Apr 16
24
The Secret is in NOT Knowing ANYTHING.
In Other Words, Understanding NOTHING!
Can you achieve this? It’s not as easy as it looks.
We (the author and the publisher) of Brad Cullen books and articles have been instructed to form an unregistered, non-profit organization called YOU WITHOUT LIMITS. We have also been instructed to freely admit that we are the ultimate examples of what those who think that they do know and understand, what it means to be blind and leading the blind.
In addition to receiving instructions to freely admit that we are the ultimate examples of academic (referring to education in and of the 3rd Dimension) ignorance, we have also been given instructions to freely give away the secrets given to us for YOU WITHOUT LIMITS in the same way we have received them – WITHOUT CHARGE.
This leads us to a true story. It begins with a phone call from a man to whom I had given some advice a few years previously. He had come to me looking for a job …at the time I had been the Vice President, Director of Agencies for a company which marketed life and supplemental health policies throughout much of the U.S.
Is there really no such thing as a free lunch?
I had suggested that he go to the local general agent of one of the major, nationwide life insurance carriers – I made a call telling the agent who I was and that I had an excellent recruit for him; a guy in his forties, who had just sold his business, had loads of successful business experience and thought he might want to be a Life Insurance agent. As expected, the general agent told me to send him right over.
What I had told the man, a long time friend, were several reasons I felt that a career in Life and Health Insurance was an excellent choice for him and that a G.A. for a major carrier would not only provide excellent paid training, but help him go through the licensing process and get him started without the kind of investment it would take him by starting on his own as an independent agent, which he’d be with our company.
It had been a good decision for both him and the G.A. Two years later, I’m in the training business and my old friend called and asked if I’d have lunch with him and the G.A.
How can we make this more intuitive? Is there a way to teach nothing?
It was an interesting conversation. The G.A. wanted to know what I would charge to develop a training program for the agency. I told him I’d rather put on a demonstration with several of his agents and he could pay me what he thought it was worth after the fact. If we wanted to take it any further, after the fact, I’d provide a written proposal based on what I’d learned about his people and his agency and he’d be dealing with a known quantity.
He told me, “There’s no such a thing as a free lunch, how much do you want for the demonstration.”
“I beg to differ with you, you’re picking up the tab for this lunch, that’s a gift to me and I’m willing to put on a free demonstration, that’s a gift to you and the two aren’t connected. I get a free lunch and you get a free demonstration. There are no strings attached on either side.”
He said he’d have to think about that …I said it was entirely up to him, but either way I was getting a free lunch. My friend called me about a week later and we set a date for my free presentation which went very well.
You will find the knowledge you’re looking for in the gap.
The next call was from the G.A. “How about another free lunch?”
I came back with something like, how about this time, I pick up the tab and he said, “How about let’s set a date and then we can argue about it after lunch?”
Just now, when I was instructed to start writing this story, I really didn’t get the relevance, but now I do.
______
The G.A. greeted me warmly and after our lunch orders were taken, he handed me a check for fifteen hundred dollars, saying: “You were right, about one thing and wrong about something else.” To which I simply indicated for him to continue.
“You spent a couple of hours with twelve of my people …all of whom now have a better attitude and each of them are getting increased business, but not one of them can explain specifically what they learned or what you did that made the difference.”
If you can’t buy knowledge, where can you get it from?
“…and how do you want me to respond to that?” I asked, “…and I assume you are also going to tell me what it was I was both right and wrong about.”
He laughed, “Lunch is free for you both times; I have an account here and I have already instructed that the bill go to my office so you were right about that, for you, but it wasn’t free for me, neither was your demonstration, about that you were wrong. If you cash that check, I will accept a comprehensive proposal for a training program for the entire agency. If you don’t cash the check, this will be the last time we meet.”
“Wait a minute, I’m not sure I understand and I don’t really need to, but I do want to get something clear …you are insisting upon buying my lunch twice and paying me $1500 for what I did for your agents and you are telling me if I don’t accept the payment you won’t consider a proposal from me, is that what you are telling me?”
“You’ve got it.”
______
Here’s the relevance for me …and which could be for you, if you want it. We do not charge for what we give and that which we have also been given without charge; those are our instructions. It is interesting to me that I was prompted this morning to tell this particular story. There are times people insist upon giving us money – we always accept it gratefully as being from the very same SOURCE from which we receive our instructions.
You can access all the knowledge in the universe, no charge.
That G.A. never heard from me again because I knew I couldn’t give him what he wanted even though he was willing to pay for it; what he wanted was to know specifically what I had done for those twelve individuals he put through my demonstration session.
The truth was that I didn’t know specifically what I had done, because “I” didn’t do it. All I did was introduce them to that which would help them accomplish what they wanted to accomplish.
That’s all we do with YOU WITHOUT LIMITS and there’s no charge! You may want to ask why I didn’t introduce the G.A. …he wasn’t open to the introduction …are you?