How to Treat People

A reader watched my DVD, Humbug, and emailed me this question:

“Was there one point in your life that was the turn around? I often ask people who’ve obviously hitched themselves to a Saturn 5 rocket the same question.”

I get that question a lot.

I’ve been thinking about it long and hard.

I know that taking on the attitude that anything is possible is part of the answer.  So is knowing the Law of Attraction and the idea that getting clear leads to preferred results.  So is always saying yes to life. And so is the idea of being ruthlessly honest about your desires.

But those are mindsets I’ve developed over time. They don’t answer the question about the single event that changed my life.

The thing is, there’s no “one point” where everything shifted for me. It was more a series of defining moments, some more memorable than others. For example:

Landing the book deal to write The AMA Complete Guide to Small Business Advertising for the American Marketing Association back in 1993, was a marker for me. I wasn’t paid much money (almost none) but it was my first book deal with a traditional publisher and the project made me feel accomplished and important. It also got me more clients and more speaking engagements. (I still love the book and use it myself, though sadly it’s now out of print. Some of it ended up in my book, Hypnotic Writing .)

Recording my program, The Power of Outrageous Marketing for Nightingale-Conant in 1997, was another turning point for me, one I had longed to have for over ten years. People who knew that company and their wonderful products began to treat me like I was a deity in the marketing world. That also influenced my own sense of value. (That’s also when I raised my fees. ) The program still sells like crazy today, and I’m still very proud of it. (One of my favorite sections is where I stage an interview with the great circus showman and master marketer, P.T. Barnum.)

Certain people helped me step up to a new level, as well.

Paul Hartunian changed my life. This publicity genius who once sold the Brooklyn Bridge as a PR stunt and got on Johnny Carson for it, once spent three hours over dinner in Houston telling me how to change my business. I took notes. I acted. Paul’s giving was a defining moment in my career. I’ll never forget him. He’s one of my heros.

Mandy Evans has been a “miracles coach” in my life for more than twenty years. This wonderful author of such books as Travelling Free has always been only a phone call away. Whenever I feel stuck and ready for the next level, I call her. I love her. She helps me get clear .

Bob Proctor — a living legend in the self-help movement — changed my life when he politely nudged me to publish the little book I was fearful about releasing, Spiritual Marketing. That book became an Amazon bestseller twice, got me into The New York Times, and led to my rewriting it and seeing J. Wiley publish it as the now long running classic, The Attractor Factor. And of course that book got me into the movie The Secret, which led to my being on Larry King, eXtra TV, CNN, CNBC, ABC, Time, Newsweek and…well, you get the idea.

Obviously, there’s no one event that transformed me.

If you want to know more, I’ve written about my journey through life in such books as Adventures Within.  It reveals other defining moments and the people who triggered them for me.

adventuresbook

I really wish there was a simple answer to the question of what was my turning point moment, so we could both learn from it. But what may be better is to assume every moment is your turn around one, and act from that perspective. Life would then take on a glow .

Backed into a corner, and forced to say something was the one thing that changed my career, I’d give credit to the Internet.

I began as an Internet skeptic in the early 1990s. I didn’t believe all the hype about gold in cyberspace.

I was wrong.

I later wrote one of the first books about online marketing (CyberWriting).

And later, when Mark Joyner urged me to let him release my first e-book (Hypnotic Writing ), I began to taste fame and fortune.

So I have to give credit to being active online as a turning point in my career. (Note I said active online. I was and am busy creating and promoting products, not waiting for the world to come to my door.) The Internet let me take what I was doing locally and distribute it to the world.

But, as you can see, it was one of many defining moments.

Maybe the best way to wrap this up is with the following story:

I’m hearing from people from my past who saw the movie The Secret and then searched for me online. When they get to my main site , they write me and ask something like, “Are you the same Joe Vitale I worked with thirty years ago?”

One gent did that a while back. Turns out we had worked at Exxon together long, long ago.

He saw me on Larry King and couldn’t believe my level of success. He wrote to me saying, “I wish I had known what a gem I was hanging around back then.”

I thought, what if each of us treated each other like we were gems already — just unrecognized and maybe unpolished.

Wouldn’t that single change of perspective make every moment of our lives a turning point?

As Goethe wrote, “Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you help them become what they are capable of being.”

Ao Akua ,

Joe

www.MrFire.com

PS — A way to get a turning point moment for yourself is through Miracles Coaching. I believe that trained mentors can help you leap to the next level, and I still employ them for myself today. Expect miracles. And remember, every moment counts.

AMN banner

13 Comments

  1. Hey Joe,

    What a great blog post! Thank you for sharing. I like to read how doors open in the story line, as it is what I feel is happening in my life..

    But as you say, the mindset is a big part of “the game”. I belive that’s a good place to start!?

    C ya,
    Claus D Jensen

  2. Hey Joe,

    What a great blog post! Thank you for sharing. I like to read how doors open in the story line, as it is what I feel is happening in my life..

    But as you say, the mindset is a big part of “the game”. I belive that’s a good place to start!?

    C ya,
    Claus D Jensen

  3. Vladimir-Reply
    March 7, 2010 at 11:50 am

    Dear Joe,

    I got a reference to your audio recording The Solution from my spiritual guide. Based on my experience with it I can tell it is a very powerful thing. In my opnion, the combination of depth and simplicity is truly unique. Inspired by it, I’ve also become familiar with The Secret, Zero Limits, and now am reading The Attractor Factor.

    I’ve got a very simple question to you as the author of all these remarkable works, and I will be extremely grateful and delighted to receive an answer:

    How do you assess the role of the people like Dr Hew Len and Johnatan from The Attractor Factor in your life? I mean not in the sense of changing your views and attitudes, but in terms of a more direct influence on your being (the spiritual support).

    With great respect,

    Vladimir

  4. March 7, 2010 at 2:04 pm

    I love your words, Joe. Today I ordered your “Hypnotic Writing” and can’t wait till it’s there.

    OT: Ho’oponopono helped me so much to make the right decision today. If I could write down all the miracles since I read your book “Attract Money Now” it might fill a book,- thank you so much.

    P.S. I hope “Zero Limits” will get translated into German soon so that I can buy couple of copies for my friends. Cheers 🙂

  5. March 9, 2010 at 4:04 am

    Your books arrived today,- thank you so much!
    One day I want to be surrounded with all of them. Also thank you very much for mentioning Paul Hartunian, Mandy Evans, Mark Joyner and Bob Proctor.
    There is so much more to learn out there, wow. What have I been doing all these years? Ok, let’s get started NOW.

  6. March 9, 2010 at 12:56 pm

    Hello Joe,

    I like the simple and clear way you have shared your journey over the years, whether it be through a new product, new blog post, or new twitter tweet.

    You offer such a clear example of someone who has got clear of limiting beliefs and lined up with better and better manifestations. I particularly love that you share your journey, both the successes and the stumbles that lead to successes.

    Thank you for this clear and clearing reminder,

    Blessings,
    Barry

  7. March 30, 2010 at 6:21 am

    Hey Dr. Joe,

    As always, great post!

    But one thing I would like to add is…. you are such a Giving person of yourself!

    All the time you give of yourself to each of us that attends an Unseminar is so valuable to us I’m not sure I can put it into words.

    Perhaps the best way to describe it is; “You notice us and already treat us as if we are polished gems.”

    Thanks!

    Trap

  8. Manuel Rocha-Reply
    April 3, 2010 at 9:45 pm

    Dear Joe Vitale, I learned about you while I was in Adrian, Michigan spending a few summers with my grandparents. In the year 2009 I was blessed to see you in the movie “The Secret” It has changed my life and has confirmed many things I had suspected. Right now my resources are limited and don’t even have a passport nor U.S. visa but what I can do in to keep on precticing the principles I saw in the movie The Secret. Also the Vision board, I have one in my room and focus on it 2 or 3 times a day. Thank you for sharing your life and the “LOA Steroids”, boy I did not know that one. I’ll keep in touch with you Joe, God bless you richly, Manuel Rocha (from Monterrey, Nuevo León, México)

  9. caterina-Reply
    April 6, 2010 at 2:12 pm

    e delle situazioni di cuore cosaa mi dici?hai presente quelle storie di anni dove lui ogni volta che sembra ci sia scappa via e ogni volta che credi non ci sia torna?dove lo stesso lui ti incolpa delle cose che lui fa?e dove lei non se lo puo togliere dal cuore?mi piacerebbe sapere cosa ne pensi..ciao!grazie!

  10. April 8, 2010 at 7:31 am

    I have always admired persons as you. The way you talk and the way you explain things really make me feel inspired.

    Thank you.

  11. Mark Joyner-Reply
    June 3, 2010 at 4:08 pm

    Joe, you’re a stupendously awesome human being.

  12. September 27, 2013 at 12:39 am

    I have not read your book but was thinking about getting The Solution. I read somewhere that you have in Audio format. Is that right? I’s like it in audio so that I can listen to it on the way to work. Let me know. Thanks.

Leave A Comment