Lesson #1: Failure doesn't "happen"; it's a choice.
In Corey's mind, there were only two ways you could "fail."You could give up and quit. Or you could decide not to learnfrom your mistakes.Corey believed failure was a choice. So Corey never failed.He tested new ideas. He learned from what worked, and whatdidn't. Then he applied those lessons to his next test oridea, and he kept doing this until he got results he wassatisfied with.Sure Corey made mistakes... Yeesh, I still cringe when I thinkof a $90,000 mistake we made two years ago. And sure, Coreywould get really ticked off when stuff went wrong.But Corey was also always the first person to seek out thepositive in every bad situation and say, "Well, what did welearn from this?" ... And, more important, "Will we do it again?"Corey firmly believed every costly lesson was going to resultin exponentially greater success in the long term.And he was right.
Lesson #2: Assume nothing, test everything
Corey had zero respect for people who were content to assumeTo him, it was a mark of laziness. So something everyonequickly learned when working with him was to deal in nothingbut the facts.If Corey asked a question, and you didn't know the answer, itwas one thousand times better to say, "I'll look into it andget back to you," than "I think this might be the answer," or"I assume this is right."Theories, assumptions, and guesses were the enemies of successas far as Corey was concerned. He believed you should eithergo straight to the source for the answers (even if that meanspaying thousands of dollars in consulting fees) or test ityourself.And as Corey taught me, sometimes you even need to test the"facts." For example...... A marketing strategy that you tested and proved to workas little as a month ago may be a complete dud today.(Retesting is ALWAYS worth the effort.)... The customer demographics you collected through a surveylast year may have drastically changed. (Are they buying yourproducts for DIFFERENT reasons now?)... And some of the most interesting statistics may be basedon flawed data. (Always read the "fine print," and if thereisn't any, ask for it!)Before you make decisions, ask questions. Assume nothing.Test everything.And don't be afraid of offending someone -- even an "expert"-- by questioning their logic. The true experts will applaudyou for this. And your questions will expose the impostersfor who they really are -- wannabes.
Lesson #3: Make opportunities to learn, and take notes
It would be difficult to calculate exactly how much Coreyspent on educational materials each year... but I've donethe math and know it was roughly in the tens of thousandsof dollars.Corey was constantly reading... On airplanes, on holidays, inbetween meetings -- he was absolutely relentless. He wouldread every business book, article, course, and marketingcampaign he could get his hands on.And Corey didn't just read material related to Internetmarketing; he made a point of studying OTHER industries, too-- both online AND offline. He was always looking for newstrategies and marketing ideas that he could pluck from otherindustries and apply to his businesses.It was all this reading that would frequently spark his"genius" ideas...But I think the key to this secret is that Corey made TONSof notes about everything he read and kept all his thoughtsin a couple of "master project documents" that he'd referback to every month, looking for new ideas (they wereliterally hundreds of pages long).That way, even if an idea didn't work today, he had recordof it so he could refer back to it sometime in the future.Corey knew that "genius" doesn't just happen -- you need tolook for opportunities to learn, and keep track of yourthoughts. Your best ideas will frequently be sparked bynew information, or new approaches to old information.
Lesson #4: Seek out great teachers, and be a great listener
Corey firmly believed that if you want to fast-track yoursuccess, it's critical to learn from those who have gonebefore you... even if you just have the opportunity to learnfrom their mistakes.So Corey made a point of seeking out teachers and mentors,and asking for their advice whenever he had the opportunity-- even if that meant paying hefty consulting fees fortheir guidance.As far as Corey was concerned, you should always learn fromthe best. Find people who are getting the results YOU wantto achieve, and ask them to mentor you.And Corey was never afraid to ask "great people" for advice...He was never concerned about looking dumb. And he neverneeded to be the smartest guy in the room. Corey was alwaysfocused on learning. So he was a student of everything...and almost everyone.Corey was always asking people around him for feedback...What mistakes was he making? How could he improve as a leader?As a marketer? How could he be a better public speaker?It takes guts to ask the people around you for feedback. Butit takes wisdom to openly listen and learn from it.
Lesson #5: Define your own success and live with passion
Corey's biggest frustration was that so many of his clientsand subscribers just let life "happen" to them. I can'ttell you how many times I heard him rant over the years, "Theyhave dreams... but they don't set GOALS! Why don't they setgoals and take action???"One of the most inspirational things about being around Coreywas his belief that absolutely anyone can be successful.You just had to meet Corey once to know he wasn't justspouting the "anybody can start a profitable Internet business"line because it sounded good.His enthusiasm... his actions... every word he spokedemonstrated his core belief that absolutely anyone canbe successful.You can learn anything... be anything... do anything.If you decide that your age, background, and education limityour potential, they will. But if you decide that you cando anything, you will...Corey really believed that you just need to set goals thatyou're excited about, and then take persistent action.It's absolutely shocking what ONE step a day... just 10minutes a day... one hour a day... can accomplish over onemonth... three months... six months.Just imagine where YOU would be in six months if you dedicatedeven 20 minutes a day to working on your business... learningnew strategies... or building a "swipe file" of marketingideas!Success isn't determined by genetics. It's about persistent,consistent action. And Corey really got that.
Final Thoughts:------------------------------------------------------------
Honestly, I could write a book about what it was like teamingup with Corey for the last eight years... and perhaps one dayI will. It was one helluva ride...Today, though, I wanted to give you at least SOME insightinto Corey's personal philosophies for business successbecause I'm hoping they will inspire you to... * Choose success * Test something new today * Make opportunities to learn * Seek out great teachers * Define your goals, and take action to reach themThese are the philosophies that Corey inspired the entireIMC Team to run his company with... and these are thephilosophies that we are continuing to move forward with.Corey's legacy wasn't just cutting-edge marketing strategiesor industry leading software -- it was the inspiration heshared with thousands of "real people."And that's the legacy I personally plan to continue.Until the next issue of "Marketing Tips," I wish you success.
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