Lifestyle Design School is a network and resource for entrepreneurs creating passion businesses. Originally inspired by the ideas of Timothy Ferriss and The 4-hour work week, our goal is to unite the "inner game" of success (attitude, motivation and higher purpose) with the "outer game" (skills, network, resources, practices).
Openings in the program occur sporadically. To stay informed, you may join our mailing list on the right.
I got an email recently that changed my life. But not in the way you might think. Let me explain.
It was from a famous internet marketer that I follow. He is a brilliant marketer and product developer, more than a household name, he is a legend. His products are great and inexpensive. And his sales copy good. Usually.
The email went something like this (I parody): “I was hanging out with my internet marketing friends at this resort. We had been skiing all day. And guess what? We were making so much money! I cannot believe how much money we were making as we were skiing! And you can too! Just come to my program on such-and-such a date and will teach you how to be passionate and live like me”.
The mail irritated me at so many levels. To begin, I have no interest in how much money his buddies make. Secondly, I had been writing him for a year trying to affiliate with him, and hadn’t heard back. Third, being passionate is not something you want to do solely or primarily for the purpose of income generation. Being passionate is something that is its own reward, and it may or may not lead to business success (let alone passive income). I don’t think Mother Theresa ever made much money, but she was very passionate, and she changed many lives.
Not being the type of person who keeps my feelings to myself, I replied to him (Note: I am not suggesting you adopt this tactic. I was just being passionate .
I replied: “Feedback to your copywriter: the lifestyle hype is getting annoying. What is the value to me? Lead with that.”
And I nearly fell off my chair when I got a reply:
“I write it all, so if you don’t like it feel free to unsubscribe. I sent you content with ____ which if you apply the info will help YOU build your biz. if you aren’t interested, then I’m not forcing you to stay my friend”.
To which I wrote back: “That’s what I figured. Judging by your response it seems like I hit a sensitive spot would you not agree ”. And then I pitched him on my product, and was able to get a response – a negative response, but it was informative.
I want to share something that I have said many times, but is worth repeating.
Taking an existing business, one that has clients and revenue, what we call a “validated business model”, and then using web marketing to grow it, is not difficult. Most people can learn in a few days to a week, including making a website, which is what we teach at WP Academy. Taking a new business to the web is much, much more difficult. And taking a new business that sells information products (or an affiliate marketing site) to the web and creating passive income streams is even more difficult than that. It takes enormous amount of time and dedication – and some talent – and maybe a good dose of luck as well. Anyone who tells me that the secret to it all is being passionate… is going to get a piece of my mind. More so if they suggest that anyone can do it. I believe that passive-income generating internet business is a path for the very few.
And yet so many internet careers are based on this idea – including the career of this particular marketer, and legions before him (Timothy Ferriss et al). To my mind there is something… at best… a little “off” here (incomplete perspective); and at worst, a fundamental inauthenticity.
It’s like this guy is saying: “I am passionate and it made me rich, and so can you, and you know you want to”. mm, let me think.
Mulling over this incident – and why I was triggered in the first place — has been even more enlightening. I had to ask myself: why am I pursuing a career in internet marketing? And why am I seeking affiliation with people that I don’t have natural affinity with (and at some level even question their integrity)?
Why am I engaging? (the finger points back at oneself). It was a hard question. But now I know…
I am done with “internet marketing”. I just want to create a business that has products and services of outstanding value that I am selling at a fair price. And I should do it because I want to and because I enjoy it regardless of passive income opportunities or how fast it’s going to go.
And from that decision I am expanding my ideas of the type of network that I should be pursuing… maybe even drop my aspirations of joining the “old boys internet marketing club?”
Moral of this story: stay passionate! But remember that passion can take you in many different directions, and that income may or may not be a side-result.
PS: This story in no way a discredit to the value created by this particular marketer or to his integrity. I have simply given a single perspective on this complex problem. I still want to be his friend and I would never dream of unsubscribing
Only a few people responded to my question “what do you want” in my latest post. So I guess this means that rest of you are happy, and making all the money that you would like. In case you want any assistance in reaching that goal, go ahead, go-for-broke on this one:
We have entered an entrepreneur contest, part of Sramana Mitra’s wonderful 1 Million by 1 Million initiative. Vote for us to receive a scholarship to her program:
Lifestyle Design School has been quiet for a long time. The truth is that I just haven’t had time, as I was fighting for business survival. The last few months, however, have brought in a series of extraordinary events at WP Academy, and I am ready to share the story. This is the type of company-confidential inside information that you won’t see a lot on the web. From my perspective, I am not just here to make a business, I am here to share the wealth (of information) and to build an entrepreneur community, so my sharing this is a no-brainer. Also, it’s not likely at this stage that anyone is going to steal our business model or stage a hostile takeover . So here goes.
This post ends with a call-to-action and an opportunity for you, so make sure you read until the end.
WP Academy has been running on a “product launch” model: 3 times a year, we have been staging a major free webinar series, promoted through affiliates and reaching about half a million people (primarily a large Linkedin group). At the end of each webinar we do a sales presentation for our $500-600 course “WordPress for Business”.
I started this business in December of 2009 by sending out a mail to my friends and social network offering them a WordPress training course. Ten of them enrolled in that first 4-session course at $99, and I was ecstatic. The business grew from there, but still a long way from what I would be earning as an employee / contractor. Due to a personal situation that allowed me to live very cheaply, we were able to survive financially as we grew the business. Read more >>
Here are the recordings (audio and video) of the interview that I did with legendary business and executive coach Mike Jay on March 21, 2012.
Mike Jay is one of the world’s highest-paid executive coaches, and he is launching a program that is the culmination of his 25 years of research and practice into human development, human capability, success and happiness. This system is called “FLOW”. Here are some of the questions that we covered
Why the success models that you grew up with (even the ones that may have worked in the past) are likely to leave you running a hamster race in an era of exponentially increasing complexity… leaving you progressively more exhausted, unsuccessful and unfulfilled
The enormous importance of understanding your developmental “blind spots”… and how you can “scaffold” yourself (create partnerships) in ways that generate wins for everyone
How sometimes the desire to “be all you can be” (whatever that means) can be counter-productive… that you may actually be better off living in your own, custom-designed-for-you “fishbowl”, doing what you love to do and giving your gift
How major financial and demographics changes in the next few decades are likely to leave most of us (that is, people in developed countries) poorer in many ways… unless we are able to understand these enormous changes and adapt to them
This is the recording of an interview I did with Jonathan Mead on Thursday Jan. 26, 2012 on the topic “Live life on your own terms — let your work be your play”. We conducted the interview over Skype video, with simultaneous broadcast via phone.
Jonathan Mead is one of the founders of “live life on your own terms” movement (quit your day job and let your work be your play). We covered a lot of questions of interest to internet entrepreneur startups, or anyone who wants to start generating money doing something that they are passionate about and/or is more aligned with what they care for.
Jonathan is starting a new, very ambitious program called Trailblazer, which is about getting clarity on who you are and what you are able to offer the world profitably without bending yourself into a pretzel. Given the topic of this website (“Build your platform on the internet without losing your friends, your family or your mind”), I thought this would be of interest to our readers
Yesterday I got a physical letter (!) from Brendon Burchard inviting me to his 10xNYC Conference in New York in April ($8000). The invite was very flattering for sure (I am a huge fan of Brendon).
At first I thought I would write him a personal letter thanking him and saying that I followed the advice in his book and I am doing quite well, and therefore don’t need a high-priced conference or coaching program at this time ( and incidentally that I think the large majority of such programs are a poor investment value, particularly for startups).
But then I had a better idea, which is to post a video response.
My name is Morgan but it Ain’t JP (“there is no bank on Wall Street they have named after me”)
This is an article I wrote for WP Academy yesterday. First version badly needed editing and went out anyway (egg on my face), my chief copywriter and wife gave me an earful, I listened carefully as I know what’s good for me (in more ways than one, lol). Second version is quite good (once narcissistic ramblings removed), check it here:
In other news, we are renewing the Lifestyle Design School coaching group in 2012. We have about a half-dozen committed members in a weekly 30-min Skype check-in / Mastermind call and I am trying to think through how to make this or similar free service available to all of you, if you want it. I will post more when we’ve mulled this through, and if you have any comments or feedback please comment to the post (don’t email).
For the rest, this blog is and will continue to be (among other things) the “insider’s group” (“opening up the kimono” view) of WP Academy business development, including all my neuroses, hope you enjoy and trust that there is method in my madness.
Karen is a “Muse”, Entrepreneur, Coach, Trainer, Catalyst for change. She’s provocative. She helps poke fun in your shopworn ideas about making a living so that you can start living your dreams.
On Monday Oct. 3 she was interviewed by me. For the recording click here, or listen to the audio below:
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For the topics covered in the interview, keep on reading.
(it’s best to follow the recording with the slides, but not necessary)
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"We can choose to make the success of all humanity our personal business. We can choose to be audacious enough to take responsibility for the entire human family. We can choose to make our love for the World what our lives are really about. Each of us now has the opportunity, the privilege to make a difference in creating a World that works for all of us. It will require courage, audacity and heart. It is much more radical than a revolution, it is the beginning of a transformation in the quality of life on our planet. You have the power to fire a shot heard around the World.
If not you, who? If not here, where? If not now, when?"
-- Werner Erhard, 1979
"The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet."
-- Frederich Buechner
"Describe the steps you would take, the gifts you would buy, the generosity you would bestow, the kindness you would offer, the enthusiasm you would have, the attention you would give, and anything else that appeals to you, if you were able to give yourself the things you want someone else to give to you.
NONE OF US WANTS TO GROW UP"
-- Cheri Huber
“This is the true joy in life, being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one...being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap, being a force of nature, instead of a feverish selfish clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy… I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as i live it, it is a privilege to do whatever i can. i rejoice in life for its own sake… Life is no brief candle to me, but sort of a bright torch that i got hold of for a moment and i want to make it burn as brightly as possible, before handing it on to future generations"
-- George Bernard Shaw “Bright Torch”
"Participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world. We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy."
-- Joseph Campbell
"If your mind is on the right path, it doesn’t matter how fast you go. If you’re on the right path, you’ll get there. Commitment keeps you on the path."
"You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves."
-- Mary Oliver
"When we act from our deepest convictions it is impossible to reach perfection."
-- Dee Hock
"The heart has its reasons that Reason knows not of."
-- Blaise Pascal
"Narcissism... suggests that what we need is not humility, especially the false kind that arises from the repression of ambition, but great dreams, high ideals, and pleasure in our own talents and abilities."
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