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"Once again, Steve Taubman brings his flair, insight, wisdom and experience to help you sell from the inside out. If you sell--and we all do--you should have this book." --Michael Angier, founder and president of SuccessNet.org

Inner Selling

Unlock Your Subconscious Mind For Peak Sales Performance

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Dr. Steve Taubman

“Steve Taubman makes clear how to recognize one's full inner potential so that one is better able to influence others with integrity and respect. It's one of the best books you'll find on communication and personal development, and if you apply it you'll have a sure foundation for success.” -Peter Shepherd, Founder of Trans4mind.com

Inner Selling Dr. Steve Taubman

1 Copyright 2009 www.inner-selling.com

Publisher Data & Legal Information Copyright © 2009 Dr. Steve Taubman. All rights reserved. Contact the Author [email protected] No responsibility is assumed by the authors/publishers for any injury/and or damage and/or loss sustained to persons or property as a matter of the use of this product’s liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use of operation of any products, methods, instructions or ideas contained in the material herein. All rights reserved. No part of the eBook may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without express written permission of the author. You may forward, copy, or transfer this publication to another person or entity in its entirety only. Partial reproduction is expressly forbidden.

Every attempt has been made by the author to provide acknowledgement of the sources used for the material in this book. If there has been an omission please contact the author at [email protected].



About Dr. Steve Taubman

Dr. Steve Taubman is the president and founder of Inner Selling Institute (ISI), a company dedicated to helping sales professionals transform their results through a unique introspective process. Before becoming a speaker and author, Dr. Taubman was one of the most sought after hypnotists in the college and corporate markets, performing throughout the United States and the Caribbean. His programs have received rave reviews and standing ovations for their humor, energy, and polish.

His first book, UnHypnosis: How to Wake Up, Start Over, and Create the Life You’re Meant to Live, received critical acclaim and became a #1 bestseller on Amazon.com. Since that time,

Dr. Taubman has been speaking to groups and individuals about how to reinvent themselves and incorporate powerful transformational principles into their lives.

Dr. Taubman’s varied and unusual background has earned him the accolade Renaissance Man. He’s been a physician, hypnotist, pilot, magician, trainer, and author; and in each case his sales skills have propelled him to the top of his field.

His excitement, motivation, and enthusiasm have earned him fans worldwide while his entertaining programs continue to impact young and old alike; helping them clarify and achieve their dreams. It is Dr. Taubman’s belief that everyone has a gift waiting to be discovered and unleashed, and it’s his mission to facilitate that process for as many people as possible.

Dr. Taubman lives with his dog, Woody, on the waterfront in Burlington, Vermont. He enjoys skiing, biking, flying, playing guitar, and pursuing his spiritual development through meditation, study and contemplation.

www.unhypnosis.com www.stevetaubman.com



Praise for Dr. Steve Taubman and UnHypnosis:

“Dr. Steve is an enlightened physician dedicated to helping the entire world with his amazing entertainment and powerful communication skills.” Mark Victor Hansen Author, Chicken Soup for the Soul

“Thank you for your recent wonderful class. It allowed me to re‐recognize that I'm on my path and all my fears, anxieties, confusions etc are just bumps in the road ‐ they're not the road itself. I gained a much bigger perspective on this particular moment, in which I was feeling terrified, paralyzed, confused and alone. The perspective allowed me to experience the path I'd been on and its direction into the future ‐ this 'moment' shrank down to a bump that was just part of it all. My trust, confidence, and joy were renewed. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to have heard you speak and to have experienced that moment. If there's a chance to join your next teleclasses I'd love to be able to do that ‐ Please hold some classes at times that enable those of us further afield to join in. The UK is between 5‐8 hrs ahead and we'd love to join you! I'm just going to order my book so that I can continue this experience. With gratitude and appreciation” Naomi Cotton International Counseling Associates

“I don't know if you remember all the people you have on stage or not, but you definitely are, and will always be, remembered by this one. (Lenovo convention May 2007 Orlando.) I am truly enjoying reading your articles and now have your book on order as well and am looking forward to reading more of your insights. I just wanted to say thank you, not just for fun time but for the incentive to get back on a self awareness path that I had virtually given up on traveling. I have never taking part in anything like this before, but having the privilege to be a part of your program has touched me in many ways that I can't explain or understand at this point. It's a wonderful feeling, though! I feel free somehow ‐ if that makes sense. I know you are very busy, so I will not take up anymore of your time. Thank you again, for everything ‐ for the awakening, the self awareness, for allowing me to take part in an experience that has touched me on many levels. Most of all, for the smile I carry with me inside. It felt great to laugh!” Karen Tatem Lenovo Corporation

“I want to thank you for being an inspiration in my life and to let you know that I believe in what you do. After all, it's led me to where I am today. I like many things about the way you present. For one, you don't project the hypnotist as a controller‐of‐others but as merely a



guide. You do it all in an ecological way. I like how you actually build the truth about hypnosis into your program.

I want you to know that your trips to Philly have been worth it, for with what I know and share with others, more lives are happier and better, thanks to your inspiration and the time you took to talk with the group after the show.” Tom Tenaglia Drexel University

"UnHypnosis shows you how to release your brakes, snap out of your comfort zone, and accomplish more than you ever thought possible." Brian Tracy Author, Getting Rich Your Own Way

“I was hungry to find what I was doing to block my financial success. I have my own business and have been working seven days a week for the last two years. I really appreciated your explanation of how the gap between what we receive and what we need can only be closed by an increase in consciousness or a decrease in fear rather than by working harder. It was one of the highlights, a precious gem, for me. I feel like I am on the right track now, like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders with more lightness and hope. I was buffaloed by my subconscious mind, sabotaging my efforts to get ahead because I did not know what was blocking my progress. I felt it was some great mystery I did not have access to. You’ve shown me that I can change by diligently studying myself and watching my beliefs and attitudes. I can then reprogram something positive instead with the willingness to face the resistance to the new approach. I feel I am just getting started! Thank you so much.” Thomas McCormick CNC Woodturning

“Acknowledging that turning within but “neglecting outer prosperity and the dance of creativity” will result in discontent, Dr. Taubman provides accessible information for discovering more about our subconscious mind and limiting beliefs to help bring “the two poles of inner growth and outer growth into relationship with each other.” The model of five layers of consciousness (essence, beliefs, goals, manifestation and interaction) is a helpful orientation to personal development. His writing is refreshingly non‐academic, and the strategies presented are grounded in a wide range of psychological and spiritual growth material, including concepts of unconscious “scripting” and the growing recognition of meditation as an effective tool. Seeking within to know our essence and make changes we want in our physical and emotional realities, he notes, requires the participation of our conscious minds, which can be “a strong and persistent adversary” if it is not comfortable with our choices.



Positive change is not a matter of obsessing on what is wrong with us, but rather “bringing into awareness and applying compassion and equanimity” to discover and transform our limiting beliefs, and more fully realize our unique talents.” Douglas Eby Talent Development Resources

“Steve is clearly an accomplished performer. He loves what he does and is quite accessible, humorous in his approach, and able to connect with anyone. “ Samantha Sellers American Diabetes Association

"The purpose of life is to live a life with purpose, and Steve Taubman shows you how. UnHypnosis will teach you how to wake up, see through the smoke of everyday life, and find your true purpose in life. Steve’s words resonate with everything I have learned from thirty years of professional work as a psychologist. Here’s your chance…grab it now while there’s still time to live your life with purpose." Paul Foxman Author, Dancing With Fear

“Steve Taubman sent me his new book to check out. I've been following Steve's blog for some time ‐ he writes well and he's a cool guy. He left a busy chiropractic practice to live his dream and never looked back. He's an adventurer, a success in everything he does, and has a very spiritual outlook. Now he's written UnHypnosis, in which he takes you on a journey of discovery. His honesty and humility, revealing his own anxiety and fears, is refreshing in a genre where most talk as though they are without fault. He gives the reader a glimpse into the attitudes, both spiritual and practical, that have led to his success. Read it and you'll learn:

• How to tap into your successful way of being • How to overcome limiting thinking • How to use anxiety to your advantage • How to reduce stress in every situation

I highly recommend the book; it's an important addition to personal development literature and it will have great benefits for your mental and spiritual health. Just take a second and check it out for yourself. You'll be glad you did.” Peter Shepherd Trans4mind.com “I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for providing a first‐class keynote for our Focus 2008 Convention here at SymQuest. Your message was timely, well thought‐out, and inspirational. Your style of delivery was entertaining and well paced. The time flew by! Our attendees commented that they were both mesmerized and inspired by your magic and



mentalism, particularly when you memorized the entire deck of cards in under ten seconds! I appreciated the way you weaved your magic, stories, and humor into the message, never losing site of our underlying theme; focus. Our staff loved the program, and one was even inspired to write about the experience in our company newsletter! Besides being a great presenter, you were easy‐going, fun, thorough, and professional. I enjoyed not only the program but our preparatory meetings. Doing business with you was an unbelievable pleasure and I look forward to having you back to SymQuest again. Please feel free to use me as a reference. Thanks for helping to make Focus 2008 a great success.” Larry Sudbay CEO SymQuest, Inc.

“I wish to thank you for your excellent performance at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center’s EMS Appreciation Banquet. This was your second appearance, yet it was fresh and truly the best presentation we’ve ever had! I have received so many wonderful compliments on your visit and comments of praise for you. You have the unique ability and talent for energizing the crowd. Even the banquet facility staff had to stop their work so they could enjoy your program! You truly have a gift that few can match.” Christian Phelps Southwestern Vermont Health Care

“I picked up UnHypnosis at the Borders book signing last week and wanted to thank you for your genuine, insightful manner. I’m about halfway through it and have already begun noticing aspects of myself that I thought were well programmed which definitely need fine tuning. I look forward to your continued success.” Virginia B. “Steve Taubman has drawn upon his wealth of experience and profound knowledge to bring you a truly practical guidebook. UnHypnosis: How to Wake Up, Start Over, and Create the Life You Were Meant to Live will help you understand the things that have been limiting you and clear the way for breakthroughs. Buy it, read it and hang on. Your life is about to change.” Michael Angier Founder SuccessNet.org

“Thank you, thank you, and thank you again for your wonderful presentation in Charleston, SC. As hosts for the Country Coach Rally, we needed someone to inspire a group of 300 people. You immediately came to mind even though we saw you over ten years earlier in Lake George. You made everyone LAUGH from the start to the finish.



Everyone became involved and that’s what makes it unique. We will be glad to recommend you to anyone interested in your programs. Thanks so much!” Wayne and Linda Cleveland Country Coach International

“WOW, Steve...And why I say 'WOW' is simply because I've just gotten done with the first chapter of your incredible, bulls‐eye‐book, UnHypnosis and I am just so inspired. First, what caught my attention was your title. Then I started reading and came across a man who kicked some pebbles in your thinking, Jerry Stocking. I studied with Jerry, so when I saw his name and the title of your book, I knew I was in for a real treat. And boy oh boy I really am. I knew this was going to be great. And since I started reading, I'm discovering how great you are. Much Success (You're there already)” Terry Butler

“You are one hell of a smashing person, and your book is one hell of a smashing book. I think it was in 2001 that a homeopath I was seeing gave me a book by Joseph Murphy, “The Power of Unconscious”, and subsequently I bought two books by both Louise Hay and Shakti Gawain. At the time, it was as if I had lived in belief that the world was flat and then someone told me that the world was, in fact, round. Your book actually gave me PROOF that the world was, indeed, round. For the four years I had the above books, I NEVER came up with an affirmation that my conscious mind would agree with, or approve of. I was annoyed and exasperated that I couldn’t visualize, and was further annoyed with the fact that I couldn’t meditate. What was the purpose of “quieting” the mind and counting from 1‐10, or 10‐1, or 1‐5, or 5‐1. I just couldn’t get it. Your book is perfectly logical. Currently, I am doing my best to meditate, a process that I now understand. I understand why I am doing it. I am also in the process of reframing my belief system and my life. I find it perfectly logical to reinterpret the feelings I had while going through events that rendered my life so unhappy. Steve, you’re a blessing. “ Verica S. Bosnia

“This is the best book on sales I’ve ever read. Actually, it’s the best self‐help book I’ve ever read! It’s a shame that it’s called Inner Selling since I think everyone should read it, and a lot of people probably won’t because they’re not interested in sales. I’m going to do the best I can to get people I know to read it, though, because I think it will help a lot of people. Thanks for your wisdom and insight!” Dr. Nancy Fuller Chiropractic Physician



Would you like to be a case study?

Thanks for taking a look at this material. I think you’ll get a lot out of it. In the next few months, I’m going to be preparing to release it as a print and audio book, distributed worldwide. In preparation for the book’s release, I’m conducting a fantastically bold experiment. I’m looking for some motivated individuals who are interested in putting these ideas to the test. For a limited time and for 12 very lucky people, I’m offering my services for a fraction of their normal cost. Participants will be case studies and success stories in the print and audio books after receiving four one‐on‐one strategy sessions with me in which they’ll learn first‐hand how to apply the Inner Selling System.

To qualify as a participant, you must:

‐be either new to sales (less than one year) or stuck at a plateau

‐be willing to answer some probing questions honestly and fully

‐be motivated to apply some new strategies and monitor your results

‐be available to meet by phone four times over a six week period

‐be comfortable about having your story told in print, audio and video

If you’d like to be considered as a participant in my fantastically bold experiment, read this book and send me an email telling me what you got from it. Then tell me, in one hundred words or less why you feel you’d be a good subject for my book. I’ll read your essay and get back to you in two weeks. Please note that your comments about the material may be used in our marketing whether or not you’re selected as a subject.

As an added bonus, those who submit a testimonial which appears in the book will receive a free autographed copy of both The Magic of Inner Selling and UnHypnosis.

Please send all entries to [email protected]

A final request‐Pay it forward!!! This e‐book is a GIFT to you. Please pass it on to anyone you know in or out of sales who might benefit from its contents. My mission is to help as many people as possible to become massively successful in sales while bringing balance, energy, and enthusiasm into their lives. Please do your part in making that mission a reality by giving others the opportunity to benefit from these ideas. The more you give, the more you receive! Thank you, and enjoy the book.



Acknowledgements

I’d like to extend my gratitude in particular to the many coaches with whom I’ve worked over

the last three years. Words can’t fully express the contributions these people have made to my

life, my understanding, my energy, and my enthusiasm. Knowledge is power, and the people

with whom I’ve had the good fortune to work have added dramatically to my power. Although

it would be impossible to list everyone who’s influenced me since my transition into the world

of speaking and writing, several names come to mind, and I’d like to acknowledge them here.

The list of brilliant, generous, and inspiring individuals includes but is not limited to Mark Victor

Hansen, Jack Canfield, Tom Antion, Dan Poynter, Shawna Schuh, Michael and Dawn Angier,

Randy Gilbert, Peggy McColl, Carolyn McCormick, Steve and Dawn Siebold, Bob Dauman, John

Fallon, Ronda Del Boccio, Thomas Freese, Bob Burg and Glenn Dietzel. Each has taught me

something profound about writing, speaking, training, and selling. I’m very grateful to them.

I’d also like to acknowledge and appreciate my close friends and family for the many ways that

they have supported my growth and understanding over the years and made me feel

connected to something bigger than myself.

Although he can’t read this, I’d like to appreciate my dog, Woody who makes me smile and

gives me a compelling reason to get out of bed every morning even when I don’t want to. He’s

been in my life for two years, and he’s made them richer and more rewarding than any that

came before.

Much love and appreciation to all,

Dr. Steve



“There are two ways to slide easily through life: to

believe everything or to doubt everything; both

ways save us from thinking.”

–Alfred Korzybski



Table of Contents

About Dr. Steve

Praise for Dr. Steve and UnHypnosis

Case Study Invitation

Acknowledgements

Preface

Introduction

Chapter One The Keys to Greatness

Chapter Two The Overall System

Chapter Three Organize

Chapter Four Energize

Chapter Five Realize

Chapter Six Fantasize

Chapter Seven Hypnotize

Chapter Eight Putting It All Together

Programs

Invitation to pass it on



Preface

“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one

thing.”

‐Abraham Lincoln

People in the world of sales have their own special and unique challenges. Their needs are immediate and real, and they don’t have much patience for empty words. As a business person myself, I’m aware that philosophy for the sake of philosophy doesn’t hold much weight in the business world. If you’re a sales professional, you’ll listen to and tolerate ideas and philosophies, but only if they lead to some tangible actions and ultimately results.

Inner Selling seeks to bring the principles of transformation specifically into the domain of sales. I think you’ll find this to be a unique and extremely rewarding book. For one thing, there’s been remarkably little written in the business world about the inner processes involved in sales success. In fact, there’s an overriding disdain for new age thinking that pervades the world of business. Yet there’s no escaping the fact that there’s enormous wisdom available in the transformational sciences that can massively increase sales success and happiness for anyone who employs them.

I’ve thought a lot about how to language the information in this book in such a way that it speaks to the type of reader who can most benefit from its ideas. Generally I find that sales professionals are pretty practical people who want to get to the bottom line quickly, and I respect that. On the other hand, there’s a strong vein of skepticism that often goes along with the pragmatic mind which sometimes blocks new thought. The challenge is introducing concepts and ideas that stand up to the skeptic’s filters. I believe I’m up to the challenge, and let me tell you why.

I come from a mixed family (maybe mixed up is a better way to put it!) My mother is, and always has been, a dyed‐in‐the‐wool sentimentalist. She lives and breathes feelings. She likes to write haikus whenever she’s feeling blue. A great day for her is one shared with someone talking for hours about their emotions, motivations, and philosophies; teasing out every nuance, every angle; if tears are shed so much the better.

My father, on the other hand, is precise and relatively unsentimental. He’s task‐oriented and extremely efficient. He’s great at managing his time. He’s not particularly comfortable around emotions and prefers to move past them as quickly as possible to get to the stuff he understands. His language is the language of business. He knows how to get things done, and he’s a great leader, teacher, and organizer.



I’ve inherited the best of both worlds. I’m equally at home in the world of feelings and the world of results. I’ve studied spirituality and psychology along with motivation, leadership, and success. I’ve sought the paradoxes and discrepancies between what I consider the inner and outer worlds, and I think I can speak with some clarity about both. More than that, I’m a salesman. I know how to enroll others in a new product or service, and I’ve been successfully living without an employer for many years.

What you’re about to read is designed to help you explode your results in the area of sales, but I’d like it to do much more. I believe that the concepts, ideas, and exercises that I teach can change your life in a fundamental and profound way. There are far too many successful people out there who are miserable and out of balance. I don’t want you to be one of them. If you already are, I’d like to help you get past that. Life is too short to be an empty shell. Success without happiness is hollow and painful so let’s find a way to bring about a transformation that accomplishes something deeper and richer.

If you’ve already read books about sales, you know that they tend to be filled with techniques. This book isn’t. I’m not that interested in techniques. I know them. I use some of them. I’m just not that interested in that piece of the puzzle. Why? I believe it’s a shallow approach to success. I think you can do and be much more than you already are, and I don’t want to be a party to a process that causes you to come up short; to miss out on your true potential.

What is your true potential? Have you considered that? What can you really accomplish? What is it that you really want but haven’t given yourself permission to attain? We all have dreams that are bigger than the life we’re currently living, and I believe that if you have the courage to keep those dreams alive, you’ll ultimately manifest them in your life.

Whenever I ask people about their goals, they tend to talk about the stuff they want; the house, the car, the big salary, etc. That’s fine, but you can do better than that, can’t you? What do you want to give? What’s your legacy? How do you want to be seen? Who do you want to meet? Who do you want to inspire? Think about all that…and think big. The bigger you think, the bigger your life will become.

I’m interested in helping you to become the best sales person you can be using ideas, insights, and tools that will help you to sell more, earn more, and influence more than you are now…and to do it with integrity. You’ll learn a system to produce a healthy income while continuing to live a relatively stress‐free life. If you have to give up your well‐being to make a living, you’re giving up too much.

If this is your first book about sales, I congratulate you. You’ve stumbled on a book that will guide you down a healthy path. If this is one of many sales books you’ve read, I commend you on your willingness to explore another point of view. You may find that you need to unlearn



some things that have become habit for you or that you’ll continue doing some of the same things with a different mindset.

Anyone reading this book will come away with food for thought. I don’t know how far you’ll go with this material, but I can tell you from personal experience and the experience of others with whom I’ve worked that there’s no end to how far this can take you. As a successful person in a number of different fields, I‘m pleased to be able to say that I’ve sold my services honestly and with compassion, that I’ve achieved a high level of financial reward, and that I can sleep at night knowing that those who’ve taken advantage of what I’ve had to offer have benefited in excess of their investment. Now, if you’re ready to learn, discover, think, and transform your sales experience, let’s get started!



Success

“To laugh often and love much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to give of oneself; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to

have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know that even one life has breathed easier; this is to have succeeded.”

‐Ralph Waldo Emerson



Introduction

“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” ‐Albert Schweitzer

I am, among other things, a magician. In that capacity it’s my job to catch people off guard; to astonish and amaze them. I use magic to entertain, but I also use it for a higher purpose; to wake people up to their true potential. I view magic as transformative in a number of different ways. First, it represents the impossible. When you see something beyond your ability to explain, part of you is inspired to achieve more than you previously thought you could.

Second, it represents metamorphosis. If a scarf can change color right before your eyes, maybe you can change your colors as well. Third, magic creates a moment of astonishment which is one of the most powerful ways we know to quiet the mind.

We all have an incessant chatterer living in our heads, telling us who we are, what we can and can’t accomplish, and what we should believe. Being an effective sales person requires a deep understanding of ourselves and others which can only be accomplished when we reach beyond those limiting voices.

And finally, magic is about perception. Neurobiologists now validate what magicians have known for years; that is, our perceptual apparatus is extremely unreliable. What you think you see is often not what is. What your clients think they see, or understand, about your product or service may have nothing to do with reality and everything to do with the filters they’re wearing. When you know and understand that, you will become a much more effective communicator and a significantly more influential sales person.

I ask my clients to embrace their own magic. You have the power to transform not only your financial and emotional well‐being but the lives of your clients with the services you provide. That’s real magic!

Who is this book for?

This book is for anyone who has ever sold. If you’re a sales professional or entrepreneur, this book is for you. But if you’re a mother or a father, a child, a sibling, a student, a teacher, or anyone who’s ever had to influence another human being, this book is for you too. Sales isn’t just a profession. It’s a way of life. Selling isn’t just getting someone to buy a product or a service; it’s also empowering and impacting others to embrace a new idea. When you try to get your kids to eat their greens, you’re selling. When you try to convince your teacher to change



your grade, you’re selling. When you try to seduce a member of the opposite sex, you’re selling. In fact, you even sell to yourself.

This book is for anyone willing to explore the underlying processes of the mind and heart which contribute to our ability to influence, inspire, empower, and redirect ourselves and others. Contained in these pages are powerful tools for shining a light on your own inner workings and creating powerful and lasting change. If you’re interested in becoming a force for change, you’ll want to read this book and to practice the strategies presented. I believe you’re going to find that the journey has many benefits, not the least of which is that you’ll certainly be happier, healthier, and more prosperous than you are now.



“There's only one corner of the universe you can be

certain of improving, and that's your own self.”

‐Aldous Huxley



Chapter One‐The Keys to Greatness

“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost. That’s where they should be. Now, put the foundations under them.” ‐Henry David Thoreau

The best salesman I know is my dog, Woody. He’s a two year old Labradoodle, and I think he’s the best dog ever. He’s got a great sense of humor; at least that’s how it seems to me. He’s eternally optimistic, unfailingly persistent, creative in his approach, and without guile or pretense. Although he never resorts to manipulation or intimidation, he somehow manages to convey what he wants and sell me on the idea of giving it to him. When I wake up in the morning, he’s sitting by my side, looking at me with positive expectation mixed with infinite patience. His smile and good‐morning kisses melt my heart before I even get out of bed. He sits quietly by as I do my morning exercises, go to the bathroom, splash my face with water, and get dressed. Then, suddenly he’s animated. He leaps and romps happily, following me down the stairs and out the front door.

I think we could all learn something from Woody. We could be more patient, knowing that good things come to those who wait. We could be more persistent, understanding that repetition often produces results as long as we maintain the right attitude and don’t become impatient or pushy. We could be more forthcoming about what we want, not resorting to sneaky tactics to convince others to give us our way. And we could learn to give before we receive, showering our prospects with love and appreciation before they buy our product or service…just because it feels good to do it.

Woody’s not pushy, he’s not sneaky, he’s not brooding. Yet, somehow he gets his way. And he gets it often. Think about that as it applies to your sales abilities. What kind of a person is your prospect meeting? Are you kind, concerned, playful, fun, joyful? Are you open and honest? Are you irresistible; because, if you are irresistible, they’ll find it impossible to resist doing business with you…providing you have something they want or need.

In this book, we’re going to explore what makes you irresistible. You’ll learn tools and techniques that will help you transform from the inside out rather than tactics to push your prospects into doing business with you. You’ll become the selling machine you want to be while having more fun than you ever thought possible.

What is Inner Selling?

Inner selling is the notion that all successful endeavors start from a strong foundation. This notion is as old as history itself. If you want to build a house, you need a strong foundation.



Without it, the house, no matter how attractive, sturdy, or weather‐resistant it might be, will ultimately collapse. This is also a spiritual principle. Jesus talked about building our faith on rock rather than sand to prevent it from slipping away at the first challenge.

Likewise, when you’re engaged in the honorable craft of selling, you need to develop a strong mental foundation. Otherwise, you’ll slip when stresses and challenges arise. Maybe you’ll find yourself cutting corners in your explanation of the product or service you sell. Maybe you’ll allow yourself to be misleading in order to complete the sale. Maybe you’ll take more than you give; overcharge or under‐deliver. Often these practices begin insidiously, and we don’t think about the implications. Sometimes we make poor decisions out of stress or hardship. When you’re worried about money, it’s so much easier to justify taking shortcuts or even sacrificing your integrity. But, it’s a slippery slope.

Those quick fixes will usually come back and bite you somehow. Maybe you’ll be found out. Maybe you won’t but your own conscience will haunt you. Maybe you’ll suffer some karmic implication that seemingly comes from an entirely different place.

Before you learn the tools of selling, you need to be worthy of the sale. This is so important, and it so often goes overlooked. You need to develop your foundation. You need to develop your inner resources. There is simply no other way to achieve lasting success, at least not in the way that I define success, with happiness and contentment as part of the formula.

Inner selling is concerned with developing that foundation and carrying it into the sales arena. I like to think of the sales process as starting from the moment you decide to be a sales professional. At that moment, you decide that you’re going to make your living by helping others; by enrolling them in an opportunity to make their lives better. At the moment you decide you’re a sales professional you need to make a commitment to yourself and to the world that you’ll operate, no matter what, with the greatest level of honor possible. And you will not violate that promise you’ve made to yourself.

If you haven’t already made that decision, take a moment and do it now. Make a vow to yourself. Write it down. Sign it. Save it somewhere safe. Really. Do it!

Once you’ve made that decision, the universe will begin to test you almost immediately. You’ll suffer challenges, setbacks, temptations, and all manner of invitations to act with less than complete integrity. You’ll face all your demons; fear, judgment, lack, anxiety, impatience, etc.

Don’t worry, though, because we’ve only just begun. You’re going to get a host of resources to vanquish those demons and in so doing grow yourself as a person. You’re going to feel so good about yourself that you can’t wait to get in front of the next lucky prospect!



Where do these ideas come from?

If you want to be extremely successful in your field, it’s helpful to import ideas from other fields. Great magicians, for example, study comedy; great athletes, dance. During my days studying chiropractic, it was suggested that I put a single human hair beneath gradually more pages of a book and try to feel it through the pages. This was a way to develop increased sensitivity, and it served me well in my attempts to become a more astute physician.

For this book, I’ve imported ideas from humanistic and transpersonal psychology, improvisational theater, motivational dynamics, Eastern and Western philosophy, world religion, holistic health, neurophysiology, hypnosis, magic, and spirituality to create a uniquely effective and truth‐based symbiosis. Every element of this system has a proven track record for stimulating powerful change.

For example, I’ll be sharing some information about advances in neuroscience which validate an understanding long held by members of the magic profession that perception isn’t even close to accurate. What does that have to do with sales? In a word, everything. Your prospect’s decision to buy from you is directly related to his or her perception of you, your product, and your service. If you can positively impact that perception, you’re infinitely more likely to win the sale. More importantly, if you can understand where your prospects’ perceptions come from, you can speak to them at that level.

Another example is the time we’ll spend talking about hypnosis, self‐hypnosis, and meditation. You’ll learn about relevant research into the relationship between your beliefs and your outcomes; and you’ll learn how to control them by controlling your mind.

Again, I want to reiterate that each of the ideas presented here is time‐tested, often over many centuries. There’s no question of the value and impact of any of these tools. Up to now, you’ve probably done most of your research in the field of sales. You’ve been swimming in one pond, only eating the food available there while greater nourishment exists in neighboring ponds. I’m going to lead you to those ponds.

I’ll do it slowly, knowing that you don’t want to be overwhelmed by psychobabble. I’ll do it with an understanding that you may have certain fears, skepticism, or even negativity towards these foreign concepts. I’ll do my part to make this information palatable.

In return, I ask you to keep an open mind. I’m a big believer in the idea that if you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting. So, let down the filters and allow me to introduce you, maybe for the first time or maybe as reminder, to some age‐old wisdom that will, I promise you, make you a better sales person and a happier human being.



It all starts with a decision

If you’ve read my first book, UnHypnosis, you’re already aware of my background. I’m hypnotist and corporate trainer, but that wasn’t always the case. I spent fourteen years practicing chiropractic and sports medicine, achieving great success in that profession and becoming the busiest practitioner in the state of Vermont.

When I decided to sell that practice, I did so with trepidation. I was successful, but unhappy. Something within me was calling me to do more, and I didn’t even know what that was. It took courage, which I define as a willingness to proceed forward despite intense fear, but I made the break. I sold my practice, traveled the world, and made certain discoveries about myself.

I realized that my calling was to be a speaker and performer. I became a successful magician and hypnotist performing at resorts, colleges and corporations around the world. I’ve had the good fortune to meet, perform for, and inspire some remarkable people. I’ve met and performed for politicians, billionaires, movie stars, and even the Dalai Lama.

It would be hard to have imagined what was possible in my life before I changed my career path. At that time, all I knew was that I was unfulfilled. I didn’t know what lay in store for me or how far my new journey would take me. Looking back, it’s hard to understand why I waited as long as I did.

That’s the way it is with decisions. You seldom get to know in advance what they’ll create or allow to be created in your life. Yet, in my experience making a decision is paramount to all growth. Without a willingness to take a chance, you’ll never move beyond where you are right now. If you like where you are, fine. But if you want a bigger life, you need to decide to make it happen.

The decision to be a great and prosperous sales person is one of the most important decisions you can make. It’s a decision to live large and with purpose. It’s a decision to follow a code of conduct and to position yourself as someone who has something to offer. It’s a decision to grow constantly.

What springs from that decision are numerous outcomes. Sure, you’ll reap more rewards but you’ll also gain more responsibilities. People will look to you as a leader. You’ll need to live up to that. You’ll become a giver, a contributor. You’ll become more attractive, and with that comes the responsibility of attractiveness. What do I mean by that? If you’re attractive (and I don’t just mean physically) others are drawn to you. What do they find when they arrive in your presence? Is it just a shell or do you offer substance? Are you trustworthy? Inspiring? Empowering? Do others feel better about themselves being around you? If they don’t, you’re shirking your responsibility, and you won’t have it much longer.



Another outcome is that you’ll discover things about yourself that you didn’t realize before. And, you’ll be kind to yourself when you find things you don’t like. As a result, you’ll continue to evolve as a person and your influence will become more and more powerful.

Have you ever wondered why experienced salespeople often get better results? Is it their age? Maybe. But, beyond that there’s a kind of quiet wisdom and confidence that comes from experience, assuming you’re someone who knows how to learn from that experience. You gain personal power which is telegraphed to your prospects, and they feel more comfortable doing business with you.

Would you like to learn how to develop those traits? I bet you would. Well, to be honest, you can’t fake or force experience. It requires time. But, there are things you can do to accelerate that process by understanding what it is that the experienced person knows, feels, and believes…and then using some of the tools I’ll be sharing to model those attributes in yourself.

So, start by making the decision. From this moment forward, you’re committed to becoming the sales person you want to be. You can begin now to envision what that means and how it will manifest in your life. Later, I’ll share some ways of fine‐tuning that envisioning process, but for now, let yourself fantasize about what it means to you to become a great sales person. Who will you influence? What will you offer? What rewards will you reap? See it now. If you can see it, you can be it.

From Here to There

I believe it was Gurjieff who said that you can’t leave a place unless you’re there. In other words, until you know where you are, you’re not in a position to move on to the next level. Take a moment to get a sense of where you are now in your life. Rate your success on a scale of one to ten for each of the following areas:

Finances, Job Satisfaction, Relationships, Family, Friends, Spirituality, Health, Happiness, Possessions, Time Management, Wisdom, Morality

Now, consider each of those as if they were spokes on a wheel. Imagine putting a mark on each spoke at a distance from the center where you rate it from one to ten, with one starting in the center. Then connect the marks creating a new circle. See if the new wheel would roll. Chances are you’ve either got a small wheel or one that’s terribly out of balance.

What you want is a wheel that’s round and well‐balanced. Over the course of this program, we’ll be working on making that happen. In my workshops and seminars, we explore this concept in depth, and my coaching clients are taken through a comprehensive process of



discovery and repair that gets their wheels rolling and on track. If you’d like to know more about our programs, visit www.inner-selling.com.

You know where you are now. It’s time to think about where you want to go. What do you see in your future? In which of the areas you’ve rated would you like to improve first? Later, we’ll talk about how to put your attention on a particular area without becoming obsessed or self‐critical. For now, with as much lightness as you can muster decide on the areas of your life that need improvement and start thinking about the next step.

If, for example, you’d like to improve your sales results, where should you begin? Do you start by getting more stuff, like a snazzy new suit? How about doing things differently like putting a mirror in front of your phone so you remember to smile during each call? How about working harder; making more calls? What about memorizing some new sales scripts?

My thesis, and it’s been demonstrated in practice, is that none of those are the most effective way to start. Each of those strategies, while having value, is not a way of dealing with the foundation of the building. You can’t add new stuff onto old attitudes, beliefs, and emotions. It won’t work, and you’ll come across as incongruent. People may not know why; you may not know why; but you’ll seem weird, creepy, anxious, or somehow off.

In the ISI process, you start not with what you do, not with what you say, but with who you are. The foundation for your growth as an effective sales person is your own soul. If it’s clean, clear, and focused, you can achieve greatness…even if you don’t know how you did it. If it’s weighed down by baggage such as fear, anxiety, shame, uncertainty, and self‐reproach, you’ll remain where you are despite all your outward efforts.

At ISI, we don’t believe that sales education is about memorizing scripts. Isn’t that what most of your sales training has been? Here’s what you say when you walk through the door. Here’s what you say to make the client feel good. Here’s what you say to make them think you care. Here’s what you do when they object. Here’s how to make them feel bad about their current situation so you can jump to the rescue with your solution. And on and on…

Are scripts ineffective? No. But they’re shallow. All things being equal, different people will achieve different results with the same script. You know that’s true, right? Why do some people learn what to say and go on to achieve incredible results while others tank using the same exact words? Why do some people even find it impossible to follow the script? Incongruity. They can’t get behind the words. They can’t make them real for themselves, so the words don’t work.

Why are some actors considered great while others are not? What makes Sir Anthony Hopkins a better actor than Keanu Reeves? Why do people flock to movies starring Meryl Streep? They



have the power to move us. Their essence comes through, and we resonate with them. We buy what they’re selling.

Is it the script? I don’t think so. Would Keanu be as great as Sir Anthony if he had a better script? Again, I doubt it.

Why then do we think learning a new script will help us? People aren’t buying your words. They’re buying your essence. You have to transform your script into a moving experience. And you need to do it before you learn your lines or there’s really nothing that can be done to make your performance great.

Keep that analogy in mind as we progress forward. You are aspiring to be a great actor, but don’t mistake that for meaning that you’re being trained to be ingenuine or to put up a front; quite the contrary. A great actor is someone who commits to his or her presentation, who brings reality to it, who reveals a deeper part of him or herself through the work. A great actor demonstrates a quality we call presence. You’ve heard it referred to as stage presence, but if you were to meet any of those individuals off set, you’d find that their presence extends beyond the stage.

Once you have that quality, people are moved by you; influenced by you. They want to be in your presence because presence is contagious. Being with someone who knows themselves at a deep level, who’s willing to reveal themselves and who understands the power of connecting with the moment draws something out in you. Why do people seek the company of spiritual leaders like the Dalai Lama? Because the energy and presence they project cause a calming and empowering effect on others.

I’m going to show you how to become your own spiritual leader. That is, I’m going to show you how to generate energy and presence. From now on, I want you to imagine yourself as a great Zen master, constantly cultivating the inner attributes we’ve discussed.

Then, immediately before you prepare to sit face to face with your prospect, imagine yourself as the entertainer. What does an entertainer do before performing? He or she settles down, becomes focused, connects with something deep within, visualizes success, and generates a burst of energy. The entertainer, like the warrior going into battle, witnesses his or her fears and transmutes them into power.

This program will help you to do the same thing. You’ll learn techniques to master your emotions, to focus, to clarify your intention, and thus to walk into your sales calls with more personal power than you ever thought possible. You’ll also have a surplus of energy, optimism, and humor that will win the prospect’s trust. As Bob Burg, networking guru says, “All things being equal, people do business with people they know, like, and trust.”



By the way, if you’re the Zen master way before the sale and you’re the entertainer right before the sale, what are you during the sale? In my opinion, the moment you walk into a room with a prospect, you become the physician. Your job is to diagnose the problem and then treat it, in that order.

How many times have you been bullied or bored by a sales person trying to get you to buy something without knowing if you had the need for it? It’s annoying, isn’t it? You don’t want to be that person. When I was a chiropractic physician seeing about 250 patients a week, I had a very specific routine which was more than a routine. It was a reflection of my respect for their time and mine.

I’d start by shaking their hand, smiling, and finding some point of connection. I’d ask them briefly what brought them to see me. Then I’d say the following:

Mr. Jones, I appreciate your coming to see me and for your confidence in my abilities. Here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to ask you some questions to get a better understanding of your problems, and then I’m going to examine you thoroughly to find objective evidence of what’s wrong. Nothing I do will hurt and I’ll explain what I’m doing as I go along. Once I’ve completed my examination, we’ll plan to sit down and talk again. At that point, if I think I can help you, I’ll tell you. If I can’t, I’ll tell you that too…and then I’ll tell you where I think you’d be better off. If I feel I’m the right choice for you and you agree with my recommendations, we’ll get started. Is that fair?

What did I do there? Quite a bit, actually. I established rapport. I gave him reason to trust me. I calmed him down by assuring him that I wouldn’t hurt him. I took charge of the experience by laying out the procedure step‐by‐step. I respected him by including him in the process, explaining that he’d be kept informed throughout (in UnHypnosis, I call that “showing your work”), and most importantly I told him that I’d only treat him if I felt I could. I ended by asking his feedback.

Can you see how that entire sequence can be applied to your selling environment? Although I was a physician, I was also a sales person selling a program of care. It was up to me to convince that individual to participate in a sequence of treatments, but as a principled sales person I could only do that if I myself was convinced it was the right thing to do. And, he needed to know that.

Likewise, when you’re the sales person, you’re also the physician. You need to establish trust, demonstrate respect, clarify your intentions, take charge of the process, and assure your prospect that you have his or her best interests at heart. And, you need to ask if that’s OK.



I’ve already asked you to be a Zen master, an entertainer, and a physician. (Why don’t I just leave you alone?) What about when you’ve completed the sale, who are you then? I believe there’s one more role you need to play and that’s the role of coach. Who do you need to coach? Yourself. You need to empower yourself with positive self‐talk mixed with constructive feedback.

Chances are you didn’t conduct the sales presentation perfectly. There may have been things you meant to say but didn’t. You may have allowed your mood to affect your behavior. Perhaps you judged your client too quickly, assuming based on their demeanor, language, or clothing that they were not qualified for your service. Fears, judgments, demands, and expectations have a way of crowding out the original intention in tense situations. Maybe you did everything right but didn’t make the sale, so you’re aggravated. Regardless of what happened, there’s a good possibility that you’ve walked away with some regret, frustration, or self‐condemnation.

If you want to continue to be effective, you need to let that go as quickly as possible. The more you criticize yourself and your performance, the more difficult it is to walk into the next presentation with confidence and hope, let alone with the neutral, detached attitude I’ll be teaching you. So, you need to be a good coach. Notice the mistakes and own up to them for future reference, but do it with compassion. Be aware of the maxim; what you resist persists. That is, the more you mentally and emotionally reject yourself for any one behavior, the more likely you are to repeat it. Spiritual teachers call it “suffering over your suffering.” Have you ever been angry at yourself for being angry or depressed about being depressed?

Later I’ll explore the psychology, but for now suffice to say that we’re all built with an inherent tendency to use parts of ourselves against themselves. The device we use to judge ourselves is the same device we’re judging. It’s weird. It may not make sense to you now, but hang in there. Not only will I make sense of it but I’ll show you what you can do about it so you’re not stuck in a neurotic cycle.

As a good coach, you’re going to practice the art of giving corrective feedback to yourself mixed with liberal doses of self‐affirmation. You’ll need to learn to celebrate your successes and your failures. Tony Robbins says, “There’s no failure, only feedback.” In other words, unless you give up, you can gain just as much value from your setbacks as from your wins. And, no matter how rotten your performance might have been, you must have done something right!

I remember when I was starting out as a stage hypnotist. I was terrified to do my first show. One of the funny things about hypnosis is that you can’t really practice it. Until you get out on stage, no matter how much training you’ve had, you won’t really know how successful you’ll be. And, let’s face it, hypnosis is pretty bizarre anyway. You’ve got to see it to believe it, even if you’re the one doing it!



On my way to that first show, I called my mentor. I told him I was so scared I was thinking about backing out. Here’s what he said. “Steve, what’s the worst that can happen? Nobody can be hurt. The worst is you get up there, nobody gets hypnotized, you feel like an idiot, you go home, you have a cup of cappuccino.” Those were his exact words, and they calmed me.

It turned out that the show went really well. Lots of people got hypnotized, including one of the women in the audience who got hypnotized from her seat. I didn’t notice that until I told my subjects that the person sitting next to them smelled really bad. Then I saw her in the audience with her head under the table, trying to get away from the stench of her neighbor.

The point is…perspective. If you can maintain yours, there’s no reason you should ever become despondent about falling short or missing the mark. It’s just one little piece of your life. Go home, have a cappuccino…preferably decaf!

So, now that we’ve discussed the four phases of the sale; way before when you’re the Zen master, right before when you’re the entertainer, during when you’re the physician, and afterwards when you’re the coach; let’s turn our attention to the overall process of becoming an Inner Selling Expert.

A System

Have you ever tried to make any significant change in your behavior? How about a New Year’s resolution? If you have, there’s a pretty good chance that the change didn’t last long. What about multiple changes? Even worse, right? Let’s face it. We’re creatures of habit, and we’re likely to continue doing what we’re already doing whether it works or not, just because it’s easier to do what we know than to change. Still, change is necessary and ultimately inevitable. You can try to hold back the tides, but it won’t work for long. So, given that change is a given, what can you do to direct it and make it in a conscious way and in your own best interest?

That’s where a system comes in. Very little can be accomplished haphazardly. It’s too much to remember everything, let alone do it…unless you’ve got a system. With a system, it’s truly astounding what you can accomplish. Let me give you an example.

When I was studying anatomy in chiropractic school, we had to memorize all the bones in the skull (there are a lot of them) and which other bones they connected to. We used what’s called a mnemonic system. It’s a way of jogging your memory. We’d make up a sentence using the first letter of each bone connected to the one we were memorizing, the weirder the better. Here’s one:

Even Vikings frown on taking zebra’s pulses Mondays, poolside



Stupid? Sure. But I haven’t thought about which bones articulate with the sphenoid bone in over thirty years, and now I can tell you that it’s the ethmoid, vomer, facial, temporal, zygomatic, parietal, maxillary, and…oh shoot! I can’t remember the last P!!! Well, it mostly works.

Now, when I’m performing a magic demonstration or at my keynote speeches on the subject of sales and empowerment, I demonstrate this principle by memorizing the names of everyone in the room or the order of an entire deck of cards in a matter of seconds. Is it because I’m such a brilliant person? Well….No, it isn’t. It’s the fact that I have a system which short‐circuits the limitations of not having an excellent memory. Likewise, to become a great sales person you need to learn new things and new ideas, and the only way I know to do that is with a system.

Webster’s Dictionary defines a system as an organized or established procedure and as a harmonious arrangement or pattern. Bob Burg goes a step further to say that a system is an established procedure which produces consistent and predictable results. If you follow the system I’m about to outline, you will have a process by which you can predictably influence others in an organic, natural way while maintaining your integrity and self‐esteem. You’ll be able to sell more, make more money, and live at a higher level of personal satisfaction.

The purpose of the Inner Selling System is to improve you from the inside out. My goal is to assist you in cultivating an inner quality for success. If I give you a script, you might be able to sell as long as you stick to it. If I train your mind, you can generate your own scripts and write your own ticket to success. It’s the old saying. If you give a man a fish, he can eat for a day. If you teach him to fish, he can eat for a lifetime.



Important Points from Chapter One

• Great sales results don’t come from what you do but who you are

• If you want to surpass your competitors, look outside your field for ideas

• All legitimate growth starts with a decision and a commitment

• Be your own guru, an actor before the sale, a physician during, and a coach after

• Having a system gives you consistent, predictable results and lowers your stress

Exercises

• Start a Success Journal using a small binder or notebook

• On the first page, write a success vow to yourself. Read it daily.

• List the personality traits you want to see become part of you

• What would it be worth to you to become that person? Write your answer.

Bonus sales tip

• From Secrets of Question Based Selling by Thomas A. Freese: The more curious your prospects become, the more opportunities you’ll have to add value and provide solutions. When leaving messages, arousing their curiosity will increase the likelihood you’ll get a call back.



“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

‐Aristotle



Chapter Two‐The Overall System

“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.”

‐Peter Drucker

A few years ago, I started dating a woman named Ann. I wanted to impress her by cooking her something from my Jewish heritage called latkes or potato pancakes. So, I made the batter, heated the oil, and called to invite her over. What happened next has become one of my favorite personal stories and illustrates an important point. This is how I tell it in my workshops:

Ann asks, “What’s Latkes?” “They’re potato pancakes.” “What’s in them?” “Potatoes!” “What else… smartass?” So, I start telling her, and in the midst of this, I casually look at the stove and see that the pan… is on fire. Flames are leaping from it. I drop the phone and run to the stove, lift the pan…and stand there thinking, “Now what?” For some reason, I start walking with it out of the kitchen, don’t ask me where. But, I can’t get through the door so I go back in. I’m thinking, “What do I do?”

At this point the fire is singeing my eyebrows. I hear Ann screaming, “What’s going on??? What’s going on???” The flames are getting higher so I put the pan on the floor. I grab a dish towel and start to beat the flames, and the dish towel catches on fire. Now, I’m waving a flaming towel around the kitchen and it ignites the comics on my refrigerator door and the ashes singe the ceiling. I’m still thinking, “What do I do?” Ann’s still screaming, “What’s going on?”

Now, I know it’s not the best move, but the only thing I can think of is to turn the kitchen hose on the flames, which I do. They put up a valiant fight, but, eventually, I’m victorious!!! Now, I pick up the phone and tell Ann my pan caught on fire but that my quick thinking won the day. She says, “Oh…did you put the lid on it?”

As in the quote that heads this chapter, I was efficiently doing all the wrong things. I moved quickly and decisively in a million different directions, none of them the right one. I didn’t have a plan. I didn’t have a system. I should have known in advance exactly what I needed to do, and then I would have automatically followed the right steps and gotten the right results. You get very little credit for being busy if you’re not getting results, right?

Being a private pilot, I’ve been trained in systems. I know what to do before I start the plane, while I’m taxiing, prior to takeoff, and at each phase of the flight, including what to do in an emergency. If I handled an engine‐out situation with the same finesse that I used in the kitchen, I wouldn’t be here to write this book for you.



The strategy I’m going to lay out for you here has been proven in a variety of ways. First, each of its elements is a process in its own right taken from a discipline in which it’s demonstrated dramatic results in the areas of success and well‐being. Second, these strategies are ones I’ve used myself and to which I can trace my personal accomplishment in several different areas. I can tell you with certainty that had I not learned what I’ll be sharing here, I never would have enjoyed a seven figure income, never would have risen to the top of my field as a physician, speaker, and entertainer, and never would have enjoyed the level of personal satisfaction I currently enjoy. Third, the elements of this program have consistently benefitted my clients, friends, and loved ones. As we go along, you’ll hear stories about several of the people who have used this system and how it’s impacted their lives. If you’d like to become a success story, please contact me!

Since this process is being offered in the form of a system; an organized series of procedures, it will create predictable results. All things being equal, any of the changes I recommend will improve your sales and your bottom line. Taken together, they will multiply your income.

Contained within this system is an understanding of prosperity consciousness. If you don’t truly understand what it is to be prosperous, you’ll probably be seeking the wrong outcomes. I’d like to redefine wealth not as how much you have but how little you need. I say that I’m redefining it, but it’s actually a biblical definition I’m offering; quite old. “That man is rich who is happy with his lot.”

Also contained here is an understanding of the fundamental components of success and how to attain them. In my opinion, those components are energy, belief, and presence. Mastery of any of these will affect the other two and will increase your influence. Mastery of all three will make you unstoppable.

The ISI System is comprised of five steps. They’re easy to remember, but just in case you have a hard time with them, I’ll give you a mnemonic!

1. Organize 2. Energize 3. Realize 4. Fantasize 5. Hypnotize

In the next five chapters, we’ll be exploring each of these in turn. First, though, let me give you your mnemonic.

Here’s your mnemonic: Owen Eats Rice For Hanukah ☺



Before we probe deeply into each component of the system individually, it’s important to understand the power of this type of symbiosis. When it comes to the area of transformation, one plus one doesn’t equal two but much more. Each area you improve has an exponential effect on the whole. In other words, every domain in which you make a correction multiplies rather than adds to the overall improvement you enjoy.

Let’s say you’re currently at a level two on a scale of one to ten regarding your monetary success. If you leave everything else alone and just double your closing rate, you’ll double your income. So now you’re at a four. Makes sense, right? But what if you also double your number of referrals? That means the pool from which you’re drawing your business is twice as large. Now, you get to multiply your last number by two, so you’re not at a six with these two improvements, but an eight. Get the idea?

Each of the five steps I’ll outline has the potential, by itself, to double your results. As you apply each, you’ll see staggering changes. The amazing thing is that none of what I’ll be teaching you has anything to do with the words you say during a sale. You can use the exact same script you’re using now, and if you add step one you’ll double, if you add step two you’ll quadruple, if you add step three you’ll…hmmm, what’s the word for times eight? Anyway, you get the idea.

Let me tell you how this has played out in my life. After returning from my travels, I decided to make a career of entertainment. I got off to a slow start, but that was OK. I was just setting out and I’d been in travel mode for a long time, so I wasn’t in a rush to succeed. Plus, having recently given up a lucrative career and virtually all my possessions, I was convinced that having more didn’t equate to feeling better. In fact, I was substantially happier living simply and with very little baggage, literally and figuratively.

So, if anything I was reluctant to start working hard and getting caught up in the grind. Still, I had a skill and talent that I wanted to express, so inevitably I became a businessman for the second time in my adult life. I began to examine my process. I drew on what I already knew about business from having succeeded in my chiropractic practice. I even borrowed some scripting from my former profession. And I began to sell. In fact, I began to get pretty busy…until I hit a wall.

I reexamined my sales process, read some sales books, and rewrote my scripts. Nothing. In fact, there was nothing I could DO that would change the outcome. So, I started looking outside my profession at my life. What I discovered was that I’d become overworked, overwhelmed, and tired. My love life was in serious trouble and was causing me constant stress. I was out of touch with good friends. I was eating poorly. My energy level was chronically low. I was depressed. I was overweight. I had absolutely no idea why I was doing what I was doing. There was an



element of desperation in everything I did because I was trying feverishly to fill an emptiness I felt inside. Guess what? People sensed it and stopped buying.

My pain led me to an entirely different set of resources. I spent months learning to meditate. I changed my diet. I extracted myself from my bad relationship. I reconnected with friends. I studied my inner dialogue and began to work on self‐acceptance. I started to exercise. Although many of the changes I made at that time didn’t last long since I hadn’t created a system to assimilate them into my life, they were the impetus for some profound change.

In UnHypnosis, I tell the story of my remarkable meeting with Steve, a chiropractor whose path I crossed in Guatemala during a pivotal time in my life. That experience gave me my first glimpse of something called synchronicity. I came to discover that being on the right path carries certain unmistakable signs; synchronicity among them. Webster’s Dictionary defines synchronicity as the coincidental occurrence of events that seem related but are not explained by conventional mechanisms of causality. Here’s that story from UnHypnosis, reproduced by popular demand:

Ten years ago, I owned a large chiropractic, holistic health clinic. I was the president of my state chiropractic association, and I was seeing many hundreds of people for their health concerns each month. I was, by all outward measures, successful.

Yet, I was discontent. Everything on the outside seemed alright, but I couldn’t get excited about my life. I felt bored, anxious, frustrated, and unhappy. Finally, I realized that this couldn’t go on. It wasn’t fair to my patients, who deserved an enthusiastic, committed doctor, and it wasn’t fair to me, who deserved a rewarding, fulfilling life. I’d already attempted to light a fire under myself on several occasions by attending motivational and educational seminars, but the results hadn’t lasted more than a few weeks each time. It was time to make a change.

I came across a little book called How to Win by Quitting which spoke of lives in transition and about the courage to change. I called and spoke with the author, who inspired me to make a transition in my life.

So, armed with the wisdom gained from that conversation, I went to Guatemala, intent on spending a few months traveling around Central America with no agenda. I thought I could use the time to reflect on what was important to me, to work on my language skills, and to drink in a new culture. It was an exciting proposition. Still, it was a bit scary. I didn’t know what I’d find there, and I didn’t know how well I’d fit into the fabric of Latin American society.

On my fourth day in Antigua I discovered a small chiropractic office on a side street off the beaten path. I sat in the waiting room until the doctor came out and found me sitting there. I introduced myself as Steve, a chiropractor from the USA, and he introduced himself as Todd, an



American ex‐patriot, living and working in Guatemala for the last couple years. Upon learning that I was a chiropractor, he asked what most chiropractors ask of their colleagues. “Would you mind giving me an adjustment? I haven’t seen another chiropractor around these parts for the last six months!” I obliged him, and after trading adjustments, we walked out to the waiting room.

And there, sitting in the waiting room by himself, was an American man about my age. He stood as we entered the room. He looked from me to Todd. He extended his hand to me, thinking I was the doctor, and said, “Hello, I’m Steve. I’m a chiropractor from the USA.”

Todd and I looked at each other in disbelief. After a moment of silence, Todd introduced himself as the proprietor of the practice, and I introduced myself as Steve, a chiropractor from the USA. He asked me where I practiced, and I told him of my recent departure from the field. He responded that he, too, had just sold his practice of fourteen years (the same length of time I’d been in practice.) “What brings you to Guatemala?” I asked. “I just wanted to have a place to reflect on my life and goals, and to work on my language skills. And you?” “The same.”

Steve and I decided to get lunch together and discuss our common experiences. We walked out the door into the afternoon sun, and simultaneously reached into our backpacks to get a cap. The caps we pulled out were identical, except for one thing. While mine said “100 Years of Chiropractic” on it, his said “Vermont,” which happened to be the state in which I lived. Turns out he had friends in my city and had been there several times in the past.

Stopping briefly at his room to pick up some money, I noticed something intriguing on his dresser. A copy of a rare, difficult‐to‐find book: How to Win by Quitting. I told him of my lengthy conversation with the author and how it influenced my decision to come to Guatemala, and Steve said that he, too, had had a similar conversation, prompting his visit as well.

Over the next several days, Steve and I became great friends, as we are to this day. We learned of many more coincidences between us. When we parted company in one part of the country, we didn’t anticipate running into each other for a long time, but a week later, walking along the beach in Montericco, a hundred miles west of where we met, I found Steve poolside at a local resort, talking to a young lady about, of all things, his encounter with me. I filled in the gaps in his story, and the young lady, who’d had an opportunity to get to know him a bit, asked me if I was also a Gemini. Up to that point, it hadn’t occurred to me to ask Steve’s astrological sign (I’m not a big astrology buff), but in fact, I, too, am a Gemini. So, there was one more coincidence.

Weeks later, I was traveling through Honduras with my girlfriend. We were taking a boat ride around the island of Roatan, and I was telling her the now famous “Steve story.” As the boat came to the dock on the remote side of the island, we disembarked and climbed the steep wooden staircase to the restaurant above. My story was winding to a conclusion, but I couldn’t



have anticipated that the last words of the story would be… “And that’s him right there,” because ten feet in front of us sat Steve and his lunch guest, blissfully unaware of our arrival.

Back in the USA, I made plans to meet up with Steve in his home state of Montana, as part of a plane trip I’d planned across the country. When I shared my travel plans with John, the doctor who’d purchased my practice, his questions led to the most startling revelation of all: Steve had been John’s chiropractor when he lived in Montana, and John’s best friend had purchased Steve’s practice!

When we are living a life with purpose, clarity, vision, and balance, we tend to attract circumstances that seem magical at the time. Opportunities appear in our path, people seem to arrive in our lives that have answers we seek, and obstacles fall away effortlessly. This may sound like new age mumbo‐jumbo, but it happens predictably enough to note. Often, the stimulus is the absolute commitment to change; that is, when we’ve made a definite decision to change our attitudes or behaviors, synchronicity steps in. Here’s how W.N. Murray, the Scottish explorer put it in 1951:

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans; that the moment one definitely commits oneself, Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would otherwise never have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings, and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way.

For me, many of those synchronistic moments occurred within the confines of a yoga retreat center where I practiced finding a new way of living. One such experience began innocently as I sat down for dinner on my third evening there. Up to that point, I’d been observing silence, not interacting with any of the other retreat participants. That afternoon, I’d had an epiphany as I walked along a beautiful lakeside trail. My inner conversation was enlightening and I felt ready after that to connect with others.

Sitting at one of the larger tables, I overheard a couple talking about a particular idea. Amazingly, it mirrored the idea that had occurred to me on my walk. I decided to speak up. I struck up a conversation and shortly thereafter introduced myself. When I told them my name, the woman said, “Oh, I have a message for you.” She removed a piece of paper from her pocket with my name on it. I should point out that she was one of over a hundred others at the retreat and I just happened to sit next to her.

The note pertained to a request I’d made for a private session with one of the coaches there. It gave me instructions for the time and place of a meeting I was to have later that day. I arrived



at the meeting and found a gentleman in his mid‐seventies waiting for me. We spoke for a while and found we had great rapport. At some point, he asked me my last name. I told him. He became lost in thought for a moment, then said, “I used to know a kid in my building growing up in Brooklyn named Lenny Taubman. Do you know him?” I was stunned. Len Taubman is my father.

Anyway, things like that began to happen repetitively in my life. In fact, they virtually always happen as long as I’m tuned in, loving, and centered. The moment I fall back on old ways; become stressed, overwhelmed, overly serious, those things immediately stop happening. Now, I use the absence or presence of synchronicity in my life as a sign that I’m on the right path. As you begin to incorporate some of the ideas in this program, notice if you too begin to experience these enjoyable occurrences.

Real success requires mastery over your energy, belief systems, and presence. Too many sales people have sought success outwardly, only to find the experience empty and meaningless. My objective is to help you to create success at all layers of consciousness so it will be deeply rooted and deeply satisfying. We’re aiming for congruence, or consistency between your inner and outer realities. Congruent people are more likeable, more magnetic, and more capable of generating the circumstances that allow them to become masters of sales success. Outward success without inner contentment is doomed to failure. Within a short period of time, even the most precious jewels, the nicest home, or the most glowing accolades will turn sour. If you’d like to sell more, you’ll need to understand the truth of who you are and have succeeded in mastering your mind. In the next several chapters, we’ll examine each component of the Inner Selling System giving special consideration to how you can master them in order to double your sales effectiveness and have a rich, satisfying life. For now, put aside your knowledge of superficial sales techniques while we delve into your inner mind before building upon that foundation.



Important points from Chapter Two

• The three keys to sales success are energy, belief, and presence • The five steps in the ISI system are: Organize, Energize, Realize, Fantasize, and Hypnotize • Synchronicities are signs of commitment • Congruence precedes effectiveness • Success without contentment is empty

Exercises

• Memorize the five steps in the ISI system • Recall and list all the synchronicities you’ve experienced • Reflect on which parts of your sales career lack a system • Sign up for the Inner Selling Blog at www.inner-selling.blogspot.com • Purchase a Day Timer or some type of organizer

Bonus Sales Tip

• Befriend the gatekeeper. When you make a sales call, make sure to display your personality to whoever answers the phone, being funny, charming, playful, enthusiastic, and curious.



“What you do off the job is a determining factor in how far you will go on the job.”

‐Zig Ziglar



Chapter Three‐Organize “All the genius I have lies in this; when I have a subject in hand, I study it profoundly.” ‐Alexander Hamilton Write it down An elderly couple is sitting watching TV set when the husband says, “You know what I’m in the mood for? Some chocolate ice cream.” The wife says, “I’ll get it for you. You just sit there, dear.” He says, “OK but write it down. You always forget.” “Don’t worry dear, I’ll remember.” A few minutes later, he calls to her in the kitchen. “Could you put some whipped cream on that too?” “OK dear” “But write it down. You always forget!” “Don’t worry dear, I’ll remember.” After a couple more minutes, he screams to her again. “Some nuts would be nice, but write it down.” “It’s OK dear.” After about five minutes, she emerges from the kitchen. “Here’s your ham sandwich, dear.” “Did you remember the pickle?” “I forgot.” “I told you that you should write it down!!!” I always think I’ll remember what I need to do, and it’s seldom true. My mother used to say, “You’d forget your head if it wasn’t attached!” Yet, most people think I’m a really organized guy. That’s because I’ve gotten in the habit of putting everything on my calendar. We need to be in the habit of writing things down. That includes our goals, dreams, and aspirations as well as our day to day action steps for getting there. We need a system for arranging our schedules and a method for tracking our progress. We need structure to be part of our process if we want to achieve success. Besides the simple fact that we can’t remember everything we need to do without having some kind of system, having a tracking system motivates us to accomplish the things we’ve chosen to do. There’s nothing more satisfying than checking off items on your list and knowing that you’re one step closer to accomplishing your goals. Writing things down has a deeply satisfying psychological effect on us and makes us more effective. In the world of transformation, pioneered largely by Werner Erhadt in the 70s, there’s a concept called incompletions. An incompletion is a task or intention we’ve set but not accomplished. These things we meant to do but haven’t loom in the background of our minds, robbing us of energy, vitality and self‐esteem. Every single thing you’ve meant to accomplish hangs off you like a weight, pulling you down. Interestingly, it’s the things you aren’t consciously remembering that have the greatest effect on your well‐being. At some deep subconscious level, your mind is carrying the memory of every incompletion in your life. The more you have, the unhealthier, unhappier, and more ineffective you are.



Imagine that you’ve got a finite number of energy units. Every incompletion represents a drain on one of those units. Eventually, you’re weighed down by the burden of all those things you should have done, and you run out of energy units. You become sluggish, depressed, and maybe even ill. One of the first things to go is your ability to be influential. As a sales person, this should concern you. The weight you’re carrying is having a direct effect on your sales. Your prospects may not know why, but they sense that you’re not complete. They feel your absence. They feel it in a million different ways. Maybe you don’t look as healthy or vibrant. Maybe you’ve got an air of desperation about you. Maybe you appear distracted. Maybe you’ve lost the ability to listen attentively to your clients’ needs. However it shows up, they see it, feel it, hear it, or smell it on you…and you don’t sell. I want you to take a moment now to make a list. On that list place everything you’ve got to do. That can include mundane things like washing the dishes or deeply interpersonal things like forgiving your parents for abusing you. The objective is to let go of the past. Everything you’ve got on your list represents a tether to the past and it’s keeping you from moving forward. For now, just make the list. Don’t worry about how and when you’re going to accomplish those things. We’ll cover that later. After going through this process, many of the people I coach report feeling lighter and more hopeful immediately. This can occur even before you’ve done anything to actually complete those items. Simply raising them from the unconscious to the conscious level is often enough to start the ball rolling and to begin seeing results. Here’s what one client said: “I just wanted to write to tell you how amazed I’ve been with the results from your program. I’m already starting to see changes! Last month, my closing rate went from 11% to 23%, and I received a whopping seventeen referrals! More importantly, I’m feeling great. My energy is higher than ever, I’m optimistic…no, giddy! And, all I’ve done so far is to list my incompletions. I’ve only dealt with two of them so far, but now that I see the power of this approach, you can be sure I’ll be ticking them off one by one. I feel like Earl in that TV show. You know, the guy with the list of things he’s done wrong in his life? The way he says it, Karma wants him to make up for his bad deeds, and Karma will reward him each time he makes something right. Well, that’s me! Thanks so much for turning this skeptic into a believer.” Believe me, I’ve seen this phenomenon time and time again in my life and in the lives of others I’ve coached and trained. Don’t skip this step. Don’t assume that it’s extraneous or unimportant. The way to become a sales superstar is to build a strong foundation, and you can’t have a strong foundation with all that weight hanging off you, distorting your perspective and robbing you of energy and vitality.



The Empty Cup An inquisitive new meditation student visits the wise, old teacher and begins to ask questions. The student is invited to sit for tea, and the teacher begins to pour a cup for him. When the tea reaches the lip of the cup, the teacher keeps pouring, filling the saucer, and ultimately spilling tea all over the table and onto the floor. Finally, the student, unable to contain his shock and confusion, points out to the teacher that the cup is already full. The teacher pauses for a moment, smiles, and says, “Yes, just like your mind. You‘re so filled with concepts and beliefs that it’s impossible to fit any more. For you to gain wisdom, you must first empty your cup.”

Often when I teach this material, people gloss it over, thinking they already know what I’m saying. But do they? Or do they have a blind spot for their own lack of understanding? Ask yourself, “Am I really organized? Do I always follow a system? Do I know each day what I need to accomplish and when? Am I procrastinating; putting off things I know I should do? Am I prepared for the unexpected; do I have a plan for every eventuality in my sales process…and in my life?”

If you were honest with yourself, you probably found that you fall short in some of those areas, so I encourage you to wipe your slate clean and approach this material as a beginner; humble and open minded. Suzuki Roshi, the Zen master and author, wrote a book called Zen Mind, Beginners Mind. It’s all about how we need to approach every experience with the mind of a novice. To think we already know something blocks our vision and appreciation. Try to see the world and every piece of information offered you as if you’re seeing it for the first time, through the eyes of a child.

Right Brain, Left Brain

This is an area you’ve probably been exposed to. The idea is that there’s a division of labor in your brain. The right brain controls your creativity, your artistic tendencies, your non‐linear thinking, your appreciation for music, and your intuition. The left brain is the seat of logic, sequential thought, language, and organization.

Of course that’s a gross oversimplification for how the brain really works, but it’s a useful model. Based on that model, what part of your brain influences the buying decisions of your prospects? The left brain with its ability to make a logical argument in favor of your product or service? Or the right brain with its ability to tap into their emotions?

Actually, it’s your right brain that plays the biggest role. It’s been said that we buy on emotion and justify with logic. You see a car you like. It gives you a good feeling. You buy it. Then, your mind justifies why it was a good value.



So, if you want to be a great sales person, you’re going to have to incorporate the right brain’s need to be swayed by emotional experiences. Often that’s done through manipulation, but we’re going to approach it in an entirely different way.

For now, however, we need to understand what role the left brain plays in this process. It’s the left brain’s mastery of logic and organization that will create a context for the sale. What do I mean by that? Think of your right brain as Mozart, the boy genius. He was brilliant, but he was also incredibly irresponsible and unreliable. His father needed to make sure he got to his performances.

That’s the left brain. Your left brain makes it possible for your right brain to show up and do its magic. Your left brain organizes your time, your intentions, your activities, and your results so you can enjoy the benefit of your creative genius. So, although it’s the most boring part of the creative process (parents…what a drag!), it’s also a fundamental step in setting the stage for you to be creative in the first place. For that reason, we need to strengthen our ability to be good parents to our inner child. We need to be organized.

That process need not be rigid or boring. In fact, like a good parent, your left brain can learn to create order in your life in a way that’s fun, uplifting, and supportive to your creative side. The first quality it needs is that of flexibility. When you set goals or intentions, strive to accomplish them, but if an obstacle appears, be willing to change your strategy, timing, or even at times your goal itself. It’s so easy to get caught up in accomplishing something once you’ve decided it’s important that you may forget that you’re the one who decided it in the first place.

Let me give you an example. Several years ago, I made a commitment to myself to get out of debt by a certain date. At the time, I was carrying student loans, business loans, and a mortgage totaling over $300,000. In order to accomplish that goal, I was automatically drawing a couple thousand dollars a month and putting it directly into debt reduction. There came a time when my business was poor and I wasn’t making enough to cover all my expenses. I began to panic. What would happen if I failed to pay my bills? Would I lose my business?

A good friend pointed out to me that one of my bills was a check I wrote to myself for my debt reduction fund. It wasn’t a required expense and there would be no penalty for failing to pay it. My rigid mind rebelled. “Yes, but I NEED to make that payment. My goal DEMANDS it!” I was actually losing sleep over my financial difficulties. That is, until I finally opened to what he was saying.

I didn’t need to pay that bill. Yes, it was a commitment I’d made, and I had every intention of keeping it, but I didn’t need to beat myself up when I was in a position which made paying it impossible. Once I embraced that point of view, my stress level dropped immensely, and I



became more resourceful and optimistic. It wasn’t long before I was back on track, paying all my bills including that one.

Discipline is Freedom

One of my mentors and meditation coaches uses the saying, “Discipline is freedom.” It took a while to understand what he meant. In our modern society, we equate freedom with the ability to do whatever we want whenever we want with no consequences. We want to be able to eat what we choose, say whatever comes to our minds, and avoid unpleasant responsibilities. That, to us, is freedom.

What that fails to take into account is the captivity of our own minds. Our belief systems along with our desires are often not truly the result of free thought but of a kind of hypnotic hold that’s being exerted on us from a combination of sources. For example, you may want to feel free to eat that Milky Way candy bar, but have you considered that the desire itself is the result of a carefully planned advertising strategy being foisted on you?

Maybe your freedom isn’t so free after all. Maybe we’ve all been prisoners of our own desires, which in turn are dictated by forces outside ourselves. Are you willing to take control of your own mind and destiny? Are you ready to fight back and achieve real freedom? If you are, you need to be able to discipline yourself. You need to be stronger than your urges.

As master of your mind, you’ll be less likely to cave in to your fears and judgments. You’ll no longer feel the need to try to please your prospects by being nice when direct words are called for. You’ll stop caving in to the urges that come of anxiety and a need for acceptance. Freedom is power. And that freedom comes from discipline.

How do you develop discipline? Well, it starts by admitting that you’re not free. As Gurjieff says, “The first step for getting out of prison is realizing that you’re in prison.” Then, you need to evaluate the things you’re doing out of comfort and habit. For example, are you staying in bed too late, pushing the snooze alarm too many times? Are you drinking too much coffee or dumping sugar down your throat? Are you avoiding exercise you know you should be doing? Are you putting off projects that need your attention? Are you taking no for an answer from your clients when you know it would be more respectful to confront them?

To offer a personal example, in this book I’m introducing concepts and strategies from the divergent worlds of science, religion, philosophy, psychology, and hypnosis to convey the significance of each as it relates to sales; a daunting task. Many times, a voice in my head has said, “Don’t bother. You don’t have to do this. You’re free to do whatever you want.” The question is, is that real freedom?



As you begin to examine the ways you’re using the word freedom to justify cowardice, laziness, and inaction, you’ll understand the need to have a system and to follow that system. Therein lies your freedom. Therein lies your success.

The process of becoming organized is more appealing and easier for some people than for others. You may be someone who thinks, “I’m not organized. I can’t do this.” But, regardless of your disposition, there are ways of adding organization to your life…and enjoying it. We’ll cover some of those in a moment. If you’re looking to have more personalized help in this area, you may want to consider private coaching such as the services we offer through ISI. As we discussed earlier, the path to success starts with a dream and continues on to a plan. First you connect with your desire, then you get your left brain on board to help steer you to your success. The strategy must be useable, low‐stress, and fun because you’re going to make it a part of your life. The results should be predictable, verifiable, and reproducible. Whenever you follow the system, you should see results. If you’re going to measure your growth in any area, you need something that’s measurable. You also need to know where you are now so you can compare it to where you end up using the system. For example, if you were trying to lose weight, you’d probably begin with a chart like the one below. Each day you’d follow the system outlined and then weigh yourself to see how you’re progressing. ACTION M T W TH F S S GOALS WALK 2 MILES

X X X LOSE 15 LBS.

EAT AN APPLE

X X X BODY FAT TO 12%

AVOID SUGAR

X X WAIST 32

20 SIT UPS X X INCREASED ENERGY In using the ISI system to grow your business, you’re going to do something very similar. You’re going to list the measurable criteria and state them as a status report of where you are now. You’re going to set goals for where you want to go. You’re then going to list the individual action steps to which you’re committed and check them off as you complete each one. At the end of a given period, you’re going to assess the value of each of your action steps and use that information to modify your program for the next time interval.



Built into this graph will be all the components of the ISI system as they apply to you. Here’s the format of the chart, and after we’ve explored the other four elements of the system, we’ll fill in the blanks so you’ve got a workable program to start mastering your inner sales genius!

M T W TH F S S GOALS ACTION ACTION ACTION ACTION ACTION



Important Points from Chapter

• Writing things down is practical and empowering

• Incompletions weigh you down and diminish your sales effectiveness

• Discipline is freedom

• Graphing your progress insures your progress

Exercises

• Make a list of your incompletions

• Make a list of the habits and urges that you justify because of freedom

Bonus Sales Tip

• When leaving messages for prospects, try not to explain the reason for your call.



“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the

ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in

your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ‐Mark Twain



Chapter Four‐Energize

“The energy of the mind is the essence of life.” ‐Plutarch

To be honest, my energy isn’t particularly high right now as I write this. I’m not sure why. It might have something to do with the weather which is muggy. Maybe it’s the lack of restful sleep I got last night. It could also have something to do with the fact that I ate some chocolate, which I’ve learned has a predictably negative effect on my energy. I guess sometimes you’ve just got to cheat! Still, if you do, it’s good to have enough mindfulness to sense the effect it’s had on your body and enough discipline to limit it in the future. Plus, I’ve learned over many years that I do myself no favors when I beat myself up for my transgressions. Just accept it and move on! That’s my philosophy. I don’t want to be the guy who’s suffering over his suffering.

So, here I am, low in energy with a message to share about the importance of energy. I guess that’s irony, right? The truth is that energy is beyond important. It’s the foundation of your existence. It’s what holds the planet together. It’s what distinguishes a rock from a thought and everything in between. Life is energy. Matter is energy. Even consciousness is energy.

The science of quantum physics has discovered that matter at the subatomic level is interchangeable with energy. Particles become waves and waves become particles. Sometimes we don’t even know which is which. The entire universe is nothing but energy. Everything vibrates. The higher the vibration, the lighter and more ethereal is the substance. Have you noticed that when your energy is low, you feel heavier? You experience “a weight on your shoulders.” When your energy is high, you feel lighter. Your thoughts flow more easily. Your circulation is better as is everything that requires motion. And that’s everything because life is motion.

My meditation buddy, Barry, says there are only two forces in the universe; gravity and levity. Gravity is the force that weighs you down and levity is the force that lifts you up. The more levity you generate, the more mastery you have over gravity. This is true both at the physical and the psychological levels. Light thoughts trump heavy ones. Hope trumps despair. Joy trumps depression.

You have to realize the importance of this concept as it applies to your sales efforts. One way to put it is to say that he who has the most energy wins. If you’re more positive than your prospect is negative, you’ll have more influence over the outcome of the interaction. And, of course, the reverse is true. You need to become a master of your own energy. You need to break out of the gravitational pull of your physical and mental baggage and achieve orbit.



I like that metaphor because it correctly implies that once you’re free of the pull, things get easier. It’s always more difficult to generate the initial energy to break free, but it’s always worth it because energy begets energy. Once you’re in orbit, you don’t need to work very hard to stay there. All the work happens up front.

Most people don’t regard the importance of their energy level very highly. They experience challenges in life and try to solve them through thought and action. For example, if you have a fight with your spouse, you may keep the fight going, hoping to say or do the right thing that will convince him or her to see it your way. Or, another example; maybe you’re uneasy with certain people in the sales environment and you’re sure you can think your way out of it.

Have you noticed how ineffective that is? You can’t think your way out of a dilemma in which your emotions are stuck. Einstein said, “A problem can’t be solved at the same level of mind at which it was created.” You need to see it from a higher place. And you can’t think yourself to that higher place. You have to energize yourself there. Raising energy level occurs independent of thought.

Your energy level is most directly related to your mood. Low mood equals low energy. High mood equals high energy. When you’re stuck in crisis, conflict, frustration, or any form of ineffectiveness, you need to forget about your problem and concentrate on your energy. As I often say:

Fix the mood. Not the mess!

For one thing, that means always watching and knowing where you are energy‐wise. If your energy/mood is low, avoid taking action. That’s not the time to try to influence your prospects. You may find it helpful to remember this acronym from AA:

HALT

That stands for hungry, angry, lonely, and tired. It’s been noticed that alcoholics and addicts are more likely to relapse when they’re hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. So, they’re taught to recognize the signs of those moods, those low energy states, and to use their presence as a sign to HALT. The alcoholic develops the habit of noticing his or her internal state and thinking, “Oh, I’m hungry. No wonder I want a drink. I’d better eat.”

You can and should do that very same thing. You may not be an addict per se, but in a way, we’re all addicts. We all have patterns of thought, emotional habits, and recurrent inner voices that seem to arise most strongly when our energy begins to drain. Get in the habit of seeing where your internal dialogue is going. If it’s going somewhere negative, consider the possibility that you’re the victim of one of your thought addictions and HALT. Don’t try to solve it. Don’t



try to think your way out of it. Just take the most direct route you can to an increase in energy, and allow the issue to resolve itself.

There are short term solutions to a low mood or ineffective state, and there are long term solutions to chronically low energy. Short term, if you notice that things aren’t going well, like if you’re getting emotional or your clients are annoying you, go through the checklist below and see which applies to you. Then try the solution in the adjacent box:

HUNGRY? EAT A PIECE OF FRUIT TIRED? SLEEP/NAP/POWERBREAK ANGRY? GET IN YOUR CAR AND YELL LONELY? POSITIVE SELF TALK THIRSTY? DRINK A GLASS OF WATER DISCOURAGED? WATCH AN ACTION MOVIE DEPRESSED? WATCH A COMEDY MOVIE

Come up with some similar solutions of your own based on your experience of what’s worked in the past. The important thing to get, however, is that none of the solutions have anything to do with the issue at hand. You’re not trying to solve the problem. You’re trying to solve the mood.

Now, what about the long term solution to chronically low energy? How do you keep your energy level high so you’re consistently effective, magnetic, and fun to be around? Well, that’s where the “Discipline is Freedom” doctrine comes in. You’re going to need to build into your system a consistent energy regime. I’ll build one out for you in a moment in a somewhat general way. If you’d like to have a personalized program designed especially for you, you may want to explore our coaching programs at www.inner‐selling.com.

Here are the areas we’ll need to address in order to attack the energy demon from all angles:

• Diet and Nutrition

• Exercise

• Weight management

• Posture and structural health

• Stress reduction

• Completing incompletions

• Addiction control

• Bonding



Diet and Nutrition

There’s simply no way around this one. Food is fuel. If you’re not eating well, you’re sacrificing a substantial part of your energy, and you’re probably doing it because it feels good to eat what you’re eating and it feels bad to eat well. That’s the illusion of freedom at work. The truth is that eating well feels good and eating poorly feels bad. Your mind will reject that. Even your body will fight it. At first, if you’ve been eating toxic, low energy foods, your body will become symptomatic as you transition to a better diet. We call that detoxification. As your cells begin to heal, they release toxins into your bloodstream which eventually pass harmlessly out of your system. But first, they may give you headaches, nausea, or lowered energy. That’s temporary and you have to push through it. Remember, discipline is freedom. After about a week, you’ll find yourself favoring the healthier foods over the unhealthy ones.

If you’re used to using sugar or sweetener in everything, you’ll miss it for about a week, then you’ll enjoy the natural sweetness of the foods you eat. After about a week, sweetened foods will taste wrong to you. The same goes for salty and for overly spiced foods. You’ll develop a preference for natural flavors.

You’ll need to stop drinking sodas and processed drinks whether they contain sugar or not. You’ll want to start drinking water as your primary source of fluids. Stop coffee or any caffeinated beverage. Caffeine has a damaging effect on your adrenal glands and causes you to have a chronically low energy level. This may be confusing if you’re used to using caffeine to raise your energy, but that effect is temporary.

In much the same way that an alcoholic craves alcohol to create a particular effect only to experience a rebound to a lower state, caffeine and sugar raise your blood sugar giving you a burst of energy and then rob you of the energy about an hour later. Running your blood sugar up and down in this manner eventually depletes your adrenal glands and causes a burn‐out effect which you experience as sluggishness.

Start your day with a healthy breakfast. You need nourishment to fuel your brain activity. You may do what I do which is to make a protein shake using plain yogurt, skim milk, protein powder, berries, nuts, and cinnamon. You may choose a more conventional breakfast like eggs. Either way, skip the toast or limit it to one slice of whole grain bread.

Drink water; lots of water all day long. I recommend at least three liters of water per day. Keep a water bottle with you and sip from it frequently. Also, there are specific vitamins and supplements that will help boost your energy. Consult our resource pages for recommended reading in this area.



For lunch, I recommend salads. I’m partial to a Chicken Caesar or Mediterranean Salad with feta cheese. And again, more water.

Dinner should be balanced with lots of vegetables and some protein. Don’t eat dessert (unless this is one of those days when you’re cheating…but then at least notice how it affects you)

This isn’t a diet book, so I’m not going to go into a great deal of detail on what works and why, but those who participate in our coaching programs get a comprehensive meal plan, including what the best snacks are, which vitamins to take, and specifically when to eat. For information about those programs, contact us at www.inner-selling.com

Exercise

I’ve always been incredibly resistant to exercise. I know all the benefits as I’m sure you do. Yet, I’ve often put exercise off, avoiding it when I know I should be doing it. Now that I’ve got a system, I always do my exercise. It’s built into my lifestyle in a way that works for me. If you want to reap the benefits of exercise, you’ll have to arrange your program so it works for you.

What are the benefits of exercise? Well, for starters, it gives you more energy. Exercise lowers your blood pressure, strengthens your immune system, increases your basal metabolic rate, decreases your heart rate and therefore your chance of heart disease, moderates blood sugar, builds your muscles, removes dangerous fat from your internal organs, increases your lifespan, makes you smarter, makes you look better, and decreases your risk of many chronic illnesses. Each of those is a proven benefit, and that’s just a drop in the bucket. The benefits of exercise are too numerous to mention.

The problem is that when you’re not exercising, you’re not in touch with what it feels like to be fit. It doesn’t seem like that big a deal. Or it seems like the benefits are too far away. But, it turns out that just a little bit of exercise begins to impact your sense of well‐being within just a few days of beginning a program. Granted, if you’ve got a lot of weight to lose or a weak heart, it may be a while before those problems resolve, but you will see something positive almost immediately; at least enough to motivate you to continue.

Here’s an idea if you’re among those who have a difficult time getting motivated to get started. It’s a concept I coined in my first book, UnHypnosis, and it applies very well here.

Wash one dish

I always tell people when they say they’re too lazy to clean their house and that it’s a terrible mess, “Wash one dish. That’s it. Wash that one dish, and then stop…unless you want to keep going.” Guess what happens. Once they wash the one dish, they figure why not finish them all



and have a clean sink. Once they’ve finished the dishes, they look around at the rest of the kitchen and often decide to take care of just that one room. You can see how it proceeds!

With regard to exercise, you can start just that small. Walk one block. Swim one lap. Bike one mile. Just as long as you take action in a positive direction, you’re assured of success. You’ll often find that once you begin it isn’t long before you’re increasing your regime because it feels that good!

Your exercise program should consist of both cardiovascular exercise and strengthening exercise. You need to increase your cardiovascular fitness so you’re carrying more oxygen to your cells and so they use that oxygen most efficiently. You need strengthening exercise to support your skeletal system and to develop lean body mass; that is metabolically active tissue that will burn fat and keep your energy level high. If you’re not already familiar with how to create an exercise system, I recommend that you find someone who can do that for you. If you’re interested in having us create your exercise program and help motivate you to follow it, contact us at www.inner-selling.com.

Weight Management

I’m not someone who’s had to struggle terribly with my weight. I’ve gotten as much as fifteen pounds overweight and that’s about it. But I’ve got to tell you, even those fifteen pounds made a BIG difference in my performance. I was sluggish. I was unhappy. Not because of the weight; that is I wasn’t ruminating about being overweight. I’m not sure it even registered as a problem in my mind. But my body was inefficient.

As a result, I found myself cutting corners; not doing everything I had wanted to do or that was within my power to do. I had lists of new business ideas, but I just didn’t care enough about them to follow through. It never occurred to me that I was just too tired to care. Once I got the weight off, my motivation returned. I started completing tasks I’d put off and I began to see an upturn in my business. I also started enjoying being around people, which I hadn’t for a while.

The most interesting part about all that was how little awareness I had about how I felt. You know the old saying. You don’t miss what you don’t have. If you don’t have energy, you don’t miss it. Then when you start getting it back you think, “Wow. This feels good! Why didn’t I do this sooner?”

Knowing that getting motivated to lose weight is often difficult; let me tell you what I did. I had a contest with my friend Sacha. We both wanted to lose nine pounds. So we gave ourselves three weeks. Whoever didn’t lose the weight had to pay the other one $250. You can bet that motivated me! I did everything I could think of to get those extra pounds off. And guess what? I won!



In a moment, I’ll tell you exactly what I did, but first let me say that I highly recommend the contest method. When you’ve got something to lose you’re much more likely to follow through on your commitments and to achieve your goals. Below is a reprint of the system I used to lose weight. Notice that it incorporates both diet and exercise. I also employed some mindfulness techniques not on the graph that will be explained in a later chapter.

Postural/Structural Health

As a chiropractic physician, I always trained my patients in the various elements of holistic health or natural well‐being. I counseled them on diet, exercise, stress reduction, and the proper way to lift. We discussed the marriage of physical and mental well‐being and how one affects the other. But of all the tools I taught, shared, and delivered, none was more important or less understood than the area of structural health. This area is almost exclusively the domain of the chiropractor and osteopath, but in recent years it’s also been taken up by physical therapists, physiatrists, and other allopathic practitioners.

Our bodies come equipped with a spinal column which is a marvel of engineering. Composed of twenty four articulating bones, it somehow manages to play a few seemingly contradictory roles. On the one hand, it’s the foundation upon which all our other parts hang. Usually, when you think of a foundation, you think of something rigid and immoveable. But the spinal column also has the capacity to flex, extend, bend, and twist with relative ease. How it manages to successfully provide support while simultaneously being highly mobile is a mystery.

The spinal column serves one more function, and this third function is both its most important and its most improbable. It acts as a protective housing for the spinal cord, which is in essence an extension of the brain. The central nervous system, the very director of our every move and function, passes through this oddly mobile foundation. Nerves sneak out through holes at regular intervals along its length and orchestrate life itself. Every signal to and from your brain passes along these nerves to maintain normal bodily activity.

DRINK 3L WATER 30 SIT/PUSHUPS WALK 4 MILES NO CAFFEINE NO SUGAR 3 PCS. FRUIT NO REFINED CARBS 1 SALAD/DAY



Minor changes in spinal function are relatively common owing to the complex relationship between movement, structure, and protection. When these malfunctions occur it’s not unusual to have irritations along a nerve pathway resulting in pain, disease, or diminished function of some organ or system. Yet, with such an enormous amount at stake, we still abuse and neglect our spines on a regular basis.

Uncorrected spinal problems like misalignment and motion restriction can lead to short term joint, nerve, and organ malfunction as well as long term degenerative changes like osteoarthritis. If you want to manifest better health and well‐being and increase your energy, vitality, and resistance to disease, I strongly encourage you to seek regular spinal care and to treat your spine with respect.

One patient I treated during my days in chiropractic practice was the CEO of a large computer firm based in northern Vermont. He’d been suffering with chronic back pain which ultimately led him to my office. After a short period of time, he reported not only a reduction in pain, but increased mobility, greater vitality, an increase in libido, and a feeling of being more focused at work.

Another patient, a famous race car driver (without naming names, his father was also a famous race car driver) sought my care prior to the Indianapolis 500. His eyes weren’t tracking properly and his focus was suffering. One treatment of a misaligned neck bone brought his eyes into perfect balance, and he went on to win the race.

Over the years of my chiropractic career, now many years ago, I treated movie stars, book moguls, elite athletes, billionaires, and even a famous ice cream maker (not Ben). In many of these cases, these high performers found that they could perform at a higher level still after receiving spinal care.

Your spine is your lifeline. Your posture is fundamental to your health and your appearance. A strong spine leads to a strong body, and a strong body can support a strong mind. If you want to excel in the area of sales, don’t neglect your spine. Find a good chiropractor in your area and make regular care part of your regime.

Stress Reduction

It’s no secret. We live in a stressful world. Millions of bits of information are competing for our attention, and we’ve only got so much of it. Family, career, finances, and a host of other areas are constantly playing tug‐of‐war with our time which is equally finite. Then there are the failures, the disappointments, the challenges, the crises, and the interpersonal problems that add fuel to the fire. It’s no wonder we’re exhausted. In fact, there’s a very good explanation for why we’re running on empty.



The body’s response to stress is physiological, not psychological. It’s a pretty cool system. Here’s how it works. When you’re exposed to something stressful whether it’s physical, mental, or emotional, your endocrine organs, particularly your adrenal glands, swell up and release a surge of chemicals called hormones. Those chemicals cause your heart rate to increase, your eyes to dilate, your blood pressure to spike, your skin to sweat, and your muscles to fill up with blood. This reaction is called the fight or flight mechanism and it’s extremely useful if you’re, say, being chased by an elephant. Not quite as useful if the stress is from an argument with your spouse or a failed business deal.

After that initial surge of adrenalin and other hormones, your body becomes exhausted. You’re depleted. And you need to rest. Again, once you manage to outrun the elephant, you can curl up in a cave and get some shut‐eye. This allows your glands and organs to recover so you can get back to normal.

In our modern society, we’ve added things to be stressed about (at least from our limited view of reality) and removed opportunities to recover from that stress. Over time our adrenals become exhausted. They can no longer respond appropriately to continued stress. We’re no longer very good at outrunning the elephant, and we’re not very good at the rest phase either. We’re edgy, agitated, and uneasy.

When you bring that kind of energy into your sales calls, you’re not likely to be very effective. So, you need to learn how to control and manage stress. Here are a few ideas.

1. Learn to make light of the things that are currently aggravating you. In all likelihood it’s not as big a deal as you’re making it. Anyway, nothing has any meaning but the meaning we give it. So why not put a positive spin on your challenges so you don’t get stressed in the first place.

2. Make sure you know why you’re doing what you do. Stress and its close relative burnout are often the result of doing things without a clear sense of why you’re doing them. When you connect with your bigger purpose, you’re less likely to sweat the details along the way.

3. When you’re experiencing a stress reaction, HALT. Remember to shift your attention away from the stressor and put it on whatever can bring you to a higher level of energy in a natural and sustainable way.

4. Get regular exercise and eat well. Also, drink lots of water. Those strategies, which we’ve already discussed, make you more impervious to stress and give you a greater reserve of the hormones you’ll need when stress arises.

5. Take a Power Break. We haven’t discussed this yet, but later you’ll learn a technique for quickly resting your body and mind while resetting your emotional battery. This is essential for giving your adrenals the rest they need after a fight or flight episode.



6. If you can, sleep more. The higher the stress, the more sleep you need. If you’re living in our modern world and not getting at least eight hours of sleep, you’re on the fast track to destruction. You may get ahead, but only for so long. Then you get to be the first one buried.

7. Learn an emotional balancing technique like EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) which can help you release the energy of a stressor very quickly and bring about deep relaxation. Our consulting programs include a segment on how to use EFT. Visit us at www.inner-selling.com.

Complete your incompletions

We’ve already discussed this in the segment on organizing, but it bears repeating here. Every single incompletion in your life is a drain on your energy. If you don’t become conscious of what’s on your back burner and bring it to the front burner you’ll be doomed to feeling poorly and not know why.

When you list your to‐do items, prioritize them into one of a few categories. Either they’re of supreme importance and need immediate attention; or they’re of moderate importance and can be done at a later time; or they’re no longer important and can be stricken from your list. After you’ve removed the items you no longer need to attend to, place the moderately important items on your calendar to be done on a specific date. As long as they’ve got a time for your consideration, the energy they’re draining from you will begin to dissipate. Those items of supreme importance need to be done or at least begun…TODAY.

Addiction Recovery

This is a fascinating area. Over the years, I’ve worked with people who have addictions like the kinds you might imagine; drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling, etc. Then there are people who have equally gripping addictions to things you’ve probably never thought of as being addictive; sugar, caffeine, worrying, complaining, playing victim, fighting, etc. The reality is that all addictions are fundamentally the same.

Let me give you an example. You’re a drug addict (I hope not). You think, “I don’t like the way I feel. I’m going to get high. Then I’ll feel better.” Then you use, and for a while you do feel better. After a while, you think, “I don’t feel that great anymore. In fact, I feel terrible.” You think,” I’m an idiot for doing those drugs. I know they’re terrible for me. Why do I do that to myself? Am I a moron???” Then you feel even worse. You’re guilty, self‐loathing, and depressed. You think, “I feel terrible. I don’t like the way I feel. I’m going to get high. I mean, why not? I’m hopeless anyway. I might as well get out of pain”….. And on and on it goes!



OK, now you’re a successful sales executive in a bad marriage (again, I hope not). You think, “I don’t like the way I feel. I think I’ll tell my husband what I think of him.” So you do, and for a while you feel better. After a while, you don’t feel so well anymore. You begin to criticize and second‐guess yourself for blowing up at him. You become guilty, self‐loathing, and depressed. You bring those feelings home with you and somehow find yourself having the same fight all over again. Can you see the parallel?

Here’s one more. You’re overweight. You want to be thin, but you haven’t been in a long time. When you look in the mirror, you get depressed. What do you do when you’re depressed? Right. You eat. And eat. And eat. It actually dulls the pain of your self‐loathing. Until you stop eating and look in the mirror. You feel hopeless, depressed, guilty….

All addictions have the same pattern and lead to the same place. All that’s different is your drug of choice. Whatever you’re using to make you feel better is just a cheap substitute for what you really need. What do you really need? Let’s table that for a later discussion. For now, let’s just agree that if you don’t stop playing out your addiction, you’re going to wear your adrenals down to a nub and you won’t have the energy God gave a sloth.

If you don’t know what to do to beat your addictive patterns, hang in there. We’ll be exploring that question in some detail during the hypnosis section of this book. If you think you’re in trouble, that your addiction is severe or life threatening, please seek professional help immediately and attend a 12‐step meeting pertaining to your particular addiction. If you need more information, contact us at www.inner-selling.com.

Bonding

Joseph Chilton Pierce, author of The Magical Child and several other works of philosophical genius, describes the evolution of a human being as a series of bonding experiences. When you’re born, you’re bonded with your mother. Later, you shift your primary bond to your father. As you get older, you begin forming bonds with friends, lovers, and eventually a significant other. Somewhere in the evolutionary process comes a time when the healthy, growing individual forms a primary bond with him or herself. A fully actualized human being has such a complete connection to self that others can come and go while they remain complete and fulfilled. This is an important point to reach, and it has significant implications in the sales environment.

The person who is bonded to self has something Bob Burg calls posture. Not in the sense we used the word when discussing spinal care (although physical posture is often related) but a kind of emotional posture; solidity, confidence, detachment, and energy. Someone with posture has the greatest chance of engaging others in a business endeavor because people can



sense that they care…but not too much. They’re not tripping over themselves to make the sale. They have appropriate distance, a concept I coined in my first book, UnHypnosis.

Pierce feels that one of the last bonds we must form before we can achieve healthy bonding with self is with the earth, with nature. That is, we must come to feel connected to nature, to our surroundings. We must gain an awareness of our part in the circle of life. We must see ourselves as natural beings at home on this green planet.

How do we do that? By making a physical connection with nature. Don’t take my word for this. Instead, try some of the following and see if you don’t start gaining more energy, feeling more peaceful, and becoming more naturally influential:

1. Walk on grass or soil with your shoes off 2. Roll down a hill like a kid 3. Walk through the woods and touch the trees 4. Breathe deeply the smells of the forest 5. Walk barefoot on a beach and let the surf wash your feet 6. Stomp in puddles 7. Lay in a meadow conscious of your weight on the earth 8. Notice the beauty around you at all times

So now that we’ve covered a number of strategies for increasing your energy, it’s time to put them to use. When you’re using some of these methods in your daily routine, you’ll find a transformation taking place. Very soon, you’ll begin to notice opportunities you’d let slip by, a willingness to try more things and meet more people, and a natural magnetism that radiates from you to those you meet.

You’ll also notice that your magnetism will be reflected back to you in the form of willing attention from your prospects. Ultimately, what you’ll notice from just beginning to attend to your energy is a dramatic increase in sales. And when that happens, I hope you’ll write and let me know about your personal miracle!



Important points from Chapter Four

• Life is energy, and he who has the most wins

• Energy is mood

• When mood is low, fix the mood not the mess

• HALT

• Wash one dish. Start with small changes

Exercises

• Start drinking 3 liters of water per day

• Notice when you’re in a stressful situation and lighten up

• Make a list of what you can do for diet, exercise, and weight management

• Prioritize your to‐do list and put action steps on your calendar

Bonus Sales Tip

• State your intentions and get agreement at the beginning of every sales call. For example, you might say, “Bob, I’d like to listen to your concerns then tell you what I would suggest and then answer any of your questions. Does that seem like a fair plan?”



“The unexamined life is not worth living.”

‐Socrates



Chapter Five‐Realize

“Try not to become a person of success but rather try to become a person of value.”

‐Albert Einstein

Someone recently wrote me with a list of concerns about his selling career. The list included:

1. I can’t get my prospects to call me back. 2. My company has no leadership. 3. We’re expected to do things the old way which doesn’t work anymore. 4. Our boss doesn’t understand relationship building.

Granted, these are all valid concerns and need to be addressed. The first one in particular is one I’ve heard many times and which I’ve struggled with myself. Do I have answers to that and the other concerns? Absolutely. I’ve learned a lot about getting past gatekeepers, sparking interest, wooing prospects, getting prospects to call me, and dealing with leadership issues.

But, these questions and others like them reflect a misunderstanding at a very fundamental level. We all want to believe that there’s a magic bullet; a series of things to DO to change our circumstances. But the real magic, the real transformation in your results comes when you change the way you’re being first.

If your prospects aren’t calling you back, there’s a pretty good likelihood that you’re not projecting the right energy when you leave messages. That can come from any number of issues, and we’ll address many of them in this chapter. For example, you may have a problem with your belief system. Perhaps you don’t really believe in your product or yourself. Maybe you’ve got a fear of rejection which you’re projecting inadvertently into your phone voice. Perhaps you’re overworked and frustrated, causing your initial contact with prospects to have a taint of negativity.

Other possibilities are that you project desperation, often the case when you’ve had a long dry spell, or that you’re bringing a pre‐conceived notion into the conversation that tells your lead subconsciously that you don’t expect him or her to be a good prospect.

Regardless of what it is, you need to acknowledge the possibility that you’re doing something, own it, discover what it is, and then transform that inner experience. What you need to begin to understand at a gut level, in your very bones, is that you are your business. If your business is sluggish, it’s because you are sluggish. If your business is frustrating, it’s your frustration that you are projecting into it. You will continue to manifest exactly what you’re getting until you dig out the truth and shine light on it.



The science of prosperity teaches that if you’re not making ends meet, it’s a consciousness problem, not a money problem. You may think that you can close the gap between what you make and what you need by making more, but it won’t work. As soon as you make more, you’ll need more. The gap cannot be closed by more money; only by more consciousness; meaning wisdom.

That’s the purpose of this chapter. It’s about realization. Realizing what? Realizing yourself. Self‐realization is a spiritual and philosophical principle as old as thought. Socrates said, “Know thyself.” George Santayana said, “He who fails to learn from his history is doomed to repeating it.” And I say, “You can discover yourself or you can spend your life blaming the world for your inevitable failure.”

This guy I mentioned didn’t realize it, but he was blaming everyone but himself for his mediocre results. Were there factors at play outside himself? Sure. But as he later discovered, once you get right on the inside you’re more powerful than your circumstances. They may weigh you down but only in the way that a pebble would weigh down a 747. Once you achieve critical momentum, you’ll achieve lift‐off despite those obstacles. You can make progress or make excuses.

Self‐realization means bringing all your subconscious stuff to the surface. What makes you tick? What do you believe about yourself? What are your values? How congruent are your actions with those values? How much do you believe in your product or service?

A clear‐minded, well intentioned individual who believes in him or herself and his or her product can produce miracles. The problem is that most of us are walking around unconscious. As long as your explanation for your circumstances resides outside yourself, you’re powerless to grow and change. You’ll never become a success.

The minute you own your results the world opens to you. So, this is a call to honesty. I want you to probe yourself, your values, and your beliefs. I want you to be ruthless. Shine a spotlight on the darkest, dingiest parts of your soul. Remember, what you resist persists. If you keep avoiding the truth of your inner demons, you’re going to keep being a hostage to them. When you admit them and embrace them, you rise above them. As Jesus said, “The truth shall set you free.” But first, it’ll hurt like hell!

You need to be courageous if you’re going to move forward. Are you willing to take responsibility for your success or failure? Are you willing to believe that you can achieve greatness despite humble beginnings, annoying bosses, whiney clients, and a lousy sales script? If so, read on.



Purpose

One of the things you’ll need to notice about yourself is the degree to which you are on purpose. Are your mind and intention directed towards the outcome you say you seek? Are you distracted? When you’re in your office, taking calls, visiting a client, or planning your day how much of your attention is on the thing you’re doing at the time? Are you fully engaged or are you thinking about something else? What percentage of your mind is on the distraction and what percentage is on the moment? Ideally, 100% of your attention should be on the task at hand.

John was a great salesman. He broke company records and made a million dollars before he was thirty five. He had a system, confidence, and an affable manner. When he was in his fifteenth year at the company, he went through an ugly divorce. His business fell off. He lost existing clients. His referral rate dropped dramatically.

What happened? He was still doing all the same things, using the same sales scripts, calling with the same frequency. What was lost was his focus; his purpose. He was emotionally split. Part of him wanted to conduct his business as usual but part was lost in thought about the impending divorce. What was interesting about the story was that he thought he was doing everything right and couldn’t understand his poor results. Often we don’t see the degree to which our focus has slipped, which is why this process requires so much honesty, diligence, and courage.

Once we brought it to his attention and taught him focusing techniques, John was quickly back on target making and exceeding quota and feeling much more like himself.

Now it’s time for you to ask yourself the same question. Are you off purpose? Has your attention been slipping away to extraneous things? If it has, start by admitting it. Later we’ll explore methods for strengthening your ability to maintain focus on a particular area, and you’ll find that when you learn those methods, not only will your work improve but so will that thing that’s been distracting you and seemingly requiring all your mental energy.

Intention

Let me introduce a word that comes from the transformational movement. I believe it was first coined by Werner Erhardt back in the seventies. Counterintention is the process of sabotaging a project because of an unexpressed feeling towards a colleague, employer, spouse, or any other individual for whom the desired outcome would be a benefit. Often the process takes place below the level of consciousness. In other words, you may not realize that you’re doing it.

The irony of counterintention is that it usually creates just as negative a consequence for the individual doing it as for those toward whom it’s directed. If you’re angry, resentful, or hostile



towards your boss, for example, you may sabotage your sales results just to prevent him or her from benefitting even though you yourself suffer as well. Naturally, if you realized you were doing this, you’d probably take a different approach.

Alexia was in telephone sales. She had a similar job years before and had been very good at it. Now, she was employed by a man who she regarded as a bit of a tyrant. He made what she felt were unreasonable demands, did very little to acknowledge her when she did well, and had what she described as a “neurotic manner.” Since Alexia wasn’t one to confront people, she kept her mouth shut. But, over the time she was there, she never really excelled. Besides, she was depressed and had begun to overeat.

You may recognize this scenario. Is your employer, spouse, or coworker ungrateful, controlling, unreasonable, lacking in vision, tyrannical? Are you finding that a part of you is resentful? When you work, do you find yourself wanting to take frequent breaks or put in less than complete effort? Are you noticing mediocre results and maybe even contemplating a job change?

The remedy for counterintention is communication. There’s no way around it. And guess who the first communication is with? Right. With yourself. You need to face the truth; to realize your negative feelings and own your poor performance. You need to believe that your lack of communication, not the behavior of the guilty party, is the requisite cause of your failure.

Once you’ve done that and you can honestly take responsibility for your feelings, you need to communicate outwardly. To whom? Not your best friend, not your spouse (unless she’s the person you’ve got a problem with), not your dog, not your priest, and not your therapist…but the person with whom you’re having the problem.

This isn’t a book about communication so I won’t go into detail about how to have that discussion, but if you’re interested in learning how to do that, you may want to consider my seminar, How to Be Honest Without Alienating Everyone You Know. We also cover this in a segment of the Inner Selling Institute.

Once you’ve communicated honestly, you’ll be amazed at what happens. You’ll likely find that your work improves and that your results skyrocket. Or, you’ll discover that you definitely don’t belong in that job and you’ll start looking for something more suited to you. Either way, you’ll get valuable feedback.

Alexia did talk to her boss. She used techniques we taught her like I statements, buffers and fogging, and she was able to get her concerns across to him. It turned out that he really wasn’t such a bad guy after all. He was a little green, a little overeager, and yes, a bit of a control freak…but he knew that about himself. Once she made him aware of her frustration, he toned it down quite a bit, and they actually started getting along. She even told me that they had a



laugh over it some weeks later. Alexia decided she really liked the job and she began to bring enthusiasm into her day. Now she’s breaking sales records for the company, and everyone’s getting along great.

Values

What are values? They are the qualities we hold dear, the things that we think are important, and which we strive to make part of our day to day existence. Often, our values exist below the surface of our conscious recognition yet they drive every decision we make. It’s been said that our values are implicit in the behaviors we exhibit when we don’t think anyone’s looking.

Our conscious mind checks in with our value system in every waking moment. If our values include kindness, compassion, honesty, integrity, courage, and diligence, we’re likely to act with openness. If we’ve absorbed values like protection, self‐preservation, hatred, suspicion, laziness, and lust, we’re likely to treat others with hostility and will likely blame them for our misfortune.

Our values are generally decided for us early in life. Our parents and society around us enculturate us or imprint us with values that we seldom, if ever, question. If we’re very fortunate, we’ve been given good, life‐sustaining values. But, whether good or bad, we are imprisoned by those values until we step outside them and observe them from a distance, employing our God‐given right to re‐script our reality.

Unexamined values result in unconscious behavior. For example, someone may have developed a prejudice towards a particular ethnic group, and as a result has formed harsh judgments of individuals in that group. His mind will justify his judgments, and it may never occur to him that his preconceived prejudice prevents him from seeing any evidence with which he could develop a favorable view. As a result, he’s trapped within his notion of reality. Not only is he doing harm to those he judges, but he’s doing harm to himself by living in the box created by his narrow view of reality.

Making the unconscious conscious is a challenging task, since we’ve been trained to leave those things that define us unquestioned. But if we start from the premise that none of our values are inherently real or unquestionable, we can dig deeply into our subconscious mental structure and bring the illusions with which we live into the light of day.

Once we bring something into our awareness, there’s very little we need to do to change it. It is, in fact, the unconsciousness of the thing which gives it its power. By simply noticing our negativity our mind will instantly become mobilized on a subconscious level to correct the discrepancy between where we are and where we’d like to be.



Many people notice their negativity and in a misguided attempt to grow and improve begin to over‐think how to fix themselves. In doing this, they often end up heaping negativity upon negativity, as their self‐judgments push them even further from the ideals they’ve set.

Instead, try noticing your shortcomings with compassion and self‐love, faithful in the fact that the mere uncovering of them will set into motion a deep re‐organization of your personality. Just step out of the way and let it happen.

How do we discover our values? How do we gain clarity about what, up to now, has been subconscious? Brian Tracy, one of the world’s best known and respected sales trainers and motivational speakers, recommends three key steps for knowing our values.

First, he suggests we examine our past and current behaviors. They are a direct reflection of what we value. How have we treated others? Have we been honest? Have we gravitated towards, or away, from getting something for nothing? How hard have we worked to achieve what we’ve wanted? Have we been willing to pay the price for success, or have we been looking for short cuts? How do we react when we don’t get our way? What’s our view of situations in which we’re mistreated? If we’ve agreed to do something, how reliable have we been about doing it? If we’re called on something we’ve done wrong, how have we viewed the correction? Do we become defensive, or do we accept criticism gracefully and gratefully? When we’re triggered by someone else’s actions, who do we see as responsible? Is it their fault for making us mad? Or do we see the emotional response as something we’ve generated and which we’ve got responsibility to overcome?

Try to answer these and other such questions as honestly and ruthlessly as possible. Accept, in advance, the likelihood that you’ve thus far fallen short of the ideal towards which you now strive, and that it’s courageous to look dispassionately at your own shortcomings. Liken this inquiry to turning on the light in a very dirty, disorganized room, one you haven’t been into in a very long time, if at all. When you turn on the light, things look worse than before, but now that the light’s on, you can begin the cleaning, organizing process.

The second method is to contemplate our reputation, the one we have now and the one we’d like to have. We ask ourselves: How do people view me? Do they count on me? Do they trust me? Do they feel safe in my presence? Do they enjoy my company? Do they expect great things from me? For our future reputation, we ask ourselves: How would I like to be seen? How would I like to be remembered? What would I like to be famous for? What would I like said about me at my funeral?

The third method for clarifying our values recommended by Brian Tracy is to think about the people we respect, admire, and aspire to be like. What qualities do they possess? Where do their strengths lie? What is it about them that we want to emulate?



To get more insight into the idea of values, here’s a list of values I was able to identify using the methods I’ve described. I’d say that the process of self‐discovery was one of the most illuminating and empowering things I’ve ever done, and I highly recommend that you try it yourself.

My values are: kindness, friendship, helpfulness, openness, honesty, integrity, persistence, clarity, resourcefulness, leisure time, privacy, presence, faith, rationality, intelligence, humor, detachment, prosperity‐consciousness, eloquence, responsibility, courage, impeccability, and reliability.

If you do this exercise and discover any values which you don’t like, allow them to dissolve on their own accord. Those which you like are the foundation of your future success. Cherish them. Strive to live your life being congruent, that is consistent, in your values and behaviors. If, for example, you value honesty, you must always be honest, even when there are no foreseeable consequences to being dishonest. Last week, I went to a matinee movie at a multi‐plex cinema. When it ended, I was still in the mood to see another movie which was playing directly across the hall from the one I was leaving. It would have been easy to stroll across the hall and watch the second movie without being discovered by the staff.

But I couldn’t do that. It would have violated my commitment to honesty. So, I walked the mile and a half to the other end of the hallway and paid for a second ticket. Part of me felt stupid. Years ago, I wouldn’t have thought twice about sneaking into the second movie. Hell, I would have been looking for ways to sneak into the first one! But, having examined my values, I now hold myself to a higher standard. And the rewards for that change have been evident. I’ve come to value this axiom:

Positive values plus diligent adherence in outer behavior equals inner peace.

Beliefs

Nothing has such a direct impact on our success in life as our beliefs. Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, says “What the mind conceives and believes, it achieves.” Joseph Chilton Pierce, author of Magical Child, says “Belief effects perception.” Our beliefs affect what we see and what we accomplish.

Maxwell Maltz, author of Psycho‐Cybernetics, elaborates an entire system of thought and action based on the idea that our subconscious mind, the home of our beliefs, acts as a servo‐mechanism, like an autopilot, driving us inexorably towards our goals. Once we are able to impress a belief upon our subconscious mind, it will act non‐stop, changing and correcting our behavior in order to guarantee that we arrive at a desired outcome.



While our limiting beliefs are responsible for our falling short of our desires, most of us don’t believe that. We’ve been fooled. Not only have we been sold a whole boat‐load of disempowering beliefs, but we’ve been sold the lock that keeps them in place, itself a belief. We believe that it’s the world around us, or some uncorrectable shortcoming of ours which limits us, and that our beliefs have very little to do with those limits.

In my seminars, I give people who claim a poor memory a list of twenty or more random items to memorize in under a minute. In a hypnotic state, they are able to recite the entire list without skipping a beat. Beliefs about our limitations are usually false and can be changed through self‐hypnosis, which we’ll explore in a later chapter.

The Elephant

In India, the method for training an elephant is as follows. When the elephant is very young, you tie its leg to a small post with a thin piece of rope. At that age the elephant hasn’t the power to break the rope or dislodge the post. It tries for a while and then gives up. As the elephant grows, there’s no reason to increase the girth of the rope or the post. The elephant of course reaches such size and strength that it could, if it wanted to, easily break free from the restraint. But having tried and failed it stops trying, convinced that it’s entrapped.

Most of the limits we experience are in our heads. We reinforce them through our use of language. “I could never do that!” “Cold calls are too hard for me.” “I’m afraid they’ll think I’m too pushy.”

If you’re to succeed in achieving your life’s dreams, you must begin to adopt what motivational speaker Wayne Dyer calls No Limit Thinking. What you can’t do is only what you can’t do YET. There is no obstacle which you can’t overcome. You are equipped like every other human being with the capabilities necessary to accomplish your goals. Author Richard Bach says:

“Nobody is given a dream without the power to make it come true.”

If you start from this position, each obstacle is merely a challenge to be overcome, and each challenge is a welcome opportunity to exercise your skills of resourcefulness, creativity, and persistence. Life becomes a grand adventure!

Most of us have been heaped with disempowering, cumbersome, and false beliefs about ourselves and the world around us. To make matters worse, beliefs are hard to change because of the method we use for applying evidence to substantiate them. Sometime in life we develop a belief which starts as a misinterpretation of an event in our lives. It is reinforced by subsequent misinterpretations to the point of being seen as incontrovertible fact. We make our beliefs into reality.



Suppose you’ve had a series of disappointments in your sales results. After a while, you might develop the belief that you’re not capable of success. Once you’ve set that belief in motion, you’ve got a million different ways that you can subconsciously sabotage your success, proving the reality of the belief. To change the belief, you’d have to fly in the face of both historical evidence and emotions. That’s a lot of power! What’s the answer? Where can you find the strength to overcome such powerful evidence?

Reframing

The answer is something known as reframing. Reframing is a method contained within Neurolinguistic Programming, or NLP, the study of language and non‐verbal communication, and its effect on our reality. It was developed by Richard Bandler and John Grinder, as a codification of the methods of famous hypnotherapist, Milton Erickson.

Reframing is a technique for looking at a particular situation or set of circumstances and challenging oneself to find the most empowering, resourceful interpretation of that situation. It often requires creative thinking and is underlined by the idea that no situation has an inherently correct interpretation except that which we give it. In other words, there are many ways to view any circumstance and our charge is not to find the right interpretation but to find the most useful interpretation, the one that helps us meet our goals.

Suppose it’s your goal to double your commissions. Which is a more useful frame to put around your earlier string of disappointments? That you were, in fact, fundamentally incapable or that you needed some new information? Which evaluation would support your growth?

There are probably some among you who, like me in the past, feel that reframing a situation is inherently dishonest. If you’re one of them, let me suggest that you challenge your underlying belief that your negative interpretation of a situation is correct. Just because it feels true and has a historical context doesn’t make it true. Maybe yours is the misinterpretation?

Here are some powerful reframes, which, once adopted by your deep subconscious mind, will activate your enthusiasm, creativity, and sense of possibility:

There are no problems, only opportunities.

Those who cause me emotional pain are my teachers.

Helping others get what they want ensures that I’ll get what I want.

My failures don’t prove my incapability but my lack of adequate knowledge to this point.

There is no failure; only feedback.



Use your upsets for self‐discovery

To identify limiting beliefs and adopt new empowering ones, you can use what upsets you as a guide. Every limiting belief shows up clearly at the exact moment it becomes limiting in the form of unhappiness. A truly healthy person has no conditions necessary for happiness. They’re happy and project happiness no matter what’s going on, even in traffic or with a big zit on the side of their noses.

You can yell at them, show up late for their piano recital, gossip about them, or forget their birthday, and guess what? They’ll still be happy. They’re too busy being happy, designing and living their lives, to spend one minute worrying or ruminating about what they don’t have. They realize that life won’t conform to their expectations, so they release those expectations, letting them go as an old pair of ill‐fitting shoes. Because they’ve shed their demands and expectations, their addiction to circumstances, they don’t have separating emotions like anger, jealousy, insecurity, lust, or frustration.

How do you become one of those people? You start by committing to being such a person and learning to reframe your belief systems so you’re living with them as your new reality. Then, you accept that each situation you encounter is being given to you as an opportunity to shine light on your limitations, so you can learn from it. It’s the grist for your mill.

Use questions

To reframe your troubling situations as transformational opportunities, you need to ask yourself some questions whenever you become upset. The line of inquiry goes like this:

1. What, specifically, pushed my button, and what button did it push?

2. What does this button say about what I believe to be true or right?

3. What does that say about my core beliefs about me or the world?

4. What is a more empowering belief which can replace this one?

Let’s take a real example from a client:

1. I leave messages for prospects but rarely get a response. I’m frustrated and doubtful.

2. I SHOULD be able to get through to them. What’s wrong with me?

3. I’ve felt this way before. There’s a part of me that doesn’t think I’m worth listening to.

4. I’m going to adopt the belief that I’m fascinating and irresistible.



Naturally, uncovering a disempowering belief and committing to a new empowering one isn’t as simple as writing down a few words on a piece of paper. But it’s a start. The next step is learning to operate your subconscious mind in a way that allows you choice over what you think, see and believe. That part of our system comes later, but for now continue discovering your true self. Self realization isn’t a one‐time thing but a lifelong commitment.

Perceptions

As a magician, it’s my job to cause people to misperceive; to see things that aren’t there and to hide things that are. You wouldn’t believe how simple it is! We are ridiculously easy creatures to fool; not much different from the dog to whom you pretend to throw a ball but hold it out. You know that game, right? Simple pleasures!

In fact, the smarter we are, the easier we are to fool. Why? Because smart implies a strong hold on reality. Smart people know what to expect. So, when something else happens, it freaks them out. It doesn’t impress a baby when you make a coin disappear because they don’t know that it shouldn’t. But a grown‐up who’s seen it all, knows it all…they know which side the bread’s buttered on. Or do they?

There’s a fascinating relationship between perception and reality. Some people say, “Perception is reality.” I guess they mean that whatever you see is what you believe to be true. That’s one way of looking at it. I look at it this way:

Perception doesn’t equal reality, but it does equal results.

In other words, if you see things a certain way, that will dictate how you act, what you do, and ultimately what you achieve. If you see opportunity with a client, you’ll probably make certain suggestions, offer certain programs, or lay out your service in a particularly attractive way. If you see before you what you believe to be an unproductive client, you’ll probably act very differently.

In each case, it was your perception that determined your choice of what to do or not do. Now here’s the kicker. You have NO IDEA what it is that you’re really seeing! Why? Because perception is a function of belief, and we’ve already demonstrated the faults in our belief programming. Your beliefs are filters to your accurate portrayal of reality. As Wayne Dyer says, “You’ll see it when you believe it…Not the other way around!”

That’s why making snap judgments about people will get you in trouble. How often do those improbable clients turn out to be great clients? How often have you written someone off only to find out something remarkable about them? You need to stop trusting your perceptions and operate from a higher level.



That’s where your values come in. If you’ve established a pattern of treating others with care and respect no matter what, you’ll avoid making the mistake of alienating people who may have responded warmly had you given them that chance.

Another point from that story is the fact that you need to realize that your prospects are also making judgments about you. Their perception is as skewed as yours; distorted by previous experience and the beliefs they‘ve drawn from that experience. If you want to be supremely effective, you’ll need to address the discrepancy between perception and reality; both yours and theirs.

How reliable is perception. It turns out that it’s not very reliable at all. Neuroscientists are now discovering what magicians have known and used for years. We don’t see the world as it is but as we are. In a recent issue of the Boston Globe, an article appeared entitled How Magicians Control Your Mind. In it, Ronald Rensink, professor of computer science and psychology at the University of British Columbia, is quoted as saying that how we see the world is “virtual reality”; nothing more than “intelligent hallucinations.”

In the same article, reference is made to the work of cognitive scientist Daniel Simons’ who has published studies over the last couple decades that have appeared in the major journals of psychology and neurophysiology. Dr. Simons contends that the old model of perception as being like a movie projector is not even close to reality. In fact, it’s much more like a slow strobe light flashing at intervals in a dark room. Bits of information are received by the relatively inefficient apparatus we have for perception, and then the brain fills in the gaps with educated guesses made based on our experience.

That means that at any one time, you’re only actually seeing a fraction of what’s there to be seen. The rest, you’re making up. And guess what you’re using to make it up? Right. Your beliefs, expectations, and experience. In one of Dr. Simons’ now famous studies on what he calls “cognitive blindness” he had an individual approach random people on the street for directions. In the middle of their explanation, the first individual would walk away and be replaced by a second person. Only half the people approached noticed the change.

In another study, which you can now try yourself on YouTube, a subject was shown a video of a group of people doing a basketball drill. The subject was told to count the number of times the balls hit the floor. In the middle of the video, someone comes into the group wearing a gorilla suit, stares at the camera, beats her chest, and walks on. Again, only half those watching the video noticed the gorilla.

Our perceptual system is so faulty that it’s amazing two people can ever agree on what they see. Knowing that, you must do whatever you can to get to the truth of a given situation, putting aside your stubborn hold on your version of the reality. This is an enormously important



concept in the world of sales. Not only are you likely to be judging, assessing, and predicting the outcome of your sale based on faulty perception, but your prospect is doing exactly the same thing to you.

Prospects bring thick filters into the sales meeting. They don’t see you. They don’t see your product. They see their preconceived notions, their prejudices about your product and service, their disdain for the sales process itself, their fear of being manipulated, and a host of other items to the table. If you don’t know that and don’t address it, those items will bury you before you start.

You need to flush out their attitudes and beliefs before you proceed with your presentation and all the way through the presentation whenever you spot one of those filters. That means you need to develop perceptual acuity to be able to notice the status of your prospect’s interest, confidence, and openness. You also need to flush out your own attitudes throughout the process and test your assumptions by asking questions of your prospect.

Here’s an example. I was recently engaged in a sales presentation for one of my programs. I was sharing the fact that we go beyond conventional sales training, teaching people how to become aware of their own inner resistance to success and how to generate congruence between their inner belief systems and their outer actions. The client started to look around, distracted. She appeared troubled. My first instinct was that she didn’t like what I’d just said. I assumed I was losing her interest and that a wall had gone up between us. I scoured my mind to remember what I’d said before that might have started her down that road.

“Maybe when I mentioned the Buddha quote, she got triggered. Maybe she’s a devout Christian and I offended her beliefs. Maybe I’m using too many big words and she thinks I’m being arrogant. Maybe it’s that spot on my shirt talking too loud that she can’t hear what I’m saying.” My mind was off and running and my words started to sound hollow even to me. I assumed she was judging me, and now I was judging myself for screwing up, and I was judging her for judging me…for which I judged myself some more….Crazy, huh?

Finally, I stopped. “I’m sorry. I’ve been aware for the last couple minutes that you seem to have gone away. Have I said something to offend you or am I being too wordy?” She suddenly became completely present. “Not at all! I was just thinking about what you said, and it made me think about my sister and how she keeps sabotaging herself because of issues with her self esteem. What you’re saying makes perfect sense. I guess it just took me down another thought path!”

Boy, am I glad I checked it out! My perception of her perception was…misperception. And, if I hadn’t gotten a reality check, it probably wouldn’t have been long before she sensed something amiss with me, and who knows what interpretation she would have put on that. We can all use



a reminder of this now and then. Don’t assume. As Felix Unger says, “When you ASSUME, you make an ASS out of U and ME!”

As you begin to realize the relationship between your thoughts, emotions, and results, I think you’ll begin to see yourself in a new way. Whenever your results fall short of your desires and expectations, look at your purpose (why are you doing this?), your intention (what outcome do you really want?), your values (are you being congruent and righteous?), your beliefs (what do you think about yourself, your client, or your product?), and your perception of the situation (am I or my prospect carrying any judgments or preconceived notions into the sale?) By doing that, you’ll develop acuity for the situation that will make you more hopeful, more resourceful, and more influential.



Important points from Chapter Five

• You need to understand yourself if you want to grow and change

• You are your business

• Perception doesn’t equal reality but it does equal results

• Values and beliefs can be changed and reframed once made conscious

• Your prospects are seeing you through a filter, and you’re doing the same to them

Exercises

• Using past behavior, desired reputation, and those you admire as a guide, lists ten values

• List five of your limiting beliefs

• Reframe each of those beliefs and write the empowering belief you’ll use to replace it • Affirm the new beliefs aloud each morning and evening, repeating each at least three

times • Envision your life with your new beliefs making the image as vivid as possible.

Bonus Sales Tip

• Walk into every sales meeting with your top priority being to have fun.



“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”

‐Henry David Thoreau



Chapter Six‐Fantasize

“There is nothing like a dream to create the future.” ‐Victor Hugo

“Get your head out of the clouds (or your mind out of the gutter as the case may be!)” “You need to face reality!” “Stop dreaming so big or you’ll only be disappointed!” Most of us have heard things like that most of our lives. Let’s face it; fantasy isn’t considered a part of adult life (well, not all fantasy!).

If you’re a kid, sure. Then you can fantasize, visualize, make believe, and play all you want, but adulthood is characterized by a healthy respect for reality. What’s the problem with that? Well, a couple things. First, who the heck knows what reality is anyway? I mean, after what you’ve learned in the previous chapter, it would be difficult to hang your hat on anything. We blasted the myth of accurate perception of reality, and that doesn’t even scratch the surface.

When you start looking at quantum physics and some of the esoteric spiritual practices, let alone modern writings on the power of manifestation, you can’t really call anything real; not in the way we use the word. We think of real as meaning solid, permanent, and predictable. Any good physicist will tell you what any good guru has been saying for ages. Nothing is permanent. Nothing is solid. Matter is energy. Energy is matter.

Then there’s the tidal wave of recent research on how thoughts affect reality. It’s been many years since the Heisinger’s Uncertainty Principle was expounded which stated that nothing could be observed without being changed by the process of observation. Look it up.

Slightly more comprehensible was the experiment done by a team of psychology students in which subjects were hypnotized into believing they were drinking sugar‐water (it was actually tap water). Their insulin level rose exactly as if they had indeed been ingesting sugar.

So, the point is thoughts have power. All the new age gurus say so, but so do no‐nonsense, scientific, skeptical types. Don’t fight this point. It’s true. If you can control your thoughts, you can control your results. But, where do you begin? That’s where fantasizing comes in.

Remarkable things can happen when you dare to dream them. Let’s face it, all great accomplishments started as an idea, a picture in someone’s head. That’s everything from the Mona Lisa to the Empire State Building. Someone had to see it before they made it. There’s no escaping the importance of formulating and nurturing mental pictures. The more clearly you can envision a desired outcome, the more likely you are to bring it into manifestation.



Part of our ISI system is a regularly scheduled fantasy session. Time is set aside specifically to daydream. You get to go on flights of fancy and it’s OK. It’s necessary. Remember when you were a kid and you were just staring at a blank wall, lost in thought? Your mom said, “Wake up and join our planet, Captain Spacey!” Well, it turns out that one of the most reliable predictors of high achievement in kids is the tendency to space out for long periods. Ironic, huh? Doesn’t it seem like everything they used to say was bad for you turned out to be good?

I encourage you to dream, to fantasize, and to visualize your ideal life. I want you to see the nice car, the big house, the perfect vacation. I want you to feel the success of closing sale after challenging sale. I want you to immerse yourself in the image of the life you want. And, I want you to do it every day.

Here’s an interesting study. A group of high school basketball players was divided into two teams. The first was asked to do an hour of shooting drills on a daily basis for a couple weeks. The other group was asked not to play basketball at all but to spend that same time in a closed eye process envisioning themselves shooting baskets and making every one. Guess which team had better stats after two weeks? Actually, it was a tie. Not bad, though, for never picking up a ball!

When you visualize your life as you want it, visualize tangible things and intangibles. See the pool but also feel the joy. Hear the birds but also sense the smile. Imagine the attributes you want to have. Are you confident, peaceful, funny, jovial, or charming? Do you have all the answers? Are you at ease in all your interactions at work and at home? Bring the picture into strong focus.

Some of my clients have said that they’re bad visualizers. All that means is that they’re not used to visual imagery being among their primary modalities. That’s OK. You can still visualize using your other senses. If you can’t see it, at least try to sense what it would feel like to have your desired outcomes. Or maybe you can imagine the words you’d be hearing, the music you’d be playing, or the sound of the engines on your new private jet! The more senses you can incorporate, the better.

When I was younger, I used a technique that I called future scrapbooking. I’d gather up photographs, drawings, and clippings from magazines that represented what I wanted to have in my life. I’d create a collage of images and words and look at it as if it were art. I remember my masterpiece having images of a lakefront home, a sunset, an airplane, a dog, and woods. For years, the journal containing that collage sat in a box that never got unpacked as I moved from place to place.

Recently, I unpacked the box and found the collage. I hadn’t thought about it for years. When I saw what was on it, I was amazed. I live in a lakefront home which faces west offering me



perfect sunsets. I’m a private pilot with my own plane. And I have a sweet, wonderful dog…named Woody! Once the subconscious mind absorbs an impression, it works diligently to help you manifest it even if your conscious mind is not aware of it. So, make sure the visions you’re creating are positive.

Now, with the advent of more sophisticated technology, there’s no reason you can’t use your computer to create your visual collage. Better yet, why not make a slide show with all your ideas, images, desired beliefs, and dreams? You can get creative with this, and the more creative you get, the more effective your results.

I recently listened to someone talking about making a mental movie, or as I like to call it, a reel‐to‐real, and he had amazing results. He wanted a successful internet business and he got it. He wanted to travel around the world and he did. He wanted to meet and be contacted by successful and famous people and he was. He said the whole thing seemed so weird to him that he had a hard time believing it was happening. But it was, and quickly. It all started with a three minute slide show he made using an inexpensive video editing program. There’s no reason you can’t do exactly the same thing. In fact, one of the services we provide our clients is generating a two to three minute reel‐to‐real that they can use to capture their dreams. If you’d like more information about working with us, visit www.inner-selling.com.

You’ll notice that this is the shortest chapter in the book. That’s because there’s not much that needs to be said about this subject. Chances are this isn’t your first exposure to the idea of visualization, and if you’re not already doing it it’s not for lack of knowing what it is. Either you haven’t tried it because it seems silly or time consuming or unnecessary or impossible, or you haven’t been able to figure out how to build it into your life in a useable way.

If the problem is the former, and I say this with love, GET OFF IT! It’s neither silly nor unnecessary, and it isn’t impossible. If you’re a skeptic, fine. But be an educated skeptic. It’s OK to doubt something you don’t understand or to harbor disbelief. However, the truly wise person experiments. Otherwise, their disbelief is just a form of closed‐mindedness which does nothing to honor the spirit of intelligent inquiry to which they profess. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. Don’t believe anything. Try things with honest effort and evaluate their results. If they work for you, that’s great. If not, move on.

If however, your problem is the latter, that is you don’t know how to build visualization into your life in a useable way, here’s what I’d like you to do. Put aside ten minutes a day and close your eyes. Don’t put any pressure on yourself. Just begin to daydream. Allow your mind to take you wherever it wants to go. Just watch your mental imagery unfold like a movie. Don’t judge what you see. Often, imagery is symbolic. You may see something that doesn’t seem at all like



what you want, but don’t fight it. You may find later that the images represent an idea, a warning, or an insight.

Also, be aware that we sometimes think we know what we want only to find that those desires are born of our enculturation, not our soul. The media, for example, works overtime to convince us at a deep level that we want lots of money, a sports car, a hot girlfriend, and a conspicuous absence of dandruff.

Perhaps that’s not really what you want at all. As you begin to do the realization exercises and the deeper work we’ll explore in the next chapter, you may find that some of your desires aren’t really your desires, and you’ll get in touch with what you really want. If you don’t know who you are, your freedom may not be real freedom. If you take time to get to know yourself, you’ll align with your true desires and soon be on your way to achieving them.



Important points from Chapter Six

• What the mind conceives and believes, you can achieve

• Visualize clearly and with as many senses as possible

• It helps to create the imagery in photo or video form

• Thoughts are things

Exercises

• Start gathering photographic images representing what you want

• Clip out quotes that inspire you from magazines

• Find a piece of music you find inspiring for your later video montage

Bonus Sales Tip

• Go for the no. When you sense a client’s resistance, rather than trying to ignore it and strengthen your pitch, suggest that it may not be a good idea for them.



“The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either

make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves

happy. The amount of work is the same.”

‐Carlos Castaneda



Chapter Seven‐Hypnotize

“Believe nothing because a wise person said it. Believe nothing because a belief is generally held. Believe nothing because it is said in ancient books. Believe nothing because it is said to be of divine origin. Believe nothing because someone else believes it. Believe only what you test and judge to be true.” ‐The Buddha

In this chapter, I’ll be exploring hypnosis, consciousness, mindfulness, meditation, and self‐programming. I’ll be showing you how to use hypnosis to transform yourself and your ability to influence others; not ways of manipulating your prospects or bending them to your will.

Hypnotize who?

I’ve spent the last several years making my living on the stage. I’ve become fairly well known in the college and corporate markets for my hypnosis shows, in which I transform ordinary people into creative, playful children. Before their very eyes, the audience witnesses grown men and women laughing at imaginary movies, juggling imaginary balls, and crying over losing their own belly buttons. I’ll often demonstrate what’s called a negative hallucination where someone can’t see something right in front of their own eyes. For example, I may have them believe that I’m invisible or that their shoe is missing even though it’s on their own foot. I might induce amnesia where a person can’t remember his or her own first name.

This is a daily part of my life. It’s not a random, haphazard occurrence. The ability to create these misperceptions in hypnotized individuals is as predictable as it is hilarious. What could be more fascinating than watching your CEO or coworker stuck to his or her own chair by the force of their imagination? I take great joy in guiding these experiences, and if it didn’t work in a predictable, reproducible fashion, I wouldn’t be doing it. I’ve got a really low threshold for humiliation, and I don’t enjoy the prospect of failing in front of hundreds or at times thousands of people.

As luck would have it, with two exceptions I can remember, I’ve never failed to produce the results I’ve described, and many more. So what’s this all about? Hypnosis is a fascinating subject with a whole host of myths and misunderstandings attached to it. People constantly come up to me after my shows to inquire about the science of it along with my history as a hypnotist.

What I tell them is that the mind is divided functionally into a conscious and subconscious portion. The conscious mind consists of the thoughts of which we’re aware at any given moment. The subconscious contains the ideas, beliefs, perceptions, and emotions that literally



direct our lives. If the mind were an iceberg, the conscious mind would be the tip that you see and the subconscious mind would be the infinitely larger portion below the surface that you don’t see.

Any personal change required the cooperation of the subconscious mind. You can tell yourself all you want that you won’t be afraid to approach a prospect or to ask for the deal, but if your subconscious mind has a problem with that, you’re toast. The powerful forces operating below the surface of your awareness will push aside all your good intentions as easily as a bear swatting away a fly. You have no power in the face of your own subconscious mind.

That’s why you’ll often hear people say things like, “I can’t do that!” How often are those things that they could really do if they believed they could? My mother says, “I can’t sing!” Well, that’s a value judgment she’s making based on her belief that her voice isn’t adequate for human ears. Where does she get that from? Probably someone told her that when she was young and she hasn’t stopped believing it.

With hypnosis, we have access to the subconscious mind. It is, in effect, a method for bypassing the conscious mind and speaking directly to the sleeping giant which actually never sleeps.

When you’re dreaming, you might have noticed that the dreams you have aren’t logical or linear. They make so little sense to your conscious mind that when you wake up you either promptly forget them or have a very difficult time relating them. “Well, first I was in a room that was my room but really wasn’t, and I was you but I was flying, and then a big bird came in but it turned into my dog Woody….” Finally you give up because there’s simply no way to tell a story that bizarre.

In a hypnotic state, it’s much the same. The subconscious mind which is very comfortable with non‐linear illogical imagery allows you to go on a journey that, for all intents and purposes, is a waking dream. As a hypnotist, I speak to that part of your mind that dreams. The conscious mind stays out of the way, allowing the journey to unfold in images and ideas beyond logic.

This is an important thing to understand, because that same portion of your mind that houses the so‐called illogical imagery is the part that houses your belief system. If we attempt to make a change without recruiting that portion, you’ll fail. It’s almost impossible to muscle your subconscious into submission. Your will is no match for your imagination.

So, how do we harness that reality, and in so doing harness the infinite power of your imagination, your belief system and your dream machine? By connecting with your subconscious mind directly. In order to do that, we have to calm or quiet the conscious mind. Hypnosis is the science of subduing the critical faculty of your conscious mind in order to make contact with the more receptive subconscious mind. It’s done with sound and words and visual



focus. Done correctly, it’s possible to induce a hypnotic state in a very short period of time; just a few minutes.

Once you’ve been induced into a state of hypnosis, the part of your mind that rejects suggestions steps aside. Your deductive reasoning is immobilized. That’s exactly what happens in the dream state. If your deductive reasoning were functioning while you slept, you’d never dream. You’d say, “Hey wait a minute…I’m not a dog! That’s not my house! I’m not married to that guy!” And, you’d wake up.

The fact that you continue to dream is a testament to the reality of this alternate mental function, and it’s useful in a variety of ways. First, it’s useful because in that state of consciousness we can reach into the deeper area of beliefs and attitudes, and make some changes. It’s just as possible for you to remove disempowering beliefs in the hypnotic state as it is for me to temporarily implant them during my show.

As long as you believe that you’re limited in some fashion, you are. As long as I can keep someone believing that their hands are stuck together, their hands are stuck together. Remember my saying?

Perception doesn’t equal reality, but it does equal results.

Another advantage of entering a hypnotic state is that the state itself has certain benefits. To rest in a hypnotic state is to meditate. In that state, your mind is calm and clear. Just a few minutes in that state can produce profound restfulness, inner peace, and the arising of insight. If you were able to bring yourself into that state of consciousness at will, not only would you have access to the subconscious and be able to redirect your thoughts, but you’d tap into your inner wisdom in a profound way.

At the beginning of my show, I say that one hour of hypnosis is worth four hours of sleep. This is true because the hypnotic or meditative state is the result of a profound slowing of brain waves. In hypnosis, your mind goes from what’s called a beta state at which it’s cells are vibrating at between 13 and 30 HZ to an alpha state at which they’re vibrating at between 8 and 13 HZ. In deeper states of hypnosis or meditation, those waves can slow all the way down to the delta state of less than 4 HZ.

When your brain waves slow down that profoundly, your inner chatter stops. You know the chatter I mean. The self‐limiting voices that tell you what you can and can’t accomplish, the excuses for why you’re not more successful, the self‐condemning voices, etc. You rest in peace, but not in the sense of being dead. (People always say rest in peace about death, but don’t the living deserve the same right?)



Besides gaining access to the subconscious to reprogram negative beliefs and the experience of profound rest, the hypnotic state offers other benefits as well. Just a few short minutes in a hypnotic state can produce better health. Why? Nobody knows for sure. But I can tell you from personal experience that many people come up to me after the show to say that their cold is gone or that the back pain they were suffering for months has mysteriously vanished.

One theory is that healing happens when the body and mind are working in perfect harmony. In a hypnotic state, your mind is no longer fighting or resisting what is, and you open up channels of healing that you were previously blocking with your own reactions. This resonates with the theory of chiropractic care which states that nature needs no help, just no interference. When the interference is removed, as with the removal of spinal misalignments that cause nerve irritation, the brain and body communicate with each other in a more effective way, and health is restored.

So, what does all that mean to you and your sales success? Well, perhaps sales, like health, needs no help, just no interference. What if it was a natural process for people to embrace opportunities that could benefit them, and that all you needed to do was get yourself (your conscious ineffective self) out of the way and allow the relationships to form unobstructed?

In other words, what if your inner wisdom were allowed to come forth at the moment you needed it? Wouldn’t you be more persuasive, more influential? Wouldn’t you find it easier to respond appropriately to people’s objections and concerns? Wouldn’t you project a greater sense of calm and confidence which would put your prospects at ease? Imagine that now. Picture yourself as the serene, confident bearer of great opportunities. Imagine the effect you’re having on your potential client.

Before I teach you how to create that experience for yourself on a consistent basis, let’s look at some of the things that currently characterize your mind as it’s functioning now, and consider how they would change if you could flip that switch at will.

Fear

One of the common experiences of the conscious mind is that of fear. We’re afraid of everything. We’re afraid of failure. We’re afraid of success. We’re afraid to look stupid. We’re afraid people will think we’re too pushy. We’re afraid we’ll cave in and lose the sale. We’re afraid that our lives will never improve and we’ll always have to live with mediocrity. And, we’re afraid of being afraid.

It’s a never ending battle that we have with our fear. Our experience at work and home are tainted by the fear that we’re aware of and the fear we haven’t even admitted to ourselves. What keeps the fear alive? Internal dialogue. As long as you tell yourself there’s something to



fear, you will be afraid. Fear requires reinforcement and that happens in the form of a particular, often unconscious, set of thoughts which plays in the background of our minds.

Once we eliminate or change that internal dialogue, the fear vanishes. It can happen instantly and dramatically, as I’ve seen onstage and off over many years. Let me give you an example. Sherry was the student activities director at a small New England university. I’d never met her face to face although we’d spoken many times. When I was performing at her school, a young lady in the audience fell into hypnosis and I brought her up on stage. This, by the way, is a common occurrence. I later found out that the young lady I removed from the audience was Sherry. She proved to be a great subject for hypnosis and followed my suggestions to a tee.

Backstage after the show, I met Sherry’s husband, who had been watching the demonstration in complete amazement. He asked me if I could cure Sherry’s fear of heights. I said sure. Against the wall in the wings was a service ladder that rose about thirty feet to a catwalk above. I asked Sherry to climb it. She turned white. I said, “Just go as high as you can.” That turned out to be one rung before she began to panic. I brought her back down and put her into hypnosis. I gave her a suggestion that being in high places (as long as they’re safe) is a relaxing, calming experience. In fact, there’s something remarkably empowering about being up high, because from up there you have a broader perspective of things.

After giving the suggestions, I woke her up and said, “Sherry, go climb the ladder.” Without hesitation, she ascended all the way to the top, thirty‐something feet in the air, and looked down from the catwalk with a look of joy and fascination on her face. Of course, her husband’s face said something else! I returned to that school for several years thereafter, and in each case I checked in with Sherry. The fear never returned. And that’s the way it often is with fear. Once the aberrant thought is removed or reframed, the changes are immediate and profound.

Attachment

Another cardinal experience of the conscious mind is attachment. By that, I mean an inner demand or expectation about a particular thing. For example, you might be attached to making the sale. In other words, your inner peace demands that the sale come off successfully. If it doesn’t, you’re upset. Maybe you feel depressed, maybe angry, maybe self‐loathing. Regardless of the emotional response or the thing which triggered it, there’s very little benefit in attachment. It actually reduces your effectiveness and often becomes the thing that blocks your success in achieving your desired goal.

What you must do is to arrive at a state known as detachment. To be effective, you need to release the need to get what you want. It’s OK to have a desire, but when it becomes a demand or an expectation, you’re functioning at a level of need which is easy to spot. That state is



unattractive to others, disempowering to you, and likely to lead you to sacrifice your values and cut corners to get what you want.

I want you to imagine a state of mind in which you just don’t care whether you get the sale or not. You’d like to get it, but you trust that whatever should happen will. If you get it, fine. If not, no big deal. You’ll get the next one; or the one after that. Either way, no problem, Mon! Can you imagine that state? If you can, you’re halfway there. But hang in, because I’ll be giving you a very clear path to get yourself there very soon.

The experience of attachment is as damaging as it is human. We all struggle with this feeling of longing for something that seems just out of reach. It can take the form of lust, greed, or anger just to name a few. It arises because of the stress mechanism built in to our psyches. Remember when we discussed stress? We said that it’s a fight or flight mechanism designed to give us the resources we need to save ourselves from danger, like the stampeding elephant we discussed. We said our blood pressure rises, our heart rate increases, our eyes dilate, and our muscles fill up with blood for oxygenation.

That elephant is a pretty compelling reason to react. But the lost sale…not so much! Our minds turn every disappointment into a life or death issue. At some primal level, every time we have a demand or expectation go unmet, we feel as if our survival is being threatened. We display all the physiological signs I’ve described. And, if that happens often enough, the stress begins to threaten that very survival.

The answer is to upgrade our demands into desires. If you want something and don’t get it, you’re OK. If you need something and don’t get it, you’re upset. Ironically, almost none of the demands we make on our clients, friends, loved ones, and environment are actually necessary for our survival. They’re an illusion.

That illusion is held in place by the deeply troubling emotions that arise from them. When you don’t get what you want and become upset, those feelings are so profound and uncomfortable that you take them as evidence of the importance of the thing that triggered them. Let me give you an example.

My girlfriend and I were in a Japanese restaurant not too long ago. I ordered sake, and the waitress asked if I wanted it cold or hot. I said, “Hot of course!” Sacha said, “Actually, cold sake is considered better.” I was pissed! How dare she make me wrong like that in front of the waitress! When the waitress left, we fought. We didn’t get very far. No understanding was reached.

That is, until she left to go to the bathroom and I did a short process I’m going to teach you for releasing attachment, and quite suddenly all my anger vanished. When she returned, we had a



discussion that, although it started a bit rocky since she didn’t trust my sudden equanimity, ended pretty well. I came to find out that when I said “Hot, of course” she thought I sounded arrogant, so she was reacting to that.

Anyway, when it was all over, I thought, “I can’t believe we fought about sake!” At the time it seemed really important because my emotions were up. But in the light of calmer moments, it was actually quite ridiculous. Our emotions make us believe that what we’re demanding is of vital importance, and we lose perspective as well as the resources we need in those moments.

Learning to upgrade demands to desires is a profound, life‐changing experience. When you begin to see that all your upsets are nothing more than signs of an unexamined demand, you begin to experience a level of freedom that you’ve probably never before experienced. When you don’t care that much, your blood pressure drops, your skin gets healthier, you lose weight and you radiate a calm, quiet serenity that draws people to you. Learn to detach from outcomes, and you’ll soon find that you’re achieving those outcomes much more consistently than when your very survival depended on them!

Mistaken Identity

Who are you? Are you a sales professional? A parent? A student? A son or daughter? A devout Buddhist? A Red Sox fan? A fisherman? A staunch Republican? A Frisbee player?

However you answered, think for a moment about whether that label really defines who you are. I’m sure you can see that it doesn’t. We attach labels to ourselves as a way of calming a primal existential fear within us all. Then we often fall victim to all the demands the label brings. If you’re a staunch Democrat, you can’t like the Republican candidate for president, so you probably don’t even listen to what he has to say, or if you do you do so through a particular set of filters.

Many of our labels limit us. If you’ve labeled yourself a failure, success is impossible. If you’ve labeled yourself a Buddhist, you may miss out on some wisdom being offered by a Christian. My friend got married a few years ago for the second time. His teenage son refused to wear the required outfit at the wedding because, “I’m a punk rocker and we don’t wear ties!”

What if we were able to see all our labels, all our identities, for what they really are; roles we play. We may choose to attach a lot of importance to them, such as our religious or political views, but we don’t need to be so attached that we cling to them in spite of everything.

The truth is, as Joseph Chilton Pierce says, “You’re not who you think you are.” It’s a case of mistaken identity. You’re not a salesman, a yo‐yo champion or a trout fisherman. You’re a human being in a human body connected profoundly to the natural order of life. You will live



for a time and then die. Between the time you come and the time you leave, you will change your socks, your tires, your emotions, your age, your roles, your physical health, your individual cells, and perhaps even your beliefs.

So what remains? What part of you can you call you? If everything you see is in constant flux, what can you hang your hat on? If you’re a pilot and you lose your license, are you no longer you? If you’re beautiful and you become horribly disfigured in a fire, are you no longer you? Of course not. No matter what changes, you’re always you. So, who is “you?”

According to Ram Dass, whatever you can witness about yourself or your surroundings is not you because you are the witness itself. Eckardt Tolle calls it the witnessing presence. Jesus describes this state of understanding as being “in the world but not of the world.” Whatever you call it and whatever spiritual, religious, or philosophical frame you put around it, there’s a universally agreed upon understanding that we are not who we think we are, and that as we embrace that truth, our lives improve.

If you’re not who you think you are, how can you become upset about anything? If there’s nothing required for you to be you, doesn’t that let you off the hook? Can’t you relax and enjoy your life if you know that whatever is taken from you, you remain. Nothing matters but the meaning you give it. Whatever you’ve made important, you can make unimportant. You are free.

And from that position, from an understanding of yourself as the witness, you can begin to experience your sales success in a very different way. You can experience it as a game. You can get out of the battlefield, as my friend and mentor Jerry Valley says, and get into the playground of your life. And you can invite others to play there with you. That’s the essence of great salesmanship. You’re playing happily and you’re inviting others to play as well. That stance is magnetic and profoundly effective.

From the place of witness, you can stop reacting to your own emotions. If something upsets you, you can witness the emotion, calmly recognize it as an impermanent energy, and move on. You can choose when to act and when to sit tight. You’re not robotically attached to a particular response.

Most of us are like a jukebox. Somebody pushes E3 and we play Louie, Louie. A prospect says no and we feel rejected. A competitor wins the account and we become indignant. Reactions. Unthinking, automatic, ineffective, and disempowering reactions. The alternative is responses. You experience a stimulus, you allow it to produce whatever sensations it does, you witness it, you quietly, calmly decide how you’re going to respond, not by automatic imperative but by wisdom.



You’re probably thinking, “That sounds great, but isn’t it unrealistic?” No, not at all. I’m going to teach you some powerful self‐hypnosis techniques in a few moments that will allow you to shift into the mode of responder rather than reactor. I’m also going to teach you a technique to access that empowered part of yourself as your first response to all situations.

A few years ago, I attended a meditation class. We were taught the importance of sitting still while meditating. We were training our minds to witness rather than react; to develop the ability to choose our responses in life rather than have them dictated for us. So, when in the midst of a meditation session I felt an itch on my nose, I watched it rather than scratching it. I developed a level of curiosity. “Hmmm, I wonder how long that itch will last. Oh, how interesting. Now I’m getting agitated that I can’t scratch it. I wonder what agitation feels like…I feel it in my throat and my belly. It’s like a tightness or a heaviness. Ahhh, the itch is getting worse. But, that’s OK. Just keep watching it. Hmmm, now it’s getting better….better…and now, it’s gone. How interesting.”

That was a profound experience. Later, I was meditating and I got a cramp in my foot. I’m sure you know what that’s like. Not reacting to that was going to take some profound discipline. But, after succeeding in outlasting the itch, I was ready to take on the cramp. “Uh oh, I’m getting a cramp in my foot! This is going to be bad! What am I going to do???? OK, OK now. It’s just a feeling. Just a sensation. It can’t last forever. Just relax and watch it. Oh my God, it’s getting worse! Just relax and watch it. Don’t resist. Don’t try to stretch it out or stop it in any way. But what if my foot breaks??? It won’t. Just watch it. Wow, look at all the agitation I’m generating about this. It’s almost worse than the pain itself. How interesting. OK, just let it be. Worse, worse, worse, plateau, plateau….Breathe…Don’t forget to breathe….better, better, better….Gone.”

That was perhaps the most remarkable experience of my life up to that point, and it was dramatically instructive. It did, in fact, change my relationship to my emotions in a permanent way. Since that time, I tend to witness all my emotions and choose when and how to respond to them. Sometimes, I choose to take action, sometimes I express them, and sometimes I just watch them and let them pass.

In the sales environment, that means that I can notice my fears or insecurities without judgment or self‐condemnation and without screwing up my presentation. I can notice my clients’ emotional resistance without taking it personally. I can choose to address their concerns without defensiveness, embracing the reality of where they are rather than trying to change them. In fact, I’ve been having a lot of fun with this whole thing. Here’s an example.

As a magician, I’ve had the opportunity to work in restaurants and resorts, performing close up tableside magic for the guests. There have been times when I’ve arrived at a show and had the



hostess give me a warning about a particular group. “Stay away from table thirteen. They’re a pain in the butt and they’ve already made Stacey cry.” Guess where I go.

When I arrive at table thirteen, I know a couple things. I know that the people there are not bad people but unhappy people. I know that they’re in reaction and not consciously witnessing their emotions. I know that they’re not embracing their own sense of humor since humor can only exist with consciousness. And finally, I know that my energy, enthusiasm, and willingness to embrace them where they are will transform their experience. My frame is stronger than theirs. I’m more positive than they are negative, and he who has the strongest frame wins.

So, I begin. I don’t just entertain them. I reveal them to themselves. I acknowledge their resistance, their skepticism. I play with it. I make light of it. I acknowledge my own feelings about it. It’s all good. It’s all fun and games. We come to meet each other backstage; behind the roles we’re playing at the time. I’m not the good guy and they’re not the bad guys. We’re all just human beings watching ourselves play our roles. And suddenly, everyone’s having fun. Everyone’s enlightened. They’re buying what I’m selling!

The Path to Enlightenment

To achieve this mindset, you need access to your subconscious mind. Once you gain entry, you’ll be able to reprogram negative beliefs, overcome fears, experience detachment, and connect with your sense of humor and perspective. Things that mattered before won’t, and you’ll be infinitely more effective.

Gaining entry into your subconscious mind is a matter of state change. You’ll need to learn how to change your mental and emotional state at will. In our workshops, we take you through a series of exercises to strengthen your ability to do this and increase your confidence that you can do it predictably.

Once you’ve gained entry into your subconscious mind, you’re going to do two things. First, you’re going to use that state to reprogram your mind, eliminate resistance, and visualize the outcomes you’d like. Second, you’re going to rest in that state and allow it to bring you health, vitality, and perspective. In other words, some of what you do will be active and some will be passive. Why do both?

There are desires and goals of which you’re conscious. Your conscious mind will direct your subconscious to act on its behalf, to become an autopilot driving you towards those goals. But then there are the aspects of your well‐being that fall under the heading of innate intelligence. Your conscious mind is limited in its ability to know or understand all the things necessary for your success and happiness. For that, we allow the very state of hypnosis to draw forth those understandings from a deeper place within.



In other words, you quiet your mind so that an opening forms through which your intuition arises. You create a gap in your internal dialogue and trust that there’s a kind of wisdom that will emanate from parts of you that you don’t even know.

In a way, this is the best part of the process. It’s one thing to get what you know you want. It’s quite another to discover there are things you’re getting that you didn’t even realize you wanted, but which are infinitely more rewarding. It’s like your subconscious mind is throwing a surprise party for your conscious mind!

The Technique

Step One

Find a comfortable place in your home where you can rest undisturbed. Make sure the land phone is off the hook and the cell phone is off. Make sure nobody’s going to disturb you for the next fifteen minutes. Now, sit comfortably in an upright position. Close your eyes and place all of your attention on the sensations you feel in your body. Perhaps you can rest your attention on the temperature of your hands or on the weight of your legs or on the tension in your face. Be careful not to observe emotions, but rather sensations.

If you notice that you’re feeling sad, for example, go deeper and study what sadness feels like. Pay no attention to what thoughts are associated with the sadness or to the undesirability of the emotion. Just observe where the feeling resides in your body. Just breathe into it. What, in fact, is sadness? Is it tightness in your face? Heaviness in your throat? Fluttering in your belly? Whatever it is, let it be. It’s totally OK. Study it like a scientist. Try to dissect it with your consciousness. Notice how long it lasts and how it dissipates with no mental effort on your part.

Notice how all sensations in or on your body have this same quality. They arise, remain for a time, and then cease. Whatever you feel is OK. In fact, think of the sensations as fuel for your consciousness. What Ram Dass calls grist for the mill. If thoughts arise, notice them and then bring your attention right back to your sensations. Your ego will constantly try to fool you into believing that whatever you’re thinking about is vitally important. Don’t let it fool you!

When your mind tries to take over the show and draw you into a thought loop, simply smile at the current habit pattern of your mind and return your attention to your sensation. Notice how it flows and changes. Watch how what started as bad feelings will often melt into good ones. Begin to recognize how feelings you used to suppress or indulge become like clouds moving across the sky. They come and go.

As you practice the art of simple observation, what the Buddha called Vipassana, meaning wisdom, a very interesting thing will begin to happen to you. As situations arise in your life



which used to cause you to react negatively, you’ll find yourself more and more quickly leaving behind the churning of your mind; the part that says, “This shouldn’t be!” and directing your attention with curiosity at the sensations.

Step Two

After about ten minutes of this, you’re going to guide your mind to go deeper. You’re going to do a self‐hypnosis technique known as a countdown induction. Silently count backwards from ten to one, directing your mind to double its level of relaxation with each number you count. Often, visualization is used and can be helpful along with this step. For example, you might see yourself stepping into an elevator and having the doors close. You would then look at yourself in the mirrored door, seeing yourself as the ideal version of you; strong, healthy, happy, influential, and prosperous. In your peripheral vision, notice the numbers above the elevator door. Watch as they count down from ten to one and notice yourself becoming more relaxed with each number you count. Another popular visualization is seeing the numbers themselves appear before your eyes as if they were formed of clouds, and then watching them dissolve after you say them.

Regardless of the method you use, and we help our clients find the best method for them, you want to count slowly and silently. Have the expectation that you will relax more with each number you count. Want it to happen. Will it to happen. See it happen.

Once you’ve completed your countdown induction, picture yourself in a beautiful place. Make it the same place each time so it begins to carry significance for you. You might choose the shore of a beautiful lake, the beach, a stream or a bed of moss in a wooded garden, for example.

Rest there for a while. Ask your subconscious mind to release any negativity or resistance in your life and to heal and energize you. Ask for any wisdom or insight you need to come forth. Then just relax. Spend several moments in that beautiful, calming place and release your need to be in control.

Now, having released your negativity, and in this state of quiet receptivity, bring into your awareness the thoughts, beliefs, and images you want to manifest in your life. These are the things you’ve discovered previously during the realizing and fantasizing phases of your work. This is the time to think those thoughts; to see those pictures. In this state of consciousness, your subconscious mind is open and receptive to new ideas, attitudes, beliefs, and images.

Once you’ve done the relaxation phase and the visualization phase of your self‐hypnosis routine, it’s time to gradually bring yourself back to your waking consciousness. Remain in the relaxed state you’re in for as long as you’d like, then when you’re ready, count up from one to



ten. As you do, you’ll feel yourself becoming more and more awake until you reach the last number, then open your eyes, take a deep breath, and notice how you feel.

You might ask yourself how this practice affects your life. Let me tell you a story. I live near a bike path which I walk or ride almost daily. As I head north, there’s a house I pass with a ferocious dog. Whenever anyone passes he barks, growls, and strains at his tether trying to get up to the path presumably to bite our faces off. Now, I love dogs and I don’t mind a noisy one, but this one is scary. He foams at the mouth and his hostility is palpable. My normal routine is to get past him as quickly as I can.

A couple years back, I started learning the self‐hypnosis techniques I’m teaching you here. The first day I used them, I finished the routine and went for a bike ride. I felt so peaceful and relaxed. When I got to the house with the scary dog, I found him tangled up in his rope which itself was tangled around a large fallen tree limb. The dog was going ballistic. He was insane with rage.

Without thinking about it, I got off my bike, walked down the embankment to where the dog was stuck. I walked right up to him and while he growled and foamed inches from my head, I untangled him. At some point during my actions, he began to look at me curiously. He stopped growling and watched me intently. At no time during this did I feel the slightest bit of fear or apprehension; only compassion. I just did what needed to be done. By the time I was finishing the job, the dog nuzzled up against me and looked up into my eyes. It was a great moment. My serenity had led to a completely fearless experience, and that fearlessness allowed me to go where brave men feared to tread. And, as a result, I got to witness that dog changing from a ferocious monster to a grateful puppy right before my eyes.

Have you been doing business with any ferocious monsters? Do any of your potential clients come off as scary, skeptical, doubtful, or outright hostile? If you use the methods I’m showing you and find that fearless place inside, you’ll see how comfortable you become in their presence and how well they react to that comfort.

In fact, once you start incorporating this self‐hypnosis process into your daily routine, you’re going to see a lot of cool things happening. Don’t be surprised when you start becoming more influential, less uneasy in those tough situations, and more effective at closing your sales.



Important points from Chapter Seven

• The mind is divided into conscious and subconscious parts

• The latter is infinitely more powerful

• The hypnotic or meditative state slows brainwaves and gives access to that part

• The ISI process involves using that state both to reprogram and to gain consciousness

• Daily meditation or self‐hypnosis will make you more influential

Exercises

• List the activities which bring you joy and inner peace. Decide on your special place. • Spend twenty minutes in a quiet place with your eyes closed, sitting upright. Allow your

attention to wander over your body. What do you notice? What sensations do you feel? How distracted do you become by thoughts?

• The next time you’re upset or stressed by a situation, detach your attention from the circumstance and scan your body. Remain neutral, and notice how long it takes for the sensations to change while you’re observing them.

Bonus Sales Tip • Before contacting a prospect, consider if someone who knows and respects you might

know that person. Find out if they’d be willing to make an introduction for you.



“In the midst of winter I discovered within myself

an invincible summer.” ‐Albert Camus



Chapter Eight‐Putting It All Together

“First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.”

‐Epictetus

“Do or do not. There is no try.”

‐Yoda

During my early days as a coach and trainer, I had a client named Claudia. Claudia was a pharmaceutical salesperson based in the Midwest. She was young, attractive, and confident. She’d risen through the ranks of her company, and was on her way to a phenomenal career. At some point, her sales results flattened, and she decided to seek coaching; always a good idea when you’re trying to accelerate your growth. She read my book, listened in on my teleseminars, and hired me to help her break through the sales barriers she was facing.

I began to teach her the inner skills I’ve shared with you in this book. Her reaction was one of intrigue and curiosity mixed with a feeling of doubt and skepticism. She clearly understood and believed the principles I taught her, but she didn’t believe she could assimilate them into her life. You may be able to relate to Claudia’s feelings. That’s when I began to realize that there needs to be a systematic method for putting all these concepts and ideas into practice.

First, let’s briefly review what we’ve covered so far. Your sales success is proportional to your mastery of your inner state. All things being equal, people do business with those they know, like, and trust. If you commit to doing inner work, you can genuinely project the qualities that allow people to know, like, and trust you. You can also become more resourceful when you tap into the limitless power of your own subconscious mind. The three criteria which most determine your sales success are energy, belief, and presence.

Each of these qualities need to be cultivated and brought into each of the four phases of your sales process; way before the sale, right before the sale, during the sale, and after the sale. To do this, there are five steps to follow. They are organize, energize, realize, fantasize, and hypnotize. (Owen eats rice for Hanukah)

To organize means to create and adhere to a system. You must organize your time, your attention, and your activities. You must also organize your thought processes and your words, knowing what you want to say and do at each point throughout your sales cycle.

To energize means to develop and maintain a constant source of energy. You must realize that life is energy, that your prospects are attracted to energy, and that you’ve got to dedicate a regular part of your schedule to generating that energy by staying healthy and stress free.



To realize means to get to know yourself and to understand the stuff inside your head that’s getting in the way of your success. You must develop the ability to witness yourself from a detached perspective so you can honestly assess what’s working and what’s not…without being triggered by it.

To fantasize means to have the willingness to experiment with visualizing your dreams. You must let go of the need to act and think like an adult every minute of the day and earmark some time to just dream and play. This will help recruit your creative spirit in the process of selling and drive you towards your goals.

And finally, to hypnotize means to tap directly into your subconscious mind and harness your inner sales genius. You must quiet your mind, witness your sensations, deepen your relaxation and rescript your thoughts while in that state. It’s also in that state that visualization is most effective.

Now that we’ve reviewed the overall plan, let’s talk about how you can bring all these strategies together in a way that will work for you on an ongoing basis.

For most of us, the biggest obstacle is time. People ask, “When will I have time to do all those things?”The answer is that you’re going to make time. At first, that may feel inconvenient, but when your energy level and enthusiasm rise along with your commission checks, it won’t feel very inconvenient at all. For the plan to work, you’re going to need some things such as:

1. An alarm clock 2. An MP3 player 3. A blender 4. A vitamin organizer

5. A water bottle 6. Good sneakers 7. A comfortable chair 8. A day timer

In the system I teach, most of the work happens in the morning. If you’re not a morning person this program will force you to confront that, which will grow you even more quickly. Believe me, I’m not a morning person, and until I devised this system, I had no interest in seeing the world before noon. My recommendation is that you put yourself in boot camp. Follow the program exactly for six weeks. If it hasn’t improved your life in a remarkable way, stop and do whatever you want. But for six weeks, give it a fair and complete chance.

You’re going to need an extra hour in the morning, so I recommend you go to sleep an hour earlier than you are now. In fact, if you’re not already doing so, arrange your schedule so you get a minimum of eight hours of sleep and still wake up with enough time to follow the program before you have to leave for work. If you’re saying, “I can’t do that,” Oh, yes you can! You want to make more money? You want to influence more people? You want to have more fun in your life? Then…do it!!!



Step One‐Five to seven minutes

Your alarm rings ninety minutes before you have to leave for work. You roll out of bed. You DON’T push the snooze button. You don’t even have to open your eyes. Just get vertical. Now, if you absolutely have to, go to the bathroom, but if you can wait, do so. Stand in front of a full length mirror and do the following: See www.inner-selling.com/content/pages/materials.

1. 20+ Toe raises 2. 20+ Squats 3. 20+ Crunches 4. 20+ Push ups 5. 30‐second backstretches

If you haven’t already done so, go to the bathroom, wash your face, drink a full glass of water, take three deep breaths, and put on some seasonal outdoor clothing.

Step Two‐Ten minutes

Walk half a mile or bike a mile during which you’re specifically forbidden to think about your day or anything not in your immediate presence. In fact, your task while walking or biking is to notice the beauty around you. You can alternate putting your attention on sights, sounds, smells, and sensations. Move briskly, breathe deeply, and direct your mind back to the moment, whenever it begins to wander.

Step Three‐Ten minutes

Drink another glass of water. Sit in your comfortable chair and close your eyes. Allow yourself to relax for a few minutes and for your breathing to return to normal if you’re winded from the outdoor exercise. Now open your eyes and either do your sentence completion exercises or write in your journal. See www.inner-selling.com/content/pages/materials

Step Four‐Five minutes

Watch your reel–to‐real video or look at your future scrapbook. Allow yourself to fantasize freely about what you’re going to create in your life. See it in your mind’s eye as vividly as you can. Look in magazines for pictures that represent your desires. Draw pictures of your dreams with colored pencils. Spend the entire five minutes doing things that paint pictures for your mind.



Step Five‐Twenty minutes

Sitting in your comfortable chair, do the self‐hypnosis process described in Chapter Seven. To review, close your eyes, breathe slowly, observe your sensations, do a countdown induction, rest in your special place, visualize your success, rescript whatever you’ve discovered from the realizing process, rest a while longer, and count up to your waking state.

Step Six‐Fifteen to thirty minutes

Now do whatever you need to do to get ready for work. Shower, dress, gather the things you need, etc.

Step Seven‐Ten minutes

Make and drink your protein shake followed by a glass of water. Also, take your morning vitamins. See www.inner-selling.com/content/pages/materials Bring a couple pieces of fruit with you for later.

Make sure to continue drinking lots of water all day long, at least a glass every hour. Avoid sugar and caffeine. Have fruit for snacks and a salad for lunch.

After work‐Fifteen minutes

Review your day and organizing yourself for tomorrow. Fill out the daily checklist. See template at www.inner-selling.com/content/pages/materials and lay out the game plan for your sales activities. Use your day timer to list everything you’ll need to do, and check off everything you accomplished that day.

Have a healthy dinner with lots of fresh vegetables, avoid television and read instead (for a list of recommended books visit www.inner-selling.com/content/pages/materials). A brief meditation can be very helpful before bedtime. Get to bed so you get eight plus hours of sleep.

Powerbreak

The last thing I’d like to share is a technique I’ve developed called Powerbreak. This is a brief but very powerful process you can use to recharge your mental and emotional battery throughout your work day. It’s helpful whenever you’re under stress or feeling overwhelmed, or if your energy level, mood, confidence, or presence fall below healthy levels. More than that, you can build Powerbreaks into your daily schedule as preventive care for your mind and body.

We find that people who perform a Powerbreak every couple hours maintain a higher level of energy and productivity, as well as completing their days with greater optimism and humor. The procedure is simple, and can be done virtually anywhere.



Powerbreak is meant to be done in three minute increments. Simply sit quietly in a place where you’ll be left alone. Close your eyes. Take three deep breaths. With every breath in, picture yourself breathing in relaxation. With every exhalation, picture yourself releasing stress and tension. Now, with the middle finger of your right hand, tap on the area in the middle of your forehead just above your eyebrows for ten repetitions. Then, place your hands comfortably in your lap and put your attention on that same area. As you continue to breathe slowly, deeply, and evenly, imagine that your breath is coming in and out through that spot.

You may see flashes of light or feel a glowing feeling. You may notice your eyes beginning to flutter. You may also notice tingling in various parts of your body. Whatever you feel is OK. Just observe it and try to keep your attention on that area.

If you’re feeling any negative emotions or experiencing any unwanted thoughts, just say to yourself, “I release this feeling. I release this thought.” Again, return to the area on your forehead. Now, repeat the following affirmation silently to yourself for five repetitions contemplating its meaning for you:

Every day in every way, I’m getting better and better.

This is a one hundred year old affirmation coined by Emile Coue, the father of Autosuggestion.

End your session with three more deep breaths and open your eyes. Continue with your day. Notice how this brief Powerbreak quickly recharges you and prepares you for your next challenge!



“Knowledge without implementation leads to depression.”

‐Joe Charbonneau, Performance Group



Our Programs

If you’d like assistance in constructing your personalized ISI System, we’re here to help. We provide many services for our clients including:

• Customized daily schedules

• Customized rescripting messages

• Self‐hypnosis tapes to assist in achieving state

• Detailed diet plans

• Exercise and weight loss assistance

• Downloadable audio guides through programs

• Teleseminars, live workshops, and individualized hypnotherapy

• Sales coaching using ISI principles applied to the sales cycle

• And much, much more

Dr. Steve is available to deliver a powerful, entertaining keynote speech to your organization.

ISI provides a full day workshop in which all the material is covered along with exercises and action steps to get your team on target to meet your goals. The ISI program is followed by a weekly multi‐media program. Investment and other information are available at our website, and customized programs can be created to meet your particular needs.

If you’re interested in these or any of our other services, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’d love to help you get and stay on track, and to see you master your sales success!

For more information, contact Dr. Steve Taubman at 802 862 4905 or visit www.inner-selling.com



An Invitation

I’d like to invite you to share this book and our programs with your friends and colleagues. If you’d like to forward the contents of this e‐book to someone you know, please do so with a short note such as the one below. The only thing I ask is that you forward it in its entirety.

Thank you so much for your interest in my work.

Warmly, Dr. Steve

Sample Email to accompany Inner Selling

Dear _________,

I’m forwarding this e‐book to you because I think you might enjoy it and get something useful out of it. It’s a gift from me and Dr. Steve Taubman, its author. It’s our wish that the information contained within gets into the hands of as many people as possible. I think the ideas, insights, and exercises can help transform the world of sales and influence in a positive and profound way, and I think you’ll get some useful ideas from it. Enjoy!

Warmly, _______________

Special Notation for Infopreneurs

If you have a readership you think would benefit from Inner Selling, you may qualify to be one of our strategic partners. Partners may use Inner Selling as a bonus in association with a particular campaign or as value‐added to their readers. Please contact me to let me know if you’d like to make use of our materials. Inner Selling can only be distributed in its complete and unedited form along with my biographical information and a link to my site. If you’d like short articles for newsletter content, I’d be glad to provide them upon request. I’m happy to speak with you about other joint venture opportunities and I look forward to meeting you and joining forces to improve the lives of those whom we touch.

Best Wishes, Dr. Steve



“Great is the art of beginning, but greater is the art

of ending.”

‐Lazarus Long

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