[...]please visit the sites we follow, including this one, as it represents our picks from the web[...]……

In a world where we obviously all want to do well I find division like this detracts from our overall goal as human beings surrounded by other human beings. That goal being Community.

Self expression is important and I think either way you go with that (being a dick or being positive) ..”You Win” it just depends on what you want to win.
Everyone likes taking “Celebrities” down a notch and everyone always cheers on the underdog, until the underdog exposes himself as the shill he claims to be calling out.

It gets to a point where all the name calling and “exposing” becomes a game or some kind of spot-light that provides someone with some self-importance they themselves attack others for.

We all want recognition. PERIOD.

But what do you want to be recognized as and where does that take you?
I’ve learned all the manipulative techniques all the gurus claim to use (and some do efficiently, no lie) but come on, give me a break show-boater use it to change the frucking world instead of peddling models. I mean really ?! Tony Robbins? NLP? No… sorry, it’s Bandler, Richard frucking Bandler. There must be like some kind of intelligence barrier or something going on with some people online.

You have to have some kind of morality compass and I’m directing that at the more negative individuals but the blame lays all around us because I find a lot of the information that is provided is VERY valuable information but not in the dollar sense that everyone attributes to it but the impact it *COULD* have and that the inherent value attached to it via the ol Federal Reserve notes detracts from it evolving past that.

That and you (marketing) guys are missing out on some of the biggest things when it comes to getting people to take action and actually change their lives.
Which brings me back to the morality compass again because it works both ways or as Mittens Romney says “What’s Sauce For The Goose Is Now Sauce For The Gander.”
As a community (focused on the positive) unlike SOME people *cough*droid*cough* because we essentially deal in information we need to reframe that to dealing in education and the more we tweak our systems and provide higher percentages of success & results the more we can influence the ACTUAL education systems and maybe people wouldn’t grow up not taking action and feeling so helpless.

Let’s keep this all positive for 2012, approach things with a level head and keep in mind we’re here to educate people:

“the act or process of imparting or acquiring particular knowledge or skills, as for a profession. ”

or pedagogics for those of you with an odd vocabulary like myself.

To me the situation goes something like this…. You can teach a man to cut down trees and create the lumber necessary to build a house but if he doesn’t know how to build a house he won’t even bother, he’ll just look at other peoples complicated houses with siding, a roof and shingles, insulation, electricity, a foundation and he’ll be sitting there with a bunch of tools he doesn’t know how to use because no one taught him the steps to building a house, or pouring the foundation and of course as marketing goes we just ignore those people and call it targeted marketing.

Even corporate advertising is highly targeted and I’m definitely not saying that targeted marketing is bad at all, I’m just saying when you do that you miss out on people who in most cases need just a touch more help but are 10x more grateful and they have lots of friends because misery loves company and there is a world full of poor people with capabilities they don’t recognize or gave up on ages ago, they only need a little coaxing and they’ll take action if it’s done correctly, because you have to remember poor people think everything is a scam, the price going up on bread is a scam instead of realizing shortages of food all around the world. Poor people are generally quite unfulfilled people so they fill their lives with the true manipulators television PROGRAMMING, forever drowning in American Idols, Jersey Shores and every kind of sport you can think of, even cards! People feel so helpless so they identify with the primal tribalism that their favorite sports teams provide, or the favorite singer on whatever debasing “celebrity” culture promoting television show is popular these days.

Culture is not your friend. -Terence McKenna

We need to take some of our humanity back before we can give back to humanity -David Allen Neron

Honesty/transparency is always the best policy, I highly commend you Andy Jenkins.

This is one of the most helpful posts that I’ve read in a really long time. I have a business on the verge of expanding into something massive and have already seen that the 50/50 model is going to lead to problems down the road. Reading your post was like looking through a portal into a future that I don’t want to experience and has given me tremendous insight and quite frankly, the courage, to make the changes now rather than later when I’m forced to. Thank you for sharing your experience as it provides a look into something that only experience can teach and stands as a warning beacon to people in my position. With this new information I’m going to rebuild my model so that I can replace the “incredibly legal and incredibly complicated” growing pains by taking actions now that ensure everything is setup correctly. I have already been surprised by people and events more than once as I continue to learn how to run one of the largest companies I’ve ever owned. What an incredible roller coaster ride! Thanks for sharing your hard earned wisdom and best of luck to you in everything that you do.

Thanks,
Wesley Jordan

You are a great influence to many people and I want to thank you

for staying around to teach us a thing or two

I hope you are enjoying your wonderful new life in California as a free

man!

Thanks Again
Seth Johnson

I’ve utilized my gmail filters and have all IM’ers emails going to one (now really big) Label/Folder that I glance at when I’m curious about what is new…(I found it easier to get some *real* work done this way
Anywho! I’m glad to hear it all this way: via this post.

Damn! That is some drama, but makes for one helluva post. LOL

I agree with a comment earlier, even if you guys were accused of worse, I’d still say “them guys some good @$$ IM’ers” (and probably a lot more too).

Great to hear that your wife is well…that would definitly be a “scary” (to say the least) time. Being able to “step-away” and spend time with your family like you said above is what it is all *really* about anyways!

BRAVO to you my friend!

Thank you for all that you are

Today, when I went to check out the new SN offer was the first I heard of the chaos. Read enough of the ambulance chasers to know exactly what they were about…one of my favorite sayings by Emerson: What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.

Thank you for publishing the details.

I wanna be just like you when I grow up…well, except for the funny face and the paparazzi…oh, and maybe your need to wear underwear in public (I was at SN5).

Namaste,
Fran

Congrats and all the best to you and Janeen

cheers KiwiKev