The Three Month Vacation Podcast
Episodes
Why Mundane Topics Get You Noticed by Clients (And How to Exploit the Power of Mundanity)
20 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Most of us think we have to be incredibly special, or at least different to stand out in a crowded market. Yet, at least at the starting point, it’s...
The Myth of the Saturated Market—And Why You Should Not Let “Saturation” Intimidate You
13 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
If you and I look around, we see product or services just like ours everywhere. Instantly we get a feeling of having missed the bus. The market is cle...
How to use contrast to prevent headlines from going flat (and other questions)
06 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
If you’ve ever wondered if your headline is lacking some oomph, it might be because of an incredibly simple omission. It’s the lack of contrast. C...
Why "work for free" is a powerful strategy to get ahead as a startup business
29 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The advice about "free vs fee" is clear. Free should be avoided at all costs because you will just be taken advantage of, while others get paid. Yet, ...
Why Three Precise Fixes Can Quickly Improve Your About-Us Page
22 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
After the home page, the second most-visited page on many sites is the About Us page. Yet almost all the About Us pages you visit are drab, long winde...
Three Bizarre Learning Principles (And Why They Constantly Surprise Me)
15 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
If you've used some sort of learning techniques all your life, the core principles of learning should not mislead you. Even so, we get hoodwinked and ...
Why writing headlines can be an excellent brainstorming exercise for real articles
08 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Do you often get stuck when trying to come up with article topics? One of the reasons why we tend to struggle is because we get stuck at the "topic" l...
Why Random Learning is Superior (And Other Weird Learning Methods)
01 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We tend to learn in sequence. Chapter one, two and three. But what if we broke the sequence? Would that enhance our learning? In this rather sequentia...
The Impostor vs The Beginner Syndrome (And Why They're Not The Same)
18 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Almost all of us feel like impostors from time to time. And we even have an official sounding name for it. But the impostor syndrome is an unfair burd...
How to be a source of inspiration to others
11 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
You'd think you'd need to be someone great or at least do something wonderful. Yet, you're a source of inspiration. How do you inspire? It's remarkabl...
The 21-Day Habit Myth (and how you can create a habit in minutes, instead)
04 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
You've heard that it takes about 21 days to create a habit. But what if that weren't true at all? Could it be possible to create a habit overnight? Or...
Habit Change? 3 Unusual Angles on how to look at habit transformation
28 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It might seem that it's always up to us to change our habits. And that idea might be quite incorrect. Instead, what if something around us changed and...
Rerun: How to Research An Article (Without Killing Your Productivity)
21 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Researching an article is so frustrating because it's time-consuming. But there are ways to beat the pressure—and the pain. Believe it or not, there...
Rerun: Coaching Series: How to Start Up with a Great Niche
14 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
(Rerun of episode #220 Coaching Series Part 1 of 3). The toughest part of coaching isn't necessarily coaching itself. Instead, it's the niche, isn't i...
Rerun: Why You Should Ignore Your Competition
07 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It seems natural to keep an eye, even get obsessive about your competitors. However, it's a poor strategy for many reasons. In this episode we make th...
Rerun: Mental Barriers That Slow You Down (And Derail Your Progress)
31 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
How many books do you read in a year? Most people boast about how they read hundreds of books a year. That's what I used to do as well. Until I found ...
Rerun: Why The “End In Mind” Principle Can Severely Impede Our Learning and Progress
24 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We're all told we should start with the end in mind, but we still get lost along the way. Why do we go off track? Could there be some barriers that sh...
Presell Strategy: Some Unusual Questions
17 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Do you pre-sell if your audience is away on vacation? Should you pre-sell if you're unsure of a full house? These and other questions are what's on th...
Pre-sell Strategy: How to strategically tackle promotion of products and services
10 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Which product should you pre-sell? Should it be the $20 product or the $2000 one? And why do silos matter so much? In this episode we not only learn w...
How I cope with my information overload (and manage to keep sane)
03 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Most of us believe that to cope with information, we have to speed up. But we've all tried that, haven't we? And it doesn't seem to work at all. This...
How to be a non-mediocre coach
27 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Many coaches and trainers struggle to get precise results for their clients And it's not for want of trying, either. They work very hard, probably too...
Fun Ways To Get Unstuck (When Creating Content)
20 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Is there a fun way to get unstuck? From all the experiences we've had so far, getting stuck is a real pain. The more we try to get unstuck, the more w...
Why The Top-Half of the Sales Page Goes Wrong (And How to Fix It)
13 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Why are some sales pages so confusing? Is it because of the message or rather because there are way too many messages hitting you all at once? A sales...
Why Writing a Fixed Number of Words Every Day Could Be Hindering Your Writing Progress
06 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
As writers, we count words when we are creating a book or writing an article. We look at completing a fixed number of words per day—800 words. And y...
Can We Really Systemise Luck? (Or Do We Continue to Depend Upon Hard Work)
29 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Luck it seems, is fickle? Or is it? How come some people are lucky (or as the case may be, unlucky) all the while. There is indeed a system and it may...
Hard work vs Luck: Which one is more dependable?
26 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
If you reached the top of your game, would you credit it to hard work or luck? Most of us quite easily slide into crediting our success to hard work. ...
How to Create Intensely Catchy Book Names (Without Too Much of a Struggle)
15 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Naming a book or info-product is often a royal pain in the neck. And that's because most of us tend to sit down at our desk hoping for inspiration to ...
How to avoid embarrassing time overruns when making presentations
08 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
How to avoid embarrassing time overruns when making presentations? Timing your presentations are crucial yet all the practice in the world may not hel...
Coolest Transcription Service (That Even Detects Punctuation)
01 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What is the biggest headache with transcription? Well, there are many, aren't there? Errors bug me no end, and they seem to make a lot of them. There...
Stories of Failure (Filos Moments)
25 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
You know how you're told to make lemonade when life hands you lemons? Well, what do you do with overripe bananas? You make Filos! This episode is ab...
How To Overcome the Impostor Syndrome (By Understanding The Psychology of How it Works)
18 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Many, if not most of us, have already experienced what it seems like to be a fraud in our mind. Still we can't seem to shake the impostor syndrome. ...
How to De-Stress with the "Second-Last-Minute Deadline"
14 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Most of us have probably said something to the effect of "If it weren't for the deadline, I'd get nothing done". Yet, for many of us, a deadline is c...
The Magic of Set Up: Why Some Courses Are Better Than Others
04 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What makes some courses vastly better than others? The answer lies not in the content, or the instruction, but rather in the set up. But why is setu...
How to Accelerate Client Learning (And The Suprising Power of Fun) Part 2
27 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Fun seems obvious as a concept. But "fun in learning" almost seems like a bit of a paradox. What is "fun" and how can you find it, let alone use it ...
How to Accelerate Client Learning (Using Spaced Repetition) Part 1
20 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Why do we get upset with ourselves when we forget information? Surely we should be able to remember at least 30-40% of a book. But it seems to slide t...
How To Use Contrast To Create Your Uniqueness In Seconds
13 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
If you were asked: What is the uniqueness of this podcast, would you be able to answer the question? The chances are that you might state one of the ...
How to Stop "Perfectionist” Clients From Sabotaging Their Own Success
05 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It's not unusual for clients to say they're perfectionists. This means they take more time, spend more effort and they sound like the ideal client on...
How do you incentivise clients to finish a course?
29 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Most courses have huge dropout rates. And yet, that's not the case for some teachers and trainers. What makes some courses so dramatically different...
How to Validate Your Uniqueness with Testimonials
22 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Let's say you come up with what you believe is a great uniqueness for your product or service. How would you know if it's great or not? The answer i...
Company of One: Why Staying Small Is Smart, Book Review, Part 2
15 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Big companies talk a lot about leadership. However you and I may not have that big charisma factor. What do we have to do to get things done when work...
Why Staying Small is Probably A Smarter Move, Book Review, Part 1
08 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Think Big. Really? Studies show us that scaling up is often disastrous for most companies. But what's the alternative? That's what we look at in this ...
How WhatsApp Helped Fill The Munich Workshop
01 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
People are often amazed at how quickly we fill our workshops and courses. It's almost like we have a separate channel to our clients. Well, as it ap...
Announcement: Frankfurt Meetup Details - May 2019
23 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Quick announcement regarding the Frankfurt Meetup coming up in May.
Are You Tempted to Use Hype? How to Avoid Hype and Still Get Clients
22 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Hype works exceedingly well, even when the client knows they're being duped a bit. But what if you can't stand hype? Does that mean you roll over and...
When Quitting Is the Smarter Option (Instead of Just Hanging On)
15 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In business the advice we get is to hang in, no matter what happens. Yet, to me that sounds like the wrong advice. You definitely need to hang in a b...
The Philosophy of Psychotactics - Part Two
08 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We may often hear ourselves saying, we have a long to-do list. Or things that we still haven't completed. Or worse, we may talk about how we have no ...
The Crazy Philosophy Of Psychotactics (And Why It May Help You In Your Business) - Part One
01 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
When we think of business, marketing tactics and strategy comes to mind, doesn't it? Philosophy does exist but it may be a bit on the back burner. Ye...
How To Sell A Product When There's No Scarcity Factor
25 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
So much effort goes into the launch of a product, but what happens next? How do you handle the calm after the launch? How do you keep selling products...
Persistent Myths of Pricing (And How To Overcome Them) - Part One
18 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
When we price a product or service we often use the ending 7 or 9. As in $27 or $29. Is there any basis for using such an ending? Yes, there is, but d...
Mental Barriers That Slow You Down (And Derail Your Progress)
11 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
How many books do you read in a year? Most people boast about how they read hundreds of books a year. That's what I used to do as well. Until I found ...
How To Thrive and Succeed In The Midst Of Chaos
04 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Most of us have grand plans to succeed. Yet, almost the moment we start there are a million distractions in our way. Chaos lurches around in our doorw...
How To Achieve A Lot—The Three Part Formula
28 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How do you maintain a high productivity level when switching tasks? How do you get the brain and body to handle the transition? And how do you manage ...
Three Steps To Getting Your Uniqueness Recognised
22 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
When you create or find your uniqueness, do you need to test it? Incredible as it seems there's little point in doing any testing at all. In this ep...
How to Avoid Gaping Holes in Your Article Writing (and How Objections Fill Those Gaps)
14 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Objections aren't something we necessary think about when writing articles. We're so focused on the main content that we might see no need to contradi...
Coaching Series: Why Clients Nod But Don't Call - Part Three
07 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
One of biggest problems with any sort of prospecting is the dead silence right after clients love what you've said or done. You'd think they'd call im...
Coaching Series: How Niches Can Easily Be Found in Recurring Client Problems - Part Two
30 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We all struggle to find niches when trying to get into the coaching game. But is it really that hard? Or have we been looking in the wrong places? Thi...
Coaching Series: How To Start Up With A Great Niche - Part One
24 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The toughest part of coaching isn't necessarily coaching itself. Instead, it's the niche, isn't it? How do you go looking for the right niche? And how...
Writer's Block Series: How a Lack of Energy, Not Time, Causes Writers to Stall and Crash - Part Four
16 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
One of the biggest hurdles in writing, has nothing to do with writing at all. It doesn't have anything to do with time, either. Instead, it's an under...
Writer's Block Series: Why Discussion and Feedback Are A Writer's Secret Weapon (And How Professionals Use it to Their Advantage) - Part Three
09 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How do you speed up your writing process and what causes it to slow down to a crawl? Surprisingly, discussion and feedback play an incredibly powerful...
Writer's Block Series: Why Cross Pollination of Ideas, Media and Styles Are Crucial (And Avoids Shutdowns When Writing) - Part Two
02 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Most of us are content to learn a great deal about what's happening in our industry, but is that causing a blockage when it comes to writing? When we ...
Writer's Block Series : Why the Lack of Outlines Even Stops Professional Writers In Their Tracks - Part One
26 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
If you're already good at writing, do you need an outline? It might seem one more barrier and yet it's the first element that creates this so called W...
Want To Get Paid A Lot In Advance? Three Methods To Get Paid Earlier
19 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most mind numbing tasks is to get a client to pay for the job you've completed Clients tend to be slow with payments or just default. But i...
Why Unfamiliarity With Your Research Stories Will Make Them Worthless
12 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Most of us are quite obsessed with stashing away case studies, examples and stories. However, it's not enough to simply put it away. You have to be re...
Fritoons Announcement
09 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This is not a regular podcast episode but a quick announcement about Fritoon... Your chance to receive a funny cartoon direct to your inbox every Frid...
How To Research An Article (Without Killing Your Productivity)
05 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Researching an article is so frustrating because it's time-consuming But there are ways to beat the pressure—and the pain. Believe it or not, there ...
How to Use "Transition Techniques" to keep your reader locked into your article
29 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Readers often get lost in an article and hence abandon it. However, there are pretty simple, yet powerful methods to let the reader know exactly where...
The story of why the Psychotactics Website took three long years—and a month—to complete
22 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Websites are daunting projects but even the casual listener is astounded to learn that a website took three years to complete. Of course there's a sto...
The Cannibalisation Strategy: Why You Need to Make Your Products (And Services) Redundant
15 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It sounds bizarre to make your own products, courses and services redundant, but it's a very sound strategy that's been used by companies such as Gene...
Why You Should Ignore Your Competition
08 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It seems natural to keep an eye, even get obsessive about your competitors. However, it's a poor strategy for many reasons. In this episode we make th...
"Pit Stop" Testimonials: How to Ensure Testimonials (even when your product or service isn't quite ready)
01 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to testimonials for our product or service, we assume clients have to get to the end. Or do they? The reality is that it's a mistake to ...
Why The “End In Mind” Principle Can Severely Impede Our Learning and Progress
25 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We're all told we should start with the end in mind, but we still get lost along the way. Why do we go off track? Could there be some barriers that sh...
How to Ramp up Curiosity Using a Controversial Topic - Part Two
18 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It's one thing to get attention, but how do you use it on sales pages? And what about articles? Can we use it there as well? In this second part we se...
How to Ramp Up Curiosity (Even When Using a Controversial Topic) - Part One
11 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Most of us avoid controversy because it brings up too much pushback. But what if you were able to get your very controversial topic across and delight...
Why "Elegance" not "Information" Creates an Addictive Business Model
04 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Why do some books, courses or workshops end up becoming so addictive? Is it the teacher, the system, the information, or is it all of the above? In th...
The Overwhelm Virus: How To Get It Out of Your Daily Routine
28 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We tend to believe that we're more overwhelmed than ever before. Yet look around you and you see people who are doing twice or thrice as much. It's ha...
Why Onboarding is Crucial (And Most Companies Ignore It)
21 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Is it hard to get a client? Sure it is, but how many of us “lose” the client within minutes or days? We may not realise it, but without a very cle...
Four Recurring Testimonial Mysteries (And How To Solve Them)
14 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Testimonials are extremely powerful in solving problems that range from getting the clients you want, to finding your uniqueness. How do you use testi...
Why Giving is Rushed (And How to Make Gifting More Deliberate)
07 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We might be generous, but are we rushing the act of giving? Often we give people what we want, instead of what they would like to receive. Can giving...
How To Work With Chaos (and Succeed)
30 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Chaos comes visiting every day. Are we prepared to receive it? The reason for stress is a lack of planning on how to deal with chaos. Let's find out h...
Can You Successfully Defend Your Work Against Criticism? (Lessons from Malcolm Gladwell - Part Three)
23 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when your book finally goes out into the world? Gladwell has been attacked time and time again for his chapter on the 10,000 hour rule. B...
How To Choose Evocative Titles for your Book (Lessons from Malcolm Gladwell - Part Two)
16 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Choosing the title of a book seems to be an almost impossible task. Is there a method or science behind a title that works vs. a title that's just "me...
How to Get Precise Feedback for your Articles (Lessons from Malcolm Gladwell - Part One)
09 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Most of us aren't really sure how to know if our articles are really good, or even if an idea is good. It gets more complicated when we have a story ...
How To Use Momentum To Your Advantage
02 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It's very hard for most of us to slow down, but what happens when we slow down to a complete standstill? This little snippet is our story of how we go...
Demystifying the 4am Routine
26 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What happens at 4 am? That's a question I often get at Psychotactics, because I've been up for well over 25 years at 4 am. Well, that's how the questi...
Why Clients Shy Away From Giving Feedback Despite Liking Your Products and Services
19 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
When a client buys your product or service, they obviously like it at some level, right? So why is it so very hard to get feedback? The answer may not...
How To Create A Uniqueness That's Difficult For Competition To Replicate
12 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Finding or creating a uniqueness is hard enough all by itself. But how can your small business create a stunning uniqueness as well as defend it might...
Why Smaller Lists Work Just As Well As Big Ones - Part Three
05 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Why would clients trust you when you're new and you goof up? This is an incredibly insightful question as clients can be skeptical. Yet, it's incre...
Why Smaller Lists Work Just As Well As Big Ones - Part Two
28 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Smaller lists work amazingly well, but there's a big task at hand You not only have to keep clients coming back, but prevent them from leaving as well...
Why Smaller Lists Work Just As Well As Big Ones (And Often, Even Better) - Part One
21 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Does a big list guarantee success? You know the answer to that one, already, don't you? Your small business isn't going to grow exponentially because ...
How to Overcome Perfection With Speedy Revisions
14 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Is there really a cure for perfectionism? How can you make your work far superior in a shorter amount of time, often moving ahead of your peers? The a...
Why Good Habits Fail While Bad Habits Thrive (and How to Flip Things Around)
07 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Are habits a matter of routine? You'd think so, wouldn't you? Yet, there's a bigger factor in play that goes beyond a cue and routine. It's called the...
How to Craft Interesting Stories and Analogies (For Articles and Sales Letters)
01 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How do you make your articles or sales letters more interesting? Analogies and stories always increase the drama and attention span. Yet, it's hard to...
Why Clients Leave - Part One
24 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Why do clients leave? It seems odd, doesn't it? When you ask a client why they join, they seem to suggest it is all about information and content, but...
Why Waiting Lists Fail-Part Two
17 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The very moment you announce a waiting list, it seems like a nerve-wracking decision. Is it going to drive clients away? Or will it work? The odds are...
Smart Waiting Lists: 3 Elements That Create Waiting Lists that Work
11 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
A waiting list seems to be both a barrier and an enticement The problem with waiting lists is that they fail, and fail miserably if you don't get the ...
How to Become An Overnight Success
04 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How do you instantly grow your small business? How do you become “rich” overnight? These are the frustrations we have to deal with, almost every s...
Why Calibrated Questions Enable You to Win Your Negotiation Battle
25 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Is negotiation a skill? How do you win when your back is against the wall? When negotiating will aggression help or should you use something else, lik...
How to Negotiate (And Win) When the Odds Are Against You
18 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine you're dealing with a terrorist or hijacker who has captives and threatens to blow up everything if you don't agree with his demands. How woul...
How To Increase Product Sales using The Brain Audit
10 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Is it really possible to get a surge in sales with products? And are product sales similar or different from services? In this episode, we go exclusiv...
How to have enduring sales after the launch of a product
04 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
So much effort goes into the launch of a product, but what happens next? How do you handle the calm after the launch? How do you keep selling products...