Author: Karol

Sweet Shit Saturday #034 (The Aftermath Edition)

I learned a lot of lessons from the first 72 hour sale and I learned a lot more during the one that just ended 2 days ago. I’ll probably share those lessons sometime in the future.

If you participated in the sale in any way, even just by following along, thank you. We’re going to do more 72 hour sales, but we’re not sure when the next one will be. Rest assured it will be an insane value just like the last 2 have been. If you have suggestions for specific products you’d like to see in the future please get in touch.

A lot of people have made jokes about the money we made during the sale. You know, retirement, fast cars, etc, etc. (It was a lot, but it wasn’t as much as you might think. Baker has full transparency on his blog, so you’ll know exactly how much when he does his income report in January.)

The truth is the money is not the exciting part to me. I’ve written about this countless times, but I know what enough is for me. Getting more than enough is cool (I’m not going to burn it!), but it happens naturally when you give a lot of people what they want and it doesn’t increase my happiness. I have no desire to buy a BMW or a Rolex or any other toys. I did buy a MacBook Air, but I bought that before the sale and had been waiting for the right time (a sale/discount) to buy one. I may have only saved $50 by waiting, but $50 buys lots of Fuji apples (my favorite). :)

With all that said, you might be wondering what the exciting part is, if not the cash? It’s exciting doing big things. 1,915 fantastically good looking people put their trust in me and Baker in the span of 72 hours. That’s big. It’s exciting working with smart people who give a damn. It’s exciting giving lots of people what they want. It’s exciting raising enough money to build 6+ wells in Ethiopia. (This only happened because of Chris, but it was still exciting for me.) I don’t know what Chris’s criteria is for choosing who goes with him to Ethiopia next year, but if I’m not on my epic r———–r tour (more on that in January) at the time, I’m interested. :)

That’s what excites me. I hope whatever excites you that you’re able to achieve it as well.

What?

Did you say something?

Ohhhh, sweet links?

BOOM:

Sufficiency by Chris Guillebeau

If you’re not convinced about what I just wrote regarding money and enough you need to read this. This is one of the most important articles Chris has written. It’s from June ’09, so it’s not new, but it’s timeless. I’ve written about this topic quite a few times and it’s actually not Chris’s only article on the topic either. Why? Because it’s important enough to revisit and remember.

11 Things I Learned From 11 Months In Spain by Henri Junttila

This is more about life than Spain and I really enjoyed it.

How To Turn A $300/month Adsense Site Into A $17,500/month Business by Brian Evans

Brian Evans is one of the smartest marketers blogging today. He’s not in the “in your face make money online” niche so that’s probably why you don’t hear his name often. That’s too bad. For the 5,000+ of you who own How To Live Anywhere: there’s a PDF interview I did with Brian in the member’s area. :)

What It Takes by Steven Pressfield

An insider’s look at the publishing a book. There is nothing I can say about this other than “awesome.” :)

That’s it for this week. Oh wait, thanks for your submissions to Extraordinary Insights Volume 1, a free eBook you helped create. That’ll be out in about 2 weeks! OK, see ya!

The Other 99%

You can skate through life like the 99% or you can do this …

In a few paragraphs I’m going to tell you a story about why 99% of society fails. It has to do with challenges and speaking up and being you.

I get a lot of positive reaction on this blog. I get some negative reaction as well. I welcome it all.

Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me you disagree. Tell me I’m going about something incorrectly.

I respect being challenged. (But back it up.)

The truth is I want to be wrong. I want to be challenged. It’s the only way I’ll grow.

You should feel the same.

You don’t form strong opinions without being challenged.

You don’t do anything of value without plowing past challenges.

Challenge me, challenge yourself, challenge everybody.

Ruffling Feathers and Speaking Your Mind

A lot of people seem to be too afraid to state their opinions for fear of ruffling feathers. While diplomacy is all well and good in certain instances, if you don’t speak your mind and stand your ground regularly you turn into a number. You’re not a number, so don’t act like it.

7 years ago I was in a marketing class at Wayne State University (I wouldn’t recommend it; the class or the school). My teacher, who ran a small Web design company, was “teaching” us about Internet marketing. Little did she know what I did for a living. :) Anyway, she started talking about Pay Per Click (Google Adwords) and stated “Don’t bother with this if you’re a small business. It doesn’t work. It’s too expensive. It’s only for big businesses.”

I hate arguing. It’s completely useless. (Life Lesson #8)

But I had to say something. (Which is sometimes a good sign that you’re in a situation that won’t turn out well.)

So I spoke up in this massive, useless, class of 50+ students.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about. I use Adwords profitably every day. Do I look like Coca Cola?”

(I know, I was an asshole, but I was steaming at the toxic information she was spewing and I didn’t know how to handle it.)

“Impossible, it’s only for big businesses,” was her ignorant response.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about. How did you get this job? You are giving all of these people, who are already brainwashed by this system, sadly incorrect information.” (I left out the brainwashed part, although it was true then and and it’s true now.)

Then another student spoke up: “Hey, be quiet. We just want to get this class over with.”

My first instinct was to stand up and choke slam the dude. (I used to have a temper. haha)

Instead, I gave up. “Whatever.” This was a losing battle with losers who had nothing more to lose. They had already given up on life as far as I was concerned. No good could come from dealing with these people.

This situation reinforced what I already knew: not only do I not belong with 99% of society, I do not want to belong.

99% of the world doesn’t care. They don’t want opinions. They don’t want challenges. They just want to skate through life with as little friction as possible.

You can be like the 99% if you want.

Or you can ask yourself, “What challenges will I take on today?”

23 Business Courses From 23 Successful Entrepreneurs

Only72.com is live until Dec 2 at 10am EST …

As I mentioned on Saturday, this is a very short post just to let you know that the Only72.com sale is now live.

Click here now. The sale is live for only 72 hours. That’s until this Thursday (Dec 2) at 10am EST.

If you missed it Saturday, here’s a quick rundown of who contributed products to the sale:

Chris Guillebeau, Leo Babauta, Eric Hamm, Danielle LaPorte, Naomi Dunford, Dave Navarro, Laura Roeder, Chris Garrett, David Risley, Charlie Gilkey, Lea Woodward, Johnny B. Truant, James Chartrand, Jonathan Mead, Karol Gajda (hey, that’s me!), Everett Bogue, Corbett Barr, Nathan Hangen, Tammy Strobel, Henri Junttila, Erica Douglass, Colin Wright, and Jade Craven.

To find out exactly what products everybody contributed go to Only72.com. :)

In Case This Doesn’t Interest You Whatsoever

My goal here at Ridiculously Extraordinary is to give much more than I get. But part of running a business is the actual business part. And that means releasing products for sale every once in a while.

Thanks for bearing with me if you’re not into the Only72.com sale.

Remember, I’ve got a free eBook coming out soon. You can contribute to it here: An Extraordinary Collaboration

There have been dozens of really great questions/requests and I’m looking forward to releasing Ridiculously Extraordinary Insights Volume 1 (tentative title) for free in a few weeks. :)

Sweet Sweet Saturday #033 (Say It Twice Edition)

Black Friday, Only72.com, consumerism, and sweet links!

This Saturday is so sweet I had to say it twice. :)

I hope you enjoyed Black Friday. Being that I’ve pretty much opted out of consumerism I actually think Black Friday is a good day for minimalists. I mean, we do need to buy things sometimes … why not get a sweet discount? (That said, there’s no way I was going to wake up at 3am to get those “great” deals. I loathe going to stores. I loathe waking up early. Put them together and you know how I feel.)

If you follow me on Twitter you know I’ve been waiting to get a MacBook Air for a while now. I’ve been working on an Acer AspireOne netbook for months and it doesn’t cut it. While this little badboy has been with me for some crazy days in the past few months it’s really not a great computer for an entrepreneur. (Too small, way too slow = my biggest issues.)

Everybody told me “Apple doesn’t do sales.” But since I was in no rush, I wanted to find out for myself. Lo and behold, the MacBook Air was $101 off for 24 hours directly through Apple. I decided to buy it through MacMall.com though. It was only $50 off, but since I didn’t have to pay $140 in sales tax I came out ahead. :)

The Big Only72.com Sale

You probably know by now that another 72 hour sale is coming this Monday over at Only72.com. What you probably don’t know is all the wonderful people who contributed products to the sale.

I can honestly say nothing like this has ever been done before and I think you’ll be quite happy with what we have in store.

Here is the complete rundown of contributors: Chris Guillebeau, Leo Babauta, Eric Hamm, Danielle LaPorte, Naomi Dunford, Dave Navarro, Laura Roeder, Chris Garrett, David Risley, Charlie Gilkey, Lea Woodward, Johnny B. Truant, James Chartrand, Jonathan Mead, Karol Gajda (hey, that’s me!), Everett Bogue, Corbett Barr, Nathan Hangen, Tammy Strobel, Henri Junttila, Erica Douglass, Colin Wright, and Jade Craven.

All told, if you were to buy the courses in this sale individually you’d pay $1,052. You won’t have to pay anywhere near that amount.

Yes, I know, we’re crazy. :)

None of this would have happened if Baker didn’t join me on this venture. He is the most intense, focused, connected, helpful person I have had the pleasure of working with. Our goal with Only72.com is to provide out of this world value to contributors and customers. I attribute 99% of that value to what Baker has brought to the table.

A lot of people are going to ask “how did you get all of those people to contribute their products to your sale?” The answer is Baker makes things happen.

This coming Monday will be a short post about the Only72 sale. If you’re not interested, that’s cool. Just ignore Monday. And by ignore I mean don’t go online at all, because you’ll read about this sale everywhere. :)

Enough of that … sweet sweet links!

Obvious To You. Amazing To Others by Derek Sivers

This hit me like a ton of bricks. Thanks Derek. :)

Who Calls You Out? by Kenny Eller

This is probably my favorite piece of writing that Kenny has put out thus far.

The Shy Delusion by Benny Lewis

I found myself thinking “dammit, I do that!” a few times during this article. If you think you’re shy you must read this article.

An Extraordinary Collaboration by Me

I know linking to myself is lame, but since I posted this on Thanksgiving Day the submissions were much lower than they should be. Ask me anything about anything and help us create an awesome free resource.

That’s all for this week. See you Monday with the Only72.com 72 hour sale. Get in some trouble this weekend. ;)

Everything Matters

What if nothing matters? But what if *everything* matters?

I ended my last article with the question “What if none of it matters?”

I originally intended on ending it with “What if everything matters?” but I had a feeling I’d get more interesting responses if I ended it the way I did.

The truth is, as Life Lesson #38 says: nothing is trivial.

In other words, everything matters.

What you ate for breakfast matters. How much you exercise matters. The fact that you’re reading this right now matters. “Oh just one more [insert indulgence] can’t hurt” matters.

When I was younger I didn’t think very much mattered. Mostly I just didn’t care. I didn’t care whether someone died or whether someone won the lottery or whether someone was sick or how I felt or what I ate or what I did. I pretended I cared. I tried to act like I cared. But mostly all you’d get from me was flesh, no feeling.

… there is an idea of Patrick Bateman, some kind of abstraction, but there is no real me, only an entity, something illusory, and though I can hide my cold gaze and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable: I simply am not there. – Patrick Bateman in American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

It’s hard to pin down the turning point (my answer always changes) of when I began to genuinely care so I won’t make an attempt right now, but some of it stems from finally realizing what’s important.

Imperfection and Importance

We’re imperfect creatures so just because everything matters that doesn’t mean that everything we do is important.

There is a lot I do that’s seemingly not important at all. Is figuring out how to play Paparazzi by Lady Gaga on the guitar important in any way whatsoever? Not really. It doesn’t stretch my guitar playing abilities (it’s basically 5 total chords) but I think it’s funny, it’s silly, and it makes me smile. And you already know there is a lot of power in a smile. I can live with this. More than that, I love this. But if I spent all my waking hours learning how to play silly pop songs that would be a problem.

The 4 Stages of Importance

Importance can be broken down fairly simply into four stages. It’s not always black and white. There are definitely some gray areas, but this is a generally good break down.

Unimportant but beneficial

I would categorize silly pop song learning as unimportant but beneficial because having fun is essential to life.

Unimportant and not beneficial

This would be something like watching TV. But more than just watching TV, it’s being obsessed with a TV show. Recently someone told me they couldn’t wait to sit down and watch all of Dexter Season 4. “Rita died! I don’t know who killed her.”

“Wait a second, let me look it up and tell you and save you some time.” I joked.

“Nooooo!” and said person actually began crying.

I wouldn’t actually spoil someone’s life like this. I understand people will grasp at whatever they can when life sucks. But this situation was very sick, and very sad.

Important but not beneficial

This is a tough one. You could say paying taxes, for example, is important but not beneficial. You could say saving for retirement is important, but not beneficial. You could say having insurance is important, but not beneficial. A lot of this depends on who you ask.

Important and beneficial

Just like the other stages of importance important and beneficial is subjective, but I think it’s easier to determine than the other stages. I would say writing this blog is important and beneficial. I’m sure you could also make an argument that it’s neither. You’d be right. And so would I.

Important and beneficial means important and beneficial to you. This blog is important to me because I love writing and it’s fun connecting with people all around the world. It’s beneficial because I learn a lot from you and I hope you learn a little bit from me as well. See how that works? :)

The goal is to do more important and beneficial stuff.

Obviously everything you do won’t fall into this category. That’s OK. But you have a lot of choice in this matter.

For example, you could choose to watch Season 4 of Dexter or learn how to create a web series.

Both are media-related.

Both make an impact in some way.

But watching a TV show will make a mostly negative impact while learning how to create a web series will make a positive impact.

There is no tangible benefit to watching a TV show besides “vegging out.” It’s difficult to even consider this a tangible benefit. Vegging out is much different than, and not to be confused with, relaxation. Watching TV is not relaxing. Maybe you’ve forgotten how to relax? (Don’t worry, happens to everybody.)

Learning how to create a web series has unlimited potential. The fact is you might not do anything with that potential, and in that case, it matters just as much as watching a TV show. But the potential is there. The choice of what you’ll do with that potential is, as always, yours.

But What Truly Matters If Everything Matters?

Well, everything! Everything truly matters. Everything you’ve done, seen, touched, and experienced has shaped who you are. Everything you’re currently experiencing is shaping who you will be.

“I don’t understand, how can everything matter? You just went on yet another diatribe about how TV is a waste of time, how does TV matter?”

It matters because it shapes you. Something doesn’t have to be important for it to shape you.

When I say TV is a waste of time it doesn’t come from a place of judgement. If you need to watch 5 hours of TV every day, that’s cool. Although I would wonder why you’re reading this site. And if watching 5 hours of TV every day is not important to you, but you’re doing it anyway, why are you being a wuss? :)

Or maybe you want to smoke weed, drop acid, and eat cheetos. I’m not saying you should, I’m just saying it matters, because everything matters. History has proven there are lots of incredibly talented and smart people who have dabbled in mind-altering substances. The late Richard Feynman anybody? (BTW, if you’ve never read Surely You’re Joking Mr Feynman it’s a must read.)

Tangent: The difference between a pothead and Mr Feynman is vast. But I don’t have to point that out, do I? :)

The Big Question

Nope, it’s not “what is the meaning of life?” That’s too easy. ;)

The big question is:

If everything matters, how often are you going to choose to do what’s important and beneficial?

###

Note: this article has resulted in more hate mail than I’ve ever received. I don’t need to know why you unsubscribed. We’re just not right people. It’s all good. I also don’t need to know why you love TV. It’s a dead horse and not even the real point of this article. Please read *all* the comments before making a new comment about TV. Thanks my loves!

Sweet Shit Saturday #032 (Murmurs of Change Edition)

Brasil, South by Southwest, freezing cold temperates, and sweet links …

The fun thing about Ridiculously Extraordinary Freedom is you’re not usually bound by plans. Nothing is set in stone. With that said, it looks like I’m not going to Brasil in January.

Instead, I’ll be treating my body to below-freezing temperatures in a city yet-to-be-revealed doing something yet-to-be-revealed, then heading to SXSW in mid-March, and THEN heading to Brasil. :)

The interesting thing about this is that subjecting myself to below-freezing temperatures will cost 2-3 times more than just heading to Brasil.

Stupid.

What? Did you just call me stupid?

Yes.

Who are you?

I’m you.

What?

Nothing. Carry on.

Whoa, what was that?

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeettttt linkssssssssssss:

How Complexity Leads To Simplicity by Eric Berlow

I like when really smart people share their really smart ideas. :)

Minimalist Fitness: Use Your Kids As A Gym by Leo Babauta

Parents: do this!

The Power of a Smile by Tammy Strobel

Oh so powerful. :)

Kick Procrastination In The Arse by Mark Powers

I love this technique and I’ve used it often. Actually, in the How To Live Anywhere interview I did with Leo Babauta we discussed this technique briefly. :)

Focus On A Freedom Fighter #003: Raam Dev

As you know, sometimes I feature Freedom Fighters here. If you’d like to be featured, join the Freedom Fighters and wait for the e-mail about being featured (it arrives in your inbox after about 45 days).

Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to Raam Dev from RaamDev.com.

Karol: Why did you join Freedom Fighters?

Raam: I joined Freedom Fighters because I’m a fighter for freedom, both in the literal sense and in the metaphorical sense that I dislike anything that restricts me. The best way to grow as a freedom fighter is to be open-minded and willing to collaborate with and listen to what other freedom fighters are doing and saying. You’re a freedom fighter. I’m a freedom fighter. So hearing what you have to say helps me on my own journey!

K: How has Freedom Fighters helped you?

R: The emails are a constant reminder that I’m not alone. They are little nudges that give me little bits of motivation and inspiration to keep pushing myself onward. One of the hardest ways to fight a battle is alone but when you know others are with you, the battle becomes a shared quest. Seemingly impossible challenges feel a little less insurmountable and sometimes that’s all we need to keep going.

K: What are your goals with your website?

R: I write for a community of passionate changemakers who are driven to live life to its fullest potential and who want to use that potential to change the world. We have a common goal of working towards something that will both outlast us and and leave the world a better place than we found it.

We are a community of dreamers with a passion to think big and beyond ourselves. We aim to utilize our individually unique potential for a greater purpose and we work together to find ways to share our abundance with the rest of the world. Our community exists to promote human sustainability and help rid the world of ignorance and inequality.

My site is just one small piece of our community and I use it to share and discuss ideas, teach principals of practical minimalism, and provide insight into my lifestyle as a digital nomad. My primary goal is to be a source of inspiration and motivation for anyone interested in getting more out of life, obliterating the status quo, or doing something to help change the world.

K: Is there anything in particular you’d like to tell the world?

R: You are capable of anything. There is absolutely nothing you cannot learn, no skill you cannot develop, and no amount of knowledge that is out of your reach.

You can envision things that others cannot. You have revolutionary ideas that can and will change the world. You can find others who think and believe the same way as you. You can lead those people and become an unstoppable force of change to make your shared vision a reality.

You are a powerhouse of potential and you have the power to change the world. If you see something that should be changed, you have the power to change it.

Empower yourself. Become a changemaker. Nothing and nobody can stop you, except yourself.

###

Woohoo! Thanks Raam. You’re an incredibly inspirational person.

That’s it for this week. Special request for the weekend: enjoy yourself! :) See ya!

What If?

Questions, questions, questions …

What if you became a millionaire?

What if you went bankrupt?

What if you married the person of your dreams?

What if you never married?

What if you got a promotion?

What if you got fired?

What if you joined the 1% club?

What if you hate clubs?

What if you went on an around the world trip?

What if you stayed in one city for the rest of your life?

What if you have lots of big goals?

What if you don’t believe in setting goals?

What if you run a business and spread your advertising far and wide?

What if you’re anti-capitalist?

What if you took a space flight?

What if you’re afraid of heights?

What if you walked across America?

What if you broke a leg?

What if you’re always tired?

What if you had lots of energy?

What if you quit your job with $3,000 in the bank, adopted a minimalist lifestyle, and never looked back?

What if you stayed in a job you hated for the rest of your life?

What if you’re busy and have lots to do?

What if you’re bored?

What if you became famous for hating on celebrities?

What if you don’t care about celebrities?

What if you killed your TV?

What if you like TV?

What if you went on an epic book tour even though “nobody does book tours anymore”?

What if you hate reading?

What if you’re doing exactly what you want right now?

What if you don’t know what you want from life?

What if none of it matters?

Mind Control Method: Goal Setting For Smart People

You deserve to get what you want. This will help …

We’re well into 2011 and you may have already quit on your goals like most people do. But if you’re thinking about resurrecting those goals, setting new goals, accomplishing great things, and just generally kicking ass at life then you’ve come to the right place.

Since the age of 8 I have consistently gotten exactly what I wanted. While some would say I’m lucky or tell me things “just come to me” that’s not true.

There is no such thing as luck and nothing “just comes” to me.

If you’ve read any stories (or books) written by successful people (in business and in life) you’ll find a common theme among them: systems. The reason I get what I want is that I have systems in place to make things happen.

One of many definitions for system is: “An organized and coordinated method; a procedure.”

An organized and coordinated method.

My system for getting exactly what I want is called the Mind Control Method.

I have been using the Mind Control Method, at first accidentally and then consciously, for 21 years now. I’ve refined it for 21 years. I’ve tested against it for 21 years. And I didn’t tell a single soul about it until I mentioned it here on this blog late last year.

How To Get What You Want

There are many ways to get what you want.

None of them involve vision boards or the “law” (haha, come on) of attraction.

If you believe you’ll manifest money, a new car, a relationship, or anything else out of thin air then you probably also believe horses and dogs speak to “chosen people” telepathically. In which case, I can’t help you. Nobody can.

The reason these “laws” sell so successfully is because they’re sold as magic pills and the majority of the public would rather take a magic pill than actually put their success on their own shoulders.

The Truth About Manifestation

The reason these “laws” work sometimes is due to coincidence. To put it plainly: A sequence of events that although accidental seems to have been planned or arranged.

If you’ve ever manifested anything you can thank coincidence instead of your vision board. Pretty sweet, huh? You could have saved time poring over magazines and cutting out clippings to paste on your board and you still would have gotten whatever you “manifested”!

Personally, I like systems and methods much better. The reason is simple. If you follow a system or method you’re actually doing something, making things happen.

Introducing: The Mind Control Method Course

Today I’m releasing the Mind Control Method course for exactly 24 hours.

The focal point of the Mind Control Method course is writing a Mind Control Method Letter. This Letter is what I have used for 21 years to get exactly what I want. I’ll take you through the process of writing your own Mind Control Method Letter to help you get what you want as well.

The Mind Control Method course isn’t so much an eBook as it is a workshop that you can do on your own time. Mind Control Method isn’t intended for just a quick read-through. It consists of one 37 page to-the-point main guide (in Adobe PDF format) and 5 MP3s (listenable on any computer or device that can play MP3s).

What Exactly Is Mind Control Method?

This isn’t about controlling other people’s minds. This is my system for controlling my own mind. It’s a form of mental conditioning that so many of us need these days.

Mind Control Method will help you:

– Make great things happen by choosing very specific, actionable goals. (The only kind of goals worth setting.)

– Clear your mind of all the cobwebs that keep you from reaching your goals.

– Focus on the important, instead of wasting time on the irrelevant.

– Destroy limiting beliefs that keep you from living your dreams.

– Realize why you already have what you need to succeed, you just haven’t let it out yet.

Warning: Mind Control Method Isn’t For Everybody!

Who is it not for?

  • If you believe you can manifest things out of thin air then, as I already mentioned, I can’t help you. Mind Control Method can’t help you.
  • If you’re not interested in taking action to make phenomenal things happen in your life then Mind Control Method isn’t for you. There are no magic pills and I’m not going to lie to you and say this is a magic pill or “secret.”

Who is it for?

  • If you’ve been duped by the “laws” and vision boards and all of that garbage then Mind Control Method is for you. You know as well as I do that there is no such thing as laws or secrets. It’s all about systems and methods. If that sounds like you, then Mind Control Method will help you get what you want.
  • If you’re interested in learning the system I’ve used for 21 years to get what I want, Mind Control Method is for you.
  • If you’re ready to kick ass and make amazing things happen in your life, Mind Control Method is for you.

What Do You Get?

The Mind Control Method is an instantly downloadable course, or as I like to call it, workshop.

If you pick it up today you will get:

Mind Control Method - instantly downloadable guide + MP3s
  • 37 page Mind Control Method guide in Adobe PDF format. (Viewable on any computer and many handheld devices.)
  • 5 MP3 audios further explaining certain aspects of the Mind Control Method. (Listenable on any computer and many handheld devices.)
  • 1 Mind Control Method Letter review done personally by me. I currently charge $1,000 for personal consultations, but you get this review included in the Mind Control Method course for nowhere near that price! (Conservatively, this review is worth 30 minutes of my time, or $125.)

You get all of that for just $47.

The 60 Day Love It Or Leave It Guarantee

I’m going to make this very simple. You either love Mind Control Method or you don’t. If you don’t then I don’t want your money. I want you to come away from this experience in a positive light so if you’re not happy with Mind Control Method just send me an e-mail and I’ll get you squared away. No questions asked, no guilt trips, either you’re happy or you don’t pay. :)

With Love and Ass-Kickery,
Karol Gajda

Sweet Shit Saturday #031 (Discount Code Edition!)

In which I briefly discuss discount codes and share sweet links!

It’s almost that time. Mind Control Method launches for exactly 24 hours starting Monday, November 15, 10:00am EST. (That’s this Monday!)

On launch day I’m going to include 50 coupon codes in the article. Each coupon code will be one-time use only. The majority of them will be for 10% off, but a few of them will be for a lot more. ;)

So what will your strategy be? Test out every coupon code hoping to find a huge discount, or risk the chance of not being able to use any coupon code by wasting time doing that? :) That will be up to you, of course.

Again: Mind Control Method will be available for exactly 24 hours. Monday at 10:00am EST until Tuesday at 10:00am EST.

Enough of that … time for sweet links!

The Law of Action by Maren Kate

I love that Maren wrote this, because the focus of this Monday’s launch article is how the law of attraction is a scam. Thanks Maren! :)

Never Work Again by Adam Baker

A fantastic article about watching what we say around impressionable minds so we don’t brain wash them into believing in the status quo.

The Definitive Guide To Increasing Traffic To Your Blog or Website by Henri Junttila

Killer article, especially if you need more traffic. :)

Fewer Bills by Leo Babauta

Fewer bills “means less stress, less hassle to pay bills, less work required to pay them, more savings, simplicity.”

When people ask me “if everybody adopted a minimalist lifestyle, wouldn’t the world crumble since we thrive on consumerism?” I’m going to refer them to this article. Especially the “less work required” to pay bills part. :)

That’s it for this week. Hope you’re kicking ass! Take names if you want … unless it’s mine! ;)

Breakthroughs Are Bullshit

If you’re waiting for a breakthrough, keep waiting …

I’ve had a lot of people ask me about “revelations” or “a-ha moments” or “breakthroughs” in regards to travel, business, and life.

I talked about this with Baker last year but it’s time for a refresher.

If we set out to do anything with the intention of looking for a breakthrough you know what happens? We don’t enjoy the process. And worse, we end up disappointed when the breakthrough we were looking for doesn’t happen.

So let me rephrase: breakthroughs are not bullshit. Searching, waiting, wishing, and hoping for breakthroughs is bullshit.

A lot of us get caught up in this trap.

I liken waiting for a breakthrough to playing the lottery. Yeah, it could happen. But I like to make things happen instead of leaving things up to chance.

You want breakthroughs?

Fine.

  1. Stop watching TV.
  2. Stop reading the news.
  3. Stop reading blogs.
  4. Stop being like everyone else.
  5. Do something out of this world.

I get a lot of e-mails, most of which fall into 2 camps.

Camp #1: Sob stories and excuses.

Listen, we all have problems. Every single person in the world has 84 problems. (Contrary to what Ice T and Jay Z tell us.)

I know life can suck. I’ve been there. But you know what? Talking about it, complaining about it, and tell people about it does nothing for you. It magnifies your problems and makes you feel even worse.

Camp #2:  Action plans and epic shit.

A great example of action plans and epic shit is happening right now. Satya Colombo e-mailed me about a month ago asking if I’d be involved in something he put together called the Freedom Business Summit. 12 entrepreneurs sharing their philosophies and strategies for success.

I had never heard of or spoken to Satya before. Not a single interaction that I can remember.

Yet I immediately said “Yes, I’d be happy to be a part of it.”

So did Chris Guillebeau, Danielle LaPorte, Leo Babauta, Everett Bogue, Gwen Bell, Corbett Barr, Tammy Strobel, Johnny B. Truant, Mark Silver, Charlie Gilkey, and Mary Jaksch.

He got all of those amazing people together because instead of dreaming, complaining, making excuses, or waiting for a breakthrough Satya took action. He looked rejection in the face and told it to piss off.

I want you to do the same.

Although you might not know it or feel it right now, you have my full support to blow people’s minds. :)