
Robert Half, founder of the self-named international human resource consulting agency wrote,
"There is something that is much more scarce, something rarer than ability. It is the ability to recognize ability."
This is true. We recognize this trait in every great leader. Over thirty years ago, Lee Iacocca, after being fired from Ford Motor Company, saved Chrysler from bankruptcy by recruiting the most talented people he could find. People whose abilities he knew, trusted and had confidence in.
The best coaches possess—without exception—the ability to recognize talent and recruit, recruit, & recruit the best and the brightest. Once that is done, coaching becomes an easier job. Hmmm… just like selling. If prospecting (direct response marketing) is done well and repetitively, “selling” gets a lot easier and profitable. Actually, glamourous.
Business owners, sales people, professionals and entrepreneurs often do very well at the start of their careers because they have a boss, sales manager or leader who recognizes their talent and points them in the right direction. With focus, goals, and quotas in place, success follows. The fallacy or “E-Myth” is the assumption that the person who’s good at two or three things can also be equally and simultaneously good at five or six other. Wrong. You can have all the positive attitude in the world, but trying to do it all well is not accurate thinking. It’s also no fun. Yet, hardly a day goes by when I don’t talk with someone who isn’t going crazy trying to do it all by themselves. Been guilty of it myself.
The definition of “ability” includes talent, skill, or proficiency in a particular area. Here’s some hard-earned valuable advice: Figure out one, two (no more than three) things you’re good at and can make money at. Focus 80-90% of your time and energy on just those things and get help with the rest. Stop spinning your wheels and getting nowhere. That’s not the path to making money and living a balanced life.
I have been blessed on multiple occasions when others have recognized in me abilities I didn’t really fully appreciate in myself. I owe a debt of gratitude to many I can’t credit here. I’ve had a few career changing moments when somebody has helped me open my eyes.
Business owners, sales people, professionals and entrepreneurs often do very well at the start of their careers because they have a boss, sales manager or leader who recognizes their talent and points them in the right direction. With focus, goals, and quotas in place, success follows. The fallacy or “E-Myth” is the assumption that the person who’s good at two or three things can also be equally and simultaneously good at five or six other. Wrong. You can have all the positive attitude in the world, but trying to do it all well is not accurate thinking. It’s also no fun. Yet, hardly a day goes by when I don’t talk with someone who isn’t going crazy trying to do it all by themselves. Been guilty of it myself.
The definition of “ability” includes talent, skill, or proficiency in a particular area. Here’s some hard-earned valuable advice: Figure out one, two (no more than three) things you’re good at and can make money at. Focus 80-90% of your time and energy on just those things and get help with the rest. Stop spinning your wheels and getting nowhere. That’s not the path to making money and living a balanced life.
I have been blessed on multiple occasions when others have recognized in me abilities I didn’t really fully appreciate in myself. I owe a debt of gratitude to many I can’t credit here. I’ve had a few career changing moments when somebody has helped me open my eyes.

Years ago, my friend Dean Killingbeck, founder of New Customers NOW Marketing, took me to lunch to “sell me” on becoming his partner and ultimately buying out his interest in the largest, most profitable direct-response training organization of its kind at the time—the Glazer-Kennedy Inner Circle Southeast Michigan territory. At first I resisted his offer. It was during the real estate crash of 2007, I was already over a quarter million dollars in debt and didn’t want to take on more. He persisted and offered me easy financing terms; I still wasn’t “buying”. Then he looked me straight in the eye, pointed his finger at me and said, “LISTEN TO ME DEREK. I LIKE THIS BUSINESS OF TRAINING AND HELPING OTHERS...BUT YOU LOVE IT.” Like a stubborn ox, I shook my head, shrugged my shoulders and muttered, “I don’t know about that, Dean.” But I remembered what he said; took me a week to figure out that he was right. He “sold me”. I quickly grew the business 500%.

A few years later, when the president of that organization, Bill Glazer, selected me to train the next generation of top direct-response marketers on the methods he developed over a lifetime with co-founder Dan Kennedy, he wrote:
Derek Freund is a first rate marketer and speaker. Fact is he was my #1 selection to lead the GKIC Two-Day F-A-S-T Start Implementation Boot Camps held throughout the U.S. Before retiring as co-founder and president of GKIC, one of the goals I shared with Dan Kennedy was to give our members a two-day immersion experience in the most critical key ingredients of our methods. Without hesitation, Derek Freund was my first choice to present the material he knows so well. We worked many hours to develop a program and presentation to “pass-the-baton” on to him. I believe that goal was achieved. I was proud to share the stage with Derek at my last official GKIC speaking event in Chicago. I encourage all motivated business owners and professionals searching for kick-butt Rogue marketing strategies and coaching that work to listen closely when he speaks. You’ll be glad you did.
Life and business are fascinating. Selling and direct-response marketing are my profession. I get a thrill every time I talk with an enthusiastic person or audience. After giving a speech or presenting a workshop, implementing the concepts and measuring the results with clients are the next steps in the journey. We get to meet a lot of great people in the process.
Consider what your next decision is. What goal is worth reaching? What’s your unique ability, that perhaps you don’t recognize in yourself? What worries or responsibilities should you remove so you can achieve success and fulfillment?
I know some fascinating and talented people. If you’re subscribed to my list and are reading this, that means YOU are among them. The focus of this newsletter is to provide valuable content and grow relationships, with some human interest and humor thrown in. This isn’t a sales letter. It IS a continuous exploration of—among other things—profit seeking opportunities.
I have a new one-month program, “Take Control.” For those motivated individuals who qualify, it comes with an unconditional money-back guarantee. If you’re the type of person that wants to jump to the front of line and not procrastinate, schedule a no-charge initial consultation with me at www.RogueMarketingSystems.com/contact. Because your profit is our business. This offer expires March 25, 2016.
Derek Freund is a first rate marketer and speaker. Fact is he was my #1 selection to lead the GKIC Two-Day F-A-S-T Start Implementation Boot Camps held throughout the U.S. Before retiring as co-founder and president of GKIC, one of the goals I shared with Dan Kennedy was to give our members a two-day immersion experience in the most critical key ingredients of our methods. Without hesitation, Derek Freund was my first choice to present the material he knows so well. We worked many hours to develop a program and presentation to “pass-the-baton” on to him. I believe that goal was achieved. I was proud to share the stage with Derek at my last official GKIC speaking event in Chicago. I encourage all motivated business owners and professionals searching for kick-butt Rogue marketing strategies and coaching that work to listen closely when he speaks. You’ll be glad you did.
Life and business are fascinating. Selling and direct-response marketing are my profession. I get a thrill every time I talk with an enthusiastic person or audience. After giving a speech or presenting a workshop, implementing the concepts and measuring the results with clients are the next steps in the journey. We get to meet a lot of great people in the process.
Consider what your next decision is. What goal is worth reaching? What’s your unique ability, that perhaps you don’t recognize in yourself? What worries or responsibilities should you remove so you can achieve success and fulfillment?
I know some fascinating and talented people. If you’re subscribed to my list and are reading this, that means YOU are among them. The focus of this newsletter is to provide valuable content and grow relationships, with some human interest and humor thrown in. This isn’t a sales letter. It IS a continuous exploration of—among other things—profit seeking opportunities.
I have a new one-month program, “Take Control.” For those motivated individuals who qualify, it comes with an unconditional money-back guarantee. If you’re the type of person that wants to jump to the front of line and not procrastinate, schedule a no-charge initial consultation with me at www.RogueMarketingSystems.com/contact. Because your profit is our business. This offer expires March 25, 2016.