Hey there!

President Goodluck Johnathan declared his intention to run for office with the following speech....

'I was not born rich, and in my youth, I never imagined that I would be where I am today, but not once did I ever give up. Not once did I imagine that a child from Otuoke, a small village in the Niger Delta, will one day rise to the position of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I was raised by my mother and father with just enough money to meet our daily needs.

'In my early days in school, I had no shoes, no school bags. I carried my books in my hands but never despaired; no car to take me to school but I never despaired. There were days I had only one meal but I never despaired. I walked miles and crossed rivers to school every day but I never despaired. Didn't have power, didn't have generators, studied with lanterns but I never despaired.

'In spite of these, I finished secondary school, attended the University of Port Harcourt, and now hold a doctorate degree.

'Fellow Nigerians, if I could make it, you too can make it'

'My story is the story of a young Nigerian whose access to education opened up vast opportunities that enabled me to attain my present position. As I travel up and down our country, I see a nation blessed by God with rich agricultural and mineral resources and an enterprising people. I see millions of Nigerians whose potentials for greatness are constrained by the lack of basic infrastructure.

I see Nigerians who can make a difference in the service of their country but are disadvantaged by the lack of opportunities.

'My story symbolizes my dream for Nigeria. The dream that any Nigerian child from Kaura- Namoda to Duke town; from Potiskum to Nsukka, from Isale-Eko to Gboko will be able to realize his God-given potentials, unhindered by tribe or religion and unrestricted by improvised political inhibitions.

'My story holds out the promise of a new Nigeria. A Nigeria built on the virtues of love and respect for one another, on unity, on industry, on hard work and on good governance.

'My fellow Nigerians, this is what has brought me to Eagle Square today. I have come to say to all of you, that Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan is the man you need to put Nigeria right. I have come to launch a campaign of ideas, not one of calumny. I have come to preach love, not hate. I have come to break you away from divisive tendencies of the past which have slowed our drive to true nationhood. I have no enemies to fight. You are all my friends and we share a common destiny'.

The result?

Young people all over the Nigeria marched out to vote for him.

The basic structure to the Rags to Riches story is...

I started out really bad....

I struggled for a long time....

I am now successful....

Success here isn't about money....

It's anything you have become really great at or something you didn't have but now through hard work you have it.

It's the classic underdog story and people love it.

After I started the Highly Paid Experts Network facebook group...

I had a series of big breaks that brought the attention of many people.

One of them was John Obidi's Smart Business Teleseminar...

John had gotten to hear my Rags to Riches story and invited me to the show to share it...

What's the story?

The long and short of it is this....

Once upon a time I sold life insurance...

Girl friend takes me to church where I met a guy ( Sam Adeyemi) who cost me my promising future in the insurance industry.

So I became a butcher...

Got the bright idea to sell meat on a subscription basis in Calabar...

Attracted a few partners...

Made some incredibly bad decisions and crashed the business...

Found the book "Multiple streams of income" and found the statement that set me on this path:

Every experience, good or bad has commercial value

- Robert G. Allen

Launched my audio publishing business ultimately publishing PowerIdeas.

Suffered unnecessarily for 5 years...

Then BOOM!

Transformed into a big boy!

That story told on Smart Business Teleseminars...

Brought in 500 people in one night to join the Highly Paid Experts Network.

A good number of those people are really good friends of mind today.

And I wouldn't have met them any other way.

Now pay attention...

So far...

I've shared quite a bit about my life with you...

But notice how the same details in my life are framed to create different effects.

Remember when I shared that we all tend to...

Delete...

Distort...

And generalize facts about our pasts...

In order to justify the stories we are currently telling ourselves about why we can or cannot do a thing?

No?

Don't remember?

Read The Daily Mentor issue titled: From third class to first class.

Anyways...

The key idea is to do the same ethically and ecologically with your life stories to strengthen the narrative you want about your message...

And there by attract people who resonate with the central message of the story.

And what if you don't have a Rags to Riches story?

Borrow one and tell it with gusto.

Case in point...

The Queen of Katwe...

A movie that is pretty much the story of the amazing Phiona Mutesi ethically deleted, distorted and generalized to create a powerful inspirational effect.

That movie is responsible for inspiring many young African girls to reach for their dreams...

My girls included.

Now don't get me wrong...

I'm not saying lie for effect...

I'm saying think of your story as a movie and you as the director...

Your goal with the Rags to Riches story is to inspire possibility, empowerment and ambition...

The feeling that buying into your message is a one way ticket to making your dreams a reality.

Done well that sense of possibility inspires your people to invest in them selves through your offers because you represent the toll gate to a bigger, better future.

Now here's what you need to understand about the Rags to Riches story archetype if you want clients who invest $3000 to $50000+ in your programs...

Your job is to inspire just the right level of possibility at the right time for the right person.

You need a general Rags to Riches story to inspire trust from your people in general...

But when you're starting out...

AKA....

You're not yet at $10,000 a month.

You need to be thinking of this story from the stand point of enrolling people in your program...

Not trying to attract mass numbers of people.

The people you enroll as clients form the basis for your community and ultimately facilitate its growth.

So when you're in conversation with a prospect...

You need to be able to elicit...

The future they want for themselves.....

What's keeping them from that future...

And what they currently have in play that could help them get to that future faster...

So you can craft a story with them as the central hero...

A story that says:

This is where you are now...But this is where you will be after doing this. You will no longer be affected by the things that currently hold you back and you will be free to use what you have in the best way possible to get what you want.

No hype. No pressure. No stress.

In the Community Mastery Method™, we call that Values Based Selling™

That's it for today...

Tomorrow...

I'll share how to turn your story about the things that are important to you into life long contracts with your clients...

As you might know...

When I started out...

I never bothered with 3 month contracts...you either worked with me for at least a year or we didn't work together at all.

These days...

The standard minimum commitment is 3 years...

Tomorrow I share with you how stories about your values make that possible.

Till then...

Get out of your own way and play a bigger game than you've ever played before.

CTM