Dr. Joe Vitale at Zero

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

Why?

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

It’s a little embarrassing.

But I’ll go through with it, anyway.

First, here’s the book:

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

Second, here’s my confession:

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

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

Like I said, they’re no fun.

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

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

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

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

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

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

But a thought imbalance does.

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

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

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

It’s a must-have book.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

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

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

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

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

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

But we were all sworn to secrecy.

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

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

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

Here it is:

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

Think of the publicity opportunities.

Think of the sponsorship opportunities.

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

Cindy’s idea is brilliant.

But don’t think this was an overnight success.

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

But she hung in there.

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

And married there.

And the entire world will hear about it.

Beginning today.

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

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

Stop it already.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

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

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

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

The Culture Code by Clotaire Rapaille.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And the code for money is “proof.”

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

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

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

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

Still, this is truly a must-have book.

Get it.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

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

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

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

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck.

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

At first glance this may seem lame as an insight.

But look closer.

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

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

How do you change your mindset?

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

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

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

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

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

Always bad at math?

Can’t learn Internet marketing?

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

Your answer reveals where you have a fixed mindset.

You can change it.

It’s a choice.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

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

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

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

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

That quiet, too.

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

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

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

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

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

Today Nerissa has her hybrid.

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

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

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WAY cool.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

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

Here’s a question I get asked a lot:

“Does anyone ever buy you an Amazon gift certificate?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I loved it.

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

I loved that, too.

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

Yes, I loved it, as well.

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

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

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

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

You bet it does.

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

I suggest you add one to your site today.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

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

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

I didn’t know what it was for.

It looked real.

I wanted it to be real.

But was it?

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

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

I was instantly aggravated.

Why send me a check I can’t use?

Why make it look real?

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

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

What a dirty trick.

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

Now why would anyone want to do that?

I looked at her site and figured it out.

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

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

I started to get it.

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

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

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

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

After all, it all begins in your mind.

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

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

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

Get yourself a check.

Expect wealth.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

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

I get questions.

Here’s a recent one:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Personally, I hate cold calling.

That’s why I don’t do it.

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

Here’s a sample of what I mean:

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

Then they wonder why no one calls them back.

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

You can do this, too.

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

Make the fish come to you.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We are drawing very big contacts in Hollywood………

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

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

As you can see, the movie is making history.

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

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

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

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

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

Tell the world.

Expect miracles.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

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