here's why the gurus make $$$ and you don't

Hey, thanks for the great feedback.

as Marty says, for me that's the crazy thing: you keep hearing from
the gurus that you "clearly didn't have the willpower, the focus, the
desire & motivation" because, well, you have access to the same
tools as they do, and still you're not making it.

And that, as the video attempts to show, is completely wrong.
There is a completely different, entirely natural and originally
very useful mechanism at work: it helps you survive.
The problem is that the brainstem is a rather old structure
and just isn't familiar with modern-day stress/stressors.
So, it's trying to do the right thing (get you outta there),
but in the process actually throws you off your chosen path.

so, the idea of F.O.C.U.S in the video above is really only about
breaking out of the cycle, well, ok, primarily becoming *aware* of it.

it's only when you're aware of being on autopilot that you can then
stop the autopilot and take over control (even when it's uncomfortable).

But then, you're absolutely right, the next question is of course:
what are the right actions to take,
i.e. how do you expand your comfort zone?

And that's all about LEARNING from each experience and adapting
at each step. The problem is, if you're running on autopilot, you're very
unlikely to be willing to learn, because your ego (or HAAMS) is
getting in the way.

Example: someone asks for a refund. Automatic reaction of ego/
HAAMS: they didn't like my stuff ... reduce stress by telling yourself:
"ah well, they clearly didn't see the value in it". (i.e. it's their
fault, nothing to do with you)

Once you can get past the auto-response, you can then reflect
and ask the right (even though sometimes uncomfortable) questions
and take appropriate action.

the core message of the video wasn't meant to be about
"sticking to it until it works" (a very important skill to have as we
all agree), but rather FIRST putting yourself in the position where you can
actually focus enough that even when you have setbacks,
you can quickly learn from them and then move in the right
direction.

so, yes, spot on, focus is ongoing, constantly changes but is
aimed at one big overall goal. That way you generate new data
with each test (each thing you try out) so you can apply those
learnings to new situations.

However, when your focus changes constantly as a result
of you not being able to expand your comfort zone (HAAMS in
control), then you've got a problem, because you're not
learning from the setbacks.

I remember Brian Tracy telling us at a seminar:
if you want to succeed, you try each new
thing at least ten times (in slightly different ways).
Only if after ten times it still doesn't work, then you go
and try something else.

So, although I agree with CDarklock that the 'C' can mean
many things (course of action, method, an ebook, ...),
in my opinion, for most people who're struggling, just
buying one single course (not even buying, jeez, go to
the war-room and grab any of the free content there),
and then actually sticking with it until they've done
everything that's described in the course would be huge.

But, that's exactly where the HAAMS kicks in: a lot of
people choose a course that requires no or very little
further investment, meaning they're going for organic
traffic, traffic from articles, etc...

so whilst they're waiting for the first results, at the back
of their minds the question "am I doing the right thing,
would I be better off doing something else, is this going to
work for me" etc is creeping up. Stress goes up. HAAMS
kicks in...

Which incidentally is also one of the big issues with many
of the "challenges" out there -- e.g. I highly respect Ed Dale and
his 30DC, but there is one big flaw with that model:
the sole focus is on making the first $ after around 30 days.

Now a) that's not very much money when compared to
mortgage payments (stress), b) it's an awful long way
(relatively speaking) to get there (stress) c) the outcome
is uncertain (it's not like a job where you're guaranteed to
get paid) (stress).

End-result: low stick rate with that type of program.

Going back to geeky science: research shows that the more
measures of progress you have, the higher your chances
of success.

So, rather than just looking at the first $, start celebrating
every achievement along the way. Hey, yesterday I submitted
my first article. Whao, yesterday I had no idea how to install
a plugin in wordpress, and now look, it's actually up and running.
Oh, look, my sniper-site has gone up to page 2 of Google within
1 day of me launching it....
Yes, silly examples, I know, but that's exactly the kind of thing
where your brain dumps out happy chemicals and keeps
the HAAMS quiet long enough so you can F.O.C.U.S


thanks again for the great feedback, I'll clarify some of these points
in the next video

Veit