Strategic Thinking

How To Successfully Conduct An Elevator Pitch

October 24, 2019 by Dan Lok

Do you know how to conduct an elevator pitch, if you unexpectedly find yourself face-to-face with a high-ticket client? Imagine that your dream client gets into the same elevator as you, just by chance. It’s your lucky day, because you are alone in an elevator with a powerful decision-maker. This is it. This is your golden opportunity.

You would never want an opportunity like this to go to waste, all because you froze up, didn’t know what to say to them, and didn’t know how to conduct an elevator pitch. When you actually visualize your dream client getting into the same elevator as you, by pure luck, it’s understandable why the concept of the elevator speech is so fundamental.

Remember that ‘luck’ happens when preparation meets opportunity. This expression is attributed to the Roman philosopher Seneca, and reminds us that we create our own luck.

By memorizing an irresistible elevator pitch, you’re ensuring that the opportunity won’t go to waste. You’re ensuring that bumping into an influential person in an elevator will be lucky, rather than a tragic, lost opportunity.

What Exactly is an Elevator Pitch?

An elevator pitch is a short description of an idea, product, service or company that explains the concept in a clear and concise way, so that the listener can understand it in a short period of time. A captivating elevator speech should entice the listener by overviewing a problem they have and do not want, or a result they want, but have not yet achieved.

Short and sweet, elevator pitches are nothing if not persuasive. In essence, an elevator pitch is a compelling summary or overview of your offer. Think of your elevator pitch as the most important bullet points of your sales pitch.

An elevator pitch is a short and compelling summary of your offer. Think of your elevator pitch as the most important bullet points of your sales pitch. Click To Tweet

The original term stemmed from actual sales pitches taking place in elevators, back when catching a Hollywood executive in an elevator was a golden opportunity for the likes of a hopeful screenwriter. Today, the term is used for any sales pitch delivered quickly, concisely and effectively.

A common myth is that elevator pitches must be only 30 – 60 seconds long. An elevator pitch doesn’t actually have to be quite that short. However, it’s certainly not a bad idea to have a 60 second version memorized – just in case you just happen to ride the elevator with a top executive.

Is it possible to have an impact on someone in under 60 seconds? Absolutely. You can be remembered by someone based on a short and compelling elevator pitch.

Where Did the Term “Elevator Pitch” Come From?

It’s popular belief that the term “elevator pitch” comes from the studio days of Hollywood, when aspiring screenwriters knew they might catch an unsuspecting Hollywood executive on an elevator ride. There, with the decision-maker trapped within the confines of an elevator, the screenwriter would quickly pitch their idea during a 30 second elevator ride, hoping to make an impression in a very limited amount of time.

There are, however, other origin stories for the elevator pitch. One commonly-known origin story is that of Ilene Rosenzweig and Michael Caruso, two Vanity Fair journalists in the ’90s. Caruso was a senior editor at Vanity Fair and, according to Rosenzweig, he was always attempting to pitch story ideas to the Editor-In-Chief. However, he could never pin her down long enough to pitch her, because she was so busy. In order to pitch his story ideas, Caruso would join the Editor-In-Chief during her elevator rides. This was one of the few occasions where she would actually listen to him. Thus, the concept of an elevator pitch was created.

Essentially, the concept of an elevator pitch originated because high-level executives at companies (the decision-makers who you want to pitch yourself to) are notoriously tight on time. There may not be many opportunities to get their time or attention, but an elevator ride is a window of opportunity. Pitching a busy executive during an elevator ride is a wise way of finding the time to deliver your pitch.

It Might Not Happen in an Elevator

You need an elevator pitch ready at all times. You literally never know where you’re going to meet your next high-ticket client. It could be in an elevator, but of course elevator pitches don’t always take place in elevators. It could happen at a networking event, it could happen on a train, you might meet a prospect at an open-bar mixer before a conference, or you could even meet your next client in line at Starbucks.

Imagine for a moment that you’re in line at Starbucks. It’s the morning rush. Two businessmen are behind you in the line-up. You can’t help but overhear them discussing their need for an excellent SEO copywriter. You just happen to be an SEO copywriter. That just so happens to be your high income skill. You can turn around, tell those businessmen that you couldn’t help overhearing, and pitch them on why they should hire you. But if you’re going to pitch them, you’d better have a solid elevator pitch memorized.

The Modern Day Elevator Pitch

An elevator pitch is not a new concept, yet it’s still relevant and widely used. The reason the term “elevator pitch” is still used today, is because it’s important to have a very short version of your sales pitch memorized, in case you’re lucky enough to get even just one minute of an important executive’s time.

Because the short version of your sales pitch should not be much longer than the average elevator ride, the term “elevator pitch” has stuck around, and is used when referring to the quick version of your pitch.

This type of quick sales speech is not only used by modern business people and high-ticket closers, it’s also used in interviews. When you sell yourself in an interview, that is essentially an elevator pitch about yourself. An elevator pitch for an interview is a short sales pitch on why you’re the best candidate for the job.

Today’s elevator pitches are also used by students. If you are a student networking at a career fair, you might memorize a short “elevator pitch” that provides an overview of your skills, experience, passions and goals. That way, a company’s representative will be more likely to remember you, and put you in touch with HR.

Generally speaking, a modern elevator pitch is a condensed version of a sales pitch, used by entrepreneurs and people in business, with the object of obtaining a longer sales meeting.

An elevator pitch is a condensed version of one's sales pitch, with the object of obtaining a longer sales meeting. Click To Tweet

In her book Small Message, Big Impact: The Elevator Speech Effect, Terri L. Sjodin explains how an elevator ride is a metaphor for an unexpected window of opportunity where one does not have much time to act. In her book, Sjodin explains,

An elevator ride is a metaphor for unexpected access to someone you want to sell on some idea, project or initiative.

An elevator ride is a metaphor for an unexpected window of opportunity. Click To Tweet

The Difference Between an Elevator Pitch and a Sales Pitch

Yes, an elevator pitch is a form of sales pitch, but there are key differences between the two. A sales pitch typically occurs when a lead has expressed interest and agreed to a meeting to hear more about your offer. An elevator pitch is the short and compelling introduction of your offer that gets a prospect interested.

It is often because of an impressive elevator pitch, that a prospect agrees to a sales meeting where you will deliver a more in-depth sales pitch. While elevator pitches are more casual and conversational, a sales pitch is typically longer and more formal.

The Anatomy of a Great Elevator Pitch

A successful elevator pitch will be short, clear, direct, and uncomplicated. The message should be extremely clear, as should the value proposition. What makes you different or better than other options out there? Below is the anatomy of a great elevator pitch:

1. The Hook: The hook draws the listener in, and should happen right away, within the first sentence or two of your elevator pitch. The hook can be a question, such as “Have you ever wondered how certain businesses similar to yours have two, three, or four times as many social media followers as you, even though they haven’t been around as long as you?”

2. The Problem: The goal is to lay out a common problem that you have a solution for, hoping that the listener will resonate with this problem because it’s one they are currently experiencing.

3. The Value Proposition: Your value proposition, or your USP (unique selling point) is a clear explanation of how your product or service solves the problem in a unique or better way. You need to be certain of the specific value you offer. If you have a special skill, know how to explain why your unique skill is so valuable. What is your superpower? If you have a special, highly sought-after skill, then build your pitch around that.

4. The Benefits: In one or two sentences, briefly lay out the benefits that come with solving this problem. For example, you could briefly provide some statistics on how social media followers convert to customers.

5. The Foot in the Door: Don’t forget to ask for their contact information so that you can schedule a meeting to discuss your offer in more detail. Remember to end your elevator pitch with your foot in the door. You could say something like, “Since you’re interested, why don’t we schedule a meeting?” Another option is to ask them a question it’d be hard to say no to, such as, “I’d love to rewrite one of your ads for free, just to show you what I can do. How does that sound?” In general, the goal of every elevator pitch should be to set up a time to talk in more detail, and to get the contact information of the person you pitch.

Other Key Components of a Successful Elevator Pitch

What are some other qualities of a successful elevator pitch? For one thing, you need to know how to properly introduce yourself. You’ll start by introducing yourself, with your full name. Then, provide some brief background. Say something like, “I’ve been an SEO copywriter for 10 years.”

Ask questions. You don’t want to talk at someone. Elevator pitches should have a conversational, informal, and easy-going feel to them. Be sure to sound natural, not scripted.

Building rapport within a short pitch can be achieved various ways, for example through compliments. Compliment them with comments such as, “I am a huge fan of your brand” or even, “That’s a great suit you have on.”

Elevator pitches are best delivered in person. Most people want to hire someone they like and have met in person. Hiring a faceless candidate who submitted a resume online is less ideal.

Enunciate your words and speak slowly, because they are hearing your offer for the first time. That means you can’t talk too fast, as you have to give them a chance to process what you are saying.

It’s key that both your verbal and non-verbal communication skills are on point. Why does this matter? Because it’s not just what you say in an elevator pitch that matters. It also matters how you deliver the pitch. Your tone of voice should be strong, upbeat and confident during an elevator pitch. A stand-up comedian could deliver the exact same joke to two different audiences in two different ways, and only make one of those audiences laugh. It’s all in the delivery. If you have personality in your voice, people will pay more attention. If you speak in monotone and you don’t sound upbeat or excited, people will tone you out. Now, let’s discuss non-verbal communication.

Body Language: What You Need to Know About Non-Verbal Communication

Non-verbal communication such as your body language, can make a world of difference in how your elevator pitch is received.

Body language is a strong indicator of one’s confidence. If you stand up straight, stand tall, and stand with good posture, you’ll appear more confident during your elevator pitch. Why does this matter? Because if you don’t seem confident in yourself, your prospect won’t be inclined to feel confident about you, either.

Don’t forget about other non-verbal cues that improve your overall delivery, such as eye contact, hand gestures, and a nice big smile.

Your eye movements matter, too. Looking downwards or off to the side reflects low self-confidence. That’s why your best bet is to maintain eye contact during the delivery of your pitch.

Many people argue that non-verbal communication such as one’s body language, is even more important than verbal communication.

Albert Mehrabian, who was a Psychology professor at the University of California, was known for his extensive research on non-verbal communication and its importance. In his popular book Silent Messages, Mehrabian concluded that prospects base their assessments of credibility on factors other than the words spoken verbally by the salesperson.

Build Your Pitch Around a Niche Area of Focus

The more narrow or niche your area of focus is, the more unique your service is. This is a good thing. People are more likely to remember you and the service you provide, if it’s very niche, and narrow in focus.

Many people mistakenly think they will miss out on opportunities and lose clients by being too narrow. But it’s actually the opposite. Being narrow positions you as an expert. They will have that “ah hah!” moment feeling that you offer exactly what they’re looking for. And when that happens, price is not typically an issue.

Let’s imagine a relationship coach’s elevator pitch as an example. A relationship coach who says “I help people solve their relationship problems” won’t get very many clients. But if they say, “I help married couples on the brink of divorce save their marriage and rediscover their love for each other”, they will get more clients. Being an expert on one specific thing holds tremendous marketing power.

How to Memorize Your Elevator Speech

Practice, practice, practice. Rehearse your elevator pitch to friends, family, or by yourself in front of your mirror. Repetition is how you memorize a speech. Practicing it out loud helps you memorize it, too. While you practice your elevator speech, you can also change it, modify it, and continue to test it out. Just like a stand-up comedian tests his jokes in front of a live audience to see which jokes get the most laughs, you can test different versions of it with friends.

When you set out to memorize an elevator pitch, you’ll first need to write it out. How long should an elevator pitch be, on paper? It should definitely be less than one page long. Aim for about half a page, or a maximum of 250 words.

While you’re rehearsing your speech, get some feedback from friends and family about your non-verbal and verbal communication skills. Since elevator speeches are a form of public speaking, ask yourself if you are confident when it comes to public speaking. If not, continue to practice your elevator pitch on real people, so that you can get used to the idea of public speaking. Since your elevator pitch won’t always be delivered to just one person, and can sometimes be delivered to a group of people, it’s crucial that you develop some public speaking skills.

Elevator Pitch Mastery

A great elevator pitch is a key component of a first impression. Introducing yourself at a business event could lead into an opportunity to deliver an elevator speech to a powerful decision-maker. How can you become a master at conversation, so that when you conduct an elevator pitch, you’ll successfully make a great impression? My Perfect Closing Script is a great resource to use when crafting a compelling elevator pitch. By reading my exclusive Perfect Closing Script first, you’ll have an easier time when you write and memorize your perfect elevator pitch.

Elon Musk’s Top 9 Rules For Success

May 19, 2019 by Dan Lok Leave a Comment

Photo credits: Jatuporn Chainiramitkul / Shutterstock.com – Ivan Kurmyshov / Shutterstock.com and Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com

People call him the real-life Tony Stark, one of the greatest entrepreneurs of our time. Elon Musk’s name is synonymous with Tesla and SpaceX, and ranked as the 40th richest person in the world (2019) and 21st on the World’s Most Powerful People (2016). What valuable lessons can we learn from his success?

He has been associated with controversy, but no one is perfect. We’ve all made mistakes. But what’s certain is that he is one of the entrepreneurial geniuses of our time. He knows how to juggle a busy schedule and consistently innovate to launch successful businesses.

If you want to be highly motivated, show great leadership, and persevere as an entrepreneur, then follow these top 9 rules for success from Elon Musk.

Watch this video about Elon Musk’s Top 9 Rules For Success.

Rule 1: High Drive

Ever since he was a little kid, Elon Musk had a really strong, innate drive. By the age of 12, he had already learned programming and sold a video game for $500.

Most successful people are successful because there’s an internal drive or fire they have under the belly. They want to create something great, something that no one’s ever done before. They don’t want to settle for average and they don’t want a 9 to 5 job.

Most importantly, they don’t need to watch motivational videos to be motivated. They are self-motivated. No-one has higher expectations for Elon than Elon Musk himself.

Rule 2: Spend Time Wisely

Elon follows a very specific schedule, spending about half his time on SpaceX and half on Tesla. A normal week would be Monday at SpaceX then Tuesday, Wednesday at Tesla, Thursday and half a Friday at SpaceX and then the remaining half of Friday at the Tesla Design Studio which is adjacent to SpaceX. Then the weekends with his kids.

Elon Musk manages his time very wisely. You have to when you are running two massive companies involved with large projects.

The upside is this: you and I have 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

You and I have the same amount of time that Elon has. He has the same time resource as you, the same 24 hours a day. It all depends on how you invest your time, and whether or not you use that time wisely.

Rule 3: Persevere

Do you use your time efficiently? That is going to dictate how successful you become. You see, a lot of people look at Elon Musk and what he’s built today but they don’t know that at one time both companies were very close to going out of business.

You see where they are today but the challenges that Elon had to overcome: getting money, growing the business, educating the marketplace aren’t as well known.

When everyone thinks your success rate is so high that you risk losing everything, you need to be persistent. You need to be persistent, even if your first attempt results in failure. Elon was driven because he knows what it is that he wants to do.

You want to ask yourself how bad do you want it? Are you willing to make sacrifices? Are you willing to push forward and persist regardless, even if the whole world thinks that you cannot do it?

Even if they doubt you, you must keep moving forward if you are hungry enough to achieve your goals.

Rule 4: Innovate

Elon Musk believes it’s economics 101. Economics should favor innovation, which is important to protect small to medium-sized companies.

It’s hard for a new company to grow when it’s just a seedling or sapling. It needs a lot more protection than if it’s a giant redwood or fir. That’s why small to medium-sized companies need more protection on the innovation front.

Most people think that being innovative involves creating something new that no one has ever seen on this planet. They want to do something that’s no one’s ever done before, like creating a new technology or invention.

I believe there’s a difference between being inventive and innovative. Inventive is when you have to be creative. You’re inventing a new technology, product, or service – something that no one’s ever done.

However being innovative is something different. I don’t consider myself to be very inventive. But I’m very innovative, meaning I can see what we need in the marketplace and ask myself how I can make that a little bit better.

For example, how can I have a new spin or new way of marketing a product or add a new feature to it? I see there are so many products and services but there’s this gap in between.

There’s this need that’s not being fulfilled. I come up with interesting or different and unusual ideas and approaches to satisfy a need in this particular space. I’m not creating something brand new, just being inventive.

Rule 5: Attract And Motivate Great People

To Elon Musk, the ability to attract and motivate great people is critical to the success of a company because the company is just that: a group of great people that are assembled to create a product or service. That’s the purpose of a company.

Business is a team sport. Now at the beginning of your entrepreneurial career you’re probably doing everything yourself. I was doing everything myself at the start: the bookkeeping, the selling, the fulfillment, meeting with the customers.

I was doing everything a business owner needs to do to keep his business running. However as you grow, Elon Musk is saying that you want to find a group of people who share the same values. You want to share the same vision and accomplish a goal together.

But the key is, how do you attract good people? People come to me and ask me all the time, “How do you build such a great team?” They cannot attract good people and they don’t know why.

I always tell them, chances are if they don’t have good people within their company, they’re a lousy leader. The question is not so much how do you find good people, the question is, “How do you create an organization?”

How do you become a leader that people want to follow? How do you create a team that people want to join? That’s a very big difference. It starts right here, with you, not the marketplace, but right here.

Rule 6: Entrepreneurship Is Not A One Man Endeavor

Entrepreneurship is not a one-man endeavor because with one person, how much leverage can you have? With me, although everything is personal-brand driven, just like Elon Musk, with myself as the visible element and spokesperson for my brand, team Dan Lok is not just Dan Lok.

I played my part, a small part, but the success of the company actually involves a lot of people and partnerships and talents. It’s not just one person, although what you see is me representing the Dan Lok brand. It’s really the people within the organization that makes the company work.

The problem that prevents a lot of entrepreneurs from going to the next level is that they are control freaks. They want to control every aspect of the business.

These entrepreneurs want to micromanage instead of empowering or inspiring their people, and giving them the authority to make decisions and achieve great things.

They want to get their hands in everything and micromanage because they want that control but that actually comes from a lack of self-esteem and lack of trust. If you don’t trust your team, how could you empower them to help you to grow your company? It’s impossible. You cannot work alone if you want to be successful.

Rule 7: Have A High Pain Tolerance

A friend of Elon Musk said that building a company to success is like eating glass and staring into the abyss. The first several months are exciting and then things don’t go as planned. Customers aren’t signing up or the tech isn’t working. It can be painful for years as the company grows.

So if you want to be successful as an entrepreneur, have a high pain tolerance.

Many years ago I had a conversation with my mentor Dan Pena and he asked me the question about the same concept. He asked me, “You know, Dan, what do you think is the number one quality of a successful entrepreneur?”

I said it was having an idea or creating new technology or better pricing. Or it was needing a team or being smart or having a good education. I gave him many answers but he disagreed with them all.

None of those are the most important quality of a successful entrepreneur. The most important quality of a successful entrepreneur is the ability to endure pain for a long period of time which is what Elon Musk is saying.

You have to have high pain tolerance. You see someone who is successful like Elon Musk and you see the glory but you don’t see the blood, sweat, and tears while working for years without any results or recognition.

When you read a business magazine you see the people who make it but you don’t see the millions that lost all their money or the companies that went bankrupt.

You only see the glamour side of entrepreneurship and that’s the problem sometimes with social media. You see the glory but you don’t see the guts. Most people give up too soon. They don’t have that tenacity or high pain tolerance.

The first few months of a business are great. You’ve got a great idea to start with. Then problems kick in with customers or technology or the recession arrives. Either you give up or you persevere.

That’s what makes an entrepreneur successful – having the pain tolerance to deal with stress, anxiety, and rejection. An immunity to pain – that’s the difficult part, I think.

Rule 8: You Don’t Need Traditional Education

Elon Musk believes there are good schools out there, but teachers do not explain why students are being taught a subject. For example, they don’t know why they are being asked to solve problems in math class.

A cognitive dissonance occurs when we are taught to memorize formulas or information that seems to have no relevance to what we do daily, but we memorize it anyway so the teacher doesn’t punish us.

Compare that to taking apart an engine to see how it works and then putting it back together again. To do this task, you will need wrenches and screwdrivers and allen keys. As you solve this problem, you learn about the relevance of all these tools to the assembly of an engine.

So the question is, how practical is a formal education?

It doesn’t guarantee you success in life. People think that if they have that degree after their MBA, then their life is set.

Well that may not be the case. I didn’t graduate from university. I don’t have a lot of formal education but I do have a lot of self education from reading a lot of books and having great mentors. So if you don’t have a formal education it doesn’t mean that you will not succeed.

If anything, now I subscribe to the principle called “in time learning,” meaning you learn something that you can implement right now, not by going to school and learning a subject.

With this type of learning, you ask yourself questions. How am I going to implement this? When am I ever going to use this? What am I learning right now that will get me results?

More importantly, learn more about what is necessary to take your career or business or income to the next level.

Rule 9: Have A Feedback Loop

Elon Musk tried to optimize the productivity of every game day. It’s very important to have a feedback loop where you’re constantly thinking about what you’ve done and how you could be doing it better.

Listen to your customers and prospects. What do they want? What frustrations do they have? Are you listening to and understanding their needs? How can you solve their problems better than anybody else? How I can you fulfil their needs better than your competitors?

That’s what business is about. It’s about understanding what the marketplace wants. Nowadays you can even co-create your product by working with the customers to create something that is for them.

With this approach, your customer will like the product more. They’re more likely to refer other customers and they’ll buy more from you. This is the type of information you want to gather for your feedback loop.

Final Thoughts On Elon Musk’s Top 9 Rules for Success

Elon Musk is an inspiration to entrepreneurs who want to achieve his level of high performance and innovation. Even when he was young, he already had a high drive and a strong desire to persevere.

When you own a business, you must learn to spend your time wisely. You must also learn leadership to attract great people because entrepreneurship isn’t something you can do alone. Traditional education isn’t as important as “in time learning” and having a feedback loop to learn from your customers.

Most importantly, have a high tolerance for pain. If you’re not comfortable with being uncomfortable, you won’t be prepared for the challenges you will face on your path to success.

Which Elon Musk rule do you like the best? Comment below.

Why You Shouldn’t Read Books-Implement What You Learn

April 20, 2019 by Dan Lok Leave a Comment

“Which books should I read to effectively learn? What’s the fastest way to get the most information in a short period of time?”

My mentees from around the world ask me these questions, because they are looking for that book that will grant them to success like a key to unlocking everything. But what they may not know is that I don’t read books.

I use books and that’s a big distinction. When I read a book, I’m not trying to understand everything the author is saying. I’m not trying to understand all the concepts and ideas because the purpose of learning is mastering. It’s all about implementation of knowledge.

So when you have a book in front of you, don’t read it, use it. Here are some ways that I implement what I learn.

Watch this video about why I don’t read books.

I hear people declaring that, “I read a book a day” or “I read a book a week.” In my case, read about two to three books a week. I’m constantly learning. When I read books – when I use them – I have a simple goal.

The Power Of Three

For each book, I look for three key ideas from the book that I can implement immediately. Just three. Even if I find more, I only implement three.

If I can get those three ideas from the first three chapters, I will highlight them as my three takeaways and then I’ll put the book back on the shelf. Maybe later on I’ll go back and read the rest of the chapters and implement some of the other ideas. But once I’ve got my big three, I’ve achieved my goal.

Sometimes I get my ideas from the back of each chapter, where they’re talking about action steps and summaries and resources. Those are great places to look. Sometimes I get ideas just from the table of contents. If that’s the case, I put the book away and then I implement.

So, I don’t read books. It’s not about accumulating book titles in your list of accomplishments. Being able to list off books that you’ve read doesn’t mean anything if they haven’t changed your life. That’s the big distinction I want you to get.

One of the most powerful tools you need to have in life or in business is clarity. And clarity is power. And power is the ability to take action. That’s a tremendous mindset shift.

The more you read, the more confused you get, and the less clarity you have. The confusion robs your power. If reading more gives you more clarity and gives you an increased ability to act, that’s good. That’s powerful.

Converting Information Into Knowledge

Now, the next step to gaining clarity is the big difference between 1) information and knowledge and 2) knowledge to wisdom. Let me explain. Information is just facts, data, numbers, figures, theories, and principles. There’s a lot of information on the internet, YouTube and Google.

The volume of information available to you does not make you richer. It also does not make you happier or healthier or smarter. Information is just information.

A metaphor is when you’re going to school and reading books in class. There’s a lot of information in your textbooks. This is the first stage.

Once you’ve gathered enough information, you start accumulating knowledge. You’re taking the information and you’re learning about the distinctions. You’re also applying it in a project or you’re taking a test.

After the test, you find out whether you passed the exam and which answers you got wrong. Well, you’re learning from how you applied your knowledge. That’s accumulating your knowledge. In a similar way, a lot of people read books to acquire information.

The tragic part is, many read books to acquire information and then they wonder, “Why am I reading and learning but my life is still exactly the same?”

Turn Knowledge Into Experience

The answer is simple. They haven’t converted information to knowledge, and knowledge into experience. Now how do you convert knowledge into experience?

After you’ve acquired some knowledge, you’ve got to implement by getting some experience. You may think that the only way you can get experience is if you’ve made multiple mistakes. If you make a mistake, you get to see if an idea works.

It’s how you get experience. You’re seeing the pattern of things. Let’s go back to the school example. Now that you’ve taken enough exams, you’ve also studied the same subject for many years in a row. Science and math for example.

Now you see a pattern as you gain more experience of what works and what doesn’t. Experience is much more valuable than knowledge and knowledge is more valuable than information.

Books themselves are just information. Information does not change your life. You’ve got to give it meaning by converting. You need to gather it and filter it into knowledge. Then from knowledge, you implement and turn it into experience.

Wisdom Is Simplification

When you’ve been working with experience long enough, it evolves into wisdom. There’s a big difference between information or knowledge and knowledge versus wisdom. I don’t consider myself to be a super smart guy. People label me more as a wise man.

I’m wise because I’ve done a lot of things and had a lot of experience. In contrast, a lot of people are smart but they’re not wise. Wisdom is something completely different. Wisdom is knowing what not to do. It’s also knowing when you don’t have to do something.

That means if you have enough experience, you know how you’re going to make something work.

My experience tells me, these are the 20 things that I could do to make me successful. Wisdom is knowing, “Okay, 19 of these things are useless. Just do this one.” That is the difference. Knowledge is about accumulation. Wisdom is about elimination.

It’s not about daily increase, it’s about daily decrease. Eliminating what doesn’t work, for example. But you cannot gain wisdom without knowledge. You cannot obtain wisdom without experience. You have to go through all of that. After you finish those stages, you can simplify everything that you do.

In fact, there are only a few things that you need to do to get you the results. You don’t need to do a hundred things. You can do a couple of things and do them well. Most people are smart but not wise. You can tell by the way that they communicate because it lacks a lot of depth. It lacks wisdom.

It’s all about taking ideas and turning them into information, converting information into knowledge, then turning knowledge into experience. I filter my years of experience and condense that into the wisdom that I have. This is what works for me. It might work for you.

Swimming In Deep Water

So it’s not so much a question of, “Oh what books should I read, Dan?” Or, “What’s the best way to learn?” Those are very superficial questions. You need to go deeper than that and go beyond reading books.

You want to take the information that you read, implement it in the real world, and see what works. There are many stages of learning.

When you start applying, that’s when you find out what works and what doesn’t work for you. You can read about how to swim but you aren’t really learning until you are swimming laps back and forth in the pool. After that, you can swim in the lake because you have experience.

Now when you have wisdom, you can go and swim in the ocean but you also know it’s better not to because of the sharks. That’s wisdom.

Final Thoughts On Why You Shouldn’t Read

Now you know why you shouldn’t just read books. You should use them. Implement what you learn. If you read hundreds of books but your life is the same, then all that information hasn’t benefited you at all.

Knowing that, ask yourself now, How are you going to change the way that you learn? How are you going to change the way that you read books?

Most importantly, how are you going to change the way that you accumulate true knowledge, true experience and wisdom?

What is one idea you will implement today? Comment below.

7 Powerful Lessons I Learned On How To Build An Empire

March 10, 2019 by Dan Lok

Imagine if the YouTube kid celebrity you’re watching on your screen is the next Mark Zuckerberg. Or next Vera Wang. Or next Kylie Jenner.

You can’t always predict what will happen in the future.

The first part of my life was a bit of a disaster and nothing like the success I have now.

My childhood sucked. I was born in Hong Kong and I immigrated to Hong Kong to Canada years ago with no money and no connections and not a word of English.

Growing up, I was only one of three Chinese in my school, so I was an outsider. I didn’t get along with the other kids, who made fun of me and teased me. I got beat up a couple times.

My mom and dad got divorced when I was 16 and that was one of the reasons we immigrated to Canada. I wasn’t one of those people that was born with big dreams. I didn’t have great talents. My teachers said I had average intelligence. I dropped out of college.

Not in a million years would I have imagined myself doing what I’m doing today, writing books, speaking in front of thousands of people, and mentoring millions of entrepreneurs around the world.

It was my dysfunctional childhood that made me the functional achiever that I am today. My parents’ divorce and my tough time in high school both also had a part. It’s because I was the only child in my family that I had to learn how to stop being a boy and grow up so I could take care of my mom.

Now, after building 21 companies and starting a global movement for entrepreneurs, I want to share with you seven powerful lessons I learned when building this business empire.

Watch this video about seven lessons I learned on how to build an empire.

Lesson 1: Adversity Is Your Advantage

People look at their childhood as wounds. I see adversity as your greatest advantage. I hope your childhood sucked too. Because going through difficult times is like a workout for your emotions and your psyche.

When you work out at the gym, you tear your muscle fibers and when they grow back, they are stronger. That’s the first lesson I would like to share with you. Don’t look at your past as your wounds. They’re your muscles.

Business is not a sport for the wannabe. Business is tough. I failed at 13 businesses before having my first success. Statistically, 96 percent of businesses fail within the first 10 years. So in ten years, only four businesses would still be here.

The game of business is for the ambitious, not the weak. It’s for the committed, who will do whatever it takes to succeed, as long as it’s moral, legal, and ethical. I haven’t met a super successful person in my life who hasn’t overcome a lot of adversity.

I’ve lost over two million in business. It doesn’t mean I’m smarter or more talented. It just means I’ve made more mistakes.

Lesson 2: Love What You Do

There’s a saying, “Do what you love and the money will follow.” That’s a load of crap. So many people follow their passion, yet they wonder where their money is. If you want to follow your passion, you’d better make sure your passion makes you money.

For example, I love teaching and speaking about business at events. I could do that all day. The problem is, I hate travelling. I don’t even like to commute to work. I work from home. So imagine how I must feel about travelling from city to city. But I am willing to do what I don’t like to do because that allows me to do what I do like to do.

You would be exceptional at what you do because the marketplace will always pay for value. So it’s not about the money. It’s about choices and lifestyle. In my book, F. U. Money, I talk about financial freedom.

Want to find out more about financial freedom? Download the F.U. Money ebook or audio version here.

Freedom is not the ability to do whatever you want. Freedom is the luxury of not having to do something when you don’t want to. It makes no sense when you work hard and you still struggle to make ends meet.

I believe entrepreneurs who do a good job and deliver value to the marketplace deserve to be well paid. Money earned is a byproduct of value creation. The more money you make, the more value you deliver. Most successful people are successful because they serve a lot of people.

You deserve to make a nice profit and feel good about it.

When you learn how to make money, it is a gift. You’re morally obligated to make as much money as you can.

Lesson 3: Save Yourself Before You Save The World

The best way to help the poor is not to become one of them. It’s your responsibility to maximize your profits as an entrepreneur.

Here’s an analogy. If you’re giving blood, how many bags of blood can you give before you pass out and die? That’s employee mentality: one person, one donation. You want to give blood? Build a hospital. That’s entrepreneurial mindset.

So maximize your profits. Now some people say that “Money isn’t that important,” and “Money doesn’t buy happiness.” People usually say that as a defensive statement, or they don’t have any money or they don’t know how to get some.

Money is only supposed to do two things. First, it gives you comfort. Second, it allows you to extend what you do beyond your physical presence. So think big. Think about how you can grow your business and reach more people.

Most businesses fail because they aren’t getting enough attention in the marketplace. If you want to grow your revenue, your brand, your company, you must get attention.

Attention is the new currency. Are there any products and services in your industry that are lesser in quality than what you’re offering but they’re selling more? The reason is they’re committed to getting attention.

For example, I have a YouTube channel where I upload my videos, a podcast called The Dan Lok Show, and blogs on my website. That’s all free content. But that’s not how I make my money. That’s something I do to promote my brand.

You have to get yourself out there to push your name. There’s so much noise out there on the marketplace nowadays. One tweet or one Facebook post is not enough. Don’t think in terms of one. Think bigger. Not one tweet. A thousand tweets.

It also means when you’re getting attention, not everyone will like you. First they will ignore you… then they will laugh at you… then they fight you. Then you win.

Lesson 4: Promotion Over Creation

Visibility is more important than ability. Spend time promoting your brand. Every day I have Facebook posts. Instagram posts. Blogs. YouTube content. Emails to subscribers.

I’m very focused on promoting my brand and selling what products and services I already have. Then, when I reach a certain level of success, I create more products and services.

You’ll get some haters when you promote yourself. It doesn’t matter. You’re getting attention.

Lesson 5: Stop Pretending And Start Asking

Entrepreneurs who say their business is fine are using an acronym.

Freaked out

In debt

Not making enough money

Emotionally stressed out

Here’s some inside information. When I go to a speaking gig for a thousand people, only about five percent will come up and talk to me afterward. And out of the five percent, less than one percent will follow up.

They would come up to me and tell their stories. I love to hear their stories. They spend 20 minutes telling me what they do. But they never ask me, “Dan, what do you think?”

Here’s a tip. If you want to establish a relationship with powerful, successful people, don’t go up to them and pitch your stuff. It sounds like you want them to endorse your products to their clients and partners even though they don’t know you.

Here’s how to follow up after a speaking gig. Don’t give them your business card. It’s not their job to follow up with you. They’re already successful. It’s your job to follow up with them. Ask for their contact information.

After that, ask them two questions.

How can I learn more from you?
What’s your most important project that you’re working on that I or my network can add value to?

Lesson 6: Master, Don’t Dabble

A lot of entrepreneurs have shiny object syndrome. They follow whatever is the flavour of the week or the flavour of the month. They never take the time to master anything.

In my career, I focused on building one skill before the next. First, I focused on marketing, then internet marketing, then management leadership, then deal making, then investing. But it was one thing at a time.

And even when you’re working on mastering a skill, you don’t have to get it right, you just have to get it going. Most entrepreneurs spend too much time thinking about what they want to do.

Remember: perfection is the enemy of progress.

So you wrote an article you don’t like. It doesn’t matter. Upload it. You wrote a blog post you don’t like. It doesn’t matter. Upload it. Tweet the crap out of it.

Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn, said, “If you’re not embarrassed by the first version of a product, you’ve launched too late.”

Let my words ignite the power, the drive and the desire within you. Just go out there and just do it. Forget the naysayers, ignore these people and just do whatever it takes to achieve your goal and just do it.

Do you want to know how millionaires actually think? Click here to find out more about Dan On Demand where I reveal the secrets to developing the millionaire mindset.

The One Word That Makes People Millionaires: Leverage

February 24, 2019 by Dan Lok Leave a Comment

There’s one word that’s making people millionaires and billionaires, and it’s not luck, timing, attitude, or mindset. It’s something more measurable than that, and it’s called leverage. It’s how the rich get richer.

Even if you don’t consider yourself wealthy now, you absolutely must understand how it works if you want to get ahead in life.

Time Equals Wealth

I want you to imagine this. If you had $86,400 in your bank account and someone stole $10 from you, would you throw away the remaining $86,390 while you chased that person? Or would you say forget it and move on?

Now imagine there is a bank account that credits $86,400 to your account every single day but there is one catch. It carries no balance, so at the end of the day, the balance is zero. Now what would you do? You’d withdraw every dollar everyday, wouldn’t you?

Well you know we do have that bank account. And that bank account is called time. Every single day you have 86,400 seconds deposited to your life. How would you spend that time? It carries no overbalance and it doesn’t allow any overdrafts.

You’ve heard of return on investment – ROI – but here is a more powerful concept – ROTI – return on time invested. Most people when they think about that one word that makes people millionaires and billionaires, what comes to mind is “you got to work your face off.”

Hustling is a given. You need to hustle just to get your foot in the door. But that’s not the one word that makes people millionaires and billionaires.

Leverage is the word that makes rich people richer. Imagine yourself lifting a big, heavy stone with two hands and it doesn’t even move. You tried your best. However if we use a long pole as a leaver, we can lift that heavy stone with the same manpower. That’s leverage: maximum productivity with minimum effort.

There are many forms of leverage. I’ll give you four today.

Watch this video about the four forms of leverage.

1. Financial Leverage

The first kind of leverage is financial leverage. The idea behind this is you are using other people’s money so you aren’t limited by the size of your own pocketbook.

Imagine you are buying a piece of real estate. You borrow from the bank and put down your 20% down payment. Then you borrow the rest. It could be 80% from the bank. That’s money leverage.

You’re using the bank’s money to create more wealth and to build your business. Here are some other examples. Borrowing money from the bank so you can buy new equipment for your business. Borrowing from an investor to get funding. Debt leverage, is one form of financial leverage.

2. Marketing Leverage

Marketing leverage is when you can control and generate your profit increases using no cost or low cost marketing.

Imagine running an ad on social media and you create the ad once. That ad is seen 24/7 by anything from ten thousand to a hundred thousand people. Even though I’m not there “marketing and selling” all day, my ad is working for me. I leverage marketing while it’s being viewed by possibly millions of people.

3. Social Leverage

Social leverage is hiring people to do tasks. Your time and your hourly rate is worth X amount of dollars so you hire someone. You can’t outsource but you can delegate to someone whose hourly rate is a bit lower than yours and they can handle certain tasks.

Hiring team members that share your passion and dedication to your business is your ultimate goal. You can leverage their loyalty to your mission and grow your business together.

4. System Leverage

Lastly, you have system leverage. The advantage of leveraging systems is you can get more done with less effort.

For example, I’m using the QuickBooks software to manage my finances and do my bookkeeping. That’s a form of system leverage. Or if I’m using an email system that allows me to craft one email that goes out to two million people. I’m leveraging technology to grow my business.

Leverage Equals Wealth

Millionaire and billionaires have used different forms of leverage in terms of finance, people, marketing, and systems. Their level of affluence opens more doors for them because more money making opportunities come to them. They have a strong desire to generate more wealth, and they don’t waste time looking for opportunities.

If you want to increase your money or grow your business, learn to leverage. Leveraging is how you can gain momentum and gain more success at a faster rate. I also show another way to increase your income in this article.

Which type of leverage you used to increase your income? Comment below.