Do you trust me?

Trust is everything. Entrepreneurs are merchants of trust. More than any other group, except perhaps therapists. So this topic is near and dear to my heart.

Entrepreneurs need trust like a fish needs water – in deal making, customer satisfaction, investment and more.

Cutting edge research has put a spotlight on trust and everything that matters in business.

For the first time ever, we can now reveal the precise factors that spark trust in human minds. The minds of our customers. Trust at a chemical level.

This may affect your marketing/capital-raising/sales strategy. Read on…  

Enter Paul Zak, neuro-economist and researcher, whom I was lucky to have lunch with last Saturday. Props to Nick Tarascio for making it happen.

Here’s what Fast Company had to say about the guy’s work:

In a series of studies spanning nine years, Zak has changed our understanding of human beings as economic animals. 

Oxytocin is the key. 

Known for years as the hormone forging the unshakable bond between mothers and their babies, oxytocin is now, thanks largely to Zak, recognized as the human stimulant of empathy, generosity, trust, and more. 

It is, Zak says, the “social glue” that adheres families, communities, and societies, and as such, acts as an “economic lubricant” that enables us to engage in all sorts of transactions. Zak is a walking advertisement for oxytocin; his vanity license plate reads OXYTOSN, and he hugs virtually everyone he meets. 

The hugging isn’t just a gimmick. I got the chance to listen to Zak speak at length on the subject and hugging, like social media interaction, is one of the simple actions that boosts oxytocin levels. And this guy has the lab results to back that up.

Zak’s research has proven that high oxytocin levels facilitate trust that not only bonds mating pairs, it also aids in commerce.

The implications for business are huge. At one end, Zak’s economic theories suggest that high oxytocin levels increase trust across large populations. His idea is that economic growth relies on overall levels of trustworthiness and that therefor the wealthiest nations consist of those with the highest oxytocin levels.

Love, it seems, creates wealth.

How to create neurological trust

What Zak’s research shows us is that human connection, as real and tactile as possible, boosts oxytocin levels. When your customer’s oxytocin levels are high, they’re more likely to trust you and buy your stuff. It’s simple.

The archetype of business success in the 20th century was the faceless corporate monolith – the aging, wheezing remains of which we still see today.

McDonalds, Microsoft, Walmart and all the big brands were founded on the principal of “as little humanity as possible”. Absolutely everything that couldn’t be totally automated was documented so rigidly that staff might as well be robots. Or at least idiots. Luckily for the captains of industry, idiots aren’t hard to find.

The emerging science around oxytocin indicates there is a huge opportunity for entrepreneurs.

By building businesses geared to increase the “human” component, we can make our customers feel more connected. Not less. Social Media and the internet let us scale this connection.

The more connected to our customers we are, the more oxytocin they produce. Customers  bathed in oxytocin spend generously and feel great about it.

As the blog reading, social media savvy entrepreneur that you probably are… you might think you have this principal locked down. You’re already doing this, right?

Are we? The de-humanizing habits of entrepreneurs are hard to break.

To humanize is to build a business around people. Why then do we work so hard to think up that perfect business name or logo? 

Would your face and name be more oxytocin inducing than yet another slick piece of graphic design?

Should The Shrink for Entrepreneurs be more “Peter Shallard” than anything else?

I’m sitting, writing this article in a Manhattan apartment. My shiny computer monitor has to be propped up on three copies of Michael Ellsberg’s “Education of a Millionaire”…. because it’s low angle was hurting my neck earlier. I had chicken wings and some mango for lunch and cleaned my entire apartment while thinking about how to write this article.

I’m a human. My name is Peter. Do you feel it?

Is that more real than whatever the spectacles-and-pen, golden wallpaper design of my site made you think?

As a writer, it’s easy for me to humanize. I just have to be real. Creating a human, oxytocin-a-licious connection is much more difficult for big businesses.

Customer service staff trained in “processes” become automatons. Ditto sales people following a script. We, the customers, have to feel like someone cares enough to connect.

“The personal touch” has a neurological reaction that is proven to make us open our wallets.

Entrepreneurs take heed. Account for oxytocin in your marketing plan!

Take a look at Paul Zak’s TED talk on Oxytocin, Trust and Morality… then let me know what you think in the comments below.

Today we have a departure from regularly scheduled programming. James Chartrand, my good friend and co-conspirator, is here to tell us all about this neglected skill. This is recommended reading for every entrepreneur who wants the missing piece of the puzzle. 

The missing piece is writing. James will show you how to write Damn Fine Words – that make you money, build your brand and accelerate your success. She’s also making this offer go away at midnight tonight, so you should check it out IMMEDIATELY. This is an affiliate link and people who sign up for DFW through it will get a free consult with me. Email for details. 

Enter James… 

You want success; we all do. It’s the ultimate entrepreneurial goal, for everyone from the self-employed to CEOs. And this goal is perfectly within your reach (even if you think it isn’t).

Grab an idea. Build a business. Become a leader. Create like an artist. Brainstorm like a genius. And find whatever it is that people want, and you have success in the palm of your hand.

It’s that easy.

And yet…

There’s a crucial skill that can jolt your ambitions into powerhouse impact. You already have it in you – but unfortunately, you’re most likely neglecting it. Forgetting about it. You may not even be aware of it or worse, you just don’t think this skill is important.

It is. Ignore this skill and you’ll work harder than the competition, struggle longer to get your business off the ground and probably never reach your entrepreneurial dreams.

You’ve left money on the table. Turned your back on bigger profits and a more lucrative lifestyle. Shackled your success – and built your own roadblocks.

In fact, you’re just about done. And if your business is an online one, you’re finished.

What is this crucial skill? What could you be doing right now that would jumpstart your success? What should you be nurturing as the heart and soul of your entrepreneurial dreams?

Copywriting.

Surprised? You shouldn’t be. Copywriting skills are crucial to business success – even if you’re not a writer by trade. Even if you run a real estate business or a consulting venture or a knitted-baby-hats boutique.

Because without copywriting skills, the only way you can reach your target market is through your voice. And that means you’re shutting out a world of potential clients.

Most entrepreneurs are absolutely ignorant of this fact. They never think of copywriting skills as being integral to their success. They think that to be successful, you need a great product or a fantastic service.

But if you can’t tell people about it, you’re close to doomed.

Think about it: The knitter creating those baby hats? She needs fliers to post around town telling people about her wares. And that means she needs a great headline, compelling content and a clear call to action.

The real estate agent? He’s losing valuable sales commissions because his property descriptions are just as generic and boring as the next guy’s. (2 bedrooms, bath and kitchen, anyone?)

The consultant? She needs to pitch her services, either by brochure or by blog. She needs a website and web copy. And if she can’t email her clients in a clear, concise way… well.

There are definitely other consultants who can.

See what I mean? Copywriting skills are your key to success – even if you’ll only ever write for your own business, clients and customers.

Ask Peter: He hustled around New Zealand and Australia for years, doing just fine, thank you very much.

Now ask him what writing has done for him.

Peter’s website opened up vast boarders for his business – and quickly, too. Instead of pounding the pavement to pitch boardroom executives, he widened his reach in an instant, offering  his consulting services to anyone, anywhere, anytime.

He generated a five-figure income in less than 3 months of launching his virtual venture.

And today?  Peter has moved to New York and lives very well indeed. He travels anywhere he wants, for business and pleasure. He doesn’t hustle anymore or wait for companies to take decisions… he has a waiting list packed with demand and clients who rave about his services.

Oh, and Peter’s networking potential? It’s amazing: He hooks up daily with fantastic people he never would have met had it not been for his emails, his web copy, and his ebooks.

The sky’s the limit. All from great copywriting skills.

Before you get jealous of Peter’s lifestyle, know this: You could enjoy the same sort of success. You already have the foundation of copywriting skills inside you. This valuable, game-changing skill is just one step away.

Even if you’ve never taken a copywriting course in your life. Even if copywriting seems so far from your experience that it’s almost laughable. Make a commitment to pay attention to these skills, to cultivate and nurture them, and you could start profiting immediately.

How do I know you can do this? Easy: You already know how to write. Almost everyone does.

You may not know the techniques of crafting words that get results, because you’ve never learned. You might not know how to persuade and convince your prospects yet, but you can get training easily. Your sales skills are practically pleading to be let out from the rusty darkness.

Whip them into shape and start churning out dollars like a shining, well-oiled cash machine.

Or ignore them… as most people do. I see this neglect all the time – especially in entrepreneurs and small-business owners.

They leap out of bed each the morning to have a quick, hot shower and shimmy into snazzy clothing. They hit the street, driven and determined. They’re going to make money. Sales. Deals.

So they hit the office and their day begins. They have important phone calls with even more important executives. They have covert meetings with business partners and enterprising venture owners to work on deals.

They leave their copywriting potential on the table. They neglect an ultra-powerful business tool.

Imagine being able to write a killer email that convinced the company to hire you – in just a paragraph or two or persuading potential clients through your web copy alone or creating specialized services that let you instruct, teach or consult from anywhere in the world.

Anywhere in the world. Even the island resort you’ve just escaped to for an impromtu vacation.

Imagine opening your email each day and hearing, “Yes, I absolutely want to take you up on that offer.” Or, “That proposal sounds brilliant. When can we get started?” Or, “This is fantastic. Let me run it by the CEO but I’m convinced he’ll love it.”

Instantaneous influence. Persuasive power. Compelling engagement. Through words alone.

So if you believe in your dreams, your entrepreneurial spirit and the business you bring to your clients and customers, pull those rusty writing skills out of the dark closet. Get them in the sunlight.

Get some training. Practice the techniques. Work on your skills. Learn how to sell in the written medium.

Then use them. And watch the results roll in.

Every now and then, I get set on fire with a burning desire to figure it out. You know… Life, The Universe and Everything.

This is one of those posts. Don’t worry though, I’m not going to throw you into the philosophical deep end. I’m simply going to reveal the simple psychological formula shared by some of the most successful entrepreneurs I’ve ever met.

It’s the philosophy I try to incorporate into my daily behavior. Despite being “deep”, it’s also the most practical decision making strategy I’ve ever stumbled across.

Get this one thing, really get it, and you’ll rapidly transform your world. Indecision will vanish. Wealth, freedom and happiness will be yours. Really. 

I was at dinner in Manhattan. My friends, seated around the table from left to right, were  an MD redefining “empowerment” through charity, the CEO of a private jet company, an entrepreneur hellbent on revolutionizing the food industry, New York’s premiere General Contractor (renovator of insane apartment spaces) and the CEO of a trapeze school.

Sometimes, I have to pinch myself. Having friends like this is something I’m phenomenally grateful for and it makes last year’s journey to get to New York 110% worth it.

Inevitably, the conversation went deep.

We shared “the best advice”, trying to distill the ultimate, greatest and most profoundly useful suggestion.

Jonathan, the trapeze guy, talked about the secret to becoming the ultimate romantic. Nick, our jetset pal, talked Freedom. I mentioned “Perception is Projection”.

Then, James, our General Contractor extraordinaire (who, incidentally, destroys any pre-conceived perception anyone might have about a GC) threw down a thought-bomb of such magnitude… well, I had to write about it:

“If it feels good, do it. If it doesn’t feel good, don’t do it.” 

Jonathan chimed in: “…. and if you fear it, confront it.” 

That’s it.

It may have been the plantain crusted sea bass, but this sounded (and still does sound) like the most profound principle for mindful living I had ever heard.

If it feels good, do it. If it doesn’t, don’t. If you fear it, confront it. 

My hypothesis is that the majority of pain in people’s lives is caused by not following this principle. Assuming a baseline of internal integrity (that “doing good” feels good etc), this is the ultimate life principle.

It busts through every notion that distorts people’s view of the world and the decisions they make. It destroys the notion of “should”.

You should get a good steady and secure job.

You shouldn’t take so many vacations.

You should work harder.

Does it feel good? Because if not, the only should is this: You shouldn’t do it.

Now, this principle comes with a pretty major caveat or two. You need a built-in sense of ethics (hurting people shouldn’t feel good) and you need to be sufficiently psychologically “healed” – you need to be free of most baggage.

The obvious examples, like teenagers (who are a mess) and victims of sexual abuse (who tend to have baggage), should play with this principle carefully. Or, invest time and energy in healing, before embracing it.

But for those of us (most of us) who are in a pretty good place, following this rule can create wealth, freedom and more happiness than we ever thought possible.

Take a good look at your life and think about the things you do that don’t feel good. When did you decide that you have to do those things. Why? What motivated you?

One of the best examples at the dinner was the whole notion of parenting. So many happy young couples transition into Miserable-Parent-Mode the moment they see the blue strip on the test. Suddenly, by feeling trapped, they do things because they have to. They deny themselves permission to ask “What would feel good?”

What’s worse, is that in this example and many others, we forget to ask “How can I make this feel good?” about the things that we clearly need to do. Caring for an infant fits into that category.

Applied to business, this principle of applied hedonism becomes really interesting. Instead of looking at other people’s business models, trying to build the business people tell you that you “should”… you can ask yourself “What would feel good?”

Instead of building some kind of venture-of-misery, you might be able to create a business where the journey is just as much fun as the destination. Another strike against the Four Hour Work Week principle.

This principle, when applied as a decision-making mantra (“Does it feel good?”) will awaken you to the frequency with which you make decisions that, simply put, make you feel like crap. It will show you that the criteria you normally decide on are fairly bogus in the context of your overall happiness.

How many entrepreneurs are driven only by trying to impress others? Or to satisfy their inner voice (parent driven – let’s be honest) that whispers “Should, should, should”?

This new principle actively encourages a form of enlightened hedonism. Should that be a crime? Does reading this article make you angry?

Curious. For some people, even contemplating acting so “selfishly” raises a cacophony of “should-nots” – it’s scary! When did we become so committed to suffering in the service of our goals and responsibilities?

When did we decide we can’t do the things we need to do, without suffering? We like to think that martyrdom is a concept leveraged only by suicide bombers, but most entrepreneurs are crucifying themselves to their business goals, or the commitments thrust upon them.

Yet we chose to be where we are today. We’ve arrived at this spot as a result of the sum total of decisions (both conscious and unconscious) we’ve made in our lives. It’s not an accident. We chose.

Which means we’re free to start choosing to do what feels good. If you have a life filled with commitments that feel miserable, it might take some time and energy to shift those. But it can be done.

My experience is the longer someone has been making decisions that don’t feel good, the longer it takes to reverse the process. It’s never impossible though. And it always happens faster than you think it will.

Does it feel good? Do it. If it doesn’t, don’t. If you fear it, confront it. 

Apply this rule to your business interactions and you will win. Every time. You’ll crush sales opportunities, while pushing yourself into all sorts of new dis-comfort zones. The kind that feel fantastic to conquer.

You’ll also avoid interacting with your business commitments (taxes) from a place of suffering, martyrdom and misery. By not doing what feels bad, you’ll procrastinate on important things (taxes) until you force yourself to find a good, pleasurable way to do it.

You’d think it’d be impossible in the context of your health – except one of the weight loss coaches I know has built a business that revolves around this principle. And, applying this principle to exercise is the way that all the pros do it.

Relationships? Please.

This applies to every sphere of life, but it’s the most important for entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs have this terrible habit of starting businesses in pursuit of wealth, freedom and happiness then rapidly painting themselves into a corner where they have access to none of those three.

It’s not okay. And it’s completely unnecessary.

Happiness is just a state. It isn’t a goal to be pursued. You can have it whenever you want. You can lose it just as quickly. Yet entrepreneurs with established businesses can be some of the most miserable people around. They sometimes joke (har-har!) about wishing they could just go get a job!

This happens to entrepreneurs who are consistently making decisions to do things that don’t feel good. Who aren’t confronting their fears and who refuse to find the goodness, the pleasure and joy, available in their lives.

If you ever feel like you might be one of these people, you can perform a full one-eighty. It’s simple. Ask yourself:

Does it feel good? (you know the rest)

You should raise your prices.

It’s a business cliche. Those five words of advice are so frequently dished out by successful entrepreneurs, it hurts. If you’re on the receiving end, it’s the most frustrating tip imaginable.

Because you can’t just put up your rates. You’ll lose customers. There will be riots. It’s okay for some, but not for your business. This is what struggling business owners keep telling themselves.

Yet you keep hearing (and repeating) the same advice. You should raise your prices. Yes, you should.

This article breaks down the three specific strategies you need to rocket your rates into the stratosphere. Without losing business because of it. 

There’s no future in being cheap. There’s certainly zero hope in being the cheapest. Unless you’re running a global empire, your entrepreneurial success hinges on your ability to sell high margin products and services to those who value them.

Hence: You should raise your prices. This post isn’t intended to dispute that – it’s a given.

Here’s how to do it.

Technique 1 – Be a Pundit

This is like being famous, but with a twist. It’s like being an “authority” only more so. A pundit is someone who has an opinion. About everything. An opinion that you’re simultaneously respected and maybe even vilified for.

When Seth Godin talks about Intravenous Permission in his book Permission Marketing, he describes the amazing level of trust that exists when we allow a doctor to fill our IV bag with whatever drug she wants. She then bills us for those drugs. We pay without question.

The doctor is a trusted expert. That’s just the first level.

Doctor Oz is a expert and a pundit. A famous expert, whose opinion matters even on subjects he’s not explicitly trained in. Someone like Doctor Oz wouldn’t just be trusted to fill someone’s IV – he’d be paid twenty times the normal rate to give his opinion on their situation.

Pundits don’t have to be household names to be effective though. No one has heard of Garret Murray. Unless you have.

Garret Murray is a pundit. He runs a iOS development shop serving clients like Conde Nast. He has built an enormous following as an amateur photographer, gadget-freak and all round digital cool kid. People care about what he thinks. His opinions (and predictions) matter. His expertise, I’m guessing, is rarely questioned.

He’s a iOS developer. But he gets business via his blog Maniacal Rage – his platform as a pundit.

When you become a pundit, you become the ultimate authority. You’re not just a deep thinker in your own field – you’re recognized as someone who connects dots across multiple industries. Peter Shankman, Gary Vaynerchuk and Robert Scoble. All pundits. With big big prices.

It doesn’t matter if you’re selling widgets, advice or anything else. If you want to market something ultra-high end (and price it accordingly), you need notoriety.

Be a pundit. Get paid like one. 

Technique 2 – Be an Artist 

Here’s the thing about art. When it’s recognized as “good”, no one questions the price tag. Fifty thousand dollars for some splotches of paint on canvas? Your kid might have done it, but if the name of a recognized artisté is attached, it’s worth it. To someone, somewhere.

The scary part is misunderstood. You don’t have to become Andy Warhol for this to work. You don’t have to be dead.

Why? Because artists are recognized within niches too.

Donna Von Bruening is a high end wedding photographer who gets this. She started as an entrepreneur but has worked hard to establish herself as an artist. She’s thrown gallery parties. Produced fine art prints. Been featured in the media. You’ve probably never heard of her.

Donna is killing it, because she doesn’t have to compete with other wedding photographers. If you want a good price and some good photos, don’t hire her. If you want to make your once-in-a-lifetime day an expression of art? Call Donna and close your eyes while you write the check.

When you become an artist, you cut the connection between price and any notion of “what things are worth”. It’s art. The same rules do not apply.

Paul Rand did it. John T Unger does it. Steve Jobs still does it. When a little art is injected into a commercial product, it becomes indescribably special. No one can quite put their finger on why, because it’s art. It’s just better.

When you sell art, you sidestep logic. You appeal to your customer’s spirt. They pay accordingly. 

Technique 3 – Make it Shiny 

The two strategies above rely on connecting with a sufficiently affluent customer demographic. Finding them isn’t hard. A 2007 Economic Intelligence report by Barclays Wealth estimated that there are 16,600,000 millionaires in the USA alone. There are 185,800 people in the world with a net worth of more than $30 million.

However, when you start playing in the financial big leagues, you also start playing with very picky customers.

The affluent expect the finer things and the little details to be perfect. They expect to:

• Be picked up
• Be dropped off
• Have it delivered
• Get custom fitted
• Be assisted, with white gloves
• Go to the front of the line
• Have it personalized
• Be remembered
• Not have to be asked
• Get drinks/food included
• Be treated like they’re special

They’ll pay for it, too. 

The wealthy have no problem paying for things that save them time or make them feel good. That’s why smart entrepreneurs create premium products and services with all the little touches included.

Private jet companies include limo transfers. Donald Trump’s hotel staff inquire about the purpose of your visit, then decorate the room accordingly. Virgin installed a spa, pool table and full blown (free) restaurant in their first class lounge at Heathrow.

If you want to pump up your prices, it’s worth including (and making room in your margin for) a bunch of luxury touches. Beautiful packaging. Same day shipping. 5 Star. Custom.  Fitted. Concierge.

The wealthy are desperate for a high quality, end-to-end experience where they’re taken care of. Offer just that and you’ll start attracting customers to whom price is irrelevant.

Be a Pundit. Be an Artist. Make it shiny. Charge triple and get it every time.

We want to do things that we don’t really want to do. It sucks.

Cold calls. Exercise. Writing. Tax returns. Saving.

The list goes on. Humans struggle. It feels like being torn in two directions. You intellectually want to do something scary like phoning new prospects, while simultaneously (and instinctively) avoiding it.

To get the nasty, scary stuff done we have to manipulate ourselves. Willpower is the blunt instrument of self manipulation. A psychological club with a nail through it. This article serves up the razor-sharp samurai sword alternative. 

To manipulate behavior, you have to manipulate thinking.

Makes sense, right? The problem isn’t what you’re doing, it’s what you’re thinking right before you start doing it. If behavior is the proverbial boulder (hard to start rolling and hard to stop if it goes in the wrong direction) then your thoughts are a mighty lever. When applied with precision, they can change everything.

So how does one go about changing thoughts, deliberately?

It’s easy, when you put thoughts under the microscope.

All thoughts begin with a question. These questions, some more conscious than others, are asked by our internal dialogue – that psychological chatter between ourselves and ourselves.

“What should I have for breakfast?”

“What time is it?”
“What does she mean when she says that?”

“What am I supposed to do now?”

“Why does this keep happening to me?”

All examples of the kind of mental questions that explode in our head, at the same pace that spark plugs ignite fuel in an engine. Our mental questions set the fires of thought burning.

News Flash: We answer any question we ask ourselves

No matter who you are (or what your IQ is), you will answer every single mental question you pose yourself. Therein lies the source of human potential.

Stop and think about this. This is huge.

When Thomas Edison asked “How could a filament burn incandescent for hours?” …. again and again… he eventually came up with the answer. That’s how the brain works.

The fundamental difference between Edison and mediocre people is the quality of the questions they ask themselves.

We have unlimited potential to answer questions, yet most people spend their time focusing on questions like the ones listed above.

Stupid questions will evoke stupid answers.

Depressed people tend to ask themselves “Why do I feel so down?”. Their unconscious mind always rewards them with an answer. Typically, it’s a rich and detailed mental summary of all the ways in which their life sucks.

That’s why, as an aside, good therapists never ask “Why are you depressed?” (the answers only depress the patient more!) but “What has made you feel good?”.

The secret to behavior-change is asking better questions. 

When an entrepreneur has “Cold Call Reluctance” (a heinous, revenue-draining affliction), you can bet they’re asking some variety of “If I do this, what could go wrong?”

Their unconscious mind (their imagination!) rewards them with an image of exactly what could go wrong. It isn’t rational to imagine people yelling, rejecting or being furious. And yet, your mind will imagine it (vividly) if you ask a question that can be answered no other way. 

Don’t be a moron.

Want to force yourself to make cold calls? Mediate on the question “How much fun can I have doing this?” until you’re excited!

It’s that simple.

Ask yourself questions about what you want. Don’t ask questions that focus on what you do not want. Also, don’t let your mind ask itself any old question. Bring intent and purpose to the game.

Print off and laminate a list of five “power questions” and hang it in your shower. Ask yourself these questions, until you get answers, every morning. This really works.

Try questions like

“How much fun can I have doing <insert feared/procrastinated thing here>?”  <– Works because it presupposes fun and tricks your unconscious mind into having it!

“Why do I want, need and crave the results from doing <insert thing here>?” <– Works because it forces you to imagine all the jet-skis you’ll buy when you make all the sales!

“How great will it feel immediately after I FINISH doing <insert thing here>?” <– Keeps you focused on that sweet moment of glorious warm fuzzies, when it’s done. Does this with game-changing psychological precision.

“How much have I got to be grateful for right now?” <– Presupposes that you do indeed have something (asks to quantify how many things). Great for all moments of existential angst. Not the huge difference from asking “What have I got to be grateful for?

“How expertly/swiftly can I solve <insert massive industry challenge here>?” <– Answering this question will make you rich and famous.

Most people habitually ask questions that break down the excitement they feel about doing big, meaningful or important stuff.

If you’ve ever caught yourself not working out because of the imagined hassle of “getting to the gym, sweating, having to shower and all that” … then you know what I’m talking about.

Ask better questions and you’ll start doing the stuff you really want to do. The only reason you don’t already is that you’ve got a bad habit. Habits can be changed.

Ask better questions. Do what you want to do. Manipulate yourself into doing work that counts.

If you can pull it off, being a solopreneur is great. You can create wealth and usually bypass the usual freedom-devouring traps that most entrepreneurs get snared in. If the goal is wealth, freedom and sanity… the solopreneur life is an increasingly smart choice.

Except for the side effect. Consult your entrepreneurial shrink first, because 90% of solopreneurs experience a severe productivity handicap. Here’s why the solopreneur life kills productivity.  The solopreneurial dream is sexy. Wake up at noon. Wipe last night’s cereal crumbs from your keyboard. Kicking off a day filled with social media buzzwords. Talk extensively about “shipping art”.

Ah, freedom!

Despite the obvious sarcasm, solopreneur life isn’t bad for those willing to make it work. The conspicuous absence of a boss telling you what to do… feels fantastic.

We’ve been so busy telling people to Escape Cubicle Nation, retire to 4 Hour Work Weeks and become Non-Conformists… that we’ve overlooked a few advantages of old-school big business entrepreneurs. The idea that small (minimalist) is good has been so fetishized that we’ve forgotten the original function and value of building something big.

Corporate productivity shits all over solopreneur productivity. 

I’ve got to be blunt, because I know you’re about to disagree with me. And maybe I don’t mean corporate in the worst sense of say, a GE advisory committee trying to make strategy decisions on microwave infrastructure and market demographic dynamics.

Yes, corporate bureaucracy sucks. Teams however, rock.

The original reason for putting a team together in a meeting room was to realize the vision of one person – the founder, CEO or manager. And, despite our desire to hate corporations and big businesses, this is still what happens in many many cases.

People get together, meet, make decisions and take phenomenal action.

Solopreneurs miss out on this and it really is a handicap. 

It’s been proven time and time again that social pressure boosts motivation. That’s why I always show up for phone consults with clients (they’d notice if I didn’t) but struggle to work on the sales copy for the new service I’m launching soon. One task has a huge component of social interaction and expectation. The other has next to none. Guess which gets done most consistently.

It boils down to accountability.

And, in the world of big business, teams exist to force mutual accountability on the individuals working on a project.

When a founding entrepreneur or CEO tells her marketing department she’ll have the plan for their PR campaign ready by Monday, you can bet it’ll get done. The CEO is accountable and experiences the pressure of the social dynamic. The team creates that pressure.

Do CEOs blow off commitments? Yes, but for every example of high level CEOs letting down their subordinates, there exists countless counter-examples in which senior execs step up their accountability in the face of a board of skeptical investors and advisors. Pressure and accountability can come from both above and below! Some might even say that public companies gain accountability and leverage via the social pressure of thousands of shareholders all looking for big results.

Solopreneurs want freedom from constraints, pressure and people telling them what to do. The problem is that they get it. Unless they figure out a way to stay motivated, they usually receive a healthy dose of poverty too.

While the solopreneur plays video games (or cleans his desk for the fifth time), the empowered big business entrepreneur and her team are kicking ass and taking names. They might not focus on “shipping art” or other lofty ideals, but they sure as hell get a lot done.

How can you be a solopreneur AND be accountable? 

I’m glad you asked, treasured reader, because I think in this case you really can have your cake and achieve goals too!

I was chatting with a client recently who’s experienced huge traction using Facebook’s social accountability plugin. It turns out, if you have a good network, there are plenty of people interested in holding you accountable to get things done.

The evolved version of this strategy is one I recommend to clients: Build an advisory board. 

Consider formalizing your relationship with the people (friends/family) who are stake holders in your life. The people who care.

By creating an advisory committee, you can check in (monthly or quarterly works best) with a team of people who are focused on your success. For an hour a month, their job is to hold you accountable to your promises.

Solopreneurs need this. 

We need to create structures in our lives that force us to make commitments. We need to be held accountable. Most of all, we need to have the foresight to set up these structures before we really need them. And, we need to ensure a structure like the board becomes autonomous enough (how awesome are your friends?) that it effectively “catches” you when you fall.

As a solopreneur, you should be accountable to your “board” to follow up and report on last quarter’s game plan. After month one, how far along are you? Have you shipped what you were supposed to? What obstacles did you hit? What did you learn?

None of these questions are rocket science, but they are the sort of thing someone else needs to ask. And sure, having a great coach (just click here) is a great first step… but the power of an advisory board should not be overlooked.

The best part is that you don’t need a table full of business gurus. One or two help (coaches make great board members) but there is actually a huge benefit in having a few “civilians” on your team too. Non-entrepreneurs who nevertheless care about your success will swallow less of your BS and be more ruthless in holding you to your ambition. Your 9-to-5 friends believe you’re a slacker anyway, so having one on your board will ensure high expectations for your work output. The truly brave will invite their moms to the table!

An effective advisory board will hold an entrepreneur to: 

• Develop, present and lock down a specific business plan. No more changes in strategy every two days – if you want a change in direction, present your case at next month’s meeting.

• Connect the dots between long term vision and day to day action. Want to write a book by the end of the year? Your board will figure out that that requires 500 words a day, starting today. Present 15,000 words at next month’s meeting or do not pass go.

• Manage your Cashflow for real. Present your budge, P&L and expenses to your team. Want to blow last month’s profit on new Apple gear? Your mom (and the rest of the team) might have a different idea of where to “invest” those dollars.

… and so, so much more.

If you’re feeling the uncomfortable realization that you need this type of accountability in your life and business, you need a board. All of these accountability factors are a given and total no-brainer in larger businesses. Big business entrepreneurs shoulder this kind of healthy pressure daily.

That’s why entrepreneurs achieve such huge things.

Solopreneurs have a productivity handicap. Entrepreneurs with teams are much more effective because they’re accountable to others to get things done and make good on their promises.

It’s time to shift from solopreneur to the real deal. Assemble your board and get ready to commit action.

Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts…

Imagine if you followed through on every good intention.

Wouldn’t life be incredible? We’d all be Calvin Klein model billionaires. We’d be the most dutiful, giving partners to our spouses. We’d eat more greens. We’d probably meditate, daily. Life would be amazing.

The human condition makes this impossible. We don’t do the things we want to do, because we’re conflicted. We also want to eat hotdogs, vegetate in front of TV and avoid working on that scary big business project. Despite our best intentions to the contrary.

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions”, the saying goes. Successful entrepreneurs are different – they transform their good intentions into real world actions. Wannapreneurs dream big without follow-through.

Become someone who transmutes intention into action.

The secret lies not in trying to increase your willpower or beat discipline into yourself, as many proponents of personal development technology would have you believe.

My experience, both client-based and personal, suggests that understanding the ebb and flow of your psychological power (figurative go-juice) is the key. 

We all have a continuum. A scale. Our “highest self” is the entrepreneurial champion -eating healthy, being kind to others, working out and generally living out our best intentions. Our highest self implements huge ideas and makes the bucks. Our lowest self orders pizza, acts selfishly and procrastinates. Between the two, we have varying shades of grey. Our ability to live up to our best intentions waxes and wanes between each end of this spectrum.

Nevertheless, you are in control. Your emotional state dictates where you are on this continuum, at any moment.

This is the explanation for the “break up ice cream” phenomena. In moments of extreme emotional stress, we’re far more likely to fall from our “highest selves”. We’ll make bad decisions and suspend our commitment to our good intentions. Bring on the cookie dough!

When your emotional state is low, you act as your lowest self. Your grand intentions are forgotten while you succumb to the desires of the reptilian brain. Pizza companies know this – they buy TV advertising slots late in the day when your exhaustion from work is more likely to result in you making a decision you’ll regret.

Entrepreneurs experience an amplification of this effect in their businesses.

When the first sales call goes badly, plunging you into a depressed state, it’s likely you’ll quit make calls altogether – despite your best intentions to commit to ten per day. When a new project is overwhelming, you’ll spend days avoiding beginning it.

On the flip-side, an intense meeting or even an inspirational TED video might spring you into an empowered state. This will result in hours of high intensity action as your highest self – where you get in “the zone” and make huge things happen.

But this is problematic. If you’re waiting for the will of the fates to throw you into a good state so you can get things accomplished, you’ve already lost the battle. The power to achieve your good intentions won’t be in your hands – your business will be like a sailboat becalmed, while you pray for wind.

The secret is preparation. 

When the fates do throw an amazing day your way and your emotional state is fizzing, think differently. Instead of focusing on pure achievement and frenetic activity, take a few minutes to put together a future game plan for your lowest self…. who is going to slink back into the picture, sooner or later, no matter how good you feel.

When you’re feeling incredible, start planning for when you WON’T be!

By creating structures in your life and business in your peak states, you can effectively set snares for your lower self … so that when it arrives, it can’t sabotage your intentions.

Here are some suggestions for gaming your lowest self, to be actioned when you’re in your highest form of awesome:

1. Throw away the ice cream. Remove the unhealthy foods from your home/office – your lowest self is also lazy, so making bad stuff hard to get really works!
2. Book commitments into your schedule. Interactions with other people (meetings, coaching, whatever) tends to bring out your best, no matter what state you start the day in. Break up your day with interactions you know are going to exhilarate you.
3. Fill your sales funnel. The part of selling your lowest self hates is early-stage prospecting and cold calling. Do this in your peak state and then do the follow up when you’re not feeling so good. Make sure your lowest self never has to deal with anything less than warm leads.
4. Do important, creative stuff first. If you have to do accounting and creative writing in the same day, do the accounting in the PM and writing in the AM. The urgency of the accounts will still be there when you’re finished writing. Your creativity won’t be there if you subject your mind to spreadsheet hell beforehand.
5. Make contractual obligations. Hire a personal trainer (just do it) and think about how you can promise more, on paper, to your customers. Making serious, documented (and paid for) obligations will force your lowest self to deliver, even when you don’t feel like it.

What other ways can you prepare to snare your lower-self, when you’re being your highest-self in the present? Sound off in the comments with your suggestions, questions or thoughts!

Build a blog, then blog about how to blog. Take your bricks-and-mortar business online, then run workshops on how to use twitter. Write a book, then give talks about the publishing industry.

This is the Guru Effect. When good entrepreneurs have one hit, then become how-to-guide gurus. It’s practically become a career plan for many.

The Guru Effect is destroying business success, more powerfully and subtly than anything else.

The Guru Effect is destroying your potential. 

Successful entrepreneurs all have their “thing”. The thing they were successful at. They also have a story, typically, of what they did to make that “thing” the grand empire it is today. They have their achievement and the medium the achievement was created in.

This distinction between “thing” and “format” is essential.

Many entrepreneurs, after achieving some success, succumb to the Guru Effect. They start providing advice and commentary not so much on the area of their success, but the format they used to achieve it. Think Oprah giving talks on “How to get your own TV show”.

Social media has exacerbated this phenomena hugely. While captains of industry have been known to publish books, we now have successful business people leveraging social media to share their gifts with the world… only to turn into social media experts. It’s happening everywhere.

It’s a seductive proposition. If you become successful selling widgets using the internet… it’s very very tempting to spread the word about exactly how you did that. You’re on the cutting edge and know something others probably don’t. And after all, there are thousands of social media wannabes out there and you, with a success under your belt, have more credibility than all of them combined.

This is the Guru Effect.

When an entrepreneur uses social media (or publishing, or TV, or any format) to build something extraordinary. Then, an exit happens or they simply move on to the next thing.

More and more, that next thing is: “How I succeeded using <insert format here>”.

It’s disappointing. And it’s driven by fear.

Veteran readers of this blog will know that I’m obsessed with uncovering the world’s most subtle and insidious forms of self-sabotage. That mission has seen Sunk Cost Bias targeted, Premature Goal Sharing exposed and more. The mission isn’t over.

The Guru Effect is the most insidious self-sabotage I’m aware of. It’s leeching the ambition from our best and brightest – the entrepreneurs who have already done a lot.

When you create success, you also create a reputation. When you publish a book that becomes a best seller, it’s far more comfortable to publish a second book (or host a workshop!) about how to successfully publish books. We all know there’s a hungry market for the information. Does that mean you should do it though? Does demand for “the secret” mean it’s a smart move to step into those guru-boots?

If your goal is simply to make good money, sure. If you’re interested in having a high-risk shot at doing something revolutionary that might come with phenomenal pay off… then no.

The Guru Effect sees entrepreneurs move from one real success to second projects that revolve around teaching people how to create success.

The alternative, for really ambitious entrepreneurs, would be to create a second real success.

And, the point is, most successful entrepreneur’s first home run is edgy, risky and remarkable. Becoming a “how-to” guru is none of these things. It’s predictable, boring and safe.

Imagine for a second if Oprah had quit her TV show to run workshops on “How to pitch networks and get your own show”. Doubtless, that would be one hell of a seminar. It would also have been well within her comfort zone to deliver. The hypothetical question is: If Oprah made the decision to turn her career in that direction… would she have gone on to create the media-mogul empire she owns today?

The answer is pure speculation, but we all know the truth.

Imagine if Richard Branson had started giving motivational talks on building record labels in the 80s. We’d be living in a world without cheap transatlantic flights. Students wouldn’t have cheap prepaid cellphones. And Necker Island would be owned by some oil tycoon.

When you take the easy, comfortable road and rest on your laurels, everyone loses.

When entrepreneurs become gurus of the format of their success, rather than the object of their success, they’re dodging an opportunity to do something really big. They’re settling for a comfortable business built on minor rockstar-dom. It’s kind of like Jennifer Lopez judging American Idol – instead of recording new albums.

You’re probably wondering about me. As the shrink for entrepreneurs, I’m very aware that I walk a fine line from descending (and it is a decent!) into guru-hood. In part, I wrote this article to keep myself accountable – to nurture a courageous voice inside of me. This voice tells me that an ebook teaching wannabe coaches to build online coaching businesses would be a horrible idea.

I’ve built a fantastic business (that is utterly non-scalable in a beautiful way) doing what I love, using the format of social media. I blogged and I twote. It won me a waiting list of clients I can work with from anywhere in the world. How exactly I did this is a phenomenal story. At least, I think so.

I’m not interested in sharing it.

To succumb to the Guru Effect would be to place the format I’ve achieved my moderate success in, as the epicenter of my thoughts and focus. It would be to settle for what I know and what feels safe – rather than look for the next challenge. It means rejecting new formats and mediums to take the game to the next level.

It means only looking back in my rear view mirror, telling you what I see there.

Instead, I’m interested in exploring the cutting edge of psychology. I’m passionate about finding the intersection of social change and commercial success. I’m cooking up huge things in both spaces. That said, a certain part of my craft is undeniably “how-to”. How to think, better. But, what I’m working on now is irrelevant (or rather, transcendent) of format. It’s not about how to blog or how to tweet.

When you become famous for blogging about widgets, why not leverage your audience to fuel demand for a book about those widgets… or a tv show… or a retail distribution network!? Build a f***ing franchise! Why aren’t folks starting with the internet (it’s free!) and using it to build an empire? The people running the empire-sized corporations are desperately trying to do the reverse by getting into social media.

Why hasn’t anyone started the  “little internet company that could” and grown it into a Walmart?

Needless to say, some people will do just that. They’re a tiny tiny percentage though – because most successful entrepreneurs are afraid. Instead of leveraging their success in one medium then leaping ambitiously to the next, they stay and become Gurus where they’re safe.

The tiny percentage of ultra achievers – the Oprahs, Bransons, Hsieh and Jobs of the world don’t publish how-to guides. They publish autobiographies.

You can’t be an expert on social media, publishing or TV if you don’t have credibility. Credibility comes from doing remarkable stuff within those mediums. And, if you can achieve the “be remarkable” part, then it’s utterly unnecessary to provide commentary on those mediums.

Give people at your funeral something more to say than “He knew twitter like the palm of his hand”.

Become an expert at being remarkable.

Then, despite being terrified (it’s scary and that’s okay), jump into a new and bigger medium that stretches you. Forget about telling people “how-to” and focus on doing yourself. Therein lies the opportunity to create something that’ll reward you (and us) with extraordinary wealth, freedom and impact.

Anything less is a cop out.

Before I kick off this article, I want to remind you that you have less than 24 hours to crush the business fears holding you back from your goals — by grabbing my ebook “Demystify Your Fear”. It’s half price until midnight tonight. After that, it will no longer be for sale – at any price. Click here now for your last chance to pick up your copy for $47 $23.50

You just can’t commit. Am I right, guys?

“…But baby, I just want to be able to do whatever I want.”

Entrepreneurs and leather clad, Harley riding badasses have more in common than they realize.

Like that tattoo covered bad boy, the entrepreneur won’t commit. The desire for freedom pushes you towards an unstructured, carefree lifestyle… even though you know you need to eventually lock down and commit. 

Above all else, entrepreneurs value freedom. That’s what motivates us to shun the status quo and fly free of the bonds of working-for-the-man employment.

Write a thousand words a day. Meet with each of your team every week. Go running every morning. Clear your inbox daily. Make ten new sales calls.

… are all things you should probably be committing to. Even when you really want to be flying free, flirting with sexy new ideas and living the playboy business-owner lifestyle.

Business success is, unfortunately, built on the put-a-ring-on-it philosophy. You have to commit to daily, weekly and monthly practices. You have to commit to getting stuff done, to relentlessly move your goals forward.

In my career, I frequently find myself advising people to make uncomfortable commitments. Lately I’ve been telling a few clients (you know who you are) to commit to a minimum number of prospecting calls each day or week. I’m also a big fan of the zero-inbox productivity system. And all wannabe bloggers and internet marketers should commit to a daily writing practice.

You’d think that small commitments like these would be common amongst the aspiring business community. In reality, it is these suggestions I receive the most resistance on. By far.

People freak out when I ask for a commitment. I can ask someone to make hundreds of sales, write a whole book and hire fifty new staff. No problem. They say “sure”. In fact, the more enormous the task is, the easier it is for them to contemplate.

Not so when a commitment is involved. When “write a book” becomes “write five hundred words a day, starting today”, people start squirming. The fear of commitment sets in.

Intangible, far-off pipe dreams are easy to contemplate. We can imagine some heroic, future manifestation of ourselves magically just making it happen. It’s like a fantasy. However, when we commit to the daily practice of micro-make-it-happen steps… the fantasy ceases to exist. It’s replaced by the cold realization that this is gonna be hard work.

Insert metaphor for marriage here.

Want big business success? Want to start making your goals happen fast?

Identify your commitment phobia. Admitting it is the first step. The second step is to make a daily or weekly commitment to banging out good hard work. It’s not glamorous and it won’t be fun. It just needs to get done.

The good news, and really the whole point of this article, is that admitting your commitment phobia can change everything. You’ve probably been nursing a secret belief that you actually loathe (or “can’t do”) genuine hard work. This isn’t true – it’s the commitment, not the work, which is the problem.

Now that you can acknowledge and face what you truly fear, you can overcome it.

To really commit, you need to seek accountability beyond yourself. When people talk about the entrepreneurial path being a lonely one, they’re right. The problem this creates is that you’re not committed to a boss, colleague or partner to take those boring and sweaty daily actions that build your future.

Go out of your way to find a commitment buddy. Find a personal trainer for your business – someone to yell at you when you don’t do your ten sales calls a day.

Here’s some ideas to inject commitment into your business:

Peer Support 

Give the gift of commitment to one of your entrepreneurial friends – become their accountability trainer then have them do the same for you.

Significant-other Support 

Explain to your spouse the importance of commitment then have them hold your accountable to your business goals. Most entrepreneurs hide their business commitments from their spouses, because they know how relentlessly kicked their ass would be. Use that power.

Community Support

Create a mastermind group that aims to hold accountability for each of it’s members. These days you don’t even need to have a regular, face-to-face meet up – technology makes it easy.

How else can you commit to making more business commitments?

Hi folks,

This isn’t a blog post so much as an announcement.

A shift in strategic direction is coming here at The Shrink for Entrepreneurs. Client consults are still in action (and no, those are not on sale) but I’m moving away from info products. My ebook “Demystify Your Fear” is being taken off the market permanently. Before that happens, I’m offering it at a 50% discount to readers.

As of Monday next week (the 28th), Demystify Your Fear will no longer be available for purchase.

The book is a one stop guide to overcoming the crippling paralysis of fear that holds back your entrepreneurial dreams. It gives you everything you need to:

• Understand what’s holding you back from business success, and why
• Silence the mental whisper that tells you you’re not good enough – forever
• Spot useless fear quickly and shut it down fast so you can move forward freely
• Turn every negative experience into a positive, rewarding one that you can use to get ahead
• Eliminate that nervous feeling that causes you to hesitate and hold back from success

It’s a great product and it’s had lots of positive feedback from readers.

However, I’ve made the strategic decision to take my business in another direction. I’m leaning away from the passive-income, info-product based internet marketing angle… and am cooking up something completely different (and very very awesome) that will launch soon.

If you want to get your hands on a copy of Demystify Your Fear, you can do so at a 50% discount before I pull it from it’s virtual shelf forever…. on Monday the 28th of November.

That’s a complete, practical guide to busting your fear and acerbating your performance, for just $23.50 

This offer really IS going away. Demystify Your Fear will not be for available to buy, ever again. If you want to get ahead this holiday, make this your reading material when you’re stretching out your belly on the couch.

Grab your copy now. The offer has expired & the book is no longer for sale.

Have a great Thanksgiving.