"Gary Halbert..."

If you've ever wanted to know about the kind of friendship that, when tested, yields trust, honesty, loyalty, acceptance, love and laughter, then this will be the most important letter you will ever read.

That's the structure Gary Halbert used to open many of the sales letters he wrote, some of which made millions and millions of dollars.

And that opening describes the unfolding of my friendship with Gary Halbert.

Gary isn't writing anymore.

My good and dear friend Gary Halbert died, peacefully, this past Sunday.

I'm still in shock. Gary was the one guy I could call on no matter what.

His avuncular tone -- just hearing his voice made everything ok.

I like to think we traded that role back and forth, as the timing of each of our lives ups and downs seemed to live at opposite ends of a teeter totter.

When his life was up and he felt strong and resourceful, mine would be less than and he would help just by being there for me.

And because of the reassurance I felt from his friendship, because of this teeter totter ride we were on...together, all of life took on an undercurrent of fun and adventure.

Life sucks -- weeeeeeeeeheehee.

And now, without a counter balance, without the reassurance of any we, life plain sucks for the moment.

Thankfully, just weeks ago, I told him I loved him and reminded him of how many lives he's touched. Gary received hundreds of emails thanking him for saving their authors from doom, gloom, ruination, financial and otherwise, and on and on these heartfelt, true-life, inspirational dramas would go.

Many others simply expressed appreciation and gratitude for various reasons.

He loved receiving and reading all of them ... and ... as anyone should, he felt very proud of these treasures.

One of my clients confided in me that when he was a kid, he frequently felt suicidal. Until he'd read something Gary wrote and that would bring him back to an acceptable reality. A reality with the crummy-ness somewhat displaced by newly discovered possibilities for a brighter future. Suffice it to say, today my client lives an extrordinary life and accurately attributes his success to Gary.

That's just one example and not so much exceptional as it is surprisingly typical of those who've read and acted on the potent information the G-Force wrote.

But I think more than the promise of financial success, I think people appreciated his perspective on life. Maybe they found it reassuring, somehow.

We'd laugh 'till we were sore, sometimes.

We solved all the problems of the world, ten times over.

His genius was stunning.

As far as I'm concerned, this was a hero who passed.

I sent him a piece written by Marianne Williamson. He loved it. He lived it.

    “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

You did it, G. You really liberated others and accomplished ... your ... self .

--Peter

Comments

[Copywriter, Kevin Francis]

A true "Giant" has left the stage. He leaves behind a remarkable body of work.

I never attended any of Gary's live seminars or had the opportunity to meet him. That is my loss. However, such was the generosity of the man that I have been able to benefit hugely from his experience and the advice he freely gave. The last post on his website, "Killer Advertising" is a treasure trove of headlines and openings.

Gary Halbert, "Thank You".

Kevin Francis

[Copywriter, Peter Stone]

Thank you, Kevin.

This is just such a letter I know Gary would have felt proud to read.

--Peter

[Robert]

I only knew Gary from a distance, through his work. But even from a distance his brilliance warmed me. During my 29-year-old-mid-life crisis back in '90, I walked country roads and railroad tracks listening to he and John Carlton teaching "Gun to the head" copywriting. Their lessons changed the trajectory of my life.

For those who knew him well, I can only imagine how much colder the night.

[Copywriter, Peter Stone]

Thank you, Robert.

--Peter

[Timothy Warnock]

My friend Peter...

When I first heard the news of Gary's passing (it happened to be moments after John Reese posted it in Michel's board), you flashed into my mind Peter, as did John Carlton, and a few others I knew who were close to Gary.

It was almost as if I could hear Gary guiding my thoughts as I started sending up my silent prayers... "don't pray for me you little shitweasel, I'm fine! Pray for my friends and family. I really hate to see the people who I love most in pain like this..."

Maybe it was my own imagination, as I do believe that our thoughts and prayers are best directed towards those who stay behind, because this is where I feel, by far, the greatest suffering is trapped.

Or, maybe it wasn't my imagination...

Gary isn't gone - he has just removed some boundaries. And if there's a way, we can count on Gary finding out how he can help even more souls now.

I find that a comforting thought that helps to get rid of that knot in my heart.

Take care buddy,

Tim

[April Morelock]

Peter,
From what I know of Gary, your quote from Marianne Williamson speaks more eloquently than anything else you could say about Gary.

A friend of mine mentioned that he went to a seminar Gary was holding a few years ago. On the plane, this friend sat next to Gary. He said Gary would probably have lost his own head if it weren't attached. During this plane ride, Gary managed to lose his passport and nearly left the plane without his wallet. Some would assume he was a bit of a screw up.

But in fact therin lay his brilliance. He'd lived the moments he wrote about. He could see directly into the heads of his prospect, he knew their deepest fears because he'd faced those fears and worse. Sometimes their fears had been part of his reality.

The biggest lesson I learned reading the Halbert Letters and hearing stories from people like John Carlton and David Garfinkle, people who knew Gary, was that part of being a successful writer is to allow yourself to wallow in life - to fully experience all of it: the fear, the joy, the down in the mud grit of everyday living. That it was OK to fail... that it was OK to be human with all the human frailties and faults.

That perhaps even the biggest screw ups could come out ahead and win the day.

Certainly, anyone that read anything from Gary knew he lived and felt every moment. He didn't dull himself to the thrill of being alive, he drunk it in. The highs, the lows and everything in between. How many of us can truly say that about ourselves?

He gave the rest of us permission to look at ourselves even in our darkest hours, our most screwed up circumstances, and discover our own greatness.

THANKS Gary. You will be missed.

April Morelock

[Copywriter, Peter Stone]

Thank you Tim.
Thank you April.

There were many facets to Gary. This shouldn't imply anything difficult or complex. He was a big and easy friend.

Just now, if I were limited to a one word description of him, it would be, vigorous.

Two words, a creative rage.

He liked to poke, prod and provoke reality -- always looking for the curtain, then to find what's behind the curtain.

I think that was part of his genius...his ability to brush aside projected realities to find the real reality in any given situation.

ALL of us privately carry definitions of ourselves as frauds and losers and less thans.

It's to such an extent, I've often felt a commissioned sales person would starve were they selling people on the contrary; their own genius, their own ability and their own capability.

However, Gary Halbert closed that sale, with easy elegance and regularity through his newsletter, as hundreds, maybe thousands of emails to him attest.

Heart wrenching emails from people about their, not just blemished, but deeply damaged lives, now renewed, recovered and reinvigorated.

He changed entire families for the better.

It sounds so far-fetched that a guy, using a newsletter, could have such an intimate impact on readers, but according to these emails, he saved many, many people from horror, as they were going down for their last count.

Somehow he convinced people to look inside for resources and use whatever was available to go on to success.

We'll all miss him forever.

--Peter