Recently I watched a movie about Ernest Hemingway called “Papa Hemingway in Cuba”. The true story features the relationship between Denne Bart Petitclerc, a Miami journalist and Ernest Hemingway.
Petitclerc had a tough start in life. His father abandoned him in a store one Christmas as a young child.
He spent some time in an orphanage but later ran away.
He dreamed of becoming a writer and managed to secure a job writing some basic copy for a sports desk. But his boss wasn’t pleased. He wanted to fire him after seeing his first piece.
What did Petitclerc do? He begged to get his job back. Finally his boss agreed to give him one more chance.
So Petitclerc spent the next several days writing out Ernest Hemingway’s short stories, line by line word by word all by hand.
This is how he learned to write.
What the Best Share
The best copywriters in the world, who are paid tens of thousands of dollars to write single letters often got to where they are by doing the same.
They copied out by hand advertisements and sales letters from the greats. People like Claude Hopkins, Gary Halbert, Joe Sugarman and others.
The best marketers do the same. They choose a tactic, whether direct mail, facebook ads, building funnels and so on and invest a great deal of time and energy figuring out how to make them work.
Their first attempt is usually a failure. In fact, successful marketers understand it will cost them both money and time to figure things out.
They know they’ll ‘lose’ money before they make money.
Learning vs. Mistakes
But here’s the thing, they’re okay with that. They’re not scared of the learning experience that some people call ‘making mistakes’.
They are comfortable and even excited to have the opportunity to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty refining, optimizing and improving their attempts.
Spending days, weeks and even months polishing their craft, whether that is studying a great ad by copying it out line by line with paper and pen, or spending thousands of dollars on ads to learn what doesn’t work so they can identify what does – it’s all part of mastery.
Creating Results
Now here’s the thing. Many consultants want results. They want to be in demand. They want clients to call them and enjoy a steady pipeline of opportunities.
The problem however is that they aren’t prepared to put in the work. They are afraid of failure. They are scared they won’t succeed.
What’s unfortunate is that their lack of action is exactly what guarantees their failure.
The opposite is true as well. That the more action they take, the more committed they are the faster they will become successful.
Success may not come as a straight-line. But it is attainable by all who choose it.
If you’re a consultant and want to see true growth and results in your business start by being committed.
Don’t be afraid of taking chances. Of making some ‘mistakes’ along the way. If you really truly are committed to being successful you will reach your goal.
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Encouraging ideas. A lot of consultants give up too early. I’ve heard it said that business professionals should seek out projects based not so much on what they’ll “earn” from the work, but on what they’ll “learn.” it’s a nice idea if one can afford it. Do you think that it’s realistic for consultants to focus on the experience and connections they’ll make from the work, rather than to focus on the expected fees?
@Carl_Friesen:disqus I wouldn’t focus on the fees – I’d focus on the value and outcome that the buyer will receive. Naturally there will be a fee associated with that and it should be commensurate with the value and ROI will see. For anyone at the early stages of their consulting business momentum is key. It’s smart to be flexible and to take on projects that may not be the ideal – but could open doors, build relationships and create more momentum.
“So Petitclerc spent the next several days writing out Ernest Hemingway’s short stories, line by line word by word all by hand.”
Great story, so many lessons to pull from this in all areas of achieving consulting mastery.
@MarkGandy glad you found the post valuable.