SFR 229: Just-In-Time Learning...
This is how to remove noise in your head and keep high momentum in your business\u2026
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A few days before Funnel Hacking Live, Russell reached out and said, "Hey do you wanna speak for another 5- 10 minutes on one of the last days?\u201d
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He said, \xa0\u201cI want you to talk about your concept, what do you call it, where you just learn a just little bit at a time?" I was like, \u201cOh, I know what you're talkin' about\u2026\u201d
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So I'm gonna walk you through my 5 STEP PROCESS that I use to stay focused and achieve my goals.
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HOW TO STAY FOCUSED WHEN YOUR HEAD HAS OTHER IDEAS
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First of all, you have to understand that my head moves very quickly and I have a hard time turning it off to go to sleep.
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Sometimes, I have a hard time focusing on things, and when I do focus it\u2019s a hyper-insane focus.
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A lot the time, I pop music on 'cause it quiets my head, and then I get crazy focused with a magnifying glass kind of energy on the one task I'm doing.
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About six-seven years ago, when I started trying to be an entrepreneur, one of the things that I had a really hard time with head noise.
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You get noise coming from all different angles:
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- Internally noise from you trying to understand some new concept you've never heard of before that you know is crucial.
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- Self-doubt: I hope this works. I hope this is good. I hope this is the product.
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But then, there's all this external noise too:
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- Friends and family who don't quite get what you're trying to do... \u201cIs this the one that's gonna work?\u201d
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- People who are actively trying to sway you from NOT doing your dream and your goal\u2026 \u201cMaybe you should you get a proper job?\u201d
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Even if it\u2019s only a handful of people, that noise can cause more head noise than everything else.
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So there's noise, noise, noise, noise, noise all over the place, and it\u2019s frustrating sometimes... and sometimes it's hard to move forward.
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So to deal with my frustration and all the head noise, I developed \xa05 questions that I use to keep me on track.
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I wanna teach you the process that I go through on a regular basis to reduce the noise in my head, gain insane clarity, and keep momentum high inside of my business.
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It's an exercise that I encourage you to run through at least once every three to six months.
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Some of it I do pretty much every day... but part of it, I make sure I come back to it every three to six months.
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LEARNING LOOPS
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This whole process actually started when I started beating myself up for still being broke
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I remember I was riding my bike home from college one day. I still had a lot to learn, but I was saying things in my head like:
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- I know what I'd do in that guy's business.
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- I know exactly how I'd go handle that guy's business.
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- Why is his business like that?
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\u2026 but, I was the guy who's broke; how hilarious is that!
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So\u2026
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I started asking myself:
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- Dude, why are you still broke?
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- What is wrong with you?
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- Something\u2019s gotta be wrong with YOU because you've been studying for two years and your wallet\u2019s still pretty darn thin!
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- Why isn't it working?
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I spent a long time trying to answer these questions... and a few things happened.
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Number one, what I realized (right there on that bike) was that I was stuck in these learning loops.
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I was actively learning, seeking and studying. I was learning A LOT, and I truly did feel like I knew what to go do in \u2018someone else's business\u2019 to increase their sales\u2026
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But I was still broke because...
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I was learning, reading, and studying for the sake of feeling the semblance of motion, but NOT actually moving.
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I was stuck in learning loops.
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TIME TO BREAK FREE
I want to teach you something that I think will really help you dramatically get clarity on what \xa0you're trying to gain in your life.
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The questions that scared me the MOST when I first started were:
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- Stephen, what do you want to do?
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- What do you wanna be?
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- What do you wanna have when you grow up?"
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It was scary when people asked me that question, 'cause it felt so final.
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I didn't want to say what I wanted... and only have stick to that! I wanted to have some flexibility. I wanted to be able to develop different things that I had interests in\u2026 Do you know what I mean?
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... and so it scared me. It was a false belief, I had to overcome... and it was challenging.
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I didn\u2019t just have a whole bunch of false beliefs about money; I had to recreate my relationship with money.
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The fact that you're an entrepreneur means that you CAN do different things. There's something to focus and getting something done, but that doesn't mean that you can't go build other things as well.
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(And we'll talk about that in just a little bit\u2026)
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I\u2019ve got MORE done in the last six, seven, eight months... far more than in the first three, four, five months that I was out on my own.
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Even though I was hustlin' like crazy...
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I was barely sleeping. I was just getting the product out the door. I was selling to make sure that we weren't gonna die in a gutter.
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It was SCARY for a while.
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We were like, \u201cCrap no one really bought off the webinar that time. Is this gonna work? Crap, crap, crap!\u201d
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So these where \xa0are 5 Steps I used to reduce the noise in your head and massively increase the momentum in my business (and these are in order ):
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STEP #1: DECLARE YOUR GOAL
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You have to declare what you want. If you don't know what you want nobody else knows how to support you.
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It\u2019s funny how the moment you start declaring what you want in your life things begin to conspire for your sake.
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People finally know what it is that you're doing, and they start coming to your aid to help you build your stuff.
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However, \xa0nobody can do that if they don't know what you're going to build in the first place.
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The scary question people have about this is: \u201cStephen, does that mean, that everything I do is final and I can't change ever?\u201d
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No, it doesn\u2019t mean that at all.
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In fact, the next blog will be about focus and when it's okay to bring on something else.
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So anyway, back to Step #1...
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You have to be able to declare what is it you want.
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Every year, I declare my public goal. Every January I drop out a podcast episode declaring my goal, and it's one of the scariest things I do.
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BUT\u2026
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You have to declare what you want and where you're going if you want to get there!
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STEP #2: BRUTAL HONESTY ABOUT WHERE YOU ARE
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You have to have brutal honesty about where you are in relation to where you want to go.
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That's why I get so fiery when someone goes to rent a Lamborghini to take a picture in front of so they can increase their status because of a picture.
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That\u2019s NOT what causes success in business. That crap drives me nuts. It\u2019s not helpful at all.
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I'm not saying that having a Lambo\u2019s a bad thing. I'm sayin' when you feel like you need to be somebody else, that's a BAD thing.
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The internet lets you be *YOU* louder. That's what's so awesome and beautiful about this space.
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You need clarity and MASSIVE honesty about your current position. Honesty in your current spot\u2026
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...which also means where you are NOT.
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When I realized: \u201cOh my gosh, Stephen you're broke.\u201d
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I didn't say to myself: \u201cYou're not that broke.\u201d
When I got kicked out of my first semester at college because I failed out. I got honest with myself: \xa0\u201cLarsen, you're dumb.\u201d \xa0I didn\u2019t say: \u201cWell, you're not that dumb\u2026\u201d \xa0No, man... I was stupid. I didn't know how to learn.
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I was 35% body fat in high school. I had a double chin and I was working on a triple (a very obvious one)... I was only 5'6"... (I grew six inches later on that year, I sprouted like crazy)...
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But when I realized that I needed to lose some weight, I didn't sit back and say: \u201cOh yeah, you're not that fat.\u201d
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NO!
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I was like:
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- Larsen, you're fat!
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- Larsen, you're broke!
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- Larsen, you\u2019re dumb!
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Be honest about it. Stop trying to sugarcoat it.
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If you\u2019re bad at building funnels or you suck at traffic own it. I suck at traffic. That's why I say that. It's Truth. I don't try to get good at it.
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Somethings you have to address in your life in order to move forward and other things you can outsource.
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After I got kicked out of college, I went back four years later and had to reapply... I almost got straight A\u2019s for the rest of college\u2026. BUT I worked my face off to try and learn how to learn.
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It was an active pursuit of mine. That's not gonna happen by accident.
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I had to learn how to learn, and it was challenging. It was one of the hardest periods of my entire life. It was really rough.
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It NOT a pity party where you constantly beat yourself up for the sake of honesty. I'm not sayin' that at all\u2026
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YOU JUST NEED TO GET HONEST!
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If you\u2019re NOT brutally honest about where you are you won\u2019t be able to move onto the next step.
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STEP #3 \xa0JUST IN TIME LEARNING
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Just-In-Time Learning is when you learn only what you need just in time for when you need it.
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If I don't need to know anything about SEO, I am NOT going to learn it.
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Imagine this on a graph:
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#1: The goals at the top.
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#2: I've gotten brutally honest in where I am, and I'm like, \u201cOh crap, I'm actually down here at the bottom\u2026\u201d
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#3: \xa0I'm NOT gonna solve problems that are halfway up the graph. I solve the next problem that's directly in front of me.
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*SOLVE THE PROBLEM THAT\u2019S DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF YOU*
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I'm gonna be annoying here so you remember it. This is the way entrepreneurship works; it\u2019s a faith-based game:
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I see the peak, I do not see the path. \xa0
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The path doesn't really matter because you CAN\u2019T see it anyway.
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The ONLY thing you can see is the first one, two, three steps in front of you. Everything in the middle is dark; you can't see it. It's NOT even existent yet. You just know it's kind of there.
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So one someone says to me:
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- Stephen I need to know ALL the pieces.
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- Stephen I need to know ALL of the secrets before I can take any kind of step forward.
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I'm like, \u201cYou're not gonna win!\u201d \xa0
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A little papa bear moment here:
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You're not gonna win. You will not make it in this game if you need to know ALL the pieces before you get started. Welcome to entrepreneurship. You are in the business of solving problems.
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I\u2019m so tired of the saying that: \u201cA CEO reads a book a week." Great! You aren't a CEO! So cut that crap out.
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A CEO is NOT in the same business that an entrepreneur is in. A CEO is in the business of systems.
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A CEO is in the business of building and tweaking systems. An entrepreneur is in the business of problem-solving. Which means you shouldn't be all over the place just studying for the sake of it.
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Here\u2019s another saying that sucks: \u201cKnowledge is power.\u201d
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NO, IT\u2019S NOT! Doing something with knowledge is power.
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...and so what you do is you learn for the one step in front of you:
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- You see where you\u2019re going.
- You honestly see where you are.
- You learn for the next single step that you need to take.
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You won\u2019t know EVERYTHING, but you will know just enough to place your foot on the ground Boom! Then the next step will appear\u2026
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If you\u2019re like, \u201cCRAP, I \xa0don't know how to take this next step!\u201d
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Now it\u2019s time to:
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- Read
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- Listen to podcasts
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- Take courses
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- Find gurus
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...because you need to hunt an answer.
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Don\u2019t learn for the sake of it. I'm not learning just because it's interesting. I'm learning to place my foot in the next step.
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This is 100% how it's done.
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You gotta stop learning for the sake of it.
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I'm not making fun of SEO. I'm not making fun of traffic. But I'm telling you it is NOT on the path that I need to know. It's not on the path! It's NOT my role.
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I'm in the business of solving problems, and the problem that I'm solving has nothing to do with SEO. The problem that I'm solving has nothing to do with a logo... in order to create cash.
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I'm sorry, it's just not on the path. I don't need it.
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I made a ton of money without having a logo.
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An official color scheme and palette. No, I don't need any of that stuff.
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At any time, any time, anybody can ask me, "Stephen, what's the problem "you're trying to solve right now?" And I can tell you what it is.
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I can tell you exactly what it is... because it's the next thing that's always on my mind. I'm not looking any further.
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I might spot check every once in a while to look at the model of the industry that I'm following:
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\u201cOkay, yeah, I'm doin' the right thing. Okay next, okay boom. Boom, then head back down. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.\u201d
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..and then doing the work.
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My speed is dictated a lot of times by how well I can quantify the next question that I'm tryin' to solve.
It's not to offend anybody, but so many people are just studying and learning, reading and consuming.
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No wonder you feel like your wheels are spinning.
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- You have no idea what you want.
- You have no honesty in where you are\u2026 it\u2019s just new goal, new goal, new goal, new goal, shiny object, shiny object, shiny object. You're all over the place.
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If you don't know these first two anchor points, you can\u2019t know the next step! You can't!
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STEP #4: KNOW THE MODEL
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I'm talking about the industry model that you\u2019re following.
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For Example:
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If you're selling E-com, you have to ask yourself:
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\u201cAre there other people largely selling what I'm selling?\u201d
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The answer for every person reading this is, yes. Yes, there are.
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If you're shipping a product, other people have proved how to ship products and create a business model.
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I\u2019m NOT just talking about funnels...I\u2019m talking BUSINESS MODELS around how to ship stuff successfully, etc
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Other people have already done that successfully before you.
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If you're selling supplements, ( and I don't care if you're selling a brand new supplement), other people are also selling supplements. So take one step back and look to see what the industry has proven to sell.
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I'm in the info-product model space, so I follow the info-product model... which means a lot of my decisions are already made for me.
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Funnily enough, in the last month, there's been many people who've reached out and said, "Stephen I'm concerned that it looks like you're working maybe a bit too hard."
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...and first of all, I wanna slap 'em...
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Secondly, though, the ghost\u2019s in the machine, man. There are so many decisions that are already made because I\u2019m following a proven model.
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That's why my speed is so fast.
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Another way to think of it is the value ladder.
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What's the info-product traditional value ladder that exists out there?
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- At the bottom, there's a podcast.
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- Then there's a book.
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- Next, there's some course.
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- Finally, there's some high ticket thing.
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Sweet!
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Well, I'm gonna go start here in the course area, and once I prove out that concept, I don't have to ask myself the question of what product should I launch next? No!
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Everyone in the info-product space makes a book next. So guess what I'm doing, I\u2019m writing a book.
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Everyone in the info-product space is publishing, 'cause it's info. So guess what, I've got a podcast.
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Watch what's coming next\u2026
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I'm just following the freakin' model that's been proven forever in that space.
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This is HOW you navigate that dark middle space where there\u2019s no path!
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I can hear people saying, "Well I'm different." No, you're not.
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What you need to do is go back to see how people in your space have proved the best way to sell the thing that you\u2019re selling.
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Whether it\u2019s:
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- Supplements
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- E-com
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- B2B
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- Retail
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- Info
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...there's a model that tells you how to best to make sales happen on the internet \u2026
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Do you know it?
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No wonder you feel like you're spinning!
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Do you know what it is?
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No wonder you feel like you don't know the next step.
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- \u201cOh, Stephen I wish I just had more information.\u201d
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- \u201cIs this product good enough to sell?\u201d
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I'm like, \u201cDang man, I'm NOT in your industry. So I'm NOT gonna know the answer to that... And I'm NOT even the one buying your thing.\u201d
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Stop asking me. Go drop it out to your dream customers.
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...which leads to STEP #5
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STEP #5: HOW CAN I INCREASE MY SPEED?
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Once every three to six months I like to ask myself the question: \u201cHow can I increase my speed?\u201d
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Money loves speed. Money likes speed A LOT. I'm just one guy, so how can I increase my speed?
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Shortly after I left my employment, I was on a flight back from pitching an audience. I sold 20% of the room which was great. I was a celebrating for sure.
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But on the flight back, I started panicking a little bit because I realized that I could not even fulfill on the 20% orders to a level that I wanted to and it freaked me. I got nervous.
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How on earth could I scale to a business where I'm selling millions of dollars?
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So I had to ask what systems from the info product model that I was following would be required in my business in order for me to pull that off?
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I asked: How can I increase my speed?
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- That\u2019s when I started hiring people.
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- That\u2019s when I started getting systems for support.
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- That's when I started getting a fulfillment center to actually ship stuff out.
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- That's when I actually started systemizing more things.
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...and we're still doing that.
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We go back and forth between the marketing and the systems dance. Marketing, systems, marketing, systems, marketing, systems.
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But I need you to understand this, this is a huge principle:
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Every time I ask the question, \u2018How can I increase my speed?,\u2019 typically, (and maybe it's just 'cause I'm a funnel builder), the answer has little to do with me getting more sales.
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Typically, it has a lot for me to do with building out systems to handle more sales.
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Getting more sales isn\u2019t the hard part, (especially if you do what I'm talkin' about and you actually publishing and do all the things).
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Systems are, (usually for me), the thing that can increase my speed the most.
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I recently asked myself this question on the way back from Funnel \xa0Hacking LIVE, and as a result of that, we hired another person to increase my speed with a product.
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Every time I ask myself that question, it's ALWAYS uncomfortable because something in my business structure usually has to change, and I have to be more malleable.
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THE 5 QUESTIONS
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Answering these 5 Questions will drastically reduce the noise in your head, because when :
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- You know where you're going...
- You have honesty about where you are
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It gets really easy to figure out the next single greatest problem that you should be solving in your business.
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Does that make sense?
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You might already know the answer. It's not that it has to take three, four, five, ten months, whatever... it could be an afternoon or an hour just to set up a system and then move onto the next step.
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It's easy when you have a blueprint. \xa0It's a loose guide along the path. You\u2019re not gonna know all the details, but you\u2019ll know enough to move forward. It's kind of a 30,000-foot view.
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- Where am I going? Have I declared it?
- Honesty in where I am...which means honesty in where I'm not?
- The next single step for me?
- The blueprint, if I kind of have an idea of the blueprint on the way?
- Is there a way can increase my speed?
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I don't really believe in shortcuts. I do believe though you can increase your speed on the path.
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I feel like people look for shortcuts too long, and instead, they could have just done the actual work. It would have been faster.
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That's it, my friends!
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Gain clarity on where you're going because your audience can't follow you if you don't know the answers to these questions.
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It's hard for you to raise a banner and to know what you stand for, and for people to come and support you.
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It's hard for everything around you to start to conspire for your sake if you don't know the answer to these five simple questions.
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I challenge you to write these questions down and put them on your wall:
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- Where am I going? = Name Your Goal.
- Where am I right now? \xa0 Brutal Honesty.
- What do I need to be doing next to hit the goal? \xa0= At all times be able to know what the question you're trying to solve question is. That question changes frequently.
- What\u2019s the model I\u2019m following? = This doesn't change that much, but if you don't know the answer to it, that's some scary crap.
- How can I increase my speed? = Every three to six months I drop myself that question, and boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, my speed massively goes up.
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Hopefully, that's helpful my friends... and \xa0to finish, I want to share my new tagline and the theme for OfferMind which is:
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Get Rich & Do Good.
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Alright, my friend. See you later.
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BOOM!
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If you're just starting out you're probably studying a lot. That's good. You're probably geeking out on all the strategies, right? That's also good.
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But the hardest part is figuring out what the market wants to buy and how you should sell it to them, right?
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That's what I struggled with for a while until I learned the formula.
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So I created a special Mastermind called an OfferMind to get you on track with the right offer, and more importantly the right sales script to get it off the ground and sell it.
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Wanna come?
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There are small groups on purpose, so I can answer your direct questions in person for two straight days.
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You can hold your spot by going to OfferMind.com.
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Again, that's OfferMind.com.