The "Astonishing Secrets" Thread

[Vagabond 007]

A friend of a friend (multi-millionaire) has that mentality about being all in.

He said something to the effect of "you're either all in or you mine as well be all out."

 

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[Arandhawa23]

Yea I'm still up for the marketing stuff, bro. Still working on creating some online marketing content because that's what the people seem to be leaning towards. It's a slow process because I'm learning from my buddy as I go.

My marketing journey offline is pretty goofy. I really enjoy pulling off "shock and awe" marketing tactics to get myself in the media because I can't afford to pay for advertising with real commercials. Real TV commercials are ridiculously expensive.

2 memorable ones for you:
Found out the mayor of my city was going to be giving a speech later in the week. Got 2 garbage bags and filled each one with $2 bills. Called up a bunch of local news stations and told them that I would be slowly emptying the 2 garbage bags from the top of a building onto all of the people below while the mayor gives his speech. I stamped my marketing message for my company on each $2 bill. People went NUTS over it...can you imagine real cash falling down from the sky??? I've never seen people go crazy like that before. Super cheap stunt considering how much media attention it got.

Another event was when I threw a surprise party for a bunch of homeless people. Called up the local homeless shelter then told them that I wanted to surprise all the peeps in there with some gourmet catered food. Called up a bunch of news stations again so my company could get some media attention.

Shit...the media completely twisted the story. The headline in the newspaper the next day was "Millionaire Birthday Kid Parties With Homeless". First off I'm not a millionaire yet, 2nd it wasn't my birthday haha.

Not caring about money is one of the most important mindset shifts that an entrepreneur must go through because once you get to that mindset, you unlock the part of you that becomes childlike and creative. Creativity and flexibility is the core of what keeps a business growing and evolving. Creativity leads to innovation.

When you care too much about money, the lack of it will become a mental limit for you. You start thinking stuff like, "oh I can't get into that business because I don't have capital to start with". The creative child will find a way...he'll open up a lemonade stand on every street corner in the city, hiring the other children to sell for him while he sits back and controls everything. Since the creative child is broke in the beginning, he will promise the other children that they will receive 10% of all lemonade sales after they set up shop on every corner in the city. That's what the creative mind does...turn lemons into lemonade.

I'm telling you...the offline ice cream shop is super fun. It's way more fun than hiding behind a computer. Once you get a real taste of how it feels to produce something of value for the world, there is no going back. I'm serious, it's like some weird addiction. I think that's why you see guys like Richard Branson building companies again and again. It's addicting once you figure out how to play the game. Part of the fun is that the rules of the game are constantly changing since customer tastes change.

But you know what taste will never change? My taste for alcohol and ice cream.

STAY DRUNK FOREVER AND GET THE ICE CREAM.

Was this you?

http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2013/...s-out-of-a-boylston-st-window-this-afternoon/

 

[bossadolfo22]

This thread is great!! Thanks.!

 

[pisco]

Ok, just finished the whole thread!

GUYS this is awesome. Will start right away to find a problem!!!

GOLDEN ice cream rocks!!!

Thx!

 

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[MCLARENF1]

BOOM

Is this the truth? Are they really hard to connect with? Or are you the one being difficult to connect with?

There is an interesting force within the universe that many do not see...the yin and the yang side of life. At the heart of everything, the bottom line is this: if you want something from the world then you must give it away first.

If you want power then be the guy who EMPOWERS people. If you want abundance then give abundantly. If you want love, you give love. If you want friends, you give your friendship.

I don't have any statistical evidence to prove this concept, but I can tell you that my life has so far been a manifestation of it.

Here's the crazy catch about all of this though...you don't necessarily RECEIVE from the same direction that you GAVE. Everything ultimately balances out though. Giving your friendship to a particular person doesn't necessarily mean that they will give their friendship back, BUT you will likely receive friendship from someone else to offset this.

Look at the Dolphin's life. The guy EMPOWERS people on an amazing level. What ends up happening? People from all over the place are willing to leave everything that's safe and comfortable to them just to get a shot at working with him even though there is no guarantee of success...that's the secret power: you GIVE abundance away, then you RECEIVE abundance.

All of this connects to the very first post of this thread: love others.

BOOM! I have experienced plenty of evidence of this. ICK thanks man, I am only 20% done on my copywriting challenge but because of YOU and zen******* I have applied what I learned and am learning from copywriting/ Gary Halbert to increase business for an UNsexy business and my life has changed for the better.

It is NOT bs when you said, "Learn copy and you can print money".

Guys do yourselves a favor, learn copy, get on the Inside, find Lady Need and give her what she wants and give it to her RELENTLESSLY.

 

[IceCreamKid]

You Are In Charge of Your Destiny

I never realized how many young guys there are on this forum until I went to the C&B meetup last week. Listen, I know it’s scary to take that first leap into business. I’ve been there. I remember the feelings of fear, anxiety, and doubt creeping up and whispering into my ear.

But one thing that you MUST realize is that no one cares about your success more than yourself. You are in charge of what goes on in your mind, therefore you are in charge of your results.

There are no shortcuts. There isn’t some magical copywriting headline that will allow you to cash out and sell a company for millions. It’s about doing the damn thing, putting in the work, adding value, and communicating that value to your customer. Put in as much work as you can TODAY and be done with it. Then repeat the process tomorrow.

Stop looking for someone else to lead you to the Promised Land. The person who will lead you there is the man/woman in the mirror. If someone is promising you the stars and the moon then keep your eyes wide open to what is about to transpire.

It astounds me how many PM’s I get from young guys on here offering me money, gifts, free services, whatever. What the heck, guys. I don’t want your money. For the sake of transparency I will admit that I accepted a $20 Starbucks gift card from throttleforward and a $40 Amazon gift card from scott.legendre because I think they’re both really cool guys. Anyway, I’ll say it again: You are in charge of your results.

Do not PM me asking if you can work for me if you've never met me in real life. Why would you offer to work for someone who hasn’t even laid out in detail what they do for a living? I could be some 12-year old kid in Nigeria who's just really good at writing convincing posts on here. Join some meetup groups in your local area and offer to work for a guy there. You will be better off that way.

Do not PM me asking if you can send me 10 checks for $100 each to hold you accountable. Find a friend that you can trust and give him the checks. Just make sure the friend will also kick you if you don’t meet the weekly goals.

Do not PM me asking to wave a magic wand to solve your problems. I am still on my own path and figuring out my own truth. And so should you. I genuinely want to help you, but I also want you to go stickshift with your life and use your critical thinking brain.

Lastly, I know from my own experience how having a mentor can shave YEARS off the learning curve. The problem I often see is this: How do I determine who is a good mentor for me and who is full of air? Filter that mentor through these 3 pieces of criteria and VALIDATE that they possess ALL of these:

Tremendous skill in the area you have interest in

10-20 years minimum experience

Have your best interest at heart.<--THE BIG ONE. HOLY SHNYKIES THIS IS THE ONE THEY MUST HAVE, ABOVE ALL ELSE.

Hope this helps somebody out there. I'm about to head out to a picnic with the family. Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there. And Happy Father’s Day to all the single moms who grind it out at work, hold down the fort at home, and stroll through life with strength and positivity to show the kids that anything is possible. You are amazing.

Your Man,
ICK

 

[IAmTheJeff]

Bro - you're really Nigerian? Hmm, that's interesting. Unsub'ed.

Quick word on Mentors - having a mentor can take years off of your learning curve, but only if you're willing to get out of your own damn way and open your ears and mind. What's one of Z's favorite lines?

"Do you want to be right, or do you want to be rich?"

That is a mindset you need to get to first instead of wasting other people's time.

Sorry for the 10 checks story - I have a feeling that's my fault.

 

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[Ronr3914]

The thread lives on! Very exciting to see.

 

[Nadia]

Phew.

I've just finished this thread within 48 hours. My notebook is more exhausted than I am with all the golden nuggets that it now contains.

Firstly, a sincere thank you to @IceCreamKid for this blessing of a thread and for revolutionizing people's lives and shifting paradigms. I am already a very giving person and this thread helped me to give even more.

There are some VERY valid points about going broke (been there done it) in your businesses to build as well as all the advice you have personally given everyone who has contributed to the thread.

MJ needs to have a DIAMOND thread. And this thread needs to be in it. Gold is too downgrade for this wisdom.

A genuinely, heartfelt hug and gratitude for your servitude to the world

 

[IceCreamKid]

Firstly, a sincere thank you to @IceCreamKid for this blessing of a thread and for revolutionizing people's lives and shifting paradigms. I am already a very giving person and this thread helped me to give even more.

Oh dear, sorry for the delay in responding to you Ms. Nadia! And THANK YOU for sticking around on this forum and representing the ladies! I'm convinced that there will be a new wave of female entrepreneurs rocking the world and solving needs on a massive scale.

Women have a very special talent that many men lack in business...strong intuition.

PM me if you need anything, you know I'm here for you! I really enjoy your posts here, especially when you share your past struggles.

 

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[FionaS]

28 pages of ICK here, people. If you haven't read it, please do!

To be totally honest with you (and I'm not just saying this to make you look good, I promise), I was at a standstill with business when this thread was started. Unmotivated, struggling day to day even getting out of bed, taking care of the kids and laying on the couch all day watching Curious George. No joke. Reading the first couple of posts on this thread, though - once, twice, some even more - turned that around for me.

I got my mindset right. It took a while, and I think starting The Miracle Morning was the last big thing I needed to get me on the right path (thanks again, @MJ DeMarco!). But this thread and your posts were the catalyst.

I went from being a depressed, moody and just plain exhausted (while sleeping 10 hours a night) mom to being happy, sleeping 6 hours and waking up ready to rock it, and finally getting that patience that I've been trying to get ever since my oldest was born.

I've even started to take the first steps towards starting a business that I thought I was too overwhelmed to start (it's still hard, with two toddlers, but I'm making progress).

You're helping lots of people here, and thanks for that.

Now, time to get me some ice cream.

 

[IceCreamKid]

It took a while, and I think starting The Miracle Morning was the last big thing I needed to get me on the right path (thanks again, @MJ DeMarco!). But this thread and your posts were the catalyst.

Weren't you the one that MJ sent the Miracle Morning book to? It's amazing how the stars aligned and the winner of the book giveaway went to the right person. =)

I went from being a depressed, moody and just plain exhausted (while sleeping 10 hours a night) mom to being happy, sleeping 6 hours and waking up ready to rock it, and finally getting that patience that I've been trying to get ever since my oldest was born.

One topic that I've never gotten around to discussing is the invisible energy that seems to control everything in our lives. Have you ever noticed that happy, successful people have a certain energy in their presence? They're at peace with who they are and fully embrace the fact that the journey is what brings us happiness, not the destination. It's extremely difficult to describe this energy in words, but as each year passes I realize that this energy is at least equally important to strategy.

I love being around people who are moving towards their own definition of peace and inner truth. Everyone tries to tell you what's good for you. They don't want you to find your own answers because they want you to believe theirs.

Rock on, Fiona. Rock on.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Weren't you the one that MJ sent the Miracle Morning book to? It's amazing how the stars aligned and the winner of the book giveaway went to the right person. =)

Yup, so awesome to see the book read, and used. If she wins this month, which will be 3 in a row, I'm going to call in Dewey Cheatem and Howe for a full accounting audit.

 

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[FionaS]

One topic that I've never gotten around to discussing is the invisible energy that seems to control everything in our lives. Have you ever noticed that happy, successful people have a certain energy in their presence? They're at peace with who they are and fully embrace the fact that the journey is what brings us happiness, not the destination. It's extremely difficult to describe this energy in words, but as each year passes I realize that this energy is at least equally important to strategy.

I love being around people who are moving towards their own definition of peace and inner truth. Everyone tries to tell you what's good for you. They don't want you to find your own answers because they want you to believe theirs.

I do think that successful people have a very positive energy around them. Whether it's from their mannerisms, personality, some kind of force, I dunno, but there's something there. It's infectious, too - if you hang out around positive, successful, just plain happy people, you start moving the same way.

I have started doing the Miracle Morning Monday calls as well as listening to Hal's podcast (I've never been much of a 'self-help' kinda person), and I can't help but feel happy and motivated. If I'm not feeling ready to take on the world by the end of my Miracle Morning, I start up a podcast and I'm good to go.

I'm realizing more and more that the people you surround yourself with are really important - being surrounded by crying toddlers all day is not going to help you get happy and positive. That's actually the next thing I'm working on - trying to get a network together, because the only people I see other than my husband and kids are my parents. They're great, but needless to say, my network needs work.

Yup, so awesome to see the book read, and used. If she wins this month, which will be 3 in a row, I'm going to call in Dewey Cheatem and Howe for a full accounting audit.

I'm going to have to start being careful about tricking your random number chooser, eh?



For what it's worth, as soon as I have a couple extra bucks, I'm hoping to donate a few books to the 'cause'. Just trying to figure out which ones will make the most impact on the people here. I feel guilty for having won twice!

 

[twdavis]

Be grateful for all of those challenges. The a**hole boss, the bitch that betrayed you after you gave her your heart, the “friends” who took advantage of you…they were all there to help you become a stronger version of yourself.

You know, I forgot about this until now but about a month ago, I was reading through this thread, which is, by the way, a metric F*ck ton of awesomeness, and this might the one of the most motivational things I've ever heard in my life.


I actually posted this on my Facebook account as a quote image, and I got like 40 likes. Lol.

Great shit dude.

 

[IceCreamKid]

If I Could Turn Back The Clock, I Would Read This One Book

I would’ve read the book “Calculator Power!” in high school instead of post college. This book teaches you how to use a financial calculator with a focus on real estate, BUT in reality you can use the lessons towards buying any type of business. It teaches you how to craft really good business deals that are win-win, even if you don't have money upfront.

This book is straight up awesome. You learn the time value of money, how to give the seller exactly what they want while still getting yourself the profit that you want, how to get higher yields on your investments, and how to make different creative offers when buying real estate or businesses.

This stuff is old school business. I like tried and true business strategies that have stood the test of time....business models that are PROVEN to work over the course of decades, where if you simply put in the work then your chances of success are very high.

I wish there were more people on this forum who like old school business lol seems like everyone thinks in terms of algorithms, PPC, conversion rates, etc these days.

 

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[superb]

If I Could Turn Back The Clock, I Would Read This One Book

I would’ve read the book “Calculator Power!”

Hey ICK, thanks for all of the awesome posts! I've started looking around for this book. Do you happen to recall the author's name? There are a few different books out there that share this title. Thanks again![/quote]

 

[ZCP]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1885847033/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20

 

[Emanuel]

I joined here a few days ago and just read this entire topic.

IceCreamKid, thank you for all your ice cream and love. You shared it with all of us and it was delicious. Now it's time to make my own ice cream with plenty of bread crumbs through it.

 

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[leveragehacker]

This is epic and most likely explains why I have not found the ice cream with my past ventures. Thanks dude. I'm going to try approaching my next sales calls with a mentality of "I wanna help you as much as I possibly can"

 

[GregH]

ICK-- Thank you so much for the time and effort you've put into this thread...Thank you ^100

On a side note, I've been reading and studying this thread with such intent and starring at ICK's avatar for so long that in the event I have a successful fastlane business in the future and I happen to bump into George Clooney, there's a good chance I will say " Mr.Clooney, thank you so much for helping me find the ice cream, your lessons have changed my life" and then just walk away.

And he will just have an odd story to tell

 

[Solrac]

Welp, have just spent the last 11 hours reading this thread. I haven't been able to stop reading. Has been some of the best time invested. Thank you ICK for your love for others! My mindset has been changed. Also thank you to zen******* for changing ICK's mindset! More Ice Cream for everyone!!!

 

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[Sander]

Love the power from this thread. I've been reading this thread on/off the last couple of days, and it's totally changed my mind on business. I was the typical 'chase-the-money' guy. The main thing I've worked with is affiliate marketing, but I never thought of it as a way to help people. I've been greedy, and I've focused on the money. That's over now.

Now I actually want to help people. And i want to get out of my comfort zone. This thread actually lead me to getting out of my comfort zone, and the last two days I've slept out in the blue with a couple of friends. Before when I've slept in the nature, it was with a tent. This time it was in a shelter. And with anxiety (which i WANT to challenge and get rid of) it was a pretty big thing just to sleep in the woods with no tent. But I did it, and I'm god damn proud today. I was close to cancel the trip and just drive home again when it began to be dark. But i stayed, and looking back now it was fantastic.

And now I'm ready to challenge myself upon a lot of stuff. That adrenalin/anxiety is the best motivation.

Thank you ICK. Ice cream isn't only money. It's life happiness. And I'm on my road to get a lot of it!

 

[chrischapman]

far out. i love it.

 

[chrischapman]

far out. i love it.

 

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[Lippy]

Thanks so much IceCreamKid!

I've floundered about in my journey, not knowing where to go, and this forum, and this thread has helped immensely. I've actually took notes on my takeaways and tidbits, printed them out, so I can review them everyday.

I've had 2 ideas since first reading your thread and being on this forum. The 2 didn't pan out (1st one, I realized, was just another job and didn't adhere to CENTS Principles. The 2nd one got no pre-sales HAHA), and I'm hopeful and will keep on going.

I'm slowly getting my mindset shifted, and it's been liberating, and at the same time a little scary. And all for the good.

I'm sharing my notes on the thread, just in case anyone wants them. They're a bit lengthy, but then again, we do have 29 pages of GOLD here

Once again, Thanks IceCreamKid, and to all who have contributed on the thread!

 

[Twista]

I've been off this forum for a while...
WTF was I thinking? ICK, you are freaking awesome! This thread makes want to stay on for good. Thanks for your time to type all of this stuff in! I'm reading every single page of this.

EDIT:

GUYS LISTEN. The phone is your BEST friend. Stop hiding behind the computer monitor. I build rapport far more easily by using my voice than by typing on a keyboard. People like to do business with people that they like. Build rapport please.

I actually disabled the data plan on my phone because I found that I was becoming a zombie shutting myself off from the rest of society thanks to my phone. I knew it was time to change things when I was scrolling through instagram while at the dinner table with the fam and I was completely incoherent to the conversation that was going on around me. Zombie status.

It's scary at first to pick up the phone, but as you do it over and over again you just might find that people are for the most part pretty nice.

How would you begin start a conversation with a business owner or a customer? Do you call their up business and say: "Hello, my name is Delondra and I would like to ask you some questions about business." or to the customer do I call a random number or walk up to someone's door and ask them about the problems they're having? I don't want to seem like some kind of strange girl going to peoples' homes or calling on random. I live in a small town full of rasict/mean people.

 

[Saynotostatusquo]

ANOTHER BIG BANG IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN
( In this young mind of my )

Ahh!... ( some deep thinking ) ... The only words that are right now in my head is ACTION, ACTION, guess what did I do TODAY? You want to know, yes? Okay! But let me tell you something else first, hohoho! I was always wondering, why did I get such genes... My mother is a very sensitive person, my Grandmother is even more sensitive, but you know, when you people started to talk about honor, love, helpfulness, loyalty.. I felt like I was at home here. What does this have to do with my mother and grandmother? Well, I'm as sensitive as them and because of this I do things. Many things. The ones that make me crazy. The ones that make me different. I believe, that if a person has values, for example honor, empathy and if he is not in line with them, not congruent, then these qualities do not EXIST. For them, that is.

Today I wanted to do something GOOD. I Yelled in the forest, I hugged the trees, I laughed and kept my smile. I went to the market and I've bought balloons. Then I have asked how to make a flower out of them and you know, it's fun, because you can easily find out, that there are lots of nice people. She taught me how to make flowers out of balloons, I bought some paper and then.. I wrote some compliments in the paper, put it into the balloon and made it a flower. Result? Well... I went outside and gave like 6 flowers to random people. What did I say? I said : " Hey... here's something special, just for you. " These women got their flowers, but I didn't let them go, I had a needle and I popped the balloon! It was BOOM! They got scared and confused and a paper flew out of the balloon. I said " Hey, look what's in it. " They've found a compliment. It's beautiful... I cannot express it in words, how GOOD you can feel when you do something like that to people. They were Happy, I was Happy, today I'm like the HAPPIEST person on the PLANET! I talked with people everywhere: on the bus, in the market, in the streets... I'm shy in a way, but " Take a leap of faith as if there is a safety net waiting for you below " My hands are shaking out of excitement and it's just...damn. You are, what you want to be. Thank you, all of you...

 

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[Twista]

It took a couple days, but I've read the entire thread. My mindset is definitely changing now, all thanks to you Ryan and zen*******. Thanks to MJ for getting this forum together, I wouldn't know where I'd be right now if this forum wasn't here (wait I know, signing up for college and making resumes ugh!)

Continue getting that icecream and may God bless you all!

 

[Senorritaa]

This is amazing! Thanks for sharing the ice cream!


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