I posted on LinkedIn recently about my “Back from the Dead Tour” which took place in the fall of 2019, receiving more comments than any post all year.
I’ve also shared the expanded non-LinkedIn version with you in the past as well.
But it made me think of another “Back from the Dead Tour” orchestrated by Dan Kennedy (one of the true maestros and masters of direct response marketing) …and the lessons learned from both tours.
During my formative years in direct marketing, Dan and I were aware of each other…but we swam in different pools…while still being part of the same marketing “conglomerate.”
He was an admirer of my company’s founder (and my ultimate mentor), Marty Edelston…so it was not a heavy lift for us to partner on an event in 2014 to honor Marty’s career and memory, which we called the Titans of Direct Response.
It’s also an event that launched my second career…and I am forever indebted to Dan for that.
Here is a post about the planning of that epic event.
I know most of you know who Dan is…a true icon/guru in direct response marketing…and I’ve written about him often in past posts.
Here is one about lessons learned while spending a “Tuesday with Dan.”
We share a love of marketing along with a high degree of respect for our respective near-death experiences.
Love of marketing is a blessing of choice; almost dying is a blessing of a different sort, with an emphasis on “almost.” 🙂
But for all we have in common, I will share with you today a foundational building block of his overall philosophy (one that he chalks up as the key to his mammoth success) that I don’t follow his leadership on…but still respect greatly.
And the moral of the story (if you want to stop reading now) is that success comes in variety of flavors.
But please read on…I promise to pay this off.
Back to Dan’s “Back from the Dead Tour” which launched in July of 2023:
I ventured to Cleveland, Ohio in the middle of the hottest summer in the history of the world (according to some hyperbolic weather watchers and enthusiasts) to say, “I was there.”
That we almost lost him made the pilgrimage to the steamy Midwest… investing the time, money and effort to get there… made it an event of even bigger proportions.
I knew it would have an incredible return on the investment having nothing to do with money…and it did.
Whether you like him…despise him…or never heard of him…he always delivers the goods…whether you think the goods are good for you or not.
There was also a reunion of many graduates of what I call, “Kennedy University,” specifically the ones who are now studying for their PhD’s, most of whom have become wonderful friends, clients, mastermind members, and colleagues.
And ALL of them are Titans. 🙂
We even held a gratitude dinner…gratitude for Dan…and gratitude for each other.
There were laughs, tears…and yes, additional learning.
The Kennedy tree has many branches and roots…and I am grateful to be a small branch on that tree.
The day before I left for Cleveland, I received in my Inbox a weekly email I signed up for from Srikumar Rao–a magnificent results leader, professor, and author who I met around that time…and I fell in love with his philosophies, teaching, and keynote presentations.
I’m still part of his online family and still in love with what and how he writes.
The subject line on the email was: “Be Nobody!”
If you know anything about Dan Kennedy, you know that advice to “Be Nobody!” is as far from his business philosophy as one can get.
I embrace Rao as much as I embrace Kennedy.
I must be a split personality…or wishy-washy…or maybe just a little confused.
But a little confusion can lead to chaos…so this post will begin a conversation to create (at least a little) order from that impending chaos.
In the email, Rao went on to explain that the subject line originated from an exercise inside a course he created which was titled the same as the subject line.
He then explained how the exercise came to be, inspired by this passage from a book, Polishing the Mirror (which I just bought), written by world renowned spiritual teachers Ram Dass and Rameshwar Das:
When I was growing up, I used to be somebody.
We were all in “somebody training” in those days.
You become somebody, and then you tell everybody who you are.
You hand out business cards, and you say “How do you do? I am Somebody, and I do such and such.”
Everybody is very important and special, and each person assesses how much more important they are than everybody else.
We were all in that training.
Srikumar continued in his own words:
Think of how much of your life you spend becoming somebody.
You define yourself by the work you do, the people you know, the locality you live in, the company you do your work in, the clubs you join, the political views you hold, the robustness of your bank account and so much more.
All is dust and to dust it will return.
Juxtaposing Rao’s thoughts with what Kennedy spoke about last week is an exercise for opposite day…but not completely on further inspection.
The Kennedy event had as its topic the “MAXIMUM Influence & Impact System”–an 11-point blueprint…which frankly could have been renamed, “The 11 Keys to Becoming Somebody.”
Dan’s agenda was dominated with words like “Legend,” “Power,” “Manifesto,” “Authority” …and of course “Influence” and “Impact.”
Since I am an admirer of both Kennedy and Rao, I find myself trying to justify both ways of thinking…and it’s not easy…but that won’t stop me from creating that justification.
Playing by “Kennedy Rules,” with integrity and boldness, becoming somebody who everyone wants to come to, work with, and be with, you will most likely make more money than any of your competitors (and non-competitors) … while creating tons of influence and impact.
The line I used in one of the Kennedy posts cited above is the tip of the iceberg (i.e. mountain) of the Kennedy agenda:
“If the mountain won’t come to Muhammad, Muhammad must go to the mountain.”
That’s why Cleveland comes up in every email where I mention Dan…because Cleveland is where the mountain (Dan) lives…and that’s where you usually get to work with him.
Unless you can arrange for a private jet for the mountain to come to you. 🙂
Although influence and impact can be more subjective than money.
Depending how obsessive you are about becoming “somebody,” whether you do it under a Kennedy GPS or not, there also could be a cost in terms of peacefulness or inner contentment (also quite subjective).
Kennedy gives you the road map that has worked for him in becoming a big deal…but there are many places you can trip yourself up…and there are other ways to get there too.
Kennedy’s system works (well, it’s worked for him based on the metrics of having more cash and tremendous impact):
He is a “somebody” of epic proportions.
Regardless of how you get there, Kennedy would insist that if you want to be the unassailable authority in your field, and the one with the largest bank account, it doesn’t happen by magic or accident…it’s hard work.
His system gives you his road map.
In addition to doing the work, you need to do it under an umbrella of self-interest without selfishness (a distinction many people never make) …and you must do it for something beyond an ego boost.
Money is the way Kennedy keeps score as many others do who are students or graduates of “Kennedy University”…it’s precise, unforgiving and real.
But his way of becoming somebody isn’t for everyone.
Playing by “Rao Rules,” I believe you may be more peaceful (however you define peaceful).
And dare I say not as rich?
That is up for debate.
Well maybe less rich in material ways…but possibly richer in the things most important to you.
And you can still make a lot of money under Rao’s rules too. 🙂
It’s also more likely that you’ll have lower stress, fewer worries about how you are being perceived, and experience less chance of experiencing imposter syndrome in the process (which every high achiever goes through during their career).
You also achieve more peace by moving away from being (or trying to be) the center of your universe…and moving towards being a grain of sand on a beach…while still being firmly entrenched in your beach-universe.
Can we be students of both Kennedy and Rao and not drive ourselves crazy?
I admit that I live in both worlds all the time…and I will let you know how that works out for me in the decades that follow. 🙂
I guess that’s (partially) what these Sunday missives are all about.
So far, so good:
I can say with utmost humility and candor, that I remain above ground (THE most important metric) … and content.
Filled with the key ingredient:
Freedom
And taking that a step further, in the words of Dan Sullivan (the top coach for entrepreneurs in the world), there are actually ‘Four Freedoms,” each one equal without one being more important:
- Freedom of Time
- Freedom of Money
- Freedom of Relationships
- Freedom of Purpose
I’d love to hear if you play under both sets of rules…toggling between being somebody and being nobody…and how that’s working out for you.
When I want to be a somebody I do it with influence and impact always with an eye towards freedom…albeit not with 100% conviction all the time (i.e., I don’t play by “Kennedy Rules” ruthlessly)…which causes me to leave some Legend, Power, Manifesto, Authority (and other Kennedy Rules) on the table …along with some cash. 🙂
When I want to be a nobody (under the Rao Rules) I can create a peaceful and low stress life–with freedom–knowing that I will be dust like everyone else at some point in the future.
My conclusion (but not the final word):
Like success, freedom comes in many flavors.
Warmly,
Brian
P.S. To put a bookend on the idea of my “back from the dead tour,” (and I guess Dan’s too if he would allow me), I will quote (once again) Srikumar Rao from his blog:
In ancient Rome, generals who returned after a great victory were honored with a parade.
Thousands of people attended and cheered them.
It was the ultimate ego trip.
A slave was positioned behind the victorious general, and his job was to periodically lean over and whisper “Memento Mori” into the soldier’s ear.
“Memento Mori” – Remember that you will die!
I’m not being morbid…just realistic…and whether your goal is being somebody to become nobody…or you are a nobody who wants to become a somebody…it doesn’t really matter.
Remember that you will die…but not before you live your best life.
I encourage you to do that…not that you need me to tell you that. 🙂
P.P.S. I originally wrote “The back from the dead tour” in November of 2019, seven months after my near fatal stroke.
Don’t worry…it’s in my rearview mirror…although I re-posted it in April of 2024 for good measure…and then there was the LinkedIn post which I received so much valuable and warm feedback from…plus it inspired this week’s post on Dan’s back from the dead tour.
If you haven’t read it, I invite you to click here.
It’s short and it includes a link to a video which is the “living proof” that I was indeed “not quite dead yet” (nod to Monty Python and the Holy Grail).
The panel I was on was billed as “The Greatest Copywriting Panel Ever Assembled” …and I’m not even a copywriter.
I cheated death…and then cheated the audience when I disguised myself as a copywriter.
But I held my own.
Proving that I’ve got a lot of life still to live. 🙂
Click here.