This is a Saleen S7. It’s an American sports car. Want to hear what it sounds like? Click here.
Yes, it’s my dream car. The dream is still alive. Not realized just yet, but still alive.
Since this post is a clear winner for LONGEST POST TITLE EVER I suppose I’d better make the content equally winning. You judge. For now, I’ll give you a recap and in future posts I’ll dive into things a bit deeper.
So, here’s the first part of the story in this quest to learn what Internet marketers are doing. Let me explain.
About 2 years ago my marketing itch grew increasingly by all the launches I was seeing among Internet Marketers (IM’s). I’m a business guy. I’ve been in marketing and business my entire life. I was NOT interested in becoming an IM. I was simply interested in how they marketed so I set about to learn.
It didn’t take long to figure out who was who and what was what. For quite sometime I’ve been a fan of Early To Rise and Michael Masterson. I’ve read his books and even purchased some other resources from ETR over the years (long before this quest to learn what IM’s are doing). I started by looking closer at the offerings of ETR. Since I had invested in some of their products in the past, I ponied up some more dough and became an even more loyal customer.
Many off-line names of my past have migrated into even greater guru status in the online world. For instance, Dan Kennedy, Jay Abraham and Mark Joyner. All 3 of these men (and quite a few others) have been around for many years sharing their marketing expertise. The internet has allowed these guys – and many others like them – to reach a wider audience and become even more popular. They’re what I’ll call the “old guard.” They’re seasoned veterans of the off-line world who went viral when the Internet became King. Old dogs can learn new tricks. These guys prove it.
True confession time: I’ve read and followed all 3 of these men for many years – long before this journey into IM’s began. While they’ve embraced technology, the basics of their marketing remain intact. They are considered by the “new guard” (the new dogs, if you please) as the guru mentors. Their names are tossed about quite freely by less known names (to the general public).
Enter the new guard with names like Rich Schefren, Frank Kern, John Reese, Jeff Walker (no, not Jerry Jeff Walker), Armand Morin, Yanik Silver, Ed Dale and a slew of others. Many of these fellas have been around for 10 years or less, but that’s a lifetime in Internet years! It’s funny to hear some of these guys talk about “way back in 2004.” But that’s the reality of the web. Things are still quite young.
I’m a learning and leaning freak. Part of leaning toward wisdom involves learning. A big part of it. When I still pretty young I figured out the basic ways of learning. I don’t mean visual vs. auditory, etc. I mean more simple methodology like:
1. Trial and error. Lots of errors. Just learn by doing it without really knowing or understanding anything.
2. Instruction. Let somebody teach you. If they can show you, all the better.
3. Modeling. This is like #2, but amped up. You learn by instruction, but you seek out somebody who really does it well and try to copy what they do. (NLP lovers know all about this.)
Being the lazy sort, I decided to set aside some money and find the guys who seemed to be the most capable of teaching – and the guys who had great word-of-mouth reputations.
That proved harder than it looked. For starters, IM’s run in their own crowd. It’s been suggested by some that they spend their time peddling each other’s products and I can attest there is tremendous truth to that…thanks in large part to affililate marketing (think of commission sales for online products). It’s true that if one of these guys sneezes, they all sneeze (or reach for a Kleenex). I have been entertained watching it all though.
Let me digress momentarily and tell you that I love seminars and conferences IF the speakers are solid. I’m not much for crowds or spending big bucks to fly somewhere, but if there’s a conference worth going to – with great speakers – I’m always tempted. Part of it is my passion for great speakers. Part of it is my lust for learning.
One of the first things I invested in long before this 2-year journey began were some DVD’s from ETR (Early To Rise) because they were videos of a conference. Most of them were pretty good, some were better than good. A few were only fair, but all in all – it was worth the money. It wasn’t so geared toward Internet marketing as it was business in general though.
These IM’s all seem to love live events where they charge enormous amounts, or give tickets away free to a select number of customers who have spent $2000 on their latest info products. Never having been to one I can’t attest to their value. However, there is lots of talk about how great they are – uttered mostly by passionate groupies. Others bark about how they’re nothing more that “pitch fests” where a guru’s buddies give a speech, then pitch their latest, greatest info product on how to get rich on the Internet.
The Internet Lifestyle. That’s the rub. It’s the million dollar, Saleen S7 driving dream! Who doesn’t want it? Tim Ferris wrote of it in his book, “The 4-Hour Workweek.” Others continue to preach about it. Lifestyle Design some call it. Most people design their lifestyle around trying to make a living, provide for their family and having a life (of some sort). Not these guys (and gals). They want and yearn for the GOOD LIFE. Nothing lights up the imagination quite like the thought of living on a beach somewhere, logging into the Internet for a few hours a week and making millions of dollars so you’re free to go where you want, when you want, with whoever you want. Ah! The Internet Lifestyle (one of MANY sites, by the way).
That is what propels most people to chase what the IM’s are selling. And that is precisely what the successful IM’s are selling. The dream. The quest for a better life. A life where YOU are in control. Wouldn’t it be terrific? You bet.
There are some terrific marketing geniuses among them. There are some wonderful business ideas and practices. There are also some real snakes. We’ll continue our saga next time. In the meanwhile, I’m posting pictures of that bright yellow Saleen S7 all over my house to inspire me to make my own millions and live the lifestyle of my dreams.
NOTE: I am NOT an affiliate marketer for any of the aforementioned. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
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