Archive - April, 2010

Comfort Challenge Update – Only You Can Decide – Thanks Carlotta

April 30, 2010 in Business, Linchpin, Success, Thinking Outside The Box with 0 Comments

How’d you make out with last week’s comfort challenge from “The 4-Hour Work Week“?

For myself, I found I was certainly much more aware of what my eyes were doing while engaged in conversation. As for using the technique with total strangers, that was much harder. Like Tim mentioned, you don’t want to look like a psychopath and get your ass kicked!

After posting last week’s comfort challenge and explaining I would share Tim’s comfort challenges each Friday, someone posted a comment and suggested it was a little bit of a cop-out.

Carlotta’s reasoning was that she had already read Tim’s book and that she’d like to see some new, creative, and relevant comfort challenges created. She suggested it would be a great opportunity for people to accomplish something new.

The more I thought about the comment, the more I agreed with what she was saying. She was right. After all, it’s Friday and what a simple way to end a week of blog posts.

But then my thoughts continued on the subject….

I started to think about coming up with my own, and I started to think more about Tim’s comfort challenges in his book. Some of which are extremely unique and uncomfortable by the way.

Here’s what I decided:

It doesn’t matter what the comfort challenge is.

It doesn’t matter who created the comfort challenge.

It doesn’t matter if it’s relevant or not.

Here’s what matters:

What matters is that you take these opportunities to do something that makes you feel uncomfortable. It honestly doesn’t matter what it is as long as it feels scary.

You need to treat your levels of comfort like a muscle that needs a good kick-ass work out. If you never exercise your muscles, they will become weak and they’ll never get strong.

Regardless of what I post on Friday, and whether it comes from Tim’s book or I make up a handful of challenges, you need to take charge and do something uncomfortable. It needs to be something that raises your heart rate. Something that scares you. Something that is HARD to do.

I do believe that if you give it some thought over the weekend, you’ll start to see the areas where your muscles need work.

Carlotta was right on so many levels, and I can’t thank her enough. Maybe you’re already strong in the area of eye-contact. Maybe that doesn’t make you feel queasy or scared or nervous? If that’s the case, then you need a comfort challenge more relevant to YOU.

It sounds easy – right?

Once a week, over the weekend, daily, whatever; if you’re willing to put yourself through pain and discomfort on a regular basis, you’ll start to see some amazing results.

The fact is, most people won’t ever put themselves through the training and exercise required to strengthen those muscles.

We’re a society that enjoys the benefits of comfort without the effort.

For example, many like to think they can achieve their desired levels of exercise and fitness by only using the Nintendo Wii – a perfect example of comfort without the effort.

It’s far scarier and more uncomfortable to think you might actually need to sweat and raise your heart rate. You may even need to avoid that pizza tonight.

Pain is the enemy for most, and it’s usually avoided at all cost.

So with that said, good luck with your comfort challenge this weekend, and only you can decide when you are out of your comfort zone.

No Shortcuts to Making Money – Trust me.

April 29, 2010 in Business, Internet Marketing with 4 Comments

I know we’ve talked about it before, but it never ceases to amaze me when I hear how disappointed people are with the latest “get rich quick” purchase they just made.

People, who are down to their last few pennies in their bank accounts, taking out loans to buy the latest and greatest collection of DVD’s or Seminars that promise to take away all their financial burdens.

Clever marketers and salesmen selling products with the promise that they will teach you how to make money on the Internet quickly and instantly.

Usually the salesmen will use statements like:

“wealth in your underwear”

“income while you sleep”

“work from home”

“income autopilot”

“instant overnight riches”

Now, truth be told, I’ve made a lot of money selling advice,  and coaching & consulting people who are looking to make money in the online world.

In the past five years, I’ve worked with over 500 online marketers who were creating information based products, membership sites, and coaching services, to name a few examples, for direct sales on the Internet.

On numerous occasions, I’ve watched my own clients create great products and services and are so successful they do end up earning money while they’re sleeping!

Many of my customers and clients have gone on to make far more money than I have.

One example is a client and friend of mine who was a practicing lawyer for over 15 years. He made decent a living, but the lifestyle wasn’t for him. We’ve never met in person, but we’ve worked together online since 2005.

Over the years, he’s also become a successful options trader. Using my advice and training, he created a membership site (where people pay him a monthly fee) for his expertise, tips, and coaching on the options trading industry.

Needless to say, he’s no longer a practicing lawyer.

I’ve also made a lot of money selling my own information products in the online world. Some of the earliest income I ever made was from digitally based products I had created and sold on eBay.

During my University days, there were times when I was earning $80-$100 dollars per day while I was in class studying.

I’ve been earning income through my online and offline endeavours for almost 10 years now.

But during that time, I’ve also watched people squander away buckets of money on the promise of “getting rich quick.”

When people are desperate, the lure of a shortcut to riches is much more tempting.

Marketers know this. Of course the schemers and carrot-danglers also know this and they pounce when people are most vulnerable.

So it’s always worth repeating. There are no shortcuts or secrets to making money, especially online. There is knowledge available, that can help you earn more money, but there are no secrets to instant success.

The ex-lawyer I mentioned above spent months creating his product, tweaking, and testing it, to ensure he was offering an outstanding quality product. He makes a pretty substantial and stable income from his website.

If someone is trying to persuade you or if you are trying to decide if spending a few thousand dollars on a money-making scheme is worth it, read my information below.

And for the record, I’m not saying that all training and seminars are a rip-off.

I’m merely pointing out that the seminars, products, and training that promise “instant results, getting rich quick, and making money for nothing,” should be carefully looked at.

Here’s how it works:

It usually starts with a secret. The secret of wealth, happiness, cars, boats, mansions, and a worry-free life.

And the secret can be yours for usually somewhere between $$ or $$$$

Yes. That’s right! The secret is so big! So special! So powerful!

Yet, this person is willing to sell his/her newly found secret in exchange for your cash! (only to the first 500 buyers). Go figure.

So let’s clear it up once and for all.

I’m going to share the big secret with you.

The secret is, the guy selling the secret has another single super-duper big secret, he’s not actually sharing with you.

Ready for it?

There really is no secret.

There is a huge business in selling the facade of secrets. The market for this industry continues to grow bigger and bigger the worse the economy gets. It usually consists of poor, innocent, desperate, and hungry people willing to blindly throw a few remaining darts.

In conclusion, there is a small secret I can share with you.

The Internet is full of abundant opportunities. You can make a lot of money using the little box on your desktop, but it’s going to be hard, hard, hard work. It’s never as easy as it looks. Anyone that says it’s easy, and can be accomplished quickly, is trying to take your money.

Nuff said.

Here’s an example of the typical “get rich quick” promise.

As far as I know, there is nothing like turning your computer into an automatic cash printing machine. :-0

If a janitor could do it…….

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Is TV making you dumb?

April 28, 2010 in Life, Success, Time & Money with 6 Comments

Back in December, my wife and I made a decision to turn our TV off and stop watching it. We went cold-turkey.

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When making this decision, we also agreed upon a few guidelines.

  1. A movie on Friday or Saturday night was perfectly acceptable.
  2. The Olympics, of course, were exempt from all rules. Canada crushed it.
  3. If one of us wanted to watch TV, that was fine. We wouldn’t judge each other.

    We weren’t creating the ten commandments of the Fleming Household, instead we just decided that there were other things we’d rather be doing with our limited free-time.

It’s now almost May, and I’m pleased to say that we haven’t watched TV since before Christmas of 2009.

So here’s a little about my experience living without television.

I’ve read close to 40 books since mid December. I used to say I didn’t have time to read. That was an excuse. I have gained more amazing and applicable business knowledge in the past four months than many people gain over the course of a year or two, or maybe more.

I believe an investment in myself and my own knowledge will rival that of a paid MBA degree over the course of a year.

I’ve blogged nearly 5-days a week since February.

I’ve blogged about  New York Times’ (NYT)  best-selling books like ReWork, and my review has even been included on their official reviews page.

I’ve been sent free, advanced copies of killer unreleased books, that will no doubt be on the NYT best seller list, for  my review on this blog.

I used to say I didn’t have time to blog.

My wife and I go for nice long walks each night. We used to forgo the walk to catch the latest episode of obese people trying to lose weight.

How ironic. We were watching severely overweight people in a desperate life-or-death struggle to lose weight caused by a static and sedentary lifestyle in the first place, the exact same activity we were engaging in while viewing.

Anyways, I’m not going to be preach to you about watching TV versus not watching TV, even though new research shows that TV not only causes ADD, but also increases the risk of mental health problems.

However, I do want to say this about the subject:

If you’re spending long drawn out days doing something you don’t absolutely friggin love, then why are you spending the little time you do have investing your energy into an activity that requires literally zero brain function?

TV requires the single simple skill of processing images and not much more. Most TV shows are created so we don’t need to think. It’s a sedentary activity that basically lulls your brain into a coma-like state.

Very basic memory and concentration skills are required to watch and understand TV shows, regardless of how smart and challenging we want to believe some new shows are.

I’m just saying… You’ve got a great brain that wants to be challenged and engaged and you’re doing it a disservice by plopping down on the sofa for four hours each night.

It’s begging you for the opportunity to grow!

It wants to try new things!

It wants to learn new hobbies!

It wants to read and be challenged to think!

It wants to expand the potential and possibilities of your life!

And deep down, it hates just sitting around and being sedated.

My suggestion is to choose wisely both where and how you invest the small amounts of free time you have. Your brain will thank you in so many ways.

“Check us out on Facebook!”

April 27, 2010 in Social Media with 2 Comments

Yesterday I picked up a handful of flyers off my driveway.

Twice a week, I get a pile of tangible spam delivered directly to my driveway; and as far as I can see, there is no “opt-out” or “unsubscribe” button. It seems to just drop out of the sky.

I decided to take a look at the flyers, and with every second or third ad that I looked at, I saw those all too familiar lines…

“Follow us on Facebook”

“Follow us on Twitter”

So naturally, I eagerly rushed over in a fit of excitement, opened my laptop, clicked into Facebook, and began following all my favourite local businesses. (sarcasm)

In all honesty, I did take a look at a few of them, but I didn’t find anything too exciting.

Most businesses are jumping on the social media train but don’t have any rhyme or reason as to why they’re jumping on. They’re just doing it because everyone else is doing it.

Everyone else had a fax machine – they bought a fax machine.

Everyone else had a computer – they got a computer.

Everyone else had a website – they got a website.

Everyone else is on Facebook and Twitter – you get it….

But many are missing the key point to all of this? What is missing?

I don’t get it. It’s so blatantly obvious, and yet, it’s constantly being overlooked by millions of businesses!

The sad part is,  they don’t see the most important point.

Pity.  I’m not even going to charge you a dime for sharing the secret….

Ready for it?

Well – here’s the secret, they didn’t just call it media by accident….

They called it……….Drumroll please…..

Social Media!!!

I put the keyword in bold above.

The keyword is SOCIAL.

Of course, with the thousands  of businesses who  are missing that all important point, there are a ton of businesses who actually get it!

(full disclosure: Both the examples below are clients of mine)

I work with a local restaurant who gets it. The restaurant is Jack’s Gastropub in Kingsville, Ontario.

They have gone from having a static website and a static Facebook page to having a dynamic and lively community of engaging fans.

They did it all by transitioning from static to social. There’s nothing super fancy about it. They didn’t spend 30k on a fancy website. Instead, they created something simple yet extremely effective.

Jack’s does video blogs a few times a month. They have nothing to hide. Everything is transparent. If a customer has a bad meal and calls Jack’s on it, the owner will address the concerns in a video format.

When their customers complained that they couldn’t order a menu item any longer, Jack’s was honest about why the product was removed. It wasn’t because they were purposely trying to upset their customers; it was because they could no longer get regular deliveries of the required products.

What happened next is brilliant. They engaged their customers by asking them to take part in an online petition.

The petition was meant to be fun; but instead, it got the attention of the head office, in Dallas, Texas – 1,200 miles away, regarding the products.

Needless to say, the item is now back on the menu.

The customers had a part in seeing a favorite item returned to the menu. It was engaging and exciting.

The stats, the numbers, and the lines of people waiting to get into Jack’s on Friday night don’t lie. Going social was the key.

I work with another local business guru who’s crushing it on the social media level.

Brad Graham is a big deal when it comes to the business of hair.

Just recently, Brad was a main-stage speaker at the prestigious International Beauty Show in New York City. He also opened the show with a killer Hendrix-style guitar performance of the Star Spangled Banner. You can check that out here.

Brad does weekly videos showing his clients how to achieve the same looks at home that they would get in his salon and all for free. He also gives them special tips and tricks of the trade. These are the tricks Brad has spent years mastering.

Every couple of weeks, Brad takes customer’s questions, concerns, emails, and makes a Q&A Video.

Brad’s clients love it. They haven’t stopped coming in or spending less on his products, just because he’s giving away some of his best tips. The total opposite has happened.

Coming to Brad’s salon is even more exciting now. Brad’s a character and his clients love his videos. It’s just another way for clients to interact and have a social connection with Brad and his business.

If you drop Brad a comment on his Facebook page, you don’t get an auto-response or a 10% off coupon. Instead, you get a response from Brad. It’s social.

And to think – they stuck the keyword right into the name and it’s still being missed.

How did you you miss it?

It’s a small world… Watch what you say.

April 26, 2010 in Life with 2 Comments

Here’s a little story about something that happened the other day.

I live and work in a very small town. My office used to be located in the front bedroom of my home, but now I work out of my brother’s house. He built this house last year, specifically for his business, and I rent an office from him.

My brother is an accountant. He runs his small number crunching business and,  for the most part, it’s a successful operation.

Last week, something interesting happened.

A lady entered the office and immediately starting laying into my brother. She was telling him off with just about every word in the book. She was going somewhat ballistic.

I’m not privy to any of the conversations in my brother’s office, but on that day, the noise and words could be overheard.

The interesting thing was, I could hear my brother trying to explain his confusion to the lady. She wasn’t about to let him get a word in.

The lady ended her tirade by storming out of the office and slamming the door behind her. I watched from my office window as she left. I was worried she would hit my car as she stormed off.

I asked Wes what it was regarding and he wasn’t sure. He explained that he had never met this lady, but did taxes for her son-in-law.

He made a phone call to the son-in-law and explained what had happened. After a few moments of thought, the son-in-law figured it out, and here’s the kicker….

She had the wrong person. The tirade was intended for the financial advisor and not the accountant!!!

Needless to say, Wes instigated the 80/20 rule and made a decision that she would not be welcome as a new paying customer. Wes made the right decision here. Even though this was a mistake, it was a glimpse into the future of a potential problematic customer.

She never returned to apologize for the mistake.

The first lesson here is for the business owner:

Choosing your customers is just as important as hoping a potential customer chooses you. I felt bad for the financial advisor the next day. I’m sure she was even angrier once she realized the mistake she had made.

It was nice to know that Wes would never have that problem with her again. He chose a little less money for a little more peace of mind.

Good choice.

The second lesson here is for the customer:

You need to be careful about what you say and the actions you take. In a small town, you’ll never know when you’ll need a favour or your actions will come back to haunt you.

Regardless of the mistake, and the bad day this lady may have been having, a ruthless tirade of threats and anger is rarely worth it. It doesn’t do anybody any good.

This lady will live a shorter life because she can’t control her stress, and poor Wes’s day was ruined as a result of mistaken identity.

The other day, I acted like an email cowboy. I was owed some commission money from a company, and I wasn’t getting paid. I pulled out my guns and let the shots fly.

Afterwards, and most immediately, I regretted the email. The email did get a swift response, but I hadn’t thought it through before sending it.

Just like the real world and the small town I live in, the internet is a small community. The actions you take and the things you say on web forums, chatrooms, Facebook, and Twitter are very similar to a small town you may live in. You’re not as anonymous as you’d like to believe.

Be careful what you say and to whom. It’s a small world after all.

A Sunday Nightcap – The Linchpin Sessions

April 25, 2010 in Linchpin with 4 Comments

Yeah, I know it’s Sunday night…but I’ve got a little treat for you.

If you’re sitting around this evening and just watching TV,  thinking about the long work week ahead, I’ve got something to share with you.

We’ll call it a nightcap. This is a very special treat and it will only take up 45 minutes of your time.

My mentor Seth Godin held a very special master class last week and he’s gratuitously and freely shared the recording of the event.

This is his riff.

If you’re unfamiliar with Seth’s Linchpin message I strongly urge you to give this a listen.

It might make you a little more excited about the week ahead.

It might make it hard to sleep tonight.

But that’s OK – It’s worth it.

Feel free to pass it on. And of course, let me know what you think.

Download The Linchpin Session

Seth’s original posting can be found here.

Big balls. Comfort Challenge #1

April 23, 2010 in Business, Linchpin, Success, Thinking Outside The Box with 4 Comments

Don’t leave just yet ladies… This one is for you too.

This post was inspired by two of my favorite books that I’ve referenced quite a bit over the years, “Ballsy – 99 ways to grow a bigger pair and score extreme business success” by Karen Salmonson and “The 4-Hour Work Week” by Tim Ferris.

Karen’s first tidbit of advice in the book is that “more important than having talent, you need balls.””

Let’s dive into this a bit deeper, shall we?

We all know that talent matters, nobody is suggesting otherwise. The newborn that enters the world and is playing Mozart at two years old has talent, god-given talent, some would argue.

But what about the rest of us? We all have talent and without balls, the talent means nothing.

For me, I do believe that I’m talented, but I think I could benefit from bigger balls.

So how do we do it?

How do we go about growing a bigger pair?

For this, I’m going to refer to Tim and The 4-hour Work Week.

Tim recognized that many of us have talent but lack the self-confidence to do what it takes to become mega successful.

Tim wants to help us break away from our comfort zones which is something I’ve talked about before.

So how does Tim suggest we grow a bigger set of balls?

He believes we need to train ourselves to become more comfortable with risk and step out of our comfort zones. Tim has provided a collection of “comfort challenges” to help with the process.

Tim is straightforward and honest in letting us know that comfort challenges look simple, but they’re extremely uncomfortable for most people.

However, by practicing the art of being uncomfortable and attempting things outside your comfort zone, you’re actually growing yourself the “bigger pair” which is an absolute essential ingredient to your success.

So here’s my proposal, and I hope you’ll play along with me.

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to go through Tim’s comfort challenges. Each Friday, I’ll post a new comfort challenge for you to work on over the weekend.

I’d love for you to join me. If you don’t want to take part, no problem.

My advice is to  just do it. Have some fun with me, and let me know how the challenges affect you.

Ready to go? Yup, we start today.

These are Tim’s “comfort challenges” and if you already have a copy of Tim’s book, you can follow along. If not, I’ll be sharing a new challenge every week or so.

Buy Tim’s book if you don’t have it. It can change your life.

Comfort Challenge #1

From The 4-Hour Work Week*

Learn to Eye Gaze (2 days)
My friend Michael Ellsberg invented a singles event called Eye Gazing. It is similar to speed dating but different in one fundamental respect—no speaking is permitted. It involves gazing into the eyes of each partner for three minutes at a time. If you go to such an event, it becomes clear how uncomfortable most people are doing this.

For the next two days, practice gazing into the eyes of others—whether people you pass on the street or conversational partners—until they break contact.

Hints:

1. Focus on one eye and be sure to blink occasionally so you don’t look like a psychopath or get your ass kicked.
2. In conversation, maintain eye contact when you are speaking. It’s easy to do while listening.
3. Practice with people bigger or more confident than yourself. If a passerby asks you what the hell you’re staring at, just smile and respond, “Sorry about that. I thought you were an old friend of mine.”

Simple right? It may be a heck of a lot harder than it sounds?

Feel free to share your results and comments, if you’d like.

Good luck and have a great weekend!

Noah

Where I’m going. Will you come along?

April 22, 2010 in Linchpin, Misc with 4 Comments

By now, if you’ve been reading any of my posts for the past few months, you’re probably getting a good idea about where my head is.

I’m not sure when the switch was flicked on or what triggered the change, but my thinking and approach to what I want to say on my blog has drastically changed recently.

Perhaps the change occurred when I started heeding my own advice.

Was I scared before?

It’s easier to blog about business, or marketing, or making money online than it is to talk about things that might make people cringe, or feel uncomfortable, or disagree with me.

I feel like, rather than hiding my voice, I’m allowing my true voice to come to the party. For many years, I kept it locked away in the attic.

I used to toe the line. I used to be careful so I wouldn’t say something that might offend someone. I felt it was easier to try and please everyone…. I was taking the wrong approach.

Again, I’m not sure when or why I flipped the switch, but I did. And I’m glad I did.

But it’s not always easy.

That being said, often I’ll see or read some sort of positive affirmation that keeps me on track.

Yesterday I was reading a story from my mentor, Seth Godin. The story comes from his book, Tribes – We Need You to Lead Us.

Here’s the story:

Seth was sitting in a hotel in Jamaica and checking his email. It was 4:00 oclock  in the morning.

A couple went strolling by, just getting in for the night, and they saw Seth. The woman remarked, “Isn’t that sad? That guy comes here on vacation and he’s checking his e-mail. He can’t even enjoy his two weeks off.”

Seth’s response was the affirmation.

Seth writes, “I think the real question… was, Isn’t it sad that we have a job where we spend two weeks avoiding the stuff we have to do 50 weeks a year?”

The point?

If you’re in a position like the first couple, maybe it’s time to start asking yourself the second question.

So where am I going?

I’m working at instigating change. I don’t want people to have to ask that question.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to be ultra-motivational here.

I’m not trying to be like Tony Robbins.

You won’t find me corralling thousands of people into auditoriums or hotel conference rooms and having a big-old song and dance together.

Many will read these posts and swim on rather quickly. Many will scoff at my suggestions of doing something different or swimming against the current. And that’s fine, I can accept that.

I’m hoping to instigate a change in the few that believe there are other options out there, and I’m willing to lead that charge. Will you come along?

My email is always open – feel free to engage with me.

We’re all Goldfish

April 21, 2010 in Business, Marketing with 6 Comments

Back in March, I was lucky to hear Sally Hogshead speak at the Art of Marketing conference in Toronto.

A comment Sally made really stuck with me. Sally mentioned that our attention spans are roughly the same length as a goldfish’s.

A goldfish.

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“The addictive nature of web browsing can leave you with an attention span of nine seconds — the same as a goldfish.” ~ BBC News

Think about that for a moment.

Think about the way you surf the web and jump from site to site.

Think about how you look at Facebook everyday. Within seconds, we have a pretty decent glimpse at the lives of hundreds of friends.

Think about your online habits. How you get your news online. Do you skim headlines and scroll through articles?

Now take a moment and think about how these habits we’ve developed online have influenced our habits in the offline world.

Pretty much the same right?

We can click through channels on TV like it’s nobody’s business.

So what’s the big deal with being a goldfish?

Well, nothing really. This post doesn’t really apply to the goldfish.  (most have swam away already)

This post is really intended for the fisherman (business owners, marketers, advertisers, etc.).

You can’t just stick your line in the water and expect to catch some fish anymore. Next time you’re working on a promotion, advertisement, or message for your business, think about the goldfish.

P.S. You can read Sally’s take on the goldfish here.

Nobody cares. Do it for yourself.

April 20, 2010 in Art, Entrepreneurship, Linchpin with 4 Comments

I stole the title of this post from Hugh MacLeod‘s book, “Ignore Everybody“. This is just one of Hugh’s keys to creativity. Thankfully, he’s even drawn a picture to hammer the point home.

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Hugh want’s you to know that while you may be pouring your heart and soul into your art, or your business, or your passion; nobody cares.

Why would anybody care about all the great things you’re doing?

Human beings are generally considered to be self-interested creatures. Everyone’s living their own busy lives to really care about what you’re up to.

But there’s another important reason as to why most people don’t care.

They don’t care because it’s hard for people to watch someone breaking the rules. It makes people cringe.

It’s hard to fathom someone doing something not considered “safe.”

It’s hard for people to accept your ideas as anything more than silly pipe dreams.

But why?

It’s because there is so much pent up fear.

Fear you might break free.

Fear you might change the rules.

Fear you might succeed.

Fear you might find your way out of the waiting place.

Someday, everyone may be paying attention. They might start paying attention, but they still won’t care.

The good news is this: You’re a self-interested creature too.

Do whatever it is you’re doing for yourself. Get used to nobody caring and carry on.

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