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

[Parks]

It's insane how many people on this forum are willing to help you if you just post. You can't even pay for this type of advice and if you could it would be very hard to.

Show me another place where thousands of business owners focused on growth, success, and being the best person they can be, will help you out.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

ACT test scores drop to lowest in 30 years in pandemic slide

ACT test scores made public in a report Wednesday reveal a decline in preparedness for college-level coursework.

apnews.com

Love how they claim it's because of the Pandemic, as if it is a scientific fact, and then provide no evidence at all other than correlation. Folks, this is the largest news organization on the planet and they are utter failures at journalism. But yea, let's trust them to deliver fact-based news.

No, kids aren't failing in school because of the pandemic... it's because of short-attention spans and the ability to not focus, thanks to dopaphones and your friendly neighborhood social media company. Did anyone think having a smartphone glued to a teenager's face 15 hours a day wouldn't have ramifications?

But yea, pandemic...

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

This kind of pissing on existing customers is so backwards IMO.

I see this a lot in growing companies who put the early adopters out to pasture. You were a means to an end. Now that we got our funding, or went public, F-YOU.

SONOS penalized early adopters by discontinuing their older model speakers which are no longer supported. Of course this all happened AFTER they went public. Any time I can dog SONOS and that shit company, I take the opportunity.

I spent $5K+ on equipment and now all of it is sitting in the garage collecting dust, but they never fail to remind me to "upgrade your equipment" -- but not for another $5K, at today's rates, it'd be $8K. No, I'm never buying another SONOS product, ever. Instead, I'll take any opportunity I can to tell people to avoid them.

MARKETING - FTE - Sonos: How to ruin your brand and piss off your early adopters (of course, do it after you go public)

SONOS (which recently went public, at which point I knew the company would start to suck) apparently didn't have their "Great News!" email go off very well, which was news of planned obsolescence which in so many words, told customers to shit or get off the pot... (OF course, they just went...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

 

[GPM]

The thing about tyranny is that it doesn't just pop up overnight (unless USA comes in and murders your leader and installs their own puppet). Sure it isn't a police state, sure it isn't straight up tranny, sure there are other places worse in the world. However, you just sit by and let it all go down and eventually you end up that way.

Venezuela used to have the highest standard of living in Latin America. Now look at it. That didn't happen overnight.

 

[Antifragile]

"When I write an advertisement, I don’t want you to tell me that you find it ‘creative.’ I want you to find it so interesting that you buy the product. When Aeschines spoke, they said, ‘How well he speaks.’ But when Demosthenes spoke, they said, ‘Let us march against Philip.’" (David Ogilvy, Ogilvy on Advertising)

 

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[MitchC]

This 29-year-old super-saver earns $135,000 a year and plans to retire by 35
This 29-year-old super-saver earns $135,000 a year and plans to retire by 35: I'm in 'the top 1% of the most frugal people'

Hey @MJ DeMarco this is sooooo awesome.

Check out these gold quotes!













Lol. As long as it costs literally nothing. You can do it!

This one got me “We also have garnered a reputation with our friends and family as being very frugal and thrifty,”

That is not a reputation you want to have, people like that are unbearable to be around, I avoid them at all costs.

Also he’s shamelessly admitting to taking free food from a charity thing, when he makes $138k a year.

He should be embarrassed not bragging to reporters.

 

[Antifragile]

@Itizn and I were chatting about pitches and getting deals done.

Here is an excellent quote by Sam Zell:
"While I was unaware of it at the time, my real compensation for that job wasn’t monetary. It was learning about and getting comfortable with rejection. And as I would later realize, indifference to rejection is a fundamental part of being an entrepreneur." (Sam Zell, Am I Being Too Subtle?)
Good book too, I recommend.

 

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[Matt Sun]

Where did you move?

I'm in praia da pinheira, 30 km from Florianopolis, Santa Catarina. It's the richest most right wing part of Brazil, they even threatened to separate from the rest of the country if the communist candidate wins the presidential elections. That's the attitude I like lol

How is Poland ? I'm also happy to be far away from the war, hope that thing stops soon... !

 

[biophase]

When I was young, I wanted to build a Kit Car replica of either a Countach or AC Cobra.

I came up with an idea this weekend that may or may not work. Renting regular old cars on Turo. Imagine buying a 72 Pinto and then offering it on Turo. They cost around $10k-$20k. I think there would be a subset of people that would like to rent a car that they used to have when they were young. I'm thinking cheaper non-classic but well known cars from the 70's. I would totally rent an old 78 Thunderbird or 68 Cougar or 77 Pacer. I'd probably want it for a few hours just to remember it. Many people may want them for social media pics.

Imagine offering this on Turo.

https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/amc/pacer/2466688.html

 

[Andy Black]

View attachment 45766

Crypto is the only way to get rich @Andy Black

Don’t you know value creation is the wrong way to do this? You’re supposed to buy hubris filled bubble tokens and hope they go up!

Ah, hope. My favourite marketing strategy.

 

[Andy Black]

No you did. Andy is English and lives in Ireland! BOOM!

Kyle is correct - I'm an Englishman abroad, and known to occasionally partake in the UK and Irish artform of sarcasm.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Don't ya love that, no matter what's going on in the retail real estate market, notice how every commercial always says, "Now's the best time to buy a house!"

A few years ago it was, "It's the best time to get in the market with interest rates this low!"
Now it's "It's the best time to get in the market with less buyers looking!"

In 2005 they were saying the same thing and just change the reason why.

If you listen to these people, every day is the "best time" to a buy house, doesn't matter what interest rates are, doesn't matter about supply, doesn't matter about demand, and it doesn't matter about the economy. Now is the best time!

 

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[Johnny boy]

Yesterday was a vibe here in the PNW

 

[Xeon]

WTF!!!! Lol

https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/yswh2z View: https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/yswh2z/the_unfolding_of_sbfs_empire_a_rudderless_ship/

 

[Antifragile]

This is really cool!

Digital Giza |

giza.fas.harvard.edu

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1591191116019376139

View: https://twitter.com/TansuYegen/status/1591191116019376139

 

[Itizn]

Paul Graham (best known as one of the founders of Y Combinator) started his story with a love for computers. He was a hacker in the 70's, back when there weren't very many of them. He promptly studied computer science as well as A.I. but soon after realized he wasn't happy. He was a rebel. He hated offices and politics and so he decided to give it all up. Graham then moved to Italy to attend art school, to learn to paint, and to become an artist.

After art school he moved to NYC to continue his career as an artist, working from his loft, living a modest lifestyle and not making much money. Until one day in the mid 90's he heard an ad on the radio that speculated how the future of the internet would involve the buying and selling of goods. All of a sudden a lightbulb went off in his head when he determined he could build precisely what was being speculated over the radio.

He realized he had the proper foundational skills for such a venture through his background. Drawing from his years of working with computers and A.I. along with his most recent learnings of art, what is aesthetic, and how to design, Graham eventually built Viaweb, one of the first ever ecommerce stores, which eventually sold to Yahoo for 50 million USD. From then onward Graham pursued various other ventures further boosting his fortune and net worth.

The lesson to note here is Graham didn't quite know at that point in time what it is he was doing. He was lost, but he had tried different things and so by the time he was 30 years old he had amassed and fine-tuned a unique combination of skills. Something would come together at some point, something would trigger an event, like the ad on the radio. Grahams ground had soil which was so fertile with skills that it was inevitable for something amazing to grow from there. And that is a path that I think is rich to immitate.

- Robert Greene

 

[Kak]

Yup. And I'm not just trying to randomly pick fights with forum members. I genuinely believe that JP is poison and that he should be avoided.

Good rule: in clown world, always be skeptical of best-selling authors (though a few are good).

I’m not some super fan of JP or anything, but I think you are being a bit hyperbolic. I have enjoyed and agreed with the majority of the stuff he has put out there.

If more people lived by these rules, we would have a lot less useless idiots in the world. I would hardly call him poison.

So my question is why? Why would you consider him poisonous and why would you suggest people avoid him? I’m not fighting you, just genuinely intrigued.

I guess my only issue with him is the whole guru thing. He is telling people how to be fulfilled and happy, but I think I’m probably more fulfilled and happy than he is, so… I generally don’t chase down his content.

 

[MTF]

Just like in a fight with say Andrew Tate, it’s not your affirmations or positive thinking that will get you to win, it’s being able to dodge his kicks and punches and strike when he’s vulnerable… as well as your endurance. These are the actual, physical causes of success in fighting. Mindset is just the cherry on top of the cake…

Reminds me of this:

 

[Lex DeVille]

Define "best"?

I'd say it depends on where the audience hangs out, who they already follow or buy from, what your skillset is, what your preferences are, what resources you have access to, who you know who can help, etc.

Maybe people search on Google and you can run ads straight to an opt-in page?

Maybe your niche lends itself to short videos? Or maybe longer videos?

Maybe you can create some lead magnet everyone loves and share?

Lots of ways to grow an email list.

Yup.

Recipe to grow an email list fast:

1. A source of continuous traffic flow
2. An offer people can't refuse

Recipe to make an email list profitable:

1. Have a list
2. Segment the list
3. Send relevant offers based on the segment
4. Tend to your metrics

Fastest predictable way to grow an email list from scratch is paid ads.

Cheapest way to grow an email list from scratch is social or publicity marketing.

Questions worth asking:

• What is my product/service?
• What stage of the buying cycle is the viewer in?
• What lead magnet makes sense for that stage?
• What offer makes sense on the other side?

There's more to it, but I think that's a good start. You don't get good at copywriting in a day and you don't get good at email marketing in a day either. Takes practice, learning, and trial and error (or just have a really really big list haha). In the end, it's a numbers game.

 

[loop101]

Yesterday, Jack Dorsey was saying how we needed a "web phone" that was just a phone and a browser. Today, Elon Musk said that if the less moderated Twitter app was kicked off the Apple and Google phones, he would build his own phone. I bet that right now, HP is calling them both, wanting to make a deal with the old WebOS they bought from PalmPilot for $1B. Or, someone is working on a de-Googled Android fork. The Google/Apple duopoly might be in danger.

Elon Musk says he’ll develop a new phone platform if woke Apple and Google ban Twitter from their app stores

I would ditch iOS or Android in a heartbeat.

notthebee.com

 

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[Andy Black]

When we buy a pack of 5 pairs of patterned socks, why do they always have to be different colours? I'd prefer them all to be the same so I don't have to match them.

 

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[Antifragile]

Most people are shocked when they find out how bad I am as an electrician.

 

[MitchC]

A blind man walked into a bar… and a table… and a chair…

Why did the blind man fall into the well?





He couldn’t see that well

 

[Fox]

You know how gurus and life coaches say you should go test drive your dream car? And drive through an expensive neighborhood and admire your future dream home? Or put together a vision board of such things?

Another exercise I find valuable are walk through a cemetery while reading headstones.

There's a cemetery 3 blocks from my house and I take leisurely walks through it on occasion. I found it very meditative and a great reminder that I will be dead one day, and that I should always endeavor to life my best life with no regrets.

I am banned from talking about Cemeteries by my wife.

Pulled the "we will all be in there soon enough, it makes you think..." card too many times when driving by one.

 

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[Antifragile]

"My dream—the solution—is that we would have a National Entrepreneur Day, with the following message: Most of you will fail, disrespected, impoverished, but we are grateful for the risks you are taking and the sacrifices you are making for the sake of the economic growth of the planet and pulling others out of poverty. You are at the source of our antifragility. Our nation thanks you." (Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Antifragile)

 

[monnffffiiiiiii]

So I got fired, which is, in all honesty, well-deserved as I was working roughly one day a week for this company.

I don't mind working 12h a day for myself 7 days a week.

But I can't work for one hour for somebody else.

Maybe it's an ego problem. Maybe entitlement. In any way, it's become a real allergy.

Now I am moving back to my parents (at 28 lol) to work on my startup project. My 5th trial.

This must work.

There is no other choice. If it doesn't work, I have no idea what I'll do. I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to a real job now.

I don't know if I have turned insane, determined, arrogant, entitled, or desperate. A few months ago the perspective of getting fired gave me nightmares.

But it is what it is.

I often envy the normal people with normal lives, that are happy to go to work and climb the hierarchy.

I really do envy them.

Their lives seem simpler, nicer, and definitely less painful.

I feel like going on a suicide mission now, some sort of "one last shot", one last chance to make it work, where the outcome is whether success, or death, metaphorically speaking.

Wish me luck!

 

[GPM]

Vote by likes!!!!

Who in here would really enjoy Kak getting SUPER annoyed with someone and just destroying them emotionally?!?

Come on. Be honest. That would be entertaining af.

Kyle goes on rants on lots of his shows. Mostly about how much he loves the government and thinks we all need more of it in our lives.

If there is one thing I have learned from knowing and listing to him, it is that he loves the government and is happy that it is so large and powerful. If not for the government we would all be rolling in mud and living in caves. @Kak understands this

 

[Antifragile]

Honestly I can't really blame the kids for paying up though.

That’s the thing! Blame the person who sells to kids, not the kids.

Anyway… you have a great point. The current systems aren’t helping young people succeed. But there are plenty of those who are helping and aren’t charging!

A local charity where I volunteer creates courses on entrepreneurship for schools. It’s part of curriculum and counts towards a grade. Kids LOVE it because they actually make money! And now they are more likely to start a real business after school. Some may go to university and some won’t.

The charity is was set up by an entrepreneur. Another one joined him and sponsored major growth. Now there is government funding making it into a national platform.

There is nothing to sell. That’s why I am thrilled to be a small part of it. Unlike those “bro let me teach how to get rich, give me $50 … ok thanks … now do what I just did!”

This is fitting:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1608828315581976576

View: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1608828315581976576?s=46&t=e8E_hQYYpG6waTLx_1Kx7g

 

[Antifragile]

If I was an 18 year old, I wouldn’t want to be mentored by a successful businessman as part of a charity… I’d instantly think that the guy is there to feel good about himself and relax while thinking he’s giving back… how committed is he to my success? I fail, he goes back to his business and his family - doesn’t care about me, meaning no skin in the game. That’s sort of like hiring someone to do “free work” for your business without any real incentive… we all know how that works out - not great!

You are one of my less liked people on this forum and the above proves why.

You think I’d need to be paid to care about kids? Do you have a family? Do you believe in something more than yourself?

If all I wanted was to “relax and feel good about myself”, I’d become a bro marketer showing off my Lambo and charging members a fee to see my “lifestyle”. I can’t imagine a more miserable existence than that.

It is nothing like “hiring someone to do free work”. How can someone as articulate as you be this daft?

 

[biophase]

For me it's any type of network TV show from the alphabet networks. My IQ drops after watching anything produced for the American public. On Netflix or Apple TV, I prefer foreign films with subtitles.

If I had a friend that insulted my intelligence every single time I met them, would I continue to be their friend? This is how I feel for a majority of television and American-centric content. Superhero, cop/FBI shows, all completely unwatchable.

That’s the same with movies and shows on streaming. I felt like I wasted 3 hours at Avatar. To me it was 180 minutes of look at what I can do with a lot of computers!

I watch a lot of YouTube these days. I find it so interesting how networks spends millions coming up with shows and then someone on YouTube films his own hobbies and gets 100M views. Who knew it would be so easy. Lol

Yesterday me and my dad watched a guy landscape a backyard. It was a 30 minute video time lapse with a voice over. I was thinking, there’s no way any executive would have greenlighted this video. But it had 30M views and the #1 show on TV gets 12M views.