Why Panic? or, Three Must-Have Books (Part Three)

I almost didn't write about this third must-have book.

Why?

Well, I have to make a confession to make this one relevant.

It's a little embarrassing.

But I'll go through with it, anyway.

First, here's the book:

When Panic Attacks: The New, Drug-Free Anxiety Therapy that Can Change Your Life by David Burns, M.D.

Second, here's my confession:

I used to suffer from panic attacks and social anxiety attacks.

They're no fun. They come unannounced, take you by surprise, make you feel like you're going to have a heart attack or die from lack of oxygen, and warp-drive you mentally into a stressed-out run-for-your-life inner place of terrifying hell.

Like I said, they're no fun.

When you experience a panic attack or anxiety attack, you also feel like you have no control, like you're going insane, like no one on earth can help you or save you because no one else can see let alone feel what is happening inside you. They don't have a clue about what is happening. And neither do you.

I'm over panic attacks today. But I still live in quiet fear that one may sneak up on me at any time, cut off my head, and bring me to my knees.

With all of the above in mind, it should come as no surprise that I picked up When Panic Attacks by Dr. David Burns. I'm glad I did. It's a masterpiece.

Burns explains that your thoughts are what cause the attacks. We're not aware of the thoughts because they whiz by at lightning speed. But with the help of cognitive therapy, which Burns describes, you can become aware of the thoughts and then choose new ones.

He offers a variety of other methods to heal the problem at the core. The stories he tells brings the concepts to life. While at first blush you may think "This will never work for me," once you actually absorb the message and try the method, you find your anxiety dissolving and then disappearing -- forever.

Burns also explains that there is no such thing as a chemical imbalance in the brain. No scientist has found it and no drug can resolve it. A brain chemistry imbalance simply doesn't exist.

But a thought imbalance does.

I've been able to keep panic attacks at bay by using cognitive therapy (I have an e-book on the subject with Dr. Larina Kase at www.endselfsabotage.com) and with intense exercise (see www.mrfiremeltdown.com)

Becoming aware of the hidden thoughts that create the fears and phobias is the first step. And exercise helps release the accumulated tensions in the body so a panic attack doesn't have any energy to uncork.

I found Dr. Burns' new book (he also wrote, Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy) to be insightful and packed with exercises to help anyone suffering from worry, panic, and anxiety. It's a colossal work at over 400 pages, but a meaty one. I strongly recommend this one.

It's a must-have book.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS -- Since I read so many books, I'm going to list another must-have book in the next few days. I know I said I was only going to mention three books, but I'm creating the world's first book buffet. Instead of "all you can eat" in one sitting it will be "all you can read."

PPS - Nerissa just posted a fascinating blog entry. See www.thevideoqueen.com/blog.html

News Flash: Woman Has "Out of This World" Spacey Idea -- and it flys!

My friend Cindy Cashman has been sitting on an explosive idea for about a year now.

I know, because I was there in the room with the rest of the Mastermind group when she announced the grand idea.

I was even the one to give her an introduction to the offices of Sir Richard Branson, who loved the idea.

But we were all sworn to secrecy.

It hurt to keep such a great idea under our hats for so long.

It felt like I had a lit rocket in my skull.

Anyway, Cindy gave us permission to announce her idea today.

Here it is:

She and her boyfriend are going to be the first couple to be married in outer space.

Think of the publicity opportunities.

Think of the sponsorship opportunities.

Think of how anyone who is the first in anything is the one who gets remembered in the history books.

Cindy's idea is brilliant.

But don't think this was an overnight success.

Cindy has been negotiating and going back and forth with potential partners for months. She could have given up at any time. She could have said this was too hard. This is no fun. This ain't gonna work.

But she hung in there.

And now she's going to be shot into space.

And married there.

And the entire world will hear about it.

Beginning today.

Get on the list to learn more about it at http://www.firstspacewedding.com/

Consider: How many great or even spacey ideas do you talk yourself out of every day?

Stop it already.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS -- I haven't forgotten about the third must-have book. It's coming.

PPS -- The verdict is in: The site I opened yesterday is a hands-down best-seller. Go see for yourself what everyone is talking about at www.BeyondManifestation.com

What's Your Code? or, Three Must-Have Books (Part Two)

I told you about the first must-have book I'm currently reading yesterday. Today I'll tell you about the second one:

The Culture Code by Clotaire Rapaille.

I almost didn't pick this one up. I thought it was yet another poor spin-off of The Da Vinci Code, which I'm tired of hearing about and seeing take-offs of.

But this new book is riveting, as well as revealing.

Rapaille is an expensive marketing consultant who digs into the collective unconscious of a nation to unearth its silent system of "codes" -- unconscious symbols, or archetypes.

The book's subtitle says, "An ingenious way to understand why people around the world live and buy as they do."

I found the book astonishing. What he declares are the hidden motivators for our behaviors is surprising, at least at first.

For example, being overweight means a person has "checked out."

The code for fat is basically giving up on life. A fat person has "checked out" of the game, so to speak. When they check in again, they will lose weight.

And the code for money is "proof."

We want money to show we are worthy; that we matter; that we have succeeded. It is the "proof" that validates our living and our abilities.

And you don't want to know the code for sex.

The Culture Code goes through numerous revelations. He gives the code for beauty, health, luxury, food, shopping, work, money, sex, and more. All of it is brilliant.

My only concern with the book is how do I find out the code for any particular audience I might want to market something to? I'm left thinking the codes are priceless to know, but only Rapaille or some other Freudian trained marketer can reveal them. The codes he shares are enlightening and will help me better understand myself and other Americans. But beyond that, what do I do?

Still, this is truly a must-have book.

Get it.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS -- Later I will reveal the third and final must-have book from the stack I am currently reading. What are the top three books you are currently reading? I'd love to know.

PPS - Great news: The audios, transcripts, and secret manual to the famous Manifestation Weekend are now available at www.BeyondManifestation.com If you're ready for the "Advanced Manifestation" course, go see that site right now.

What's Your Mindset? or, Three Must-Have Books (Part One)

I'm reading a dozen or so books at any one time. Three jump out as must-haves. I thought I would mention them here on this blog. I'll tell you about the first book today:

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck.

This one is really opening my eyes. Dweck says there are two basic mindsets: a fixed one and a growth one. A fixed mindset says you can't learn anything new in a particular area. A growth mindset says you can learn something new, with time, effort and patience.

At first glance this may seem lame as an insight.

But look closer.

In the field of marketing, copywriting, publicity and online selling, I have a growth mindset. I didn't know any of those subjects at birth. I had to learn them all. But my mindset was open. It was growth oriented. I knew I could do it, in time. And I did.

But in the field of fitness, I've had a fixed mindset. I felt I would never be an athlete, never lose weight, and always fail at dieting and exercise. When it came to fitness, I felt nature had dealt me a bad hand and I was doomed to accept the cards.

How do you change your mindset?

According to Dweck, all you have to do is flip the mental switch. Just being aware of the two mindsets can help you choose the growth oriented one.

For example, my trainer, Scott York, came to my gym today. I met him at the door with an enthusiasum that rocked him a little. He's used to me being reluctant to work-out, especially with his Navy Seals bootcamp-style intense exercises.

But I've been reading Mindset. I realized I had a fixed mindset and I decided to give it up. After all, it wasn't helping me. As a result, I had a terrific, though difficult, workout. And I now feel fantastic. (You'll be able to see the workout, and hear me reveal marketing secrets, if you sign-up at www.mrfiremeltdown.com )

Obviously, in some areas of your life you have a fixed mindset. In others you have a growth mindset. The point is to realize you have a choice in all areas.

Consider: In what area of your life have you given up, or accepted that you can't succeed or improve?

Always bad at math?

Can't learn Internet marketing?

Always fail at dieting or learning a new language or meeting someone new or --- ?

Your answer reveals where you have a fixed mindset.

You can change it.

It's a choice.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS -- I'll tell you about the other two books that I think are must-haves later. For now, go get Carol Dweck's book, Mindset. And read it. Like right now.

How Nerissa Attracted a Brand-New Hybrid Car

Nerissa www.thevideoqueen.com just attracted her brand new car:

It's a 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid www.hybridcars.com/camry.html.

It's beautiful, luxurious, and rides like an owl gliding through the night air.

That quiet, too.

She used the principles at www.attractanewcar.com to get the car from her mind into the driveway.

She began by deciding on what she wanted. Since she's a "green girl", meaning environmentally friendly, she wanted a hybrid: a half gas, half battery operated machine.

I bought her a tiny model of a hybrid car (a Prius) to help her start imagining the end result of having a real hybrid car.

I did the same thing when I bought a model of the BMW 645ci, which helped me internalize what it would be like later to own the real BMW 645ci luxury sports car.

The rest of the process was a matter of patience, trust, and acting on whatever actions appeared to take.

Today Nerissa has her hybrid.

We're building a carport to park my BMW Z3. The two new cars, her hybrid and my 645ci, will go in the garage.

If you have any doubts about your ability to attract a new car, or anything else you might desire, please look at the picture of Nerissa above, meeting her new car for the first time.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS - P.T. Barnum's birthday will be July 5th. To celebrate it, I am keeping the special offer open at www.BarnumReturns.com Go see. If P.T. Barnum were alive today, I'm pretty sure he'd have a new car, too. But it'd probably be as big as an elephant, just to get attention. He once had an elephant plow the land around his house, just so the people on the train near his home would have something to talk about: P.T. Barnum.

Don't read this unless you forgot something

Seth Godin www.sethgodin.com just turned me on to a cool service:

It's an online way to send text message reminders to your cell phone.

I just tried it and it works beautifully (but only in the USA and some parts of Canada, for now).

What you do is go to www.ohdontforget.com/ and enter your mobile phone number, the day and time you want your reminder, and the text message you want sent.

For example, I'm going to be on Wendi Friesen's www.wendi.com radio show later today. While I doubt I'll ever forget something as important as hanging out with the beautiful hypnotist Wendi, I thought I would test www.ohdontforget.com with a reminder to call in to her show at 6 PM Central.

The tool is a breeze to use. My only question is, what time zone does it operate in? It appears to adapt the time zone by checking the area code you enter, but I could be wrong. If you enter a a request for a call from a Pacific time zone, and it uses a Central time zone, you'll miss your appointment. Other than that, the service is cool. And free.

Note: I just wrote my time-zone question to the programmer, Jason Stirman, and he instantly replied, saying, "Ohdontforget.com automatically knows your time zone and schedules reminders accordingly."

WAY cool.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS - The "I love you" audio by Pat O'Bryan and myself has become a runaway bestseller. If you haven't looked into it, why not right now? See www.milagroresearchinstitute.com/iloveyou.htm Or send yourself a reminder to look at it later.

Do "buy me a beer" buttons work on blogs and websites?

Here's a question I get asked a lot:

"Does anyone ever buy you an Amazon gift certificate?"

The question refers to the note above and below every entry here on my blog. Take a look above (or below) and you'll see this statement:

"If you like the free articles on this blog, let Joe know

by buying him his favorite gift -

an Amazon gift certificate. Click Here! "

So, does anyone ever buy me an Amazon gift certificate?

I got the idea to add that line after hearing about people adding similar lines, usually saying something like, "If you like this website, buy me a beer."

You'd then see a link where you could Paypal the person a few dollars. I used to wonder if the idea actually worked, until I heard about people receiving hundreds of dollars a month this way.

I still didn't think it would work for me or anyone else, though, until I went to one of my favorite sites at www.askdavetaylor.com/ I saw Dave has a button where you could buy him a chai if you liked his blog. Well, I love Dave Taylor's blog. The guy amazes me with what he knows or can find out. One day, after reading his blog and feeling impressed, I sent him some money as a gift.

And that's when it dawned on me: maybe this "buy me something if you like my site" idea would work for me, too.

I don't drink beer, rarely drink chai, and I have plenty of coffee in the morning, so I didn't want any of those.

But I do spend a great deal of money at Amazon. I shop at Amazon every day and buy something almost every other day. An Amazon gift certificate would be appropriate for me. In fact, it's my favorite kind of gift in the entire world. (Unless someone wants to buy me a 2007 BMW Z4 M, of course. If you do, I prefer the color Interlagos Blue Metallic.)

So I added the "buy me" line to my blog. I figured it wouldn't hurt and maybe somebody would actually click on it and do it.

To my amazement, the very next day after adding the line, someone sent me an Amazon gift certificate for $100.

I loved it.

Two days later someone sent me a gift of $20.

I loved that, too.

Things were quiet for a month or more until yesterday, when someone else sent me $100.

Yes, I loved it, as well.

I had a great time shopping at Amazon yesterday, feeling like a kid at Christmas, with a hundred dollars burning a hole in my cyber-pocket.

All of these gifts were joyously received. And from what I can tell, they were joyously sent.

People were glad to do it. It made them feel good. And as I explain in my book, The Greatest Money-Making Secret in History, this giving will lead to them receiving. It's just the way the universe works.

So - Does adding a leading statement like "If you like the free articles on this blog, let Joe know by buying him his all-time favorite gift - an Amazon gift certificate. Click Here! " work?

You bet it does.

If you're truly inspiring or informing, entertaining or educating, people may want to thank you. A "buy me something cool" link gives them a fast and easy way to do just that, at the very moment they are feeling the most grateful for you and your writing.

I suggest you add one to your site today.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS -- I know, I know. All of my "hypnotic marketing" products -- all the e-books and audios and courses -- have been taken off the market. People keep calling my office and saying the links aren't working on www.mrfire.com That's because all of my products sold through Nitro Marketing, Inc. are off the market. But, as a consolation, you can access some really good training I've done on hypnotic marketing (all yours free) here: www.hypnoticmarketing.com/goodstuff.o/10386 You'll find some audios and more, including my "3 Minute Money Magnet" program. I had forgotten about it. I tried it and still love it. Go check it out. If you like it, buy me an Amazon gift certificate.

A New Way to Program Your Mind to Attract Money, or, Why I Was Upset about a Check I Received for $125,689.58

I just received a check in the mail for $125,689.58.

I didn't know what it was for.

It looked real.

I wanted it to be real.

But was it?

A letter with the check began, "The enclosed check is a real check. But you can't cash it or deposit it. It's non-negotiable."

Huh?????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was instantly aggravated.

Why send me a check I can't use?

Why make it look real?

Why get me excited and then dash my hopes against the rocks?

I was all set to go buy my BMW Z4 M when I realized this check, which I thought was unexpected income, was a lie.

What a dirty trick.

I went back to the letter that came with the check. I read it. Turns out the woman who sent it created a service to do what she did to me: send real-looking fake checks to people, made out for colossal amounts.

Now why would anyone want to do that?

I looked at her site and figured it out.

You send yourself an authentic looking check, made out for a huge amount, to get yourself imagining what it would feel like to actually have a real one for that amount.

It's a new way to program your mind to attract money.

I started to get it.

This is a cool way to bring to life the fourth step in my book,The Attractor Factor.

And I liked the idea so much I went to the site www.getbigcheck.com/joevitale.html and ordered a tycoon sized check for myself and a surprise big check for Nerissa.

I'm going to put mine on the wall and look at it every day.

And one day soon, I'll receive a real, cashable version of the check.

After all, it all begins in your mind.

This is a way to embed your desire in your brain's control center.

Obviously, this service could be a terrific direct mail attention-getter, as well.

Imagine sending a prospect a large, real looking check, with their name on it, and then beginning your letter to them with something like, "Note the million dollar check attached to this letter. I'm writing with a million dollar idea for you..."

Get yourself a check.

Expect wealth.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS -- I still wonder if people who receive these checks unexpectedly will be excited or miffed. It's a little like telling them they won the lotto and then saying, "Ha! Got YOU!" I'll be curious to see how well received the checks are. But from a mental programming standpoint, I think getting a check for yourself and people you care about is a wise idea. Do it.

How do you escape the "cold calling" rut?

I get questions.

Here's a recent one:

I started in insurance three months ago. I was given the 'old school' speech about cold calling: being told that I would probably have to make around 600 cold calls per week; if it's not working, 'just increase your number of calls''; go out and hand out business cards by the hundreds; etc. I'm still getting nowhere. Everytime I bring it up, I'm told that it's all a 'numbers game'. Then I'm reminded that 'insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome! Cold calling six, 600, or 6000 times without a result is not a numbers game, it's insanity.

How do I get out of the 'cold calling' rut? I'm not making enough money yet to pay for a full-out advertising campaign structured by a professional, so what do I do? How do I stop struggling and going deeper into the 'quicksand' and start selling? What is the key? How do you make the transition?

There are so many things to comment on. Here are a few:

If you are handing out hundreds of business cards and getting no where, I can't help but wonder what is on those cards, what are you saying right before or as you hand them out, and who are you handing them to?

If you hand your business card to people without them wanting it, you're moving too soon.

If you are handing your business cards to the wrong audience, you'll never get a response.

This is a little like going to a cafe and suddenly seeing some customer there run around the room, shaking hands and handing out business cards. It's highly unlikely that you'll care, or keep his or her card, or call him or her later. The whole scenario is un-natural.

Personally, I hate cold calling.

That's why I don't do it.

Instead, I use the principles in my book,There's a Customer Born Every Minute, and in my Nightingale-Conant program, The Power of Outrageous Marketing, to get people to call me.

Here's a sample of what I mean:

Most people go to business events and paper the room with their business cards.

Then they wonder why no one calls them back.

What I do instead is arrange to be a speaker in front of the room. After people hear me, they all want my business card. They ask for it. And when they ask for it, they almost always call me later. I don't have to sell them. I don't have to "cold call." All I have to do is answer the phone.

You can do this, too.

I can't explain it all in this blog entry, but you get the idea.

Make the fish come to you.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS - Frank Rumbauskas has a new book on this very subject that you might want to get: Never Cold Call Again: Achieve Sales Greatness Without Cold Calling. I think his offer is still going on over at http://www.franksonetimeoffer.com/

Inside News Behind the Movie "The Secret", or, Why I'm Not Running for Political Office

Last night I held a "secret" showing of the movie The Secret.

The movie isn't really a secret, of course, as by now most of the online planet has heard the buzz about this amazing film.

And last night's showing wasn't really a secret, either, as the local city was papered with flyers about the "secret" showing of The Secret movie.

I'm in the movie, along with a long list of great teachers and friends, from Esther Hicks to Mike Dooley to Bob Proctor to Jack Canfield to John Assaraf to Bill Harris to -- well, you get the idea.

I held a Q&A after last night's showing. Because I wanted to give my private audience a little behind-the-scenes inside information, I contacted the woman who created The Secret and learned the following news:

Stats approx........in 10 weeks .........tens of thousands of DVDs sold to over 50 countries, and about the same in Online viewings at www.whatisthesecret.tv

300 to 400 people a day are subscribing to The Secret Scrolls and growing

A giant publisher has contacted us and want to publish The Secret book to be on the shelves in November.

Spiritual Cinema Circle wants to include The Secret to send out to their members.

Discussions are taking place with several satellite television services for The Secret to be included in their group.

We are now being contacted by various networks around the world re broadcast.

In Europe we have been approached by one of the biggest film distributors who distributed What The Bleep. What they thought would be a 4 week run in theatres, has now turned into 26 weeks and it is still going. These distributors see The Secret as being even more successful, and so we are currently doing a deal with them to send The Secret through cinemas throughout Europe - translated into German and other languages.

Our team is currently working on translation versions - about 7 to 9 to begin with.

We have been asked via a contact of Rev Michael Beckwith's, if The Secret can be broadcast nationwide in a third world country. It will be broadcast four times to 9 million poverty stricken people there.

We are being approached by various networks around the world, and are following through on each one of them.

There are big discussions with contacts that have come to us, for Japan, China, Malaysia ...... and so the doors are opening to these countries in a big way.

We are drawing very big contacts in Hollywood.........

My team will be moving forward on the sequels in August/September......of which we have so much footage already filmed.

We are being approached by universities, schools, hospitals, health clubs, doctors, churches, sports clubs, large companies and organizations across the United States and the world, requesting publicly screening The Secret.

Secret parties are happening everywhere...........people who receive the DVD are so inspired that they are gathering friends and family and screening within their homes to large groups. We get emails from people saying they have shared The Secret in their home with over 100 people.

The stories of "miracles" happening in people's lives are beyond anything I can describe. You name it, the miracle has happened!

As you can see, the movie is making history.

And with sequels being planned, the momentum is not going to stop any time soon.

My own feeling is that this one single film can awaken humanity in a way not done before in thousands of years.

If you haven't seen the movie yet, you can watch it online or you can buy the DVD. Everything is explained at www.whatisthesecret.tv

I buy multiple copies of the DVD and give them to family, friends, libraries, shelters, and more.

If nothing else, at least go watch the hypnotic teaser on the site.

Tell the world.

Expect miracles.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS - Last night after the movie, during the Q&A session, some excited, well-meaning soul stood up and urged me to run for political office. He tried to get the crowd to rise up and join him. I didn't give him a chance. When it comes to politics, I'm a Transcendentalist. While politics and politicians can make a difference, I don't see it as my role or calling, at least not at this time. If you're interested in politics, I strongly suggest you find a copy of the book Spiritual Politics by Corinne McLaughlin and Gordon Davidson. It reveals the hidden causes for world events. You can get details at http://www.visionarylead.org/spirit2.htm

Amazing Woman Wins Day with Joe Vitale! Turns It Into an Instant Product with-out the Help of Aliens or Breast Implants or Three-legged Singing Pigs!

Amy Terrill's life is changing at a rapid rate.

It's changing so fast that her family and friends, including her husband, are bewildered.

Not Amy, though.

She's going for her dreams and she's moving like Superwoman on super-caffeine.

Amy bought my Hypnotic Selling Secrets www.HypnoticMarketingStrategy.com package a month or so ago. Because she did, she was entered in a contest to possibly win an entire day with me. (Some prize.)

Because she used the steps in my book, The Attractor Factor www.attractorfactor.com, she won. She was here yesterday. And she was bug-eyed excited the entire time she was with Nerissa and me.

You have to understand something about Amy.

She's 24, mother of a two-year-old baby, and she works four ten-hour days a week at Wal-Mart in the farm country outside of St. Louis. Her life is moving boxes in a hot warehouse, all day long.

But she's heard about the Internet.

She watches the success of people like me, Pat O'Bryan, Tom Pauley, and others.

She gets on our mailing lists.

She buys our products.

And she begins to dream.

When I announced my Manifestation Weekend www.BeyondManifestation.com, she and her husband signed up for it. It was a huge step into the unknown.

But they did it.

When I announced my Hypnotic Selling Secrets mega-package, she bought it. It wasn't cheap. For a woman making Wal-Mart wages, this was another huge leap.

But she did it.

When I announced that someone could win a day with me, Amy used the five steps in The Attractor Factor and won that prize.

And get this:

Amy had never flown on a plane before. She and her husband drove to Austin for the Manifestation Weekend. But for the day with me, she was flying.

And she was afraid.

But she did it, anyway.

When Amy came to our home, she began asking questions. They were wonderful, insightful, and surprising questions. Everything from how many books I read a week, to what beliefs did I have to change to be a success. I was in awe.

I gave her a private tour of our estate - from my gym www.gladiatorgym.com/ to our Catarium www.catarium.com to Nerissa's video room to my office to my library to even my top secret magic room.

No one has ever gotten to spend an entire day with me before, where they got such a lengthy tour, or got to ask whatever was on their mind about my life and work.

If this were you, would you see an opportunity here?

I did.

I gave her an idea for a product within minutes of stepping into our home.

I told her that sometimes people go to seminars, take extensive notes, and then sell those notes later to people who didn't attend the event.

I urged Amy to record her experiences with me, write it up as a Special Report, and then sell it online as her first product.

Amy is nervous about it.

But also excited.

She's writing that information product right now.

I'm inspired by people like Amy.

It makes me feel good about people, our world, and the future.

The real winner of the day wasn't Amy.

It was me.

I got to spend the day with her.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS -- Free Copywriting Lesson: The headline on this blog entry is a National Enquirer http://www.nationalenquirer.com/ type. Think what you like of those newsstand rags, they are bought and they are read. Why? Because people can't resist the strange, the curious, the bizarre, or the unusual. We crave it. This is a tidbit of human psychology you can bank on. So my advice is to use it, at least from time to time. That's what I did today. And look -- You read this post. And I bet you enjoyed it, too. (Don't lie.) Onwards.

The Dark City Inside Your Own Mind

You never know what each day will bring you, do you?

Have you ever wondered why that is?

Who's pulling these surprises on you, anyway?

Yesterday I turned on the television and caught most of the 1998 sci-fi classic movie, Dark City. I had never seen it before, or even heard of it. But I was absolutely riveted by it.

I'll tell you why it captivated me in a minute. First, let me set the stage by telling you what the movie is about:

According to the description of the DVD on www.Amazon.com (which I just ordered), the basic plot is this:

John Murdoch awakens alone in a strange hotel to find that he has lost his memory and is wanted for a series of brutal and bizarre murders. While trying to piece together his past, he stumbles upon a fiendish underworld controlled by a group of beings known as The Strangers who possess the ability to put people to sleep and alter the city and its inhabitants. Now Murdoch must find a way to stop them before they take control of his mind and destroy him.

Well, that plot description doesn't do the movie justice at all.

Yes, the movie is about Murdoch slowly awakening, being confused by mental images, and incomplete story lines, and by the nagging reality that no one can tell him how to get to Sunset Beach, which is advertised everywhere.

Yes, there are "Strangers" who control the world he lives in with their hypnotic powers, and no one seems aware of it except Murdoch and a dorky psychiatrist played by actor Kiefer Sutherland (of 24 fame).

But the above is like saying Melville's Moby Dick is about a big fish.

Truth is, Dark City is about the inside of your own mind.

Here's how I see it:

The "Strangers" are your unconscious.

They cause you to go "asleep" and become addictive to people, places, things. They also cause you to remember your life inaccurately and incompletely. The Strangers are pulling your strings. You don't know it because they are hidden from you. When they want you to do something, they make you go unconscious. This is your life. Like the people in the movie, Dark City, you and they have no clue any of this is going on. None. You do things and then wonder why you did them. Others do things and you wonder why they did them.

"Murdoch" is your conscious mind.

It's the part of you that is awakening but remains confused. It's the part of you reading this right now. It askes why you keep doing things that hurt you, whether overeat or overdrink or remain addicted to sex or cigars or watermelons or whatever. You (Murdoch) want to control the show (your life), but you can't seem to grab the bull (the Strangers) by the horn. It's a constant struggle. You have moments where you seem to control life, but then you lose the power and you're back in the struggle. Sometimes you awaken after eating a pie (when you said you were dieting). Sometimes you awaken after having an argument with someone (who you said you loved), and now you can't figure out why you blew a gasket. This is the eternal frustration.

So, how do you break free?

How do you clean your unconscious of the strangers and take control of your life?

How do you create a world of your liking, and not one where you're the main puppet?

In the movie, Sutherland plays the role of the aware but weak psychiatrist who teaches Murdoch how to control his own mind. Control his will and he can control the strangers. Control his mind and he can direct his intention to do what seems impossible. Of course, Murdoch does this. By the movie's end, he creates a whole new world, right down to a beautiful Sunset Beach.

The moral of the story for me is this:

You can take control of the "dark city" inside your mind by consciously using your powers of will to awaken.

It may not happen overnight (and then again, maybe it will).

But it can happen, if you work at it.

This was the purpose of The Mental Toughness Institute which helped me lose 80 pounds.

It's also the message in Steve Siebold's masterpiece of a book, 177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class. www.govesiebold.com

It's also the message in the now famous viral movie, The Secret. www.whatisthesecret.tv

It's also the message in the Manifestation Weekend www.BeyondManifestation.com I held recently.

It's also the message in the monthly DVD that Scott York and I just released. www.mrfiremeltdown.com

John Murdoch is you.

And you can awaken from the hold of the strangers.

Go Conscious.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS -- Two more tools for awakening: An author/teacher/speaker I love who works with the "Dark City" of your mind is Debbie Ford www.DebbieFord.com And the audio recording Pat O'Bryan and I just released can help you clean and clear the "Strangers" in your mind. It's described at www.milagroresearchinstitute.com/iloveyou.htm

PPS - A Disclaimer: I loved the movie Dark City for the great acting (William Hurt, Sutherland), plot, soundtrack, imaginative sets, hidden messages and more. But you may not like it at all. The purpose of this blog post isn't to sell you on the movie, but to sell you on awakening. Go Conscious. Thank you. I love you.
PPPS - Most of us are like the kitty in this video:

Who else wants to know the marketing and fitness secrets of a melting Mr. Fire?

Scott York came to my home gym yesterday www.gladiatorgym.com and lit the torch under my butt.

It was day one of filming for our monthly DVD described at www.mrfiremeltdown.com

I was a nervous wreck before we began. I didn't know what to expect.

Would Scott be a Navy Seals take-no-prisoners trainer?

Would he ask me countless marketing questions while I panted for air?

I'm relieved to say I survived it.

Scott taught me his unusual 30-minute fitness routine – the one he used to lose 45 pounds.

He also spent time picking my brains about marketing.

I surprised him by some of the things I revealed about marketing and publicity.

He surprised me by teaching me that I don’t have to starve to lose weight quickly and easily. That was good news, as just the day before I was feeling light headed from cutting back on my food and carbs. Scott pointed out that you don't need to suffer to lose weight and get fit.

And I pointed out that people can succeed with marketing if they do a few things consistently, like model the great showman, P.T. Barnum, who knew the value of publicity. (I wrote about Barnum in my book, There's A Customer Born Every Minute.)

This is gonna be one collectible, unusual, and unforgettable DVD.

The marketing-fitness site went live yesterday morning at www.mrfiremeltdown.com

Anyone interested in fitness marketing should probably take a look at it.

But I believe anyone wanting to know marketing for fitness centers or wanting a marketing plan for fitness centers or even people who want marketing software, especially personal trainers, would want this new DVD of the month.

I think you can call it Marketing with Muscle.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS -- Scott just emailed me one of the workouts he wants me to do. You'll get to see me do them on the monthly DVD. These are so intense that you may lose weight just watching me workout!

Marketing with Muscle

The new members-only monthly DVD I've been promising to tell you about went live three minutes ago.

You can learn how to drop weight and get fit AS you learn the inner secrets of marketing by following me once a month on a special members only DVD.

It's all explained at www.MrFireMeltdown.com

This is the biggest and boldest thing I've ever done...and you can be one of only 500 people to watch and learn from every step of this new adventure.

I'm nervous and excited about this, but what can I do now? The site is live.

There's no turning back now.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS - This is marketing with muscle.

My Ultimate Writing Secret: An Exclusive Confession

I'm going to tell you my ultimate writing secret.

I've never revealed it before.

I'm willing to bet no writer alive or dead ever used this method.

Shakespeare didn't do it.

Hemingway didn't do it.

Your favorite novelist or copywriter doesn't do it.

But I do.

And it's the main reason my books, sales letters, articles, emails, websites and even blog posts seem to keep people riveted to my words.

It's not the words...but what I am doing as I write the words.

It's one of the reasons my books become #1 bestsellers and my sales letters melt down the walls of resistance in people and break all known profit records.

So here's my ultimate writing secret:

As I am writing anything -- including this very blog entry -- I am silently chanting three magic phrases in my mind.

I am not writing the magic phrases. You won't find them in this post. But I am saying them, silently, in the back of my mind, as I write these words to you.

If you'd like to know what the three magic phrases are, take a moment and poke your head in the door over at www.milagroresearchinstitute.com/iloveyou.htm

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS -- I silently chanted the three magic phrases as I wrote this post and I am saying them in my mind right now as I write this PS. Can you guess what the three lines are? If so, or if not, go see www.milagroresearchinstitute.com/iloveyou.htm

How to Write a Sales Letter

People are always asking me "What's the best way to write a sales letter?" or "How can I draft my website sales copy so it actually makes sales?"

Well, there are at least three things you can do:

1. Hire me or some other copywriter to do it for you. See my rates at www.mrfire.com (I'm not available till 2007, though.)

2. Use my software at www.HypnoticWritingWizard.com (You'll love it. Works on PC's only, though.)

3. Study the letter at http://www.clickhereyouidiot.com/

Thus ends the lesson for today.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS -- My fitness-marketing monthly DVD is almost ready to be announced. Stay tuned...

Lindsay Lohan Talked About Me on David Letterman Last Night

In case you missed the David Letterman show on television last night, actress Lindsay Lohan was on and she talked about me.

She was there to plug some movie she's in -- A prairie Home Companion directed by Robert Altman, I think (I wasn't really listening) -- and along the way Letterman tried to find out who she has been dating recently.

Fortunately, she wouldn't say.

Thank you, Lindsay.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS -- According to a biorhytm chart on the net http://www.facade.com/biorhythm/, I am very compatible with Lindsay. It says:

Compatibility of Lindsay Lohan with Joe Vitale
Physical 78% Emotional 99% Intellectual 79% Overall 85%

See, Lindsay? What did I tell you?

A Hero Moves On

I just learned that the great Heavyweight boxing champion Floyd Patterson died. http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2006/05/12/sports-pattersontrib-05-12.html

I met Floyd more than thirty-five years ago, when I was an idolizing kid and he was a world famous but aging boxer.

I wrote about the experience in my book, Life's Missing Instruction Manual www.lifesmissingmanual.com

Floyd gave nobility to a brutal sport. One writer said, "Patterson's best teaching tool was simply being himself, a kind-hearted, generous gentleman who carried himself well in public, signing autographs, speaking at community centers, visiting local seniors and bringing holy communion to the housebound."

I no longer care about boxing, and haven't in decades, but I'll never forget the kindness of the great Floyd Patterson.

He was one of my early heroes.

I miss him.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS - Today is my father's birthday. He took me to see Floyd when I was a kid. Thank you again for that, Dad.

How I Offered Houdini's Marketing Trick to a Priest from Downunder

This morning I met famous bodybuilder Lee Priest.

I didn't know what to expect. Guys like him used to beat me up in high school.

But I'm a new man these days. Today I know bodybuilders and fitness models, once worked out with classic bodybuilding legend Frank Zane www.FrankZane.com, met actors James Caan and Ray Liotta in gyms, and more.

Still, when I went into the gym today, knowing I was going to meet a modern day award-winning bodybuilder, an old part of me expected to be treated like the fat boy of long ago.

But that didn't happen.

Lee Priest is friendly, smart, clear eyed, clear headed and full of opinions, most of which show up raw and un-edited in his monthly DVD at www.bodybuildersreality.com

I gave him a copy of my book, The Attractor Factor www.AttractorFactor.com. He stood there in the gym and began to read it. I was impressed.

He asked me about my other books and asked me to bring him a copy of my recent book, Life's Missing Instruction Manual www.lifesmissingmanual.com. He said he likes inspirational works.

Later I followed him to a grand opening of a smoothie shop in Round Rock, Texas, beside a popular Gold's Gym. Again, he was warm and friendly, talking, joking, signing pictures, etc.

I couldn't help but notice he is covered with tattoos, including one on his face. I pointed to the inside of his forearm, where the space was available, and offered to pay him if he would tattoo my website www.mrfire.com there. He laughed but he may not have known that I'm serious.

I got the tattoo marketing idea from the great Houdini, who once hired seven bald men to write a letter each on their heads, and then bow together so people could see that the bald heads spelled H-O-U-D-I-N-I.

I think having my website as a tattoo on Lee's arm is a far better idea. Lee's picture is taken all the time, and he's in many fitness magazines, such as Muscular Development. That single ad-tattoo would get me a lot more mileage than Houdini's seven bald guys.

Anyway, check out Lee's monthly DVD membership site, run by our mutual friend Scott York, at www.BodyBuildersReality.com

It's like a reality TV show for fans of bodybuilders and bodybuilding.

The site itself is well done, and is worth a look. You can always learn something new about marketing by studying websites that sell.

Go see for yourself.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS - Heads up: I'm going to announce a new DVD of the month membership site of my own in a few days, aimed at anyone wanting to lose weight and get in shape while learning marketing. I think you'll like it. Stay tuned to this channel for further details.

The Internet Was Destroyed Last Night

I just heard that the Internet was destroyed last night.

I'm shocked, too.

I'll tell you about it in a moment, but first --

I'm reading a terrific new book called Idealized Design.

It's by Russell L. Ackoff, Jason Magidson, and Herbert Addison. It's a Wharton School Publishing book, which has been publishing some works of genius. (Note their earlier masterpiece, The Power of Impossible Thinking by Wind and Crook.) www.whartonsp.com

This is another one of them. It's basically about how to create the future for your business (or your personal life) by focusing on what you desire and not on what you already have.

The book reminds me of The Attractor Factor www.attractorfactor.com but with a much more corporate focus. In fact, the book's subtitle is "Creating an Organization's Future."

But the principles in the book are pure Attractor Factor and The Secret. www.whatisthesecret.tv

For example, one of their guidelines is "Focus on what you would like to have if you could have whatever you want ideally, not on what you do not want."

My favorite part of the whole book (so far) is where you pretend that the business you want to improve was destroyed last night.

It's gone.

Burned to the ground.

Obliterated.

Now you are in a wonderful place where you can envision how you wish the business would have been in an ideal world.

From your vision, you can work backward to figure out the steps needed to create it.

This re-engineering type of concept is brought to life in the most riveting way by Russell L. Ackoff, when he opens the book by telling the story of how a CEO of Bell Laboratories walked in one day and announced, "Gentlemen, the telephone system of the United States was destroyed last night."

As a result of that announcement, which of course wasn't true, the audience was able to free their minds to go on and create what we now take for granted, such as touch tone dialing, caller ID, speaker phones, etc.

So -- If the Internet did in fact collapse last night, how would you rebuild it?

What would your vision look like?

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS - I love the Internet. Anything goes. People can be wild, zany, outrageous, and more. If you haven't heard about the person selling paintings of numbers (!), you simply have to take a look at http://www.onethousandpaintings.com/home/ Go see.

PPS - If you want to dream and drool, then go here and pick out a castle to buy and live in. http://www.wists.com/chateaux.html Hey, anything is possible. The great ad genius David Ogilvy lived in a castle in his later years. Dream BIG.

How I met a Game God

Yesterday I met Richard Garriott, called by many a Game God in the world of computer games and fantasy worlds. Richard is a magician, and we were in a meeting concerning magic and marketing. After the meeting, he gave me and a handful of others a brief tour of his gaming empire.

I've never played a computer game in my entire life, but I left Richard's NCsoft Corp offices in Austin ready to fire up my PC and wear a new role in life.

The thing that fascinated me the most about Garriott -- besides the fact that he began his empire while still a high school student -- is how he creates games with twists.

For example, in one of the early Ultima games, Richard created a program that watched the decisions players made and then judged them as ethical or not. The player had no idea about this feature until the game was nearly over.

In another game Richard set up the user to fail. Most players are the heros who destroy the evil bad guys and gals. Well, in one game Richard set it up so you thought you were the good guy, but after your killing spree, you begin to realize you're the bad guy.

I love these twists and turns and psychological mazes. I don't know anything about games but I am now fascinated by the creativity behind some of them -- at least the ones coming from the brain of Richard Garriott.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS - Garriott's site is at www.plaync.com His next game has taken five years to complete and the world is excited to see it. It's called Tabula Rasa.

PPS - My June newsletter News You Can Use is now online at http://www.mrfire.com/a/june-06.html It answers such questions as --- Who's the shaman of hypnotherapy? - What is Sir Richard Branson's motto for success? - What's the story behind the famous Canine Concert?- How can you learn Hypnotic Marketing where you sit? - What's new on my video blog as well as news blog? - Where can you find good news on your television? - And much more. Go see.