Automate your Business
Is This the Ultimate Secret to Success?
It is a quick read – a little over 100 pages. I remember the conclusion of the book more than anything else . . . probably because I was so frustrated reading the book and waiting for the one bit of information that wasn’t revealed until the very end of the text.
The book is titled: The Ultimate Success Secret. The author is Dan Kennedy. Many of you Internet marketers will be familiar with the name, if not the man himself.
Dan is a fairly prolific writer, speaker, and information marketing coach who is recognized in the field for his knowledge and grasp of what it takes to be highly successful at internet business. He commands a very high price for his consulting time – if you’re lucky enough to catch him and drag him away from his crazy schedule.
I don’t intend to give you a book review in this post. I just wanted to touch upon a few principles that I thought about as I re-read Dan’s book.
The Ultimate Success Secret is a deceptively deceiving little work. If you don’t take the time to ponder the advice and principles given, you will complete your reading of the book and come to the conclusion that you’ve “heard all this before a million times.”
The premise of the book is that yes, there is one single human principle that is more important than all others – that if a person were to focus and concentrate exclusively upon this principle – it would have a profound effect upon that person and the life they would have in the future.
From my previous reading, I remembered the story of the lobster among the rocks. Apparently, when lobsters leave the ocean and settle in among the rocks, they make no effort to get back to the water (outgoing tide). They are left to wait until the incoming tide comes to them once again … if it doesn’t, they are left high and dry to die an inglorious death.
It doesn’t matter that they could be only a couple of feet from the water. Once they are comfortable in their holding zone (comfort zone?) they will not move. They simply wait for the tide to bring the water to them some hours later.
Could this story of taking action, even small action, be a part of the answer to the question of what is the single greatest business principle for success?
Kennedy likes formulas in his writing and speaking. They seem to simplify concepts and show direct correlations between parts or causes and effects. I’m not going to give you his formulas right now – you would do well to get a copy of this little book and discover them for yourself. But I will say that he makes a solid case for his assertion that if you don’t like where you are today, in life, business, personal relationships, education, etc, there is only one way that you’re ever going to make a change.
I particularly like Dan’s “7 Ways to Get Smarter About Any Subject.” His suggestions are not revolutionary or new, but they are solid, timeless, and pure wisdom if they are put into action:
1- Get ahold of a year’s worth of trade journals or magazines on the topic you want to become an expert in – read them all and take notes.
2- Get free information from the experts. How? Answer all the ads in these trade magazines. Digest what products and services are being sent to you as advertisements. They will help you to understand what’s happening right now in the field.
3- Find who are the top experts in the field. Visit them, observe them, see what they do and how they operate. Take notes. Build your business around their proven skills and operations.
4- Read books and articles from “the old masters.” They were the pioneers in the field and their advice is just a meaningful today as ever. Take advantage of their experience and notice what timeless advice and wisdom they offer that is still appropriate today – just as it was when the masters ruled the field.
5- Join clubs and trade associations in your field. Build relationships with your peers – get to know the top people in the field. The people you meet will be some of the most influential people you’ll deal with in the future. Take advantage of the shortcuts in the learning curve you will gain by watching these people. Let them teach you and you will avoid many of the mistakes that other “newbies” make.
6- Go to a seminar or workshop. Take a class at the local university. Do whatever you can to become involved in learning about your subject. Sit at the feet of those who really know what they’re talking about. Being involved personally is much more valuable than simply reading a book on the subject.
7- Do your homework. Hit the library and study on the subject. Your efforts will be rewarded because you’ll be so much more advanced that those who don’t put in the time to become proficient.
There are many other great principles that Dan teaches. For instance, he talks about properly valuing your time. If you undercharge for your services, others will do the same and take advantage of you. Be confident, give great value, and the world will accept the value that you place upon yourself.
I like his “abundance” theory. Business and life doesn’t have to be win-lose. There is plenty for everyone to be wealthy. Two men walk to the ocean, one carrying a teaspoon, the other a large bucket. Each takes away what he wants. The ocean has enough for everyone and replenishes itself. So why not take away all that you can? Your actions do not have to affect how others behave.
Dan says “What you are willing to accept is what you get.” Don’t be willing to be a loser, only accept success. Don’t be satisfied with “just good enough.” If you do, that is all you’ll get in return.
Don’t insist on doing everything yourself. That is certainly pertinent information for those like myself that execute solo business. Just because you have no employees doesn’t mean that you have to do all the work. Learn to leverage your actions, outsource your tasks, partner with others when it make sense, and automate your business activities. You will be wildly surprised at how much you can get done when you look for ways to give others your work.
Well, there is much more in this little gem by Dan Kennedy. Of course, the little secret that he leads up to giving you at the very end of the book is the same principle he talks about in every chapter . . . the importance of taking action, of moving forward, or leading out, and of not relying on others. You are the master of your own destiny.
There is a last time for everything . . . we just don’t know when that last time is. So why not give your very best effort to everything you do – and when it really is the last time, you will know that you did your very best right up until the end.
Kennedy quotes the famous Nike slogan on the final page of his book in big letters: Just do it!
To your online business success,
Steve Browne
www.stevebrownedirect.com
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