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This Article Has Nothing To Do With Marketing... Do NOT Read It!

Copyright © 2009 Quick Turn Marketing International, Ltd.

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 29Jun2004 Word count: 1990 Viewed: 895 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

Dear Friend,

You just couldn't resist could you? And you're not the only person who sees "Do NOT" and reads "DO."

But that's another a subject for another edition of the Rant. And, anyway, like I said, this article has nothing to do with marketing.

You won't learn a damn thing here about business today, but what you DO learn will make business a pleasure.

Whenever I speak or am interviewed or have known a client for a while, I always get asked the same question: Besides marketing, copywriting, and business... what else do I do? What do I do for pleasure? What do I do in my “spare” time?

So, while I don't normally make my private life public, I thought it would be kinda appropriate to tell you a little bit about my "secret" at-home pursuits...

What is that? You say you don’t give a damn?

That doesn't ruffle my feathers. If you have no absolutely interest in knowing about your marketing mentor’s life, if you don't think there's anything to be gained by reading what I've written, you can stop right here, right now, and I would have no hard feelings whatsoever.

On the other hand... if you’re one of the few people who are curious, if you see the words "don't bother" and you think "I WILL bother," you might find this issue quite interesting.

Still with me? Okay, here we go...

I am a hardworking SOB and I love what I do. I love marketing. I also love teaching and getting paid handsomely for it too!

There’s a new catch phrase in the entrepreneurial world. You may have heard it:

“Don’t Work Hard, Work Smart!”

To me, that’s just plain baloney. Personally, I’ve NEVER heard of a “part-time” super successful person. NEVER. Not ever.

The reality is... it’s tough as hell to make a lot of money. "Easy Money" is hard and the only "overnight success" stories are the ones that have been in the making for years. It takes guts, brain, vision, and yes, plenty of sweat to be successful.

There's more to success, a LOT more, than just having "smarts." And the bottom line is that you'll never increase your bottom line and accumulate serious wealth if you only work “smart.”

So what's the answer? What do super-successful people do that unsuccessful people don't? The answer is simple: They work HARD on SMART things.

Super-successful people work smart AND they work hard. They work on important tasks. They focus on high-value activities that offer major returns on their investment of time. They don't waste a moment on things that aren't meaningful…in a BIG way.

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Let Joe (or Jane) Do It
=====================

I've mastered a lot of things in my life, but I consider myself a real "black belt" in one key area: delegation. I spend 90% of my time on activities that bring in the most bucks -- marketing, consulting, and copywriting -- and when it comes to everything else…I let "Joe" do it.

I don’t wash my car. I don’t mow my lawn. I don’t vacuum the floor. I don’t cook. And I don't know one end of a vacuum cleaner from another! In other words, I am an absolute dummy when it comes to housekeeping!

I don’t know how to do any of those things efficiently and effectively... so I don't. I hire professionals to do what they're good at. I focus on what I do best... which is bringing in the cold, hard cash.

I constantly ask myself, “Is what I’m doing worth $ 750.00 an hour?”

Shocked? Don't be. That’s my "baseline" number and (believe it or not) I’m still pushing the envelope. I keep on raising that number and challenging myself to earn mo' money, mo' money, mo' money!

I believe you can never have too much revenue in business and I only align myself with people who understand my point of view. Remember: You must surround yourself with clients and colleagues who respect the value of your time and behave accordingly.

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Fish or Cut Bait
=====================

You must eliminate the “time vampires” from your life. You know the types I'm talking about -- people who suck everything out of you and leave you with…nothing in return. Don't let them hang around, draining you of your most important resources.

You wouldn't let someone steal money from you…

so why let them rob you of your time and energy?

If you are a “control freak”, learn to delegate those tasks and activities that just do not match up with the mandated value of your time.

We've taken a little business detour here, so let’s get back to the "meat" of this message:

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Dan’s Secret Life Exposed!
A Day in the Life of Dan
=====================

I usually don’t get up until 11:00 am because I don’t go to bed until 2:00 am. All of my clients know my habit, so they never call me in the morning. I'm a night owl, but don't worry... I still compete with the early birdies.

I work 11, 12, or as many as 13 hours a day. There's only one thing that lets me put in so many long hours week after week and year after year: I love what I do.

I am extremely passionate about my business. So passionate, in fact, that sometimes I can’t really tell the difference between play and work. (Doesn't that sound appealing?)

If you ask me, “Dan, if I take away your ‘paycheck’, would you still do what you do?” I can answer that question in a heartbeat, “You BET!”

Another reason I can work long hours is because I'm not married, have no kids, and don't have the obligations of family life.

Now don't start feeling sorry for "ol' Dan." I do have a lovely girlfriend named Tiffany. We've been together for more than 5 years now and we’re still madly in love. And, fortunately for me, I've found in Tiffany a life-partner who shares my vision of how business and pleasure dovetail.

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The Dan Nobody Knows
===================

Believe it or not, although I am very blunt when it comes to business and marketing, when I'm with friends and family, I'm transformed into a kinder, gentler Dan. The hard edges get smoothed out and my sharp wit softens.

O.K., what else do I do?

I exercise 2 times a week. I go to a gym called Titan Fitness right across my home/office. Also, I’m taking martial art and boxing lessons there. I’m a pretty good martial artist, so don’t mess around with me -- I’ll track you down and kick your butt!

Relax. I’m just kidding. I use my powers for "good," but I do love the martial arts. I like the challenge and it keeps me sharp mentally and physically. I think fast. I make decisions quickly. I screw my “opponents” against the wall. And I don’t let ANYBODY push me around.

That kind of “killer instinct” has helped me tremendously in the dog-eat-dog business world out there. (Oops, business is sneaking in again!)

You Are What You Eat…and Drink…and Smoke

I don’t smoke. I don’t drink anything that’s alcoholic. Heck, I don’t even drink coffee. (I am definitely not a good Starbucks customer.)

I love green tea though... very healthy stuff. And I drink eight classes of water a day.

I eat an apple, a banana, and one other kind of fruit each day. It could be an orange, strawberry, mango, or pineapple, as long as it's fresh and in-season.
“Gosh, Dan, You Sound Like You’re Living Like A Shaolin Monk To Me!”
Really? But hey, you gotta take care of your body, so that your body will take care of you.

Old school, but very true.

But here's the real "golden nugget" I want you to see: what’s the point of having WEALTH and no HEALTH? Gotta have both. It really doesn’t matter if you have 100 million bucks in the bank account, if you’re gonna die tomorrow morning.

You NEED the health to enjoy all the money you got.

Besides, when your body is "in balance," you’ll feel much better at work, at play, and at everything you do.

Time Out

Oops... Hold on a second, my phone is ringing...

...

...

Time In

All right, I am back. One of my inner circle clients just called to ask me couple questions regarding his new venture... You'll be hearing about this guy in the future -- mark my words.

But right now, you're hearing about ME.

There’s no doubt I’m pretty friggin’ successful by most people’s standards, but I am still a very diligent student. I firmly believe that school is always in session and knowledge is always worth reaching for.

You may be asking yourself, "If the Copywriting Whiz Kid is still soaking up information like a sponge, if Dan thinks he still has knowledge to gain -- shouldn't I be learning, too?"

You're darn right you should! You better start pulling out those expensive "dust collectors” from your bookshelves -- the marketing and business books you invested all that money in -- and get cracking. Books don't read themselves.

Unfortunately, I don’t read as much as I used to. But fortunately, I am one of those guys who can do multiple things at the same time. I remember one time I was on the treadmill while I was talking to a client on the phone... and he was wondering why I’m running out of breath. (He thought I’m with Tiffany and he caught me at a “bad” time!)

So since I am so busy right now, I "multi-task" and listen to audiocassettes. I listen to a minimum 3-4 tapes a day, usually while I’m working in front of my computer.

Right now, I’m listening to Dan Kennedy’s new Joint Venture course – a pretty damn good course on information marketing. Lots of insider tips.

The Deal Of The Decade Is Right Under Your Nose

I rarely watch TV, but I do watch movies quite often. So if you’re gonna send me a gift, send me some DVDs, I love those little suckers:

Matrix, Lord of the Rings, Jackie Chan, I watch them all.

I think movie’s gotta be the greatest bargain on this planet.

Think about it: The producers invest millions of dollars, gather some of most brilliant people together from the entertainment biz, and spend months (if not years) filming, for what? Just so they can create a 90 to 120 minutes “experience” FOR YOU!

And how much you pay? ? ? I mean, think about it. If that’s not the deal of a decade, I don’t know what is.

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I Did It My Way
===================

Now, I understand this is NOT a typical “lesson” you usually get from me... It’s just me ranting and rambling off about nothing. But hey, it’s MY newsletter. So I don't think it's a sin to chit-chat a bit every ONCE in a blue moon, right?

Alrighty, it’s 5:00 pm. I’m gonna get back to work here, so let’s wrap this up.
Take good care of your body, work hard on smart things, delegate low-value activities, school is never out for the pro, commit to learning something new everyday, and most importantly, enjoy yourself.

Take care,

Dan Lok

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