If you’ve ever felt like you’re stuck in a rut or simply not hitting your goals fast enough here are 5 unusual and slightly unorthodox things I do to motivate myself.

Unusual Motivator #1 – Go Public

I like the pressure the happens when you tell people, who’s opinion you care about, what you want to get done. For instance, maybe your sister’s opinion of you really matters to you. You’d feel incredibly stupid if you told her something and then you let her down. Perfect. That’s exactly who you want to share your next idea with and make them hold you to the completion. But don’t tell someone who is a negative person – they’ll only try to talk you out of anything you’ve got planned or rain on your parade.

I like to do this in a big way.

You’ve already seen this in action if you’ve read the blog at all. You know I made a very public promise on here that by January 2008 I’d have my first Maverick Business Adventures™ experience. I put it out in a very public way and I’d feel silly if I didn’t move forward with the project. I have tens of thousands of readers who would, in some way, hold me to it. [Side note: You may or may not want to reveal everything publicly if you feel like someone will steal your idea.]

Unusual Motivator #2 – Make a bet - Or even better make an embarrassing bet

Every notice how you’ll do more to win a silly bet than you would in other situations? You bet!

Why not make a silly and possibly embarrassing bet (back to #1) with a friend of yours for something you want to get done. Maybe it’s taking off 10 lbs. Both of you agree that you’ll lose 10 lbs within 6 weeks or the person who doesn’t needs to strut around town in the lime-green, thong bathing suit Borat wore (pics below). Get creative and make sure you really don’t want to be the loser of the bet.

Unusual Motivator #3 – Create a Big Enough Reason Why

If you have a big enough reason to get something done there’s almost no way you can fail. It’s the people with the biggest reasons (or the most reasons) who seem to pull through anytime the deck is stacked against them. My friend, Frank McKinney, recently completed the grueling Badwater Ultra Marathon. It’s a 135-mile run in Death Valley where the temperature frequently tops 100 degrees. Frank does it to raise funds for his Caring House Foundation Project and that’s his ‘why’.
For my family and other immigrant families the biggest reason why was simply because there wasn’t really another alternative. My Father came over from Russia with $256 in his pocket for me, my Mom and her Mom. He barely spoke English but he still managed to build a nice 7-figure business. What’s your reason why and it’s got to be bigger than simply “I want to be rich”?
 

Unusual Motivator #4 – Make a must-hit deadline

I like this one a lot. The rule is the more unbreakable the deadline – the greater the chance you’ll get your task done. Ever notice how the day before you leave for your vacation you miraculously get everything completed? That’s right – you’ve got a deadline (and a reason why). I’ve seen this work time and time again. Set your deadline. Sometimes it takes a big leap of faith but events, people, situations conspire will conspire to make sure you get your deadline met once you really make it a permanent deadline.

Quick example is when I sold my very first information product to doctors. I ran an ad and got 10 leads and 1 doc bought on the deadline from the sales letter (lesson in itself about deadlines for customers). So after peeling myself off the ceiling from being so excited someone actually bought – I realized I had no product ready. I wrote the doctor back and told him we would not charge his card since we were “republishing” the material and it would be ready in 30 days. Boom! A deadline! You can bet I worked my butt off til 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning many of those 30 days after my regular job to get this manual out there and done.

Another example, the first year I held my Underground™ Online Seminar - I really had no idea how it would be do. I didn’t know it would sell out weeks in advance – but I did set a deadline. An event is the most solid deadline you could put out there. I stood to lose $100k+ if it didn’t work and I knew the date it had to get filled by. A lot of people don’t want to set deadlines because they simply want everything to be perfect before a product/event/service is ready. News flash: That will never happen! Deadlines are like magic productivity pills. Anytime a project of mine is not progressing – it means I don’t have a real deadline in place with real penalties. 

Unusual Motivator #5 – Document it and profit from it

Here’s one you might not hear anywhere else. One of my favorite motivators for getting off my butt is knowing I can document a certain process and others might be interested in it. That can take many different forms – anything from you having to have blogging material to actually turning what you do into some sort of information marketing product for sale. 

A few years back when Missy & I moved to Manhattan Beach, CA for the Summer – one of my motivators (aside from the weather, playing beach volleyball, etc) was to document running an online business from a remote location. I turned that into a little bonus report that I previously used as a bonus for one of our products.

Alright there you go – 5 unusual ways to motivate yourself to get moving on any project, idea or business you’ve got cooking. Do you have any other ways you motivate yourself – leave a comment for everyone to benefit from. Or let me know if you use any of these 5 ways and your results.

One quick fun thing…

Since Halloween just passed, I’m sure you guys were having sleepless nights wondering what I dressed up as for my favorite holiday. Okay maybe not. In our new neighborhood there’s a huge Halloween party across the street from us. Steve and Deb go all out. There’s about 150 people there and they hire caterers, bartenders even a tarot card reader (we’ll come back to her in a moment). The party was killer! I came as Borat and stayed in character the whole night – much to the dismay of Missy.

She’d cringe every time she heard “Veeery Niiiiice” or “Higha-Fiva” across the room. The great thing is I had watched the movie the night before the party so all the lines were really recent in my head. The poor tarot card reader – I kept calling her a gypsy and asking for her tears! Here’s a quick pic of me and another Borat at the party:

And those of you who saw the movie – might remember a certain lime-green bathing suit. Here’s a little peek of it under my suit (and no, it never came all the way out).

Zak had his first real Halloween and dressed up as “Bob the Builder”. He didn’t quite get trick or treating. I’d help him knock on the doors of neighbors and he’d just barge right in and check out their house. Here he is (eating some of his Halloween loot) with Mommy and his baby sister in a pumpkin onesie.

** Update **

I’m doing a special online preview of the trip and we’ll start taking applications for membership this Thursday, Oct 25th at 3 pm, ET. Details here. 

I’m excited to report I’ve put down the deposit with the area’s top Baja racing outfitter, Wide Open Baja, to secure our first adventure trip. Here’s some quick details as it’s still developing…

Baja Racing Adventure Experience – Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Dates: Jan 29 – February 2nd (and optional Super Bowl party February 3rd)

Price – to be determined (somewhere around $8000- 9000)

2 years I went on one of my absolute favorites trip – and that was a 4-day Baja racing adventure run with my friends Rob Olic and the late Corey Rudl. Corey had been the year before and he said it was the most fun he’s ever had. So I’m super excited that this has worked out to be the very first Maverick Business Adventure trip.

Each part of your trip is designed to make this an exceptional experience. From the superb qualifications of your guides (each one has won the prestigious Baja 1000) to the performance of the cars allowing you to push the envelope of performance driving but still provide all the safety of a modern desert racer to enjoying the best accommodations and authentic Baja cuisine (safari style). This is all included in one fee.

Just a reminder – Maverick Business Adventures combines truly unique, one-of-a-kind experiences with exclusive business building, high-level networking & powerful connections. It’s the first and only and only membership of successful entrepreneurs & top achievers to come together and really LIVE life to the fullest.

It’s all about…

* Unique, one-of-a-kind experiences….
* Big adventures…
* Powerful connections that happen outside of the ‘normal’ business setting…
* Business building & high-level networking…
* Plus lots of fun (that’s even tax deductible).

Here are a few highlights of this first trip…

* 3 days of wild off-road adventure driving starting in Cabo San Lucas. We’ll follow part of the famous Baja 1000 course along mountain roads, majestic ocean-view vistas and untamed trails not accessible to most others.

* Business building sessions each day where participant confidentially share “what’s working” in their business. (Members are required to adhere to a Non-disclosure agreement.)

* A bonus session with our high-profile business expert coming on the trip. This person could be a NY-times best-selling author, they could be a world-famous expert or they could even be a billionaire (serious). I’m in serious talks with all of the above and I’m not ready to tell you guest…yet… but I guarantee it will blow you away.)

* Scorpion Bay – we’ll spend a day in the sun & playing in and around the water at the famous “Scorpion Bay”. An oasis of wild and unspoiled nature that is well beyond mass tourism because there are no easy way to get here. It’s the world 2nd largest surf break and our exclusive, private retreat here is equipped for activities on and around the beach. You will be able to ride through the dunes on quads, surf the infamous Baja waves (rides of up to a minute are not uncommon), Jet Ski through the blue waters, or just relax on the beach with a cerveza in hand with your new friends. The head of Wide Open Baja (our Baja racing outfitter) has told me he’s taken several billionaires here and none of them have wanted to leave afterwards!

* Whale encounter at San Ignacio – there’s only a small window when the most massive creatures in the ocean are available for us to get close enough to them to actually touch them. Each winter from December through April, the longest known mammal migration occurs when the Pacific Gray Whales make their way south from the cold Arctic waters of the Bering Sea to the remote warm water lagoons of Mexico’s Baja peninsula.

People flock to San Ignacio to see the Gray Whales breach but they have to travel all-day over rugged terrain and in uncomfortable buses (or tiny planes) to get here. With our Baja racers our paths are completely unhindered as we head right to the water’s edge for an encounter only a few have experienced and one you won’t forget. Not only will you see the magnificent Gray Whales from shore but we’ll head out in private skiffs to actually ‘meet’ them. This is the best place on Earth to actually interact with these friendly Gray Whales in their own environment. You can get so close that you can actually pet them and scratch their backs.

* (Optional) VIP Super Bowl party in Cabo San Lucas. After the racing adventure the fun doesn’t have to end. You’re invited to an exclusive Super Bowl viewing party in one of Cabo’s top clubs. What’s more, we’re bringing in a former NFL player to give you true insider’s view as you watch the big game together.

Obviously this Trip Is NOT For Everyone…

Not only because of the price tag – but because each Maverick Business Adventures trip is by invitation-only based on an application process or by-referral only from other members (once we get going).

Each trip is a small exclusive group and the maximum number for this one is 26. We are not taking reservations yet (very soon!). And if you want to be the first to know about it – sign up at the site: www.MaverickBusinessAdventures.com

* Updated Video Added of Our Team’s Scavenger Hunt *

 Here’s the most fun you have with a video camera unless you’re Paris Hilton.

I’ve been trying to get this going for a long time and finally this past Saturday I convinced enough friends that it would be a lot of fun. The plan was we break up into 3 teams of 3 and everyone was on their own throughout the day with their list of actions they needed filmed. Then we’d all get back together at my house to watch the footage and have a great dinner.

There were only 2 rules:

Rule #1 – You cannot disclose you are on a scavenger hunt. You may however use
any means and random stories to give the crowd your ‘reason why’ you are so strange.

Rule #2 – See rule #1

I really think it turned out way better than anyone thought. Everyone had a great time and it was hilarious watching the tapes from the other teams. Here’s the list of what we were on the look out for:

* * *
Try to buy something at the store with a foreign currency 75
Find a twin for every member of the team 75
Bonus for best look-alike 50 (only one team gets this bonus)
Interview people walking out of a restroom if they ‘crumble’ or ‘fold’ toilet paper 50
Walk into an establishment and perform the song playing 50
Bonus for Neil Diamond song – 50
Kiss a fish 35
Change clothes with a stranger – 100
Bonus for pants – 150
Break dance on a cardboard box in public 75
Bonus for each move 25
Bonus for getting stranger to join in 50
Point at nothing and get passerby to look at it 50
Bonus 10 points per passerby pointing – 10/per
Get someone in your team to sing and act out the teapot song 50
Cartwheels across a 2 lane street 50
Bonus for doing it against the ‘Don’t Walk’ sign 75
Stage a Kung-Fu battle in front of a Starbucks 50
Bonus 25 points for each passerby who joins – 25 points/per
Comment on loving couple’s behavior as if narrating a nature program 75
Create an obstacle on a sidewalk and then act as Olympic judges rating how well people navigate it 75
Take a nap in an inappropriate location 35
Re-enact the “King of the World” scene 30
Get in a car “Dukes of Hazard” style 30
Help carry groceries to car 25
 Bonus for getting a tip 15
Team members playing leapfrog in front of Starbucks 15
Haggle over the price of a sandwich – 50
Bonus for getting priced reduced – 25
Get a piggyback ride from a stranger 75
Test drive a stranger’s car – 75
 Bonus if exotic car (Lambo, Ferrari, etc) – 100
Get someone to stop for you to sketch them – 50
 Bonus for getting paid – 25
Window wash cars in stopped traffic- 50
 Bonus for getting a tip 25
Get someone guess the Star Spangled Banner from just whistling the tune 75
 Bonus if they guess on the first pick 25
Film your group in a stranger’s living room 75
Slap fight each other in front of a store – 75
Find a runner, jog with him or her for minimum of 1 minute 50
Do a street magic trick – 50
Bonus for getting a tip on performance – 15
Everyone walks into Starbucks separately and orders the same convoluted and crazy drink from the barista (cannot be in line right after each) – 100 (points only awarded if all team does this)
Comment on a stranger’s fine choice of watches while standing at the urinal together 75
Ask stranger to make an emergency cell phone to Lithuania on their cell phone – 75
Get something out of the trash in plain view of stranger and then try to sell that object to them – 75
 Bonus for them actually buying 75
High-five a police officer 50
Group hug a police officer   100
Eat off a stranger’s plate 75
Bonus for getting a second bite 50
Stay in front of a restaurant window and pretend to eat a bite every time the customer in front of the window bites their food 50
Old lady on the ground yelling “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up 50
Getting a guy to try on a dress 50
Group member sitting on the lap of a public statue 50
Get a stranger to let you bowl one ball for him/her during their game 50
Purchase an item of at least $3 and pay the whole thing with pennies 50
A member of your group walking a stranger’s dog 50
Propose to a completely random girl (no restrictions on whether the random girl accepts or not; the guy must get on bended knee) – 50
Drive backwards through a drive thru and order something – 35
Go into the dressing room and yell loudly…”Hey, we’re out of toilet paper in here!” – 50
Tell a stranger they look like a certain celebrity and get an autograph – 50
 Bonus for actually getting the autograph – 50
Go fishing in a public fountain – 50
Act out children’s story for group of children 50
In elevator shake hands with everyone getting on and tell them they can call you “Admiral” – 50
Give a statue a lap dance – 50
Catching a frisbee in your Mouth – 25
Ask a $1 from a stranger to help support your cause to grow a money tree and bury it in front of them – 50
Hang upside down from monkey bars while making monkey noises & eating a banana – 50
Fly paper airplanes at strangers – 25

WILD CARD – Your group can create their own scenario for a bonus 150 points. The other teams must give you a majority vote to score your points.

* * *
My team consisted of 2 other marketers – Chris Zavadowski and Rob Olic so we used our marketing smarts. In the morning when we printed out another separate list printed out with the following at the top –

University of Maryland College of Theatre and Performance
Film 301
Assignment #3 – Online Viral Video

We were using Robert Cialdini’s “Reason why”, “Authority” and “social proof” on our side. Our story was for Film 301 class we had an assignment to capture all these items on film to see what would become viral online. It was amazing to see how using the reason-why of this class assignment plus authority (the actual sheet) and social proof (we had checked off some items already) got people to accept our premise.

Hopefully Chris will get some video footage up online shortly of our team but I pretty much know one activity – ‘Getting a test drive from a stranger’ wouldn’t have worked without this. I mean that one is pretty tough but we explained to the ladies about the class assignment and even showed them the list. At first they were completely taken back and then gave in. It was incredible watching the change. They obviously have no idea who I am and they just gave me the keys (and even rode along) with a perfect stranger. Amazing! Though it’s a good lesson again on using ‘reason why’ in your marketing.

* Updated* Here’s some of the footage from our group

We had a ton of laughs just shooting everything…

A couple highlights include Rob chasing down a biker and asking to swap shirts with him. I don’t envy Rob since I’m sure this shirt was all sweaty from the guy’s bike ride but it was so funny I couldn’t believe it.

Chris laying down in the entrance to Barnes & Noble’s bookstore just taking a nap. It was pretty funny seeing how unconcerned some people were while others were asking if we should call ‘911’. I told them he’s a narcoleptic and falls asleep a lot of places.

I got into the scene break dancing on a cardboard box and these teenage girls watching walked away saying “That sucked!” And I even grabbed a random tomato off another girl’s plate much to her dismay.

We saw my neighbors while we were out and the 9-year old girl looked at the list and said, “Why would you do this?” I guess that’s a good question…

I have some quick clips still on my computer from one of the other teams headed up by my brother Adam. They had a lot of things going wrong like their camera not being charged, running out of tape and more – but they still got a lot of tasks done. Here are a couple:

 1. Kissing a Fish

2. Breakdancing in the parking lot:

If you’re a little bored and looking for a fun activity – organize one of these video scavenger hunts. I guarantee you will have a ton of fun. And if you do it – let me know…

P.S. I also found a few lost photos from my Player’s Run rally with Kern last year. (For the rally we dressed up like ‘Elvi’ each day progressing from 1950′s Elvis to Fat, bloated Elvis.) I figured you guys might want a new screensaver anyway.

This post brought to you by “Yanik’s Ultimate A-to-Z Information Marketing Brain-in-a-Box”

Ha! I just wanted to use that as a title for a post since I love the song by Marc Cohn and I just got back from Memphis last night. When the song comes on it’s almost like the Seinfeld episode when ‘Desperado’ comes on and Elaine is shushed by her boyfriend.  Okay not quite that bad but I do like the song.

Anyway I was in Memphis for our 7-figure Mastermind group meeting’s field trip. This was the first year we did a ‘field trip’ and it really worked out well.

Now as a tourist I was supposed to go see the ducks at the Peabody hotel. I thought it was pretty damn funny since hundreds of people show up everyday to watch a bunch of ducks. Every morning at 11am the ducks come down in the elevator from the penthouse and get into the hotel fountain to swim around for the day. And at 5 pm they reverse the process and go back up to their penthouse.

The story is that in 1932 the general manager and his buddy came back from a hunting trip a bit hammered and decided it would be funny to have some of the ducks they were using as decoys left in the fountain of their hotel. Surprisingly the ducks were still there the next day when they woke up and were causing a positive stir among guests. So a few years later – they hired an animal trainer to actually train them to march down a red carpet and into their fountain.

Here’s a little video I shot of the world-famous fowls:

And here are a couple pics of the ducks on one dapper Tim Schdmit from the MasterMind group. (Watching those ducks most have done something for me because I ate duck breast that night with a nice Pinot Noir.)

The Peabody ducks are a perfect example of a marketing gimmick that keeps getting people interested enough to take about when they go home, when tourists show up, etc. The entire hotel’s identity is closely tied to the ducks. You really don’t need to create anything that crazy but just enough to be really different. I mean how many hotels do you know with trained ducks?

I didn’t get a chance to hit Graceland but Mastermind member Perry Belcher (our esteemed host) did get us into another Memphis institution “The Rendezvous”. This is a world-famous place known for their ribs I absolutely love BBQ and it was delicious! I thought it was pretty funny that they only served Michelob but Perry told me they specially selected it to enhance the pork – but I’m not sure. Here’s part of our group experiencing this “perfect complimentary” beer:

For me, the “The Rendezvous” means something else since I went to school at Maryland.  It was called the “Vous” and you had to have to special Vous shoes since the place had uneven floors with huge pools of beer (and other various & sundry liquids). Everyone would dance on the tables and it would be pretty much out of control! I believe Playboy magazine event ranked it as a “Top Ten” college bar. There also used to be one morning called “Elbow Room” when they’d open up at 5 AM right before graduation and pitchers of beer were either a quarter or a dollar. I can’t remember. Then everyone would start pouring them on each other’s heads. For some reason the MasterMind guys weren’t into this tradition.

I’d like to share some big takeways and secrets from the meeting like how one member is getting 10x the traffic to his site using an overlooked technique that’s completely out of favor. Or how another member designed his membership site to ‘repay’ each subscriber but it really sets up another payday. And one of my favorites from this meeting – the simple ‘forced continuity’ that’ll add an extra 7 figures per month to one member’s business…but I can’t!

The meetings are completely confidential and members even sign NDAs but I might be able to get a few nuggets out in future Underground Secret Society newsletters if these guys let me. We’ll see. (Note: I currently run 2 MasterMind groups  – a 6 Figure and 7 Figure group. There is a waitlist for both groups.)

There was going to be another chapter to my Memphis trip – my HALO skydive but I ended up canning it since it would mean being gone from Missy for 3 more days. She’d been alone with Zak and Zoe and it’s pretty tough for her especially since our little princess isn’t sleeping. Here’s a new pic of her:

  Don’t let her smile fool you – she’s just luring you in

(I’m not wimping out. I’ll be rescheduling for Spring 08 and maybe Tim Ferriss won’t come up with some lame excuse again so he’ll join me.) ;

Okay spoiler alert – for those of you pacing the floors wondering if we won the whole tournament I’ll spare you anymore agony – we didn’t!

Actually we got knocked out in the first qualifying match 18-21 and 19-21 (ugh!). I guess it could have been much worse but I really thought we should have won that match.

I hadn’t played more than 3 times this entire Summer and I was making some really stupid mistakes on easy serves. Usually my passing and ball control is pretty good but I must have been pretty nervous because I shanked a bunch of balls. Really I played more to “not lose” than to “win” and that’s not like me.

Though in consolation I did get 3 or 4 service aces, couple big digs and a few kills out there. Here’s a little game footage.

And check out a couple of the game pics here:

Notice AL-B and I sporting the limited edition Internet Lifestyle jerseys. I had so little time to prepare but I thought since InternetLifestyle.com is sponsoring us we need some shirts. I used Zazzle.com and got my stuff delivering within 2 days. Pretty impressive. The funny thing is I didn’t double-check AL-B’s last name and only put one “n” there in Hannemann. So we used a handy sharpie the night before to make a quick change.

The promoter from the AVP Cincinnati event loved our story about coming together on IM and joining up for this tournament. He suggested I make a $1000 donation to buy tickets for local Special Olympics athletes to come watch the tournament. It was a great idea and that’s exactly what I did.

Actually Al-B and I both share the same views about giving back. He runs the “DIG for kids” charity and I promised I’d support that this year. In fact, we made a deal for next year (if it happens again) that I’ll make it really fun and do something like donating $100.00 for every point we score, $250.00 for every dig I make and something crazy like $5000 for every block I make. Hopefully, I’ll get to redeem myself in another tournament next year.

It was pretty interesting walking around the event and having Al-B keep being asked who his new partner was when I was standing right next to him. The other guys didn’t even consider I’d be his partner until he pointed me out. You should have seen the double-takes.

I did feel sorta, kinda like a pro for a little bit and the experience was very cool. The night before the game I stopped at Walgreens to pick up some ACE bandages to wrap my knees since I have two partially torn ACLs. I really didn’t need to do that since as a pro I had a full-on medical and therapy room there at my disposal. I got the best tape job of my life there. Wish I could hire those guys to come to my weekend pick-up games.

Official AVP Pro?

And here’s the commissioner of the AVP, Leonard Amato, welcoming me into the fold (his signature is on the yellow & white beach balls):

And as the newest AVP superstar I get to hang out with my new best friends Kerry Walsh and Misty May, Olympic gold medal winners (Check out how much taller Kerry is than me):

Overall, it was a very cool experience and glad I was able to take off at the last-minute for it.

I briefly mentioned this in the last post but #2 on my “BIG List” of stuff to do, have or experience was “Play semi-professional beach volleyball”. I really didn’t think it would happen but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to write it down. Well, Al-B said I would be technically be considered Pro now (even though I wouldn’t consider myself one). Here’s me in my official “Player” badge (zoom in) with Al-B and then another pic with Dan from volleyball.com

Another time – I want to share a little more about the “BIG List” and why I think it’s so important.

Now since I not only got this one checked off (but went above and beyond) I decided to add a few more to the list on the plane ride home including another sports one of “Get my name engraved on the Stanley Cup”. Hey – why not? Let’s throw it out there! Part of my list is up on InternetRoadTrip.com and I’m now up to 91 items – which I’ll probably post most of them here at some point.

There’s really no harm in writing down your own “BIG list”. What do you want to be, have, do, experience, etc? If you feel brave enough post 10 of them here.

This is definitely a little crazy!

Yesterday I was IM’ing with my friend, AVP pro, Albert Hannemann, and he was telling me his doubles volleyball partner just bailed on him at the last minute for the final tournament of the year in Cincinnati this weekend.

I was joking around on IM that we should play together in the tournament since he couldn’t find anyone els.

HA! Yeah, right – like he needs a 5’ 8” partly-out-of-shape partner.

Imagine my surprise when he said “Yes!”

AL-B and I have been friends from the Volleyball vacations trips he runs and I’ve given him some advice on marketing and promotion. I know my skill level and it’s not pro. But on my “BIG list” I had written “be a semi-pro beach volleyball player” however I never really thought it would really happen. (And actually this is even better since it’s a pro tourney.)

So your friends here at InternetLifestyle.com are going to be sponsoring our team. We play in the qualifiers on Thursday at 8 AM, ET. Then if by some stroke of luck we make into the main tourney we play on Fri. Pretty damn cool!

Check out the AVP site for information on this final tourney and if you’re close-by – you should come out to see the real pros (and one not-so-pro) out there. We can take them…we’ve got our game plan down…it’s AL-B vs the other 2 guys!

I’ll be posting a recap when I come home – wish me luck!

Just some comparison pics for preview – you probably can’t even tell who is the pro here, right?

Want to see a brand new start-up built from the ground up? Keep reading and I’ll be exposing it all…

After posting and mentioning my idea for “Maverick Business Adventures” I got really excited by it again. I went back and looked at my idea journal and I’ve been kicking this around since 2005! (Ugh!)

So now I’m going to REALLY do something about it…

I’m going to publicly (right here) state that I’m going to start-up this business by January 2008 or sooner. You’ll get  a front-row seat for the successes, failures and everything else that happens along the way. But in order for me to spill the beans about my business plan, confidential mindmaps and other stuff I’d normally keep close to the vest – I have a proposition for you.

If you’ll help by chiming in with your opinions and take an active role in “jointly” creating this project – I’ll share it all with you.

Deal?

Okay cool…

The first thing I typically do when I get a project idea is whip out a piece of paper and start creating a Mind Map. I just start brainstorming what’s in the project, how it’ll happen, who will do it, the pieces of it, etc.

Here’s what I have on my first one:

If you open it up, you can see I have a couple questions up in the air about how to charge for possible memberships, staffing issues, dealing with the adventure outfitters, hiring/bringing in “marquee” speakers, bringing in recurring revenue (which is important) and so on. But this is just the first incarnation. (Comments are definitely welcome – what do you think I should add, take-away, etc?)

Next, I decided to create a survey to find out from my list if this is something they might be interested in. I’m going to be mailing some of the list this week to get results. But do me a favor and take this quick 7-question survey while you’re checking it out.

For some reason a project seems to get more exciting to me when I have a cool logo or design attached to it. Now this is an optional step and if you were on a shoestring budget I might not even recommend it. Check out the contest I have running here for a logo.

You can see some of my comments and the 3 I’m most partial to so far are these – let me know what you think.

 Logo Option #1

 Logo Option #2

 Logo Option #3

(Side note: Sitepoint contests are an awesome resource if you want pretty much anything from a website to a logo designed. You put out a contest and artists will compete for the prize. The coolest part is you see completed work not hope for something that will fit.)

Another aspect I’ve been playing with is a tagline (now this is totally optional for a direct response company) but I thought it might be cool here.

Here are a couple I’ve thought of…

“The New MBA” (Actually my friend and fellow adventure-lover Cindy Cashman came up with this one)

“The Fun MBA!”

“More fun! More profits!”

“Crazy Fun! Crazy Profits!”

I’m sure you can do better. Let me know if you got one.

My goal is have the first trip going in the first part of 2008 and you’ll see how it develops since I’ve made this commitment pretty public.

And I’ll be giving away Internet Lifestyle caps for the most useful post and for the best tagline help. And if you are want to help out in some way and join the “Maverick Business Adventures” TEAM I’d love to hear from you.

Let’s face it, there are lots of times when we get into the rut of feeling bored and basically depressed about our lives.

Maybe you’ve fallen into a routine of doing things the same way every single day. Hanging out with the same people, eating the same meals, listening to the same music, taking the same vacation to the same spot each year, etc.

Hopefully this will help shake you out of it…

It’s too easy for life to simply pass you by unless you proactively create your own FUN plans! You are responsible for your own enjoyment out of life – stop waiting for others to do that for you.

Part of the Internet Lifestyle is FUN…and there really doesn’t seem to be enough of that in everyone’s lives. Think back to when you were a kid – most of use had mandatory fun built into our days with recess, right?

Why isn’t there recess for entrepreneurs?

Now you probably won’t go and play dodge ball this afternoon but you can have your own recess if do something about it yourself. My favorite fun times have been things I’ve gone out and done and not waited for them to fall into my lap. This might sound a little ‘type A’ (which I’m definitely not) but you have to put fun activities on your calendar or else your fun & entertainment by default becomes vegging in front of the TV. Of course, it’s great to be spontaneous but unless you are completely free of responsibilities you’ll need to make plans because. (Ahh….speaking of being free of responsibilities…I remember being in college when my buddies and I drove all night in a Previa mini van to get to Mardi Gras. And of course we had no reservations so we slept in the van too!)

Making plans could be as simple as inviting friends over for a night of games or as wild as running with the bulls in Spain!

I know that my Internet buddies, who are scattered throughout the country, will not get together unless someone takes the initiative and makes plans. We all have a great time when we see each other (like this last trip to Vegas) but we all get wrapped up in our own worlds and unless it’s in the calendar there won’t be a trip anywhere or we’ll meet at a seminar (which involves us doing some business – yuck!)

Planning a fun activity is the first step but most ‘normal’ people don’t go beyond the typical Friday night out of dinner & movies – but you’re not normal. Plan something unique and exciting for your friends to do.

But don’t stop there…I’m always thinking about how I can add a little more fun to regular events too. For instance, my last birthday party (September 25th for those of you who want to send me lots of presents!), Missy invited our friends over for a nice catered party. Well that wasn’t enough for me. I decided we should have “party quirks” like in the Improv TV show “Who’s Line is it Anyway”. So each guest upon arriving at the party would pull 3 different party quirks from a hat like these:

• Make an animal noise after you make a point in a conversation. (ie. Mooo, Quack, etc)
• Tell people they have something on their face but they never seem to get if off.
• Your tongue has become swollen by an allergic reaction to the sushi or shellfish.
• Be the most annoying person always on your PDA or blackberry and interrupting conversations to check it.
• Slap or push people for emphasis in conversation.
• Talk about government conspiracy theories (i.e. JFK, Aliens, Elvis is alive, etc)
• Your hands are magnetically attracted to anything metal.
• Be an extremely close talker (stand extra close to the person you’re having a conversation with.)
• Use a totally fake British accent with British slang (i.e. Loo for bathroom, Bobby for police officer, Bird for girl, etc)
• Talk on your cell phone loudly because you are VERY important.
• Any last word someone uses in their conversation with you – you say, “Speaking of ___(their word)___” And then move on to a totally different subject.
• Say words that can be construed as sexual in nature or have double innuendos
• Refer to yourself only in 3rd person (i.e. <Your Name> doesn’t like shrimp)
• Do not use anyone else’s first name. Guys are “Ace”, “Pal”, “Big Guy”, “Bud”, “Champ”, “Killer”, “Sport”, etc. Gals are “Sweetie”, “Love”, “Honey”, “Babe”
• Finish other people’s sentences for them.
• Eat off a stranger’s plate 3x (the same stranger).
• Give tours of the house like you are a Realtor
• Check your cell phone signal and ask guests how many bars they have.
• High 5 everyone!
• Work the crowd giving lap dances
• One up everything other people say. (i.e. “Yeah I just got back from skiing in Canada”. You: “Oh yeah – I just got back from dog sledding in Norway for 2 weeks.”

There were a few people who didn’t perform their quirks and they will be banned from future parties but it was pretty funny when people did actually play along. My friend, Rob, had the cell phone bars and he kept getting people with it. And my personal trainer, Jeff, got the “high five” quirk and it was perfect for him.

Even if you got an awesome experience planned you can still add more fun to it just like when Frank Kern and I did the Player’s Run Road Rally last year. We one-upped most of the other participants by coming out as Elvises. (or what that be Elvi?) Each day we were a different Elvis from 1950’s jailhouse rock Elvis to fat, bloated Elvis.

If you need some ideas for something fun – why not take a class? I’ve done Improv classes and a stand up comedy class and really loved it. Actually there’s some footage up here of my stand up. Think about something you really wanted to do as a kid but never got around to it – most communities have all kinds of continuing education available if you look for it.

Go out there and find what gets you excited. I remember one night I was feeling a bit blue since I hadn’t traveling in a bit and decided to search for one of my favorite activities “beach volleyball” + “vacation” online. Surprisingly I found the perfect trip put on by an AVP professional, AL-B Hanneman, called “Volleyball Vacations”. I’ve been twice now and hoping to go another time this year. I loved it! (There’s a little uncensored video here from a previous trip.)

Be the person that initiates and makes it happen or be the person that brings a chicken suit to add to the adventure. (Yes, I’ve done that too and it’s damn funny!)

I have 2 upcoming fun activities that I’m spearheading for my local friends. 1) We’re going to do a ‘video scavenger hunt’ where each team will have a list of activities they need to record. Then we’ll all get back together and watch everyone’s antics. I read about it in the Washington Post and thought it would awesome!

2) I’m also planning either a “Elvis Crawl” or a “chicken crawl” where everyone dresses as Elvi or as Chickens. I’ll keep you posted here on it – maybe some of you want to come.

It’s already halfway through the year – what fun stuff have you done with your life?

Here are some good books that might help get you going –

Die Happy: 499 Things Every Guy’s Gotta Do While He Still Can by Tim And Michael Burke

1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler’s Life List by Patricia Schultz

101 Things to Do Before You Die by Richard Horne

Fact is, life is going to pass with or without you taking charge (just like in business). It’s the people who are proactive and put fun activities on their calendars who live life to the fullest. I have a saying – “You can’t control how you’ll die but you can control how you live.” It’s the difference between being a spectator to being a participant. Start a “BIG list” of stuff, experiences and things you want to do.

What fun activity (big or small) can you plan right now? Post it here and let us all see what you’re doing. Or what have you done that others should really do?

There’s been a lot of changes going on in my life lately…new house, new baby….and I guess a new site right here…

About 6 months ago, I purchased this domain (InternetLifestyle.com) because I thought it really captured everything I’m about. So I’m looking forward to seeing how this site evolves (and hopefully you’ll have a say in it). I really want to be beyond any type of “box” product.

It seems like just yesterday (really it was 2000) I started working out of my 1-bedroom apartment with a glimmer of an idea for my first website. (Yeah, I know this sounds like an informercial already – but I promise I will not show you how to place tiny classified ads.)

And now today, I have dozens of successful websites bringing in automatic cash flow for me regardless if I work or not. Of course, some months are better than others depending on if I’m actively running a promotion or not – but my original site InstantSalesLetters.com is still going strong after 7 ½ years making 6-figures per year.

Not bad, right?

Considering the fact I’ve basically not changed the site in years – I’d say pretty darn good. (Now, of course that’s another post when I show you how stupid and lazy I’ve been by not testing enough on this site and how I’m changing it.) And I still have no clue how to put up my own website.

Personally, the Internet Lifestyle means being able to do pretty much whatever you want, almost anytime you want and let the Internet pay for it!

Actually, most of my friends still wonder how I’m driving around in a brand new Aston Martin and how my wife, Missy, and I can take off for so many trips. A few years ago, we spent 2 months living on the beach in Manhattan Beach, California where we rented a house and just brought our laptops. I picked Manhattan Beach because I’m big into beach volleyball (even though I’m 5’8” – but I can jump!)

And that’s just another aspect of the Internet Lifestyle to me – do your work from anywhere you can get an Internet connection and follow your passions. I loved being able to look out at the Pacific Ocean each day and play volleyball almost every other day there. Last year we headed back again for a few weeks but this time with our son, Zak.

Personally, my own Internet Lifestyle means experiencing life to the fullest and living adventures! I get my thrills from any kind of extreme activity like Running with the Bulls, bungee jumping, sky diving, Baja racing, exotic car road rallies, falling out of attics, Zero G flights, an upcoming trip into space and more. I’ve posted a lot of these on my InternetRoadTrip.com blog.

I know for some people these kind of outlandish adventures aren’t for them – but if there is something you’re passionate about and excited for you can do it thanks to the income generated online. Or some people don’t need to make a fortune online – they’re happy with a little website on the side making a few extra bucks and maybe paying for a car payment or 2.

Truth is, never before have we lived in such a time filled with immense opportunity to do your own thing…quickly and easily. The Internet has truly been a revolution for anyone that wants to either “Moonlight Online” or got at it full-time and make a solid 6 or 7-figure+ income.

I love it when I hear from others living the “Internet Lifestyle” and would love to hear your comments.

If you’re already succeeding online what’s the best aspect of the Internet Lifestyle for you? Or what would the ultimate Internet Lifestyle look like for you?

Here are a couple things off the top of my head what the Internet Lifestyle means to me:

• Being able to take my son to his “My Gym” class on a Thursday and be the only Dad there.
• Having people from all over the world respect and appreciate your contributions.
• Meeting exciting and switched-on Entrepreneurs who enjoy having fun and good times to “mastermind” in whatever city we decide on. (Hmm…Amsterdam and Vegas were interesting!)
• Never having to set my alarm clock. (Or more recently being naturally awoken to the soothing sounds of a newborn crying.
• Drinking a beer (or 2) for lunch.
• Having money come in on autopilot while I was sleeping.
• Doing the work once and getting paid over and over again.
• Being able to fund nearly any kind of adventure by putting out another quality product or offering.
• Wearing shorts and t-shirts all day.
• Never having to worry about shaving.
• Forgetting what “Rush Hour” is and being surprised when you hit a standstill on the beltway in the afternoon.
• Never answering to a boss.
• Being able to turn off the laptop and take Zak to the Splash park
• Having your Accountant perplexed and surprised when you see him each year at what you do and how much it brings in.
• Being able to watch every little milestone in your son’s (and now daughter’s) life. Everything from his first real smile, first step and first word.
• Working with who I want…when I want.
• Deciding to splurge on a bottle of Colgin IX Syrah at a steakhouse with your buddies.
• Never waiting in lines because your concierge has put you on the VIP list.
• Not living for the weekends.
• Not having to look at the right-hand side of a menu when deciding what to order.
• Contributing to the causes and charities that are important to me.

Now to be honest, it’s not all good leading the Internet Lifestyle and working out of the house.

Missy will forget I have a “real” job and interrupt me to ask about what kind of rug we should get for the kitchen. Or Zak will knock on my office door during a conference call asking for “DaDa”. Or having the fridge be a few feet away to grab the last slice of pizza anytime I want.

But I wouldn’t want it any other way. Let’s hear your thoughts – post a comment.

What is your Internet Lifestyle?

What do you love about your own Internet Lifestyle? Or if you haven’t got there yet – how would you like it look like? See if you can list 10 things…

A few weeks ago I wired over my deposit to officially claim my “Pioneer” reservation spot of #53 on Virgin Galactic. Here are my welcome letters:

That actually makes me #153 because there are 100 fully paid “Founders” who each put in $200k to hold their spots. I actually got a little push from one of these founders, Loretta Hidalgo-Whitesides, who was my coach during the Zero G flight we did in Florida in January with the MasterMind members.

She got me hooked up with the Virgin Galactic group and told them I was serious about signing up. Missy had some big-time reservations about me going up (or more importantly coming down safely) and spending the money for this. I can’t control the safety part but I told her we’d do a promotion or create a product to pay for it. I was really on the fence about if I wanted to put up a $175k deposit as a Pioneer or just $20k and go after #1000. Well, I talked to my friend, Cindy Cashman, and she inspired me. Cindy and her new fiance, Mitch, are planning on being the first couple wedded in space on a different company other than Virgin. She’s such a fun person to talk to about this kind of stuff. (She told me about his idea for a space wedding before she even had a guy in her life)

Since my marketing brain doesn’t turn off – I wanted to point out how Virgin does a real nice job of their first contact after the sale. Check out this unique package I get after my confirmation. The box is like 4 feet x 5 feet (disregard Zak’s books in the corner of pic).

And inside is a huge book filled with awe-inspiring photos of the space flight experience. It’s pretty cool. Actually it reminds me of 21st century version of Robert Ringer’s famous “Earth” business card/brochure he talked about in his best-seller “Winning Through Intimidation”. To give you an idea of the book size I placed one of my magazines next to it. This is an over-sized magazine so it gives you a little perspective.

On the front cover of the book is an intricate history of flight, aviation and space flight, almost making you feel like you are part of a legacy.

A little brief background in case you haven’t followed the story of Virgin Galactic…they’ve licensed the design of “SpaceShipOne” from Burt Rutan, who won the “Ansari X Prize” in 2004. The prize of $10,000,000.00 was for a spaceship to complete 2 flights within 2 weeks. If “Ansari” rings a bell with you it’s because Anousheh Ansari was the first female private citizen to go up in space. Hopefully, if all goes well, I should go up in the first year Virgin Galactic operates in 2009. Here’s a video that shows what the flight experience on Virgin will be like. I showed this on DVD to my Father-in-law and he gave me his typical reply to my trips, “You know something – you’re nuts!”. I’m sure lots of people agree but I’m incredibly excited.

As a Pioneer we are invited to special functions with other Virgin flyers and I’ll keep you guys posted on the events and what happens. As some of you know, Richard Branson, is really one of my biggest business heroes because of his sucess and the his sense of adventure.

It’s truly an amazing time we live in!