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The Secret Every Emperor Knows

If you want to keep the throne, you have to control the media.   When the Bolsheviks seized control of Russia in 1917, one of Lenin’s first moves was to lock down the press.   Lenin was a media machine. He knew the power of the written word to mobilize a nation. Leaning on lessons as old as Julius Caesar, the Soviet government issued the “Decree on Press” within their first few months of rule. They banned publications that criticized Communism. But they also started newspapers and print shops to support and praise their ideas.   Every dictator knows that control of the media is necessary for the success of their regime.   But media control isn’t only the rule of dictators.   When JFK took control of the White House, one of his first quotes was “When we got into office, the thing that surprised me most was to find that things were just as bad as we’d been saying they were.” Kennedy used different tools–charm, exaggeration and good looks–but knew the value of control all the same. His media savvy won him the Presidential office. And his successor–Richard Nixon–was taken down by a media he couldn’t control.   What does this have to do with your business? Everything. Elected politicians might be the tail that wags the dog, but entrepreneurs have even more to gain by controlling the media around their business. They also have more to lose by failing to control their image and message.   Consider what happens when an airline reduces seat size. They don’t send out an apology. They don’t put a notice on their website. They “spin” the message into a positive: “Announcing more flights from San Francisco to New York!” They’re adding seats, not planes; and they’re adding seats by reducing legroom. But their message is a net positive.   Does that feel slimy? Or like you’ve been tricked? Don’t worry: we ...
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When Are Your Ads Too Expensive?

As competition in the digital marketing space increases, your advertising costs will go up.  Cost per click, cost per lead – these numbers will continue to rise over time. A critical question to ask yourself is, “how much can I afford to spend on ads?“ What is the maximum amount you can spend for a lead? Find out in this week’s edition of Marketing Monday!
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Engaging Your Staff

by Anastasia Bennett, TwoBrain Mentor   Why are some members of your team more engaged than others? This is such a good question to discuss and it comes up very often on my mentoring calls.   In fact, this is the main reason I got a mentor for my own business. I thought the problems in my business were because of my team. But I was wrong: the problem was not my team, but my leadership.   Everything a leader does has a huge impact on the team performance and their engagement.   “Implementing Extreme Ownership requires checking your ego and operating with a high degree of humility. Admitting mistakes, taking ownership, and developing a plan to overcome challenges are integral to any successful team.” ― Jocko Willink, Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win   As a business owner, you are the leader and you are in charge of everything. It is your job to take responsibility for your own actions and to lead by example. If your team is disengaged, or they use an “I have another full time job” excuse, it’s on you. You have not done what it takes to get your team motivated.   What does engaged mean?   Engaged = motivated   Being fully engaged in your workplace means they are professionally happy; they have a defined role that outlines what their responsibilities and expectations are; they actively contribute to the team; and they are continuously working on their self development.   Why is it so important for us to have engaged staff? Customer satisfaction   Conversion Retention Profitability Productivity   As a manager/owner you have a huge influence on your team and how they are performing.   How do you keep your team motivated?   Have defined roles, clear expectations and pathways to show them opportunities for personal growth; Show them that you care: Share your WHY with them, your vision ...
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The Problem With "Balance"

“Part of this balanced breakfast!”   What memory does that stir up?   For me, it’s something from 35 years ago: little Chris in his Transformer pajamas, eating his Frosted Flakes and watching The Smurfs.   In those days, as now, sugary cereals marketed to kids when they were at their most vulnerable. And they got their ads past the censors by using confusing language. They couldn’t say “healthy” or even “good” breakfast, so they used another term: balanced. And, over time, we all started to believe that “balanced” meant “good”.   Balance doesn’t mean equality; it doesn’t mean tolerance. It sometimes means “as much evil as good” or “just enough of X to justify all that harmful Y.” It’s worth noting that healthy food producers don’t have to talk about “balance”, because they can legitimately say “good”.   Our duty as coaches is to help our clients reach health and fitness–not to help them reach “balance”.   My role as mentor to fitness business owners is to help them achieve wealth. That means, instead of presenting all possible opinions, I serve as a filter. I fight infobesity (thanks Brendon). I don’t want to overwhelm or paralyze; I want to activate.   There are a lot of fake gurus and consultants out there who would love to sell you something. But a sales platform requires some authority, and authority requires a platform. Credible platforms take a long time to build (it’s taken me over ten years.) So they get themselves booked on podcasts or published on websites as a shortcut. Listeners tune in to hear a balanced perspective. And their misinformation blunts our collective progress.   Let me give you a more specific example: the best way to sell supplements is to show them beside steroids.   You might not have fallen for this, but I have: as a new trainer in the late 90s, I saw ads for spray-on ...
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Why I Started TwoBrain

Last week, I told you why I started a gym: to create freedom for my family.   Today, I’d like to introduce you to my larger family.   Years ago, a physiotherapist told me, “If you care about your health, then you have to care about the health of the people around you. And if you care about their health, then you have to care about the city.”   I started the gym to take care of my family, and help my wife achieve her goal at the same time. But I started TwoBrain to help my larger family: other first-time entrepreneurs who had opened a gym. I knew what they were going through, and the camaraderie of the early days of CrossFit affiliation encouraged me to share all the mistakes I’d made.   You’ve probably heard the story ad nauseam: I hit bottom, found a mentor. Posted the mentor’s lessons on a blog called DontBuyAds.com every day for four years. Answered a call to mentor a couple of gym owners through a website company. Published three books about gym ownership, added a few dozen videos and articles to the CrossFit Journal, and continued to publish love letters to gym owners every day.   But the story I haven’t told is why I founded TwoBrainBusiness.com; why we keep producing free stuff every single day; and why I’m more committed than ever before.   In early 2015, while still mentoring gyms through a website company, I built a 14-hour online course around the conversations I’d been having. While every gym is different, certain work has to precede other work, and I recorded videos, wrote lessons and built templates around these foundations. I was the guy on the videos and the guy behind the lessons. I thought we could help more gym owners by selling the video course for less. And with a waiting list, selling a course as an alternative to ...
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Episode 155: The Intramural Open

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