Bob Burg, Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea co-author (along with John David Mann) and thought leader, was kind enough to spend time with me recently. He believes that the amount of money one earns is directly proportional to the number of people they serve, and I agree with this philosophy completely. Bob is actively involved with a variety of charitable causes, including some that care for animals and underprivileged children.

The basic premise of the Go-Giver is counterintuitive to its title. He and co-author Mann feel that the title is a ‘pattern interrupt’ and grabs the attention of those who are attracted to and in alignment with the message. This message is that shifting your focus from getting to giving (constantly and consistently providing value to others) can be a wonderful way to live, and financially profitable as well.

I asked him if he was saying that we shouldn’t be ‘go getters’, and he said that we must have the go getters who take action and make things happen. There is no natural division between the two; the opposite of this is someone who is a ‘go taker‘. These people don’t achieve the success they desire because they may feel entitled without giving value to others. The main character in the book, Joe, starts out as a ‘go taker’ and learns that ‘go giving’ makes more sense in his life. A person who can make that shift in their life is the one who succeeds and accomplishes the most.

But, is this simply saying that nice guys and girls finish first? Bob says that being nice, in and of itself, is not enough to make someone successful. Nice is important and helpful, but many nice people are also broke. You must do the right things in the process, and the Five Laws lead the way to success. He and Mann promise that if you’ll follow these Laws you must be successful.

Five Laws:

• Law of Value – this Law states that your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment. Price is a dollar amount; value is the relative worth and desirability to the end user. You communicate your value to someone through your focus – you’re focusing on them and providing value to them Bob relates this to what I do online in that Money is an echo of value, it’s the thunder of values lightning. The value comes first and the money is a natural result of that value you have provided to others.
• Law of Compensation – Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them. Nicole Martin, the teacher in the story, leverages her value by increasing her reach. You must touch the lives of many with what you do. This Law represents your actual income.
• Law of Influence – Your influence is relative to how abundantly you place other people’s interests first.  All successful leaders run their lives and their businesses this way.    All things being equal, people will do business with those they know, like, and trust.
• Law of Authenticity – People will respond to you when you are your authentic self. Always tap into your true, authentic nature instead of trying to be someone you are not.
• Law of Receptivity – The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving – giving and receiving are two sides of the same coin. All giving is made possible because of the receiving that goes along with it.

Bob feels that we need to have both a vision and a system to make that happen. You must be persistent and take action on what you want. The Go-Giver is a must read. I’ve added it to the Reading List for my online programs and know that you will benefit from Bob’s great wisdom.

Before I came online to work exclusively in 2006, I worked as a classroom teacher and as a real estate broker and residential appraiser throughout southern California. I have said many times that if I had known as much about marketing and leveraging the power of the Internet then as I do now my real estate business would have been much easier and more lucrative.

But is marketing only applicable to business? I think not.

We market ourselves on a regular basis in our daily lives. It’s our way of connecting with others and building something referred to as the ‘know, like, and trust factor‘. Allow me to give you a concrete example of this strategy.

Two of my friends, Tom and Dina, have a daughter, Caroline, who is a senior in high school this year. Caroline is a top student, yet she is shy and introverted when it comes to getting involved with activities at school. Two years ago the school counselor told them that unless Caroline could show that she was more than just academically outstanding, there would be little chance of her getting into the college of her choice.

That’s when they came to me for help, and I began the process of ‘marketing’ Caroline to the world. My goal was to showcase her gifts and talents, in a way that would suit her personality and get her noticed by the college admissions offices. I met with the family every week for about six weeks to put many things into place that would build her credibility and increase her visibility.

The first thing we did was to make a list of Caroline’s accomplishments: She had played the piano since she was eleven; she used to play soccer in elementary and junior high; and she excelled in mathematics. We needed to show that it would be a benefit to have her as a part of any college freshman class.

Because Caroline is shy and reserved, my approach was to turn her into a minor celebrity who could say almost everything she needed to from the solitude of home. We set up a blog for her, and also a channel on YouTube. She began posting about her love of music, and then invited readers to watch the videos she was making where she was playing the piano. She posted about her school’s soccer team, and gave a detailed analysis after each game of what they could have done differently. She posted about various math topics, and then offered to help anyone who had questions or was having difficulty with their homework.

All of this was put into place to build Caroline’s credibility, but none of it would matter unless we could get the word out about what she was doing to increase her visibility. To do this quickly, I recommended that she connect with at least three other students who were key ‘influencers’ in the high school community. After a long discussion and strategy session we narrowed it down to three students she knew fairly well. Her assignment was to tell each of them about her blog, and to ask them to let others at school know about it as well.

The results have been nothing short of amazing. She became a minor celebrity at school very quickly by leveraging the power of the Internet. The music department asked her to join them for their upcoming events; the math department asked her to start a program for after school tutoring, and the soccer team asked her to be a student advisor for their next season.

Caroline was able to stay true to herself, while also getting involved in activities she was passionate about. When she filled out her college applications she had so much more to include that showcased her talents, skills, and abilities. She is currently in the process of applying to schools that meet all of her criteria so that she will have a bright future.

What about you? Can you see by this Case Study that marketing is not just for business?

Alicia Forest, 21 Steps business coach and entrepreneur, has it all. She made the conscious decision many years ago that she would not work for someone else once she got married and had children. At her last position, working for a university, it worked out perfectly in that she set her intention that she was going to leave. She went on vacation, and returned to be told they were downsizing, and that her position was being eliminated. That was twelve years ago, and Alicia has been an entrepreneur ever since. This allows her to be at home with her two young children, spend summers at the lake with her husband and the kids, and live the life she loves.

She sees that being entrepreneurial is a choice, and Alicia feels that her business allows her to serve others. She wants to be a champion for her client’s dreams and loves working closely with people as they build their ideal business.

Alicia’s first business coach introduced her to the idea of leveraging the power of the Internet to grow her business, and she has added the ‘in person’ component by hosting her own live events. She feels that her business model is perfect for what she wants to achieve in both her personal and business life. She believes in having different mentors at different times in your life in order to grow and shape your business and better serve your own clients.

I took Alicia’s 21 Steps Live course this past summer, and it was life changing for me. We went into depth on how to align your sales funnel to build a business that suits your lifestyle. She also has a Leap Learning Lab where she teaches a new topic each month and explains in great detail how to implement what you learn in your own online business. You can get started for just a dollar.

Alicia has an MBA in Leadership, which gives her a unique perspective to doing business as an entrepreneur. She feels that so much of what she learned and now shares, including strategic planning, impacts her teaching and the results her clients are able to achieve. Planning your business over a period of time makes the difference in the level of success you are able to reach, while also eliminating stress. There is also room for spontaneity, but in a way that makes sense for your overall goals. She does not work during the summer, and this is all a part of her strategic plan for her business.

I asked Alicia to share some advice with those new to their business, and she encourages you to find someone you can model and learn from, while also receiving support. She also says that you should continually ask yourself what new piece of information you need in order to move forward logically. Seek out that information and implement it quickly. Be sure to check out her Leap Learning Lab to find out more about how you can leverage your time, elevate your business, accelerate your success, and prosper.

I recently had the pleasure of spending almost a week with Nicole Dean. We were part of a brainstorming and mastermind group put together by David Perdew, founder and CEO of NAMS, the event I speak at twice each year in Atlanta. David and his wife, Charlsa, live in northern Alabama, and that is where we met. But first I had to get from southern California to Alabama, and that’s how I was able to spend so much time with Nicole.

I flew into Atlanta, and then on to Pensacola, Florida, where Nicole picked me up at the airport. It was almost eight at night when my flight arrived, and we still had almost three hundred miles to drive to get to David and Charlsa’s cabin in the woods in Alabama. Spending time with anyone for this long gives you a unique perspective into their personality and character, and Nicole did not disappoint. I only wish I had been able to record our five hour conversation so I could share it with you.

We finally arrived, and the mastermind began. David’s daughter, Jen, was also a part of this group. What happened during our three days together is a story for another time, but I will tell you that it was life changing for all of us in many ways.

When the mastermind was over Nicole and I made the five hour drive back to Pensacola, where we spent a day and a half at the beach. This time was exactly what I describe in my latest book, The Weekend Marketer™, where I discuss what I refer to as the ‘Quarterly Getaway’. Nicole has been doing this for some time now, and being able to escape to the white sandy shores along the Gulf of Mexico is the perfect setting. It’s less than an hour from her home, and she can do this with her husband, her entire family, with one or two business partners, or simply by herself.

It was during the last two days of this trip that I truly got to know Nicole. She is a brilliant woman, a savvy marketer, and someone you can confide in with both your business and personal issues. We are both ‘only’ children in our families, yet she has a way about her that makes you feel like she is the big sister to everyone she encounters. I love that about her. Nicole will also make you think, even if you resist it and just want to spend some time in ‘not thinking’.

She made me think about how I’ve set up my business and how that suits my lifestyle. Just a few short years ago I would not have been able to fly across the country and spend a week with business friends. Now I can do this several times each year, as well as attending and speaking at more than a half dozen live events each year, and vacationing several times a year with family on two different continents.

Nicole helps people to market their information products and strategize their business. The way I first connected with her was when she was working as an affiliate manager for someone else. Then I started purchasing her PLR (private label rights) content as I was building my business and needed more content.

I would encourage you to connect with Nicole, check out her high quality PLR, and start her fabulous online training on how to market your info products. You’ll be thinking differently real soon, and your life just might change the way mine has changed. You will find that she is approachable, easy to get to know, and totally down to earth. She even pumps her own gasoline!

Donna Gunter is the voice for the introverted business owners secret weapon – Authority Marketing. She lives in a very small town in Texas, and is able to run her online empire from home. She had previously been involved in the non-profit sector and in higher education, and in 1996 she made the conscious decision to change her life. She became more interested in coaching and enrolled in a Virtual Assistant training program. At the same time, her marriage was not working and she decided to file for divorce, sell the house, and move fifteen hundred miles from New England back to a rural east Texas town of less than eight thousand people.

She had no clients in Texas, and relied on her online connections to build her new business. The local people did not understand what she was doing, and equated it to being a secretary who would earn less than six dollars an hour. Donna began by working out of her mother’s garage, and even worked as a substitute teacher until that no longer made financial sense for her because she was now earning per hour what that job was paying per day. Within six months she had a full coaching practice and was on her way to true success.

Donna started giving teleclasses for her target market, and found this to be an excellent way to reach out to the world from her small town. She developed a unique style of marketing that allowed her to use content marketing to build her business. Instead of attending live events all over the country, she stayed home and provided great value for her prospects and clients through content marketing. Instead of having to convince someone to work with her, she let her online content do the talking for her. This is brilliant, don’t you agree?

Donna now calls this ‘Authority Marketing‘ and has syndicated her content everywhere on the Internet. This can be a huge advantage to introverts working online. She teaches her clients how to do research, share their information and knowledge, and then putting it altogether in a written format. Writing conversationally is the key to successful authority marketing. She has also embraced screen shares and Powerpoint for video marketing and is having some great results in this area in terms of converting prospects to visitors. Another great benefit of what Donna is doing is that she is able to relax and be herself whether she is working or having personal time. Congruency in our daily life is an excellent goal.

Over the years, Donna has realized that she has a natural skill in marketing. She incorporated this skill into what she was working to achieve online, allowing her to grow exponentially. Now she is publishing a magazine, Authority Magazine, which is available through iTunes. She advises new online entrepreneurs to find people who will be supportive of what you are doing, never listen to the naysayers, and stay strong to your values and principles.

I know you’ll love finding out more about what Donna is doing in her online business. She has hundreds of pieces of content in her membership site, where I have been a member for almost two years. Visit Donna’s site at Online Biz University to download your free eBook on how to turbo charge your online marketing.

This past weekend I had an adventure. The experience took me far outside of my comfort zone, and made me face some of my fears. It was frightening and exhilarating, all at the same time. Allow me to share some more details of exactly what happened.

This year more people than I expected are coming to southern California to spend Thanksgiving week with us. That is a blessing, but these people need a place to sleep while they are here visiting. There was one night where we just had too many people and someone was going to have to go to a hotel. I decided that would be me.

At the last minute I decided that I would call a friend and see if I could stay at her place. Her home is in a beautiful location and it’s at one of the highest points in Santa Barbara. I call it ‘the top of the world’ because that’s what it feels like when I am up there. She told me to come on up and spend the night, so I packed a bag and took off for my adventure.

What I didn’t count on was a huge rainstorm coming through right at the time I was about to head up the mountain. I love rain, but this was a downpour that was going to be with us for a couple of days. As I made my way up the narrow road and looked out over the city below, I realized that my fear of heights was beginning to get to me. Right then I could have turned around and gone back into town. It would have been simple to book a hotel close by and get inside before the rain storm got even worse. I could have done many things, but I just kept driving.

I have found that facing my fears and doing things anyway is the best choice for me in the long run. I’ve applied this principle to both my personal life and business. I was afraid to quit my job and come online because I thought I wouldn’t earn enough money; I now earn seven times as much as I used to. I was afraid to speak in front of people; now I’m an international speaker. I was afraid to move from the city I had lived in for so many years because I wouldn’t know anyone; I now have homes in two different cities, travel extensively, and enjoy making new friends.

But this was different. It always seems different when you are facing your fear head on, alone on a dark, winding road heading straight up to the highest part of the city, with the lights of the city growing further and further away, and the rain coming down in sheets so you can’t see ten feet in front of you and the wipers can’t possibly help you see the road.

Yes, I was alone and afraid. But part of me knew that this experience would help me to grow and expand as I faced my fears and kept on moving.

It’s only about five miles from where I started to where my friend lives, but it seems more like fifty. I finally came to the last turnoff and made my way down her street. It was pitch dark and the rain kept me from seeing the house, but suddenly out of nowhere I saw her mailbox with the street number on it in shiny letters. I turned into the driveway slowly and carefully, and right then I was aware that I could not feel the car beneath me!

Her driveway is one of those that goes straight down from the street level onto the property. I don’t care for these on a clear day, but now it was simply terrifying. I inched down the slope at what seemed like one mile an hour. Finally, I stopped the car and got out. As I walked up to the door I wondered why no one was waiting outside to greet me, but that was just not possible under these conditions. She had left the door unlocked for me, so I went inside.

I proceeded to have a wonderful time at her house. The only sounds are those of the wildlife in the area, and I had forgotten how beautiful that can be. All night I listened to the rain falling, the coyotes howling, and an owl or two singing in the distance. We had a nice visit, catching up on many things that have been going on in each of our lives, and sipping hot Jasmine tea with lemon. In the morning she fixed breakfast as I gazed out the window to see the view from ‘the top of the world’. I knew that I would have to back out of the driveway when I left, but now I wasn’t afraid anymore.

My life is richer for having these experiences. As I move through each situation and come out alright on the other side, I know that I am growing and learning more about who I am and what is important to me. I’m then able to face even bigger challenges in my life and enjoy my life in a very different and more enjoyable way.

What are you doing to take yourself out of your comfort zone and face your fears?

Jay Boyer, Kindle Publishing expert and online marketer, is one of my favorite new people online. He lives in a small town in Illinois (he describes it as a ‘cow town’) with his wife and children and has only been involved with the online marketing world for about three years. I first connected with him through Jason Fladlien and Dennis Becker when I was searching for information on using the Kindle Select program to market my books.

Jay worked as a carpenter and cabinet maker for eighteen years before coming online, and even built the house he lives in with his family. When he saw that this business was not going to be what he hoped, and his clientele dried up, he typed ‘making money online’ into Google and began his online marketing career. He connected with people who helped him achieve his goals. One of them was John Rhodes, and they are now partners.

I asked Jay to explain his business model, and he says he considers himself to be an information product creator. He also writes book for Kindle, including ones he has written with his eight-year-old son. He focuses on Amazon and Kindle publishing at this time, and has been extremely successful in this area. He is doing what he loves, and I agree with him completely that entrepreneurs must embrace this philosophy and do what they love and do best for maximum productivity.

I love Jay’s course called Kindle Select Secrets. The idea of using Kindle Select to publish is a unique one, and requires a slightly different strategy than simply publishing paperback books. Jay shares his advice and recommendations with us here, and the course takes you from start to finish with the process. Having people borrow your book and download it on your free download days makes it possible for you to implement strategies that are extremely effective, including being able to achieve bestseller status. It sure has made a difference in my bottom line. We sell more than 90% of our books using Amazon, so this training is an important one.

Also, we discuss a strategy I first implemented when I spoke in Toronto recently, and Jay gives his thoughts on how anyone can do this. I know you will enjoy this podcast interview with Jay Boyer, Kindle publishing expert and online marketer.

This is a guest post from my friend and colleague Jim Edwards.

How long does an ebook need to be to be considered a “real book”?

-by Jim Edwards

It used to be that a “real book” (especially a business book) had some very definite characteristics that made it real. It should contain at least 200 pages, start with a story, contain at least 12 chapters, and have at least one third party story per chapter. The title should be short (no more than 4 words) and should create a “brand,” etc. I think all these rules about what made a “real book” were as much about making it harder to get published as they were about creating books worth reading.

Now, with the digital revolution and the spread of ebooks, anyone can claim the title of“author” – and the floodgates have certainly opened with a tsunami of new ebooks of varying quality. The majority of new authors now completely bypass “traditional” publishing and go straight to digital with ebooks. They are “real authors” publishing “real ebooks” and making “real money” as a result. A mistake many would-be authors make, however, is thinking that “page count” (number of pages in their ebook) determines whether they’ve written a “real book” or not.  This new ebook age has turned that evaluation criterion on its ear. Page count now has very little to do with what actually makes an ebook a R.E.A.L. B.O.O.K.

(R) Relevant

Relevant means your ebook is current and timely, as well as applicable to the readers’ wants and desires. Relevant ebooks cut to the chase and give readers exactly what they need and want with no extra fluff.

(E) Enlightening

“Enlighten” is defined as “to give intellectual or spiritual light to; instruct; impart knowledge.” Real books enlighten the reader and give them new knowledge, insight, and ideas they can use, especially in non-fiction ebooks.

(A) Actionable

Real books give the reader specific actionable steps they can implement immediately to make a difference in their life or business. Ideas readers can take action on instantly separate the real books from the fluff, regardless of page length!

(L) Legitimate

Many authors try to pass off theory and conjecture as fact. Real books give legitimate information, tested and proven in the real world, which the reader can trust to deliver results.

(B) (O)Better Off

This one rates pretty simple. Real books leave the reader better off for having read the book than not. Again, book length and leaving a reader better off don’t necessarily coincide. “Long enough” to impart the information necessary to leave the reader better off is a much better measuring stick.

(O) Organized

Many books ramble. Many books also lack any real organization beyond chapter headings. A real book is well organized and leads the reader from where they are to where they want to be as quickly, neatly and in as organized a fashion as possible – irrespective of length.

(K) Kindle

Real books are “published” by a legitimate source. Having your book listed on Amazon rates as “published” in the minds of the majority of people who buy ebooks (and regular books too, for that matter). Fulfill all the criteria listed above, then publish your ebook on Kindle, and YOU will have a “real book” in the eyes of just about everyone else in the world (including yourself)!

Jim Edwards

Selling online since 1997, Jim is an Internet Marketing Expert, Author, Elite Mentor and Coach.

He specializes in helping individual entrepreneurs, small business owners and authors to understand how to use technology to build your online business.

Jim is the author of dozens of ebooks, hundreds of webinars, over 1,000 blog posts and articles.

His flagship ebook “How To Write and Publish Your Own eBook… in as little as 7 Days” – newly revised and updated with V2.0 – has been helping book and ebook authors create their own best-selling ebooks since 2001! Get more information about Jim and how he can help you get more readers, make more sales, and skyrocket your credibility here => How To Write and Publish Your Own eBook…in as little as 7 Days.

Joe Vitale is the author of ‘way too many books to mention’ and is the person who inspired me to start writing books as a part of my life experience and my business. I’ve known Joe for several years now and can tell you he is quite a unique individual. He had wanted to become an author since he was sixteen years old, and went through a process to decide how he wanted his life to unfold. One of his first articles, about a magic trick, was published by the time he was seventeen.

I asked him where he received his motivation. He says that his family was not supportive of his goals, and that he had to reach inward to self motivate. Taking action on his goals set him apart from many others, and this is still true to this day. Joe was one of the people tapped for the popular movie, The Secret, and reminds us that the word ‘ACTION’ is inside of the phrase Law of AttrACTION. Moving forward, taking action, and practicing is the key to changing your life in major ways.

We discuss public speaking, and Joe shares the story of his friend, actor Lou Ferrigno, and how he overcame many things in his life in order to become a motivational speaker. Joe did not set out to become a public speaker, and says that he was terrified when he first got up in front of a group of people, even though it was just a few people. He kept on doing it (one of the crucial keys to success in any area of our lives) and has gone on to speak in front of groups around the world. He was even on The Larry King Show, a program that was televised to tens of millions of people around the world.

I then asked Joe about his early life, when he lived in Ohio and worked for the railroad. He said that he knew he wanted to change his life, so he decided to read the classic self-help books, including The Magic of Believing. He learned that if he could visualize it and believe it, then he could achieve it. He held on to this premise as he worked his way through those next several years. Joe says that it took a long time and much struggle because we did not have access to the resources that are available in this day and age. He is now able to move seamlessly through life as an author, copywriter, musician, and more. Joe goes into great detail as to the steps he takes in order to achieve all of his goals.

We also talk about the power of storytelling, and how this can be leveraged into your business and your life. Weaving a tale is an excellent way to communicate our message to others. Joe shared a magical story in one of my books, The Inner Game of Internet Marketing. He and I have also contributed to two other books. You can take a look at all of Joe’s many, many books and see which one is best for you to begin with. I would recommend reading Hypnotic Writing first.