Meaning and Marketing - The Will

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You are now inside one of the top theological schools in the world and you are sitting in Dr. John Hobbs' Class on Theology with first year Freshman students. The seminary is reformed, protestant, Christian and is located in the south of the USA.
Do you know where you are now? Do you like being here? If not, you know what to do.
Dr. Hobbs is a phenomenon in himself. You don't have to know the fear of the Lord in his classroom because you are afraid already.
Dr. Hobbs surveys the back seats in the classroom and makes an announcement. "I notice that some of you were not in class last week. If you don't think I'll flunk you, just check the archives of this seminary."
Dr. Hobbs does not tolerate nonsense in any way and he is unsympathetic when it comes to grades and excuses.
He is in his fifties and has bad arthritis. His skin is very white and pale and you wonder how the man is even living. He speaks with a deep southern accent, but his voice is crystal clear.
Somehow we are on the subject of Creation:
"Why did God create the world?" intones Dr. Hobbs, and he doesn't wait for an answer. "Because He willed to create it."
"Why does the world continue to exist?" "Because He Wills for it to continue to exist."
As for the WILL, most of the students in the Classroom don't even know what that is and probably could care less. They just want to get out of Class in a hurry because they already have what counts - luv, joy, peace, etc. They got Jesus in their hearts. They know that, or some of them do, and that's all that matters.
"Jesus, Jesus! You know how much we luv you. But whatever you do, please, please, please - don't ask us to think." Is that why we are here?
The top Marketers, the biggest money makers, are always ready to remind us of two things:
(1) You would if you could...
(2) You can if you will...
And they are absolutely right. If you think about it- Dr. Hobbs and the Marketers are saying exactly the same thing, but for a different end and a different reason.
The WESTMINSTER CATECHISM: "What is the chief end of Man?" (Assume "Women" are included)
Now listen, not to the Classical Answer, but to Dr. Hobbs' paraphrase or his own rendition of the answer - "The Glory of God is a human being FULLY ALIVE!"
What does it mean for you to be FULLY ALIVE?
Go ahead... Fill in the blank and answer the question:_________________________
How do you like your answer? Does it fit you like a suit? If not, do you want to change it? Go ahead and change it, if you want to.
Have you got your answer now? If not, you are making excuses. Go ahead and just tell yourself what would it mean for you to be FULLY ALIVE and write your answer down on a sheet of paper.
Even if you don't know your answer, go ahead and venture a hunch or a guess. There is nothing wrong with that. No venture, no gain.
The Creator Himself/Herself/Itself - I AM - He/She/It loves answers that are shortsighted because it is better to be shortsighted than to have no sight at all. The Creator - the Great I AM - will honor your courage as you attempt to define for yourself, what it would mean for you to be Fully Alive, what it would mean for you to be YOU.
It is better to want something, even if it falls short, than to want nothing at all, and you end up doing nothing and learning nothing. It's even better to sell yourself short than to not sell yourself at all. At least you are trying and doing your best and sometimes your worst, but your Creator - I AM - will honor your efforts and commend you for them no matter what the results.
The Creator has placed in you the WILL to be and when you exercise that Will as an artist, a scientist, a designer, or as a Marketer - you are being a Co-Creator with I AM and there is nothing better, nothing more fulfilling on earth.
Okay! You have now defined yourself and stated for yourself what it would mean for you to be fully alive, truly fulfilled, what it would mean for you to be YOU.
Great! Congratulations!
Now, how do you get to that? How do you become that?
I AM wants you to be Fully Alive. So do I. So do you. Now let's get the job done. Can if be done, can it get done? Yes, it can, if you want to.
Do you want to? If Yes, then let's get moving.
And you know how much power you have, don't you? If not, you can go back and read Meaning and Marketing: The Eye of the Storm. How much Power did Patricia Smith have and how did I AM use that power?
She had the Power to give birth to a Brand New Universe and She became ONE with her Creator in the process. Charlie now has a new playground, if he wants to. He will soon find himself dancing among the stars.
Do you believe all this? You can if you want to. Do you want to? Do you want to dare to wish upon a star? If so, our next step is to find a way:
How to access that Power, how to tap into that inexhaustible supply of sheer energy, that is the fuel we seek in order to become FULLY ALIVE, which is to get and to receive what we really want and what we really deserve.
In the next Lesson - Meaning and Marketing - The Links! - I will show you a way to access that POWER, that ENERGY that will allow you to reach for your true DESTINY.
I AM is waiting for You. What are You waiting for?
Answer to Test Question in Meaning and Marketing - The Eye of the Storm:
How much power does the Spider now have and what is She going to do with it?
Answer: The Spider has as much power as you want her to have. Use her as one of your links in Meaning and Marketing - The Links. Give her a name if you want to. "Charlotte" will do. When you are feeling low, experiencing a lack of energy or inspiration, remember Charlotte. She will empower you. She now has the Lightning Bug inside of her and I AM is light. This is no ordinary lightning bug. She survived the fall Equinox before she met her destiny inside Charlotte.
What is Charlotte going to do with her power? Continue to spin her webs, eat other insects, and spread her fertility to the winds. Hopefully, She and her kind will also ward off Black Widows.
Go for it, Charlotte! And don't get in my way or I'll knock your web down.
Resources:
Charlotte's Web E. B. White, Garth Williams (Illustrator)
The Parable of the Ten Pounds The Bible, The Gospel of Luke, Chapter 19:11-27
An Introduction to the Reformed Tradition: A way of Being the Christian Community John H. Leith
The Courage to Create Rollo May
The Road Less Traveled, 25th Anniversary Edition M. Scott Peck

Paul Snell lives with his wife, Jean, and younger Son, Steven, and their dog Blackie, in Lexington, NC.  He is a former Presbyterian USA minister and has been in Network Marketing full time since 2002.  Paul, at the age of 61, has recently been diagnosed as Bi-Polor with A.D.D as a minor component. He, with the encouragement of his great Mentors at the PowerShift Loop, is an Advocate for the treatment of mental illnesses - all kinds.

Copywriters and Article Marketing: What Should You Write?

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So you've decided to market your home-based copywriting business through article writing. Fantastic! Now comes the hard part: narrowing it down to a topic. What the heck are you going to say in your article?

A friend of mine recently suggested that I write more articles about copywriting. Not such a bad idea, being a copywriter and all. But here's a thought: if all you ever write about is writing, where is the proof that you can actually write? At some point, your prospects WILL ask for samples of work for their specific niches; that is, if you plan to serve clients, and I'm sure you do as that's what a "freelance copywriter" does for a living!

To the copywriter especially, article marketing is a beautiful thing. Why? It allows you to target any audience in any category that YOU choose.

Let's say someone out there in the great beyond is perusing a vegetable garden website... and this person also has some vague plans to create a gardening website of his own. YOU want to be a gardening writer. Now, if your gardening article is placed the aforementioned garden website, along with a bio that describes you as a gardening writer, guess what? Good old Broccoli Rob is probably checking out your work. If he likes what he sees, you've got yourself one paid garden writing project! Brilliant.

Another example. You're a pet person. You'd love to write web copy about dogs, cats, gerbils... any and all of God's creatures. But, uh-oh, you have no *official* experience! So what? Start writing, my friend. The assignment: one web article about How to Paper Train Your Puppy. In your bio, give a brief summary of your copywriting experience and throw in a line about how you're a pet writer. Pretty soon, what do you know... the Westminster Dog Show people are knocking on your door asking for an E-book about dogs. Way to go, pet writer!

Don't forget the context in which your web articles appear. YOU see the articles as they exist on a submission website. But the reader has an entirely different perspective! Imagine your article in all its shining glory on the delivery page. What's that bio say? Who are you and why would these people want to call you for a paid assignment? You must tell them in your article!

Still convinced you want to write about copywriting and copywriting alone? Okay, but keep this in mind: nine times out of ten, the folks who are interested in reading articles about copywriting are looking to become copywriters themselves.

You can offer them some free advice if you think it will help just to get your name out there. But, don't expect huge contracted jobs to come from "writing about writing." As the Copywriting Guru, you darn well better have some revenue-generating product to pitch on your own website. Think copywriting tips, templates and tools that would-be writers might want to purchase from YOU, the expert!

Article marketing is every writer's dream come true. It's the chance to mold yourself into something hugely successful on the web... and that something can be whatever you want. Just think of the hundreds of different markets out there waiting for you to bestow your expert copywriting talents upon them. Okay, now stop thinking... and start WRITING!

Copyright 2005 Dina Giolitto. All rights reserved.

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