Mark Sephton trusts himself. Find out how you can do the same on the Nice Guys today
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Show Notes by Production Assistant – Anna Nygren
Intro
- Putting your vulnerable self out there can challenge how people think, act and behave
- Life is one big plot twist for all of us
From the US to the UK
- The line to success is always a jumbled mess
- Life can be both beautiful and painful in the same breath
- We’ve alllllll those inner demons
- Sometimes we’ve got to get out of our own way
- Confidence to trust yourself, back yourself up and believe in yourself is the beautiful challenge
- Get a clear vision of what you want your life to represent? What do you want to be remembered for?
Closing Lines
- You attract who you are
- Do what you’re goooood at!!!!!
Reading your blog — 3 things you can learn from a 2 year year old. EAT, UP and NO. Can you talk about this for a moment http://marksephton.com/blog
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I’m sure I’m not alone in being truly astounded by Mr Sephton’s communication skills, and the way he has been able to create a business out of such restricted circumstances. It is my sincere hope that this comment will inspire him to do even greater things.
As is clear by his own admission, this is a man who has no real pedigree in the world of business, and whose previous attempt at self-employment was something of a flop. It is quite remarkable how someone whose main employment experience was working for coffee shops and cafes, is now earning a living advising business owners how to maximize their potential. Thinking about Mr Sephton’s current success, I am reminded of this quote from the William Gibson book, Zero History:-
“What you need to remember, with these guys, is that they don’t know they’re con men. They’re wildly overconfident. Omnipotence, omniscience–that’s part of the mythology that surrounds the Special Forces….Your guy can walk in the door and promise training in something he personally doesn’t know how to do, and not even realize he’s bullshitting about his own capabilities. It’s a special kind of gullibility….”
Talking of quotes, some might call it poetic license, others plagiarism, but I cannot help but be impressed by Mr Sephton’s breathtaking inventiveness in the use of other people’s ideas. There are numerous examples of this behaviour throughout his work, but a particular favorite is this quote by the late rapper Tupac Shakur: "I want to grow. I want to be better. You grow. We all grow. We’re made to grow. You either evolve or you disappear."
Part of this quote was to be found on Mr Sephton’s website in the form of: "You either evolve or you disappear." The name beside the quote was that of Mark Sephton.
Now the more eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that these words were simply lifted from the final part of Tupac’s quote, and then made into a single quote. As I say, breathtaking inventiveness! (Sephton has since admitted that he was not the originator of this quote, and it is now presented with the correct source i.e. Tupac.)
Whilst I congratulate Mr Sephton in recognizing, and making amends for what he claims was a mistake, I cannot help think that his tendency towards plagiarism hasn’t really altered. To illustrate my point, go to his his Twitter page and take a look at these instances of suspicious activity.
My first example is a quote from a preacher called Rick Warren: "The problems you face will either defeat you or develop you – depending on how you respond to them." Now contrast that with Mark Sephton’s quote on Twitter: "The pain will kill you or drive you. You get to decide." Granted, the word formation isn’t the same, but it is very clearly the same idea.
Is this glaring similarity just a coincidence? I don’t think so!
Let’s take a look at two other recent, and more obvious examples. Scroll down a bit further and you will come to this quote: "Better to be an hour early than a second late."-Mark Sephton. I immediately recognized this as a (not very imaginative) variation of a Shakespeare quote from the Merry Wives of Windsor: “Better three hours too soon than a minute too late.”
The final example is yet another instance of uncanny similarities. Sephton says, "Being rich has nothing to do with how much you have in your wallet, it’s how much you have in your heart." Now compare that with the following: "True wealth isn’t in our wallets, but it’s in our hearts." -Leon Logothetis, The Kindness of Strangers (check out his video on YouTube).
Something of a trend here. (I would have to say that in my experience, quote recycling, or thinly disguised plagiarism, is a characteristic feature of his output. I could easily produce a hundred more examples where he has used other people’s quotes as his own. Where’s the integrity?)
Such ‘creative’ activities are not restricted to the use of quotes, and on the matter of geography, we find that the facts are no match for Mr Sephton’s trailblazing storytelling. Although his location is Coventry, which is a city in the West Midlands region, Mr Sephton used to claim that he to was instead located in Warwickshire: a detail that he had repeated on numerous occasions.
(Mr Sephton is a great admirer of the Oscar Wilde quote "Be yourself everyone else is taken." Quite how this squares with his penchant for recycling other people’s work, or denying his real location, I will leave for others to decide.)
There can be no denying that there is a market for Sephton’s work, in the same way that there is a market for Britain’s Got Talent, or any number of outlets catering for the hopelessly ambitious. And one cannot help but be impressed at how well Mr Sephton seems to understand his target demographic (largely female and often American, including the reality-resistant Millennials), working tirelessly to provide them with a platform for illusory purpose, with a constant stream of soundbites and calculated encouragement.
Whether this particular audience was by chance or design, it all seems to be working out very nicely for him.
Towards the end of this podcast, Mr Sephton makes reference to one of his recent video podcasts (https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ4zQ_lgy-g/?taken-by=sephtonmark). Not only does he misquote the lyrics of the song he was attempting to sing, it’s also totally out of synch with the point he’s trying to make. The ‘potato’ and ‘tomato’ references are meant to convey a point about accents and pronunciation, but he has used them as examples of intonation and vocal emphasis: "It’s how you say it that has the biggest impact." Frankly, this sort of simple-minded clumsiness is an all too regular feature of his work, and is nothing short of embarrassing. It’s little wonder that the viewing figures for his videos are so pitifully small.
Another quote seems in order here, this time by the father of the modern self-help movement, Dale Carnegie: "When dealing with people, let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic. We are dealing with creatures of emotion, creatures bristling with prejudices and motivated by pride or vanity."
Is this, I wonder, the REAL secret of his success?
Appreciate your comments James. I think what I admire most about them is what seems to be your joy in being critical. Maybe you would like an opportunity to share a bit of your story on our podcast?
I for one am appreciative of James’s criticism. If such is born from a concern about plagiarism, then it is most appropriate. I’m sure you would object in the strongest possible terms if someone were to use your material and pass it off as their own. I appreciate that thoughts get recycled, but not to the extent that James has highlighted.
I don’t disagree with his points. But rather the spirit in which he presents them. I absolutely would object if someone used my thoughts as their own. Have you spoken directly with Mark about this. That would seem like the best plan of action.
Hi James. I would like to thank you for alerting me to this plagiarism. What you have said is certainly born out by the facts and you have saved me some hard earned money in purchasing his book. It is a real tragedy that someone feels it’s acceptable to take (steal) other people’s thoughts, ideas and words, thinly disguise them, and then pass them off as original. I find that very ignoble and I’m sure I’m not alone. What makes this case all the more distasteful is that Sephton talks at length about integrity and being true to oneself.
Thank you again for your research.
G
Appreciate the offer-and thanks for not simply removing my comment because of the content.
Despite the perception that I might have been somewhat critical, I believe that my observations are fair; I don’t see a whole lot of honor in recycling other people’s work, and it really does speak of someone who is desperate to appear wise, whilst not actually contributing anything by way of fresh ideas. Here are some more examples of this activity, just to emphasize my point that it is a characteristic feature of his work:-
Here’s an example from his Instagram account: "The moment you have to convince someone of your value is the moment to absolutely and utterly walk away."-Mark Sephton. Now take a look at the following quote and tell me that Mr Sephton hasn’t simply altered a few words to claim it as his own: "The moment you have to prove your worth to someone is the moment to absolutely and utterly walk away." -Alysia Harris.
And how about this one from Mr Sephton’s website marksephton.com: "They know your name, not your story." Contrast that with what I would suggest is the real source, "You know my name, not my story."-Jonathon Anthony Burkett.
Another example from Instagram: "I always say it’s not what the year will bring. it’s what you bring to the year that will make the biggest difference.”-Mark Sephton This is simply a variation of another quote by Vern McLellan, who said: "What the new year brings to you will depend on what you bring to the new year."
I’m sure you get the drift.
Your observation that I find joy in being critical is quite reasonable, although I would suggest that this tendency isn’t necessarily a negative quality. I would, for example, be happy to have my creative output scrutinized, particularly if I was presenting material as though it was original.
I will give some thought to your kind offer.
Hi James , you have been trolling me for a long time, the lengths and the amount of detail you go through to pinpoint anything to make a justifiable point and strengthen your view point is that of a bully. You call me out on my Integrity and yet you hide behind fake names and fake email addresses. My story is my story. If you don’t like it, you don’t need to spend hours and hours trolling and stalking me like you have. I read a lot of content and I listen to some incredible podcasts like this one, people come up with the same idea’s and share thoughts all the time that can be similar without being plagiarised. I would not take credit for other people’s work knowingly it belonged to someone else, that is not cool. When I did come across a quote I posted which belonged to someone else I was embarrassed and gave the right attribution. It has happened for which I have apologised, however I will not stop inspiring, encouraging and sharing thoughts which are my interpretation and revelation.
For whatever reason you have taken a personal dislike to me and my work, haters will hate. If you spent more time putting your energy into your own life and stopped wasting it on stalking, bullying and criticising others you may find happiness yourself one day.
You don’t know me. Your issues lay at your door and not mine.
I revisited here this morning to see if there had been any reply. Mark’s reply has staggered me. He quickly resorts to the commonly used ‘stick a label on him’ method (all critics are ‘trolls’&’haters’) addresses nothing he has been accused of, and frankly has been most discourteous. Mark, if you want to put yourself out there, you must expect your work, whether in written form or some other media, to be open to criticism. You would do well to put a piece together on how to handle criticism I feel. The problem these days is that many people who self publish (books, videos, articles), simply can’t take criticism, and instead attach convenient labels such as ‘troll or hater’ to anyone dares to criticize their work. If you want publicity, Mark, and want to promote your work, you must expect negative comments in the form of criticism. It comes with the territory. Why don’t you turn this into a positive and use it to put a short video together on how to handle criticism? But please, don’t assume that people who criticize your work are by default haters or trolls. That’s taking the easy way out.
Hi Greg, the length of the email from James ( don’t believe it’s his name for one minute ) the lengths and personal comments relating to my ability to sing, coming from a retail and hospitality background are nothing more than insulting, bullying and show insecurity are their part. I write because I love to, I mentor because I make a difference. People can criticise all they like, I know who I am and I am not hiding. My books quote many people and gives attribution, if I am aware and know the source it is rightly given attribution, it is ridiculous to think one person will be the only one to have an idea or a thought, I share my thoughts to encourage and inspire, I don’t share them to make money and make myself famous. I am a recognised author with Entrepreneur, I share from my own wisdom and failings. I have worked for what I have. I do not take kindly to being called a conman or stealing others idea’s. My interpretation of what I hear and see is what I share from. People’s perception is their reality. I will continue to write, I will continue to share and I will continue to inspire. People have the choice to listen and read what I say, it will either relate or not and thats fine. Those who know me, know my value, my heart and what I bring to them. Those who don’t know me can make judgments, criticise and try to belittle. They are the ones who pull people down, point out problems and not solutions. These are the people who actually make me do what I do. Support and encourage those whom have dealt with negative influences.
People can decide who I am, people can decide if they want to work with me, I will not change what I do or what I put out there. I will not stop investing in myself and growing and I will not stop making a difference. I know what I bring to the table. Some will eat with me and some will throw food in my face.