blink of an eye. No assurance that you can get through your day without facing an issue that might may cost your freedom or even your life. Back then, despite the risks, I always looked at the rewards. Whenever you enter into any type of lifestyle (legitimate or illegitimate) you have to accept everything that comes with it. Let’s be honest, even in the legitimate world there’s very little job security anymore. Just like street hustling, everything you worked for can be taken away in the blink of an eye. I remember when I first step foot into the Game. It was a very strange time in my life. I had the desire and the passion to be my own “boss” (so to speak) but I didn't have the skills. Theory and idea is one thing… and I had plenty of that. I studied and read veraciously. The brutal truth is that knowledge is one thing but when you’re face to face with someone and have to think on the fly, that’s a whole new ballpark. I know some of the most articulate, friendly, conversational oriented people you could ever meet. But you put them in a situation where they have to sell a product or an idea to someone and they freeze up. They suddenly become very unsure of themselves. In any Game you put yourself in, you won’t advance like that. You have to be quick thinking – you have to be sharp. You have to have the ability to size up the person you’re speaking to, speak at or above their level, and at the same time not compromise who you are. You’re not “playing” nice, you’re being you. You’re putting yourself out there and presenting yourself in such a way that whether the other person “likes” you or not, you leave an impression. So what does all this have to do with money? I’m getting to that but peep Game real quick. I’m going to tell you something every real Hustler knows and that I had to learn by putting together bits and pieces of Game that I soaked up. In the Game you have to pick up information and put 2 and 2 together for yourself. It’s like putting together a puzzle. You get a piece here and piece there and eventually you can form the whole picture. But YOU have to do it and this is where the self-empowerment comes from. You’re no longer dealing in theory and belief, you KNOW. You know because you use what you've learned and discovered if it works or if it doesn't work. You’re like a scientist. Experimenting and tweaking things until you have a “formula” that brings you the results you want. Question for you: What is money? I’m not asking what you buy with it. I’m asking what does it represent to you? How do you feel when you think about it? Maybe you think and feel that money is nothing more than living life by keeping your bills paid. Going on vacations perhaps? Taking care of your family? Buying the things you want? Does it represent security to you? Maybe, piece of mind? Do you feel that a lot of your problems could be solved with more of it? Or does money represent worry to you? The worry that you don’t have enough… You worry that if you splurge on something now, you won’t have enough to do something later? You find yourself constantly thinking about how much something costs. Maybe you look at money practically. You look at it as numbers and count your pennies. You save and/or invest it and want it to grow. You’re always prepared for that “rainy day”. There are so many different ways to look at money – good and bad. It becomes a big focal point in people’s lives. Much of what they do, or don’t do, revolves around the money they have or don’t have. Why is that? I've been around very broke people and when it comes to money you know what they say about it? They talk about not having enough and wanting more. I've also been around multi-millionaires and ex-professional athletes and when they talk about money, you know what they say about it? Not much – they talk about other ambitions. So, what IS money? Why does it consume the attention of so many of us day-in and day-out? A real Hustler knows something about money that many people don’t! And what is this great revelation you’re wondering? Here it is: We know that money is nothing but an idea. And every idea is nothing but a thought, an impression, an opinion or an intention – in other words, money is nothing but a Perspective. Let me explain… What I learned through Hustling is that there are things much more powerful than money. And one of the strongest things more powerful than money is the feeling of dependency – having the thought or feeling that something (or someone) must be relied upon in your life. Let’s take a look at alcohol addiction, gambling addiction or drug addiction. Do people suffering from these diseases place Value on money or is money just a means to fulfill their addiction? What’s more important to them? When dependency is on the table, the limits to the idea of money can (and usually do) fly out the window. Think about that for a moment. Simple example: If someone is caught up in “image” – looking important and successful in other people’s eyes – do you think they’ll spend money to fulfill that image? Of course they will. What’s on the table? Is it money or the feelings gained from other people recognizing their illusion of success and importance? Now, think about this… If money no longer existed in any corner of the World, would people still find ways and means to get their innermost dependencies (desires/needs) fulfilled? They would find a way. Human beings get very creative under certain circumstances. So back to my point, money is just an idea. At the beginning of this post I was talking about thinking quick and being yourself so that you leave an impression. Let me explain how this Game I just gave you actually works in real life. It was many years ago and I was just starting my Hustle. I used to study a fellow Hustler who I’ll just call, Kal. It wasn't what Kal did so much that I watched, what I observed was the difference between him and myself. Why was he effective and I wasn't? How could he, in a matter of seconds, make a person feel comfortable without compromising who he was? People felt so at ease around him that when it came time for him to sell what he was selling, the rest was a cakewalk. Peep this. What did Kal put on the table? Was it his products? Yes, he did have some good quality, popular items at the time. But that was an extension of who he was, he didn't sell low quality garbage. But the real thing Kal put on the table was TRUST. Him being genuine and confident led to people’s feelings of trust. He left the IMPRESSION of trust. Once trust is on the table, the “idea” of exchanging money for what people wanted anyway, was no longer an issue. Kal also backed up this image of trust with actually BEING trustworthy. His “aura” was so strong that someone else could literally come selling the same products Kal was, and people would turn them away and wait to buy from Kal. I’m not making this up; this is how powerful this dependency on Kal’s trustworthiness was. People have some of you believing that money makes the World go ‘round. But to a knowledgeable Hustler, they know that money is just an idea. If they can put what others feel they want on the table, the limits of the money that can be exchanged can sometimes be limitless. Do you honestly feel that a Rolls Royce is worth around $300,000 – $400,000? The way you answer that question relates to your Perspectives concerning money. Some people call this your relationship with money. And it can be positive or negative. Just as an example, have you ever considered what a professional poker player’s relationship with money is? For a $100,000 (or more) they can buy into a high level poker cash game and accept that they may never see that money again. To them, it’s just another day at the office. Yet, have you ever heard of a professional poker player ever needing a therapist or committing suicide over money? What do you think their Perspective on money is? Both you and I know people that would lose their minds if they lost $100,000 in a few hours. I’m not advocating gambling, but I’m calling to your attention that you need to really examine your thoughts and feelings concerning the so-called almighty dollar. Don’t allow yourself to get caught-up over-stressing about money. Money isn't everything. There are things more powerful than money. Money in and of itself is just an idea, no different than the idea of a bottled water. How much mental energy would you waste thinking about a bottled water? Exactly… very little – it’s really not a big deal, right? And as ridiculous as that sounds, that’s the Uncommon Sense of it. You’re trapped in an idea and missing the bigger picture. Money is the outer effect of an inner cause. That mental energy needs to go into the cause. The effect takes care of itself if your “relationship” towards money is right and exact. Peep Game and consider yourself laced… Is the Game in you? Subscribe to the Uncommon Sense Adviser – Free news, early access to future books, products and discounts. Join now by clicking [HERE]. |
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