First of all, I want to say thank you to June Austin for allowing this conversation to be added to this blog.  This is all quoted from a Facebook discussion I started, and a few follow-up private messages that  June Austin and I traded. I asked her if she’s willing to have me quote her messages, and she said yes! I love it when that happens.  Because of our willingness to communicate, instead of feeling like she was disagreeing with the cost of John’s program, I now know she actually wants to create her own product that is priced much lower, which is a fabulous idea!

The Brain Retraining that we are doing with John Assaraf has been fabulous for Sue and I, The Audio Program is actually called… Winning the Inner Game of Business Success. And if you click on that link, it takes you to our affiliate link.

Sue created an Aweber post, that I linked on Facebook. Read the whole thing HERE

It looks like this:

Proof – anyone can retrain their brain..
Sent Thursday, August 26, 2010

Hi ,

CBS News reports on four-year-old Harper who has cerebral palsy. Almost the entire right side of her body has been paralyzed since birth, her right arm dangling lifelessly by her side. But now she can use that right arm to throw a ball, open doors and dress herself.

I got a few comments from a couple of friends… I started to feel like my post about Brain Training was going to come off as a boring marketing fail. Oh well, I don’t hit a home run every time I start typing. The truth is that I see Facebook as a fantastic marketing tool for Sue and I. I love being able to connect with my friends, but I totally love being able to have a career by using my computer to talk to people and show them interesting stuff.

Then this is was one of the thoughtful comments that June Austin made.

My training as a hypnotherapist knows that daily use of one’s imagination in a directed way at the super-conscious level can only reap benefits. My experience as a clinician in the real world has been that the people who need this the most – will be deterred by the $500 price tag. I understand the principle of value for service but I am also an advocate for “affordable useful knowledge” for everyone – at any level of “income”.

She has a significant point about wishing that the people who might need the product are the least able to pay that amount, like these people living in their car.

Now for my long-winded reply… (I do go on sometimes, but I like my writing. hehe)

Aaah June, you agree that this could be useful. Do you have some other affordable useful knowledge you’d like to share? Because I’d post that on my Facebook page here just as quickly!

It’s funny about the price tag, I agree, not everyone w…ho could benefit from it will, because of the price… but life is like that. If it was free, would more people take the time to retrain their minds? Who knows?… Sometimes setting a price that is barely affordable is exactly the motivation that some people need to re-start their shift! And not everyone is motivated by a low price.. some people feel better about spending more money because they have an expectation that spending more creates better results.

That’s all about the perception of appropriate spending. If we all agree that brain retraining s probably a good idea if it were free, why would we think it’s not a good idea if it costs $500? Often times, it is the leap out of our comfort zone, the risk and the willingness to dive in, that creates the conditions for people to improve their lives. Very few people make big changes in their life with the knowledge they currently possess. I am a voracious student of everything that makes people’s lives better, and I share all of it. If people want to make BIG changes in their life, they usually need to go through BIG changes. And one of the biggest changes is they MUST go through is their attitude towards money and spending it. I won’t ever say everyone should be like me, because I truly believe everyone needs to find their own unique path. But watching Tv for 5 hours after dinner, or playing Farmville like a fiend isn’t going to create BIG changes.

And the program is actually called Winning the Inner Game of Business Success with John Assaraf. The target market is people who want to improve how they run their businesses. I am in that demographic. To me, $500 is not a lot of money to spend if it helps me attract another $100,000. That’s my perspective. Then again Sue and I have hired John as our business coach, and we pay him $2500 per hour. WE LOVE IT. And I’ll gladly keep doing it because our results have been outstanding.

I’ve seen many people quit on themselves in my short 50 years. I’ve done it too. But no longer. I am Super Steve. And I will share everything I can to help the world, whether it costs money or not. My wife and I are all about having fun becoming multi-millionaires. We are also willing to pay whatever some valuable things cost when we trust it’s for us. We appreciate that new techniques and products like these exist, and we show our appreciation for them by buying them and talking about them.

And we’re both absolutely loving this brain retraining! What’s not to love?
and June, I’ve sent you a private message, as well!
Woohoo!

June’s return comment back:

All good points Steve. My stance is that someone in a circumstance that is currently creating fewer monetary resources at their disposal should not exclude someone with the desire, brains and commitment to improve the quality of their life. If you had only $1000 to 1200 per month to live on with a dependent – which is what most single mom’s experience, there are no savings or extras. They deserve this knowledge as much as someone in your position who can pay more.

My response to June:

thanks again June…
All people decide for themselves what they deserve, or what they’re willing to risk. I won’t decide that for them. I simply present information and thoughts that people either pay attention to or discard. I like it w…hen people like me (and my wife) or our thoughts, but I’m also %100 Ok with not being the right friend for all people.

Here’s an analogy:
A person responsible for setting the price of a brand new Mercedes doesn’t have to apologize for that, nor is that person obliged to make that Mercedes available at a price that people earning $1000 to $1200 per month can afford. That person setting the price of that Mercedes, also isn’t going to be the sales person.

I have spent a lot of money over the years on hundreds of self-help books and techniques about a myriad of subjects. This brain retraining is the Mercedes to me… so if it costs more than “free,” I’m willing to pay for it. Others will be too. I can’t fix all the world’s problems, but I can certainly improve my life and share what I do to get there. And that’s what I do.

I totally agree with you, that there are many sources of information that are cheaper. I haven’t seen them… can you tell me more about lower priced alternatives that create the same results? I would love to know about them too.

And here is our private messages thread, which reveals the best news of all! June is planning her own product/service to help people who might not have $500 to spend on John Assaraf’s Brain Training.

My First message to June:

I think I understand your stance. You believe a product like this should be more affordable to everyone.

But I don’t.

I still play hockey & coach hockey. When I go to buy skates, there are 20 different skates at price levels available. I used to buy the cheapest I could afford, now I buy the best quality I can, plus I buy what I will enjoy wearing the most. I don’t ever say the cheap skates should NOT be available. But I’m not going to say the expensive skates should be cheaper either. One size or one price, does not fit all consumers.

I will be more than happy to share your website with the world. I am TOTALLY interested. What I have seen of people who are interested in changing their lives, is that most people go through many stages of growth. Most people start with their first hurdle, which is usually about money.

And I promise I won’t tell you what price you oughta charge!
(wink wink)

I have been a musician all my life, I have earned less than $1000 many months. The reason my life changed is because I’m no longer willing to accept that for myself.

My wife and I actually pay our coach, $2500 per hour for his advice. Even if you don’t think the advice could possibly be worth that much, I still know it is. Are we being uncaring or wasteful about the money we are spending? Should it be going to other places? No. But that’s a matter of perspective. Other people might think we’re frivolous.

Should we really worry about what some people think about us, or our careers?

We are making our world and the lives of the people who follow us, better by continually providing new ideas and stuff to look at, that people are either attracted to or not.

We are having FUN, becoming MILLIONAIRES. And you or anyone can do it. ANYONE.

I have learned that the amount of money I am willing to spend on anything, is directly proportional to the amount I appreciate that product or experience. I have also learned that when I believed that wealthy people did NOT earn their wealth by being evil. So I no longer have hang-ups about how much money anyone or anything has. I used to… I really thought EVERYone who had money, got it from people who didn’t want to lose it.

Abundance knows no boundaries. Money flows like water to whomever learns how to harness it. Poor people can become wealthy and rich people can become poor.

There is enough for everyone, if they want what they want enough to change their lives enough to allow fantastic surprises to happen. But for those surprises to happen, there is a degree of faith and trust that has to come first. And that usually involves some sort of risk.

These long answers are going to make it into my blog today, so thanks very much for the discussion.

Steve

June’s reply:

you are preaching to the converted Steve.. not everyone is like you and I. I am only saying that if I had not had someone to allow me access to that information when I was in that position, my life may have never changed – I may have still believed in the limits I was experiencing at the time. I believe that paying it forward this way can only enrich my life more in ways I cannot imagine yet… Money is only one way to feel abundant… and yes you may use my name and credentials June Austin CDA, CHt, RDA

my next reply

June Austin CDA, CHt, RDA

Man! this is a great conversation June.

Might you also be willing to have this private conversation as part of the blog post, as well as the Facebook comments?

And then June says yes to printing all of this:

no problem

In closing, thanks for reading very much. The whole point of this was the surprise that I opened up to someone even though I wasn’t sure how it was going to go.

I’m looking forward to June letting Sue and I know about her product /service when she has it available.

There is room for everyone to create products that help people get where they want to go. It has also been my observation that many of us, use a myriad of self-help products along the way. And that sometimes we need to work with the free ones first, before spending $100,000 on a consultant. I absolutely LOVE the diversity of choices and thoughts on this planet.

I am thankful every single morning, that I am way past the point of believing I have no power, or that bad things always or only happen to me. Every moment has a unique opportunity to teach me something new. People are awesome! Everywhere! Thanks June!

Steve