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What does a guy have to do to earn 100 points around here.

Vigilante

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"Show me your achievement, and the knowledge will give me courage for mine." - Ayn Rand
 
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Yussef

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I saw a guy come in here two weeks ago and post an intro post and a thank you to MJ. He read the book, built and sold a fastlane business, and stopped in to credit MJ for the inspiration contained within the Millionaire Fastlane .

His speed # on the forum was a meteoric 1 day rise. Fastest speed #'s I have ever seen as people were encouraged by his story.

ONE POST. That's all it took.

Other people here have posted hundreds of posts with no speed. There's a reason.

It's fundamental to the message contained within the Millionaire Fastlane . Add value to people's lives, and it will yield results.

I could care less about speed numbers. It's a fictitious, symbolic number.

Please don't strive for higher speed numbers. Add value. People are here to learn from you. Let your enjoyment from this forum be what you can add to it, and take away from it.

When I was an employee, I never wanted a 5***** review. I just wanted cash. My self worth was not found in my jackass bosses evaluation of my performance. They can keep the bullshit, the employee of the month awards, and the gold stars. I knew who I was, and how I performed. All I wanted from them was cash. I didn't need then, and don't need now... a pat on the back.

If you find your value here or anywhere in the number of gold stars you collect, you will never progress beyond the surface.

The world rewards you in cash. If this forum paid cash for speed, I would strive. It's doesn't, so I don't. This aint kindergarten. Add value. Find your esteem and accomplishment in the people you are able to impact along the way. Speed is pretend.

Vigilante your another one of my earlier favorites. Ok I concede, and will suffice it to say I did not have much speed because I did not add as much value as said person with "meteoric" speed rise. But I am willing to bet you that small accomplishment made him feel something.

Maybe I am the only one that feels this way but IMO this site means different things to different people depending upon where they are in life. Now I want you to just give this some thought whether you agree with it or not. Many times we relate to what is closest to what we can identify with. So the student struggling to mentally break free of the rat race may inspire other students on the forum to take similar steps. The laid off factory worker that has just found the forum after reading the book may inspire another blue collar worker. The retail store operator that can barely turn on a computer may help bridge the gap between your wisdom and a newbie coming from his same situation.

I am just simply saying to those who find value in something someone has posted, speed (in my opinion) is a great way of saying thank you, unless you want to mail them a check. Especially for those who didn't really understand what speed was. Now we are all at different levels on this forum and if someone like Bill Gates jumped on here he may feel there is not much value for him here because of where he is financially. For me, it's a value buffet.

So lets not be so quick to define what value is based on where we are as individuals. Just try to remember we all had to start somewhere and as the cliche goes "you had to crawl before you walked."
 

Runum

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When you deal with different people a lot you find that each is motivated by something different. The carrot that works for you may not work for me. It makes life interesting. :)
 

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OK Truth, I was having a pretty positive day until you said that. The reason the post is still open is because obviously some members have things about the topic they want to discuss. We talk about a broad range of things on this forum from Money to MMA and if one does not care for the particular subject matter he/she is free to opt out of reading or engaging others in the post.

But when you jump on someone's post that generates a little buzz and basically dis the topic and critique people's grammar you may rub someone the wrong way. So in a very nice way I am trying to say that you could have been a little more tactful in your approach. Besides I am sure someone learned something from this.

Let me explain why speed is important to me. I learned a while back that if you want to be successful then imitate the actions of successful people. If I am contributing what I consider to be valuable information via blogs, likes, feedback, experiences, and moral support but the members reading my post do not add to my reputation I have to question if what I am contributing is valuable. That may not be important to some but to me speed is confirmation that I am saying and doing things that fall in line with people I admire.

So please do not equate my motives to whatever others may be doing on other forums. Speed is a part of the forum whether we acknowledge it or not and it appears to be a little subjective. Man thrives off of incentives and I believe at least a few more people are aware of those little green bars because of this post.


Hey Yussef,

I want to start of by saying that my post wasn't targeting you. I was just making an observation of what I see on other forums a lot.

That being said, I apologize if it came out that way, I will make sure to pay a little more attention on how my posts might be perceived in the future.


My main point in the previous post, was that when people are posting via the incentive to gain speed, they face a conflict of interest.

Say a member of the forum might want to post something they learned while trying to create a business, but they feel that the members on this forum won't like what they have to say(won't give them speed), they may never share that information that could have been valuable.

I also feel that the best way to learn what provides value is by testing. Just like everyone else, I have posted things I thought would be very valuable, yet no one even commented on them. Other times I posted something really quickly and lots of people loved it.

However, I don't loose in either scenario, and here is why:

Even the post that no one commented on has potential to add value to someone. For example, if a newbie joins the forum and finds that post and finds value in it, then the post is all of a sudden valuable. Had I not posted that information, that person would not have gotten that value.


End Note: I want to clarify that I did not focus my previous post onto you. It just comes from my experience with other forums where most of the people are only posting to gain speed.
 
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Yussef

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Hey Yussef,

I want to start of by saying that my post wasn't targeting you. I was just making an observation of what I see on other forums a lot.

That being said, I apologize if it came out that way, I will make sure to pay a little more attention on how my posts might be perceived in the future.


My main point in the previous post, was that when people are posting via the incentive to gain speed, they face a conflict of interest.

Say a member of the forum might want to post something they learned while trying to create a business, but they feel that the members on this forum won't like what they have to say(won't give them speed), they may never share that information that could have been valuable.

I also feel that the best way to learn what provides value is by testing. Just like everyone else, I have posted things I thought would be very valuable, yet no one even commented on them. Other times I posted something really quickly and lots of people loved it.

However, I don't loose in either scenario, and here is why:

Even the post that no one commented on has potential to add value to someone. For example, if a newbie joins the forum and finds that post and finds value in it, then the post is all of a sudden valuable. Had I not posted that information, that person would not have gotten that value.


End Note: I want to clarify that I did not focus my previous post onto you. It just comes from my experience with other forums where most of the people are only posting to gain speed.

Thanks for your contributions Truth and just for the record I wasn't upset about it and was thrilled that you took the time to clarify.
 

Vigilante

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Here's an interesting bump from an older thread on the topic of lending value to the forum.

It's a pretty easy concept. Runum stated somewhere on page 2 that the forum is a microcosm of the real world.

You add value, people throw you "likes" and "speed+" fake forum currency.

You want to measure how much of a return on investment of time other people find your contributions to the forum?

Look at it like this. Doesn't matter if you have been here a week, or several years.

Look at your ratio of LIKES to MESSAGES.

If you have less than 1 like per message, it means you have a low value to post count ratio. Step up your game.

If you have a 1:1 ratio of post counts to messages, you are doing pretty well! People are liking what you are contributing.

If you have more than 1 like as a ratio to messages, you're kicking a$$ and adding value to the forum.

One classic post that leaves solid advice, bread crumbs for others to follow that come behind you... that's all it takes.

Live legendary. Give back.

Learn how to add value to people's lives. In the real world, they'll reward you with money. Here... the money might be fake, but the reward comes the same way it does as in life... by making a difference.

whats-your-number-art.jpg
 
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Andy Black

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"Tell me what you've done, and I'll tell you who you are."


"Money is proof you helped your fellow man."



Two of my favourite sayings.

Look at them closely though.


The first is a cold lens by which you will be judged: "Tell me what you've done, and I'll tell you who you are."

Maaan, there's no hiding from that one.

How do you stack up?


.
.
.


Did you answer with all the things you've done for yourself? All your fine achievements that people will marvel at and deem you a success? Was your answer about me, me, me? I did this, I did that, I do this, I do that?

That's quite a telling answer.


Or was your answer about what you did to help your fellow man? I helped this person, I helped that person, I help this group of people achieve these results?



Of the two answers, who do you think will end up with more "proof they helped their fellow man"?


.
.
.


"Tell me who you've helped, and I'll tell you who you are."
 

ChickenHawk

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If you have more than 1 like as a ratio to messages, you're kicking a$$ and adding value to the forum.
Holy Crap! @Vigilante has a ratio of 5.3 to 1. Not surprising, but dang, that's some serious value, especially given the fact he's posted over 24 THOUSAND messages. I mean, think about that, to not only post lots of stuff, but lots of valuable stuff, literally tens of thousands of messages. Wow.

Looking at my own stats, I'm happy to see a ratio of 4.3 to 1, but a lot of that, I think, is because I tend to post on a pretty hot topic (self-pubbing), which interests quite a few people. I'm not posting a lot these days though, because I'm writing, writing, writing... too slow as usual. :)

Very interesting discussion.
 
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Vigilante

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Holy Crap! @Vigilante has a ratio of 5.3 to 1. Not surprising, but dang, that's some serious value, especially given the fact he's posted over 24 THOUSAND messages. I mean, think about that, to not only post lots of stuff, but lots of valuable stuff, literally tens of thousands of messages. Wow.

Looking at my own stats, I'm happy to see a ratio of 4.3 to 1, but a lot of that, I think, is because I tend to post on a pretty hot topic (self-pubbing), which interests quite a few people. I'm not posting a lot these days though, because I'm writing, writing, writing... too slow as usual. :)

Very interesting discussion.

Shit. I need a new hobby.

Most of the likes can come from 1-2 threads. Post authentically, something from personal experience that others can use to further their journey.

Give people the chance to short cut their learning curve.

Edited to add: ok... I feel better. 6400 messages. @ChickenHawk :)
 
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Andy Black

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SlowlaneJay

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I was over the moon when I hit that magic 2.0 ratio, silly right?

I actually realized, about six months in, how the people I really looked up to had awesome ratios. So then (yeah, this gets pathetic pretty quick) I put together an Excel spreadsheet and calculated how many likes per post I would need if I wanted to have a 2.0 ratio before my year anniversary.

With this data, before I made another post I would pass it through a mental filter and ask myself if posting it would likely generate this magic number. I also set a goal for posting x times per month with these high-value posts.

…Yeah, I told you it was pathetic.

But I hit my goal a month early— heck yeah! Small victories. It's all about the small victories.

3de4c0e02f5f238610de9062ec468aad8ddd38dfd825fdce632fe47116791901.jpg
 

Andy Black

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I was over the moon when I hit that magic 2.0 ratio, silly right?

I actually realized, about six months in, how the people I really looked up to had awesome ratios. So then (yeah, this gets pathetic pretty quick) I put together an Excel spreadsheet and calculated how many likes per post I would need if I wanted to have a 2.0 ratio before my year anniversary.

With this data, before I made another post I would pass it through a mental filter and ask myself if it would likely generate this magic number. I also set a goal for posting x times per month with these high-value posts.

…Yeah, I told you it was pathetic.

But I hit my goal a month early— heck yeah! Small victories. It's all about the small victories.

I don't think it's silly at all. If anything, I think you're doing what the Rep/Speed system is intended to do - and that's to encourage you to add value.

By adding value, you're getting more likes. To get more likes, you focused on adding value.

Obviously this can get taken too far... what if you could massively help someone but only they are likely to thank you for it? What if you started click-baiting and asking for likes? It would defeat the purpose of the system.


Two lines spring to mind:


"Catch them when they're good."

I think of this when parenting... I want to reward with my attention the kid who's quietly eating his dinner, NOT the two who are messing around. Well done MJ on constructing a system that rewards the behaviour he wants to see.


"You can't manage what you can't measure."

When you put a number in front of someone, they'll start to automatically try and improve it. If you measure you're weight every day, even if you're goal is not to improve your weight, you'll start to notice what moves the needle, and do less of some things and more of others.

(Personally, I've seen things go stupidly wrong when people/businesses focus on the number they are measuring success by, rather than realising that it's just a proxy. I *really* take that line with a pinch of salt... and sometimes deliberately DON'T measure things because I know it sends me off down the wrong track. Hmmm... actually, I hate that line, but it still has it's uses.)


Good work. Thanks for letting us into your inner world. ;)
 

jon.a

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LightHouse

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All my internet points are earned in real life these days. My number is under 1to1 mainly because im a terrible writer and I trust less. Going to work on that writing thing though...
 

Andy Black

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All my internet points are earned in real life these days. My number is under 1to1 mainly because im a terrible writer and I trust less. Going to work on that writing thing though...
I find the best way to get better at writing is to write (and read) more.

Not sure how to trust more. Let me know when you work that one out.
 

LightHouse

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I find the best way to get better at writing is to write (and read) more.

Not sure how to trust more. Let me know when you work that one out.

Right, writing more does make one better. But when you are busy, writing time is hard to come by. I do have some things written on a very private forum, even there though, its a matter of being concise and useful.

Nothing that i am really concerned about. Most of the folks here I talk to on a regular basis outside of the forum, just pointing out that it's not an end all be all. I do think it's an excellent system though!
 
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Vigilante

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Right, writing more does make one better. But when you are busy, writing time is hard to come by. I do have some things written on a very private forum, even there though, its a matter of being concise and useful.

Nothing that i am really concerned about. Most of the folks here I talk to on a regular basis outside of the forum, just pointing out that it's not an end all be all. I do think it's an excellent system though!

Trolling (for sport) erodes the ratio.
 

Andy Black

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It's not great, but MJ is at a 1.225 so I think I'm in good company so far. :)

I think there's been speed resets in the past, setting everyone back to zero. Probably accompanied by biblical gnashing of teeth...

...

Personally, I find the likes system helpful... I use it to gauge how well I've written a post. Did it resonate? Did it help anyone? I use it to learn how to write better posts.

That's partly why I also create so many new threads - so I can see how each opening post stands on it's own two feet (without click-bait style subject lines too).

The other reason for standalone threads is that I'm lazy. When I find myself repeating something, I create a quick thread and then link to it in future. Mind you, I'm doing that so often now I'm getting totally tangled up between my own posts.
 
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LightHouse

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Vigilante

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AllenCrawley

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Bumping thread especially the following post by @Vigilante. I noticed a few members comment spamming recently. I've even sent some warnings the past week.
Here's an interesting bump from an older thread on the topic of lending value to the forum.

It's a pretty easy concept. Runum stated somewhere on page 2 that the forum is a microcosm of the real world.

You add value, people throw you "likes" and "speed+" fake forum currency.

You want to measure how much of a return on investment of time other people find your contributions to the forum?

Look at it like this. Doesn't matter if you have been here a week, or several years.

Look at your ratio of LIKES to MESSAGES.

If you have less than 1 like per message, it means you have a low value to post count ratio. Step up your game.

If you have a 1:1 ratio of post counts to messages, you are doing pretty well! People are liking what you are contributing.

If you have more than 1 like as a ratio to messages, you're kicking a$$ and adding value to the forum.

One classic post that leaves solid advice, bread crumbs for others to follow that come behind you... that's all it takes.

Live legendary. Give back.

Learn how to add value to people's lives. In the real world, they'll reward you with money. Here... the money might be fake, but the reward comes the same way it does as in life... by making a difference.

whats-your-number-art.jpg
 

MidwestLandlord

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So my 3:1 like to comment ratio is pretty good? Good, glad I can provide.

I am confused about the "speed+" thing mentioned here, and how the "kph" thing works. Can someone explain?

I earn rep money when I get likes, people pay me in reps, and get followers. How does that tie into the speed thing?
 

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