One of the greatest lessons Dave Dobson taught was about interrupting patterns. On the Internet, we think of the “Kern method” of interrupting people’s patterns in their daily lives so we can sell better.

Dave wasn’t in to that at all. He detested selling himself. He thought the best advertisement was helping someone get to a better place. And the way he did it very often was by interrupting peoples’ patterns.

Dave was a brutal lion on the outside but a gentle pussy cat on the inside. One minute he would roar and the next minute he would drop into his hypnotic voice and begin talking funny to you.

Dave loved a good joke. Blond jokes. Dirty jokes. Jewish jokes. He didn’t discriminate. If it was funny, he would laugh at his own jokes until his body shook.

But Dave didn’t just tell jokes. He was using them strategically to interrupt peoples’ patterns.

I went to see Dave when my hypnosis business was failing. I was at wits end. And Dave just started telling really bad jokes. Finally, I had to crack a smile and Dave asked me a question, “When was the last time you sang I’ve been working on the railroad?”

Dave insisted that I sing that song when I paid my bills. Eventually people would wonder why they heard the words of the song coming from my office.

But here’s where the magic came in. From the day I began singing “Ive Been Working on the Railroad,” my business turned around and it began to soar.

Dave’s birthday was June 30 and I miss the old codger.

Take some time and interrupt your own patterns. Get some apps that tell jokes. Watch some funny videos on youtube.

Here’s a few videos Dave would have liked. And as he would say, “I Double-Dog dare you” not to laugh.