Burn Out: Escaping Living Hell (Part 2)

I know those feelings because I lived them in 1983. I was involved in the sale of "timesharing" and I sold "space advertising" that for most would be impotent. Timesharing at that time was all but a rip off. I didn't know that when I started there...every salesperson did when they left.

The promo was great. A free dinner at a very nice restaurant. Then the brief presentation...which is more than reasonable in exchange for the dinner... Then the interrogation, pressure, driving guilt, arm twisting and worse...until they signed up for a VERY expensive piece of ownership of a property that when they went to sell their "time", they would find was worth less than 20 cents on the dollar.

With this type of experience, the salesperson goes through "streaks" where they are very cold, selling nothing, usually at the beginning of the month...followed by "streaks" when things go better, usually at the end of the month. The moon? Position of the stars? No... Human conscience.

When sales dipped, the management wanted people to push harder.

...Reasonable if the product is good, but, fortunately, most salespeople are people and they unconsciously reacted to what they learned was a poor product by not selling any more than the minimum. When we/they didn't have to sell from necessity, the sales didn't happen. When you had to sell to put food on the table...you did. It was one way or the other.

...the result? Burnout.

By the way, I'm told timesharing is different today and if so, that is a wonderful thing. The idea of interval ownership is a very cool idea and done well, should easily be profitable for property owner and buyer. All that for another discussion...for today let's go on....

Now imagine this salesperson has been taking their "ups" and selling the heck out of them (an "up" is a disgusting word for someone that is sent up from someone or somewhere else, they are going to be "the customer". If you are interested in looking at the timeshare...and you traveled "up" to the resort, you were an "up.").

That salesperson has to take that emotional baggage, the guilt, the stomach churning, everywhere they go after working for this company or selling this product... until they do therapy...by themselves or with someone else.

A gentleman came up and talked to me at a convention last year. He asked if he could pull me aside and ask an important question.

He told me he worked for a major pharmaceutical company. He told me how their product lines were not good when compared to those of company X. He told me that company X products in fact almost always tested better in studies and that their sales and commissions were higher. He was frustrated.

"Kevin, how do I sell more against this kind of competition?"

My answer:

"Go to the local sales manager at Company X, tell him what you just told me and he will hire you ON THE SPOT."

And that is yet another problem. When you don't sell a good product or at least a product that is something people want or need or a good value...you have nothing but long-term problems that haunt every day...

But they usually don't get therapy...and they don't tell anyone...who would they tell? Their company? Their manager? Their wife? Their kids? Their neighbor? No, it's like telling people you are an arsonist. "Hey, I set houses on fire and I don't feel good about it..."

They go somewhere else and sell something that is a good product. Maybe they sell something of incredible value. Maybe they work for Johnson and Johnson or Proctor Gamble or go into business for themsleves....and simply produce the best stuff on the planet. That should take care of everything...right?

They stink there too. Now they finally have a good company, good product and they can't sell. What's up with that?!

To be continued...

Burn Out: Escaping Living Hell (part 1)

"Burnout."

With a few notable exceptions, you don't get it selling something you love...or doing something you love... "Slumps" are less common when the salesperson is selling a product or service he perceives as the best.

In management (at the office or in the home) it's the same story. Burnous is more than "real," it's a fact of life that is one of the most important RELIABLE signals your body will give your brain!

Let's see how this all works in real life and why banishing burnout before sales training could make a salesperson (manager or house-husband) healthy, wealthy...and pretty smart too.

3 Reasons Burnout Happens

Burnout happens for one of three reasons. The person doesn't like their product or service, or knows the product is deficient. The second is that the salesperson has personal self-sabotage issues that are not about the product or service. The third is that the person doesn't feel connected to the company or it's customers.

The problem lies in one of these 3 areas:

1. Deficiencies in the product (the company)
2. Self-Sabotage issues of the salesperson
3. Connection to company and or it's customer(s)

Imagine a person sells a junk product or something they currently believe is a junk product...something they aren't certain the recipient will really want or need. They have to force one sale and don't want to force another. They sell enough to get by...to pay the bills and quit. Their conscience, whether noticing consciously or not, stops when the bills are paid.

This person will "leave business on the table." Business on the table means they sold someone the low quality coat but didn't ask if they wanted pants, a tie and a shirt. They felt so guilty about one transaction they couldn't partake in another transaction with the same person.

Someone sells one piece of junk and they get paid their "draw" or salary. They need the salary to pay the bills and stay afloat in life.

To sell another piece of junk to the same person would definitely earn the person more money, but then they would feel twice as guilty for taking advantage of the other person. The person has a conscience... A crucial ingredient in a truly great sales person and a person...period.

So, they do the minimum damage and get paid just enough to keep going. Most of the guilt they push aside. It's there but it is sufferable.

How do I know? to be continued... check back soon!

The Power Of Thinking Without Thinking (Part 4)

Personal Identification - Thinking Without Thinking

• Consumers often abandon products when other social groups adopt them.
• Teens want to distinguish themselves from their parents.
• Jocks want to separate themselves from geeks.
• Rich Brits stopped buying Burberry once it became the brand of choice for soccer hooligans.
• Shanghai urbanites avoid the Volkswagen model that is preferred by the suburban nouveau riche.

Yet, the same teens who wouldn't be caught dead wearing the same jeans as their parents have no problem using the same brand of detergent!

A new study by Stanford researchers explores why some products are used by people to differentiate themselves from certain social groups.

"Prior work on individual drives for differentiation tells us a lot about who is more likely to prefer unique products or when people might be more likely to prefer them," write Jonah Berger and Chip Heath (Stanford University) in the August issue of the Journal of Consumer Research. "But these approaches have less to say about where people diverge, or why people diverge more in certain domains."

In a series of experiments, the researchers explored the differences between products that convey identity information and products that do not tend to be identified with a certain group.

For example, in the pilot study, the researchers had undergraduates choose options in 19 difference product areas (e.g., power tools, hairstyles, soap, and favorite CD).

In each area, they were told that 65 percent of other students preferred Option A, 25 percent preferred Option B, and 10 percent preferred Option C. They were then asked which option they would choose.

Option C establishes the greatest desire for divergence from the majority. While 67 percent of undergraduates chose Option C for the category of favorite CD, only 6 percent chose it when asked about dish soap.

In a national, web-based survey that expanded on the pilot study (median age 38), the results were similar. A different group of respondents was asked to rate products either on self-expression ("how much it contributes to self-expression") or identity inference-making ("how much people use it to make inferences about others").

Thirty-one percent of participants in the national survey chose Option C (preferred by 10 percent of the population) for products that were ranked as highly identity-relevant. For products that were less identity-relevant, only 16 percent of participants chose Option C.

"Consistent with our focus on the social nature of identity-signaling, even though our internet sample came from a range of demographic backgrounds, participants exhibited strong agreement about which domains were identity-relevant," the researchers write. "The results underscore the social nature of divergence; individuals don't establish difference from majorities in every domain or any random domain -- they do so more in domains where others look for signals about their identity."

Article: Jonah Berger and Chip Heath. "Where Consumers Diverge from Others: Identity-Signaling and Product Domains" Journal of Consumer Research: August 2007.

OK, NOW you have a ton of information to go forward and reinvent yourself and your products.

More Articles Coming Soon!

The Power Of Thinking Without Thinking (Part 3)

More Thinking Without Thinking

— Changing the label on a wine changed diners' opinions of their wine, opinions of their meal, and their repatronage of the restaurant, according to a Cornell University study.

Forty-one diners at the Spice Box restaurant in Urbana, Illinois were given a free glass of Cabernet Sauvignon to accompany a $24 prix-fixe French meal. Half the bottles claimed to be from Noah's Winery in California. The labels on the other half claimed to be from Noah's Winery in North Dakota. In both cases, the wine was an inexpensive Charles Shaw wine.

Those drinking what they thought was California wine, rated the wine and food as tasting better, and ate 11% more of their food. They were also more likely to make return reservations.

It comes down to expectations. If you think a wine will taste good, it will taste better than if you think it will taste bad. People didn't believe North Dakota wine would taste good, so it had a double curse -- it hurt both the wine and the entire meal. "Wine labels can throw both a halo or a shadow over the entire dining experience," according to Cornell Professor Brian Wansink (Ph.D.), author of the book Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think (Bantam 2006).

To confirm this, a similar study was conducted with 49 MBA students at a wine and cheese reception. Again, those given wine labeled from California rated the wine as 85% higher and the cheese as 50% higher.

"Small cues such as origin or a wine or whether the label or name catches your eye often trick even serious Foodies," said co-author Dr. Collin Payne. "He (Wansink) has even conducted demonstrations of this at at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and Apicious Culinery Institute in Florence."

For restaurants and wineries, it's important to keep a keen eye on the possible halo or shadow of wine labels. Diners, on the other hand, should be careful to not overpay for a pretty bottle.

The study, published this summer in Physiology & Behavior, is one of the few to have investigated the chain-effect of sensory expectations.

Cool huh?

Now, here is the research about personal identification which I believe you will find fascinating... to be continued in Part 4 coming soon!

The Power of Thinking Without Thinking (Part 2)

The lesson is what can YOU do to "make your SELF," Coca Cola, McDonald's, or the superior appearing wine?

Let's find out...

Recent Coffee Challenge

Recently McDonald's won a surprising title. Consumer Reports reported that in blind tests that McDonald's COFFEE tasted better than Starbucks.

I think we both know what would have happen if the test had NOT been blind. But here's what's more interesting yet...

...I don't drink a lot of Coffee (mostly tea).

Influence Research: Power of Thinking Without Thinking...I was with my friend Mark Ryan on our way to a convention and he wanted to stop at McD's to get something to drink and he suggested Coffee. I remembered the white styrofoam cup and I saw no reason to do such a thing...but I was SO curious about how good it would taste...

...the gal gave us our Coffee and they came in these VERY cool cups that had text and color on them indicating stuff that I remember as environmentally friendly. (I didn't keep the cup nor did I think I'd be writing about it, but you get the idea.) It was almost as cool looking as "a Starbucks!"

My grandfather always talked to me about the "power of perception." He wanted me to write a book with that title with him.

Perception Causes Action
Every day I see how perception causes people to do things that logic or reality never would.

Later, at the very end of this article I want to show you some fascinating research about how OTHER PEOPLE'S CHOICES and PERCEPTIONS change YOUR choices!

Basically the concept is this. Everyone is snobby about something. Some people only wear Nike or drink Coke or whatever.

And THEN something interesting happens. People can wear the same clothes for years, but when some other group of people starts to wear the clothes (or whatever) that YOUR GROUP wears, you SWITCH to another brand!

KEYPOINT: You and I do a lot of stuff because it DEFINES our IDENTITY. As soon as the products we use fail to differentiate us from others we do NOT want to be identified with, we CHANGE our choices.

To Be Continued... Come back soon!

The Power Of Thinking Without Thinking (Part 1)

Imagine if you will....

There are two different bottles of wine in front of you. A glass is poured from each bottle.

Which will taste best?

I bet you're thinking that you won't know until after you taste them.

And you would be wrong.

The fact is that on average the wine will tase good or bad based upon your perception of the label on the wine.

Now STOP.

That is pretty profound.

The LABEL, the WORDS and APPEARANCE of the label determine how much you will like the wine.

And it doesn't just happen with wine. It happens with everything.


Power of Thinking Without Thinking
I'll show you some cool research later in this article as to how all of this thinking without thinking works, but last week, research was reported that children report that ALL FOOD that comes at McDonald's or in McDonald's, tastes better than those exact same foods served up at home.
That includes carrots and asparagus!

And this effect isn't just limited to wine drinkers and kids. It's broad spectrum...and even affects smart people like you and me!

Did you know that in blind taste tests, where Coca Cola is pitted against Pepsi Cola, that Pepsi is chosen as the better tasting brand about 60% of the time?

Here's what's more interesting....

....When the labels are visible, Coca Cola consistently is selected as the tastier choice!

That's how powerful "brand" is.

What's the lesson?

Part 2 Coming Tomorrow

"Can You Really Run Their Brain?... Do You Really Want To?" (Part 1)

How would you like to be able to trigger specific memories in other people's minds?

How would you like to be able to trigger specific emotions in their minds?

IF you can do these two things and new research shows that you can; you have the ability to change a person's state in a moment...alter their feelings instantly...and cause behaviors to occur where you wouldn't have been able to in the past.

You can't do it by simply endlessly chatting away. (OK that could cause boredom...which is a state!) You do it through elicitation with the realization that thoughts (memories) trigger emotions and specific feelings or emotions trigger specific thoughts.

Profound?
You bet.

Want to learn more?
I thought as much!

Researchers exploring the brain structures involved in recalling an emotional memory a year later have found evidence for a self-reinforcing "memory loop" -- in which the brain's emotional center triggers the memory center, which in turn further enhances activity in the emotional center.

The researchers said their findings suggest why people subject to traumatic events may be trapped in a cycle of emotion and recall that aggravates post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They said their findings also suggest why therapies in which people relive such memories and reshape perspective to make it less traumatic can help people cope with such memories.

The paper by Florin Dolcos, Kevin LaBar and Roberto Cabeza, was published online, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers are in Duke University's Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, and Brain Imaging and Analysis Center. Their work was sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

"This study is the first to really test recall of emotional memories after a long time period," said Cabeza. "Previous studies had only allowed a short time interval, for example minutes, between encoding of the memory and retrieval. Hence, they could not distinguish between the process called consolidation -- in which memories are being established -- and retrieval. Also, they did not distinguish between true recollection of a memory and a vague familiarity. In memory studies, it's very important to distinguish between these two phenomena," he said.

In their study, the researchers showed volunteer subjects images that were pleasant, unpleasant or neutral while their brains were being scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In this widely used technique, harmless magnetic fields and radio waves are used to image blood flow in regions of the brain, and increased blood flow is a signature of higher brain activity.

The pleasant images were of romantic scenes and sports; the unpleasant images involved injured people and violence, and the neutral pictures depicted buildings or other emotionally non-involving scenes. The subjects were asked to rate the emotional aspects of the images they saw.

Then, a year later, the researchers showed the same subjects a combination of images they had previously seen and new images -- pleasant, unpleasant and neutral -- while their brains were being scanned. They asked the subjects to indicate whether they had seen the images before and whether the memory also brought back associated details. Such details indicated the impact of the picture on the subjects.

The researchers found that the subjects did recall the emotional pictures -- both pleasant and unpleasant -- better than the neutral pictures, and this recall was based on specific recognition of the pictures.

This recall was associated with a correlated higher activity in both the amygdala -- the region of the brain responsible for processing emotional memories -- as well as the hippocampus, the main memory-processing center. The study also revealed greater amygdala-hippocampal correlation during recollection of emotional pictures than during recollection of neutral pictures, they said. The researchers said that one way of explaining the "co-activation" of these two centers was that they could be part of a "synergistic mechanism," in which each activates the other during recall of an emotional memory.

Said Dolcos, "One way to interpret our result is that emotion can trigger recollection, and vice versa. The synchronicity between activity in the amygdala and hippocampus could go either way. The emotion enhances recollection, but at the same time by recollecting those events, you would also remember the emotional response. It could be like a loop in which the amygdala interacts with the hippocampus." According to Dolcos, this memory loop could help understand the searing recall of traumatic memories in people with post-traumatic stress disorder.

"In such people, an emotional cue could trigger recall of the event, which would then loop back to a re-experiencing of the emotion of the event," said Dolcos. "Or, remembering the event may trigger the emotional reaction associated with the event, which in turn could trigger more intense recall, in a continuous loop."

Such insights into the nature of emotional memory support a therapeutic process that can affect "reconsolidation” of traumatic memories, said Cabeza. "Some studies have suggested that when you retrieve a memory it can not only be re-encoded, or reconsolidated, but you also put it into a labile state in which it can be transformed. While in such labile state, either the memory itself or the person's perspective of it may be altered." According to Cabeza, therapists working with people suffering from PTSD as a result of the 9/11 terrorist attack have used this technique to alleviate its symptoms.

In further studies, the researchers plan to manipulate the degree of emotion experienced by the subjects, as well as how much detail is remembered, to explore the specific interactions among brain structures in processing emotional memories. They also plan to analyze activity of other regions -- such as those that process spatial, auditory, or visual information -- during emotional memory processing to understand their role. Such studies would yield insights into how emotional memories involve integrating multiple brain regions, they said.

Intrigued? Discover the secrets to what separates Covert Hypnosis from every other compliance technology. Discover what even the experts don't know about how the mind interacts with the unconscious mind.

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Covert Persuasion Tactical Power (Part 3)

Afterward, the subjects were asked if they saw the gorilla. Just 18 percent of the drinkers said they noticed the gorilla while 46 percent of the sober subjects indicated they saw the gorilla. The research was based on older research without the involvement of alcohol. The results were just as impressive. People simply don't see that gorilla. It SEEMS impossible, but what seems ridiculous is EXACTLY how our brain works in reality.

And it's a bit unnerving when you think about it!

TWENTY FIVE SECONDS! That's it. And in the middle of that 25 seconds, a gorilla shows up on the screen beating his chest and if you've had a drink, you didn't see it. More than half of those who didn't have a drink didn't see the gorilla.

The power of focused attention via suggestion is absolutely shocking.

Applications:

The applications are far reaching and can be applied to almost any persuasive setting. The covert nature of the behavior is obvious.

When you are writing copy or making a sales presentation it is VERY IMPORTANT to encode your targeted information into your client's awareness.

If you write for your website, make sure you tell people what to look for early on. ALL THE BROWN!!! Make sure you have not led them into some other world where they are asked to see green.

If you tell them that you have a money-making opportunity and then offer facts to support that. Talk about unrelated things and they will be filtered out making a story that is incomplete, incoherent and entirely forgettable.

"What we're looking for are ways to get this project done without spending tons of money on waste like x, y, and z. Our competitor isn't interested in that, and whatever you ultimately decide, those factors can't be forgotten..."

That client will be listening for x, y and z...and ways to get the project done, so you better do something with those four pieces...because that's what they are going to be filtering for...and what they will be hearing!

This works in text and face to face communication.

Whatever you direct the person's mind to is where they will be primed to pay attention to. Very much like a magician.

One worthwhile additional bonus:

If you say something negative about your competitor, your client WILL remember your competitor. It may not be good or bad...but they'll remember ...and if you haven't put a greater degree of emotion on your own product...they won't remember yours at all.... NEVER mention a competitor or anything about them, except in the context noted above..

One final suggestion: Write down the facts and keypoints from this article on a piece of paper and keep it on your desk for a week. Just one week. Refer to it everytime you write copy or review your sales materials and presentation strategies.

Many covert persuasion techniques will ever yield the results this one will!

Til next time!

Next Article Coming Up... 10 Steps You Can Use To Persuade Anyone!

Covert Persuasion Tactical Power (Part 2)

FACT FOUR: People who have had just one drink lose their ability to discriminate reality even more profoundly.

They REALLY see what they expect to see. They really feel what they expect to feel. They really see what they are told to see.

Here is the research.

After you read this section, I'll give you some tips on how to utilize this information in a persuasive context on the internet and in face to face communication.

People who were given a simple visual task while mildly intoxicated were twice as likely to have missed seeing the person in a gorilla suit than were people who were not under the influence of alcohol.

The study, appearing in the current issue of The Journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology, is the first to show visual errors caused by "inattentional blindness" are more likely to occur under the influence of alcohol. This phenomenon occurs when important, but unexpected, objects appear in the visual field but are not detected when people are focused on another task, according to Seema Clifasefi, a postdoctoral psychology researcher at the University of Washington.

While the research, a pilot study, did not test driving aptitude, the study has strong implications for people operating motor vehicles after consuming alcohol, according to Clifasefi, who is affiliated with the UW's Addictive Behaviors Research Center.

"Driving requires our full attention. We need to perceive information from a variety of sources when we are driving, but alcohol reduces our ability to multi-task. So we focus on one thing at the expense of everything else," she said.

"Say you have been at a party and are driving home after having a couple of drinks. You don't want to be stopped for speeding, so you keep eyeing the speedometer. Our research shows that you will miss other things going on around you, perhaps even a pedestrian trying to cross the street."

In the study, 46 adults ranging in age from 21 to 35 were brought into a bar-like setting. Half of them were given drinks containing alcohol to bring their blood alcohol level up to 0.04 -- half the legal level for being drunk in most states. The other half were given drinks containing no liquor.

After the volunteers had their blood alcohol levels measured by a breath test, they were taken to a computer monitor and asked to watch a 25-second film clip. The clip showed people playing with a ball and the volunteers were told to count the number of times the ball was passed from one person to another. In the middle of the clip a person dressed in a gorilla suit appeared, walked among the players, beat its chest and then walked away.

Results??? (You aren't going to believe this....)

Part 3 Of This Article Coming Soon!

To Read More Artciles On Covert Persuasion Click Here!

Covert Persuasion Tactical Power

What do YOU want them to think?!

At least a dozen times I've asked hundreds of people in an audience to look around a room identifying everything that is brown and instruct them to remember what they see because this is a very important experiment.

Then I ask everyone to close their eyes.

Everyone knows where everything brown is because each of their brains have been instructed to focus and find all brown...and they have been told that this is an important task.
"Now, point to something green."
No one can do it.
Those that point somewhere inevitably fail.
No doubt you may have participated in this fascinating experiment in the past as well.
The Fascinating Human Brain
It's an amazing thing about the human brain. We can retain an unbelievable amount of information.

But in this case, we can't remember where *anything* green might be...
We weren't told to look for it...
Imagine your friend teaches a grade school class and little Billy is acting up in the back. Your friend tells a fellow teacher about the experience.
"The kid is always acting up. He's probably 'ADD' and I wish he was on his way out. He's driving me nuts."
"Huh. I guess I've never seen it in his behavior. He can be talkative but he never misbehaves in my class and he's a pretty sharp kid. Sometimes even helpful to the other students."
Your friend looks at the fellow teacher as if he has lost his marbles.
Your friend will not likely ever see the student in any way other than he has and the other teacher will likely not change his view that the student is a pretty good kid.

Here's what happens when the second teacher visits the first teacher's class to observe...
Weeks later, the teachers agree to exchange notes on the student again. They've both retained their original opinion.
Today, the second teacher decides to sit in with your friend in his class. He sits at the back of the room and takes careful experimental notes on the young boys behavior noting anything that diverges from sitting and being quiet.
At the end of the day, the student had contributed four answers to questions for the class, spoke out of turn once, helped another student once, stopped an argument another time and laughed ridiculously loud once at a joke another student told.

"Did you see him today? The kid was back at it again. He was smarting off and disrupting the class again."
"Actually, he was pretty well behaved."
"You've got to be kidding!"
"No. I recorded everything he did today."
Your friend looked at the record and simply couldn't believe they were talking about the same child.
Your friend saw what he expected while the actual record showed a very different picture of what really happened.

KEYPOINT: You remember what you expect to see.

And don't worry, your friend isn't crazy.... He also looked for everything that was brown and saw what was brown.... and nothing else.
As soon as you have an attitude, opinion or emotional connection to something or someone else, you immediately filter your awareness of that stimulus through those attitudes, opinions and emotions.
It's how the brain operates. It's how the brain must operate or it would see something new and have to start from scratch analyzing what "is" and what causes what attitudes, emotions and opinions.
That would be incredibly time consuming and cause the destruction of the human race. (I'll come back to this.)
Unfortunately as helpful as this "filtering" is in general, it creates a very interesting life for each of us.

FACT ONE: We see what we expect to see.

FACT TWO: We don't see what we don't expect see.

FACT THREE: We see what we are told to look for...and not much else.

This week we found out something even more incredible. When a person drinks a drink of alcohol something amazing happens when it comes to people seeing what you want them to see...

To read more articles about Covert Persuasion Click Here!

Part 2 of this article coming soon!

Covert Hypnosis and Story

Covert Hypnosis and Story
Kevin Hogan, Psy.D.
What's your story?
How One aspect of Covert Hypnosis Elegantly Persuades
December 1991.
It's a rare moment when I can be glued to the television watching an 80-year-old man talk to a 50-year-old man...I am a stimulus nut. I like to listen to The Beatles while I watch E!'s Brooke Burke tour me through Ibiza... while I am creating the next chapter for my next book. If there are a couple of source books on the coffee table open for documenting my ideas, I have almost enough stimulus to keep me producing 'til 3A.M...
...but on this night some 10 years ago, the channel landed on a television show called, "The Power of Myth with Joseph Campbell, interviewed by Bill Moyers."
"We are drawn to the Hero's Journey," Campbell said. (Readers Digest of Hero's Journey: Someone who could be anyone, goes away, finds enlightenment -- Moses, Jesus, Paul, Buddha--and comes home to save his people.) Campbell pointed out that certain myths are common to every culture and universal in appeal. I learned so much that night. After studying the Bible and other sacred literature for most of my life, a light went on inside of my head. I finally realized that these stories are common to dozens of cultures around the world. I knew that of course, but what I didn't understand was what that really meant. The stories were written to help create meaning for the lives of the many. More: Look how successful they have been!!
The insights I gained from Joseph Campbell would change how I perceived individuals and cultures and their beliefs for the remainder of my life. People's personal stories and the stories of those they admired/worshipped became critical to gaining insight into the human mind. This triggered a life long fascination with understanding how these stories are filed in the brain, how you can change impoverished stories and how you can help more people take the Hero's Journey so they can become the hero of their own life.
It seemed to me virtually everyone could participate in their own Hero's Journey.
How? One thing was for sure: The craving the human brain has for the Journey makes it something that must be driven from an evolutionary standpoint. Specifically, the desire of curiosity and the drive to learn. Meaning in life is adaptive from a human survival perspective and I believed that this could create great change for people IF you could get them to believe that they were worthy of great things in their life.
To the point of today though, how can YOU utilize narrative to elegantly persuade...to covertly create change in the unconscious minds of people...now?
The answer is in some respects simple and other respects difficult.
On one level, I have always been amazed that people scoff at scientific research and still believe nonsense that is a total fiction even after given overwhelming evidence to the contrary. (This is the Law of Consistency, according to my book, Psychology of Persuasion). My personal philosophy is one of personal evolution. Each day learn more, apply more that you learn, and discover the best possible strategies for X that exist with current knowledge.
Most people don't understand and they don't believe statistics when compared with a good story. I could share irrefutable statistics with a group of cigarette smokers that research proves smoking cigarettes will ultimately kill them and those around them in greater percentage than nonsmokers, BUT when I tell a persuasive story of ONE person living to 100 who smoked cigarettes her entire life, the group is utterly convinced that smoking isn't bad and that the research is "crying wolf."
If you have a scientific mind, this probably makes you grate your teeth. Don't let it. Instead, start telling stories. People want to hear stories. It's how they think and believe. It's what they believe. Statistics are somewhat complicated and take deep thought sometimes. A brilliantly told story immediately clicks in to the brain and becomes truth. People don't have good recall of facts but they can at least in part remember a story.
But what kind of stories? Most people tell stories that are incredibly boring. How do you tell a story that will be persuasive and create change in the minds of others?
People identify with certain stories and how the story teller (the salesman, the speaker, the leader, the manager, the therapist, the teacher) tells them. If the story teller brags about her greatness, the listeners turn her off. If the story teller shows how her solutions are ingenious, the listeners turn her off.
The first of seven keys to telling a persuasion packed story which you want believed is to be certain that you have identified who you are. What are you going to say that will cause me to want to listen to you in the first place and believe you in the second place? This seems to be an easy point...at first glance, but in reality it isn't easy at all. Everyday people are bombarded with thousands of messages, especially in the form of advertising, all asking for belief and compliance. We believe some and act on some of those we believe.
Getting someone to listen to you is no easy thing. Most people are thinking of their responses, their resistance's, their objections as they listen to you talk. The truly great story eliminates the need to object and resist.
I start almost every presentation or seminar I give with a story. It usually will be one with humor in it. Never a joke. But always humor...lots of it. I might tell the story about how I did the body language assessment of Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky for the New York Post. In a different setting, I might discuss how Al Gore lost the election by misusing his body language in the third debate with George Bush. I might tell the story of when I met the Princess. The stories are memorable and have great humor. I'm not the star. I'm secondary to the event. There is no arrogance about the story teller, I'm just like my listener and happily surprised to be playing an important role in the scheme of analyzing national events for the media or meeting someone particularly exciting.
Woven into these stories... you learn not only about the national figures but you learn self revelations from myself. I explain that I'm a conservative who actually liked Bill Clinton. You learn all kinds of tidbits about me, most of which are non-threatening, but enough to stimulate some emotions about what I'm communicating about. In all of my opening stories at a seminar you learn in a very covert fashion that your story teller (trainer/speaker/seminar leader...me) is feeling excited about being on television or radio (just like you would be), has a great deal of expertise based on the story itself, is not arrogant or pompous (huge turn off for listeners), is funny (massive laughter experienced in audience), seeks no harm and only good for everyone involved while having a playful demeanor that is fun.
This all comes through in the telling of the first story with several very short "asides." Just how to do that and helping you discover the other six keys of persuading with narrative will be dealt with more in future E-zine's.
For now, realize that a well told story is powerful in change potential. A poorly told story is guaranteed to lose clients, lose sales and cost you enormously. Watch the stories that inspire and excite you. Look at the communications you receive that cause you to take action. Discover what changes you and then you will begin to have a hint at what might change others as well.
That reminds me of a story.
January 1999
Morning in Las Vegas. I was at the Venetian. About 11AM I go downstairs to the casino to play some Pai Gow Poker. I sit down at 3rd base and look up to see two stunning women standing around the chair at first base of my table. Both were wearing form fitting white t-shirts and white pants. (Not that I noticed.)
I looked at my cards and my first hands were likely to be losers. I placed them and happened to look back up over toward first base. Now sitting at first base between the Girls of Playboy was the man who played "Mini Me" in Austin Powers. He was wearing a brown smoking jacket and I remember how odd looking it was to see someone especially Mini Me in a smoking jacket in a casino... Then I smiled and realized that I was no one to question Mini Me's taste in clothing. The two Girls of Playboy massaged his back while the dealer scooped up my green chip.
I smiled and said, "Good morning."
He said, "Good morning."
"How's it going?", I inquired.
"Great. Thanks..."
The dealer took his two green chips. He looked up at one of his friends.
"...Couldn't be better."
I couldn't help but smile from ear to ear. I wonder where you get those brown smoking jackets?
Covert Hypnosis: An Advanced Course in Subtle Unconscious Influence The Master’s Secrets Revealed! (Vol. 1 - 8)
“This is THE advanced course in subtle influence! Remember when you read Covert Hypnosis: An Operator’s Manual, and you got that WOW! feeling inside?! Well, that was just the beginning. In Covert Hypnosis: The Master’s Secret Revealed, you are going to learn how to subtly move inside the minds of anyone you communicate with. In trance or out…this is the most powerful material on Covert Hypnosis on the planet. Period.” Kevin Hogan, Psy.D.In CD 1, Kevin Hogan reveals specifically the secrets of how to weave the exact messages you want others to act upon into stories that captivate listeners.
CDs 2 & 3 show you how to motivate and compel other people to change their behavior as quickly as is humanly possible. Benefit: You can utilize these covert tools with your own unconscious mind because they link into the core drives and desires that you have!
CD 4 reveals ALL 22 elements of Covert Hypnosis for this first time anywhere! Never before released by anyone, anywhere. The complete Covert Hypnosis Model for change is here. Business? Sales? Consulting? Coaching? Therapy? Learn specifically how to generate change in their thinking with the Covert Hypnosis Model.
CD 5 gives you all the tools necessary to take a person's deepest drives (sex, eating, acquisition, connection, etc.) and fuse them into building compelling outcomes (the girl of your dreams, lose weight, acquire wealth, meet new people easily). Ignore either aspect, and failure is assured. Successfully meld the two in the unconscious mind and amazing things can happen.
CD 6—Pattern Recognition: Getting someone to think about something is one thing. Getting someone to feel driven to DO something and then watch them do it like magic is something else entirely. Learn so much in just this one CD!!!
CD 7 - This is 2003 neuroscience and research that reveals how to rewire the brain. Some neuroscientists call it "sculpting." It's not something that happens instantly and it requires the use of both hemispheres which can be pretty tricky if you don't know what you are doing.
CD 8 - You are going to learn some unique techniques in the eighth volume of Covert Hypnosis. Not only are you going to learn the truth about values (when they are critical and when they are MEANINGLESS) but you are going to discover the values of the unconscious mind! The unconscious mind and conscious mind do not correlate to each other but they both correlate to the behavior of every person you meet.
Intrigued? Discover the secrets to what separates Covert Hypnosis from every other compliance technology Discover what even the experts don't know about how the mind interacts with the unconscious mind.
More Information about Covert Hypnosis or to order
Covert Hypnosis Blog

The Secret Law of Attraction Exposed Live

The Secret- The Law of Attraction - The Seductive Movement Completely Exposed

The hit movie and runaway best selling book have struck a chord in Americans.

What is it about The Secret that has captivated the minds of millions?

Authors of The Secret say that your mind vibrates electromagnetic waves
that entrain with other objects and living beings that vibrate similarly in the
universe and bring them magnetically to the individual. "Like attracts like,
just like a magnet." (Magnets: Opposites attract.)

Specifically, Author Rhonda Byrne says that you can "think of a feather
and it will appear." She says that it's "as easy to attract $10,000 as it is $1."
And, she says it's all a law that is proven by science and was known by
Churchill, Einstein, Plato and Beethoven, to name a few.

She quotes Buckminster Fuller as having said that there is an abundance
of wealth on the planet, "enough for $12 MILLION dollars per person.

What possibly could be wrong with such a law of science?

One co-author says, 'It's like the law of gravity..."it works all the time, every time."

Wednesday night you can join Blair Warren, Dave Lakhani and Kevin Hogan
and find out just what lies behind the claims of The Secret. Find out what Oprah and
Larry King didn't tell you...and why...

* Is there really a Law of Attraction that works like gravity...every time...
all the time?
* Is all you have to do to get ANYTHING you want in life, "picture it in your
mind, get a good feeling about it, be open to receive it?"
* What was the influence of Spiritual Beings on the exposition of this Universal Law?
* Why were some people cut from the movie at the last minute?
* Why have the promoters of the book and movie stopped doing television and media interviews?
* What dangers lie in your family because of The Secret?
* Why is The Secret the single most potentially destructive book published since Mein Kampf?
* If The Secret is so dangerous, why did it attract some of the world's best marketers?
* Someone told you, "The Secret worked for me. I know it's for real." Find out what that really means.
* Do Countries really attract genocide? (Lesson Two of The Secret says "yes." What's the truth?)
* Do little girls really cause their own rapes and murders. Secreters say "yes." What's the truth?

To register for this special 90 minute event of the year, simply use either link below.
https://plus33.safe-order.net/kevinhogan/securedteleseminar.htm

The Secret - Law of Attraction Teleseminar

or email thesecret@kevinhogan.com and our staff will email you back, your
call in number and personal identification code to use when you dial in.
Please also have your email address handy when you call in. This teleconference
is a public service and the panel members are not being paid for their time.
It all begins at 6 PM Pacific, 8 PM Central, 9 PM Eastern. If you have a question,
mail it to question@kevinhogan.com and we'll do our best to get your question
answered live. Maybe we can even get you on the air!

The Secret Law of Attraction: The Lie

www.kevinhogan.com/TheSecretLawofAttraction-RhondaByrne.htm

The Secret- The Truth Behind The Lie of the Century

Rhonda Byrne says that if you don't want to get fat....

"If you see people who are overweight, do not observe them, but immediately switch your mind to the picture of you in your perfect body and feel it."

Anyone who believes this is a naive or deplorable human being.

Replace the word, "overweight" with a different word, like "handicapped," "people with Cerebral Palsy," "people with Muscular Dystrophy," "people dying of AIDS," people who are paralyzed," "people who are homeless," "people who are starving."

See the problem?

The great teacher's philosophy is if it is ugly, look away, if it feels good, do it; if you don't want it, don't look at it.

People have said, I should "just try it."

Huh?

Why?

I want to become a sociopathic sicko like the Law of Attractioner.

No thanks, I'll use the ATTRACTION PRINCIPLE that I developed about 2002 and take advantage of how the brain works to achieve success.

When people can simple LOOK AWAY from the child with cancer or the burn victim so they can "feel good inside," I'm sorry, that's a bunch of first class crap. That is horrifying to me. I don't want to "try" anything that has this level of cruelty no matter how much chocolate syrup someone puts on it.

And you think I exaggerate the horror of her teaching?

This ....woman.... goes this far and FURTHER.

Here is her response to a question about the women and children being raped and butchered in Rwanda?

"If we are in fear, if we're feeling in our lives that we're victims and feeling powerless, then we are on a frequency of attracting those things to us ... totally unconsciously, totally innocently, totally all of those words that are so important."

Yup, she's saying it's the women and children's fault.

So the Law of Attractioner ladies, are obligated to believe that if they have been raped, it's their fault anyway. They deserved it because that was the result they got.

Insane logic?

A friend of mine attracted a speeding ticket the other day because he was speeding.

The Attractioner works from result to premise.

You got it, therefore, you asked for it.

Same for children that are molested.

Same for those who starve.

Oh yeah, that's making me feel real good inside. Nice warm fuzzy.

It's become almost a religious cult fad that has an obvious viral effect. Lessons to be learned for all marketers here....

But WAIT

There is another problem and this one is even MORE SERIOUS.

People can attract genocide as easily as they can a new BMW. They can attract a feather even if there is no bird.

Shoot.

This is a LAW of SCIENCE.

We are so screwed....

There is nothing to "believe in."

IT is going to "WORK" whether you like it or not.

Like gravity.

Nothing to believe in or "try."

It just WORKS.

Except when it doesn't of course...which is...always.

It wouldn't draw my ire except that it causes pain on the individual and societal level and strips people of their hard earned money.

Marketers....James Cameron, the movie producer has caught onto this and has now indicated he believes that the bones of the family of Jesus have been found. And millions will believe and go see his movie. I'd explain why those bones almost certainly are not from Jesus or his family but time permits one topic today.

Marketers...a lot of people never put their brain in gear. You read the story about Mother Mary in the pizza pan...an obvious miracle...a sign...proof of God...

I mean after all you know what Mary the Mother of Jesus looked like right? You know she uh....wait...they didn't have camera's back then and Jews didn't draw or paint images of people as it was an abomination to their God. Oops. Well IF we knew what she looked like, trust me she'd look like the lady in the pizza pan.

Now, let's just pretend that that was a PHOTOGRAPH in the pizza pan and there have been camera's for two millenia....

What are the odds it would be the Mother of Jesus?

Why would it be the Mother of jesus?

Why wouldn't it be your Mom or Mine????

As soon as you give people what is called a "Prime" they are influenced to believe whatever that Prime was and will think in "contexts" related to the prime.

If I say George Washington...then ask you to write down the name of a man, most people write down the name of a historical figure in American History....like Thomas Jefferson or Ben Franklin.

if I say Jesus, Christians tend to write one word names like, Paul, John, Mark, Matthew, Thomas.

That's one kind of priming.

Is the photograph in the pizza pan Mary the Mother of Jesus?

Obviously not, but millions will tell you it is, because it "looks just like her," except we haven't a clue what she looked like. Not a clue in the world. But we are primed by the thought of having TV, cell phones that take pictures, you name it....and never remember that there were no images of people in those days painted or drawn by Jews.

And are they the bones of Jesus family?

Why Jesus the son of Joseph and Mary and not one of thousands of other families? The probability is so tiny it's barely worth looking at. (And yes they should look and check it out)

Now you take all this DaVinci-esque cool stuff and pop it on the cover of THE SECRET and you are primed to BELIEVE.

To say this is brilliant marketing is to fall short. It is beyond brilliant. This TV producer with no thought or care for humanity and the human condition certainly can make a quality production. She understands how mainstream women think. She has captured it brilliantly.

And the marketers out there hawking the book did a great job. The best amazon promo I've ever seen.

But really, am thankful that The Secret is a Lie, The Secret isn't anything close to a physical law like gravity.......

.... because if it were true, I would have the ability to cause people's death just by thinking about it...worse...they could cause mine....or I could cure people just by thinking about it...or worse...they could give me some horrible disease by using their thoughts to manipulate the physical universe....

Which of course is one step short of insanity...or every plane that went up would crash and every person with a fear of heights would fall to their death.

Those with a fear of spiders or snakes would attract thousands of them to theatrical terror.

Now STOP.

You think I'm being sarcastic but that is what Rhonda Byrne says happens when you live in fear of something. That's why all the poor Rwandan women and children were butchered, murdered....remember?

And if people stop looking at you, realize it's because people who have THE SECRET don't want to look at fat people. That's how you lose weight.

I kid you not. Rhonda Byrne SAID that in the same interview she explained how the children of Rwanda brought on their own genocide. (not the fault of the killers, the fault of the CHILDREN)


From Newsweek: "The Secret" is saying. Its explicit claim is that you can manipulate objective physical reality—the numbers in a lottery drawing, the actions of other people who may not even know you exist—through your thoughts and feelings. In the words of "author and personal empowerment advocate" Lisa Nichols: "When you think of the things you want, and you focus on them with all of your intention, then the law of attraction will give you exactly what you want, every time." Every time! Byrne emphasizes that this is a law inherent in "the universe," an inexhaustible storehouse of goodies from which you can command whatever you desire from the comfort of your own living room by following three simple steps: Ask, Believe, Receive.

Thankfully, no one, has that kind of power or ability....nor would want it.Kevin Hogan

Subliminal Messages: Exposed Part Six

"Feelings are often slow," he said. "In a frightening situation, you run first, feel afraid later."

To tease apart emotional reaction and subjective feeling, Winkielman and colleagues devised two different experiments.

In both studies, subjects were first asked to rate how thirsty and hungry they were. Next, they were subliminally exposed to a series of photographs of happy, angry or neutral faces -- masked each time by a neutral face. Consciously, the subjects were aware only of seeing the second, neutral image, which they were then asked to classify as male or female. Immediately afterwards, they were asked (in varying order) to interact with the beverage and rate their moods.

Happy and angry expressions were selected as primes, Winkielman said, because it is easy to extract a simple positive and negative interpretation from them: Grins and glowers are flashed at us in approval and reproach since Day 1 and are essentially equivalent to "stop" and "go" signs.

The researchers chose drinking in part because ingesting an unknown substance can have obvious biological consequences and is therefore not a trivial act -- even if, as in this case, the drink is made of nothing more than water, sugar and lemon-lime Kool-Aid.

In the first experiment, 39 undergraduates freely helped themselves and drank as much as they wanted. Unknown to them, the amounts poured and consumed were recorded using an electronic scale. Thirsty participants poured and drank more than twice the amount of the beverage after happy primes than after angry primes.

In the second experiment, 29 undergraduates tasted a small, predetermined sample and were then asked to evaluate it after one sip. Those at the high level of thirst reported willingness to pay 38 cents (U.S.) after happy primes and only 10 cents after angry ones. They also expressed desire for an additional half cup instead of one to two sips.

Learn more of the most important findings.

What Are Some of the Most Important Findings?

***5*** It's all about the predisposing factors being acted upon subconsciously...The Subjects Motivation.

In both studies, thirst proved a necessary precondition for influence. Moderately thirsty participants were only moderately affected. And those not thirsty, not at all. Thirst also correlated positively with ratings of the beverage's deliciousness and thirst-quenching abilities.

"Motivation matters," Winkielman said. "Your motivational state -- your level of need -- prepares you to process relevant information and gives value to the stimulus. Otherwise, the emotional message falls on deaf ears."

***6*** Better act fast or it won't matter.

Can Advertisers Benefit From This?

To businesspeople or politicians tempted to apply these findings to advertising, Winkielman says: It won't work. The effects of subliminal expressions were too short-lived. By the time people arrived at the store or polling booth, all influence would have worn off.

The studies were supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation. Results were published earlier this year in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, with coauthors Kent C. Berridge of the University of Michigan and Julia L. Wilbarger of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Kevin Hogan is the author of The Science of Influence, Psychology of Persuasion, Covert Hypnosis and Selling Your Self to Others. http://www.kevinhogan.com/ has 392 articles about influence and persuasion...enjoy.
Stop off for more information: Subliminal Achievemen

Subliminal Messages Part 5

L. Ron Hubbard wasn't that on target with "engrams," but one thing is for sure...Pamela Anderson can excite a cell that wasn't turned on by Jennifer or John Lennon.

And that's crucial in understanding subliminal persuasion. (When I first read about this in popular form last week, I was VERY skeptical. The research bares it out though and my skepticism has been quelled.) I'll go into the research about all of this later in the summer, it's beyond "pretty incredible."

The brain acts on external and internal impulses.

And that's where visually stimulated subliminal persuasion begins. Without someone's awareness, you can cause them to want to drink, for example, via subliminal perception. Carefully look at this example.

Out-of-lab scenarios should start popping into your mind shortly.
What did the researchers learn? Continue the article to find out.

What Does New Research Show?

***1*** People alter their consumption behavior based on subliminal exposure to faces.

In studies led by Piotr Winkielman, associate professor of psychology at the University of California, San Diego, people altered their consumption behaviors after exposure to subliminal facial expressions.

***2*** Subliminal perception of smiles and frowns have profound effects on behavior.

Hidden smiles persuaded thirsty subjects to pour more and drink more of an unidentified beverage than did neutral expressions. Frowns had the opposite effect.

***3*** Subliminal perception of happy faces cause people to be willing to spend more money...a lot more money.

Study participants who were unconsciously "primed" with happy faces also reported being willing to pay up to triple the price for the mystery drink. And they reported wanting another half cup instead of just a sip or two more.

***4*** The entire process is covert at the emotional level. People have no idea their feelings have CHANGED.

Remarkably, the test subjects, whose actions had been influenced by these emotional cues, were not aware of their feelings having changed.

"This is the first demonstration that you can influence consequential, real-world behavior without affecting conscious feeling. We can change what you do, without changing how you feel," Winkielman said.

Winkielman, coeditor of the forthcoming book Emotion and Consciousness, believes the findings, presented at the American Psychological Society annual convention in Los Angeles, May 26-29, support the existence of unconscious or "unfelt" emotion.

"Emotional states operating outside conscious awareness can drive behavior. The subjective experience of a feeling is not always necessary to the process," said Winkielman.

Subliminal Messages, Exposed. Part Four

Covert Subliminal Persuasion:

Seven Facts that Will Change the Way You Influence Forever
(adapted from The Science of Influence Library: 37-48)

Can People Be Influenced Subliminally?

The girl sees the word "sex" on the TV screen and of course she hypnotically becomes unyielding in her quest to dominate you. (Or guy, if the case is appropriate.) We all dreamed of it when we were younger (it wasn't just me, was it?)...and the images didn't fade much with time.

In the last 15 years, subliminal perception and influence has been put back on the front burner, albeit very quietly.


The first discovery to share with you is that audio subliminal recordings simply don't work.

Priming in Persuasion...and Subliminal Influence

Priming is a way we can covertly influence, as we've discussed in The Science of Influence CD Library in numerous contexts. Priming is all about activating conscious and unconscious associations with intention.

Some quick examples of every day priming:

• Someone says, "Mr. MacDonald was a nice old man," and the listener has a 'thought' to go to McDonalds and get a hamburger.
• Someone asks you what TV show you want to watch tonight. They are playing "Who are You" on the CD player in the background, and they say, CSI. "Who are You" is the theme song for CSI.
• You hear a commercial for The Apprentice, or 24, or the upcoming special about Elvis on TV. You think, "I wonder what Kevin Hogan will write about in Coffee this week."

Want to know why auditory subliminals don't work? Continue the article below.

Why Don't Auditory Sublminals Work?

Why didn't the subliminals work?

Simple. The brain couldn't get the message from outside in the world to the inside of the brain, as there was no vibration for the ear and then auditory cortex to work their magic. It was a shame, too, after all the recordings we bought for better grades and self-esteem in college. (or was that just me again?) Like sleeping on a book and praying for the information to be pumped in by osmosis...well you get the picture...

There's still people who produce "subliminal CDs", but I can assure you that the zealotry of the producers of such materials is utterly and totally unwarranted. They don't work and it's been shown in every single scientific study ever done about it.

What about video?

An entirely different and very enticing story!

The visual cortex WILL respond to stimuli which are not in conscious awareness and which are NOT able to be seen with conscious attention and effort. The visual cortex will take this information that isn't or can't be seen and share it with other parts of the brain CAUSING actions to be taken on the stimulus.

Scary cool.

What Does New Research Show?

Research out this week shows that if you show a picture of Pamela Anderson to someone, there are literally single cells (neurons) in the brain that "know" that is Pamela Anderson. These neurons react to Pamela (and who wouldn't?) in a "knowing way." In other words it's DIFFERENT neurons that react when pictures of The Beatles are shown and different from those of Jennifer Aniston and so on.

Now don't get the idea that "memory" is single cell....

Covert Hypnosis

Subliminal Messages Part Three

Factor Three: Know the Priming Factor Before Attempting to Influence
FASCINATING: Priming SADNESS enhanced the persuasiveness of an ad for a CD with Mood Restoring music when people expected to interact with someone.

A neutral stimulus (an oval) showed no change in whether people would buy the CD or not.

Now, the only way you come up with these kind of results is by understanding the process of nonconscious "thought," and fortunately, essentially, no one does.

Let's do something simple for using subliminals in a supraliminal environment. (Fancy way of saying the subliminal image is actually visible in consciousness and possibly even observed but not likely to be DEEMED as important in influencing behavior.)

Factor Four: Don't Dilute the Message

If there is too much noise in your office...too many competing messages...then no environmental prime is going to be that big of an influence (if at all) on someone's behavior or decision making.

Imagine you sell car insurance and people come to your office to consider buying. Here are two exaggerated extremes. Which do you think is going to CAUSE more people to purchase car insurance.
Factor Five: Wire into the Non-conscious Mind
A) A photograph of a family, smiling in their car as they drive down the road. Everyone happy and making lots of eye contact, enjoying the ride.
B) A photograph of a car mangled with people standing by the scene crying, tearful, in agony.

The answer is B.

The horror of B will FAR outsell that of the pain of A. Remember the person is in the office to consider buying insurance. Seeing a happy family is nice. It's pleasant. It's comforting and causes good feelings inside. But the prime of the accident and what that "means" to the nonconscious mind of the fence sitting individual is overwhelming and CAUSES a purchase decision.

Think about homeowner's insurance. Hurricane coverage doesn't come with homeowner's insurance. It's a separate policy. But the way you SELL homeowners insurance is to show the remnants of a hurricane and all the surroundings THEN show the agent giving a check to the family. Nothing sells like that picture because it wires into the drivers and motivators of who we are as people.

Factor Six: Placement Matters

The location of the photo of the car accident with mourners matters as well. If it's on the desk...that's manipulative and you just killed the sale. People do not OVERTLY wish to be manipulated. (The antithesis is an entirely different article.) If it's on the side wall and visible but not standing out when the people walk in, then it does it's job.

(Technically that would be a supraliminal "image" right? Not subliminal....)

Subliminal Messages, The Truth Part Two

Subliminal Messages, The Truth
Part Two
Copyright Kevin Hogan
Exciting Developments in the Field of Subliminal Persuasion

Now, let me tell you straight away that I think the idea of being at a website and having subliminal cues there is nothing short of exciting. The idea of having subliminal messages on the restaurant table or at the bar simply fascinates. Using subliminals to get the girl to say "yes," or the client to say "yes"....it's all exciting...and you should be able to know how to do it.

If I invest 200-300 hours into subliminal research, I'm going to write four articles about that work....and then I'm going to create a program of perhaps 5-10 CD's and let you own what I know.

You could do all the same research at approximately 20-40 times the cost... but you COULD do it. There are no secrets in HOW to discover what works, there are plenty of secrets in knowing what works.

My place is to save you the 9,999 attempts at creating a light bulb before finding the one way that works. What would Edison have paid for that?

Exactly.

The subliminal pull occurs when several things are already in place.

Factor One: Person Being Persuaded Must Be Motivated

The person to be persuaded needs to be present. (I swear to you there are people that will tell you that you can influence Bill in Tucson with your mind power because of Quantum blah blah....)

KEYPOINT: The person has to have some motivation. (Remember we talked about the "thirst" study where people who were not thirsty were not motivated to drink or buy *anything* when subliminally "persuaded."

Only those that were already thirsty reacted to very specific subliminal messages. Almost all sumbliminal messages fail because people don't know how to create them so they are effective.)
A recent study showed that people who knew they were going to be interacting with someone else responded to an ad for a CD that would put them in a good mood.

Those people who were not going to be getting together with someone were not motivated in any way by the subliminal messages to purchase the CD.

In other words, the conscious awareness that they were going to be getting together with someone was a prerequisite to buying a CD that would restore their mood.

Understand that. If you don't want to go to church Sunday or have an aversion to going to church or want to watch the football game or whatever, my subliminal messages for you to go to church are going to fail, period.

Factor Two: Subliminals Wire into Motivation and Desires

KEYPOINT: If the girl is on the fence and your subliminal hits the right button, she'll happily come off the fence. But if she is repelled, all the subliminals in the world won't cause motivation. As a rule: Subliminals WIRE INTO MOTIVATION and DESIRES, OR, they direct the individual to do or think ONE specific thing.

Return to the "interaction study" for a moment. What do you think motivated people to buy the CD when exposed to the advertisement???

• A message that said,..."feel better and buy the cd"
• "appear happier to the next person you meet"
• "this cd will make you feel good!"
• "feel good!"
• "feel better!"

See, all those affirmation goofballs will tell you that is the kind of stuff that will work. It doesn't. The people who bought the CD were exposed to a subliminal SAD face!

http://www.kevinhogan.com

Subliminal Messages: The Truth Revealed Part 1

Your Subliminal Edge
by Kevin Hogan

Factors that Cause Successful Subliminal Persuasion


I've found a number of factors in creating effective subliminal messages. There are probably more.

In this article I want you to find out some of these factors and discover how you can use them at the office, the club, the bar and with anyone you choose.

Part of my mission on this orb has been about giving my friends the edge in life. The edge over the competition, against the scamsters, the edge on achievement of goals and desires.

People buy the "Instant__________" because they are greedier than they are smart.

• Instant Billionaire
• Instant Influence
• Instant Weight Loss
• Instant Fame
• Instant Pick a Desire

And, there is a *lot* of money to be made in the "quick buck business."

I can confirm to you that I was asked to co-venture a promotion where you would spend $10,000 (I would get paid 1/2) and the claim was that you would be able to simply "imagine" and "think" about something and it would manifest. No kidding.

And in fact, I am regularly asked to put someone's junk product in Coffee with Kevin for you to look at....and try to kindly refuse. Let someone else do it.

I'm having Coffee with you...I don't have a list...I have readers of Coffee. It's a crucial philosophical difference and approach to business and life.

Now, if I tell you that something which is claimed to be spectacular... is true..., there is a reason to consider the proposition. You've trusted me for 5 or 6 years or however long you've been with me on Monday morning. And you know that if it's in "Coffee with Kevin Hogan," it's worth considering. You've been "primed" to know that what we talk about is worthy, trustable and typically falls in the realm of usefulness, value and fun.

So, many would consider that $10,000 is worth exchanging for Kevin Hogan telling them that they would get something for nothing, virtually instantly, like unexpected piles of money in the mailbox. (And I am not kidding, that is precisely what this "opportunity" that I let you miss was about.)

How and why was this amazing program going to work?
• Because you imagine it.
• Because it's the nature of the universe.
• Because it's understanding the nature of the universe and utilizing that.
• Because you did affirmations for it.
And that is total garbage and though I rarely name names, don't ever fall for it.

Let me ask you this.

Do we all have a greedy side?

We Are All Wired for Greed

Look, we ALL have a greedy side. It's nothing to feel bad about. We are biologically hooked up that way long before birth. We all have our pride, lust, envy, avarice, vanity, and whatever the rest of the fun things were that when you O.D. on them, they become sins.
(Because, in excess they can cause self destruction.) Everyone has these traits. Mother Teresa did. Gandhi did. Everyone.

KEY POINT: We all have desires that drive us beyond rational thinking and decision making.

You can buy a CD that claims it's filled with subliminal messages that will do XYZ for you, and it is garbage. Pure garbage. I always keep my fingers crossed that those selling such things at least believe that they are performing a service...because when I see people burning dollar bills it pains me...because you only have so many and every purchase in life IS AN INVESTMENT.

So, when we are talking about subliminal persuasion, you can know that it is more than "real." It is profoundly and amazingly powerful. Without hesitation, it is that which is most exciting to me in the field of influence and covert hypnosis, and it is that which makes me the most nervous.

The Negative Side of Subliminal Persuasion

The two negatives are simple.

First, you can misuse every form of influence. We saw the results of influence for random killing in London on the tube a couple of weeks ago. Persuasion is powerful. It is VERY easy to cause people to kill complete strangers (and loved ones) for absolutely no reason other than a belief. Someone once said to me, "hypnosis can't be used to make someone do something they normally wouldn't do." Just about ANYONE can cause anyone else to do something they normally wouldn't do. There's nothing unusual about it.

Secondly, I become concerned because when we're talking about subliminal persuasion, 10 people will come out of the woodwork, make a subliminal DVD and put it on the market, make a few thousand bucks and it will do absolutely nothing for the unwitting customer.
There are so many conditions that have to be met for subliminal persuasion to be effective and that probability that the huckster has studied it and tested it approach nil.

And they will attempt to sell us this DVD which was made based upon what was written here or something I released...but buyer beware...they don't have the whole story....

They are already cropping up...and I mention no names.

I want to share with you today, factors that cause success or failure in Subliminal Persuasion.

Kevin Hogan
www.kevinhogan.com

Power of Changing Perception

The Power of Changing Perception

Copyright 2006 by Kevin Hogan

Here are the names of four cities.

Canton, Ohio
Champaign, Illinois
Chicago, Illinois
Cleveland, Ohio

If you had to pick one, which of the four cities would you consider living in? Say that city's name out loud or write it down.

If you had to pick one, which of the four cities would *not* consider living in? Say that city's name out loud or write it down.

The vast majority of people say they would consider Chicago but not Cleveland, even if they have not been to either city because of perceptions they have of the cities.

Why?

Perception.

Look again....

Seeing the Big Picture

I showed half of the people in the room at Influence: Boot Camp a piece of paper with the word "Detroit."

I showed the other half of the people in the room, the word, "Michigan." (Detroit of course, is one city in the huge State of Michigan.)

I then said, "Write down how many murders happened last year, in the city or state you just saw."

Results: Should be that Detroit has 1/10 the murders of the entire state as Detroit has a population of one million and the state has a population of 10 million. In real life Detroit had 385 murders, total in Michigan about 700.

Our project showed that the median number of murders predicted in Detroit was 437. In Michigan only 430.

The results are similar to most studies with other groups using this city and state.

So what's up with this?

The population of Michigan is 10 TIMES the population of Detroit, but people think that more murders happen in Detroit than in the entire State of Michigan. (Remember Detroit is one city IN Michigan.)

It makes no sense.

Of course.

Because humans aren't "make sense" creatures.

We are perception creatures.

(OK, I won't use the word "creature" again...)

We think Detroit = violent crime in our minds. Doesn't have to be real. It's just what we perceive to be true. Could be an accurate perception, could be inaccurate. It's what people perceive.

Similarly, people think Michigan = nice place in our minds. Doesn't have to be real. It's just what people perceive to be the case. Could be accurate. Might be inaccurate. It's what people perceive.

This is the Power of Perception.

How does perception affect our view of the world?

How Perception Affects Our View of the World

People's perceptions skew their view of everything in the world. Their perceptions (generally inaccurate) cause the world to be different from what the world is really like. That changes how people decide about things... changes whether they will react to your message in a good way or a bad way. Changes whether people will like you or not.

If you have the perception that there are more murders in Detroit than all of Michigan, how likely are you to move to Detroit? To buy a house there?

Exactly.

Perception changes the possibilities for persuasion. So, quite often to change the potential results for persuasion we have to change people's perceptions.


So people have developed all of these beliefs and attitudes...perceptions...about pretty much everything. They have skewed perceptions about Democrats and Republicans. They have opinions about Christians, Jews, Muslims and Buddhists. They have strong attitudes about Americans, Europeans, Arabs and Aussies.

How Do You Change Perception?

Well of course, that's in large part what The Science of Influence 1-48 is all about, but let's look at one very powerful strategy.

PRIOR to delivering a persuasive message, you want to elicit subsets of agreement that combine to form perceptions about bigger things.

Big Example: You want someone to vote Democrat (for Senator Clinton, say, in the next Presidential election) and the person you are talking to is a Republican (or Libertarian, like me).

You have a challenge on your hands...

Most Blue people don't vote Red and most Red don't vote Blue. So you have your work cut out for you. But there is a way...

What are Republican values? (In the good ole' days it was low taxes, strong military, smaller government, pay off national debt)

You ask, "Before I ask you how you are going to vote, would you consider a candidate that was in favor of a strong military for the defense of the United States?" (That's tough to say no to.) If the person says yes, you put a check mark on a piece of paper.

You ask, "Are you in favor of reducing taxes for everyone, cutting spending across the board, and ultimately eliminating the deficit?"

You ask, "Are you open minded enough to consider voting for someone outside of the Republican Party if they shared these views with you, promised to stick to these views and you still could be comfortable voting "the ticket" for the other candidates?"

Now, in our hypothetical question, we've eliminated the question, "Would you vote for Senator Clinton?"

Why and how does this work?

We've taken values that she must adopt when she runs for President or she won't get elected. And then we've not threatened the person's sense of identity by not asking them to switch party. That's like asking a Muslim to become a Christian or vice versa. It's rather insulting....and people don't like to be insulted.

And by the way, notice it's "Senator Clinton". Why? Here are three pictures:

Hillary Clinton (not good)
Senator Clinton (good picture)
Mrs. Clinton (not good) It's all in the perception.

And you didn't insult the person.

Now you say, "I know this sounds a bit wild, but Senator Clinton has taken a strong stand on these issues because of XYZ reasons. It's hard to say how many Democrats will support this move toward the center but she needs your vote to accomplish your goals."

You have to tell the person that you know this sounds ludicrous. But there it is in black and white. People's resistance will come down if YOU state the obvious so they don't have to.

Make sense?

(By the way, I do think Sen. Clinton will run in 2008, I personally won't likely vote for her, and as long as there is no significant 3rd party candidate, I think she has a very, very good chance of winning if she does adopt these positions.)

Work the subsets before tackling the entire issue. Build an unconscious mind case for your proposal and then ask the more difficult question.

Then you have taken the first step in learning the power of changing perception.

Science of Influence Master's Home Study Program by Kevin Hogan, Psy.D.The ability to influence is the single most important element in communication in business, in running a professional practice, in maintaining intimate relationships and obviously, in selling. Every useful communication involves the power of persuasion.

You want people to believe what you say. You want them to understand what you say. You want your message to be accepted and acted upon. Period. Without effective persuasion and influence none of this is possible.

The Science of Influence is the master's home study course. What makes the Science of Influence different from every other program about persuasion is that this material is fresh, potent, tested, and has nearly all of what you will discover is new! There is no rehash of past salespeople or scholars. This is the culmination of years of selling synthesized with the last five years of academic research into compliance gaining, persuasion and influence. No one has a program like this designed for you. I guarantee it.

In Volumes 1-12 you are going to learn incredible new tactics for defusing resistance and overcoming the knee jerk response of people that say "no." Unlock the mystery of the "freedom of choice" and how critical the number of choices a client/customer has are going to impact her decision to buy from you now!

You already know that you can frame a message that will virtually guarantee success or you can
state your message the wrong way and hear a "knee jerk no." Now, I'm going to show you HOW!! Creating persuasive frames in business, your profession or your personal life is a skill that will literally bring you your hearts desires! I want to show you specifically how to create frames for your messages so you can customize your product/idea or service to your clients in such a way that they will be instantly ready to say "yes!" to you.

Anticipated Regret is dealt with in the Omega Strategies section of the program. Look for specific strategies and techniques to conquer this oft-encountered situation.

Discover how skeptical and non-skeptical people perceive and respond to persuasive messages in a VERY different fashion. (Hint: If you don't know this information you will automatically lose almost 1/4 of all of your encounters.)

Determine whether you should suggest your client's future to her or whether you should have them offer you details on what they think it holds once they say "yes" or "no."

You're also going to learn:
Specific techniques to get beyond "no" in the most difficult situations.
How to design frames that influence and recognize those that do not.
How to dramatically increase your chances of "yes" in every single meeting.
Hypnotically enter another person's mind and reshuffle their deck!
Learn the exact presentation order for your product, solution or idea when proposing it. Start to reap the rewards of becoming a master of influence while you study in the privacy of your home!
More information about influence or to order

Also available:Science of Influence: The Tactics and Techniques of Persuasion.