Why you must get rid of all "bad investments"
Way back in the early to mid 1990's, I went through a few rough patches in my life. Today, I want to share with you one of the biggest reasons I was able to turn it around, and live the life I do today.
In 1996 I was in the midst of what seemed like a never ending stream of "life disappointments." My dreams of being a Naval Officer were destroyed three months before I was to report for active duty in the US Submarine force, due to a medical problem.
The engineering job I'd gotten in the oilfield turned out to be nothing more than a pack of lies, told by liars who didn't even believe their own lies. And just when the CIA had decided to offer me a job as an intelligence analyst, budget cuts came down, and I was "riffed" (Reduction In Force) before I even reported. And, the business I'd started with my mother was failing miserably, and I hated ever second of it.
So, I did what all people do in such circumstances. I went to the
library!
Yeah, you know the library... it's the big building where they keep all the books. See, even though I had experienced all these disappointments, I had (and still have) what Napoleon Hill called a "burning desire." No matter how many disappointments life threw at me, I was going to succeed, dang it. And since I wasn't going to be allowed to serve my country via the military or the intelligence community, I decided to do so by getting very, very rich. Of course, at the time I was very, very broke, and had no idea about how to go about changing that, hence my trip to the library.
I'll tell you about the specifics later, but suffice it to say I did find some very good books about direct marketing, which led me to the secret I'm going to share with you.
In August of 1996 I got on a plane to go to Ohio with my step-grandmother for a reunion of the 4th Armored Division, the famous WWII division that rescued the 101st Airborne at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. My grandfather was a battalion commander, and I was going to meet the surviving members of his unit, and other men who were also "with Patton."
On the plane ride up there, I was flipping through the airline magazine where I saw a very well written ad selling a book called "Magic Words that Bring You Riches," by a guy named Ted Nicholas.
I was able to recognize it as a "good ad" because of the time I'd spent in the library. So, I ordered the book... and my life was changed forever when I received it. See, this book wasn't just another book on advertising. It was the first book that told you step by step EXACTLY how to write a salesletter, how to negotiate for ad space, how to do everything I wanted and needed to do, but just couldn't quite figure it all out for myself.
What did I do next? I spent all the money I didn't have on every product Ted Nicholas put out, and then went to a seminar of his. I learned a lot of stuff from Ted, but one thing in particular has defined my life since that point. I want to share it with you today. Here it is:
Get rid of all bad investments in your life, as fast as possible.
I have found this to be one of the foundations of my success--it is that important. When Ted said "bad investments," he meant anything that was holding you back in your life, not just financial investments. He meant jobs, businesses, relationships, people, habits... if it was a "bad investment" you had to get rid of it.
He'd had a bad investment in a prior marriage, gotten rid of it, and met the woman of his dreams. He'd had a failing business, gotten rid of it, and went on to become a multi millionaire information marketer.
See, the corollary to "get rid of all bad investments" is this:
when you get rid of them, replace them with good ones immediately.
Nature abhors a vacuum, and it will be quickly filled.
So, I took Ted's advice to heart. It wasn't easy, and it took time. But I got rid of my bad investments. I got rid of my past disappointments and replaced them with a brighter future. I got rid of a business I hated and replaced it with one I loved. I immediately got rid of people in my life who tried to bring me down, even though, at times, I faced intense criticism and ridicule. I listened to people say, "I told you so" and I didn't care. If it was a bad investment, I got rid of it.
What happens when you unload bad investments and replace them with good ones? You prosper. You prosper in health, you prosper in wealth, in spirituality, and in happiness.
So, here's my advice to you: write down all your bad investments.
I don't care if it's a job, a business, a relationship, a habit, whatever. Write them all down and get rid of them as fast as possible. Some will take longer than others. Some will bring you intense criticism, even embarrassment. Who cares.
You want to know when you've achieved true power in your life?
When you can look someone who says, "I told you so," right in the eye and say this: "Yes, you did, and in this instance you were right. But I'm never going to stop taking action or stop taking risks. There will be many more times in the future when you will say 'I told you so' to me. But it'll be the times you are silent that will define my life. I'm willing to risk an 'I told you so' for incredible rewards, rewards that only come from doing, not talking. There is a price to be paid for all success, and I'm willing to pay it. And all the 'I told you so's" in the world will never stop me."
That's when you've gotten rid of all bad investments. And that's when you will achieve true power over your outcomes in life.
That's when you will prosper.
Let's get to it...
Mr. X.
Group M Marketing
Kimble and Kennedy Publishing
In 1996 I was in the midst of what seemed like a never ending stream of "life disappointments." My dreams of being a Naval Officer were destroyed three months before I was to report for active duty in the US Submarine force, due to a medical problem.
The engineering job I'd gotten in the oilfield turned out to be nothing more than a pack of lies, told by liars who didn't even believe their own lies. And just when the CIA had decided to offer me a job as an intelligence analyst, budget cuts came down, and I was "riffed" (Reduction In Force) before I even reported. And, the business I'd started with my mother was failing miserably, and I hated ever second of it.
So, I did what all people do in such circumstances. I went to the
library!
Yeah, you know the library... it's the big building where they keep all the books. See, even though I had experienced all these disappointments, I had (and still have) what Napoleon Hill called a "burning desire." No matter how many disappointments life threw at me, I was going to succeed, dang it. And since I wasn't going to be allowed to serve my country via the military or the intelligence community, I decided to do so by getting very, very rich. Of course, at the time I was very, very broke, and had no idea about how to go about changing that, hence my trip to the library.
I'll tell you about the specifics later, but suffice it to say I did find some very good books about direct marketing, which led me to the secret I'm going to share with you.
In August of 1996 I got on a plane to go to Ohio with my step-grandmother for a reunion of the 4th Armored Division, the famous WWII division that rescued the 101st Airborne at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. My grandfather was a battalion commander, and I was going to meet the surviving members of his unit, and other men who were also "with Patton."
On the plane ride up there, I was flipping through the airline magazine where I saw a very well written ad selling a book called "Magic Words that Bring You Riches," by a guy named Ted Nicholas.
I was able to recognize it as a "good ad" because of the time I'd spent in the library. So, I ordered the book... and my life was changed forever when I received it. See, this book wasn't just another book on advertising. It was the first book that told you step by step EXACTLY how to write a salesletter, how to negotiate for ad space, how to do everything I wanted and needed to do, but just couldn't quite figure it all out for myself.
What did I do next? I spent all the money I didn't have on every product Ted Nicholas put out, and then went to a seminar of his. I learned a lot of stuff from Ted, but one thing in particular has defined my life since that point. I want to share it with you today. Here it is:
Get rid of all bad investments in your life, as fast as possible.
I have found this to be one of the foundations of my success--it is that important. When Ted said "bad investments," he meant anything that was holding you back in your life, not just financial investments. He meant jobs, businesses, relationships, people, habits... if it was a "bad investment" you had to get rid of it.
He'd had a bad investment in a prior marriage, gotten rid of it, and met the woman of his dreams. He'd had a failing business, gotten rid of it, and went on to become a multi millionaire information marketer.
See, the corollary to "get rid of all bad investments" is this:
when you get rid of them, replace them with good ones immediately.
Nature abhors a vacuum, and it will be quickly filled.
So, I took Ted's advice to heart. It wasn't easy, and it took time. But I got rid of my bad investments. I got rid of my past disappointments and replaced them with a brighter future. I got rid of a business I hated and replaced it with one I loved. I immediately got rid of people in my life who tried to bring me down, even though, at times, I faced intense criticism and ridicule. I listened to people say, "I told you so" and I didn't care. If it was a bad investment, I got rid of it.
What happens when you unload bad investments and replace them with good ones? You prosper. You prosper in health, you prosper in wealth, in spirituality, and in happiness.
So, here's my advice to you: write down all your bad investments.
I don't care if it's a job, a business, a relationship, a habit, whatever. Write them all down and get rid of them as fast as possible. Some will take longer than others. Some will bring you intense criticism, even embarrassment. Who cares.
You want to know when you've achieved true power in your life?
When you can look someone who says, "I told you so," right in the eye and say this: "Yes, you did, and in this instance you were right. But I'm never going to stop taking action or stop taking risks. There will be many more times in the future when you will say 'I told you so' to me. But it'll be the times you are silent that will define my life. I'm willing to risk an 'I told you so' for incredible rewards, rewards that only come from doing, not talking. There is a price to be paid for all success, and I'm willing to pay it. And all the 'I told you so's" in the world will never stop me."
That's when you've gotten rid of all bad investments. And that's when you will achieve true power over your outcomes in life.
That's when you will prosper.
Let's get to it...
Mr. X.
Group M Marketing
Kimble and Kennedy Publishing
