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Your logo represents your business and serves as a signpost to the world. It’s not just a luxury – it’s a necessity and a business asset. In fact, if you don’t yet have a logo then you’ve got to ask: ‘Are you serious about your business or not?’

Here are 10 reasons to consider getting your own logo as soon as possible:

1. To promote your business. Logos project your business image to visitors, customers and future customers. A well designed logo says you’re serious about what you do.

2. To give you credibility and professionalism. When prospects see your logo on your websites and social media, they associate that logo to your business and even begin to look for it.

3. To make you more memorable. A business name only goes so far in triggering memory. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. And a catchy business logo makes you and your business far more memorable. After all, what’s the use of being seen if you’re not remembered? Of two similar businesses competing for the same customers, the one the customers remember is far more likely to get the business.

4. To clarify what your business does. Business names can sometimes be unintentionally deceptive, vague or simply unclear when it comes to the types of products or services your business offers. For example, Blue Rabbit Racetrack could be a place where blue rabbits race, or perhaps cars, horses, dogs or even people. By adding a Greyhound to the logo, it instantly becomes clear that Blue Rabbit Racetrack is for racing dogs.

5. To look bigger and more established. Like it or not, people tend to think a logo means you’ve been around the block and you’re a “real” business.

6. To attract new business. Because you look and ‘feel’ more professional with a logo, prospects tend to trust you more.

7. To brand yourself. In the eyes of prospects, John Smith without a logo is just John Smith. But John Smith with a logo is a company – and thus appears more stable and trustworthy.

8. To increase your business’s value. If you decide to sell your business one day, having a well-rounded package that includes marketing materials, graphics and a professional logo increases your business’ perceived value.

9. To attract venture capital. See #8 above.

10. To endear your company name to your clients. The right logo can make your business seem downright fun and friendly. For example, Da Foodie’s logo has me smiling and feeling good before I even know exactly what they’re offering.

How do you get a logo designed? You can Google logo creation and get hundreds of companies vying for your business. Most charge in the $100 to $300 range, while others charge far more. I remember reading years ago that the U.S. Postal service paid a million dollars for their (then) new logo.

You, on the other hand, do not need to spend $100 or a million dollars. There are many reputable free and low-cost logo creators online that can get you up and running with all of the benefits we’ve talked about above, and they are just a quick Google search away!

Hint: Do the Opposite and Success Will Be Yours!

Is the Internet easy money? A lot of people seem to think so, which might be why we see Internet businesses come and go faster than feathers in the wind. And sadly, while it takes a lot to succeed in business, it really takes very little effort to fail.

But you can turn the tables and give yourself a head start by NOT doing the following:

1. Bringing nothing new. You see what someone else is doing and you copy it. FAIL. Unless you do it faster, better, cheaper, stronger, more effectively, etc.; you won’t make a dent in the market. You’ve got to differentiate your business by either offering something new or something vastly improved.

2. Not prioritizing. If you’re obsessed with trivial things like getting your latest article perfected – rather than focusing on the big things like making sales – you’re going to fail. Decide what’s most important to making your business a success (aka: getting new customers and taking care of your current customers) and spend your time and resources on those activities.

3. Doing everything yourself. Sure, you’re lousy at building websites, but who wants to pay a pro, right? So, you spend 4 weeks building a website that frankly looks like it was made by a junior high student doing just enough to get a barely passing “D” grade. Forget about it. Hire outsourcers to do the things you stink at and focus your efforts on what you do well.

4. Pleasing everybody. You’ve got a product that everybody needs and wants, and you’re going to sell billions of them, right? Probably not. First of all, how do you reach a market of “everybody?” Second, when you try to appeal to everyone, you generally wind up appealing to no one. By targeting your product or service to a specific group of people you vastly increase your odds of success.

5. Not being obsessed. If you’re laid back, working now and then when you ‘feel’ like it, and wondering where the truck full of cash is hiding, then guess what: It’s not coming. You’ve got to put in long hours in the beginning of your business to make it succeed, and if don’t then you’ll never have a business – only a money sucking hobby that annoys your spouse and wastes what time you do spend on it.

6. Changing course repeatedly. Hey, you were going to write great content about fishing and promote fishing related affiliate products, but you just bought this great course on how to sell backlinks, so you’re going to do that instead, except there’s this other course on how to make a killing servicing the Forex community… STOP! Choose your business model and then strap on a pair of blinders so thick you can’t tell if it’s daytime or nighttime.

Once you’ve got those blinders on, the ONLY things that get through are methods and tools that help you on your present course. Anything that could divert you off course is totally, completely irrelevant and will be shunned and ignored to the full extent of your laser focused abilities.

7. Thinking the universe will do it for you. Yes, you’ve watched The Secret a dozen times and read all the latest books on manifesting your destiny. Now all you need to do is sit back and visualize your success 24/7, and it’ll happen because you’re just that kind of guy (or gal.) Get a grip. If it’s going to happen, it’s going to be because you MAKE it happen, not because the Universe owes you a debt of gratitude for you being, well, you.

8. Being a cautious genius. You’ve got a good idea of what to do, but there’s just a few more things you need to learn before you take that first real step because you’ve got to get it just right. After all, in school it was all the studying that got you the good grades, right?

Well guess what, this isn’t school and studying won’t even get you out the door. Yes, you need to know what you’re doing, but no, you don’t need to write your doctorate before you take action. There are times when you need to throw caution to the wind. If you’re procrastinating, if you’re scared, if you’re “not quite ready,” then it’s time to stop preparing and start DOING.

9. Clutching pennies so tightly they scream. You go with the $1 a month hosting because it saves you $9 a month. Then your website crashes the day of your first launch, and there’s no phone number or online chat to get a hold of anyone.

In fact, reading the fine print on your web hosting site, you discover that they only accept correspondence via carrier pigeon, and then only on the third Tuesday of the month. Yes, you need to watch expenses. No, you do not need to cut corners so badly you ruin your own business.

There is an exception and it’s this: If you happen to have a lot of money sitting around gathering dust, you can hire people to perform most of your online marketing tasks for you. You’ll still need to determine the course of your business and guide it in the right direction, but what you spend in money can save you in time.

Then again, having a lot of money to throw at a new venture is often it’s own recipe for failure, so beware and be careful if you plan to employ this method.

10. Screwing your customers. What’s important is making the sale, not making the customer happy, right? Wrong. Refunds, bad reviews and disastrous customer service will ruin your business faster than termites will eat tree houses in the tropics. Take care of your customers, give them more than they expect, thank them and then ask what else you can do for them. Remember: No customers = no business.

11. Failing terrifies the stuffing out of you. Maybe you shouldn’t do ____ because you might fail. (You fill in the blank.) Guess what – failure is GOOD. Without failure there is no success. The only person who has never failed is the person who has never attempted anything in their life. Do you want to be that person? No. Then expect that you will fail now and then, and when you do, you’re going to pick yourself right back up and keep going.

There you have it – 11 ways to fail or succeed. The choice, my friends, is up to you.

As you can imagine, people who sell products face to face can lose sales by making all too common mistakes. And marketing online isn’t all that different from going belly to belly with a customer. You, too, can make similar mistakes that might already be costing you dearly.

What are the consequences of just one mistake? If you sell a $47 product and you fix one mistake that creates one more sale per day, you’ve just given your business a $17,155 per year gross raise. Not bad. Don’t fix the mistake and you’ll continue to make $17,155 LESS than you could have.

Here are 12 mistakes salespeople make, and the corresponding Internet marketing mistake committed by hapless online marketers everywhere. Score yourself and see how many mistakes you are currently guilty of making:

1. Multitasking. The salesperson is making a presentation when s/he gets a voice message, a call, a text, or an interruption of any kind. That’s bad enough – what happens when the salesperson decides to actually check that message or take that call? More often than not they’ve just lost the sale.

The lesson for online marketers: Don’t allow distractions of any kind inside your sales process. When you’re promoting a product, don’t place anything else on that sales page or in that email that distracts your prospect from buying your product.

2. Not paying attention. The advantage of selling in person is you can see how the prospect is reacting to the sales message. If the salesperson misses clues, they may also miss the sale.

The lesson for online marketers: Listen to your audience. You can do this by ASKING what they want, reading what they say in the comments on your blog, or better yet – interacting with them in a forum or live chat on your website.

3. Not knowing your customers. This goes beyond listening – this is knowing the real reason why they buy. For example, a salesperson selling a weight loss plan will be told by a customer that they want to be healthier, but the REAL reason that customer is looking at the plan is because she’s afraid she’ll lose her spouse if she doesn’t lose the weight.

The lesson for online marketers: Dig deeper. Find out the real motivations behind your customer’s actions. Get inside their head and walk a mile in their shoes. Create customer profiles just as though they were real people and find out what’s truly pushing their buttons and the real reasons, they’ll buy your product or service.

4. Not knowing the product. Salespeople can’t adequately present a product unless they know everything there is to know about the product and about the competition.

The lesson for online marketers: You’ll never be able to write truly compelling copy unless you know your product along with your features and benefits inside and out.

5. Not handling objections. The customer has a question or an objection the salesperson can’t answer – what happens? Often the sale is lost right then and there. But if the salesperson can handle objections, the sale is won.

The lesson for online marketers: As an online marketer, you’ve got to anticipate and handle objections before they even occur. What are the reasons your prospect is likely to hesitate? What are your customers’ fears? Worries? Objections? Bring them up and answer them right in your sales copy or sales video and your sales will increase.

6. Presenting features and forgetting benefits. No doubt you already know the importance of presenting benefits, not just features. For example, a feature of steak is nice marbling, the corresponding benefit is melt in your mouth tenderness. Relying on features only to make a sale seldom works because the customer’s senses and emotions are not involved.

The lesson for online marketers: This one’s easy – don’t assume your prospect will know the benefits of your features. Instead, clearly present the benefits of your product in such a way that the prospect can clearly imagine having those benefits for himself.

7. Not building in value. When a salesperson can show that the price of the product is a mere pittance compared with the VALUE of the product, the sale is won. Sadly, many salespeople do a lousy job of this.

For example, a $500 day at the spa might seem expensive, but if it means more energy, more health, a more youthful appearance, feeling terrific, feeling invigorated, being envied by your friends, having an amazing day you won’t forget, etc., the $500 can seem worth it.

The lesson for online marketers: Think of it as asking the prospect to pay pennies to get dollars – who will say no to that? Now find a way to present your product or service where the value is so much greater than the price, the prospect would be crazy to say no.

8. Focusing too much on price. Having a low price can certainly help make the sale, but if a salesperson is focused exclusively on price, he’ll lose sales to both cheaper competitors and better salespeople. A good salesperson focuses on the benefits and is able to convey to the prospect that it’s wise to invest in the best and often a waste to buy the cheapest.

The lesson for online marketers: While you can make a lot of sales of $7 products, sometimes you can make even more sales if you increase the price. Remember, many people do believe that they get what they pay for. If you’re offering the moon for a fistful of quarters, you’ll lose sales because people will believe your product is only as good as your price is high.

9. Not asking for the sale. Countless sales are lost simply because the salesperson is afraid to ask for the sale. Imagine you’re a salesperson – you get a lead, you contact that lead several times before finally getting an appointment, you drive to their office, you wait in the lobby, you finally get to make your presentation, and you walk away empty handed, all because you didn’t ask for the sale. Does that sound far-fetched? The fact is it happens every minute of every day somewhere in the world.

The lesson for online marketers: ASK for the sale. Tell them to click the link and make the investment that’s going to make them happy for a long time to come. Tell them and then tell them again. It’s okay – they WANT you to guide them, so do it.

10. Not asking (again) for the sale. The salesperson makes the presentation, asks for the sale, but the customer says no. Does that mean it’s over? Only if the salesperson is new on the job. Seasoned pros know that you ask for the sale numerous times throughout the presentation. And if the customer still says no? Then you follow up later and see if they’re ready yet.

The lesson for online marketers: Be closing all the time. Write your copy as though it’s a done deal that the prospect will become a customer. Ask for the sale, ask for it again, and if they don’t buy, follow up by email. You never know when you’re going to either tell them the right thing or hit them at the right time to get that magical “yes.”

11. Not following up with the customer after the sale is made. The salesperson is walking on air, she’s so happy she made the sale. Time to move on to the next prospect, right? Well, yes and no. While you always want to be looking for new customers, you also want to take care of and service your existing customers. Repeat business is far easier to get than the initial sale, but you’ve still got to earn it.

The lesson for online marketers: Follow up. Send a series of emails filled with tips on how to get the most out of the product. Continue to build the relationship and earn their trust and instead of a onetime sale, you can get a customer for life.

12. Not following up even if a sale isn’t made. The salesperson has begun to build a relationship with this prospect, but the prospect buys elsewhere. Now what? Should the salesperson forget the prospect? 99% of them do. But whatever their product is, the customer may be dissatisfied with their purchase or may want to purchase another product in the future.

Either way, it pays to stay in touch with that prospect even if they don’t buy. Sometimes staying in touch pays off in surprising ways, too. A prospect who didn’t think your product was right for her may think it’s perfect for a friend or colleague.

The lesson for online marketers: People visit your sales page and don’t buy. You follow up with them a dozen times and they still don’t buy your product. But that doesn’t mean they might not be a good prospect for a different product or might even recommend you to a friend. Always leave the door open and continue to build the relationship.

So, what was your score? If you’re currently making 3 of these mistakes or less, pat yourself on the back because you’re doing far better than average. Now go fix those mistakes and close even more sales.

Making 4 to 6 mistakes? Don’t feel bad – you’re not alone. Choose one thing to correct and do it right now, then commit to fixing the rest within the next 14 days.

Committing more than 6 of these mistakes? It’s time to face facts – you need to make some major changes or you’re never going to become a full-time online marketer. Sit down and write out a plan for rectifying your situation, then put it to work. And take heart – even the best marketers made some major mistakes in the beginning. The important thing is that you never give up, and that you not only learn, but you also implement what you learn as quickly as possible.

Think you don’t have anything to share? Think again. Your life experiences along with what you’re learning can make great content. All you need to do is take notice of it, seize it before you lose it, and transform it into an article, blog post or video.

For example, what mistake did you, one of your clients or one of your colleagues recently make that others can learn from? Everyone likes to hear about other people’s boo-boos, and it’s always cheaper and less painful to learn from others’ mistakes rather than our own. So, keep your eyes and ears open and you’ll find a ton of content with this idea alone.

While you’re looking for mistakes, keep your eyes open for success stories. What did they accomplish and how did they do it? By learning from the success of others we can find vital clues on how to create our own successes.

Sometimes the real story isn’t in the success but in the challenge, they overcame to reach that success. If you or someone else discovered a new way to break through an obstacle, it’s guaranteed that other people will want to hear about it, too.

Has someone given you a terrific piece of advice? How did you use it and what happened? Or have you discovered a new tool with a benefit too good not to share with others? Then you’ve got great content in the making.

Maybe you’ve got a unique solution to problem others are having. This kind of content is so good you can sell it. Or perhaps you’ve got a story about something that didn’t work at all – others will want to know to steer clear of it.

The real trick to creating great content is simple – look for it. As you read, work, interact with others and go about your day, always keep a lookout for things to share on social media. Keep a notebook in your pocket and jot the ideas down and you’ll find they rapidly multiply into more than you can even use. You’ll never be stuck for great content again because you’ll see it truly is all around you.

This is a great approach for someone who is new in their niche and wants to build a reputation and list while still making really good money.

I met this guy who is fairly new to the internet marketing realm. He’s no expert or guru and yet he’s making about $12,000 a month from the start.

He realized that it’s a lot easier to sell a $1,000 product one time than to sell a $10 product 100 times. For one thing, the customer service for one person versus 100 people is like night and day. For another thing, it’s so easy to give stuff away rather than sell it. He’s sort of sneaking under people’s radar with this method.

He runs promotions, free WSO’s, advertises on Facebook, has a Facebook Group and so forth. And on all of these platforms, he’s giving away his stuff.

People opt in to his list just like you would expect, and then they’re presented with an upsell, again just like you would expect.

Except… here’s where it’s different – he even gives away his upsell.

I know, how crazy is that?

Then he gives his list tons of stuff for free, too. His subscribers open his emails (his open rate is INSANE) because they know he’s always giving them awesome content FOR FREE.

This builds trust like you would not believe. His list isn’t all that big yet, but it doesn’t matter because his subscribers LOVE him.

Then once a month he opens a limited number of slots to work directly with him on a one-to-one basis at different levels.

He offers email coaching, personal coaching over Skype once a week, and even a higher level of coaching. His prices run from about $250 to $3,000, depending on the package.

Like I said, this guy is new to the internet marketing realm – he just started about a year ago… Yet he’s bringing in about $12,000 a month with this model.

He never promotes affiliate products, only his own stuff. And he gives away everything but the expensive products.

What a great business model!

Okay, I’m not going to pass judgement – good or bad, on what I’m about to reveal.

Some would say this is 100% ethical, and I won’t argue. Others will say something that involves cuss words, and I won’t argue with that, either.

I would just like to point something out, and whether you use this information for your own protection or to increase your own sales is up to you.

Fair enough?

I was sent an email claiming that this person wanted to make my sales for me. In fact, the exact words were, “You will make sales for doing nothing, guaranteed!”

Yeah. Uh-huh.

So, I read the email (mostly for laughs, but… you know) and clicked the link.

Mind you, the person who sent this is no slouch. He’s been around. He’s probably made a boatload of money. And I’m sure this promotion alone is making him another boatload of money. But I digress.

I was sent to a page with a recording from a webinar (which I did not watch.) Beneath the webinar replay, after the usual, “We’ve already sold 15 and there are only 5 left” comments, it said:

“We’ll promote Bob’s top selling product for 7 days to our 200,000 subscribers using your affiliate link.”

“We will send at least 3 broadcast emails per day for 7 days using YOUR affiliate link promoting Bob’s best selling product. You will receive 100% of all sales made through your link.”

Ugghhh. Whenever I read something like this, I always think that if there’s sales to be made, then they sure as heck won’t be using someone else’s affiliate link to make the sales.

This emailing they want to do is a bonus for buying the product in the webinar. And I’m sure it’s an expensive product.

Let’s see… if they send out my affiliate link 3 times a day for 7 days to 200,000 subscribers, that’s a possible 4,200,000 exposures of my affiliate link to their readers. Right?

Nope.

Here’s where you need to read the fine print. Or in this case, the print that’s found way… Way… WAY… down at the bottom of the page.

Oh-oh, what’s this??

“Your affiliate link will be put in a rotation system with a maximum of 20 links for the entire 21 email campaign over the full week to our 200,000 subscribers, promoting your link.”

Forget the 4,200,000 exposures of your affiliate link. We’re now back to 210,000 exposures.

Big difference, wouldn’t you say?

I’ve no doubt they will make sales (of whatever is being promoted on the webinar) to people who think they’re going to have their link promoted 3 times a day for 7 days to 200,000 subscribers.

And yes, they did come clean later on the page. Is it deceptive? Like I said, I’m not judging, just providing information.

One last thing… do you think they’ll be sending out 3 emails per DAY promoting the same product for SEVEN days to their best, most active subscribers?

Or let me put it this way… would you?

Or would you send the emails out to the ‘dead wood’ on your list – those subscribers who haven’t opened an email in six months or a year?

I don’t know who they’re sending the emails to – yes, it could very well be their hottest, best subscribers.

And yes, they could have inadvertently ‘forgotten’ to let customers know up front that they would only be receiving 210,000 mailouts, not the 4,200,000 it’s made to look like. But it sure does make you wonder.

In my view, it’s best to be honest and up front. Tell your visitors what you’re going to give them, and what they can expect, and then deliver. In fact, over-deliver. Do this, and you’ll do just fine building a business online and anywhere else you setup shop.

If you don’t have time to write 6 or 7 emails each week to send to your email list, try this method instead: Pick out several evergreen products that you know and trust and can promote to your list for months and even years to come… For example, choose your favorite hosting service or autoresponder if you’re building in the online marketing niche.

Write 4 emails for each of these evergreen products. They can be stand alone emails or a sequence with each email building on the previous one, whichever you prefer. Put a link in each email to the product or service you are promoting.

Place these sequences into your autoresponder and schedule them to begin going out as soon as someone joins your list.

However, cue these emails so they only go out on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Monday and Wednesday are reserved for new emails you write, promoting new products.

No matter when a new lead signs up, they start on the email sequences you’ve programmed, but they never receive them on Monday or Wednesday because this is when you send out your new, live emails.

Now you’re only having to write two emails per week.

Once you get used to sourcing products to promote and writing the emails for them, you have a choice: You can either send more live emails and fewer autoresponder emails, or you can use some of your new emails as automated sequences (assuming the products stay relevant and available.)

This method is a great way to ease into emailing 6 days a week, and it’s perfect for the person who is currently working a full time job but looking to quit as soon as the online income is high enough.

It’s also perfect for the new marketer who takes a long time to write an email. No worries, you’ll get faster with time.

Try this method and see if it doesn’t take some of the email writing pressure off of you.

This might be the most important word in the copywriter’s arsenal, ranking higher than even “free,” “new” and “savings.” Do you have any guesses as to what this word is? …

We’re talking about the word “you.”

Using the word “you” gets your prospect’s attention and keeps them reading. It’s vital that your reader regards herself as the target of your message, and there is perhaps no better way to begin that process than to use the word “you.”

Your goal is to build a relationship with your prospect, as in, “We.” But paradoxically, the best way to build the relationship is to talk about “You” a whole lot more than you refer to “we.”

Think of a conversation with someone new. If you allow them to do the talking while you listen attentively, they’re going to think you’re the greatest conversationalist in the world.

But if you talk about yourself, they’re not going to think nearly as well of you.

And this goes for anyone. Imagine meeting a world leader you respect, and they show interest in YOU. How great would that be?

But if they ramble on about themselves (as you would expect they might) you’ll be happy to have met them because it makes for a great story, but you won’t be walking away with the warm fuzzies. And that’s somebody well known and regarded.

When we come to our prospects, they often don’t know us from Adam, or they only know us from some emails and blog posts. Certainly, we’ve never sat down over a cup of tea and gotten to know each other.

That’s why, if your goal is to put prospects first, it’s best to have the “you’s” far exceed the “we’s.”

It’s the “you’s” that matter to prospects. They’re your workhorse for communicating your message and include all derivatives such as “your,” “yours,” “yourself,” “you’re,” and “you’ll.”

I wonder if I can use all 6 of these in a sentence or two…

“You will love seeing how happy your family is when you get this product for yourself. You’re simply going to be overjoyed at knowing from now on, the world is yours and you’ll be able to do anything you want.”

Okay, maybe it is possible to overdo the “you’s” and all the derivatives, but not by much. When you’ve written your copy, go back and see how many you’s there are.

Then add some more, changing “we” and “I” to “you” whenever possible.

Then read the copy out loud, and unless the amount of “you’s” seems crazy, you’ve probably got it about right.

People care more about themselves than anything. This isn’t to put people down – not at all. It’s simply the way we’re wired for survival, and you can use that knowledge to get your prospect to pay attention to your message.

What else makes “you” so powerful? For one thing, it addresses your readers directly. In effect, it says “Hey you,” which is much harder to ignore than “Hey somebody.”

Say “Hey you” in a crowded room and a lot of heads will turn. Say “Hey somebody” and a few heads might turn.

Think about conversations you’ve had. When you say the word, “you,” doesn’t the other person pay closer attention? “What do YOU think?” “Are YOU going to that event?” “I hope you’ll enjoy this restaurant – what do you think of the decor?”

When people say these things to you, they get your attention and involvement. After all, they’re interested in your opinion. They’re interested in the things you do. They have something to tell you that will make you happy.

That’s the goal of you-oriented copy. Address your audience directly, personally and in terms of their interests. Be conversational and “you” will pop up in the copy naturally.

Newsweek used the exact same subscription solicitation letter for nearly two decades. This is the letter they sent out to cold prospects, asking them to subscribe.

If they used the same letter for nearly 20 years, then clearly it was effective – so effective that no control could beat it. Why did it work so well? Perhaps it’s because the word “you” was used nearly 30 times on the first page alone.

More than 100 million copies of the letter were mailed, a testament to its effectiveness.

When you write your sales copy, don’t forget things like benefits and having a great offer. All the “you’s” in the world won’t overcome a lack of a great offer and awesome benefits.

But if you have something to offer your reader that is truly beneficial, focusing your message on your prospect and using the word “you” can mean the difference between mediocre sales and a control sales letter that continues to make sales for a very long time to come.

Have you ever met someone who was an idea machine?

You give them a problem to solve, and in just a few minutes they’ve come up with half a dozen creative ideas.

In fact, you can ask them anything, and they’ll give you enough ideas to keep yourself busy for weeks.

But… wouldn’t you like to be that idea machine?

Just one idea – the right idea – can be worth millions. The problem is, in order to have that million dollar idea, you first need to have hundreds or thousands of ideas that aren’t as good.

Case in point: Imagine you never work out, and then one day you’ve got to lift a heavy object off of your own chest or you’ll die.

If you’re weak as water and can’t lift that thing, then you’re a goner.

But if you’ve been exercising your muscles, then you can throw that object across the room and go about your life.

Your brain works much the same way as a muscle.

If you use it daily, it’s sharp and ready to tackle whatever comes its way.

But if you just park your brain in front of the television all day long, it’s going to be weak as water, too.

And when you need it most, it’s going to fail you.

James Altucher says that when the gun is to your head, you either figure it out or you die.

Think of the times in your life when you hit bottom and you were forced to come up with ideas.

The worse the situation you’re in, the more motivation you have to come up with some great ideas.

But if you haven’t been using your brain much, then it’s going to be difficult.

That’s why it’s important to exercise your brain right now, because ideas are the currency of life.

When you become an idea generating machine, you’ll be able to solve any problem (almost).

No matter what situation you’re in, you’ll have a ton of ideas. If you need to make money, you’ll come up with 50 different ideas, and so on.

Here’s a process the aforementioned Altucher recommends for turning yourself into an idea machine:

Get a waiter’s pad, or any pad that fits in your pocket.

Sit quietly – maybe in a café somewhere – and read an inspirational book for ten to twenty minutes.

Then start writing down ideas. Any ideas. All ideas.

You’ve got to write 10 ideas.

Yes, ten.

Pick a subject and come up with ten ideas. Maybe it’s 10 ideas for a book you want to write.

10 ideas on how to get a better job or get a raise.

10 business ideas.

10 ideas on how to meet women (or men.)

The first 5 will be easy. 6 is a little harder. 7 through 10 might feel like they’re going to break your brain.

But… what if you can’t come up with 10 ideas?

Then come up with 20.

If you can’t find 10 ideas, then you’re putting too much pressure on yourself to come up with PERFECT ideas.

Forget perfect.

Forget trying to top the ideas you already wrote down.

Focus on coming up with BAD ideas, and your brain will relax.

You’ll have fun.

Creativity will flow, and you’ll be surprised at what you think of.

Do this exercise every day.

EVERY day.v
At the end of one year, you’ll have 3,650 ideas.

Hopefully you’ve acted on a few of them.

The point is to exercise your brain so that no matter what happens in life, you can find the solution.

But how do you act on an idea?

By taking the first step.

Here’s Altucher’s favorite example of acting on an idea:

“Richard Branson didn’t like the service on some airline he was flying. So he had an idea: I’m going to start a new airline. How the heck can a magazine publisher start an airline from scratch with no money?

“His first step. He called Boeing to see if they had an airplane he could lease.

“No idea is so big you can’t take the first step. If the first step seems to hard, make it simpler. And don’t worry again if the idea is bad. This is all practice.”

The ten ideas exercise is my favorite brain exercise, but I encourage you to do other brain exercises as well.

Choose exercises that help with memory, increase creativity, or somehow enhance your cognitive skills.

Pick what works best for you, because it helps if you like what you’re doing.

If you dread something it will never be a daily habit, and the whole idea is to be consistent in striving to reach your goals.