Chris "Mr. Moneyfingers" Haddad... Jeff Walker-Trained Product Launch Manager, Results-based marketing consultant, frankly-awesome direct response copywriter, strangely good dancer, capitalist hippie and all around great guy. On this site he shares all sorts of tips and tricks on how to make good money in bad times... opines fiercely on things that matter to him and occasionally goes a tad bit nuts. Plus he can do that thing with his eyebrow.
I put this video together for the “PLM” section of my site.
See, ever since I hung out my shingle as a “Product Launch Manager” I’ve been getting a LOT of inquiries/quote requests/marriage proposals.
So I put this video together to “Turn down the flow” a bit and keep folks that I just can’t take the time to work with from getting in touch with me in the first place.
There’s a few “mumbles” in the vid, but overall it’s a good example of how you can use Keynote and a cheap mic to put something relatively “pro” together really quickly.
In fact, the techniques I use here are a large part of what Andy Jenkins is talking about in his “Video Boss” launch.
You can find the “real” version of this video on the PLM section of this site. Enjoy.
I'm too lazy to edit this. But just pretend it says "Info Slut."
This is part 2 in my “I Quit” series of blog posts. You can see the first post here. In today’s post I go into my RIDICULOUS addiction to information and how I’ve started putting systems into place to deal with it.
My name is Chris Haddad and I’m an info addict . . .
Actually, that’s wrong. I’m not an info “addict.” I’m an info SLUT . . .
Ask my friends, (ex) girlfriends, family members, enemies and even some of my clients and they’ll tell you that I’ll give my attention away to ANYTHING . . .
Latest news about Brad and Angelina and how they’re relationship is being SHATTERED by Brad’s secret affair with his ex-wife Jennifer Aniston?
I’m in.
80 page Wikpedia entries on the development, translation and ratings of the classic 1980’s cartoon series “The Smurfs?”
I’m in the middle of testing a Video Sales letter versus the more traditional long copy sales letter for one of my niche sites. My gut is telling me that the video version is going to kick the long copy version’s ass.
Anyway, here’s my “rough cut” after a couple hours work on thursday afternoon.
Couple notes:
* This came out a bit longer than I was expecting. I don’t think it being a half hour long is a total dealbreaker since there’s good content in there, but I’ll most likely try to do a shorter version as soon as I get the chance and run a split test.
* When I do do the shorter version I’ll most likely cut down the description of what’s in the bonuses, cut or move the “stop freaking out” slide and go through my notes to find places I can slice out content during the 7 deadly sins section.
* I also am going to think about how to position the 7 Deadly sins better, possibly putting more juice on the idea that you WILL commit these sins if you don’t have this product.
* Originally I was planning on “reading” a bunch of notes I’d typed up as I went through the letter. By my third time stopping and starting the VO though it became apparent that just doing some prep work and “knowing what I wanted to say” before getting to the slides was a better option.
* Yes, I talk really fast. Wanted to have a nice mix of energy and clarity in this vid. Definitely have the energy but there are places where I swallow my words too much. Then again, perfect is the enemy of good. That’s for v 2.
Quick little language hack today . . . let me know what you think:
Are you a “can’t” person?
I know I am (or at least I used to be . . . I’ve gotten a lot better over the last few years.)
Faced with challenging, unpleasant or “Scary” tasks or even opportunities I’d often find myself saying or thinking “Oh, I *can’t* do that. I’ve got to much to do/I don’t have time/etc.”
Which is really, uh, bullshit.
Because generally when I say I “can’t” do something (whether it be helping a friend move or dropping everything to go on a crazy, stripper-filled trip to Vegas) I don’t mean I “can’t” do it at all . . .
I mean that I won’t do it . . .
Or I don’t WANT to do it . . .
Or I’m SCARED to do it . . .
Or I don’t know HOW to do it . . .
Or, heck, I just have something else already on my calendar that I’d RATHER do.
But I just don’t want to take the actual responsibility of saying so.
(OK, there are certainly things in this world that I’m physically, mentally or emotionally completely incapable of actually doing. I will never dunk a basketball. I will never seduce a goat. OK, I probably COULD seduce a goat but I DON’T WANT TO . . ugh. What am I talking about again?)
If you think about it, you’ll probably realize that saying “I can’t do that” is a bit of a get out of jail free card (and a dangerous one at that.)
It’s a way of deflecting an ambition or a request without taking any personal responsibility at all . . .
(Heck, I’ve got an Aunt who holds onto the word “Can’t” like a particularly fuzzy and warm teddy bear, keeping her safe and free from actually having to break out of her comfort zone and really do something with her life. Harsh but true.)
So how about instead of saying you “Can’t” do something, you ditch the BS and just say what you actually MEAN . . .
So “I can’t help you move on Sunday” becomes “I don’t want to help you move on Sunday.”
“I can’t quit my job and start my business” becomes “I’m SCARED of what will happen if I quit my job and PETRIFIED to find out that I’m not actually good enough to make my crazy idea work.”
And “I can’t take 2 weeks off to go do yoga in Thailand because I have too much work to do” becomes “I’M REALLY LAME.”
Anyway, you get the idea.
I’ve been playing this game for a few weeks now and, honestly, it’s scared the bejeezus out of me. I’ve suddenly started noticing a LOT more areas of my life where I’m limiting myself or taking the “easy route” instead of going after what I actually want.
And I’ve started, inch by inch, to eliminate those areas, take some responsibility and live a bit more.
So, can YOU eliminate “can’t” from your vocabulary?
My Grandmother, Violet Fiore, passed away around 7AM EST last Monday. I was lucky enough to be there when she went . . . and had the honor and the frightening responsibility of writing and delivering her eulogy.
Easily some of the hardest writing I ever had to do (though I managed to crank out my speech in about 25 minutes the day of the funeral. Speed is your friend.) And let me tell you, as a-religious as I am it was downright surreal to be standing in a Catholic Church talking about this stuff.
Still, I’m proud of what I wrote and everybody there seemed to really enjoy it. Plus it’s definitely written in a “Copy” style with lots of white space, rhythm, pauses etc.
You can see the whole Eulogy after the jump (about 800 words.)
(Having some trouble adding pictures to this post. Will go back and do so later.)
As I write this I’m sitting in a crowded hospital room in Worcester, Massachusetts listening to the slow, labored breathing of Violet Fiore, my Grandmother.
Gram’s never going to leave this room.
At least not the way she did when she got here.
Every breath she takes is a mile on the road to the end of her life.
And sometime in the next day or so she’s going to come to the end of that road.
As I told my Aunt this afternoon, this is “Sad” but not “Tragic.”
Gram is 80 years old. And she’s lived a good life.
Once you learn the secret of reframing you'll find persuading other people to think like you do to be easy like magic.
Here’s a quick example of how to use a “Reframe” to literally “Change someone’s mind” and convince them to come to your way of thinking . . .
(Put really simply, “Reframing” is just a way of changing the context or “frame” of a situation so you can look at it from a different angle and with a different set of conclusions and beliefs.)
Last night I was hanging out with a friend of mine (a very awesome, redheaded friend of mine who’s touch makes my skin tingle and who’s smile turns me to goo) and talking about the work of Dr. Joseph Riggio . . .
If you haven’t heard of Joseph, you should. He’s a done a ton of fascinating work helping high-achievers find real power and satisfaction in their lives and “going” deep with his stuff has had a tremendous effect on my mindset and productivity.
I don’t know about you, but 2009 was BRUTAL and strange
and transformative and wonderful here in Haddad town . . .
I had my heart broken . . .
Got lasers blasted in my eyes by the target of a murder plot (seriously) . . .
Dropped 16 pounds in 5 days due to some freaky bug . . .
Lost my mind on a beach in Mexico . . .
Let go of a lifetime of secret self-loathing . . .
Made a gaggle of new friends . . .
Got arrested and humiliated in the desert (now THAT’S a story I’ll tell you someday) . . .
Got that “ADHD” thing figured out . . . (So THIS is what it’s like to concentrate)
Had some massive professional success (and a few crushing failures) . . .
And generally went through a personal “crucible”that left me battered and giddy
and flopping around like a fish out of water wondering what the heck is going to happen next.
But now 2009 is over, the slate has been wiped clean
and it’s time to get serious, clear the decks and hit 2010 HARD . . .
