JANET: We’ve got to get your book, The 168 Hour Week: Living Life Your Way 24-7 . That’s going to be first on what I want to talk about today because I love it. What is the mindset or frame of mind of someone who can live life their way?

KEVIN: I want people to do what they want to do with their life. I mean, there are two kinds of jobs. There are the hamster wheel jobs, the ones that if somebody else were to take your job, like over in China, you get really mad at them even though you hate it; there’s that job.

And then, there are the jobs that people actually enjoy doing, and they love doing, and they’ve actually made some intentional decisions like…. “I want to do this! This is how I want to earn my living. I want to be an artist…” or “I want to travel.”

There are just so many ways to have a great life. But people always think that they’re going to have to sacrifice. Well, sure, I had to do taxes this week. That is part of the sacrifice that you make. They are going up. They’re not getting better. I will be making sure that we vote differently in the next election.

There are all kinds of things that will change but the deal is that you do sacrifice occasionally. When you sacrifice something, you usually do it for something that’s way, way, way better like living in this country we’re so lucky to have. Even though we’ve got goofy people in Washington D.C, we’re still very fortunate to be here.

I’ve traveled around the world. I don’t want to be anywhere but here. This really is a pretty good place to be. You, actually still get to say that you’re frustrated once in a while. That may change, too, but I’m working on that, too. For sure, we can’t ever let that happen here.

It all comes down to authenticity and drive.

You want people to say, “Gosh, I heard that teleseminar today with Kevin Hogan. He’s not like anybody I’ve ever talked to.” He’s just authentic and he’s just exactly like you are because so are you. But people taught you to be like milquetoast and to be boring so you fit into every single possible group…which means you have no real identity.

There are probably restaurants out there that don’t want me to come back anymore and there are probably car dealers who aren’t interested in selling me their car. But I fit with specific groups and specific people because they go, “Oh, you know what? He’s kind of a radical, conservative, libertarian or tea party kind of guy. I kind of like it. That’s kind of cool.”

And, all of a sudden, all those people gravitate to one person for business advice and counseling. They say, “Hey, I’m going to do what you did.” And you don’t want to appeal to, say, the liberal groups. But if you think about it, is that okay? That’s probably okay because I don’t need to appeal to everybody; and if I did, I’d be a fake person.

And so, you just be honest with who you are and to think, what is it that I want people to see about Janet? I want them to see these three things. They don’t have to be wild characteristics, It’s just – Who is this person? Like when moms talk about her and say, “You know that Janet, here’s what she was. She was just like blah, blah, blah.” It’s like, “You know what? That’s a characteristic you want.”

When he’s probably talking about you, what’s the one thing he tells everybody? Whatever it is, and it’s like, what does your best friend say about you? Now, all of a sudden, your brand starts to develop. Everybody is a brand for the person and the people that they know in their lives just like they are for their business. If the people are doing business with you, it’s because they trust you, because they know who you are, they know that you would never hurt them, and that if they say something, they just believe it and they just go do it. And that is influence at its best.

When you’re so authentic and when you’re so real that people just are a hundred percent comfortable despite or because of all the quirks that you have, now you become a saleable commodity in the marketplace because you’re easy to do business with. People know that you’re always going to be you as opposed to being fake and phony.

And that is big in business. That’s the one thing I would have people do – be more real and be willing to lose some customers because they don’t agree with you and to gain ten times as many customers because they see a kindred spirit.

Energy drainers…recognize and get rid of them!

JANET: Well, I know that in the a number of different business trainings and so forth that I’ve taken, one of the strongest things that a person can do is decide who they don’t want as a customer and fire that client because they are energy drainers as well as time drainers.

KEVIN: About 10 years ago it hit me hard. I was doing an event and the entire event had a sour moment that had an after taste. Today I tell the people that work with me on events, “If you see anybody in the audience that’s the one little drop of ink in the glass of clear, pure water, you let me know instantaneously because that person’s money is not worth everybody else’s experience.”

And so, when you have thought about that ahead of time, if people will put that into their thinking process, then all of a sudden, you’re deciding who you’re going to do business with; which is a lot more powerful than hoping that somebody will do business with me.

And you realize that you don’t need to do business with those goofballs over there. You just get frustrated and you won’t be able to enjoy life as you are living it…so the question is simple, “Who do you fit with authentically? Who wants to talk with you?”

Not everybody, but a lot of people do and you will always do better by thinking about who you really are and being honest with that picture – what other people see as you that’s here right now, and that’s your brand.

And so, be your brand and be awesome and let people recognize you.

And the more quirks that people have, the more we tend to trust them because they know they’re not covering up.

JANET: And so, what I’m hearing is that this hits a lot of different business arenas. It sounds like the web, regular brick and mortar business, just personal influence for those who are in a job that they love and don’t want to go out and be the entrepreneur but still can create influence within their work as well. So, it sounds like it hits pretty much every facet of a person’s work and personal world.

KEVIN: Because of the fact that it influences every communication that we have and that’s why. And it’s not that I do anything amazing. Daniel Goleman coined the term “emotional intelligence” years and years ago, and the number one skill of emotional intelligence is influence. It’s the ability to propose something to somebody else and let them decide yes or no on it.

And that ability to do that with ethics, integrity, and with empathy, with caring about the other person and understanding really that it’s the best thing for them because if it is, then you’re always sure for that person. You know how to tick for them.

I don’t need a car mechanic to go, “Kevin, which oil filter would you like? Would you like a Z421 or would you like a Z422?” Don’t do that to me, man. You pick the oil filter because I don’t know. How would I know that?

And so, the person that I work with, I need him to look at me, look at the car, and go, “Sir, you need a Z422 on that. What are you doing with that stupid thing that’s in there right now?” I trust the guy, right? And so, I’m going to get a Z422 oil … I don’t even know how to measure oil filters.

But whatever it is, the Z422 is the choice because he told me; and I need to have that trust and certainty, and people need to look at you the same way they look at the guy who is putting the oil filter in your car.

He makes $13 an hour. How much do you want to make? How much more real do you need to be just like that guy sticking the oil filter in who wouldn’t tell you to take something that wasn’t right. What’s he going to tell you? “Oh, no, take the one that doesn’t fit. That’s the one we want.”

So, the whole thing about persuading people is about just finding the obvious. It’s like, “You know, buddy, you need a Z422.” You need to be there and not over there. Don’t be stupid. Go do that.

What if you’re wrong? I have a mentor, Elsom Eldridge. For a million years now, roughly give or take, he’s been my mentor. And when he says something, I just go do it because I was argumentative as a kid; and as I grew, I was even more argumentative and by the time I met him, I argued…about what the temperature was.

And he finally said, “Look, if you want to be successful, just shut up and do what I tell you.” I’m like, “Wow, that’s what my mom said.” I didn’t know anybody else could talk to me that way! And so, I did. I just listened and he’d say … 10 years ago, he says … you know what he said. “I just read this thing. You’re not going to believe what this is. This is being marketed online, an e-course.” I said, “Who the heck is going to take an e-course.” He said, “All of the people who will read you are going to be interested as you’re going to charge $3000 for this e-course.”

I think, “Three thousand bucks? Who is going to spend $3000 (this was 1999) on an e-course?” And then, he started showing some of my competitors. That was just 1999 when there weren’t a lot of competitors. And he showed me this and Joe has this course and he’s charging $5000 for it.

He says, “Are you as good as Joe?” I said, “What do you mean by that, ‘as good as Joe?’ Of course, I’m as good as Joe.” He says, “Are you better than Joe?” “Well, I don’t know about that. Probably, I hope so.” He’s returns, “So, you think he can make more money than you than you think you can help more people?” “No.” He says, “Then, do this.” No exclamation point. Simple instruction….

That was the conversation. So, I gambled my whole concept of how I work and do business on what one person who sees me in a very clear way. Well, we made $46,000 that afternoon because I listened to the person who saw me, and I just did what he said because I know he’s there to influence me. He’d get me to do anything just by his saying “go do it” …and I’d do it.

Positioning yourself – expert advice…

I don’t get those phone calls very often. When they come, they’re gifts. So, when somebody who really cares about you is trying to influence you, be happy about it. It’s a really, really good thing.

If I can do it in life, believe me, anybody can. That’s what we’re all about. It’s just getting people to find that brand. Who are you inside? Because “brand” is such a weird word; it’s like, “that’s the Morton Salt girl”.

I used to hate going grocery shopping. And you go into the aisle, there are herbs and spices and … damn, where is the salt? And, all of a sudden, I recognize it. It’s like, “Oh, there’s the little girl with the yellow raincoat and she’s in the blue circle thing.” I go, “That’s the salt.” And it turned out as I walk over to the shelf, I was like, “Man, there are a lot of different kinds of salt.” There’s like sea salt and rock salt and all these millions of different brands. I said, “To heck with that, I’m taking the little girl with the raincoat.” Why? Because that’s got to be the best salt because that’s the salt my mom used; and that’s what I just want people to be the little girl with the yellow raincoat so they know that you’re the obvious choice when the idiots walking down the aisle … they go, “Well, duh, who else are you going to listen to? You would listen to Janet about The Wealthy Exit and you’d listen to Kevin about Influence: Boot Camp and you save the oil change stuff for the guy who does oil changes because Kevin doesn’t know.” I’m totally ignorant. You go to the people who are going to care about your results.

Is it going to work? Is it the best? Yeah, do it. And that’s what people can do for themselves and for their business.

JANET: Now, let me just ask you something because we’re getting close to wrapping up here but there’s something I’d really like to know because I know that you’ve stated that you’re ADHD and you’ve got four or five things going on at the same time and books going and everything, do you ever get exhausted and overextended, any of those kinds of things?

I run into this with business owners a lot and what do you do in order to counter that? I know that I get that way so I’m curious. What do you do to step out of that when you catch yourself … you know the mode I’m talking about – overextended, too many things to do all at once.

KEVIN: Yeah, and that’s just normal in life, period. And here’s the deal. The most important thing is to remember that there are people out there in life who are looking for balance. These are people who go to a job all day. They hate the job…sometimes with a passion. They hate the job more than their ex-husband or wife.

And they come home and they’re seeking balance. And what they’re trying to do is they’re trying to offset the horror movie they lived for the last 10 hours, an hour to get there and hour to get back and the 8 hours at work, no lunch break. And they’re trying to offset that by NOW doing something fun or meditating.

These are all great things to do, by the way, but that person’s life is over because you can’t offset 10 hours a day of disaster; you can’t, not for long. And people who are seeking balance are always seeking it because you can’t get it. You can’t hate that much of your life and then try to do something that’s going to make it good.

Instead, what should you do?

Instead, flip the whole coin. This is not going to happen. You have to do the things that you like to do and what’s fun and what’s interesting, what’s fascinating. And then, when you’re doing that stuff, you still get tired because that means you were moving.

So, realize, people need to know – accept. I’m overwhelmed. Yes, you are. That’s just normal. That’s normal for everybody whether they have the job they hate and dread or whether they … you never hear an entrepreneur who enjoys their work say, “I’m seeking balance.”

Never. It’s only somebody who hates what they do. They have golden handcuffs. They’re getting paid a salary with these all important health benefits but they’re tied up to Boeing and they can’t leave.

And I love Boeing. But the deal is that it’s a hard job to work somewhere like a Boeing. It’s not fun but they pay well, golden handcuffs. We don’t want to live like that because you’re going to live once and then you’re done.

So, recognize that it’s okay to be overwhelmed and recognize that you are not Superman; and recognize that it’s okay to immediately take this nap right now, no reason to feel guilty.

At 2:15 every single day, I’ll take about 80 or 90 minutes down and I’ll wake back up at about 4 o’clock usually; and then, I go back to work. I relish it.

But, see, for me, work is fun. I love what I do. I love talking to you. It’s fun. And you do see the ADHD on this phone call. It’s like, hey, wait a second, man, where did he go? We covered 5 things in detail, got specific, got general and left with a WOW.

The real question is, would you rather have the excitement and enthusiasm for life you feel on a call like this or would you rather be seeking balance to balance off what you hate and dread all day?

It’s okay to be overwhelmed because we’ve got overwhelming lives.

Our kids go out with the wrong people. It’s like, oh, man, there’s the boyfriend from you know where and … Every day … we all suffer from this problem of having too many children. But it’s okay because that’s what is rich about life. And nothing was different back in the sixties and seventies when mom was there as the only person. She was overwhelmed, too.

It’s okay. Just allow it to be okay. Try not to fight it. Just take a break. Go to bed. It’s okay to take a nap. People need to know …

There’s no magic recipe for overwhelm because it just means there’s a stack of paper on the left-hand side of the desk over here. That’s huge. And it’s like the email thing is always full. People are like, oh, don’t answer it today. Oh, yeah, there’s a good idea.

So, instead of having a hundred and fifty that I have to answer today, I have three hundred tomorrow. Just send the gun. The bullets go to this address. Just send it …

No, I can’t do that. I chose this life and it’s a great life. It’s a wonderful life. Jimmy Stewart did and … yeah, boy, do these things that you love. Do these things that are interesting and that just blow your mind away. Your life will change and you won’t ever seek for balance again because you’ll be living within it even when it’s tiring.

Kevin’s critical “take away” point…

JANET: Kevin, what would be the one thing that you would like our listeners to take with them as a result of tonight?s training?

KEVIN: Think about who you are. Think about how people describe you when they’re saying something nice about you. Think about what it is that they tell other people that’s nice about you, that’s good or quirky or weird. And think about that. And then, think of five more things. That’s your brand. And that’s who you are. That’s the person that everybody else sees out there.

Now, take that and make it into a very simple coffee table “business” that will be fun and help people do things that you love to do and that you’re good at.

Go do that and you won’t ever look for balance again in your life. You will have an exiting, fun, cool life for the amount of time you’ve got left here.

JANET: That is fantastic. And I just want to thank everyone who listened to the call. And, Kevin, I especially want to thank you for taking your time tonight to share with us all of this information and just thanks everyone and we’ll just say goodnight at this point and have a wonderful, wonderful week. Thank you.

KEVIN: Take care, everybody.

Instant Influence

Working With Human Nature to Gain Compliance in Selling, Marketing, Business and Personal Relationships…Instantly!

“Human nature is about right now, in this moment, the next ten seconds.” Kevin Hogan

Unseen Factors Matter

Why is it that people are impotent when it comes to influence? Why do people stink at selling? (And hate to sell?) 

People go to motivational seminars. They come back. They go to work Monday… They still sell “10%.” Why? They are smiling, motivated, blah, blah, blah. Because far more in the realm of selling and persuading others is about nonverbal stuff than anything you will ever say.

Actually, “motivation” in the sense that most people think about it, has very little to do with influencing or selling or much of anything. 

But there are factors that do matter in whether someone will sell a whole bunch more stuff, a little stuff or no stuff. “Positive Attitude” might sound cool, but it doesn’t rank in the top 10 factors that sell.

IT’S ALL PERSONAL 

Magic Words in Business & Personal Relationships

Business and relationships revolve around fixing the problems noted just above and bringing life as close as possible to the things you want. So does politics. Of course, so does pretty much everything.

In fact, the concept of “business” vs. “personal” doesn’t exist in the human animal, or even the human mind. “Business” is an arbitrary construct and the creation of culture. The human brain has no such understanding of these concepts. It’s ALL personal to the brain and there is NO business.

Did You Make ANY of THESE Mistakes (that even the pros make) the Last Time You Failed to Make the Sale? 

There are 10 Deal Breakers that CAUSE them to say “No” and they never even knew why.

1. Did You Talk Too Much?

Little Things Mean a Lot.…

Here’s all the relevant research you need to stay on top of the competition! From how visual and verbal contact matter to outcomes; to familiarity in context; and specific wording in marketing campaigns can make all the difference to compliance. Social norms and the average buyer. What do you need to know? 

Live and In Person…

How to influence a crowd utilizing more than just words. Strategies to make your presentation the most influential possible. Behind the scenes; setting the stage—influencing them before you even step up on the stage.  

Digging Around in Their Head

In the average person, you’ll find all the same things: fear, doubt, uncertainty, shame, anger, and a need to change…something. It’s your job to recognize their pain…and fix it. How ? 

The Techniques of Instant Influence

40+ specific techniques are described and dissected for you. The Primacy Effect, Inoculation, Jeer Appeal, Foot in the Door, Hypocrisy Reduction, Evocation of Freedom. Plus so many more. Do you know how to utilize each to its best effect? Kevin Hogan outlines them all. 

The Principles of Why People Buy

What’s one of the most important things to know before giving a Persuasive Selling Presentation?  

Understanding what motivates people to buy and then pushing all the right buttons.

People buy things all the time without even knowing WHY they bought it. But, you can easily figure it out. What are the core principles of consumer buying? And, what one principle can you utilize every day in getting to “Yes” more often?

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