Is is the fact that I have a nice home?
That I have 3 beautiful kids?
A gorgeous, loving wife?
A supportive, unfragmented extended family?
What makes me better than you, or anyone else?
I hope you are ready for the truth.
The truth is…
Nothing. Nadda….
Nothing makes me better than you.
Or anyone else.
If you thought that…. Let's correct and adjust your brain a bit.
I was born cold, screaming and naked, just like everyone else.
I wasn't born addicted.
I wasn't born premature.
I wasn't born with a life-threatening condition.
I wasn't born unwanted.
Does that make me better?
No, it makes me blessed. – Would you say I lucked out?
http://33andretired.com/
Definition of Lucked Out
I believe that luck, good or bad, happens to you and is totally outside your control.
I know that there are a lot of people out there who have had lucked out negatively when they were young.
I have heard hundreds, if not thousands, of stories from people who have suffered through tremendous tragedies.
They are alive to tell their story.
Unfortunately, many people who have suffered trauma can fall into the trap of believing that their entire lives are set up for more trauma. They believe that somehow, they have been cosmically or divinely dealt a bad hand in life, and that they are “destined” to live a life of misery and misfortune.
It is very sad and it perpetuates a negative pattern.
Not everything that happens within your life is within your control.
Yet, there is plenty of things within your control. Once you get to a certain age, you have the power to start making decisions on your own.
Your decisions are the sum total of the knowledge, training, teaching and experiences you've had in the past.
You have the power to add knowledge, experiences and training to your mental bank, so that your decisions are “richer” with options.
Most people don't know this.
Others will figure it out, but it will take them a lot of pain to get there.
But there is another story.
What about the people that lucked out?
The people born into good families, into nice homes, with attentive parents and confidence?
Bad luck happens to them too.
They buy a new home, lose a job and fall behind on their mortgage.
They are driving home from the movies and get hit by a drunk driver.
Someone they love gets cancer and they put out a lot of time and money to help them until the devastating end.
What makes me better than you?
Nothing.
The incidents are beyond your control. They are Ground Zero in your life.
The Day After is up to you.
Prince William was born into the British Royal family, to a long line of distinguished royalty. The family estate owns billions of dollars. Prince William will be King someday, after his grandmother and father leave the throne. He grew up in a life of luxury, prestige, love and guarded fame. His mother was Princess Diana, one of the most charitable and loved members of the British royal family. She loved her sons, took them everywhere with her, and taught them how to be down-to-earth and giving to humankind.
One day, his father woke he and his brother up to tell that their mom was killed in a horrible car accident. He was just 15.
Prince William is considered a person who lucked out. Still, most people would not trade places with him if it meant losing their mom's. As privileged as he is, he still has to draw upon his personal resources, to deal with the death of someone he loved so dearly. He says, “No one is going to try to fill my mother's shoes, what she did was fantastic. It's about making your own future and your own destiny…”
He has taken over many of her charities, including one for children who have lost parents.
He has access to riches beyond belief. He could have chosen to become a drug addict or an alcoholic. It's an easy choice to make. People do it every day.
But he didn't.
Instead he chose to honor his mother's memory by choosing to give to others.
What makes him better than you?
Nothing.
You have this same power. You can make a decision, in a split second to overcome. Or you can decide to succumb and never be heard from again.
Something happens to you, and you decide that you want to do something about it. Now what?
You lose someone to cancer and decide to visit local cancer patients. You see a great need for cancer patients who need companionship. How do you get more volunteers?
You believe that #education is one of the most important assets any human being can have. You decide to help build a school in Africa. You need help raising funds. How do you get sponsorship?
I Lucked Out Because Of Marketing??
Some countries have populations of 50% under the age of 18. Not only are they impoverished, but there are many children that are hungry, exploited or sick. You decide to contribute to a charity that you feel will change the way children are helped all over the world.
How do you spread the word?
Marketing
Definition of Marketing;
“Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.”
Marketing gets a bad rap.
People think of it as corporate sponsorship and a money-maker and therefore, write it off as pushy BS.
But marketing is more than that.
It is telling people the value of what you are selling. And what you are selling is not always for profit.
Marketing is a megaphone.
–Awareness–
It helps you tell others about what you have to offer.
We are marketing ourselves all of the time, whether we know it or not.
Resumes, online profiles, status updates, pictures, dating, etc., are all communication tools of what we have to offer, commercially or otherwise.
Marketing can help you tell the world your story.
Are you a talented writer? That's great! If no one ever finds your work, you're broke. (Notice the careful use of your and you're).
Are you a great speaker! Wonderful! You aren't getting speaking gigs if you can't market yourself.
Trying to raise money for your kid's school? Awesome! Most people get as far as some friends, family and neighbors.
After that, they are stuck.
#Marketing communicates.
Marketing draws people to you to get you what you need or want.
Marketing includes: SEO, article marketing, radio ads, billboards, people spinning signs, magnets on cars, social media marketing, email marketing, blogs, vlogs, video marketing, pay-per-click, etc.
All of this can take your message, your decision and broadcast it to the world.
You now know how important marketing is, but do you know how important you are? And your message? Your story? Why are you holding back? Do you think you don't have anything important to share, just because you've been told that you aren't important?
Or maybe you only feel important to certain people, but not to everyone?
I was one of those people.
I worked at my engineering job and got my first slap in the face when I was let go. 2 times in 12 years.
I wasn't special, at least not to my boss.
Good thing I had a backup
http://33andretired.com/
I was an average guy, blessed with a good family, but feeling extraordinarily ordinary nonetheless.
All I wanted was to make some extra money to put my two kids through college. I wanted another child. I also wanted to put that child through college as well.
Kids are expensive… ask anyone who has kids and wants the best for them….. luxury and security for kids… comes at a heavy dollar amount.
I didn't think I had a story.
I didn't think I was anything special.
I didn't think I had anything to offer.
I was wrong.
I had a lot of value. But I needed more.
I had a degree in mechanical engineering. But I didn't let that go to my head. Instead, I put my nose to the grindstone and studied.
I applied what I learned. Some techniques would work, some wouldn't.
I started again. Studied, applied, collected data.
My 8 year-old daughter has a poster of the scientific method. The steps are as follows:
-Ask a question.
-Form a hypothesis.
-Predict an outcome.
-Test your theory (experiment).
It doesn't just apply to science. It applies to life.
Question: How do I make more money?
Hypothesis: Make money online.
Predict an outcome: I can make some money from eBay.
Experiment: Sell different products on eBay.
Start over.
Question: How can I keep more of my online profits?
Hypothesis: Sell affiliate products.
Predict an outcome: If I can sell affiliate products, I will eliminate shipping and other costs and keep more profit.
Experiment: Create different websites and see which works best.
What is your question?
You may be a very educated individual. Whether you are or not, you must continue to learn. You must continue to evolve. If you have been told you are stupid or have a learning disability, then you may just have a different way of learning things that didn’t fit the way things “should” be learned. You would not be sitting here reading this if you never learned to read.
You learned somehow, right?
Your brain never stops learning…
When it does… your 6 feet under…
My point is, don't let too much education, or too little education stop you from learning what your options are.
You have a message to the world. You have a purpose. You have a story.
You also have a voice. Even if you can't speak.
A voice is your personal way of saying things. It is your signature way of telling the world your story.
So combine these:
Your purpose.
Your story.
Your message (moral of your story).
Your voice.
And use marketing as a “tool” to tell everyone about it.
Everyone that matters to your cause.
Here's the thing about marketing.
Good marketing has a target audience. This target audience is what you should be aiming for, not everyone.
“Everyone” does not exist.
What do people who could relate to your story like to do?
How do they speak?
What do they look like?
What are their educational backgrounds?
Where do they live?
When starting out with a target audience, start with you.
Yes, you.
If you are marketing to people just like you, then you have a huge head start on market research.
You should still do your #homework. But it will be easier.
Another thing to think about is flipping marketing on its head.
People think marketing is telling people to buy your stuff.
Good marketing is telling people to buy your stuff because of the great benefits it offers.
Great marketing gets inside your target's head, speaks to their pain, repeats their thoughts back to them and shows them how they can relieve that pain.
It anticipates objections and overcomes them.
It repeats the core message.
It has a call to action.
It repeats the core message.
It has a deadline.
It repeats the core message.
It continually evolves as there is more feedback.
Did I mention repeating your core message?
Your pain has cost you a lot. Time for it to pay its due. Use it to help others, to inspire others, and in the process, help you buy a home. Let it buy you a new car, help you kids finally get their own rooms, and pay for your retirement.
Past does not equal future.
You are the captain of your own ship.
Don't let bad luck in the past take a dump all over your potential.
Don't use it as an excuse either.
You can't control the fact that it rains on your parade, but you can choose to bring an umbrella.
Check out my journey from…
Click here for a discussion on what is internet marketing and making a living online:
http://33andretired.com/
Don't get stuck with all of the “internet” stuff… it's as easy as picking up a book and reading… JUST like your reading this.
Learn daily…
I'm not a super hero… I just make super hero money because I decided to NOT be a tool… and learned from my professor at the University of Texas at Austin to USE TOOLS…. I lucked out because I prepared and met an opportunity. Now I am here. You can do the same too. Start today. Prepare for the future.
Engineering Your Success,Lawrence TamPS. if this message has hit you to the core, share and give this to your co-workers and friends. Living a mediocre, paycheck to paycheck lifestyle is unacceptable when YOU have the choice to change.CNN has reported in June 2013 that 76% of Americans are living Paycheck to #Paycheck…. don't be a statistic…
Stand out. Live Life.
0 Comments