Ambassador of Possibility

Mark Victor Hansen and Bill Froehlich

Authors of

U R The Solution

An AO Adventure

Dear Mark Victor Hansen Tribe,

I want your help. I’ve co-authored the most important book of my life. The world’s in trouble and we are all here to make a difference that delivers change for the better. I’m asking for your participation in making this difference be real and viable and timely. I’ve never asked for your help in this way before. I’m asking now to make an impactful difference and move people, the country and world forward.

My co-author is Bill Froehlich, a top writer-director-producer in motion pictures and television, known for such series as MacGyver and The Outer Limits. We have been blessed with success and stood on the shoulders of giants, graced with the teachings of mentors who were titans in their fields—Buckminster Fuller for me and Rod Serling for Bill—who taught us how to use the power of good ideas and stories to change people’s lives for the better.

The events of the last several years have challenged us individually and deeply moved us collectively as we have witnessed the struggles and fears of people wrestling with the impact of the world’s financial collapse. We clearly wanted to do something that would contribute to making a real difference, something that could ignite cultural and personal transformation that is empowering, practical and healing.

This book started from a simple heart-felt question that we asked ourselves on the very day we met at one of Mark’s Mega Book Seminars: How would MacGyver get us out of this mess? We clearly sensed that it was no accident that our paths had crossed. We intuitively felt we would be great friends and our destiny would include this book which we felt was vitally important to share with the world. It was not from hubris, but from hope and the expectation of good that we also asked: Why couldn’t we do something that might turn the world around?

In trying times when sharp and shocking events have rattled and tested the faith of even the most resilient, there is a great need for renewing the method on how to uplift consciousness to effect positive change in one’s life. But to be fully empowering in times when doubt and fear run deep, this must be combined with practical real world solutions and examples of its application in our daily lives, thus turning our thoughts around, renewing our faith and guiding our active steps.  This synergy also serves to reel in all the doubters who “lest they see signs and wonders” don’t believe in the power and efficacy of enlightened thought. That’s why U R THE SOLUTION is fable and fact, both the imagined and the practical.

The writing of this book was a joy for us, and for most of the process, the words flowed through us effortlessly. We felt many times that we were simply taking dictation from heaven. It was as if we were privileged witnesses to this book’s creation more than its creators. We are as amazed and delighted by this creative adventure as we hope the reader will be. We are all travelers on this Spaceship Earth and U R THE SOLUTION is our contribution to the shift-in-consciousness that will change the world for the better. Be bold, we say, and let it begin with you.

I’m asking you to read the book, U R THE SOLUTION, and then, if you feel you can support my efforts, to let people know about this valuable resource. I would like you to send an email blast to your personal and professional lists encouraging them to support this book and the mission that it seeks to generate to solve the world’s problems. In the book, we are asking people to join a mission bigger than themselves, set aside the doubts and fears, and go forth to find solutions.

A Most Sincere and Heart-felt Thanks,

Mark Victor Hansen

Please read an excerpt on Amazon: http://amzn.to/dIUaSo

One of the biggest challenges a self-published author faces is generating awareness and demand for their books.  This struggle is not unlike the struggle that many businesses are facing today.  Chicken Soup for the Soul was born from humble beginnings.  Jack Canfield and I had big dreams for our collection of inspirational and uplifting stories, but unfortunately, we didn’t have a very big budget.  It took two years for the first Chicken Soup for the Soul book to reach the best-seller list.   Jack and I had to be very creative, innovative, and effective in how we marketed.  Our families were depending on us, and we couldn’t afford to fail.

During those two years we experimented with many different forms of marketing and advertising.  These are the top 3 techniques that we used to attract the demand necessary to transform our humble book into a dominating million-dollar business empire:

1.     We spoke-up:  Jack and I were both (and still are) professional speakers and always used Chicken Soup for the Soul stories during our talks to warm up the crowd and reinforce our lessons.  After our talks were over, we would always hear the crowd buzzing about how great the stories were.  Even if you aren’t a professional speaker, you can utilize this subtle, yet powerful approach!  Today, many people use social networking to spread the word, but I still believe that there is nothing more persuasive than an honest referral from a friend.  Be sure to always keep a copy of your book with you.  If someone finds advice the advice you have given, or a story you have told helpful, you can give them a signed copy of your book.  If they enjoy it, they will be sure to tell a friend.

2.     We made key contacts: During those two years Jack and I travelled A LOT.  At the time, I did a lot of coaching for BIG sales departments at BIG companies.  We inevitably met the who’s who within the company.  These key contacts helped us to get more speaking engagements and to gain traction with a more powerful demographic.  When you begin to acquire high-powered fans (or clients) you will gain more credibility, which makes you instantly more in-demand.  If you’re in business, make friends with your top competitors, you never know when you’ll be able to offer something they can’t or vice-versa.   You can also use these relationships to create symbiotic marketing campaigns. (Think: Restaurants offering discounts with a movie stub.)

3.     We never compromised our quality:  Every page in Chicken Soup for the Soul went through a screening process, even the cartoons.  We knew that if we wanted to be in the big leagues, we had to have a big-league quality product.  We had to do more than talk Chicken Soup, we had to be Chicken Soup.  We were consistent and authentic in how we represented our brand and our message in every aspect of our marketing, our lives and ourselves.  Do you use the advice you give in your book?  Does your book (or business) have the quality of your most successful competitors?

The truth is that only a handful of  books reach the best-sellers list, and only a handful of businesses will reach a Forbes list.  This fact doesn’t reduce the importance of every book that is published or any small business.  Hard work, dedication, and passion can take you very far in this world. Don’t give up because you don’t see success immediately.  Remember, it took us two years to reach our goal of best-sellerdom, but today, because of hard work and persistence, we hold the world record for having the most books on a bestsellers list at one time.  Don’t be discouraged if you don’t reach your goal immediately, if you are seeing growth and progress, you will get what you want, just keep working and innovating!  

-Mark

*Originally posted to facebook

I know that all of you have lives of your own to lead with jobs to keep, families to raise, and places to be, but in spite of everything, you still found the time to click the “Like” (or the late “Become a fan”) button at the top of my page.  I want to express my gratitude and thanks to all of you because last week my fan page reached 25,000 fans! 

Whenever you connect with someone like me, Jack Canfield, Bob Proctor, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Tony Robins, or anyone in the field, you are acknowledging the power of intention and it’s ability to create peace, unity, and abundance for all, even on Facebook. By taking this one small, simple action, you are not only propagating my message and me, you are also propagating a mindset of abundance, unity, and peace.

Thank you all for being one of the very special people who have set their intention toward a greater purpose, happiness, freedom, and possibility!  You are truly special, and I am glad to be a part of your day.  Suggest an empowering Facebook page to a friend today, even if it’s not mine, and help to bring someone a step closer to their goals and greater purpose! 

Humbly yours,

Mark Victor Hansen

P.S. Perhaps in a thousand years, the next time we reach 8/9/10, there will be 25 million of us with the intention of creating peace, unity, and abundance for all.  It is here. It is available. It is possible… and it’s waiting for you to take action!

Last night I had my monthly ask-anything Wealthy Writer’s Wisdom member’s only conference call.  I always enjoy connecting with the members and answering your questions.  Over the course of the call I noticed that many of the participants were asking for ways to inexpensively market their books.  Here are some of the things that I am doing, or have done, in my business to inexpensively market my books that could work for you too.

1. Utilize social networking- Create a Facebook fan page for yourself (different and separate from your personal page) and your product/book.  If you use it to post relevant content on a regular basis you will eventually see your fan base growing.  Those facebook fans are targeted customers who are already interested in what you are saying.  You can utilize a custom fan page, or something similar, to capture leads and build your mailing list. There are many social media sites, so be sure to link them together to gain as many eyes as possible.
2.  Use available resources- Save money on your website by using a service like Wordpress.com or Tumblr.com to build your website.  They provide great free templates and easy to use solutions for payment portals.    You can use that space as a blog, a sales portal, or as a branding site.  Provide snippets of your book as a teaser and consistently relevant content. 
3.  Give free seminars- Offer to give free content centered talks to your target demographic.  You can talk at schools, offices, churches, bookstores, libraries or even your own home live or via webinar.  You can also submit a press release to local papers about your upcoming event to gain exposure.  If you are scared of public speaking, now is the time to face your fear!  Try joining a group like Toast Masters.

The main thing to remember when you are marketing your book is to be real.  Don’t slam the people you have built relationships with by constantly selling to them.  Be sure to provide relevant, benefit-oriented content that will incite curiosity, especially if you are using a service like Facebook.  There is little tolerance for gaudy salesmanship in today’s market.  If you are going to sell (we all need to make money), do so from the standpoint of an infopreneur: sell by information!

Thank you for reading; I greatly appreciate your continued support!

-Mark

Follow Mark on twitter @MarkVHansen, or on Facebook for more helpful tips on writing, wealth building, and living the life of your dreams. 

Picture yourself sitting on the porch of a cozy lake cottage as the bountiful vapors of your favorite tea fill your mind with inspiration for your first book.  It’s a nice dream, but if you are like most 

people, you have a hectic schedule and the need to maintain a steady job.  In today’s busy and competitive world, most aspiring authors no longer have the luxury of time and seclusion to finish a book. 

 So how do you live your dream of authorship, while still living your life and maintaining your sanity, in as little as 90 days?  Here are my top 3 tips:

1.    Write everyday for at least 7 minutes a day. 
2.     Be clear about the mission and purpose of your book.
3.  Have a knowledgeable and experienced mentor who can answer your questions and guide you through times of uncertainty.

 After more than 30 years in the writing and publishing industry, I still share your passion and desire to write books.  There is nothing else that leaves a legacy, builds credibility, creates recognition, or offers the business opportunities that writing a book does.  Writing a book and sharing you message is so profound and empowering, it is a journey that everyone should embark upon at least once in their lives.  

You can achieve your dream of authorship in as little as 90 days with the right guidance and direction.  If you want to learn more about how you can write your book in as little as 90 days, and to receive a free wealth-building book as my sincere “Thank You,” please click here!  Thank you again for visiting my blog; I greatly value your continued support!  If you want to have a more interactive role, please join my Facebook fan community or find me on twitter @MarkVHansen!

-Mark

When you can answer the question: “What was I meant to do?” move onto this one: “Why aren’t I doing it?” or “How can I continue doing it?”

An office needs both the paperclip and the building to thrive; no matter how small the item, its proper functioning is still crucial to the survival of the office. Humanity is not unlike that office; we all have equally important roles to play toward the betterment of humanity. You’ll know when you start doing what you were meant to do because you, and those you influence, will feel more naturally happy, energetic, and uplifted.

I know first hand how difficult it is for some to find, and get on, the right road. I had to learn about corruption, poverty, royalty, and love before I figured out what I was meant to do.  Because those learning experience enriched my life in exponential and unimaginable ways, I turned my journey into an audio series called Rip-Roaring Wealth.  These 30-minute segments feature the wisdom, principles, and strategies by which I have come to live a successful and satisfied life.  I am so thankful to be able to share them with you in the near future.

I will continue doing what I love as long as I am able because it makes me happy and it is the best way that I can serve the world.  Enjoy your journey and find that which you were meant to do, you have full permission to live your dreams.

-Mark

There are times when you feel like you are completely surrounded by shift.  Shift in your personal life, shift in your professional life, even shift in your kid’s lives- it can be overwhelming.  During times of great shift it is essential that you maintain control over yourself.  It is easy to let shift drown, confuse, frustrate, or squash you, but it is equally possible to let shift drive, clarify, encourage, and motivate you.  The difference is the level of direction that you maintain with your life.

Do you have a goal?  Have you been setting your intentions and taking action toward them?  If you haven’t, now is the time to start, there is no more time to wait around for “the right time.”  Now is the time.  If you have been setting goals and working toward them with intention, congratulations - this is how it feels when the universe is aligning itself with you!  I know it may not feel how you expected it to feel, but trust me, there is a reason for it.  Take the time to acknowledge how these changes can bring you closer to your goal and be THANKFUL for them. 

Shift has a tendency to force re-prioritization.  What is important to you?  What isn’t?  What have you been hanging onto which is giving you a false sense of security?  If your life is shifting you need to start sifting.  Identify what is important to you and why.  Identify where you want to go and what you want to do when you get there.  Now is the time- let shift create the space for you to achieve and move toward your greatest goals and desires.

Shift can be difficult and can shake you like an earthquake shakes a china cabinet.  Don’t worry, things will settle down, and when they do you will find that you have more freedom than you imagined.  This could be your opportunity to redirect yourself down a new and more promising road that could lead you to a life better than you ever thought possible. 

 Take advantage of this opportunity and shift into high gear!

-Mark

“An entrepreneur sees problems as opportunities.”

The only shortage in this universe is awareness.  There are an unlimited number of ways to become wealthy in today’s world you just need to know where to look.  An entrepreneur needs only to look around and see the opportunity that their day has to offer them.  An entrepreneur lives in a perpetual state of curiosity and is constantly asking the question “What if?”

Being an entrepreneur is not an occupation, it is a mindset.  There is room for entrepreneurship in almost every situation (yes, even at work). An entrepreneur takes low value and makes it high value.  How can you do this at work, in your home, or with a recent problem you have had?

Entrepreneurship is subjective.  There is no standard, or manual, or rules to entrepreneurship.  You must simply exhibit the ability to take low value and make it high value.  How can you do this?  Start by asking “What if?” 

“What if I could sell my famous burgers?”

“What if someone else hates having to laboriously squeeze the last bit of toothpaste from the tube?”

“What if you could build a ‘horseless carriage’?”

“What if you could fly?”

“What if people want to read a collection of short inspirational stories?”

All entrepreneurship starts with a question that blooms into a reason.  What question were you sent here to answer? 

-Mark

For as many people as there are in a room, there will be as many definitions of the word “success.”  The reason there is such ambiguity surrounding this term can be traced to the fact that what a person considers “successful” is subjective.  Everyone has different values, and as a result we all have different measures of success (and failure). 

To become successful, you must first decide what success means to you.  Success essentially means the achievement of a desirable outcome from a given objective.  It is impossible to become successful if you do not know what you want.  I always teach my audiences to write down at least 101 goals. Writing your greatest goal is the first step in accomplishing it and attaining success!

Because success is subjective, is it important to set your own standards of success and not compare yourself to others.  People find success in many ways. For some it manifests as the ability to peacefully meditate atop a mountaintop.  For others it is a steady job.  If you want to be successful, you must define what success means to you first.

Success comes in stages.  My definition of success has evolved over the years as I reach goals that I set for myself.  Every time I accomplish a goal, I am forced to re-evaluate what the next level of success will look like for me.  You should have a long term plan and goal, but recognize that there is success in every level of the journey. 

Success shows up in different forms.  For a new sales person it may be getting 3 sales today instead of two.  For a lawyer it may be winning a case.  Whatever you are doing, choose to be a success at it.  You have control over how you handle your current situation; identify how you can reach your greatest success in that area! 

I recommend that you write down your top 3 current standards of success and post them in a place where you will see them regularly.  Success is a measurement of self, so why would you use someone else’s measuring cup?  Recognize and set your own standards for success and then you will see how you really measure up!

-Mark

Has the comforting knock of opportunity been absent from your door lately?  If you are one of the millions of people who haven’t heard that sweet tap-tap-tapping in a while, it is time to start leveraging yourself to create an abundance of opportunities. 

Leverage (as it relates to business and the individual) can be defined in many ways, but my preferred definition is the ability to expand results through the strategic development and use of relationships and resources.  In the book I wrote with Robert G. Allen titled The One Minute Millionaire: The Enlightened Way to Wealth (OMM), we outline six wealth creating ways to leverage yourself and your business.

The following is an overview of the 6 leverage creating principles taught in the section “Applying Maximum Leverage” from The One Minute Millionaire on page 116- 118. 

“Alone, you are without leverage. You have to rely on your own knowledge, your own experience, your own money, and your own resources…eventually, your resources run out.” –The One Minute Millionaire, page 116

1. Have a Mentor- I have taught you about the value of mentorship before in this blog.  When you have a mentor you have their knowledge.  Work with you mentor as closely as possible, especially if you are attempting to break into an area where you don’t have experience.  The reason we outlined this as a way to create leverage is because when you have a mentor’s wisdom backing you up, you are less likely to make beginner’s mistakes.  Avoiding such mistakes and making informed, strategic decisions can save you vast amounts of money and time.
2. Be Part of a Team- T.E.A.M. stands for Together Everyone Achieves Miracles. Being part of a team creates leverage because you aren’t solely relying on your knowledge.  An effective team is made up of people with complementing skills (dreamers, drivers, and builders).  Each member of your team (including you) needs to leverage their unique talents and skills in such a way that each member is working on the portion of the project that is their area of strength and genius. 
3. Build a Powerful Network- It only takes one person to change the course of your business and life.  Developing relationships and partnering with people who have large networks will allow you more opportunities to meet that key person.  Your network is your networth.  It only takes ONE!
4. Tap into the power of the Infinite Network- The universe works in mysterious ways.  You never know when the right connection of opportunity will come along.  Be bold and ask the universe for exactly what you want.  Know in your heart of hearts that it is on its way.  When it comes, be open, receptive, and thankful. 
5. Tools- Today’s business world is blessed with the ability to transfer information (and money) instantaneously.  Don’t discount the power of the internet.  Use its speed and networking capabilities to create leverage.  There is an infinite amount of information available on-line, it is waiting for you to utilize it. 
6. Systemize- Millionaires create systems.  They figure out the formula of success that works for them and they adapt it to every endeavor they undertake.  Systemizing saves time and money because it employs proven techniques.  If you don’t have your own system, adapt your mentors’ to your business.  There are systems for every industry, do research and become familiar with best practices.  Read as many biographies about successful individuals as possible.  Learn from the greats!

No matter what it is that you are trying to leverage, you must be prepared.  If an opportunity presents itself, but you aren’t prepared, it isn’t an opportunity for you.  Take pride in your preparation because without it, no matter how well you leverage yourself, you will not be able to accomplish anything.  Action is the key to attraction and leverage is the key to traction.  

-Mark