The Three Month Vacation Podcast

Rerun 5: Why List Building Fails (And How To Avoid The Almost Obvious Failure)

Rerun 4: How To Restart A Stalled Project: The Middle Of The Project Method

If you're a teacher, you might be surprised at times at why people seem to learn so slowly. You may wonder if it's because of your method of teaching or if it is the material. The reasons why learning is so slow aren't always apparent, but it usually comes down to a factor of trust—and control. Find out how trust and control become crucial elements in learning as well as teaching. Once you finish listening to the podcast, head on over to find out: Learning Strategies that help you retain what you learn

We all know the little things that recharge our batteries. For most of us, a walk in a real forest would calm us down and give us that much needed energy. Yet, as we go about our everyday lives, there seems to be no way to slow down. If anything, we're told to speed up. Here's a solid case for why that walk into that forest is so needed and how to recalibrate your energy once again. Next Step: Read or listen to: How To Increase Energy (Even In The Midst of Chaos)

If you haven't already heard the news on the street, you soon will. AI is going to take away all our jobs as writers. Anyone can create a course in minutes, write an article like a pro, or generate thousands of outstanding headlines. Is this just a rumour or is this our dystopian future? Here's a slightly sane answer from New Zealand. Next Step: Read or listen to Writer's Block Series: How A Lack of Energy, Not Time, Causes Writers to Stall and Crash

Even if you have a workable metaphor, how do you use the metaphor in your article? The key is to go backwards and find the one word or one idea that you want to convey. Almost magically, the word seems to fit the metaphor. Not convinced? Listen to this podcast and find out how to go about this relatively-easy task. Next Step: Here are—Three Unknown Secrets of Riveting Storytelling

You'd think you would need to have some scintillating stories to write a metaphor. Or worse still, you'd believe it's a skill that only some people have and can never be learned. Well, you know what they say, right? The proof of the pudding is in the eating. And the proof of writing metaphors isn't in some fancy story but rather in the mundane activities in our everyday life. Ready to go on a metaphor trip that's fun? Well, here we go. Next Step: It's time to find out—Why Storytelling Needs The Thumpity-Thump-Thump-Thump-Thump

The myth that is perpetuated is that you just need to sit at your computer and get an endless number of clients. The reality is the face-to-face connection is far superior. This is why musicians, politicians, et cetera hit the road. Face-to-face – even with the smallest audience is extremely powerful. Here's how you go about it. ________________________________________ Next Up: Why List Building Fails (And How To Avoid The Almost Obvious Failure)

Why are some books, videos and audio so much "better" than others? Or rather, why do we consider so many to be dry and boring? The style of delivery matters, of course. A well-spoken audio, a well-crafted book is always going to stand out. Yet, all information can do with the cherry on top—namely, entertainment. In this podcast, we're going to explore why entertainment is so crucial and how much is too much. Next Up: How To Create Your Information Product In Four Layers (And Why It Appeals To Clients)

Sometimes, all it takes is for us to sit in a car, and all hell breaks loose. Here are a few stories of how things went a bit "off-the-road" during our travels. Did you enjoy the travel stories series? Here are a few more. India Travel Stories: The Cheese Story India Travel Stories: The Goa Cashew Nut story 3 ½ Slightly Unusual Vacation Tips (That Makes Travel More Fun)

At the start of the year, it's almost natural to want to wipe the slate clean and start doing something new. We create goals, set deadlines and hope like crazy that things will work out well. The part we consistently forget is the "stop-doing" bit. The very same issues that have been a pain in the neck before, will continue to be a nightmare in the future. Why is this stop-doing list so very important?Let's find out in this episode ________________________________________ Next Step: Listen or read How "Doug Hitchcock's" Goal Setting Worked Wonders—And Why We Successfully Use It Year After Year

No matter what industry you're in, there's already competition. This isn't just some random competition, but rather people who are better established than you. They've worked with your clients before, have a greater profile and probably a fancy portfolio. And then there's us—you and me with no way to get our foot in the door. But are things really that hopeless? Can we come from behind to take over the coveted job from our competitors? Here's how you go about understanding how to overcome your mental block and put a quick, workable strategy in place almost overnight. Next Step: Find out—How To Overcome Mental Blocks That Derail Your Progress

Practice, practice, practice! Isn't that how you get better? Well, yes, but the problem with that mantra is that few of us have the time to get to schedule in as much practice. What if you stopped believing in endless "practice, practice, practice"? Suddenly you'd have to have answers to problems pretty rapidly. Instead of spending endless time in practice, you'd be able to get fluent not at just one, but two, possibly as many as a dozen skills. However, first you've got to figure out what professionals do and how they go about their lives. Let's find out, shall we? Next Step—Listen or read: The Charlie Brown Moment: Why We Choke Under Pressure (And How To Practice Under Lucy Moment)

We all seem to know that fluency takes time—lots and lots of it. It also takes a lot of effort and learning. We're told that to be fluent, we have to put in thousands of hours of work. However, what if that premise were wrong? What if you could be fluent at something in a matter of weeks, or better still, in a matter of minutes? It sounds almost scammy doesn't it? And yet, fluency is closer than you'd think. Here's a look at fluency in a manner you've probably not encountered before. Next Step: Have a look at: (Audio and text) Accelerated Learning: How To Incredibly Speed Up Your Skill Acquisition

In the first part of this podcast, we noticed that there's a logic to choosing what elements to fix on the sales page. We're looking at attraction, conversion and risk. And at the same time we're trying to slow down the client from skimming. This episode puts the brake on skimming by using graphics and captions. Let's learn how to use them effectively. Next Step: Are there different copywriting strategies for landing or sales pages? Here is a link to 21 articles on "How To Write Your Sales Page". (Audio and text)

When creating sales pages—or even when fixing them, you have a long list of elements to tackle. So many in fact, that you may just put off the fix for a few weeks, which ends up taking a few months. The reality is that you and I can't do it all at once. Why not take on a few elements, instead? If you were to fix things, where would you start? Here are two of the ones I'd get cracking on, right away. And there are two more showing up in the second part of this podcast. Next Step: Have you listened to How To Create Extremely Focused Sales Pages—The Pebble System? Let me know what you think.

We know how it feels to be in a state of flow. Our work seems so effortless. However, we almost seem to be rushing to meet a deadline, and work seems—well—just like work. We've always thought getting things done on time is a good thing, and it is. But is it possible that getting things done on time is one of the biggest reasons why we always feel behind? How do you get into a state of play if you're always stressed? Let's find out in this episode. Next Step: Learn how to get to the finishing line of all your projects—The Dual Boomerang System Of Learning.

We all know storytelling is a crucial skill to have as a business owner and also for you as a person. When we tell stories at the dinner table, everyone seems to listen. The same concept applies to marketing, but there's another bigger reason why you need to be able to tell stories. In this podcast, you learn the core importance of storytelling. Next Step: Ready to listen/ read the entire series on Story Telling? You can start with—Three Core Elements of Storytelling (And Why You Need To Write Stories Right Away)

No matter how good things are, there's a moment when things just don't go your way. That's when you've entered stall mode. It doesn't matter how skilled or experienced you happen to be. It's still a place that you can't pull out from. Yet, we all do. And there's a way to speed things up. Next Step: Listen or read about—The "Coats Of Paint" System To Break Out Of The Curse Of Perfection.

Isn't it better to recycle instead of writing all the time? A tiny bit of recycling may not be out of place, but there's a good reason why we should keep writing new material all the time. Well, here are my reasons anyway. Next Step—Listen or Read over 51 articles on: How do you keep your readers locked into your article? (Audio and text)

You know how you're told to set a goal and then benchmark your success based on that goal? Well, that's what we set out to do with our membership site at 5000bc. However, we kept running into these headaches that seemed to derail us. In time, however, we found that these constant diversions were to our benefit. That if we just stopped fighting them so much and figured out a way out, we'd end up better than we expected. And we did. Here's the story. Next Step: Find out (Audio and text) Why Clients Leave — And Why Lack Of Community Is One Of The Big Problems

What does it take to get a membership site to keep going? We go on a wild journey where the entire site was wiped out and how it bounced back again. And how nearly 20 years later, it's still going. Next Step: Listen to: Planning On Starting A Membership Site? The Limited Membership Website Model

Kids have a superpower. When they're very young, they don't know Monday from Sunday. And it's this lack of knowledge that also gives them an upper hand when they're learning. Unlike adults who are clear about how the result needs to look like. just about anything will do with a child. How do we take that child-like attitude and use it to speed up adult learning? Let's find out in this episode. Next Step: Interesting in more learning methods? Read or listen to:How To Accelerate Learning (And The Surprising Power Of Fun)

You've heard the line many times before, haven't you? And at times, it seems like kids learn at a blinding pace. But why does this phenomenon occur? Is it because kids are smart or just that we are more accommodating as trainers? Let's find out in this episode. Next Step: More about kids and what you can learn from them.What I Learned From Children (And How It Lowered My Stress Levels)

One of the toughest tasks a business owner can have is when it's time to write a sales page. You know that it's unlikely your product or service will sell unless you have that sales page. Yet, once you sit down to write something, it's almost impossible to write anything down. And when you do, the words are so um, boring that you believe it's something to do with you. In reality, it's because you haven't done a target profile interview. Why does that interview become crucial, even to seasoned copywriters? Let's find out in this sales page episode. Next Step: Find out How To Create Extremely Focused Sales Pages—The Pebble System

Can You Stop Feeling Overwhelmed? Almost all of us have varying levels of stress. Yet some of us are always in a fog, always struggling. Is there a fix? And is it a non-overwhelming one? Next Step: Listen or readThe Overwhelm Virus: How To Get It Out of Your Daily Routine

When it comes to audience building, we tend to fall for the hype. It's all about "getting a thousand clients" or "making thousands of dollars". If you've already been down that path you know that all of those methods fail spectacularly. You have to ask yourself: what works? Or rather, what are the principles that you need to be paying attention to, if you really want to get, grow and keep your audience? Let's find out with these cool concepts from photographer, David duChemin. Next Step: Have a look at the series on—How To Keep Customers Coming Back Again? (available in audio and text)

When we start on a course, we all expect we'll get to the end. Yet time after time, we seem to abandon the course quite early. Part of the reason may be that the content is boring or too difficult, but often the bigger problem is our desire to implement it. What if that method was one of the primary reasons why we don't seem to finish courses and books? What if there were a counterintuitive method to complete and implement your learning? There is, and it's simpler than you think. Next Step: Listen to or read—The Untold Backstory of Psychotactics Online Courses and Products

If you're a big company like Amazon, YouTube and Apple, should you bother to send out e-mail newsletters? Can't you just spend loads of money on publicity and advertising? Why do these billion-dollar companies still work with e-mail? The answer is remarkably simple. If you don't keep in touch, someone else takes your place. However, that's not the only reason why you should start and sustain an e-mail newsletter—even in a world where we get too much e-mail. Find out in this podcast just why you should send out an email and what you should avoid as well. Next Step: Listen or read: Dread Writing Your Newsletters? How To Overcome That Frustration In Four Easy Steps

How do most of our stories end? Usually, it's a fairy tale ending. Or maybe it ends in chaos, sadness or even disaster. We believe that an ending is crucial for any story. And there is no doubt that endings are needed for stories, but they're almost always irrelevant when you're using a story for an article. The story is there to make a point, not end with "happily ever after". Learn why a fairy tale ending is something you want to avoid almost all the time. Once you finish listening to this episode: Listen or read:How to Stop Clients In Their Tracks With Riveting Business Storytelling

It's not unusual to approach an edit with a machete. We see a mass of words and want to hack through them to make the story more interesting. The problem is, that we don't know what to throw away and what to keep. That's why "relevance" is more important to a story than just adding or removing words and sentences. Let's use the power of "relevance" to make a quick, precise edit. Next Step: Once you finish listening to this episode, don't miss: How To Craft Interesting Stories and Analogies (For Articles and Sales Letters)

We often believe that stories have a sequence. First, this happens, then that happens and then something else shows up. And while that belief is generally true, the heart of the story is the "stuck point". You know it's powerful because the audience sits up upright. If you were to stop or even pause long enough, they'd be asking, "What happened next?" Do you get the "What happened next" with your stories? To get a consistent "what happened next" we need the power of the "stuck point". Let's find out more in this podcast. Next Step: Read or listen to: Three Unknown Secrets of Riveting Story Telling

When you hear someone tell you about their vacation, you try to be interested. All that exotic food, that astounding accommodation—it's all boring. Yet there's a reason why it's boring. We aren't really hearing stories, but instead, we're just getting a sequence of events. The magic to making it not boring is when you hear the sound of Thumpity-Thump-Thump-Thump-Thump. Yes, like falling downstairs. That's what storytelling is all about. Next Step: Have a listen to— The Storytelling Test: How To Quickly Test How Your Audience Will React To Your Story

When people ask what we do, we are often unsure what to reply. Sometimes we may have a script that we've practiced over and over again. Yet we don't often have success with scripts, because somehow we haven't gotten the attention of the prospect. How can we bypass the tedious answer and create a small 2-minute sales pitch that gets the prospect involved? Learn how to use the twin powers of contradiction and demonstration to instantly get and keep attention. Next Step: Once you finish listening to this podcast, listen to: How To Turn An Average Elevator Pitch Into One That Gets Consistent Attention