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Summary

Take a moment to envision a world where you’re living on your own, separated from the people you love the most (including your parents) at the age of 15.

What would that look like?

How would you feel?

Keep that vision going, but fast-forward a few years.

Now you’re 20, working as a chef in a restaurant, not loving life but not hating it either. You’re making enough money to keep a roof over your head, but not much else.

Skip a few more years, and now you’re 25 years-old. You’re working as a security guard in front of some God forsaken warehouse where the only thing you can think about is somehow getting from $7 an hour to $10 an hour.

To you, that $3 an hour increase would be as good as winning the lottery.

For a quarter of a century, your life has been filled with nothing other than hardship, and the challenges in which you’ve faced day-in and day-out have led you down a well of depression the likes of which you doubt you’ll be able to escape.

But then something happens.

Something spectacular.

From deep down in the darkness of the well, you peer up and can see the faintest of lights. You start climbing towards it—slowly at first—but gradually the inches turn to feet, and the feet turn to yards.

Before you know it, you’re standing above ground in the full warmth of the light, working with the likes of serial entrepreneurs like Mike Koenigs, Russell Brunson, and Bill Glazer.

Does it sound too good to be true?

Well, it’s not. It’s the story of today’s guest on Making Bank, Ray Kapuska.

Ray is the godfather of the animated explainer video, and a genius when it comes to creating explainer and sales videos that deliver powerful pattern interrupts that drive conversions from viewers. Though he’s completely self-taught, Ray knows how to capture people’s attention and get a message across through video better than anyone else on the internet.

And to top it all off, he’s an incredibly nice guy.

So, get ready to listen to host Josh Felber talk to Ray about his unlikely origin story, as well as…

✓ The power of piggybacking off of an already relevant idea

✓ Why the power of tonality cannot be overlooked in creating a great video

✓ What it takes to not only create a five-year vision, but put that vision into action

✓ How nothingness—having nothing, coming from nothing, knowing nothing—can be your greatest advantage

And more…

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Opportunity in Everything with Guest Ray Karpuska: MakingBank S2E41

Josh Felber:        Welcome to Making Bank. I am Josh Felber. Where we uncover the success strategies and the mindsets of the top 1% so you can amplify your life and your business today.

I’m really excited for today’s guest, Ray Karpuzka, and he’s calling us, or we’re calling him, and he’s all the way over in Lithuania.

So Ray, I want to welcome you to Making Bank, and for that 1% of the people out there that don’t know who you are, give us a little bit about your background and what you’re doing.

Ray Karpuzka:    Hey Josh.

So, I’m best known from, basically, being the guy behind explainer and sales videos from the top internet marketing guys, sales guys. You know, I was watching your shows, interviews, and basically like, “okay, that’s my client, that’s my client, that’s my client”. It’s really, you know, great to see somebody that you admire actually, you know … and then being on the show myself, so, thanks for inviting me.

Josh Felber:        Oh, yeah, no, definitely.

So tell us, I guess, what specific pieces, you know, have you done with the different clients and stuff. I know with Russell Brunson you did a really cool animation thing, and … What are some of the other things you’ve done with your clients from a video perspective.

Ray Karpuzka:    Yeah, so pretty much I started from the very first launch, which was with Mike Henig’s fire power, and was the very first animated, you know, more like graphics than, you know, the [inaudible 00:01:55] white-black type of presentation. And with Russell Brunson you probably know my team did the click funnels, the action [inaudible 00:02:02], we did, for Bill Glazer, like, no BS show. And, pretty much, a lot of speakers used the animations.

So yeah, pretty much I’ve been busy for the last 10 years now. Been doing the kick-awesome explainer videos and a lot of sales videos, so … My clients range from Wolf of Wall Street, John Benson, J. Abraham, Bill Glazer, you know, that type of people.

Josh Felber:        That’s awesome.

I guess, how’d you get started in this field? I mean, is this something you … you’re a little boy, like “hey,” and you know and video you just fell in love with it? Or, you know, what got you on that path?

Ray Karpuzka:    So pretty much I got separated from my parents by 15, and then I was basically just, you know, looking for something just to go by. And I got into being a chef. Like, you know, just started being a chef. And then the first year it was all good, the second year I got introduced to computers, And then from that time it was, you know, for me that was like “oh my god, this thing is like” … I don’t know, I fell in love with it. And then I just did programming, learned all the languages, HTML to do websites, and then graphic design and then somehow I got introduced to animation and flash animation and videos.

So, I’m self taught. I pretty much like, from 2000 … I think 2000, I started working with animation, and basically my background pretty much is in like the TV, you know TV advertising, that type of space. So I’m coming like from this, you know, high-end like you know glossy that type of feel. And then when I got into internet marketing, I was like, oh my God. What are these people are doing you know, how are they making money? Like, you know, this is really where the inadequacy of … If you get paid for the quality, you know, you should be like bankrupt.

Josh Felber:        Right.

Ray Karpuzka:    But yeah, like, that’s where my mind started to understand that there has to be a method. There has to be something more than just the fancy look or more than just the name behind it. So, yeah.

Josh Felber:        Sure. That … No, and that’s really cool. I know, I remember when I was growing up I had the Commodore 64 and the Amiga computers and learning like C-programming and some of that stuff back then. So I know right now that my kids are working on learning a lot of different programming and coding. I think it’s good to have that base knowledge because you can always do something with it.

So along your journey with moving into the whole internet marketing space, what were some of the big things that you noticed like, man, I really see these guys are doing it and they’re making money, but here’s, you know, three ways I can help them blow it up even more.

Ray Karpuzka:    When I got introduced, I was basically introduced because I was working with video and basically helping people like Joseph McClendon who runs the UPW with Tony Robbins. So I was filming for him, at the last day I showed the mock up of the three days, and you know, people just went crazy. And then, you know, I did some videos and put it on YouTube and those got blown up. So, the thing I noticed is that the quality is what attracts people.

And later on, I got introduced to this concept of pattern interrupt. And actually I saw how it’s done with the video. That’s why in the sales videos you pretty much see all the time like, boom-boom, do-do-do-do, like all that stuff that gets your attention. But you don’t really understand. Here’s an old screwdriver. And this screwdriver is the key for you to making a million. And it’s like, what the heck? But that basically breaks pattern. And that’s what’s we’re doing with the video. And with explainers in the sales videos, that’s the big missing piece that, like, you have to have attention … people’s attention to get the message across. Especially the one that, with all the techno-blab. You still have to make people interested.

So with Russell Branson for example, I’m like, how many explainer videos we did. I can’t remember now. But with him, it was always about, you know, great message, but we take the edge and you saw the animation you know. And think how different is the book itself, or the comic book, and the animation itself. Because it’s the same content. Actually, we stripped down half of it in the video. But what the video does is engages all your senses and delivers that message more powerfully and people really take their attention to whatever you’re showing them.

So I think for me, my whole life was … I lived without parents. So my whole life was about getting attention. So that’s what I think I’m really good at is understanding, like, how can I make people to notice me. So I think I use that in video.

Josh Felber:        Cool. So you mentioned pattern interrupt. With, you know, so much video that’s … People doing Facebook lives and videos and for their sales videos like you said, and everything else, what are three I guess, a couple things that people do better by creating those pattern interrupts in those videos? What have you seen that has worked really well?

Ray Karpuzka:    So, I mean, the most important thing that I had an understanding of myself, especially with putting out videos that got like, you know, half a million views, and I was like blown away with how easy it was. It was about relevancy, and you know, it’s basically being on the wave and riding it. Because most people try to get their own concepts in minds, so they think about, what would be cool if I would make up. The easiest thing would be to basically, and I think you know, in the marketing that’s what I learned, is step into the conversation that people already have in their head.

Once you do that, then with like … with a couple of great videos where, for example, with Russell Branson, the first line is like, you know, it probably goes like this, you know. Or, you know when you were on Facebook and you shared da-da-da-da? It’s like, it steps in the conversation where it’s not … the pattern interrupt is basically where this video is more important than anything else. But it has to be the same as you’re thinking about something. You know? You’re constantly … You’re in a dominant part. Something like that that basically is like, oh, because you know, sometimes it’s like you think about numbers. For example, you’re like, oh, I’m going on seven, and you see like seven, seven, seven. It’s like, oh my God, you know? So that’s the same. The people feel like deja vu, or it’s like luck, or like all that stuff. And I think a recognition association. Because what they’re thinking about, if you can just show them, like, boom that’s it, you know. You got their attention.

Josh Felber:        So kind of aligning with what your client is already thinking would be one way to really kind of grab that attention and interrupt what they’re distracted …

Ray Karpuzka:    What’s constantly in their mind? What about their thinkings? Like, our minds is always looking for a, you know, something to get away from or to go to somewhere. So, if you know, if you think about sales videos where they go to how to make money, so people think about debt, like not paying bills, right? So that’s what the sales video is about. Usually it starts like, are you afraid of at the end of the month you have more month at the end of the money? That type of thing. You know, it steps into the conversation. Like, oh shit. You know. Somebody knows. Somebody knows. And it’s like, oh, that’s about me. I think that’s the key.

Josh Felber:        Sure. And it’s funny you mentioned … There was, I had like a BSL done for a brain neurotropic product that I had. Part of that was talking about the millionaire mindset and everything else, and how do you get that edge and you know, he mentioned there’s more month at the end of his money and all that …

Ray Karpuzka:    Yeah, I borrowed that from, I borrowed that from [inaudible 00:09:54].

Josh Felber:        Yeah, it’s just funny, I think, I haven’t heard too many times mentioned, so it was kind of cool. So utilizing pattern interrupt to grab and to kind of align with people and then to present what your message is and everything to them. What else have you found that really makes and you can kind of utilize to separate yourself from the noise and everything else out there in videos?

Ray Karpuzka:    Again, into the marketing and usually like people that want to attract client’s attention tend to be boring. The funny thing I actually just recently had the consultations with somebody. They were in network marketing. So I said, do you understand that who you’re selling to is yourself before you saw the opportunities. Now you are amazed by the opportunity because you know all the inside out, right? But before that, if you think about it, you didn’t sign up for the first time. You went, you researched, et cetera, so you’re basically selling to yourself without that knowledge.

So what we’re doing is like, identifying … What we’re doing with animation basically, identifying what exactly, without the product but with everything else, what would be cool for people? What type of solution they’re looking for? And then what we’re basically doing is inception. With cool video, it’s inception. Taking the basic idea and I think, I love that last even where we were together, Todd Brown talked about the big idea. For me that was like, that’s it. That’s what exactly I’m doing. Because basically, you’re creating … The message itself talks about one big idea, but what we’re doing visually is instead of them trying to think when they read the text, for example, they create that image in their mind. What we’re doing is taking and creating images for them. You know? We’re basically embedding … It’s like, when you think about this, this is how it looks. You know? And then, because of the nature of the animation, we can just go whatever direction we want, you know? Imaginative, all the crazy stuff you think about.

Josh Felber:        And so then, you guys basically are taking those thoughts or that direction that you want people to follow and then creating that, like you said, through the animation, through the image and everything. So say somebody’s just shooting normal video, they don’t have any parts of animation in there. What can they do then to I guess grab that attention to be able to pull that listener or that viewer into their world?

Ray Karpuzka:    Yeah, so you know interesting, like, it really is. The reason I got into the marketing and selling overall, it was like I had … I was suicidal, I had depression for a long, like five years. And it was just basically, you know, not finding the right place because … And one thing that happened was I found the secret and I started learning and I started seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. You know, saw life in a different light. And I wanted to share with people. And nobody cared. And then, that’s why I learned marketing and sales, because I wanted people to listen to me, understand me, and actually like … actually ask me to help them. And when I got into marketing, the first thing I learned was about …

The sales, I learned from John Belfort. One thing he talked about, and I think it was at Frank Kern’s event, he did a presentation, he talked about tonality. Like, how important tonality is. Basically, it’s like when you say … when you want to say something, you say, “hey, this is the most important thing.” And you communicate that. And then he says, the same thing is done by let’s say Frank Kern on the text.

Josh Felber:        Gotcha. Sure.

Ray Karpuzka:    And then, you know, looking at that now with animation, that’s exactly what we’re doing also with video. It’s the same process basically. You need to talk the same way you talk with text, the way you talk with tonality, the same way you talk with the video. So for example, you know, like how can you … If you’re filming, like now, it’s static, right? It’s like, it’s on you, so to highlight let’s say, you know, guys, a hundred million users. Facebook or whatever has a hundred million users, right? If you just say that, your emotion’s one thing, but if you would have a flashy title or something that kind of goes on the screen, it’s like …

“Can you imagine,” it shows one hundred thousand, a hundred million, it’s like, and you want to also show what exactly it looks like. What a hundred million users like. “It’s a country,” you know, for example. It’s like, it’s a country. So you can say, one hundred million. “That’s a country.” And when you show the country, people already recognize that and are like, oh, that’s huge. Because you just … And that’s what you can do with a simple text and that’s what we’re actually doing, is you’re looking for those first, like, where you need to highlight, where you need to say “this is really important” or ‘this is worth remembering,” et cetera, et cetera. And that’s what … Even the simplest video can make a huge difference because it’s the messaging, and again, with the tonality and all this stuff.

For me, the video is actually, it’s not about the video. It’s about being able to communicate and help people and that’s … and I think that’s what makes me unique. I see a lot of people that do videos and they’re good at their craft, but they don’t understand this, you know?

Josh Felber:        Sure. No, and I think that’s key. Because with all the live and all the video content and everything that’s being pushed out there now, you really need something to help separate and kind of stand out above everybody else. And like you said, the pattern interrupt and everything. And make it entertaining and fun and connecting with the audience and everything. With what you have found with the animation, the pattern interrupts, and different things, and along your journey here, what do you think you would say maybe your three keys to success that have pushed you and have driven you? Because I know you said for about five years, you were depressed and you weren’t sure … What, you know, has been able to transform you and get you to where you are today?

Ray Karpuzka:    So I pretty much went from, because I didn’t want the life that I lived when I was 25, I think. I was … I was searching for … My biggest goal was to go from seven dollars to ten dollars and hour, you know? I worked as a security guard and then in a factory and then said … One time I was like, that’s it, you know, I’m not going to work. I’m not going to do. And then, Secret came into my life and I saw opportunities, et cetera. And then I went homeless for like five days. I lived, actually, I came back from Christopher Howard’s free seminar where I saw the visions. They talked about like, you have to imagine where you’re going to be in five years. And there was like 5,000 people. I’m dead broke, pretty much. I went home that night. I got kicked out and slept in the car for five days.

But in that seminar, it says like, where are you going to be in five years? And I’m looking at the graphics and I’m like, this is shit, you know? This is really bad graphics. And I’m like, I know. I want to do this, you know? And then, I went home, got kicked out, became homeless basically, and then in three years from that day, I was working with Mike Kennedy, John Belfort, that type of people with zero experience in marketing whatsoever.

The biggest keys that I’ve found was first of all is the mindset is important so much that where I was, I didn’t have anything, right? I didn’t have anything to lose and also I didn’t have the rules. You know, what’s allowed. So I did things that, you know, I got burned out. I got, made mistakes. But because I didn’t have those things, I went where maybe others wouldn’t. I made choices where, you know, like most people would say this is crazy, et cetera. Just because I acted on the moment.

And, you know, I call that, like, when those pavements, people walk, and you see like something, you just walk through the grass or whatever. I think that’s one important thing. It doesn’t matter how much you have. If you can contain that emptiness or mind like, you don’t have anything. You’re broke, you don’t have anything, there’s nothing you have to play by the rules, then you see the world differently. Because you just see what you want and then, you know, your intuition kind of gives you signals and your brain doesn’t block them. I notice that the more you get, the more you kind of put yourself in the frame like, oh, you know … Because I have status now, I cannot do this, you know? Or I’m not allowed, et cetera. That’s bad.

Josh Felber:        No, and I think that’s, I mean, that’s awesome. It’s, you know, you were able to see past where you are, your environment, being depressed, and look for I guess that light or that next thing that is going to move you past where you are today. And in three years, you know, I mean you’ve … Like you said, you’ve worked with some of the top, the best internet marketers out there.

Ray Karpuzka:    Oh, one more thing. The reason, I think that the reason it all got started was because … The way I got into all of this basically, I was laying one time and just still going to the factory to work, and then I know so much. What can I … How can I get in front of people? And because I did a couple months probably, a couple years ago, I did, I was putting leaflets through the door for somebody for money, I had this already experience, and I’m like, okay, I can do that. So I just printed out, you know, it took a couple hours. And I started putting it … And then the first guy who answered was like, you know, an old guy and I got like twenty bucks from him. But he was the one that introduced to the other person, to the other person, and that’s how I got to this.

So what I’ve learned is if I can take every single piece, every single work I do, every single person I talk to. If I can see him as the key to everything, I’m going to make the best job I can to help him, to make a lasting impression, because I don’t know. It’s like, every single thing I do, I don’t know if maybe this is the key to everything I have.

Josh Felber:        The next thing, sure.

Ray Karpuzka:    But, like, I don’t, you know, like … Oh, this person, oh this person is not helpful to me, so I’m not going to speak with him. If you lose that attitude and become somebody like, don’t put filters, don’t put levels, et cetera, that’s the thing that … For me, I think that makes it all happen. Because people see that, you know. People see that in most people that are really sometimes successful, they don’t give themselves out, right? They just usually observe you, and you know, that’s what, that’s how I found the guy that trusted in me and … With no experience. I think it was stupid of him at that time to invest it me, but that’s how it all got started. Like, I take this seriously. Every single thing I do, I see this as the key to everything I want, so I’m going to make a hell of a job.

Josh Felber:        And, I know, and that’s a really awesome outlook on, I mean … A lot of times people won’t go connect with other people. Oh, like you said, they’re famous, or they’re whatever, or I don’t really know them so I’m not going to go communicate or talk with them or stuff. But seeing them as, hey, they could be the key to unlock that next door for me, you know, and everything … Totally changes your mindset and how you think of it. And maybe it’s not something that you’re going to get out of them. Maybe it’s something you end up giving to them that ends up coming back to help you down the road or whatever it might be. So I think that’s pretty awesome.

Ray Karpuzka:    If I … Can I give you my secret?

Josh Felber:        Sure.

Ray Karpuzka:    That’s like, when I understood this, for me it was a game over. I could, you know, achieve anything I wanted. Of course, you know, the problem is what sometimes you’re focusing on what you don’t want, right? But the fastest way for me to learn now anything is I act as if. And this is what I learned again from John Belfort. I don’t know if negative, positive people. But this is the … I learned a lot from that guy. But if you can act as if …

So for example, let’s say somebody says, well, can you help me with casinos, casino stuff? I don’t know if I pronounced it wrong. But let’s say it’s a different business, right? Let’s say brain wave, whatever it is, right? And then, what I will do is I will go, let’s say, I will go to UpWork. If I just post like if I need somebody, like a designer, that doesn’t cut it. I need designers that works with brain waves or whatever that designed this, right? So everybody in India, China, whatever, anybody that bid on those platforms will come back to me. So instantly, I know who’s doing, right, something.

Then I go to somebody, let’s say, that’s promoting it. I go, hey, well, do you guys have designers? Do you know how to build stuff? Do you have banners? Et cetera, et cetera. Like, they say, well we have, we’re struggling. I say, well I have like ten designers that I can provide you with, et cetera. So, you know, that got their attention. Now I’m talking, and they tell me what specific problems they have in their business. And then I hear that, then I go post or talk with somebody again. And that’s … You can have nothing and instantly you’re just in the middle of everything. I think it’s all about acting as if you can provide. Because that’s how you’re going to learn fast. You know?

Because most … Lithuanians have this terrible attitude I think. Smile in the rest of the world, but I really see this here. It’s like, oh, this is what we have? We cannot, we cannot be fake, right? Like, we cannot act as if we are different than we have. And it’s like, authenticity, I think, or just being they’re stuck in where you are as your reality. And I think that’s what stops people.

Because once you get that, like … Bruce Lee talked about being without form, formless. That’s when you adapt and you can easily find the solutions. Because usually the solutions are just the [inaudible 00:24:36].

Josh Felber:        Right, no yeah. I think … And I think that’s the truth because, you know, you can still be authentic but if you’re not, I guess, putting yourself out there, putting everything into the world, I guess you could say. It’s going to take either longer to come back to you or it may not come back to you. So by putting it out there is what’s going to create that attraction overall for sure.

So, well cool. We’ve got a couple minutes left. Where can people find out more about you, the work that you do, and everything else?

Ray Karpuzka:    So, the best place would be RayAnimation.com. You’ll see, I think it was made for Russell Branson’s clients, so you’ll see a lot of videos from him. But what I can basically … What I always do with clients is just have a free fifteen, twenty minutes consultation where, you know, they talk about their products, what exactly they want to attract to their business, and then I can easily help them to, from my experience because I’ve worked with the best corporate writers, the best designers, all that type of people. So I can always direct them. Either help them or direct them to where they can find the help or what strategies would work from them from the vast experience that I have.

Josh Felber:        Awesome, man. Well, it was really an honor to have you on the show today. Kind of breaking down what makes video content work, what has helped you become successful. There are some really awesome, cool golden nuggets in there. If you guys haven’t or weren’t taking notes, rewind, go back, watch it again. Jot some great notes down that Ray provided with you guys today.

So thanks again for coming on Making Bank today.

Ray Karpuzka:    It was my honor. Thank you.

Josh Felber:        I am Josh Felber. You are watching Making Bank. Get out and be extraordinary.