Dr. Joe Vitale’s Blog

Today is January 1, 2006.

I’m beginning this new year with a blog entry designed to accomplish something specific. I’m not going to tell you what. I’m going to let you guess. But I assure you, there’s a strategy of intelligent design at work here.

Can you guess what it is?

Here’s a clue –

What do King Kong, Dr. Phil, Howard Stern, and a 40 year old virgin have in common?

You’re welcome to post your comments, or to just think about the question on your own. I’ll give you the answer in a day or two.

I bet even Uma Thurman would like this one.

Stay tuned for the answer….

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS — The picture above is from my 52nd birthday on December 29, 2005. A friend gave me the personalized gift bag, which was pretty cool. But the bag also contained gifts, which was even better. Behind my left shoulder is a framed “Ode to Joe.” It was given to me by the staff of my Executive Mentoring Program. http://www.joe-vitale-executive-mentoring.com/info.html Wish you could have been here.

PPS – Have you figured out the secret strategy behind this post yet? You don’t have to be a fan of The West Wing to get it. And the winter solstice and jibjab have only a little to do with it.

A few posts ago http://mrfire.blogspot.com/2005/12/why-does-santa-give.html I mentioned that people were sending me gifts but without cards or notes or any identification to know who sent them to me.

Well, it turns out that in almost every case it was a mistake.

It wasn’t a mistake that I got the gifts, but that the cards weren’t included.

For example —

The person who sent me the Ipod Nano (which I truly love) was Paul Bauer of www.DreamsAlive.com Apple was supposed to include a card from him with the product.

They forgot.

And the person who sent me the monkey (pictured above left) was Charles Lewis, my webmaster for www.mrfire.com and www.HypnoticMarketingInc.com Sharper Image www.sharperimage.com was supposed to include a card from him with the “Amazing ‘Alive’ Chimpanzee.”

They, too, forgot.

Obviously, this is a marketing mistake.

Big businesses keep forgetting that their entire service needs to be flawless for people to be happy and return to do more business. Screw up a few times and people will wander away. Forgetting to include gift cards isn’t a tragic mistake, but it’s still a mistake.

Even my monkey knows that.

Ao Akua,

joe

PS – My birthday was yesterday (12-29). Many people came from far and wide to celebrate it, to bring gifts, to give hugs, and to share in my 52nd celebration. If you’re interested, I’ll post a picture or two. And if you’re not interested, I’ll still post them.

I’m almost done reading one of the best books I’ve seen in far too long: The Google Story by David Vise and Mark Malseed. It reveals the inside scoop on the hottest business, media and technology success of our time.

I’m fascinated by Google. I love their tool and use it, probably like you, every day. I’ve been longing to read a book explaining how this company got started. I could only imagine the wizards behind it.

Well, what I imagined isn’t anywhere near as good as the truth.

The story is about two guys with a mission to change the world. Their prime directive seems to be “Challenge the impossible.” (That’s similiar to my own “Dare Something Worthy.”)

And their motto is “Don’t be evil.”

Side note: Hypnotherapists and NLP language masters like to claim that your subconscious mind doesn’t respond to negatives, which would mean the motto “Don’t Be Evil” actually is telling you to be evil. I’ve never agreed with that theory. Google’s motto proves that your mind most certainly knows a negative when it sees one. Google is not evil. See my article on this aspect of hidden communication at https://www.mrfire.com/article-archives/new-articles/do-not-read-this.html )

Founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page focused on creating an index of the planet, not on making money. (That’s a clue to how to make money.) As a result of their passion and wisdom, they attracted people willing to invest in them, even before there was an actual company to invest in. Andy Bechtolsheim wrote them a check for $100,000 — without a contract, agreement, or even a handshake. He saw the value of their search engine idea and wanted to support it.

And the founders are today billionaires.

The story gets juicer. Google used word of mouth advertising to get attention. They wanted to focus on building something so valuable to people that people would spread the word about it. (There’s another clue to how to attract money.) They fueled this campaign with requests to “tell a friend” and so forth. And this was when Google had 5 employees and “only” 1,000,000 people a day were using it.

The Google Story is packed with great insights and stories. It’s a quick and easy read. Includes photos, too. I found the material about Google making ads relevant to searches to be enlightening. As long as the ads were relevant, people welcomed them.

I also liked hearing about Googleplex, and how people enjoy their work there, are fun loving, and are fed well by a cook who makes his food with love.

If you’re at all interested in passion, money, and the story behind the story, get and read The Google Story.

Remember – “Don’t be evil.”

Ao Akua,

joe
www.mrfire.com

PS – The section revealing 23 Google Search Tips was worth the price of the book.

Did mystery novelist Agatha Christie literally hypnotize her readers?

Consider —

Scientists from three leading universities studied 80 of the famed novelist’s works and discovered she used words that invoked chemical responses in the brains of her readers.

The study – The Agatha Project – involved loading Christie’s novels into a computer and analyzing her words, phrases and sentences. They concluded that her phrases trigger a pleasure response. This causes people to seek out her books again and again, almost like an addiction.

According to the study, Christie used literary techniques mirroring those employed by hypnotherapists and psychologists, which have a hypnotic effect on readers.

This is clear evidence that the principles in my Hypnotic Writing e-books, and in my Hypnotic Writing Wizard www.HypnoticWritingWizard.com software, truly work.

The study found that common phrases used by Christie act as a trigger to raise levels of serotonin and endorphins, the chemical messengers in the brain that induce pleasure.

I’ve been saying this for years. Certain words and phrases push buttons unconsciously in people. They respond without being aware of it.

I’ve been teaching people how to improve their sales letters and website copy with these very insights. Apparently Agatha Christie used hypnotic writing to make her books — as one scientist un-hypnotically said — “unputdownable.”

It sure worked for her.

Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, (1890-1976) is possibly the world’s best-known mystery writer. The Guinness Book of Records listed her as the best-selling fiction author of all time with over two *billion* copies in print in the English language.

Obviously, hypnotic writing helped her. The study went on to report the following about Agatha’s writings —

Favorite words or phrases, repeatedly used in a “mesmerizing” way, help stimulate the pleasure-inducing side of the brain. They include “she, yes, girl, kind, smiled” and “suddenly.”

Again, to me, this isn’t news. There are similar words and phrases in marketing that set off brain activity — and later buying activity.

Do you know what they are?

Probably not.

Few people do.

But they are revealed in my e-books and software.

My hypnotic writing www.HypnoticWritingWizard.com software — which can help you write sales letters, articles, books, news releases and much more — now comes in two Windows versions:

#1. The Basic one gives you all the tools you need to write letters, ads, books, talks, etc. It comes with the formulas, inductions, tools, headline generator, readability analyzer, unconscious directed writing, etc. You could become a hypnotic writer with just this alone. It’s that powerful.

#2. The Deluxe version comes with all the basic tools but includes the famous Swipe File, containing proven words, phrases, sentences, closers, etc, which you can just weave into your writing to make it much more compelling. This is beyond powerful. You simply copy and paste — “swipe” –the proven sentences that improve your writing. This is almost too easy.

The Swipe File has been and still is my secret weapon in writing my emails, sites, articles, and books with such speed and power. I love it and always use it. Obviously, it works. Again, it comes with the Deluxe version.

Direct marketing legend Joe Sugarman said —

“Not only does this leading edge software help you write sales letters with ease, but you can also write news releases, ads, articles, speeches, web copy and even entire books with it.

The hypnotic inductions by Joe are simple, short and, more importantly, they work. I was skeptical about the Hypnotic Readability Formula, but I used it to analyze one of my own letters and the results opened my eyes. Hypnotic Writing Wizard is a breakthrough in creative writing.”

Prolific author of 50+ books Bob Bly said —

“Anyone having trouble writing anything needs to boot this program up. Within minutes you can slide through blocks, get a handle on what you want to say, and come up with memorable ways to say it. This is a real breakthrough.”

You’ll find even more testimonials online www.HypnoticWritingWizard.com

I’m very excited about Hypnotic Writing Wizard.This program is based on my first best-selling e-books, Hypnotic Writing and Advanced Hypnotic Writing (and includes them for easy reference).

While the software won’t do your writing or thinking for you, it *will* guide you to writing with more ease and power. The hypnotic inductions and other tools will stimulate your mind to come up with fresh ways to express yourself with persuasive power.

If you want to give yourself the best gift of the year, get Hypnotic Writing Wizard and start to write with the simple riveting power of one of the bestselling novelists of our time – Agatha Christie.

See http://www.HypnoticWritingWizard.com

Merry Christmas!

Ao Akua

joe
www.mrfire.com

PS – I’m told The Agatha Project will air on television in England on Dec 27.

Matt Gill, co-owner of Nitro Marketing and the man who runs my Hypnotic Gold www.HypnoticGold.com membership program, just asked me for a list of my top ten books for 2005.

I found it tough to create. I buy so many books, and even read enough of them, that creating a list of only ten seems impossible. But I did come up with a list of fifteen books. Here they are (in no particular order):

The Next Millionaires by Paul Zane Pilzer. I loved this one. Talk about a relentless optimist. I ended up interviewing Pilzer for my Hypnotic Gold program and found the man sharp and fascinating. He told me he’s not an optimist but a scientist. He sees a profitable future for you and me. Get this book.

Fantastic! The Life of Arnold Schwarzenegger by Laurence Leamer. Arnold is simply fascinating. He’ll be back.

The Irresistible Offer by Mark Joyner. The best book on marketing in 50 years. It’s causing me to rethink all my sales letters and offers.

177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class by Steve Siebold. A masterpiece. You can’t read this in one sitting. Take a bite a day, chew on it, and change your life. Genius.

Empowerment by Gene Landrum. Gene’s research proves that you don’t need good genes to excel in business or sports. You need the right mindset for success. I interviewed him for my Hypnotic Gold program and found him a sheer delight. Brilliant and inspiring.

The Autobiography of Dan Kennedy. I love Dan but think he’s a gloomy, grumpy guy. His life story is riveting, though I left the end of it feeling down. His outlook on life is not sunny, and mine is. (He needs to read the Pilzer book mentioned above.)

Extreme Muscle Enhancement: BodyBuilding’s Most Powerful Techniques by Carlton Colker. I’m overwhelmed by the amount of information out there on muscle building. This one seems to speak to me. Since I’ve lost 80 pounds and transformed my life through fitness and mental toughness, I love hard hitting, clear books like this. It’s muscular.

500 Ways to Change the World edited by Nick Temple. Inspiring. These ideas are from people just like you and me. I’m refreshed and renewed when I see the cleverness of the human mind.

No Such Thing as Over-Exposure: Inside the Life and Celebrity of Donald Trump by Robert Slater. Trump is a publicity machine and this book gives you a peek inside his window.

The New Handbook of Cognitive Therapy Techniques by Rian McMullin. I’m fascinated with how beliefs create reality. This intense but freeing book reveals ways to help yourself see through and change your own mental programming.

Devil at My Heels: A World War II Hero’s Epic Saga of Torment, Survival and Forgiveness by Louis Zamperini. Whew! What a read! As hypnotic as any novel, yet it’s all true. Read it.

The Power of Impossible Thinking by Yoram Wind and Colin Crook. A mind-expanding book about how your view of the world creates your world.

The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force by Jeffrey Schwartz. Sounds tough but it’s easy to read. The message, as I remember it, is that your own decision can over-ride any mental problems. Again, intention rules the earth.

How Consciousness Commands Matter: The New Scientific Revolution and the Evidence that Anything Is Possible by Dr. Larry Farwell. Just read it.

Motigraphics: The Analysis and Measurement of Human Motivation in Marketing by Richard Maddock. A noble attempt to graph human emotions so we can control them. I read and re-read this one and I’m not sure I get it, but I love the attempt. Well worth wrestling with.

I’m probably going to think of 15 other books that should be on this list, but for now the above will do.

Wait! I just remembered another hypnotic read from this year:

The Spiritual Journey of Joseph l. Greenstein by Ed Spielman. The life story of this old time strongman was, well, hypnotic. It would make a great movie. It was written by the creator of the Kung Fu TV series.

Happy Reading.

Ao Akua,

joe
www.mrfire.com

PS — You may have to get Pilzer’s new book from http://www.paulzanepilzer.com, but I’m pretty sure the other books are available at www.Amazon.com or from your favorite bookseller. While book shopping, be sure to pick up a few copies of my books. (I’ve written several, you know.) They make great gifts. And they slide into Christmas stockings just fine.