One thing I rarely discuss on this blog is my experience in selling and closing deals mostly because I became disgusted with the way most money blogs operate on line. You know the deal – you plaster endless ads all over your blog and pray for people to click them so you can make .05 cents. Then you focus your content and hone in on keywords trying to follow the advice of “experts” who will teach you how to do it efficiently. Hasn’t it crossed your mind that these experts are just wanting your traffic so that you may click their ads? Overall, it’s a very poor way to make money. Most bloggers make like $100.00 per year, but many lie about those figures so they will seem more successful than they are. I hope this article will help you understand something that can help you in many ways – not just for making money, but in life as well.
Money Attracts Money?
In the summer of 2004, I was working as a bartender in the Grand Casino Resort swimming pool cabana. It was the highest paying job I have ever had for the short time I worked there. I made $27,000.00 in tips alone – in four months! I learned some unusual lessons about money while working there. We had this gigantic glass tip bucket sitting on top of the bar. A regular sized tip jar would have been far too small.
The first busy day we had there, the tip jar was filled to the top in cash. It was so full, it was obscene. It was rude, tacky and was in every customer’s face. The three bartenders (myself included), left with over $500.00 each that day. Our manager told us she thought (yes, I had a female manager who was one of the best I have ever had – her name was Ruth Crane) that the tip jar was offensive to her. She asked us to empty it into a bag when it got so full so we wouldn’t have this insanely money stuffed beast in everyone’s faces.
So, the next day, we did just that. We were actually busier that day than the day before. We emptied the colossal cash bucket just as she had asked. I left work with $90.00 that day – ouch! I took in over $17,000.00 but only made $90.00 in tips – Strange indeed. Why was that? It seemed logical that an empty tip jar would attract lots of tips…right? No, it doesn’t work like that, or so we thought. We talked to the manager and told her what happened. She agreed that if it hurt our tip rate, we should go back to putting the overstuffed jar back up – shoving it in everyone’s faces. We did just that and our tip rates exploded through the roof!
Attitude Was The Real Reason
Was the tip jar being packed or empty the real cause of success or failure – or was something else at work? I suspected it was something else. I talked it over with the other bartenders and we decided to try something based on my suspicion. I thought, because we had that huge tip jar out, loaded with cash, it affected our attitudes during work. We got used to seeing all that money and were much friendlier and enthusiastic with our customers.
We started keeping the tip jar completely empty at all times, but paid attention to our attitudes and customer service 100% more. We pumped each other up and kept ourselves excited throughout the day having loads of fun. We learned to make even more massive amounts of money without even noticing how much we had made. We depended on ourselves, not that tip jar. I earned the well deserved nickname, “Cabana Bobby” because I loved my job so much. It was lots of fun. I worked wearing comfortable shorts and a tank top, looking at girls in bikinis all day – all while making great money.
It’s definitely not that money attracts money. A winning, enthusiastic and positive attitude is what really attracts money. This really defines what people think of as the “law of attraction”. Originally, this idea comes from ancient India. It is a concept from Hinduism, which is by the way, the oldest known religion. I have studied similar ideas from my life long study of yoga and it’s inherent philosophies. I am just now beginning to truly understand what I learned.
Although my blog is not about how to make money, I thought this cool little story might be beneficial to anyone, regardless of what kind of blog or website you have. True success and a winning attitude really does come from within. We proved that working in this simple job. We learned that we had been depending on that full jar to make us money, while the real solution was inside ourselves. It’s really amazing to think about.
It Comes From Within
My wonderful friend Morgan, told me that when looking for love, we must look within to find it. I wanted to thank her because she has really helped me on numerous occasions. Though this money making example is not about love – the same principle is at work. The answers truly do come from within, in every area of life. It’s so cool how someone can say such a little thing that has a huge, resonating effect. It has helped me piece together many things I already know, but didn’t truly understand. You see, we made huge money without looking for it. It’s much like people saying you find love when you’re not looking for it. Life is just funny that way.
I believe it has a lot to do with being relaxed internally and not being desperate. You must be at peace with yourself inside. If you’re not, people notice – maybe only subconsciously, but it does have a powerful effect on your attitude and how people perceive you. Your personal vibe is more powerful than you may believe. You must learn to be aware of it and how to control it – from within.
Just for your information, the Grand Casino resort was destroyed by hurricane Katrina. The storm lifted the gargantuan casino up and slammed it onto the middle of highway 90 in Gulfport, Mississippi. It was an absolutely unbelievable sight to behold. I thought I would show you some awesome pictures of the casino. I live only around 7 miles from this location. I am a hurricane Katrina survivor.
Grand Casino before and after Katrina
Above left is before the storm, right is after. Note how all the trees were annihilated
The casino pictures are from Tullis Trees.org
