“A man’s reading program should be as carefully planned as his diet, for that too is food, without which he cannot grow mentally.”
The above quote was written generations ago by Andrew Carnegie, American’s first billionaire. It’s still damn true today.
What diet of information do you consume each week? For me, I devour books. And I’m always buying books. Some books have to wait in line to be read, so I make a weekly reading program to keep me on track. Books on marketing, copywriting, entre-preneurship, self-development and mindset, biographies or autobiographies on famous people, newspapers & magazines, plus at least 50 fiction novels a year thrown in as well, makes for a robust mind. A mind full to the brim with useful, money making information. I like that… so I read a lot and I keep damn well reading no matter how much I now know.
That’s because the more you get to know, the more you realise how much you don’t know. And I’m not saying you’ve got to know everything. I AM saying in your particular industry, you should strive to be the best… to have the edge over everyone else because your knowledge on the subject is so much greater.
So when I started off this marketing and copywriting gig, I wasn’t satisfied to become a good marketer, a good copywriter. No. I wanted to be the best I could be… and that means continually learning … school’s never out for the pro. So I allocate time each day to read. And most times I’m juggling at least three or four books. Grabbing a couple of chapters here and then a chapter there… filling my mind with more stuff that WILL make me money. And that’s the way I look at it. Every new book I read, every old classic I go back and reread, are all making me RICH. So books make me money.
It intrigues me the many professionals out there who only know and understand the basics of their chosen profession. It’s as if their education stopped. They’re getting by on the bare minimum of knowledge… and I betcha their income levels reflect this.
When I mention this to some clients there’s always an excuse. Not enough time, not enough money, the reasons for NOT reading are many.
But I remember buying books long before I could afford them.
And I remember buying them when I was working 12-hour days and I could barely keep my eyes open to read the damn things. I bought them when I was stuck out in the middle of the Queensland outback, slogging away laying concrete railway sleepers in the midday sun; when I was a Painter and Docker sandblasting and then spray-painting those giant tugs that haul the heavy coal tankers into port; when I was working building roof trusses and wall frames; bought them when I was dead broke and dead tired and dreaming of a better life and searching for an escape.
So there are no excuses.
Only choices. The answer to nearly any question on your subject has been answered, somewhere, inside the covers of a book.
What are YOU waiting for?
With more than a decade of experience in the marketing arena, Pete Godfrey, AKA “The Wizard of Words”, has developed a keen eye as to what it takes to succeed in business. As one of Australia’s most successful and highest paid copywriters, Pete has the uncanny ability to turn the written word into money. That’s why clients stand in line and almost beg him to do their promotions.
His client list contains many of the world’s savviest entrepreneurs including Mal Emery, Pat Mesiti, Kate Engler, Tom Caraccio and Rowena Helps, Rick Otton, Daryl and Andrew Grant, Bill Zheng, Matt and Amanda Clarkson, Roberta Fadoul and many others.
This “working class rebel made good” is also a copywriting trainer, having trained hundreds of budding copywriters including Bret Thomson, Bill Dimitrovski, Kevin Francis, Steve Plummer etc.
Pete is a coach as well and coaches a small exclusive group of entrepreneurs in his $29,995 per year Private Wealth Group. Pete also writes an offline, 12-page monthly newsletter called The Emotional Ad Writing & Marketing Letter (http://www.emotionaladwritingletter.com ) for Business Owners, Sales Professionals and Entrepreneurs. His irreverent style and no bullshit attitude offends some, attracts others. To see more on Pete and to get a FREE Bonus copy of his valuable report – “The Ultimate Copywriting & Marketing Secret” valued at a very real $99… go to his blog at http://www.petegodfrey.com
