Nothing Is As Bad As It Seems (Or How I Quit Being A Whiny Baby And Got What I Needed)

The title is misleading. This is about the future of Ridiculously Extraordinary and about shipping, being an artist, and being a linchpin. Read it now…

(Important notes in the Don’t Skip This section of this article. If you skip the article, please read those.)

As you may know I’ve been having a difficult time with technology here in India.

A few days ago I spent 3 hours trying to get a USB Modem. Total time spent on trying to get an Internet connection the past couple weeks? At least 10 hours, but probably closer to 20 hours.

The internet wouldn’t really be an issue if I didn’t have things to ship. (More on that in the Don’t Skip This section below.)

I understand it’s because of terrorists and all of these rules are new so it’s a bit of a mess on all sides. And while the rules didn’t stop the restaurant bombing last week in Pune, maybe it is stopping the frequency of similar bombings. (I doubt it.)

Disagreeing with the way things are does nothing for me.

Figuring out how to make things happen in spite of the way things are causes change.

While sitting frustrated in my guest house what a lot of you commented/e-mailed me with during my whiny post a couple weeks ago finally hit me: “It’s not the end of the world.”

So I don’t have Internet. Who cares?

I can’t get any work done. (more on that in a bit!) Who cares?

I scheduled blog posts and I can’t respond to or moderate comments on my blog in a timely fashion. It sucks, and I feel bad, but you will stick around or you won’t.

Obviousy I want you to stick around and I figure you probably understand I can’t be stuck to my computer moderating/responding/commenting when I don’t have Internet. :)

Some people tell me Goa is a bit backwards (as far as tech and a few other things) and I should head somewhere else. While that sounds like a good plan, I’m not interested in being on the road. I want to stay put and get work done. i.e. Ship! (more on that in a bit)

If I’m going to leave it’s to move on to where I want to go, not some random place in search of an “easier time.”

I actually never planned on coming to India in the first place, so it’s all a bonus. I planned on going to Thailand and when I heard about the guitar workshop I’m taking (I’m just finishing the guitar as this post goes live!) I decided to delay Thailand and head to India.

So again, India’s a bonus.

I’ve made a couple of friends and met a bunch of people I never would have met had I not come. Bonus.

I’ve been able to eat some of my favorite foods daily. Bonus.

I learned I love running barefoot on the beach. :) Bonus.

I drink/eat a fresh coconut every day! Bonus.

Said coconut is chopped open with a machete in front of my eyes. Free show. Bonus!

If you’ve read this far, thank you.

If you enjoy what I’ve been doing here, thank you.

If you’ve e-mailed me or commented and haven’t received a response yet, thank you for your patience, I’m catching up. :)

I appreciate you hanging out here.

Oh, and by the way, once I stopped worrying about it, and after another (short!) visit to the electronics store, I ended up getting a USB modem and one month of high speed internet for 4,000 Rupees! ;)

###

Don’t Skip This Part. ;)

In other news, I’m working on something interesting.

Well, 3 things.

– A free newsletter and e-course about achieving Ridiculously Extraordinary Freedom. It will be focused on the Freedom aspect of this site and not so much on the other topics I talk about. (You know, like how I cured my allergies.)

– A corresponding eBook called “Ridiculously Extraordinary Freedom: How To Live Anywhere” which will be released using an incremental pricing model, starting at 10 cents and going up 10 cents after every sale. The sooner you buy, the less you pay. First day sales (+ my matching of that amount) will go to third world entrepreneurs via Kiva.org.

– An over-the-shoulder, here’s what I’m doing (including live examples), paid membership area. Because I get a lot of e-mails/questions about what I do, I’m releasing a paid membership area where you can look over my shoulder and see actual live niche projects I’m working on. I’m currently working on something unique I call “Product Leasing” in which I sell a product I didn’t write and don’t own. And it’s NOT about affiliate programs. I don’t know if anybody else is doing this. If they are, they’re keeping quiet about it.

To get on the notification list for the member’s area and ebook launches just fill out your name and primary e-mail address. (Don’t worry, I hate spam, and you won’t get it from me.)

If you’re reading via RSS/e-mail and the form doesn’t show up, fill it out right here.








The Timing Is Never Right

I hadn’t planned on releasing the newsletter (the e-course isn’t even close to “ready”) or eBook (barely started it!) for a while and I didn’t even have the idea for the membership area. Then I read Linchpin by Seth Godin and a quote from Tim Ferriss: “The timing is never right.”

The main takeaways I got from Linchpin were: “Artists ship” and “Give gifts.” (Another takeaway: sprinting, getting an enormous amount of work done in a short amount of time, is good on an irregular basis. The next 10 days I’m going to be sprinting.)

While I have been shipping (and hopefully giving gifts) by consistently posting to this blog, I don’t think that’s enough. So maybe you can understand my frustration with the internet issues. I wasn’t able to ship!

What was also stopping me was my lizard brain (Seth Godin term) telling me “These things won’t be successful, you don’t have enough readers yet.” Which may be true, but whatever. It’s happening.

Here is how it’s all going down:

This Thursday (Feb 25, 2010) you’ll read a free article called “How To Make Money With Free Traffic” with an action plan to earn an extra $300/month passively.

Next Monday (March 1, 2010) I’m releasing the Freedom Fighters newsletter/e-course.

Next Friday (March 5, 2010 at Midnight EST) comes the eBook. You could consider that Thursday night if you wish. But it’s being released on Friday because that’s my birthday and I’m going to send all the money (x2) generated that day to third world entrepreneurs via one of my favorite sites: Kiva.org. I don’t have enough readers here to write as large a check as I’d like, but that’s ok. Artists ship. ;)

Then on Monday March 8, 2010 comes the membership area.

Join the notification list for the member’s area and ebook launches here (hint: you’ll get a discount):








Again, if you’re reading via RSS/e-mail and the form doesn’t show up, fill it out right here.

Whew! Thanks for reading. And thanks for being such a big part of everything I do here.

32 thoughts on “Nothing Is As Bad As It Seems (Or How I Quit Being A Whiny Baby And Got What I Needed)”

  1. Make sure to get the coconut vendor to scrape the ‘malai’ (inner lining) of the coconut for you when you are done drinking. That lining is delicious. If you manage to get yourself some sugarcane juice everyday too, I will be truly jealous.

    1. Oh yes, I eat the insides (including the soft lining) of the coconut too! :)

      I haven’t yet tried sugar cane juice, but I will now. Thanks Abhishek!

  5. I am perhaps four fifths of the way through “Linchpin” and Godin paints a huge picture of what a linchpin is/does but I’m hoping that by the end of the book he will get around to shipping by giving some better idea of HOW one might become such a character. I get an “Emperor’s New Clothes” feel about the book, but I’m pretty sure that I’m probably missing the point of it. Moving on…

    I read a select few blogs and I choose this one first because you are the real deal. Put in linch-speak, “You Ship.” Not because of some timetable. The readers here know and are realistic about the places you are working from. Your work speaks from first hand experience, honesty, frankness and originality. You’re not just regurgitating philosophical platitudes. You make me late for work because I get to reading and thinking here. And that’s all I have to say about that.

    1. Wow! Thank you Glenn! :) <– that's a real ear to ear smile…people are are staring at me, hehe

      I'm not sure if you got to the part about maps, but a big part of the book is there is no map to being a linchpin. Linchpins create the map. Therefore, it would be impossible for Mr Godin to show you the how. If he did, it would just be average and not linchpin-like.

      Thank you again. And please tell your boss I'll do my best to keep making you late. :)

      Karol

  6. your energy, passion, and commitment has me totally inspired every time i stop by.

    i wish you all the best with these new ventures.
    thank you for being awesome.
    :)

  7. I was really inspired by your words and forthcoming actions related to “Artists ship.” As someone who also feels held back sometimes by not having enough readers/clients yet to do X, I found your post tremendously inspiring. Thanks!

    1. Hi Thekla!

      Thank you! Don’t worry. We all hold ourselves back sometimes. It’s important to recognize when we do and then take action. So whatever you were planning on doing “when you have X” just do it. What’s the worst that can happen?

      Karol

      1. There’s not much to lose when the worst that can happen is nothing right? Well, that and some time invested, but better to invest time doing than time fretting about not doing, right? :)

        1. Hi Thekla,

          While the worst that can happen is more than nothing, I agree with your sentiment. :) It’s definitely better to do than fret/whine!

          Thanks!
          Karol

  8. Subscribed and looking forward to the newsletter.

    Don’t worry, despite the delays in your posts, I’ll love you again once you’ve shipped me the guitar you are building for me.

  9. I am pumped you are going to be launching these products.

    I am going to try and be that annoying kid in class who kisses the teachers ass, but also gets the world in that small classroom. So be prepared….

    David Damron
    The Minimalist Path & LifeExcursion

  10. Thank you so much Karol for staying the journey as some would say!
    You are a breath of fresh air on the Internet, and I for one will be sticking with you.

    Its really tough for us pensioners to find the genuine folk and teachers out there whoi we can actually trust and learn from.

    Bless you mightily Karol.

    Danella

  11. Wow, Karol! I’ve been paying attention to your stuff since the long-ago days when you released your Ebay course (I can’t even recall the name of that course now, lol).
    I’m looking forward to being a part of all this!

  12. I tried to sign up yesterday and today and after an hour, haven’t received any confirmation email.

    1. Hi Jonathan,

      Thanks for signing up! You have AOL? It’s in your Spam folder I’ll bet. (AOL is notorious for filtering the wrong stuff.)

      Let me know if you see it!

      Thanks,
      Karol

      1. I got the email notification that you commented on my comment and it didn’t go to Spam. I check that folder religiously, so that isn’t the issue. Still haven’t seen either of the signup confirmations.

        1. Hmm…the subject line starts with Response Required and it’s sent from aweber.com not from my site.

          I just logged into my Aweber account and it says the confirmation message has been sent. I’m sending you an e-mail right now. :)

          1. I just used a secondary email address and it worked fine! So, who knows why an email to me at AOL got blocked and I didn’t get notified. Thanks for your help.

  13. Just found you via an @evbogue re-tweet about 101 Lessons Learned…I’m turning 29 this year so it resonates deeply – keep up the awesome work!

    While Godin may reference the lizard brain, it’s not his term. Comes from the psych concept that we all have a reptilian part of our brain, very base & instinctual, self-protective, reactive. Fascinating stuff.

    1. And, of course, had I read this link, I would have seen that’s exactly what he explains. Sigh. Whoops. Ignore me. I’m not done with my first cup of coffee yet.

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