Hey Folks,
First let me tell you that I consider Ben Mack to be my friend and that I care about his success as a marketing expert and a person — including his real goal of making sure that the world has drinkable water.
I also need to tell you that I have a financial interest in his success, because his next product launch is being published by Clear Impact Media, which I own.
I haven’t asked Ben permission to share my thoughts on his sanity or his brain. In fact, he could be offended by what I have to say and even though Ben Mack has been known to raise a hint of controversy in the pursuit of visibility for his ideas and his products … that’s not why I’m discussing Ben Mack’s marketing and Ben Mack’s brain here.
In fact, I’m being critical of my friend and his marketing methods in an area in which Ben Mack almost certainly knows more than I do. That’s a dangerous position to be in especially when the person that you are being critical is “certifiable.”
Ben Mack, the best selling author of Think Two Products Ahead is a “certifiable” genius – maybe in both senses of the word.
| Adj. | 1. | certifiable – fit to be certified as insane (and treated accordingly)
insane – afflicted with or characteristic of mental derangement; “was declared insane”; “insane laughter” |
| 2. | certifiable – capable of being guaranteed or certified; “a certifiable fact”
certified – endorsed authoritatively as having met certain requirements; “a certified public accountant” FreeDictionary.com |
Ben is a constant firehose of mental “flushing” and I’m tempted at times to believe that it’s symptomatic of mental diarrhea.
It’s as though Ben’s mind is so creative that it is producing ideas at a rate that any brain would be unable to hold and so it flushes out everything, good bad and indifferent at least twice a day in the form of a constant unclear and unfocused stream of brilliance hidden in the smell of … well, you get the picture.
Reading Ben Mack’s writing is like taking the collected wisdom of every known genius in the world, chopping what they say into single sentences, writing them on colored scraps of paper and then having someone toss those ideas in front of a roaring jet engine while your head is held at gunpoint squarely behind the exhaust.
What’s ironic is that Ben knows more about memetic theory than anyone that I know!
Bottom-line, Ben knows much more about LOTS of stuff than I do, so why am I arguing with a certifiable genius?
Because despite the fact that Ben clearly knows how to get attention, clearly has the knowledge and skills to market to the masses and clearly is smarter than most of us will ever be …
Ben is not having the impact that he could have.
And I care about that fact.
And the problem is simple.
The problem is that Ben Mack is not simple enough.
My good friend Glenn Dietzel pointed out to me on our mentoring call last night that we are no longer in the “Information Age.”
The world has more information than it can possibly handle. Just do a search on any subject that you have an interest in and you will find thousands if not millions of references to information.
What we want is clear direction. We want clarity. We want self reflection and specific advice that meets our needs right now.
We no longer need more knowledge. We need to know what to do.
Ben’s challenge is that life isn’t simple.
How do you take something that is as complex as memetic theory and convert the information into knowledge, convert knowledge into wisdom and convert wisdom into action?
It’s NOT Basic It’s Core.
It’s tempting to avoid the simple things in life. We all know that life isn’t simple at all, there are nuances, there are tiny differences that make it impossible to lump information into neat little packages that are clearly defined.
It would be a lie to say that life is basic, but some things in life are so important and so vital that they are core to our success.
That’s where I would like to see Ben take a simple stand.
Take a look at your life and find the core actions that really made a difference for you. What were the key people, key actions and key directions that forced real change in your life?
- Combine information with your experiences and come up with core actions.
- Develop knowledge (information + experience) to share in simple ways with your audience.
- Reflect on that knowledge to develop wisdom.
Your wisdom can help others to take decisive action, change their lives and the lives of everyone around them.
Share the core with your world.
I know that you are on the way to reaching your goals. You have given me such brilliance and insight. Those insights are invaluable but not as invaluable as you are.
You are a powerfully unique and creative person, but I want more.
Give me the core, because, you can do amazing things.
All the best,
Kenneth A. McArthur
jvAlertLive.com
InfoProductBlueprint.com
jvAlert.com
AffiliateShowcase.com
P.S. Many thanks to Glenn Dietzel who gave me some great advice and direction on our mentoring call this week. It’s not too late to join us for these calls. Glenn is an inspiration.
33 Comments
I’m not sure if I’ve ever considered Ben to be totally sane, but I would certainly put him in the genius category.
The problem sometimes is taking that “genius” and being able to present it to the rest of us in a manner that makes sense for us.
Ben, you’re an awesome dude!
Ben exemplifies “The Insane Genius!”
Maybe that’s his new Million Dollar Brand.
Nice little controversy-angle for the pre launch, Ken. You go man…
Ben — missed you in San Fran… guess we can ship you the books.
Peace!
JP Maroney
http://www.jpmaroney.net – blog
Ben exemplifies “The Insane Genius!”
Maybe that’s his new Million Dollar Brand.
Nice little controversy-angle for the pre launch, Ken. You go man…
Ben — missed you in San Fran… guess we can ship you the books.
Peace!
JP Maroney
“Mr. Monetizer”
http://www.jpmaroney.net – blog
Hi Ken,
Ben never ceases to amaze me.
But if you aren’t quick and pay very close attention, you’ll miss it all. That will freak most people out and make them understandably shy to connect.
But here’s the thing…
Take the Ben out of Ben and he’s another person, and whoa…
Wouldn’t the world would be more boring?
I think there’s room for people who can easily connect and then, other people, who just live on another plane. Maybe he’s choosing the people he wants to work with?
What about that Ben? I don’t know you that well, but I’m guessing that you don’t want to appeal to the lowest common denominator.
But I’ve been wrong before.
–Pat
Genius is always difficult for people who aren’t moving on that speed. It is sometimes difficult to get people like Ben to slow down enough to ‘splain why something is so great.
Ben is a genius. Clarity is not his strong suit. But who’s perfect, right?
He is operating from a higher vantage point and does not let everyone in on his certifiable mind’s workings.
He tells a story by what he does not reveal. This is simultaneously a strength and a weakness. Obviously he is achieving a level of success.
Could he have more impact? Probably…but so could I and so could anyone who has impact as a goal.
Interesting thread, Ken. Thanks.
Ronda Del Boccio, The Story Lady of Storyation.com
author of The Kama Sutra of Storytelling: Positioning, Power and Profit
After talking with Ben for more than a year on Michel Fortin’s Copywriter’s Board, I finally got a chance to meet him in person at the last JV Live event in Philly.
And I have to tell you that he wasn’t at all what I expected (in a good way!)
I pictured Ben as being this academic genius where your IQ had to be in the mid 3-figures to have an actual conversation with him. But as it turned out, nothing could be farther from the truth.
Ben turned out to be a likable outgoing easy-to-talk-to fellow, and I was pleasantly surprised by that. But I could still see the intelligence burning behind his eyes!
All in all, a very interesting guy, with a lot of keen insights into the world around us!
Cheers,
John
Ken,
I know Ben and I only know him as a caring person. He has been kind to me and we have had talks about subjects not connected to the internet marketing. I am surprised at the comments. Get to know him well and you will find a person who questions the beliefs of people and the groups they claim have all the answers. I am in awe of his range of thought. Perhaps you may think he is an absent minded professor but I don’t agree.
Ralph McDermott
Hi Ken,
Ben is not simple and I don’t think he should be… I enjoy his complex teachings because it stretches me… I don’t necessarily agree that all complex things can be simplified so that everybody can understand it.
We need Einsteins… not because we understand them. Humanity progresses because of them.
I have not met a more congruent person than Ben.
Cheers,
Nik
I don’t know how familiar you are with the work of Joseph Campbell, the famous mythologist. Joseph Campbell spent decades studying the world’s great spiritual and mythic traditions and found one common story that unites us all: the “monomyth” AKA the hero’s Journey.
The hero’s journey is about impact, because it is what makes the often reluctant hero-in-the-making rise to the challenge. This is a whole other conversation which perhaps Ken will invite me to expand upon at another time.
Another part of the hero’s journey is about the people we meet, represented by the archetypes that Carl Jung identified. Ben Mack often reminds me of a shape shifter because he takes on different roles in different situations: sometimes the mentor, sometimes the trickster, but often a creator of drama. The shape-shifter typically shakes things up and doesn’t follow convention. Ben always has a goal in mind, but those around him may be misdirected by outward appearances (threads, emails, forum posts, etc.)
Since Ben’s personal story is not about clarity, that is not a role you will often see him play.
Ronda Del Boccio, the Story Lady of Storyation.com
Ben’s a HOOT! The consumate “Insane Genius.”
The “Columbo of Cash Flow!” — hidden gems within.
JP
http://www.jpmaroney.net – blog
http://www.jpmaroney.com – main
It’s a fascinating question you raise, Ken. How can you teach people about a concept they can’t fit inside their heads? How do you translate something for people who don’t have the background knowledge to contextualize or process it?
It’s a question I still struggle to answer for myself, I won’t pretend to have answers, but I have been struck, for months now, by Sean Kearney’s site “IncreasingIntelligence.com” — which distills the rather complex concepts of Timothy Leary into something that literally anyone can grasp. The site is clean, sparse, and precise — definitely nothing like the writing of Timothy Leary himself.
I’ve spent a great deal of my own effort with writing and research generating complexity, but I’ve only recently come to appreciate that it’s much, much harder to pare things down to their simple core.
Ben, like Bucky, can take a bit of time to “get” — but once you’re used to the web of associations, it’s highly rewarding and constantly informative.
However — and I’m not making an original point here — it was startling how effective “Think Two Products Ahead” was. It was very different from his more dense work, maintained a simple and conversational flow, and taught me a hell of a lot, quickly.
The process of learning – as I view it – is very similar
to Evolution as a whole: A continuous process of linear
development, interrupted by sudden leaps to an entirely
new level, beyond anything that has ever been.
Both aspects are necessary and feed one another.
Simple, well presented, easy to follow information is the
basis of the linear aspect of learning – but it is in the moments
of utter confusion caused by the thunder of incomprehensive
complexity that the mind surrenders to its own limitation,
drops its illusion of omnipotence and for the fraction of
a second a window opens to much greater a reality…
…it is in these moments that a monumental shift can
occur that brings about a progress of centuries worth
of linear development.
Squeezing Ben’s thought flushes into bite-sized, easy to
digest packages would surely improve his “commercial
value” – but Ken, do you really think it would make his
teachings have a greater impact?
Just my 2 cents. Keep it coming, Ben!
Love and understanding that all human beings are brethren in GOD is my philosophy.
Ben,
I stop trying to figure you out and just accept for the blessing you are. Thinking Two Products Ahead has help think further out of the box. Thank you for using your divine gift to help me and countless others.
Be Blessed, Mr. Raven
Thanks
i told you that iam now in nigeria seiing to what my parthners and members will do now that iam at nigeria this momth yours benson
Ben, to me, is amazing.
He is transmogrifying the ordinary into the extraordinary with every tap of the key board. He instills a creative meme into every one of his productions. He is the ultimate magician working on the worlds biggest stage and creating positive energy for all to get ahead.
I love his preformances.
Keep up the exceptional work.
f(event)s
The entities that Ben communes with could be considered mid-level tricksters bent on keeping his message convoluted, which adds to a loneliness. Which leads to communicating more with these tricksters, thus creating a vicious cycle. The ONLY answer is for the magician to remove the smoke from the mirrors.
Brilliant mind, kind heart, true blue friend…simple enough.
Yes Ben is Brilliant !!! He is also, Loyal, Inspiring & Kind!
One of the things I love the most about his unique “style” is that he challenges us to THINK!
Say, just who IS this Ben Mack character?
Sounds COZMIC…
Peace and Peppers,
C.P.
Your To paid with true?
What is GOD? GOD permeates ALL life in whatever form. Flowers, bird, tree, bees humans all animal life the myriads of life forms in the sea. The vast inexplicvsable Universe He exists everywhere and is our constsant companion in our mindset and our spirit He abides in our heart and our body is His Temple.Ps139:13-18
You created every part of me, you put me together in my mother’s womb, I praise you because you are to be feared;
all you do is strange and wonderfull I know it with all my heart when my bones were being formed carefully put together in my mother’s womb, when I was growing there in secret you knew that I was there you saw me befor I was born The days allotted to me had all been recorded in your book befor any of them ever began. Oh God how difficult I find Your thoughts how many of them there are if I could count them they would be more than the grains of sand When I awake I am still with YOU!Ps 62 I wait patiently for God to save me; he is my defender and I SHALL NEVER BE DEFEATED.5 I depend on God alone; I put my hope in Him He alone protects and saves med; He is my defender, and I shall never be defeated My salvation and honour depend on God; He is my strong protector;He is my shelter. Trust in God at all times my people tell Him all your troubles for He is our refuge. My thoughts on GODF? There are not enough words in the entire universe to express the awesome power and LOVE of Almighty God!! Love your enemies and they will change their mind.
Hi Ben! It somewtimes takes a crazy person to understand another crazy person. Certifiable? Bloody oath! I too am sometimes reffered to as a genius. i can’t immagine why for I see myself as a pudgy little old grandmother who has an unquenchable thirst for God and all that He represents. I was told once that the Bible was written by a lot of crazy old men and put together by some smart ass who saw it as a means to control the world.
Ben Mack certainly has an interesting mind… but genius? I don’t know. We will see. Look, there’s an incoherent genius at every high school in America (young Einstein misunderstood), but what good does it do us? Oblique babbling associative thought can be fun and is a blast when you’re stoned but doth not a genius make. A genius takes something complicated and makes it simple, or makes it seem simple. Hemingway was a genius because he communicated complex ideas with bare direct language. He was elegant. He can be read on 14 different levels. So I like Mack’s ideas, but he needs to work on his style…. his presentation.
theankes
i want see you?
and what u want aur me?
Hey Ken,
Ben provides me with warmer feelings, and effective messages because they place responsibility within me to modify my thinking.
I want to hear what Ben has to say.
Ben brightens my day!
Good Luck Ken.
Nirvana Ben.
Peace, Love & Drinkable Water
Hi Ken,
Ben’s priceless, a real tresure of unspeakable worth. His marvelous, unlimited source of creativity inspires me to become more and to challenge myself to be less like the norm. He has a spiritual substance, a liquidity, and a sensitive approach at times that directs me to take positive actions in my life.
Even in his more storm-tossed turbulent emails/blogs, Ben creates an energy, a vibrational force in his words and visuals that provides the reader with a sense of belonging. I believe he cares about his message and he cares about the readers who are willing to stick it out with him.
That boy(Ben) has got gumption!
Long live Ben and his traveling circus.
Thank You Ken & Ben.
Great Observations Ken.
I agree with you whole-heartedly Ken. Ben’s message is honorable but it lacks something. I’m no expert but in my opinion Ben needs more help from you Ken.
It’s like in that movie, “Unleashed” with Jet Li, where Morgan Freeman’s character takes him in and teaches him in a loving way how to live. Ken could be like the Morgan freemen character and Ben could take on the roll of Jet Li but with an emphasis on internet marketing.
I do hope Ben achieves his true goal of drinkable water for everyone.
Thank You
Ben the matador takes on the big boys, the corpocracies and giveth to the serfs the tools needed to succeed.
Ben Hood is giving us the tools to play like the corporate biggies and he should be admired for it.
He may not be an f***ing genius but he’s no suctorian either.
See if you can survive without f**king drinkable water big shots!!
Ken, I love You, too!
Good Night Now
Thanks for sharing this detailed perspective of the outstanding individual known as Ben Mack. Your insight is valuable for each of us as well as for Ben himself.
I pay attention when Ben speaks, in whatever format he chooses. I expect to be informed, entertained, intrigued and mystified by Ben, and I’m rarely disappointed. By creating the magical persona he’s developed online, as followers we’re expecting the unexpected with Ben. This leads to the opening of minds, the growing of souls into a much bigger collective that can actually have an impact.
I intend to continue the process with Ben & with you, too, Ken!
Love to you both ;~)
Genois??
bEN mACK Is Wacked!
Sure he can stir the pot but Genouse?
I mean the guy has this imaginary game he plays “poker without cards”. Does’t seem that smart to me.
He actually swallows fire, does that sound Genouse?
And he does all that Magic stuff.
That isnt even real.
I mean… Is it?
I heard he did something with a Slinkey, or was it a Yo-Yo. I mean I had both those, and lets say it was the Yo-Yo. Who wants to be attached to one of those. The string on Mine always was breaking.
So he wrote some Book about “thinking 2 products ahead” . The funny thing here is I think he only had like one product. sounds fishy to me. And what would the second product be on the Slinky? A rubber band so it doesnt like spring all over the place?
He has some thing about drinkable water, but every time i see him he has some fruity drink.
Oh yea and he actually wears “rose collored glasses”. I mean even stupid people know thats just a saying.
So Genouis…..
Hmmmm, Not so sure…
Let me just close with a little poam:
bEN mACK Is a Wack.
Pats himself on the Back.
Controversy, his Nack
Oh that bEN mACK …
Look at his belly, You know he likes the Snack.
Might even Kack.
Oh that bEN mACK …
Travels with his Sack…
Oh yes, sharp as a Tack?
Genus or not, we Love you bEN mACK !!!