Author: Karol

The Disturbing Reality of a Scarcity Mindset

Dealing with scarcity in a world of abundance …

“Setbacks are discouraging, but you should always try to channel that feeling into positive action.” – Richard Branson

I don’t know where or why it came upon me so suddenly, but for the past couple of weeks I’ve been hit hard with a scarcity mindset. Scarcity is an incredibly toxic mindset to have. In my particular case, it’s the feeling that bad things happen to good people. Kind of a “nice guys finish last” approach to everything.

I usually focus on abundance. Whatever you or I want, we can have. I believe it and I live it.

And yet …

Scarcity is running rampant in my mind lately.

I feel like this blog isn’t growing as quickly as it should. (Even thought it’s growing phenomenally well.) I feel like HTLA isn’t selling enough. (Even though it’s selling quite well.) I feel like my Polish language is getting worse. (Maybe it is?) I feel like my guitar playing is weak and uninspired. And so on … I won’t continue with the depressing details!

Sometimes I feel like I can blame it on the weather. Shitty weather (i.e. the weather here for 90% of the past 2 weeks) utterly ruins me. It’s one of the only elements of life I have not been able to defeat with a mind-over-matter attitude.

Not Alone

I know I’m not the only person to have feelings of scarcity at some point or another.

Chris Guillebeau has written about it in Expanding The Pie. That was written in February of 2009 and I remember reading it back then and thinking “man, it must be normal for successful people to feel this way sometimes.”

I identify with so much of what Chris writes in that article.

And yet …

That doesn’t help break through the feelings of scarcity.

In most ways, life is better than it has ever been.

Money?

This scarcity really has no basis.

a) There’s nothing I want to buy. And if there was, and it fit with my goals, I’d buy it.

b) Everything I want to do, I do. (OK, I can’t afford a trip to space right now, but I’ll make that happen somehow. ;) )

Health?

Maybe it’s the fact that I somehow caught a cold for the first time in forever recently and that has me questioning my diet. Truthfully, I know I’m just supporting the local veg restaurants a little too much as opposed to eating my regular awesome diet. I also know that there is no such thing as a perfect immune system and the fact that I haven’t been ill in such a long time should be a consolation.

And yet …

It’s still hanging over me. (And I just realized the statement about making the trip to space happen somehow is a straight up abundance mindset. Hmmm …)

Relationships?

“I don’t want to be lonely, I just want to be alone.” – Daniel Johns

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that relationships like the ones you make when you only stay in a place for a few months (give or take) are fleeting. What’s the point of investing a lot of time in a relationship (platonic or romantic) if there’s an almost certain end point?

If you know me you know I love spending time alone, so sometimes I’ll cut myself off from people for no real reason. I actually need to spend a lot of time alone. (I even own the domain HowToBeAlone.com!) Being social is fun, but it’s incredibly exhausting for me. I haven’t found a balance. It’s usually all or nothing, which I know is no good.

Annoyances

Things have been annoying me more lately. Maybe that’s related to the scarcity mindset? Stupid petty things like people walking in the middle of the sidewalk (instead of off to one side) and not allowing any room to pass on my bike. Or seeing an overweight person devouring a burger while walking down the street. (A regular occurrence now that Poland is getting more Westernized and waistlines are exxxxxxxpppaaaannndddiiiinnngggggg.) People are free to walk on a walkway and eat unhealthy fatty foods however and wherever they want. Why should I care? I usually don’t. What’s different lately?

An Abundance of Ideas and Scarcity of Action

Sometimes it might seem like I’m some kind of superhuman. And part of that might be on purpose. :) But I’m no different than you. I struggle with things. Maybe not the same things, but I have problems just like anybody else.

Lately I’ve been having more ideas than ever, both business and “other” (as in, awesome stuff I want to do), but I don’t take action on them. The reason is simple. Focus. There are very few people (looking at you Pat Flynn, you bad ass; Pat’s blog: Smart Passive Income) who can successfully devote time to multiple projects concurrently.

The fact that I have all of these ideas and no outlet for them might be breeding this scarcity mindset. I’m devoting all my focus to writing lately and I love it. So no complaints about that. But what happens to everything else? It sits in a Google Document called Awesome Ideas and nothing ever comes of them. Maybe purging all of those ideas is the answer?

As we all know, ideas don’t mean a damn thing. Action is almost everything. So what would it matter if I deleted all those “great” ideas? I don’t know what would happen, but I can’t bring myself to do it.

Get Pissed

I recently did an interview with Henri Juntilla for his self improvement blog (you have to subscribe to his e-mail list to get it … although not sure when he’s releasing it) and he asked me about getting things done and making shit happen. Actually, I don’t remember the exact question. The answer was (paraphrased): “When something doesn’t work out I get pissed at myself and work at it until I figure it out.” Henri and I both agreed on that “getting pissed at ourselves” point and I wonder how many other people use that same strategy.

Maybe the problem is I haven’t gotten pissed about this yet.

How To Deal With Scarcity?

Most people will probably say focus on others. And I agree. I think a lot of it does boil down to focusing more on others instead of myself. Exactly how, I’m not entirely sure. I give a lot to entrepreneur’s through Kiva. I help people like crazy via e-mail and I love doing that, especially when the Five Sentences E-mail Rule is followed. ;) I even help people on Skype when I’m on and somebody contacts me.

Does that help? Lately, it only helps temporarily.

And since this is no different than what I usually do, I don’t think it’s supposed to help.

Maybe I have to go above and beyond? Maybe, but I’m not sure what that even means.

Awesome E-mails

As you may know, I have a Gmail Label called “Awesome E-mails.” If you’ve sent me an e-mail praising me or this site your e-mail gets tagged as awesome. I posted on Twitter last week that I’ve been getting a lot more of these e-mails than usual.

To me, this proves that what I’m doing here is working out exactly how I originally planned.

Why hasn’t this erased the scarcity mindset?

Why Post This?

I had no plans of posting anything about this. This article doesn’t have any apparent lessons, does it? Or does it? I’m posting it because I do my best to be open here and this is what’s happening right now. I know it won’t last, but I’m in the thick of it. I didn’t expect it to last as long as it has and I’m not sure if I should just let it pass or somehow actively destroy it.

I don’t have all the answers and I don’t currently have a good answer for this.

Comments Turned Off

I’ve shut off comments on this post. I definitely appreciate all the help, but lots of comments were mistaking depression for a scarcity mindset. While they can be related, they are two separate beasts here. I also appreciate all the kind words, but I wasn’t fishing for compliments. ;)

Reading this over now I see how this mistake could easily be made and it’s my fault for not being clear in my writing here.

Thank you so much for your support! You rock!

17 Minuscule Actions That Produce Massive Results In Business and In Life

How one small change added $600 in revenue to this blog + 17 improvements we can make in business and in life …

You probably haven’t noticed, but 2 months ago I added two links to the bottom right corner of this blog. One for the Web host I use and one for the WordPress theme I use.

Nothing special. Just small links that, again, you probably never even noticed.

Baker actually suggested I do this a good 6 months ago, but I just never got around to it.

In the past 2 months, those tiny links that almost nobody notices have resulted in an extra $600 (ok, something like $570) in affiliate commissions. Not extravagant, but wow, pretty amazing for something that took 5 minutes. They’re both products I’ve used since Day 1 of this blog so I can feel good about recommending them as well.

And this got me thinking.

Where else can we make tiny improvements in business and life that will produce massive results?

If you’re familiar with the Japanese philosophy of kaizen, you know how important small, consistent improvements are.

Following are 17 ways we can massively improve our businesses and our lives.

Business

1) Send just one e-mail per day to somebody you respect, but have never connected with. Nothing crazy, just a few sentences saying “hey, I really like your work.”
2) Schedule Skype chats with people you’ve connected with via e-mail/twitter. I’ve done this so rarely it’s sad. Especially because I always come away from these chats incredibly energized.
3) Test a new sales page headline.
4) Test out a new place to advertise.
5) Create more quality content. This could be a whole list unto itself. Maybe a future article? :)
6) Form a mastermind group to bounce ideas off of and to have people who will hold you accountable.
7) Read a new (or classic) business book and take action on what you learn.
8) To get noticed by someone “out of your league” send them a lot of traffic or make them a bunch of sales. (If you’ve listened to the HTLA interview with John Reese you already know this.) If you don’t already have a big audience you can do this with paid advertising (like Google Adwords or Facebook Ads). I assure you it will be worth the tiny investment.
9) Write one really good guest article and send it to somebody with a huge audience.

Life

10) Say “hi” to more people. In actuality, and I’m guilty of this, most of us probably go days (weeks? months?) without introducing ourselves to someone new. You can start small. Say “hi” to one person and see what happens.
11) Eat at least 1 piece of fruit/veggie with every meal. That doesn’t seem like much, but it’s a lot more than most people eat.
12) When you’re bored read a book instead of turning on the TV. If you’re not sure what to read, check out the awesome comments here.
13) Remove one cause of stress from your life. Maybe it’s a messy desk. Maybe it’s a toxic friend. Whatever it is, removing the stress will make you feel better.
14) Put yourself on a 30 day trial. Maybe you’ll stop drinking alcohol? Or maybe you’ll exercise for just 1 minute every day. Or maybe you’ll write in a journal. There are countless things you can test out for 30 days.
15) Stretch. But I don’t mean physically. I mean do something that makes you a little uncomfortable. It could be something small like going to the movies alone. Or maybe you’ll be brave and sing karaoke for the first time. You don’t have to do this every day, but regular stretching will do you wonders.
16) Scratch something off of your bucket list. If you don’t have a bucket list, do something you’ve always wanted to do but, for whatever reason, haven’t yet.
17) Relax.

What other small improvements can we make in our businesses and our lives?

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Sweet Sojourn Saturday #017 (Backup Your Life Edition)

My computer crashed! + Lots of sweet sweet new links …

You think I can salvage this?

If you follow me on Twitter you know that Wednesday night my computer died. I couldn’t even boot into Safe Mode. If you know anything about Windows you know that basically means you’re done for. :) Lenovo doesn’t support the X200 in Europe so that was extra special. I decided I was going to buy a cheap netbook, fix the Lenovo when I got back to the US (it’s under warranty), sell them both, and buy a Macbook Pro.

At about 2 am, right before going to bed I decided to try to start the computer up again. Somehow I got into Lenovo Recovery and was able to use the Recovery Partition to install a clean copy of Windows. Amazing. Then on Thursday it died again and I couldn’t get it to work.

So I went to Media Markt (electronics store chain) and bought the cheapest netbook they had. Acer Aspire One for 1249 PLN. They were running a promotion though. For every 100 PLN spent you get a 10 PLN gift card. So I got a 120 PLN gift card. I’m not a fan of working on a netbook. I did that for 4 months in Australia and New Zealand and it’s a bit of a pain. I’ll sell this thing (as mentioned above) when I get back to the States. Woohoo!

Fortunately, I’m one of those smart dudes (haha!) who backs up his computer regularly. My last backup was actually 2 hours before the first crash.

Even though I had my backup I still had that “sinking feeling” in my stomach. I knew all my “important” photos/videos/written words were backed up, but the loss of a computer still brings up those feelings. If you have anything on your computer that you’d be slightly upset with losing, go do a backup now. Either using a paid online service, or an external hard drive. It’ll be money well spent.

Onward with saaaaaawwwwwweeeeeeeeetttttt links …

9 Proven Tips For Creating An Extraordinarily Successful Blog [Lady Gaga Edition] by Karol Gajda

1) Yes, I am linking to myself. ;)

2) This was my first ProBlogger guest post. I sent it to Darren 3 months ago. Here’s the tweet that first pitched the article.

Lesson learned here? If you’ve got a blog and you’re trying to guest post somewhere be patient and persistent.

Managing Time Like Money by Tynan

I really like this post from Tynan. I feel the same way. Especially: “I spend money when there’s a reason to, not when I have it.” Back in the days I used to search for things to spend my money on. Now, if I need something I buy it. For the most part, I never need anything. ;) My largest expense is usually food. I like to support vegan/vegetarian restaurants (especially in traditionally non-veg places like Poland) so I eat at Vega or Green Way here in Wroclaw almost every day. I also buy a lot of fresh fruit from Hala Targowa. (It’s the huge “farmer’s” market where I found my black beans!)

How Much Money Do You Want To Make This Year by Danielle Laporte

In keeping with the money theme (what money theme?) this is a great article about something I agree with wholeheartedly. Especially the part about ramen noodles and yachts. ;)

Quick Ways To Utilize These 4 Non-Google Search Engines by Pat Flynn

A little bit technical, but I love this stuff. I’ve used YouTube for driving traffic for years. Although never for this blog. ;)

44 Things I’m Too Shy To Tell You (A Reintroduction of Sorts) by Lisa Sonora Beam

Lisa rocks. I interviewed her for HTLA and, even though we speak regularly, I didn’t know 98% of this stuff! :)

7 Reasons Why I Do It Every Day by Nicky Hajal

This is a great article if you’re struggling to make stuff happen. Nicky breaks down his process (like just walk to the gym, and when you get there you’ll probably want to work out) for forming habits.

That’s it for this week! Thank you so much for kicking ass.

Oh, wait … from here on out, unless I’m asking a question in the Sweet Shit Saturday, I’m turning comments off.

Peace!

The Freedom of Freedom

A personal story about freedom …


The Wide Open Road

Tuesday I went to Krakow, Poland to handle some business. I’d always wanted to visit the city and planned on staying a few days, or a week, or who knows. The thing is, it rained for 24 straight hours with no sign of letting up. (Forecast said it would rain for the rest of the week.) I didn’t let it stop me from exploring the city, but at the end of the night I was completely soaked to the bone. My shoes were dripping, my pants were heavy, and I was cold. (You know me, I like it hottttt.)

Going to Krakow could technically be considered a “vacation” for me. I’m going to run with that because it helps me make my point. ;)

Growing up I remember going on a few vacations and running into absolutely shit weather. That happens. I’m sure it has happened to you as well. The thing is, when most people are on vacation, they’ve planned, saved, taken time off from work, and allotted themselves that specific time to “vacate.”

When bad weather (or maybe something else) ruins the vacation, the vacation goes on. What else is there to do? Instead of hanging on the beach, you find a museum, arcade, or movie theatre. Instead of exploring the nooks and crannies of a city, you stay put somewhere out of the elements. Not ideal by any means, but what other good options are there?

Freedom = Options

There is an option: attaining true freedom. Freedom is an option that opens up a whole world of other options.

What I wish for you as a Freedom Fighter is the ability to change plans on a whim. To always seek what’s best for you and to not let forces outside of your control dictate your life. If something’s not right, no worries, do a 180. Hit the open road and don’t look back.

Me? I headed back home to Wroclaw 24 hours after arriving in Krakow.

Krakow will still be there next week. Maybe it’ll be sunny and warm and I’ll decide to head back for “vacation.” No need to seek permission or to do much planning. I can just head off one morning when the outlook is positive.

Serendipitously I got this e-mail from Hilary, one of your fellow Freedom Fighters, on Tuesday night:

I’ve been thinking – a lot – and reading your blog for quite a while now. I thought I’d give you the courtesy of an update, as you give us:

After working in California at my job for 3 years straight (many months of double shifts) without a vacation, I decided to be insanely brave. It was a “me or them” kinda thing. I got a divorce; an amicable one. I sold my home, cars, camper, household stuff — everything either went to charity, friends, or the yard sale. I decided it was time to quit my “perfectly good” job, and was laid off 2 days before I gave notice. (Awesome timing, huh?) Then I went to the UK for 4 months, and this is where some of your advice really really came in handy. I was scared to try new things, but forced myself to … now you may laugh, but I didn’t even know how to take a city bus for transport!

Over Easter weekend, I took a short tour to Germany, but was denied entry back into the UK at the port in Calais! Really. I was separated from my tour and detained for 6 hours until the French police could collect me and take me to the bus stop in the middle of the night. The only reason I was given after several interviews, was “we simply cannot believe you aren’t seeking work.” How is it you travel around and no one worries that you are looking for work? [NOTE FROM KAROL: I don’t know. I usually answer questions with just  “yes” or “no.” Although I made the mistake of offering up extra info in Finnland, which held me up a bit.]  I produced my bank records and retirement account even! [NOTE: WTF!] A very nice, well-spoken, middle-class, middle-aged lady!

I had to keep telling myself that actually I had everything I needed, although I only had one really small bag with two day’s worth of dirty clothes. I found a hotel, washed my clothes, did my hair and makeup and tried again, and was rebuffed again at the port. Sooooo, I took myself to Paris by train, walked to the hotel the clerk at the rail station booked for me, and then I had some fun. Never felt so free in all my life. I learned how to do so many things I never knew: Bought metro passes, learned the metro and bus system, learned to use a cyber cafe, changed hotels to a cooler/cheaper one in a cooler/cheaper neighborhood, booked a walking tour, got myself a coffee maker to make meals – my goal was 5 euro per day – bought some clothes (the weather changed), navigated my formerly frightened little self all around Paris for a week and a half until I flew to New York to “couch surf” with family. Pretty proud of myself, gotta say.

So I’ve been thinking — and thinking … I recognized this time is an opportunity to make a huge change, but I just didn’t know how. Started looking for a job that I didn’t want in NY, and when I finally got an interview at my “nightmare job” as opposed to my “dream job,” I had an anxiety attack. That was last week. Today it hit me when I read the blog. So I’m “in.”

After sitting and thinking for two months, well, other stuff too, today I created a website, domain name, business plan, a DVD in the works, and an e-book planned from material I already created, an accountant friend is helping me with the business/tax part, AND I read HTLA twice. Your blog suddenly helped me recognise the opportunity I was seeking!

So, anyway, I thought a little positive feedback was in order – oh, and thanks for the laundry tip, the Dr. B and zip-loc worked a treat – nothing boosts confidence like clean clothes.

Thanks for the support, friend.

– Hilary
www.lavendersbleu.com [NOTE: Web site isn’t live, but there’s the link anyway.)

Thank you Hilary. That is an outstanding story and is a true testament to not only growth, but freedom. Congratulations and thank you so much for sharing! (Yes, I got permission from Hilary to post this.)

What about you? Are you gonna let other people/events dictate your life? Or would you rather follow Hilary’s lead, grab life by the throat and strangle that mofo into submission? (Highly recommended course of action!) ;)

The Only Productivity System That Actually Works

If you struggle with getting things done, here is your “magic pill” …

4 words: Just. Fucking. Do it.

I don’t use to-do lists. I don’t use a productivity system. They don’t work.

And I know they don’t work for millions of other people. If you’re one of them, don’t fret. You’re not alone.

You know what does work?

When there’s something you have to get done, do it.

When you need to exercise, exercise.

When you need to make dinner, make dinner.

When you need to go shopping, go shopping.

When you need to floss your teeth (daily!), floss your teeth.

When you need to go to the doctor, start eating a better diet. Then go to the doctor.

When you need to call someone, call them.

When you need to send an e-mail, send it.

When you need to write a blog post, write a blog post.

When you need to write a thank you card, write a thank you card.

When you need to practice, practice.

When you need to have a difficult conversation with a friend/business partner/significant other, have that conversation.

Stop making excuses.

Stop searching for a productivity system that will “magically” make it all work for you.

Just. Fucking. Do it.

Whatever it is.

More? Kill your to do list and focus on one thing at a time.

More, more? Just fucking write.

Sweet Salad Saturday #016 (What Are You Reading? Edition)

I’m looking for new blogs and books to read. Plus awesome sweet links inside!

I’ve never received any complaints about this, but you’ve probably noticed that my Sweet Saturday linkage is usually from a core group of about 20 blogs. That’s because I don’t have a huge list of blogs I subscribe to. Everything I link to either comes from my feed reader, twitter, or an e-mail. I don’t go out and purposefully search for links for my Saturday posts. I add them to the list throughout the week whenever I read an article I love.

Which means …

I know I’m missing a lot of great blogs. Today I have a special request of you to rectify that situation (that sounds so formal; like this is an interview; is this an interview?; why am I separating these thoughts with a semi-colon?;). Leave your answers in the comments.

1) What is one of your favorite blogs I should know about? It doesn’t matter if it’s an established blog or a brand new blog with kick ass content. It also does not matter what niche it’s in.

2) What is your one favorite article from that blog? Choose one article only.

3) I’m also looking for new books to read. I’m not a fan of most fiction unless it’s Paulo Coelho, so keep that in mind. If a fiction book doesn’t have me captivated within 30 minutes I refuse to continue. What is one book I absolutely, positively, must read? It helps if it’s available on the Kindle, but that’s not absolutely necessary.

Ever had a sweet salad? Of course you have. Linkssssssssssssssssssssssss …

The Top Idea In Your Mind by Paul Graham

Paul is something of a genius. “I’d say it’s hard to do a really good job on anything you don’t think about in the shower.” I’ve found this to be true. But I also find I do a lot of my thinking while working out (lately, usually a bike ride). Unlike most people, I don’t like to listen to music while working out. Silence + workout = amazing. (OK, that’s a lie, sometimes I listen to Andrew W.K. over and over and over!)

The 8 Core Excuses Standing Between You and Your Dreams by Henri Junttila

I’ve written about these excuses in one form or another on this blog, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t a fantastic article. Actually, if your life isn’t quite what you want it to be you should not only read this article, but everything Henri writes.

How To Imagine Your Ideal Reality (Because It Matters) by Everett Bogue

Congrats to Everett for taking the steps to getting his “adult passport.” ;)

Something I would offer as advice to Everett or anybody else wanting to do this is: don’t plan too much. 10 countries in 12 months doesn’t sound like a lot, but it actually is. You may fall in love with a city/country and not want to leave right away … but you will leave because you planned ahead and bought tickets to your next destination. What I’m saying is, I definitely would’ve spent more than one month in New Zealand. :)

The Art of Community Building by Tammy Strobel

One of the bullet points in this article is “Live small and think big.” Why didn’t I think of that? P.S. That would make a fantastic book title Tammy. ;)

Bloggers: Do You Give Your Readers What They Want? by Annabel Candy

This article is proof of 2 things. 1) Flattery will get you linked here. 2) Using something you learned from my blog and writing about it on your blog will get you linked here. ;)

33 Things I’ve Never Told You (or, How to Re-Introduce Yourself and Kick Your Watered-Down Self in the Ass) by Corbett Barr

Corbett rules. I love when people open up and show us more of who they are. I’ve spoken to Corbett a bunch of times and I never even knew how old he was. :) And I fully agree with #28. :)

Before I sign off for this week, remember:

“There is no failure. You will mess up, but that’s OK, because it is impossible to mess up.” – Leo Babauta from The Power of Less

Questions/comments/wanna read Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark to each other? You know what to do …

How To Learn (Absolutely Anything and Everything)

You can read. You can listen. You can watch. But you won’t learn a damn thing unless you …

A while back I mentioned, in passing, that I want to tour Route 66 in the US next year on a bicycle. I’ve never done a long bike tour, but ever since mentioning it I’ve had it in the back of my mind.

The first thing I know is that it’s going to be difficult. :)

But I was more worried about the bike. Due to my traveling I want to get a bike when I get back to the States in October which I can then take with me wherever I decide to go next. (Not so secret where that is, but I’m still not 100% decided, so I’ll just leave it at that!) That means I’d have to spend a lot of money to take the bike on a plane. And it would also be an incredible hassle.

It’s a good idea to train on the actual bike I’d be using for that epic journey across one of the USA’s first highways so that’s why I want to get the bike when I’m back in the US to take it with me to my next destination.

Last week, while talking to Tammy, she said I should consider a folding bike such as BikeFriday, which would make taking it on planes/trains/anywhere easy. While I’m quite familiar with folding bikes (lots of people in Wroc?aw ride them around) I didn’t think they’d be good for long distances. But Tammy sent me an article, which linked to an article, which linked to an article that proved me wrong. (Here’s the final article, ha!)

Apparently, it’s not a completely crazy idea to take a custom-built (and sort of expensive) folding bike on a long bike tour. The more I think about it, the more I want to do just that.

I’m not fully sold on a folding bike yet, but it is a very intriguing option.

While I may not be fully decided, I’ve become a little bit obsessed with reading about bikes and bike touring. Especially all the great articles at http://www.bicycletouringpro.com.

After spending hours upon hours reading a few days ago, I realized something. It’s something I talk about regularly, but I wasn’t taking my own advice.

I could read about bike touring until the end of time, but without taking action on it I won’t learn very much.

We don’t learn very much by reading, listening, or watching. We learn by doing.

Before I started traveling I thought I had it all figured out. And while all the research I did before embarking on my adventures did help a little, actually getting out there and traveling helped a lot more.

I’ve learned a lot of little things. Like, who knew washing my clothes in a bag would work out so well? I’m still using the same aLoksak I’ve been using since Day 1 in Australia almost 11 months ago! It can’t be used as an actual waterproof bag anymore (I ripped the top), but it still works for washing. :)

I’ve also become more experienced in eating a vegan diet while traveling. This is something that had me a little worried, but it has worked out great. And while I’m sure there are parts of the world I might still have a difficult time, I’m better equipped to handle those situations should they arise. That is not something you can learn from reading, watching, or listening. It’s only something that you can truly learn by doing.

How To Learn (By Doing)

I know it’s obvious, right? But it’s still a sticking point for many of us.

Do!

“Do what?!”

Do something.

“But what do I do?!”

And round and round it goes. I have to say I’ve been perpetuating that cycle myself here because I regularly state to take action, without always explaining what kind of action to take.

Here’s how to break that cycle:

1) Decide on a big goal.

This is a goal you don’t have a really good idea how you’ll accomplish. It doesn’t matter much what this goal is. It does not absolutely have to be a “big” goal. It could be as simple as “learn how to dance” or it could be as big as “sell all my stuff and live anywhere.”

2) Decide on a smaller goal.

Chunk that big goal down into just one little nugget. It could be just one aspect of the big goal or it could be a scaled down version of the big goal.

Before I had the idea for selling all of my stuff and traveling wherever I wanted in a backpack, I took 2 shorter trips. In other words, I took the big goal and scaled it down considerably. One of these trips was 15 days (Canada and Germany) and it helped me work out all the kinks of my much longer never-ending trip. I didn’t work out all the kinks, but I did learn a lot about how this vagabond nomadic lifestyle works.

3) Do the smaller goal.

You can probably do the smaller goal right now without delay. If it’s something you have to delay then revamp the small goal until you can take some kind of action towards it right now.

3b) Do more smaller goals.

If your smaller goal was just a specific chunk of the big goal, then do some of the other chunks now. If the small goal was a scaled down version of the bigger goal then move along to …

4) Do the bigger goal.

Now that you’ve learned a bit and worked out some kinks by accomplishing the smaller goal it’s time to go full out and tackle the big goal.

As you know, I’m not a fan of fluff or over-complicating things. These 4 steps may seem incredibly obvious, or horribly silly, but if you sit down and think about it, these are the exact steps you’ve probably taken before to learn something new.

As for me? My first small goal is to call Bike Friday and get some questions answered. If it sounds good, I’ll make an appointment to visit them in Eugene, Oregon in October. :)

Another good small goal would be to actually go on a short bike tour. The reason I’m not doing that is because I’m not going to buy all the necessary gear (bike helmet, bike rack, tent, sleeping bag, etc) while here in Poland and I’m not sure I can rent/borrow it anywhere.

Oh, and I’m still gonna keep reading about bicycle touring with the understanding that it’s purely enjoyment and I’m not actually learning much. :)

Mistakes and Failures #1: LaunchALabel.com

A possible new series about dissecting the mistakes and failures of my past, including what I learned from them …

Although I don’t like dwelling on past mistakes or failures (especially because failure doesn’t exist), there is always something that can be learned from them. I get a lot of requests for information about mistakes or failed projects from my past. They are a plenty!

The reason for that is simple: when I have an idea I believe in, I go for it.

If I believe in something I do whatever I can to take swift action. It’s important when we have an idea we’re excited about to get the ball rolling quickly, because getting started is the most difficult part of any project. Once the ball’s rolling, momentum builds, and we’re more likely to see a project through to the end.

I have enough stories on mistakes, failures, and lessons learned to create a whole series. Depending on how this goes over, and how much I enjoy dwelling on the past for a bit, I will continue it regularly.

Part of the problem with past failures is I don’t have backups/notes with me so I’m relying on memory, Google, and archive.org for help.

The Failure: LaunchALabel.com

Unfortunately, I can’t get a screen shot of the site. Here’s the archive.org link. I spent about $2,000 on design and backend aspects of this project and it looked great.

I launched LaunchALabel.com in August of 2007.

The concept was: Get 50,000 music fans to each donate $25 to a new record label that they would control. They would choose the bands, the marketing, and decide where the money would go.

50,000 x $25 = $1,250,000.

The goal was to use $1 million to sign bands and $250k to run the actual label (Just Paypal fees on the donations would’ve amounted to ~$50k). The idea was to sign 5 bands, and allocate $200k to each of them for the purposes of recording/touring/marketing.

Here’s the copy from the home page of the site:

It’s Your Label. You Choose The Bands. We Make It Happen Together.

From: Karol Gajda

If you’ve ever thought you could run a record label better than the corporations who currently control our music industry then this may be the most important Web site you’ve ever visited.

Join 50,000 like-minded music fans who want to make history. As a community you will launch a brand new record label. The World’s first Social Record Label.

  • You choose the first 5 bands the label signs to packages worth $200,000 PER band! These bands will be taken care of as they should be.
  • You will receive a copy of each of the first 5 label releases. Based on iTunes costs that’s a $49.95 value.
  • You choose the label’s name.
  • You make the decisions on tours and everything else that goes into launching and running a successful record label.

This Is Your Label.

Nobody can sway your decisions. Not me. Not any music industry “big wigs.” Nobody.

Once 50,000 music fans join for free each will be sent an official invitation to LaunchALabel.com and be asked to make a $25 donation to raise the necessary cash to rock the music industry.

From there you will start voting on label names and the first band to sign to your label.

To learn more check out our How It Works and FAQ sections.

Or click here now to join our music revolution.

Karol Gajda (that’s Carl not Carol)

Was it incredibly ambitious?

Yes.

Could it have worked?

Yes.

Did it work?

No. :)

Results

I sent out press releases, I e-mailed bloggers, I e-mailed friends, I did everything I could think of … it all resulted in ~300 free signups after a couple of months.

I did get a write-up at CMJ.com, which was pretty cool. But it was a tiny write-up and it resulted in no traffic. :)

Why It Didn’t Work

I knew going in it would be an uphill battle due to one word: skepticism.

I got a lot of e-mails from people thinking I was just going to take the money and run. Unfortunately, I didn’t know what to do to overcome this at the time.

What Should I Have Done Differently?

In other words, what should I have done to overcome skepticism and establish trust?

The obvious choice would have been to partner with someone who had a public profile.

I could have offered a nice chunk of money raised, maybe $10k-$50k, to either a celebrity or someone already well known in the music industry to join in on the project.

This would have given me instant credibility and more opportunities for press.

Closing Thoughts

I honestly believe this project could have worked. And I actually believe something similar could work well today. I’ve often thought about revamping the idea a little (100 people each donating $1,000 to sign just 1 or 2 bands).

That said, other sites have sprung up that totally blew my idea out of the water.

Enter: KickStarter.com.

KickStarter has proven that crowd-funding for artists and entrepreneurs works like gangbusters.

I’ve helped fund 3 projects so far. 2 of them musical acts.

You can following my KickStarter here if you’d like.

How Would You Have Made LaunchALabel.com A Success?

Do you have any ideas on how this project could have worked out successfully? Let’s brainstorm in the comments.

Additional Questions For You

– Do more of these kinds of articles interest you? Would you like me to create a Mistakes and Failures series? In this article I focused on one major mistake I made, but there were others as well. Do you want me to go into more detail on the mistakes?

– Do you have any stories of failed projects where you learned a thing or two? Give us a brief synopsis of the project and tell us what you learned …

Sweet Soup Saturday #015 (Something I Forgot Edition)

In which I discuss a lot about the future!

Karol on the Slakkline (slack line)

Last week in my vegan travel article I neglected to mention one of my favorite breakfast foods: oatmeal! Plain oatmeal with whatever fruits I have handy. Usually sliced bananas, strawberries, or kiwis.

Filling, nutritious, available in some form everywhere I’ve been, and easy to prepare. Go oatmeal!

—

Last Sunday I spent all day on a Slakkline (aka slack line; pictured to your right) and it was incredibly fun, exhausting, tiring, and fun. I’m considering picking one up.

—

If you’re reading this on my Web site you’ll notice two new images in the sidebar. Since you’re probably not reading this on my Web site, but through e-mail/feed reader here is what they are.

First, MindControlMethod.org has a 125×125 image in anticipation of its release:

This is a very niche product and you might not be in the market for it, but it’s on a really powerful topic that’s close to my heart. I know it will help a lot of people.

And second, I’m working on a free “manifesto” called The American Dream Is Dead (Long Live The American Dream!) and I added an image for that in the sidebar as well. I began working on this manifesto early this year and then put it aside. It probably would’ve been good to release it on July 4th, huh? ;)

The release date on this is soon, but undetermined. I’ve written all the core content, but I’m still undecided on a few aspects of it. I expect it will be released within 3 weeks. (The design takes time.) :)

Sweet soupy links …

The Daily Brainstorm Blogazine

This is an interesting new aggregator of blog posts, of which this blog is a part. With so many blogs being a part of it, I don’t know how valuable it will be to each contributor, but it will be interesting to see what happens.

Boredom Is Public Enemy No. 1 by Jeffrey Tang

I fully agree. Boredom never results in anything good. I would venture to guess, based on my own experiences, that most cases of depression or drug addiction (alcohol, cigarettes, and harder drugs) are caused by boredom. (I’ve never been addicted to drugs, for the record!)

Veganism and Vegetarianism: Are They Healthy? by NYU Professor Marion Nestle

You know, I’m not a big fan of University, but as for social proof I know you’ll probably listen to a Professor more than little ole me. By the way, this video is hosted at BigThink.com. It’s an awesome site I learned about this week and I will be the first to admit that while I was sore and barely walking from the Slakkline I spent hours watching videos here. It’s like TED, but different.

Four High-Protein Vegetarian Alternatives To Soy by Matt Frazier

Because, for whatever reason, people still believe you can’t get protein without eating meat. I’m not sure if I told this story before so I’ll make it super short in case I have: last year in Franz Josef, New Zealand I went on a hike with 6 other people. All were meat eaters and all said eating vegan is no good, can’t possibly be good, you need meat for energy, etc, etc, myth, myth, BS. 2 hours later they all went home tired. I continued hiking for another 2 hours. Wusses. ;)

The Elements of Change by Leo Babauta

I’m really pissed at this article. Not because it’s bad, but because, dammit, I wish I wrote this part: “One last note, to anyone making changes: you will fail. I don’t say that to discourage you, but to release you from the fear of failure … because if you already know it will happen, then there’s no pressure to avoid it.”

That “release you from the fear of failure” part kills! If perfection in blogging was possible, that would be it.

Back in the days when me and my friends would hear an amazing guitar riff we’d joke: “That’s it, that is too good, I quit, take my guitar.” I feel the same about this. Leo, you’re damn good. But I won’t quit. ;)

Let’s Hang Out At BlogWorld!

As a last note, I will be at BlogWorld in Las Vegas October 14-16! BlogWorld is maybe the largest social networking conference in the … wait for it … world! If you’re a blogger or an aspiring blogger it will be a great place to network.

And what’s more important than hanging out with me? I’ll tell you what: nothing! ;)

If you decide to register let me know when I get to the USA so I can give you my cell number and we can hang. If enough RidiculouslyExtraordinary readers decide to go I will hold a special event … like dinner … or a Karaoke Party! The Weekend Pass (the one I bought) costs $395. If you want to save money on the hotel you can stay at one of the cheaper hotels on the strip. Or find a roommate to share the costs at Mandalay Bay (where BlogWorld is being held). Or CouchSurf!

That’s all for this week. I hope your July is going well!

Questions/comments/wanna walk on skinny pieces of fabric together? You know what to do …

Do You Know Where The Power Lies?

A short essay on the power you possess …

The Power To Choose, The Power To Change

“Do you know where the power lies? It starts and ends with you.” – Tim Armstrong

If I can be honest, a long, drawn-out article about your power will not put it any better than that quote by Tim Armstrong (from the track The 11th Hour off “…And Out Come The Wolves”).

It’s such a strong and succinct point.

You have the power to make anything happen. If you don’t believe this is true the problem stems from the fact that you’re too far in your head and lacking confidence. You’re not giving yourself enough credit or you’re making excuses.

Any answer to any question you have is available to you.

Maybe you’re in the position of not knowing what you don’t know. We all find ourselves in this position at one time or another.

If you don’t know where to start, start at what you think is a good place to start. There is absolutely nothing wrong with making a bit of a guess.

If you don’t start you give up your power.

What are you gonna do about it?