Mindset

Use the difficulty

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I recently watched an interview with Sir Michael Caine where he talked about one of his philosophies of life, which he called “use the difficulty”.

“Use the difficulty” originated from when he was still a young actor rehearsing for a stage play.

In this particular scene, Sir Michael Caine was waiting behind the stage, waiting for his cue to enter the stage, while two other actors were acting out an improvised scene between a husband and a wife. Both actors got carried away during the improvised scene and started throwing things around the stage, including the man who threw a chair that blocked the door through which Michael Caine was supposed to enter the stage.

In that moment he just took his head through the door and went ”I’m sorry sir, I can’t get in”.

To which the other actor replied, “What do you mean?”

“Well there’s a chair in the way, sir” Michael Caine replied.

To which the older and more experienced actor simply replied, “Use the difficulty. If it’s a comedy, fall over the chair, if it’s a drama pick it up and smash it”. He said it in such a nonchalant and simple way, solely focused on acting on stage, sort of like an off-the-cuff comment, but Michael Caine found this such an inspiring and insightful response he took and applied it to his personal life.

So now whenever something bad happens in his life, he immediately goes “How can I work with this, what can I get out of this, and how can I use this to my advantage?”

Even if you only improve the situation 1% by using something bad that happened to you, you’re still further along than you would’ve been otherwise.

This also nicely reminds me of something I’ve heard the great Matt Furey say, “Nothing bad ever happens to a writer”.

Meaning if something happened to you, use it the best (and maybe the only) way you know, write about it. The least you can do is profit from the otherwise “bad situation”.

This goes for everything.

Whether it’s a divorce, a dead in the family, or even your first 1-star book review.

Use it, write about it, turn it into something positive (or at least ‘less bad’), and get something out of it… which in the case of a 1-star book review can be a whole lot more sale if approached from the correct angle… but more about that in another email.

In the meantime, if you want to improve your writing game, more specifically your daily email writing game (and make it easier for you to use the difficulty) then I highly suggest you check out Email Valhalla and see what it has in store for you.

Click here for more information: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla


One of my all-time favorite short books

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And I mean seriously short, this book is only 41 pages with a ginormous font.

Not to mention, It’s an old gem as well.

It was first written and published in 1902, yet still relevant and published today (a rule I picked up from Naval Ravikant is that if an old book is still around, it’s got something inside of it that’s worth reading).

Anyway.

The book I’m talking about is As a Man Thinketh.

As the title suggests, it’s all about the power of your mind, and how your thoughts, and their quality, influence and decide everything about you, your life, your surroundings, and the things life rewards (or punishes) you with.

What I like most isn’t just how it’s practical, relevant, very clearly written, easy to read in one quick sitting, or even how it broadens your mind and shows you a new way of thinking.

No.

It’s how it conveys complex ideas, in an understandable and easy-to-grasp manner, yet still wording it beautifully and poetically.

Everyone who has ever written knows how simple language and poetry don’t easily go hand in hand. Yet As a Man Thinketh seems to have cracked the code because it does it on every. single. page.

Here’s an example:

“Man’s mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth.”

That, to me, reads beautifully.

And I hope you can share this joy with me by seeing the beauty in it as well.

On another note.

While it might not help you write as beautifully or as poetically, Email Valhalla will help you write valuable and entertaining emails in a simple and easy-to-understand manner to keep your readers interested, sometimes even obsessed, making them come back each and every day.

If that sounds like a skill you’d want to develop, then check out Email Valhalla here: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla


I’m entering my first bouldering competition tomorrow

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It’s become a core hobby of mine last year.

Bouldering is fun, exciting, and sometimes scary, but above all else, it pushes you outside your comfort zone.

As with any sport or skill, you start with the basics. You take a few simple routes to get the gist of it. Understand how things work and build up the confidence to try trickier routes.

And it’s with those trickier routes where you sometimes have to take a leap of faith, quite literally.

Some routes have been designed with jumps in mind, where you have to leave to the safety of your footing behind and launch onto the next part of the course, believing in your ability to catch it and continue climbing.

None of the routes are extremely high, but it’s a scary feeling, nonetheless.

One of the biggest mindset shifts I had to make early on was to believe I could actually complete these routes.

I remember in the early days I wouldn’t even try to climb some routes. It seemed like I hadn’t the slightest chance of pulling those off.

But I had to convince myself to get out there and attempt them anyway if I hoped to improve. Now, I didn’t immediately succeed in everything I attempted, but once in a while, I could get one—raising my confidence and allowing the next run to be even smoother.

What does this have to do with business?

Dan Kennedy said it doesn’t make sense to promise people amazing results if they feel they won’t be able to achieve those results. Or in other words. How likely does the prospect feel they’ll be able to achieve the result you promise them with your product/service?

This is an objection you have to overcome.

Tell them how easy it can be. Show them proof of other people in similar situations who achieved the results they desire. Nobody will buy your product or service if they don’t believe themselves capable of using it successfully.

And if you want to learn more about creating products people will buy.

Then check out Product Creation Made Easy here: https://alexvandromme.gumroad.com/l/product


Would you go bouldering without limbs?

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Because that’s exactly what I witnessed last week.

As you may (or may not) know, I’m a big bouldering fan. I’ve been climbing for just about a year now and I try to go at least once a week, sometimes more.

It’s a fun, engaging, healthy, and challenging hobby and one I share with many friends of mine.

But just last week I saw something I never could’ve expected.

There I was, practicing a new competition boulder my gym placed (I’m competing in my first ever boulder competition next week) when a friend told me to look behind me at someone who was climbing across the room.

Nothing could’ve prepared me for what I saw.

Up on that wall, I saw a guy who lost both his legs and one arm. All three of them replaced by prosthetics. Yet that didn’t seem to stop him from going climbing.

Yeah.

What a chad.

I doubt many people in the same situation would even dare to attempt the same. Hell, I’m sure a few people reading this won’t even believe me. But that’s fine. This isn’t for them. This is for you.

Because you know how much is possible if you set your mind to it.

You know that no explosion or accident (I don’t know how the guy lost his limbs, I didn’t talk to him, this is just me guessing) would ever hold you back from bouldering (assuming you’d want to go bouldering).

But seriously.

You should’ve seen it.

That said.

What’s your excuse for not making and selling the products you want and making a buttload of money while helping as many people as you possibly can?

And if you can’t answer that question.

Then check out Product Creation Made Easy and get started right away: https://alexvandromme.com/pcme