Dylan Herzog.....That kid sold more seminar tickets for me than anyone....And he was only 11 years old!
It was 2002 and I had just completed a memory seminar. I was exhausted after 8 hours of speaking and carrying my boxes out of the room when a folded piece of paper on a table caught my eye. It was creased the middle and bent in half. The outside said, 'Ron White'. I picked up the paper and in seconds my exhausted face had a smile from ear to ear. Dylan, an 11 year old who had been sitting in that seat, wrote me a note and it said (his spelling):
Ron, I love the things you tot me. I mean you are funny and you tell the true things. You are the greatest man that I ever met.
Love,
Dylan Herzog
In my 16 years of speaking it is my all time favorite letter. I liked it so much I hung it on my refrigerator and when I would go to a speech I would take it down and read it to the group then replace it after the speech. This letter closed more parents on signing their kids up for my class than anything I could have said. Yet, I made a tragic mistake in the spring of 2006. I spoke for a group and read the letter; then in the confusion afterwards the letter was lost. When I realized what happened, I darted to my truck and raced back to the hotel. I spent an hour in the room digging through boxes and yes even the trash....but no letter. It was gone and to this day I kick myself. I sold $20,000 worth of seminar enrollments that day but what stands out is losing the letter.
There are 2 take-aways:
1. Get testimonial letters. If you say it your customers might not believe you. If your customers say it they will. In order to get a testimonial letter sometimes you have to ask....so ask! It doesn't hurt to give them suggestions on what you want written either.
2. Treat the letter as if it was the original copy of the Declaration of Independence. Keep it in a binder with a plastic sleeve. If you don't value it your prospects won't and you also just might lose it.
So Dylan you are close to 18 now, but I want to thank you for the letter and the sales you helped me close. I still look for your letter when going through old office supply boxes hoping to find it and knowing I won't.
Testimonial letters...get them...read them...value them....
Go for More this Week!
Ron White
PS Today's issue is going out to more than 74,706 weekly subscribers. If you enjoy this week's edition and find it to be valuable, then if you would do me the favor of forwarding it to your friends, family and associates, it would be very much appreciated. If they would like to subscribe, have them send an email to:
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In This Issue.....
1. Learning from Einstein's Creativity by Ron White
2. Quotes of the Week
3. Don't Quit by Vic Johnson
4. The Concept of Multi-Tasking
5. More Information
1. Learning from Einstein's Creativity by Ron White
One of the most famous quotes of Einstein is when he said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." Einstein was putting value on creativity here. His theories and ideas were all about creativity. When he made a working box car for his son out of shoe string and some boxes, that was creativity. When he was down and out and needed money and posted an ad for tutoring lessons; that was creativity in making money.
Since Einstein accomplished some of the greatest thoughts of our time, an argument could be made that he was one of the most creative people of all time. You can know more about your product than anyone and have more degrees than anyone you know, but if you don't have a little bit of creativity to take advantage of what you do have, then it is useless.
Credentials and knowledge will do you little good if you lack the creativity to take advantage of them. Einstein once said, "The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources." I think he was being a little humble and a lot humorous here, but he was once again acknowledging the importance of being creative!
So you may ask yourself, "What is creativity?"
That is an excellent question -- let's go straight to the source to answer it. Einstein said, "CREATIVITY is seeing what others see and THINKING what no one else has thought."
Robert Kennedy said the same thing this way, "I look at things that are and I ask why? I look at things that never were and ask why not?" Robert Kennedy was talking about creativity, just as Einstein was.
So how do you do it? How do you model the creativity of Albert Einstein?
First of all, we need to address the idea of the limiting belief that you are not creative.
There is a prevailing belief that creativity is an inborn trait - you are either creative or you're not. Well, while creativity is an inborn trait, we are all born with a creative brain (your right cerebral hemisphere) and have many creative skills. Children are naturally curious and eager to explore the world around them and spend hours playing with toys, making up imaginary friends and pretend games. But as we get older, we begin to lose some of our natural creativity as we learn and use more left-brain thinking skills in school and at work. Research shows that our propensity to generate original ideas reduces from 90% at age 5, to 20% at age 7 and even further to 2% as adults! However, unless you have suffered brain damage in your right hemisphere or had it surgically removed, you still have a creative brain; so you are still creative. It's just that maybe you don't use your creativity skills as much as you used to.
Now for the good news! You can reawaken your creative brainpower.
What would Einstein tell you in regards to increasing your creativity? Well, we don't have to guess on that one, because he did tell us. He said, "The important thing is to not stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing."
Develop the curiosity of a child. Leonardo Da Vinci, who is said to be one of the greatest geniuses of all time, also had this creativity. I don't think that it is a coincidence that Leonardo and Einstein were both extremely creative and that so many years after their deaths we are still talking about them.
Let me give you a few of Da Vinci credentials:
500 years ago he:
- drew blue prints for the worlds first helicopter
- drew blueprints for a submarine
- built an extendable ladder that is still being used by fire departments today
- built the world's first hydraulic jack
- built a rotating stage
- and 500 years ago he build a water powered alarm clock!
Those are some pretty amazing credentials if you ask me.
Curiosity might have "killed the cat" but it can help you think like a genius. Leonardo Da Vinci had a book of questions. In this journal of sorts he would write down questions as fast as they would pop into his head. He would write down questions such as:
why do birds fly?
why do they slow down as they land?
what do their feathers do?
The interesting thing is that he didn't worry about the answers. He simply wrote down the questions because he knew something about the power of the human mind. He knew the subconscious mind was powerful and if he wrote down the questions his subconscious mind would continue to work on the answers.
Creativity is defined by Webster as "creative ability or intellectual inventiveness." This is a skill that everyone has to some extent. There are ways to improve your ability to create and generate new ideas. Not everyone can be a great artist or a creative genius, but it makes sense to make the most of the potential we are given.
Brainstorming is an extremely good way at practicing creativity. A brainstorm can work with an individual or a group. This technique requires the generation of as many ideas as quickly as possible to solve a problem.
It does not matter how outlandish an idea might be, all ideas are written down. The ideas need to be written down, and a time limit should be imposed for accepting ideas. If this is a group brainstorm, an individual should be appointed as recorder to write down the ideas. If this is an individual project, the person should write as the thoughts come. Remember the less judgment of ideas the greater the number of ideas generated. Although many of the ideas may be unreasonable and ineffective, they may lead you to the idea that will really work. It is helpful to set a goal for the number of ideas you wish to generate. This will give you something to work toward, and may unleash the perfect solution.
Journal your thoughts for future use. This includes writing down dreams, insights, experiences, quotes, problems with friends, and any other information that is pertinent to you. This should have some kind of organization so you can look back on it periodically. You may find the answer to a problem in last month's dream, so remember to review these personal logs frequently. This system will compliment the complex subconscious mind, and allow you to retrieve from this boundless resource.
Allow your ideas to develop and follow through on them. It is said that a good idea is worth fifty cents, and the plan to implement that plan is worth millions of dollars. It has been said another way as well: Anyone who has ever taken a shower has had an idea. It is the man who gets out of the shower, dries off and does something about it that changes the world.
As you learn about creativity and the techniques that work best for you, a whole new world will open up to you. Creativity can be helpful in problem solving, dealing with people, and creating success in all areas of your life. Take the time to tap into your greatest power, the power of the imagination and increase your creativity in all areas of life.
Sometimes when we face a problem we struggle with our thoughts so much, our energy is spent. The stress that comes with this kind of problem solving also affects how we think. If the anxiety level becomes too high, parts of the brain will shut down and it is impossible to generate the ideas needed to deal with the problem. When faced with too much stress the mind goes into the "fight or flight" mode. This allows the mind to deal with only two alternatives, fighting the opponent or fleeing the danger.
You can avoid these mind numbing emotions by altering your environment. When you feel yourself getting stressed out or you begin losing your focus, walk away from everything for a change of scenery. Allow yourself to focus on another task. Some people, golf, juggle, or exercise to get away from their mind blocks. When you return to this important task, you will have shifted from your stressed out mind set to a new relaxed and ready to conquer attitude.
Blaise Pascal said, "Almost all of the problems of mankind arise from the inability to be alone with oneself in a room for any period of time."
Getting away from the problem allows your subconscious mind to problem solve, while your conscious mind is occupied with other things. Sometimes you will find the solution to your problem in your sleep. This is when the subconscious mind is most active. Basically, all your experiences and learnings are stored in this part of the brain. This is where your creativity gets turbo-powered. If you can tap into this force you will have creative powers beyond your wildest expectations.
Another good way to help your creativity is to read. That is right, read.
You see when you read your subconscious mind is automatically creating pictures whether you like it or not. So develop a passion for reading and watch your creativity increase. Both Einstein and Da Vinci were avid readers. Model this behavior and watch your creativity increase.
Einstein said that he would simply imagine it so and then go about to prove it. In other words the creative process occurred before the experiments.
Ron White
This article was excerpted from Ron White's How to Develop the Mind of Einstein. For more information about Ron's special offer on his 6-CD program, How to Develop the Mind of Einstein or his other products including his best-selling, Memory in a Month program, Speed Reading or Write It On Your Heart - Simple Steps to Scripture Memory or to purchase his complete package, plus a Free bonus – visit
http://einstein.yoursuccessstore.com or call 877-929-0439.
2. Quotes of The Week
LEARNING/EDUCATION
"If money is your hope for independence, you will never have it. The only real security that a man can have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience and ability." -- Henry Ford
"Learn from the past, set vivid, detailed goals for the future, and live in the only moment of time over which you have any control: now." -- Denis Waitley
"The reading of all good books is indeed like a conversation with the noblest men of past centuries who were the authors of them, nay a carefully studied conversation, in which they reveal to us none but the best of their thoughts." -- Rene Descartes
"A professor is one who talks in someone else's sleep." -- W. H.Auden
"Education is, after all, a serious business. Its lifeblood is standards. If there are no standards, how do we call something higher education?" -- William J. Bennett
"Education: That which discloses to the wise and disguises from the foolish their lack of understanding." -- Ambrose Bierce
"If you think education is expensive, try ignorance." -- Derek Bok
"It is a good thing for an uneducated man to read books of quotations." -- Winston Churchill
"There in an immense ocean over which the mind can sail, upon which the vessel of thought has not yet been launched… Let us haul it over the belt of land, launch on the ocean and sail outwards. There is much beyond all that has ever yet been imagined." -- Richard Jefferies
"In times of change the learners shall inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists." -- Eric Hoffer
"Next in importance to freedom and justice is popular education, without which neither freedom nor justice can be permanently maintained." -- James A. Garfield
"I kept six honest serving men. They taught me all I knew. Their names are What and Why and When and How and Where and Who." -- Rudyard Kipling
3. Don't Quit by Vic Johnson (excerpted from Day by Day with James Allen)
"Your circumstances may be uncongenial, but they shall not remain so if you only perceive and ideal and strive to reach it. You cannot travel within and stand still without." - As A Man Thinketh
For many years I have carried around a poem called Don't Quit. One of the lines says, "stick to the fight when you're hardest hit – It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit." In our darkest hour it's hard to see the end of our circumstance. All we can think of is our conditions worsening. But it's usually at this time that our greatest growth can occur if we'll see the moment as a growth opportunity. If we'll see it as a time to learn how to control our thoughts toward an ideal that we cherish.
One thing I share with people who seek my advice when they think their life has come apart, is to help them understand the power that even the tiniest of actions can have when taken in a negative situation. Remember in Science class when we learned that "a body at rest tends to remain at rest or a body in motion tends to remain in motion." This is especially true when overcoming circumstances because "paralysis" usually keeps us in the condition longer than we'd like.
But even more important, is that once we've started in motion, even thought it may not seem like much, know this – it's now only a matter of time before you're out, totally out, of the situation that has got you down today.
My long-time favorite poem by an anonymous author is worth remembering today:
When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill.
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don´t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns.
And many a fellow turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man.
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup.
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar.
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.
And that's worth thinking about.
Vic Johnson
This article is excerpted from Vic Johnson's book, Day by Day with James Allen. "Day by Day with James Allen" gives you a bite-sized, daily helping of James Allen's self-help classic, As A Man Thinketh, along with the insights and experiences of himself and others. Some days bring comfort, some bring hope and inspiration, and still others bring a call to action. But every day brings the ageless wisdom that has helped so many understand that as we think in our hearts, so we become. Book includes complete text of As A Man Thinketh. To order go to
Day by Day or call 877-929-0439.
4. The Concept of Multi-Tasking
We all know the concept of multi-tasking -- accomplishing more than one thing at a given point in time. Well, leave it to the author of one of our all time best-sellers, Memory in a Month by Mr. Ron White, to create a product that you can listen to one time and gain multiple benefits.
This series not only educates you in examining the person and life of Albert Einstein (great learning for you fans of history and biographies), but it will also entertain you and most importantly it will give you strategies and ideas on how to improve your thinking, skills, relationships, time management and more.
Plus Receive 2 Bonuses (for a limited time)!
For details and to order go to
http://einstein.yoursuccessstore.com or call 877-929-0439.
5. More Information
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