Relax! I’m not about to invite you to a special woo-woo group where we sit cross-legged on the floor and chant “Aoum” until our bank accounts overflow with cash. We’re going to rewire your brain for success, by understanding The Law of Attr-ACTION.
It’s telling that the word “attraction” contains the word “action” within it. Today, I want to share a personal story to build the case for the real law of attraction.
It goes like this: there are actions you can take, on a consistent basis, that demonstrate that you value things about your customers, such as their time or well-being. This is different from “action” we’ve taken in the past, and that’s why we need a course correction.
Un-attr-action
I seem to have the “average joe” personality cornered. When people meet me and discover what I do, the lifestyle it affords and the people I hang around with, they usually say, “You seem like such a down-to-earth, regular guy.”
That’s true, because that was my background. I didn’t come from a wealthy family. In fact, we were almost always broke, and that fueled my disenchantment with working a regular job. I got fired from my last job, as a restaurant manager.
We weren’t good with money, and when I was younger, I wasn’t very good with ethics. In my desperation to escape the vicious cycle of being broke, I made the decision to use pirated versions of software to help start my business.
Along the way, something rubbed me wrong about this. I could see clearly enough that it was hypocritical to want a successful online business … while I was unwilling to pay for software to launch it.
I noticed, as time went on, that stealing other people’s intellectual property had a “coarsening” effect on my relationship to money. When you live outside your values – and you know how much I love honesty – you start to deteriorate, in how you handle people and things.
Why Attraction?
Think of it this way – how successful was your last attempt to coerce someone into buying from you? Wouldn’t you prefer the idea of prospects trying to persuade you to sell your product or service … to them?
Understanding attraction is critical to building a business, online or otherwise. It lies in the ability to do the right (attractive) things over and over, until the right people notice and want to pay.
Let’s take a very recognizable brand like McDonald’s, for instance. Year after year, no matter how often they’re slandered or “exposed” by the media, they continue to attract customers.
We have all the education in the world about the dangers of McDonald’s as a dietary habit. The restaurants themselves now serve health-conscious menu items, because of cultural criticism. But none of that matters; people keep lining up at the drive-thru every day.
Why? (Remember, be a producer, not a consumer – ask why people buy something).
There are too many reasons to list, but here’s one thing you can easily observe about McDonald’s – they do the same thing at every location, every day.
They are highly consistent at doing things that put smiles on customers’ faces. Their food is prepared to exacting standards, delivered within minutes. You don’t have to leave your car to get it, and if you have your kids with you, it’s a great place for them to expel energy.
In other words, McDonald’s engages in massive action that appeals and draws new and repeat customers, from all cultures, ages and backgrounds. Heaven knows, they don’t gather their franchisees to do mystical chants!
Could this be “the secret” everyone keeps telling you is somewhere, out there? Well, let’s just say it’s one of many. The best-kept secrets hide in plain sight, in full view of everyone. No matter how evident it might be, there are far more people around you who never see it.
To find out more about those secrets, I suggest you tune into my podcast, “What’s The Secret?”
No Attr-ACTION Without Action
It’d be absurd for McDonald’s to open their doors one day by saying, “We are not serving food of any kind. But you’re welcome to come in here.” That would be a conspicuous example of trying to leverage attraction, without action.
What would be more subtle is if they suddenly lowered the guard on standards of how meals are prepared. If they suddenly left it to individual franchisees, the market would become diluted and confused.
You wouldn’t know if you were going to get the same quality of meal, from one McDonald’s to the next. It would show they no longer cared about your experience or perception of their brand. It would run counter to the value they place on your desire for a predictable, inexpensive, family-friendly place to eat.
As a result, McDonald’s doesn’t deviate from their original design. And their customers don’t change restaurants, either.
My Attr-ACTION Moment
As I migrated into full-time online entrepreneurship, I grew disgusted with dabbling in internet piracy. I knew I’d end up reaping what I sowed. So I made the decision one day – I would not use anything I wasn’t willing to pay for in my business.
I determined, “This is how I (and my business) will show up, whether it’s flush with cash or going broke. No more software piracy!”
I’m sure I’m not the only one, after making a decision like this, to have people come out of the woodwork and pay me money. I made a firm decision, just like McDonald’s does about their delivery methods for food. To my audience, it was an attractive one.
In a recent podcast episode, I talk more about the importance of taking radical personal responsibility as a precursor to building your business. But it’s also a form of attraction.
We’re not talking about an attractive product or service, mind you – it’s an attractive value. Also, I didn’t need to go and proclaim it from the rooftops. I just needed to live it out, day by day. My audience began to trust me, for reasons they couldn’t see, hear or explain.
That’s how you leverage the real law of attraction.
