A Sure-Fire (But Surprising) Formula For Success
SUCCESS AND FAILURE — What does it take to make it as a copywriter, as a direct marketer, as a business owner?
If you have been in the game awhile and everyone who knows you is insanely jealous of your “unblemished success,” you’re going to really enjoy this and laugh your ass off. You’ll see why.
But if you’re kinda just starting out and struggling, you may not believe a word I say. (Too bad for you. But then again, you might… )
Let’s start out with something I keep telling myself as I learn new skills these days (like guitar, and cartooning):
“Anything worth doing, is worth doing poorly at first.”
Karate Kid
Many people have seen the original “Karate Kid” movie, but they missed the most important part: The “wax-on, wax-off” drills Mr. Miyagi puts Daniel through.
Daniel doesn’t understand why.
Mr. Miyagi explains these simple moves build in muscle memory that helps him block blows from attackers, and gain strategic superiority in a fight.
The problem with most people is they want to go straight for the strategic superiority… to hell with wax-on, wax-off, they say.
They don’t want to go through the motions to develop the “muscle memory.”
They think they don’t need to.
They are so sure they know better.
And yet they struggle.
And struggle.
And struggle.
They turn up their noses at “wax-on, wax-off” because… why?
Because their egos can’t handle it, that’s why.
Resilience
The ironic reality of true success?
The person of great accomplishment has died a thousand deaths, in failure, humiliation, embarrassment, and sheer helplessness more times than he or she can count.
The person of great accomplishment has forgotten most of that misery… but that person has built up a callous that protects him or her from feeling too much pain from similar events in the future.
Importance of resilience
That callous is called “resilience.”
I know about all this because:
• When I was younger (so much younger than today), I was above working on fundamentals and “knew better” than all those who had taken a few more laps around the track than I had.
• In 1987, I met a man named Jim Camp who, somehow — don’t ask me how — became my Mr. Miyagi.
Slowly, irreversibly, I went from being “successful” on other people’s terms (i.e., being a very good employee and never screwing up) to becoming successful on my own terms (embracing failure when it happened… and bouncing back. Which is to say, resilience).
• In the early 90’s, I started coaching. I’ve personally coached more than 100 people. Some have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. Some have written sales letters that have made millions upon millions of dollars. Some run eight-figure companies.
But some have not grown all that much. If I could identify one characteristic that sets the winners from the also-rans?
Resilience.
Which includes the wisdom not to define yourself as a “success” or a “failure.”
Do you think a river says “I’m a flow” or “I’m a logjam?”
I don’t think so.
If rivers talk, or have a consciousness, I would put good money on the idea that they say this about themselves:
“I’m a river.”
“Flow” and “logjam” are simply temporary conditions… not definitions of rivers, or the rivers’ identity.
I was talking this morning with a client who hires copywriters. When they work for him, they have a chance to make $1 million a year. Even more.
This is real.
We were talking about:
What does he look for in a new hire?
He said that the main thing copywriters need to have inherently is a desire to sell, and a desire to use their imaginations to find better ways to sell.
Writing, he said, can be taught.
I mostly agree.
Some super-successful copywriters are also great writers. Some are so-so. Some are, frankly, awful writers.
But what they all have in common?
• Willingness to use their imaginations, and skills they have developed to do so
• Plus, the ability to sell, which is also much more a learned skill than an inborn talent
Copywriting Mentoring
If you are interested in becoming a great copywriter — or a business owner who can scale your own business by leaps and bounds using direct marketing principles and practices — listen up:
I have room for a couple new mentoring clients starting in 2017. It’s not cheap, and it’s not easy. And it certainly won’t work if you’re not actively willing to do your part.
But if you are… well, the best way I can put it is:
The rest of the world might as well just get out of your way.
Because nothing can stop you.
I’ve seen this too many times to think otherwise.
I don’t work with beginners. My best client is someone who can work hard, who has had some success, who can deal with failure from time to time — and who can make decisions, and stick to them.
Sounds simple — but that was one of many dozens of valuable things I learned from Jim Camp.
Funny, being near the top of my class in high school… an honors student at college… holder of one of the most prized positions when I worked for McGraw-Hill… I never learned those things at school or on the job that I learned from my coach.
So naturally, I’m sold on coaching.
And if this is something you’d like to seriously consider, check out my website:
David Garfinkel is a veteran coach of professional copywriters and business owners who are familiar and comfortable with direct response marketing.
