Private Details Part 3…
Fact:
You can get all the clients in the world… be the best at what you do in the world…and have little or no competition in the world… but it won’t amount to a hill of beans if you don’t understand how to deal with… and even conquer…
Of Adversity!
I’m serious.
Doesn’t matter who you are, who you know or what you do… I can promise you, with 100% assurance (if it hasn’t already happened to you) you will run into some kind of adversity that’ll challenge you, make you throw up your hands in despair, maybe even quit.
Think I’m making this up?
I wish I was.
But the fact is, Murphy’s Law of “whatever can go wrong will go wrong” is true for anyone who tries to make something of themselves.
Of course, exactly what kind of adversity will befall you is different for everyone.
But rest assured it WILL happen to you.
The world will try to stop you from making it.
The crabs will pull you back in when you try to leave the bucket.
And believe me, nobody is immune to this phenomenon.
In fact, adversity loves taking a big wet bite out of my butt whenever it can.
But it’s like motivational speaker Les Brown says:
Trying to achieve a goal is like flying a plane. There will be turbulence at the beginnning. You have to prepare for it, fasten your seat belt and ride it out. And eventually… even though you may not be able to see through the thick clouds and rain… and even though it feels like you are going to crash and burn at any moment… you’ll eventually reach a comfortable altitude.
If you keep at it.
Do you ever notice in the “teeny bopper” horror movies how the victims know the psycho axe murderer is coming—ready to hack them up into little pieces—and yet, they do nothing but scream and cry?
When, in real life, all they’d have to do is pick something up as a weapon and friggin’ fight back?
Well, adversity is the exact same way.
It’s coming for you.
Stalking you.
Waiting to strike.
You need to treat it like an axe murderer coming towards your house—with the phone lines cut and no way to get help.
You can sit there and roll over and die.
Or you can arm yourself so that when it comes… instead of being attacked by adversity…
Crap Out Of It!
And to that end, I want to share a few ways of dealing with adversity that work for me.
But first, a disclaimer:
While I am in no way going to try and convert you to my spiritual beliefs—and while I don’t pretend to know if God is actually micro-managing my life or anything like that—things have happened at just the right time, in just the right place, in just the right way—where there’s just no room left for any explanation other than…
Maybe you’ve had similar things happen to you—where you know “Someone” was looking out for you.
Well, like every other human being on the face of the earth, sinner or saint, there are times when my faith slips… even though I know “The Man Upstairs” has saved me from certain forms of mental and physical dangers.
And for whatever reason… even though He has come through for me time and time again… I still have faith “lapses” where I get down and maybe even a little depressed about things.
Why does this happen?
There are probably a lot of reasons.
But I think it has at least something to do with this nervous system we’re born with and how weak the flesh is.
Don’t get me wrong—our nervous system does a LOT of good.
But it’s still needs to be kept it in check.
And so, when everything seems to go wrong, and when I’m a hair width’s away from some sort of major catastrophe in my life—it’s during those times when I try to force myself to just “let go” of my worries.
True, it’s a lot easier said than done.
But it almost always helps to let go of the problem and just keep moving forward the best you can.
Why?
Because the more you worry about a problem the worse it gets.
The less you worry about it, the better it gets.
And the more you actually do about your problem…
It also helps to remember something Earl Nightingale once said in his video The Strangest Secret. How only about 8% of the average person’s worries are real and legitimate he can actually do something about.
Even if that’s only half true, it’s extremely comforting to know.
Bottom line though is this:
As human beings, when things go wrong… or don’t happen right away, on our time table… sometimes our faith tends to slip.
Yet, it’s precisely during those times when you gotta keep control.
Maybe you haven’t had any copywriting gigs lately. Maybe your business has been floundering. Maybe you’ve been trying your hardest—and still nothing seems to be happening. Maybe someone you love is sick or dying. Maybe you are so “down and out” you don’t think you’ll ever make it back on track.
Whatever the case, what I like to do when things are going to hell in a hand basket is “remove” myself (mentally speaking) from the situation and look at myself…
Kind of like I’m watching my life unfold in a movie.
How many times have you been watching a good movie and the main character is struggling and ready to quit?
How many times have you shouted at the TV for them to “hang in there” just one more second?
To not give up?
Look at yourself during the hard times from an outside perspective.
If you were looking in on someone else in your exact situation, what would you tell them?
Wouldn’t you tell them to keep fighting?
Of course, it also helps to be able to stack the deck a little, and whip up a little bit of “luck” to help push through those times, too.
The fact is, people who seem to be “lucky” all struggled pretty hard to get to where they are. And while nobody is born lucky, there really is a way to “create” your own luck…
Now listen:
I don’t believe in “luck” in the sense that some people have a mystical aura around them that consistently beats the odds.
But I do believe in a scientific way to create at least a little bit of luck for yourself when you need to.
I’m not talking about anything metaphysical or anything like that.
I’m talking about a real, logical, common sense formula for creating luck.
Maybe not a lot of luck.
Certainly not enough to ensure you win the lottery or anything like that.
But enough to help push you through some of the hard times.
And here it is:
In other words…
People who seem to be “lucky” are simply prepared to take advantage of the opportunities that come their way.
Instead of screwing around, chasing tail, watching TV or boozing it up every night—people who seem “lucky” spend their spare time honing their skills to razor sharp perfection.
That way, when an opportunity does come along, they’re ready to take immediate advantage of the situation.
And appear lucky to everyone else.
Now, as for the “opportunity” part, that’s mostly a case of being at the right place, at the right time.
True, you can (and should) position yourself to make sure you’re in opportunity’s path.
And you can start today by mastering the basics about that which you want to learn.
Notice I said “mastering.”
Not just reading.
Not just looking over.
Not just skimming.
No, I said…
For example…
It always amazes me how someone can buy an expensive book or info product and only read it one or two times.
It doesn’t make any sense.
Since you’re paying $200, $500, $1,000 (or more) for a course on copywriting or marketing or whatever it is you do, doesn’t it make sense to read it over and over and over again—milking out every single secret you can?
I like to cover the stuff I buy at least ten times in a row—minimum.
I just pick it up and work through it—highlighting and underlining and making notes along the way—until I’ve read it ten times.
After that, I try to read it at least once a year.
This is one of the best ways of mastering a subject you will ever see.
Besides, you won’t get all the gold out of an info product on the first, second or even third reading.
But you’ll be amazed at what comes out on the 6th, 7th, even the 10th reading.
And by the 15th reading…
In That Book!
And when it comes time to prove yourself, you’ll be ready.
You’ll be prepared.
You’ll be equipped with the knowledge you need.
Well, that’s about it, my friend.
Like I said earlier, I’m not saying these things as a teacher, but as a brother.
Someone who’s facing some of the same challenges and problems you are.
For example:
A while back we found out my dad had 3 types of cancer at the same time. My wife has had some health challenges. I’ve had deals I was counting on go bad, various personal issues… etc etc etc.
I bet you have similiar problems to deal with—probably even worse problems.
Whatever the case, I literally use these exact same ideas and techniques I’ve shared here for overcoming these challenges every day.
And I hope they help you as much as they’ve helped me.
If you are interested in contacting me about writing your next sales letter or ad, you can read about my copywriting services, rates and other clients at:
