Positive Promise Power

by Mark Joyner
http://www.markjoyner.name

Written at the request of Dr. Mani Sivasubramanian. If

you are looking for a way to implement this idea, his
organization is as good as it gets.

This extremely simple technique will increase your

chances of success in any money-making endeavor you
choose.

I don't know why it works, but it does. I invite you to

experiment with it and see the results for yourself.

Here it is:

The Positive Promise Power Technique for

Increasing Your Chances of Success in Any
Money-Making Endeavor:

Before launching any money-making endeavor,

commit yourself in writing to donate a
reasonable sum of money to something worthy
from the net profit of that endeavor.

That's it.

"Huh? How is this some secret for making money?"

Before you dismiss this as nonsense, let me tell you a

story, give you some rules, and describe a little theory
(one psychological, one a little “hocus-pocus”).
 Two Background Stories

The whole net erupted for a few days with the buzz of
"Make Your Own Software" mania.

What they didn't know was that it was one of the first
test-cases of Positive Promise Power.

Mike Chen, the creator of "Make Your Own Software" is a

great friend of mine and a brilliant marketer. I gave
him some friendly coaching and guidance for his product
launch and that included a Launch Checklist.

"Mark, this has been great you know, but about the last
item on the list... Well, it's a wonderful thought, and
I'll do it, but what is the relevance of it to
marketing?"

I went on to explain to Mike what you’re about to learn

and he believes it made a huge difference for him.

The last item on the launch check list commanded that he

commit himself to the PPP technique before he launched.

On my advice, Mike Promised Dr. Mani that he would donate

$2,000 to his charity – the Dr.Mani Children’s Heart
Foundation - once the endeavor became profitable.

Mike's endeavor reached a positive return on investment

within 48 hours of launch. One week later Mike sent Dr.
Mani $2,000 via PayPal.

Mike didn't tell anyone what he did. He didn’t email his

list about it so he could make himself look good (that’s
not the point.)

He didn't ask for anything in return, but what he

received in return was the success of his launch.

The other story is Dr.Mani’s own. It isn’t as dramatic

or public – yet was powerfully effective.

Early this year, Dr.Mani created a product called “Power

Niche Minisites”. When everything was ready to roll, he
decided to do something different. He had never heard
about “Positive Promise Power” before – but unknowingly
he practiced it and experienced the effects.
He said to his wife: “If this project takes off, I’m
going to donate $5,000 to our Foundation. I want you to
keep reminding me about this through the weeks ahead.”

What happened in the next 3 weeks was amazing. You

probably heard of his “$10,000 day”. Dr.Mani’s joint
venture partners helped him sell over 300 product units.

When the dust had settled, Dr.Mani had made over $30,000
in profits. He promptly donated $5,000 to the Children’s
Heart Foundation. It was used to fund 2 heart operations
for children who otherwise would not have been able to
afford it.

Result: Two lives saved & $25,000 in profit for Dr. Mani.

Mani didn’t tell anyone about it. I’m the first person
he’s told and he only did so after I sent him the first
draft of this article. Mani didn’t make this promise to
make himself look good or otherwise benefit, but somehow
he ended up benefiting greatly in the end.

Now, after hearing these stories, it might be easy to

come to the conclusion that their success was a direct
result of PPP.

Of course it would be fallacious to draw that conclusion

so quickly. (The "Post hoc ergo propter hoc" Fallacy to
be precise if you're familiar with logical fallacies.)

On one level, their successes were clearly due to some

obvious external factors:

- Both were selling excellent high-demand products

- Both had well-thought-out and well-executed
marketing plans
- Both were taking good care of their customers …

But is that explanation enough?

I’m not so sure. I’ve seen some great products launched

with what appeared to be superb marketing plans fall flat
on their faces. How is it that companies that seem to be
doing everything right can somehow end up failing?

Are those external factors really enough?

 Some Rules

Let's explore that as we learn how PPP works. I’ll let

you be the judge for yourself once you’ve applied it to
your own life.

1. The promise must be made in writing to the intended

recipient of your good will.

2. The recipient can be anything (or anyone) worthy.

This could be a young kid going to college. It can be a
worthy cause. It can be an honest family struggling to
succeed. Anything.

Personally, I shy away from most charities because I've

found they are flush with overhead costs. Usually only
pennies on the dollar end up doing any good.

There are many great exceptions. "Dr. Mani's Children’s

Heart Foundation” is one. Every dollar you donate goes
directly toward funding a heart operation for a child
with a congenital heart defect from a family who can't
afford to pay for an operation themselves. Certainly
"worthy" in my book.

3. Make the Promise before you launch your endeavor.

4. The endeavor can be any profit producing endeavor.

An investment. A business start up. An advertising
campaign. Anything that is intended to generate
financial gain.

5. The Promise must be contingent upon:

a. You making a profit from your endeavor.

b. You pulling yourself out of debt from the profits

first if necessary.

c. You putting yourself in a stable situation where you

can live up to this commitment comfortably.
6. The amount must matter.

Mike Chen promised (and made good on) $2,000.00 to Dr.

Mani's organization (the amount and recipient I
recommended to him).

The amount has to be enough to be a matter of some

significance to the recipient. This is obviously
subjective and will vary depending on the recipient.

7. You must write down your promise and review it once a

day.

8. What you give to the recipient of your promise must

be given with no strings attached.

9. You must tell no one but the recipient of your

Promise about your intentions. The recipient of your
Promise can tell anyone they like (they're encouraged
to), but they may do so only when you've made good on
your Promise.

10. Your business endeavor must be ethical and legal.

11. Use care in the selection of your recipient. Making

a promise to an unstable or immature person can give them
a false expectation and have a negative effect. If the
recipient is a child or an unstable or immature person,
make the promise to a stable family member or friend.

12. The promise must be made to an individual person.

If you want to make a foundation or group the recipient
of your promise, make sure that you make the promise
directly to a member of that group.
 Some Theory

Why does this work?

It could be any one of, or a combination of the

following. Some of this is based on plain-old psychology
and will make immediate sense to you. Some is based on
some more esoteric metaphysical principles (and may be
offensive to some people).

Hey, theory is just that: theory. What matters is

whether or not it works for you. The final judge is your
own personal experience.

Commitment and Consistency

This principle has been understood for a long time, but

its best treatment is probably found in Cialdini's
classic Influence.

In essence: we endeavor to remain consistent with the

image we paint of ourselves to others.

For example, if you tell someone that you are a Democrat

and you say that you intend to vote for a Republican,
they may say, "But aren't you a Democrat?"

You will then find yourself struggling to explain your

actions. You may even change your mind because you wish
to remain consistent with your earlier statement.

By making a promise to someone, your mind will work

overtime to make sure you are consistent with that
promise.

This propels you and gives you more energy to attain your
goal.

Cognitive Dissonance

This principle is a close cousin of Commitment and

Consistency.

It states that when we form a belief about something, we

tend to focus on evidence that supports those opinions.
Any evidence to the contrary (dissonant evidence) is
painful and rejected by the mind.
painful and rejected by the mind.

It's a pretty dangerous thing, actually, and causes a lot

of unnecessary pain and suffering. (Hey, here's a novel
thought: it's OK to change your mind and to be wrong.)

However, you can use this natural tendency to your

advantage.

When you believe that you must make good on this promise,
you tend to "tune out" anything that is dissonant with
that belief.

Focusing on the End

If you focus on the end, the steps in between stop

mattering so much.

If your end is doing something good, but only after you

have made your endeavor a success and sorted out your own
life, achieving those "minor" steps in between seem much
easier.

And if you believe something is easy, your experience of

it will necessarily be easier.

The Soul Power of Keeping a Promise

Wait ...

If you're not a spiritually minded person, I know I risk

losing your attention here.

Just hear me out for a minute. I will give you an

experiment that will allow you to experience this
principle for yourself.

I first learned of this principle from the flamboyant

Stewart Wilde's Infinite Self. It is an ancient
principle that is found in many guises in various
religions and spiritual disciplines.

In essence, it states that every time you make a promise

(to yourself or others) and do not follow through, your
soul loses power.

You are sending a message to the world that your thoughts

have no consequence, so you are not granted any power.
have no consequence, so you are not granted any power.

However, if you only make commitments that you keep - no

matter what - you gain power every single day.

Exercise:

1. Stop taking on commitments unless you are certain you

intend to keep them.

2. Immediately make clear to yourself which commitments

you intend to keep and those you do not. If you have to
get out of any worthless commitments do so quickly and
cleanly and don't do it again.

3. If you have any unfinished business that you can not

ethically leave behind, make a clear plan for making good
on those commitments immediately.

4. Do this for 30 days and see if you feel healthier,

stronger, and more powerful. Keep a log of your progress
noting how you feel each day.

I did this for 30 days and it utterly transformed my

life.

The (Magical?) Power of Intention

There are many who believe that a mere thought has the
power to affect the world. My personal experience has led
me to believe they are quite right.

By declaring an intention and focusing on it every day,

there is indeed some power that it is evoked.

It could simply be that you are more likely to focus your

daily energies on the achievement of that goal.

It could be that you are tapping into some magical power

of the universe.

It could be both.

Either way, it works.

Karma

Karma, in the Hindu religion, is your current state as

defined by your past actions.

By this theory, if you are in a miserable state right

now, it is because your past actions have brought you
there.

Conversely, if you are in a state of ecstasy, your past

actions brought you there, too.

It's really a beautiful concept that allows you to take

responsibility for your lot in life. You stop blaming
others and you start looking to yourself for answers.

It also helps you to learn how to deal with pain and

suffering. When you experience pain and you think to
yourself, "Hey, I'm paying off a karmic debt. Great! It
means less suffering for me in the future," you see
suffering in a whole new light. You welcome it as a
passageway to greater things.

The positive things you do bring more positive results in

your life.

...
There is a lot more to it than that, but this is more
than enough to get you started.

Please note that you must follow the above rules strictly
in order to achieve success through this system.

My personal experience with this has been profound. I

have had some great success in my life, but I've made
some great mistakes as well (as we all have).

As I move on through life my more faithful adherence to

these principles is bringing me greater and greater
success and happiness. There are periods of my life
where I veered off this path and a price was paid for
that.

I no longer take on commitments that I do not fully

intend on keeping. I know how to say "no" now. I keep a
list of every promise I make and make a point of keeping
them to the letter.

I challenge you to try this system just once now. Try it

out with something small. Then move on to something big.

...

MAKE YOUR POSITIVE PROMISE

Click here to visit the Positive Promise website.

http://www.PositivePromise.com

Dr.Mani has put together a complete range of tools and

resources you can use to experience for yourself the
explosive power lying hidden in the simple concept of
making your “Positive Promise”.
 Did You Like This Report?

Give it away FREE!

You have permission from the author of this

report to give it away freely as you see fit as long
as it remains unaltered in any way.

Copyright 2004, Mark Joyner. All Rights Reserved.