Stare... and smile.
I just got back home from a reality-wrecking weekend in Stockholm, on bootcamp with Sasha Daygame.
And when I say reality-wrecking, I mean that in the most positive way possible.
You know how... most people say that they don't care what people think, but they still sorta kinda do?
After a weekend like this, you really don't give a shit about what anyone says or thinks or judges you for.
I would recommend this to every male on the planet, I don't care if you're married or whatever... it will just blow the doors right open and flush out whatever pieces of head trash you still got floatin' around... whatever restricts you and holds you back... because here's what really happens:
Whatever fear of failure, or fear of uncertainty that I might have had, is almost gone entirely. Not only in terms of social settings, but in anything. Stuff like this transfers universally.
It's about pushing your boundaries. Wherever you thought the line went, it's really miles ahead.
So what kind of crazy stuff did we get up to?
Well... one thing we did was to lay down on the ground in the middle of the main street... blocking the path for hundreds of people passing by... and giving them high fives!
(That was probably the LEAST difficult thing we had to do. The rest of it really isn't appropriate for a blog about marketing.)
Most people never have the balls to do something like that for any reason.
(And for all you "PUA" people - no, this was not about "getting laid" or anything other than learning to push your boundaries and deal with social pressure. That's it. And also, we did maybe 10 or 12 things like this in a few hours... out of 15 hours total, where lots of other sort of stuff happened. I'm just putting in this parenthesis because I've already gotten two comments from ignorant people who expertly maneuvered around this post in such a way as to completely miss the point.)
Yesterday I left Stockholm with 6 phone numbers in my phone, all from really beautiful women, and I had completely made the day of dozens more.
On the train home, I sat across from the most beautiful woman I've ever met. Her smile just killed me. She was 25, iranian, and she had moved to Germany by herself when she was only 15. Her ringfinger was the most heartbreaking thing of all time. Hah. :)
So why in the world would I talk about this on a blog about marketing?
Here is something I've discovered: Success in anything is principle-based.
Almost everything is based on a set of core principles... and more often than not, these principles are universal.
- Brass balls
- Knowing what you want and going for it, no matter the consequences
- Asking the right questions
- Knowing when to shut up and be patient
- Not dicking around, "selling from your heels"
- ... and on and on.
Salesmanship. Selling is one of those things that connects almost EVERYTHING involving people. Whether that is selling products on the internet, or selling yourself to a stranger on the street, or to your boss or your spouse... it's all the same. It's a fundamental skill that applies everywhere... and that's one thing that really hit home over this weekend.
As soon as I saw this for myself, that's when I committed myself to mastering copywriting... and that's why I make such a big deal about it.
So for today, I really want you to think about two things:
- How can you push yourself today to do something you were to afraid to do before? How can you grow outside of your comfort zone? You're in a box, everyone is. No growth is ever possible without expanding what you think you can do.
- How does salesmanship apply to other areas of your life besides marketing? Could learning how to sell better improve every other area of your life too?