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Mental health is a game. Anxiety disorders are made up. You should obey teachers blindly.

It took me a few minutes to get into this one, but I said some good stuff if you’re patient enough to listen to the whole thing.

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(Free class from August 16, 2024 on Instagram)

I learned a new term yesterday: projective identification.

The APA Dictionary of Psychology defines it as follows:

“in psychoanalysis, a defense mechanism in which the individual projects qualities that are unacceptable to the self onto another individual and that person [that’s YOU] internalizes the projected qualities and believes themself to be characterized by them appropriately and justifiably.”

That’s the real danger of the friend zone: you actually start to believe you’re a friend.

But, you’re not a friend. You were never a friend.

You’re a force, a menace.

Your friends have to pay for what they’ve done. They signed up for this friendship and now they have to suffer. Make them suffer.

It’s time to get out of the friend zone, to be powerful, to be who you’re supposed to be, who you always were (not that they ever knew it).

No more gray areas.

No more wishful thinking.

No more hoping that one day, they’ll finally realize it.

They won’t realize it. They’re not smart enough, they haven’t done enough work, they’re too lazy. They’ve got other stuff to worry about and it’s not what you’re worrying about, and it isn’t what they’re telling you they’re worrying about.

Make some tension.

No more being the nice person who listens to them whine about their problems.

Now is the time to BE the problem.

—Michael

I don’t know how you’ll get more clients, but let’s look at the truth: you are attracting, right now, the people you should be attracting.

You’re creating relationships, on the fly, as you go through life. Those relationships have natural momentum. You put energy out into the universe and this is who came back.

If you want more clients, and people to pay you money and see you as an expert, you have to start putting out the right energy.

You have to look at the results of your actions. You have to take account. Right now, you’re making mistakes but you don’t know what they are.

But, what if you fixed those mistakes?

Wouldn’t it be obvious (to both of you) where the relationship should go:

* a coach/client relationship?

* two friends?

* two enemies?

Who knows?

But, if you showed up as the truest version of yourself, it should be obvious to both of you. Neither one of you is an idiot. You’d see it.

So, that’s what you need to do instead of “marketing”.

Marketing is based on the presumption that you know what you should be offering, that you’ve made this “thing” and you just need to go out and sell the thing.

But…you haven’t even tested the thing yet. You don’t know what you should be offering.

You’ve got to meet people where they’re at.

You don’t even know what you’re capable of yet. You don’t know who you’re capable of attracting or what you’re capable of doing for them.

Forget about the “ideal clients” and “customer avatars”. That’s all based on arrogance, on the presumption that you know, that your fantasy is the best possible version of reality. You don’t know that.

But, your fantasy is based on your traumas, your hopes and dreams, and all the disappointments you’ve had. You don’t know that’s what reality should be.

So, let’s figure out what it should be. Let’s confront reality. Let’s figure out what has already happened, how we got to this point, and what mistakes we’ve made.

Let’s fix those mistakes and see how reality updates itself.

That’s my new vision for marketing.

—Michael

P.S. I want to test out some ideas for this in the form of a 1-1 coaching program (a month-long kind of thing). It’s going to be $500, but I need guinea pigs. So, if you sign up TODAY ONLY, I’ll give you a 40% discount. Reply “let’s do it” and I’ll be in touch.

As we all know, Taylor Swift is a great performer who makes lots of money. Everybody loves her and she’s on the cover of every magazine.

Why? Is it because of her looks? Her singing technique? Her guitar playing? Her piano playing? All the people she’s connected to?

No.

But, if you want to be like Taylor Swift…

(your version of it, whatever it is…you’re not going to be Taylor Swift, of course…)

…you’ve got to understand what she’s doing.

Her music has a message and she’s determined to spread that message.

Those things I listed are just tools.

She uses the tools to spread the message.

You can do that too. Use tools to spread a message.

This isn’t just a matter of communication. This goes deep into the core of your being, into the center-point of your soul, and propagates out from there.

Because Taylor Swift’s message is, at the core, a pure message she believes in, this is what happens:

* Her body language onstage conveys the message,

* Her singing and playing technique falls into place around the body language,

* She looks good when she’s singing,

* People watching and listening get excited,

* They tell their friends,

* Taylor Swift makes lots of money.

But, without that message at the core, that little point she can organize everything around, she has nothing.

(Watch her carefully. Her eyes, her feet. Do you see anything awkward happening? I don’t.)

I’m not saying you need to be just like Taylor Swift.

Obviously, she’s a phenomenon and you’re not.

But, you could be a phenomenon too.

(Not like that, of course. Don’t get your hopes up. Come on.)

But, you could be a phenomenon for the people in the room.

And, if you want to get there, it would be a mistake to think you’re going to improve anything without improving what’s at the core. When you have that unity, your body language will reflect it.

Unless you’re OK with your eyes darting around, with your feet shuffling. In that case, by all means, keep doing it. But, it’s not what a phenomenon does, even among 20 people.

If you take an hour of your time and spend it on

* improving your singing

* guitar technique

* your makeup

* your outfit,

you’re just going to get a tiny change in the overall thing.

But, if you spend an hour improving what’s at the core, having a message and making sure every stupid little thing you do reflects that message (for the duration of the song), THEN you’re going to make a huge change in the overall thing.

And people will notice.

—Michael

If you don’t fix your piano playing, it will continue to sound and look the way it does. No one will ever admire it, it will inspire no one, and you’ll look and sound like an amateur forever.

Those are the stakes.

Here’s how you fix it:

* Admit there’s a problem.

* Admit you want the problem fixed.

* Be willing to be a student and submit to someone who knows more than you.

* Hold them accountable.

You’re not capable of doing this on your own.

You must be willing to be embarrassed, to be ashamed, and to be judged.

You must be willing to be a nerd who cares about things no one else cares about.

That’s what piano is. It’s not mainstream.

You can’t keep being a good student. You can’t keep doing what you learned in school. It works for school but doesn’t work for piano.

Good grades get you through school but they don’t get you s**t when it comes to piano. That’s because piano is about hitting the right keys at the right time. No amount of praise can take the place of that.

Yes, it’s going to hurt emotionally, but that’s the price of acquiring superpowers.

I promise you it’s doable.

But you have to be willing to do it.

$500 and we’ll work together for a month.

—Michael

You don’t have to believe, but you must at least pretend. Otherwise, the placebo effect won’t work and you’re wasting your time and my time.

You only get out what you put in.

Right now, you’re putting in zero. If you put in 10, you’d get out 10.

So, explain.

What’s the deal? You don’t want 10?

How about 5?

4?3?2?1?

ANYTHING will get you something.

Zero will get you nothing.

You MUST pretend to believe.

This is a cult. I’m the leader.

You must respect me and obey my orders, without question.

You’re in a cult and that’s how a cult works.

But, this isn’t a normal cult. We’re online. Your active participation is required. It’s not like I can steal your car keys or phone.

So, it’s not okay to sit on the sidelines and join in whenever you feel like it.

It won’t work.

There will be no placebo effect and we’ll just be another couple of idiots arguing on the Internet.

We’re better than that.

Let’s at least pretend we think so.

—Michael