by Martin Avis
How hard do you practice to be good at what you do?
Golfers swing clubs for hours on end. Tennis players
knock endless balls across the nets. Business people
rehearse presentations over and over.
We all take physical action to improve our skills.
Yet there is hard evidence that another kind of
rehearsal can be even more effective.
When Olympic athlete Steve Buckley sprained his ankle,
practicing his javelin throwing skills seemed
impossible. But he put his time to better use. Over the
next few weeks, he imagined himself throwing the
javelin at every major stadium in the world.
He didn't just idly dream. He used the power of his
imagination to actually experience every step he took
in the run up, every heft of the javelin, every muscle
as it smoothly worked to help him perform perfect
throws. In fact, in his mind, he achieved over 1000
perfect throws.
When he returned to real-world practice, when his ankle
was healed, his body remembered the feelings his mind
had created and he promptly beat his own personal best.
Top golfers do the same thing. Before they swing the
club to tee off, they mentally picture the ball arcing
through the air and landing in the precise spot they
want it to.
The better the imaginary rehearsal, the better the
golfer.
A study was done with basketball players a few years
ago. A group of players were split into three. One set
were asked to practice throwing baskets for an hour a
day. The second group were told not to practice at all.
The third group were instructed to keep away from the
court, but to sit quietly for half an hour a day and
imagine themselves throwing perfect baskets.
At the end of two weeks the players were all asked to
shoot baskets in real life. Their abilities had been
measured before the tests began.
The players who had not practiced at all showed a
decline in ability of 10%.
The 'real-life' practice group improved by 25%.
But the group who had throw baskets only in their minds
had improved by an astonishing 20%!
Somehow their minds had taught their bodies how to
score.
Nobody is saying that imaginary practice is the only
way to go. Clearly, the group who had thrown balls had
still improved the most, but combining mental and
physical effort must be the best strategy.
How can we use this phenomenon in out lives?
The first thing to do is to make it a rule that you
should never start something until you've finished it
in your mind first.
A builder wouldn't build a skyscraper unless an
architect had already built it. The architect has
imagined the structure, seen every step of the
construction process, mentally painted the walls and
cleaned the windows.
Without the architect's imagination, the builder would
have trouble constructing a garden shed, let alone a
fifty-story office block.
Imagine a building as beautiful as the Taj Mahal. See
it in your mind's eye and realize that it existed in
the mind of the man who built it long before a single
piece of marble was cut.
Whatever you do, whether it is a book you want to
write, or an presentation you need to give, or a garden
you want to plant, it will be better, happen quicker
and leave a lasting effect on other people for longer
if you have mentally rehearsed.
This article has been running round in my mind for
several days. I had effectively written it long before
I sat down to type. So when I did sit down, it flowed
right out of my fingertips.
Mental rehearsal makes easy tasks a breeze and difficult
tasks easier. Impossible ones just take a bit more imagination.
****************************
Martin Avis is a management and training consultant.
He publishes BizE-zine, a free, weekly newsletter
packed with articles, quotes and opinion on business,
Internet marketing and personal development.
His website is filled with articles and free downloads
at
http://www.BizE-zine.com
Subscribers' Corner
Are You On The JV Squad Or The Junior Varsity Squad?
by Linwood R. Johnson
I know that the title would imply that this article
is for sports fans and if you are one, this will
work for you. In reality, the info that you are
glaring at right now is about Joint Ventures and
a few tips on the right way (and wrong way) to do them.
First, let me back up. What is *junior* varsity?
Junior varsity is for those that may not quite have the
skills to play with the varsity squad yet, but they are
learning. They have the desire to play because if they
didn't, they would have never made the team to begin with.
Fast forward to the *joint venture*.
What is that?
A joint venture is when you partner up with another
business person to multiply profits by combining
each other's resources. There are many types of JV's
but since we are internet marketers, we will talk about
those that we conduct.
On the Internet, someone has a PRODUCT that they own and
someone has some kind of advertising avenue (9.6 times out
of 10 it will be a eZine) to market these products. The reasons
that a marketer with their own product would look to partner
with someone with an eZine list are very valid and very profitable.
The reasons are also very Common Sense.
You can put two people together that are looking for each other.
So where do the two meet up? Good question and I will
do my best to explain it to you clearly. The two meet when
someone tries to do a joint venture with a junior varsity
mentality. Let me show you. First I will show you the "varsity"
way of doing a joint venture, then I'll show you the "junior
varsity" way of doing a joint venture.
At the end, say quietly to yourself, "I think _______ will make
the most money" or "I think ______ ________ will make the most
money". Is that fair? Here we go.
Varsity
The varsity player comes into the game.
Let's say it's you.
So you come in the game and you are all stretched out. You
are looking sharp and you have your game face on. Your game
face is YOUR Own product that you have developed (very important).
Now, you begin contacting responsible eZine owners and
Propose a partnership between the two of you.
Being a varsity player, you are ever cordial.
You are also ever-generous.
Let's say you go into the proposal with a product that sells
for $50 bucks. With that $50 bucks, you offer your "partner
in progress" half of the profits. In other words, you are
offering $25 bucks for every sale your partner makes to their
list.
My logic is that you have one piece of the puzzle and your
partner has the other. One can not make it without the other
so you should both get the same amount.
This is a great opportunity for your partner and for you.
Lets say that your partner has a subscriber list of 10,000
and your ad converts 1% into sales. That breaks down to 100
sales.
You and your partner are splitting $5000 and you take home
$2500. What's more important is that your partner takes home
$2500! That means that the next time you want to do a JV...
your partner already has the money machine out!
That is the varsity game... we now switch to our Junior Varsity
game... already in progress.
Junior Varsity
Here comes the junior varsity player. Still a little wet behind
the ears. The *jv* player hasn't stretched out yet and their
shirt isn't tucked in. Lets call the *jv* player MO Green.
Ok.. so Mo Green is in the game. Instead of coming in with his
own product, Mo only has access to a wide variety of affiliate
products. By that, I mean that Mo has access to products that
he is only being paid 50% (tops) of to begin with.
Mo is super pumped up about the new program or product he is
promoting through a ClickBank link and then the light bulb goes
off...
"Let me find someone with a big list to endorse this product".
So Mo starts contacting any eZine owner he can find and he
looks for his Handout. Mo says, endorse this product for me and
I will give you 50% of the money we generate.
We have a small problem though. Mo is trying to propose doing
a venture with a product that is selling for $24 bucks. Mo also
ONLY gets paid 50% on his sales. That means, he is getting paid
$12 for every one of his sales. He is proposing a astronomical 50%.
You can do the math.
NOTE: For a lot of eZine owners I know, this won't even
pay for a middle sponsor ad.
So now, after contacting 100 people and getting a bunch of
rejections and LOL's in his mailbox, Mo quits internet marketing
and goes to play the lottery full time.
So, what was the difference between the varsity player and the
junior varsity player?
The varsity player:
The junior varsity player:
If you feel that you are (or were) a junior varsity
player before reading this article, it is ok. You
are now equipped with some good tips to take with
you and make your JVs profitable. Ultimately, it
all rests on your response to this statement...
"I think the _______ player will make the most money"
Or
"I think the ______ ________ player will"
***************************
Linwood R. Johnson,
is the BOSS of the TEBMu Family and
dedicated to helping family members make money. Get your
hands on the powerful 5-Day "Crash Your Car Course" entitled
Web Money at no cost now =>>
http://www.pajamaprofits.com
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