Are you completely successful?

By the time you get to the bottom of this page, you may be.

Success is all about having the right mindset. That’s why I’ve compiled 50 of the most powerful perspectives on success from some of history’s most successful people. Their definitions, quotations, formulas, misconceptions, and principles paint a clear picture of the mindset of a success.

Top 10 Definitions of Success

#1 Winston Churchill:

“Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.”

#2 Deepak Chopra:

“Success in life could be defined as the continued expansion of happiness and the progressive realization of worthy goals.”

#3 Jim Rohn:

“Success is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.”

#4 Anita Roddick:

“I want to define success by redefining it. For me it isn’t that solely mythical definition – glamour, allure, power of wealth, and the privilege from care. Any definition of success should be personal because it’s so transitory. It’s about shaping my own destiny.”

#5 Richard Branson:

“It is the satisfaction of doing it for yourself and motivating others to work with you in bringing it about. It is about the fun, innovation, creativity with the rewards being far greater than purely financial.”

#6 Orison Swett Marden:

“When a man feels throbbing within him the power to do what he undertakes as well as it can possibly be done, this is happiness, this is success.”

#7 Zig Ziglar:

“Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be.”

#8 George Sheehan:

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.”

#9 Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“Success:  To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.  This is to have succeeded!”

#10 Wilfred Peterson:

“Success is focusing the full power of all you are on what you have a burning desire to achieve.”

Top 10 Quotes on Success

#1 Thomas Edison:

“Success is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.”

#2 Dorothea Brande:

“Act as though it is impossible to fail.”

#3 Woody Allen:

“Seventy percent of success in life is showing up.”

#4 Mark Victor Hansen:

“Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.”

#5 Yoda:

“Do or do not. There is no try.”

#6 Taryn Rose:

“Fear regret more than failure.”

#7 Edward Simmons:

“The difference between failure and success is doing a thing nearly right and doing a thing exactly right.”

#8 Abraham Lincoln:

“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to success is more important than any other one thing.”

#9 George Bernard Shaw:

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”

#10 Anonymous:

“God gave us two ends: one to sit on and one to think with. Success depends on which one you use. Heads you win; tails, you lose.”

Top 10 Formulas for Success

#1 Albert Einstein:

“If A equals success, then the formula is A equals X plus Y and Z, with X being work, Y play, and Z keeping your mouth shut.”

#2 Thomas J. Watson:

“Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it. So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that’s where you will find success.”

#3 Stanley Tang:

“Success comes down to hard work plus passion, over time.”

#4 Swami Vivekananda:

“Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life: think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.”

#5 Mark Twain:

“To succeed in life, you need two things: ignorance and confidence.”

#6 Napoleon Hill

“Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.”

#7 James Allen:

“For true success ask yourself these four questions: Why? Why not? Why not me? Why not now?”

#8 Unknown:

“Success = an optimist in thought + a pessimist in action.”

#9 Anonymous:

“An Unfailing Success Plan: At each day’s end write down the six most important things to do tomorrow; number them in order of importance, and then do them.”

#10 Arnold H. Glasgow:

“Success is simple. Do what’s right, the right way, at the right time.”

Top 10 Misconceptions about Success

#1 Success is Complicated

“Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”

Steve Jobs

You can make success as complicated as you want, but it doesn’t have to be that way. As Jobs says, making success simple isn’t necessarily easy, but it is very powerful.

Take Google for example: their home page is one of the simplest on the web and that simplicity has allowed it to become the most popular site in the world.

#2 Success is a Destination

It’s tempting to think about success as some far-off point where you’ve accomplished everything we’ve ever wanted: “I’ll be successful when I have my dream job, make a million dollars a year, and spend all my time traveling the world with my soul mate.”

This type of thinking is flawed because the accomplishment of worthy goals only leads to the possibility of accomplishing more worthy goals. A successful person doesn’t stop once they achieve something; they’re inspired to achieve something even greater. Success is an ongoing path. As Ben Sweetland said, “Success is a journey, not a destination.”

#3 Success is the Key to Happiness

“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success.”

Herman Cain

If you’re unhappy, don’t blame it on a lack of success. Happiness is all about perspective. If you’ve got a cheerful outlook, it doesn’t matter if you’re a success or failure.

#4 Failure is an Indicator that You Won’t Succeed

“The hardest part about being an entrepreneur is that you’ll fail ten times for every success.”

Adam Horwitz

Everybody fails. In fact, successful people fail more than failures because they take bigger chances. If you want proof, then check out the four biggest mistakes from the world’s four biggest entrepreneurs.

Failures are necessary on the path of success. Just learn from them and move on.

#5 Success Comes at the Expense of Others

Some people think that the only way you can move up in business is by stepping on people to get there.

The truth is actually the opposite: a business is successful because it provides value for people. As I’ve written about before, the more you give, the more you get.

#6 Moderate Success is Easier to Get than “Only in Your Wildest Dreams” Success

“Ninety-nine percent of people believe they can’t do great things, so they aim for mediocrity.”

Tim Ferriss

Many of us are taught from an early age to have practical goals. We shouldn’t try to be a rock star, supermodel, or astronaut because the chances of success are so slim.

But it’s time to challenge those self-imposed restraints. As Ben Nemtin, from “The Buried Life”, pointed out: “The level of competition is highest for realistic goals because most people don’t set high enough goals for themselves.”

Don’t be afraid to go for your wildest dream. It may take more effort, but you’ll also be more energized.

#7 You Need to Wait Until the Time is Right

“Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome.”

Samuel Johnson

There’s no such thing as the “perfect time” to act. There will always be a problem. But successful people don’t let that deter them.

#8 Success has to be Traditional

“The fastest way to succeed is to look as if you’re playing by somebody else’s rules, while quietly playing by your own.”

Michael Konda

Don’t get caught up with how other people define success. Traditional success includes a six-figure income, a happy family, and a house with a white picket fence. But your success doesn’t have to include any of these things.

#9 Success is Easy

“Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven’t planted.”

David Bly

When people become very successful very quickly it almost looks like it just fell into their lap. But it only looks easy to us because we can’t see the whole picture. Success is earned. As the old saying goes, “The only place you’ll find success before work is in the dictionary.”

#10 Success = Money

“A business that makes nothing but money is a poor kind of business.”

Henry Ford

This is a tired point, but it’s true: money is not that important. Personally, I would rather make a modest living doing something that matters than get rich trading stocks on Wall Street.

Steve Jobs was one of the richest people in the world, but he once said “being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.”

Top 10 Principles of Success

#1 Success Starts Within

Success comes from the way you act. The way you act comes from the way you think and feel. Therefore, to become more successful, you must first change something within yourself.

#2 Success is a Habit

“Excellence is not a singular act, but a habit. You are what you repeatedly do.”

Aristotle

The little things that you do every day build on top of one another. Make a little progress towards your goals every day.

#3 Success is Only Obtainable in the Now

“The present moment is the only moment available to us and it is the door to all moments.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

We can’t experience the past or the future. So the only time a person is truly able to experience success is when they’re appreciating success in the present moment. Take time to enjoy the success of the present or you’ll never know the true meaning of the word.

There’s another reason why the present is so important, as Mahatma Gandhi points out: “The future depends on what we do in the present.”

#4 Success is in Motion

“I think if you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long. Just figure out what’s next.”

Steve Jobs

Have a sip of success and it’s easy to get intoxicated. When you get so pleased with your success that all you want to do is reflect on it fondly, you’re guaranteeing that your success will be short-lived.

The only way to have permanent success is to always be moving forward. This anonymous quotation says it better than I can: “A successful man continues to look for work after he has found a job.”

#5 Success Requires Faith

“Leap and the net will appear.”

Zen saying

Pursuing success is challenging and risky, but your chances increase greatly when you simply believe you will succeed.

#6 Success Means Helping Others

“It’s not that successful people are givers; it is that givers are successful people.”

Patti Thor

While it’s enjoyable to help yourself, there’s nothing more satisfying than helping others. Any true definition of success involves giving back as much as you get.

#7 Success is a Choice

Your life is in your hands. So if you don’t like your situation, change it.

Each of us has the resources and the opportunity to create a better life. But we each must make the decision to do this. As an old Swedish proverb says, “God gives every bird a worm, but he does not throw it into the nest.”

#8 Perseverance is Required

Colonel Harlan Sanders made 1008 sales call before a restaurant agreed to buy his recipe for fried chicken. If Sanders hadn’t persisted through over 1000 rejections, then KFC (a restaurant franchise with that earns about a half-billion dollars in revenue per year) wouldn’t exist.

Success is a long-term game. Be ready for the long haul.

#9 Visualization is Key

“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up some place else.”

Yogi Berra

When teaching my class to shoot basketball, our gym teacher told us to imagine the basketball going through the hoop. Surprisingly, the trick worked: visualizing a successful shot actually helped us achieve it.

It’s not magic. Visualization makes our goals more real and reminds us of the beauty of our dreams.

#10 Success Starts Today

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.”

Robert Louis Stevenson

No matter what your situation is, you can become a successful person today. You may not be able to reap the rewards yet, but you can start planting the seeds.

Now that I am, it’s hard for me to ever imagine going back to a normal job.

There are a lot of reasons why I love being an entrepreneur and I’ve listed my top 30 below.

If you’re thinking about becoming an entrepreneur, I hope reading this inspires you to take the plunge. If you’re already an entrepreneur, I hope it reminds you that you have a lot to be thankful for.

#1 You Can Work in Your Pajamas

When you really want to be comfortable, even business casual isn’t casual enough. Online entrepreneurs get to work while wearing sandals, sweatpants, and even their pajamas.

#2 It’s Low-Risk

“If you start with nothing and end with nothing, then nothing was lost.”

Michael Dunlop

Two decades ago, if you wanted to sell a product, you needed a store. If you wanted to offer a service, then you needed office space. If you wanted a platform to promote yourself with, you would have to pay for advertising space.

Starting a business was expensive and therefore risky.

But the Internet has changed things. Instead of paying tens of thousands of dollars a year for real estate, you can pay less than $100 a year for a domain name and hosting. Instead of paying thousands more on marketing, you can start a social media platform for free.

All of this doesn’t guarantee you’ll succeed, but it does mean that you can’t lose much by trying.

#3 Your Work is Your Own

When you work for someone else, all of your efforts go to helping a business that doesn’t belong to you.

As an entrepreneur, your effort goes to increasing the value of something (a business) that you own outright.

Getting a monthly paycheck is great, but it’s a short-term fix compared to developing an asset that can bring you wealth for years and years to come.

#4 There’s Never a Dull Moment

Companies like to hire people to fill one role. As an employee, you’re generally expected to do one thing and do it very well. This may be efficient, but it’s also boring.

Entrepreneurs just starting out don’t have this problem. Instead of filling one role, they must fill all of the roles for their company. In one day, you’ll work as a designer, writer, coder, salesperson, and maybe even janitor (somebody has to clean up).

Playing so many parts is daunting, but it keeps things interesting.

#5 You Learn Something New Every Day

Here’s another benefit to having the varied duties of an entrepreneur: there’s always more to learn.

Even if one day you were able to learn everything involved in making money online, you would wake up the next day and have more to learn. As an online entrepreneur, the better you’re able to keep up with up-to-date technologies, techniques, and trends, the easier it will be for you to be successful.

Personally, I love the sense of progress I get when I learn a valuable new concept or skill. I also like that I’m always challenging my mind and keeping it sharp.

#6 You Can Find Your True Calling

Most people know what they want to do for the rest of their lives by the time they’re five years old. By the time they’re 25 years old, they usually aren’t so sure.

If you’re looking for some clarity on the subject, then you may want to become an entrepreneur. Since it’s such a diverse and self-guided career path, entrepreneurship is a good way to find your true calling.

#7 You Can Beat the Rush

Driving to work with everybody else during rush hour is a waste of time, gasoline, and your patience.

As an online entrepreneur, your morning commute can be the walk from bedroom to your office. If you choose not to work from home, you can still avoid the rush by going to work an hour earlier or later.

#8 More Home Cooking

Employees don’t do a lot of cooking during their lunch break. It’s more practical to go out to lunch at a restaurant or bring a sack lunch.

But as an entrepreneur, you can spend more days working from home and therefore more lunches in your own kitchen. There’s nothing like home cooking: it’s often healthier, less expensive, and more satisfying.

#9 More Sunshine

I live in Fort Collins, Colorado and this last week has seen some unseasonably warm weather. Unfortunately, when I’m stuck inside working during a beautiful day, I tend to be distracted.

So I took mornings off last week to hike, bike, and play basketball. After getting a couple of hours of Vitamin D, I was ready to buckle down for work.

If I had a regular 9-to-5 job, that wouldn’t be possible. I would probably be stuck looking out the window all day.

#10 It Helps Build Your Network

The difference between achieving your wildest dreams and being left in the dust can be as simple as knowing the right person.

Some occupations are better at building your network than others. But you probably won’t make a ton of connections while working in the same office every day year after year.

Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, are always meeting new people. They have to reach out to potential clients, customers, and partners if they want to keep their business moving forward. All of that turnover helps entrepreneurs to have some of the biggest (and most lucrative) networks around.

#11 The Internet is Still Growing

As of December 2011, only 32.7% of the world’s population had Internet access.

In the next decade, that number will climb steadily as more and more people gain access. Meanwhile, those two billion of us who already connect to the Internet will likely be doing it more often, from more devices, for longer periods of time.

In other words, the Internet is a healthily growing industry. If you start an online business today, it will enjoy the benefits of that growth.

#12 We’re in a Time of Economic Transition

The last two decades have seen the sharp rise of digital technology and globalized trade. This has shaken up the world economy and left many industries depleted.

It has also created brand new business opportunities for entrepreneurs to capitalize on.

While bigger, older companies struggle to adapt to these changes, a startup can be built from the ground-up to solve today’s problems. A great example of this is Green-back Laptops, which turns a profit in a brand-new industry (recycling computers).

#13 It’s an Employer’s Market

Unemployment rates around the world are high. That’s bad news for employees, who are dealing with more competition and lower wages.

But it’s good news for entrepreneurs, who can benefit from hiring an eager, available workforce to help grow their businesses.

#14 You Can Create Jobs

If your business becomes successful, you’ll want to hire a few employees. The larger your business becomes, the more people you’ll need to hire.

Google was started by only two people but it now employs over 30,000. What would those 30,000 people be doing if it weren’t for Google? Maybe they’d working for another search engine, but they might also be out of work.

#15 It Makes Your Internet Habit Productive

If you’re reading this, I’m guessing you spend a fair amount of time online.

When you’re an online entrepreneur, browsing the Internet becomes part of your job: you benefit from reading relevant articles, networking with people in your industry, and sharing parts of your story on Facebook or Twitter.

If you’re going to be spending your time online anyway, you might as well be doing something productive.

#16 You Can Do What You Love

This may be the single best reason to be an entrepreneur.

Instead of fitting into a box designated by an employer, entrepreneurs can effectively create their own dream-job.

#17 You Can Earn Passive Income

Passive income is money that you earn on a regular basis without having to put in much effort to maintain it. One example of passive income would be the monthly rent check a landlord receives.

Just about everyone loves the idea of passive income because it means that you can make money while you sleep – and use the daylight to do whatever you like.

Because a good website can earn money without much maintenance, online entrepreneurs have the fast track to earning passive income. Some of the ways to do it are by hosting advertisements on your sites, selling products, and developing membership programs.

#18 You Don’t Have a Boss

A great boss is a leader, mentor, and a friend.

A bad boss is hell on earth.

If you don’t want having to risk getting a bad boss then you may like becoming an entrepreneur. You’ll still have responsibilities to other people, but you won’t have to be anyone’s personal underling five days a week.

#19 You Can’t Get Fired

One of the worst things about being an employee is that you never know when you could get the axe. Companies are always looking for ways to cut costs and annual salaries are one of their biggest expenses. Any day, you could go to work with a career and come home unemployed.

As an entrepreneur, you can lose clients, visitors, or followers, but you can never lose your job. Your future is in your hands.

#20 You Don’t Have to Quit Your Day Job

Making money online doesn’t usually happen right away. It takes time to develop a website, product, or following. Even the world’s most successful online entrepreneurs (think Mark Zuckerberg and Larry Page) didn’t earn money from their websites for years.

But even though becoming an online entrepreneur is a big time commitment, the time can be spread out over as many days as you like. So, you don’t need to quit your day job. You can keep earning a full-time income and build an online business with your free time.

#21 You Can Quit Your Day Job

At some point, your online business may become so profitable that your 9-to-5 job becomes obsolete. That’s when you put in your two weeks’ notice and become a full-time entrepreneur.

Other than winning the lottery, entrepreneurship may be the best way to never need a “real job” again.

#22 It Teaches You Self-Discipline

Entrepreneurs have to hold themselves accountable. If they don’t, nobody else will.

This is a challenge, but it’s also a great opportunity to flex your willpower. Being your own boss means that you get to practice motivating yourself every day to get things done.

Self-discipline is a rewarding habit. Practicing it daily makes you feel more satisfied and confident in yourself. Of course it’s also the best thing you can do for the success of your business.

#23 You Can Travel the World

When your office is online, you can work from virtually anywhere. As long as you’ve got a power outlet and a connection to the Internet, you’re set.

Some entrepreneurs (like Cody McKibben) take advantage of this and travel the globe year-round. These entrepreneurs are known as ‘digital nomads’. Others just use their location-independence to take the occasional long vacation.

There’s a big, beautiful world out there. Starting an online business gives you a better chance to experience it.

#24 You Can Listen to Your Body Clock

We all have a unique body clock that plays a role in our mood and energy throughout the day.

For me, every night at midnight a switch flicks on in my brain and I become extremely focused, creative, and productive. That time of night is usually when I do my best work.

If I had a typical 9-to-5 job, this productive window would go to waste. One of the big benefits of being an online entrepreneur is that you can listen to your body and work during the times of day when you feel most energized.

#25 You Can Work Four Hours a Week

In “The 4-Hour Workweek”, Timothy Ferriss discusses how to use things like outsourcing, drop-shipping, and Google Adsense to automate your business and work only four hours a week.

This is one of the great entrepreneurial dreams: build a business to the point that it runs without you.

Of course, you can’t start brand-new business, work on it for a few hours per week, and expect to be able to live off of the income. The road to the four-hour workweek is often paved with 50 and 60 hour weeks.

#26 It Encourages Efficiency

Another way to work fewer hours per week is to work more efficiently. The sooner you get today’s project done, the sooner you’ll be able to relax.

The same isn’t true for most jobs. Generally, you get off at the same time regardless of how efficiently you’ve been working. In fact, an hourly wage can actually encourage you to do things slowly because you know you won’t have to work as hard.

Personally, I prefer how entrepreneurship incentivizes efficiency.

#27 It’s Satisfying

It’s hard to define what gives us that sense of satisfaction, but we know it when we feel it. At the end of the day, we either feel happy, content, and satisfied or… we don’t.

In my experience, entrepreneurs are an exceptionally satisfied bunch. This is true even of those who haven’t yet seen very much success.

There’s something about working for yourself, following your own path, and controlling your own destiny that gives a person that happy, contented feeling at the end of the day.

#28 There’s Unlimited Growth Potential

With a traditional job, you move forward by receiving raises and promotions. These are good ways to get ahead, but they’re all incremental forms of growth. You’re not going to be the secretary one week and the CEO the next.

Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, can experience big breakthroughs and sudden leaps in success. You could make $100 one week and $10,000 the next.

The knowledge that your business could explode overnight is part of what makes being an online entrepreneur so exciting.

#29 You Can Influence the World

As an employee, it’s easy to feel like a cog in a machine. You’re producing results for the company, but you’re not making your individual mark.

Entrepreneurs build businesses that reflect their goals and values. Their businesses entertain, inform, and help people, and in doing that they shape the world.

#30 You Can Leave a Legacy

I don’t know the meaning of life, but I do know that we all want for our life to have mattered.

You don’t have to start a business to do that. Raising a family, becoming a teacher, or simply being a good friend are all fine ways of leaving a legacy.

But if you really want to “put a dent in the universe,” then you may want to become an entrepreneur.

That’s what gave Steve Jobs the platform to change the way we think about technology. It’s also what gave Bill Gates the opportunity to dedicate his life to giving back (through The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation).

Simply put, a business is a powerful thing. When you create one, you create the possibility to provide huge value for people all around the planet. Build your business to last and it will keep making a difference even after you’re gone.

What’s your reason?

Did any of these 30 reasons jump out at you and make you think, “That’s why I decided to become an entrepreneur?”

Or did I neglect to mention your favorite reason?

Either way, illuminate me in the comment section below.

And if you’re not yet an entrepreneur, I’ll give you one more reason become one: you can start right now.

Images Courtesy of

http://www.flickr.com/photos/visualpanic/,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/justinandelise/,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hlkljgk/,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/superfantastic/,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/schristia/.

Your work habits are vital to your success.

But what about your non-work habits? Believe it or not, you can use your free time in a way that will actually help your business succeed.

Check out the five non-work activities below for ways to get work done without actually having to work.

#1 Socialize

If you’re the type to spend Friday night finishing up your latest project instead of going out on the town, then you might want to reconsider – not just for the benefit of your social life, but for the benefit of your business.

The reason is simple: success gets easier as your network gets bigger.

You probably don’t think of hanging out with your friends as a prime networking opportunity, but you never know when a friend of a friend will have just the right skill, connection, or opportunity to help take your business to the next level.

The more friends you make, the better the odds are that one of them will be able to help you out, whether immediately or years down the road. If not, no worries: friends are a nice thing to have in their own right.

Another Reason to Make Friends

Thanks to Facebook and Twitter, being socially savvy has never been more important in online business. Having an active social life will help you keep with the current trends and make sure you don’t get too socially awkward while typing out your tweets.

#2 Buy a Chair

Take notice as you’re reading this. Do you have good posture? Are your elbows bent at 90 degrees as you type? Do you feel comfortable and alert?

If not, it may be time to invest in a high back ergonomic chair.

Being an Internet entrepreneur without a good chair is sort of like being a marathon runner without good shoes. It may not seem very important at first, but it will begin to wear on you over time.

You’re probably working from your desk at least five hours a day. If you’re chair isn’t providing ample back and lumbar support during that time, you’re going to be more tired by the end of your work day than you should be.

Plus, a good chair encourages you to have good posture – and when you sit up straight, you’ll feel more alert and focused. Not only will you be getting more work done, you’ll also be doing your body a long-term favor.

Michael’s already recommended a great office chair in his Ultimate Office Shopping Guide. It’s expensive – but not any more expensive than a few visits to the chiropractor’s office.

Standing is the New Sitting

If you don’t want to spend the cash on buying a chair, find a counter and try working while standing up. You’ll eventually get tired of standing, but while you’re at it the increased blood flow will help you to think on your feet, so to speak.

#3 Read

If you’re a book lover, then you know there are few things more enjoyable than getting lost in the pages of a great novel.

But reading can also be a great way to make progress with your business – and I’m not just talking textbooks and business books, likeRich Dad, Poor Dad and The 4-Hour Workweek.

Reading the newspaper will keep you up on what’s current, which will help your business stay relevant. Reading biographies will give you day-by-day insight into the way successful people lived their lives. Reading novels can help spur your imagination.

Of course, reading articles about how to make money online on websites like IncomeDiary, may be your best resource of all.

Becoming Eloquent

Reading isn’t just about learning more about how to succeed. It also increases your skill with language, which will help you to communicate with customers, clients, and potential investors. Start reading daily and you may start talking your way into closing more deals.

#4 Get Somebody Else to Do It

Some entrepreneurs are so set on bootstrapping that they try to do everything themselves.

That’s an admirable goal, but it’s not very efficient. Inevitably, they spend a lot of time learning new skills and making first-time mistakes. As Warren Buffett would say, they’ve left their “circle of competence.”

It’s also a huge time commitment. If you spend all of your time answering emails, redesigning your website, and promoting your business, when will you have time to actually provide value to customers? One person can only do so much.

That’s why professional bloggers hire specialists to redesign their websites, write sales copy, and create their products. That’s also why many employ full-time virtual assistants to take care of administrative work and filter their daily deluge of emails.

In order to grow, your business will eventually have to enlist the help of additional people. The sooner you get started, the more prepared you’ll be manage employees when your business gets so large that they become essential.

Where to Start

Don’t be afraid to invest in your business by getting somebody else to do your work for you. Websites like oDesk and Elance are a good place to start. For smaller projects, you can try Fiverr – where the jobs are so small, they only cost five bucks.

#5 Go for a Run

You already know that running can make you healthier and leaner – but it can also be a great way to get work done without working.

If you’ve hit a mental roadblock, staring at your computer screen probably isn’t the best way to overcome it. Getting outside and going for a short run will help your body get into a rhythm and give you a fresh outlook.

It’s a great way to have an idea breakthrough, like thinking of a solution to a nagging problem or finding the right angle to enter a new market.

Go the Distance

“I’m not afraid to die on a treadmill. I will not be out-worked, period.”

Will Smith

Running also reinforces a mindset of commitment. With longer distances especially, it’s necessary that you develop the attitude that you won’t give up no matter what.

This will come in handy when you face roadblocks on your entrepreneurial journey. Very simply, a mindset of commitment is something that you’ll need if you ever want to have real success in anything.

Not a Runner?

Don’t worry: any long-distance sport will suffice. One of my favorite quotes about perseverance comes from a cyclist: Lance Armstrong, who beat cancer and then won the Tour de France seven-consecutive times. 

“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.”

Lance Armstrong

Does Not Working Really Work?

Next time you’ve got some free time, remember these activities.

Instead of reaching for the TV remote, read about the life of a person you admire. Instead of staying in, go out and meet some new people.

Of course, having the biggest network or the most comfortable chair doesn’t mean anything unless you’ve also been working to build a great business. So, even though all of these non-work activities can help move your business forward, none of them can replace good, old-fashioned hard work.

Good luck building your business as you work, as you don’t, and any time you find in between. If you can think of a helpful non-work activity that I missed, please share it below.

Photo Courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/sportcommunities/

The New Year is a fresh start.

The person you were last year no longer exists. All that matters is who you are on New Year’s Day and who you become by the end of the year.

January 1^st is a perfect time to make a personal change, but it’s also a perfect time for entrepreneurs to make big changes to their businesses.

The 12 resolutions below are for entrepreneurs hoping to help their business thrive in 2012.

#1 Resolve to Finish Every Project You Start

I’ve written previously about how most entrepreneurs have so many good ideas, that it can be difficult finish one project before starting the next one.

Don’t make that mistake this year. If you decide to develop a business, commit to seeing it through completely.

#2 Resolve to Start Charging Your True Worth

When trying to get your business on its feet, sometimes you have to charge less than your product or service is actually worth. It’s a good way to gain clientele and experience. But it’s not a good way to get rich.

Eventually, you’ve got to start charging clients for the actual value that you’re providing.

If you’ve been working for less than you’re worth, then 2012 is the year to make a change.

#3 Resolve to Keep a Clean Work Space

It’s hard to be productive in an environment that’s cluttered and disorganized.

Look around your work space right now. If it isn’t clean and controlled, then make a commitment now to maintain a focused work space for the next year.

#4 Resolve to Improve Work Systems

When Henry Ford implemented an assembly line in his factories in 1913, he completely revolutionized the automobile industry. By making the production system more efficient, The Ford Motor Company was able to produce more vehicles for less money – and profits went through the roof.

A business is only as efficient as the systems it employs.

Some systems are simple, like the way you organize your inbox. Others are very complex, like your step-by-step approach to completing a project over the course of a month.

We often create systems without much thought and then take them for granted once they’re established. As long as a system works, what’s the point in meddling?

But this is one thing where you really need to put in the extra time and make sure you’re doing things right. Take a step back and look critically at the systems you implement regularly with your business.

Systems are so important because their effect is cumulative. If you improve a system one time, that improvement continues to benefit you every time it’s implemented.

If you haven’t paid much attention to your systems lately, then make a point to focus on them in 2012.

#5 Resolve to Be Authentic

People are spending more time online than ever before. By now, they’re pretty adept at recognizing who’s being genuine and who isn’t.

2012 is a great year to tune out the voice in your head that tells you to pretend to be someone you’re not. Instead, communicate online with your authentic voice. People will take notice and respond.

#6 Resolve to Keep Track of Your Hours

How many hours are you putting into your business a week?

It’s not necessary to have a set schedule or to work eight hours every day. That’s part of the joy of being your own boss. But it is important to be aware of your work hours – and four hour days aren’t going to cut it (at least not at first).

When you begin to keep track of your hours, you start to understand where your time is going and how you could use it more effectively.

If you’re doing freelance work and you’re being paid by the project, this will also help you in pricing your services.

A Time Tracking Tool

There are many applications out there that help you keep track of how you’re spending your time on your computer.

Rescue Time is free software that automatically tracks which programs and websites you’re using throughout the day. Over the course of a few weeks, you begin to get a clear picture of how efficient your computer time is and how it compares to the work habits of others.

At the end of the month, take a look at the data. You may be surprised to realize how much of your time goes to work that doesn’t actually you earn you any income (like answering emails or being active on social media).

#7 Resolve to Redesign Your Website

Even if you’re website is up-to-date now, it won’t be in six months. The Internet keeps changing and the most successful online companies will continue to change with it.

Don’t risk becoming outdated. Make sure you update and improve your website at least once this year.

#8 Resolve to Eat Right and Exercise

Okay, okay – I know these are the two most cliché resolutions in the history of New Year’s. But they’re cliché for a reason.

Eating right and exercising are great resolutions for anyone who operates their own business. It will give you more energy and focus to make the most of your work day.

Of course, it will also make you healthier and it may even help you look better in the bathroom mirror.

#9 Resolve to Spend 20 Minutes Actively Learning Each Day

Solo entrepreneurs must be proficient in many different fields. In any given day, you may work as a designer, marketer, salesperson, and writer.

There’s not always time to master each of these skillsets. When you’re just starting out, sometimes all that matters is that the task is completed. Whether or not it’s completed perfectly is beside the point.

So entrepreneurs tend to become jacks of many trades, masters of none.

The good news is that means there’s a ton of room for improvement. And even if you’re getting by with your current ability-level, honing your skills will make for better and more efficient work.

That’s why it’s such a good idea to spend 20 minutes actively learning every day.

Ways to Learn

Podcasts

This is a great learning solution for the time-crunched entrepreneur. Maybe you’ve got a full-time job, run your business on the side, and you don’t have 20 minutes to spare.

Pop in a pair of headphones and start learning while involved in an activity that doesn’t require your full attention. Suddenly riding the bus, doing the dishes, and exercising are opportunities to become a smarter, better entrepreneur.

Video Tutorials

While audio is a great learning tool, actually seeing something is often the most effective way to understand it. There’s simply no substitute for watching a pro as they complete a task, talking you through every step of the way.

In the last few years, a huge number of quality video tutorials have been posted on YouTube. Simply search for a subject, press play, and start learning.

Video isn’t the best if you’re just looking for a few bits of essential info. You can’t skim a video like a written tutorial. But they’re an ideal method when you need to sit down and learn a process from front to back.

Books

Ink and paper may be old-fashioned, but a big “how-to” book is still one of the best learning resources available.

Even if all of the information within its pages is available online, that’s no replacement for having it right there in your hands. You won’t have to search the web for quality instruction and you can take it with you wherever you go.

A 500-page tome can set be pretty expensive, but the cost is small when you think of it as an investment in your business. Check out your local bookstore or Amazon to find a compendium on whatever subject you want to master.

Refresh, then Rest

If you really want to get the most out of your daily lesson, revisit it for a few minutes right before you go to sleep. If you read an informative article, skim through it again. If you learned a new technique in Photoshop, create something simple with it.

Not only will this reinforce what you learned the first time around, the new knowledge will sit at the fore front of your brain as you prepare for sleep.

Sleep is your brain’s opportunity to organize and store all of the knowledge it gains throughout the day. So you stand a better chance of actually remembering your daily lesson if you revisit it before you call it a day.

If you resolve to devote a little bit of time to learning every day for the next year, you’ll be see a huge improvement in the quality and quantity of your work by the end of the year.

#10 Resolve to Keep Your Resolutions

Every January, people across the world make resolutions to change the way they act.

Every February, many of those resolutions have been broken or forgotten.

It’s only over the course of the whole year that a change can have any real impact. But if you do stick to your resolutions, they will eventually become habits that will improve your life (and business) for years and years to come.

So, the most important resolution you can make is to really stick with whatever changes you decide to make this year.

What’s Your Resolution?

Let us know how you’re going to make 2012 the best year yet.

As an entrepreneur, you don’t have to worry about the conventional productivity traps.

But minus the 9-to-5 workday and an uptight manager breathing down your neck, it becomes absolutely essential that you master the art of self-discipline and make the most of your work time.

How to Be Surprisingly Productive

(1) Spend More Time Playing

One of the reasons why I love entrepreneurship is that it allows people to spend more time doing what they truly love.

That’s the theory, at least.

But if you let your never-ending to-do list weigh on your conscience, you may start thinking and acting in a way that lets real life slip through the cracks.

This ultimately hinders your ability to be productive, because you work better when you’re happier.

Work Hard, Play Hard

I recommend that you take at least one day off every week where you don’t allow yourself to even think about getting work done – then schedule that day to be jam packed with your favorite activities (i.e. hiking, jet-skiing, or spending quality time with a significant other).

By dedicating time each week to doing things that you truly enjoy, it will be much easier focus on the menial aspects of your industry.

(2) Take Lots of Breaks

Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.

– Ovid

There’s nothing more important to your success than your commitment to working hard. But you’re not a machine (and even machines need to cool down every once and a while).

It’s more productive to work effectively and efficiently for 45 minutes than it is to spin your wheels for an hour. So it’s important to perceive when your mind or body is starting to feel overloaded – and give yourself permission to recharge.

Why Entrepreneurs Should Break Even More than Most

Entrepreneurs don’t just work within systems. They must create new systems.

They don’t just solve problems. They must anticipate and avoid them.

In other words, entrepreneurs are challenged daily not just to work hard, but also think hard – tactically, creatively, and laterally. Since entrepreneurs ask so much from their brains, it’s especially important that they allow them to rest throughout the day.

The Pomodoro Technique

One way to fit breaks into your work day is by using the Pomodoro Technique, which became popular with computer programmers in the late 1980’s. Wikipedia identifies the method’s five simple steps:

1. decide on the task to be done
2. set the pomodoro (timer) to 25 minutes
3. work on the task until the timer rings; record with an x
4. take a short break (5 minutes)
5. every four “pomodoros” take a longer break (15–20 minutes)

Though the method calls for a timer that you wind up manually, there’s a ton of free software out there that can help people get in pomodoro mode on their computer. One Google Chrome application actually blocks you from accessing distracting websites while you’re in 25 minute work zone (Strict Pomodoro).

(3) Expand Your Work Environment

As human beings, we are remarkably perceptive of our surroundings.

Our mood flows from the space we occupy. A clean, streamlined space can empower you to think and act with clear focus. A cluttered, loud, or crowded workspace can transform you into a distracted and unfocused version of yourself.

You’re probably already aware of the importance of having the ultimate workspace. But our environment is more than just four walls and a desk.

Listening Environment

Sound waves are vibrating around us at all times. While silence is golden, the right soundtrack can get your mind focused and your body moving – which will make you more energized to work.

Try out this 8tracks playlist of 30 instrumental tracks. It was designed to help people study, but I find it’s a great companion for the focused entrepreneur.

Smelling Environment

Smell is so powerfully linked to our memories that one whiff of a familiar odor can instantly whisk us back to a day that we thought we’d forgotten long ago.

So how can somebody use the smell-memory link to become more productive?

Try buying a candle or box of incense. Put it in your work space and light it only when you’re ready to put in some hard work.

Your mind will begin to associate that aroma with those productive memories. Once you’ve established the connection, then you can light the candle or incense whenever you want to trigger your mind to buckle down.

Thinking Environment

When you’re solving problems and communicating messages, all of the hard work is taking place in your brain. So if you want to be efficient in that space, you must keep your mind like a good desk: open and uncluttered.

It’s a good practice to take 20 minutes each morning to sit and clear your mind. You may never silence your stream of consciousness completely, but you will cultivate a mental calm that you can carry with you for the rest of the day.

(4) Do Things the Slow Way

Measure twice, cut once.

– English Proverb

Productivity is more marathon than 100-yard-dash.

Like runners sprinting out of the starter gates, we often think that we can maximize productivity by doing things as quickly as possible. But hurrying through tasks can cause frustration and unnecessary mistakes, which leads to more work in the long run.

So take a breath and take your time.

Learn How to Do it Right

Self-education will make you a fortune.

– Jim Rohn

When your job asks you to accomplish an unfamiliar task, it’s tempting to think, “I don’t have time to research this. I’m just going to wing it.”

But usually it’s more productive to take the half-hour and learn how to do your job better or more efficiently. The Internet is like a classroom that’s always open and full of free lessons – take advantage!

How to Make Slow Work for You

Try setting aside 20 minutes every day to get a better or more efficient in your niche. Since I make videos for a living, I usually watch a video tutorial or become better acquainted with time-saving Photoshop shortcut commands.

You can check out these IncomeDiary tutorials that will help you be more productive making money online:

• Money Making Strategies – What I’m Doing In 2011
• All The WordPress Plugins I Use On IncomeDiary
• How to Create a Website

(5) Get Less Connected

Man has been struggling to clear his mind and focus since the dawn of time.

But focusing has become more difficult than ever since the dawn of StumbleUpon, Facebook, and YouTube.

If your work doesn’t require you’re connected to the Internet, then disconnect from the network until the project is complete. You might be surprise by how much more powerful your computer can be without the web.

A Tool to Help You Disconnect

If you need the internet, but want to stay away from certain distracting sites, try StayFocusd (it’s a Google chrome extension that blocks distracting sites from your browser).

(6) Sleep More

Every entrepreneur has been guilty of burning the candle at both ends. But working late into the night only to wake up early in the morning can have a seriously negative impact on your work performance.

According to Harvard Medical School, inadequate sleep affects your mood, motivation, judgment, and perception – and I can’t think of four things that are more important to the day-to-day success of an entrepreneur.

Furthermore, since deep sleep is when your brain processes the prior day’s experience, shortchanging sleep can prevent you from learning and moving forward on your entrepreneurial journey.

How to Be a Productive Sleeper

Getting into a consistent sleep rhythm helps your mind and body to understand when it’s time to work and when it’s time to rest.

So, take a few moments right now and think about your ideal, eight-hour sleep schedule. Write it down.

Stick with that schedule for the next seven days and tell me if you don’t notice an improvement in your daily productivity. Your body and your business will thank you.

(7) Think of Productivity as a Cycle

People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing… that’s why we recommend it daily.

– Zig Ziglar

Productivity isn’t a faucet that we can turn on and off at will.

You shouldn’t expect to sit down at your desk, turn a knob in your mind, and immediately become super-productive.

Think of productivity as a process that you’re taking part in throughout your day. It’s part of the way you eat, the way you run errands, and the way you unwind.

Once you begin maximizing your productivity, you’ll find that it becomes easier and easier to be productive day in and day out. Just like any other habit, being productive is a cycle that tends to repeat.

The Power of Productivity

He who conquers others is strong; He who conquers himself is mighty.

– Lao Tzu

As an entrepreneur, you are the engine of your business. Everything – growth, client acquisition, revenue – depends on your ability to produce, day in and day out.

In other words, there’s a direct relationship between your productivity and the success of your company. Become twice as productive and you’ll soon be making twice as much money.

The Simple Joy of Being Productive

The idle man does not know what it is to enjoy rest.

– Albert Einstein

Being productive isn’t just important because it allows us to create more valuable, successful, and profitable businesses.

A productive day earns an entrepreneur a sense of contentment that no amount of money can buy.

Rejoice in a job well done – then get back up tomorrow and do it again.

If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.

– Bruce Lee

Your Personal Productivity Technique?

Since effective productivity habits are different for everybody, I would appreciate it if you shared any tips you’ve uncovered in the comment section below.

Images Courtesy of

http://www.flickr.com/photos/orcmid/, http://www.flickr.com/photos/becca/,

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/sadikot/, http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilspicys/,

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwarby/, http://www.flickr.com/photos/janlendl/,

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/npmeijer/, http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevensnodgrass/5548193945/.

One of the neatest things about Google Chrome is the ability to install thousands of extensions to make your internet browsing more efficient and fun.

Here are 20 great Google Chrome extensions that every online entrepreneur should install.

Chrome Extensions for Entrepreneurs

AdBlock

With over 2 million users, AdBlock is the second most popular Chrome extension (behind Angry Birds) in the world. It simply and automatically blocks Google AdSense and most banner ads on all web pages, even Facebook and YouTube.

Chrome Extension: AdBlock

FlashBlock

If you have a slower computer, one of the easiest ways to speed it up is to install FlashBlock. It automatically blocks Flash from loading which will drastically decrease your load times on sites that use Flash.

Chrome Extension: FlashBlock

Alexa Traffic Rank

The Alexa Traffic Rank Extension lets you easily see the Alexa Ranking of any site that you’re on. When I go to a site for the first time, I subconsciously hover over this extension to get an idea of how much traffic that site gets.

Chrome Extension: Alexa Traffic Rank

WebRank SEO

Similarly, the WebRank SEO Extension displays the PageRank of every site within its icon. If you click the icon, it shows more SEO information about the site like the Compete Ranking, pages indexed, backlink counts, social counts, and a link to the Whois information.

Chrome Extension: WebRank SEO

Firebug

I’ve used Firebug more than any other Chrome Extension ever. It’s a neat tool that lets you inspect HTML elements and live edit the CSS properties so you can test design elements before you change them. This is a must-have extension for anyone who edits websites.

Chrome Extension: Firebug Lite for Google Chrome

Web Developer

Web Developer is like a more advanced form of Firebug. It allows you to see what your site looks like without CSS, remove all sorts of design elements, and otherwise troubleshoot every aspect of your site. It’s a must-have for more advanced web developers.

Chrome Extension: Web Developer

YSlow

This is a plugin by Yahoo! that analyzes web pages and suggests ways to make your site load faster and perform better. Warning: Only use this extension if you want a comprehensive list of all the things that make you site load slow. It’s eye-opening.

Chrome Extension: YSlow

Window Resizer

If you’re an avid Web Developer Extension user, this one is redundant. But if you simply want to know what your website looks like on any device and every screen resolution, this tool is the ticket.

Chrome Extension: Window Resizer

Eye Dropper

Eye Dropper is another simple extension that lets you pick a pixel and it gives you the HEX code and RGB combination for that exact color. This is a handy tool if you’re updating your design and you want to match the colors on your site.

Chrome Extension: Eye Dropper

Awesome Screenshot

This is my favorite full-fledged screenshot extension. It allows you to take a screenshot of an entire webpage. Then the tool pops up to draw lines, shapes, and even text. When you’re done, you can save it online or download it as a .PNG. I used it to create the images on the 20 Best Designed Facebook Fan Pages.

Chrome Extension: Awesome Screenshot

iWeb2x

iWeb2x lets you save any webpage as a .PDF file with all or most of the design elements intact.

Chrome Extension: iWeb2x

Hover Zoom

Hover Zoom enlarges thumbnails on mouse over so you will never have to “click to enlarge” ever again.

Chrome Extension: Hover Zoom

Apture

Apture is a robust extension that lets you highlight any word or phrase on any webpage and a little window pops up with the definition, Wikipedia, Google, and YouTube results that are relevant to that term.

Chrome Extension: Apture

TweetDeck

TweetDeck is the most widely used Twitter browser application. It lets you aggregate all of your Twitter feeds and makes it easy to Tweet from any of your accounts. It’s a must-have tool for anyone who runs multiple Twitter accounts.

Chrome Extension: TweetDeck

Better Gmail

Better Gmail improves your Gmail experience by giving you the option to hide ads, add attachment icons, and show desktop notifications. This is a must-have extension if you use Gmail.

Chrome Extension: Better Gmail

Offline Google Mail

Install Offline Google Mail so you’ll always be able to access your Gmail and write emails in case you’re in a spot without WiFi or, God-forbid, you lose internet in your home.

Chrome Extension: Offline Google Mail

Forecastfox

Forecastfox by AccuWeather.com is my favorite weather extension. The icon displays the current temperature and weather. And if you click it, you’ll get a 7-day forecast with a Doppler radar.

Chrome Extension: Forecastfox

H20

H2O is a simple extension that helps you keep track of how many glasses of water you drink. When you’re working on a computer, you don’t get as thirsty and this is a simple reminder to fill your 8-glass quota for the day.

Chrome Extension: H2O

StayFocusd

If you have trouble staying away from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other distracting sites, install StayFocusd. Choose your most distracting sites and set a limit to how many minutes per day you’ll allow yourself to visit those sites. Since I started limiting myself to 15 minutes per day between all distracting sites, I Facebook faster and Twitter less.

Chrome Extension: StayFocusd

Smooth Scrolling*

*Smooth Scrolling makes your scrolling smooth rather than rickety. It used to be an extension but now it’s a core part of Chrome. However, you still need to activate it.

Chrome Extension: Type “chrome://flags” into address bar > Smooth Scrolling > Enable

What? No Chrome?

Today is a day you’ll remember for the rest of your life. It’ll go down as the day that you starting browsing the internet with Chrome.

1. Install Chrome.
2. Set it as your default browser.
3. Browse the internet like a nerd.

You may not need or want all of these extensions, but I encourage you to try them out. They’ve changed the way I browse the internet, forever.

Did I miss any good Chrome Extensions? Let me know in the comments.

As an internet entrepreneur, it’s important to take advantage of this free information, but you have to know which blogs to follow. So I’ve listed the top 25 blogs that every internet entrepreneur should read, many of which I read on a daily basis.

Note: The subscriber counts came directly from the corresponding sites and are accurate as of September 2011.

Blogs for Building Websites

The first step in becoming an internet entrepreneur is building a website. All five of these blogs have helped me considerably when it comes to setting up WordPress and building a custom theme.

WPBeginner

WPBeginner.com is one of, if not the most complete resource in the world for setting up a self-hosted WordPress website. If you Google a WordPress question, more often than not, WPBeginner will come up on the first page. They even offer a free WordPress setup.

Subscribers: not listed

Yoast

What WPBeginner is to WordPress beginners, Yoast.com is to WordPress professionals. Once you have your site up and running, start reading Yoast to find more in-depth WordPress tweaks, tools, and strategies to help build out your site.

Subscribers: 50,000+ (as of June 2011)

The Thesis Statement

The Thesis Statement is a website building and marketing blog run by the folks at DIY Themes (the creators of the Thesis Theme). I’ve read every word this blog has published in the last several months as I strive to refine my own Thesis-based blogs.

Subscribers: 21,248

Tuts+

If you’re looking to learn anything about creating anything for the internet, you’ll probably find an incredible tutorial on one of the Tuts+ blogs. If you want to refine your skills as an internet entrepreneur, start with the Tuts+ Dashboard.

Subscribers: 413,671 (across the 12 sites in the Tuts+ Network)

Build Internet

BuildInternet.com is becoming one of my favorite blogs. They host an extensive series of jQuery tutorials and plugins, but they also share their wealth of knowledge as freelance web designers and developers.

Subscribers: 11,963

Blogs for Getting Traffic

Once you have a site, it’s time to focus on getting traffic. Each of these blogs will teach you the fundamentals and complexities of content marketing, social media, and search engine optimization.

Copyblogger

Copyblogger.com is the web’s foremost resource for copywriting and content marketing. I read Copyblogger every day because I believe the ability to craft words to communicate and convince is the most important skill for any internet entrepreneur to have.

Subscribers: 149,572

Problogger

Alongside Copyblogger, Problogger.net has become the web’s leading resource for blogging and making money as a blogger. I put it in the getting traffic category because that’s essentially what a blog does.

Subscribers: 157,000

Social Media Examiner

SociaMediaExaminer.com is widely considered as one of the top social media blogs in the world. You’ll find the latest information and tips about Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and any other social media platforms that matter to your business.

Subscribers: 107,474

SEOmoz Blog

SEOmoz.org is one of the premier search engine optimization blogs on the net. This was the first site that taught me the basics of SEO and I carry those fundamentals with everything I write. I find their Whiteboard Fridays to be especially edifying.

Subscribers: 88,695

Think Traffic

At just over a year-and-a-half old, ThinkTraffic.net is a relatively new site, but they’ve done a fantastic job of developing a loyal audience and consistently growing their blog. They reveal monthly reports detailing their traffic stats, where it came from, and what they did to get it.

Subscribers: 5,000+ (March 2010)

Blogs for Converting Leads

Now that you have a website that gets traffic, it’s time to start converting that traffic into leads. These blogs take a long-term approach to relationship building and lead generation, and they’ll teach you to do the same.

KISSmetrics Blog

The KISSmetrics Blog is becoming one of the web’s largest databases of web marketing infographics. Since their service focuses on analyzing your website to increase conversions, most of their content will teach you exactly that.

Subscribers: not listed

Social Triggers

SocialTriggers.com specializes in how to use psychology to encourage people to become more involved on your site. You’ll find plenty of tips on the small things that you can do with your site to drastically increase conversions.

Subscribers: not listed

Conversion Rate Experts

Conversion-Rate-Experts.com is a service with clients like Apple, Google, and aforementioned SEOmoz. By working with so many high-end clients (and their aim to work with more high-end clients), they’re able to develop content that attracts bigwig companies and is based on big time results.

Subscribers: not listed

Blogs for Making Money

Having a website, traffic, and leads doesn’t necessarily turn into money. Read these blogs to find out how to generate passive income streams from your websites.

Smart Passive Income

One of the first things you’ll notice when you visit SmartPassiveIncome.com is how Pat Flynn says, “No, I’m not a millionaire, but I am living off of a passive income made online.” Consistent with Colin’s post last week, this site will help you create a modest internet lifestyle where you can do whatever you want.

Subscribers: 29,708

ViperChill

ViperChill.com is one of the top young entrepreneur blogs in the world. Now 22, Glen Allsop has been building websites since the age of 15 and has been making a full-time income since 19. He has a no-ad approach to making money online that I think you’ll find interesting.

Subscribers: 16,775

I Will Teach You To Be Rich

IWillTeachYouToBeRich.com is an extension of Ramit Sethi’s New York Times bestselling book, I Will Teach You To Be Rich. The lessons aren’t necessarily geared towards making money online, but they will help you keep and multiply your money once you have it.

Subscribers: not listed

Passive Panda

Similar to Think Traffic, PassivePanda.com is a relatively new site that’s already making a splash. It was founded earlier this year with a smart approach to the five pillars of making more money: freelancing, employment, entrepreneurship, investing, and awards.

Subscribers: not listed

Blogs for Running a Business

Once you have revenue, you have a business. But you need to learn how to nurture that business in order for it to grow. These blogs will show you how.

Quick Sprout

I read every word on QuickSprout.com, minus the comments. Neil Patel is one of the most successful young entrepreneurs in the world, and we’re very fortunate that he’s willing to share his advice so freely.

Subscribers: not listed

OPEN Forum

I consider OPENForum.com, by American Express, to be the top corporate blog in the world. They have a brand that’s been able to recruit the top entrepreneurs (including Neil Patel from Quick Sprout and James Clear from Passive Panda) to share their best entrepreneurial tips.

Subscribers: not listed

4-Hour Workweek

The 4-Hour Workweek, by Tim Ferris, will become a classic as one of the first books to explain the fundamental differences between pre and post-internet work. FourHourWorkweek.com/blog is Tim’s complimentary blog that features more advice and case studies from companies that have implemented the revolutionary concepts in his book.

Subscribers: 25,000+

Blogs for Entrepreneurial Development

The next step up from being a business owner is becoming an entrepreneur, but that requires a new mindset. The final five blogs in this list will help shape you into a well-rounded entrepreneur.

Seth’s Blog

Seth Godin is widely considered the world’s most intelligent marketer. And Seth’s Blog is the #1 marketing blog in the world according to AdAge. If you want to absorb even a sliver of his knowledge, start reading his blog every day.

Subscribers: 486,750 (according to FeedCompare.com)

On Startups

OnStartups.com is a blog by HubSpot founder, Dharmesh Shah, that updates about once a week with content for entrepreneurs that almost always goes viral.

Subscribers: 30,165

Retire@21

If you’ve noticed that IncomeDiary is posting more regularly, you’d be right. Michael is committed to quality content on this site and his site for young entrepreneurs, Retireat21.com.

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Mixergy

Most of Mixergy’s interviews require a premium membership to watch, but there’s still plenty to pick up on the blog. The nice thing about Mixergy is you can watch most of its content.

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Both Sides of the Table

Mark Suster isn’t going to win any design awards with BothSidesoftheTable.com, but he’s become one of the top blogging venture capitalists in the world. If you aspire to sell your business to a venture capital or private equity firm, you need to read this blog.

Subscribers: not listed

The Importance of Reading Blogs

I spend the first hour of every work day (basically every day) reading the blogs that I’m subscribed to.

By doing this, I’m able to learn from the smartest people in the world on a daily basis.

Think about that. Some of smartest people in the world give free advice on those blogs and you probably aren’t reading all of them.

If you aren’t, you should start today.

Did I miss any of your favorite entrepreneurial blogs? If I did, mention them in the comments below so other people can benefit them as well.

Hello Everyone,

As you know, one of my goals at IncomeDiary.com is to ‘mix it up a bit’ — bring you some unexpected interviews / podcasts and introduce you to some amazing characters who are making huge incomes online.

Today I have one such individual – Chris McCombs of Orange County, CA. Chris runs the website: Outlaw Fitness Marketing

Chris describes himself as a Personal Trainer, Internet Marketer, Fitness Entrepreneur, Blogger, Free Time Junkie, Ex-Convict, Marketing Outlaw and Biker.

This is going to be a very interesting Podcast — and as usual there is also a transcript below.

I look forward to your comments

Interview Transcript:

Michael: Hi Chris. Great to have you here. I’ll jump straight in. You have a great story, and I want to quickly cover how you went from the lowest point where you can be in business and in life, and now doing some great stuff. So if you just want to jump in and tell us where a few years back.

Chris: Oh yeah. Well, I was one of those kids with really bad ADD in school, and didn’t do well at school at all. Couldn’t focus on what the teachers were talking about, and couldn’t stand any job I had when I tried to get jobs. As a teenager I just couldn’t stand it.

So I found actually selling pot was something that I actually really enjoyed doing. And the pot helped a lot with my ADD. And I had OCD too, so I got really into my business, and I blew it up to where we were moving large amounts of marijuana all over the country. And after doing that for quite a number of years, I got arrested and I served time for what I was doing.

When I got out, I actually ended up homeless. I lost everything from my marijuana trafficking days. Lost everything, ended up homeless, ended up hooked on painkillers. It was just a frikin mess. And at age 30, I just said, “You know what? I have to change this.”

I just started reading literally hundreds of books on spirituality, philosophy, psychology, self-help, all that stuff. I would just take bits and pieces that applied from different books and completely changed my life. And at 30, I ended up broke with a minimum wage job, but at least I was walking the straight path and quit all the stuff I was doing.

And didn’t like my job, so I got into personal training, and within a few years of personal training I discovered how to get a lot of people from the Internet to my local personal training business.

And basically getting people from Google, from the Google Organic and Google Pay Per Click and now Google Local and also from Craigslist and MySpace and a bunch of different sources I was able to get enough personal training clients to give them to 15 different personal trainers in my area, to where I actually didn’t have to work.

And I took the business, automated it, systemized the whole damn thing, and outsourced basically everything. Outsourced the training to the personal trainers, the customer service to my wife and my assistant, the billing and accounting to my wife. And the sales calls that come in from my website, I outsourced that to some appointment setters who make the appointments to the trainers.

My whole business takes me 30 minutes to an hour a month, and that 30 minutes to a hour a month is basically just looking at the numbers.

And from there, I really liked the Internet marketing stuff, just completely loved it. So I started a blog about how I did all that. The blog got pretty popular pretty fast, and I got a really good following on there.

And after having the blog for the better part of a year, I launched my first information product. And that product, we did over $50, 000 in sales the first week, and about $300, 000 in global payments over the full course of the year – it was a year long program.

And since then I’ve been releasing a new integral product every month or two and that’s built up to what’s closing in on a million dollar a year business in the near future here. About three-quarters of a million dollars a year now for a business that really probably takes 10 to 15 hours a week.

Some weeks 20 hours a week, but it doesn’t take a whole lot of time, and it allows me to work where I want, when I want, and on my own terms.

I’m able to take off weeks or months at a time sometimes, and it’s a great deal. It all started from a blog. Basically I just built a following of loyal readers on my blog and turned that into an info-marketing business.

Since then, now I’m out making a documentary about the whole subculture of Internet marketing. We’ve got probably 80% of the big top Internet marketers that most people would know. We’ve got them in the movie. We’ve gone and interviewed them, flown all around the country.

And that’s the two minute version of my story right there.

Michael: That’s incredible. It’s amazing how you could go from one end to the other end doing so much great stuff. So I just want to go back to when you did start, and you just got out of prison. You had pretty much nothing. What gave you that kick, and what would you suggest others to get off your butt and actually do something, and achieve something in life.

Chris: You know what? There was just no place for me to go. There was just no friends left. I was totally miserable, totally strung out on these painkillers. And I just couldn’t imagine continuing living the way I was. Not to get too woo-woo or spiritual on you here, but I basically just said a prayer. I had no idea what I was praying to or whatever. I just prayed, “Help.” Whatever was out there, just help?

The next day I was at the library picking up books on spirituality, philosophy, self-help and all that. That became my new obsession for the next couple of years – just becoming a better person. Completely changing the way that I looked at the world, completely changing the man that I had become. And I did that diligently for a few years.

And I still do it today, but it’s not like I did back then. Back then it was like a crash course on being a good human being. And I can’t tell you how much all the different books helped. I literally picked up hundreds of them.

And a lot of times I didn’t agree with everything that was in the book, but I would just get one nugget. I would get one nugget from this guy, one nugget from that guy, and I would apply the stuff to my life on a constant basis.

That was huge. Just the willingness to learn and change everything about what I thought was true, what I thought was real, and be willing to grow. When you smoke weed and do drugs for over 15 years, and you start when you’re 14 or 15 years old, you kind of wake up a 14 year old 30 year old, if that makes sense. You have the emotional capacity of like a 14 year old kid.

Michael: Yes.

Chris: So I had to wake up at age 30 and just really go through some growing pains there. But, you know what? Slowly poked the twin cake on it [?] and pretty soon things just got better and better and better.

Michael: That’s brilliant. Thanks for sharing that. You just mentioned you read literally hundreds of books. What book was the best book you read, and how did it impact your life and why should others read it?

Chris: You know what? I can’t come up with a single book, but I can fire off a handful of them actually.

Michael: Sure, do that.

Chris: OK, the “Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle completely changed my life. That was the big one. Byron Katie’s books, she wrote one called “Loving What Is”. That book changed the way I saw things. Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich”, that was a giant one for me.

Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People”, that completely changed the way I talked to people. I didn’t really have any social skills at all when I started all this. So that one helped me a lot.

All the Wayne Dyer stuff… Basically a lot of books and stuff like that.

Michael: Brilliant, brilliant. Cool. So after you got off your ass and you started doing some things and achieving things, you started your own fitness business and you brought in, I think you said 15 trainers.

Chris: Yes.

Michael: What did you learn from running your first proper legal business?

Chris: What did I learn? That’s a great question. I learned, well, basically I learned a lot by reading “The E-Myth” by Michael Gerber, and I learned that I did not want to be the technician of business nor the manager. I just wanted to be the entrepreneur.

And that unless I systemized my business and created step-by-step systems for every part of it, that I was going to be working my butt off. No matter how big my business go, I would be working 70, 80, 90 hours a week.

I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to own something that made me money and gave me a lot of freedom. And basically through reading Tim Ferriss’ “4-Hour Work Week,” and Michael Gerber’s “The E-Myth,” I took that stuff and applied it to my business.

I think I quit training about a week after I read “The E-Myth.” I read “The E-Myth” and said, you know what, I’m just going to systemize my whole business. And I did it. I created systems for everything and outsourced it to other people. That’s basically what I did.

I created a business reliant on systems. And that was a huge turning point for me, to realize that, hey, why not have systems that do the work for me and get other people to do them, and just own the systems. Own the business instead of me having to go out and trade an hour to make a dollar. If that makes sense.

That was probably one of my biggest lessons in my life, and I basically learned it from Michael Gerber and learned more of it from Tim Ferriss.

Michael: That’s brilliant. You’ve just covered your business and what it’s like running your first business. But was the transaction going from illegal to legal? Would you like to weight it out for those people out there, some people could possibly be trading illegal, or could be even selling dope like you were.

Would you like to give us some comparisons on why it’s so much better to be in the place you are now?

Chris: Well, it’s funny, because I actually stopped – I pretty much stopped illegal activity when I was around 25. But I didn’t have financial success legally until I was about 33. So I was broke for the first five to eight years. The first five years I was jobless.

After I quite dealing, I was jobless. I would work as a bouncer here and there, throwing drunks out of bars. But I couldn’t hold down a regular job. So that sucked.

And then I would get minimum wage jobs, and that completely sucked too. I had to learn that. One of the reasons I think I did the illegal stuff was I never liked having a job and living by someone else’s values. I’m an entrepreneur by nature. I have to do something I’m passionate about, that gets me going, that I can be obsessively focused on. And it has to be something that’s in line with my values.

And if I’m doing that, then I’m a pretty happy guy. I’m willing to work hard. Sometimes before a launch, I’ll put in 50 or 60 or 70 hours a week. Usually we don’t, but before a big launch or something I will. And as long whatever that is, is in line with my passion and my purpose and my values, then I’m completely satisfied.

If I’m not, if I’m just out working a regular day job, I’m completely miserable. And to be perfectly honest, I had a lot more fun selling the pot that I did having a regular day job. A lot more fun.

However, it’s not in line with my values today, for one. Two, there’s this thing called Karma that can come back and kick you in the ass. Three, I used to have nightmares about getting busted. I used to wake up in the middle of the night and imagine they were breaking down my door. That sucked. I don’t have that today.

So there’s a lot bigger piece of mind that I have today. But I’ve just found that as long as whatever you’re doing is in line with your values, that’s the most important part. That it’s part of your purpose. And if it’s something that helps other people and can help you to be financially successful, then all the better. That’s the best place to be.

Michael: Brilliant. Great share. Thanks very much, Chris. OK, so you’ve gone and you’ve done all the offline stuff and now you’re coming online and you start a blog. Would you like to just cover with us quickly why you start blog and how it could impact your business?

Chris: I started a blog because I found out the thing I really loved to talk about was this Internet marketing stuff. I mean, I would be at a party and I just wouldn’t have anything to talk about with people, right?

I would feel a little socially awkward, unless there was one other guy in the room who was into marketing or Internet marketing, or business, and then I could really get into it.

So I go, hey, this is really stuff I love to talk about, why not do it in a blog? I could go do it my own way. I came out with a blog that was pretty controversial for my industry, it was pretty edgy. I made a blog that was a mix of good Internet marketing blog for the fitness industry mixed with “Maxim” madness.

It was a blog for guys from 20-40. 20-40 year old male fitness experts who typically might have a couple of tattoos and they either listen to some heavy metal music or hip hop. They like the movie “Goodfellas,” they like the movie “Pulp Fiction,” they like the movie “Heat.” They swear a little bit, but they’re generally good people. You know what I mean? That’s the guys I went after.

Those were the trainers I knew, so I went after them. I created a blog similar to them, and the industry had never seen anything like it. Most of what was out there, not everything, but most of what was out there was pretty bland.

So I came out with something edgy, exciting, controversial, fun. And I just poured my heart out in the blog, giving away basically my secrets.

Basically what I did in my business I was giving away on the blog, and that created quite a bit of buzz in the industry, because all of the sudden I’m on the top of the search engines for all these big terms that these other guys had been competing for these terms for years.

And all of the sudden I’m above them and I’m getting a lot more traffic than them. My Alexa rank is way better than them. I’m getting a lot more comments on my blog then them. And they’re like, “Who is this guy?”

I got in with all those guys, actually the big gurus in my market. I contacted them, I went out of my way to do some cool things for them. And then I said, “Hey, I’m actually coming out with an info product soon, I’d love you to promote it if you’re down.”

Now I didn’t go to these guys in the beginning and say, “Hey, would you guys promote a product I have coming out?” I made sure that three to six months in advance I went out of my way to help them and to be of use to them, and to create cool blog posts about them and send them some traffic, and to help them with their own websites and their own search engine optimizations and stuff like that.

And then I came to them and asked them to product my thing, and they pretty much all did across the board. However, if I didn’t have that blog, I wouldn’t have had the credibility that I did. I wouldn’t have had the traffic that I did to show these guys, hey, look, I’m creating quite an impact in the industry, and we should be on the same side.

So having that blog helped tremendously. It gave me a lot of authority in my market, it gave me great positioning in my market, it created a lot of buzz in market. It got me very well known in my market.

So it did a lot of things, and now it’s basically my funnel into my products. I don’t have an email newsletter, what I do is I have a blog. And I typically send out two to three days a week, I do blog posts, and I send people from my email list to my blog, and then my blog funnels to all my products.

The products are all in the navigation bar over on the right. They’re on my build your business page. And then usually in every blog post or two, I’ll mention a product or two in the blog post.

I’ll pitch it too hard. Sometimes I pitch it really hard, but other times it’s right in there in the content. And I’m giving, giving, giving people…

For one, that creates a law of reciprocity. I’m giving them all this great content, so when I come out with a product, they’re a lot more apt to buy it from me because they’re like,

“Damn. All this stuff he’s been giving us for free for this last year or two, that thing he’s selling must be really good.”

So it gets people buying my stuff because of the law of reciprocity, and they trust me and the position I have. And also it sucks in a lot of people from the search engines who are looking online for what I have to offer. So they’re searching. My stuff will come up to the top of the search engines, they’ll end up on my site, and then they’ll see all my products and services.

So it’s allowed me to sell everything from… I have low end products that are like $47 a month continuity products, up to $10, 000 coaching programs, and my blog is what helps me sell all of that.

Michael: Wow. That’s incredible. What a great share. I think everyone listening to this right now, hears instruction on great points on just personal branding for one, because your blog really brands not just your business but your name. And you can take your business so much further with just having a blog.

Tell me Chris, what your top advice would be for someone who is starting their blog and wants to do something like you have.

Chris: One is be different. Do something to separate yourself from everybody else out there. That’s really important.

Make your blog fun. I like to look at it as, make it a personal conversation between you and your reader as if they were your best friend sitting down with you at a pub or a bar. Or if you’re a female, maybe at a coffee shop having tea, right?

Michael: Yes.

Chris: They are your best friend, and you’re sitting down having a personal one on one conversation. You’re not talking down to them. You’re talking on an equal level. But once in a while, you’re cracking a joke. You’re telling a fun story. You’re doing some stuff like that. So make it fun and interesting on a personal level. That one is huge.

And the other one is, hey, be willing to do some work for the next six months or a year without getting paid for it. Don’t think you’re going to put up a blog post, and a week later the world’s going to come and go, “Oh my god, this guy’s got a blog. We all must come to see it.”

You know what I mean? Because, I don’t know what there are, but there’s probably millions of them out there now. You have to spend some time, find your voice, and start getting the traffic and building the relationships and stick to it.

I mean, for the first nine or twelve months I had my blog, I wasn’t making any money at all. But I was doing it because I knew the money would come, and you have to be willing to do that. Don’t think you’re going to put up a blog today and in two weeks you’re going to have a big paycheck.

Michael: I’ll tell you what, Chris. You’re giving it to them straight. I mean, I couldn’t agree more on your comments about having to be on their level, because I have to tell you what.

So many bloggers out there, and marketers – they’re up and they’re saying, “Hey, I am so much better than you.” But it’s almost like you have to be a bit humble and be their friend. I have to agree, you can get a lot further doing that.

OK, cool. So you start your blog, and then you launched your first information product, which I believe you made about $50, 000 in the first week. So would you like to just take us…? Because so many bloggers think about launching their own information product.

And I would like to cover just quickly how bloggers or entrepreneurs should launch their first information product.

Chris: Well, it worked really good for me. I saw what the big guys where doing, like Jeff Walker and Frank Kern. And I go, “Hey, that’s working for these dudes. It’s going to work for me too.” And it was basically a six week process.

Luckily, I had been building the relationships for the previous three to six months, right? One of the key things is getting the big people in your niche to mail for you. If you can get that, you can make 10 times as many sales, right out of the gate, if you can get the big guys in your niche to mail for you.

The problem is, most of them probably aren’t going to want to mail for you, especially is you just come to them and say, “Hey, I’m coming out with a cool product. Will you mail your list?” Actually, they’re probably going to be pretty offended by it, and not like you right out of the gate if you come to them like that.

Go become friends with them, no expectation of them doing anything in return. Go out of your way to help these guys. Whether you can help them with their marketing, you can do cold blog posts about them, you can send them some books or products that have helped you. Whatever it is, go out of your way to start the relationships with these guys.

That’s the first thing right there; because they can help you make ten times as many sales right out of the gate. One of my affiliates made, out of 152 sales that we did, he made I think it was 71 sales in that week. So that showed me the strength of having some big affiliates. I have actually four really power affiliates, and that helps tremendously. So get the affiliates lined up.

And then I basically did the thing where I put out two weeks worth of really good free content on squeeze pages. I mean, here’s a video. If you want to see more videos, give your name and email over here. And I would have these guys send traffic to it, and it would just basically it would hit their affiliate cookie.

Whenever they would send someone over, that person’s computer would get cookied with their affiliate tracking. So let’s say one of my affiliates sends someone over, but the person didn’t buy anything for a week and half. If they bought, that person who originally sent it would get the commission.

So I did the basic… What you see Frank Kern do with Mass Control and Jeff Walker do with Product Launch, and you see all the big item guys do. And I’ll probably do five or six pieces of free blind content giving away really good tips in the videos, and making the videos fun and stuff like that.

And then the last few videos where, “Hey, here’s what – my program is coming up. This day is coming up, this time. Here’s my guarantee. Here’s how much it costs,” and all that.

Then I launched it at a certain time. I launched it at 9:00 AM on a Tuesday morning. Immediately we did like $30, 000 of sales in just the first few hours. And I had a hard deadline, that at 150 people we’re closing the doors. That created a lot of scarcity which got me a lot of sales.

But I think the big thing was having everyone in the market all talking about me at the same time. When there’s five big viewers in your market, and four of them are all talking about you for two weeks, each of them are sending six or seven emails to these videos you are creating, it really creates a buzz, and you become the talk of the whole industry.

So that was huge. And that also helped me build my list really fast. It helped me build my list with a lot of buyers, for one, because the people who were coming over and opting in were the cream of the crop on these guys’ lists. Right? So it helped me get some of the best people on their lists. And now I reciprocate, and I go back and promote stuff in reciprocal promotions.

But it’s really important to be willing to promote these relationships by starting them off with a giving hand. Don’t just come to people and say, “Hey, will you promote my thing?” I get those emails all the time. We don’t even acknowledge them, because it’s a backwards way of doing it.

Go out. Help these guys who have the big lists in your niche, and don’t expect them all to promote it. If you can get 20%, 30%, 40% or more, you’re doing pretty good.

But don’t expect them to. Don’t do something with the expectation of something in return. Just do it and trust when time comes, when help from them will promote your stuff, that you’ll do pretty good. That one is huge, right there.

It’s just basically following that classic launch formula, that these guys, especially Jeff Walker and Frank Kern, especially, are the two big ones who really got it popular. It’s following that proven formula, because it works.

Michael: All right. Brilliant. Thanks very much, Chris. I want to quickly talk to you now about your documentary that’s about instant marketing. This is going to be something I’m really looking forward to, and I want you to tell everyone about it so they can look out for it in the coming months.

Chris: Well, Bedros Keuilian was my affiliate that I started a relationship off with a year and a half ago. He was the one who made 71 of my sales out of the 152 sales. We’ve become good friends ever since, and we decided that we both love Internet marketing, let’s make a documentary about the subculture about Internet marketing.

We have most of the big guys in the industry of the Internet. Ryan Deiss, Perry Belcher, Brad Fallon, Andy Jenkins, Yanik Silver, Jeff Johnson, Tucker Max, Gary Vaynerchuk, Jason Moffatt, Matt Trainer, I could go on and on. John Carlton, John Assaraf, Mike Koenigs, Vince DelMonte, Craig Valentine.

The list is huge. I’ve probably interviewed 30 or 35 of these guys, and like I’ve said, we probably have about 80 percent of the well-known Internet marketers in the world who are in the documentary. It’s basically showing these guys. A lot of them got kicked out of high school or didn’t graduate high school.

A lot of them have attention deficit disorder. A lot of them can never hold down a regular day show. They have complete ADD and are completely unemployable.

Yet here they are making seven- and eight-figure incomes working in their flip-flops, most of them from a home office, with just a few employees or subcontractors working for them, a lot of times virtually. And they’re helping a lot of people and making a lot of money. A lot of times, they take months off at a time.

Typically they’ll work really hard for a few weeks, like when it comes time to launch something, and then they’re taking a few months off again. They’re just working a few hours a day for a few months.

And we wanted to show this, because in this economy, when everyone else in the States is worried about the economy and are losing their jobs and are going broke, here are these guys who, by all means, should be broke as well. Like I said, they’re pretty damn unemployable.

Michael: [laughs]

Chris: But here these guys are frickin’ killing it, mostly with their information products, but some of it is because of their blog or whatever.

And some of these personalities are just incredible. When we interviewed Gary Vaynerchuk, that guy’s something else. How do you define Gary Vaynerchuk? Andy Jenkins. We’re interviewing Andy Jenkins today. That guy’s nuts, man! But he’s awesome personality.

And to showcase this, we’re just showing this whole subculture of these frickin’ renegades and outlaws who are making all this money online while the majority of society, at least here in the West, is bitching and moaning about the economy.

Here are these guys who have a positive attitude and are kicking ass and they’re doing it their own way.

We think that’s a story that needs to be told. So that’s the story we’re telling. It’s called “Add to Cart.” We’re looking to get it out in early 210.

Michael: Super. All right, everyone. I hope you all look out to that, because it’s going to be something else. It’s going to be something you haven’t seen before, so that’ll be great.

OK. Chris, you’ve mentioned your Internet lifestyle. Do you want to tell us what the best thing about being an Internet entrepreneur and living the Internet lifestyle is?

Chris: The best thing is the freedom. Right now, I’m not making the multi-multi-millions of dollars. That’s not super-important for me. What I do have is the freedom of being able to wake up, and if I don’t want to work today, I don’t have to work today. Let’s say I have an interview with a guy like you.

Typically, once or twice a week, I have some coaching clients, an interview, some kind of appointment I have to stick to. But typically, on most days, if I want to take the day off, I can. I usually don’t, but I can.

I’m at home, at my home office. My assistant is out there in the other room doing work for me. My wife’s out there – she does a lot of work for me. My two little daughters are out there.

So I get to see my wife and my daughters all day, which is incredible. Any time I want, I can jump on my Harley and go for a ride. Any time we want, we can say “Hey, screw it. Let’s go to Vegas in the next week,” or “Let’s go on a little vacation.”

Michael: [laughs]

Chris: So basically, it’s having that freedom to do what I want when I want. I’m not into the bling. I’m not into the mansions. I don’t have to have a $300, 000 car, as long as I’m not stuck to a day job and don’t have to show up to the construction site or the cubicle.

And I can work where and when I want, doing what I want, helping a lot of people, having a lot of fun, and networking with people like you, Internet marketers, who are the coolest guys in the world.

It’s all about that for me. It’s about the freedom and the fun and the passion of helping other people and doing something where you’re done. If you have a blog or an info product, you’re selling you. You’re selling your brand.

To me, that is so exciting, because you can create and mold your brand and become a rock-star version of yourself while still being authentic to who you are. You know what I mean? You create this person you put out there, and you become more and more of that person you put out there. It’s incredible. If I had to break it down, I’d break it down to the word freedom.

Michael: Brilliant. I couldn’t agree more. I always describe it as the word “freedom.” If you could jump in a time machine and go back to when you first started, what would you do differently?

Chris: If I could jump in a time machine?

Michael: [laughs] I know it’s not very realistic.

Chris: You know what? I don’t know what, because I think every mistake I made along the way is a mistake that had to be made, and it’s a mistake that made me who I am today. I don’t think I would change a thing.

I’m not trying to sound like I’ve made all good choices, because four out of five things I’ve done are probably done wrong. But I learn from those, or I massage those into better choices. And the 20% that I’m doing right has been enough to create one hell of a business.

I guess one thing is that I would have stayed in shape. I let myself get out of shape when I stopped personal training and started working home and sitting around. When I got married, I packed on about 70 pounds. I used to be ripped! I was shredded.

So now, in the last three months, because I’ve been out of shape for three years, I’m eating well again, working out hard again, doing the cardio, lifting the weights. I have a trainer, actually. Even though I own a training business, I went and hired a trainer.

So I guess it would have been not letting myself get out of shape. But I don’t regret the fact that I did it. That’ll never get you anywhere. That’s living in the past, and I think that every single mistake I’ve made, I’ve had to make and there’s a reason for it. I think somehow, some way, everything is exactly perfect the way it is.

Michael: All right, brilliant. What a great way to end this interview, Chris! Thanks very much. Are there any last words of advice or anything you want to tell my readers?

Chris: You know what, Michael? I want to thank you for interviewing me today. You’re living proof of this lifestyle. Here you are. You’re a young guy and you have an extremely popular Web site. You have a huge following of people. You’re tapped into some of the coolest and best entrepreneurs on the planet.

So I want to tip my hat to you, man and say that I commend you for what you’re doing. You’re a great example, and I want to thank you for being who you are and I want to thank you for having me on this call today!

Michael: All right. Thanks very much, Chris. You’re a great guy. Cheers!

More about Chris:
Outlaw Fitness Marketing

Note: This site is raw, controversial and NOT for everyone… ENJOY

Blogging has been great platform for so many people to become a huge success. Take me for example, because of my Retireat21 blog I was offered to host a hit new MTV show in LA just because they liked how I came across on my blog. Blogging isn’t just about making money online, for some people it could be because they want to be a best selling author but can’t get a foot in the door right now and for others it started just so they could pay there grocery bills. Today I have created a really cool list of 20 people who started blogging and now are so much more then just bloggers. Looking down at the list I have created today, I should really rename it the 20 best bloggers ever as these guys have set such high standards for all of us. Please note that the list isn’t really in any particular order, just the 20 best although I have to say Tucker Max’s story was one of the most entertaining.

If you would like to take the first steps to follow these bloggers and make it big then check out my FREE eCourse teaching you exactly how to build your first blog, drive traffic and make money!

20 Entrepreneurs Who Started With Blogging

#1 Tucker Max
		Tucker’s Blog TuckermaxWhy He Started Blogging: Tucker Max was blogging about his drunken, womanizing exploits before the phrase “blogging” even existed. Tuckers blog attracts 100,000s of visitors weekly who like to read about his ‘interesting’ exploits and enjoy his amazing writing style. Where He Is Now: Because of Tuckers blog, he was able to get a book published which The New York Times called “…highly entertaining and thoroughly reprehensible…” no wonder it was in The New York Times best sellers list for 100 weeks. He is filming a movie based on his book/stories/life by the title “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell” coming soon!
#2 Gary Vaynerchuk
		Garys’s Blog GaryvaynerchukWhy He Started Blogging: Gary Vaynerchuk’s story started as the co-owner of a wine store in New Jersey. He gained fame as the host of Wine Library TV, a video blog on the subject of wine, built his wine store into a multi-million dollar business and established his personal brand with TV appearances and speaking engagements around the world. Where He Is Now: He has now signed a seven-figure book deal about the things that made him as successful as he is in creating opportunities for himself via his video blog. He also is among one of the most sort after speakers for any marketing events.
#3 Collis Ta’eed
		Collis’s Blog Tutsplus.comWhy He Started Blogging: Began his first blog, FreelanceSwitch, in 2006 with his wife Cyan in her parents garage when their first site wasn’t earning as fast as they expected. Where He Is Now: Collis is now one of the top earning bloggers in the world with over a dozen high traffic blogs, collis has been able to quickly launch new blogs because of such a rapid and loyal readership. Collis is able to work from anywhere in the world while he travels with his wife on new and exciting web projects because of the success of his blogging career.
#4 Mario Lavandeira
		Mario’s Blog Perez HiltonWhy He Started Blogging: Mario has always loved intrigue and who better to showcase this than celebrities so his blogs started all about celebrity gossip. After graduation from New York University in 2000, Mario attempted to be an actor, but he end up working as a very well earned blogger because he thinks setting up a website like this “seems easy” unlike being an actor. He found his talent in riling up gossip and controversies about Hollywood figures and is one of the most infamous bloggers in the United States. There are actually two sides to it since he is hated by many Hollywood stars but is loved by millions of web patrons. Where He Is Now: Mario rides on both fame and infamy. In 2007, Mario announced that he would be starring in his own reality television show on VH1, titled “What Perez Sez”. He is also a regular on TRL, Much Music and Extra where he reports about Hollywood gossip from his own closet studio. In May 2008, he also launched his own radio show called “Radio Perez”.
#5 Michael Arrington
		Michael’s Blog TechcrunchWhy He Started Blogging: He is a corporate attorney who left law to become a Web entrepreneur. When he took a year off, and returned to the work world, he started blogging as a way to understand the new Web start-ups that had arisen in his absence. TechCrunch took off, and he soon found himself an accidental power broker. Where He Is Now: Michael now spends his time scouting the internet and investing in some promising internet start-ups.
#6 Pete Cashmore
		Peter’s Blog MashableWhy He Started Blogging: Due to his inquisitive mind and great interest with web-related matters, Pete Cashmore focused solely on writing about MySpace and other social networks. One of Cashmore’s first articles that became instantly popular was, “If You Don’t Have A MySpace, You’re a Lametard.“ It was a unique approach to blogging, but it worked. Where He Is Now: Peter still does writes about everything happening on the Internet although he has slightly deviated from his focus on just social network news. Given the fame of Mashable, Peter has weaned himself from writing and has begun to concentrate on the entrepreneurial side of his web-business. To further strengthen his enterprise, Peter moved to California and focuses on West Coast operations. His success has brought him to celebrity status and he has been featured on many shows in the US and the UK. Peter also travels between the two countries as a consultant and speaker.
#7 Josh Marshall
		Josh’s Blog TPMWhy He Started Blogging: Marshall started a blog called “Talking Points Memo” during the 2000 Florida election recount. He was inspired by political bloggers such as Mickey Kaus and Andrew Sullivan. Where He Is Now: Josh Marshall played an important part in exposing a scandal which involved the politically motivated dismissal of US Attorneys by the administration of George W. Bush. For that he was nominated by Arianna Huffington to the Time 100. After declining numerous offers to buy his company, Josh still operates it in Manhattan with a staff of seven reporters. Aside from managing, Josh also has established himself as a columnist for Washington DC newspaper, The Hill.
#8 Alborz Fallah
		Alborz’s Blog Car AdviceWhy He Started Blogging: Alborz has always had a great passion for cars. Curiously, he started out just like a few bloggers who wasn’t sure what topic to write about, so he created three blogs at once to see which one would stick. Sticking to his passion, he noticed that the car blog got the traffic so he dropped the other two and slowly built up his site off the back of his own content. Where He Is Now: Alborz sold some of his blog to investors and his blog became a real serious business that he finally left his job to focus 100% on his project. Capitalizing on his success, Alborz has shifted his focus from the web to other forms of media. He has now moved into DVD sales of his videos and doing podcasts. Of course, nothing will ever pull him away from his life’s greatest passion; cars!
#9 Robert Scoble
		Robert’s Blog ScobelizerWhy He Started Blogging: Robert Scoble started blogging four years ago, when he worked for NEC, a Japanese technology company. His blog is all about a place where he could converse with NEC’s customers, give tech support and listen to feedback. He was always honest about the products, and his readership grew. Where He Is Now: Scoble and Shel Israel are currently writing a business bloggers book, called The Red Couch.
#10 Darren Rowse
		Darren’s Blog ProbloggerWhy He Started Blogging: He started blogging just about 5 years ago, and it was just a hobby. After a year he began to experiment a little with advertising and affiliate programs on my blogs and discovered that they could actually make money! He began to record the things he was learning on the topic of making money from blogging on his personal blog. Where He Is Now: Darren’s success has earned him great fame and he was awarded the Best Web Development Weblog blog award in 2006 for ProBlogger. In 2007, he was also named in the Forbes Celebrity List. In the following year, Darren co-authored the book ‘ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six Figure Income (Wiley) and founded TwiTip – a blog dedicated to Twitter Tips. Preferring to live a simple life, Darren lives in Melbourne, Australia but does frequent traveling for numerous speaking engagements.
#11 Jeremy Schoemaker
		Jeremy’s Blog ShoemoneyWhy He Started Blogging: Starting with absolutely no capital, he educated himself and began building ecommerce sites to earn revenue. During this time, he started blogging his experiences at Shoemoney.com and then used the blog to springboard new companies like AuctionAds, which had one of the most impressive launches of any online advertising company ever. Through his blog, Jeremy provides advice on all areas of Internet Marketing, including SEO, affiliate management, blogging, and revenue strategies. Where He Is Now: Jeremy continues to launch new start-ups and also chronicles his adventures on his own blog site. Given his fame and expertise, Jeremy is a frequent speaker at search engine marketing and affiliate conferences, and co-founded the Elite Retreat conference.
#12 Tim Ferriss
		Tim’s Blog 4 Hour Work Week Why He Started Blogging: Tim being a productive guru had a message to convey and blogging was the means he deemed fit for his purposes. Being a neuroscience graduate, Tim has many innovative ways of looking at life and gives valuable advice on how to approach situations differently. His blogs are well-written and very thought provoking. It is a favorite among CEOs around the world. Where He Is Now: In 2007, Tim launched his book, The 4-Hour Workweek under Random House and marketed the book mostly among bloggers. The book launched him to stardom and he is now a guest lecturer at Princeton University and has spoken in hundreds of seminars and conventions.
#14 Timothy Sykes
		Timothy’s Blog Timothy SykesWhy He Started Blogging: After incurring great losses in his previous businesses, Timothy Sykes decided to write a book detailing his journey into managing the hedge fund and the lessons he learned from losing so much money. Capitalizing on the potential of the web, he then started a blog, with the goal of documenting the step by step process of turning another $12,000 into millions. Where He Is Now: Tim is now a writer for AOL Finance and has been featured on ABC, CNN, CBS, CNBC, FOX News, FOX Business Network, Reuters, Business Week to name a few. He also starred in the TV show, “Wall Street Warriors” on MOJO. His monthly blog income is in the 6 figures and this is definitely one young man who should be checked out!
#15 Steve Pavlina
		Steve’s Blog Steve PavlinaWhy He Started Blogging: Steve is someone who started blogging about his take on LIFE and other personal development stuff, and now has one of the leading sites in that niche. Where He Is Now: On twitter, he says he is a human alarm clock. He awakens people who are sleeping through life. Steve Pavlina has been doing some research into the art of video, and playing around with making and editing sample videos. Eventually there will be videos on the Steve Pavlina site, and we would love to see a Steve Pavlina personal growth DVD product in the future as well.
#16 Lisa Stone
		Lisa’s Blog BlogHerWhy she Started Blogging: Founded in February 2005 as a labor of love by three bloggers, BlogHer’s mission was to create opportunities for women who blog to pursue exposure, education, community and economic empowerment. Where she Is Now: BlogHer reaches more than 14 million women monthly through its conferences, Internet site and publishing networks.
#17 Heather B. Armstrong
		Heather’s Blog DooceWhy She Started Blogging: She started her website in February 2001. A year later she was fired from her job for her website because she had written stories that included people in my workplace. When most people would fear the worse when hearing “your fired”, Heather just saw it as a challenge and took on blogging as a carerr. Where She Is Now: In October 2005 she began running enough ads on her website that her husband was able to quit his job and become a Stay at Home Father. Since running her blog she has found that she has a loyal readership and was able to publish two books so far.
#18 Jake and Amir
		Jake and Amir’s Blog CollegeHumorWhy They Started Blogging: CollegeHumor started to posts blogs and articles through ideas form its staff and users, including humorous essays, comics, interviews and weekly columns on sports, video games, college life, and dating. Where They Are Now: Jake and Amir are now both making a lot of money from advertising on their site. In December 2008, College Humor.com proudly announced the premiere of the MTV Show “The College Humor Show”. Jake and Amir along with everyone else in their team wrote on the show and play fictionalized versions of themselves.
#19 Michelle Malkin
		Michelle’s Blog Michelle MalkinWhy She Started Blogging: She started and still is focusing on creating blogs which are always form a conservative viewpoint. Where She Is Now: Malkin was a frequent commentator for FOX News Channel and a regular guest host of The O’Reilly Factor. She then quit, and concentrated on her writing, blogging and public speaking, although she still appears on television on occasion.
#20 Harvey Levin
		Harvey’s Blog TMZWhy He Started Blogging: He is an American television producer, lawyer, legal analyst and a celebrity reporter. His blogs started all about celebrity gossip since this is one of his passions. Where He Is Now: He still produces and hosts TMZ on TV. He is also a frequent guest of The Kevin and Bean Morning show, in addition to CNN’s Larry King Live, and recently the Fox News Channel and Local FOX Affiliates regarding Michael Jackson’s death.
#20 Yaro Starak
		Yaro’s Blog Entrepreneurs-JourneyWhy He Started Blogging: Started his first blog because he thought it would be good for SEO and a chance to talk about his business journey. Where He Is Now: Yaro found himself being one of the most respected bloggers and launched two blogging membership websites teaching people exactly how he has done it. Earlier in 2009 he launched a new membership site teaching how he makes money from membership websites. This guy is one entrepreneurial blogger you should all be following!

To Our Success,

Michael Dunlop

PS. Who’s background in blogging appeals most to you?

Alex along with with James Schramko sat down in Starbucks on the last day I was there and did this amazing “Brain Dump” that really has turned my online business around.

So today it is indeed a great pleasure to do this Interview with Alex – this guy is 100% genuine and one of the nicest people you can ever meet in the world of Internet Marketing – Thank you Alex for your help and Inspiration.

Note: This interview is quite long and you can listen to it completely in the Podcast – the version below is abbreviated – you see when Alex starts talking and I start talking we both get excited and we end up discussing every more stuff than we originally planed

Warning: Some references to Alcohol and the effect of drinking alcohol in the company of Internet Marketing Gurus

I look forward to your comments

Enjoy

Hi Alex — You started online the very first time, like most people, with eBay back in about 2004. You started importing from China and then finally you got into information marketing in 2006 when you went to a seminar. Do you want to explain to us how you got into this whole thing? And what you’re doing right now?

Yeah. I’ll just very quickly tell you what happened in the beginning. A friend of mine came to me and said to me, “You’ve got your head switched on. I’ve found this little idea on the Internet and I think you should have a go at it.” That was in February, 2004. Since that day I didn’t know how to turn on a computer then. Since that day I’ve been on the computer almost daily, working at this million dollar plan.

Now back then I was a newbie, I didn’t know what the heck was going on. But quickly I started to grasp eBay, and then from marketing on eBay I actually found a little niche in the motorbike industry. I started to import motorbikes from China, and actually sell them on eBay before they actually arrived in country.

So I’d have containers on the sea coming across, and I’d sell them on eBay to preorder. As soon as the container would land I’d give all the motorbikes away and make a nice chunk of change.

So that turned into a six figure business very quickly, actually. The one problem was, I could not keep up with the demand. It was literally I had two cups of coffee at all times, my head was about to explode. Me and my girlfriend at the time, fiancee now, wife to be in a couple of week’s time all’s we did was speak about business, and it was not healthy at all.

So I said, “We need to get out of this.” I loved the marketing side of doing everything. I loved marketing the motorbikes, I loved marketing with eBay. One of the only people I trusted on the Internet at the time, his name was Tim Knox, he actually had this marketing seminar coming up. It was in Alabama in the USA.

I’m from Wales in the UK. So when I tell people, “Hey, I’m going to be flying to Alabama” people would laugh at me, thinking, “What the hell’s he need to go over there for? What an idiot.” And so forth.

But I went to this marketing seminar and really the one thing that I took away from it that was really important, was that if you can make money, then you can make money, but if you can teach people how to make money, then you can make 10 times the money.

That was the turning point for me. I know how to make money with eBay, if I can now start to teach people to do that, I can make 10 times the money. So that took me onto the new level of actually working on the Internet and trying to market on the Internet to teach eBay tactics.

So that’s kind of how I made the transition. That really started in 2006.

Great Stuff Alex — You were telling me earlier that you did half a million from the Internet last year, and you’re going to do well over a million this year. So hopefully you’re going to share with us and explain a bit how you’re going to do that. The first thing I wanted to touch on, you’ve recently launched a coaching program, which you did a third of a million dollars from?

Alex: Yeah. Previous to this, Michael, like I was saying to you back in February even, I’ve got no experience of being a business coach. I didn’t go to school. I went to school, but I wasn’t the brightest cookie. I was always the one having the report sent home saying his academic skills are very poor, you need to help him. And I was kept back at school. People never really believed in me, but I always knew that I could do it. What I’m saying is that I took action. It’s such a cliché these days: take action, take action. But I built my business and my brand and my business is Marketing With You. That’s what my business is called. So the slogan to my business is:
Marketingwithyou.com, we’re marketing with you, not to you

Alex Jeffreys and Barry Dunlop at Frank Kerns MassControl in San Diego

So very early on what I learnt was that a lot of the gurus market to people. They’re marketing to people. And because we’re making a transition into Web 2.0, very slowly moving into like this Web 3.0 kind of thing, I learnt that people it’s like social. People don’t want to be marketed to; they want to be marketed with, on that kind of level.

So that’s what I built my business on, marketing with people. And because I was in good communications with people, the people said to me, “How can you help us further?” And slowly I’ve become in demand of becoming a business coach on a very small scale.

But what I did was I leveraged this, and I got these people to actually say on a public blog which was my own blog ”Hey, Alex, I want you to be my personal coach because….” And that then set the shift to, I could say to the rest of the market, “Look, I’m in demand of being a business coach. Look at these people begging me to be their business coach.”

And then when I actually opened up the coaching program, it just went haywire. We had like 650 people sign up in a matter of six days.

That generated like a third of million dollars. Which was a very low entry cost for the coaching, but what actually happened then was I actually have become a bloody good business coach. Because I just literally got off my ass and said, I’ve got to do this. I give extreme value. I want to do as much as possible to these people. I’ve opened up you can go to mycoachingstudents.com and you can actually see the level of success that my students are getting. So now that I actually did something, I actually took action. And again, it’s such a clich, but now I’m in high demand for a coaching program, which we could sell a million dollar coaching program in four weeks.

But let me just say something here, Michael, that I’ve got notes I’m actually writing my next report. The reason most people fail and we all say, “Take action. Take action.” But the reason most people fail is because they over educate and there’s information overload. They’ve got to know the different between education and implementation.

It’s the implementation part this is the real underlying problem of the market. They’re educated so much, they’re information overload, and they don’t know how to implement things. And also, they don’t know where to start the implementation.

So when I actually picked up on that in the coaching program, that’s why it becomes so successful, because I actually pinpointed on that area and actually focused and actually implemented things for my students. Educating them as they were implementing. So they’re implementing things as they are being educated.

It was a pretty cool way that we took them.

Excellent Alex — What did you do before you got on eBay? What was your career?

Alex: I was doing a lot of stuff in construction, like plastering, damp proofing. Like building work with houses. Just everyday mucky stuff, bogging, dirty. Making a wage that was average at the time. To know it’s like you make that in a day and not even flinch. It’s like, “Oh, I just made that.” Your dinner somewhere, you just make that kind of money. Again, it’s just that mind shift, isn’t it? You change that mind shift, you believe you can do it, and all of the sudden it just starts to come true. As long as you have a proven plan and you’re following proven people.

So you’ve been mentioning comfort zones and procrastination. I was once actually told that procrastination is the biggest killer of success. What would you suggest that people should do to get over procrastination?

It’s funny what you say there, it’s the same thing as there’s a saying, “Most people are so scared of dying that they don’t live.” They don’t get to live because they’re so scared of dying.

And it’s exactly the same thing. Let’s just go back to the coaching program. Do you know how scared I was to open a coaching program? Literally, I expected to open up a very small coaching program and sell about $20, 000 worth of seats, just to get my toes into the coaching realm, just to do it. But it exploded. And of course when those sales are flying through the door, there’s not way you’re going to close it. All these people are throwing money at me, are you going to stop it? We hit like $100, 000 in a day. It was unreal.

Of course I put myself under a lot of pressure to take these coaching students to the next level, but again, the proof is in the pudding. We’ve got all the success stories now. But that’s just lined me up now for the next coaching program.

So, yeah. And I hate just saying the words, “Take action.” But what I did was I got a coach with a proven record, and that coach told me who his coach was. I moved to his coach. My first coach is Michael Filsaime, and then my second coach was Rich Schefren. And of course Rich’s coach is Jay Abraham, so very soon hopefully I’ll be meeting Jay and studying from his as well.

OK Alex, You’ve learned all this stuff, you’ve taken action, and you’re now having a great time. You told me that recently you were away for three weeks and you only logged in for about an hour to do some work. How did that come about, you’re being able to your thing like that?

First of all, I was actually away at conference. And I met your dad, Michael. I first of all met Michael and his father back in February in Washington. And I went to another conference a few weeks back, which was in San Diego, and Michael’s dad was there. And we had a chat and everything, going to it as well, which was phenomenal, the things you do in your own business. Congratulations.

But what I did, I was going to San Diego and Michael Filsaime told me a couple of years ago when we were in London, I asked him, “Where is the most beautiful place you would want to live?” Because Michael Filsaime travels the world consistently. And he told me San Diego. Well, I had this conference there and I thought I’d take my family and we’ll spend a few weeks out there. Of course, live the California lifestyle. So we did the conference and then got a nice place by the beach. And literally, I just took the four hour work week principles….

Alex Jeffreys Chillaxing by the pool reading “The 4 Hour Work Week”

I go on vacation last year I think like eight times. This year has just been nonstop, actually. We have a home. But normally I travel with my laptop, and I’m on my laptop going through emails, my support staff, blah, blah, blah.

This time, I just did not turn on my laptop. When I did turn it on, I’d have emails from my support staff five days old, screaming to me, like, “Please get back to us. We need to get information back to these people, and we feel bad because we’re not supporting them.”

And I was looking at them, thinking to myself, “OK. There’s a problem here.” But it’s very small problem. The question wasn’t a major question or anything. It was just a simple question. But I was like, “Bugger it. Let’s not even turn the laptop on and let’s just see if we can live that lifestyle.”

And then when get back to the office, work out what really went wrong that’s major and try to fix that so next time I go away I can just turn the laptop off. I came back and there was nothing major, a couple of questions.

So what I’ve done is now I put a project manager in place. So I’ve actually taken me out of the business, I put a project manager in place in the business. Now he’s running everything and he comes back to me.

I just think that reading “The FourHour Workweek,” changed my life. I think I read it in 2006 or 2007. I was away in Thailand when I read it. I think if I didn’t read that, my life would be totally different. Because I was working so hard towards something….

Michael, we all want millions in the bank. But do we need millions in the bank? No.

I’ve traveled all over the world this year, and I’ve spent less than $100, 000. Can I make that $100, 000 again? Of course. I can open a coaching program in a couple of weeks and we’ll make multiple hundreds of thousands. So I’m going to have a lot of money in the bank, plus I’m never going to be able to spend that much money. So it’s being able to realize that and just a lot of time off. You can do that, again, on a smaller level. Read “The Four Hour Workweek,” understand the philosophy of it, and just try and live by it in your own way, how you feel comfortable.

So you’ve mentioning you’ve been going to all these seminars. And you shared with me earlier your top tip for when you go to seminars, where all the networking is done, where all the business happens. Do you want to share that with us?

Yeah, of course. It’s a funny thing, we laugh about it every time we’re sipping a Corona or whatever we’re drinking at the bar. But the most important part of my business is actually networking with people. That’s how me and Michael met each other. We met at a seminar, and I actually went over to him and introduced myself to him, and tried to build that relationship. That’s what I like to do, go out there and meet people and see how I can help people. And I want to definitely come back on the point of positioning and stuff, Michael. If you can remember, just helping people and how to get started. Because maybe a lot of people on this call are trying to get started.

I’m going to write it down. Let me just write this down.

So what I did is go to the seminars, and we mingle and everyone goes in a seminar room. Normally, let me be honest with you, I never go in the seminar rooms to listen to the speakers talking. What I like to do is network in the corridors and stuff and just see who’s hanging around. They’re normally the cool cats. They’re normally the people that don’t need to be in the room.

That’s the truth. But what I like to do is to get the gurus drunk, kind of thing. Get them drunk. I spoke about that in “Guru’s Dream,” that’s like the biggest secret, I think, of mine. But that’s where the business happens, at the networking. The biggest business is actually drinking alcohol and hanging out at the bar.

It’s kind of funny, the most important part of my business is actually drinking alcohol and hanging out at a bar. That’s pretty cool. That’s a pretty cool business to be in. But that’s where business happens.

Michael: Brilliant. So that’s actually brilliant. And I completely agree. Because although I can’t go to a bar myself, I always feel a bit left out when we’re in America. But just for example last week when I was at Continuity Summit and Ryan went up on the stage right at the beginning and it’s like I’m sure we’ll see you at the bar and everyone’s going to be networking there. And it’s for everyone, everyone’s at the bar doing all the business.

Alex: Yeah, well, when I was in San Diego it was a Frank Kern’s event. So you’ve got Frank Kern, his cousin Trey, you got John Reese, Ed Dale, Jeff Walker, Ryan Deiss. You’ve got a number of successful people and somebody come up and said how do you actually network with these people? What’s the best way to do a joint venture? And then John Reese was talking up all these things, well you should promote their products and you should really try and help these gurus before you ask for something from them. I was at the back of the room. I just shouted out, “Get them drunk!” I screamed it out. All those guys looked at me, kind of thing.

But the fact of it is, that night I went out clubbing with John Reese, Frank Kern, Mike Filsaime. There was a ton, Yanik Silver was there. We were all in this like the bar it was, basically. I think we had the Black Eyed Peas DJ playing there that night. And we were all just drinking. We drunk until like four or five o’clock in the morning.

I got some great business deals from that effect. From that actual bar, sitting down with those people. That’s where business happens is the truth of the matter. It’s where people feel more at ease.

So for those who can’t get to a seminar and are not old enough to go to the bar, the big thing right now is Twitter. And you’re dominating Twitter at the moment, so do you want to share with us what you’re doing on Twitter and how my readers can do it too?

Yeah. Well I like to help my readers as much as possible. So I always put out things to my readers and say how can I help you? What’s the number one thing that’s stopping you in your business right now? Or what’s the number one thing that’s stopping you? And basically this month I have hundreds, well I’m sorry, it was last month. I had hundreds of people reply on my blog saying that they needed traffic. Now, I get a few thousand people a month to my blog, to my different sites, but I’m very lazy when it comes to driving traffic myself. I really am. I’ve got affiliates doing it for me. Pretty much I’m positioned now and it’s pretty cool. So I’m thinking to myself, like how the heck can I help these people?

So what I did was I actually thought I need to start a new traffic system and record it from start to finish as a newbie going through it. So I went to Twitter and I started using the system, and I actually teach this in tweetingwithyou.com . It’s a free Twitter product that I put together. It’s like six videos I put together and it shows start to finish me as a newbie first of all driving five people away from Twitter a day.

Then as soon as I started to learn the system, I was driving 50 people a day from Twitter. Then as soon as I got to grips with it, I can drive a thousand people a day away from Twitter to any website that I want. So that’s pretty cool and then I just recorded all that as a newbie.

And remember, this is marketing with you, so through the whole videos I’m saying I’m not a guru at this, and I’m not an expert. I’m just learning this with you. I’m a couple of steps ahead of you. So you can actually literally hang on to my tailcoat and follow me. And that’s what people want. They want somebody in between a guru and a newbie.

They want that person that can guide them and that’s how I like to play it out. So that’s how people can learn Twitter. Twitter traffic I talk about the whole psychology behind my Twitter system. The main thing is, Michael, this is the wording I got this from Perry Bechler, was don’t pimp your shit on Twitter. This is social media; you don’t want to be trying to sell on Twitter. You want to build relationships that move on to a business deal off of Twitter.

Like on Twitter, this is my bio. I like to brand me on Twitter, not my business, not marketingwithyou.com, it’s me. So this is my bio, if I can remember it. I love my fam, I love to jam, as I’m rocking the Internet marketing world, because I’m bad to the bone, so to speak. Marketingwithyou.com. It starts when people say, “Whoa, I love your bio.” And it just gets people to wonder like who is this guy? It’s called auto, what’s it called? Tweet later. So it’s like tweetlater.com. So this little service where you can program so when somebody follows you on Twitter, you can send them a Tweet back, a direct message. Most people say thanks for following me, here’s my website link, go to it. And to me I feel as if that’s spamming.

I have hundreds of these a day when I’m following so many people back and forth, hundreds a day. So this is my tweet that I send out automatically, why did the chicken cross the social media road? And then the answer is, to tweet of course. So what this does is people think, “Ha ha, this little joker.” But I didn’t know if it was going to be funny or not, but the response to that joke is so huge that people like it, reply back to me. It opens up dialogue that you can start saying to people, “If you want help with Twitter, here’s my free videos.” Then those people are more inclined to take action upon what you’re giving to them.

Jeff Johnson’s, I don’t know, most probably could be like the best super affiliate in our industry and I’ve met Jeff a few times. I don’t think I’ve ever spoken to Jeff about business, but we’ve built up a great friendship through alcohol. Funny enough through alcohol. We get drunk together and me and him have a good drink every time we’ve met. And we obviously speak about some sort of business, but I don’t really, I’m not pimping my stuff to him. If he speaks about too much business I try and change the conversation. But we’re building great relationships. Of course if at some time there’s another party somewhere else in the world and all the big, big names are there, Jeff Johnson’s got access. Do you think he’s going to say, Alex, come on, get in? Because I’m a fun guy to be with, you know?

It’s those relationships. And is that sneaky? Well, you could call it stealth mode. But whatever, we all know what we’re doing. We’re building relationships for business purposes. I like people to ask me about me, not push myself on them. I like to ask them about them. People like to talk about themselves.

Let me just give you a really cool tip. I want to go back to helping people to success at the newbie level. And I know you’ve got some questions, but let me just tell you this. When I was in, actually it ties in to this. When I was in Florida back in July 2007, I went to Rich Schefren’s seminar over there. After the seminar funny enough we all went to the bar. So a lot of the people at the seminar went to a local pub, or a local bar, in the U.S.A. About 20 of us walked in there. Straight away, I went to the bar, and I bought everybody in the group a drink. I literally bought the first round of drinks. Then I went and played some pool. We were shooting pool, and I won a couple of games. So I’m on the pool table for a short while.

What started happening this is the cool part, and I didn’t understand it. But listen, people started coming to me, saying, “Hey, Alex! What do you want to drink?”

I’m like, “Yes, I’ll have another Corona.”

Then other people would be coming up to me with drinks because when they would go and buy their drink, they would just buy me a Corona. They saw what I was drinking, and they brought me one. Now all these latecomers were actually coming into the bar. I had all these people around me. Everyone’s buying me drinks. Everyone’s coming up to me. They were shouting to me, “What do you want to drink?”

Literally, I was double fisted with drinks all the time. I had a row of drinks on the side. People weren’t just buying me one drink back. Every time they went back to the bar, they were buying me more drinks. The people were buying me three drinks to my one drink.

Other people were saying, “Who the hell is this guy? Who’s Alex?” Then people were actually coming to stand around me, because they wanted to be around me. They didn’t know what was going on.

What you need to remember is at this time, I didn’t have a name in the market. Rich Schefren didn’t know who I was. It wasn’t that I had that connection with Rich then like I do now. Literally, I was a newcomer.

This had me thinking. When I left, I was like, “Wow! This is so powerful.” So I use that principle in my business stuff. If you can help people this is the thing. If you write an ebook, for instance, you write something. You help people.

Let’s use an ebook for an example. If I write an ebook, and then I give that ebook away for free, you don’t just give it to one person, so it’s not like you have to give a beer to each person. You give that one ebook one to many and what happens is because you use the Internet as leverage and you’ve got such a wide market, that ebook goes out to tens of thousands of people or whatever. As long as there’s enough value in that ebook, it doesn’t matter.

You’re not trying to sell in that ebook. What you’re doing is introducing buyin in that ebook. So you’re not pimping your shit in there. It’s not the oldschool way of adding affiliate links and all this kind of thing. What you’re doing is just adding so much value in that ebook that everybody’s like, “Wow. This guy is bloody cool.”

So what happens is you’ll get a certain percentage of people that want to be reciprocal, and they’re going to be reciprocal in a way that they want to get your next ebook or your next product.

What you do is, you’re not selling in the ebook. What you’re actually doing is you’re introducing buyin. You’re introducing the bar to them where they can buy you a drink back kind of thing. So what happens is you’re just introducing that buyin scenario to them. This is what I did with Guru’s Dream. I wrote the ebook. There were no affiliate links in it. There was nothing in there, apart from at the end. I let people know that I will be opening a coaching program shortly. It just sold out like crazy, because people wanted to be reciprocal, get more for me, and actually give me money for my time.

Michael: I completely agree with that as well, because I run my free ecourse on Income Diary. I actually have not just one, but multiple people quite regularly email me and say, “Wow, this is brilliant. Do you have a product I can buy, or do you want to tell me to buy an affiliate product so you can make a commission?” They just want to reward you for helping them out.

Alex: What we’ve just said there, seriously, was the thing that changed my business. It was the thing that took me from making nothing to actually making $2, 000 a month, to understand the process of making $2, 000 a month in this information marketing business, to making $5, 000 a month, to actually making $10, 000 a month, to making $20, 000 a month, to actually then blowing up the business to a half a million dollar a year business last year, and now bringing in a team to build it into a sevenfig business. What we just said then is so powerful. I think it’s the main key to that education implementation thing, you know?

So we’ve mentioned the whole Internet lifestyle you’ve got, and the fact that it gives you choices and freedom, but what exactly is the big Internet lifestyle to you?

The big Internet lifestyle? That’s a good question. Not having a boss. Sitting here in my khaki pants, my Tshirt, no socks on. A messy office. My lunch on the side of me. Literally rolling out of bed at two o’clock to speak to my project manager before getting on this call. Not having to get up. I go and play poker a couple of times a week. It’ll be like three a.m. by the time we’re wrapping up the last game. They’re like, “Man, I’ve got to start work at five.”

I’m like, “Bugger that! I’m sleeping in until I roll out of bed.”

Literally, I’ve never had an alarm clock in the last few years. It just comes down to very small things. Like yesterday, I took my son swimming. I did a lot what day was yesterday? Monday afternoon, I went swimming with my son. I came home and just went over to some friend’s house.

Of course, I do work very hard. It’s not that the Internet lifestyle gives it gives me the choice to whether I want to work or not. Mostly, that’s the answer to it, Michael. It gives me the choice to if I want to work or not. I love working. I love my business. I’m in love with my business not in the wrong way. I enjoy helping people because I understand that if I help people, they want to pay me.

This is the saying I go by, “Don’t chase money. Let money chase me.” If I can go out and give so much value that people are chasing me to pay me, like you’re experiencing yourself, and my experience from day one.

So I’m actually writing part two to Guru’s Dream. People can get as a free book. Go to
GurusDream.com. I’m writing the part two to it right now, which is called Newbie’s Nightmare.

Newbie’s Nightmare, I want to just give so much value in that report that people are begging me to pay me money to join my coaching program. But I’m not going to be selling my coaching program in the report. I’m just going to introduce a buyin scenario to them. Then it’s up to them to do it.

Of course, we’re going to do some psychological things, like subconscious messages and stuff. But that’s all down to marketing, you know?

So, yes. I love it. I really enjoy learning, and of course I really enjoy implementing, because I like seeing the PayPal account just explode.

What is your single biggest reason for your success, do you reckon, then?

Alex: This is really cool, and I’m glad you asked me this question. You just threw that on me, and I didn’t know you were going to say that question. It is acting a newbie, OK? When I used to go to seminars, people used to act the big guru. Even though they were newbies, they would say, “Oh, I’ve got this project going on, and I’ve got this going on.” They were acting as if they were really successful. Now, to me, I couldn’t see through it because I was a newbie with them. But if they started speaking to the gurus, the gurus would very quickly see that these guys were full of crap. They’d be like, “Oh my God. Another one of these fakeittiltheymakeit people.”

My mum used to say to me, “Alex, fake it til you make it.”

I was like, “No way will I ever do that. It’s like, no chance.”

So this is how I believe I’ve become so successful. When I was a newbie, I acted a newbie, and I asked for help. I would go to the people at the bars, and I would ask for help. I would buy a beer for Mike Filsaime, for instance.

This is what we did. There were like 20 people around him in this seminar, before he was my mentor. I stayed away from him for a couple of hours. I just went through the crowd, and I was like, “Mike, do you want a beer?”

He’s like, “Yes, I’d love a Bud.”

So I got him a bottle of Bud. I lifted it in the air, and I showed him my ID in my hand, and I went and sat down. He said, “I’m going to go and speak to this guy.”

We sat down and had a beer. I was like, “Dude! How the heck can I have a PayPal account like yours?” I went on. I was rambling like a big kid. It was just the point of I asked for help, and I acted. This is where I’m at. I was truthful. I think that’s the best way to be, and then just to take action on what these bigger people tell you.

So you have to go to seminars. If you can’t go to seminars, you definitely need a mentor. I don’t know if you’ve got mentors or not, Michael. I know your father must have been a great mentor, but obviously you must look up to other people as well.

I needed coaches. I needed people to make sure that I was taking action and then kick my ass if I wasn’t.

Michael: Exactly. If you can’t get to them, there is Skype right now. You can have a conference call. You can have a webcam. You’ve got to get someone pushing you to do better. That’s really important.

Alex: Yes, of course. If you can’t hold yourself accountable to people this is what happened. In January 2008, I put on my blog that I planned to generate a quarter of a million dollars in 2008. Now I didn’t have a clue how I was going to do that. Previously, in 2007, I’d only made $115, 000. So how was I going to double my business in a year? I didn’t know how I was going to do it, but I held myself accountable. By the end of 2008, I generated over half a million dollars. So I quadrupled my business. In January of 2009, I put on my blog I’m going to make a million dollars this year. I was like, how the hell am I going to make a million dollars this year? I don’t know. But I held myself accountable to tens of thousands of people, and we’ll see what the results are. Hopefully we’ll do two million dollars, if it goes off anything like last year’s calculations.

But you want to hold yourself accountable to people. That’s what keeps pushing me forward. I know that I’ve put out there that I’m going to go for this figure. It’s not just me. Because it’s scary to think, I’ve got to build a milliondollar business this year.

I was on the call I was speaking to Rich Schefren last night. I told him that I’m scared. I don’t think that I’m scared of failure more than I’m scared of success. I think that I’m scared of success more than failure. We had a very good conversation over this. But, on all levels, it’s scary. The growth of anybody it’s got to be scary to build a million dollar business, whatever complications come in, because you don’t know the unknown. You’ve got to expect the unexpected.

Just bloody get out there and do something that’s proven. Follow what Michael’s doing. Listen. The group of people that Michael was with, whom I met in Washington in February your friends who are all on your blog, all those fellow young entrepreneurs, are geniuses. I was basically blown away by your crowd of people.

So it’s exciting times, I think. People should definitely be following you and asking you for help, Michael. Asking you for help, and of course you’ll be there to help them each step of the way. You don’t have to get it perfect; just get it going.

If you could go back in time and start all over again, what would you do different to make more money online?

What would I do different? I’m sure you’ll laugh when I say this but I would have built a continuity program.

I think if I would have realized, I would have built like a membership. The word “continuity” can scare people. Like a membership’s where there’s a monthly, recurring payment system in place. That would definitely be the one thing that I would do, because that’s just gold there. It could be like a $10 a month product, if need be. Like I’ve got friends who are making multiple thousands not tens of thousands but just multiple thousands a month from a $10 product that they sell. It just generates a couple of thousands a month. That couple of thousand could be a mortgage on a mansion, if you like, as well as doing other things.

Michael: You set it, and then you forget it. A lot of the time with continuity programs I mean everyone, and even if you’ve got an ebook, and you’re about to launch it, you can make a lot more money if you turned it into a recurring revenue stream.

Alex: Absolutely. So my whole business model is we’ve just done marketing with Alex 1.0. We’re actually going into marketing with Alex 2.0 right now with my next coaching program. Then, after that, we’re going into marketing with Alex 3.0, where we’re changing the whole business model to continuity. It’s all about bringing people in, leads, giving them an offer, and getting them into a monthly revenue. We’re going to build we don’t know the figures, but it’s going to be a very profitable business. Yes, continuity, I think, would be the thing that I would have changed.

What do you like least about the Internet?

The hype. It’s just the hype. I can say that, but then something else has just hit me actually using a bloody computer. I am no good at computers. I am the world’s worst at using one of these machines. I select the funniest thing about it. I just wreck them. All the time, I wreck these computers. I’m just not good at them. So computers first, then hype. It’s a hype driven market. I think it could be changed. It could definitely be changed, but does the market want to change? The market wants to buy the hype. It’s all about supply and demand, so it’s a very hard question, really. But I hate the hype on that. I’ve been sucked into it too many times and lost too much money. I built my business into a hype machine a year or two back, which I’m trying to change it from that now.

What do you like best about the Internet?

Money, money, money! Money. Just the money. Man, you want to have a life. As I say, opening up your PayPal account when you woke up and see how much money you made. But it isn’t kind of like that, because I’m consistent in my business in not being consistent. Literally, I’ve got no major consistency in my business, but I can make very high fluctuations in cash at any time that I want. So it’s just when you see that coming in, and it just goes, “Ching! Ching! Ching!” You see all those sales come in, and it’s just life changing. So the money, man.

If the Internet had not existed, what do you think you would be doing right now?

Packing up a load of bricks and taking them to somebody to put a load of cement on them and start building a wall. A load of crap, seriously. But the funny thing is that I’m actually building we’ve got a plot of land right next to my house well, actually we’ve got a halfbuilt house where the builders are actually working for me. They keep saying to me, “What the hell do you do?” Because they’re in my house, and I’m in bed at two o’clock in the afternoon. They’re making a cup of coffee, so I walk down like, “Grrrr!”

They’re like, “You’re going to work at all?”

I’m like, “Yes, I’ll be working.”

What I like to do is I like to work at night, where my family goes to bed my young son and my fiance. So I like to spend some time with them then go to bed. I like to work through the night, where there’s no distractions.

So where would I be? I’d be on some building site somewhere, mostly covered in rain, because of this ugly UK weather that we live in.

Is there anyone that you look up to and model yourself on?

There’s a lot of people that I look up to. If you look around my office at all the different education packages I’ve got and so forth. All the seminars I’ve been to and stuff. But the one person that I modeled was Mike Filsaime. Basically I met this guy and he showed me his PayPal account. It was fully loaded. I’m talking just stupid figures. Then he showed me a web account of his mailing list and we sat there having a beer together, funny enough. And as we sat there I was like dude, how the hell can I copy this? And he said his whole multimillion dollar business is built around his mailing list. Is built around his building a mailing list and then making money from that mailing list. Through building relationships and then making money from them. And I was like, I need to copy that.

So for the last couple of years I’ve been following Mike Filsaime. He has changed his business an awful lot now. Which again I’m going to be following in “Marketing With Alex 3.0.” So I would say Mike Filsaime is the guy that I followed. You can find him at twitter.com/mikefilsaime. Or his blog is marketingdotcom.com.

Then of course, he put me onto his mentor who is Rich Schefren. And now Rich is my business coach and pretty much one cool guy. So I look up to him. But I don’t try to model Rich, because Rich is way out of my league. Like seriously, that guy is like, he bends my brain every time I speak with him. It’s just that much knowledge.

He actually changes the way that I think. When somebody can do that to you, it actually hurts your brain. But so I would say them two are the guys that I really look up to. I love them. I tell them every time, I love them. Because they’ve changed my life.

Michael: Just to add to that, I think 95% of the hundreds of people I’ve interviewed, they’ve all said when asked the question what would you do? And they’d say build a list from day one. It’s really important.

Alex: Yeah, I mean, of course. This is the thing, like I built a list and my list for the last almost a year has been very stagnant. I haven’t grown it at all for the last year. It’s been very stale, let’s say, in growth. But what I’ve been doing is I’ve been learning relationship marketing with that list. I’ve been learning how to email market, how to relationship build for the people on the list. How to really make money from a list. So I built a list, that’s one thing. Making money from a list is another thing. So when I learned that, I built the relationships with these people. Now I understand list building and email marketing, now I’m deadly. Now I’m going to go off and build my whole business model.

Like I said “Marketing With Alex 3.0” is we’re going to have one squeeze page. We’re going to forget about all my other sites. We’re going to have one squeeze page and we’re going to drive as much traffic to there as possible, build a list, and then follow up with those prospects and turn them into customers and clients. And build a serious business. So I understand the formula now.

You’ve been talking about your very small amount for how much you work. How many hours do you actually work daily?

It depends. It depends. A good few, I would say. Some days I don’t work at all. Some days I can work eight hours. But then again, it depends. It really depends Michael. I’ve got no set agenda right now on my work. I don’t have to do anything. I don’t have to come to work for weeks if I don’t want to. Like I said, I’ve got the support people in place. I’ve got my project manager doing all the day to day tasks. All I need to work on is forward moving tasks like writing a new report, creating an event around that report. But it’s the buzz around it, so that a lot of people come and download it, read it, go through the whole process of man this guy’s giving me so much value. Then introduce buying to them. Then offer them an offer they cannot refuse. A certain percent is going to give me a load of cash.

So I would say I can work eight hours a day, three days a week. So let’s just say two to three hours a day, seven days a week.

What is the best advice you have ever been given?

That was a very long winded answer for you, wasn’t it? What’s the best bit of advice I’ve ever been given? There’s too much. If you can make money, then you can make ten times the money, like I said at the very beginning. So anybody that knows how to make money right now in any certain industry, can you teach that to people? Because they are going to be willing to buy it from you. But instead of trying to sell it to them, offer them help. Then once you’ve offered them help, they’re going to be very thankful to you. Then introduce to them the selling opportunity. That’s just one.

I mean, yeah, list building is the number one of course. List building, build your list. That’s the number one thing Michael. I could give you a thousand different things.

Give things away for free, and then people will want to pay you money.

Alex, thanks very much for the interview. I know you’ve got lots of things going on. Do you want to share with us any personal or business future plans or goals?

Get back into the gym. As soon as I get off this call I’m going to the gym. I really want to get fit again. The truth of it Michael is that I’m learning how to build a multiple million dollar business right here, right now. For people to say this is just easy I work two hours a day or something, that’s pretty much a crock because I know all the big, big guys, they work. They own big corporations again now. So I’m trying not to get to that level, but I want to build a multimillion dollar business where I have to just come in and do a couple of hours a day. It’s taken me a lot of time sitting here at the computer which I’m very crap at. Like I told you. So, yeah, it does take time to get there. But I’ve got the end goal; I know the four hour work week philosophy. I don’t want to work myself to death. I want to just have a nice lifestyle, which I do live.

So yeah, one of my goals is get back to the gym. So exactly after this call I’m in the gym for the first time this week. I only went once last week. So really that’s my life goal. And of course, maybe travel a little less, Michael. It’s just jet lag constantly. I’m just forever being jet lagged.

This is a crazy experience right now. But people say you’re living the life. To me they say we’re living the life, so it’s pretty nice to know things are happening for me. It is nice. Because I’m a forward thinking person, so I’m always thinking forward. So sometimes you have to sit back and reflect on the past and then you just say wow. Sometimes you’re like bloody hell, you know?

Thank you Alex — You are one REAL GUY — I think a few of my readers will be surprised with some of your answers — but you know, I like to “mix it up a bit”

Plenty of variety and Daily Inspiration for Entrepreneurs – that is my Goal here at IncomeDiary.com