| The phrase "feeding yourself" kind of follows | | | | |
| Maslow's heirarchy, doesn't it? | | | | He's also become stunningly wealthy- but he |
| | | | didn't get rich by focusing on money. |
| When you're broke, feeding yourself means | | | | |
| finding enough food. | | | | I get the same feeling from the internet |
| | | | marketing gurus I've met- the ones who have |
| Later, it might be more about choosing | | | | gone to the stratosphere of marketing. |
| between caviar and truffles. | | | | They're not focusing on money. They've got |
| | | | bags of the stuff. |
| After you get enough toys and truffles, you | | | | |
| start to bump into those tricky | | | | I think that's why Joe Vitale's Spiritual |
| "self-actualization" issues. | | | | Marketing philosophy feels so right to me. |
| | | | I can testify that you can make piles of |
| Picture this- in Zen mythology there is a | | | | money following his marketing strategies, but |
| character who's figured it out. He was | | | | I can also testify that making money is the |
| probably born into royalty, although nobody's | | | | by-product of the process, not the goal. |
| really sure. He's achieved material success | | | | |
| and turned his back on it. He lives in the | | | | When you listen to the real superstars in |
| hills, enjoys good wine, and gets a kick out | | | | marketing you realize quickly that their |
| of making fun of the serious monks. | | | | goals are not strictly about themselves. |
| | | | Yeah, they arrive in nice cars and go home to |
| He's figured out that we already live in the | | | | nice houses, but that's not their focus. |
| garden, and he's making the most of it. | | | | |
| | | | Joe's seminar last January in Austin was my |
| Come to think of it, most pictures and | | | | introduction to the world of marketing, and I |
| statues of Buddha picture him smiling, don't | | | | quickly realized a couple of things: |
| they? | | | | |
| | | | 1. If you diligently follow the strategies |
| A careful reading of the world's spiritual | | | | of ANY of the speakers, you will make a |
| texts- the ones that absolutely resonate with | | | | consistent income. |
| the crystal inevitability of truth- will turn | | | | |
| up no references to material possessions as | | | | 2. The really successful speakers were happy |
| the path to happiness. | | | | to teach you how to make money, but what they |
| | | | wanted to talk about was the way they were |
| And yet... what do we spend our time on? | | | | making the world a better place with their |
| | | | money. One speaker goes to poor villages in |
| Why? | | | | Mexico and provides medicine and medical |
| | | | care. Another funds a foundation that |
| Listen to Yo Yo Ma, the cellist, when he | | | | provides scholarships to bright kids who |
| talks about playing his cello. Even after | | | | can't afford college. Another works with |
| decades of playing the cello, his most | | | | economically challenged young athletes. They |
| treasured moments are the ones where he | | | | were feeding themselves by feeding others. |
| caresses his cello and draws transcendent | | | | |
| music from it. | | | | The general consensus was that the more they |
| | | | gave, they more they got- financially and |
| When he talks about his cello, and his | | | | spiritually. They also seemed to be having a |
| relationship with it, you can feel the rich, | | | | lot of fun, which is hard to do if you narrow |
| centuries old wood, see the deep grain, and | | | | your focus to just enhancing your own |
| hear the timeless tone as his bow brings the | | | | financial position. |
| strings and wood to life. He loves what he | | | | |
| does. | | | | What are you going to do? |
| | | | |
| He doesn't care if he's alone or in front of | | | | How are you going to make the world a better |
| thousands- he's feeding his soul by playing | | | | place while you're feeding yourself? |
| his cello. | | | | |