True to my promise, it’s Friday and I’m blogging. Granted, I waited until the last minute, but I’m doing it nonetheless. 🙂
I ended the last blog post without telling you about being hypnotized on Friday night. Marshall Sylver is one of the world’s best hypnotists. He’s had shows up and down the Las Vegas strip. He stopped by on Friday to do a show for us. I had talked with Marshall a few times before on the phone (he wanted some help with Facebook stuff) but this was the first time I had met him in person. He recommended that I volunteer for the show, so I did.
It was an interesting experience. As soon as he put me under for the first time, he told the audience that I would be the star of the show (there were about 8 of us on stage). He followed through on his promise. He had me on stage slow dancing with another guy, calling him a fraud, wanting to fight him, touching some woman’s butt, speaking in another language and much more. Hey… what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. You should have been there. 🙂
People probably remembered me more for being hypnotized on stage than speaking on stage. I was getting comments and watching the videos all weekend long. So far, people have been pretty good about not posting the embarrassing videos on YouTube but they’ll come out soon enough.
The days were all business but the nights… that was a different story. I don’t think I’ve ever partied as hard as I did in Vegas. 3 nights of staying out late and hanging out with cool people. The attendees were great. New people were constantly asking me to have lunch or dinner with them. People were asking me to take pictures with them. Like I said, it was a weird but good feeling at the same time.
Sunday night was the party of all parties. About 35 of us crammed into the biggest stretch Hummer I’ve ever seen. It took us from our hotel about 30 minutes away to a posh club called Lavo at the Palazzo hotel. We met about 150 other people at Lavo. Once we arrived, were given the red carpet treatment (no, really, there was a red carpet for us). We were also greeted by bottles of Grey Goose being passed around along with bottles of Tequilla. The Tequilla ended up doing me in. A few of the Chicago Blackhawks players even came and partied with us because it was such an awesome party. This party definitely cost in the six figure range. Amazing. Mike Filsaime REALLY knows how to throw a party.
Needless to say, Monday morning and most of the afternoon was a little rough. Thank goodness I took Mike’s advice and booked a late flight out. It took me a few days of sleeping in to fully recover from Vegas but it was well worth it.
So… what can you learn from all of this?
1. Mental blocks can really kill you. Because of my assumptions about Internet Marketing events being the same as Real Estate Investing events, I’ve missed out on some incredible networking opportunities over the past 3 years. I was always trying to do my networking by connecting with other gurus via email and Facebook. It was going okay. But, there’s nothing like meeting them in person and having a drink with them at the hotel bar at the end of the day. Nothing.
2. It is said that the average person knows 10% about a given topic. If you know more than 10%, you’re an expert. You don’t need someone to anoint you an expert. Believe in yourself and what you’re doing. The fact is, I shouldn’t have needed Mike to throw me up on stage to consider myself a guru. I should have already been a guru in my own mind because I really do know Facebook Social Ads. I’ve written a book on it. I’ve been interviewed by some of the biggest Internet Marketing gurus out there. Some of the attendees were already familiar with me because they had gone through my course before.
3. Stop thinking that you’re not good enough because you don’t have A, B or C. This was another one of my problems. I viewed being a guru as someone that had done a big product launch, has spoken on stage, is in demand to speak on teleseminars and webinars, has a course, has a print book, among other things… I’ve accomplished most of those. The 2 that I haven’t accomplished as of yet (a print book and a big product launch) are in the works right now. The truth is, the point at which others seek out your advice is the point at which you become a guru or expert. That was awhile back for me.
4. Basically, the market saw me as an an expert long before I ever saw myself as one. The only person that was holding me back from that title and all that comes along with it, was me.
So, what are you holding yourself back from? Don’t be the only one holding yourself back from success.