Congrats Andy Black

[Vigilante]

@MJ DeMarco today with my recommendation and 100% support from @AllenCrawley got @Andy Black a shiny new name badge and a welcome to the forum moderators team.

Andy's contributions here are legendary, and he excels where we are weak, including :
1. online marketing skills
2. being nice
3. being pragmatic
4. being a peacemaker

We needed some fresh blood, a counter balance, and some additional help.

So welcome Andy. Not sure whether to congratulate you, or send you some money via. Paypal for the bottle of booze you're gonna need after a few weeks. - Vigilante

 

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[Andy Black]

Wow. Just wow.

I could see this thread on my mobile and had to login on my PC to say a quick THANK YOU to everyone for your kind words. Seriously, thanks so much for taking the time to comment.

I've personally learned and grown so much in the last year I've been on this forum. I've made a lot of friends, and connected with many fantastic people.

This forum has become my home online, and we all have MJ to thank because TFLF is the embodiment of his values.

I just do what I do, without thinking where it will take me. Getting a YISA and becoming a mod wasn't anywhere on my radar. Not even close.

So thanks to MJ, the (other!) mods, and all forum members.


Like my signature says:

“Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you.”
(Mother Theresa)

It seems to be working in here.

Now just to get my bank balance to head North.



I'll come back later and add some more of my thoughts. TBH, I'm gonna have to go and sit down now. You guys have made my eyes water a wee bit.

 

[Weaponize]

I haven't wanted to publicly say this before, didn't want @Andy Black hammered with PM's (as a mod I'm sure he's going to get them now anyways), but in the short time I've been here @Andy Black has been one of the biggest helps to me behind the scenes.

This guy straight up reached out to me as a new member to the board, welcomed me, and helped me get started. Pointed me in the right direction, informed of how to get a high quality news feed setup, etc...

Dude deserves far more than just a new badge, but this is a great start!

Congrats @Andy Black!

 

[The-J]

2,500th post. (wow, I've posted a lot of JUNK on this forum! I'll post better stuff going forward, promise... but I just needed to chime in!)

@Andy Black absolutely deserved this promotion. He's dropped an amazing amount of gold all over the free AND the paid forum.

He gave me advice that allowed me to expand my offerings to clients and brought me a brand new base of clients. It's already made me money (hell, it made me money within 3 days of getting the advice), but it may make me even more in the long term.

He gave me some other advice that I honestly should have paid for, because it was important to move forward with a project I'm working with a client on.

But that's only what he's done for ME.

On the forum, he's always contributing something valuable. No post is wasted, and there's always a tale from the trenches. Every lesson is applicable to someone, somewhere. And his Adwords series really changed the way I think about online advertising.

He's always been receptive and he completely overdelivers on everything. When he says he'll post something, he posts it and its always even better than imagined.

He never responds with negativity, even when the poster is being a complete idiot. He never tells someone that "their step is too short", but will offer a new way to look at the problem.

The guy is always willing to help and asks for nothing in return.

All in all, a great addition to the staff team. Congratulations @Andy Black!

 

[jon.a]

Excellent choice

 

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[theag]

Glad we have a counter-pole to that mean @Vigilante guy.

Congrats Andy!

 

[Coalission]

Great choice.

I remember a while back he posted something I disagreed with, and at the time I was defensive because of all the affiliate marketing debates, so I snapped at him and looking back probably a bit rude.

He basically dodged my bullshit, countered with a fireball of class, and to top it off invited me to a special forum to share my knowledge on internet marketing, as if the whole thing never happened. Dude's just cut from a different cloth than most people (including myself) with huge egos. Congrats!

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Andy always comes across as very kind & professional, so he will be a great asset.

Yea, the mod trio really admire his patience -- something I and the others, admittedly sometimes lack.

absolutely deserved this promotion

Andy was given a YISA some months ago because we definitely recognized the asset he is. Steve O and Kak has too (although I haven't updated that thread to signify the awarding)

 

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[LightHouse]

2. being nice
3. being pragmatic
4. being a peacemaker

So THAT'S why my application got denied huh? I was going for the polar opposite.

On a more serious note, congrats andy, it's a thankless job sometimes but you are a great fit for the part!

 

[MKHB]

I haven't wanted to publicly say this before, didn't want @Andy Black hammered with PM's (as a mod I'm sure he's going to get them now anyways), but in the short time I've been here @Andy Black has been one of the biggest helps to me behind the scenes.

This guy straight up reached out to me as a new member to the board, welcomed me, and helped me get started. Pointed me in the right direction, informed of how to get a high quality news feed setup, etc...

Dude deserves far more than just a new badge, but this is a great start!

Congrats @Andy Black!

Exactly my experience^^^^^^^^^^ Andy is the best!!

 

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[James Thornton]

Adwords posts so generous he could charge for them. Good choice

 

[mws87]

Congrats @Andy Black
Andy is probably one of the most humble and knowledgeable members on this forum. I had sent him a PM thanking him for something a while back, to which he informed me I was the first person to ever thank him for that. Couldn't believe it. The world needs more Andy!

 

[ZCP]

Time for @theag to go on a meme-fest to test the new mod.......

Good show @Andy Black !!

 

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[Imgal]

Note to self: keep taking those classes for great level-headness .. there's hope for you yet. Shame that really really bad jokes aren't a criteria as I'd be soooo in there

 

[Andy Black]

I've backpacked around a lot of entrepreneurial sites and masterminds and never found anywhere that really felt like home.

Same here.

When I joined last year I was in a handful of paid forums, mostly to do with online marketing.

I quickly realised that this forum was much more "rounded", with people doing all sorts of businesses, so I dropped out of the others and just spend my time in here now.

What really resonates about thefastlaneforum is the emphasis on providing value rather than chasing money. I've worked for businesses that chased numeric targets without providing value to their users or visitors, and I've seen where that led.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Wow, very impressive how many people have been impacted by Andy.

though I do feel we're missing the feminine touch in the moderators.

We had a female mod some years ago and definitely would welcome one, or several to the team. For consideration we look for someone who is here regularly and is level-headed-- that counterbalances the short fuses myself and @Vigilante have... Allen is kinda in the middle and Andy might play for voice of reason and patience.

 

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[Bouncing Soul]

So welcome Andy. Not sure whether to congratulate you, or send you some money via. Paypal for the bottle of booze you're gonna need after a few weeks. - Vigilante

Hah! After being a longtime moderator and then part owner of a forum, I can say "both" is the right answer.

 

[DaisyH]

I think bringing Andy on board is a terrific idea.
One can see from the sidelines how much time some of the moderators devote to being online with this forum, so hats off to the current mods and welcome to the fresh blood!
Andy always comes across as very kind & professional, so he will be a great asset.

 

[MTF]

Congrats, @Andy Black. Perfect choice. Few people on this forum are more helpful than he is.

 

[Vigilante]

Note to self: keep taking those classes for great level-headness .. there's hope for you yet. Shame that really really bad jokes aren't a criteria as I'd be soooo in there

We have definitely enjoyed having you around.

 

[Imgal]

We have definitely enjoyed having you around.

Slightly nervous of the past tense... I now resolve to never let myself get logged out as now I'm suspicious you're all going to turn out all the lights and pretend you're not in when I try to come back in.

On a serious note, I've backpacked around a lot of entrepreneurial sites and masterminds and never found anywhere that really felt like home. This truly does... so basically bad luck you're all stuck with me FOREVER

 

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[Vigilante]

Until @Andy Black came along, I didn't know it was possible for people to actually like the mods.

 

[Even Steven]

Until @Andy Black came along, I didn't know it was possible for people to actually like the mods.

Awww...c'mon. We love you guys. You know. Most of the time.

And Vig, you certainly liven the place up.

But you know, everyone's going on about how nice Andy is (and he really is). But, I feel like there should be a challenge.

Who can piss Andy off so bad that he'll ban them? Let the games begin.

 

[Jamie T]

Congratulations @Andy Black you'll make a great moderator here!

 

[Ninjakid]

Andy's definitely a peacemaker, and in a place like the internet, we need guys like him. He's the hero this forum deserves and needs.

Congrats @Andy Black !

 

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[Bellini]

the mod trio

So it's a quartet now? Cool. Andy is awesome.

really admire his patience

Give him time

something I and the others, admittedly sometimes lack.

Who could blame you?


@MJ DeMarco
@AllenCrawley
@Vigilante

>>> I actually like the sledgehammer approach you guys use on an 'as-needed' basis

 

[Mattie]

Congrats Andy! Yes, he has helped me too!

 

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[Marc B.]

@Andy Black reached out recently to check-in and ask how things were going lately. His genuine curiosity was surprising. Little gestures like that are uncommon, but make people feel special. I'm happy to have another person like that as a moderator of this forum.

Congratulations on the upgrade! You earned it.

 

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[FastNAwesome]

What new to say?

Just another forum member here whom Andy has helped tremendously.

@Andy Black thank you, and congratulations, really glad about this

PS. I love how everything on this forum turns to gold somehow. Everything started with a thread that addresses negativity on forum, and now we have a new moderator who's full of incredible positivity

Even in the obvious spam/troll threads, more often than not someone will post knowledge jewels, or great advice.

 

[Imgal]

Greatly deserved. Loving the new four musketeers line up.... though I do feel we're missing the feminine touch in the moderators. A touch more pink and a few more scatter cushions could really make the place look more inviting

Seriously, thanks to all of you. I know keeping up a community like this isn't easy and you do a grand job!