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jmrumble

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May 31, 2020
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You may be tempted to lurk - in this forum, other forums, or in life.

You'll do better to participate instead.

Worried you don’t have value to add?

Start by giving thanks.

If you read something you like then don’t just hit the Like button.

Quote it, thank the poster, and explain why it helped you.

Here’s what’ll happen:

1) You’ll help the poster realise they’re not posting to the void.

2) You’ll encourage them to post again.

3) You’ll help them keep going, possibly through dark times.

4) You’ll get into the habit of “giving thanks” where you explain how it’s helped you.

5) You’ll start being seen as someone who appreciates and supports others.

6) You’ll slowly move from team consumer to team producer.

7) You’ll start making friends, building relationships, and creating win-wins (the essence of business).

Try it and see what happens.

Come back and thank me later.
Thanks! It's true though. A good way to keep the dynamic happening, and indeed perfect practice makes perfect
 
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Daniel Ekdahl

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You may be tempted to lurk - in this forum, other forums, or in life.

You'll do better to participate instead.

Worried you don’t have value to add?

Start by giving thanks.

If you read something you like then don’t just hit the Like button.

Quote it, thank the poster, and explain why it helped you.

Here’s what’ll happen:

1) You’ll help the poster realise they’re not posting to the void.

2) You’ll encourage them to post again.

3) You’ll help them keep going, possibly through dark times.

4) You’ll get into the habit of “giving thanks” where you explain how it’s helped you.

5) You’ll start being seen as someone who appreciates and supports others.

6) You’ll slowly move from team consumer to team producer.

7) You’ll start making friends, building relationships, and creating win-wins (the essence of business).

Try it and see what happens.

Come back and thank me later.
Thanks for the advice! You did a good job outlining the less obvious value that interacting beyond a “like” brings to the table.
 

Colff

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Apr 10, 2022
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You may be tempted to lurk - in this forum, other forums, or in life.

You'll do better to participate instead.

Worried you don’t have value to add?

Start by giving thanks.

If you read something you like then don’t just hit the Like button.

Quote it, thank the poster, and explain why it helped you.

Here’s what’ll happen:

1) You’ll help the poster realise they’re not posting to the void.

2) You’ll encourage them to post again.

3) You’ll help them keep going, possibly through dark times.

4) You’ll get into the habit of “giving thanks” where you explain how it’s helped you.

5) You’ll start being seen as someone who appreciates and supports others.

6) You’ll slowly move from team consumer to team producer.

7) You’ll start making friends, building relationships, and creating win-wins (the essence of business).

Try it and see what happens.

Come back and thank me later.
Thank you Andy. I just finished reading The Millionaire Fastlane and then joined the forum. Thanks for giving me the advice not to lurk and to participate in the forum.
 

MrE

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Count how many times I use the word “you” in the opening post…
You used a couple forms of 'you' a total of 15 times in your opening post.

Which is 10% of the total post.

You gave 10% of the words directly to 'you' but 100% of the post is for 'you.'

You, once again, have added amazing value to this forum.

Thank you Andy!!
 
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Andy Black

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You used a couple forms of 'you' a total of 15 times in your opening post.

Which is 10% of the total post.

You gave 10% of the words directly to 'you' but 100% of the post is for 'you.'

You, once again, have added amazing value to this forum.

Thank you Andy!!
Wow. I didn’t break it down like that. Thanks!
 

4EverGrowing

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Mar 3, 2020
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You may be tempted to lurk - in this forum, other forums, or in life.

You'll do better to participate instead.

Worried you don’t have value to add?

Start by giving thanks.

If you read something you like then don’t just hit the Like button.

Quote it, thank the poster, and explain why it helped you.

Here’s what’ll happen:

1) You’ll help the poster realise they’re not posting to the void.

2) You’ll encourage them to post again.

3) You’ll help them keep going, possibly through dark times.

4) You’ll get into the habit of “giving thanks” where you explain how it’s helped you.

5) You’ll start being seen as someone who appreciates and supports others.

6) You’ll slowly move from team consumer to team producer.

7) You’ll start making friends, building relationships, and creating win-wins (the essence of business).

Try it and see what happens.

Come back and thank me later.
This was awesome and super necessary to put a jolt under us, natural lurkers. Thanks, @Andy Black
 

Nitin

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Apr 2, 2022
1
2
You may be tempted to lurk - in this forum, other forums, or in life.

You'll do better to participate instead.

Worried you don’t have value to add?

Start by giving thanks.

If you read something you like then don’t just hit the Like button.

Quote it, thank the poster, and explain why it helped you.

Here’s what’ll happen:

1) You’ll help the poster realise they’re not posting to the void.

2) You’ll encourage them to post again.

3) You’ll help them keep going, possibly through dark times.

4) You’ll get into the habit of “giving thanks” where you explain how it’s helped you.

5) You’ll start being seen as someone who appreciates and supports others.

6) You’ll slowly move from team consumer to team producer.

7) You’ll start making friends, building relationships, and creating win-wins (the essence of business).

Try it and see what happens.

Come back and thank me later.
Hey Andy, that's a great post and has made things as a new member so easy for me. Thanks for the post Andy
 
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fastlane_dad

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You may be tempted to lurk - in this forum, other forums, or in life.

You'll do better to participate instead.

Worried you don’t have value to add?

Start by giving thanks.

If you read something you like then don’t just hit the Like button.

Quote it, thank the poster, and explain why it helped you.

Here’s what’ll happen:

1) You’ll help the poster realise they’re not posting to the void.

2) You’ll encourage them to post again.

3) You’ll help them keep going, possibly through dark times.

4) You’ll get into the habit of “giving thanks” where you explain how it’s helped you.

5) You’ll start being seen as someone who appreciates and supports others.

6) You’ll slowly move from team consumer to team producer.

7) You’ll start making friends, building relationships, and creating win-wins (the essence of business).

Try it and see what happens.

Come back and thank me later.
The funny thing is this works great for any part of life you are working to improve. Whether thats getting stronger (physically), getting your finances in order, building a business, cleaning up your room or simply adding value on this forum. Interacting with the market, making small (but measurable) steps, and growing from there is key! Thanks for this post.
 

Mommyp19

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Apr 8, 2022
6
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You may be tempted to lurk - in this forum, other forums, or in life.

You'll do better to participate instead.

Worried you don’t have value to add?

Start by giving thanks.

If you read something you like then don’t just hit the Like button.

Quote it, thank the poster, and explain why it helped you.

Here’s what’ll happen:

1) You’ll help the poster realise they’re not posting to the void.

2) You’ll encourage them to post again.

3) You’ll help them keep going, possibly through dark times.

4) You’ll get into the habit of “giving thanks” where you explain how it’s helped you.

5) You’ll start being seen as someone who appreciates and supports others.

6) You’ll slowly move from team consumer to team producer.

7) You’ll start making friends, building relationships, and creating win-wins (the essence of business).

Try it and see what happens.

Come back and thank me later.
Thank you so much for the encouragement! I am new to the forum but have already commented here and there. However, it is easy to feel like the odd one out when you enter a new group and can be difficult to make yourself visible. So thank you again, it is good to know that my participation is appreciated.
 

sigmapreneur

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Read Rat-Race Escape!
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Nov 11, 2020
22
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You may be tempted to lurk - in this forum, other forums, or in life.

You'll do better to participate instead.

Worried you don’t have value to add?

Start by giving thanks.

If you read something you like then don’t just hit the Like button.

Quote it, thank the poster, and explain why it helped you.

Here’s what’ll happen:

1) You’ll help the poster realise they’re not posting to the void.

2) You’ll encourage them to post again.

3) You’ll help them keep going, possibly through dark times.

4) You’ll get into the habit of “giving thanks” where you explain how it’s helped you.

5) You’ll start being seen as someone who appreciates and supports others.

6) You’ll slowly move from team consumer to team producer.

7) You’ll start making friends, building relationships, and creating win-wins (the essence of business).

Try it and see what happens.

Come back and thank me later.

After coming back to the forum from a long hiatus, I come across your post and....... I feel exposed and naked and a little guilty. I use to lurk on here without even logging in. And with LIFE getting in the way, I stopped coming to the forum. I have made a few posts here and there.

I also feel like I don't have value to add since I'm still a beginner in the entrepreneurial world and carrying the belief I need to figure things out for myself without asking for help at all. I've been meaning to post an intro but I wouldn't know where to even begin and what to say.

I guess I should start by saying 'Thanks'. Thanks for the post @Andy Black. I'm very thankful that a forum like this even exists. It's scary to me how much value is in here. There's so much information in here, how am I gonna apply it all?!

And thank you to @MJ DeMarco for your books. I'm on page 79 of the Rat Race Escape and I already LOVE IT!
 
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MrE

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I also feel like I don't have value to add since I'm still a beginner in the entrepreneurial world and carrying the belief I need to figure things out for myself without asking for help at all.
It doesn't matter if you are a beginner.......YOU DO HAVE VALUE!

Figuring things out on your own can be a hard journey. I speak from experience. I am finding that there are so many people here who are more than willing to share, advise, challenge and support.
I guess I should start by saying 'Thanks'.
That, my friend, is a perfect way to start.
 

sigmapreneur

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It doesn't matter if you are a beginner.......YOU DO HAVE VALUE!

Figuring things out on your own can be a hard journey. I speak from experience. I am finding that there are so many people here who are more than willing to share, advise, challenge and support.

That, my friend, is a perfect way to start.
Appreciate the kind words. I could reach my 10 year vision in a shorter period of time with help from you guys. I've already taken some action by building a lead gen website as a result of the JK lead gen course. I just need to build backlinks and get traffic somehow.
 

Andy Black

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Ripe

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1) You’ll help the poster realise they’re not posting to the void.

2) You’ll encourage them to post again.

3) You’ll help them keep going, possibly through dark times.

Cheers for that list Andy, this makes so much sense. I hope every lurker "lurks" on this :p

I've also shared a bit of my own journey so far here, and at times it does feel I'm posting straight into the void.. But when people actually reply with their own input, question, or even just saying that they read through the whole thing, makes it instantly worth the effort of keeping the thread alive :)

Knowing you inspired just one single person on the internet is such a good feeling. And when one person says it, you can bet there are 10 others that keep their mouths shut.
 

James007Hill

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You may be tempted to lurk - in this forum, other forums, or in life.

You'll do better to participate instead.

Worried you don’t have value to add?

Start by giving thanks.

If you read something you like then don’t just hit the Like button.

Quote it, thank the poster, and explain why it helped you.

Here’s what’ll happen:

1) You’ll help the poster realise they’re not posting to the void.

2) You’ll encourage them to post again.

3) You’ll help them keep going, possibly through dark times.

4) You’ll get into the habit of “giving thanks” where you explain how it’s helped you.

5) You’ll start being seen as someone who appreciates and supports others.

6) You’ll slowly move from team consumer to team producer.

7) You’ll start making friends, building relationships, and creating win-wins (the essence of business).

Try it and see what happens.

Come back and thank me later.
Thanks @Andy Black you nailed it (and me!) with this post. I am the ultimate lurker - not just here but as you also mention, life in general!

It's been a long-standing theme from even childhood, and it's definitely held me back even with things like progression in the "slowlane" (for example I've had many promotions but progression has always been slower than I believe would have been the case if I was less of a lurker and "put myself out there" more and developed more relationships).

As a child I was shy and introverted, thankfully during my late teens and early twenties I started to develop confidence and now (42!) I'm confident but still introverted. When I put the effort in, I'm actually GOOD at talking and communicating with people and can (again, when I make the effort) come across like a very confident, outgoing and self-assured person - but the key word is effort, because wow I do find it SO draining! That's not an excuse by the way, just reporting on how it is, but I REALLY need to get better at this side of things. I love working by myself but I can see that no-one succeeds alone or by lurking through forums and in life.

Thanks again Andy, you are definitely one of the most helpful people I've EVER seen on the internet!
 
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Andy Black

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When I put the effort in, I'm actually GOOD at talking and communicating with people and can (again, when I make the effort) come across like a very confident, outgoing and self-assured person - but the key word is effort, because wow I do find it SO draining!
It’s good to know what drains you.

I enjoy one-to-one conversations. I’m drained by many-to-many conversations. I get energy presenting one-to-many.
 

Zooman009

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You may be tempted to lurk - in this forum, other forums, or in life.

You'll do better to participate instead.

Worried you don’t have value to add?

Start by giving thanks.

If you read something you like then don’t just hit the Like button.

Quote it, thank the poster, and explain why it helped you.

Here’s what’ll happen:

1) You’ll help the poster realise they’re not posting to the void.

2) You’ll encourage them to post again.

3) You’ll help them keep going, possibly through dark times.

4) You’ll get into the habit of “giving thanks” where you explain how it’s helped you.

5) You’ll start being seen as someone who appreciates and supports others.

6) You’ll slowly move from team consumer to team producer.

7) You’ll start making friends, building relationships, and creating win-wins (the essence of business).

Try it and see what happens.

Come back and thank me later.
Thanks a lot Andy! honestly that's something I've been struggling with as I have grow up team consumer, but I'm grateful for this forum, and for all the books I've been able to read.
 

Myatt

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Thanks Andy. I've been a wantrepreneur for years. As an introvert, one of the things that has held me back is that I know I'm going to have to talk to a lot more people than I'm comfortable with right now. Saying thanks to someone online is a comfortable baby step forward.
 

VivaciousVipin

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Thanks Andy.

You reminded us how supporting helps those who are adding values. And how it's not so hard.

I think we all want to support or appreciate but maybe we're too lazy?

Nonetheless, we should appreciate if any post has really helped us.

This way...you contribute and the creator is likely to post again.

Thanks again, Andy.

- New Contributor
 
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Raju Zodiac

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Mar 10, 2022
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You may be tempted to lurk - in this forum, other forums, or in life.

You'll do better to participate instead.

Worried you don’t have value to add?

Start by giving thanks.

If you read something you like then don’t just hit the Like button.

Quote it, thank the poster, and explain why it helped you.

Here’s what’ll happen:

1) You’ll help the poster realise they’re not posting to the void.

2) You’ll encourage them to post again.

3) You’ll help them keep going, possibly through dark times.

4) You’ll get into the habit of “giving thanks” where you explain how it’s helped you.

5) You’ll start being seen as someone who appreciates and supports others.

6) You’ll slowly move from team consumer to team producer.

7) You’ll start making friends, building relationships, and creating win-wins (the essence of business).

Try it and see what happens.

Come back and thank me later.
Thank you Andy, I was here since past 2 months lurking and not adding any value to the community. From now on I’ll try my best to contribute as much as I can.
 

BGLefty

Bronze Contributor
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Apr 29, 2014
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You may be tempted to lurk - in this forum, other forums, or in life.

You'll do better to participate instead.

Worried you don’t have value to add?

Start by giving thanks.

If you read something you like then don’t just hit the Like button.

Quote it, thank the poster, and explain why it helped you.

Here’s what’ll happen:

1) You’ll help the poster realise they’re not posting to the void.

2) You’ll encourage them to post again.

3) You’ll help them keep going, possibly through dark times.

4) You’ll get into the habit of “giving thanks” where you explain how it’s helped you.

5) You’ll start being seen as someone who appreciates and supports others.

6) You’ll slowly move from team consumer to team producer.

7) You’ll start making friends, building relationships, and creating win-wins (the essence of business).

Try it and see what happens.

Come back and thank me later.
Thanks Andy, another great post. I just rediscovered this forum after years of being distracted by life. I'm looking forward to digging in again, one of the best communities online...
 

EasyStu

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May 19, 2022
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You may be tempted to lurk - in this forum, other forums, or in life.

You'll do better to participate instead.

Worried you don’t have value to add?

Start by giving thanks.

If you read something you like then don’t just hit the Like button.

Quote it, thank the poster, and explain why it helped you.

Here’s what’ll happen:

1) You’ll help the poster realise they’re not posting to the void.

2) You’ll encourage them to post again.

3) You’ll help them keep going, possibly through dark times.

4) You’ll get into the habit of “giving thanks” where you explain how it’s helped you.

5) You’ll start being seen as someone who appreciates and supports others.

6) You’ll slowly move from team consumer to team producer.

7) You’ll start making friends, building relationships, and creating win-wins (the essence of business).

Try it and see what happens.

Come back and thank me later.
Thank You. You encouraged me not only to thank You but say the reason why. In actively replying I can train my written english and I have a real connection to You. Often, we are living in parasocial relationships where only the poster is active and the reade or viewer just consumes. But this lurking is just binging and not even digesting. In searching for the reasons WHY (like the 5 Whys of a child) we can discover much more.
 
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Albert KOUADJA

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Thanks @andy for this post.
I feel targeted.

From now on, I will comment and interact more.personally, i don't participate so much by what i think you'll take for someone who talks too much, and also i don't know the different ages of everyone here, i'm sure there are some who are old, like dad MJ. .according to our traditions to intervene while the great ones is rude. And in my opinion intervening uninvited would not be wise to me since we were very young, we were often forbidden not to talk to strangers and to pay a lot of attention to them. .I didn't have too much parental education but I acquired this lesson very deeply. And that made me an introverted person. And moreover, I often doubt if what I would share would be perceived with value. .but as, you post this post I will come out of my hiding place and comment more because it is the best way to also know my level of communications, to know myself and finally to improve. The other times I did it was out of great curiosity.
.I would love to see people ask me or ask questions if they find the posts incomprehensible, I will answer with pleasure..I would love to see people ask me or ask questions if they find the posts incomprehensible, I will answer with pleasure.
 

Andy Black

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Thanks @andy for this post.
I feel targeted.

From now on, I will comment and interact more.personally, i don't participate so much by what i think you'll take for someone who talks too much, and also i don't know the different ages of everyone here, i'm sure there are some who are old, like dad MJ. .according to our traditions to intervene while the great ones is rude. And in my opinion intervening uninvited would not be wise to me since we were very young, we were often forbidden not to talk to strangers and to pay a lot of attention to them. .I didn't have too much parental education but I acquired this lesson very deeply. And that made me an introverted person. And moreover, I often doubt if what I would share would be perceived with value. .but as, you post this post I will come out of my hiding place and comment more because it is the best way to also know my level of communications, to know myself and finally to improve. The other times I did it was out of great curiosity.
.I would love to see people ask me or ask questions if they find the posts incomprehensible, I will answer with pleasure..I would love to see people ask me or ask questions if they find the posts incomprehensible, I will answer with pleasure.
Interesting. I hadn’t considered how some people might feel they shouldn’t comment because other posters might be older.

If in doubt then start with thanks. Thank people for their post/thread and explain why it’s helped you. I can’t imagine why anyone would see that negatively.
 

Andy Black

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Albert KOUADJA

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Interesting. I hadn’t considered how some people might feel they shouldn’t comment because other posters might be older.

If in doubt then start with thanks. Thank people for their post/thread and explain why it’s helped you. I can’t imagine why anyone would see that negatively.
Interesting. I hadn’t considered how some people might feel they shouldn’t comment because other posters might be older.

If in doubt then start with thanks. Thank people for their post/thread and explain why it’s helped you. I can’t imagine why anyone would see that negatively.
really, there's no harm in doing so. It's a good way to interact.
 

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