Is the Internet making us stupid?

This is the question Michael Brown asks in his recent article about Nicholas Carr’s new book, The Shallows.

My take:

The Internet (and the portability of technology in general) is making us more distracted than ever. When it’s harder to focus, your ability to maintain a single line of thought is extremely inhibited, if not impossible.

One distraction leads to another. Interruptions pile on. Next thing you know, you can’t remember what you set out to accomplish in the first place.

So is the Internet to blame? Yes and no.

The Internet itself isn’t necessarily the problem — it’s the lack of boundaries. Without boundaries, there’s very little to control our behavior.

Therefore, I would argue that the heavy, undisciplined use of the Internet (and cell phones, iPads, etc.) is indeed making us stupid.

Want to kick your IQ up a few points? It’s simple, really.

Just turn off all your electronic devices that could distract you and focus on a single task for an hour or two straight. I dare you.

-Ryan M. Healy

If you’ve been a reader for any length of time, you know that my blog here is the “main course,” so to speak.

In other words, this is where I share a lot of my controversial ideas, as well as tips, strategies, and techniques for writing sales copy, getting traffic, and growing business.

Now, I even have a regularly updated web site that is focused exclusively on the art of written persuasion: Copywriting Code

But there’s another outlet for those who want to know what I’m thinking and reading outside of copywriting, marketing, and business growth.

“A Side of @HealyMonster”

Today, as I was reading Terry Dean’s blog, I came across the post “Building Momentum in Your Life.”

In this post, Terry talks about the importance of routine and being productive even when you’re not in the mood to be productive.

But what made me chuckle was this paragraph toward the end of the article:

Instead of wanting to be the “overnight social media sensation,” just get involved. Setup your Twitter account. Subscribe to some great people like that wonderful @TerryDean or perhaps a little @BenSettle with a side of @healymonster.

My Tweets Are Not for Everybody

Obviously, if you’re on Twitter, I’d love to have you as a follower.

But based on Terry’s wording, I can only assume that this “HealyMonster” guy is an acquired taste, kind of like fine wine. ;-)

Seriously, though, my tweets are often like my blog posts; they’re polarizing because I’m not afraid to stir the pot (so to speak).

So if you can handle some contrarian, sometimes off-the-wall thoughts and ideas, join me on Twitter.

And don’t forget to follow Terry Dean and Ben Settle as well. They always share good stuff, and they’re not hyperactive so they’ll never monopolize your tweet stream.

-Ryan M. Healy

P.S. The name “Healy Monster” was an old wrestling nickname I resurrected when I discovered my name was already taken on Twitter. Just in case you were wondering…

Bad news today. Social media is not the panacea the media has made it out to be. In fact, in many cases, it can do more harm than good.

So while I do like social media and get new blog readers from it, please allow me to share the three most common hazards of social media.

Hazard #1: Kiss Your Productivity Goodbye!

Between Facebook, Twitter, and StumbleUpon, it’s a wonder anybody gets any work done online these days. Employers know it, too. That’s why many of these sites are now blocked on work computers.

With social media, one thing leads to another.

You innocently drop in to update your status — then get sidetracked and follow dozens of interesting tidbits of information. Next thing you know, an hour of your time has vanished.

Poof! Just like that.

Hazard #2: Sacrificing True Friends for Imaginary Friends

Social media encourages dozens of casual encounters with people you don’t know every single day. It might feel like friendship, but somehow it’s not.

Unfortunately, social media has a tendency to keep people from investing in the true friendships they already have.

Instead of sitting down to coffee, social media junkies exchange one-liners with strangers — and then secretly wonder why they feel lonely.

Hazard #3: Becoming Intoxicated by Your Own Pseudo-Fame

Why is social media such a juggernaut in the 21st Century? Because with social media, all of a sudden everybody is a celebrity.

I may not know you from Adam, but if you have 20,000 followers, it’s going to look like you’re somebody (even if you aren’t).

That’s why I call it pseudo-fame. It’s a little like being famous, but far short of the real thing. (By the way, many famous people wish they weren’t famous. That should tell you something.)

A Better Way…

If you’re going to be investing time online, I suggest you do something that provides you with a monetary benefit — and not just a transient ego boost.

One of the most valuable skills you can learn is the skill of copywriting. That’s just a fancy way of explaining how to get people to buy through the written word.

And, if you think about it, words are what drive the economy of the Internet. Every sales letter, every sales video, every sales email is powered by persuasive words.

If you’d like to strengthen your copywriting skills, I highly recommend the work of Claude Hopkins, especially Scientific Advertising. You can get a copy on Amazon for $15 or so.

And, of course, you can also get my perspective on copywriting at Copywriting Code. Before you publish another tweet or status update, hurry on over and check it out now…

http://www.CopywritingCode.com

-Ryan M. Healy

Ever see a picture of a performer spinning plates on sticks? I don’t think I’ve ever seen it done in person, but I’ve seen pictures of it similar to this one:

As an entrepreneur and service provider, I feel like plate spinning is a good metaphor for my life.

There are always lots of plates in the air. And I have to keep them all spinning — or risk one of them falling and breaking.

Sometimes I finish a project and I get to stop spinning a plate. Yet, inevitably, I have a new plate that needs to be spun.

I tell ya — it ain’t easy. And it requires a lot of work.

But it’s fun.

Secret #1 is that being successful in business requires work.

Secret #2 is that work is meant for pleasure. It’s one of the few things God has provided on this green earth to give us meaningful satisfaction.

So what are you waiting for? Go spin some plates!

-Ryan M. Healy

In high school, I joined the newspaper staff as soon as they would let me, and I took all the honors English classes I could. I was in love with reading and writing — I couldn’t get enough of it.

In honors English we would read a book every two weeks (usually a classic), then write an essay about the book we had just read. It was like clockwork. Every other Monday a new essay was due.

But there was a catch. We never wrote our essays at home. We didn’t even type them! Nope. We wrote them out by hand… in class… in 90 minutes or less (we were on a block schedule with four 90-minute periods a day).

The reason my teacher did it this way was because essay web sites were just coming into fashion. Students could download dozens of pre-written essays on just about any book they wanted. The business of plagiarism  had hung out its shingle and students were responding in kind.

At that time, search technology was in its infancy, so it was actually fairly difficult for teachers to discern whether a paper had been plagiarized or not. Thus the dilemma: Let students write essays at home or force them to do them in class?

My teacher chose the latter. And while it was stressful back then, I’m extremely grateful she decided to do it that way.

You see, the discipline of writing a timed essay by hand once every two weeks forced me to be an efficient writer. I learned how to write fast without editing myself. I learned how to build sentences in my head faster than my hand could transcribe them.

Now, years later, I will sometimes use an $8 dial timer that I picked up at Bed, Bath & Beyond to time myself. If I’m feeling distracted or I’m having a hard time focusing in on my writing, I’ll set the timer for 45 minutes. I’ll force myself to write for the entire time.

Guess what? Every time I set that timer, I write faster. The power of a micro-deadline works just like a normal deadline: it makes you work!

Next time you find yourself struggling to write, pull out your timer or stopwatch, set it for 30 or 45 minutes, and start writing. You’ll be amazed by how quickly your mind snaps to attention. And you’ll be amazed by how quickly the words spill onto the page.

-Ryan M. Healy

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

Just when you think you’ve seen it all, something shows up in your mailbox that proves you wrong.

Yesterday, as I was going through the mail, I found a letter from DirecTV, a satellite TV provider. I was intrigued because the letter was not addressed to me as a consumer, but rather to me as a business owner.

So I opened the letter and gave it a quick read.

The letter makes a lot of eyebrow-raising claims. For instance: “Bring in more customers by entertaining them while they wait, shop or work out with the best variety of sports, shows and up-to-the-minute news.”

Hmmm… I guess that’s possible. I personally avoid any auto shop that has a TV that dominates the waiting room. Inevitably there’s some banal talk show blaring and I have to suffer through it as I try my best to read.

In reality, TV in a waiting room is like tyranny on a small scale. All the patients are subjected to watching or hearing what one person has decided to watch. Is that a reason for me to come to your business? No way!

I’d rather some books or a stack of magazines I can thumb through — everybody gets to choose their own “channel” without bothering anybody else.

One thing’s for sure: You don’t choose a doctor based on the quality of the television programming in the waiting room!

Still, given that most people are addicted to television, I guess having satellite TV in a waiting room could give you a small transient advantage. DirecTV offers this fact as proof: “90% of business subscribers believe DirecTV increases their business.”

Yeah, and lots of people believe things that aren’t actually true. You must be running a pretty shoddy business if TV programming brings more customers in. (One possible exception: health clubs.)

But let’s move on to a separate claim — the most ludicrous claim I’ve probably ever encountered in advertising.

In this particular mailing, there is a buck slip with six so-called “facts” for how DirecTV improves a business.

Fact #6 is the one that just kills me: “Employees are more productive when they have a constant connection to current events.”

Wait a second. Am I reading that correctly — that employees are more productive when they’re constantly connected to a television?!

If improving employee productivity were really that easy, our GDP should be growing by double digits every quarter. Just watch more TV — and watch those numbers climb!

It’s clear to me that whoever wrote the copy for this promo is not an entrepreneur and has never run a business in his or her life. Heck, the copywriter doesn’t even understand what business is about.

Here are some tips for the marketing folks at DirecTV:

First, stop the B.S. Employees don’t work harder when they’re watching TV.

Second, how’s about you actually put some effort into a little thing called list selection.

I can think of three groups of business owners who might be interested in getting DirecTV for their businesses: doctors who have waiting rooms; auto shops that have waiting rooms; and high-end health clubs that want to differentiate from low-end fitness centers.

Write the promo for one type of business — and then send it to just those businesses. I work from my home and have no employees. What need do I have for TV programming in my study?

None. Nada. Zip.

But I guess DirecTV doesn’t know that because they used the shotgun approach to send out a ridiculous sales piece to a whole bunch of business owners — because all businesses will get more customers with better TV programming!

Lesson: Direct mail that is not targeted properly and is not based in reality is doomed to fail. Be wise.

-Ryan M. Healy

Here is what my morning looks like:

I wake up between 5:30 and 7:30 a.m., get dressed, go downstairs and make coffee.

Except for Wednesdays, of course. If it’s a Wednesday, I’m on the road by 5:45 a.m., headed to Panera Bread where I’ll buy coffee instead of make it.

Coffee is one of those great rituals (addictions?) that makes the writing life just a little more enjoyable. And although I’ve tried on more than one occasion to curb my coffee intake, I’ve finally reconciled with myself that between two or three cups of coffee a day is okay.

Confession: I’m kind of picky about my coffee. Too weak is terrible; too strong is okay. Not a fan of Folgers et al., but I love Starbucks’ Kenya, Rwanda, Cafe Estima, and Ethiopia Sidamo blends.

Every once in a while I try a different coffee and really enjoy it. For instance, my friend John Thomas from Georgia once sent me a bag of Indian Monsooned coffee beans, which is very distinct. I now associate it with Watchmen, because I was reading that book at the time.

But this post is not all about coffee and copywriting (a.k.a. “coffeewriting”)… it’s about the magic of routine.

Coffee and writing are part of my routine. I expect it every day. And that expectation helps me stay disciplined and productive day after day after day.

Dan Kennedy has publicly said that he spends the first part of every day writing. Uninterrupted. On page 64 of No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs, he writes:

First, I write for at least one hour every morning, virtually no matter what. The first hour of my morning, sometimes 5:00 to 6:00, often 6:00 to 7:00, occasionally 7:00 to 8:00, I write. At home, on the road, doesn’t matter. Weekdays or weekends, doesn’t matter. If I am under a tough copywriting deadline for a client, I’ll give the hour to that task. Most days, that first hour goes to my own books, tapes, and newsletters.

I believe this is one reason Dan Kennedy has had so much staying power: his daily routine.

What do you do every day that helps you succeed? What healthy routines do you have that boost your productivity? Identify them… and celebrate them.

-Ryan M. Healy

Unless you talk to people on the phone for a living, then the telephone can quickly became Enemy #1 in your fight to protect your time.

I know this. You know this. And yet we still let the telephone control us.

What can we do?

Well, about about 2+ years ago, I had begun using “open call-in hours” at the suggestion of Alex Mandossian. It worked really well.

But after a while, I guess I got apathetic. I thought, “The phone isn’t really a problem now. I won’t worry about honoring my open call-in hours. I’ll just answer the phone anytime.”

And at first, the phone wasn’t a problem.

That’s because most people thought I was still using open call-in hours.

But over time, I began to get more and more phone calls. I was being interrupted on a more frequent basis, making it hard to write sales copy, strategize, or do much of anything for a sustained period of time.

So what was the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back?

It was becoming the Affiliate Manager for MaestroConference… and… publishing my phone number on outgoing broadcast emails.

Doh!

You can’t imagine how frustrating it is to field phone calls from people wanting to know, “So what exactly is an affiliate program?” and “How does an affiliate link work?”

Helloooo, it’s called Google!

Honestly, Google can answer your basic questions about affiliate programs much quicker and much more thoroughly than I can. ;-)

But that’s beside the point.

This week, I spent some time getting clarity about my business and creating a strategy for where I want to go.

I wrote a lot of things down.

Underneath the question, “What MUST happen in order for me to focus on this plan?” I wrote:

• I must get control of my phone by:
  1. re-establishing open call-in hours.
  2. removing my phone number from all outgoing MaestroConference emails.

I’m happy to report, both items are DONE.

Establishing open call-in hours may be something you want to consider doing yourself. It’s very simple, and it’s one of the best ways you can honor your #1 asset.

First, update your phone message. Here is what mine says:

Hi, this is Ryan Healy of RyanHealy.com and you’ve reached my direct business line. To better serve my clients, my open call-in hours are from 2-4 p.m. Mountain Time, Monday through Thursday. If you are calling outside those hours, feel free to leave a message. And if you were referred to me, please let me know who I need to thank.

Secondly, update your email signature and web sites to reflect your open call-in hours.

It’s that simple.

Does this mean you can never talk on the phone outside of your open call-in hours? No. It just means you’ll have to be intentional about scheduling your calls and planning your work around those calls.

Trust me, it’s a much better way to run your business.

If you do implement this strategy, let me know how it works out for you, okay?

-Ryan M. Healy

He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.” -Job 1:21

It’s no secret that you enter the world with nothing, and when you leave the world, you can’t take anything with you.

So how is wealth created?

It’s created by your labor… your time… your energy. Basically, it is God who has given you the ability to create wealth (Deut. 8:18).

This is your #1 asset.

And it makes sense to protect it.

Unfortunately, most people disrespect their time and labor — the only assets in your possession that you don’t have to pay for, yet can freely convert to wealth.

In what ways are you squandering your #1 asset? What could you change to respect your #1 asset? How could you stop wasting what you’ve been freely given and create something worthwhile?

Confession: I recently realized that I had once again let technology get between me and my goals. So I had to make some changes. I’ll share those changes with you in the next post.

-Ryan M. Healy