OK. So first of all, I have to admit that the idea of “making it” is total bunk. Though it’s a worthy goal if you happen to be a character in Grease, people in my reality understand that nobody ever truly “arrives” anywhere. Despite our small victories, life is generally made up of banal, unsexy life-stuff. And that’s cool.

With that caveat, I’m still happy to consider myself a success and be counted among that elusive ~1% of people who somehow manage to make the transition from learning about online business to actually making a pretty good living online.

Let’s Define Our Terms

Of course, ye olde Internet is a great place to anonymously claim just about anything you want. Just visit any popular forum, and you’ll meet plenty of poseurs who will jump at the chance to give you unsolicited advice, yet have very little to show for their hot air. You probably want to see something more tangible before you’ll trust me.

That’s cool. Let’s talk metrics for a minute or two.

Online Activity / Posting Frequency

With regard to the my dig on keyboard cowboys above, I’ll first mention that my forum usage, blog posting, and YouTube commenting over the past three months or so have been scant at best. These are activities in which most online type people engage regularly, and they can all be used for business development in one form or another.

I like connecting with people on YouTube (I’ve gotten to help several people fulfill their dreams of living and working in Japan there) and on forums. If I spent more time updating this site and posting about web development and small business instead of beer, I could probably have a thriving WordPress tweaking enterprise going. I love building websites, but I love beer more. Besides that, I get more referrals for WordPress work than I can handle anyway.

No, social networking isn’t a strategy for me. It’s just something I do to kill time, and I kill much less of it now than I used to.

So that’s metric number one: I haven’t been visibly active in many of the places I normally would have been. Not convincing? Let’s look at metric number two.

Prasara Primer

My first major project release, the Prasara Yoga Primer, grossed $25k in sales in its first week on the market. Did I get to keep all of that? Hell no. I have two partners, and we had a lot of help from some awesome affiliates. But I did deposit a very large (by my standards) check into my account last week, and we’re still selling more every day.

Of course, of course, of course, that week of awesome sales required about six weeks of hard work to set up and pull off effectively. Still, it was probably the most profitable six weeks of work I’ve ever done, and the lessons it taught me are going to be priceless as I correct many of the simple mistakes I made next time.

I can’t prove to you that I made this money, but if you’re so inclined, you can check the Primer’s stats out on ClickBank, where we became the best-selling yoga product in our debut month. While you’re at it, tell your fitness-obsessed friends about it and make a nice commission in the process.

A Small Empire

Metric number three is that I took my friend’s business from a solitary yoga studio that was barely breaking even to a successful online venture with products and courses at a variety of price points in just a little over six months. Our list grew by over 1000%, and our income has exceeded all expectation.

We have a “staff” of people with varying levels of involvement making varying levels of income from our combined efforts. It’s like a cottage industry we’ve build together, and I really love being part of a creative family working as a team.

“Overnight Success”

We’ve all heard before that it takes years of planning and practice to become an overnight success. In my case, it was just a little over a year.

It was April of 2009 when I found out the hard way that I was no longer employed. No notice. No job. No anything really.

I did some random part time gigs to pay the bills, but I also found this great course by Clay Collins called Project Mojave that promised to teach me how to create a “freedom business” in a few months. I lucked out and snagged a lifetime membership to Mojave for about $100 before most people really found out about it. What can I say? It felt right. And it was. It was one of the best investments I’ve ever made, and I wouldn’t be here without it.

Project Mojave might not open again, but Clay’s just about to release his new course, called the Interactive Offer, and I’m going to be taking advantage of all he has to teach. If you click that link, you’ll get to see Clay explain how he structures his launches to make a respectable profit before he even creates his product.

My First Business Venture

Back to Project Mojave (which was, by the way, an example of the Interactive Offer in action)… I watched the videos, took notes, did the homework, and even talked to Clay on the phone a couple of times. I chose a niche and got to work.

Then a few little things came up. I got married. I had to help plan the Taido World Championships. I got sidetracked and took forever to finish my first product.

That product, an ebook on finding work and moving to Japan, was not successful. Not because Clay’s advice was bad, but because I was way too scattered about my implementation. More recently, I seriously considered reviving the How to Get a Job in Japan project. I know it could bring me at least a few hundred dollars a month in totally passive income if I put in a few days of solid work up front. But instead, I decided to let it die because I’m having too much fun with my other projects right now and don’t need the distraction.

So I let the website expire and made the information available in hard copy at Amazon. If you’re interested, you can check it out here.

My Second Business Venture

Did I leave the ebook world and jump immediately into my current jet-setting lifestyle? Nope. Even that took some time and work.

CST101 began as an experiment. I was working out at my friend’s studio, and we were talking about wanting more out of our lives. Typical conversation for married guys in their 30s to have. His second child had just been born not long before, and he wanted to try reaching a broader audience online. It just so happened that he’s an incredibly gifted teacher and trainer.

So we created a distance fitness course together and promoted it pretty quietly through our existing networks. We had a not-bad turnout – enough to make it worth the effort for us. I taught myself how to make membership sites. He practiced making videos. We screwed up. We got better. We connected with our people and started building a posse.

When it came time to do it all again, we rebuilt the thing from the ground up with a sturdier system and a more efficient program. We got referrals. We added a Level Two course. We kicked ass as sold out our second course with 25 members.

We continue offering these courses and love interacting with our students. Sometimes, the enrollment is higher than others, but honestly there’s no way we can lose with this set-up. The courses are made. The lessons are set. The videos are shot. The forums are active, and we have a team of people that helps us manage them. People pay us, work hard, and come away feeling stronger and freer in their bodies. Wins all around.

The Tipping Point, or “Authenticity”

These online training courses are something I’m very proud of. If we hadn’t taken that leap and tried to put the first incarnation together from scratch, we would never have learned what we did, and we would never have had the success we currently enjoy. The mistakes turned out to be priceless, but even more valuable, as it turned out, was our total willingness to screw up in front of others and be genuine and real about that.

“Authenticity” is a huge buzzword in internet marketing circles. The premise is that, if you can make people believe that you are genuinely interested in them, they are more likely to give you money.

I don’t really like discussing authenticity as a marketing tactic because it can quickly cross over into con territory: creating the appearance of reality in order to sell an empty promise. That’s just plain dirty. Yet, I can’t ignore the topic because I’ve always been pretty much who I am (my mother always told me I needed to filter myself for public consumption) – to hell with anyone who doesn’t like it. In fact, I used to be a bit of an asshole about my personal right to do and think whatever the fucking hell I happened to please at any given moment.

Don’t like it? Fuck off.

Though I’m a little nicer now (is it my age showing?), I’m still just me, which means that I’m authentic. And if that makes people want to buy from me, I’m not complaining.

Back to the point though, Ryan and I made a lot of mistakes on our first course. The second one too. But for every mistake we made, we admitted it and fixed it. We told our clients things like “Yeah, sorry about that. We don’t know how that happened either – it’s the first time for everyone here, so let’s talk about how to make it better now.”

In 99% of cases that we approached our mistakes that way, our clients were totally cool and actually helped us find viable solutions. How can you beat that?

Doing What You Love

It sounds so trite to tell people to follow their passions. It’s cheesy. The thing is: cheese is delicious.

After we started making headway with our courses, we started thinking about other products. Ryan had co-produced an ebook on Prasara Yoga a few years prior with another coach named Jarlo. It was called the Prasara Primer, and I actually bought it for about $25 when it first came out.

It was fantastic, and it totally changed the way I thought about yoga and training.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t marketed with nearly the passion that went into it’s creation. So I tossed the idea out to Ryan about re-releasing it. He thought it couldn’t hurt and we began hammering out a marketing plan.

Along the way, we decided to change the layout a bit and modernize the ebook. While we were at it, we made some changes to the way the information was presented. Then we decided to include videos of the yoga flows to make it easier for people for follow along. We made sixty videos. Next came the training guide that showed people how to integrate yoga into their existing routines.

By the time we were done, we realized that we had created a whole new product using the same basic information. The Prasara Primer 2.0 was born.

Then what? Well, we did the things you usually do to sell a digital product. None of it was original or new. We created a sales page. Built a list using a sample from the actual product. We got the word out to our lists and got some help from friends with lists. We answered questions and made a launch offer.

• The cool part: we still made mistakes.
• The really cool part: we still made money.

Now That I’m a Successful Online Entrepreneur…

…I sit on the beach and drink margaritas while my third world VA haggles on my behalf for extra frequent flier miles.

Yeah, so that’s total bullshit.

As much as I love beaches and margaritas, I love getting my hands dirty building new things even more. I’ve discovered that the real reason my ebook on working in Japan wasn’t a big hit had nothing to do with the market or the information (which is still golden). It was all about my level of enthusiasm for various tasks associated with selling a product. I can’t stand doing a lot of the stuff you have to do to have an ebook consistently bring in more than a trickle. I hate article marketing and PPC campaigning. Even worse, I can’t stand outsourcing those things to people I have to manage.

That’s OK though, because I’ve discovered that I absolutely love the process of creating a product, figuring out how to get it in people’s hands, and building the systems around making it sustain itself.

So I’m doing that. Ryan and Jarlo and I are working on a new strength training product using gymnastic rings that we hope to release in early July. We’re also continuing to run courses on CST101, and I’ve got some ideas for new classes in the near future. The Prasara Primer has created a demand for us to give seminars in various countries. We’ll probably shoot a seminar DVD.

I’m also branching out in other directions. I’m talking with a few other people now about helping them create digital products and courses in their own niches. I’m collaborating with Carl Nelson, Jonathan Mead, and a few others on a new magazine site called MovementGeeks, which we’ll be launching this summer.

I’m also getting ready to move to Hawaii, where I plan to drink a few margaritas. There’s so much excitement, I can hardly stand it.

How You Can Join the Cool Winners’ Club

Not that you’re asking, but if I were to give advice on the whole online business thing, I would say it’s really just a four-step process:

1. Find a mentor and study what they do – modeling success is a terrific shortcut
2. Adapt those principles to what you’re personally great at – because, if you hate what you’re doing, you’ll stop
3. Make something and get it in people’s hands – free or paid doesn’t really even matter at first
4. When you make mistakes, be cool about it – they’re awesome opportunities to learn

And that’s it. It’s what I did, and what others I know have done.

Yes, it’s easier said than done, and no, there are no guarantees. There again, what was the last easy, guaranteed thing you did that you actually thought was worth a shit when it was over?

That’s what I thought.

P.S. – It’s a rule that, when you’re trying to show internet marketing people how cool you are, you have to include an ironic PS. This let’s the audience know that you know that they’re in on the joke, while still getting one last chance to slide in that all-important call to action.

P.P.S. – Another ironic device is the anti-call-to-action, and it looks something like this: “Whatever you do, don’t click on my services link to see how I can help you quickly find efficient, high-leverage solutions to your online business issues for as little as $20.”

If you’ve ever bought anything from me, or if you ready my blog with ANY regularity, then you probably know Tracy.

Anyway, Tracy and I have an unlikely friendship . . . she lives with her husband and dog in a log cabin in Vermont. And I live in Minneapolis.

What people KNOW about Tracy is that she’s the reason why we have the best customer support, hands down, in the internet marketing industry.

And that she makes everything in our business tick so that I can focus on my stuff.

What they don’t know about her is that she’s one of my very best friends, that I’ve NEVER worked with anyone better, that she’s one of the most brilliant spirits you’ll ever meet, that she has a
heart of pure gold, and that she’s smarter than you and I put together.

What they don’t know is that even though it’s my face you see on the blog and videos . . . that Tracy is working just as hard as me during this launch.

I often go on and ON (to my friends) about how amazing it is to work with Tracy, and I’ll sometimes get comments like “wow I need to get my own Tracy.”

What they don’t know is that, as a business owner, you really can’t really choose to work with someone like Tracy. Someone like Tracy chooses you (because they have so many options it’s
ridiculous).

Anyway, today is Tracy’s birthday . . .

. . . so if you’ve ever received customer support from us (or worked with her on any level) and you’d like wish her a good day, then just leave a comment below (she approves the comments, so she’ll be sure to see them).

Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY Tracy.

–Clay

THIS is the most important video I’ve ever made.

Period.

In fact, I’ve said a lot of things about internet marketing in recent years . . .

. . . and this has more significance than them all.

Combined.

So if you only watch one of my videos this year. Watch this one.

It might revolutionize the way you think about selling online.

–Clay

[Note: This is a guest post by Tracy. God help me.]

I’m here to once again dish up a little more dirt on Clay. While I want to tell you about:

• How a working relationship can cause massive personal growth and spiritual development if both people are committed to it
• What it’s like building “yellow boxes” for Clay–you can’t even imagine it
• What I learned about Clay’s innermost being by watching him eat
• Clay’s relationship to his hair (yes, you read that correctly)…

…all of that will have to wait. While I want to tell you all of those things, I simply have to tell you one thing.

A few months ago I wrote a post about Clay. One of the comments I heard repeatedly after that was:

“You haven’t even met him in person, so how can you really know him?”

I knew there was only one way to silence that objection. I’ve travelled so much that I now try to travel as little as possible, but I decided to head out to Minneapolis.

Now that I’ve met Clay in person, eaten meals with him, and met his girlfriend—plus the fact that I’ve known him for several more months, speaking nearly daily with him on the phone—I can give you even more of an inside scoop. And, as before, I’ve told Clay he can publish all of this or none of it, but he’s not allowed to edit out the parts that embarrass him.*

First we’ll start with the fun stuff (I will show NO mercy!) and then move on to the intense stuff I’ve uncovered that has surprised me.

I’ve mentioned before how Clay greatly prefers to not follow the dictates of time. It’s not that he can’t—because he can and does very well when he needs to—it’s just that it doesn’t come naturally to him. His VA and I recently had a Skype conversation when we were trying to figure out how to get Clay to do something at the same time every week:

Knowing about Clay’s issues with time, it was no surprise to me that he was a few minutes late in picking me up at the airport. As we were chatting on our cells trying to find each other in the airport I asked Clay where he was and what he was wearing so that I could easily spot him and he said: “I’m wearing sort of a Western shirt.”

We eventually found each other. He gave me a great tour of some of the gorgeous lakes of Minneapolis, we grabbed a bite to eat and headed back to his place.

Walking in revealed two things to me:

He clearly is a man because he failed to tell me something that any woman would have told another woman within the first week of meeting her:

The architectural detail of his place is beautiful. For example: There are no square corners where the ceilings meet the walls in the living room. There are round “corners” where you normally only see 90-degree angles. Gorgeous art deco style. Hallways with such rich, deep detail—made of stone, I think. But did Clay ever once mention this to me? No, of course not, being a typical dude when it comes to stuff like this. I doubt he ever even noticed these things.

But that is nothing compared to what was sitting there just inside his front door. Let me set the story up for you.

Several weeks prior to my visit Clay had mentioned that he owned a pair of cowboy boots. Not a big deal, right? But then he went on to be sure to tell me that he didn’t wear all the Western clothes or anything like that, he just liked that one pair of boots. I didn’t give it a second thought, though I should have.

Back to his place: Right inside his front door is not just one pair of cowboy boots, but TWO pairs. Oh, he had soooo neglected to tell me he owned more than one pair—and to discover this while he was wearing a Western shirt was simply too much for me.

I’m thinking, “I’m sitting here drinking wine with an urban cowboy wannabe. (Though I think he’d be more like a young Clint Eastwood than John Travolta due to his maverick renegade approach, but I digress.) I am soooo gonna’ rag on him for this.”

His girlfriend was coming over that evening so I didn’t get to spend enough time picking on him (which is why I’m doing it here).

Anyway, you know those exceptionally rare women who are fiercely intelligent, highly educated, absolutely gorgeous, and are compassionate? She’s one of them—really amazing. Oh, and when she smiles, the whole room lights up.

The conversation with her was engrossing enough that I forgot all about the whole Western thing…

…until the next morning when I first see Clay and he’s wearing…(really, I wouldn’t make this stuff up)…a Western belt. No western shirt, no cowboy boots, but definitely a big-ass silver belt buckle. Something like this one:

And then it all clicked into place in my brain and I understood. So, for all of you who said that I couldn’t really know Clay until I’d met him in person I humbly bow to your wisdom: You were right. Because only now do I know the real scoop:

Clay Collins is a Wannabe Cowboy!

Without your feedback I might never have discovered this and would have missed out on dozens of opportunities to torment him. I am forever grateful to everyone who said, “You don’t know Clay . . . you haven’t even met him yet.”

Anyway, I’ll know he’s gone full-blown cowboy the day he adds spurs to his boots. I wonder if he already has a cowboy hat or two hidden away? If I’d had more time I definitely would have snooped around the place to take a look.  He probably takes the hat out when no one else is around and wears it just for fun:

I could even handle the hat, but the day he shows up in chaps like these I’ll have to hold an intervention and I trust you’ll all help me:

Okay, enough of my profound insights into Clay’s psychology.

Because so many of you always ask me what Clay is really like, I’m going to put all teasing aside for just a few minutes and tell you just a few more tidbits. Here are three other things I’ve come to know about Clay since I wrote my previous post:

• He is an incredibly kind and compassionate person. He is so moved by peoples’ stories and plights. When I first knew him I experienced his kindness toward me, but I have since seen it repeatedly demonstrated toward others. This is a guy who feels deeply and wants to help people change the trajectory of their paths if they decide they want to change the world or amp up their businesses to new levels.

• He has a deep humility that you don’t often see among highly successful business people. While he has a vast amount of knowledge and is willing to share it, he’s never puffed up and arrogant about it. He also knows where his weaknesses are and he’s smart enough to acknowledge them and surround himself with people who complement his skills. His humility manifests in another beautiful way: He is so quick to apologize if he thinks he’s screwed up or hurt your feelings in any way. I’ve worked with some amazing people in my life, but it’s rare I’ve seen this degree of humility. He’s always willing to own his mistakes immediately and say he’s sorry.

• Finally, if I had to pick the #1 thing I’ve discovered (that REALLY surprised me), it’s this: His business acumen. It continually blows me away. Don’t let my cowboy nonsense fool you. Underneath that imaginary 10-gallon hat is a brain filled with business smarts. Anyone can read a ton of books and know “facts” about the best way to start, build, expand and run businesses, but to also have keen insight, discernment, and wisdom about those businesses is rare. And the few times I’ve seen that deep level of insight in others it has always taken them decades to acquire it. I’ve worked closely with seasoned business owners and entrepreneurs that were twice Clay’s age (and they ran multi-million dollar companies that they had founded decades earlier) and they have nothing on him at all. When I first started to work with Clay I knew that he’d be great at Internet marketing, evaluating the numbers, analyzing markets, and driving up sales. I fully expected that.

  What I didn’t expect was to find out that he helps people grow and develop all sorts of businesses, even those with physical products and those not looking strictly for Internet marketing advice and instruction. I am astounded week after week not only at how much he knows, but at the wisdom he displays in his understanding of how to use that information. (I suspect he learned much of this from his grandfather who is quite the businessman.) Clay’s ability to know, in advance, if a business will be profitable is almost scary—crazy voodoo-magic-like scary. His foresight is so accurate I swear he must use a crystal ball, though he denies it. The same can be said about his ability to help businesses double and triple their sales.

So, while it’s true…

…that Clint Clay is a wannabe cowboy

…and it’s true that time has no meaning for him (until he’s short of it and I need to talk him down off of the edge of a cliff)

…and it’s true he has a dozen other quirks and flaws (we’re out of space or I’d spill my guts!—so much more to tell—maybe in person one day?) that make work “interesting” many a day…

…ultimately I still have to stand by my original assessment of Clay: He’s one of the most remarkable people I’ve ever had the opportunity to get to know. If you get the chance to hang out with Clay or to work with him in any capacity, take it: He’ll shift your worldview and you’ll walk away a better person for having known him, not to mention what he will do for your business.

Between Clay’s odd quirks and his huge heart, this is one ride that’s way too much fun to miss—even if it means I do have to haul myself up onto a horse to get in on the ride. I can only hope he’ll never make me wear the whole cowgirl outfit, ‘cause I’m thinking that’s probably a dealbreaker (though I do like the red boots).

Well, that’s the end of another post giving you the inside scoop on Clay. I’d love your feedback on this: Do you think Clay could pull off the full-blown cowboy look? Or has he taken it as far as he should? Leave me a comment with your thoughts, please! He might just listen to us…

P.S. Clay’s has a “milestone” birthday coming this year (in September). Maybe we should have a giant bash at my log cabin in Vermont during beautiful fall foliage season. We could all pitch in and buy him a cowboy hat. Then we’d ply him with enough tequila until he’d actually wear it.

*Correction: Clay insisted on taking out one picture. He wouldn’t let me publish this with it in here. (If you ever get to see the picture you will totally understand why.) The compromise I reached is that I will email this picture to the person whose comment amuses me the most. Trust me, you will laugh you a** off— you gotta’ love Photoshop–but you’ll have to give me your word you won’t share it with anyone!

~Tracy

I kind of screwed up with Tracy (if you don’t know, Tracy basically runs sh*t around here).

Here’s the story . . .

The other day, in the midst of pre-launch insanity, I called Tracy up and said something like:

“I HATE graphics, because I obsess about them to no end. So would you mind handling the header for our new product? Because if *I* handle this, I’ll go back and forth with the designer like a billion times and nothing else will get done.”

But this is where I dug a hole for myself.  I said something like “I trust your sense of design more than my own . . . and I’ll be 100% fine with whatever you decide.”

So last night — at like midnight — I start going through the final designs and generally screwing around with this nonsense.  I found a header I really liked and sent her this email:

Tracy, BannerX.jpg . . . this one is so sweet.  Are you OK if we go with that? I still want to try fading to blue on either side, but I REALLY like it.
–Clay

Well, turns out she had already gone back and forth with out designer to finalize ANOTHER banner.

So we’re going to put this to a vote.

And I promised her I’d go with whatever you decide. (And NO, I’m not going to tell you which one my favorite is).

“Fighting Words”

Tracy wrote this morning to say . . .

“I think ‘mine’ knocks ‘yours’ right out of the park! And I really do think you should send out an email and have a vote, because I will then have the entire community backing me up when you’re trying to give your lame-ass opinion on graphics in the future .  Anyway, if mine wins, I expect you to address me as ‘Oh most brilliant one who is always so wise.‘”
–Tracy

Nice.

Ok, so here’s the deal.

I have the aesthetic sensibilities of a bat (and that’s being generous) . . .

. . . so I’ll probably end up losing the bet and having to call her ‘Oh most brilliant one who is always so wise.’

Dammit.

So, I’d be super grateful for your help us sort out this nonsense by telling us (in the comments) which of these two graphics you like better.

So . . . which one most EXCITES you? Header A or header B (let us know in the comments)?

Header A (click on image to see it at full size)

Header B (click on image to see it at full size)

Thanks a ton,

Clay and Tracy

So last week, you — and an overwhelming (in a good way) number of others — completed a survey.

One of the survey questions asked this: “What free product would you LOVE for me to create *just* for you?”

Your responses to that question were insightful, thoughtful, and really made me think.

(Also, two of the responses made me laugh out loud and one of them made me cry . . . although I’d never admit that).

Several responses really moved me and I’m feeling more inspired than I’ve felt in a long time.  In fact, it’s been over a year since I’ve had something significant to say about marketing.  But, since going over your survey responses . . .

. . . I’ve started pouring everything I have into something new

Anyway, I want to steal the product I was creating for you . . . and instead use it as free giveaway content during an upcoming offer (i.e. I’m still tweaking it, perfecting it, making it better).

So it isn’t ready this week.

Here’s how I’m going to make it up to you

I’m going to just GIVE you my $197 course on market selection (which is the first 13 videos in Project Mojave).  This product helps you decide what to sell online.

This is a 13-Video, Value-Laden Course With Hours of Content

Anyway, there are no financial strings attached (there will be no upsells, no shipping costs, no continuity, no “trial periods”, and no sales pitches).

I’m just going to hand over the course to (1) thank you, and (2) make up for releasing the free product behind schedule.

Here’s what’s in the Free Niche Selection course . . .

• How to use market research to get over your fear (of failure, going broke, pain etc.).
• How to eliminate some of the uncertainty involved in starting a business
• A blueprint for testing whether or not your online business idea will likely work before you invest in it.
• Detailed and step-by-step instructions on how to discover profitable markets and niches that others are overlooking (and that can fund your freedom for years).
• How to decide which of your ideas will likely be the MOST profitable and succeed.
• How to find reliable sources of income that don’t monopolize all of your free time.

Here’s how to get it . . .

Just leave a simple comment below telling me how you plan to use the course, and I’ll personally hook you up.

Three things to note:

• If you want this, you must leave a comment on or before next Monday, May 17th
• I’ll be sending everyone the course NEXT Thursday.
• Also (but this is NOT at all required), I’d be really grateful if you got on twitter or facebook and let your people know that I’m giving this away. It would be a nice way to say thank you.

That’s it for now.  The grindstone is calling me (and Tracy is Skype-ing me).

–Clay

I’m sitting in a coffee shop right now . . .

. . . and wondering (hypothetically speaking, of course) if I’m allowed to drink decaf AND say that I’ve quit coffee.

Probably not.

At any rate, the caffeine withdrawal symptoms persist.

Which means that *instead* of getting up at 10AM and getting one thing done per day (like I do on most days), I can get up at 11AM and get HALF a thing done.

Question: How the HELL do I get anything done?*** (Sometimes I wonder how I even get up in the morning, let alone run a 5-person online business).

Anyway, the half-a-thing I’ll get done today is this short post (i.e. the post you’re reading right now).

Here goes . . .

survey results: you spoke loud and clear

So, the other day, I said I’d be making a free thing.  And I sent you a survey to see what you wanted.

You spoke loud and clear.

The response was overwhelming (it took me HOURS to read through your responses)  . . . and I now know exactly what I need to make for you.

Thank you.

And dammit.

I say “thank you” because I’m really grateful for all the time you spent on the responses.  They were insightful, thoughtful, thorough, and really made me think.

But I write “dammit” for two reasons . . .

• First reason: the thing you want has nothing to do with what I wanted to make for you (and I mean NOTHING).
• Second reason: the thing you want is something that requires me to reveal some things about my business in order for you to really “get it.”  And that makes me a little nervous.

so here’s what I’m going to do . . .

If you filled out the survey before this post was published, you WILL get the product I’m making (at no cost). I’m grateful for your input and I’ll personally send it to you.

Everyone else will have the opportunity to download it (again, at no cost), next week, over the course of only a couple of a few days.

Oh yeah, and . . .

Thank you for the Italy advice

Thanks to everyone who gave advance about where to take my mom in Italy.  Apparently Cinque Terre is a great place.  We’re definitely going after she flys here (Minneapolis) from California in November.

Peace,
Clay

***Answer: Tracy