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Random Chat, Thoughts, Posts, and/or Rants Thread

Timmy C

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FFS the dexter finale is pissing me off the more I think about it!

He used M99 TO NEEDLE THEM, NOT KETAMINE.

HOW DO YOU MESS THAT UP?

END RANT.
 
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Guest-5ty5s4

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People forget that the word "expert" is a matter of opinion, not fact.

The headlines that use the word "expert" and their subsequent articles often don't name or identify who these "experts" are, either.

Side note: made an offer on an investment property last night
 

MJ DeMarco

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I posted a 4 figure project to Upwork a few days ago. Nothing complex, but something I need done and don't have the time to do myself.

40+ bid proposals later I can say 97% of freelancers have no idea how to sell themselves. It's just "I this, I that, I am awesome, I know everything, I, I, I ..." and a bunch of canned responses without much regard to what the client actually needs and how they can help solve the client's needs.

If you have the knowledge, a good work ethic, and need to start earning money, learn to look at the project from the client's point of view and provide value in your initial bid. It doesn't take much to stand out and a lot of good info has been posted at the forum in the past, for example, NOTABLE! - SIDE HUSTLE - Lex DeVille's 2019 Step-By-Step Upwork Tutorial for Brokeass Bootstrap Beginners Who Need Cash Now! by @Lex DeVille

/END RANT

Very true, every time I use Upwork I am amazed at some most of the responses, boilerplated, fast swipe answers with no mention of anything crucial in the project brief. This is why I always include tripwires in my briefs, to see WHO actually is paying attention to detail.
 

MTF

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I miss 1987 and I wasn’t even born yet. :rofl:

Guess what my office looks like.
View attachment 41574

Another part of the joke may be that in 2021 this apartment is the most you can afford as a millionaire lol.

Jokes aside, I vastly prefer 2021. Work over status, nerd smarts over being a slick salesman.
 

Antifragile

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MTF

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Kak

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The old school is well and alive @Kak. Just need to be in the old school business
Yes. Like chemicals. ;)

Which is why my office looks like 1900 and not 1987 or... 2021. Except with a 65 inch TV over the mantle.

Mine's more like this:
download.jpg
 
Last edited:

Antifragile

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Yes. Like chemicals. ;)

Now that I think about it more... I think @MTF nailed it with his answer. A few more years of this money printing BS and you'll have every Starbucks barista be a "millionaire" and rent that room. Sort of tragedy kind of funny, right?
 

MJ DeMarco

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Yes. Like chemicals. ;)

Which is why my office looks like 1900 and not 1987 or... 2021. :rofl::thumbsup:

Mine's more like this:
View attachment 41579

Looks like the library in my house, just a darker wood and slightly smaller. It's my favorite room in the house and to be honest, it what took me from interested to SOLD!
 
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WillHurtDontCare

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American clothing sizes are weird. I'm 6'2 & 215 lbs, but I wear sized medium shirts.
 
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Antifragile

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ryanbleau

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American clothing sizes are weird. I'm 6'2 & 215 lbs, but I wear sized medium shirts.
6' and 275........x large . Try finding shirts when you have a 22inch neck. My tailor is frustrated xxxl neck xl body.
 
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GPM

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Looks like the library in my house, just a darker wood and slightly smaller. It's my favorite room in the house and to be honest, it what took me from interested to SOLD!
Can you share a picture? I absolutely love old school libraries!!! Wood, book shelves, classic leather furniture, heavy desks. Wow!
 

MJ DeMarco

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Can you share a picture? I absolutely love old school libraries!!! Wood, book shelves, classic leather furniture, heavy desks. Wow!

Sure, give me a few hours to do so, however it's not really furnished yet as I haven't been able to find a proper desk or furniture ("supply chain") so right now it looks pieced together with old furniture from an old house -- I also wouldn't call it "old school" -- but more modern with a lot of shelves and a fireplace in the middle. In my buying criteria for a house I was looking for a separate office or library centerpieced by a fireplace, and it fit the bill.

Funny, I would always describe a room like this (and more like the pic @Kak posted) as a "murder-for-hire room" -- in the movies, these rooms would also bear host to a corrupt politician who would arrange for the mysterious demise of an adversary while drinking a low ball glass of whiskey. That's what I wanted, minus the murder for hire, lol.
 
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Antifragile

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Sure, give me a few hours to do so, however it's not really furnished yet as I haven't been able to find a proper desk or furniture ("supply chain") so right now it looks pieced together with old furniture from an old house -- I also wouldn't call it "old school" -- but more modern with a lot of shelves and a fireplace in the middle. In my buying criteria for a house I was looking for a separate office or library centerpieced by a fireplace, and it fit the bill.

Funny, I would always describe a room like this (and more like the pic @Kak posted) as a "murder-for-hire room" -- in the movies, these rooms would also bear host to a corrupt politician who would arrange for the mysterious demise of an adversary while drinking a low ball glass of whiskey. That's what I wanted, minus the murder for hire, lol.

Lol. Time to buy a black on black G-Wagon too? It’ll complete the picture!
 
G

Guest-5ty5s4

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Ok. Dumb question time. Why do people here talk about "copywriting" so much? Is it something you do by itself, or is it part of advertising and marketing - specifically for consumer products?

Nobody in our company does copywriting, as far as I know. I want to understand.
 

Antifragile

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Ok. Dumb question time. Why do people here talk about "copywriting" so much? Is it something you do by itself, or is it part of advertising and marketing - specifically for consumer products?

Nobody in our company does copywriting, as far as I know. I want to understand.
I can’t speak for anyone else, but I find this an essential skill for my business. And you are one of few who know the size of it and that I engage a full PR firm and pay them six figures a year for their services. Yet, the ability to write a good copy (be it for an investor pitch, or a sales brochure) is essential for me. At least I think it is. That’s why I tend to respond to these types of posts. Not sure about anyone else. As I’ve never done any copy for anyone else … just my businesses.
 
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MitchC

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Ok. Dumb question time. Why do people here talk about "copywriting" so much? Is it something you do by itself, or is it part of advertising and marketing - specifically for consumer products?

Nobody in our company does copywriting, as far as I know. I want to understand.
A lot of the books recommended here as copywriting books are actually far more comprehensive than just copywriting, which makes sense as you need an entire understanding of product and market fit to write good copy.

So I guess to answer your question yes it’s part of marketing and advertising but these books generally teach both marketing advertising and even product and idea generation and how to find markets not just copywriting. They also teach a fair amount of physchology.

Breakthrough Advertising in particular is insanely comprehensive. Not only does it teach you everything about coming up with ideas that fit markets and how to sell them, which is basically how to start a successful business, it’s basically the millionaire fastlane , you know find a problem and solve it, but it talks about the different stages of market sophistication which is such deep marketing psychology that it’s insane you can read it in a $50 book.

For beginners which is largely where you’ll see copywriting recommended, these books are just a no brainer and such a good way to learn how to think about business and come up with ideas.

And the copywriting itself is important too. Without that education there’s so many simple mistakes a beginner could make that would be the difference between success and failure.

No call to action. Not answering an objection. Not using specific evidence. Not hooking the customer in and writing in a slipery slope style. Not using testimonials. Not focusing on benefits. These are just the basics and without studying them most people would not do them.
 

nothingness

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Learning copy is so important because it changes your entire mindset.
It's like if you study the movie industry you can no longer enjoy the plot in a movie, instead you see how it was created behind the scenes. You don't see thor creating lightning, you see VFX.
Well the entirety of life is like that if you learn copy, especially direct response copy.
 

doster.zach

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Lex DeVille

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My dad, who is in his mid-50's, escaped an excruciating factory labor job when he was younger than I am now. Afterward, he worked hard in different roles to ensure he would never have to return. He set out to become a minister (and succeeded) and later became a part-time bus driver and worked his way up to the top as Director of Transportation for a local school going from around $11/hr to over $70,000 per year.

The Director position was very demanding and after about a decade in that role, he left to take another Director position in a parallel industry. But that company was only a few years in and was run by startup types. Dad wasn't sure how to function in a place like that and ultimately quit without any kind of backup plan because he thought he could easily find comparable work in the transportation fields.

Now, after not finding employment for a month or so, and with bills to pay, dad took an interview a few days ago for the graveyard shift at the factory he fought so hard to escape. That place is familiar, reliable. But my dad is much older than he was back then, and he hasn't worked in a factory in close to 30 years.

He's read the Millionaire Fastlane . Talks about starting a business. Asks me what businesses he can get into, and his eyes light up when he imagines a world with purpose. He knows things are changing. But he's too afraid to take action on anything that could lead to the freedom he dreams of, and he feels like he is too old to do it anyway. His health habits are terrible, he watches too much news, the people around him don't support non-traditional paths, and he's grown tired, weary, and likely depressed.

I don't know why I'm sharing this. It's just deeply troubling for me.

I think what pains me the most is that the reason my first job was fast food, the reason I joined the military, the reason I became an entrepreneur was because when I was around 10 years old, and I watched my dad leave for work before the sun came up, and come home every night and crash down to sleep in that old broken recliner, I whispered a vow to myself that I would never allow that to happen to me. I would never work in a factory not one single day in my life.

There's a mindset that does not form overnight, but over time through every decision we make. It builds up like callouses on the hands, and it isn't achieved through employment because it requires levels of risk, stress, and potentially prolonged discomfort. After taking those risks, getting your hands dirty, fighting a thousand battles... you earn a thick skin and get comfortable with discomfort. Now taking action, even risky action, is second nature to you, and because you've built this mindset, you've earned the freedom of choice.

Dad watched me develop that mindset over my lifetime, but he hasn't developed it and I don't know if he ever will. The best I can do now is try to create that freedom for him through my own success.

I guess the moral of this story is really a question to those who are afraid to start. Cast your vision out 30 years into the future. Whatever past you worked so hard to improve on, how does it feel to be back where you started because you let the fear of what might happen stop you from walking a seemingly harder road? How does it feel to have no choice now because you chose a comfortable illusion every single day starting so long ago?
 

Antifragile

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Great post @Lex DeVille, thanks for sharing. I’d like to add that to learn and not to do is really not to learn. To know and not to do is really not to know.
As new members read the books and threads here, remember that.
 

Mathuin

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View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mRbDEtDoyA&t=266s


@Valier great video, everyone should watch this. Congrats on 9 million views on it as well.
I first picked up TMF in 2017 when my father lent me his copy. Myself & my father were into the "BRO-Marketing" space at the time (both worked for a BRO marketing company), and put the book down after a few chapters. Proceeded to spend the next 2-3 years trying to trade FX and do BS bro-marketing. If I would've just kept reading, I probably would've saved myself a lot of pain lol. It was that video from James that got me back into MJ's work as I remembered my father had a copy. I joined the forum shortly after that video.
 
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Kak

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Any maskies have the balls to explain this to me?

E1E0F4A1-0A5C-4DD1-92DA-F7AB5ABBF14D.jpeg
 

Mathuin

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