The Client Letter
June 7, 2013
The Northland
Cloudy 52 Degrees
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I still remember the feeling of dread I got when he told me…
There I was, sitting in the middle of an organ lesson playing a piece I was preparing for a recital.
I think it was a Thursday…
My teacher wasn’t patient when he felt you weren’t fulfilling your potential. In fact, on the inside, I think he got pretty steamed.
You could see it in his eyes and the way his jaw tensed up when he spoke with you.
During this particular lesson, apparently I was falling short of superstar status.
I was a little bit slow memorizing the piece I was playing. During the lesson, I made it pretty clear that I had exactly ZERO notes of the piece memorized.
He stopped me playing and looked at me and said, “You are going to play this piece on Monday night during studio class… and you’re going to play it from memory.”
That’s when the dread started.
For the next few days, I freaked out. I can’t really even tell you what happened during those days. What I do know is that I showed up on Monday night at studio class and played that piece from memory. All of it. (You can see a video of an organist performing the piece I’m talking about here.)
I think back to that day and ask myself what I would have MISSED discovering about myself had someone NOT pushed me beyond what I thought I could do?
How would I be different today had someone NOT kicked me off the cliff to force me to spread the wings I didn’t even know I had?
How much LESS would I have achieved if someone had lowered the bar instead of consistently RAISING it?
My teacher knew that you do no one any favors by settling for anything but the best someone’s got to offer… even if that “best” extends well beyond the individual’s current understanding of their capabilities.
As a leader or teacher of ANYTHING, you have an enormous responsibility to do this for people. I didn’t really get it before, but I get it now. It’s the same thing with your clients. You can help them be better than they probably think is possible.
I realize just what a responsibility and privilege that is.
And that’s why, starting today, I am going to start acting on that responsibility.
If you’re going to attract clients, you need to take consistent action. You have to do it every month. If you can’t or won’t, then you will never build the foundation you need. You can go looking for all the silver bullets in the world, but in the end, if you’re not willing to do the work, you’ll get nowhere.
That means the best thing I can offer to you is a consistent flow of information, advice and inspiration to take action on a regular basis. The other thing I can offer is the nudge to push harder.
This is why I created The Rainmaker Letter. And starting today, it IS the point of entry to everything else I offer.
Effective immediately, all of my current and new products are reserved for Rainmaker Letter subscribers only.
Why?
What I create is designed to help people who are in this business for the long haul – for people who are ready to do the work. And becoming a Rainmaker Letter subscriber is a sign of that commitment.
I know there are a lot of people reading this who are currently settling for less than their best. Most of humanity does this. We all do it in our own way. So this isn’t about being perfect, it’s simply about improving over yesterday.
But there are many people who are ready to move forward. Who are ready to grow and to push and to move beyond the limitations they believe are real.
Those are the people I am choosing to serve. And making this change allows those people to make themselves known to me so I can focus on them.
Of course the Client Letter will continue. That’s not going to change.
But I’m going to focus my efforts on those who are ready to become better versions of themselves and those that are willing to do the required work.
If you’re one of those people, then subscribe to the Rainmaker Letter today. It’s really the best value out there for people in the service business.
If you’re already a subscriber, then stay tuned…