On Tuesday, I took my parents to the airport.

As we drove up, we joked about mom getting stopped by airport security. We had a good laugh. But little did we know how prescient our joking was: my mom was about to have an encounter with federal security agents.

You see, I had driven to my parents’ house to pick them up. As I waited for them to finish packing, I stood at the kitchen island. I noticed a couple boxes of old bullets on the counter.

Strange, I thought.

I picked up one of the boxes.

Unfortunately, the boxes were so old that the flaps didn’t stay closed any more. So even with a just a slight tilt, all the bullets came tumbling out.

Bullets have a way of scattering quickly when they collide with granite countertops and hardwood floors.

It Was a Mess…

And not the best timing either. My parents were in a hurry to get out the door.

Anyway, I gathered up all the bullets I could find, put them back in the box, and apologized to my dad. (Plus, I politely recommended he tape the boxes shut.)

I thought that was the end of the story. But, in fact, it was just the beginning.

I did not know it at the time, but my mom’s purse had been lying on the floor at my feet. And a few stray bullets had slipped inside.

So when my mom’s purse was passing through the x-ray machine, federal agents quickly pulled her aside for questioning. They detained her for more than an hour as they did the routine background check, interrogation, etc.

Thankfully, my parents came out clean. Plus, they had arrived early enough that they were still able to catch their flight — although they were a bit angry and frustrated with the whole situation.

Here’s the lesson:

Always Plan for the Unexpected!

Who could have ever imagined that such a sequence of events would play out like they did?

Not me.

And I guess that’s the point. In business — as in life — you need to always plan for the unexpected.

• What if you lose an anchor account?
• What if your market is hard-hit by the recession?
• What if an employee (or two, or three) unexpectedly quits?
• What if a vendor you rely on goes bankrupt?
• What if your merchant account gets shut down?

And so forth.

Always be anticipating what could go wrong in your business and plan accordingly.

You just never know when “bullets” may appear out of nowhere to try to shoot your business down.

-Ryan M. Healy

P.S. Speaking of bullets, I’ll be adding a new lesson about how to write bullets to Copywriting Code in the next week or two. Become a member now to get access to this new lesson — plus nearly 20 in-depth copywriting lessons that are already available.

If somebody wrongs you, it’s natural to be upset. And it’s natural to want some kind of retribution or revenge.

Just look at how we as a nation reacted to 9/11. Everybody wanted to take up arms and go kill some terrorists. (In fact, we’re still on a witch hunt, killing people in countries who had nothing to do with 9/11.)

We could have reacted differently. We could have turned the other cheek, forgiven the perpetrators, and earned the world’s respect.

Unfortunately, we showed our true colors. To our detriment, we proved we are not a forgiving people.

The reason I’m writing this post today is because it’s WAY too easy to get bent out of shape when you are wronged. It’s WAY too easy to hold a grudge and boil in your own venom.

There is a better way.

It’s called forgiveness.

Just yesterday I was reading a post by Internet lawyer Mike Young. He writes, “Everyone makes mistakes. If perfection is the standard by which marketers are to be measured, none would meet it.”

I totally agree.

So while I did “name names” in Internet Marketing on Life Support, I did it to protect unsuspecting people from what I consider egregious abuses of trust. It was not to imply that I or anybody else is perfect.

A Better Way to Respond

Personally, I’ve been ripped off by multiple clients in the past. Some to the tune of thousands of dollars.

Of course, I could have moped about it, spent time thinking of ways to get even. But that kind of behavior is totally unproductive and not gratifying in the least.

In each case, I’ve made changes to prevent the same situation from happening again, then shifted my attention toward finding new (and better) clients. It’s paid off.

My advice: Keep short accounts with people.

As King Solomon advised in Proverbs 19:11, “A man’s discretion makes him slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook a transgression.”

So when somebody wrongs you (and it will happen), better to just chalk it up to experience and keep going. You’ll be a better human — and you’ll be more productive — if you learn to forgive, forget, and move on with your life.

-Ryan M. Healy

Every business owner is in the bridge-building business: one project (or sale) often leads to another.

Think of every client not in terms of what you make today, but rather what you might make in the future as a result of that client’s testimonial and referrals.

Clients are the bridge between your present and your future.

You want to be in the bridge-building business, not the bridge-burning business.

Every time you burn a bridge, you actually burn two of them. You first burn the bridge between you and your client. Then you burn the bridge your client might have built between you and a future client.

Which means anytime you burn a bridge you are literally burning the bridge to your future! Not a good plan.

In any project you take on, in every sale you make, always give your best effort, your best service — even when you don’t feel like it.

Build bridges; don’t burn them.

-Ryan M. Healy

A common theme I’m seeing come up over and over again among the customers of my clients’ businesses is this: “I’m broke. I can’t order/register/subscribe because I don’t have any money.”

I guess I can’t blame people for tossing out financial objections. After all, a lot of people are hurting financially, and we all have to face economic reality at some point. If there’s no money, there’s just no money!

When this happens, people are likely to think they have a money problem. They may even say things like “I have big money problems” or “We’re struggling because of our financial problems.”

But is a lack of money a “money problem”?

I don’t think so.

Usually, a lack of money is merely a symptom of some deeper condition. For instance, you may have:

• A procrastination problem – Always waiting until tomorrow to do what could be done today.

• A laziness problem – Never being able to bring yourself to WORK, much less WORK HARD.

• A negativity problem – Always focusing on the bad things in life to the point where you are paralyzed by fear or hopelessness.

• An attention problem – Glued to the boob tube, YouTube, cell phone, or Internet so often that you don’t have enough time to pursue your entrepreneurial dreams.

• A discipline problem – Always starting things, never finishing them. Or working a lot on a project one week, then ignoring it for a month or more at a stretch.

Rarely do we actually have money problems. What we have are character problems.

Our bank accounts are often a reflection of how disciplined we are, how much value we give to other people.

Therefore: If you shift your focus away from the outward manifestation of money and turn that focus inward to see how you can improve yourself, then the pay-off will be far greater than you might expect.

Perhaps you’ll even be able to say goodbye to your so-called “money problems.”

-Ryan M. Healy

Back in the summer of 2005, I found myself between a rock and a hard place.

On April 19, 2005, exactly one month after my second child was born, I quit my job to pursue a new career as a financial planner. I was able to do this because I had received a bonus and, at the time, it was enough to pay my bills for about 2 or 3 months.

Now, I did have a plan. I had partnered with a successful financial planner. He was going to pay me a commission for calling his leads and getting them to attend free dinners. He would then give them a presentation to encourage them to invest with him.

Everything looked like it was going to work out perfectly.

Except one little thing happened that I did not expect.

The local paper in which my “partner” was advertising went belly up the same week I quit my job. And just like that,

All the Leads Dried Up!

Well, I didn’t let that discourage me. I began calling all the old leads in the database… and actually succeeded in filling a couple dinners.

This was no easy task. I was calling leads up to 12 months old — and they didn’t remember anything about the postcard they filled out a year ago.

I might as well have been cold-calling.

Two months later, I had made a couple hundred bucks and was going nowhere fast. Not to mention, my bonus money was nearly gone. I estimated I had about two weeks of money left before I would be unable to pay my bills.

Now, I could have gone back to my previous employer and begged for my old job back… or I could have tried to find a new job… but deep down I didn’t really want another job.

I wanted to be self-employed!

So I did what any slightly crazy entrepreneur would do: I started my freelance copywriting business.

And here I am four years later, still enjoying the freelancer’s life.

Why did I succeed where so many others fail? There are probably many reasons, but the biggest reason of all is

I Had No Choice!

I literally had to make it work… or face losing my house, my cars, and everything else. I had no “plan B.”

In fact, “plan A” was “plan B!”

It seems that among successful entrepreneurs, many of them have experienced a similar “moment of truth” — a moment when they had no choice but to succeed.

As Ken McCarthy points out in his System Secrets book, “Having been in desperate straits more than once in my life, I know there is nothing like ‘do or die’ to focus the mind.” (p. 146)

This is a big reason I think having a “plan B” is overrated. In fact, if you’ve got all kinds of contingencies and backup plans in place, they may even be keeping you from succeeding!

That’s because anytime there’s a safety net, we’re likely to use it. It’s just human nature. We’ll set out to try something new, give it less than our best effort, then fall back into the relative comfort of our “safety net hammock.”

Why?

Because the Safety Net Is There.

Whenever you have a “plan B” or backup plan or safety net, it’s probably blocking you from the success you seek.

You don’t hear many success stories from 30-year-old guys living in their parents’ basements. Now you  know why.

You know who else has a great “moment of truth” story?

Copywriter and “kitchen table entrepreneur” Doberman Dan.

He tells of a time when he turned his back on a job (in spite of having almost nothing to his name) — and then digging down deep to pull out a five-figure income in a matter of months.

It’s a great story filled with lessons for the observant marketer. I highly recommend you take a moment to read it here:

From Kitchen Table Business to Million-Dollar Buyout

-Ryan M. Healy

Why is it that more often than not an artist’s freshman effort outshines his sophomore effort?

And why is “beginner’s luck” so prevalent in just about every field of creativity?

These are questions I’ve been thinking about lately. And just so we’re tracking, let me share an example with you.

Back in 1995, Jars of Clay released their first album. It did phenomenally well. To this day, there are many folks who own that first album, but none of the follow-ups.

Since 1995, Jars has made great music, but (in my opinion) it took them a few years and three albums to come close to topping the beauty and cohesiveness of that first album. And it took them a few albums more (and a total of 14 years) before they released an album that I would consider better than that first album.

So — why did it it take so long to best that initial achievement?

Well, I have a theory about that.

When we’re starting something new — something that requires creative effort — we are moved by inspiration. There is some inciting moment or force that propels us to create.

This inspiration is where “beginner’s luck” comes from. You might think of inspired creativity as the romance of the honeymoon. It feels good, exciting, effortless.

Then, after inspiration has given birth, reality sets in. The moment has passed. Now it’s time to dig in and work.

And it’s during this second phase where so many people fall down. They get so used to the inspiration, they aren’t prepared for exerting themselves without the training wheels of inspiration.

This can lead to a string of mediocre creativity, a feeling of burn-out, and the nagging thought that “Maybe I’m not cut out for this after all.”

Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be this way, especially if you’re prepared. Here are three ways you can move beyond inspiration and continue to tap into the wells of creativity inside you.

1. Create — even when you don’t feel like creating.

Dan Kennedy gets up early every day and has a dedicated writing time. By having this routine built into his schedule, his brain looks forward to that time. There is an expectancy that creativity will happen.

In my reading, I discovered that Dan credits this one habit with much of his success in the copywriting field. He gets up every day and writes, no matter if he feels like it or not. In a very real way, he schedules his creativity.

2. Be inspired by others in your field.

For many people starting out, it’s a dream that inspires you. The idea of achieving wealth and fame as a rock star, a novelist, a painter, a direct mail copywriter.

But this is not the only way to be inspired.

You can also be inspired by other people in your field. More specifically, you can be inspired by their work. Have you ever read the liner notes of music albums? Often the band credits various groups and musicians for how they’ve influenced (inspired) the band’s own direction.

So here’s a suggestion: Study the work of peers you admire. Be inspired by it. Model them when you’re lacking direction or drive. I think you’ll find it easier than you thought to “refill” your creative tank.

3. Master the art of synthesis.

Synthesis is the process of forming new ideas out of old ones. Roger von Oech shares a great example in his book A Whack on the Side of the Head.

What Gutenberg did was to combine two previously unconnected ideas: the wine press and the coin punch. The purpose of the coin punch was to leave an image on a small area such as a gold coin. The function of the wine press was to apply force over a large area to squeeze the juice out of grapes. One day, Gutenberg, perhaps after he’d drunk a goblet or two of wine, asked himself, “What if I took a bunch of these coin punches and put them under the force of the wine press so that they left their image on paper?” The resulting combination was the printing press and movable type. (pp. 5-6)

So arguably the single greatest invention in the last 600 years came from synthesizing two ideas into a new idea. That’s the power of synthesis.

One easy way to become better at synthesizing ideas is to get outside of your field.

If you’re a retailer, for instance, don’t just study other retailers. Go study manufacturing businesses, or service businesses, or advertising businesses. Take the ideas you find there and see how you might be able to apply them in your own business.

This is how innovation happens.

Unfortunately, it’s too easy to get “land locked” in your own industry. And when that happens, you wind up with “idea incest” — everybody recycling the same ideas over and over again.

Don’t let that happen to you. Get out of your bubble and see what other people are doing. You never know when you’ll be re-inspired by some random observation — and be able to easily best your freshman efforts.

-Ryan M. Healy

There is nothing quite as polarizing as religion and politics. And while this blog is primarily about business and copywriting, I’m not shy about my beliefs.

For instance, my Digg profile is filled with political and world news. I’ve used Twitter and Facebook to broadcast some polarizing views in both politics and religion. And I’ve even used this blog to share some spiritual/religious stuff — the last such post being the one about Christmas.

As a result, I’ve been called some interesting names over the last couple months. I pay attention to this stuff not to nurse any grudges, but simply to see how other people perceive me.

You see, I have a limited and distorted view of myself.

It’s kind of like the sound of your voice. It sounds one way to you — but another way to everybody else. (This is why so many people think they sound weird when they hear themselves on a recorded medium.)

So it’s important to know what other people are “hearing” when you speak.

Anyway, here are some of the names I’ve been called in the last couple months:

“Cynic” – Rob Siders

“top Christian copywriter” – John Manley

“Right-Wing Nut Job” – multiple people

“a MASTER of getting readers involved.” – Eric Graham

“a good friend and colleague” – Ben Settle

“a reasoned thinker” – Dave Lakhani

“not one of them” – Jason Witt (Full quote: “I’m unfollowing you because of SecretEvangel. Many are called but few are chosen. You’re sure not one of them.”)

“a model of a courageous Christian.” -Kevin Dawson

“the thinking man’s copywriter” – Keith Goodrum

And my personal favorite… “Scarlet Heretic” – Chris, a.k.a MontanaMan

And this is just from the past couple months. I’ve endured some pretty harsh criticism over the last couple years, some from strangers… and some from friends.

In the heat of such criticism, most folks would crawl back into their hole and stay quiet. But I actually find it encouraging. Criticism is a sign I’m doing something right.

Just a few days ago, I wrote this on Twitter:

I think this is good advice for anybody who is in the business of writing or giving advice in a public forum. It’s a fact that not everybody is going to like you. They just won’t.

And there are others who WILL like you. So write to them. Don’t worry about the rest.

As the comedian Bill Cosby once said, “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.”

Be aware of what’s being said about you — and be proud of it all, both the good and the bad.

-Ryan M. Healy

P.S. For the record, all of the above comments were posted in public places, so I’m not bringing anything new to light here. I simply collected it all in once place to show you the full range of people’s perceptions.

P.P.S. A point of clarification: I’m not suggesting you intentionally try to make people angry. I am suggesting that being yourself will naturally attract and repel people. So don’t be afraid to be yourself.

Opportunity is both a blessing and a curse.

The problem with opportunity is not that there is too little of it, but rather that there is too much. We are awash in opportunity to the point of confusion and indecision.

Should I do this or that? Go here or there?

The questions are endless.

Anymore, the goal is not find an opportunity. That’s easy. Now the goal is to determine which one or two or three opportunities out of hundreds are worth your time, energy, and dedication.

Because the price of pursuing a mediocre opportunity can be high indeed.

It may only cost you the difference between what a mediocre and great opportunity produce. Or if the mediocre opportunity doesn’t pan out — a common occurence — then it may have been better to have never pursued it in the first place.

Here are some ways to judge the value of almost any business opportunity. Give yourself points or take them away according to your answer.

A Brief Non-Scientific Method for Analyzing Opportunities

1. Will this opportunity pay you money this week or this month?

If so, add +5.

2. If there is no guarantee this opportunity will pay immediately, can you take a specific action today that will produce a positive, measurable financial result? (A “positive, measurable financial result” means money in your pocket, not potential money in your pocket.)

If yes, add +3; if no, subtract -2.

3. Does this opportunity leverage your strongest skills, talents, and abilities?

If yes, add +3; if no, subtract -2.

4. How soon and how frequently will this opportunity pay you money?

• Ongoing starting now, then add +5.
• Ongoing starting at 3 months, then add +1.
• Ongoing starting at 6 months, then subtract -2.
• One time pay-off now, then add +4.
• One time pay-off in 3 months, then add 0.
• One time pay-off in 6 months, then subtract -3.

5. If this opportunity is being presented to you by another person, how much potential money has been pitched to you?

• $100,000 or more, then subtract -10.
• $50,000 to $100,000, then subtract -6.
• $10,000 to $50,000, then subtract -3.
• $5,000 to $10,000, then subtract -1.
• $0 to $5,000, then add 0.

In general, the more money you’re promised… and the farther out the potential pay-off… the worse the opportunity is.

And, in general, the more modest the pay-off… and the more quickly you get paid… the better the opportunity is.

That’s why, this past year, I’ve developed a personal business strategy that says:

“Follow the Money.”

Which is to say, invest the majority of your time and energy into project and clients that pay you today — instead of projects and clients that might pay you at some distant (undetermined) point in the future.

Will this little test I’ve devised be appropriate for analyzing every opportunity that comes along?

Probably not.

But it should at least give you a good feel for the relative value of the opportunities you’re looking at. I hope you find it useful.

-Ryan M. Healy

On Saturday, my wife and I decided to drive around a little bit before we went home. We enjoy checking out different neighborhoods because we’re renting and we hope to move again soon.

So when we saw an open house we decided to drop in.

The realtor talked our ear off.

Furthermore, much of what he said was either inaccurate or mildly offensive.

In addition to saying there was nothing wrong with the house (it backed to some monster power lines) and that I probably wouldn’t qualify for a home loan (I was qualified by USAA from Sep-Dec 2008 based on 2007 income) — he said he wasn’t taking listings right now.

I guess that might not be too surprising if a guy had so many listings he really couldn’t take any more. But that was definitely NOT the case.

This guy said he would take a qualified buyer… if he could find one… but that he didn’t want any listings because they stayed on the market so long.

“I’m doing this open house for another agent, actually,” he said. “And this house has been on the market for 150 days.”

The fact that this particular house had been on the market for 150 days was offered as proof for his belief that it wasn’t profitable to list homes for sale.

Then I got to thinking. Wait a second!

People are buying homes right now. For every buyer, there’s a seller. Which means literally HALF of all real estate business involves selling homes. (Duh.)

Now, if you are a realtor, should you list any and every home? Probably not.

The most effective strategy would be to list only the best properties: Those that are in good condition, in a good location, for a good price.

I’m not knocking this guy for focusing on buyers. That’s actually a good strategy — to be an agent only for home buyers.

But this clearly wasn’t a premeditated strategy for this particular realtor. He was so focused on how properties weren’t selling that he decided not to list homes. That’s not a strategy… that’s a reaction.

The whole point of me sharing this story is that it illustrates the raw power of focus to give you what you want… or what you don’t want. I call it the yin and yang of focus.

If you’re focused on the part of the market that’s hurting, your business will probably also hurt. But if you’re focused on the part of the market that’s thriving, your business will probably also thrive.

So while it’s easy to get caught up in negative news and what’s not working, it’s much better to get caught up in positive news and what is working.

Because, ultimately, you tend to get what you focus on.

-Ryan M. Healy

P.S. Did you know Amazon just had their best holiday sales ever?

When the Titanic was finally finished being built, it was the largest passenger steamship of its time.

It was a site to behold, having been designed to be both functional and beautiful. (The fourth smoke stack was merely an ornament to make the ship look more impressive.)

Some of the wealthiest citizens of the early 20th Century eagerly bought tickets for the maiden voyage.

Of course, we all know how that story ended. When the Titanic sank in 1915, a full 68% of the passengers were greeted by watery graves.

Incredibly, despite the urgency of the situation, some of the lifeboats were deployed even though they were half full.

Why?

Nobody Believed the Ship Could Sink!

Passengers really believed the Titanic was invincible. Even trade journals of the day had said the ship was “practically unsinkable.”

Unfortunately, it seems the same kind of disbelief is now happening in the U.S. Except this time the ship is the economy.

For months, Americans couldn’t admit the economy was in trouble. They believed the U.S. was “too big to fail.”

Then the big bankruptcies started happening. IndyMac, Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual,etc.

Now, Citigroup may be next in line whether they get “bailed out” or not.

Nevertheless, many people continue to believe that the recovery is “just around the corner.”

My take is different:

The economy is in BIG trouble. And if you want to survive, you need to be proactive — and

Get on a Lifeboat Now

But here’s the problem:

The U.S. is the “keystone” of the world economy. If it goes down, it will bring down the rest of the world with it. So there may be no advantage to “jumping ship” and moving to another country.

Furthermore, since an economic collapse of this magnitude has never before happened in history, it’s hard to know for sure how to prepare.

Maybe you should stock up on some essentials: food, clothing, etc.

Or maybe you should sell your house, find a rental, and ride out the storm.

Or maybe you should swap your dollars for gold and silver.

Who knows.

Until we have the benefit of hindsight, it’s all speculation.

And while chances are you’ll survive this collapse with your life, your currency (U.S. or otherwise) may not be so lucky — no matter what “lifeboat” you choose to preserve it.

Which is why a better strategy seems to be to

Play with All Your Heart Until the Curtain Drops

Did you know some of the most famous people who died when the Titanic sank were the eight band members who continued to perform until the ship sank?

As people slowly realized the inevitability of their situation, some got on lifeboats; some panicked; still others became reconciled with fate and patiently awaited their deaths.

These band members were of the latter group. They calmly sat on the deck of the Titanic. And rather than “rearrange the deck chairs,” they played their songs as long as time permitted.

Of course, all eight band members died. But not without leaving their unforgettable mark on history.

In many ways, I believe one of the best strategies for surviving the coming economic storm is to merely practice your craft as best you know how — and play with all your heart — until the curtain drops.

And when the curtain rises again, you may still be standing and ready to take your bow.

-Ryan M. Healy