Living Radically Ambitious

Money and I have a strange relationship. I first started working the day I turned 16. I was a stock boy at Target working the late night shift in the back getting carts ready for the overnight crew.

I remember getting my first paycheck like it was yesterday. I went over to Macy and bought the most ridiculous bight ass yellow Tommy Hilfiger bord shorts. Oh, and a Sean John shirt. It was the perfect summer outfit in Florida for a white kid who was on the path to becoming the local 16 year old Diddy.

Later in high school I was waiting tables at a downtown Ft. Lauderdale Mexican restaurant make $150-200 a night. This was more money than I knew what to do with, so I blew it all. Every last penny.

Some on good stuff. Most on not so good stuff. My CD collection was the best in town and it did finance the recording of my first album. It was in a shady studio off Oakland Park Blvd in Ft Lauderdale, but they only charged $40 an hour which was pretty affordable 10 years ago. We recorded our songs in 1 take, no matter if we messed up or not. We didn’t have enough money to retake back then. The album is pretty classic now and every time I go back home someone asks me if I’m still rapping and they drop a line or 2 from the album’s biggest hit - Back in the Day.

Next was college. Day 1. Dad drives me up, throws my stuff in the living room and heads back home. Empty fridge. No car. No job. Not even enrolled in school yet since my loan to Full Sail fell through due to bankruptcy from the same guy that just dropped me off (still love ya pops).

Ok, so long story about the past to say that money never came easy and money had a way of leaving very easy.

When we got into real estate during the bubble we spent when we bought property and not when we sold property. I bought on no interest, no payment credit cards to finance my first real interweb businesses.

Last year I got in check. And it wasn’t due to conventional wisdom. It actually started when researching foreclosures (another story, another day).

I fell into the guru space and blog reading. I bought Ramit’s book, ran through Baker’s stuff, got on the Dave Ramsey bandwagon, listened to some Tony Robbins tapes, got advice from friends, got advice from millionaires, multi-millionaires, seminar speakers, successful Internet Marketers, chronic entrepreneurs, stock brokers, authors and anyone that was more successful with money than me.

And after all that, here’s what I understand:

• Choosing investments is hard.
• Saving money is hard.
• Budgeting is nearly impossible.
• Healthy foods are expensive.
• Action in Internet Marketing and action with your long term finances are a totally different game.
• Banks are liars.
• Money advice is like an asshole, everyone’s got one.

Money and the Future

Last week I wrote a post about what it is that I am looking for in my future. The first 2 pieces are pretty simple to me. Wealth and health.

Being healthy lends itself to having a clear mind. Getting rid of stress allows you to make rational decisions. Nobody makes good decisions when you are pressed for money, short on time or royally pissed off.

Some Fundamental Truths About Money

Now that I have everyone pissed off about money, here are some things I do think you need to look at, think about and take action when it comes to your own money, and more importantly your long term wealth.

Money is just paper, there is no intrinsic value in the actual paper.

The paper you hold in your wallet is worthless. What gives it value is that people all over the world trust the United States (or whatever country’s currency) to back up the value in their money. But, as inflation continues to climb (just look at gas and food prices) your paper money does not go up in value. It takes more of the same money to buy the things that used to take less money.

Make sense?

Stop thinking about money and start thinking value.

If paper money is worthless, what has value? Assets have value. Things that produce cash flow have value. Investments have value. Helping others and making the world kick more ass has value. But those green pieces of paper do not. Instead of saving money (which is not a bad or evil thing), invest your money in things that add more value to the world and in return, if you made good decisions your net wealth will begin to increase even if inflation increases.

Spending money is not evil.

In fact, spending money is good. That’s what stimulates the economy and that is what transfers value from one person to the next. Now don’t go out and spend like it’s going out of style, or dive into new trends (like this ridiculous 3-D movement that I saw at CES. Rather spend where the money is. There is a reason that all my baller real estate buddies buy houses in regular neighborhoods and not the newest and latest development that pops up. The demand is there for families, there is established shopping and a community with ties and roots to the neighborhood. Let someone else take the gamble for uncharted developments.

You don’t need all the answers.

You are going to make mistakes. You may strike out. But more than likely you are going to have enough info to know if using your money on whatever you are using it on is a good thing or a bad thing. And you will do this through your gut.

The trick is to not treat money like a drug. Quick fixes to give your mind some pleasures are not the wins we need. 30 seconds of pleasure is not worth days, weeks, months or years of pain. It’s just not. Just like those extra fries are not worth the extra miles you need to run for a few seconds of mental euphoria.

So there you have it. Health and wealth. Lots more coming on these topics. Like I said in the last post, this is a learning thing for me. And as I learn I want to share everything with you. From the mentors to the books to the people and places.

Today’s Resource

Today I want to point you to a mentor of mine. I learned about him through his Internet Marketing teachings, although I never bought any of them. But then a buddy of mine shared with me a course on Productivity called Wake Up Productive. I loved it. So much psychology, strategy and action to get more shit done on the daly.

His name is Eben Pagan. He may be one of the most brilliant minds in self-help and business building. I am playing a role in his new launch for a course called Self Made Wealth. I do have access to the course and it has stayed in my iPhone (which plays in my car and on my runs) everyday for the past 2 weeks.

http://affiliates.getaltitude.com/z/113/CD1516/

The information on saving, investing and wealth building is incredible. Now Eben is in pre-launch mode for his new course. That means a ton of killer free content followed by a product launch. He has already released 2 videos, that come with full workbooks. I want you to watch the 2nd one today, or as soon as you get a few free seconds. The psychological triggers that screw up our thoughts on money are really going to get embedded into your brains.

So please, go ahead and click this nice affiliate link and watch some free stuff.

http://affiliates.getaltitude.com/z/113/CD1516/

Then leave some love down below on your thoughts on money, maybe even share your story of your own love/hate relationship with it. Looking forward to seeing what you all have to say.

-G

I need to write. There is something missing from not blogging, talking and sharing things that has really been eating away at me. I haven’t posted much of anything since going into a hole and kicking our new startup off the ground. Posts at GYRS and RSLD have suffered. Numbers are down, affiliate sales are slumping and I just feel like I am missing out on some great people and chats.

Today I had to get back on track.

This week I am headed to Vegas for CES and Affiliate Summit (holler to link up!). Even though I’ve been hiding the world around us has been constantly changing. As it does, I feel that there are some extremely important things to discuss going forward that impact you, the way you do business and the way you plan your future.

First a quick recap. Lifestyle design itself is a trend. Nothing but a buzzword and I jumped on it. In fact at one point I conquered it. Through doing all the crap everyone talks about from guest posting to writing authority posts to knowing SEO better than most I had the number 2 Google ranking for lifestyle design (I think I’m still there but who’s counting or caring).

To further prove this, Norcross wrote a killer post yesterday on the Hate Lifestyle and how most LD bloggers and people were doing dumb shit to follow a trend that doesn’t make sense, or that has a distinct road map ,or that sees its members release rehashed eBook after eBook and move to Thailand/Australia/wherever. You need to read it if you are in this space and truly decide who you are preaching to and what you really want them to accomplish.

Matter of fact, you need to redetermine your own purpose and where you want to go long term. Like after the snowboard season ends.

Are you writing for the same people that are writing the same thing as you?

Are you selling the same passion, passion, passion, travel, blah, blah blah that doesn’t do anything to develop a long term lifestyle, business, wealth, value or relationship?

Who The Heck Are You?

This week I had the amazing pleasure of handing out with Dan Gasby and B. Smith. They are the A-List of class and lifestyle in New York City. From being Blackberry pals with Barack to running the only African American owned restaurant in the Hamptons to having over 300 licensed products in Bed, Bath and Beyond, they are the authority on lifestyle.

Not some 25 year old kid. Not Snookie. Not Miss Lohan. Not Mr. Ferriss (who I do enjoy reading).

At one point Dan turned to me and said, “what can a 27 year teach me about lifestyle? …nothing.”

The truth has been spoken. Just because you made a lil chedda from an eBook that allowed you to travel for a year or 2, doesn’t make you a lifestyle expert. Living life, having experiences and building something that matters does. (yes, that includes me)

Yes, selling information is the best business in the world. But selling water to a well needs to be left to Jigga. Build me something. Show me results.

What Am I (And What Should You Be) Popping Tags On?

I took a survey last week from someone in this community that was getting ready to launch a new eBook/course/whatever and was asking for what we wanted to learn.

I was super honest. I don’t give a shit about installing Wordpress.

• Show me what you did to make money.
• Show me how you incorporated overseas.
• Show me how you deal with taxes, saving money and cutting costs.
• Show me what banks you are using to move money between countries.
• Show me how you are dealing with currency exchanges.
• Show me how you are investing for the future.
• Show me how you are growing your portfolio with your earnings.
• Show me investment opportunities in all these countries you are visiting.
• And so on and so on…

This market is sooooo over the do what you love and make a shitty overnight business that makes $30k a year and that everyone is pitching with the same “I don’t want to sell you, but I am selling you attitude.”

Yes there is always a beginners market, but…

Grow some friggin balls. Make a great product and sell it. Be proud to charge $500 (or whatever monetary b/s price) for it and don’t worry about the jackasses that can’t afford it or think that you suck for making such an absurd profit on an info product. But add value. If you can’t, then you aren’t ready. Keep working.

I am learning this everyday. That’s why I haven’t, and won’t launch anything in this arena until I am ready. Until I have something to really add. And that includes spending a metric shit ton of my hard earned money on more education, consulting sessions and masterminding with the people that can help me answers the questions that matter to me this year.

• How do I take my new company from $1 million to $5-10 million this year?
• How can I add value to thousands of bloggers to help build our brands?
• How can I look like T.O. while working hours like The Donald?
• How can I learn about the economy to move my assets and money into assets that appreciate?
• How can I invest and grow my portfolio so when anything happens to the dollar, or any craziness, I can put some veggies on the table?
• How can I not just survive, but build real wealth in the long term?
• How can I leverage technology, people and places to get back more time for me, my health and my family?
• How can I help use what I know to help people all over the world?

That’s what we are going to talk about in the coming weeks and months. There will be no install Wordpress and blog your way to making fast money. No scheming. Just talking about the future and how to be a radically ambitious son of a bitch who is taking friggin prisoners for their own future.

It’ll be one hell of a ride.

What do you think? Am I being an asshole or is it time to really take responsibility for our futures as people, as entrepreneurs and as young leaders?

-G

P.S. If you will be in Vegas, you better holler, because it will be a week to remember! CES floor on Saturday, speaking with Brogan on Sunday, 3-6 Mafia on Monday. Oh boy!!

Are you coming out for Affiliate Summit West and our Social Media Marketing in Las Vegas next month? Greg and I (Murray Newlands) are speaking on the panel Dominating Your Niche With Blogger Outreach with Chris Brogan, John Chow, Eric Schecter and Jonathan Volk on the first day of Affiliate Summit.

We would love to have you come to Affiliate Summit and our Social Media Marketing Las Vegas event the next day at the Flamingo Hotel so we’ve cooked up these special offerings for you:

1. WIN a free ticket to Social Media Marketing Las Vegas - all you need to do to enter is tweet “@g_ro is giving away a free ticket to @murraynewlands Social Media Event in Vegas Jan 12. http://bit.ly/fH5ONy #SMrockstar“
2. Save 10% off any pass level to Affiliate Summit with Discount Code: ASW11GROW10
3. Save 10% off tickets to Social Media Marketing Las Vegas with Discount Code: rockstar

We hope you’ll come party with Greg and me at Affiliate Summit. We’ll have a blast and learn a ton. Networking is always fun! Here’s a photo from the last time Greg and I were partying at Affiliate Summit (we walked away with a $1,000 beer pong championship courtesy of Clickbooth). Come, find us and say hello.

Follow the buzz on Twitter and see who else is going using these Hashtags:

• Affiliate Summit West - #asw11
• Social Media Marketing Las Vegas - #smlasvegas

(This quick post was written by Murray Newlands, who is the founder of Influence People, writer of “How To Make a Blog Book” and a social media/Internet Marketing Consultant residing in San Francisco).

There are so many people in the Personal Development/Lifestyle Design/Internet Marketing niche that are writing eBooks to either generate some income, or kickstart their careers in this space. I totally think this is a great idea, but you are basically just being a follower (unless you are the greatest writer of all time), these books are mostly the same, with the same theme (sorry friends, but it’s true).

That is why when I heard about Monica O’Brien’s (Monica Leonelle now) new project I really wanted to get behind and support her. I’ve been running in similar online circles as Monica for a few years now and we both come from the original Brazen Careerist background. Her new project sees her releasing a fiction novel, Silver Smoke, Vol1.

This thing is no small feat either. It’s 120,000 words, the size of a Twilight or Harry Potter book. Here is some of the scoop on the book:

Silver Smoke takes place in Honolulu, Hawaii and follows siblings Pilot and Brie van Rossum in the aftermath of an accident that took their mother’s life. She died in a plane crash, supposedly; but as they learn more about her death, they find out that their mother kept secrets from them that put their lives in danger too. The paranormal elements revolve around angels, demons, and several other mythical–or maybe not so mythical–creatures that are explained by the beautiful yet haunting world of the Hallows and the Nephilim.

Monica is releasing the book in early 2011 and in her marketing for the book she is also looking to do some videos to make the novel come to life. She is using Kickstarter to do the fundraising, which is really exciting as some of my music buddies have also used the platform to make their dream come t fruition.

You can grab a signed copy of the novel, along with the digital version for only $25 over on Kickstarter. I highly recommend supporting!

Anyway, I wanted Monica to answer a few questions about the novel, her approach and her goals for going the fiction route. Check out what she had to say below.

Greg: What are your goals for this book, and for writing fiction while we see so many of our peers writing nonfiction these days?

Monica: The great thing about this project is that there weren’t any goals when I started. I started writing the book to cope with something else that was going on in my life, and the fact that I finished the book is a surprise to me.

I’ve been writing non-fiction for years and years and I spent a lot of time trying to make money off of it. But writing fiction started out as a hobby and morphed into 120,000 words, bigger than any amount of text I’ve ever written in my life. When I had written a certain amount and felt sure that I would finish the book, I jumped into entrepreneurial mode and started setting goals. The nice thing is that any money I make off of the project would just go towards writing more fiction or paying down my school loans. I’m not trying to make money for my family or survival, which takes the pressure off and lets me focus on the art of it. I just want to write a great book and have lots of people to read my work.

Greg: I am intrigued by people who are able to write whole books, as I can barely keep focus to write out a Tweet. What was your writing process and what kept you going (this is a pretty large book, btw)?

Monica: The book is 120,000 words, or about the size of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight. So yeah, it’s a large book; but about the right size for the genre and type of book it is.

Regarding a writing process, I’m not sure how to describe mine. I build scenes the way I build blog posts, which is the way I used to build computer programs–in small chunks, starting with a shell of an idea and filling in the details afterwards. I revise a lot, and I think each scene of my novel went through around 10 individual revisions from either myself or my two editors.

But writing is a hobby for me, just like playing a guitar or volunteering for a church or going deer hunting are hobbies for other people. I don’t see writing as a chore or a job, and I think when people approach it that way they tend not to create something that resonates with people. I rarely force myself to write–I wait until I have the idea and honestly, I’ll stop whatever I’m doing and sit down at my computer. If I’m out somewhere I’ll excuse myself and use the notes feature on my iPhone to email myself. I just watched a TV special about Taylor Swift and she did the same thing at school when she had an idea for a song. People can become obsessed with ideas to the point where their ideas are what drives them, and writing is one of those things for me, just like music is one of those things for you.

Greg: I see you chose Kickstarter to raise funds. This is something we see a lot of musicians using. What was your process for choosing Kickstarter and what are your thoughts about using this approach to find startup ideas?

Monica: I don’t know of any other fundraising sites, to be honest, so I don’t have any good comparison tips. I like that Kickstarter is focused on artists and is diligent about kicking everyone else out. I think the platform has a lot of room to grow, specifically with tools to promote the project within its own community. I used Crowdspring to get the Silver Smoke cover done and they had lots of tools for attracting designers. I’m guessing there are lots of people out there who just love backing projects, but I have no way to reach them.

Greg: What is the biggest lesson you are learning about releasing a book and what advice can you give to others who are looking to do the same?

Monica: I learned that the most important thing is to write the best book you can and have a serious marketing plan. To write the best book, you need to enlist beta readers, editors (both content editors and copy editors) and all of your family and friends. You can do this by signing a deal with a big publisher or by paying out of your own pocket.

With marketing, you have to be willing to pull out all the stops and do some crazy things. One of the things I’ve done to promote Silver Smoke is to personally find and email over 2,500 book bloggers about my book (yes, there is a subset of bloggers who write primarily about books). I asked each of them if I could send a review copy and about half of them have said yes. Another group have said they don’t have time to read and review the book but they’d be willing to do a book giveaway or interview on their blogs during the publication week. This is a big publicity push to pull off though. If you are not willing to hit the pavement and email thousands and thousands of people to ask for help, you will have a hard time getting your book off the ground, even with the help of a large publisher.

—————————————-

Big shout out to Monica for running outside the box and writing something that she can really be proud of and share with the world. Again, if you want to make a contribution to the project and get a copy for yourself, head on over to Kickstarter and turn this into a reality.

Read a snippet of the first few chapters here.

As a final note, what questions do you have for Monica on writing fiction and trying to make a living doing it? Write them in the comments below and I’ll be sure to pass the message on to Monica.

-Greg

When  first started blogging I was working at a “real job” that focused on finding people “real jobs.”

Jobs that I would never want, nor would recommend to anyone even remotely close to my circle. But they were real jobs. Telemarketers, construction workers, housekeepers, financial sales reps, mechanics and the like.

They are the jobs our parents, and their parents held down to put a nice meal on the table and kept the lights on.

When I first started blogging, I was blogging so that I would never have to hold down another “real job” again.

And the plan was going pretty darn well. I was building a sweet following of musicians and creating some products over at Gen-Y Rock Stars. The income was starting to fliz-ow and I was in the pre-launch for my biggest launch to date, the New Music Economy Blueprint.

Then it happened, I got sucked into a “real job” again.

But it wasn’t a job like most young people are accustomed to. It was with a startup, Cognitiv, that offered some pretty nice perks and an opportunity to do all this crazy stuff I do at a massive scale.

So I jumped from at home, surfer bum entrepreneur to employed. With an office (window view).

Then I had a conversation with Rob Granholm from IT Arsenal today and we talked a little about his job. He didn’t think of it as a job. Something that he dreads every morning and anguishes over every night.

It’s a similar conversation I’ve had with many young pros who are not entrepreneurs but who work like one. They are passionate about their work, about their industry, about learning and sharing and about making a better future for themselves.

So Then What Is A Real Job And Why Do We Hate The Feeling Of A Real Job?

About 2 weeks ago I got an email from Scott Gerber from the Young Entrepreneur Council and author of the book, Never Get A Real Job (How To Dump Your Boss, Build A Business And Not Go Broke).

The book and Scott’s mission are pretty common among Gen-Y leaders. College doesn’t lead you down a yellow brick road to a dream job and neither does sitting on your ass. You need to stand out and be great amongst a sea of other great peers and no one is waiting to hand out million dollar bills for ideas alone.

But if you work your tail off, have a stellar idea and put it onto the real world, with a more than Facebook marketing strategy, you just might have something that people in “real jobs” with have envy over.

Scott’s real power is in his overall mission to help young people overcome the devastating effects of youth unemployment and underemployment by teaching them how to build businesses. I think this is really important as he really gets behind everything that is wrong with the current structure of the American work force (sorry, I’ve never applied to a job or worked anywhere else), and how young people are getting a royal shaft from universities with rising tuition, credit card companies who take total advantage of the high ticket price of college and post grab life and companies who still look at a piece of paper before seeing if you qualify via some bullshit piece of software that can tell what people are like.

He has started the Death To The Resume Movement and even kicked off his book launch with a resume burning party.

We All Hate Real Jobs, Because At A Real Job…

you can’t be yourself. You can’t express yourself and your vision. When you have something vested into a company your true colors show. You write blog posts at 1am knowing that you have to run a few miles at 6am before a full day of ass kicking.

I know that when I started this blogging thing 4 or so years ago a real job was where I thought my life was headed. I tried the entrepreneur thing. I started a record label in high school, ran a recording studio to pay for college, waited tables, DJ’d, rocked the world with my music, flipped real estate, tried eCommerce, got a “real job” and then killed it with Internet Marketing only to get back wherever it is that I am now.

And I couldn’t be happier or more excited to see the damn sunrise every morning.

So what the hell is a real job today? Shit, I dunno. And I never want to find out.

Win A Copy Of Never Get A Real Job

What’s your idea of a real job? Let me know in the comments. Best answer wins a copy of Scott’s new book - Never Get A Real Job. You got till Friday. The clock is ticking.

And if you don’t want to wait to get a copy, grab one now via this sexy Amazon affiliate link.

-Greg