Basic Consulting 101a

Monday, 1:38pm
St. Petersburg, FL
“Now the zombie is on your tail…” (“Lover Of The Bayou”, the Byrds)

Howdy…

I’ve been a high-paid, much-respected consultant for something like 30 years.

High paid, cuz my advice will rock your world (no matter where you’re at in your lifelong adventure in biz and life).

Much respected, cuz the results I squeeze out of entrepreneurs (including the most stubborn, irascible and bent-on-self-destruction types in the game) will make your jaw drop.

However…

… the “secret” behind my consulting success is very, very simple. 

For example, easily half the advice I give out regards living a better life…

… cuz by the time a biz owner realizes he needs a guy like me to intervene, he’s in some really deep shyte.

And after we deal with his bottom line, we quickly pivot to his private life. The burn-out, the lack of coherent long-term goals, the inability to answer simple questions like “what do you want from life now?”

Thus, we enter into classic “self-help” territory.

And most self-help stuff can be mulched into some version of “Calm the fuck down, keep moving, and have good goals“. (Though, of course, I explain that in fancier terms, so folks think they’re getting high-end psychologically sound advice. There’s a small bit of theater in any good consulting session.)

That’s not “band aid” advice, either.

Nope. Don’t let the folksiness fool you — this is deep stuff.

Whether you meditate, pray or just stare at the wall and veg out, if it calms you down, it’s a good tactic. (I like sitting in the old swing out back with the dog, staring at the mountains.)

But you gotta make it a habit.

Movement can be physical or mental or emotional…

… because whatever you require to progress from the bummer state you’re in to someplace nicer is exactly what you need to be doing. (When younger, I actually moved around a lot. Nowadays, I expand intellectually, because the bad grooves are in my head, not around me.) Exercise everything every day — your body, your brain, your tear ducts.

And you should get comfy with the rigors of goal setting and attainment asap in life — instilling it in kids is not too soon, if you’re a parent.

It’s as simple as it’s always been (no matter how much the rest of the culture ignores or distorts the process): Figure out what you want, make a plan to go get it… and then implement that plan.

The hard part (which you cannot begin to grok until you get deep into the process) is setting your sights.

Most of what you think you want, you really don’t. (But you gotta go through the process to realize it. Most common example: After covering your basic needs and having some to spare… more money will NOT make you happier. It’s been true since the dawn of civilization, but most folks need to experience this to believe it. So, I help people become successful… but with plenty of awareness that their happiness will come from other sources.)

True happiness can also be so much simpler to attain than most of us believe, at first.

Happiness is not a place you “arrive” at, and remain forever in joy.

Rather, it’s a process of engaging with life, navigating the good with the bad, and murdering your ego. And enjoying the occasional moments of true happiness that accompany a well-lived existence.

Most of the stuff that actually makes you blissed-out happy, you’re taking for granted…

… and it’s only when you lose it that you realize the truth of it all.

Loss is built into life, but learning lessons from it isn’t standard operating equipment in your head.

You gotta work at recognizing the lessons when they appear, and learning from them.

The happiest folks I’ve known in my long ride keep things simple.

Sometimes, the rich man and the not-so-rich man share the same blissed out moments — sitting in a comfy chair, stomach full, petting the dog and feeling alive.

Different parts of town, same sky.

Different bank accounts, same volume of love flowing through their hearts.

Same dog.

Hope you’re having some fun this fine autumn weekend…

Stay frosty,

John

P.S. Now is a great time to grab “Kick-Ass Copywriting Secrets Of A Marketing Rebel”, if you’ve never allowed yourself the pure, undiluted ecstasy of diving into that tome.

Go here and just marvel at the famous names who name it as the starting point for their grand adventure in biz and life…