679. Write the Script of Your Life: No Limitations

Doberman Dan

“It’s not easy finding your niche, finding your way, finding something that just clicks and you can make a living at it. But it sure beats the alternative which, to quote Henry David Thoreau, is a life of quiet desperation.”

Dan Gallapoo, known as Doberman Dan, is a 30-year serial entrepreneur and direct response copywriter. He has worked in a variety of niches but his specialty has been the health, fitness and bodybuilding markets. He has started four of his own nutritional supplement businesses and sold three of them, enjoying two different bouts of mini-retirement. Dan has been publishing The Doberman Dan Letter since 2011 and has many of the most successful marketers in the world as subscribers. He’s written hundreds of successful ads, direct mail packages, websites, e-mail marketing campaigns, feature articles, and newsletters.

How Did You Start Using Your Talents?

“I was 7 years old, eating pizza in front of the TV. For the first time in my life, I saw the show, The Partridge Family. I saw Keith Partridge with those wild 1970s clothes and long hair, playing the guitar. I immediately knew, this is what I am going to do with the rest of my life! I begged my parents for a guitar. They eventually bought me one. My dad bought me a book, and I taught myself guitar. All through school, that was it for me. I started my own band, promoted my own concert. I was in the 6th grade.”

The Most Impactful Turning Point?

“The breakthrough for me was, I stumbled upon Dan Kennedy’s Magnetic Marketing System and Toolkit. I just used his model to sell a self-published bodybuilding course I wrote. After nine years of serial failure, that was the first business that made me any money. Twelve months later, on a part-time basis, it was making me enough that I was able to leave my job at the Dayton, Ohio police department.”

The Most Powerful Lessons Learned?

“None of us were taught—at least nobody I grew up with—how to figure out what you want to do, make a plan, and follow the plan. Nobody ever taught me that. I was taught that if your family was poor, then you’re poor and you’re going to be poor. Eventually, I realized that you can write the script of your life. There are no limitations. The only limitations are in your head.”