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

[MTF]

Has anyone else noticed how in London they accept cash in fewer and fewer places? Even many street sellers are “card-only” now. 10 years ago I could take a £100 banknote and buy a Christmas market sausage. Now, there’s 0 chance of that happening, even if they aren’t card-only they won’t accept it.

It seems to me that European governments are pulling in the leash on businesses, and turning more socialist so they can monitor and control everything. And of course, the most important thing to monitor and control is the flow of money.

I can’t see myself living outside of Europe, but these aren’t good trends. There is a lot of entrepreneurial activity amongst the young in Europe, but our rulers don’t have our interests in mind. They’d rather we go work for a a corporation like BMW.

Go to Berlin. It's the most backward city I've ever been to in Europe. Many restaurants accept ONLY cash. Even a freaking national museum accepts only cash.

I don't have any problem paying with a card and I don't like paying by cash. It takes more time, I have to carry sufficient cash (but am always limited by how much cash I have on me), and I don't have any record of how much I paid and where (as opposed to a bank statement that helps track expenses). Withdrawing cash also often costs money while paying by card doesn't (at least doesn't cost me as a customer).

Most people probably have the same reasoning as I do and it has nothing to do with being controlled or not. It's just way more convenient.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Black_Dragon43]

don't have any problem paying with a card and I don't like paying by cash. It takes more time, I have to carry sufficient cash (but am always limited by how much cash I have on me), and I don't have any record of how much I paid and where (as opposed to a bank statement that helps track expenses).

Yes but in order to have the benefits of comfort, you renounce the benefits of freedom & control. You can have a record when you pay cash, except that you have to create it yourself. When you pay by card, someone else creates a record of what you’re doing with your money, and they happen to share it with you and who knows with who else.

When the government is capable to perfectly monitor all financial transactions, there is no truly private life and you can be easily controlled and kept obedient.

Personally I much rather prefer to pay cash, precisely because there is no record of what I’m doing with my money, and I’m the only one who knows. I only pay by card for larger purchases where in many places it’s illegal to pay cash (unfortunately).

It’s more than enough imo that our rulers can keep track of how we make our money, they shouldn’t also track how we spend it.

 

[MTF]

Yes but in order to have the benefits of comfort, you renounce the benefits of freedom & control. You can have a record when you pay cash, except that you have to create it yourself. When you pay by card, someone else creates a record of what you’re doing with your money, and they happen to share it with you and who knows with who else.

When the government is capable to perfectly monitor all financial transactions, there is no truly private life and you can be easily controlled and kept obedient.

Personally I much rather prefer to pay cash, precisely because there is no record of what I’m doing with my money, and I’m the only one who knows. I only pay by card for larger purchases where in many places it’s illegal to pay cash (unfortunately).

It’s more than enough imo that our rulers can keep track of how we make our money, they shouldn’t also track how we spend it.

Same can be said about any modern convenience.

If you fly, people will know where you fly from and where you fly to. If you use this forum, someone gets data on where you're located or they learn about what you willingly share. If you drive a car, the government also knows what you can afford. If you go to the doctor or even do some basic check-ups at a private clinic, someone will know your health markers. Etc.

No private life exists anymore unless you completely opt out and live somewhere in remote wilderness.

 

[Spenny]

And besides, you could spend your time a bit better than just being in the gym (not that you're in a rush as a 13yo LOL).

I wouldn't say I like this thinking. We're walking, talking, decaying corpses - we can't take our time for granted.

It's fantastic that you're trying to improve your fitness life; however, being in the gym every 2nd day and even more often than that as you plan to is way too much in

If you're doing the Mike Menser thing you're doing, sure, but the bread and butter bro splits/PPL splits work fine, too. I spend only 1:30 in the gym for five days a week. It's not that much time for something as important as health.

I would go 5x a week; it would go something like PPL_ PP_

I do PPL_PPL_, and many people who saw me only four months ago have seen a noticeable difference. To be honest, though, stick with the basics.

Eat in a surplus
Eat lots of protein
Sleep 7-9 hours a night
Go to the gym frequently
Cut down on sugar and booze (hopefully not at 13).
Stick with a regime for 3 months at least
Do some cardio (run, bike, anything to pump the heart)

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[piano]

I wouldn't say I like this thinking. We're walking, talking, decaying corpses - we can't take our time for granted.

I'm not sure how you mean this. Do you mean that Johnny should be in a rush even as a 13yo? If yes, then it's ironic because let's be honest going to a sticky gym for 10 hours a week isn't really how one should spend his limited time (unless that person is professionally training or something similar).
Though please clarify what you meant exactly with that.

If you're doing the Mike Menser thing you're doing, sure, but the bread and butter bro splits/PPL splits work fine, too. I spend only 1:30 in the gym for five days a week. It's not that much time for something as important as health.

Oh 1:30 hours? And how long do you spend getting to the gym? Packing your clothes? Meal prepping? Actually eating all of it?
Health stuff is very good, but at least for me I'd like to minimise the amount of time it takes while not compromising on the benefit.

I do PPL_PPL_, and many people who saw me only four months ago have seen a noticeable difference. To be honest, though, stick with the basics.

I have been doing the Mike Mentzer Split for literally less than 2 months and I've been getting noticable gains, and all of that with less than 2 hours A WEEK (probably even less actually).
To be honest, though, don't stick with the "basics".


I'm not even going to be discussing this much further because I don't care whether Johnny overtrains or spends more time in the gym than with his family and dog or spider or alligator or whatever you Aussies have as pets.

I wish you a Merry Christmas.

 

[Jrjohnny]

I'm not sure how you mean this. Do you mean that Johnny should be in a rush even as a 13yo? If yes, then it's ironic because let's be honest going to a sticky gym for 10 hours a week isn't really how one should spend his limited time (unless that person is professionally training or something similar).
Though please clarify what you meant exactly with that.

Oh 1:30 hours? And how long do you spend getting to the gym? Packing your clothes? Meal prepping? Actually eating all of it?
Health stuff is very good, but at least for me I'd like to minimise the amount of time it takes while not compromising on the benefit.

I have been doing the Mike Mentzer Split for literally less than 2 months and I've been getting noticable gains, and all of that with less than 2 hours A WEEK (probably even less actually).
To be honest, though, don't stick with the "basics".


I'm not even going to be discussing this much further because I don't care whether Johnny overtrains or spends more time in the gym than with his family and dog or spider or alligator or whatever you Aussies have as pets.

I wish you a Merry Christmas.

Well, I’m not an Aussie but you got 3/20 of my pets correct

 

[mikecarlooch]

Edit: I should probably say what we do. We give to education and an entrepreneurship charity where I volunteer. I feel that education is key to human progress. It’s a tool, like good books are worth their weight in gold. The whole system here is failing and needs entrepreneurs to help make the right changes.

Well you do a great job contributing and I know because of all of your contributions to this forum.

We should all probably tell both you and @Black_Dragon43 , a lot of the advice you both give, gives us entrepreneurs who are on our peaks and valleys journey to success, massive hope and the ability to think bigger and create more value in our lives and in the world.

Thank you both.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[NathanN]

I would go 5x a week, it would go something like PPL_ PP_

This is what I'm on right now, been doing this exact split for maybe 5-6 months. Works so well, I find it gives all your muscle groups a good amount of time to rest and be ready for the next workout. Any variation similar to this split I find is just ideal. Bam out a workout for an hour, 5 hrs a week in the gym feels so little but really its alot.

 

[Jon822]

Friendly reminder to clean your computer. I'm typing this out from my tablet because my computer likely just died due in large part to negligence. Fun timing.

 

[Aidan04]

I don't care whether Johnny overtrains or spends more time in the gym than with his family and dog or spider or alligator or whatever you Aussies have as pets.

Piano- Spenny is from the UK, Johnny is from Canada.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MitchC]

Piano- Spenny is from the UK, Johnny is from Canada.

And teenage guys cannot overtrain

Keep eating, keep training and enjoy being young Johnny

 

[socaldude]

but our rulers don’t have our interests in mind.

Yeah, of course.

It almost seems like they…despise us.

The future is pretty much cashless. Even banks don’t hold a lot of cash.

In America the only cash-based businesses are places like liquor stores, dispensaries, pawn shops, money-exchanges and restaurants.

 

[MTF]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REcZopXwOXo


I love this commercial, the beautiful script writing, and the message behind it.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MitchC]

PayPal are scum.

We already knew that but I just want to rant about this feature they added a while ago because they tweaked it today, clearly split testing it and trying to get more people to use it.

When you transferred your money from PayPal to your bank account, which I do daily because I don’t trust them because they are scum, it was always instant and free.

Then they added this new feature, pay 1% for instant or wait 3-5 days.

Is the massive % they take from all my transactions not enough for them. They have to hold my money hostage and demand another 1% to not F*ck my cashflow up.

The good news is it seems to me like both of these options take exactly the same amount of time to process and it’s just a trick. I’ve never actually paid the 1% fee. But it still makes me sick and wish I could never use PayPal again every time I see it.

PayPal have now made this a pop up that doesn’t tell you the cost and pops up in such a way you accidentally click it without seeing the price, $10 flat rate to transfer your money at the speed they used to do it for free

 

[monnffffiiiiiii]

Merry Christmas to the fastlane

 

[rjdgreat]

Merry Christmas to the fastlane

Merry Christmas Fastlaners!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Spenny]

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year, everyone - I hope you're spending it well.

I want to say thank you again to all of you; it's been a fantastic year. I hope you all have exciting plans for 2024.

 

[WillHurtDontCare]

So a few days ago my brother texted me that he bought my mom a Louis Vuitton bag for Christmas.

He said that he was going to say it was from all of us to my mom, so I threw in some money for it.

Since he bought my mom such a nice gift, I figured he bought something similarly nice for my dad. So I asked him what it was.

"Socks."

Merry Christmas everyone.

 

[Black_Dragon43]

Merry Christmas everyone, hope you’re all having a great time with your families!

Unpopular opinion of mine: long copy sucks and nobody reads it, except mindless, desperate consumers.

I’ve become a rabid fan of “as few words as possible” in sales. I really believe that less is more, and all those “long copy” gurus are selling you lies.

I used to have those 1000s of words landing pages that I see every day promoted on FagBook… they don’t do any better than trying to convey your offer in the simplest, most direct manner possible in a few words. To give you a small example, 1 year ago I’d tell people about what they’d get inside our Learning Platform chapter by chapter. Now I just say “40-hours of training for agency owners on topics ranging from sales & marketing, to building your team and internal systems for growth”. That’s it. Real business owners don’t care about the details.

But you see all those gurus with their 1,000s of words on their landing page telling you about all the little details and what not — that’s bullshit. The more you say, the more confused they get by the complexity, the LESS likely they are to buy.

I also don’t believe in email sequences for B2B anymore. Nobody reads them. I have a 60 email sequence. From 1,400 subscribers, guess how many became clients (after booking a call from the emails) — 2, in an entire year. And both of those came from an email that read “We have X spots left, would you like to work with us?” And that’s it. No copy.

Like yeah, broke people read these 1000+ word emails. If your target audience and deepest desire in life is to scam broke people out of their money, sure, go do that. But real business owners have no time for bullshit. Give it to me easy, and give it to me sweet.

I’ve found much better success and gained 100+ clients this year by building an ecosystem that provides massive value to my target audience. It wasn’t about amazing copy. Simply about adding more tools in the toolbox, getting more case studies, improving results, adding more value upfront, making everything simple and easy, and SHORT!

The easier I made things, the easier it became to get clients. November was our best month of the year, followed closely by December. Which led me to realize that virtually all the education you can find online from the gurus is utter crap. The stuff simply doesn’t work, and it’s not how real business is done. (And I’m talking B2B, maybe this crap works B2C)

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Andy Black]

Merry Christmas everyone, hope you’re all having a great time with your families!

Unpopular opinion of mine: long copy sucks and nobody reads it, except mindless, desperate consumers.

I’ve become a rabid fan of “as few words as possible” in sales. I really believe that less is more, and all those “long copy” gurus are selling you lies.

I used to have those 1000s of words landing pages that I see every day promoted on FagBook… they don’t do any better than trying to convey your offer in the simplest, most direct manner possible in a few words. To give you a small example, 1 year ago I’d tell people about what they’d get inside our Learning Platform chapter by chapter. Now I just say “40-hours of training for agency owners on topics ranging from sales & marketing, to building your team and internal systems for growth”. That’s it. Real business owners don’t care about the details.

But you see all those gurus with their 1,000s of words on their landing page telling you about all the little details and what not — that’s bullshit. The more you say, the more confused they get by the complexity, the LESS likely they are to buy.

I also don’t believe in email sequences for B2B anymore. Nobody reads them. I have a 60 email sequence. From 1,400 subscribers, guess how many became clients (after booking a call from the emails) — 2, in an entire year. And both of those came from an email that read “We have X spots left, would you like to work with us?” And that’s it. No copy.

Like yeah, broke people read these 1000+ word emails. If your target audience and deepest desire in life is to scam broke people out of their money, sure, go do that. But real business owners have no time for bullshit. Give it to me easy, and give it to me sweet.

I’ve found much better success and gained 100+ clients this year by building an ecosystem that provides massive value to my target audience. It wasn’t about amazing copy. Simply about adding more tools in the toolbox, getting more case studies, improving results, adding more value upfront, making everything simple and easy, and SHORT!

The easier I made things, the easier it became to get clients. November was our best month of the year, followed closely by December. Which led me to realize that virtually all the education you can find online from the gurus is utter crap. The stuff simply doesn’t work, and it’s not how real business is done. (And I’m talking B2B, maybe this crap works B2C)

My thoughts:

Consumers consume long copy.

Long copy that goes on for ever is a red flag for me. As are videos that take forever to get to their point, or never do.

Busy business owners value their time. They appreciate those who value their time. Respect my time ffs.

I can't imagine getting the clients I've had over the years via an autoresponder series. I don't send potential clients to a signup page.

The more formulaeic or polished it reads the more I think you're a content creator than a business owner.

Any email containing "unsubscribe" skips my inbox and ends up in a folder I rarely check.

Any email containing "webinar" is deleted.

What are you trying to say? Say that.

Get to the f*cking point.

Start as close to the end as possible.

Stop clearing your throat (saying crap to get warmed up).

A starving crowd means you don't need much copy.

The more copy you use the less I trust you.

Get buyers to your offer then stfu.

Oh, and our Google Ads landing pages often have just a headline, a few bullet points, and a couple of buttons.

 

[Jrjohnny]

My thoughts:

Consumers consume long copy.

Long copy that goes on for ever is a red flag for me. As are videos that take forever to get to their point, or never do.

Busy business owners value their time. They appreciate those who value their time.

I can't imagine getting the clients I've had over the years via an autoresponder series. I don't send potential clients to a signup page.

The more formulaeic or polished it reads the more I think you're a content creator than a business owner.

Any email containing "unsubscribe" skips my inbox and ends up in a folder I rarely check.

Any email containing "webinar" is deleted.

What are you trying to say? Say that.

Get to the f*cking point.

Start as close to the end as possible.

Stop clearing your throat (saying crap to get warmed up).

Respect my time ffs.

A starving crowd means you don't need much copy.

The more copy you use the less I trust you.

Get buyers to your offer then stfu.

Oh, and Google Ads landing pages often have just a headline, a few bullet points, and a couple of buttons.

Normally, when I would watch an educational YouTube video, notebook in hand, ready to take notes. I would get onto the video and listen for the first minute. That normally tells me if it’s going to be some B.S. or actual good advice.

Normally it’s the plug ins for their courses, a special paid group or something like that.

Then there’s the notorious hit the like and subscribe if you [blah blah blah] and don’t forget the notifications for when my course goes on sale from $1001 dollars to $999! Or something.

Thats when I would click off. Or if they start going on and on about some random story.

What I like is a hello. This is [name], and I help [blank]. And gets onto the points, then will go more into depth on each one.

I’m fine with a plugin towards the end and stuff, as that’s when I log out.

 

[MitchC]

Merry Christmas everyone, hope you’re all having a great time with your families!

Unpopular opinion of mine: long copy sucks and nobody reads it, except mindless, desperate consumers.

I’ve become a rabid fan of “as few words as possible” in sales. I really believe that less is more, and all those “long copy” gurus are selling you lies.

I used to have those 1000s of words landing pages that I see every day promoted on FagBook… they don’t do any better than trying to convey your offer in the simplest, most direct manner possible in a few words. To give you a small example, 1 year ago I’d tell people about what they’d get inside our Learning Platform chapter by chapter. Now I just say “40-hours of training for agency owners on topics ranging from sales & marketing, to building your team and internal systems for growth”. That’s it. Real business owners don’t care about the details.

But you see all those gurus with their 1,000s of words on their landing page telling you about all the little details and what not — that’s bullshit. The more you say, the more confused they get by the complexity, the LESS likely they are to buy.

I also don’t believe in email sequences for B2B anymore. Nobody reads them. I have a 60 email sequence. From 1,400 subscribers, guess how many became clients (after booking a call from the emails) — 2, in an entire year. And both of those came from an email that read “We have X spots left, would you like to work with us?” And that’s it. No copy.

Like yeah, broke people read these 1000+ word emails. If your target audience and deepest desire in life is to scam broke people out of their money, sure, go do that. But real business owners have no time for bullshit. Give it to me easy, and give it to me sweet.

I’ve found much better success and gained 100+ clients this year by building an ecosystem that provides massive value to my target audience. It wasn’t about amazing copy. Simply about adding more tools in the toolbox, getting more case studies, improving results, adding more value upfront, making everything simple and easy, and SHORT!

The easier I made things, the easier it became to get clients. November was our best month of the year, followed closely by December. Which led me to realize that virtually all the education you can find online from the gurus is utter crap. The stuff simply doesn’t work, and it’s not how real business is done. (And I’m talking B2B, maybe this crap works B2C)

Agreed, ecommerce is the same, everything these gurus teach, the opposite is true.

However I will say, all the people I learned copy from never really taught long copy. There were a few principles and I think they get lost when people look at the results of using the principles, not the principles themselves. For example, long sales letters.

The principles I took away are not long winded, long enough.

There are a few things that people need for them to buy. Different for every brand and offer but a few examples:

Trust, social proof, promises, risk reversal etc.

These things may take pages of copy for some offers and brands, and 2 sentences for others. It depends on who is reading it too.

Nike could show a photo of a shoe and no price and people would give them their card number. They could probably say limited edition Travis Scott shoe, have no photo of the shoe, no price, and sell out.

If I start a shoe brand I do not have that context. There are things people need to know before they buy a shoe.

Will they fit, will the last, will they be comfortable, will people think they look cool.

Nikes brand and history has this covered for them already. My new made up brand doesn’t.

So if I launch a shoe I’m going to need videos of them being made, copy about the tests we did to ensure they last, a guarantee they will fit, an influencer campaign showing they look cool etc.

So yeah not sure where I’m going with this, makes sense that a busy sophisticated market is not going to be receptive to a long disgusting sales letter, but there are still some things needed to get them to close, and I think every copywriting guru and sales guru I learned from taught exactly the same.

Clarity trumps persuasion.

Not long winded, long enough.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[IceCreamKid]

I also don’t believe in email sequences for B2B anymore.

I tend to agree with this.

2018: I knew that for every 100 automated emails I sent out, I'd get a meeting. Easy money all day long. This was with GENERIC copy that didn't even target a specific niche.

2020: Pandemic hits. Businesses allocate their marketing budgets away from in-person events and pour money into building SDR/BDR teams to blast out emails. 1k emails sent out would get me 1 meeting if I was lucky.

Today: Software like Instantly and Smartlead has made the barrier to entry so low that your offer better be the absolute king if you want a shot at being successful. Blasting thousands of emails everyday is much more difficult now because the inbox is flooded.

 

[Xeon]

How the tide turns.

Just a few months ago, and even way before that, I was laughing and jeering at vegans like MJ, despising them. Now, I find myself actively consuming and searching for plant-based/vegan protein powder and mass gainers lol

My sincere apologies.

 

[KushShah9492]

My family's debating on what christmas movie should we watch on the eve.

I'm thinking Die Hard, rest of them think Home Alone.

Any recommendations??

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Actionfaker]

Just a few months ago, and even way before that, I was laughing and jeering at vegans like MJ, despising them

Yeah, that whole wanting to do good and not harming innocent creatures thing must have been really infuriating...

 

[Andy Black]

Normally, when I would watch an educational YouTube video, notebook in hand, ready to take notes. I would get onto the video and listen for the first minute. That normally tells me if it’s going to be some B.S. or actual good advice.

Normally it’s the plug ins for their courses, a special paid group or something like that.

Then there’s the notorious hit the like and subscribe if you [blah blah blah] and don’t forget the notifications for when my course goes on sale from $1001 dollars to $999! Or something.

Thats when I would click off. Or if they start going on and on about some random story.

What I like is a hello. This is [name], and I help [blank]. And gets onto the points, then will go more into depth on each one.

I’m fine with a plugin towards the end and stuff, as that’s when I log out.

I made this video how I wanted videos to be. Feck the intro and pleas to subscribe. Get straight into it and deliver the value.

Curious if you think I went too far @Jrjohnny

MARKETING - The Shortest Google Ads Tutorial Ever

It took me HOURS to create this. Let me know if you have any feedback or suggestions. Hope it helps! View: https://youtu.be/7z7kx3kJC4M EDIT: Once you're running watch these two short videos to make sense of the metrics...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

 

[Spenny]

@Shono, congratulations, you have an electrochemistry reaction named after you.



Who would have known you'd be such a renowned electrochemist!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Jrjohnny]

I made this video how I wanted videos to be. Feck the intro and pleas to subscribe. Get straight into it and deliver the value.

Curious if you think I went too far @Jrjohnny

MARKETING - The Shortest Google Ads Tutorial Ever

It took me HOURS to create this. Let me know if you have any feedback or suggestions. Hope it helps! View: https://youtu.be/7z7kx3kJC4M EDIT: Once you're running watch these two short videos to make sense of the metrics...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

These are the kind of videos I love.

After watching that video, I understand the basics of everything, just would probably need to rewatch it to fully understand.

But due to me watching it on my phone, all the writing and settings are very small to see in the video, so it’s definitely a watch-on-computer type video.

Thanks, Andy! I now understand google ads. Lol

 

[andyhaus44]

If you have an Apple watch, the Motivation app is a great reminder for goals, affirmations and quotes -