Some of the top names in ethical online marketing have gotten together to offer a 72 Hour Sale on a few of their top products. The sales page for this deal is not dripping with text that scares you into thinking that this is the one product you have to buy right now, so you might have seen this but skipped over it.

Don’t . . .

If this sounds like something you would want, you have just over one day from when I post this to pick up this deal.

If you have ever wanted a package of products that gives you all of the information you need to start your own business, then I recommend picking this package up today. It might be a little pricey for some people right now, but it is far less expensive then many other packages that have been launched in the past few months.

If you do decide to get this product, please do me a favor and use my affiliate link . I will get a percentage of your sale and you will get an amazing package that will give you the information you need to get started with your own business.

Check it out today by clicking on this link: http://bit.ly/euI18T.

You have until December 1st, 2010 to grab this deal.

Returning to my exile. See you soon.

Please Pardon the Interruption is a post from: As A Dude Thinketh
As A Dude Thinketh is written and edited by Chris Elliott. Chris helps small businesses figure out what their big idea is, how to get it to market, and how to get people to notice their wonderfulness. He is also a dynamic speaker and trainer in personal growth and public speaking. Do you need help with your next big idea or speech? I encourage you to talk with me to see how Chris can be of service.

No related posts.

My story . . .

I have been tinkering around with websites since 1991. Since I never took the time to become a hardcore coder, I was always looking for the newest template or software that would allow me to quickly and easily turn my ideas into webpages.

For almost 10 years, my tinkering didn’t produce many good looking websites. Sometime around 2000-2001 I started to play around with blogging platforms, and after a few years I landed on WordPress as my blogging platform of choice. By 2009, I was using blogger on every website I created due to its flexibility and the multitudes of templates available.

After a few years on WordPress, I found it difficult to stick with any one template for more than a few months. I kept having to switch as WordPress was updated or I found something that seemed a little more flexible than my last template.

Constantly switching stopped when I found Headway.

What got me hooked on Headway was the ability to visually modify my website without having to make changes to any code. With a few clicks and drags, I was able to create my layout, insert new widgets, and make changes to my navigation bar. With a few hours of playing around, anyone with a basic knowledge of wordpress can easily set up their blog.

Why Am I Telling You This?

Headway launched 2.0 today and I want to encourage you to check it out. I have been beta testing 2.0 on a new site I am launching next month and they have made setting up a professional website much faster than any previous version.

What I Want to Do For You

Until Friday, October 29th, 2010, Headway is offering 30% off the Headway theme to celebrate the launch of this major step forward in simplifying setting up a website.

All you have to do it go to the Headway page and use the offer code: woot

What if you don’t have a website?

If you don’t know how to set up a website or blog, then let me do it for you. All you need to do is sign up for hosting on dreamhost, grab a copy of Headway with the offer code woot (until Friday, October 29th, 2010), and I will set up a webinar next week to walk you through setting up a basic website or blog using Dreamhost, WordPress, and Headway.

To qualify for this, you have to sign up for a hosting (a free domain name is included) at Dreamhost then grab a copy of Headway. Once you have done that, contact me with my contact form and we will make sure to sign you up for the webinar next week that will run through setting up your blog (some verification will be required).

If you don’t want to be included on the webinar, I still recommend that you pick up Headway today, because it might never be discounted 30% again.

I hope you take Headway up on this, because it is awesome!

Contact me if you have any questions on signing up for the webinar.

Get Under The Hood of My Blog is a post from: As A Dude Thinketh
As A Dude Thinketh is written and edited by Chris Elliott. Chris helps small businesses figure out what their big idea is, how to get it to market, and how to get people to notice their wonderfulness. He is also a dynamic speaker and trainer in personal growth and public speaking. Do you need help with your next big idea or speech? I encourage you to talk with me to see how Chris can be of service.

No related posts.

Not me.

I am having a sale because the processor in my desktop computer decided to have a meltdown and it just happened to coincide with a holiday for someone with the same first name as mine.

So my loss this Columbus Day weekend (or Thanksgiving if you are Canadian) is your gain and hopefully it is enough of a gain that I can replace my desktop computer and not try to edit the videos for an upcoming launch using my clunky old laptop.

Here is the deal.

A few months ago I released, “INSERT YOUR TITLE HERE: A Step by Step Guide to Creating a Product this Weekend.”

While most get rich quick products will sell you on using other people’s content to create a product. This e-book and accompanying demos lead you through the process of creating a product with your own material in far less time then it takes to create one with content you scraped off article directories.

For you feature junkies, here is what the product contains:

• A 39 page workbook that gives you a step by step plan for creating a product this weekend.
• An audio demo of the reverse interview process I have developed to help you create your product idea, an outline, and the content for your products.
• Demo videos and PDF instructions on how to set up a domain name, hosting account, and shopping cart so that you will quickly get your product created and ready for sale.
• An html template that you will use as the sales page for your product.

The sales page for the product lists it at $37.

Since it is a long weekend for many people and I need to make some money, I thought I would give it to you for 50% off.

Sound good?

There is more

Since I want to help as many people have a productive weekend, I am going to run a contest now through Sunday, October 10th, 2010 at 12:00 PM. The sale will run until Tuesday if you don’t win and want to get a copy of the product after the contest wins.

To enter the contest:

1. Tweet a link to this blog post and include #ccontest and @chris_speaks in your tweet. You can tweet it as many times as you would like, but I will limit your entries to 4 tweets per person so that you don’t spam the crap out of your Twitter followers. That means if you have four tweets, you get your name entered 4 times to win the product.

A sample tweet would be:

Oy! @chris_speaks is celebrating the death of his trusty desktop with a contest and a sale check it out http://goo.gl/SmFL

Want to write a better tweet? Just make sure to include the link to this post, the hashtag #ccontest, and @chris_speaks.

2. You also need to leave a comment on this post telling me the biggest challenge you face in creating and selling a product. Make sure to leave your Twitter nick name and use your real e-mail in the comment so that I can match your comments to your tweets and e-mail the winner.

What does the winner receive?

I will pick one of the tweets from a commenter at random ( I am a dork so it will be with a random number generator) and they will receive:

1. A free copy of “INSERT YOUR TITLE HERE: A Step by Step Guide to Creating a Product this Weekend.”
2. Two free hours of consulting on creating, marketing, and selling a product (Usually $97 / hr).

Let the tweets begin.

I know, I know, you want to get INSERT YOUR TITLE HERE: A Step by Step Guide to Creating a Product this Weekend, but don’t want to wait for the contest to end on Sunday.

Here is the deal.

If you have bought the product and you win, then you will get the 2 hours of free consulting and you can help one of your friends out by giving them a copy as well.

Are you ready to get your hands on INSERT YOUR TITLE HERE: A Step by Step Guide to Creating a Product this Weekend?

Enter the coupon code: CONTEST50 and click Buy Now to get started.

The sale will last from now until Tuesday, October 12th, 2010 when everyone has returned from Columbus Day stuffed with whatever people eat to celebrate Columbus Day.

Now I am wondering, do they eat Turkey this weekend in Canada?

Good luck.

Computers, Christopher Columbus, and a Contest is a post from: As A Dude Thinketh
As A Dude Thinketh is written and edited by Chris Elliott. Chris helps small businesses figure out what their big idea is, how to get it to market, and how to get people to notice their wonderfulness. He is also a dynamic speaker and trainer in personal growth and public speaking. Do you need help with your next big idea or speech? I encourage you to talk with me to see how Chris can be of service.

If you liked this post, then you should also check out:

1. Contest Winners and A Huge Dose of Fail
2. You Don’t Want to Be Famous

I don’t care about the size of my list, because that’s not how I do business. I am more social in the way I sell product. I hate long sales copy. I don’t buy from long sales copy so I am not going to subject anyone to it. I don’t need to pitch my readers, because I will lose them if I seem too sales-ey.

Do you know anyone that has uttered statements similar to those?

The statements above came from me three years ago when I first dipped my toes into marketing my speaking, coaching, and products. Do you know how much money I made during that time period? Zero. Sound familiar?

If you aren’t marketing anything, maybe you have said,

I don’t need to kiss up to the higher ups to get ahead, I don’t need a college degree to get ahead because I am a rebel, or I don’t need to save money for my retirement because I am going to get promoted soon then I will start saving.

Does anything in that statement sound familiar?

I am not surprised if it does, and I would be less surprised if you followed it up with saying, “Why am I not succeeding? Bob is a freaking idiot and he is making a killing online, moving up the corporate ladder, and spends half his week playing golf. Why is that idiot making money and I’m not?”

Why Are Stupid People Making Money?

Here is an example from one of my mentors, Darren Lacroix as he talks about his experiences running a Subway franchise into the ground.

I thought I knew it all. I was 22 years old and fresh out of business school. A dangerous combination. Subway told me that the most successful franchisees were farmers. Farmers? And the worst franchisees? Business graduates.

Think about it . . .

• Why are people that know next to nothing about running a sandwich store succeeding at running a sandwich store?
• Why are people that know little about technology making money selling products online?
• Why are people that have no knowledge of manufacturing running billion dollar manufacturing companies?

Do you want to know their secret?

They stupidly follow the rules.

Why Being a Renegade Can Hurt Your Chances of Success

Renegades, Rogues, and Rebels make for great characters in novels and movies but are not ideals if you want to succeed in life.

Browse the business section of your local bookstore or pick up an entrepreneurial themed magazine and you will find plenty of books and articles that will tell you to, “Break All the Rules, Play Your Own Game, or March to the Beat of Your Own Drummer!”

So what happens when you don’t suck up to the boss, don’t ask for a sale from potential customers, or make up your own lesson plan in school?

YOU FAIL!

What does someone that is stupid do? They spend time sucking up to the boss to figure out what they want them to do, they ask for the sale, and they read the lesson plan to figure out what the teacher wants them to do.

The stupid person learns what rules are in place and they follow them, because they know they are too stupid to make up their own. They succeed because they don’t try to reinvent the wheel, annoy people by doing it their own way, or trying to build something from the ground up when they don’t have to. They make stupid an advantage over the rebels that try to over think everything.

Become Stupid

In order to succeed in many endeavors, you need to be stupid. Give up on your knowledge of how to do something and start from square one. Read the instructions, ask someone what they did to be successful, or figure out what has worked for someone else and implement it in your life.

Many times we are too smart for our own good and just need to be stupid to get ahead.

How can you bring a little stupid into your life?

Let us know in the comments.

Stupid People Making Money is a post from: As A Dude Thinketh
As A Dude Thinketh is written and edited by Chris Elliott. Chris helps small businesses figure out what their big idea is, how to get it to market, and how to get people to notice their wonderfulness. He is also a dynamic speaker and trainer in personal growth and public speaking. Do you need help with your next big idea or speech? I encourage you to talk with me to see how Chris can be of service.

If you liked this post, then you should also check out:

1. 5 Reasons Smart People Fail at Creating On-line Businesses
2. That is Not How This Business Works
3. Good is the Enemy of Great

Who Are You Listening To?

Early last year, I was listening to a copywriting teleconference with Sonia Simone of Copyblogger and Naomi Dunford of Ittybiz. While on the call, they told us to sign up for Paul Myers’ TalkBiz News, which is a newsletter on Internet Marketing.

So for over a year, I have been getting e-mails from Paul Myers that talk about Internet Marketing with a pitch here and there for a product that he has created or is promoting. I really didn’t think too hard about it until the past week.

Late last week, Paul sent out an e-mail about his new product, the Email Affiliate System. After reading the sales page, I realized that he was selling something that I wanted to know so I spent the $27 to get a copy of the report. The report is amazing and if I can put the tactics into my marketing, then the product will pay for itself many times over. I am not joking; the Email Affiliate System got me to think about my marketing in ways that I have never imagined.

Then Something Happened

While the product is great, Paul’s follow up e-mail to his list amazed me. On Sunday, September 26th, Paul sent a follow up e-mail to his list about some, “Interesting Responses,” he got about the product.

The “interesting responses” talked about how there was little new in the product or that it didn’t add up to what Paul had already given away for free. His response was an awesome lesson for anyone that gives information away for free.

Since you can subscribe to Paul’s newsletter to get these thoughts word for word, I am not going to copy them here, but I am going to tell you the lesson learned and how most people screw it up:

Lesson Learned: You have to create a clear distinction between what you give away for free and what you make people pay to receive.

In Paul’s case, he gives away hundreds of pages of material a year that helps you build the skills you need to build a business. Information that many people charge for, he gives away for free.

What You Make People Pay For

What he makes people pay for are the specific tools and techniques that allow them to create a profitable business. It is a distinction that most people that market products online fail to make and it could be the one thing that is keeping them broke.

It is crazy how some people can figure out what they need to do from the free materials. They can take a 112 page e-book, build a website, create a product, market it, and then sell the product to thousands of adoring fans just from the information in the e-book.

However many people get stuck, they can’t figure out what we need to do next, or they are get overwhelmed by an inability to cut through a lot of technical jargon to get to what needs to be done online. That is were the paid products can come in to help you out.

How You Can Use This in Your Business

While your free content tells people what they need to do, the paid product tells you how to do it in a way your customers will understand. For example, you can walk people through a marketing plan, but charge them for the website they can use to put that marketing plan into action.

How are you developing products for your business? Are you making the distinction of what the free and paid products will do for your customers or are you “cutting your own throat,” and giving it all away for free?

Let me know with a quick comment.

Also make sure to check out Paul Myers’ TalkBiz News if you haven’t already and get the 112 page Need to Know Manual. Hopefully it will change the way you look at running your business.

Are You Cutting Your Own Throat? is a post from: As A Dude Thinketh
As A Dude Thinketh is written and edited by Chris Elliott. Chris helps small businesses figure out what their big idea is, how to get it to market, and how to get people to notice their wonderfulness. He is also a dynamic speaker and trainer in personal growth and public speaking. Do you need help with your next big idea or speech? I encourage you to talk with me to see how Chris can be of service.

If you liked this post, then you should also check out:

1. How Not to Do Free Content
2. Are You Trying to Trade A Monotonous Job for a Monotonous Business?
3. The Reason for Success

Author’s Note: Scott Ginsberg a.k.a. Scott the Nametag Guy is celebrating the launch of his new book, -ABLE: 35 Strategies for Increasing the Probability of Success in Business and in Life, by challenging his readers to come up with their own –able word and write about it in a blog post. Reading Scott’s blog post announcing the challenge, I realized the one –able word that I would use to describe what I strive to be, and what Scott has nailed, is transferable.

What Does It Mean to be More Transferable?

Transferable is more Memorable

Think about all of the knowledge you gained in High School. What ideas, concepts, or principles stand out most in your memory? If nothing stands out, what events during high school stand out in your mind?

Unless you have a perfect memory, the most memorable ideas or memories are attached to a concept presented in a surprising way or were highly emotional. One idea that I remember is the “Mole scream” from Chemistry class, which was a high pitched scream that our teacher let out when anyone correctly used the concept of a mole in discussions.

Since the Mole Scream was memorable, it caused me to remember the concept of the Mole and the teacher’s knowledge was transferred to me.

What are you doing to make your ideas, products, and services more memorable?

Transferable is more Understandable

To be more memorable, you could stand on a busy sidewalk and yelling random equations at the top of your lungs for a few hours. While that would make you very memorable and possibly get the video of you screaming a few hits on YouTube, like many Internet Memes, the effecive lifespan of your demonstrationwould be short.

In order for you to be transferable, you need to make yourself more understandable. I recently heard about Danica McKellar, an actress turned author who was writing math books for girls by using stories and examples from a young girl’s life to explain concepts in math. These books are understandable because they link familiar concepts to new ones.

Since these books are more understandable, they transfer the power of mathematics to people that might not have taken as much of an interest.

What are you doing to creating understandable products, services, and ideas?

Transferable is more Actionable

Let’s go back to High School (OK, I don’t want to either so let’s just go back to what we learned in High School).

While someone might have presented a quote out of the Federalist Papers in period costume so that you remembered the passage, what good did it do if you were not able to apply that knowledge in your daily life?

When you are transferable, you are able to provide information that is actionable. While many business classes provide a wealth of information, many professionals turn to public seminars, coaches, and consultants in order to bridge the gap between knowledge and execution.

When you are transferable, you are able to help people turn their knowledge into operational improvement, life enhancement, or monetary gain. From a product perspective, this is accomplished through actionable checklists, process diagrams, and worksheets that help people grasp the concepts that they need to take action on.

Though college is a great way to gain knowledge, it does not always provide actionable tools that transfer the knowledge to people that will use it.

Are you providing great knowledge with a heavy does of actionability?

Transferable is more Marketable

When you are transferable, your transferableness is more marketable. 

Which business book would you be more apt to read?

“The book contained a lot of good information, but I had to wade through ten long chapters of extraneous self promotion, archaic terms, and unnecessary definitions to get to the material that was actionable.,”

Or

“This book was great? Using the knowledge in the first chapter alone, I was able to save my business thousands of dollars.”

I would prefer the second. What about you?

When you, your products, and your services are transferable, that transferableness becomes marketable.

Transferable is more Compatible

When you are transferable, you are more compatible.

I could talk about the chemical reasons that oil and water doesn’t mix, but I am afraid I wouldn’t be transferring understandableness in my description. Instead, think about relatives you might have that don’t get along. For some reason they are just not compatible!

What happens when those relatives get together during the holidays? They usually end up bickering, making snide comments, and not listening to what the others person has to say. If there was an important message that had to get from one of them to the other, do you think it would get there with the right intention?

When you are transferable, you are compatible with your surroundings, people, and the technology in your life that allows you to be a superhero.

What are you doing to be more compatible?

Of all the –ables that I can think of, to me, being transferable has the most potential to help someone achieve success. When you are transferable, you are more memorable, understandable, actionable, marketable, and compatible than your competitors which will lead you to amazing successes.

Are you transferable?

Make Yourself More Transferable is a post from: As A Dude Thinketh
As A Dude Thinketh is written and edited by Chris Elliott. Chris helps small businesses figure out what their big idea is, how to get it to market, and how to get people to notice their wonderfulness. He is also a dynamic speaker and trainer in personal growth and public speaking. Do you need help with your next big idea or speech? I encourage you to talk with me to see how Chris can be of service.

If you liked this post, then you should also check out:

1. How to make your speaking, e-mail marketing, and blogging more effective.
2. The Cake is a Lie
3. Good is the Enemy of Great

Christian is a 16 year old boy who has created million dollar software and ad companies before the age of 16. The companies sell bundles of popular Mac software and now he has started a company selling ads on websites.  It is a great story that you have to read . . . once you are done reading this blog post of course.

What I found interesting about Christian’s story was some of the comments that people left on the blog where it was posted. While some were positive, many comments are mocking him for not having a life, employing his parents, and most egregious of all . . . being unoriginal.

Common Business Beliefs

What the comments illustrate is a common business belief. When most people start their businesses, they think that they have to be 100% original. They believe that they have to sell products on one else is selling, have a store that is totally original, or create new intellectual content from original research. They have it in their heads that they have to be unique to make it in this world.

Let me let you in on a little secret . . .

The most successful businesses in the world are not unique!

A quick disclaimer; I am not condoning the blatant copying of other people’s copyrighted and patented materials for personal gain. That is stealing. What I am talking about is copying ideas about what works and using those ideas in your business.

There are two ways to accomplish this in your business:

Number One: Improve Current Products

For example, think about a few of the most successful technology companies in the world: Apple, Google, and Microsoft. All of these companies were late to the game in their original markets but are now the leaders in mobile technology, search, and office software.

They accomplished this feat by taking something that was hard to use, expensive to operate, and ineffective. They made those products easy to use, cheap to operate, and more effective. In essence, these companies took complex products and services that were specialty products and made them into easy to use commodities.

In the story of Christian Owens, he found multiple mac programs that people wanted to use but couldn’t afford to purchase them all individually, worked with the software authors to bundle them together, and sold the bundle at a major discount. He also used contests, referral bonuses, and limited time offers to give people a sense of urgency to buy the bundle.

Everything Christian did has been done before, but he made it simpler, cheaper, and more useful to his customers.

Could you do that in your business?

Number Two: Completely Copy What Worked for Someone Else (With Their Permission!)

When you drive down any main street in the United States, what do you typically see? Do you see a McDonalds, a Subway, and an Applebees? More than likely you will find a chain rather than something unique.

Why would someone buy a franchise rather than start something unique?

People open franchises because they are proven businesses. Most people that have started a unique retail or restaurant business will tell you, that if they had to do it again they would buy a proven franchise. While it is great when a unique business succeeds, the failure rate is much higher than if you would have bought a franchise.

If you are desperate for a business of your own, a franchised business might be what works for you since you are copying what worked for someone else.

Can you be successful by being original?

It is possible, but with so many people being successful by being unoriginal, why risk it? Do what others are doing, but take it one step further. Make it easier, make it more accessible, and make it more desirable. If that doesn’t work, then consider what licensing and franchising a business could do for your freedom.

Whatever you do, remember to keep moving forward.

P.S. Here is the story on Christian Owens from Gizmodo.

P.P.S. If you are looking for a tool to get you started in creating a totally unoriginal Internet Marketing business, then make sure to pick up a copy of my step by step guide to Creating a Product this Weekend.

Got another minute?

Do you like what I have to say in my blog posts? If you do, then leave a comment and click on one of the share buttons below and let your friends on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn know about my blog. You can also Like me on Facebook by clicking on the like button to the left of this post.

Thank you so much for helping spread the word!

The Secret to Business Success: Don’t Be Original is a post from: As A Dude Thinketh
As A Dude Thinketh is written and edited by Chris Elliott. Chris helps small businesses figure out what their big idea is, how to get it to market, and how to get people to notice their wonderfulness. He is also a dynamic speaker and trainer in personal growth and public speaking. Do you need help with your next big idea or speech? I encourage you to talk with me to see how Chris can be of service.

If you liked this post, then you should also check out:

1. The Reason for Success
2. Why Your Business is Like Most Chinese Restaurants
3. Is This How a Business Helps Their Community?

Compare that to the person that saw when you were having difficulty with a move. What would that person do for you? They would slow down, show you, and guide you to doing it correctly. They didn’t try to show off or hurt you. That person let you learn the techniques without fear that you were going to get hurt.

Which of the two people would you want to practice?

The first person, call him Mr. Hard. He wants you to know that he is good. When he is able to toss you around like a rag doll, it makes him feel like he knows what he is doing. By knocking you down, he is pushing himself up.

The second person, call her Ms. Soft. She wants you to know that it is OK that you are not good, but she is here to help you become great. She knows what she is doing, and wants you to get there as well. By helping you up, she will get helped up as you grow.

How are you growing yourself and your business?

Are you balancing on the backs of people that you knocked down or are you being held up by the people that you brought up with you?

Many times, whether we realize it or not, we are Mr. Hard when it comes to our business and personal development. Consider the last time you saw one of your competitors in business or at work fail. Did you offer your hand to pick them up or were you cheering their failure?

If you are feeling bad at this point, don’t fret. It is common in our society to cheer for the victors and to bash the losers. If you have ever read Stranger in a Strange Land (Amazon Affiliate Link) by Robert Heinlein, then you might have learned from Valentine Michael Smith’s humor hypothesis that all humor is at the expense of someone else. This is one of the consequences of being human that we have to realize. It is OK to laugh, but also feel for someone’s misfortune.

Start Lifting Others Up

The first step to change from pushing down to lifting up doesn’t have to be large. It could be asking a co-worker that is struggling with a problem if there is anything you can do to help. Maybe a committee member of an association needs some help getting a project done. It doesn’t have to be a huge act on your part but sometimes, many times, the small things you do to lift people up have a huge impact in the future.

I believe that our lives and our businesses cannot be sustained on pushing others down. The only way to build a sustainable future is by supporting others so that they will support you whether it is in success or failure.

What do you think? Is it better to succeed from other’s failure or do you try to help everyone have a chance at success?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Are You Raising Yourself Up by Pushing Others Down? is a post from: As A Dude Thinketh
As A Dude Thinketh is written and edited by Chris Elliott. Chris helps small businesses figure out what their big idea is, how to get it to market, and how to get people to notice their wonderfulness. He is also a dynamic speaker and trainer in personal growth and public speaking. Do you need help with your next big idea or speech? I encourage you to talk with me to see how Chris can be of service.

If you liked this post, then you should also check out:

1. Why Being Great Matters
2. How to be a Superhero – Part 4: Taking Action
3. Stupid People Making Money

The last post was about taking action. Why there are many ways that you can take action in becoming a superhero, the most effective way is joining forces with other superheroes.

Why Do You Want to Work with Other Superheroes?

Many new superheroes often wonder, “Why would I want to work with other superheroes? I don’t want to share the glory with someone else. Why do you think I became a superhero in the first place? I did it for the recognition and not to play second fiddle to someone else.”

When you take the plunge and start to develop your superpowers you often say or think statements similar to the one above and it is a very valid statement. One of the reasons I started writing and speaking was because I wanted to be recognized for my work. In a corporate job, we are not often recognized for our contributions and developing our superpowers is a way to get the recognition that makes us feel like we are achieving something greater than ourselves.

Why would we give that up and work with other people?

There are quite a few reasons:

1. Increased Reach

As you develop your superhero status, you will start to attract fans. Your fans are people you have helped, or people that like what you are doing and want to watch to see what you will do next.

When you work with other heroes, you have a chance to reach out to other superhero’s fans and help them in ways that the superhero you are working with cannot. This expands your reach into groups you might not have had access to alone.

2. Ability to Use the Superpowers of Others

Maybe you are a graphic designer for web sites, but you want to offer blog set ups as well. You could join forces with someone more technical that can handle that component while you focus on the design.

You could be a financial planner, but need someone to handle legal matters. When you join forces, you can offer your customers a greater service from someone that has already helped them conquer evil forces.

3. Connections to Other Superheroes

What I enjoy most about joining forces with others is the opportunity to meet other superheroes through the superheroes that I partner with. I cannot spend every moment of my day working with new organizations, so joining forces gives me the opportunity to meet people through other networks without having to be a full member of that community.

4.  Someone to Lean on When Things Aren’t Going Well

No matter how many times you say, “The World is out to do me good,” some days it feels like everything is aligned against you.

Being a superhero is hard. You have the demands of helping people, there are evil doers out to destroy you, and you might have to balance the demands of your alter ego. Some days it might feel like everything is going to come crashing down around your shoulders.

That is why it is good to have other superheroes to talk to when things are going rough. Someone to be there when you get beat down and pick you up. Working with other superheroes can lift you back up and remind you of how important it is to do what you are doing.

They help you move forward when everyone else is pushing you back.

Meeting Other Superheroes

Living as an alter ego, we might not get the opportunity to meet other superheroes that we can work with. You might be in a place where you can’t display your super powers, but there are places you can look meet others on the same quest as yourself.

This includes:

Associations

There are many professional associations that you can become a member of to help you meet other super heroes. Many of these associations have local, national, and international meetings that allow you to get together with others in your industry to network, share ideas, and develop your super powers.

Service Organizations

It is always good to give back as a superhero. Joining an organization such as Rotary, Lions, or Kiwanis gives you an opportunity to work with others for the common good of society. You will also make connections with people that have complementary superpowers to you and demonstrate your commitment to helping others.

Networking Groups

A search of meetup.com or your local paper can lead to many opportunities for networking events in your local area. These are great venues for seeing what other superheroes are doing, giving, and receiving referrals from other superheroes.

Toastmasters

Toastmasters International is a 200,000+ member strong organization devoted to helping people become better public speakers and leaders. I personally have been a member for 4.5 years and have met an amazing number of superheroes that are constantly working on developing their superpowers.

Online Gatherings

I am a member of three online groups that have helped me grow different aspects of my superpowers. These groups are typically lead by an individual or team of superheroes that have developed a community devoted to helping you grow your superpowers.

Working with other Superheroes is Inspiring

The greatest benefit I have found from working with others is the inspiration I get from my fellow superheroes. When I see someone doing great work, it inspires me to work on my superpowers, help more people, and start to live the life that I am inspired to live.

Are there people out there that will try to take advantage of you? Yes, but you cannot let that stop you from going out there and meeting the best people possible. Getting out there and working with others, you will find that you will be able to find the right people and work together to do something great.

What are you waiting for?

Get out there and start doing what you were born to do and become the superhero the world needs you to be.

I hope you enjoyed this series and I would love it if you left me your ideas, comments, and feedback on how we can all become better superheroes.

How to be a Superhero – Part 5: Joining Forces with Other Superheroes is a post from: As A Dude Thinketh
As A Dude Thinketh is written and edited by Chris Elliott. Chris helps small businesses figure out what their big idea is, how to get it to market, and how to get people to notice their wonderfulness. He is also a dynamic speaker and trainer in personal growth and public speaking. Do you need help with your next big idea or speech? I encourage you to talk with me to see how Chris can be of service.

If you liked this post, then you should also check out:

1. How to be a Superhero – Part 4: Taking Action
2. How to be a Superhero – Part 1: Liberating the Superhero within You
3. How to be a Superhero – Part 2: Becoming more Aware

In my last post, I provided some tips on how you can develop your superpowers. Once your superpowers are significant enough to take on evildoers, it is time to take action. What kind of superhero would you be if you just sat around all day in a rocking chair not helping anyone?

I am a member of a number of different organizations. In these organizations, I meet with superheroes that want to use their superpowers as professional speakers, authors, and consultants. The problem with these superheroes is that they believe there are not enough evildoers out there to pay the bills.

Speaking to one superhero, Mr. Invisible, he might say, “I can’t get anyone interested in hiring me to battle evildoers.”

Another superhero, Ms. Whynotme, might chime in and say, “I don’t get it. Ms. Wonderful has hundreds of people she has helped . . . Why not me?”

Why Not Me?

The reason that many up and coming superheroes are not finding chances to use their superheroes is that they are NOT TAKING ACTION. Instead they are just hanging out online, surfing blog posts, reading another self-help book, or working on adding more initials after their name.

While it is important to develop your superpowers, there comes a point in the development of your superpowers where you have to stop searching for some book, article, or program that will bring people that need help to you. It won’t happen. In order to help people you have to find those people. The best way to find those people is to take action.

Taking Action

Taking action is a big step for many new superheroes. It is the point where they have decided that it is time to stop thinking about being a superhero and start being one. That thought is a big mental hurdle for a lot of people, but it must be overcome in order for you to realize your greatness.

Some ways you can take action are:

• Call People You Can Help – I admit that calling potential customers is extremely intimidating. Calling people scares me as well, but it is one of the most important actions that you can take to find people to help.When calling someone, I am not asking you to cold call anyone. What I am asking you to do is use what you have learned in previous posts and get out and meet people. Using your new found powers of awareness, you can develop a list of people you have met, their problems, and how you can help them.For example, when I meet with people that want to be professional speakers, I will visit their web pages. If they don’t have a website that is very appealing, then I will create a test site on my server that demonstrates what I can do for them to help them make their site more accessible to potential customers.Then comes the hard part., I will call them up mentioning when and where we met. I will tell them I visited their website wanted to how well their website was converting potential clients into paying customers.

  If they don’t know, then I will tell them about the tools I can provide that will make their sites a destination and not just a business card. This sometimes leads to a discussion of how much I charge and when I can have a proposal put together outlining how we can do business.

  Do I always close the deal? No, but I am reaching out trying to help people that need my help. I am taking action.

• Follow Up with Contacts – How many times has someone you met at a networking event said, “I am having a problem with something you might be able to help me with.”You then said, “I will give you a call.”Did you ever call them back?It amazes me how many people avoid taking the action of following up with people that request their assistance. This action is quite simple. If someone asks for your help, make a commitment to call them and follow up on how you can help them. The amount of money that is left on the table is huge from people not taking this simple step.

  There was a time a number of months ago that another blogger wanted to get together and chat about how he could help me on some projects. I thought that it could turn into a business relationship at some point, but I had a few other projects going on that was making it difficult for me to meet to discuss our mutual interests. I asked the person to call me back on a certain week when I would have a better idea of when we can meet.

  The blogger never called me back and potentially missed out on a sale of his services.

  To be a superhero, you must follow up with people that tell you to get back in touch at a later time and date. They might not seem interested when you first meet, but that could be because they are in the middle of some big project and need time and space to consider what you can do to help them.

• Tackle a Big Project – Are you an up and coming blogger? Then create a large series of foundational blog posts. These posts can demonstrate your knowledge of the topic area you are interested in pursuing.I know other superheroes that have written a book, created a product, built a house, or planned a large overseas wedding.The goal is to take on a project larger than your current abilities, but still doable if you put your energy into the project. When you do this, you will find that your superpowers will grow in strength from the difficulty of taking on a big project.

• Ask for Advice – Taking action can mean knowing what you don’t know and being humble enough to admit you need to learn what needs to be done to find people to help. Maybe you are at a loss for what people to speak with at a company, what organization would help you connect with the right people, or how to market your superpowers.Take the action of calling or e-mailing as many people that are doing what you want to do and asking them how you can get the knowledge you need to build your superpowers. Doing this you might learn what class you need to take, what books you need to read, or what jobs that you might need to pursue to develop your superpowers. It might also connect you with other superheroes that you can work with.

• Connect with Other Superheroes – We will discuss this topic specifically in the last post in this series, however I will mention here that taking action can be joining forces with other superheroes in order to fill the gaps in your knowledge. I know speakers that join forces with web design experts to create educational websites. Taking action can be hanging out with other superheroes and finding out where a connection can be made that benefit both parties in their development.

A Personal Story

I have been blogging on and off for years. Most of my early attempts were on blogger.com before learning how to sign up for a webhost, buy a domain name, and install WordPress. After learning how to do that, I had to continue to refine my knowledge of the technology while working on my writing skills.

It was not an easy process and I have had many missteps. I have had my sites hacked, moved web servers, bought useful books, bought useless products, started, and then stopped many different blogs. Each time I learned a little more, developed my abilities, and became a part of different groups and communities. If you are reading this, know that I didn’t start knowing anything, but have gotten to a point where I can write and post this with relative ease.

I took action by getting out there and starting to tackle the big project of starting a blog. When I wasn’t getting the readers, I started to ask people for feedback on what I was doing wrong. I then reached out to other bloggers, did some guest posts, and started to develop a small but loyal readership.

What I have learned and continue to learn every day is that you have to take action to make things happen. People don’t magically come to you asking for help. You have to go out and find them and when you do, you have to take action to show them how you can help.

How will You Take Action?

As you have embraced your superpowers, I hope that you realize that the journey has just begun. There are many more ways for you to learn and develop and I hope that this post has highlighted a few that have benefited me in my development.

Let me know how you are going to take action in the comments.

How to be a Superhero – Part 4: Taking Action is a post from: As A Dude Thinketh
As A Dude Thinketh is written and edited by Chris Elliott. Chris helps small businesses figure out what their big idea is, how to get it to market, and how to get people to notice their wonderfulness. He is also a dynamic speaker and trainer in personal growth and public speaking. Do you need help with your next big idea or speech? I encourage you to talk with me to see how Chris can be of service.

If you liked this post, then you should also check out:

1. How to be a Superhero – Part 5: Joining Forces with Other Superheroes
2. How to be a Superhero – Part 1: Liberating the Superhero within You
3. How to be a Superhero – Part 3: Developing Your Superpowers