Post 2000 - I'm Giving Away ALL My Secrets This Time
As I write this, I'm flipping through a custom playlist that I randomly put together on YouTube. In the 36 minutes I've been staring at this blank box, wondering what I'll type, I've listened to so many different songs.
I started with The Piano Guys doing the theme from Harry Potter. I'm fascinated watching someone play a piano, and the guy who does that song is amazing at what he does. I know when I'm writing a post or an article, my hand veritably flies across my keyboard at over 100 words per minute, but watching the guy in that video play amazes me every single time.
Next I scroll through their playlist and pick out my favorite composition: . (That's the one that convinced me to buy their CD from Amazon.) Each time I listen to it, I can feel my subconscious struggling to come forward to put words to the story their song is speaking to my soul. My skin can hardly contain the excitement and goosebumps break out all over me. I love that musical piece and how they perform it.
And so on I go, for nearly 45 minutes, before I really even know what to type into this box for all of you to read. I watched my favorite American Idol performances from Blake Lewis, Chris Daughtry, and of course, Carrie Underwood. I listened to Pearl Jam do a brilliant cover of "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding.
And then Dave Matthews come on with "Where Are You Going?" And my fingers finally find the message I'd like to give to you tonight.
Warrior, where are you going?
Do you even know where you've been yet? That's the real mystery, isn't it? Of course you know your own personal history, but do you know where you've been? As I learned many, many years ago, those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it. Take a moment, two if necessary, and think about the things in your past that you can't fix and definitely don't wish to repeat.
How can we keep that from happening? How can we get you from where you are now and help you to get where you're going?
YouTube changes again: .
"All these fairy tales are full of ___
One more ____ing lovesong, I'll be sick...."
How many fairy tales have you bought from the dark corners of the web, or even our very own WSO forum? How many guides and ebooks and reports and passwords to membership sites are stored on your hard drive, waiting for you to come and look at them, waiting for you to take Step 2 on your plan for that purchase. Will it ever happen? Will you follow the guide you bought, or were you disappointed that it required work and now you need to buy another fairy tale?
*click...the video changes...* Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe
"Hey! I just met you!
This is crazy...but here's my
[credit card] number, so [sell] me maybe?"
Are you taking Carly Rae's advice and passing out your credit card number or PayPal password, hoping to find that magical pushbutton? If you did, please PM the link to me so I can push it too.
*click* Daughtry - Traffic Light
Are you listening to each song as we go? I'm not linking you for a reason..I want to know how dedicated you are to understanding the mind of a successful Warrior. Are you willing to go out and look for the secrets?
Perhaps not...perhaps you'd like me to spill them here, out in the open. The secrets that I've worked so hard to find myself. I did promise to do that in the title, didn't I? I'll not break a promise to you, either. Let me stop this parade of YouTube moments, portals to my past and passages to my future, and give you my secrets that keep me ahead of most of you.
Take notes. I'll not be venturing down this pathway again with you, Dear Warrior.
Secret #1 - Remember Where You Are
This isn't your house, or your school yard, or anything resembling public property. This is Allen Says' piece of the Internet that he's been developing for years. Be thankful for the space he gives us to communicate and learn, and be respectful of his property. He doesn't have to let us carry on business here, but he opened up the site so that both he and we could make money by sharing our thoughts, our methods, and even our products and services.
Always remember that.
Secret #2 - Figure Out Who You Are
My brain runs at 90 miles per minute every moment I'm awake. As I type this, I'm still listening to YouTube, watching SportsCenter (the 49ers just whooped up on the Cardinals!), thinking about a syndication site I'm putting together, wishing I had someone to fold my laundry, and planning out the rest of my week. None of that is who I am, though.
As the first line of my WF profile says, "I'm just a man trying to make a living online...." I'm not a guru, I'm not a superman. Hell, I'm not even a moderator here. (I do get PMs from people who think I am and they always make me chuckle.) I'm a writer, an amateur photographer, and I tend to see the world just a little bit differently than most. I'm a child of God and I follow His Plan as best as I can.
I know who I am. Do you know who you are?
Secret #3 - Do You Want to Listen to Yourself Talk or Learn From Others?
Every time I see a post from Alexa Smith, MYOB, Paul Myers, admin, kindsvater, TPW, and countless more names than I can remember in one sitting, I stop and read them. On any given weekday, I probably read through 100+ threads and 250-500 posts. I might comment on 10-20 of them, and only on the ones where I can either add value or contribute in some way. I use my daily allotment of "thanks" in order to show posters that I appreciate what they wrote in one way or another, even if it just made me chuckle. If I don't thank you, chances are better than not that I've already run out, even if it's only 9AM.
If you do nothing but post mind-numbingly boring and pointless threads to the forum, you're diluting the information and pushing valuable threads off the main page. What if your request for the perfect theme pushed off a list-building tip that could've made someone a lot of money? Use the search button! You don't stand in the middle of a mall and scream "SOMEONE COME HELP ME FIND THE SKECHERS STORE!!!" You stop, look at the mall directory, and then go find it yourself.
Pretend you're in the mall here.
Secret #4 - Ask the Question
Do you know why I was the #1 ranked assistant manager in the southeastern United States for Radio Shack in 2002? It's because I wasn't afraid to ask questions. Do you really want that model? You know you need a warranty on that, right? Do you really think your website will look good in the rankings if you put spun content on it? Do you think you should bill yourself as an American writer when you were born in Islamabad and just learned English this year?
I do it in real life, I do it online, I do it via email, I even do it in Warcraft. I ask questions constantly. I don't care what the question is - I can't know the answer if I don't ask. Questions about sex, drugs, AIDS, cooking, baseball, transmogging, Ġbejna, and who knows what else? I ask.
If you don't ask, you're the ignorant one.
Secret #5 - What Inspires You?
Answer that question now. I'm grading you.
Did you answer with anything related to money? If you did, I'm coming through your screen and I'm going to b____slap you sideways. Money is not inspiration. Money is not motivation. Money is the overt reason given by people who don't bother to think it all the way through.
What is it that you really, really want if you look down deep inside of you. Do you want that golden retriever your parents would never buy? Do you just want the American Dream? (A spouse, 2 1/2 kids, and a white picket fence?) Do you just want to earn enough to pay your bills so that you can lay your head down at night and not worry about how you're going to afford to eat tomorrow?
Perhaps you just want to pay off your dad's car and house notes so that he can retire before his cancer takes him from this world.
What is your motivation? When you find it, write it down. Take pictures of it and put them on everything you look at every single day. Make them your screensaver and desktop image.
Burn that inspiration into your soul so you don't forget what it is. Ever.
So there you have it, Dear Warrior. All of the secrets to my success. I want to leave you where I started, with Dave singing "Where Are You Going." This time you don't have to do the work...I'm throwing you a cookie and linking the video.
If you're going to comment, start by telling me where you're going, and then go from there.
-- jason
I started with The Piano Guys doing the theme from Harry Potter. I'm fascinated watching someone play a piano, and the guy who does that song is amazing at what he does. I know when I'm writing a post or an article, my hand veritably flies across my keyboard at over 100 words per minute, but watching the guy in that video play amazes me every single time.
Next I scroll through their playlist and pick out my favorite composition: . (That's the one that convinced me to buy their CD from Amazon.) Each time I listen to it, I can feel my subconscious struggling to come forward to put words to the story their song is speaking to my soul. My skin can hardly contain the excitement and goosebumps break out all over me. I love that musical piece and how they perform it.
And so on I go, for nearly 45 minutes, before I really even know what to type into this box for all of you to read. I watched my favorite American Idol performances from Blake Lewis, Chris Daughtry, and of course, Carrie Underwood. I listened to Pearl Jam do a brilliant cover of "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding.
And then Dave Matthews come on with "Where Are You Going?" And my fingers finally find the message I'd like to give to you tonight.
Warrior, where are you going?
Do you even know where you've been yet? That's the real mystery, isn't it? Of course you know your own personal history, but do you know where you've been? As I learned many, many years ago, those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it. Take a moment, two if necessary, and think about the things in your past that you can't fix and definitely don't wish to repeat.
How can we keep that from happening? How can we get you from where you are now and help you to get where you're going?
YouTube changes again: .
"All these fairy tales are full of ___
One more ____ing lovesong, I'll be sick...."
How many fairy tales have you bought from the dark corners of the web, or even our very own WSO forum? How many guides and ebooks and reports and passwords to membership sites are stored on your hard drive, waiting for you to come and look at them, waiting for you to take Step 2 on your plan for that purchase. Will it ever happen? Will you follow the guide you bought, or were you disappointed that it required work and now you need to buy another fairy tale?
*click...the video changes...* Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe
"Hey! I just met you!
This is crazy...but here's my
[credit card] number, so [sell] me maybe?"
Are you taking Carly Rae's advice and passing out your credit card number or PayPal password, hoping to find that magical pushbutton? If you did, please PM the link to me so I can push it too.
*click* Daughtry - Traffic Light
Are you listening to each song as we go? I'm not linking you for a reason..I want to know how dedicated you are to understanding the mind of a successful Warrior. Are you willing to go out and look for the secrets?
Perhaps not...perhaps you'd like me to spill them here, out in the open. The secrets that I've worked so hard to find myself. I did promise to do that in the title, didn't I? I'll not break a promise to you, either. Let me stop this parade of YouTube moments, portals to my past and passages to my future, and give you my secrets that keep me ahead of most of you.
Take notes. I'll not be venturing down this pathway again with you, Dear Warrior.
Secret #1 - Remember Where You Are
This isn't your house, or your school yard, or anything resembling public property. This is Allen Says' piece of the Internet that he's been developing for years. Be thankful for the space he gives us to communicate and learn, and be respectful of his property. He doesn't have to let us carry on business here, but he opened up the site so that both he and we could make money by sharing our thoughts, our methods, and even our products and services.
Always remember that.
Secret #2 - Figure Out Who You Are
My brain runs at 90 miles per minute every moment I'm awake. As I type this, I'm still listening to YouTube, watching SportsCenter (the 49ers just whooped up on the Cardinals!), thinking about a syndication site I'm putting together, wishing I had someone to fold my laundry, and planning out the rest of my week. None of that is who I am, though.
As the first line of my WF profile says, "I'm just a man trying to make a living online...." I'm not a guru, I'm not a superman. Hell, I'm not even a moderator here. (I do get PMs from people who think I am and they always make me chuckle.) I'm a writer, an amateur photographer, and I tend to see the world just a little bit differently than most. I'm a child of God and I follow His Plan as best as I can.
I know who I am. Do you know who you are?
Secret #3 - Do You Want to Listen to Yourself Talk or Learn From Others?
Every time I see a post from Alexa Smith, MYOB, Paul Myers, admin, kindsvater, TPW, and countless more names than I can remember in one sitting, I stop and read them. On any given weekday, I probably read through 100+ threads and 250-500 posts. I might comment on 10-20 of them, and only on the ones where I can either add value or contribute in some way. I use my daily allotment of "thanks" in order to show posters that I appreciate what they wrote in one way or another, even if it just made me chuckle. If I don't thank you, chances are better than not that I've already run out, even if it's only 9AM.
If you do nothing but post mind-numbingly boring and pointless threads to the forum, you're diluting the information and pushing valuable threads off the main page. What if your request for the perfect theme pushed off a list-building tip that could've made someone a lot of money? Use the search button! You don't stand in the middle of a mall and scream "SOMEONE COME HELP ME FIND THE SKECHERS STORE!!!" You stop, look at the mall directory, and then go find it yourself.
Pretend you're in the mall here.
Secret #4 - Ask the Question
Do you know why I was the #1 ranked assistant manager in the southeastern United States for Radio Shack in 2002? It's because I wasn't afraid to ask questions. Do you really want that model? You know you need a warranty on that, right? Do you really think your website will look good in the rankings if you put spun content on it? Do you think you should bill yourself as an American writer when you were born in Islamabad and just learned English this year?
I do it in real life, I do it online, I do it via email, I even do it in Warcraft. I ask questions constantly. I don't care what the question is - I can't know the answer if I don't ask. Questions about sex, drugs, AIDS, cooking, baseball, transmogging, Ġbejna, and who knows what else? I ask.
If you don't ask, you're the ignorant one.
Secret #5 - What Inspires You?
Answer that question now. I'm grading you.
Did you answer with anything related to money? If you did, I'm coming through your screen and I'm going to b____slap you sideways. Money is not inspiration. Money is not motivation. Money is the overt reason given by people who don't bother to think it all the way through.
What is it that you really, really want if you look down deep inside of you. Do you want that golden retriever your parents would never buy? Do you just want the American Dream? (A spouse, 2 1/2 kids, and a white picket fence?) Do you just want to earn enough to pay your bills so that you can lay your head down at night and not worry about how you're going to afford to eat tomorrow?
Perhaps you just want to pay off your dad's car and house notes so that he can retire before his cancer takes him from this world.
What is your motivation? When you find it, write it down. Take pictures of it and put them on everything you look at every single day. Make them your screensaver and desktop image.
Burn that inspiration into your soul so you don't forget what it is. Ever.
So there you have it, Dear Warrior. All of the secrets to my success. I want to leave you where I started, with Dave singing "Where Are You Going." This time you don't have to do the work...I'm throwing you a cookie and linking the video.
If you're going to comment, start by telling me where you're going, and then go from there.
-- jason
80% Of These Proven Guides Are Free... ]