Wizard of Ads Monday Morning Memo

Lots of people have been asking me the same 3 questions.QUESTION ONE: “Who were your mentors?”Mentor is a word I never use. It smells of apprenticeship, that wafting, submissive aroma that arises from a servant who adores his master. By this definition, I have never had a mentor, but I do have many heroes I study from a distance, and I have a lot of friends who have spoken valuable things into my life.QUESTION TWO: “What is your writing method?”1. I descend into the depths of the client/character in whose voice I will be writing. This takes awhile.2. When I have lost contact with my surroundings and found that character and become that character, I write what that character would say. I do this in the middle of the night because there are fewer interruptions.3. When the character is finished talking, I ascend from the deep waters into the air and sunlight of my surroundings, walk into the kitchen, make a cup of hot tea, and add the juice of a Key Lime. This little ritual helps me find myself. Then I look at the digital clock on the microwave to find out how long I have been away, because time does not exist in that alternate realm.Sometimes, when Pennie is visiting her sisters, I will awaken in the wintertime post-midnight darkness, work for awhile, rise to make tea, and notice that it is not yet light. But when I finally realize it is the darkness of evening, not morning, and that an entire day has disappeared while I was underwater, I have to reorient my mind.QUESTION THREE: “Is your health okay?”“Are you pulling back? Are you stepping away from Wizard Academy and the Wizard of Ads partners? Your recent Monday Morning Memos make me feel like you are preparing to say goodbye.”I fear you have me confused with Mentor R. Williams.Mentor Ralph Williams (yes, Mentor was his first name) wrote “Drift Away,” one of the gold record hits of the 70’s. Dobie Gray sang it to #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1973.“Day after day I’m more confused, yet I look for the light through the pouring rain. You know that’s a game that I hate to lose. And I’m feeling the strain. Ain’t it a shame.”“Beginning to think that I’m wasting time. I don’t understand the things I do. The world outside looks so unkind. And I’m counting on you to carry me through.”When you read these next words, you will likely hear Dobie Gray’s voice in your mind:“Oh, give me the beat, boys, and free my soul, I want to get lost in your rock and roll and drift away.”This is not my day to be Dobie Gray. I am not feeling blue and I am not preparing to die. But I do appreciate your concern. Thank you for caring.A few weeks ago I wrote, “The important is rarely urgent, and the urgent is rarely important. Do not become a slave to the merely urgent.”I’m sure I will shift gears at some point and shoot off in a new direction, but right now I am writing about things that are important, rather than merely urgent. I hope to speak valuable things into your life, just as other people have spoken into mine.But first we need to make a deal, okay?The agreement I need from you is this: If you promise not to think I am feeling blue, stepping back, or preparing to die, I will share some of the valuable things that people have spoken into my life. I will tell you what they said, when they said it, and how I found value in their words.Does that sound okay to you? If so, raise your hand.I saw that hand, even though you raised it only in your mind.Indy says Aroo, and I do, too.Roy H. Williams“There are probably seven persons, in all, who really like my work; and they are enough. I should write even if I were the only patient reader, for my aim is merely self-expression.”– H.P. Lovecraft“Never give up on a dream because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.”– Earl NightingaleIf you are a client of Schwab, Fidelity, or Bank of America; if you fill your tank at Exxon; if you manage your finances with Intuit; or if you find yourself riding a bullet train in Japan, you can thank Dean Guida for making it possible. Dean launched his enterprise software business when he was only 23 years old, bootstrapped it without venture capital, and now – 35 years later – is CEO of a multinational company that serves more than two million software developers. On this week’s edition of Monday Morning Radio, Dean Guida shares his strategies for growing a business from the ground up, and then he explains how you can successfully compete against much larger competitors, and he explains it in a way that is easy to understand. MondayMorningRadio.com

Aim their laughter like a cannon that booms out over the water.Aim their sorrow like a rainbow that follows a storm.Aim their anger like a lightning bolt that kills a man standing under a tree.Be careful not to stand under trees.People would rather be angry that bored.This is why we pay attention to politics.People would rather be frightened than bored.This is why we watch scary movies.People would rather be sad than bored.This is why we read books that break our hearts.People would rather be laughing than bored.This is why we have comedians and memes and YouTube and TikTok.Why is it so profoundly difficultto simply sit still in silence?Because whenever we are silentfor more than a few minutes,all of our shadows and secrets and sinscome to the surface of our consciousness.Jesus says, “Whenever you pray,go into the closet and shut the door.”1Surely, Jesus knows about all theskeletons we like to hide in our closets.And Jesus wants prayer to be the placewhere we confront those skeletonsand face our fears.If we do not confront the skeletons in our closets,then they will control the whole house.If we do not control our shadows,then they will run the whole show.This is why some saythat all of humanity’s problemsstem from our inability to sit quietlyin a room alone. 2– Daniel DeForest London,The Cloud of Unknowing, DistilledAnger, fear, sorrow, and laughter are forms of excitement.Excite people and you will be the center of attention.But the happiest thing to do, if you can do it,is fill people with a sense of wonder.Wonder is a feeling without skeletons or shadows.Wonder is a reaction, not an emotion.Wonder is triggered by realizations that are bigger than our minds can contain.Roy H. WilliamsHOT TIP – Make Yourself Happy. Sign up for Jeffrey’s class Aug. 13-14 at WizardAcademy.org. It will give you more confidence, competence, and consideration. Your teeth will be whiter and you’ll be a better dancer. – Indy Beagle1 Matthew ch 6, verse 62  Blaise Pascal, (1623 – 1662)“It’s what you choose to believe that makes you the person you are.“– Karen Marie MoningNick-Anthony Zamucen has launched four successful franchises: a pizza chain, a home care business, a crime scene cleaner, and a water and fire damage repair company. According to Nick-Anthony, there is a proven formula for running a successful franchise, whether you buy into someone else’s concept or decide to start a franchise of your own. What should you look for in a franchise? What do you need to launch one? And what should you absolutely avoid? Make some popcorn because the show is about to start as Nick Anthony Zamucen tells all to our own roving reporter Rotbart at MondayMorningRadio.com

Any person who relays messages to you from the boss, is now your new boss.An excellent messenger might relay exactly what the big boss asked them to tell you, but only after they have reframed it, recharacterized it, and added their own slant.Every messenger does this. Whether they do it consciously or unconsciously is irrelevant. Whether they do it maliciously or innocently is irrelevant. What matters is that it happens.When a person speaks for the boss, you work for that person. You must do what they say.If a messenger gives you a handwritten note from the big boss, your response to that message will be reframed, recharacterized, and delivered as interpreted by the mind of the messenger. The big boss is going to hear their words, not yours.And God help you if you entrust an innocent question to a messenger. By the time that question enters the ear of the emperor, it will sound like a childish challenge or an anger-inflaming insult. The only thing you can do now is kneel down, put your head between your knees, and kiss your ass goodbye.Have I put the matter too strongly? If so, let me soften it with this short summary: You are forever at the messenger’s mercy.Which is perfectly okay if you do not love your job.Are you putting in your 8 hours then going home to begin living your real life? If so, you are incredibly lucky. Do your 40, collect your check, live your life.I envy you.But if you are cursed with ideas, innovations, and experiences you believe have value, you will forever be frustrated by the bleak barrier that separates you from that pristine person who can say “absolutely yes.” Your cheeks will be chapped by silly slaps from interfering intermediaries. Your days will be darkened by dullards. Your mind will be massacred by meetings with morons. (Yes, I am toying with alliteration today.)You need to get a different job. You need to have direct contact with that one special person who can say absolutely yes without having to clear it with someone else.I spent my youth writing ads for clients who grew too big and became too busy to speak with me directly. When I became weary of living in the leg-irons and handcuffs imposed by messengers, I cut two tablets of stone from the heart of Mount Moriah. Those tablets contain two sentences:“I cannot work my magic unless I am in direct contact with the person who has unconditional authority to say ‘absolutely yes’ without having to check with someone else.”“If that person is too busy to speak with me personally, I am too busy to write his ads.”You have felt what I am describing, or you have not.Again, I envy you if you have not.If you have felt that frustration:Get a job working with an entrepreneur who will take the time to hear you.Honor that person by giving them your best.If that person’s success causes them to feel the need to insert a messenger between them and you…Take your stonemason’s hammer and your stonecarver’s chisel to the ancient mines of Mount Moriah. Sit down and think for awhile in the shadow of the Almighty. Then carve what you feel.If Mount Moriah frightens you, then you must learn to live with chapped cheeks, darkened days, and a massacred mind.I will leave you to make your own decision.As for me, I’m placing my stone tablets in my front window where everyone can see them.Roy H. WilliamsNOTE FROM INDY BEAGLE: August 13-14: Only 15 people will be allowed to attend an extremely special business class taught by Jeffrey Eisenberg. The wizard is hoping his young adult grandson can attend.“The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play.” – Arthur Toynbee “You see, there’s a fundamental connection between seeming and being. Every Fae child knows this, but you mortals never seem to see. We understand how dangerous a mask can be. We all become what we pretend to be.” – Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the WindRusty Komori was the tennis coach at the Punahou School in Honolulu from 1994 until 2015. The school won the state championship each and every year. That’s a record not held by any other coach in any other sport. As he tells Deputy Roving Reporter Maxwell Rotbart, the core of success — in sports or business — is a superior team culture committed to excellence. If a dictatorial boss heads an organization, it won’t have the same success as if a loving leaderguides it. “Love” may be the lowest score in tennis, but it’s the missing ingredient that will put you at the top of your game in business. Listen… Love… and Lead. At MondayMorningRadio.com

There is a time to get started, and there is a time to wait.When you have thought carefully about it, take action. But when you haven’t thought about it, wait.The important is rarely urgent, and the urgent is rarely important. Do not become a slave to the merely urgent.Perception is to see things that not everyone sees. Intuition is to recognize connections, and the patterns that occur because of these connections.Maximum information is available, and maximum contemplation is possible, only at the last possible moment.If you ever feel bad about procrastinating, just remember that Mozart wrote the overture to Don Giovanni the morning it premiered.Procrastination is the soul rebelling against entrapment. But if you procrastinate too long, you will have your choice made for you by circumstance.Mozart was christened Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart. Theophilus, in Greek, means “loved by God”.In a letter announcing his birth, his father said his name was Wolfgang Gottlieb Mozart. Gottlieb, in German, means “loved by God.”When he was 21, Mozart began calling himself Amadè, which is Hungarian for “loved by God.”Mozart called himself Amadeus only once, when he signed a letter “Wolfgangus Amadeus Mozartus” as a joke, (sort of like Indiana Beagle calling himself “Indianus Beaglus” in the image at the top of today’s Monday Morning Memo.) Amadeus, in Latin, means “Loved by God.”“Johannes Chrysostomus” precedes the name “Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart” because he, a Catholic, was born on January 27, the feast day of Saint John Chrysostomus in the West until the calendar reform of 1969.But I digress. We were talking about the tyranny of the “merely urgent” versus information, contemplation, and procrastination.Waiting serves a purpose. In Manley Miller’s booklet, “Potato Chips: Greasy, Salty, Really Good Stories from Growing Up in New Orleans,” he writes,I became a pastor when I was still young and foolish enough to say, “All right, God, if I’m not a senior pastor by the time I’m 30, then I’m going to quit being a pastor. I’m just going to take that as a sign from you that this is not what I’m supposed to be doing.”Later, I found out the reason Jesus didn’t start his ministry until he was 30 is because you couldn’t become a rabbi until you were 30. You didn’t have enough life experience.Jesus was 12 when Mary and Joseph found him teaching in the Synagogue, and it says that he “spoke with great wisdom.” But then when he’s 30 and starts his ministry, it says he spoke with great authority.You have an aptitude for something when you have a talent for it.But you develop proficiency over long experience.And it’s going to take some time to get there.Likewise, there’s a long journey from wisdom to authority.When you have something to say worth hearing, that’s wisdom.But when people respect you enough to listen, that’s authority.Waiting is not wasting.And now we’re going to make a 90-degree turn and head off in a tangential direction. Hold on tight.Here are the Top Five Regrets of People Who are Dying:I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.I wish I hadn’t worked so hard. I wish I had spent more time with my family.I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.I wish that I had let myself be happier.– Bronnie Ware,an Australian nurse who spent several years caring for patients during the last 12 weeks of their lives.Final facts about Mozart:When Mozart was 20, Thomas Jefferson signed the Declaration of Independence.When Mozart was 32, the Constitution of the United States was ratified.When Mozart was my age, he had been dead for 31 years.How much time do I have left?How much time do you? I ask you this only because I am your friend.Roy H. WilliamsDoes the personality of your website reflect the personality of your brand? Websites have existed for almost three decades. Yet precious few websites are aligned with that company’s advertising, social media, and point-of-sale experience. And even fewer websites incorporate language that appeals to each of the four major personality types. Vi Wickam, a digital ad strategist of the highest order, optimizes websites to deliver more leads, more sales, and happier customers. A longtime Wizard of Ads partner, Vi has agreed to share several of his most valuable beliefs, one of which is this: No website is ever complete. Listen, learn, and elevate your online presence at MondayMorningRadio.com

When you are having an adventure, you wish you were safe at home. But when you are safe at home, you wish you were having an adventure.Every adventure is marked by setbacks, disappointments, and difficulties. Without trouble, there can be no adventure.Our love of movies, video games, and sporting events proves our craving for adventure, for what are these but a celebration of people overcoming setbacks, disappointments, difficulties, and problems?What are you facing today?What must you overcome?What is your current adventure?Adventure is exciting when the vision of a glowing future shines brightly in your mind. But when we have no vision of a happy outcome, we walk in darkness.Jesus spoke of this phenomenon in the sixth chapter of the book of Matthew.“Your vision is the lamp of your body. If you see the world clearly, your body will be full of light. But if your vision is distorted, the light within you will be darkness. And if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”When our vision is distorted, we lose hope.Please understand that I am not talking about mental illness. I don’t pretend to have a cure for that. But I do know a thing or two about sadness, confusion, frustration, and loneliness.One out of every four people you encounter today will be hiding deep sadness, confusion, frustration, or loneliness. They won’t let you see it, but it is there.This is the cure you have within you: You can listen intently when a person is speaking, so that the person feels seen and heard. You can smile and nod, so that the person feels accepted.You have the power to make other people feel valued.Each of us needs to be seen, and heard, and missed when we are absent.You can shine a light into the darkness.And sometimes, that is enough.Roy H. Williams NOTE: Today we celebrate the 13th anniversary of MondayMorningRadio, hosted by our own Pulitzer-nominated roving reporter, Dean Rotbart. Next week’s episode will be number 600! Can you believe it? And last month we quietly celebrated the 30th anniversary of the MondayMorningMemo. How many of you have been subscribers since the days when it was delivered by FAX? Aroo. – Indy BeagleGwendolyn “Wendy” Bounds, an award-winning broadcast reporter, was an eyewitness of 9/11. In his book, September Twelfth: An American Comeback Story, roving reporter Rotbart describes Wendy Bounds as telegenically attractive, “with big chocolate-brown eyes, a sparkly broad smile, and shoulder-length buttery blond hair blended with honey highlights.” Today, the long-time desk jockey is ripped, with muscular arms, strong and toned legs, and broad, well-developed shoulders. Wendy has transformed herself into a competitive Spartan racer, running through mud pits, crawling under barbed wire, swinging across monkey bars, and hoisting sandbags as she navigates obstacle courses. “It is never too late to achieve your full potential,” Wendy writes in a new book, out tomorrow (June 18). “Age,” she tells the roving reporter and his deputy, Maxwell, “can be a secret weapon.” Age. Learn how to use it, at MondayMorningRadio.com

My friends know that I have not used – and do not plan to use – ChatGPT, although I do endorse it for people who do not love to write.I love to write.Undissuaded, my friends urge that I should at least allow ChatGPT to gather and compile data for me to edit.I like to gather my own data.Jeffrey Eisenberg gave ChatGPT this prompt: “In less than 500 words what advice would Roy H Williams give his good friend Tom Grimes about writing?”Twenty-seven seconds later, Jeffrey’s computer delivered a 448-word fortune cookie. (I’m not sure why, but I can see it emerging from the front of Jeffrey’s computer on a long, white paper tongue, like the receipt from a grocery story cash register.)Tom,Picture this: you’re standing on a bustling street corner, trying to get the attention of a hurried crowd. That’s what writing is like. You have mere seconds to grab someone’s attention and make them care. Here’s how you do it:Engage from the Start: Begin with a bang. Your first sentence should make the reader stop in their tracks. Something unexpected, a question, or a bold statement. For instance, “Have you ever tried to whistle with a mouth full of peanut butter?”Be Conversational: Write as you speak. Imagine you’re having a chat with an old friend over coffee. Use contractions. Keep it casual. The more natural it sounds, the more relatable it becomes.Vary Your Sentences: Mix short, punchy sentences with longer, flowing ones. This rhythm keeps readers engaged. It’s like a song; it needs a beat to keep people moving.Tell Stories: People love stories. They remember them. Use anecdotes to illustrate your points. A well-placed story can make your message unforgettable. “Remember that time we got lost in the woods and stumbled upon that hidden waterfall? Your writing should be like that – a surprising discovery.”Repetition for Emphasis: Don’t shy away from repeating key points. Repetition drills the message into the reader’s mind. It’s like the chorus of a song – it’s what they’ll hum later.Parallel Structure: Use parallel structure to create balance and rhythm in your writing. “He came, he saw, he conquered.” It’s pleasing to the ear and easy to remember.Engaging Openings and Closings: Start strong, but finish even stronger. Leave them with something to think about. A question, a challenge, a powerful statement. Make your closing as memorable as your opening.Be Clear and Concise: Don’t use ten-dollar words when a ten-cent one will do. Simplicity is powerful. It cuts through the noise and delivers your message with clarity.Emotion is Key: Tap into the reader’s emotions. Make them laugh, make them cry, make them think. If they feel something, they’ll remember it.Have a Purpose: Every word should serve a purpose. Ask yourself, “What’s the point of this sentence? Does it move the story forward or add value?” If not, cut it.Remember, Tom, writing is an art, but it’s also a craft. It takes practice. Don’t be afraid to rewrite, to polish, to perfect. Your goal is to make your reader feel something, to think, to act. Writing isn’t just about putting words on paper; it’s about creating an experience.So go ahead, write like you’re talking to an old friend. Keep it simple, keep it engaging, and above all, keep it real. That’s the secret.Cheers,RoyMy reaction is strangely twisted, like a chocolate and vanilla swirl cone from McDonald’s.The vanilla twist is that I am impressed by ChatGPT’s ability to extract 10 true things from 30 years worth of Monday Morning Memos. The chocolate twist is my annoyance that ChatGPT used filler words and boring phrases I would never use.Get your shit together, ChatGPT.Get your poop in a group.The following is my rewrite of the sanitized, digitized, homogenized fortune cookie ChatGPT wrote while pretending it was me.Tom-Tom,You’re standing on the hood of your car, trying to get the attention of the airpod-and-earbud people who ignore you as they walk by. Welcome to the world of ad writing.Here are my Ten Tips for Triggering Trouble, Causing Confusion, Raising Riots and Selling Stuff.Open Big: “My dog can whistle like Tom Sawyer and dance like Huckleberry Finn.”Get Comfortable: A relaxed speaker creates a focused listener.Find Your Rhythm: “My client would not, could not, did not commit these crimes.”Tell Stories: People love’em.Say the Good Stuff Twice: Say the really good stuff three times.Use Paired Opposites: Every proton needs an electron. Friends and enemies, ups and downs, ins and outs, whispers and shouts, lips and snouts,Throw Away Every Cliché: Be new, surprising, and different.Don’t Try to Sound Educated, But Say Intelligent Things: Don’t be pompous, be impressive.Make People Laugh, Cry, or Get Angry: If you win the heart, the mind will follow. The mind can always find logic to justify what the heart has already decided.Close Big: The cannon goes BOOM! Then you bow deeply and with a flourish of your hands nighttime falls fast like a curtain and fireworks fill the sky. The people clap insanely, glad they stopped, removed their earbuds, and took a moment to smile.Indy said to tell you Aroo.Ciao for Niao,RoySUMMARY BY INDY BEAGLE: It took Brother Chatsworth 448 words to sound like a wooden puppet who wishes it was a real boy, but it took the wizard only 240 words to sound like himself. He’s good at being himself. I’ll bet you’re good at being yourself, too! Aroo. – IndyPS FROM ROY: The better writer is the self-aware writer, just as a painter is a better painter for knowing he himself is in the pigment.

“If the founder of an organization does not empower the next generation of leadership to carry the enterprise forward while he is still viable as a leader, the organization he founded will cease to exist within 10 years after his death.”I have no recall of how I learned that information, but I have known it for nearly 40 years. My confidence that it is true tells me that I trusted the source.I was working in an industrial steel fabrication shop in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma for 3 dollars and 35 cents an hour when I learned a second truth I cannot prove, but I remember the episode clearly. The year was 1976, when a million dollars was like ten million dollars today.I was listening to a radio interview while driving a delivery truck down Lynn Lane. The man on the radio had mailed a survey to a large number of millionaires and a surprisingly high percentage of them had completed that survey and returned it to him.He was sharing the characteristics of self-made millionaires:“Do self-made millionaires have a high I.Q.? No. The percentage of self-made millionaires with a high I.Q. is the same as the general population.”“Is it education? No. Self-made millionaires are no better educated than the rest of us.”“Is it family money? No. Self-made millionaires are no more likely to come from a wealthy family than you and I.”“Is it family connections? No.”“Did they marry someone whose family had money and connections? No.”“Did they ‘get discovered’? Did they get a big break? No.”When all of my assumptions had been shattered, he said there were only four things that self-made millionaires tend to have in common:(4.) Self-made millionaires are more likely to have been fired from a job than the rest of us.(3.) A high percentage of self-made millionaires have filed bankruptcy at least once.(2.) Self-made millionaires distrust traditional wisdom and believe there is a better way.(1.) Self-made millionaires think further ahead than we do. They have a time horizon that isn’t measured in days or weeks or months, but in years.The invisible man on the radio went on to say that a person’s socio-economic strata is largely determined by how far that person thinks ahead.The average American has a plan for their next two paychecks. Their upcoming paycheck is fully committed, and they have bills to pay with the paycheck that follows, although that one offers a small opportunity for discretionary spending. The paycheck after our next one gives us a little bit of hope.Two paychecks ahead is the furthest we dare look. This is what it means to be middle class.But at least we are not struggling to find the money to buy a new battery for the car so that we can get to work, or trying to borrow money to pay a long-overdue electric bill, or wishing we had enough food in the kitchen to last until payday. These people are struggling, but that is not the bottom. No.At the bottom of the socio-economic strata are the addicts who can think only of their next drink, their next score, their next fix. Their time horizon is a few hours, at most. Tomorrow doesn’t enter their mind.Friend, I am convinced you can succeed at anything you choose to do, provided you have the emotional staying power to survive your mistakes.No matter how hard you try, there are a certain number of mistakes you are going to make. This doesn’t mean you have failed. It means you are learning.So always keep trying. But above all:Think ahead.Roy H. WilliamsPS: “The one thing all famous authors, world class athletes, business tycoons, singers, actors, and celebrated achievers in any field have in common is that they all began their journeys when they were none of these things.”– Mike DooleyPPS: When business owners struggle, they often blame everyone but themselves. According to psychotherapist Steve McCready, they should be saying, “It’s not you, it’s me.” As a business coach, McCready spends all day, every day, erasing the root causes of business problems, including feelings of self-doubt and being overwhelmed. So get comfortable and find a psychologically safe space. Steve McCready wants to chat with you at MondayMorningRadio.com.

A successful mechanic shop brings in about $500,000 a year. But whether or not the shop owner makes any profit on that $500,000 isn’t determined by how good they are at repairing cars, but by how good they are at running a business.And even those shop owners who are good at running a business might not be good at converting telephone inquiries into customers.You realize I’m not just talking about auto repair shops, right? I’m talking about every category of business in America.At this moment, I’m talking to you about yours.Are you good at your job?(Are your customers impressed?)Are you good at running a business?(Pricing, recruiting, work-flow management, inventory management, vendor relations, employee retention, customer retention, payroll management, etc.)Are you good at generating inquiries?(Advertising, brand-building, sales activation, customer word-of-mouth and online reviews.)Are you good at turning inquiries into customers?(Close rate, conversion.)Now, back to Jerry:Jerry was good at his job.So good, in fact, that his reputation allowed him to bring in 12 times as much business as the average “successful” auto repair shop. Jerry wasn’t bringing in $500,000 a year. He was bringing in $500,000 a month.Jerry was good at running a business.He and his wife traveled and enjoyed life at a much higher level than most of us.Jerry was good at generating inquiries, mostly because his auto repair shop made customers happy for a lot of years, and happy customers tend to multiply.But Jerry was only average at turning telephone inquiries into customers. Still, he was doing 12 times the sales volume of the average “successful” mechanic shop in America.Jerry and his wife are often at Wizard Academy.Jerry was paying attention when I said, “Bad marketing is about you, your company, your product, your service, how many years you have been in business and how many awards you have won. Good marketing is about the customer, and how your product or service can change the private little world they live in.”After contemplating those words, Jerry and his wife realized that how they respond to telephone inquiries is a form of marketing. Specifically, it is the kind of marketing that can improve the percentage of incoming phone calls that become customers.I encouraged Jerry and his wife to experiment. I said, “Try something new. Give it time to work, but if it doesn’t work, try something else that is new.”Jerry’s second experiment caused his business revenues to jump 53% above the previous year, month after month.Jerry’s mechanic shop no longer does $6,000,000 a year. He now has a $9,180,000 mechanic shop.I know what you’re thinking. You want to know how Jerry and his wife lit the fuse on the rocket that put their business into orbit, am I right?Okay, I’ll tell you.Jerry’s wife said, “Every incoming call begins with the caller saying, ‘Can you,’ ‘Do you,’ or ‘Will you.’”“Give me some examples,” I said.She said, “Can you repair the transmission on a 2018 Mercedes-Benz E400?”Our answer is, “Yes we can. And if you’d like to bring it in, we’ll take a look at it right now.”“Do you work on Volkswagens?”“Yes we do. And if you’d like to bring it in, we’ll take a look at it right now.”“Will you take a look at my Porsche 718 Cayman? It dies every time I make a sharp left turn.”“Yes, we will. And if you’d like to bring it in, we’ll take a look at it right now.”Do you see what Jerry and his wife are NOT doing? They’re not probing for more information, educating the customer, or explaining how busy they are.What they ARE doing is listening to the customer’s problem and saying, “Yes, we can solve that problem for you.” And then they tell the customer the happy news that they are willing to take a look at it immediately.Let’s look at the math of that transaction:The customer (1.) has a problem and (2.) is frustrated about it.Jerry and his wife (1.) take away the problem and (2.) remove the frustration.It’s never about you.It’s always about the customer.You can make it more complicated than that if you want to.But I wouldn’t suggest it.Roy H. WilliamsPS – I didn’t mention the name of Jerry’s wife because that would make it too easy to find them. And they are far too busy saying “Yes” to customers to have time to chat with 500 people who would like to ask them for further details about their method. Does it surprise you that those calls happen? I’ll see you next week.PPS – (#4) Skilled, (#3) Expert, (#2) Masterful, and (#1) Brilliant, is the ascending hierarchy of ability among talented business people. Brilliant is the realm where Simon T. Bailey operates, and now he is teaching others how to elevate their business abilities to that same level of performance. A former Disney sales executive, Simon T. Bailey has written multiple books on the topic and has been invited to be a keynote speaker at more than 2,400 events over the past two decades. Success magazine names him in their “Top 25” alongside Brené Brown, Tony Robbins, and Oprah Winfrey. This week, Simon shares his secret formula with deputy reporter Maxwell Rotbart. Get out your laptop, your iPhone, your smart pad, a pencil and paper, or a crayon and a napkin, because you’re going to want to take notes on all that Simon T. Bailey has to say. MondayMorningRadio.com

The Growing Up Years: Ages Birth to 20When a man is in his teenage years, people with good intentions will ask, “What are your plans for the future?” Fewer than 10% of us have a real plan at that age, but we make one up so that we don’t disappoint those who believe in us.I tell teenage boys the truth when I sense they are feeling adrift. “It is rare to know at your age what you want to do with your life, but people will often ask you as though you are supposed to know. But the real truth is this: If you have your head completely out of your ass by the time you are 30, you are way ahead of the game.”The Education Years: Ages 20 to 30Regulated careers – engineer, lawyer, doctor – require a young man with a plan. The rest of us just bumble along and learn from our mistakes.People assume that a man who “plans his work and works his plan” is more disciplined and has a higher I.Q. than those of us who bumble. But I believe it is better to aim your temperament than try and change it.Planners prefer structure. Bumblers prefer adventure. This doesn’t mean Bumblers are less visionary, less disciplined, less committed, or less intelligent. They just prefer to improvise, innovate, and impress, rather than plan, schedule, and execute.Planners tend to become professionals. Bumblers tend to become business owners, tradesmen, salespeople, consultants, worker bees, or bums.As of January 2024, there were 1,100,101 physicians in America. The average primary care doctor in America makes $265,000 a year. Specialists make an average of $382,000, which is about the same annual income as the owner of a modestly successful plumbing or air conditioning company with fewer than 10 employees.In January of 2023, there were 1,331,290 lawyers in America earning an average annual income of $100,626 a year. Lawyers in the 75th percentile make about $103,000. Top earners make an average of $131,000, which is about the same as a modestly successful salesperson working for a local TV or radio station.Like I said, a man’s path forward has more to do with temperament than anything else. To force a man to behave outside his temperament is cruel and unusual punishment.The Acquisition Years: Ages 30 to 40For most men, the years between 30 and 40 are about gaining experience and status and possessions as we quietly struggle and claw our way upward. Adrenaline is our drug of choice. Conspiracy theories, video games, sports betting, fishing boats, sports cars and motorcycles provide us a way of escape. These are the years when onlookers say, “The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys.”But in spite of our visible successes, we cannot quiet the inner voice that whispers, “If other people knew you the way that I know you, they would know what a phony you are.”It is no coincidence that Henry David Thoreau was just over 30 when wrote, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation, and go to the grave with the song still in them.”The saddest of all men stay in toy-gathering mode for the rest of their lives, wanting only to make more money and a bigger name for themselves. When such a man reaches 60 and looks back at his 30th birthday, he hasn’t really gained 30 years of experience. He has had one year’s experience 30 times. But he doesn’t know how to do anything else.Having never discovered his soul, he goes to his grave with his song still in him.The Elevation Years: Ages 40 to 50For about 80 percent of American men, the decade beween 40 and 50 is when we will make our mark on the world. The big leaps forward, the fingerprints we leave behind, the stories that will be told when we are gone, usually happen between our 40th and 50th birthdays.These are the years when we begin to see clearly.These are the years when we make fewer mistakes.These are the years when we suck the juice from all of our experiences and make use of the wisdom and energy it gives us.The Celebration Years: Ages 50 to 60Having worked 30 years at making a life, we now begin to think about making a difference.These are the years when men discover the value in genuine relationships, sincere spirituality, and honest confession. In essence, we come face-to-face with our feminine side.We look at our life partners and realize how lucky we are.We look at our children and grandchildren and realize how lucky we are.We stop and smell the roses and make lemonade.The Distribution Years: somewhere beyond 60Robert Frost had just turned 60 when he wrote, “Neither Out Far Nor In Deep,” a poem that describes how we live our lives longing for a future that never arrives.The people along the sandAll turn and look one way.They turn their back on the land.They look at the sea all day.As long as it takes to passA ship keeps raising its hull;The wetter ground like glassReflects a standing gull.The land may vary more;But wherever the truth may be,The water comes ashore,And the people look at the sea.They cannot look out far.They cannot look in deep.But when was that ever a barTo any watch they keep?It is in the years after 60 that men begin to give away all that we have gathered in the hope that we can make a difference.These are the years when we sail the great oceans and peer into the deep and learn to sing.Apology:Perhaps young women are exactly like young men, perhaps not. I can’t say, because I was never a girl, and I never had a daughter.I am aware that today’s memo excludes half the population, but I felt it would be safer to speak only of what I know, rather than speculate and be wrong. So ladies, I hope you will understand that I am honoring you by not pretending that I understand the pressures and frustrations, troubles and triumphs, joys and aspirations of women.But I do understand men.Roy H. WilliamsMichelle D. Gladieux has advised hundreds of companies like Best Buy, General Dynamics, Lincoln Financial, and Medtronic, on how their executives and employees can communicate more effectively. Michelle is one of 21 Monday Morning Radio guests showcased in All You Can Eat Business Wisdom, a new book compiled by deputy reporter Maxwell Rotbart. (I’ve been told the wizard is in it, by the way. – Indy) This week, on Michelle’s second podcast appearance, she delves deeper into the perfect triangle of (1.) effective communications, (2.) career advancement, and (3.) life satisfaction. What you say, how you say it, and how you listen, really do matter. MondayMorningRadio.com

To Hollister and Gideon,You have arrived at that age when everyone you meet will ask you about your plans for the future. I am older, happier, and probably more successful than those people, so ignore them. Listen to me.Knowledge is important, but experience is what really matters. School can give you knowledge, but it cannot give you experience.Experience is the name we give to our mistakes.Success is simply a matter of surviving your mistakes. But first you have to make them. So take chances. Feel the pain of disappointment. Then pull yourself together.Avoid the mistakes that are bigger than you.Don’t die.Don’t create a baby until you’re ready.Don’t go to prison.Those mistakes are hard to undo.Surviving all your other mistakes will require nothing more than financial and emotional “staying power.”Financial staying power isn’t measured by how much money you have. In fact, an abundance of cash will tempt you to calculate your burn rate. You will say, “At my current rate of spending, I can last until such-and-such a date before I run out of money.”When you calculate your burn rate, you create an unconscious plan. You have looked into the future and seen yourself collapsing in defeat on that day. Personally, I have never known anyone who succeeded after calculating their burn rate. They imagined running out of money, and then they did.I knew they had calculated their burn rate because everywhere they went, they said, “I have to be profitable by such-and-such a date or I will run out of money.”Boys, no matter how much money you have, you can run out of money. True financial staying power isn’t measured by how much money you have; it’s measured by how little money you need to stay in the game. The secret is to keep your monthly obligations so low that it takes very little to cover your living expenses.The most successful of my Wizard of Ads partners kept their jobs until they were making enough money as my partner that they could afford to walk away from their previous employment. Some of the others were lucky enough to have a life partner who made enough money to cover all the monthly expenses of the household. The partners who struggled in the early days were the ones who had significant monthly expenses and a lot of money in the bank. These were the ones who calculated their burn rate and then slowly began to panic as they saw that money disappear month after month.Financial staying power is easy. Live modestly. Don’t owe money.Emotional staying power is what makes you successful. It gives you the ability to fail without thinking of yourself as a failure. So take chances. Feel the pain of disappointment, then pull yourself together, like I said.Failure, like success, is a temporary condition.You are going to need encouragers. I have your MeMaw and the encouragement of God that I find in my Bible.Mistakes are inevitable. Don’t fear mistakes.Encourage people. Be slow to offer advice, but quick to offer encouragement. Tell people what you admire about them. No one likes a flatterer, but if you speak the truth, they will hear it as the truth.Marry your best friend. You will know they are your best friend when you look forward to being with that person, even when you are not imagining them naked. Pennie – your MeMaw – believes in me more than I believe in me. I have asked God to give each of you a life partner like that.I am not the only person who thinks these things. On May 1, 2024, Jason Fried wrote,“Occasionally a 17-year-old will write, asking for entrepreneurial or business advice. Oftentimes they’re early bloomers and already have something going on. Others are chomping at the bit once they get out of high school. It’s great to hear from them. But my advice is generally that they don’t need advice. You don’t need advice at 17. You need experiences. You don’t need to be told what to do, you need to be told to do. Now, that in itself could be construed as advice, but it’s really not meant as that. It’s anti-advice, if anything. Don’t listen. You’ll learn out there, not in this email. At 17 you have more time than you’ll ever have to just fuck around and find out. Anything else is just getting in the way. There’s no unlock, no sage advice from some oldster that’s going to make a lick of difference at 17. The doing, and the self-discovery, will give you all the advice you need until you really hit a point where the stakes matter and the right suggestion could mean everything. Until then, wander. Be 17.”Boys, if I’m not around 10 years from now, be sure to share this letter with Eden and Vance.Love,PoobahPS – Some people will like you for who you are. Some people won’t like you at all. But most people will like you for what you can do for them.It is never okay for a friend to like you for what you can do for them. In fact, that person is not your friend. But it is definitely okay for your employer to like you for what you can do for them.When you get a job, know that these are the characteristics of the perfect employee:They do incredibly good work.They always get their work done on time.Everyone likes them.If any two of those things is true about you, it is enough to make you a valuable employee. If all three of those things are true, every business owner you meet will want to hire you.PPS – I have known highly effective men and women who radiate professionalism. Their poise, polish, elegance, and charm are intoxicating. These people are often perfectionists by nature, so their professionalism comes to them naturally.I am not, by nature, a perfectionist. Poise, polish, elegance and charm are not my natural condition. The best I can do is try to be kind and considerate and quick to apologize when I do or say something stupid.Professionalism, when it is authentic, is amazing. But it can also be a pose, a mask that is worn to disguise the fact that a person is just a posturing little weasel with an expensive haircut, sophisticated manners, and a lot of style. These people can always get a job, but it doesn’t take long to see that they are an empty suit of clothes.Be professional if it is in your nature, but never forget that effectiveness is what really matters. I have always been a little bit scruffy and undisciplined, but my effectiveness buys me a lot of forgiveness.Be honest. Encourage others. Listen intently when someone is talking.Know that I love you.– PoobahBryan Clayton uses a proprietary app to match homeowners who need lawn care with small businesses – many of them solo operators – that provide those services. He has more than 55,000 entrepreneurs serving more than half a million customers. Bryan began mowing lawns in high school and never quit. Today, he runs a $30 million company that brings buyers and sellers together. “There are opportunities aplenty,” Bryan tells roving reporter Rotbart, “to leverage technology in service-sector companies.” Want to make some money? Go now to MondayMorningRadio.com