> Hi Duane,

> First, thanks for sharing your story.

> Here are some names you may not recognize,
> but, what do

> Ben Suarez, Bill Myers, Gary Halbert, Don
> Alm, Ron Popeil, Harvey Brody, Joe Karbo,
> Joe Cossman and Gordon Alexander (always
> like to include myself in lofty company)

> have in COMMON?

> They all did what Duane did in some way.

They and yes YOU Gordon, are also some of my self chosen mentors over the years.

> They went TO THE PEOPLE, and did face to
> face SELLING.

> Ben and Gary sold encylopaedias. Bill Myers
> sold books. Joe Karbo sold surplus boxes.
> Don Alm a slew of products/services.
> Cossman, Popeil, and Brody were no strangers
> to "county fairs" and
> DEMONSTRATIONS.

> Duane, I get what you did. It wasn't so much
> about finding a business or an opportunity,
> YOU now know those surround you. It was
> about YOU doing something.

EXACTLY! EXACTLY! It was not so much about the opportunity or the idea. (I have paid for and collected TONS of opportunities/ideas these while I was in school!) It was about BECOMING thru ACTION like the marketers that I have studied!

> Using the principles WE have been
> "preaching" for so long.

> I personally am grateful for you mentioning
> a couple of my posts, it is always nice to
> see that some of the "seeds" get
> into good soil.

Thank You! Your Posts and the seeds planted here by others have been very valuable and generous.

> You set a goal. You started where you were
> at with what you had and went from there,
> ala The OFF-KEY SINGING TELEGRAM story.

> You OVERCAME your own inertia, your own
> comfort, your own ball and chain and DID
> something.

> You REACHED your goal. And then your brain
> kept thinking, and other opportunities came
> up.

WOW! I couldn't have said it better myself? (Remote Viewing are we?? )

> About 12 years ago, a friend of mine was a
> VP of a company that went belly-up. He took
> a job as a bartender in the
> "upscale" community.

> Now some of his peers wondered how he could
> LOWER himself to such work. They went on
> unemployment and hired head hunters.

It's funny you mention this. I too had just finished a "prestigious" position as a HelpDesk Supervisor at a leading Cancer Research Facility. I had the big office, a staff and "responsibility". Fresh Out of University, this was a "Good Job" I can tell that some of my peers are wondering why I am working as a Server and shovelling driveways when they know that I can get a well paying salaried job very quickly.

My response has always been "I was not learning the skills that I feel I need to learn to prosper in the present/near future"

> Today, my friend is still a part-time
> bartender at the same place, but only a
> couple of days a week, he has a full time
> job running the business of one of the
> wealthiest men in town. He is the President
> and makes 3 times what he did before.

> He MET people who liked his attitude. His
> willingness to "DO WHATEVER IT
> TAKES"...and that led him to a
> successful career.

> Some of his former co-workers and friends
> (former) feel bitterness toward him, because
> they were unable to attain
> "positions" worthy of their skills
> and intelligence. They think of him as being
> LUCKY or a brown noser.

> Nothing could be further from the truth. He
> put himself in the PATH and then did what he
> had to do with a zest, a smile, and
> thankfulness.

> He SHOWED UP, He listened, he laughed, and
> he performed his "low" job with
> ENTHUSIASM.

> You Duane, have made a turning point for
> yourself, and it is your new found
> CONFIDENCE that is going to bode your future
> well.

> There is NO greater personal power than
> taking ACTION. Once you do that, then you
> ADJUST, AND you continue on.

Agreed! this Active Action Knowledge beats Passive Book Knowledge hands down.

> You did that Duane. I think your story is a
> great seed of wisdom, and I thank you for
> sharing it with us.

Thank you.

> I'm sure it will inspire others, and bear
> much fruit multiplied.

I hope it helps inspire somebody to Action.

> CONGRATS and GOOD ON YOU Duane.

> THANKS,

> Gordon Alexander