Picture this: I’m walking through Walmart the other day with my daughter, and I overhear a mom say to her child, “Money doesn’t grow on trees.” And then it hit me: my next media pitch had just been born!
As most people know, I’ve been working with Steve Siebold for more than five years. And people always wonder how I’ve managed to not only keep a program going for five years, but keep a program going that continues to generate impressive national media placements.
Sure, there are the usual strategies of playing off current events and TV appearances while he’s traveling, but the most successful way is just coming up with random ideas, just how one was born this week when I overheard that mom telling her child about money not growing on trees.
There’s a chapter in Steve’s book that refutes that age-old wisdom and says money does grow on trees, figuratively speaking. So I thought if we can fight one of the classic phrases about money that has brainwashed middle class America, what other popular money phrases could we take on?
And here is the list – the same list that has received attention this week from Business Insider, TheStreet.com, USA Today, the Huffington Post, Daily Finance, a similar story with Forbes Magazine and several small to midsize media outlets:
– It takes money to make money: This phrase is limiting at best and destructive at worst. The truth: you have to have great ideas that solve problems to make money. If you do, you will attract money like a magnet. Wealthy investors are always on the lookout for the next big investment they can sink their teeth into.
– Money doesn’t grow on trees: Figuratively speaking, money does grow on trees. The “trees” are ideas! This belief sets people up to believe money is scarce and difficult to earn, instead of seeing money as abundant and earning it is as easy as solving a problem through persistent, creative thought.
– Another day, another dollar: The masses trade time for money. This creates the belief that making money is a linear process directly connected to time. The average person believes the only way to make more money is to work more hours. Big money requires thinking about it in non-linear terms.
– Money is the root of all evil: The real saying is actually “the love” of money is the root of all evil, but it has been misquoted for centuries so much that most people believe money itself is the root of all evil. Decide to be proud of your ambition and ignore people who tell you that wanting to be rich is wrong.
– A penny saved is a penny earned: This is a very dangerous belief, as it puts a major emphasis on saving. Saving in itself is not bad, but the masses are so focused on clipping coupons and living frugally that they miss major opportunities. People must reject this nickel-and-dime thinking and focus their mental energy where it belongs: on the big money.
– Money can’t buy you happiness: The most common misconception about money is that more will make you happier. You don’t get rich to get happier; you get rich for the freedom in brings. It allows you to live life on your own terms, but it’s unlikely to make you any happier. If you’re unhappy without money, you’re not going to be happy with it.
– A penny for your thoughts: This is usually a harmless phrase when people just want to know what’s on your mind, but be careful: If overused, it penetrates the subconscious and you’ll start giving away your intellectual property for practically nothing. Your IP and unique perspective can potentially be worth millions if packaged properly.
– Selfishness is a virtue: The masses are programmed from an early age to put the needs of others before their own. While this sounds like a spirit-driven, high-level philosophy, it’s the worst advice you can get when it comes to money. In order to make a lot of money, there is a period of time in the beginning of the wealth-building process where you must focus on yourself and your business in order to make it at an uncommon level. Once you acquire wealth, then you can volunteer or give back to charity.
– More money, more problems: Another myth among the masses is the idea that millionaires are workaholics overloaded with so many problems they don’t have time to enjoy life. This is another excuse the middle class uses to justify being broke. It’s as if they’re looking for a reason to avoid success by making it seem unattractive. The truth is the more money you have, the more control you have over every aspect of your life. The more money you have, the fewer problems you have to personally address. While the masses are staying up at night worrying about their problems, millionaires are fast asleep knowing everything will be taken care of.
And there you have it. No need for some long, drawn-out pitching calendar trying to predict your plan of attack for the next six months, no long strategy sessions and countless conference calls that are long and boring and usually accomplish nothing. Sometimes just taking a simple and silly idea is all you need to do to generate big time national media coverage.
Is it always this easy? Of course not! But for what we generated compared to the amount of effort put in, we knocked it out of the park.
The moral of the story: when trying to figure out your next pitching angle, sometimes it’s something so simple just sitting right in front of you. Have fun with it, don’t be afraid to get silly with your pitches from time to time and lighten things up. Sometimes it’s best to keep it really simple and lighthearted.
