The Monkey Mystery Solved

A few posts ago http://mrfire.blogspot.com/2005/12/why-does-santa-give.html I mentioned that people were sending me gifts but without cards or notes or any identification to know who sent them to me.

Well, it turns out that in almost every case it was a mistake.

It wasn't a mistake that I got the gifts, but that the cards weren't included.

For example --

The person who sent me the Ipod Nano (which I truly love) was Paul Bauer of www.DreamsAlive.com Apple was supposed to include a card from him with the product.

They forgot.

And the person who sent me the monkey (pictured above left) was Charles Lewis, my webmaster for www.mrfire.com and www.HypnoticMarketingInc.com Sharper Image www.sharperimage.com was supposed to include a card from him with the "Amazing 'Alive' Chimpanzee."

They, too, forgot.

Obviously, this is a marketing mistake.

Big businesses keep forgetting that their entire service needs to be flawless for people to be happy and return to do more business. Screw up a few times and people will wander away. Forgetting to include gift cards isn't a tragic mistake, but it's still a mistake.

Even my monkey knows that.

Ao Akua,

joe

PS - My birthday was yesterday (12-29). Many people came from far and wide to celebrate it, to bring gifts, to give hugs, and to share in my 52nd celebration. If you're interested, I'll post a picture or two. And if you're not interested, I'll still post them.

The Google Story Revealed

I'm almost done reading one of the best books I've seen in far too long: The Google Story by David Vise and Mark Malseed. It reveals the inside scoop on the hottest business, media and technology success of our time.

I'm fascinated by Google. I love their tool and use it, probably like you, every day. I've been longing to read a book explaining how this company got started. I could only imagine the wizards behind it.

Well, what I imagined isn't anywhere near as good as the truth.

The story is about two guys with a mission to change the world. Their prime directive seems to be "Challenge the impossible." (That's similiar to my own "Dare Something Worthy.")

And their motto is "Don't be evil."

Side note: Hypnotherapists and NLP language masters like to claim that your subconscious mind doesn't respond to negatives, which would mean the motto "Don't Be Evil" actually is telling you to be evil. I've never agreed with that theory. Google's motto proves that your mind most certainly knows a negative when it sees one. Google is not evil. See my article on this aspect of hidden communication at http://www.mrfire.com/article-archives/new-articles/do-not-read-this.html )

Founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page focused on creating an index of the planet, not on making money. (That's a clue to how to make money.) As a result of their passion and wisdom, they attracted people willing to invest in them, even before there was an actual company to invest in. Andy Bechtolsheim wrote them a check for $100,000 -- without a contract, agreement, or even a handshake. He saw the value of their search engine idea and wanted to support it.

And the founders are today billionaires.

The story gets juicer. Google used word of mouth advertising to get attention. They wanted to focus on building something so valuable to people that people would spread the word about it. (There's another clue to how to attract money.) They fueled this campaign with requests to "tell a friend" and so forth. And this was when Google had 5 employees and "only" 1,000,000 people a day were using it.

The Google Story is packed with great insights and stories. It's a quick and easy read. Includes photos, too. I found the material about Google making ads relevant to searches to be enlightening. As long as the ads were relevant, people welcomed them.

I also liked hearing about Googleplex, and how people enjoy their work there, are fun loving, and are fed well by a cook who makes his food with love.

If you're at all interested in passion, money, and the story behind the story, get and read The Google Story.

Remember - "Don't be evil."

Ao Akua,

joe
www.mrfire.com

PS - The section revealing 23 Google Search Tips was worth the price of the book.

Study Proves Agatha Christie Used Hypnotic Writing, or, I told You So!

Did mystery novelist Agatha Christie literally hypnotize her readers?

Consider --

Scientists from three leading universities studied 80 of the famed novelist's works and discovered she used words that invoked chemical responses in the brains of her readers.

The study - The Agatha Project - involved loading Christie's novels into a computer and analyzing her words, phrases and sentences. They concluded that her phrases trigger a pleasure response. This causes people to seek out her books again and again, almost like an addiction.

According to the study, Christie used literary techniques mirroring those employed by hypnotherapists and psychologists, which have a hypnotic effect on readers.

This is clear evidence that the principles in my Hypnotic Writing e-books, and in my Hypnotic Writing Wizard www.HypnoticWritingWizard.com software, truly work.

The study found that common phrases used by Christie act as a trigger to raise levels of serotonin and endorphins, the chemical messengers in the brain that induce pleasure.

I've been saying this for years. Certain words and phrases push buttons unconsciously in people. They respond without being aware of it.

I've been teaching people how to improve their sales letters and website copy with these very insights. Apparently Agatha Christie used hypnotic writing to make her books -- as one scientist un-hypnotically said -- "unputdownable."

It sure worked for her.

Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, (1890-1976) is possibly the world's best-known mystery writer. The Guinness Book of Records listed her as the best-selling fiction author of all time with over two *billion* copies in print in the English language.

Obviously, hypnotic writing helped her. The study went on to report the following about Agatha's writings --

Favorite words or phrases, repeatedly used in a "mesmerizing" way, help stimulate the pleasure-inducing side of the brain. They include "she, yes, girl, kind, smiled" and "suddenly."

Again, to me, this isn't news. There are similar words and phrases in marketing that set off brain activity -- and later buying activity.

Do you know what they are?

Probably not.

Few people do.

But they are revealed in my e-books and software.

My hypnotic writing www.HypnoticWritingWizard.com software -- which can help you write sales letters, articles, books, news releases and much more -- now comes in two Windows versions:

#1. The Basic one gives you all the tools you need to write letters, ads, books, talks, etc. It comes with the formulas, inductions, tools, headline generator, readability analyzer, unconscious directed writing, etc. You could become a hypnotic writer with just this alone. It's that powerful.

#2. The Deluxe version comes with all the basic tools but includes the famous Swipe File, containing proven words, phrases, sentences, closers, etc, which you can just weave into your writing to make it much more compelling. This is beyond powerful. You simply copy and paste -- "swipe" --the proven sentences that improve your writing. This is almost too easy.

The Swipe File has been and still is my secret weapon in writing my emails, sites, articles, and books with such speed and power. I love it and always use it. Obviously, it works. Again, it comes with the Deluxe version.

Direct marketing legend Joe Sugarman said --

"Not only does this leading edge software help you write sales letters with ease, but you can also write news releases, ads, articles, speeches, web copy and even entire books with it.

The hypnotic inductions by Joe are simple, short and, more importantly, they work. I was skeptical about the Hypnotic Readability Formula, but I used it to analyze one of my own letters and the results opened my eyes. Hypnotic Writing Wizard is a breakthrough in creative writing."

Prolific author of 50+ books Bob Bly said --

"Anyone having trouble writing anything needs to boot this program up. Within minutes you can slide through blocks, get a handle on what you want to say, and come up with memorable ways to say it. This is a real breakthrough."

You'll find even more testimonials online www.HypnoticWritingWizard.com

I'm very excited about Hypnotic Writing Wizard.This program is based on my first best-selling e-books, Hypnotic Writing and Advanced Hypnotic Writing (and includes them for easy reference).

While the software won't do your writing or thinking for you, it *will* guide you to writing with more ease and power. The hypnotic inductions and other tools will stimulate your mind to come up with fresh ways to express yourself with persuasive power.

If you want to give yourself the best gift of the year, get Hypnotic Writing Wizard and start to write with the simple riveting power of one of the bestselling novelists of our time - Agatha Christie.

See http://www.HypnoticWritingWizard.com

Merry Christmas!

Ao Akua

joe
www.mrfire.com

PS - I'm told The Agatha Project will air on television in England on Dec 27.

My Top 15 Books of 2005

Matt Gill, co-owner of Nitro Marketing and the man who runs my Hypnotic Gold www.HypnoticGold.com membership program, just asked me for a list of my top ten books for 2005.

I found it tough to create. I buy so many books, and even read enough of them, that creating a list of only ten seems impossible. But I did come up with a list of fifteen books. Here they are (in no particular order):

The Next Millionaires by Paul Zane Pilzer. I loved this one. Talk about a relentless optimist. I ended up interviewing Pilzer for my Hypnotic Gold program and found the man sharp and fascinating. He told me he's not an optimist but a scientist. He sees a profitable future for you and me. Get this book.

Fantastic! The Life of Arnold Schwarzenegger by Laurence Leamer. Arnold is simply fascinating. He'll be back.

The Irresistible Offer by Mark Joyner. The best book on marketing in 50 years. It's causing me to rethink all my sales letters and offers.

177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class by Steve Siebold. A masterpiece. You can't read this in one sitting. Take a bite a day, chew on it, and change your life. Genius.

Empowerment by Gene Landrum. Gene's research proves that you don't need good genes to excel in business or sports. You need the right mindset for success. I interviewed him for my Hypnotic Gold program and found him a sheer delight. Brilliant and inspiring.

The Autobiography of Dan Kennedy. I love Dan but think he's a gloomy, grumpy guy. His life story is riveting, though I left the end of it feeling down. His outlook on life is not sunny, and mine is. (He needs to read the Pilzer book mentioned above.)

Extreme Muscle Enhancement: BodyBuilding's Most Powerful Techniques by Carlton Colker. I'm overwhelmed by the amount of information out there on muscle building. This one seems to speak to me. Since I've lost 80 pounds and transformed my life through fitness and mental toughness, I love hard hitting, clear books like this. It's muscular.

500 Ways to Change the World edited by Nick Temple. Inspiring. These ideas are from people just like you and me. I'm refreshed and renewed when I see the cleverness of the human mind.

No Such Thing as Over-Exposure: Inside the Life and Celebrity of Donald Trump by Robert Slater. Trump is a publicity machine and this book gives you a peek inside his window.

The New Handbook of Cognitive Therapy Techniques by Rian McMullin. I'm fascinated with how beliefs create reality. This intense but freeing book reveals ways to help yourself see through and change your own mental programming.

Devil at My Heels: A World War II Hero's Epic Saga of Torment, Survival and Forgiveness by Louis Zamperini. Whew! What a read! As hypnotic as any novel, yet it's all true. Read it.

The Power of Impossible Thinking by Yoram Wind and Colin Crook. A mind-expanding book about how your view of the world creates your world.

The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force by Jeffrey Schwartz. Sounds tough but it's easy to read. The message, as I remember it, is that your own decision can over-ride any mental problems. Again, intention rules the earth.

How Consciousness Commands Matter: The New Scientific Revolution and the Evidence that Anything Is Possible by Dr. Larry Farwell. Just read it.

Motigraphics: The Analysis and Measurement of Human Motivation in Marketing by Richard Maddock. A noble attempt to graph human emotions so we can control them. I read and re-read this one and I'm not sure I get it, but I love the attempt. Well worth wrestling with.

I'm probably going to think of 15 other books that should be on this list, but for now the above will do.

Wait! I just remembered another hypnotic read from this year:

The Spiritual Journey of Joseph l. Greenstein by Ed Spielman. The life story of this old time strongman was, well, hypnotic. It would make a great movie. It was written by the creator of the Kung Fu TV series.

Happy Reading.

Ao Akua,

joe
www.mrfire.com

PS -- You may have to get Pilzer's new book from http://www.paulzanepilzer.com, but I'm pretty sure the other books are available at www.Amazon.com or from your favorite bookseller. While book shopping, be sure to pick up a few copies of my books. (I've written several, you know.) They make great gifts. And they slide into Christmas stockings just fine.

Divine Intuition, or, How I Saved A Lot of Money on My Auto Insurance

It's been a traumatic weekend.

On Saturday night we were coming home from a Christmas gathering, driving down the country roads in the dark, when we hit a deer.

The deer was instantly killed. My car -- my brand new $90,000 BMW 645ci -- was instantly damaged.

We were fine, though shaken up.

I know it could have been worse. A friend knows a couple who hit a deer one night while driving, and the wife was killed.

We survived ... but the drama continues.

When I called my insurance company, I was jolted to learn my insurance had lapsed. Apparently the bill fell through the cracks. Even though I've been with them for three decades, they let me go. I didn't pay the last bill, so Allstate assumed I just went to another carrier.

From a marketing standpoint, that's a mistake on their part. Had they made a call or two, they could have kept what they perceived as a lost customer, and my life would be easier today.

Here I am, a brand new luxury car sitting in my garage, badly damaged; no insurance on it or my BMW Z3; and me suffering the trauma of being in an accident and killing an animal.

What do I do?

What would you do?

One thing I did today was visit the site that everyone else seems to be visiting, too: http://www.cuteoverload.com/

The above picture is from it. One look and I smiled.

I looked at the other photos on the site and started grinning, almost laughing. This site has helped me get through today with a bit of happiness and laughter.

But I didn't stop there.

The pictures are in some ways a distraction.

I needed to face the real issues here.

Whenever I'm not clear -- a term I use in my book The Attractor Factor -- I know it's time to get help. Today I called one of the healers I know, a miracle worker I've turned to for five years now: Ann Taylor at http://www.innerhealing.com

I was lucky. Ann was home and took my call. She was very generous with her time. We explored the accident, the insurance mishap, and my feelings. Within minutes I was feeling better, I was moving forward, and even Allstate called back.

While they are denying my claim (which means I'm stuck with the repair bill), and they want me to sign up with them as a new driver with a new policy (which means I'll look for a new carrier), I feel much clearer about the event.

I believe everyone attracts experiences for lessons. Get the lesson and you don't need the experience. Don't get the lesson and the experiences will get more intense, to get your attention.

I've learned from this one. I'd tell you what I learned but each person has their own insights. Mine may not be the same as yours.

To prove to you that my insight may not make sense to you, here's the big lesson I got today:

"Orders from the Divine trump all other commitments."

Doesn't make sense all by itself (or does it?).

Here's the short story behind it:

I went on a cruise last October. My intuition told me not to go, but I ignored it. As a result, the cruise wasn't the greatest. More than that, the bill for the auto insurance arrived while we were away on that cruise. Had we been at home, we would have seen it and paid it. Instead, it got lost in a mountain of mail.

I never said no to the cruise because I wanted to keep my word. I said I would attend as a speaker and so I went, despite my uncomfortable feelings. But a higher authority was trying to tell me don't go.

I didn't listen.

Last Saturday I attracted a deer to warn me that I had no insurance. I could have been in a terrible accident, where not having insurance could have ruined me. As it turned out, hitting a deer, and surviving to tell you about it, was actually good news.

Now look at the lesson:

Had I paid attention to the divine voice within telling me to not go on the cruise -- meaning had I paid attention to the higher authority telling me to ignore my previous commitment -- we would have seen the insurance bill, paid it, and perhaps never met the deer.

Again, my lesson is this: "Orders from the Divine trump all other commitments."

When you feel stuck or unclear, do something that lightens and clears your life -- like call Ann Taylor. Find a way to learn from what happened (so it doesn't happen again) and move forward.

I'll talk more about this concept in my next book, which hits the stores on March 7th. Meanwhile, check your car insurance policy -- and pay attention to your divine intuition.

Onwards.

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS -- Because Allstate was so unkind to me, I went elsewhere. Since the most memorable insurance advertiser out there seems to be Geico, I went to www.Geico.com They were a joy to work with. Their online form was a breeze to use. I also used their online chat feature, which helped me with questions and assured me I was doing well with my answers. Later, when I spoke to someone on the phone to close the deal, they were quick, professional, and friendly. I signed with them. And yes, I saved a lot of money on my car insurance.

Why Does Santa Give?

People have been sending me gifts, either for Christmas or my upcoming birthday (12-29), all week. Some gift-ers are known and some are unknown. I find this curious.

Two days ago the UPS driver had me sign for a package. The small package contained a brand new Ipod Nano. I've wanted one so I'm glad "The Attractor Factor" continues to work.

But there wasn't a clue who sent the gift to me. I still don't know who this mysterious, generous Santa is.

But he or she isn't the only one playing gift-giver.

Today someone sent me four quarts of Goji Juice. While I admit I love goji berries, I find it uncomfortable to accept four quarts of juice made from them. Why? Whoever sent it is probably trying to convince me to promote their product in some direct marketing business. Clue: A company flyer was in the package. That's not wrong, it just feels a little manipulative. At some point I may be cornered and asked if I will represent the product. That doesn't feel like a true gift. It feels like a loaded gun.

Yet another person -- and this one gave his name -- is sending me some of his company's nutritional products. I know this package is coming, I know who it's coming from, and I know what he expects.

Yes, he wants me to have the gifts. And yes, he's hoping I'll promote it for him to my email list. And yes, he understands I may never promote his site at www.assurednutrition.com But he's giving the gift anyway. He's smart.

My all-time favorite gift to receive, any time, for any reason, is an http://www.amazon.com/gift-certificates Amazon gift coupon. Over the years people have bought them for me in values of $20 to $200. (The limit on an Amazon gift coupon is $5,000, but you can buy more than one..) You can't imagine my glee at holding a gift coupon and shopping online for my favorite product: Books!

You'd think after cleaning my office (and no, I'm not done yet), taking two months to dig through books and then get books back on shelves, that I'd be sick of them. Not so. Not even close. I still live for the next hypnotic read. And if I can't find it, then I'll write it.

But back to the subject of giving...

I wrote a little book called The Greatest Money-Making Secret In History. It states that giving should be done without expectation of direct return.

In other words, you expect return, but not from the person you gave to. The return will come in time, probably from some unexpected source.

And if you could give without any expectation, then you'd probably transcend all life and be instantly enlightened. But who's there?

When we give, we want to give out of love, not out of expectation. With the former we invoke one of the keys to the kingdom of wealth; with the latter we invoke our ego, which can't see beyond its own nose.

To whoever gave me the Ipod Nano, thank you.

Expect something wonderful to come your way soon.

Ao Akua,

joe
www.mrfire.com

PS -- I always use a PS but I don't always know what to say in one. This is one of those moments. (But notice how you read this PS, anyway?)

How to Attract Money

As I go through the exhausting process of reconstructing and reorganizing my office, I sometimes stop and flip through a book I haven't read yet, or one I read long ago and want to revisit. Often I get lost in the reading for a few minutes in a rush of excitement. That just happened and I want to share the moment with you.

I was reading The Translucent Revolution: How People Just Like You are Waking Up and Changing the World by Arjuna Ardagh. This is a huge (almost 500 pages) and inspiring collection of true stores of people transforming the world by following their inner calling. Chapters cover everything from parenting to education to health to business to religion to art to your own self identity.

I loved reading how Odwalla Juice, a bottled health drink I used to drink when I lived in Austin, began. In 1980 Greg Steltenpohl and two friends started the business as a way to pay for college. They squeezed their first crate of fruit out of a back yard shed with a $200 juicer. They delivered fresh juice to restaurants in their Volkswagen van.

By 2000 they sold the company to Coca-Cola.

Today Steltenpohl co-founded an environmentally friendly credit card, called The Interra Card.

I've said it again and again: Money isn't separate from spirit. The material and the spiritual are two sides of the same coin. In order to live your fullest and help the world at the same time, you need to come from the inside first. Money follows those who express spirit first.

That's Beyond Marketing.

And that's how you attract money.

Read The Translucent Revolution to get inspired.

Read The Attractor Factor to keep the fires burning bright.

Onwards.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS - Or see www.MoneyBeyondBelief.com to discover how to attract money by knocking on your own door. (Go see already.)

Discount on Siegel products

I twisted Pete Siegel's arm (not easy) to get you a discount on all of his programs (see previous post).

Go here to learn more --http://www.incrediblechange.com/OrderPage2.htm

I'm sure he'll change his mind at any moment, so if you want "Think and Grow Big" or his confidence course, golf course, diet course, or any of his other mind-body hypnosis programs, all at a nice discount, you better hop to it.

I'm sure this would be a nice gift to yourself, or to someone you know.

Merry Merry,

joe
www.mrfire.com

Wanted: People seeking more self-confidence

I've been using hypnosis since I was 16 years old, which means for over 35 years now.

(Thirty-five years? Now I feel old. Pardon me while I get depressed for a sec.....Okay. I'm back now.)

Hypnosis can create miracles. There's even an old book by Charles Tebbetts called Miracles on Demand, which is rare and very expensive if you can find it. It explains how hypnosis can help you achieve virtually anything you want almost instantly, using the radical short-term hypnotherapy methods of Gil Boyne. Powerful stuff.

Of course, today I know or know of most of the gurus in the field of hypnotism. But the other night I met a powerful figure in the sports therapy world. And I mean powerful. The man weighs 270 pounds of solid muscle, works out every day for two hours (!), has been working with super star clients for over 25 years, and sounds like a cross between Milton Erickson (the most famous hypnotist of all time) and Richard Bandler (the most controversial hypnotist alive today). I'm talking about Pete Siegel.

I know of him from his book and audio hypnosis system called Think and Grow Big, for creating big muscles. (It works, too. Ask to feel my biceps sometime. Or Pete's.)

Peter C. Siegel is America's foremost peak performance hypnotherapist. He's been featured on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, ESPN, CTV, The Jenny Jones Show, Fox Sports Net, VH1, and The Golf Channel. He's clearly an expert and he clearly gets results. He even trained with hypnotherapy legend Gil Boyne, the subject of Miracles on Demand.

Pete and I spoke last night to get to know each other. That's when I learned that he has three other programs (among many others) that could help anyone start to believe in themselves and get the results they want. They are --

"Building Super Confidence" (His hands down bestseller)

"Winning at Life"

"Success Mind-Sets"

He over-nighted all three sets to me. I think you should check them out. They use Pete's unique brand of powerful hypnosis to help you build the inner strength to do just about anything. Since the only limits most of us have are mental, stretch your mind and those limits gets stretched, as well.

These sets would be great gifts to yourself, as well as to those you care about. Visit his site and learn more about those programs as well as several others he has at -

http://www.incrediblechange.com/

Or call his office at (310) 280-3269. (He's in the LA area.)

And consider: What will you do when you have unlimited self confidence?

Well?

Ao Akua

Joe

www.mrfire.com

PS - In case you're wondering, this is not some sort of affiliate program. I don't make any money from endorsing Pete's products. He hasn't seen this post. I simply love sharing my discoveries with people. Check out his site and do what's best for you. http://www.IncredibleChange.com

Opposite Marketing, or, Why I Haven't Had a Glass of Water in 20 Years

Today I received a booklet in the mail that fascinated me. It's a traditional 40-page sales letter in printed and stapled form. That's the cover of it on the left. Take a look at it.

You'll note it grabs your attention with a couple of tried and true marketing tricks. To wit:

1. The word "Discover" is a hypnotic word proven to grab attention. It's used to begin the headline.

2. The essence of the headline is in quotes. As I said in my book fot The American Marketing Association, The AMA Complete Guide to Small Business Advertising, just adding quotation marks to a headline will increase readership by 15%.

3. The headline itself shocks you. How can anyone (let alone an M.D.) not drink water in two decades? You and I both have heard that we must drink water. Well, not so according to this M.D. But how is that possible? It stuns the brain. It makes you curious. You want to know more.

The rest of the booklet follows this same theme. Basically, it is going in the opposite direction of "normal" thinking. Throughout the sales letter you'll find statements such as "Vegetarians die younger" and "Low cholesterol can be more deadlier than high cholesterol."

This method works. The truth is, there is no one truth in the world. While someone can "prove" high cholesterol can kill you, someone else can find or create a study that proves high cholesterol won't kill you. It's all true. It depends on your perspective, which leads you to find supportive evidence for your perspective.

But that's me wearing my metaphysical-philosopher hat.

When I wear my marketing hat, I simply smile and realize here's another person capitalizing on "opposite marketing."

You might try it. It simply means note what the public is thinking and position yourself opposite from it.

But also note that what this doctor is saying is what people want to hear. At first glance it sounds counter to what people are hearing from their own doctors. It is. But it's not counter to what people want to hear.

Finally, do long sales letters work?

Does "opposite marketing" work?

You bet. Consistently.

I just signed up for a three year subscription to Dr. William Campbell Douglass's newsletter and booklets. He sold me.

But I'm still drinking water.

As well as $166 bottles of rare Chartreuse.

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS - I don't think the non-drinking M.D. has a website (he's traditional old school direct marketing) but you might try Google on him. He's Dr. William Campbell Douglass at Real Health Breakthroughs.

Luxury Gold Phones Anyone?

I'm still waiting for my new office to be completed so I can start putting books on shelves and behind glass doors.

But since my Control Center here in the office is up, complete with two big 19" monitors, I couldn't resist the urge to do a little online surfing.

What I just found surprised me.

I like luxury. So do others, apparently. In my curiosity about what common items could be made expensive, I stumbled across a gent in Austria who makes luxury cell phones.

That's right: Cell phones.

He adds gold and diamonds to them. He makes them heavy. He makes them gaudy. He made his first one in 1998 and the media did all the promoting for him.

His site reflects his uniqueness (typos and punctuation errors are all his):

each fantastic aloisson diamante phone is a rebel of todays pace.

the industry says - we are making the phones lighter and smaller - i make my phones heavier with gold

the industry says - we are making shock- and waterproof phones - i completely encrust my phone with magnificent diamonds

the industry wants us to replace a perfect working phone every 3 - 6 months with a new model - i make these maginificent objects for eternity.

if a product swims that much against today’s trends and fights that hard against a whole industry’s order - it cannot be just a simple product or a commodity. it must be an object of art.

And each item of art he creates for you will cost you about $20,000.

Twenty thousand dollars.

He's looking for investors, too, in guess you're getting excited.

I think too many of us forget that people have money for what they want (not always for what they need).

And people often spend money easily on things the rest of us think is unnecessary.

But the people doing the spending think their purchase is necessary. To them, it's rational.

They need to do it to feel unique, to reward themselves, to stand out in a crowd, to make others jealous, to feel the thrill of owning something rare.

So maybe you and I aren't thinking big enough.

And maybe we're not thinking counter-intuitive.

Maybe we're too logical in our marketing.

Maybe we're too intuitive in our marketing.

Maybe we should just be charging more for our goods.

Add a diamond to what you sell and see how much you can get for it.

Or paint it in gold and multiply the current price by one hundred.

Just how far can we go here, anyway?

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS - See the luxury cell phone artist's site at http://www.aloisson.com/

Movie Review: No Pain, No Gain

Who's in charge of your mind?

Last night Nerissa and I watched the film Crash. A friend told me about it, I ordered the DVD, and we popped it in. We didn't know we needed seat belts for the flick.

It's intense. It stars a long line of greats, from Sandra Bullock to Don Cheadle to Matt Dillon. It's about stereotypes, prejudice, and anger. The movie left me feeling uptight, and it left Nerissa feeling depressed. It's a masterpiece of a movie, but not an easy one to sit through. So thank goodness I heard about the premier of No Pain, No Gain, an independent film which we just went to see today.

There hasn't been a popular bodybuilding movie in decades, not since Pumping Iron, which I only mildly enjoyed. I didn't know what to expect with this new one, but feared it might be boring. Even though I've transformed my body with bodybuilding, I don't find the modern sport, with all its steroids, freak bodies and false promises, to be alluring.

Still, I needed a break from my office reconstruction and Nerissa was game to go. So we went.

Whew. The thing is inspiring. The key character is a likeable guy with enough brains to confuse the scientist he admires. He also idolizes the noble days of ancient bodybuilding, where you used your mind to command your body to get the results you want. His challenge is to prove his theories and enter a competition where the current king is a roid-injecting jackass.

There's character, drama, tension, and a great story in this movie. The acting is less than ideal in most cases, but the lead character's actor (Gus Malliarodakis) has big star written all over him. His arch enemy in the movie (Dennis Newman) also gives a command performance. The rest are adequate, but believable.

Nerissa, who has worked on major films and has a sharp eye, pointed out that the movie was filmed in and around Austin. We used to workout in the gym where much of it was shot. And a magician friend, Brad Henderson, has a moment in the flick. The music is upbeat. I want the sound track. The story is ultimately inspiring. My favorite line is repeated a few times:

"Your mind controls your body, but you control your mind."

A friend of mine who has been into bodybuilding for decades didn't think the movie was that great. He was the only person in the theatre in his city watching it. Nerissa and I might have had eight others watching it in our city theatre. But this was an independent film with little promotion behind it. Had Mel Gibson promoted it, there would have been a crowd. But this movie isn't about Jesus, it's about a man with a dream.

It's about you.

I related to it.

I liked it.

I think you should see it.

After all, who is in charge of your mind?

Find out at http://www.no-pain-no-gain.com/

Ao Akua

Joe
www.mrfire.com

A holiday gift idea (you can't blame me for trying)

I'm getting a lot of requests these days on how to get my recent best-selling book for holiday giving.

This year, instead of getting gift baskets of goodies that grow their customers and employees waistlines, many people are instead trying to help their family and friends, clients and customers, have a better life.

"The Attractor Factor: 5 Easy Steps for Creating Wealth (or anything else) from the Inside Out" appears to be the answer for many this season.

So here's the scoop: Just call Meg at 1-800-CEO-READ. If you're out of the US, call 414-274-6406 and push 3 when prompted, or email her at meg@800ceoread.com

She has prices that are better than I can offer you, and she is great at getting things out in a timely fashion. This is probably the best way for you to proceed if you are interested in getting 25 or more books at one time, at a very nice discount, to give as gifts this month. (She has a discount for less than 25 books, as well.)

After you dial 800-CEO-READ (800-236-7323) you can just push "3" when you hear the automated attendant, and you'll be transferred to Meg. Tell her I said "Ciao."

You can of course always get the book at Amazon, too. If you do, you can still have all of the bonuses I offered before. See http://www.mrfire.com/factor

Expect Miracles,

Joe

PS - And here's a gift for you: You can still hear my first interview from last April where Alex Mandossian interviewed me about my book as it became a#1 bestseller (beating even Harry Potter) at http://www.AskJoeVitale.com/replay

The Magic Furnace, or, People Reading is a Joke

I'm typing this on my laptop. Four guys are upstairs putting together my new office. I'm hiding downstairs at the kitchen table, trying not to cringe whenever I hear them bump something or say "Oops."

Earlier two other guys were here. They are the ones who do maintanence for us, cut the grass, trim the trees, etc. I'm hiring them to build a walking/jogging trail on the back part of our acreage. While here, we got to talking. They came inside to pick up some of my old office furniture, which I donated to them, and they of course saw the mountain of books on the floor, lining the walls, etc. Turns out these guys are big readers, too.

I was stunned. I never would have suspected they were even literate, let alone book worms. I don't mean that in any way as a negative comment. I like these guys. They are honest, dependable and talented. But both look and act like stereotypical Texas rednecks. They talk with a heavy southern accent, wear battle fatigue clothes, work outside all the time, chew tobacco, and never mention their interests. So how would I have guessed they liked to read books?

The taller of the two said his favorite books are on physics. He just finished a book called The Magic Furnace: The Search for the Origins of Atoms. He loaned it to his partner to read next. I haven't read the book but it's said to be about how we all started from star dust. Pretty deep.

Like everyone else, I often judge people based on a first impression. I've often been wrong, too. I need to remind myself to just look into people's eyes when I meet them, meet their spirit, and ask about their interests rather than guess at them.

I wonder how many people mis-judge me, too, based on a first impression?

joe
www.mrfire.com