Posted by: Clayton Makepeace
June 29, 2009
Originally Posted On: July 21, 2008

You Have Absolutely No Right
to Be Successful

• The hard truth "get rich quick" gurus never tell you …
• What it really takes to hit the big time …
• Why what you do the rest of today matters …
• Much more …

Dear Business-Builder,

My mom’s cousin married Ty Cobb’s son, Herschel. Since I’m not good at math, I can’t really tell you what that makes me. Ty Cobb’s grand nephew once removed? I dunno.

But still, I’ve always been proud to be related — even distantly — to the man who invented modern baseball. So a few years ago, I read Cobb: A Biography by Al Stump and later, watched the movie starring Tommy Lee Jones.

Great book; good flick. Not because they heralded Cobb’s exploits on the field, but because they painted a crystal-clear picture of the man behind the legend.

Cobb was not an easy man to like. He was aggressive, abrasive and quick to use his fists (or even a knife) on those who provoked him. He once jumped into the stands and mercilessly beat a heckling fan who had no hands.

He was also, some say, a bigot of monumental proportions — despite the fact that he funded a hospital and a scholarship fund that both welcomed African-Americans.

Cobb also publicly supported the decision to integrate baseball, saying that black athletes" … are to be complimented for their gentle conduct both on the field, and, as far as I know, off the field."

But what I love most about Ty Cobb is not his legendary ball-playing skill. I love him for his cantankerous, independent personality. Cobb was intense. Driven. Uncompromising. Disciplined. Hard as nails.

And he had a work ethic that was unrivalled among his peers.

As a result, Cobb set 90 Major League Baseball records during his career — and 80 years after he retired in 1928, he still holds the all-time record batting average and the record for earning the greatest number of career batting titles.

That’s why, when the Baseball Hall of Fame was inaugurated in 1936, Ty Cobb received the greatest number of votes for admission — more than the great Honus Wagner and more, even than the legendary Babe Ruth. Cy Young, the winningest pitcher in history, came in a distant eighth.

You have no right to be successful

In America today, we have taken the idea of "rights" to a ridiculous level. We are now told that we have the "right" to food, education, employment, a certain wage, housing, health care and to a comfortable retirement.

We have, we are told, the right to be cared for from the cradle to the grave.

This is, of course, complete idiocy. Utter nonsense. No such rights are mentioned anywhere in the Constitution or anywhere else, for that matter. Except of course by wacko liberal activists and the media morons who give them exposure.

Meanwhile, ironically, many of the same people who campaign for these non-existent rights are guilty of attempting to deny us the rights that actually are guaranteed us by the Constitution: The right to life … liberty … the pursuit of happiness. The right to free speech, privacy and to keep and bear arms, to name a few.

So, since here at The Total Package, we believe that words actually have meaning, let’s call a spade a spade: When a person, a church or a government gives you anything that you cannot or will not provide for yourself, it is charity. People who accept charity are, by definition, charity cases: Burdens on society.

Once upon a time, having to accept charity was humiliating. Like having a sign hung around your neck identifying you as lazy, irresponsible or a person who made foolish decisions. A loser.

Anyone with a modicum of self-respect would move mountains to avoid being labeled in such an insulting way. And those who counted on charity as a life strategy — who acted as though they were entitled to it — were quickly disappointed. There was a limit to the community’s generosity.

Today, though charity has been institutionalized as a "right" at the federal level. Those who accept it no longer suffer any insults to their dignity. And since the limits to how much charity is offered no longer exist, many live their entire lives feeling that they are entitled.

What it really takes to become a success

The other day in an interview, I was asked, "What are the most crucial qualities for an entrepreneur, a marketer or a copywriter to have?"

I’m sure the interviewer expected me to say something like, "You need to be a great writer. You need to be creative."

My answer: "Courage. Independence. Intensity. Persistence. And a mind-blowing work ethic."

• It takes courage and fierce independence to decline the comfort and security of a dead-end job … go out on your own … invest your own money and your own time … risk losing it all … and to take sole responsibility for your success or failure.
• It takes monumental amounts of intensity to learn what must be learned and to apply it in ways that produce the optimum result.
• It takes remarkable persistence to stick with it when the going gets tough; to pick yourself up after a failure … when all around you are urging you to quit and settle for the mediocrity and pseudo-security of worker bee.
• It takes an untiring commitment to excellence in every aspect of your work — and attention even to seemingly unimportant details — to produce work that will lift you head and shoulders among your competitors.
• And of course, to do all this, you’ll need the work ethic of a champion.

Of a Ty Cobb.

This ain’t no "lazy man’s way to riches."

It’s enough that, if you do it right, becoming an entrepreneur, a marketer or a copywriter CAN make you rich.

A society that does not condemn you to live out your days in a particular caste; that gives you both the opportunity and ample incentive to better yourself, to become rich and to provide a better life and greater opportunity for your family is all that we are owed.

From that point on, the person of dignity — the person who refuses to become anybody’s charity case — is pretty much on his or her own.

I’m constantly amazed by the number of people who believe that this marketing and copywriting is easy.

Somehow, they’ve come to believe they can hang out their shingle, let work take a back seat to their new life of "freedom," exert the bare minimum of effort and still hit the big time.

Let me tell you from personal experience, my friend: It isn’t going to happen.

Because like baseball, this direct response marketing thing is a bottom-line business. It’s not about being good-looking or having a sparkling personality or being able to B.S. your way out of sticky situations.

In this gig, the results you produce are measured in dollars and cents. Do the work, take it seriously and hang great numbers on the line and you’re a winner. Try to skate by on charm … sleepwalk through it … and you’ll get your head handed to you.

Everything you do today is a brush stroke on a canvas; a portrait of you ten years, twenty years, forty years from now.

The measure of success, reputation, wealth and quality of life you’ll enjoy later in your career is being determined right now; today by the amount of effort you’ll expend plus the quality of decisions you make in the next few hours, this week, this month, this year.

Your life will be little more and little less than what naturally happens to people who do what you do, exert the amount of effort you exert and make the decision you make.

So wouldn’t this be a good time to renew your commitment? To resolve to expend every iota of thought, energy and every hour you can to ensuring that your work achieves the standard of excellence required for success?

Give it a good think: What is it about your knowledge base … your skill mastery … the effort and depth of thought you invest in each project … the attention to detail in your finished work … that could be; should be improved?

Just do that this week, and the vast sum of money you’ve paid for your subscription to this blog will be well justified. I guarantee it.

Yours for Bigger Winners, More Often,

Clayton Makepeace
Publisher & Editor
THE TOTAL PACKAGE

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12 Comments »

1. Comment by Matches Malone — June 29, 2009 @ 11:36 am

   Great stuff, as always!!! I’m glad there’s the ability to comment on ‘The Best of…’ as I missed this the first time around. I think I’ve seen the copy from those that are ’skating’; all the landing pages look the same, and you can’t tell one company from the next. What you recommend is definitely not cookie cutter. Especially in this post. Thanks again!

2. Comment by Laurel — June 29, 2009 @ 11:40 am

   Thanks for the honesty, Clayton. I think marketers of copywriting courses overpunch the “laziness” button in us all.

   The upside is, if you can go the distance in mastering the challenge, you’ll have developed discipline, perseverance and courage–things you won’t develop in a “real job.”

3. Comment by Marte Cliff — June 29, 2009 @ 12:55 pm

   This is another career like real estate sales - people get into it on the dream of not having to actually work - and become sorely disappointed.

   I agree with Laurel - the people who promote copywriting courses really play into that. I wonder what the ratios are between the number of courses they sell and the number of people who actually do create a career after they find out that they can’t REALLY “retire” on the beach while making more money than a heart surgeon.

   As long as there are people who would rather not work, they’ll keep making money selling the courses, but those ads do disgust me a bit. Any ad that’s a downright falsehood disgusts me - even though anyone with a tiny bit of common sense can see through them.

   Thanks for telling it straight - as always.

4. Comment by Derrick Strode — June 29, 2009 @ 1:14 pm

   For this my friend you’ve earned the story of the seed! Not only must the seed be dug in deep, then after busting out of it’s shell; (comfort zone) its roots must shoot down further to be “rooted.” Without a strong root in our business or lack of profit we wither away like plants without proper rooting. The second part is the growth that happens upward, the blossom of success or flower of prosperity. The higher up the deeper the root must be. Water your seed with people that share your interest or just support you for you. I hope this helps someone. See You At The Top!
   Derrick Strode
   Turnkey Consulting, LLC
   We Don’t Reinvent The Wheels, We Just Give Em’ Better Tires!
   Clayton be easy on my punctuations:)
   “If you give all you’ve got, what can be taken from you?

5. Comment by Curt — June 29, 2009 @ 3:27 pm

   This is some great stuff Clayton.

   It’s amazing how often I see people think that they are entitled to riches just because they bought some course (that they didn’t really use) or because they made one article, one blog post, one whatever… and didn’t see the results.

   This is not a game that is one off a single shot. There’s a ton of work that needs to be put into it but the rewards are far greater than whatever it is you pay.

   Cheers,

   –Curt

6. Comment by Clarke Echols (Resident scientist and rabble-rouser) — June 29, 2009 @ 7:46 pm

   It’s really a question of “return on investment”. If you invest in books or training courses, you have books or training courses. Just like going to college, paying your tuition and fees, but not attending classes.

   If you study the materials and do the homework, you can get knowledge. But it’s just raw knowledge.

   It’s not until you apply the knowledge to doing something useful or productive that knowledge becomes know-how.

   And it’s know-how combined with correct effort based on that know-how that others are willing to pay for, because what they’re buying is *results*.

   [I first encountered this reality that know-how isn't the same as knowledge in W. Clement Stone's book: "The Success System That Never Fails".]

   You don’t get results if you don’t produce a useful or valuable product or service.

   And it’s the client or customer who gets to decide whether you did your job or not. A contract may guarantee you get paid, and you may be able to enforce it, even if the customer thinks you didn’t do the job in a satisfactory way.

   But if you force the client to pay though the client doesn’t like the result, not only will you lose a client, but you’ll also lose the business the client drives away from you or doesn’t drive to you due to word of mouth.

   In every case where I’ve seen of a whiner who claims they got ripped off in a training course of the caliber of AWAI’s, Rich Schefren’s, Bob Bly’s or Daniel Levis’ materials (there are some other good ones I’ve omitted, including the StomperNet bunch) I can just about guarantee in blood the complainer didn’t do the work necessary to master the material.

   But there are those who promise the moon and say you can get rich on the Internet with no effort, citing huge sales on the order of $900,000 in 30 nanoseconds, but they can’t maintain sustained sales over time, except by more and more hype and barnyard solid waste of the male bovine variety that keeps coming into my inbox and spam capturer.

   They seem to be getting rich on the Internet by “teaching” others how to sell info materials on how to get rich on the Internet. Something seems a bit awry.

   They’re a lot like a friend of mine who was trying to recruit people to attend a seminar he was giving on how to get out of debt, hoping to make enough off of the seminar to get himself out of debt.

   But the more I get into the work I do, the more I find it requires serious “skull sweat”, as Clayton calls it, to get the kind of headlines and copy you need to present the message, and even more to come up with the creative ideas that will help your client get the message across in a more effective, impactful way.

   As for big bucks from little or no effort, there’s no free lunch. Get over it. Plan on earning yours. Then if you find a more *efficient* way to make more ***while still delivering top-drawer product and/or service***, you can sleep well at night, knowing you didn’t rip anybody off and all of your clients or customers got a solid return on their investment in you and what you did for them.

   As for those who “sleep like a baby” after ripping someone off, they can also be assured of a long time repaying after they’re gone from this mortal experience — a reality worthy of careful consideration before succumbing to the temptation to short-change anyone.

   Clarke

7. Comment by Susan Connors — June 29, 2009 @ 9:16 pm

   Thank you!

   Much food for thought and very true in many ways.

   Susan Connors
   Australia

8. Comment by Brian Brzoznowski — June 29, 2009 @ 9:29 pm

   Thanks Clayton,
   No pain -no Gain. Very inspiring. I needed the encouragement
   Brian B

9. Comment by George — June 29, 2009 @ 10:02 pm

   Hi Clayton,

   This all comes down to one thing alone: Do you eat to live or live to eat? There are some who are born with the proverbial silver spoon in their mouth and others who cannot somehow even have one good meal. Everyone knows the value of work, other than those who have inherited a fortune.

   Let’s say you are the winner of the Lotto, but you are also a great copywriter wannabe. What will you do with your life? Will you still continue to go after copywriting riches?

   You have to be so committed that you think that copywriting will earn you more than even the Lotto can.

   On the internet, most people are gamblers. They gamble their money and time to get enormous riches. Gamblers are ready to risk their money. If they strike gold, well and good. And there are some who have done it on the internet. If their system has worked for them, why would they want to work their butts off. All businessman are like gamblers in that they are ready to take risks. Most of these wannabes on the internet have only the dream of immediate riches and that’s why they fall to scamsters like the one mentioned by Jenny Haeckel here yesterday.

   In fact, it is claimed that 95 per cent of all small businesses fail within the first year of their launch. So what is required is some of Clayton’s insights into how one can succeed in whatever one does.

   Bye now,

   George

10. Comment by Richard — June 30, 2009 @ 7:24 pm

    The real winners in life don’t do it for the money.

    They do it for the love of the game, like Cobb, or they do it out of a sense of duty.

    The duty part often confuses people. They confuse a sense of duty with fear of loss like we’ve seen on the bumper sticker; “I owe, I owe, so off to work I go.” But that is just one sense of duty.

    The more powerful sense of duty is that one you feel about leaving a legacy, about changing people’s lives, about somehow leaving the world a little better than you found it.

    History is writ large by such men. And their work ethic is profound.

    There is an attitude or mind set that accompanies failure, or the quiet life of desperation that most men lead.

    They have the idea of doing “just enough”. They measure everything in terms “how little effort can I get by with.”

    I learned one of the most powerful lessons of my life from a hand full of un-educated Indians and blue-collar roughnecks - when I worked as a logger in my youth.

    They taught me, “Pull hard - it comes easy” and the reciprocal, “Pull easy - it comes hard”.

    The great philosophical rules of life are not relegated it seems to the ivy covered halls of academia.

11. Comment by Hesster — July 3, 2009 @ 5:33 am

    Well, I’d personally argue that food and education are basic human rights. A citizenry that’s uneducated and starving is a dangerous thing for a society to have.

    I’d wager that most of us learned to read and write in public schools. Does that make us all charity cases? If you threw it all away and didn’t learn anything, then that’s something else altogether. But would you rather go back to the days when there was no public education? I wouldn’t. It’s kind of tricky to write sales letters to people who can’t read.

12. Comment by John Gamble — July 3, 2009 @ 9:59 am

    Clayton, another great post.

    “Everybody has talent, but ability takes hard work.” - Michael Jordan, who was cut from his high school basketball team.