| Rules
of the Game
© Burt Dubin
We're talkin' about the game of being an expert at
what you do. These rules are unforgiving. Break them and a
remorseless force simply sweeps you off the board, clicks
you off the screen—and you're not even history. You're nuthin',
baby.
Abide by these rules and you smile all the way to the
bank. I started out not even knowing there were rules. Within
4 years I'd lost my little all. $235,000 eaten up, gone beyond
recovery. Money talks, right? Well, mine went without saying!
I learned these rules the hard way. You can too. You
can learn the hard way. Do you really choose to do that? Nobody
cares. Nobody will care. It's your life. Now that I've had
a chance to think about it, I prefer the easy way. I'd rather
learn from other people's goof-ups. So, let's get started.
Rule 1:
Have something of value to offer your company or your market.
Something you're passionate about. Something that comes
from the marrow of your bones. From your core. From your gut.
From your essence. From your soul.
And when you offer it, be it. Allow it out of your
pores, out of your heart, out of your deepest feelings and
beliefs. Let it shine from your eyes, be reflected in your
stance and your glance, radiate from your fingertips. Yes,
from your eyelashes. Be on fire! Be so enraptured by what
you offer that you magnetize your prospects, associates and
clients to your services or products.
Rule 2.
Be a marketer first, an expert next. (Marketing, defined:
Marketing is creating conditions by which others decide on
their own that they want what you've got.) Be a marketer first—and
then a deliverer of what you offer. Many fine professionals
and business people do not survive because they think the
world is going to welcome them with open arms. Sorry, no cigar.
This is a painful lesson.
You either gotta be so dazzling, charming, entertaining,
gorgeous, brilliant that your prospects and clients all but
lose control, are beside themselves, go ape in your presence.
Or be a fine marketer.
How to market is beyond the scope of this short piece. By
whatever means, you just gotta attract those in your universe
to desire what you offer.
Rule 3.
Have integrity. Integrity that is absolute. Would you
go driving in a car with a tire that wouldn't hold air? Would
you go sailing in a leaking boat? Would you eat a spoiled
fruit? When the skin of a fruit is broken open, the fruit
begins to rot right there. Nature insists on integrity. Is
integrity any less important in your commitments to your prospects,
your associates or your clients?
Rule 4.
Be exclusive. Be one-of-a-kind. Be a specialist. Create
your unique market position. Be special in your corner of
your world. Be the only game in town. Know more about what
you do than anyone else on earth. And don't tell me you can't
do it. You can. I know you can. Your creator endowed you with
a unique talent. A talent nobody else has. Engage it!
Rule 5.
Associate with brilliant achievers. Associate with people
who are reaching for lofty outcomes and dedicating themselves
to worthy attainments. To outcomes that make a vital difference
for others as well as themselves. People who are super-positive.
People who build you up by their presence. Shun ordinary work-a-day
types who lack a sense of their latent magnificence.
Rule 6.
Invest in Brand You. After being in business for over
two decades, I continue to invest tens of thousands of dollars
in research each year. Not just dollars. Time. Probable 20
to 30 hours each week in pure research. Why? So I can stay
on the cutting edge. And, not just time. Focus. Energy. Asking
why. Contemplation. Meditation. Looking inside. Looking outside.
Looking away.
Here's the idea. . . Make yourself such a unique resource
for the market you serve that there simply isn't a #2. Be
so far out in front that others who would compete with you
can't even shine your shoes. This is what I want you to do.
You do it by using the brains your God gave you.
Rule 7.
Find your North Star. Set your compass by your North Star.
Your North Star is your personal mission. The North Star allows
mariners to set their course and stay on course. That's what
your personal mission does for you. Have a personal mission.
Put it in writing. Be sure it is transcendent. You know your
mission is transcendent when you awaken one morning realizing
you no longer have your mission. Instead, your mission has
you. You're caught up in the rapture, the energy, and the
power of your mission. You're a mission samurai. You’re a
warrior.
Now you're hooked. Hooked to the magnificent destiny you've
created for yourself. From this moment on you have a new and
vibrant energy. It's always been there. Waiting inside you.
Waiting for you to release it.
Measure your every decision against your mission. Whatever
action serves your mission is good. Actions that do not advance
your mission are to be avoided. Create a mission. And a Mission
Statement. Put it on your office wall, your refrigerator door,
your bathroom mirror. Live it. Live it vividly. Let it govern
your every action.
Rule 8.
Set specific goals. Measurable goals. Goals with deadlines.
Goals that advance your mission. Then take the bit in your
teeth. Go after those goals ferociously. Relentlessly. Let
setbacks strengthen your resolve.
Rule 9.
Get debt-free as fast as you can. The wisest experts agree
on this. Get out of the plastic trap. Then, invest your profits
for the long-term.
Rule 10.
Make yourself one of the best anywhere.
"Be more of what you are. Be all of what you are.
Do what you love; do it with your whole heart.
Do it with passion and a clear vision of where you are
going.
And a commitment to become excellent and the courage
to face your fears and to be realistic and honest with yourself
and to take complete responsibility for your future.
And if you do that and if every morning you wake up and hit
the ground running you will be outstanding in your field!"
Rule 11.
Raise your fees. Be worth more than your fees. Most entrepreneurs
and consultants lack the courage to set fees that reflect
the real value they deliver. This insight shows you why:
Most specialists, 83%, according to Tom Winninger, are the
K-marts of their business. 17% of specialists are the Tiffany's
of their business. Which are you to be? Make yourself the
best, the very best, at what you do. And charge accordingly.
Rule 12.
Get yourself a coach, a mentor. Get the very best you
can find. Then trust this person. If you can't trust this
person, get somebody else. Open up. Tell your mentor where
you've been, where you are, where you want to be. Get an expert
in the field you've set your heart on. Someone who understands.
Someone who has been around the track a few more times than
you. Listen to what your mentor says. Abide by your mentor’s
guidance. And march on to glory!
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Discover how you, too, can be a paid expert who speaks.
Make a difference as you build your net worth. Most speakers
earn a substantial six-figure income. Enjoy travel and adventure.
Stay at the best hotels, dine in the finest bistros, all paid
for by your clients. Let Burt Dubin guide you. Move your life
to a new level of fulfillment, service to others—and rare
personal gratification.
Burt Dubin, 20 year veteran of the business of speaking,
mentors speakers and wanna-be’s world-wide. Burt works with
people who want to be speakers and with speakers who want
to be masters.
The words of his clients, the admiration and respect
expressed for his work by some of the world’s most successful
speakers, testify to the values you receive. For samples of
the wisdom available to you, simply go to
www.SpeakingSuccess.com
Burt Dubin, 1 Speaking Success Road, Kingman, Arizona 86402-6543,
USA. Phone 928-753-5315
E-mail Burt at: burt@burtdubin.com
© Copyright 2010 Burt Dubin
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