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	<title>Experiments in Lifestyle Design &#187; Internet Marketing &amp; Business Development</title>
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	<link>http://lifestyledesignschool.com</link>
	<description>An intimate account of  Marc Beneteau&#039;s life, travels, adventures, relationships, businesses, philosophies and other narcissistic ramblings</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:53:34 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>Entrepreneurship, success, and happiness: lessons learned, and an invitation</title>
		<link>http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2010/07/happiness-success-money-and-enlightenment-an-invitation-to-have-all-of-them/</link>
		<comments>http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2010/07/happiness-success-money-and-enlightenment-an-invitation-to-have-all-of-them/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:53:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Marc</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Evolutionary Spirituality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Internet Marketing & Business Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lifestyle Design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marc's Life and Travels]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2010/07/happiness-success-money-and-enlightenment-an-invitation-to-have-all-of-them/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>I am going to be traveling a lot in the next 6 weeks – to the Integral Theory Conference in Oakland, then a week with Mike Jay in Las Vegas (see below), and then Burning Man – and reporting on all these events – so I am leading off with a long piece on entrepreneurship, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Flifestyledesignschool.com%2F2010%2F07%2Fhappiness-success-money-and-enlightenment-an-invitation-to-have-all-of-them%2F"><img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Flifestyledesignschool.com%2F2010%2F07%2Fhappiness-success-money-and-enlightenment-an-invitation-to-have-all-of-them%2F" height="61" width="51" /></a></div><p>I am going to be traveling a lot in the next 6 weeks – to the <a href="http://www.integraltheoryconference.org/default.html">Integral Theory Conference</a> in Oakland, then a week with Mike Jay in Las Vegas (see below), and then <a href="http://burningman.com/">Burning Man</a> – and reporting on all these events – so I am leading off with a long piece on entrepreneurship, happiness and success, followed by an offer / invitation.&#160; You can skip the narcissistic ramblings and head directly to the invitation below, if you want, which is a pretty good one.&#160; </p>
<h3>The ups and the downs of being an entrepreneur</h3>
<p>I got a mixed response to the <a href="http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2010/07/are-you-a-natural-entrepreneur-take-the-entrepreneur-test/">Entrepreneur test</a> piece, with people asking me “is this really you”?&#160; Well, in many respects, sadly, it has been.&#160; I am actually <u>not</u> a natural entrepreneur, yet I have spent a large chunk of my life&#160; looking for some way to support myself that would also feed my happiness and allow me to do the things that have been most important and vital to me (my adventures in relationship and community and “experiments in consciousness”).&#160; I became an entrepreneur by default – I couldn’t think of any other career that would give me the freedom that I needed.&#160; When I met Rebekah, after a lifetime of seeking in both the relational and business arenas, I became happy for perhaps the first time in my life, because I had found a path to sustained sexual intimacy with a person of the female persuasion (don’t laugh – it’s actually not an easy thing).&#160; </p>
<p>With this triumph, and flush with excitement, I then created or participated in 4 different businesses over the next 6 years – all of which failed, and two of them spectacularly so (the first web business and Trellis).&#160; My current business, <a href="http://wordpressacademy.biz">WordPress Academy</a>, is the first one that is successful.&#160; Maybe because it’s more related to an area of desire (or intrinsic motivation), for me: WordPress Academy is a type of <em>conversation for transformation</em>, which is the thing for which I live.&#160; </p>
<p>And yet I continue to struggle with this – either sacrificing happiness in the pursuit of success, or, as of lately, sacrificing success in the pursuit of happiness.&#160; This, I have come to learn, is very common.</p>
<p> <span id="more-496"></span>
</p>
<p>On this topic, I just recently re-read Gurdjieff’s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meetings_with_Remarkable_Men">Meetings with remarkable men</a>, that relates extraordinary events in Gurdjieff’s life that happened 100 years ago but which are extremely relevant to my condition.&#160; For the first half of his life, Gurdjieff conducted extensive travels and meetings throughout Asia with a group he called the “seekers of truth”.&#160; He was also a very astute businessman and trader, and he supported himself throughout this period by a series of business ventures and schemes which included (in a moment of desperation) snaring live sparrows, clipping them and painting them, and selling them in the market as “American canaries”.&#160; Laying aside the ethics of some of these activities, the story was extremely inspirational to me, first because it legitimized my own struggle to support myself financially as a “seeker of truth”, but also because it reminded me that <em>it is possible to be a spiritual person and smart and resourceful too</em>.&#160; In other words, that the pursuit of enlightenment and the pursuit of business are not inherently contradictory.&#160; Another great guru and teacher of mine, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Rudolph">Swami Rudrananda</a>, ran a very a successful art import business his whole life, and firmly believed that a spiritual teacher ought to have an independent means of support.&#160; He would sit in his Manhattan storefront and teach his students in between visits from customers.&#160; </p>
<h3>Enter Mike Jay and Flawless Living Design System (FLDS)</h3>
<p>The basic idea of FLDS is that happiness is natural – happiness comes from following our desires and intrinsic motivation, where we can exist in a state of flow while creating those things that we value – whereas success, for most people, is not.&#160; I define “success” as the ability to provide what we need in life while following the path of our happiness.&#160; Unlike happiness, success comes from executing the success requirements of our business or profession, which may or may not be inborn, and which may or may not be part of our intrinsic motivation.&#160; This is why it’s so hard and why so many of us are under great tension around this.&#160; The situation is actually made worse by all the self-help gurus (Tony Robbins, Steven Covey, etc.) because they teach systems that work well if you work them, but that only 1% to 5% of us will actually apply – thus funding a billion dollar training industry that does nothing, and leaving many of us struggling our whole lives trying to mold and adapt ourselves to some standard that just doesn’t fit with who we are, and then wonder what is wrong with us.</p>
<p>The fascinating thing (to me anyway) is that I have been discovering many of the ideas of FLDS on my own, through my own life and research; but Mike Jay has actually made an entire developmental system out of this, that he calls a “memetic operating system” (or values-based program), that is backed by a ton of psychological research and theory, along with his work with thousands of coaching clients over the last 20 years; and what’s more that there is a business community being created around this, a movement really, of people committed to exploring their happiness while expanding success – of people committed to living more inter-dependently and with greater passion and contribution.&#160; Because the solution, of course, to our inability to do the things that are required for success, is first to accept our limitations, and then to ally with other people who can do those things naturally that we cannot.&#160; </p>
<h3>I invite you to come experience FLDS with me in Las Vegas on August 20-23</h3>
<p>I invite you to experience the first (beta) Flawless Living seminar in Las Vegas from Friday August 20 at 6pm, to Monday August 23 at noon.&#160; The first FLDS seminar – and probably all of them – is going to be free, except for an administrative fee for various assessments (that are key to the discovery process that happens during the seminar).&#160; During the first two days, we will each create a blueprint for success, unique to us, using Mike’s inquiry methods.&#160; On the third day, there will be an offer to buy-in to the business network, at guaranteed rates of return or money-back – it’s truly an unusual and extraordinary offer.</p>
<p>If you can’t come to Vegas in August, there is another in Philadelphia in late November.</p>
<p>Much love,</p>
<p>Marc</p>
<p>PS: here is the brochure I designed for this event – first-draft, but not bad IMHO, especially considering it’s my first brochure, what do you think? </p>
<p><a href="http://lifestyledesignschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/livepreview_002.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="livepreview_002" border="0" alt="livepreview_002" src="http://lifestyledesignschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/livepreview_002_thumb.jpg" width="600" height="466" /></a> </p>
<p><a href="http://lifestyledesignschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/livepreview.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="livepreview" border="0" alt="livepreview" src="http://lifestyledesignschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/livepreview_thumb.jpg" width="600" height="465" /></a></p>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Are you a natural entrepreneur? Take the entrepreneur test</title>
		<link>http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2010/07/are-you-a-natural-entrepreneur-take-the-entrepreneur-test/</link>
		<comments>http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2010/07/are-you-a-natural-entrepreneur-take-the-entrepreneur-test/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 08 Jul 2010 09:21:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Marc</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Internet Marketing & Business Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lifestyle Design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marc's Life and Travels]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2010/07/are-you-a-natural-entrepreneur-take-the-entrepreneur-test/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
I am willing to lose everything. 
I embrace failure. 
I am always willing to do tedious work. 
I can handle watching my dreams fall apart. 
Even if I am puking my guts out with the flu and my mother passed away last week, there is nothing that will keep me from being ready to work. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Flifestyledesignschool.com%2F2010%2F07%2Fare-you-a-natural-entrepreneur-take-the-entrepreneur-test%2F"><img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Flifestyledesignschool.com%2F2010%2F07%2Fare-you-a-natural-entrepreneur-take-the-entrepreneur-test%2F" height="61" width="51" /></a></div><ol>
<li>I am willing to lose everything. </li>
<li>I embrace failure. </li>
<li>I am always willing to do tedious work. </li>
<li>I can handle watching my dreams fall apart. </li>
<li>Even if I am puking my guts out with the flu and my mother passed away last week, there is nothing that will keep me from being ready to work. </li>
<li>My relationship/marriage is so strong, nothing work related could ever damage it. </li>
<li>My family doesn’t need an income. </li>
<li>This is a connected world and I don’t need alone time. I want to be reachable 24/7 by my employees, customers, and business partners. </li>
<li>I like instability and I live for uncertainty. </li>
<li>I don’t need a vacation for years at a time. </li>
<li>I accept that not everyone likes my ideas and that it’s quite likely that many of my ideas are garbage. </li>
<li>If I go into business with friends or family, I am OK with losing that relationship forever if things end badly. </li>
<li>I don’t have existing anxiety issues and I handle stress with ease. </li>
<li>I am willing to fire or layoff anyone no matter what how good of a friend they are, if they are my own sibling, if they just had a baby, if they have worked with me for 20 years, if their spouse also just lost their job, if I know they might end up homeless, if they have cancer but no outside medical insurance, or any other horrible scenario millions of bosses and HR people have faced countless times. </li>
<li>I am OK with being socially cut-off and walking away from my friends when work beckons. </li>
<li>I love naysayers and I won’t explode or give-up when a family member, friend, customer, business associate, partner, or anyone for that matter tells me my idea, product, or service is a terrible idea, a waste of time, will never work, or that I must be a moron. </li>
<li>I accept the fact that I can do everything right, can work 70 hours a week for years, can hire all the right people, can arrange amazing business deals, and still lose everything in a flash because of something out of my control. </li>
<li>I accept that I may hire people that are much better at my job than I am and I will get out of their way. </li>
<li>I realize and accept that I am wrong ten times more than I am right. </li>
<li>I am willing to walk away if it doesn’t work out. </li>
</ol>
<p>Courtesy of <a href="http://secondcityceo.com/2010/02/25/part-6-is-this-worth-it/">Seth Kravitz</a>.</p>
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		<item>
		<title>A fork in the road&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2010/06/a-fork-in-the-road/</link>
		<comments>http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2010/06/a-fork-in-the-road/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 19 Jun 2010 15:19:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Marc</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Evolutionary Spirituality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Internet Marketing & Business Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lifestyle Design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marc's Life and Travels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Relationships & Communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bawa muhaiyadeen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[burning man 2010]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[flawless living]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lafayette morehouse]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mike jay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mike jay flawless living]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[shalom mountain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sufism]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2010/06/a-fork-in-the-road/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>I am in part reluctant to write today, as I have so much to share, as my life has taken a definite turning point, a crystallization and falling-into-place and making-whole of all the experiences, triumphs and tragedies, joys and sorrows of my 3 years with Trellis, 6 years with Rebekah, and indeed the entire stream [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Flifestyledesignschool.com%2F2010%2F06%2Fa-fork-in-the-road%2F"><img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Flifestyledesignschool.com%2F2010%2F06%2Fa-fork-in-the-road%2F" height="61" width="51" /></a></div><p>I am in part reluctant to write today, as I have so much to share, as my life has taken a definite turning point, a crystallization and falling-into-place and making-whole of all the experiences, triumphs and tragedies, joys and sorrows of my 3 years with <a href="http://trellishouse.org" target="_blank">Trellis</a>, 6 years with Rebekah, and indeed the entire stream of my life to this day.&#160; I am half-reluctant to share because although there are some very exciting external events, which I will share momentarily, and upcoming adventures (I live for adventures), the essence of this transformation is still internal and in-process, and may therefore be difficult to convey in writing.</p>
<p>I am encouraged to write by a beautiful book I am reading, <a href="http://sufipress.com/Qutb.html">My years with the Qutb</a> by Sharon Marcus, about her time with the great Sufi saint <a href="http://www.bmf.org/">Bawa Muhaiyaddeen</a>, who spent the last 16 years of his life in Philadelphia (!).&#160; I must be a natural Sufi because every time I read anything on Sufism (previously Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee’s fascinating lectures <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Love-Fire-Am-Wood-Mystical/dp/1564555984">Love is a fire and I am wood</a>) something inside me responds with a powerful “Yes”; and Sharon Marcus’s book is no exception, I start to cry on every second page (tears of recognition and tears of relief).&#160; Sufism is about the primacy of love, and the burning away of everything that is not-love, and the everyday ecstasy that can be had from the intimate meeting with God and all of God’s creatures, including oneself and one’s fellows.&#160; This is the experience that was at the core of the design of Trellis (and the design of <a href="http://manifesting.net/lafayette-morehouse/" target="_blank">Morehouse</a> as well, that is Trellis’s spiritual parent), it is the same as Jerry Jud’s <a href="http://jimhession.blogspot.com/2002_12_01_archive.html" target="_blank">Love is an intention</a> and “more than anything else, we seek to love and be loved”, it is what happens most weekends (predictably) at <a href="http://shalommountain.com" target="_blank">Shalom Mountain Retreat Center</a>. It is an experience that has always been with me and called me, that has expressed itself most potently for me in intimate relationships of all kinds, and sexual/romantic attractions; and it’s an experience that is growing deeper and stronger with me every year. </p>
<p>Aside from this brief (rambling?) digression, I do have some news.&#160; I have found my dream job, which is social media director and affiliate manager for a new program called Flawless Living, that is being developed by visionary coach, entrepreneur and internet marketer <a href="http://mikejay.com" target="_blank">Mike Jay</a>, which I wrote about in my <a href="http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2010/05/mike-jay-on-performance-management-and-personal-effectiveness/" target="_blank">previous article</a>.&#160; Flawless Living cannot be described in a paragraph, as it’s the result of Mike’s 20 years of research into business coaching, Western psychology and human development (with a smattering of the world’s wisdom literature thrown in), but I can say that it’s a seminar series, a school of consciousness, a community/movement, an integrally-inspired business network, and a training program in internet marketing and business development all at once.&#160; The program is still in development but there is a beta launch in Las Vegas in August and an official launch in Philadelphia in November.&#160; What it’s about for me is the unification of the two fundamental strands, or major impulses of my life, which are the drive for happiness and the drive for “success” (recognition and contribution).&#160; These two major impulses, which I also describe as the masculine and feminine polarities of life, have been at war with each other for 40-odd years. What is so meaningful to me about this assignment, and so magical, is that it’s a recognition and validation of what I have been doing already for a couple of decades, for free—<em><u>networking for transformation</u></em>—and so this recognition has been profoundly calming and settling for me.&#160; The fundamental idea of Flawless Living is similar to—but much more complex and layered—than “do what you love and the money will follow”, because many of us have tried doing what we love and the money has <u>not</u> followed, and this is at it should, because the idea is good but a bit naive, and Mike has helped me to understand why.&#160; </p>
<p>Flawless Living is for now just a very part-time job for me, which is just as well, because of my next major piece of news: I am selling an interest in <a href="http://wordpressacademy.biz" target="_blank">WordPress Academy</a>, for a little cash and some help, to facilitate a big product development effort that will culminate in November with a product I am creating, which is a book/DVD on WordPress web design and internet marketing for small business.&#160; This is my major project for the next 4-5 months, that is going to force me into a kind of focus and self-discipline that I resist and yet I know I need in order to become the person that I want to be (i.e., happy and successful <img src='http://lifestyledesignschool.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';)' class='wp-smiley' /> .&#160; The reason I am seeking partners is that I have realized that I don’t want to do this alone, I am not motivated, it’s a fundamental part of my design that I can’t bring myself to do something unless it’s fun, and it’s a fundamental principle of Flawless Living that just because we <u>can</u> do something (like, exercise or meditate every morning) it doesn’t mean that we <u>will</u>, and therefore we need to find workarounds (such as, in my case, finding a partner, even at the cost of giving up some equity).&#160; </p>
<p>Because of all this, I have a very ambitious travel schedule over the next 4 months: in addition to a week-long retreat that Rebekah and I are doing at Shalom Mountain called <a href="http://shalommountain.com/" target="_blank">Sexuality and Spirituality</a>, I have <em><u>four</u></em> trips out West scheduled: I am attending the <a href="http://www.integraltheoryconference.org/default.html" target="_blank">Integral Theory in Action Conference</a> in Pleasant Hill CA (near Oakland) end of July, the Flawless Living immersion in Vegas mid-August, I am going to <a href="http://burningman.com/" target="_blank">Burning Man 2010</a> with a group from Shalom Mountain that I put together, and then back to Vegas again in October for <a href="http://www.blogworldexpo.com/index.aspx" target="_blank">Blogworld</a> where I will be promoting WordPress Academy.&#160; I haven’t travelled much for the last 6 years, so this also is a big change.&#160; The Flawless Living launch is in Philadelphia, thank God—I love traveling for the excitement and all, but I also find it physically challenging.&#160; </p>
<p>So stay tuned for more interesting reports over the course of the summer and fall, hopefully less rambling (although I don’t promise anything <img src='http://lifestyledesignschool.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p>Much love,</p>
<p>Marc</p>
<p>PS: If you like this, please <a href="http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2010/06/a-fork-in-the-road/#respond">comment</a></p>
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		<title>Mike Jay on performance management and personal effectiveness</title>
		<link>http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2010/05/mike-jay-on-performance-management-and-personal-effectiveness/</link>
		<comments>http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2010/05/mike-jay-on-performance-management-and-personal-effectiveness/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 15 May 2010 15:14:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Marc</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Evolutionary Spirituality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Internet Marketing & Business Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lifestyle Design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marc's Life and Travels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Relationships & Communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[andrew cohen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[David deida]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lafayette morehouse]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mike jay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mike jay on performance management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[performance management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[personal effectiveness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sexual polarity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[shirley luthman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Waking Down in Mutuality]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2010/05/mike-jay-on-performance-management-and-personal-effectiveness/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Rebekah and the kids are away for most of the weekend, and so I am enjoying “that blissful solitude, that was so painful in my youth” [Einstein].  Truthfully, the events of the last 6 weeks (starting with the book I am writing and on to extremely exciting events at WordPress Academy, that I haven’t shared [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Flifestyledesignschool.com%2F2010%2F05%2Fmike-jay-on-performance-management-and-personal-effectiveness%2F"><img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Flifestyledesignschool.com%2F2010%2F05%2Fmike-jay-on-performance-management-and-personal-effectiveness%2F" height="61" width="51" /></a></div><p>Rebekah and the kids are away for most of the weekend, and so I am enjoying “that blissful solitude, that was so painful in my youth” [Einstein].  Truthfully, the events of the last 6 weeks (starting with the <a href="http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2010/04/my-rise-to-fame-and-fortune-in-180-days-by-reading-writing-and-sleeping-2/" target="_blank">book I am writing</a> and on to extremely exciting events at <a href="http://wordpressacademy.biz" target="_blank">WordPress Academy</a>, that I haven’t shared yet) have been so intoxicating that I had resolved to spend the entire weekend in bed reading paperback novels and listening to inspirational audios.  But I need to share with y’all what happened yesterday.</p>
<p><a href="http://mikejay.com/" target="_blank">Mike Jay</a> is a business coach and developmentalist that I have been connected with loosely for a number of years.  I had actually started his <a href="http://b-coach.com/" target="_blank">coach training program</a> 5-6 years ago, before deciding that being a business coach probably wasn’t for me.  He’s been pretty quiet for the last few years but has recently surfaced with a coaching / business development program that is so compelling I joined right away.  I will be doing this program over the course of the summer, culminating in an intensive in Las Vegas in late August.  It turns that he has been traveling a lot for the last few years, coaching billionaires and major third-world banks.  I think he is one of the most brilliant people I have ever met, and his ideas on development are both very practical and timely.  The intro call for this program occurred yesterday, and it blew my mind.  I will post the audio to this call when I get permission, but let me summarize some of the key ideas here, and their impact on me.</p>
<p><span id="more-478"></span></p>
<p>The relationship between happiness and success, and effective tools to achieve these two goals,  has been the dominant inquiry of my life.  It has always seemed to me that a person could be one or the other – entirely dedicated to work and achievement at the cost of one’s personal life and relationships, or else living a life dedicated to pleasure, connection and authenticity, but at the cost of success and/or financial stability.  I have had very happy times in my life, and quite successful times in my life, but they rarely coincided.  In one way or the other, I have been obsessed with this theme my whole life, which I see as being connected to the “right-relationship” of masculine and feminine forces within oneself [<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Collection-Continuation-Intimacy-Shirley-Luthman/dp/0936094028/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1222171401&amp;sr=8-1" target="_blank">Shirley Luthman</a>, <a href="http://awakendmutuality.org" target="_blank">Waking Down in Mutuality</a>], and in the outside world as “sexual polarity” [<a href="http://lafmore.com" target="_blank">Lafayette Morehouse</a>, <a href="http://deida.info/" target="_blank">David Deida</a>].  For the last 6 years I have been engaged in a deep exploration of  these teachings, all of which have a lot to say about happiness, and perhaps even about “awakening” – surely, “awakening” needs to include some deep acceptance of self and unconditional enjoyment of life, and so the pursuit of happiness and the pursuit of awakening need be very closely related.  But I have not yet found a philosophy or developmental school in which there is a practical analysis and action plan for simultaneously achieving these two goals, happiness and success.</p>
<p>Mike Jay’s fundamental idea – and this of course is just the tip of the iceberg – is that happiness comes from being oneself, whereas success comes from meeting the success criteria of one’s chosen profession, that will vary (an athlete has different success criteria from an executive).  And the problem is this: that success comes from predictably (repeatedly) doing the actions that will cause one to meet the success criteria for one’s profession;  however, unless one has enjoyment (happiness) in these activities, it’s virtually impossible to do anything with any kind of consistency.  The majority of people struggle their whole lives trying to improve their character or motivation in order to do all the things that they know are necessary for their success, and they fail miserably, simply because human nature and our individuality (skills, likes and dislikes) cannot be easily changed, if at all.  Mike Jay talks about a trillion dollar industry built around training people to do this (change their motivation), which, of course, doesn’t work.  The real solution is to:</p>
<ol>
<li>Understand oneself sufficiently to know one’s limitations, and not even attempt the things that one is not suited for.  It’s much better to not even begin than to spend one’s lifetime in a battle with oneself, in which the speed and efficacy of one’s entire system gets degraded.  This of course is no different than the prime Socratic directive to “know yourself”, brought into the 21st century and expanded to account for all the layers of complexity that must be handled within our modern lives.  (I am reminded here of something I heard the Dalai Lama say: “<em>If you are not going to meditate, don’t even pretend to be a spiritual person.  You will have so much more freedom”). </em></li>
<li>The way to meet the success criteria for which one is not suited, is to partner with someone else.  This however is not an easy thing because in addition to “knowing oneself” it requires the ability to ask for what one needs, and distinguish in the answer whether it’s a good fit.   According to Mike Jay, introverts have a particular difficulty with this, both because going outside themselves is difficult, and because they don’t know how to ask the question (present clearly and enrollingly) and distinguish the answer.  But it’s hard for everyone – this of course is the fine art of leadership, or management.</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>So there you have it – in a nutshell – the cause of the overwhelm that I have been experiencing lately.</strong> I am an introvert which compounds the problem.</p>
<p>It’s difficult for me to fully convey the importance of this insight for me – along with the fact that I seem to have found at least the beginnings of an answer to the problem that has been tormenting me my entire life.  I have studied <a href="http://integrallife.com/contributors/ken-wilber" target="_blank">Ken Wilber</a> and <a href="http://www.enlightennext.org/" target="_blank">Andrew Cohen</a> (other major integral philosophers / developmentalists), and I am becoming increasingly connected to the <a href="http://integralevolutionary.com/about-integral-development/" target="_blank">“integral evolutionary” community</a> which I see now as my “spiritual home” – but I haven’t yet found anything actionable in these teachings – anything that helps to either alleviate human suffering, inject more love in the world, or put money in my pocket and in the pockets of my clients / business associates.  Even before Mike Jay, I had already started to partner with people more in my business, and will also be getting into social media in a big way in the coming months, but it’s really wonderful to be a part of a coaching and inquiry group around these important issues.  It feels wonderful not to be alone any more, and I am ecstatic.</p>
<p>I will be writing more on this in the coming weeks on the <a href="http://integralevolutionary.com/" target="_blank">Integral evolutionary blog</a> – you may subscribe there if interested in hearing more.  This list (“Marc’s life and travels”) is a less-frequent personal snapshot of the turning moments in my life, such as this one, and so I won’t be posting a blow-by-blow account of my engagement with these teachings.</p>
<p>Much love,</p>
<p>Marc</p>
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		<title>My rise to fame and fortune in 180 days</title>
		<link>http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2010/04/my-rise-to-fame-and-fortune-in-180-days-by-reading-writing-and-sleeping-2/</link>
		<comments>http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2010/04/my-rise-to-fame-and-fortune-in-180-days-by-reading-writing-and-sleeping-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Apr 2010 16:59:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Marc</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Internet Marketing & Business Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marc's Life and Travels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Writing as a Career]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[burning man]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[integral evolutionary]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[<p>When I haven’t checked-in for such an eternity, it’s hard to know where to begin.&#160; </p>
<p>I will start with practical things.&#160; The WordPress webinar business has taken off.&#160; I am generating as much service business as I can handle right now just from my eBook and web traffic. The webinar has gone through two full [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Flifestyledesignschool.com%2F2010%2F04%2Fmy-rise-to-fame-and-fortune-in-180-days-by-reading-writing-and-sleeping-2%2F"><img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Flifestyledesignschool.com%2F2010%2F04%2Fmy-rise-to-fame-and-fortune-in-180-days-by-reading-writing-and-sleeping-2%2F" height="61" width="51" /></a></div><p>When I haven’t checked-in for such an eternity, it’s hard to know where to begin.&#160; </p>
<p>I will start with practical things.&#160; The <a href="http://wordpressacademy.biz">WordPress webinar business</a> has taken off.&#160; I am generating as much service business as I can handle right now just from my eBook and web traffic. The webinar has gone through two full cycles, with the third cycle launching in early May (let me know if you are interested, the usual discounts are available to people on my personal list).&#160; I am also finishing teaching a 6-week course at <a href="http://www.lebow.drexel.edu/Centers/Baiada/index.php">Drexel’s Baiada Center for Entrepreneurship</a> that has been very successful, and they want me back.&#160; Recently one of the leading software and technology review sites on the web, <a href="http://MakeUseOf.com">MakeUseOf.com</a>, adopted my eBook and sent it out to its 200,000 subscribers.&#160; That same day, Google upped my page rank from 0 to 3.&#160; I&#160; I feel that I have been struggling all my life to find a line of work that wouldn’t make me crazy, and I may have finally succeeded.&#160; We are also regaining our financial footing for the first time since starting the commune 3 years ago, as Rebekah is working too (she’s taken a job at California Pizza Kitchen near here).&#160; Kids are happy, all is well.&#160; </p>
<p>In addition to this, I am writing a book, which is provisionally titled <em>“My rise to fame and fortune in 180 days by reading, writing and sleeping: a bipolar memoir”.</em>&#160; It’s due out in the fall.&#160; It’s part memoir, part critique and spoof of the self-help industry, and part reality-show of my life. It is based on the premise that “self-improvement” doesn’t work.&#160; Instead, I have adopted a new “definite major purpose” [from Napoleon Hill’s famous “Think and Grow Rich”] which is to awaken to non-dual consciousness and make a pile of money in the next 180 days by doing more of the things that bring me joy: reading, writing and sleeping.&#160; The awakening to non-dual consciousness is “scheduled” to happen at about the time I will be at <a href="http://www.burningman.com/">Burning Man 2010</a> (I am hoping to take a small group there this year).&#160; So that should be interesting.&#160; The book is also about the power of agreement within a sexually polarized relationship, and integrates a lot of what I have learned in Morehouse and from David Deida. </p>
<p>Writing the book is a lot of work, and I can only do it in spurts because of my other obligations, but it has been a very joyful thing.&#160; I have discovered that writing for personal transformation, as in this blog, and writing for publication, are very different things.&#160; I have joined a memoir-writer’s group where I am learning the craft of writing for publication.&#160; However, the personal impact of the project on me is nothing less than cataclysmic. My life has taken on a vividness, immediacy and sense of purpose that it was lacking before.&#160; I feel this book to be my unique contribution, the thing that my whole life has been preparing me for, the “essence of Marc”.&#160; I have lost my envy of people who are successful in business: I only desire to be me and to write.&#160; Which is a fortunate desire to have, as it happens to be my reality.&#160; </p>
<p>Anyway – this is just my “initial broadside”.&#160; I will be writing more in the coming weeks as the adventure unfolds.&#160; If are you interested in my ideas on development, you may want to subscribe to <a href="http://integralevolutionary.com/">Integral Evolutionary blog</a> as well, where I post more frequently.</p>
<p>Love,</p>
<p>Marc</p>
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		<title>Trellis debrief + a trip to Shivananda Yoga Ashram</title>
		<link>http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2009/12/trellis-debrief-a-trip-to-shivananda-yoga-ashram/</link>
		<comments>http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2009/12/trellis-debrief-a-trip-to-shivananda-yoga-ashram/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 14 Dec 2009 23:25:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Marc</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Internet Marketing & Business Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lifestyle Design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marc's Life and Travels]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[<p>Well, I have lived a couple of lifetimes since Trellis House was shut-down by the Norristown zoning department 5 weeks ago.&#160; Quite a few miracles have occurred, and many angels have showed-up, but the scene is still a bit too “raw” for full-disclosure.&#160; Maybe I will write the full story one day.&#160; However there are [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Flifestyledesignschool.com%2F2009%2F12%2Ftrellis-debrief-a-trip-to-shivananda-yoga-ashram%2F"><img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Flifestyledesignschool.com%2F2009%2F12%2Ftrellis-debrief-a-trip-to-shivananda-yoga-ashram%2F" height="61" width="51" /></a></div><p>Well, I have lived a couple of lifetimes since <a href="http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2009/11/trellis-house-shut-down-by-zoning-board-and-free-webinars-launching/">Trellis House was shut-down by the Norristown zoning department</a> 5 weeks ago.&#160; Quite a few miracles have occurred, and many angels have showed-up, but the scene is still a bit too “raw” for full-disclosure.&#160; Maybe I will write the full story one day.&#160; However there are a few things I can say about it now.</p>
<p>First of all: in retrospect, it seems clear that this was one of those cases where the Universe gave a kick-in-the-pants in a direction that was initially unwelcome, but that in the end served everyone.&#160; The bottom-line, I think, is that we were all ready to end this particular experiment.&#160; Some more than others, of course.&#160; It’s not up to me to share other people’s story, but for myself I will say this: running a commune is just about the most fulfilling thing that I have ever done in my life; and yet, it was time for me to take back some attention from my “hobbies” (i.e. running a commune) and put more energy into business.&#160; Which business, my new <a href="http://internet101.biz">Website development and internet marketing training company</a>, is one of the great miracles of this debacle.&#160; I sold 13 seats in my first webinar through my personal network alone, and teaching it has been just about the most fun I have ever had in a business context (“the most fun to be had while vertical”, a friend of mine used to say).&#160; Everyone I talk to thinks it’s a winner, there is a book possibility, I have an appointment at <a href="http://www.lebow.drexel.edu/Centers/Baiada/index.php">Drexel’s Baiada Center for Entrepreneurship</a> to talk about teaching it there, etc. etc.</p>
<p>The second thing I realized is this: <em>there is no shame in a spectacular business failure</em>.&#160; And especially so, when this was an attempt to serve a beautiful dream: that “all would live as lovers do” (Peggy Seeger in her beautiful song <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzjWqkucecs">Thoughts of time</a>).&#160; I believe that Jesus had a similar idea as well. </p>
<p>So much for that.&#160; What will happen next with the house etc., is anybody’s guess.&#160; We haven’t given up the fight yet.&#160; Also the non-residential community is continuing.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.sivananda.org/ranch/"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 5px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" align="right" src="http://lifestyledesignschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/image.png" width="200" height="133" /></a> In an attempt to get some clarity on all this, I did spend a long weekend at the <a href="http://www.sivananda.org/ranch/">Shivananda Yoga Ashram</a> in the Catskill very recently.&#160; I am very familiar with Shivananda yoga from my previous life in the early 90s. I used to go on personal retreats in their Val Morin center (north of Montreal) and I had discovered that no matter what a mess I was going in, within two days of doing their program, I was good-as-rain.&#160; Miraculous really. I wanted to see if it still worked.&#160; </p>
<p>It did.&#160; Imagine this: 4 hours a day of yoga, 2-3 hours of meditation and chanting, long walks in the country, eating delicious vegetarian food, and sleeping the rest of the time.&#160; The yoga is much more meditative than other forms of yoga I have tried – there are many rest periods and lots of breathing exercises – without losing any of the intensity.&#160; It’s also a longer workout, about 2 hours.&#160; I totally dig it, and aside from feeling pretty sore, it was something blissful.&#160; In many ways I feel like I am starting a new life now, and very eager to see how much I can do at home.&#160; But I am pretty psyched about the idea of going back-and-forth between here and Shivananda until I get it right.&#160; They have wireless internet there too, so I can work.&#160; A major benefit of having an internet-based business, of course.</p>
<p>I really appreciate everyone’s support during this difficult transition.&#160; I am feeling very loved right now.</p>
<p>To be continued…</p>
<p>Marc</p>
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		<title>Starting a new business, and other reflections on death and rebirth</title>
		<link>http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2009/10/starting-a-new-business-and-other-reflections-on-death-and-rebirth/</link>
		<comments>http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2009/10/starting-a-new-business-and-other-reflections-on-death-and-rebirth/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 03 Oct 2009 15:06:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Marc</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Internet Marketing & Business Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lifestyle Design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[death and rebirth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[starting a new business]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[<p> As the cooler fall weather arrives in the Northeast, I feel “enlivened” all over and a great happiness fills me.&#160; It’s the same for me every year: the fall represents change and the beginning of a new cycle, new possibilities, death/rebirth.&#160; This is even more so this year, which has been one of the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Flifestyledesignschool.com%2F2009%2F10%2Fstarting-a-new-business-and-other-reflections-on-death-and-rebirth%2F"><img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Flifestyledesignschool.com%2F2009%2F10%2Fstarting-a-new-business-and-other-reflections-on-death-and-rebirth%2F" height="61" width="51" /></a></div><p><img style="border-right-width: 0px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" align="left" src="http://lifestyledesignschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/image.png" width="244" height="164" /> As the cooler fall weather arrives in the Northeast, I feel “enlivened” all over and a great happiness fills me.&#160; It’s the same for me every year: the fall represents change and the beginning of a new cycle, new possibilities, death/rebirth.&#160; This is even more so this year, which has been one of the most transformational, to the point of surreal / bizarre, of my entire life.&#160; </p>
<p>I haven’t written for a while, and the circumstances behind this are part of the surreality of the scene here.&#160; We’ve been involved in a very ugly child custody battle with Rebekah’s ex, and I had to curtail the “narcissistic ramblings” for a while because they were actually being used against me in the lawsuit (what the ?!*@).&#160; The details of the case are stranger than fiction, suffice to say that the case was finally settled in late August and so I am free once again to say whatever I want.&#160; The settlement was a triumph of common sense over insanity, and having this off our backs has been huge.&#160; </p>
<p><em>I do have some exciting news about my new business &#8211; an internet marketing and social media consulting business – which will launch in a few days</em>.&#160; That is not, however, what I want to talk about today, which is my process through this.&#160; If you really can’t wait to hear about the business, you can <a href="http://everymanmarketing.com" target="_blank">have a peek here</a>.&#160; </p>
<p>I have been out of work for over 9 months now – the longest time in my life &#8211; and also the longest time of introspection and “consciousness research” (with myself as subject) that I have ever had.&#160; The decision to take this time off was not very conscious, and involved taking risks that a wiser or more prudent person might not have taken.&#160; As in all the important decisions of my life, however, this was something that I felt compelled to do, as if some higher and as-yet-unknown purpose was guiding me.&#160; It was a completely “unreasonable” and “irresponsible” decision, and it felt totally right.&#160; How smart a decision it was, only time will tell; but there <em>have</em> been a great number of very positive and exciting things come about.&#160; </p>
<p><a href="http://trellishouse.org/" target="_blank">Trellis House</a> started out the year with a bang, producing in rapid succession both our first <a href="http://lafmore.com" target="_blank">Morehouse course</a> and a weekend course with <a href="http://sanielandlinda.com" target="_blank">Saniel Bonder</a> (who is still, to my mind, one of the most brilliant developmental philosophers on the planet, and with whom I have a personal relationship now).&#160; Over the summer, two new people came to live with us, and we also somehow (God only knows how, considering we didn’t “have a pot to piss in”) found the resources to build out three new rooms in the house.&#160; We are now 10 people with a few rooms still available, and very close to turning a profit, money which will pay, among others things, for courses and training for residents.&#160; The idea of the “community of fun, love and transformation” is becoming a reality.</p>
<p>An even more fundamental transformation, however, has taken place inside of me.&#160; My willingness to “push the edge” this year (financially, relationally, psychologically), to conduct my life as an ongoing “experiment in consciousness”, and still come out the other side in one piece, has been proven in action.&#160; I have had to confront all of my anxieties, neuroses and addictions in the process, in addition to the classic pitfalls of “romantic” personalities in general: ungroundedness, self-inflation and hubris.&#160; I have had to take in (and take to heart) some very negative feedback from several friends who thought that I had lost my marbles.&#160; Negative feedback tends to push me in the direction that I need to go in anyway, and so it was very useful to hear this.&#160; But this period is now coming to an end.&#160; </p>
<p>As I begin the next stage of my life, that of an internet business coach and entrepreneur, I am delighted, excited, sad and a bit nostalgic.&#160; Delighted at all that has happened, both internally and externally; excited about the future; and sad that it didn’t come out as I expected, took way longer, and that the work is not yet over:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#160;<em>“Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment”</em> &#8212; Sufi sage/fool <a href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mulla_Nasrudin">Mulla Nasrudin</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>… which is just another reminder that happiness is a choice.&#160; </p>
<p>And another quote from one of my favorite transformational coaches:</p>
<blockquote><p><em>“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. &#8212; <a href="http://clubfearless.net" target="_blank">Steve Chandler</a>”</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Stay tuned for my next post, which will contain details of my new business and some general reflections on the internet marketing profession.</p>
<p> <a href="http://everymanmarketing.com"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://warrior-coach.com/sample/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/image37.png" width="653" height="104" /></a></p>
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		<item>
		<title>Don&#8217;t worry, you are going to be alright</title>
		<link>http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2009/06/dont-worry-you-are-going-to-be-alright/</link>
		<comments>http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2009/06/dont-worry-you-are-going-to-be-alright/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:03:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Marc</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Internet Marketing & Business Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Juice Feasting / Fasting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lifestyle Design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ultramind Solution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mark Hymand]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Morehouse]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Project Mojave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Saniel Bonder]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sigmund Freud love and work]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trellis House]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Waking Down in Mutuality]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2009/06/dont-worry-you-are-going-to-be-alright/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Two days ago I wrote major post to the polyphasic sleep blog (which is where I put my thoughts-in-formation), excerpted below:</p>
<p>“What is gradually emerging is that the leading edge of my own development is deepening and clarifying my relationship with my wife, Rebekah.  This is an awesome yet shocking realization – awesome in terms of [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Flifestyledesignschool.com%2F2009%2F06%2Fdont-worry-you-are-going-to-be-alright%2F"><img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Flifestyledesignschool.com%2F2009%2F06%2Fdont-worry-you-are-going-to-be-alright%2F" height="61" width="51" /></a></div><p>Two days ago I wrote <a href="http://polyphasic-sleep.info/2009/06/polyphasic-sleep-consciousness-development-and-marriage-part-2/">major post</a> to the polyphasic sleep blog (which is where I put my thoughts-in-formation), excerpted below:</p>
<blockquote><p>“What is gradually emerging is that the leading edge of my own development is deepening and clarifying my relationship with my wife, <a href="http://trellishouse.org/about-us.html">Rebekah</a>.  This is an awesome yet shocking realization – awesome in terms of the possibilities, and shocking in that this had not been obvious to me before.  In my usual masculine, goal-oriented, single-pointed consciousness, bulldozer style of being, I have been speeding forward without great awareness or concern for the people around me and their needs.  Perhaps this was developmentally appropriate and timely – and I can hardly complain about the results – but the time has come to get this handled.  It may also be possible that “getting this handled” is a masculine problem-solving approach towards a situation that is likely to be a lifetime of work – oh lucky me to have such an interesting problem to solve, as the problem of relating lovingly and deeply and powerfully all the time to the person with whom I have chosen to share my life (and my business!).”</p></blockquote>
<p>This is classic Morehouse philosophy.  Interesting how I’ve come full-circle here.</p>
<p>In addition I want to report some very big wins:</p>
<ul>
<li>We have <em>two</em> <a href="http://trellishouse.org/residential-program.html">trial residents</a> at Trellis right now, with a <em>third</em> expected next weekend.  All of them very cool people.  This is pretty wild, and it gets intense as we try and put on a good show for trial residents.  It’s a major production, but well worth it &#8211; having new people here generally ups everyone’s level of fun and attention.  I also just completed a major upgrade to  the <a href="http://trellishouse.org/">Trellis House website</a>.  We are on the map now and we aren’t going away.</li>
<li>I wrote the skeleton website for my new internet marketing and social media consulting company over the weekend, <a href="http://everymanmarketing.com/">Everyman Marketing</a>, including two good articles – check out the lead article <a href="http://everymanmarketing.com/2009/06/why-traditional-website-publishing-is-dead-and-why-you-should-use-wordpress-or-similar-cms-instead/">Why traditional website publishing is dead (and why you should use Wordpress or similar CMS instead)</a>.  Also my <a href="http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2009/05/join-me-in-creating-an-internet-business-that-generates-4kmth-within-12-weeks/">Project Mojave</a> group (internet business development group) has started in earnest and I have two very committed members (PS: It’s not too late to join!)</li>
<li>I am coaching one-on-one with <a href="http://sanielandlinda.com">Saniel Bonder</a>, who is an effin’ genius</li>
<li>And, I have two other high-power developmental groups going, plus one in formation:  I have a half-hour weekday Mastermind call with two friends that has been amazing; I have a group of friends from Shalom Mountain exploring awakening within <a href="http://wakingdown.org">Waking Down in Mutuality</a>; and we are starting a 4-part course here at Trellis in a few weeks called <a href="http://warrior-coach.com/blogt/2009/06/05/introduction-to-conscious-eating-mon-june-15-and-four-tuesdays-from-june-23/">Conscious Eating</a> that I am very excited about.  I am also very excited about Mark Hyman’s book <a href="http://www.ultramind.com/">The Ultramind Solution</a>, which is about how nutrition and self-care affects our cognitive capacity and resilience.  This is <em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">so</span></em> right-on for me right now.</li>
</ul>
<p>And yet I continue to be challenged by my caffeine addiction, relationship with Rebekah, juggling time and money, worries and anxieties about the future, etc…  Same old, same old. <em>Why is life so complicated</em>?</p>
<p><strong>But my situation is by no means unusual.  Half the people I know are in some kind of major crisis or life transition right now… </strong></p>
<p>Half the people that I am working with these days are struggling in some way – to support their families, find their passion, relate creatively and compassionately to their partners, deal with health issues… Situations that are almost surreal abound, magical encounters and synchronicities are commonplace, many of us can barely tell what is up and what is down, and virtually all of us are worried about something or other.  It would not be too much to say that life as we know it is getting turned upside down.</p>
<p>By comparison with what I am seeing all around me, in fact, my own life occurs as “a walk through the tulips”.  I am living my dream and I have my Beloved, after all – what could be better?</p>
<blockquote><p>“Love and work&#8230; work and love, that&#8217;s all there is.”</p>
<p align="right">&#8211; Sigmund Freud</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So here is my inspirational quote for the day:</p>
<blockquote><p><strong>“Don’t worry, you are going to be alright.”</strong></p>
<p align="right"><strong>&#8211; Marc Beneteau</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>I know that of which I speak.</p>
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		<title>Join me in creating an internet business that generates $4k/mth within 12 weeks</title>
		<link>http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2009/05/join-me-in-creating-an-internet-business-that-generates-4kmth-within-12-weeks/</link>
		<comments>http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2009/05/join-me-in-creating-an-internet-business-that-generates-4kmth-within-12-weeks/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 27 May 2009 09:53:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Marc</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Internet Marketing & Business Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lifestyle Design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[career development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[financial freedom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[financial independence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[internet business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[internet business development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[internet marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Project Mojave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[self-employment]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2009/05/join-me-in-creating-an-internet-business-that-generates-4kmth-within-12-weeks/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>The basic offer</p>
<p>I made an offer in yesterday&#8217;s post to join me in this course I am taking called &#8220;Project Mojave&#8221;.  This is a course for creating an internet business that will generate $4k/mth in product or service sales within 12 weeks.  I don&#8217;t do anything alone these days unless I have to, and so [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Flifestyledesignschool.com%2F2009%2F05%2Fjoin-me-in-creating-an-internet-business-that-generates-4kmth-within-12-weeks%2F"><img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Flifestyledesignschool.com%2F2009%2F05%2Fjoin-me-in-creating-an-internet-business-that-generates-4kmth-within-12-weeks%2F" height="61" width="51" /></a></div><p><strong>The basic offer</strong></p>
<p>I made an offer in <a href="http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2009/05/barbara-sher-on-self-discipline-does-it-work-plus-an-offer/" target="_blank">yesterday&#8217;s post</a> to join me in this course I am taking called &#8220;Project Mojave&#8221;.  This is a course for creating an internet business that will generate $4k/mth in product or service sales within 12 weeks.  I don&#8217;t do anything alone these days unless I have to, and so I am putting together a small group to take the course with me and to support each other.  I am offering my internet expertise for free to everyone in the group, plus access to my outsourcing network, plus a weekly Mastermind group.  &#8220;Internet expertise&#8221; means that I will tell you what to do, and guide you if necessary, in creating your website, mailing list, shopping cart, etc.  All you need to do is write your content and carry on the other activities within the course (market research,testing, promotion etc), and I ask in exchange is that you review any products that I will create during this time.  My products are probably going to be training videos on website development and marketing a business online, so I don&#8217;t think that aspect should be too painful for you <img src='http://lifestyledesignschool.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':-)' class='wp-smiley' /> .  The course costs $97/mth and this is going to be my main business project over the summer.  I have put aside 20-25 hours a week for it.  You won&#8217;t need to put aside as much time as that, but it is a serious commitment, and I do not recommend you join if you don&#8217;t have at least 5-10 hours to put into it weekly.  I cannot send you a link to the course as registration closed last Friday, but I have copied the curriculum below.  If you want to join, please reply to this mail, we&#8217;ll setup a brief time to chat to make sure that this is what you want, and then I will send you the registration link.</p>
<p><strong>Is this another &#8220;Internet marketing course&#8221;?</strong></p>
<p>Yes.  I happen to believe that 99% of &#8220;internet marketing courses&#8221; are cr@p.  But here is why I think this one is different.  Most of these courses teach (or suggest) that you can create a product, put up a website, do a little search-engine optimization (SEO) or pay-per-click (PPC), and start raking in the bucks.  In my estimation, however, about 10% of these projects ever make any money at all, and 1% generate a living wage.  And so, yes, to intend to create a product that will generate $4k/mth after 12 weeks is quite ambitious.  Which is why I want you to understand the following before you begin:</p>
<ul>
<li>Creating a product (downloadable ebook or training video) is an <em>extremely valuable</em> addition to any kind of service business.  It establishes your credibility, brings you customers, and helps you build your mailing list.  If you are starting &#8220;cold&#8221;, it&#8217;s unlikely you can make a product that will generate $4k/mth in pure product sales in 12 weeks.  However, if you are using your product in order to &#8220;pre-sell&#8221; your services, the chances that this will be worth your while financially are much, much greater.  Many of us have expertise which we have acquired over the years that people would pay for, and it&#8217;s more valuable for us to sell it as a product rather than a service, since selling product does not require incremental use of our time.  Furthermore, current technology allows for very rapid product development through PC-based video software etc.  It could take as a little as a week to actually make the product.  What takes up most of the time is brainstorming, market research and promotion.  Plus our own education of course.</li>
<li>These projects typically fail for one or more of several reasons.  The first reason is that people &#8220;put the cart before the horse&#8221;, they develop a product before knowing if there is a market for it.  Market research and testing are <em>fundamental</em> (and ongoing) aspects of the process, and the course explain how to do this.  The second reason they fail is that people lack information (which is compounded, as I say, by the plethora of &#8220;get rich quick&#8221; courses of this nature).  I personally think, however, that the major reason is that people are unable or unwilling to put in the time that it takes, they quickly get discouraged, and/or don&#8217;t feel passionate enough about themselves or their product.  Again, the course addresses this problem.  <em>I am of the firm conviction that all projects undertaken with love in your heart (ie., with a higher purpose in mind) succeed.  They don&#8217;t always make money, but they always bring you something precious, even if it&#8217;s &#8220;just&#8221; an education.  This is my goal in launching this project.</em></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>How did  &#8220;Project Mojave&#8221; get started?</strong></p>
<p>One of the reasons that I feel so confident in believing that you are going to get value from this course, is that I feel a lot of synergy with the main author.  His name is Clay Collins, and he got his start by authoring a popular blog called <a href="http://thegrowinglife.com/" target="_blank">The Growing Life</a>.  He started writing about people&#8217;s passion to have lives of deeper meaning and purposes by &#8220;liberating&#8221; themselves from their regular (boring) jobs, and he attracted quite a following.  In fact, he became one of the most popular bloggers on the subject of personal productivity and alternative lifestyles, not quite a <a href="http://stevepavlina.com" target="_blank">Steve Pavlina</a> or <a href="http://zenhabits.net/" target="_blank">Zen Habits</a>, but in the same league.  Eventually, he turned his attention to the financial aspect of &#8220;liberation&#8221;.  To be perfectly honest,  I was extremely skeptical of his new direction, as I thought he was just going to turn into another &#8220;internet marketing guru&#8221; (scam artist), and I told him so directly at the time.  But so far, he seems to have maintained his integrity and he has been extremely courteous and available in any personal contacts we have had.  He has also added some pretty high-power people to the faculty, such as well-known social networking blogger and consultant <a href="http://www.lauraroeder.com/" target="_blank">Laura Roeder</a>.  All faculty are available for phone consults at no additional charge.  I believe that Project Mojave is going to become a serious competitor to the most popular internet marketing and SEO course available (<a href="https://member.stompernet.net/?r=200916&amp;i=68" target="_blank">StomperNet</a>), since it&#8217;s about 1/8 of the cost and, in my opinion, better (since it addresses the human challenges of building an internet business and not just the technical aspects).</p>
<p><strong>So without further ado here is the course curriculum</strong></p>
<p>If you want to join me, simply respond to this mail and we&#8217;ll take it from there.</p>
<p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Find Your Market or Niche (<em>Weeks 1-4</em>)</span></strong></p>
<p><strong>Understand How Freedom Businesses Work</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>The “Freedom Business” Blueprint</li>
<li>The Month 1 Roadmap</li>
<li>5 Online Business Realities (That No One Talks About)</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Find and Test Markets</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Finding and Brainstorming Markets, Part 1</li>
<li>Finding and Brainstorming Markets, Part 2</li>
<li>Internet Business Intelligence 101</li>
<li>Keyword Research on Roids</li>
<li>How to Legally Steal (Draw Inspiration From) Other People’s Markets and Niches</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Select a Specific Need You Will Address</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>The Three Essential Ingredients of a Freedom Business Product or Market</li>
</ul>
<p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Create Your Information Product (<em>Weeks 4-6</em>)</span></strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Understand How Rapid Product Creation Works</li>
<li>Outline Your Product</li>
<li>Conduct Research</li>
<li>Create Your Product</li>
</ul>
<p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Create Your Sales Process (<em>Weeks 7-8</em>)</span></strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Develop “Freeline” Content</li>
<li>Build Your List</li>
<li>Build a Website
<ul>
<li>SEO Optimize</li>
<li>Social Media Optimize</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Write Your Sales Letter</li>
<li>Begin Scouting Potential JVs</li>
</ul>
<p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Make Your First Sale (<em>Week 9</em>)</span></strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Form JV Partnerships</li>
<li>Create an Affiliate Program</li>
<li>Run PPC Campaigns</li>
<li>Purchase Advertising</li>
<li>Generate Social Media Traffic and Attention</li>
</ul>
<p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Earn $134 in One Day (<em>Weeks 10-12</em>)</span></strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Improve Your Sales Process</li>
<li>Optimize Your PPC Campaigns</li>
<li>More SEO Optimization</li>
<li>Create an Exhaustive Social Media Campaign</li>
<li>Add a Backend Product</li>
<li>Create an Upsell</li>
<li>Create your Auto-Responder Sequence</li>
</ul>
<p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Supersize Your Business (<em>Go from $4k/Month to $10k/Month</em>)</span></strong></p>
<p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Automate Your Business (<em>Create a 20-hour Work Week</em>)</span></strong></p>
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		<title>Barbara Sher on &quot;self-discipline&quot;: does it work? (plus an offer)</title>
		<link>http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2009/05/barbara-sher-on-self-discipline-does-it-work-plus-an-offer/</link>
		<comments>http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2009/05/barbara-sher-on-self-discipline-does-it-work-plus-an-offer/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 26 May 2009 15:39:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Marc</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Internet Marketing & Business Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lifestyle Design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[barbara sher]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[career development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[internet business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[self-discipline]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[self-employment]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2009/05/barbara-sher-on-self-discipline-does-it-work-plus-an-offer/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Below is a quote from Barbara Sher (one of my many gurus   in the introduction to Wishcraft.  The entire book, by the way, can be downloaded for free &#8211; a very generous offer considering that it&#8217;s one of the best books on career development ever written &#8211; of the same caliber as &#8220;What [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Flifestyledesignschool.com%2F2009%2F05%2Fbarbara-sher-on-self-discipline-does-it-work-plus-an-offer%2F"><img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Flifestyledesignschool.com%2F2009%2F05%2Fbarbara-sher-on-self-discipline-does-it-work-plus-an-offer%2F" height="61" width="51" /></a></div><p>Below is a quote from Barbara Sher (one of my many gurus <img src='http://lifestyledesignschool.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':-)' class='wp-smiley' />  in the introduction to <a href="http://www.wishcraft.com/" target="_blank">Wishcraft</a>.  The entire book, by the way, can be downloaded for free &#8211; a very generous offer considering that it&#8217;s one of the best books on career development ever written &#8211; of the same caliber as &#8220;What Color is Your Parachute&#8221; by Richard Nelson Bolles.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;As the bruised victim of every success book and program that ever promised me ten easy steps to self-esteem, self-discipline, will power, or a positive attitude, I know what I’m talking about when I say this book is different. I wrote it for people like me—people who were born without any of the virtues that made Horatio Alger great and who have given up all hope of ever developing them. Can you persevere? I can’t. There is no diet of any kind, physical, emotional, or financial, that I haven&#8217;t fallen off by Wednesday if I started it on Monday. Self-discipline? I jogged once—I think it was about four years ago. Self-confidence? I&#8217;ve walked out of dozens of seminars bursting with it. It lasted three days. I’m an ace procrastinator, I love nothing better than to watch old movies on the Late Show when I’m supposed to be doing something important. My positive attitudes are invariably followed by gloomy slumps. As a well-meaning but tactless friend once said to me, &#8216;Barbara, if you can make it, anyone can.&#8217; &#8220;</p></blockquote>
<p>Barbara Sher&#8217;s point is quite simple: that success or happiness of any kind is unlikely to come from the exercise of brute force or flawless self-discipline alone.  Maybe this works for some people, but certainly not for the majority of us.  Still, there is some good news here: which is that <em>if</em> we can learn to harness the extraordinary power of our loves and of our passions, and <em>if</em> we can enroll other people in supporting us in that, our chances of success increase quite dramatically!  And what is equally astonishing (according to Sher), is that given the right context or attitude, &#8220;self-discipline&#8221; isn&#8217;t even necessary!</p>
<p>Which reminds me of one of my favorite lines from Victor Baranco: that pleasure is a higher goal than performance (or achievement) because when we reach our pleasure goals, as often as not we reach our performance goals too; but the reverse is not true at all (ie. it&#8217;s possible to be very &#8220;successful&#8221; in worldly terms and yet feel quite miserable &#8211; been there done that).</p>
<p><strong>Here is a situation that my friends and I are dealing with right now</strong></p>
<p>There is a great transformation happening right now in the culture.  I see it every day and in almost everyone I talk to, and it is this: people are just not willing to settle any more for &#8220;humdrum&#8221; lives driven by expediency and obligation.  E<em>veryone wants to spend their life doing what they love (and often has a pretty fair idea of what that might be); but very few of us have figured out how to support ourselves financially doing these things</em>.</p>
<p><strong>So here is the offer:</strong></p>
<p>A few weeks ago I came across a program called &#8220;Project Mojave&#8221;.  This is a 12-week program for creating an information product capable of fueling an internet business that will generate $4k/mth through a combination of product sales and services.  <em>My offer is to have you join me in this program</em>.  The cost of the program is quite reasonable ($97/mth), it consists of a combination of training materials, practice sessions, and a support community, and I can tell you, it kicks ass.  Registration officially closed last week, but I can still get you in.  My goal is to develop information products that will help people market their product or service on the web, so here is what I can do for you: if you will join me in this program, and if you are committed to creating at least one information product of your own (downloadable ebook or training video), and agree to review any products that I will develop, I will give you free coaching on internet technology and website development, <em>and</em> I will give you free access to my web development outsourcing network.  I will also invite you to join a weekly Mastermind group in which we can discuss our progress and support each other.</p>
<p><a href="http://lifestyledesignschool.com/2009/05/join-me-in-creating-an-internet-business-that-generates-4kmth-within-12-weeks/">This post continued here&#8230;</a></p>
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