My friend, Vinny, is a Cleveland Cavaliers fan.
In fact, he’s a fan of anything Cleveland.
He lives in Ohio.
He loves LeBron James. And he’s desperate for his city to redeem itself.
And this is one of the reasons Vinny cannot pick a winner. I’ll explain this “reason” in a bit.
Before Game 1 of the NBA Championships, I told Vince that Golden State would not only win the title, they’d do so in less than seven games.
“Who’s going to win tonight, then?” he asked.
“Golden State,” I replied, without a moment’s hesitation.
Before Game 2 Vinny derisively texted to say, “Okay Swami, who’s going to win tonight?”
“Cleveland,” I said.
I gave the same answer for Game 3. Cleveland.
And then I told him Golden State would win the next three.
I was 6 for 6. Got all six games right.
Last January, when the NCAA football playoffs began, I picked Ohio State and Oregon to win their games – and Ohio State to win the title.
I was 3 for 3.
Then this week, in the College World Series – a three-game baseball series, I picked Vanderbilt to win game one and Virginia to win the title by taking games two and three.
I was 3 for 3 again.
Overall, in these picks, I’m 12 for 12.
Have I been wrong.
Sure. I’m wrong 10-20% of the time, and usually for the same reasons Vinny is.
Let me give them to you:
1. If I’m a FAN of a team, if I let my choice be “personal” – I’m unable to pick a winner. For example, in the semi-finals of the College World Series, I thought the Florida Gators would win.
Why?
Because I like them. Not because I was getting an extrasensory pulse on who the winner would be. This is important.
2. If I listen to or believe the pundits and sportscasters, I cannot pick a winner.
3. If I look at statistics, matchups or any other key numerics, I cannot pick a winner.
Okay then, if I don’t do any of the above, what do I do to pick a winner – and HOW does this apply to you and your life?
First, let me tackle the last part of the question shown above.
Being able to pick a winner, for me, isn’t gambling. The bets I place are with friends, and they’re usually for steak dinners, milk shakes or in Vinny’s case – 2 bucks.
Picking a winner is a SKILL that you can use in any area of your life. You can use it to choose which stocks to buy, what products to create, what businesses to go into, what people to associate with, what classes to take, where to go on vacation, where and when to get married, what to name your children, and so on.
All of the above are important daily choices. And wouldn’t it be great to be RIGHT more often?
What if you make the right choice 80% of the time? Or even more often. Wouldn’t that change your life for the better?
For sure.
Alright, now to the first part of the question, “What do I do to pick a winner?”
Here are 3 Ways to Pick a Winner:
1. Don’t be a FAN of any team and think you can pick who the winner will be in a tough game. Sure, it can be done, but it’s much easier to be deceived by false hunches, reads and impartial evidence.
2. Don’t look at stats, etc. – instead, ask your subconscious mind questions related to your choice and wait for an answer to come to you.
3. Think like a marketer – look for the key storyline in the script. If you were writing the play, removing all your personal bias and emotion (not an easy task) what would be the best ending?
This one is the most important maxim to picking a winner – yet most people have trouble following it because to believe in a script is to believe in something being pre-ordained or pre-destined.
Yet, everything, at some level IS pre-ordained or pre-destined.
There are those who think games are either fixed by the bookies in Vegas or by coaches, players or referees.
Then there are those who believe winners are chosen by the gods, by God, by the cosmos, the stars, the numbers – or however you’d like to explain what you really don’t know “for sure” until the final buzzer sounds.
And then you have those who believe that being a winner is all about personal choice, intention and the like.
Who is right? Who isn’t right?
Hard to say as all three of the above can coincide or collide.
All I know is this: If I think like a marketer, if I consider the storyline, it’s much easier to choose a winner.
In the College World Series, it was Vanderbilt vs. Virginia – a repeat of last years finals.
Yawn.
Okay, here’s one storyline: Vanderbilt repeats. Vanderbilt wins two straight over the same team.
Or… how about this…
The head coach for Virginia is from Council Bluffs, Iowa. It’s literally
just across the state border of Omaha, Nebraska, where the College World Series is being played.
This coach attended Creighton University in Omaha – and he played in the College World Series while in college.
And get this… he’s the only person (to my knowledge) who has both played in the College World Series and been a head coach for a team in the finals.
Getting good isn’t it?
But let’s add one more piece, shall we?
Outside the stadium where the game is being played, you’ll find a statue of a baseball player – and this statue happens to be made in the image and likeness of the Virginia coach.
NOW THAT IS A STORYLINE.
Vanderbilt repeats? As much as I wanted that to happen – I sensed that all the angels in heaven would make sure Virgina and their head coach, Brian O’Connor, won.
And they did.
So there you have it – the uncanny and preposterous way I seem to make good guesses, bets and choices about who will win in what.
This is the same sort of method I’ve used in business as well.
In fact, when I came off the stage several years ago in Delray Beach, Florida, a mega-entrepreneur approached me with an idea.
It was outlandish. Especially coming from this guy.
The idea was to help people choose winning stocks using the “mind” principles I was teaching on Psycho-Cybernetics.
I thought the idea was out of my league. Had no interest in it whatsover.
I may have chosen incorrectly at that moment – but one thing I CAN say is that I’ve put together a pretty strong resume of
winners when it comes to writing books and courses, as well as creating DVDs, CDs and so on.
And one of these winning courses, that I have never let out of the bag before, is a collection of 14 powerhouse newsletters I wrote on Internet marketing, info-publishing, developing a strong storyline, and much more.
The only people who have ever seen any of these newsletters paid $97 per month to get the information. Many of them literally ripped open the envelope each month and devoured every word I wrote – reading with highlighter in hand and a notebook and pen at their sides.
For 14 months these people couldn’t feast on the information I presented fast enough.
Then it ended – as abruptly as it began, when I suffered a detached retina, underwent surgery, and gradually withdrew from the whirld I was living in.
For the first time in my life, I took a rest. I regrouped. I spent time away from clients and customers and seminars and coaching programs.
Just recently, a friend who was over for a visit, saw the binder that holds those 14 newsletters and he opened the cover and began to scan the contents.
But he found himself unable to scan for long because the words pulled him into the copy and wouldn’t let him go.
After absorbing the essence of just a few pages, he looked at me and said, “Matt, you gotta make this information available. No one is telling people this stuff. This is what I’ve been looking for. How much do you want for this?”
At this point I told my friend I would consider putting this course out – but only for a limited time.
After pondering the idea for a couple hours, I decided to proceed, to go ahead. And that’s what I intend to do within the next week.
So look for more announcements – as well as the grand ultimate announcement on my never before released course entitled… How I Went from Rags to Riches on the Internet.
It’ll show you how to pick a winner – and a whole lot more.
This will be a limited time offer, so you really do want to pay attention to those forthcoming emails that announce this grand course.
In the interim, enjoy your summer – and “don’t be a fan” if you want to pick a winner.
Yours,
Matt Furey
P.S. This email was written spontaneously, without correction, editing or proof-reading. And if you like this kind of style, you’re going to go nuts over the course How I Went from Rags to Riches on the Internet
