A beginner’s mentality is a mindset that will serve you well throughout your lifetime.
I call it “earning your Double White Belt” (more on that shortly).
This is a theme I’ve shared with you before…but it was front and center when I spoke to a group of heart-centered entrepreneurs and founders whose missions reside in healthcare, specifically wellness (both physical and emotional).
Why would they want me—someone who might be seen as a “marketing whore” (even though I’m not!)—to talk to them about marketing.
Here is how the leader of the group laid it out for me:
Our community is wellness practitioners
All of them have a story that brought them here and they are the best kept secret in town.
I need you to know that they are coming to this with a beginner’s mind and don’t identify as marketers (storytellers will land better).
Mostly women, solo, often overwhelmed and passionate about their work.
Simple frameworks really help as well.
Assignment accepted…and hopefully I overdelivered. 🙂
I took his “instructions” and followed them to a tee:
- Their “beginner’s mind” is perfect for me to share the “Double White Belt” theory…and how it pertains to marketing.
- That they see themselves as “storytellers” (and not marketers) enabled me to begin from the beginning…sharing concepts like congruent marketing and content marketing…and that the best copywriters and marketers are, in fact, storytellers.
- They weren’t all women…but keying into overwhelm and passion in their work is not gender specific…however, it was a good piece of info to have going in.
- And “simple frameworks” are all I have, none of which I have invented…things like the “41/39/20 Rule,” “Lifetime Value,” “Multichannel Marketing,” “RFM” …and “everything is not a revenue event, but everything is a relationship event” …and “treat your list like family” …are profound in their simplicity.
Based on the engagement and feedback I received, I can safely say, “mission accomplished.”
And while the topics of “testing,” ROI, and making money came up, they were all in the context of teaching beginners who had achieved mastery in their field.
Exactly why I do what I do.
More on the beginner’s mindset/The “Double White Belt”:
I might be taking a little poetic license here—excuse me if I do (and feel free to correct me)—but I surveyed quite a few black belts in various martial arts endeavors over the years and found what I am sharing with you today to be true, albeit not conclusive.
Most of the martial arts have belts to mark levels of achievement—usually beginning with white (beginner) to black (expert)—and lots of colors in-between.
I’m a geek about baseball but not the martial arts…so I admit I am dabbling here.
No “belts” for being an umpire (which is my current connection to baseball)…where your achievement is based on “how much or how little you get yelled at per game.”
But I enter every game with a beginner’s mentality despite my extensive experience.
I have to or otherwise I could be hanged, drawn and quartered…or worse. 🙁
If you are not aware of my real career (I’m a baseball umpire disguised as a direct marketer), read this.
Baseball is my martial art.
In some martial arts circles, after you achieve your black belt (or 10th degree black belt?), you get a white belt again.
Call it a “Double White Belt (DWB)” after coming up empty on The Google…and frankly I didn’t look that hard because I was already convinced that this is worth talking about.
While I didn’t come up with anything specific about a “DWB,” I did come with this regarding “white belt mentality”:
“… [white belt mentality] is not just about being open to new ideas. It is about being humble, and also grateful for what you have and accepting of whatever situation presents itself to you.
Any definition of anything that emphasizes humility and gratitude is top shelf in my book.
I define the Double White Belt like this:
Now that you can kill someone with the touch of your hand–that is, you’ve achieved mastery as indicated by your black belt(s)–you have a moral responsibility to keep a “beginners’ mentality” and to never forget the basics and where you came from.
And that you understand that you have an additional responsibility that you won’t use lethal techniques until necessary…and never for evil.
Sounds like good advice for some treacherous online marketers too.
Also: Now that you have done it, and mastered it, you have an obligation to teach it (nod to Jay Abraham).
Think of the ace marketer who must always remain a “white hat” no matter what color belt they are wearing.
To read about how 250 Double White Belts deliver wisdom in their genius zone over 30 times per year, check out the P.S.
When I first explored this concept with you, I shared a video with two all-time great baseball players, Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds (in spite of their steroid use which has kept them both out of the Hall-of-Fame).
That doesn’t take away from their (extraordinary) talent…the steroid use only speaks to their (bad) judgment which is irrelevant here.
Whether you are fans of them or not, there is no doubt that they are as qualified as anyone to speak and go deep on what it takes to be a good hitter.
Why is this relevant to you, especially if you don’t relate to the sport of baseball?
Or martial arts for that matter?
The video, at its core, is based on principles applicable to any vocation…what makes you a good hitter is what makes someone a good marketer, copywriter, entrepreneur, wellness practitioner.
Or anything else.
It’s all in the basics: What you learned a long time ago…and might have forgotten…and need to be reminded of on a regular basis.
What Rodriguez and Bonds are doing in the video is teaching from their Double White Belts.
Feel free to geek out on the 20 minute video here.
Or not.
But geek out on how some of the greatest marketers of our time practice this principle:
Jeff Walker, the inventor of Product Launch Formula (PLF) (which has conservatively accounted for multiple billions of dollars of online sales) posted a video on his blog and YouTube page a couple of years ago, talking about how he practices a beginner’s mentality, geeking out on his major passion…skiing.
He shared how once a week during ski season, he takes a “lesson” despite being an expert skier.
Back to basics.
This expert goes into student mode on the slopes…just like he does with his marketing chops, always looking for ways to improve there…and everywhere in his life.
I have seen it in action up close and personal, as a member of his exclusive mastermind for over a decade, where 50 of his prized students share innovations, including the concepts he invented…adding to the legend of PLF…lifting the room…and Jeff.
It’s inspiring to witness, experience…and act on.
Another inspiring Double White Belt is Richard Viguerie.
Who is Richard Viguerie?
He is a direct marketer who pioneered (and virtually invented) political direct mail fundraising.
And today, at over 90 years old (!), he still works every day practicing and improving his craft, sharpening every knife in his drawer…and attacks everything from a student’s mindset.
He teaches his wisdom (which is substantial, accumulated with compound interest, over 6 decades) to anyone who asks…and some who don’t (but should).
You know I don’t like “shoulds” …but I will make an exception here.
This is what you should do:
Step one: Learn from those who “did it.”
Step two: Identify those who did it and who will never rest on their laurels (i.e., never being done with learning). Follow them, as they double down on their Double White Belts. And how they do it with utmost humility.
In Richard’s case, because of his longevity, I will award him a “Triple White Belt” after achieving multiple black belts in many direct response marketing disciplines, always returning to eternal truths as his starting point.
Thank goodness many of us have been along for the ride on his noble obligation.
I had him speak multiple times at my Titans Mastermind (and he eventually became a member).
You can read here what he shared in 2019 about “The Four Horseman of Marketing.”
It’s about something fundamental that has stayed with him throughout his 60+ years in the business.
There are some other Double White Belts who shared at the same event, summarized in that post.
And don’t forget to check out the P.S. on how to access 250 more “DWB’s” who you need to learn from because of their humility, how they show gratitude… and their supreme wisdom.
To take it one step further, I’m sure Richard (and Jeff and countless others) could take many of his secrets and teach them to folks who could use them for evil…but of course they don’t.
The perpetual knife sharpening I alluded to earlier will never hurt anyone.
The black belt who becomes a Double (or Triple) White Belt understands the responsibility—and integrity–of owning all those belts.
In short, I encourage you to embrace the Double White Belts…and look to earn your own…whether it is in the wellness space…or hitting home runs while still hitting for a high batting average…or making your marketing and copy be representative of what came before (with your unique spin)…and never stop being a student.
Also, be alert and take note of what is coming down the pike (have you heard about this AI thing?)…
…while never forgetting where you came from.
Warmly,
Brian
P.S. Writing this post I realized that I have built a tribe of 250 Double White Belts inside Titans Xcelerator.
Every member who comes to the Zoom screen 30+ times a year never being the smartest person on the screen…because then they would be on the wrong screen. 🙂
If you own a Double White Belt (i.e. you come at every issue in your life with a beginner’s mindset no matter how expert you are) …or if you want to change things up from NOT coming at life this way (it is a glorious way to live) …please check out Titans Xcelerator.
There are installment plans…it’s not expensive (frankly, it’s the best value in masterminds anywhere on the planet) …and I guarantee you will experience a love grip from the group…if you come ready to learn while you teach.
Check it out here.