Saturday, March 31, 2007

Are You Driving a Porsche?

Before I began the apprenticeship program, I had been working for another copywriter on various projects. One of those projects was an ebook and a corresponding sales letter. The ebook was a lengthy project as you might imagine. I spent 2 months writing 6 chapters for a total of around 60 pages..including at least 2 revisions.

That's still pretty slow I must admit. And the sales letter has taken even longer!! I was working on it step by step with a copywriting course (by Michael Masterson). It's a great course and I enjoyed it but I needed something to light a fire under me. The apprenticeship did that.

So today I spent all of 2 hours today writing the sales letter. It's not completely done but the first draft is there. Do you know how long it had been sitting around? 4 months. 4!!!! Good grief!

Isn't that ridiculous?

I think so. It's like I decided to drive an old jalopy instead of the Porsche. As I'm sure you'll agree, the Porsche is a lot more fun!!! So drive that Porsche I did.

Enjoy your weekend,

Til tomorrow...

Friday, March 30, 2007

I Win!

It's official. I finished the apprenticeship program. Everybody do a happy dance and say "Woo hoo!!!!" I certainly did!

I'm very proud of myself.

Want to know the best part?? I did it in 60 days...30 days ahead of schedule. I didn't come in under budget but at least I came in ahead of schedule.

That was about the extent of my day. We had a conference call and I'm finishing up my usual handwriting and blog entries. This was definitely a breakthrough week for me.

I'll have more thoughts to share with you tomorrow.

Til tomorrow...

Thursday, March 29, 2007

A Light At The End Of The Tunnel

We're in the home stretch...30 more days in the apprenticeship program. I get a bit fascinated when I think about how I've progressed, the changes we've made and the copy we've created. It is probably the hardest thing I've ever done...which tells me it's the BEST thing I've ever done.

I didn't have much when I started this program. I was halfway through my 30th year on this planet, I've moved between 6 different jobs/companies in 6 years. I had some money saved but my monthly income fluctuated quite a bit and I wasn't getting any new writing clients.

I felt unsure of my next step. The one thing I knew was that I wanted to be a copywriter. Frankly I had no idea how I was going to make that happen but I knew it had to happen.

My only other option was to join the Peace Corps and live in a Third World country. As much as I love to help others I also like my creature comforts so that wasn't my most favored option. Basically it was this or nothing. No, there wasn't even a nothing option. It was just this program, this moment, this person (me).

So it came to be and I latched onto this chance, this hope, this vision. Here I am today. A different woman. Truly I believe I am becoming the woman I am meant to be.

Truthfully? I'm glad no one told me just how tough parts of this were going to be. I have felt beat up this week but as I said in my post yesterday, I'm learning to let go. To simply be in the present moment, acknowledge the feeling and let it pass. Sounds a helluva lot easier than it is!

But that is where I am and soon it will happen with no effort.

Today was a step closer to that. We wrapped up our 7 sequential emails and oh my are they good! I'm quite tickled that I wrote them. I'm proud. It was a big learning curve as evidenced by the 12 hours I spent writing them.

But the next set of emails will come easier and with one or two more repetitions they will flow like a gentle stream.

It's interesting when you tap into that present state of being and you work on a task. It stops being work. Work is "hard" for most people or at least society tells us it should be. When you're consciously in tune with this very moment there is no "hard". It takes some effort of course... but the effort is like softly petting your cat. That's the kind of effort I like!!

Other efforts I made today
  • email to Listdotcom.com
  • emailed apprentices
  • listened to yesterday's calls (still a bit painful...am letting that go!)
  • blog
  • handwriting
Now I am off to read some more "Hypnotic Writing" before my Holosync bedtime ritual. LOVE using my Holosync before I sleep by the way...I have the most lucid dreams. It's incredible!

Til tomorrow...

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Breakthroughs

I know I've written previously about moving outside of my comfort zone. Every day there is something new to expand and stretch me. And naturally my mind resists and then it becomes difficult..even painful.

Busting out of wherever you are at is a breakthrough. It may not always be fun (I don't call anxiety, tears and nervousness fun) but the more you do it, the easier it becomes. Eventually I will move effortlessly from one level to another. How cool is that going to be??!! I know that will happen for me soon.

The first step in allowing those breakthroughs to come with ease and grace is realizing my mind is causing the discomfort, the tears and the anxiety. When I see that, it's quite easy to let it go.

Granted I often can only let go of that discomfort for a few minutes..sometimes only a few moments but still, I can let go. With time and practice I will be able to let go much easier. One day I won't even have to let go..it will simply happen. It's called being. It's a blissful state, one I love very much!

Most of today however was not so blissful for me. Try as I might (and yes I only tried..I didn't DO and that caused my problems), I kept falling down the spiral instead of going up. I was frustrated, anxious, worried and on several occasions I cried. I think my inner child really likes the old comfort zone. Too bad!! I HATE it so it's being replaced and she's just gonna have to deal with it. :)

My distress came in the form of a new task: sequential emails. I had to write a series of five emails to our database to inform them of a gift we have for them. Sounds simple right? It is... when you get in the right mindset. The emails were meant to build on each other and tell a story. How hard could it be to tell a story about a man who made a million dollars in his business in under 3 years? There's lot of good fodder in that right?! Of course there is but I avoided it. I thought I knew another way to write these emails. I didn't and I struggled.

After my second set of incorrect emails (total time spent: 8 hours) I had to walk away. I went to the gym but class was cancelled. I ate dinner, played with my dog, walked some video footage online..anything to get my mind OFF my task. I was too entangled in my own mind to see things clearly.

A few hours later I sat down and wrote 7 parts of the story in 7 emails. It flowed fairly naturally and without a great deal of effort. Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes. It would've been about 40 minutes if I had read the story before I had to write the emails.

Now I am exhausted. I put in almost 9.5 hours of work when about 2 hours would've sufficed. You always need time to educate yourself before writing plus time to actually write.

Before I dragged myself through the quicksand of that email task, I did send an email to 9 new apprentices. The high response rate is from our new apprentice web page:

http://www.ZeroToProfitASAP.com/apprentice.html.

Other than that, I didn't get much done and I've got plenty of tasks to move on. So I'm going to wrap up for the night with my handwriting, my Holosync meditation and go to sleep.

I'm beat.

Til tomorrow...

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Downward Spiral

There are two ways your emotions can go..up or down. They run along a continuum or a spiral. At the top are love, joy and appreciation and at the very bottom is fear and despair.

Each day..each moment we have a choice to operate out of love, joy and appreciation or out of fear and despair. Usually we fall somewhere along that spiral and it's up to each individual person to recognize an upward spiral or a downward spiral.

Today I took myself on a downward spiral. I'm curious about why that happened but after an afternoon of feeling anxious, sad, and worried I realized I was heading down, down and down.

So I chose to go up. I was stressing about a few emails I was crafting and was feeling panicky and anxious about whether or not I was on the right track. And after getting tired of those "bad" feelings I decided to go up.

I wasn't sure how to spiral upward and I stayed in that thought for awhile. Eventually the idea came to me that my worry was ridiculous. It wasn't the end of the world if I wrote the copy incorrectly or went down the "wrong" path. I was working myself into a tizzy for nothing! And it was silly. My actions were silly.

What do you do when something is silly? You laugh. So I chuckled and then I laughed til my tummy hurt. It picked me right up and I was heading on the upward spiral again.

The nosedive down came on easier than it had in the past so I pondered that for awhile too. It may related to Holosync. I am experimenting with using it at different times in the day. Today I listened first thing in the morning. I felt invigorated and rejuvenated but I do wonder if the Holosync opened me up emotionally. I'll try it in the morning tomorrow and see if the downward spiral happens again. If it does I'll switch to late afternoon or just before bed. Experimenting is fun. Learning every day is fun!

So in addition to the emails I was telling you about, I listened to a few calls several times, contacted two potential apprentices, sent out an email to Listdotcom.com and did this entry. I'm going to finish up my handwriting and listen to one more call before bed.

Til tomorrow...

Monday, March 26, 2007

Are You A Zombie or Are You In Love?

I sure have been and I think..scratch that...I believe most people are zombies.

No I don't mean the voodoo-almost-dead type. I mean most of us go through life in a trancelike state. We keep our volumes turned down to the lowest setting possible.

And most of us don't even know it.

The few who do often only glimpse life at the higher volume settings and only in certain moments. I've taken myself out of that trance in different scenarios like rock climbing and when I run more than my usual 4 miles (or 5 or 6...etc).

So what if we could find that same feeling in every moment of every day? What would life be like then?

I'll tell you what it would be like...there would be only joy, love and appreciation. There is no suffering in the moment or if there is it's only for that very moment and then it's gone.

For me personally my pain has usually been derived from past experiences or anxiety about future events. Living in the moment, existing in only the present eliminates the past and doesn't even consider the future. It's a wonderful state..it's simply being. Being here, being now and not thinking..just existing. Thoughts flow easier, energy levels increase, senses are heightened.

It is very much like the first blush of love...personally I haven't fallen like that in over 8 years but I did today! I fell in love with me. I was about to say I fell in love with me all over again but I'm not sure that's entirely true. I think today may be the first day I've ever fully loved myself. I'm amazing! I'm incredible! And I am a beautiful creation in this glorious universe.

We all are...we just have to believe that and it's true. It is like seeing yourself for the first time. I think I'm even prettier today than I was yesterday. ;)

Pretty cool huh?! I think so! That is how I spent most of my day - learning to fall in love with Lara.

And I fully intend to love me every day from here to infinity and beyond.

Naturally I did a few other things like write copy. I crafted a new OTO for

http://www.zerotoprofitasap.com/?item=6

And I also...
  • Listened to Holosync! YAY! My first level arrived today.
  • Blog entry
  • Read quite a few emails/web sites for my swipe files
  • Contacted our apprentice with his second assignment
  • Handwriting assignment for me
  • Watched The Secret
In other news I'm considering moving over to WordPress so I can easily add a blogroll and ads. I'm somewhat familiar with that technology and it seems easier to market my blog using that setup. Now I've got to figure out the easiest, fastest and simplest way to move!

Til tomorrow...

Sunday, March 25, 2007

The Apprentice

As a regular follower of my blog you know Sunday night is The Apprentice..required viewing as an apprentice.

I've watched regularly for the past month and have learned valuable lessons from every show. The last two weeks I've learned one simple rule: you are only as good as your team.

The last two Sundays Mr. Trump has fired two remarkable individuals because their teams faltered. These two people were the project leaders; they were responsible for their teams and their team's projects.

It shows you how important it is when choosing to add someone to your team...that's why our apprentices go through the 90 day program just as I am. I wouldn't have it any other way! Those 90 days will make or break anyone. It's already broken plenty of people. I am optimistic we will attract some successful candidates though! They are out there and soon they'll be onboard with us.

Stick around and you'll experience their success too!

Til tomorrow...

Day 28 - Quick Update

Just a quick recap on what I've been up to today...
  • one apprentice added to the program
  • sent email to Listdotcom.com
  • watched Against The Ropes (excellent movie!)
  • reviewed info on how to make money as a blogger
  • write edits for ZTPA.com's apprenticeship page
  • write email to other database
  • handwriting
  • blog

The last four things aren't done so I've got to wrap them up before I watch The Secret and The Apprentice tonight. Busy Sunday!

Yay!

Til tomorrow...

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Day 27 - Mind Games

Today I saw a pattern I have: turning away just before success.

The last day or two I've been worrying about money (another pattern I have) and wondering how I'm going to pay some bills that are due in the next few weeks.

There's a pretty obvious answer to that concern...generate some income from ZTPA.com and our current members. It's the easiest solution. But it wasn't my first thought..it actually took a few minutes before I realized that was the obvious resolution. And it isn't because I don't believe in what we are doing - I definitely do. I am just learning to believe in myself as a copywriter. It's been a long time since I've felt confident, strong and secure in myself. I'm getting there though, I definitely am. So because I lack that belief I turn away from success just before I get there. I won't turn away this time. I will persevere...I will push through.

Since it's Saturday I only did a little bit of work. I clarified some things on the web page we need to build for our apprenticeship program, scanned 10 days of handwriting assignments and read some copy in our swipe files.

It's been a fun day!

Til tomorrow...

Friday, March 23, 2007

Day 26 - Beating Myself Up

I'm so utterly exhausted with my repeated incidents of self-abuse! Mentally I beat myself up every chance I get..or rather I used to. I'm aware of it now and I'm changing that. It's just too darn tiring and unfulfilling. It just isn't worth it. That file is being tossed in the trash bin!!

Thanks..I just wanted to get that off my chest. It's been rolling around in my head all day!

Today is Friday and we've decided Fridays are training days. It's nice to have the calls on Friday and let them sink in over the weekend.

We were scheduled to have 3 training calls but we only had one. And that's ok, we'll just reschedule and move forward. I think 3 would've been too many and we would've worked ourselves far too hard.

Other than our one team meeting I did a few other things...
  • sent email to Listdotcom.com
  • got the ball rolling on a new web page for our apprentice program
  • requested edits to some of the other web pages
  • wrote draft for an email
  • listened to our team call for today
  • downloaded several other calls so I can listen to them every day
  • handwriting
  • blog

And that's it. I'm going to upload some of my past handwriting assignments tonight and then continue enjoying Joe Vitale's Hypnotic Writing book.

Woo hoo!!! What a great day.

Til tomorrow...

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Day 25 - A Celebration

In all the excitment of my fantastic tasks yesterday I forgot to add this very interesting discovery.

I'm in my 53rd day of my apprenticeship...my program runs for 90 days. I realized my last 2 days fall during my trip to Mexico at the end of April. I signed up for this trip back in January..about 2 weeks before I became an apprentice. What a way to celebrate right?! I've made some amazing changes in my life and they should be celebrated. I should be celebrated so I'm going to by spending 7 beautiful days on the white sandy beaches of Cozumel.

It might sound like the timing of this trip is a coincedence but it isn't. Even though I hadn't become an apprentice when I booked this trip, my mind knew what was coming and it knew this would be the best way to pat myself on the back. Think about that for a little while.

It ties into the task I was telling you about yesterday..writing your life's story. A trip to Cozumel and days of snorkeling and scuba diving is definitely the way I would've chosen to celebrate my 90 days as an apprentice. Somewhere in my mind I knew that so the wheels were already in motion before I began my copywriting journey.

It is a concept that may take some processing..it took a bit before I could wrap my brain around it. But it's interesting so let your subconscious ponder it.

And while your subconscious does that I'll tell you what I did the rest of today.
  • webinar training on Central Desktop
  • planned my recap for a conference call on the webinar training
  • wrote agenda for the recap
  • scheduled conference calls
  • blog entry
  • handwriting
  • sent email to one database
At one point today I felt guilty. I felt guilty because I wasn't working more. In essence I felt guilty because my day felt too easy. What a silly thing to feel!! Completely unnecessary. It's interesting that at times I still feel like things must be difficult...otherwise I feel like I'm not accomplishing anything. Let's remove that file!!

I also listened to an interview with Hale Dwoskin and Bill Harris at The Masters of The Secret. I really enjoy the lessons. I learn something new from each interview..usually much more than just one teaching or perspective. If you're interested you can sign up for the free lessons here...

(http://www.themastersofthesecret.com)

That's it for me! I'm off to read Dr. Joe Vitale's Hypnotic Writing for awhile. I love his work!

Til tomorrow...

Day 25 - Talk To Me

Hey everyone,

I've added some new features to the blog. Check them out...they are on your right side of the screen. Let me know what you think! You can add a comment or send me an email on the forms below. You can click the comments link..or send me an email with the envelope icon. Choose one and send me a note. Thanks all!

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Day 24 - The Best Assignments Ever!

Every day I have fun tasks like writing this blog. I enjoy everything I do but today I had the enviable tasks of writing my life story one year from now and test driving my new car.

When you believe you create your own life you allow yourself the ability to create anything you desire. So why not write the best story you can imagine? Make your life the most amazing and wonderful tale ever told.

One of my tasks was to write my life as I see it one year from today. I wrote a three page detailed description of each event in a day of my life. I wrote a fantastic day! I have a talented team of copywriters working for me, a wonderful home with a lovely garden in the back, a significant other who treats me like the queen I am, a happy little dog to keep my company every day, my favorite BMW and the ranch of my dreams tucked away in the Colorado mountains. It was perfect as it should be!

My other fun task was to test drive the car I want. You've read about my prosperity jars. One of the jars is the long-term savings which I'm using to buy a new BMW. I had thought I wanted a Z4 but hadn't driven one yet. I had never driven a BMW actually...I've just wanted one for the last 10 years. So today I went to a local dealership to test drive the Z4 and see how I could get it.

It took a bit of courage I have to admit. My mind argued with me that I had no business being there because I couldn't afford a BMW. Thank heavens I'm only hearing the words and I'm not giving them credence. My mind's arguments don't have validity and I know it. So when I hear those thoughts, I simply discard them and replace them with positive thoughts like "I'm a world class copywriter." Yes sometimes it takes a few repetitions but other times the negative thoughts easily slide through and the positive ones just fall into place.

Anyway, I eventually made my way into the dealership and chatted with one of the salesmen. Even shopping at a BMW dealership is an experience. I bought my old car about 6 years ago and it was exhausting. The salesmen were pushy and aggressive...not at all like the BMW dealership.

Tony, my new BMW friend, showed me a Roadster and a Z4. We test drove the Roadster and it was fun but too small. I have an SUV right now and I love the size. I also love the height of my current car...since I'm only 5'1" it makes me feel tall! So we chatted a bit. I told him I was also considering buying an FJ Cruiser. He suggested driving the X3 which is BMW's SUV.

I loved it!!! It is my next car. And the best part of all? It's damn near free! If I lease the X3, my company can write off each payment. However if I buy the car, I can only write off up to $18,000 of the purchase price.

So as president of my company I have decided it is a wise business decision to lease the X3 as our company car.

I have to verify everything with my accountant but if he gives me the green light that is the path we are taking! Isn't that exciting??? A car I've wanted for 10 years is within my reach. Wow!

Oh! And the other fun thing I did today was leverage my jars. I borrowed from my LTS jar to buy the Holosync technology. It will be here in 2-3 days! Hold on tight! If you think you've seen changes thus far (I think we have!!) it's nothing compared to what Holosync is going to do. It actually changes your brain waves and thus changes your thought patterns. Or at least that's how I understand it. In essence if you don't like your thoughts but have had difficulty changing your thoughts Holosync makes it easier. I'm thrilled! Can you tell?!

So aside from those very fun assignments I worked on other cool projects like
  • a welcome email for our new members
  • blog entry
  • handwriting
  • Listdotcom.com email sent
  • bought a new laptop

My oh my that was a big day! So much excitement..I'm so curious to see what will happen next.

Til tomorrow...

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Day 23 - Is Hard Work Really Better?

Today was another easy day...part of me still thinks it was too easy. And then I wonder why I think that. When did someone instill in me that harder is better? I'm going to toss that file out of my brain. No, I'm not GOING to toss...I AM tossing it!

I grew up under my father's wing and he works hard. I'm sure that's where my notions come from. He works very hard...much the same as the average American. For him it has paid off well but the same isn't true of everyone. There are hundreds of people struggling to make ends meet. Thousands of people who are two or three missed paychecks away from bankruptcy. I see it every day when those people walk through my downstairs and into my roommate's law office to discuss their bankruptcy options. It's a startling thought and I feel for them.

So I choose to be more, to do more and to live more. I want wonderful things without having to go to a cubicle each morning and count the minutes til I can go home. I will work effectively and efficiently...in other words I choose to work smarter and NOT harder!

I want to retire at 40. I want to work 30 hours a week and take vacations every month...during which my bank account grows even though I'm not doing a darn thing! I want all of that and much, much more. I believe this is the path I am finally on...the easy path.

The easy path doesn't mean there's no energy or exertion. It simply means being smarter about how you do things and leveraging other people...taking advantage of them. :) I believe in taking advantage of others to their benefit. I'm excited to have apprentices to take advantage of so they can discover the joys of copywriting and I can show them an easier way to live. Isn't that a wonderful way to take advantage of someone??! I'm eager for that opportunity. And they will take advantage of me and my knowledge. They will fully utilize me as a source and a tool for their betterment. Cool huh?!

Until that day comes (and it will soon), I spend my days writing copy, organizing and moving forward.

Today I stayed close to my 5 hour work day...I was at about 6 hours. I did quite a few things.

  • rewrote the copywriting service fees (finally ready!)
  • rewrote the Welcome Email for new members (again..finally ready!)
  • listened to Friday's call
  • wrote agenda for Apprenticeship Program Conf Call
  • prepared weekly items to cover in team meeting on Friday..I'm keeping a daily tab of my tasks and projects so I can easily gather them in one place for our Friday calls
  • blog
  • handwriting
And that's it! I've got to write my daily task list for tomorrow and then write my five words 100x yet. I will be done by 8pm! 8 is great compared to yesterday's 12am! Yahooo!!!!

Til tomorrow...

Monday, March 19, 2007

Day 22 - Monday is Fun Day!

A lot of people call Mondays moan days. They moan that they have to go back to work. Not me!

But if you look back at most of my Monday posts they have described how exhausting and difficult those days were for me. And even though I knew it was simply a matter of mental perspective, it was still tough for me to find that groove again.

Not today! Today was much better than any other Monday I've had since becoming an apprentice.

Most Mondays I feel nervous, anxious and agitated...but not today! I woke up excited for the day to start, eager to wrap up my tasks and jump on the next projects. It was a refreshing and welcome change for a Monday!

That being said I still hit a block late this afternoon. I was tackling a task (one that is going to make me money I might add) and I went about it the hard way. I knew it too. I felt drained shortly into the project but I couldn't step outside myself to see the easy way. So I labored on for awhile and eventually got assistance to get back on track. At least I'm gaining awareness and soon I will be see the easy way clearly.

Today I accomplished a variety of tasks:
  • rescheduled conference calls
  • sent out an email to one of our databases
  • rewrote copy for web site
  • rewrote copy for copywriting fees
  • handwriting
  • blog entry
  • trip to the bank

I have a few things I'm stuck on and will need help with tomorrow. But we're making great progress! It's terrific.

Til tomorrow...

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Day 21 - Leisurely Sunday

Today has been a slow and leisurely Sunday for me. I enjoy sleeping in and slowly awakening on the weekends. This morning was idyllic in that respect.

Today my main tasks have been the handwriting sample, this blog entry, watch The Apprentice and to read Speed Wealth by T Harv Eker. I haven't finished Speed Wealth but when I am, you'll be the first I will share my thoughts with! He has invaluable principles, tips and rules to making $1 million in any business in less than 3 years. I'm eager to learn them all!!

Til tomorrow...

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Day 20 - A Day Off

Happy St. Patty's Day! I'm taking the day off to enjoy local festivities and spend time with friends and their families. My evening will also include playing catch in the backyard with my friend's German Shepherd.

Enjoy your Saturday!!

Til tomorrow...

Friday, March 16, 2007

Day 19 - Team Building

Today...like everday... was interesting. My morning ritual is to write a list of the things I plan to accomplish that day. Somedays that list changes in the morning, somedays it changes in the afternoon and somedays it doesn't change at all. Today the list changed completely thanks to our first team conference call. our first team building exercise!

The call was intense as foreign tasks usually are but it was a lot of fun too. Our calls will become weekly events which is terrific. It's great to know what everyone is doing and to learn about the facets of our project(s).

I also think it's interesting that I feel a stronger team/colleague connection now then I have before. It's even more fascinating that people still ask me "are you going to get a real job?" I know they don't intend to sound insulting but that is my initial reaction. And then I take a moment, step back and realize they have a certain idea of what a "job" is and my idea is quite different. I don't want a job. I don't even want a career. I want a passion and a lifelong pursuit of greatness. For the first time ever I am on that road and I am thankful.

But back to my day...after our conference call I worked on a few administrative tasks and realized I was exhausted. So we talked about deadlines and decided to relax some of the pressure I was putting on myself to finish at a certain time. We agreed to see how I would respond to an open deadline. I decided to take the afternoon off and take my roommate's dog to the park. And it was blissful. Colorado has the most incredible weather. We have over 300 days of sunshine a year! 300!!! I'll unabashedly admit that was my #1 reason for moving here. LOTS of sunshine so when I have a chance to enjoy it, I grab it. And Emmitt the dog was pleased with my choice.

Tonight I'm just going to finish my blog entry and my handwriting assignment. That's it. At some point I'll jump back on our recorded call and rewrite copy. We'll see when that happens. Right now I'm allowing myself to relax, to be comfortable with an open deadline and to remove the pressure I so frequently put on myself.

I'm curious as to why I put that pressure there. It's something my subconscious is going to explore for me and we'll uncover those reasons in the future. That's one of the lessons from yesterday...how to see a pattern in your own behavior, ponder it (say "I'm curious about that..") and to look for the underlying reasons for that behavior. If you don't see the reasons immediately just hand it off to your subconscious and come back to it. I've done enough work for the day so at this point my subconscious is going to handle my self-imposed pressure behavior pattern!! We'll revisit it.
Happy Friday.
Til tomorrow...

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Day 18 - Whew!

Wow what a day. I'm still wrapping my brain around all the new concepts, foreign thoughts and quantums I was exposed to today.

I'm going to have to tell you more in the future..they are still zig-zagging around in my brain and haven't settled into coherent thoughts or structures. I'd like to say I'll explain them tomorrow or the next day but I won't guarantee that. More than likely you will see them unfold in me and in my life and I'll explain as they do.

They could all form and transform me by tomorrow. Who knows? Come back and find out with me!

Til tomorrow...

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Day 17 - Success or Failure? It Depends on How You View It

I spent my morning listening to a call we recorded last night. I listened to it 3 times for a total of 3.5 hours. There were so many lessons, concepts and values to absorb.

One of the most vital lessons I learned was about perspective. We can choose to interpret an experience in any way. It is up to us and how we want to see things. Even when something appears to be a failure there is a positive side. There is a way to turn it into success. All you have to do is flip your perspective. And there is a lesson to learn.

In our recording I heard a story about how earning $15,000 for a week's work was perceived as a failure. Wow! I'd take $15,000 for a month's work!!! But when the expected outcome of that experience was closer to several million it is easy to see how anyone could only see failure.

I was also listening to a recording of Bill Harris and Lisa Nichols (from The Secret). Bill was talking about an experience he had back in the 1970s. He inherited about $7500 and invested it in the stock market. Shortly after his investment, he lost it all. Every penny. $7500 was the most money he'd ever had and he was devastated (I would've been too). But today Bill makes quite a lot (he's a multimillionaire) and he said without having lost that original $7500 he wouldn't be able to manage his wealth today. Interesting isn't it? As long as we don't get too stuck in perceiving something as "good" or "bad" or a "failure" we will gain insight and knowledge from the experience.

I can tell you personally every situation I have perceived as a "failure" in the past (being laid off, having been fired, etc) turned into an incredible opportunity I would've missed otherwise.

It's something to think about when life hands you a lemon.


Other things I did today:
  • wrote copy for a welcome email for our new members
  • wrote copy for our silver membership upgrade
  • wrote copy for our Earn Money page
  • handwriting
  • blog entry
  • email to database
And that was it! It was a great day.

Til tomorrow...

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Day 16 - Lessons Learned

Another day, another learning experience..well many actually! I am learning to better understand people based on what they show me through their words.

There is a group I have emailed to regularly about my progress as an apprentice copywriter. Some of those members have opted out of the list, some have responded positively to my daily stories and some have simply ignored me.

One person asked to get into the program and they then moved through the first step. The second step was assigned and they didn't want to do it. They saw it as a waste of time and pointless...their email to me said as much. It was said in much more vulgar terms but that was their message to me.

After some discussion, I was able to see and interpret this person's response. They see everything as "someone trying to sell them something". They have a problem with promotion and sales. It would be difficult for this person to become a copywriter. Copywriting sells. That's it's purpose. And as a copywriter you must believe in what you sell. If you don't, your audience will know and they won't trust you, they won't be interested.

Our words convey our emotions. That is a valuable lesson I learned - along with how to read someone very quickly!

Other tasks completed:
  • lots more promo tools copy!
  • Apprentice Solo Ad went out
  • blog
  • group email
The big news was our Solo Ad for the web site...it went out this morning. We bought advertising to pump traffic into the site. And we sure did! There are new members in our site so our next step is get those members to take action. We'll be sending emails to them with regularity now.

It's fun! I love learning how everything fits into the big picture. It is a puzzle and I'm seeing more and more of the pieces. I'm fascinated with how it all works together.

There were many lessons learned today like the one I mentioned above.

I also learned how to look at things in different perspectives. We can choose to see something as a failure based on our expectations and our interpretations or we can interpret it in a positive way, gather our knowledge and experience and move forward. Moving forward with that knowledge, experience & learned lesson is the easiest way to continue to grow and progress personally and professionally.

I choose to move forward!

Til tomorrow...

Monday, March 12, 2007

Day 15 - It's Coming Together

As much as I enjoy the weekend, it was good to get back to things today.

Here's what I did:
  • wrote a lot of copy for the promo tools area
  • wrote an intro JV letter
  • handwriting
  • blog
It doesn't like much does it? You should check out the site (www.ZeroToProfitASAP.com) and see all the promo tools. There's a lot in there!!! It took almost the entire afternoon but it was fun. I swiped a lot of the copy and just edited a few words to fit our site. It was sooooo easy!!!

It's interesting to observe myself in all of this. Despite that it feels so easy my mind still fits me sometimes. I have very real physical symptoms as I move forward. I've begun to recognize them so I know when I'm moving to another level and moving out of my comfort zone. I sometimes sweat. At times I feel queasy and my stomach churns nervously. I even get the shakes. It's incredible that our minds have that much power.

So instead of getting frustrated or upset with myself, I just remember that my mind is powerful and now I'm controlling it..not the other way around. Well at least most of the time. I am so thankful that I understand that now and I apply it in my life. It's an empowering feeling!

Til tomorrow....

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Day 14 - The Spa

I had a blissful Sunday afternoon! I visited Woodhouse Day Spa for an hour-long aromatherapy deep tissue massage. It was everything I needed! And it was all thanks to me, courtesy of my play jar. It was lovely. I am quite sleepy now actually.

After the massage I had money left over in my play jar. When you dip into the play jar, you have to blow it all at once. So I had to take myself out to lunch. Tough work huh?! :) I picked up my favorite sushi. After I bought it I had a quarter left over. Like I said when you dip into the play jar, you have to spend it all. So I drove to a few places to look for something to buy for a quarter. Eventually I found a lollipop and bought it. Woo hoo! My day was complete.

Other things I did today:
  • send out email to Listdotcom.com database
  • send out email to other database
  • blog entry
  • handwriting
  • recorded audio for squeeze page
Tomorrow morning I begin the copy for our joint venture program! We've got some great ideas flowing. I can't wait to see the results.

Stay with me, it'll be fun!

Til tomorrow...

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Exhaustion - Day 13

Well today was going to be a slow day for me. It was really my day off but it didn't work out that way.

Instead I got to write a 30 word ad that will be seen by some world-class gurus! It was very exciting..when it was done. Getting it done though? A bit frustrating! I hadn't written a 30 word ad before. I know it sounds easy..it's only 30 words right? How tough could that be? I'll tell you - very tough. And it was difficult for one reason: I hadn't done it before. As you do things you learn the easy way to do them. But I usually don't figure out the easy way the first few times I take on an activity. ;)

Well eventually I got it..after many, many revisions. I was proud of the final product! I know we'll get some great results.

And that's all the work I did aside from my usual handwriting and blog entry. Now I'm signing off to clean my house, eat some dinner and watch movies! Enjoy your day.

Til tomorrow...

Friday, March 9, 2007

One More Thing - Day 12

One more thing before I shut down my computer for the day. I just finished the ad below. It took me about a day to write and revise. I think it's great!

Check it out:

Headline: If you're making less than $300 an hour, you're not doing this.

Dear {first_name}:

Have you always wanted to make money the easy way? Do you believe with the right guidance you will succeed?

If you have the desire and the will to succeed you can make your efforts pay off big.

There's a simple way to do it..copywriting.

Good copywriters get rich when they create wealth for businesses. So you can see why good copywriters are in high demand!

So how do you get started? How can you become a great copywriter?

The fastest way is to study with someone successful. Learn how they did it and avoid the mistakes. Easy right?!

It is! There are lots of programs out there that cancharge anywhere from $100 to $1,000 a month. For your money, you usually get some study guides and a few tips but not a lot of personal guidance.

You'll find that our program is different. You have direct access to our team of experts. Learn from people who started where you are and made it big.

At this point most people would be thinking what's this the program all about? What are they offering?

This is a program anyone can afford. The only payment is your effort.

Now you're probably wondering can this program really be that good if they aren't charging money?

Oh we will be! As the apprenticeship program develops the pricetag will be comparative to others out there. Right now we're systemizing and putting the pieces together. You can get in on the ground floor. Be a part of our team as we move up to the big leagues.

Do you want to be on our team?

When you join us you need three things.

An open mind
A positive attitude
A strong work ethic

When you bring these three traits we'll show you how to succeed. With our guidance you will manifest the life you've always dreamed of.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity you will not find elsewhere.

Get started, take action. Send your full name and email address to copywritingapprentice@wingame.biz. And we'll start the selectionprocess.

To your greatness,


Mark Myszak
Win Game Ventures, Inc.

P.S. This offer won't be around forever so act now!

Baby I'm a Star! Day Twelve

Today was quite a success. I spent about 2.5 hours of my morning recording an audio clip for our site. Check it out here.

Isn't that terrific?! I had so much fun doing it! I've already started sending that link out to my family and friends. It's amazing to think of how far I've come in only 6 weeks. Incredible! I'm so happy with myself.

And I'm so happy with the site! We're making a lot of progress and I'm so excited to see what's going to happen. It's going to be great I know it!

The rest of my day was spent revising copy for a new ad we're sending out. We're looking for more apprentices. I'd like to have a few copies of me to help with all my tasks.

I also managed a few other minor administrative tasks and tonight I have to wrap up our apprentice ad, my handwriting and this blog.

I'm a bit tired so that's all I've got for today!

Til tomorrow...

It's Getting Easier - Day 11

Remember how I spent 6 hours doing the wrong task yesterday? Remember how frustrated I was? Today was much better. I did however still spend a lot of time doing the right task but doing it wrong...well not wrong, I did it the hard way!

We're recording an audio clip for the site (www.ZeroToProfitASAP.com). And my task was to read the page and record it. Sounds easy right? Not when the text takes up 37 pages. So I spent 4 hours recording the page.

As I did, I continued to think..there must be an easier way to do this, there has to be! It just took too darn long to read through all of that text (2 hours at a crack). But I did one complete run through and recorded it. It wasn't great but I had one rehearsal under my belt.

We discussed what to do next. Much to my chagrin, during our discussion I realized I should've recapped the copy and bulleted out the highlights. Basically it we needed about 4 minutes of audio. 4 hours vs. 4 minutes - which would you prefer?! I prefer the 4 minutes!!!

I just laughed and mentally made a few notes on what to include in those 4 minutes. At least after reading the entire copy I know what highlights to hit! It will make the final recording much much easier. I'll wrap it up tomorrow morning. :)

Other things I did today:
  • Finished the Solo Ad (going out to lots and lots and lots of people tomorrow!!!)
  • Kolbe A (www.Kolbe.com) it's not just a cheese! That was fascinating. I'll go into my results in greater detail later on.
  • opened a new account for my personal development expenses
  • paid myself for our new referrals
  • wrote out my give check to Denver's MLK Fund (so happy to be a part of that!!!)
  • wrote out a check to my financial freedom fund (so happy about that!!!)
  • handwriting task
  • blog entry
  • sent email to group
I still need to do this stuff:
  • send the adSense campaign material to our web guy
  • upload my handwriting samples
  • reply to emails
  • review my tools folder
  • review fees for services
  • and whole lots more!

But it's 12:43am and I think it's time to get to sleep!

Til tomorrow....

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

I was so frustrated - Day Ten

Today started off relatively well. We had our usual morning conference call and I set about my most vital task of the day: writing a solo ad to bring in more apprentices.

At least that's what I thought my task was. I spent 1.5 hours planning each step of the task (and learning all about our new toy: Central Desktop. It's a virtual office space where teams share their files, their tasks, etc. It's fun! So I taught myself a few new things on it during my planning portion of the day).

For three hours after my planning, I worked on the ad. I grabbed a swipe file about apprenticeshop programs for copywriters (didn't find much of anything good). I wrote, rewrote, read outloud, reread and recorded myself reading the ad. I was all set..a bit tired but it was at least to the point we could begin the real revisions.

When we got on the conference call at 6pm and we discovered I had spent an entire day working on the wrong project. We needed a solo ad for our Information Marketing Bootcamp (ZeroToProfitASAP.com). So I had in effect wasted an entire afternoon. And I worked hard I will tell you. I made it much harder than it really was.

I was so upset with myself..I was angry, frustrated and disappointed. Mark heard it in my voice. He said our minds will play tricks on us to keep us where we are and to make us continue doing things the way we've always done them (the hard way). And I've always beaten myself up over mistakes. I don't do that to anyone else..just myself. I'm sure most people are like me in that respect.

So do you know what he made me do? I had to go look in the mirror and laugh at myself..laugh til I cried.

I did it. I laughed and laughed and laughed...for almost 10 minutes. It felt good. I felt good. In fact, I felt 1,000 times better than I had just moments before!

It lifted the weight right off of my shoulders and I cried tears of joy..not frustration or anger.

I then wrote the correct solo ad in an hour. And I think it turned out pretty good! I'm sure we'll tear it apart and rebuild it but that's ok. I'm proud of what I did!

The moral of the story: laugh it off, whatever it is. If your life didn't end it's not that bad.

In addition to the solo ad, I uploaded Google AdSense to my blog (as you can probably see!) . I spent an hour uploading it to my blog. Ok in reality it will take you 10 minutes. When you know what you're doing. I didn't. I asked someone to help me. He didn't know either. Instead of fumbling around for an hour, I should've googled my problem and got the instructions. Eventually I got those instructions so now you can see those lovely ads!

I also uploaded two more documents to Desktop Central that need approval and I did my blog entry for the day (obviously) as well as my handwriting.

And now I've got a few little tasks to finish up. Time to get to bed so I can run in the morning.

Til tomorrow...

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Day Nine - Some Days It Comes Easy

After the struggle I had just to get my head on right yesterday, today was a comparative walk in the park. Most things came easily and with little effort..save for one.

I signed up for my own adCenter account. I was going to run my own campaign and we were going to test it against our original campaign. We wanted to see what keywords the spiders would approve in our new landing page copy versus what a person approved. It will help us improve the process for our affiliates.

Something must have happened while I was adding my own account because we lost our keywords in the original campaign. One minute they were there, the next they were gone!

I was quite upset because I thought I had caused it. Lost keywords meant lost money. I tried to find the keywords file on my own but couldn't. Our next step was to call Microsoft adCenter and find out what had happened. Our usual contact wasn't available and the woman I spoke with wasn't much help. She did her best to empathize but couldn't offer solutions.

Fortunately I had had the sense to save our keywords on my computer. After a little more digging (and a lot of deep breathing!!), I found them. I got the bid price per keyword and loaded them to our campaign.

We decided to go ahead and run another campaign with my ads. My ads were written a bit differently but we used the same keywords. So that's what I did. I'll let you know our progress as it unfolds! I'm excited to see our results and to see the money that follows. It is a simple and
almost effortless process. Naturally I managed to find a few bumps along the way but that's all
the better. Now I know what our affiliates may run into and I know how to help them! What often seems to be a hurdle is really just a learning block.

The secret lies in interpreting the experience. If we see it as a hurdle, it is. If we see it as a learning opportunity, it is! It is that simple.

I spent the majority of the afternoon on the adCenter campaign. Here are the other things I accomplished today:

The most fun I had this morning was going to the bank. Thanks to balancing out my contingency fund and my dog-sitting over the weekend I now have $85 to add to my financial freedom fun! I have $85 to play with, I have another $85 to add to my long-term savings (I'm saving for an FJ Cruiser!!) and I have $42.50 to give away!!! I can't wait to donate that money. I love giving.

The financial freedom fund is cool. I've only added sporadically to mine in the past. I've had a few jobs where I've had a 401(k) and I've always given as much as I could to that. Usually I only had that job for 6 months or a year. And when I didn't have the job, I didn't contribute to my fund. Now it's I am committed to giving 10% of all I recieve. Cool!

I also spent some time late last night looking at spas. I'm making an appointment for an hour long massage and paying for it with my play money. I'm also going to give a tip out of my give jar. I don't treat myself to spa days..don't think I ever have so this is going to be wonderful! I hope I can get in on Saturday and make it a full day of pampering. :)

After the bank, I uploaded my handwriting scans and we had our morning conference call to keep things moving. After the adCenter campaign, I rewrote some copy for one of our team members. I uploaded that and moved on to the next task which was writing copy to snag some help for me.

I wrote copy for a call for apprentices. We're going to traffic it in forums and see who we can get. I need help! I need transcription work done, I need someone to bounce my procedures off of and see if they explain things clearly.

There is more work than I want to do alone. Besides, it's good feedback for me. I've always found that teaching and guiding someone helps me to learn things fully. We learn by speaking, reading and writing. Our brain translates the information differently depending on the mode of interpretation. Teaching is speaking and sometimes writing as well. Showing someone how to do something allows us reiterate the things we know. And we often learn in the process.

Oh! And I also signed up for Google's AdSense so you'll start seeing ads on the blog soon. It's another revenue stream for me.

Now I'm off to finish up a few little things. I've got my handwriting assignment and a group email to send to my database. I may actually finish up before 10pm tonight. Then I'll tackle the pile of books I checked out from the library. I've got a few by Joe Vitale, Les Brown and Dan Kennedy. Good stuff!

Til tomorrow,

Lara

Monday, March 5, 2007

Day 8 - Mountains to Climb

There is something to be said for working on the weekends. It keeps me in the right mindframe. I could tell I had taken some down time over the weekend. I had a harder-than-usual time with concepts and getting my head right today.

But eventually I did. I spent most of the day tweaking our landing page to incorporate our rejected keywords. The more keywords we have the better our chances of having our ads pass. Once the ads pass we can bring in affiliates and start seeing money.

I do feel how I am not allowing money but sometimes I don't know how to change that. When I feel that way I just listen to a few calls and relax my mind. I do get frustrated with myself but I try to remember that as hard as it seems to change my mind, the harder it will be to ever go back! The mind is an incredibly powerful tool..our most valuable asset. And mine is strong. I'm just reprogramming it now.

And I'm going to add a few folks to my team. I'm barely keeping my head above water and it's only going to get more intense. I need some apprentices! I need help!! I will have to work 20 hours a day to accomplish everything. I like to eat and sleep most days so 20 hours is a bit much. :) Somehow I'll manage.

Here's what I did today:

  • rewrote launch page with keywords
  • called Microsoft adCenter
  • downloaded rejected keywords
  • wrote two disclaimers for launch page
  • did the handwriting assignment
  • wrote this entry
  • sent email to former apprentices
  • wrote statements of intent for my jars
What I didn't get done:
  • bank visit (tomorrow morning)
  • upload handwriting assignment (tomorrow morning)
  • browse the tools folder (tons of great stuff in there!)

So back to it - I've got to finish my handwriting assignment and writing my statements of intent for my jars. Fun stuff!

Til tomorrow....

Sunday, March 4, 2007

Sunday - Day Seven

One week! Woo hoo! I've been doing the happy dance almost daily it seems. And that makes me happy...hence the name of the dance!

Today was another light day. I reorganized the folder and did my handwriting assignment. I also uploaded a few days of handwriting that I hadn't submitted previously. Tonight I have some documentation I'm going to write.

And I will write my 10 additional ads by 10am tomorrow along with instructions for affiliates to use the ads. I'm just going to get something started and we'll fine tune the copy from there. It's key to simply start and get the ball rolling. It just grows from there. Because nothing has to be perfect we write the copy, tweak it and revamp what is necessary and get it up. Our responses tell us if the copy works or doesn't so it's best to get something out there and get those responses. We can't read minds so we take the easy route and simply respond to our responses. I like it! It's a weight off of my shoulders to know what I write doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be good enough. We always make changes down the road anyway.

It keeps things interesting to do it that way. It's fun to test out new headlines and other verbage.

Oh! The other task I had for today was to watch The Apprentice. I like this show. I will look into renting previous seasons on DVD. There's a lot to learn from each episode and I'm looking forward to watching more.

Til tomorrow...

Saturday, March 3, 2007

A Day of Rest

It's a Saturday and I've decided to only do a few things today. I'm tired and in need of a day to play. :) My hand is starting to tingle and my wrist is aching from too much time at the computer. My body wants to rest!

So today I emailed our database (3 referrals so far - YAY!), divided up my emergency fund jar and documented the procedure for emailing a database. I wrote my five words again. As I reviewed my emails I realized I haven't posted about 3 days worth of the writing assignment. Off to Kinko's tomorrow to scan those assignments and post them! And that's that.

Tomorrow I'll have better access to our FTP site so I can organize my folders. I will write more ads and document other procedures along with the usual handwriting and blog entry.

So cheerio and enjoy your Saturday.

Til tomorrow!

Friday, March 2, 2007

Day Five

Hello again.

I have yet to come up with a catchy headline. I'm a bit spent by the time I write these entries but that's just an excuse. I'll think about it before I go to sleep and I'll wake up with fresh ideas and creative energies.

Today was another day of adventure! Here is what I accomplished:

  • rewrote the headline and intro for SiteHunt.com
  • created a swipe file for that headline and intro blurb
  • wrote 10 ads for MSN AdCenter
  • followed up on several press releases (currently they are on hold)
  • logged 10 new referrals from yesterday's email (those 10 referrals more than doubled my total referrals to date!! YAY!!!)
  • conference call
  • compensation (must still be documented)
  • started reorganizing main copywriting folder
  • handwriting assignment
  • blog entry

And there's so much I haven't done yet!

  • Barbara Hemphill's organization techniques have to be studied (so I can better organize my files)
  • Step by step procedures have to be written for oodles of tasks from press releases to ad affiliates
  • Pay myself for those 10 new referrals
  • Reassess my emergency fund prosperity jar. It's off-balance from the others so I have to take some out and give to the other jars
  • Organize files in my folder on the server..they're a mess!

Well that's it from me. It's 11:30pm and I want to go to sleep. Organizing is a priority tomorrow.

Til tomorrow!

Thursday, March 1, 2007

Day Four

I'm thinking I need to come up with a better headline for each day..something more enticing than Day #X. That's kinda boring isn't it? I'll fix it tomorrow.

Remember how exhausted I was yesterday? I was amazed to find I was perky and alert this morning...even before my usual 2 cups of coffee. Today was yet another amazing day with remarkable breakthroughs and insights. I won't go into great detail on that side of things (you'll just have to wait for the course! How's that for a pre-plug?!) but I will give you the low-down on my tasks.

Here's how I spent my day:

  • sent out an email to 5,000 people.
  • downloaded Filezilla (very useful - I can now upload documents and they can be shared by the team. As a result, things will be more organized and won't be laying around in my Inbox folder. They will be archived however...always have back-ups and preferably back-ups of your backups).
  • wrote questions and templates for 5 press releases
  • finished 2 of those press releases (waiting on input from others for the remaining 3)
  • wrote new headline/blurb for Sitehunt.com
  • listened to call with Mark again for copy revisions and deeper insights
  • wrote blog entry
  • wrote handwriting assignment
  • started documented procedures
  • mulling over compensation options (currently thinking on this)
  • organized files (still plenty more to do)
  • wrote up-to-date receipts for all Prosperity Jars
  • mulling over job description and department (again thinking..have a little bit written down)

It was quite a day! I'm always surprised at much energy I have for these projects. It doesn't feel like a "job". It just feels like what my day revolves around. Maybe it's because this has helped me to change my mindset, my outlook and my perceptions. It is not a conventional "job" in that you go to an office and then you leave your "work" behind at 5pm. It filters into all the areas of my life and it feels so much more rewarding than anything else I've done.

Saying that I'm excited to see where this will go doesn't completely convey my outlook but at least it gives you the impression that I am having fun! And I am. :) I'm usually pretty tired at the end of the day but each day is so valuable and rewarding in its own right. There's nothing I like more than going to bed tired but happy at the end of every day. It's nice to feel that the previous 24 hours enhanced my life. I wasn't just existing, I was really living. It's a feeling like nothing else in the world!

Til tomorrow,

Lara