Ray Edwards Show
Ray Edwards is a sought-after Copywriter, Author, Speaker, and Communications Strategist. His clients include Tony Robbins, Jack Canfield, Jeff Walker, Robert Allen, and more. On this show, Ray helps you start, run, and grow their Internet-based businesses. The show includes interviews with well-known experts like Michael Hyatt, Jeff Goins, Dan Miller, Cliff Ravenscraft, Michael Stelzner, Amy Porterfield, Don Miller, and many others.

Conventional wisdom tells us that success takes time…sometimes a long time. Well, I think we’ve been lied to, and I can prove it.

In this episode I’m going to give you a set of tools that will put you on the pathway to a brand new you in seven short days, but as you’ll find out, I believe that success can happen in an instant.

Stay tuned…

Click here to download or listen to this episode now.

Spiritual Foundations

I've been reading my friend Frank Viola's giant new book called There Must Be More, a Titan's Collectible. If it's still available, you should get it. But reading this book triggered a memory for me of something I learned from Frank about the two trees.

In the beginning there were two trees, The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life.

The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is the serpent's promise. He promised, “You will be like God, and you will decide for yourself what is good.” This is what Jesus referred to when He was talking about the “leaven” of the Pharisees.

Jesus is the Tree of Life (see John 15) this is the forgotten tree. This is the one we don't talk about. When we choose the forgotten tree, we take the life of God into ourselves.

The Pharisees, meanwhile, ate from the first tree, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and so do many or most modern churches. These are the people with the protest signs, with the signs about the groups that they hate, with the signs about how America is being punished for its sins, because they are only conscious of the knowledge of good and evil. Better that we eat from the Tree of Life, Jesus.

There's a term that's applied to Christians quite often. People say we are “People of the Book.” We are not. We are not a people of the Book. We are a people of the Person. And the Person is He whose birth we celebrate today, on the day this show is being released, Jesus Christ. He is the Tree of Life.

We must begin living under the forgotten tree (the Tree of Life) rather than eating the fruit of the forbidden one.

Merry Christmas!

Tip of the Week

My Tip of the Week is the HabitShare app. This is an amazing free habit-tracking app that I was turned on to by my friend Cliff Ravenscraft, and I was sold on it immediately.

This is a cool habit-tracking app because it allows you to share habits that you're trying to form with friends, so you get extra motivation and accountability.

It's very simple to use. You can set prompts to help you remember to do your new habits, you can create custom habits that fit your specific goals, and you can make them daily or weekly.

If privacy is a concern, you can control which of your habits your friends see and which ones they can't.

I love this app and I recommend you check it out. They've got it both for the Apple platform and for Android, so anybody can use it.

Feature Presentation: “7 Days To A Brand New You”

Any person can change their life and become successful in as little as 7 days by

walking through the 7 Doors of Decision and asking the 3 Crucial Questions.

  1. Decide WHAT you want
  2. Decide WHY you want it
  3. Decide if it’s WORTHY of you
  4. Decide WHEN you want it
  5. Decide with WHOM you want it
  6. Decide WHERE you want it
  7. Decide HOW you’re going to get it (with a big WHY you can overcome any HOW)

Questions to ask:

  1. What’s the cost?
  2. Is it worth it?
  3. Am I willing and able to pay the price

Here are some snippets from our conversation:

  • Break the shackles of justification – Why it’s okay to want what you want just because you want it (13:30)
  • The Power of Why – Discovering the oft-overlooked fuel that allows you to accelerate toward your dreams (15:09)
  • Putting goodness on display – How reaching for your fullest potential is the surest way to reach your fullest satisfaction (18:29)
  • Someday isn’t on the calendar – Uncovering why a goal without a deadline is just another unfulfilled dream (20:19)
  • Success alone is not success – Unlocking the key to picking the right partner who will never leave you nor forsake you (21:10)
  • Location, location, location – Success includes the freedom of choosing where to succeed…you possess the power to move at will (24:23)
  • “Why” overcomes “how” – Identifying the reason you would choose to put yourself in the place where preparation and opportunity meet (26:59)
  • The Golden Key in your pocket – How asking the right questions will help you successfully navigate through the Doors of Decision (31:21)
  • Are you delusional or dedicated? – How taking the next logical step is the portal to the success pathway (33:18

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

How To Help

Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts and give us a rating and review. Make sure you put your real name and website in the text of the review itself. We will mention you on this show.

Get The Transcript

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Direct download: REP316.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 3:00am PDT

Content marketing is a hot industry buzzword right now, and everyone seems to have a theory about what works. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have time for theory, so in this episode I’m going to show what we do in our own content marketing…because it works.

The key to successful content marketing is value, because we’re in a current environment where you've got to give value upfront. In fact, our topic in this episode is a term I’ve coined called Value First Content Marketing. Stay tuned, this is going to rock your world.

Click here to download or listen to this episode now.

Spiritual Foundations

In this episode of spiritual foundations, I want to get back to basics. One of the things I’ve learned as a copywriter is that the precise meaning of words is vitally important. Let me share a recent example of this…

My wise wife was having a conversation with a person with whom she's acquainted, and they got into the discussion about what it means to be under grace. My wife was explaining, “Well you know our sins are covered, so we don't have to worry about sin anymore. That problem is dealt with.”

This person rather inappropriately took affront to that and begin to argue. She countered, “Well, what about James 2:26, it says faith without works is dead. If you don't have works, then you're not saved.” My wife responded with, “Well, I didn't come prepared to have this debate, but I guess I would start with looking up the precise meaning of the word ‘death’ or ‘dead’ in that verse to see what it really means.” I was so proud of her.

I looked it up, and it means “inactive.” It reads, “Faith with no works that flow from the faith, is inactive,”…which is a whole different thing.

Just remember that Jesus is perfect theology. Knowing that, be very careful about what you’re willing to blindly accept as true.

Tip of the Week

Our tip of the week is a resource that we're giving you for free. Normally, we talk about other people's products or services or books, but this week we’re giving you a week's worth of what we use to do our own content marketing. You can then use this as a model to structure your own…I’m just asking that you don't take this content and pretend it's yours.

This will be a good way for you to look at the source material we use to create stuff and turn it into different pieces of content for your business. You can download this free resource at rayedwards.com/315. Now go forth and prosper!

Feature Presentation: “How to Build Your List by Giving Away Your Best Content for Free”

There's a lot of talk about content marketing, and there are a lot of content marketing experts and gurus that'll teach you content marketing, but what they do in most cases is neither content, nor is it marketing…it’s a thinly disguised sales pitch.

Any business that markets online can and should grow their e-mail list by using the Seven Pillars of Value First Content Marketing.

The Seven Pillars

  1. There are three forces that have converged to bring us to this point.
  2. To attract attention, you’ve got to fight the content wars.
  3. Content marketing works for everyone, and everyone should be doing it.
  4. Give valuable content as often as possible.
  5. You must be present on every significant channel.
  6. You must have an investment mindset.
  7. Practice the Strategy of Preeminence.

Here are some snippets from our conversation:

  • Nobody was born with a list – Why you should ignore theory and model your list-building after a strategy that actually works (19:55)
  • Words matter – Why it’s important for you and your bottom line to know what content marketing is, and more importantly, what it is not (22:25)
  • The proof is in the pudding – Meet David Robertson, who traveled 3,000 miles to give 30,000 reasons why this stuff really works (23:30)
  • The perfect storm of content marketing – Discover the three forces that have brought us to the point where we have to think differently about how we market, and how to use those forces to your advantage (25:01)
  • Open war is upon you – Why the key to victory in the content wars is to offer your unique value (27:35)
  • All means all – Why every business should use Value Based Content Marketing to stay ahead of the game, win market share, and to make more money (32:24)
  • How soon is now – Why you need to accept the uncomfortable truth that the more value first content you release, the faster you grow (33:14)
  • Your presence is required – Why your blog, live video, podcast, and print needs to be present on every significant channel (36:42)
  • Avoid the unsubscribe link – Why you must be willing to sacrifice short-term gain for long-term profit and value (40:30)
  • Inside the mind of Jay Abraham – Why you don't want to be simply the superior marketer…you want to be the superior provider (42:17)

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

How To Help

Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts and give us a rating and review. Make sure you put your real name and website in the text of the review itself. We will mention you on this show.

Get The Transcript

https://rayedwards.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Ray-Edwards-Show-Transcript-315-2.pdf

Direct download: REP315.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 3:00am PDT

If you’ve listened to this podcast for any length of time, you’ve undoubtedly heard us extol the virtues of Revel 77, our favorite coffee shop. So, when its existence was in jeopardy we stepped out and bought it. But that begs the question, “Why the heck did we do that?”

In this episode we’ll attempt to answer that question, and show you why we’re willing to put our money where our mouth is when it comes to walking out the prosperity principles that we teach.

Click here to download or listen to this episode now.

Spiritual Foundations

Prosperity tends to mean different things to different people, but to simplify this I’ve boiled prosperity down to one acronym (you guys know how much I love these).

L.I.F.E. will help you determine whether you’re living a prosperous life. Check it out…

Love what you do, and do what you love.

Invite God’s presence into every part of your life.

Fight evil.

Empower good.

If you’ll do those things you’re living a prosperous life.

Tip of the Week

In 1879 Thomas Alva Edison created the first commercially practical incandescent light. I think we can all agree that was a revolutionary moment. Now Philips has created Hue lighting which lets you easily control your light and create the right ambiance for every situation.

When you experience a beautiful sunset, you realize that light can change your emotional state. Now imagine having total control over the light and color of your environment, bending it to your will so that it matches your mood…that’s some pretty heady stuff.

Combine that versatility with the ease of access that a company like Alexa gives you and, my friends, you are gazing straight into the eyes of progress.

Feature Presentation: “7 Reasons Why We Bought A Coffee Shop”

When we bought our favorite coffee shop we were inundated with questions about our reasons for doing so. We’re known primarily as internet marketers, so why would we dip our toes into the brick and mortar marketplace? In this episode we reveal our reasons, and show you why we’re willing to put our money where our mouth is when it comes to walking out the prosperity principles that we teach. Here are our 7 reasons:

  1. Community
  2. Ministry
  3. Investment
  4. Proof and flexing our muscles
  5. Synergy with our existing business
  6. Because we wanted to
  7. More Income

Here are a few snippets from our conversation:

  • Sean’s Rant of the Week – Illuminating the hidden meaning of capitalism (16:45)
  • The story behind the story – What specialty coffee and power outlets had to do with the purchase of Revel 77 (21:20)
  • Assembling the wings on the way down – Why growth can be messy and good at the same time (24:18)
  • Creating the Third Place – How a safe shared space allows a community to find an anchor and flourish (28:15)
  • Becoming the feet of Jesus – How business can help people experience God’s Kingdom through abundance, peace, and joy (30:59)
  • The Shark Tank Factor – How to strategically invest in businesses to increase your income and wealth (35:06)
  • Put your money where your mouth is – What a coffee shop taught us about the validity of our marketing model and forever answer the question. “Will this work for my business?” (38:39)
  • Coffee is magical – How a delicious beverage helps us carry the atmosphere of Heaven to a thirsty world (41:19)

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

How To Help

Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts and give us a rating and review. Make sure you put your real name and website in the text of the review itself. We will mention you on this show.

Get The Transcript

Right-Click and “Save As” to Get the PDF Transcript.

Direct download: REP314.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 3:00am PDT

You can hardly open your email these days without seeing someone promising the super-secret key to insane business growth. I know that the title of this episode seems like over-the-top clickbait, but by the time we’re done you’ll see that it’s no exaggeration.

This kind of extraordinary growth is happening right now to my friend Michael Stelzner of Social Media Examiner. We're going to be talking with him this week and let him explain exactly how he has done this and how you can do the same for your business.

Click here to download or listen to this episode now.

Spiritual Foundations

This week’s spiritual foundations should be exciting for you because I'm about to reveal to you a secret superpower you probably did not know you had.

If you're a follower of Jesus, you are part of what's called the royal priesthood. It means that you are both a king and a priest under the kingly priesthood of Jesus Christ.

In the old covenant, kings and priests were two different groups of people. You could be a king or a priest, but you could not be both at the same time. Today, if we are in Christ, we are both kings and priests. A royal priesthood. That means we have double the supernatural speaking power because of our king-priesthood roles.  

How do I know this? Well, if you look in Ecclesiastes chapter eight verse four it says, “Where the word of a king is, there is power.” If you look at Deuteronomy, chapter 21 verse five it says of priests, “By their word, every controversy and every assault shall be settled.” As a believer, if you're in business, you have an edge over other business people. There you go, I said it.  

What you say about your business deals will come to pass. You have that power in your speech.

If you get falsely accused of something, if people give you bad reviews online or say bad things about you as they inevitably will, you need to know that by your very word, every controversy and every assault will be settled.

This doesn't just apply to your business, it also applies the rest of your life.

As a king-priest, you can bless your children by speaking words of destiny over them. You have the power to set in motion the supernatural forces that will give them what they need to win the battles of life and live out their destiny. 

Instead of agreeing with the devil when he says bad things about you, your life, your business, and your family, you should declare the opposite. You should say, along with me, “I live under supernatural protection. I prosper in all my relationships. God forgives all my iniquities and heals all my diseases.”  

You can say, straight from Scripture, “The Lord will make my way prosperous and give me good success.” You've got double the speaking power of any king or priest from the old covenant. Use your double speaking power and bring these blessings to fruition in your own life.

Speak what you want to see and go out there and be the royal priest that you are.

Tip of the Week

I'm going to confess right now that I have never understood cryptocurrency.

I hear people talking about Bitcoin and I just nod politely and listen, realizing I have no idea what they're talking about. That is until I had a conversation with my friend Joel Comm who is now the co-host of The Bad Crypto Podcast.

This is a great place to start getting answers to questions like:

  • What is cryptocurrency?
  • What is Bitcoin?
  • Does it have a place in your future?

I think after listening to a couple of episodes, the answer is, “Yes it does.” I think this is the future of currency, of investing.

It can be hard to understand, but these guys make it easy. My advice is to start at episode one and listen to each successive episode to get caught up.

Take a listen, you’ll thank me…I promise.

Feature Presentation: “Make Your Own YouTube Reality Show & Grow Your Business Like Crazy”

This week’s guest is my friend Michael Stelzner. He's the founder of Social Media Examiner, and the author of books like Launch and Writing White Papers. Michael is also the man behind Social Media Marketing World, the industry's largest conference. He's also the host of the Social Media Marketing Podcast, founder of the Social Media Marketing Society, host of the weekly Social Media Marketing Talk Show, and the central character in the YouTube reality show The Journey, an episodic documentary about his own company.

Here are a few snippets from our conversation:

  • Take a journey – Michael discusses how an episodic YouTube channel played a significant role in growing his business by 62% (6:13)
  • The Mother of Invention – Michael reveals the story behind “The Journey” and how he went from idea to execution in seven days (7:30)
  • Video killed the radio star – Michael answers the questions, “Why video?” and “Why now?” (9:12)
  • No one resonates with rosy – Why it’s a good idea to reveal your flaws to your audience, even if it makes you uncomfortable (11:13)
  • Authenticity is a contact sport – Michael talks about the dark side of being transparent and how, like a Jedi master, you can make it work for you (14:18)
  • Swim with the sharks without getting eaten – How to draw the line between content marketing and shameless promotion (15:16) 
  • Binge-watching as a business strategy – Michael shares about the power of creating compelling content, and doing it on your own terms (18:34)
  • Getting to know you – Why video creates a highly sought-after connection with you and your business, even if viewers have never met you in person (22:07)
  • The thousand-mile journey begins with the first step – Michael opens up about what it takes to begin your own Journey, whether you have a team or it’s just you against the world (25:45)
  • Follow someone through a minefield – Michael shows you the most common pitfalls of creating your own Journey, and how to avoid them (27:58)

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

How To Help

Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts and give us a rating and review. Make sure you put your real name and website in the text of the review itself. We will mention you on this show.

Get The Transcript

Right-Click and “Save As” to Get the PDF Transcript.

Direct download: REP313.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 3:00am PDT