5 Lessons from my Millionaire Mentor — Paul Counsel
His immense knowledge is quite intimidating.
He’s easy to talk to, but I still get immensely nervous every time I ask him a question.
It’s always a highly emotional experience.
My heart pounds, I swallow, and speak up…
And then I learn something.
The Freedom School
2 months ago I invested $6,000 to be part of a private “freedom” school for 6 months.
I remember dwelling on the decision to join…
I knew that it was something I didn’t want to miss out on. Yet, I didn’t have the money.
I took out a loan from my parents to cover half the cost, and was immediately reassured that I made the right decision after being accepted into the group.
The Freedom Teachers
My classmates and I are students of Keegan Smith and Paul Counsel.
Keegan is a genius in the world of health and fitness.
Although he’d already achieved things he never thought he could in this world…he realized he hadn’t figured out the financial puzzle.
He wanted to know how to live without a JOB (Just Over Broke) mentality, and he wanted to have time and money freedom.
Then he found Paul.
I’m immensely grateful that these two men came in contact.
Paul Counsel is Keegan’s money mentor, but he goes way deeper than just money.
I’ve grown a lot over the last 2 months learning from him.
Here’s 5 key lessons.
Lesson 1: 3 Brains
The 3 Brains
In business and in life, Paul stresses the importance of knowing who you are and who you are talking to.
As humans, we are emotional beings. Our brain has 3 different brains: an instinctual brain, an emotional brain, and a rational brain.
The instinctual is the oldest, and the rational is the youngest.
The problem is, we often try to do our business and manage our relationships from the rational (cognitive) brain.
Meanwhile, 99% of decisions are made pre-cognitively.
Which is why understanding this psychology is crucial for “selling” anything in life.
The Rational Language
Whether you’re selling your company’s product, or you’re selling your family on your ideas… you’re selling.
It doesn’t matter how great your ideas are, if you only focus on the rational argument, you’ll only be speaking to the rational brain.
The instinctual and emotional brains won’t hear you.
The intellectual brain invented modern language. The emotional and instinctual brains can’t keep up with it.
They only speak the pre-cognitive language.
The Pre-Cognitive Language
Communication isn’t about the speaker, it’s about the audience…
Here are 6 elements of this language:
- Get their attention with either pain / pleasure or novelty
- Use contrast to simplify
- Use beautiful images (1 image = 1000 words)
- Offer tangible solutions
- Speak directly about the audience
- Speak in primal emotions such as fear, power, strength, dominance, or control
How I’m Applying This Knowledge:
At first I thought using this knowledge on others would be evil. Now I realize that I have the choice to do good with it.
Learning about the 3 brains made me realize the importance of sales as a life skill.
My attention for the foreseeable future is on mastering my communication skills on a daily basis. I’ll be taking a job in sales for the time being, and I will continue to work on my copywriting and public speaking skills in my free time.
All the while, never forgetting WHO I’m talking to…
Lesson 2: Thoughts Become Reality
Lights On / Lights Off
Dreaming big was very hard for me at the start.
I’ve had trouble with what Paul calls “turning the light off”.
He says our minds can only hold one thought at a time. When contradicting thoughts alternate taking up the space, we can feel the neural incoherence…
“I can do this”
(Lights on)
“What if I can’t…”
(Lights off)
“ I can do this”
(Light on)
…
When we feel stuck in a dark room…
Paul’s advice is quite simple: Turn the light on.
Man Made Universe
He says all things in the man made Universe were once thoughts in man’s mind. If man can think a thought into existence and hold it without conflict, it MUST become a reality. It’s only a matter of time.
He says we must believe it before we can see it. If he’s right… and I believe he is…
Then “I’ll believe it when I see it” doesn’t make any sense.
The mental reality comes first, then the emotional, then the physical.
If we can think and emote our goals into existence, without any neural incoherence… our physical reality MUST come true. It’s only a matter of time.
How I’m Applying This Knowledge:
This simple framework has opened up possibilities for my future that I could not previously have imagined.
I know I have a lot of work to do, but now I realize that if I can believe it, I can achieve it.
Call it cliche, but it’s never sunk in this way for me before.
Lesson 3: The 5 Step Model
Learning Paul’s business knowledge over the past 2 months has been more valuable than the 2 years I spent at business school.
In Paul’s school I’m learning how to speak to my audience by building copywriting and sales skills. I’m learning how to start a business from the ground up. I’m learning how to invest my money into vehicles that multiply its value. I’m learning how to buy into long term growth.
Paul’s 5 Step Model For Learning
Step 1: New Information
Gather new information relative to the outcome you want to achieve
Step 2: Application
Apply the Information
Step 3: Results
Results (good or bad) are a sign of growth
The key lesson for me: failure doesn’t exist.
If you’re getting a result, that means that you’ve grown and you’re on the path towards success.
Step 4: Feedback
Develop new feedback criteria for how to observe the results
Step 5: Review and Adjust
Review what happened and adjust… go back to step 1 or step 2 in order to get a new step 3.
3 Common Pitfalls
1) Never Moving Past Step 1
Business school and every other school I’ve attended only covered step 1.
The process went: memorize, repeat, forget, memorize, repeat, forget, … I rarely applied the information (step 2), and so I rarely got results (step 3).
I’ve noticed that when my friends are moving onto step 2, I’m way less likely to get stuck at step 1.
2) Skipping Step 1
Paul stresses that you cannot skip step 1. Many people fail because they think they already know it all.
3) Being Overwhelmed By Step 1
These programs are like Netflix for productive people. I’ve felt a bit overwhelmed by the amount of knowledge that is available to me.
Part of me wants to just close my door and absorb everything all day, everyday.
That wouldn’t work though, because in this model, step 1 is necessary… BUT without step 2 and beyond, there’s no lessons being learned.
If I maintain patience and organize my learning, I know my overwhelming feelings will fade.
How I’m Applying This Knowledge:
I’m choosing which step 1 (information)to engage deliberately with, instead of allowing algorithms and other people to choose it for me.
I’m doing step 2 (application)more than I ever have before. In my life, I’ve done a lot more of step 1 than I have of step 2.
I’m putting my knowledge to practice. I practice my sales skills when talking to the grocery clerk. I practice my copywriting skills by writing articles in my free time.
No matter how small, the daily tiny changes are compounding and starting to grow.
Lesson 4: My Limitless Mind
An Unlimited Machine
I prefer to think of my mind as a powerful machine.
I wouldn’t expect to be able to operate an airplane without a proper understanding of how to use it.
In the same way, I shouldn’t expect to operate my mind without a proper understanding of how to use it .
Paul doesn’t act like all of this knowledge is his own. He always gives credit where credit is due. If he’s borrowed knowledge from others, he points us in their direction.
Jim Kwik’s book, Limitless, was a recommended resource for learning how to learn. I figured before I dive deep into Paul’s content, I should know how to learn it.
The main lesson, as the title suggests, is that our minds are limitless.
We don’t have a maximum capacity for how many new neural connections can be made. We don’t have bad memories, we just have untrained ones. We don’t have poor recall, we just don’t take good notes. We don’t have short attention spans for life, we just have untrained focus. We’re not slow readers, we just haven’t been taught to read faster…
Another thing I’ve realized is that we’re not out of ideas, we just haven’t taken the time to think of any.
Generate Ideas From Thought
I used to think my millionaire business idea would come to me randomly.
I now see that it’s a much more active process than that. Ideas may come in a moment of relaxation, but there’s things we can do to enhance the process.
For example, one day Keegan sent the group a video. In it, Earl Nightengale, explains the philosophy behind idea generation.
The idea is: At the top of your page write your goal, and then write your ideas for how you will achieve the goal. Keep writing until you have 5 and do it everyday. You’ll be surprised with what your mind comes up with.
If this isn’t working, maybe your limitless mind isn’t out of ideas… maybe it just hasn’t consumed enough.
Generating Ideas from Consumption
I’ve found that I generate a lot of ideas while consuming: both content and conversation.
I find the live calls particularly inspiring.
When a group full of unique perspectives gets together, and their perspectives clash, ideas are formed.
I end most calls with 10–15 unique ideas about how I can improve my situation.
In essence, by listening and engaging with intelligent people, my brain thinks of creative ideas.
This is how the machine works.
How I’m Applying This Knowledge:
I recently began an 80 day memory challenge. I will memorize 20 lengthy quotes, 1 every 4 days. Using the memory technique “spatial repetition”.
I’ll learn 1/4 of the quote everyday and I will memorize it every morning and night. I’ll be documenting my progress on my instagram every 4 days.
I’m taking better notes by observing good note takers…
The process for me is: take detailed notes, write takeaways, write takeaways from the takeaways, create a note that brings together the concrete ideas and will be easily usable in the future.
When I’m stuck for ideas, I make a note and title it “ideas for ____”. And then I write.
When I get off the weekly call for Gen Freedom, I typically have about 4 pages of detailed notes. Whenever I have an IDEA during the call, I WRITE IT IN ALL CAPS. Afterwards, I separate the IDEAS from the content.
Lesson 5: 3 Requirements for Success
Paul says to achieve anything you must have 3 things:
1. A role model who has achieved what you want to achieve
Paul and Keegan have done it.
2. A structured program of learning
They’ve shared their knowledge, and they will continue to create more.
3. A supportive psycho-emotional environment
But, why is the peer group environment so important?
Without support, most ideas die before they germinate.
Until you can call the intelligence your own, you must have this environment of people who are on the same journey as you.
You could do it on your own, but you’d be way less likely to succeed.
Safe Zone
In the past, I’ve repressed my emotions out of fear that they wouldn’t be accepted. Now, when I express how I feel, I have brothers and sisters to support me.
This community is a safe zone.
The Group Chat
Every time I read the group chat, I gain some valuable piece of insight. It’s like a mini version of the live calls.
There’s no such thing as a wrong question in this community.
Does my question even need a question mark.
Nope.
Rest assured, I can share my thought process, and someone will help me out.
With less people in the chat, I get more in depth answers to my questions. Seeing familiar faces opens up a greater opportunity to build deeper relationships.
Even if not answers to my questions, seeing how someone else is working through an issue or responding to a question is quite insightful.
It’s nice to know I have a little corner of the world where I can share my work and know that I will receive honest feedback.
Bonding
It’s human to crave tribalistic bonding.
Before, I was convinced that to attain freedom, I’d have to put my head down and shun the world.
I still believe to succeed, I’ll have to move against the crowd. But, I now see that I can’t go alone.
The wolf pack is greater than the lone wolf.
Wrapping Up
The 3 brains, turning the light on, the 5 step model, my limitless mind, the 3 steps to success, are only a fraction of the knowledge I have learned in this program over the last 2 months.
$6,000 was a lot of money for me. But, I feel that the value in this content will 10x, 100x, and maybe even 1000x my investment in the future.
I’m laying the foundation for my limitless mind, and it’s worth every penny (:
