Sweet Shit Saturday #008 (Pre-Launch Edition)

Whoa, the official launch of How To Live Anywhere is coming up fast. June 8!

Next week, being that it’s pre-launch week, will be full of lots of nitty-gritty bad assery™. (Not really ™ I just wanted to be super cool and insert a symbol. Seriously, super cool.) In this particular case, I’m sticking to biz-related articles until launch. We’ll cover how I started my first profitable biz for less than $200 (and how you can too), why I once shut down (as opposed to selling for a large sum or continuing on with it) a biz that was pulling in over $10k/month profit, and what it feels like to make 5 figures in a day (multiple times) but why I still think money isn’t of utmost importance.

The next 10 days will also be spent mobilizing a group of affiliates to make the launch a success. While I don’t have the network to pull off a Chris Guillebeau launch of epic proportions right now, it will still be a fun time. The affiliate program is currently open to anybody who bought Version 0.9 and a select few other people. If you have a blog with a readership that trusts you and for some reason you don’t get an e-mail from me by Wednesday please get in touch. (Launch day commissions are going to be a massive 95%. I don’t mess around when it comes to treating affiliates well. Ba ba ba booya!)

How my eBook made $1,800 In 3 Days with 78 people on my list by Kelly Kingman

This is a great story and reinforces what I talked about in 7 Ways To Establish Trust In An Age Of Skepticism. I’ve had Kelly’s blog in my RSS reader for a while and she comes across as very genuine. In other words, trustworthy. As a result, her small list and a few key actions produced tremendous results.

How To Achieve Your Dreams by Tammy Strobel

The most important part of this article is tip #6: action. No article, book, course, or person will ever help you as much as you can help yourself by simply taking focused action right now. Thanks for reinforcing that Tammy. :)

The Importance of Being Unremarkable by Jonathan Mead

Jonathan (who I just interviewed for How To Live Anywhere) has an awesome take on doing unremarkable but important things. I especially like this line: “When we’re focusing too much on doing epic shit, we can lose sight of the truly epic things that aren’t outwardly or obviously epic.” I do a lot of unremarkable things that I really enjoy. Hand washing my clothes in a bag is one of them. Without fail, everybody who sees me do it makes a comment and thinks I’m weird, but I enjoy the process of hand washing my clothes … in a bag. ;) It’s unremarkable, but to me it’s epic.

How To Pursue Work That Matters by Everett Bogue

I agree with a lot of what Everett writes here (and a lot of what he writes in general, dude rocks!), but also disagree with some of it: “…answering every blog comment whether or not it’s relevant or even requires a response.” I seem to be in the minority with this thought (well, Pat and Glen seem to be gung-ho on the same page as me, although I won’t put words in their mouths), but I think answering all (or pretty much all) blog comments is pursuing work that matters. Yes, it takes time, but showing appreciation to fans who allow me to do what I do is time well invested. I liken it to an actor who wants to be famous, but when they get famous and have lots of attention from fans they ignore them. You can tell who not only deserves success, but appreciates who gave them that success. Without you, this blog is just a tree falling in the forest with nobody around to hear it. Thanks for hearing the tree fall and for telling your friends you liked the sound. ;)

Travel Hack: How To Take 40kg Of Luggage On Low Cost Carriers by Benny Lewis

Benny forgot the most important part of this situation in the headline: it’s free! Benny did this without paying extra baggage fees (well, beyond the regular check-in fee). This is simply awesome … and fun. I almost wish I had 50kg of stuff so I could attempt a new “record.” :)

Veganize Your Life by WA Christopher J.

I mentioned I had an article about veganism about 6 months ago and I’ve dropped the ball. Mostly because I haven’t looked at it in months, it’s a good 3-4,000 words, and it’s not done. I get a lot of e-mails about veganism and I really will post that tome some day. For now, my friend James wrote this awesome guide, but he includes a disclaimer: “This guide was written for those who have already made the choice to become vegan.” James is a great writer so it’s worth a read even if you haven’t made that choice yet. :)

The #1 Habit Of Highly Creative People by Leo Babauta

If you know me by now you know I highly recommend this habit myself. You’ll see exactly what it is when you read the article. Here’s a hint: I don’t own the domain HowToBeAlone.com for nothing. (A free Black Book will launch there in a few months.)

That’s all for this week. I hope even if you don’t ever plan on buying anything from me or if you already bought Version 0.9 of How To Live Anywhere you’ll stick around during (and after!) the June 8th launch. If not, it’s cool, we’re still best buds. ;)

Questions/comments/want me to cook you my famous gluten-free soy-free 4-bean veganized chili? You know what to do …