Posted by: Daniel Levis
April 29, 2009
Issue #662

The Magic of Self-Appointment

“A man should learn to detect and watch for that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the luster of the firmament of bards and sages” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Dear Web Business-Builder,

From a young age, we are appointed.

Appointed by our parents … old enough to stay home alone. Appointed by our institutions … educated enough to enter the full-time work force. Appointed by our employers … responsible enough for promotion.

Important question: Have you become mentally conditioned by all this external appointment?

Have you given your power to someone or something outside of yourself?

Could this be the invisible Great Wall of China that’s blocking you from rocketing toward your goals and reaching your full potential?

For most of us, to one degree or another, the answer is “yes." Take a look at this note I received from one of my subscribers:

“I have a few questions re: your material …

1. Is this set up as a correspondence study course or is it just ideas to use for implementation?  Does the material guide you on how to write good, strong copy?  Is there anyone who critiques you on your assignments?  Or is it all up to one’s own imagination and assumptions?
2. How does your material compare to the American Writers and Artists Institute – six-figure copywriting?  Or to the Institute of Copywritng course?  Or to any other course out there … ?
3. Is it possible to become a successful copywriter without prior experience in finance or marketing?  Without a college degree in journalism, finance, marketing …?
4. Do your materials also include how to improve one’s writing skills, language usage …?

“I’m very much interested in the field of copywriting.  I believe I have a flair with words as well as a good way of expression.  However, I’ve done extensive research online as well as perused the copywriting opportunities available, and I keep coming to the same conclusion.  

“It seems the only way to truly succeed in the copywriting field is to have an accredited history in finance, journalism, or/and marketing as well as experience in the aforementioned fields.  Being familiar with Web design and computer graphics doesn’t seem to hurt either.  Many accomplished copywriters have refuted the idea of being able to master copywriting and succeed in the field by simply taking a copywriting course whether online or by correspondence (which doesn’t even seem to be what you’re offering). 

“Therefore I question you, as well as other courses, which claim that after completing your/their material one can become a successful copywriter and earn … 

“How can you distort reality just in order to sell your product or promote your course?  How can you convince people of unbelievable, unattainable goals?  Is this another marketing gimmick?  Since you guys are the masters of copywriting, perhaps you’re pulling the wool over the consumer’s eyes and convincing them of twisted truths … all for your benefit.  UNLESS … perhaps you can convince me otherwise.”

If it weren’t for the rather cheeky last paragraph, I might have sent this woman a constructive response. As it was, I simply replied: “Thanks for writing. With all due respect, I don’t think this is for you.” Who needs customers like this?

I can only imagine what kind of “research” could have possibly led her to these erroneous conclusions. I mean honestly, “an accredited history in finance, journalism, and/or marketing as well as experience in the aforementioned fields.” I can’t think of more onerous liability, can you? Where do these self-defeating delusions come from?

I’ll tell you …

From a young age, powerful forces within society condition you to undervalue who and what you are — so you will look to them for your own self-worth — so you will look to them for validation, power, and permission, through the appointments they bestow on you.

Yes, we have all been hypnotized into believing we are smaller than we really are. Just as a fishbowl keeps goldfish tiny … we have all to one extent or another been fooled into believing our value equals the size of our external appointments.

The question is not: Have you given your power to someone or something outside of yourself? But rather: How can you take it back?

Unlike a goldfish swimming around
oblivious in a tank, you have a choice …

Power is an inside job. You do not need to import it from external sources. All you need do is peel away the lies you’ve been told — and went on to tell yourself — that  are keeping you wading around in the kiddy pool of life.

Realize our school system, government, and industries reward dependency, NOT self-reliance … conformity, NOT innovation … slavery to the status quo, NOT fearless adventure into the unknown.

Aside from the 3Rs, (reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic) what you learn through formalized education is obsolete, outdated knowledge by the time you learn it. Worse, it is designed to prepare you to become a droid in a large vertically-integrated company or institution the likes of which are disintegrating daily.

The result is the inevitable stunting of your initiative, creativity, and capacity for capitalist thinking. Naturally, you fail to appoint yourself captain of the myriad entrepreneurial opportunities around you. And then you wonder why external appointment eludes you.

I hope this hasn’t made you cynical like my subscriber. She sees a band of rebels thumbing their noses at the mainstream, defining their own lives and prosperity on their own terms. And instead of becoming inspired and encouraged by this, she sees it as distorted reality, twisted truth — a marketing gimmick. How sad.

Please don’t limit your life with these kinds of hideous hallucinations. Expand your beliefs to encompass the life you were born for. Emerson said, “Do the thing, and you will have the power.” You don’t need anyone’s permission.

To be a master — ACT LIKE ONE — starting today!

Assuming greatness is not phony. Unworthiness is the imposter.

If you want to accelerate your development, then stop putting off doing for learning. Smear yourself in the fray. Get your teeth kicked in by day on the mean streets, and burn the midnight oil to make the next day better. You don’t need anyone to tell you you’re ready.

I’m convinced most people fail to get what they want out of life because they’re simply afraid to express their talents without external appointment.

They feel unworthy of asking for and accepting money in exchange for those talents without validation from some external authority.

And they fail to take action toward building their livelihood around those talents without external permission.

Instead, they spend their days doing things they don’t care about. They struggle financially. And they wither emotionally. All because they refuse to allow themselves to fearlessly follow their passions RIGHT NOW!

If you look at some of the most successful people in the world, you’ll see they became that way by taking a very different approach.

… Who told Steve Jobs to drop out of college and appoint himself MESSIANIC LEADER OF STONED GOOFBALL COMPUTER GEEKS EVERYWHERE in a crazy war against centralized computing and its overbearing, power hungry priesthood? A war they ultimately won. Had they not, you probably wouldn’t be reading this.

… Who told Andrew Carnegie — the son of a weaver — who started his career changing spools of thread in a cotton mill twelve hours a day for $1.20 a week that he should appoint himself CAPTAIN OF INDUSTRY?

… Who told Abraham Lincoln that with one year of a backwoods Kentucky education (reading, writing, and ciphering to the rule of three) he was qualified enough to be appointed Postmaster, and then Lawyer, and then Congressman, and then President, and then MILITARY COMMANDER IN CHIEF?

Nobody, that’s who, THEY JUST DID IT!

… And the rest is history.

So just do it, man!

Until next time, Good Selling!

Daniel Levis
Editor, The Web Marketing Advisor
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22 Comments »

1. Comment by Marv — April 29, 2009 @ 3:16 pm

   Thanks for the excellent article, Daniel! Real good to be reminded and get a little jolt to take a look at what lies I may have running in me that limit me. I like reminders like this that serve to wake us up and remind us of our true potential.

   Marvel Moore

2. Comment by Stuart May — April 29, 2009 @ 3:36 pm

   A poignant and empowering post.

   But … I’d have said ’stunting of your initiative, creativity, and capacity for [FREE] thinking [and FEELING].’

   Money helps for sure. But, in my case, it’s just a means. And, there’s much more to who we are, me thinks, and reaching our potential than just money and acquiring material things.

   Can our potential really be just defined in capitalist terms?

   All the same, thanks a lot, you guys. The information you share on this site is inspiring and invaluable to ‘little guys’ like me just starting out.

3. Comment by John Luca — April 29, 2009 @ 4:05 pm

   A wake up call, thanks Daniel!

4. Comment by Chris Goegan — April 29, 2009 @ 4:20 pm

   Amen brother! Thank you for speaking that. Playing small does nothing but rob the world of your gifts and talents and genius.

   Be great eh!
   Chris.

5. Comment by Dan — April 29, 2009 @ 4:20 pm

   I’ll never forget when I decided to leave my dead-end civil service job to be a full time direct response entrepreneur and copywriter. ALL my co-workers were smugly predicting my failure and were quite convinced I’d be back in less than a year BEGGING for my crappy job back.

   My very own family told me that it was a bad decision leaving this low-paying civil service job because it was the best I could ever do. After all, our family was just working class folks. We didn’t deserve success. Boy, does that kind of life long conditioning mess with your head.

   I’ve lived free of a job for over 12 years now. Don’t get me wrong… I’ve struggled a LOT. And I’ve put in 16 to 18 hour days at times… but it has all been worth it. I sure am glad I didn’t listen to those folks.

   If I would have had an article like this when I first left my job, I would have read it every day. Come to think of it… I still need to read this every day.

   Thanks, Daniel!

6. Comment by Michael Masterson — April 29, 2009 @ 4:22 pm

   Great article!

   You are doing your readers a great service.

   There are two things every entrepreneurial advisor must do:
   Motivate people to take action
   Give them the tools to do the right job.

   Your recognize the importance of motivation. There are many out there — like your disgruntled reader — who would rather find reasons why succeeding is difficult or impossible. It makes them feel better because they know, in their hearts, that they have no intention of changing their lives.

   But for the rest of us — those of us like me who began his writing career with no formal instruction, no finance degree and no backround in journalism — we need to know that others in similar situations ignored such “impediments” and went on and made it.

   Good work. Keep it up. Call me if you want to work for me!

   Michael Masterson

7. Comment by Elizabeth — April 29, 2009 @ 4:23 pm

   Wow! Thank you for a message I needed to hear.

8. Comment by Merrill Clark — April 29, 2009 @ 5:07 pm

   Daniel,

   Thanks for the cranking up the “inspiration” and “motivation” factor for me again.

   It’s funny how they so easily slip away sometime when you’re not looking.

   Keep on with the great advice!

   Merrill Clark
   Crestview Marketing Services

9. Comment by Dale — April 29, 2009 @ 5:39 pm

   Thanks for the great article, Daniel. Some of us have to overcome intense negative backgrounds and need a good kick to shake it off. I can see where your correspondent is coming from. It’s easy to find sites where charlatans take advantage of naive writers.

   If you don’t know better you’d think all a writer can make is .00001 cent a word, 99% less than minimum wage if you’re slow on a keyboard. (Ok, I exaggerated slightly.) Worse, they steal all rights.

   Such writers don’t know Clayton, Bob Bly, Levison, Slaunwhite and others are wealthy. Others earn a great living.

10. Comment by David — April 29, 2009 @ 5:49 pm

    I met Daniel several years ago at a copywriters boot camp. It was the year and time he joined the “package.”

    I knew in the brief amount of time I spent talking to him that he would one day soar with the eagles in this craft.

    At first his response to the cheeky woman seemed somewhat of the defensive and then I was pulled in by his diligence and matter of fact manor.

    He made me think about the whole success thing a little more clearly and as I continued on I found my inner voice blurting out several confirmed sounds of cringes for the dear subscriber who if smart remains to be and takes Daniels gentle throttling to heart and comes about because of it.

    I mean sure… I can understand her pain and the fact that she may be just a little skeptical and such but if she can take from Daniels response of truths and matter of facts instead of getting upset by them…she might become somebody like Daniels competitor someday.

    The fact is, there are several damn good courses in copywriting out there and Daniels is I’m positive…one of them. It may or may not be the right fit for every person interested in becoming a copywriter but I’m 100% positive it covers everything!

    From what Daniel said he’s even honest and doesn’t believe it to be the right fit for this lady. What a person has to do is find the course first and then find out if the instructor of the course is someone you can connect and relate with best.

    If a person can do this then they WILL more than likely be able to learn the art, the secrets and the inner-workings of the craft in a form and fashion that can pave the way toward being a well paid copywriter.

    So…hats off to Daniel and thanks for making me want to write a comment to such a well structured, fairly addressed and thought out response.

    This response is from somebody who was not given permission to succeed or given the o.k. to ask one of the world’s best copywriters if he could work with him and then co-author three e-books with him. This “somebody” did so anyway after only taking a single course in copywriting. A.W.A.I. as a matter of fact…(only because at the time Claytons and Daniels wasn’t available yet!!)

11. Comment by Mike Bresee — April 29, 2009 @ 8:22 pm

    Awesome post as usual Daniel. It’s like that old saying where if you don’t toot your own horn……who will?

    Thanks for making me think

    Mike

12. Comment by Caleb Osborne — April 29, 2009 @ 8:27 pm

    Daniel,

    I was going to quote a couple paragraphs of this article to tell you how much I liked them … then I kept reading … and I realized I would have to quote every paragraph thereafter — so I just gotta say READ IT ALL AGAIN folks

    Later,
    Caleb

13. Comment by Clarke Echols (Resident scientist and rabble-rouser) — April 29, 2009 @ 8:56 pm

    For 20 years I was a senior technical writer and learning-products engineer for a large computer and electronics company. Prior to that I was an electronic engineer designing computer systems to test chips and other components.

    I had the college degree. The extended major in physics. The course work for a masters degree in electrical engineering. A license from the state to practice as a registered professional engineer.

    I had the college classes in marketing, economics, accounting, finance, advertising, retailing. I took classes
    in speech as well as voice and articulation. I took welding. I took mechanical drawing. Ballroom dancing. Music.

    But through it all, I only got one year of freshman English.

    I had the misfortune to take a “sissy” class in typing my
    senior year in high school. I had the misfortune to get a good English teacher the same year. She explained how to write an interesting sentence, and I “got it”.

    When I got fed up with the personalities and politics of R&D, I left engineering and went to marketing. They were on their hands and knees begging me to come in as a senior writer. Not as a junior or trainee. A secretary who was typing production documents five years earlier told me when I announced my transition that in 18 years of working with engineers, she *never* encountered *anyone* who could “lay lead” (her words) like I could.

    For many of my years as a writer, I was ranked in the top 5%
    among my peers, and I did it working 3-6 hours per day because I learned to think and break the system by finding an easier way to do the job better.

    I built my own home. 8000 square feet. People lined up taking turns to tell me I would fail. For four years they
    continued. Then it was, “I never *dreamed* you could actually do that!” Thanks a lot.

    One boss back then said if my attitude didn’t improve substantially, my long-term value to the company was going to be marginal, at best. He was such a milquetoast “yes man” walking the corporate line it made me want to puke. They paid him to leave in a downsize and wouldn’t let me participate.

    I was responsible for a large Unix system reference manual.
    3000 pages in 3 volumes in the last edition I produced. It took four days on a high-speed web press to print the first press run for that edition. In 1987, I wrote a manual that is still sold on Amazon, and still stands as the best book ever written on the subject, 22 years later. Not bad for a computer manual.

    When they moved the project to another location, they replaced me with 10 full-time engineers who couldn’t make schedule. I did the job for four years by myself, working 30 hours per week, at most, with a few very rare 16-hour days.

    Three years ago, I signed up for the AWAI 6-figure course. What an awakening! I knew I was good. This should be a cake walk.

    But then I tangled with Clayton, Daniel, Rich Schefren, Bob Bly, John Carlton, Perry Marshall, and some others. And for 3 years I’ve felt like I’m drinking from a fire hose.

    One day to kill some time in diversion, I did an internet search for Michael Masterson, and found myself in a forum where some clown was saying he was a rip-off with his AWAI thing. That people should go to college and get a “real” education.

    I cut loose on the clown. Gave him a face full of ice water, figuratively speaking. Told them there’s never been a monument erected to a critic.

    I started my corporate career as an electronic technician on a manufacturing line for digital voltmeters. I was one class short of my physics degree, and physicists don’t make good engineers. I entered graduate school at a nearby university. Three years later I was an engineer. 7 years after that, I’d had a belly full and moved to marketing.

    I started in 1969 at $3.30/hour. 30 years later, at $75K/year, I had my starting hourly wage times inflation plus 15% in “real” pay raises. What a reward for four years of college and 5 years of no evenings or weekends or family life while studying semiconductor physics, partial differential equations, linear circuit synthesis, advanced engineering mathematics digital systems design, and a bunch of other stuff I ***NEVER*** used on the job in 30 years!

    But “the man” wants the piece of paper. I was making so much that my nine children qualified for free or reduced-price lunches at school! And I had a “good job”.

    What a crock. And people wonder why I share Clayton’s low regard for the clowns running Washington who should be in jail or on death row for the crimes they’re committing right now against us all, thanks to morons who vote for them.

    The stuff you learn from the names that appear on this blog and elsewhere are an elite society. And what they teach is well worth the work and trouble. My first job I landed last year returned well over half of what I spent in my learnings from Clayton, AWAI, Schefren, Levis, Bly, and others. I wish I could say that about my “college education”.

    Don’t misunderstand. I appreciate what I learned in college. But schools and universities are nothing more than factories churning out worker bees for corporations and government to keep in servitude all their lives, with plenty of help from the tax man and greedy bankers collecting interest — especially from those who can least afford it.

    Any citizen who appreciates liberty enough to work for it will never be happy in that environment, and inevitably must do it in business. There are no alternatives.

    Even the stock brokers and investment “advisors” are clueless. They destroyed my retirement fund in mere months.

    So anyone complaining of the materials available to learn our noble profession can either bite the bullet and do the work, or they might as well go away and never know what could have been so they can avoid the pain of losing out.

    But there are many of us who willingly help others lift themselves up to a higher plane and that’s what makes the most noble of humans — those who care more for others than themselves, but who are able to back that caring with the means to prove their competence.

    Through those years, the only schooling I got that really helped me in my profession more than any other was — you guessed it — typing and English when I was a 16-year-old senior in high school.

    Clarke

14. Comment by Daniel Colon — April 29, 2009 @ 9:12 pm

    Another great article from Daniel Lewis!

15. Comment by Bob Massey — April 29, 2009 @ 10:13 pm

    First of all, thank you so much for a powerful and timely screed that many of us need to hear (myself included). I’m going to make a copy of it and tack it up on my wall.

    HOWEVER, I also understand the plight of your “cheeky” customer. I was going to purchase a copywriting course from one of the established “masters” (and he is without question legit) for a hefty sum. Later I read a comment where he basically put down any copywriter who has not had oodles of experience - especially in learning from their failures! Now … that sure sounds like a mixed message to me. My purpose in studying from an authority is to be able to apply what works and avoid what doesn’t, so that I don’t have to make a lot of costly and time-consuming mistakes on my own.

    And I HAVE heard other copywriters say “you don’t need experience in such-and-such” - but later contradict themselves. I just finished a book recently on copywriting for the Web that took the attitude of “if I can do this, anyone can” - and yet, when you look at the author’s Web presence, he makes it sound as if you need a lot more in the way of background and skills than he alluded to in his book … and encouraged potential clients to stick with others as experienced as himself.

    None of this, by the way, negates your point in any way. You are absolutely correct. But it can get confusing for some of the newbies as well. Perhaps that’s where this particular piece of yours can do the most good. Hell, I’ve got some copywriting experience under my belt, and have won some awards - and even I feel inadequate sometimes. Remember Emerson’s admonition that “Our chief want in life is someone who will make us do what we can.” We look for mentors … but sometimes the honest ones are hard to find. (Which is why I’m eternally grateful for people such as yourself and Clayton and several others.)

16. Comment by George — April 29, 2009 @ 10:58 pm

    Hi Daniel,

    Selling to Human Nature is aptly titled and all those who want to dip their toes in the direct response marketing field have to know some of this stuff than all the great degrees and lessons from academia.

    It is sometimes daunting when we think how big a field this is and what we actually need to succeed. Because it is life itself that is our school and what we have learned from it is what we are going to show in our work.

    We have been soundly indoctrinated to follow certain patterns of thinking that we follow them without any complaint. While degrees look impressive in our biodata, it is basically what you are that counts. Shakespeare did not have a degree, but he is truly the Grand Master. Dickens did not have a degree, but if any rookie copywriter could cut a sentence like him he would be able to toss all the books in the can.

    Writing can be wholesome in its approach when it is able to convey an emotion or thought accurately. Human nature is not so rigid like a poker that it doesn’t twitch to outside stimuli of all kinds. The only thing needed for someone to succeed is the ability to find the tiny holes into which to push the needle.

    Bye now,

    George

17. Comment by Kenneth Yu — April 30, 2009 @ 7:40 am

    Hi Daniel,

    Excellent, excellent article.

    Just one to throw in my cents’ worth from the trenches.

    I personally believe the real key to success is not discipline, but desperation. It seems to the be the hallmark of of every online millionaire, the whole “if I don’t succeed in this crazy online thing, I will lose my family, my house and my car” shtick seems to be the order of the day.

    I could recall the trepidation of resigning from my cushy job 2 months before a wedding that wasn’t paid for, pursuing crazy ideals even beyond the realm of sense.

    The bills were crazy. The credit cards were maxed out. Plus we were simultaneous planning a wedding and starting a business from scratch.

    We were down to our last $200 or so–all the money going to wedding vendors. We broke down and cried every single night. We didn’t sleep or eat for days. Yet, there really wasn’t any other choice.

    But when the business started with the product launch… We made our first sale in 1 minute and broke even in 5. Within the next few weeks, we had enough to pay for our wedding and honeymoon.

    Plus, we now have a really successful online business.

    Desperation, my friend. Only that mindset can get you through the dip to reach those breakthroughs.

    You can see our wedding photos here at. A happy ending to this tale, that’s for sure:

    http://budurl.com/psmwedding

18. Comment by Dana Young — April 30, 2009 @ 10:39 am

    Hi Daniel,

    Great article. I took back my personal power at the age of 33 through a major personal development workshop. I am now 50 and teach others to do the same Especailly parents so that they can stop putting unhealthy layers, messages and limiting beliefs on their children. What a wonderful world it would be if parents made the shift today so that the next 10+ generations grew up truely believing that they can do it!

    I want to share a great book called the “Dream Giver” by Bruce Wilkinson. It has a wonderful parable that speaks of Ordinary, a Nobody living in the Land of Familiar to pursue his Big Dream where he knew deep down that he was a Somebody. It really demonstrates your point and I encourage everyone who has dreams and knows deep in their hearts that they are Somebody to read this book. It brought me to tears and validated my deepest desires to make a difference helping parents which fulfills my destiny!

    Thanks again for helping others become aware of their false storytelling and to seek the truth in the messages that have been programmed in their mind and hearts that aren’t serving them today. This work isn’t difficult all you have to do is change your story by speaking your truths. When we do this abundance comes in all areas. I teach that we can either speak blessings over ourselves and our kids or we can speak curses. For me I choose blessings!

    Thanks again and make it an Empowering Day!

    Empowering Others,

    Dana

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21. Comment by Peter — May 1, 2009 @ 4:28 pm

    Good article Daniel. I needed to hear this. I mean, I REALLY needed to hear this. I’m at a point in my life where I feel I’m burning bridges just so I can create forward movement for myself.–and when you do that, you realize how (what’s the word?) “Programmed” most folks seem to be.

    It’s like the movie “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”. Everyone is playing on the same team except you. If you twitch the wrong way, one of the aliens suddenly stands very still and turns towards you. They then lift a finger and point directly at you. And then they start screeching out loud alarming everyone within earshot–as if to say “There goes an unbeliever, get him!”

    Ok I’m exaggerating. But not much.

    P.S. #13 Clarke Echols is right on. He said almost everything I wanted to say, I just had to make the film reference.

22. Comment by Bob Oni — May 2, 2009 @ 9:17 am

    Hi Daniel,
    If the truth be told, this is a message that most adults needed to hear…and you’ve put it across beautifully and succintly in a manner befitting an experienced writer that you are. Thanks for a great article.