Tag: goal setting

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. :)

The Thrill of $10k In A Day (and Why Monetary Goals Are Worthless)

I discuss the thrill of $10k profit in a day and then get into how to set goals that matter …

It’s not pre-launch week anymore. How To Live Anywhere launches tomorrow! I’m so fired up. I’m really looking forward to unleashing this bad assery on the world.

What we’ve covered so far:

Monday – How I Created My First 6-Figure Business For $119.40

Thursday – Why I Quit (or How To Go From $10k/month to $0/month Overnight)

Saturday – Sweet Shit Saturday #009 (Business Building Edition)

Today’s article is about, quite possibly, the most important lesson I’ve learned in life.

“What?! What are you talking about?! Shut. Up!”

I had just told a friend of mine that I pulled in $9,000 in 1 hour and I think her reaction was warranted. By the time the product I was selling had sold out 4 hours later I pulled in just a tad over $20k profit.

I was really proud of myself. It was a crazy adrenaline high and it was almost surreal. By the way, I don’t state any of this to brag, but just to show you what is possible. And, more than that, to show you why monetary goal setting is worthless.

I’ve already discussed building trust, giving good content, and the power of an e-mail list. Well, those things all came together on that day.

But that wasn’t the first or the last time I pulled in over $10k profit in one day.

In How To Live Anywhere I interview a guy named John Reese. I paid $4,500 to attend his private workshop in March of 2004. Later that year he released the core information from that workshop in a huge course called Traffic Secrets that cost almost $1,000.

It was August 17, 2004. John pulled in $1 million that day. Me? I sold 35 copies of his course, getting a $500 commission on each one. $17,500 for selling a product that was not mine. That was my first 5 figure day as an affiliate (also not my last).

That is the power of giving people what they want. If you give enough people what they want, you will get what you want. I didn’t have the biggest audience, but I was one of John’s top affiliates anyway. That’s a recurring theme in my life. Besides the temporary setback I wrote about in Why I Quit, my thinking has always been to give, give, give. And then I always got what I wanted.

The problem: At the time all I wanted was money.

Nothing else mattered. I didn’t need all the money I was making, but my goal was to make more, more, more. Fill the bank account! I wanna see lots of zeros! Sell! Sell! Sell!

Listen, I know it sounds like I’m complaining about money. That’s not it. It’s very hard to tell someone “money, as a goal, is dumb” during a time when so many people are affected financially.

While things may be a little more difficult these days, a fun shift is happening. I see a lot of people who are getting back to basics.

Can’t afford cable TV? Awesome, you get to spend more time reading to your kids, or taking walks, or enjoying true peace and quiet.

Can’t afford to go out partying every night? Sweet, invite some friends over, cook out, hang, bond.

Why Money Is A Useless Goal

Money goals are empty numbers and life is not a contest. Making more money doesn’t make us more special. Making more money doesn’t make us happier.

The happiest wealthy people I know grew that wealth as an aside. It happened because they were focused, living awesome lives, giving people what they wanted, but without a number as an end goal. The most depressed wealthy people I know have only money as the goal.

The happiest “regular Joes” I know are happy because they’re focused, living awesome lives, giving people what they want, and setting experiential goals instead of monetary goals. The most depressed “regular Joes” I know are depressed because their end goal is money.

Do you see the connection?

Monetarily wealthy or not, happiness is not determined by a dollar amount.

Depression, whether someone is a millionaire or not, is rooted in some random dollar amount.

Why You Don’t Need $10k In A Day

I’m not going to say it’s not awesome making $10k in a day. It is. But it’s no more awesome than spending an afternoon in the park (Park Zachodni here in Wroclaw, Poland for example!), taking the time to enjoy the cool breeze and the hot sun.

We do need money to live. And we also need money to Live Anywhere. That’s a fact.

We just need a lot less than we think we need.

Money Goals vs Experiential Goals

A short while ago I talked about Living Dreams vs Chasing Dreams. Setting monetary goals is chasing. Setting experiential goals is living.

For example, maybe you want to do what I did and learn how to build a guitar from scratch in India. Awesome experiential goal!

Now, figure out the cost: $1,200 for the course, $1,000 for an economy flight (unless you do what I did and use Frequent Flier Miles to fly business class), $400 for a room and food for 3 weeks. That’s only $2,600 for an unforgettable experience, complete with take home prize (the guitar!).

Tell me which one of these goals feels better to you:

– I will make an extra $2,600 in the next 90 days.

or

– I will make an extra $2,600 in the next 90 days so I can experience the bad assery of spending 3 weeks hand building a guitar in India!

When you feel a goal something clicks in your brain. Solely monetary goals are unfeeling and soulless. When you set a goal based on an amazing experience your synapses will start firing and help you focus on achieving.

The Time Has Come

How To Live Anywhere is coming tomorrow. (Yay!) I will post on this blog at 10:30am EST to let you know, but if you want a headstart to get the fast action bonus just get on the Priority Access List below.

By the way, the process for pulling in $17,500 like I talked about above is the exact same process I write about in The Anatomy of a 4 Figure Affiliate Promo case study, which is part of the How To Live Anywhere course. The difference is, this recent 4-figure-in-a-day monetary goal had a purpose. I’ll let you know about that another time. ;)

This has been my first really public launch in a long while. Whether you decide to buy How To Live Anywhere tomorrow or not, thank you so much for sticking around!

And, as always, results are not typical. Your results may not match mine or they might blow mine away. Remember, this is not a contest. :)

Tell me what you thought about it …

Sweet Shit Saturday #003 (How To Order Edition)

In which I place an order with the Universal Restaurant …

A couple months back, the 21st of February to be exact, Steve Pavlina wrote an article that really connected with me. I’ve been reading his stuff on and off for about 4 years now and while I don’t always agree with him, I respect that he’s so clear and open about his life.

(Speaking of Steve Pavlina, I’m tentatively planning on being in Vegas for his October 29-31 workshop. Join us? You can bet my Halloween costume will be ridiculous.)

The article in question is called How To Order.

I’ve read it a few times (and again just now) and I’ve been thinking about it a lot since February. In a way, it’s similar to my Mind Control Method. But it’s different. And it’s public. And I’m going to place an order in the paragraphs that follow. ;)

In this article Steve (we’re on a first name basis now? sure…) talks about the Universal Restaurant. Just like a food restaurant, to get what you want at the Universal Restaurant, you have to place a specific order.

You wouldn’t walk into a pizza place and state “I’d like a pizza” without saying exactly what kind of pizza you want, right?

So when setting goals or synthesizing dreams, why do so many of us make vague statements like “I want a lot of money” or “I want a hot girlfriend/boyfriend”? It just doesn’t make sense.

Don’t ask for a romantic partner. If you want a geeky, vegan, bisexual, happily jobless girlfriend who gives amazing blow jobs and loves to travel, then order that. Order it loudly enough so your waiter can hear you, and people at nearby tables will say, “I didn’t know that was on the menu. I’ll have one of those too… with a twist of lemon.” (excerpt from How To Order)

The best part about ordering is you don’t have to be perfect: “One of the best ways to get what you actually want is to take your best guess, and order it.”

It might not turn out quite right, much like when you order something at a restaurant and your dish isn’t exactly what you wanted. That’s OK. There will be other meals. Accept the order you placed and move on.

“Here are the rules: Decide what you want, order it, receive it, and digest it. It’s not rocket science. Don’t make it complicated.”

Thanks Steve.

So here’s my order with the Universal Restaurant:

“A geeky, vegan, bisexual, happily jobless girlfriend who gives amazing blow jobs and loves to travel.” HA! Kidding. ;)

I feel like reading that the first time might have made you uncomfortable. It’s easier to read the second time, yeah?

So here’s my actual order:

A tall, musically-inclined, skinny, vegan, minimalist, atheist, working from anywhere (or quitting-the-job-soon) girl who will challenge me, isn’t older than me, and who likes to (or would like to) travel the world and go on lots of rollercoasters (literal and figurative).

Although let’s not get crazy Universe. By tall I mean woman-tall not me-tall. 6’5″ (~195cm) would be too tall. ;) Based on the order, it’s assumed this woman is not in credit card debt and has the ability to live/work anywhere. Since assuming is a bad way to place an order, I just made it clear. To make it even more clear: I’m not going the married/with boyfriend route Universe. That has happened 2 too many times. ha! So, single please.

That was a rambling order, but sometimes food restaurant orders are rambling as well. That doesn’t mean they don’t turn out spectacularly.

I know what I’m ordering is incredibly rare, and I don’t even know if I’ll like the meal, but that’s the whole point. I’ll let you know what happens. :)

Want to place your order for anything at all? Since the order has to be loud (meaning, public) you can place it in the comments below. Or place your order on your own blog and link to it in the comments below for the rest of us to read.

Onward with sweet links!

Man-Powerin’ Across Michigan by Jason Leyrer

If I can’t use my blog to highlight something cool one of my oldest friends is doing then what good is it? About a year ago Jason and I talked about doing a bike ride from Chicago (his current home) to Detroit (our former home). Then I decided to leave the country. The awesome thing about Jason is he doesn’t give a shit. He’s going solo!

And even better, Jason’s raising money for prostate cancer research. If you’re so inclined, please support! BONUS: If you e-mail me your receipt I’ll send you a copy of How To Live Anywhere. Figgity-fantastic, chyeah? (Unrelated but related: I wrote about a trip I took with Jason, and another friend Adam, here: The Persistent Shower Companion or Early Mornings At The Munich Airport.)

Seven Weird Habits That Will Change Your Life by Jonathan Mead

I think we have a theme today. Jonathan’s first habit is “engage in time travel” and, in a way, it’s similar to my Mind Control Method. But again, like Steve Pavlina’s How To Order, it’s different. :)

How To Practice Walking Meditatation by Tammy Strobel

I did this regularly in India and it felt amazing. I haven’t done it much in Thailand. Err, not at all in Thailand. It’s not a priority, but it is a valuable experience none-the-less.

James Randi’s fiery takedown of psychic fraud on TED.com

I’m pretty sure James Randi would hate the “How To Order from the Universe” information above considering the content of this video. Or maybe not. Psychics are frauds. Ordering from the Universe (and my Mind Control Method) works for other reasons and it’s not rooted in the “supernatural.”

The 8 Habits of Highly Effective Bloggers by Annabel Candy

My favorite is #7: Effective bloggers are persistent. This holds true for anything you want in life. I’ve known Annabel since her blog had something like 200 subscribers. She’s up to about 1,300 now! Congrats Annabel!

The “Do What You Love Show” Episode 3: Speaking 7 Languages With Benny Lewis by Baker

I had the pleasure of being on the first Do What You Love show back when I met up with Baker (ManVsDebt.com) in New Zealand last December. I still haven’t met Benny, although he’s in Berlin and I might just it make it out there for a bit this Summer. Baker and Benny are two of my favorite people. No joke. Here they are in one place!

Questions/comments/wanna sing outlaw lullabies? You know what to do …

Why Do We Strive For Things We Don’t Truly Want?

Striving for something you don’t want is as useful as burning money…

I recorded the following video last month in LA at TreePeople and somehow never posted it!

It’s about striving for meaningless goals.

Specifically, I tell the story about a man I met in the movie industry who is 69 years old, and still waiting for the “big score” so he can do what he really wants in life. He was good at his job (he owned the company), but he didn’t enjoy the work.

That could have been me one day as I was on that same track.

How about you?

Watch the video here:

Now, ask yourself, is it all worth it? Are you Enjoying The Process?

Mind Control For Fun and Profit! (or How To Brainwash Yourself)

I have a secret to share with you. Click here to find out what it is…

How would you like to be able to condition someone to do anything?

I have a secret to share and I want to apologize for not telling you sooner.

I’m a long time student of mind control.

I’ve been using it selfishly for far too long and I think it’s about time I shared my top secret technique with you and the rest of the world.

Before you get any ideas…

The mind I control is my own. You too can control your mind to magically force yourself to accomplish things you previously thought impossible.

The problem with a lot of people not reaching their goals is they haven’t properly brainwashed themselves.

This isn’t just about positive thoughts and affirmations or writing down your goals.

While that stuff is all well and good it doesn’t produce results like my Mind Control Method. (Patent Pending or something.)

You should know, in advance of learning Mind Control, that failing is normal.

That said, if done right (it will take you a few tries), this has a 100% success rate.

Since a very young age I’ve had the incredible ability to achieve, acquire, or do virtually anything I’ve ever wanted. And the reason is I use the Mind Control Method.

When I was in 6th grade I used Mind Control to get a full University scholarship. (I don’t know how it is where you live, but in the U.S. Uni is very expensive.) It materialized 6 years later and I never had to pay for the Computer Science degree I didn’t use. :)

In 8th grade I used Mind Control to pay for a class trip to Chicago, Illinois.

While in University I used Mind Control to keep from ever having to get a job and to build a $100,000+ per year business at age 23.

I have many more examples, but you know I hate fluff so that’s enough of that…

How To Perform Mind Control (On Yourself!)

1) Write down what you want to happen in letter form. That is, write a letter (not a sentence; a detailed letter) to your future self explaining what already happened (even though it hasn’t happened yet). Date the letter and specify the date your goal was reached.

If you don’t know how to begin let me help start you off:

“Hey [your name],

You already know all of this by now, but some amazing things have happened in the last 6 months…”

And then start explaining what you did and how you did it even though it hasn’t been done yet. Sounds complicated. It’s not. Just do it. It’s essential to the brainwashing aspect of Mind Control Method.

“Karol, WTF, you just said writing down goals doesn’t work!”

That’s not exactly true, so please bear with me here.

2) Read the letter aloud. Seemingly insignificant, but auditory stimulation is important in Mind Control.

3) Believe. Do you believe what you just read aloud? If not, start over with Step 1. That means throw away your letter. Don’t use it as a “draft” for your new letter. Start over. Clean slate.

If you write something like “Man, it’s so cool that I won the lottery. Life is so good now.” the Mind Control Method won’t work. Why? Because there is absolutely no way you will ever truly believe you won the lottery.

Keep repeating Steps 1-3 until you have the wording so vividly clear that it feels like what is in the letter has already happened.

4) Take action. This step is where I feel like you might get caught up. But it doesn’t have to be difficult.

Begin the process of doing what your future self already knows has been done. Take it step by step as you’ve already described in the letter.

You might think this doesn’t work, but you’ve seen one of my letters already. My last Mind Control Method Letter is where Accountability Statement #1 came from. Obviously I changed it around and turned it into a blog post, but within 2 weeks of writing that I increased the readership to this blog 14-fold. And the readership keeps increasing beautifully.

The whole Mind Control Method process should take hours, not minutes. It’s not a fast process whatsoever. If you find yourself not enjoying the process it may be because what you’re writing about in your letter isn’t something you truly want.

I’ve never taught or talked about my Mind Control Method before. I always had a feeling people might think it’s dumb and wouldn’t use it. Which would be a waste of time all around.

I know you’ll use it, because you’re a Ridiculously Extraordinary Person. We don’t try. We do. We use The Iron Mind and we take action.

Go, go, go!

On Achieving Goals (or “Just Fucking Write”)

What’s the difference between a successful person and an unsuccessful person? Shocking, but simple, answers inside…

I was talking to a friend recently about meeting deadlines and he said something that hit home:

“Just fucking write.”

No matter what your profession that same statement is relevant. Just replace “write” with whatever it is you want to do.

If you’ve ever read War of Art by Steven Pressfield or On Writing by Stephen King (both highly recommended) you know they say the same thing. Maybe with a little more tact. ;)

Sit down with a goal in place and don’t stop writing until you reach that goal.

If that means it takes you all day, so be it. If everything’s flowing and it takes 30 minutes, great. The point is to make it happen.

If you’ve always wanted to write a novel and have dragged your ass, National Novel Writing Month is coming up in November.

Leo Babauta at Write To Done has written a great blog post detailing how to get that novel written.

What do his tips boil down to?

Just fucking write.

No matter what you want to do in life you can always make an excuse not to do it.

Instead, why not make an excuse to do it?

10 years ago I remember listening to a Robert Allen audio program and he was discussing success mindset. The difference in mindset between being successful at something and being unsuccessful is subtle.

An unsuccessful person will state “I can’t achieve X.”

If we tell ourselves something is impossible it’s going to be difficult to plow past that negative statement.

A successful person, on the other hand, asks “How can I achieve X?”

See the difference?

Declare a statement and that’s that.

Reframe the statement as a question and you’ve set yourself up to create success.