In some of my previous epistolary attempt I talked about my experiences at Walt Disney World.

One of the things I did not mention was that while there I was able to interview a number of cast members working in different roles throughout the Magic Kingdom. These interviews will be added to the 17 interviews I did with Disney cast members back in May. Together, these interviews will be compiled into a work I am currently referring to as The Disney Chronicles.

What I want to do is share the marketing and systems insights I took away from my visits to Walt Disney World and my interaction with the different cast members.

One subject I want to briefly discuss with you today is what I call the "attractive character."

You may be thinking, “How in the world does this apply to me and my business?”

Well, first and foremost - attraction is attraction, no matter if you're attracting money or clients.

One of the very important things I remembered from working at Disney which was seriously reinforced by my recent visits and interviews has to do with being who you appear to be. The only time I got into trouble as a Disney cast member was one day I decided that as the resident magician at the House of Magic, I needed to dress differently than the retail cast members. Hey, I was 21 and full of myself.

I talked the young lady downstairs in wardrobe into letting me have a different costume - tux and tails. I was working for about four hours when a senior supervisor came through the shop. He immediately called me over and very politely asked why I was dressed that way. After my answer, he most courteously informed me that I was not appropriately dressed for my role and that I needed to go down stairs during my lunch break and get a new, appropriate costume. At Disney, you are cast for a role and you play that role.

When your clients or customers meet you face to face, you need to act like they expect you to act. n otherwords, you stay in the role as an authority on your subject matter. If you come across as a pushover, or someone who appears indecisive, or show you don't have what it takes,  they will not respect and do business with you no matter how much of an expert you really are.

This whole concept hit me over the head really hard at dinner Saturday Evening.

I had made reservations for us to dine in Cinderella’s Castle in The Magic Kingdom.

This is what they refer to as character dining, meaning Disney Characters appear throughout dinner for pictures and autographs.

At this location, Cinderella (or a cast member acting as such) was announces and made her appearance. Everyone lined up to have their picture taken with the character. Once that was done, we were waiting around to be called up to our table. The Cinderella Character was standing with her Character Assistant waiting on the next group of guests. I walked over and casually asked her how long she’d been a “principal character.” Her answer was not what I expected but was certainly the right answer. She said, “Oh, well I’ve been married to Prince Charming for a very long time.”

I said, “no what I’m curious is how you’ve worked for Disney?”

She looked at me a bit funny and said, “I’ve had my castle here since 1971.”

I then apologized and told her that I had been a principal character there way back in 1973 and was just curious. Fortunately, before she could answer, the next group of diners came in to have their picture taken.

Shortly after that, her Character Assistant came over and apologized for the character’s response. In the meantime I came to fully realize exactly what she had done – she had stayed “in character.” For that short time and in that one place she WAS for all intents and purposes, for the success of the show, Cinderella. And to answer any way that was out of character would have been inappropriate. She was a character playing a role and at the moment, she was on stage.

A lot of business people miss this very crucial point, and act differently than their customer or client expects them to act. If a prospect responds to your message from say your internet site the

internet, or in person after seeing you in front of a group, or even after you answer the question – “What do you do for a living?” they have a certain expectation that you will act in a certain attractive manner.

If you don't, they immediately pick up on the incongruence, and you're done. So, there are two things to keep in mind.

The first is this: don't build yourself up to be something you cannot possibly deliver on.

Secondly, act around your clients in a manner that meets (or better yet, exceeds) the expectations you've set for them.

Just like the cast member who was at that moment playing the role of Cinderella, she kept her role in tack and kept doing exactly what the part required.

Do this with your prospects and clients. Then the attraction will flourish instead of dying a miserable, sudden death.

Until next time, this is Doug – Dr Doug – Huggins reminding you…

“If you deliberately plan to be less than you are capable of being, the I must warn you that you’ll be unhappy for the rest of your lives.”

­- Abraham Maslow

In the last Dose of The Prescription, I asked you a specific question about how you react when faced with a difficult problem. How you answer that question is a definite indicator of your prospects for success and for moving into the top 2%.

One of the strongest impressions that has been made on me by the elite group of which I am now a part is that rich people are rich because they are willing and able to solve difficult problems. In fact, most actually thrive on problems. These top performers, people like Tony Robbins and Michael Gerber for instance, are paid huge amounts of money because they solve problems. CEO’s of corporations are paid huge salaries plus bonuses because they can solve problems for the company that nobody else can or will solve. Some are good at what they do and some are way over paid.

If you think about it, everybody who earns a big salary is ultimately a problem solver. And as much as I hate to admit it (because I believe athletes are way over paid for what they do for society) top performing athletes are paid what they are because the team owners need certain “problems” solved.

If you want to be in the top 2% you must become very, very good at finding creative solutions to what may appear to be impossible problems.

So, how do you do that? How does one pull a solution out of the air?

Well, education is a great place to start. I remember vividly being able to close a large number of mortgage loans for clients who had been turned down by other companies. And the reason I was able to do that is because I studied the business. I knew what programs were available and I knew the guidelines at least as well as most underwriters.

The second problem solving trait I see in all highly successful people is an unwillingness to give up.

When I was thinking about how to explain this trait, I remembered an article I had written a couple of years ago about my sons and lessons that could be learned from video games. I’ve dusted off that article and updated it a bit. This is not laziness on my part. I just remembered how appropriate the essence of that article is to our current discussion. Hey, Good Material is Good Material. So, I have added the revised version below…

Marketing Ideas I learned from Video Games…

Those of you who are new to The Prescription may not know that I have two sons, a 27 year-old and a 7 year-old. No, that’s not a typo. Yes, my sons were both born in January, 20 years apart; and Yes, they have the same Mom. Actually, my 27 year-old is technically my step-son. But, I’ve been in his life since he was 10 and I have always thought of him as my son.

Growing-up, Rob (the oldest) loved going to video arcades. I can’t tell you how may dollars were spent one quarter at a time; trying the same game over and over and over, feeding quarter after quarter after quarter until he got good enough at the game to move to the next level.

Now, my younger son Cameron, has fallen in love playing games on the internet. He has a special computer here at the office that can only get onto Toon-Disney and Cartoon Network sites. He loves playing. What I’ve noticed is the same persistence his brother had when playing these games. Once in a while I’ll hear an, “OH MAN” coming from his “office.” But for the most part he keeps on playing the same game over and over until he gets good at it and can move to the next level.

What does all of this have to do with business and more importantly problem solving, and getting into the top 2%?

Actually, quite a lot.

I get calls periodically from members complaining that their marketing is not working as well as they had hoped and are on the verge of giving up.

My first question is always, “What all are you doing to solve the problem of lack of leads.”

Inevitably, they’ve done one thing, one time and are expecting some sort of miracle wave of bodies flooding into the door of their business. Now, while the proven marketing systems they are using will in fact generate a flood of new clients when used properly, what is usually happening is the member has no patience and no willingness to be persistent.

Just like problem solving, marketing is an ongoing activity, not a one-shot try it and forget it action.

My members who are consistently getting the best results, generating the numbers of leads they want, and making the kind of money that can provide them the lifestyle they desire, are members who follow the plan, examine the results, make a minor tweak or two and try it again, then repeat, then repeat until they get the results they want.

Solving difficult problems can be done the same way.

You see, what I learned from my sons, watching them play video games is that they never think in terms of “I lost that game.” They think in terms of, “What did I learn from that game that can make me better in the next game.” Put another quarter in the machine and try again.

The most successful people in the country think exactly the same way.

There are two key thoughts here:

1. Every effort you make, whether it is in marketing or problem solving, should be looked at as a test. If you think in those terms, you can learn from that effort and make the next one better. 
   
2. If you are not getting the results you desire, Stop, examine the variables, make adjustments and try again.

This is exactly what my boys do when playing video games. Every game is a test to see how far they can go. When they don’t “win” they reflect on what when wrong, what changes they need to make in their playing and then, try again.

I haven’t played golf in a number of years. I stopped playing after I fell off of a ladder and shattered my hip – I can no longer pivot and swing through the ball. However, I do follow golf - at least a little bit.

I remember hearing Tiger Woods in an interview. If you don’t know, there was a period in his career when things hadn’t been going all that well for Tiger. In the interview he stated that every time he goes onto the gold course, he considers it a test. No matter where he finishes the tournament, he considers it a test and he looks back and examines what he did correctly and what he did poorly. He goes back and tries to recreate the things he did correctly and make adjustment to improve the things he did poorly.

Tiger said, “That’s the only way I’ll ever get back on top. Try, adjust and try again.”

Now, it think we would all have to agree that Tiger Woods is definitely in the top 2% of successful people.

And that is exactly how you should approach solving difficult problems. Try something, examine the results, adjust and try again. The worst mistake and greatest waste of your time, money and effort is to try one thing one time and never try it again.

In my next posting I’ll be interpreting your dreams.

Until then, this is Doug Huggins reminding you…

“Big Shots are only little shots who keep on shooting”
- Christopher Morley

As I mentioned yesterday, I’ve been invited well inside the inner sanctum of many of the very top sales, marketing, success and money making gurus around the country and actually the world. Being a part of this exclusive group, I now get to literally rub elbows with these top experts. If you don’t know what I am talking about, please take a look at yesterday’s dose of The Prescription.

One of the most important things that has really hit me full force being around these over-achievers is that they all have particular traits that set them apart from the pack. Specifically, their attitudes, actions, persistence and passion, plus a great number of other qualities are what separates these winners for the losers.

I’ve also discovered that to be really and truly successful you will have to separate yourself from 98 percent of the rest of the world.

Most of you are familiar with the The Pareto Principle (also known as the 80-20 rule, the law of the vital few and the principle of factor sparsity ). The principle states that, for many events, 80% of the effects comes from 20% of the causes. Business management thinker Joseph M. Juran suggested the principle and named it after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who observed that 80% of income in Italy went to 20% of the population. It is a common rule of thumb in business; e.g., "80% of your sales comes from 20% of your clients."

Most people in business reluctantly accept the concept. Sales managers almost universally see that the vast majority of sales are created by a very small percentage of their sales force. Unfortunately over time, most businesses, owner and managers have seen this rule go much farther to the small minority producing a significantly larger percentage of the income. Most of the top folks I’ve been hanging around with believe that the successful 2% actually generate well over 80 plus percent of the income.

My questions for you are:

Are you a part of that 2 percent at the top?

And if not, do you want to be? NO I mean do you REALLY want to be?

And if you say you really want to be, are you willing to do what it takes to get into that top 2%?

Because you CAN get into that special 2 percent, and its not just by how smart you are, or how hard you work, or how you invest your time and money. There actually is a formula, a specific recipe for success that the top 2% live by day in and day out. And it is something you too can follow to be successful.

The first and sometimes the hardest step is that you have to be brutally honest and completely realistic with yourself and about yourself. You have to get your mind out of the fantasy world crap that you see on most of the bull-shit television shows and in the crap filled magazine you see as you’re checking out at the grocery counter. The TV and “celebrity” magazines make it look like it is either completely easy to achieve success or you have to be a total crook and cheat to make it. It is nowhere near as easy as the Paris Hilton’s of the world would like to make it look; or shows like CSI-Miami where the famous and near famous spend their days hanging out at some resort pool or racing their million dollar speed boats, or by playing slap-and-tickle with a handful of other celebs. That ain’t real life. And I can tell you, the highly successful people I’m getting to associate with are not anywhere near like those pretend successes.

It is definitely NOT as easy to make it as they show you. Its tough and you have to be tough!

So my next question has to be – Are you really tough enough to be successful?

Are you truly willing to take the ton of pure BS necessary to really make it to the top?

When you try something and it does not work exactly like you thought it would, what do you do? Do you fall apart emotionally? Do you go home, crawl into bed, assume the fetal position and spend the night or day sucking your thumb and crying for “mama”? Do you blame everyone else on the planet except yourself?

OR – Do you examine what happened, make appropriate adjustments and try again.

There’s a really great quote that has been attributed to both Mohammed Ali and to George Foreman.

“It really doesn’t matter how many times you get knocked down that matters. The only thing that counts is how many times you get back up.”

Based on a minimum amount of research I believe it was former heavy weight champ turned indoor grill salesman – George Foreman. I also base that belief on the fact that Ali didn’t get knocked down all that often.

Regardless, the point is – top performers – the people who are in that top 2% - have all gotten knocked down; and most have gotten knocked down more than once.

So, the next principle I want to share with you about getting yourself into the top 2% - after being brutally honest with yourself is –

You Have to Be Tough and Determined.

Over the next several blog postings, I will be sharing with you 14 Principles of Success. These are the exact principles that the very top authors, speakers and achivers I’m hanging out with have used to get to the pinnacle of success. They are the principles I am actively using to move myself upwards toward their level of success. And they are the same principles you can use to propel yourself upwards to more income and personal fulfillment.

Each Principle will be followed by a question or questions that will help you evaluate your attitude about the Success Principle. You may want to write down each question, record the number of your answer. At the end of this series I will show you how to evaluate yourself and your potential for success.

QUESTION 1:

What do you do when you are faced with a serious problem?

1. I ignore it because I’m confident it will go away all by itself

2. I gripe and complain about it to my family and friends.

3. I delegate it to an associate and let them worry about it.

4. I brainstorm, recalculate, rework the issue until I can create a workable solution.

REMEMBER – The first principle I mentioned was that you have to be brutally honest with yourself. Answering this and future questions is a great place to start that honest reevaluation of yourself.

In my next posting, I will continue sharing with you what to do when facing a difficult problem in your business... 

Until then this is Doug Huggins reminding you…

“Problems are the price of progress: don’t bring me anything but trouble – good news weakens me.” – Charles F. Kettering