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I’m sad to report, my dear friend, mentor and father figure Tom Hoobyar passed from our midst this past Sunday, 71 years young.

Tom and I first met at a Gary Halbert seminar ten years ago. If you’ve never been to a Halbert seminar, it’s kind of like a Dan Kennedy seminar except everyone is on LSD. Not literally, mind you, but figuratively. Gary attracted a wooly, wild, creative bunch and that event was no exception. Halbert fans were advertising astronauts.

Tom was a CEO of a hi-tech company, hoping to….

This morning I got this email from Susan Kruger. She’s from Detroit. She sells study skills curriculum to public schools (which are a troubled bunch these days):

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Perry,

We have a very long sales cycle, so it will take a little while to get a full picture on all of our initiatives. However, these are some metrics I can tell you for sure:

* August 2011 = our best sales month…ever! 40% better than August 2010.

Bill Crawford of Lisle Illinois won first prize in our Bobsled Run. In less than 6 months he transformed his local basement waterproofing business.

He spiked his leads 272%, cut his cost per lead 70%, and flooded his cash register with sales. Read his entire report here.

Last month I went to “Fantasy Drum Camp” in Cleveland. A drummer’s dream. 14 hours a day of nothing but music and learning with the best guys in rock and jazz.

Chris Coleman, who’s played with Prince, Chaka Khan and New Kids on the Block, gave the most valuable piece of advice of all.

He says, “Let’s say there’s this really amazing song you want to play…

When I was 13 my mom bought me a subscription to an obscure magazine, “Audio Amateur.” It was for people who like to build stereo equipment.

The editor, Ed Dell, would always point out that the old-school definition “Amateur” was – someone who does something for the LOVE of it, not for the money. Not to be confused with the more recent connotation which is “a part-timer who does sloppy work.”

In the HyperEvolution course I was helping a student re-invent his construction company. He came to 4-Man Intensive the other day and he had a new landing page that was, well, just kind of weird.

Last week Sam, my music teacher, came over. He just graduated with a Master’s degree in jazz and he’s looking for work. He was frustrated because doors kept slamming and thought I might be able to help.

We sit down and convo awhile. I dig into his USP. Turns out he has one. (Most people do, but they don’t know it.) Inevitably, the question comes: “Sam, how can you PROVE – to a music department or anybody else – that you really do have a badass USP and you can deliver the goods?”

Hint: A resume and cover letter won’t do it.

The answer is…

Wayne Moritz, a software engineer from Clearwater Florida, posted this comment on my blog. I think it’s a gem:

I’ve noticed that my customers tend to be very, very good at what they do. Not every guru’s customers are like that. A lot of folks are about gaming the system for a quick buck. As you well know.

If you’re for real – if your products are top-notch and you’re NOT about ‘gaming the system’ – then you owe it to the world to learn how to position yourself properly. The world needs to do business with you, not the flim-flam men.