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 …
Another great article Karol! I’m really excited about the HTLA version 1 release tomorrow. I’m sure it will be packed with useful info that is just begging to be acted upon.
I especially like in this article how you focus on having a reason for having money. I absolutely agree that thinking about earning money for money’s sake is not, in the end, going to be successful. Having a goal behind the money, especially if it’s an experience instead of just a material purchase, is what motivates people the best. “I want to earn $6500 to buy a round the world airline ticket and the months-long adventures that will accompany it” is more motivating than “I want to earn $6500 to buy the biggest tv I can squeeze into my home so all my friends will say ooohh!” Both options offer more motivation, and therefore better chances of success, than blindly stating “I want $6500.”
Money is not the goal. A life well lived is.
I think that’s why people who are financially successful are not necessarily any happier. Once you earn all that cash you realize that the cash wasn’t really what you wanted. You want the happiness and life-changing experiences that you thought the cash would bring you. That’s why tying experiential goals to the cash from the beginning is the key.
Thanks Chris. I’m excited as well!
While using money as the goal does work (it worked for me), it’s an empty and worthless goal. Nothing comes of it but money.
I forgot an example I maybe should have used in this article. Gary Vaynerchuck says he wants to be a billionaire and he seems to be on his way. But why does he want all that cash? He wants to OWN the NY Jets! That’s an intense experiential goal, and you can see that it’s what drives him.
Cheers,
Karol
So agree with you bro. What I’ve found over and over again is that no matter how much money I make, life is pretty much the same, with more stuff. While that stuff might be the newest, coolest, gotta have it, want it, feels like I need it…cue Apple’s Keynote…it in the end is just stuff.
Finding peace and happiness for me is about finding peace and happiness in me. Seeing big, global views of my life rather than short periods of goal setting tied to financial hopes.
The majority consists of consumers. I’m one, fighting with myself daily. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose. Consumers need money to consume. It’s a crazy cycle. An empty cycle if all you do is consume, because fulfilment never comes.
I just had a vision of you with wings and a halo, over the left or right shoulder of your readers. You are giving consistant and constant words of encouragement that there is a different way of life out there. That’s important, since you and what you do is not the norm. Refreshing like a bar of Irish Sping.
Haha, that is some awesome imagery:-) Can’t wait to see what you’ve put together ya big angel;-)
Peace!
Thanks Kenny!
We’re all consumers. We just have to realize at what point buying more stuff is a waste of resources (money/time/energy). I know some people *are* happy with big houses and fast cars and Cristal. That’s cool. We’ve all gotta find whatever it is makes us happy. The problems start when we use “things” as a replacement for doing what makes us happy.
As far as the vision of me with a halo: I’m no angel. haha That said, I do my best to encourage. :)
Talk soon!
Karol
Goal-oriented living is something that can give you some much flame that you never light out!
Just for the record and keep the conversation on I always remember how different feels making statements like “I have to save money” to “When I have saved 400€ I can buy that gorgeous lens; but until then I will keep my business working”. With a seriously and true goal the path becomes much more clear.
Thanks for the post!
Thanks Pau.
Yes, while monetary goals are just as achievable as other goals, the goals that have feeling are way more fun. :)
Karol
I agree life is cheaper then people actually think. I calculated once if i ever got a million and i spend 1000 euro,s a month(wich is quite doable in most asian countries)i should be able to live on it till i die, or became so old i had it with moving around anyway:P.
Hey Henk,
This is true. You could definitely live in many Asian countries for the rest of your life with 1 million EUR. :) But that’s not quite what I’m getting at in this article because that kind of goal delays the action of living in an Asian country right now if that’s what you want to do.
Cheers,
Karol
Hehe I know what you mean by experience-based goals but you still need money to achieve them. So I wouldn’t say that monetary goals are worthless, because they are really helpful when it comes to measuring effects of our actions. And money is needed for achieving most of goals (whether it’s travel, charity, family).
That’s pretty much exactly what I said in the article. ;)
Karol you are the man. You have no idea how much you fueling my passion to start writing. All I ever wanted to do is help people and actually make a difference. Often times I find myself wanting money just to have the ability to give it away. When I think about my family or I see a homeless person on the street. My girlfriend pick on me if I every say anything like “if I had a million dollars” were she quickly says “you would give all away”. My point is you are correct, monetary goals for the sake of having money is worthless. Great Post Bro!
Thank you Sharrod! I’m glad this is fueling your passion. But instead of just leaving it at that, take action on your writing, kick ass, and let me know about it! ;)
Karol
I’ve had small money goals for a while, but never achieved anything significant. So I dropped the idea of goals completely for the sake of staying happy. Maybe I can start again from scratch, but this time with the right intent. Setting experience goals. :)
Hi Michael,
Dream big! :) If you’re going to set any goal, might as well make it significant, right?
Cheers,
Karol
Ah, this is an almost constant rollercoaster for me! I swoop from not worrying about how much money I have, to totting up my shopping bill and freaking out that I don’t have enough monies to pay for my bike repairs, and it’s always when I’m less worried that a whole heap of cash comes my way! A few extra shifts come up at work, or my Gran worries that I’m not eating properly and so. I’ve been putting off charging for anything on my blog, though I meant to get around to it months ago after reading the Four Hour Work Week all in one go(!), but I think it’s about time I decided that I have sellable content, and hey, all the proceeds are going towards me volunteering in Peru later this year! (Five months, I’m very excited :D)
A very positive post for someone with a just-comfortable income, thanks Karol :)
Thanks Amelia, I’m glad you’re so into it! Have fun creating your sellable content and going to Peru. :)
It is always great to hear your stories of success.
It is hard sometimes to not make my goals about money. I don’t think it is all I care about but sometimes with a new business it is hard not to judge its success monetarily.
I have gone through highs and lows income wise in the last several years and my lifestyle has stayed pretty much the same. No new toys or expensive houses/apts. To me money opens up freedoms to experience new places or maybe just the sense of freedom in general. I really like how you explain that the money you make is so you can experience something like making a guitar and not just about making money. I think that is what it is all about, creating new experiences and making those experiences our goals not just the money. I will admit I am going to have to intentionally change my mindset a little.
Thanks for the great post as always!
Thank you Jonathan. If it’s what you’re used to it definitely is difficult to not make goals about money. As you read in my recent articles, pretty much all my goals used to be about money. It’s when I started setting experiential goals that things started to rock for me! And to make it clear: it’s not that I think money is evil. It’s that we need to make have a reason to make the money or we can end up in a vicious cycle of chasing empty numbers.
Cheers,
Karol
I suppose the only question left to answer is: Who has the goals?
When you have goals, you simply have a desire, accompanied by it’s opposite desire, cravings and aversions, and the game never ends, neh?
Hi Mark,
I’ll be honest, I am very confused by your comment. But thank you for leaving it. :)
Karol
Hey Karol,
I see, it’s a bit of a Zen koan I suppose….
The simplest explanation is that in a world of duality, one cannot want something without not wanting something else. That means that each goal, once accomplished is replaced by another and another with no end and no peace.
Have a look at this video by Jed McKenna, maybe shed some light http://meditationcoaching.com
Cheers, Mark
hehe, I understand even less now, but thank you Mark! ;)
I love the concept of not having a monetary goal. I believe without a number in mind, you remove the limit from your goal. Nice stuff!
Cheers
Vince
Thanks Vince. There is still a number in mind, it’s just tied to something extraordinary as opposed to simply being an empty number.
Hi Karol,
Thank you so much for creating and maintaining this site. A friend of mine pointed me here about a week ago and I’ve read almost all of your articles. Great stuff!
Before I dropped out of film school, which was after dropping out of college, I was able to ask a director a question after running into him near the coffee bar in the theater. I asked, “How did you do it? What’s the secret?” He replied, “I just did it.” For years I didn’t believe him, but now I see that that’s really all there is to it.
Congratualtions on and best of luck with ‘How To Live Anywhere’ and special thanks for your tips on hub pages and adsense,
Sean
Hey Sean!
Thank you for reading and commenting!
“I just did it.” <– that's great. Exactly what I'm trying to get across with this site. :)
Thanks again,
Karol
Ok, I need to start making some money without going back to my life of crime and bank robberies. This way seem feasible.
Haha! Well banks are “where the money is.” I think Al Capone said that. One of those bank robbing gangsters anyway. :)
One thing that comes to mind is ” if you build it, they will come”
also money is energy – when you are in great energy the money will surely come.
I better get to work now. Take action. Take my passion and make it happen.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
Juliet aka Jhet
Hey Jhet,
The “if you build it, they will come” mentality doesn’t work. If it did, everybody would have everything they’ve ever wanted. If you build it, work on it, promote it, and network, they will come. :)
I also disagree with money is energy. It is paper, so energy was required to create it. I guess, in that regard, money is energy. :)
Cheers,
Karol
I just stumbled upon your site and I gotta say it’s awesome, definitely going in my bookmarks. Really the purpose behind your article is correct. I think aside from paying your bills and paying off debt (hopefully not from overcharging credit cards to buy stuff you think will make you happy) there really should be a reason for wanting more money. Money is a symbol, just a piece of paper, coin, a number it’s what’s behind the reason for it that should count.
I think a lot of goal setting is like this. Like losing weight. It’s great to say ‘I wanna lose 20 pounds’ but it’s even more motivating to say ‘I wanna lose 20 pounds and get healthy so I can run that marathon I’ve always wanted to.’ I think the more specific your goal gets the easier it is to stay motivated for it, and the more rewarding it’ll be once it’s achieved.
Hi Alouise!
Thank you. :)
You’re right on: the more specific the goal, the easier it is to achieve.
Cheers,
Karol
Karol, you totally hit the nail on the head! You said, “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.”
This explains why I’m not a happy “regular Joe” anymore, and feel more like a depressed ‘regular Joe’ than anything. I’ve spent far too much time setting monetary goals and not experiential goals. The funny thing is, I used to set those kind of goals when I was younger. My problem is one of perception – and totally fixable. I see my debt and financial needs as huge mountains that I don’t know how to climb. When, in reality, they are not that big – AND – they can be overcome. I just have to start looking at my problems in a different way.
Do I still want to make $10 grand a month? Hell yeah!! But now I want to make that much a month so that I play more ice hockey (my passion in life), take my kids on a “real” vacation, and pay back my debts. I want to make that much so I can give back to my mom and dad and help them financially for a change. It’s not about just making $10 grand a month anymore! Or even $5 grand for that matter. It’s about living the dream – my dream. Thanks for the reality check!
Am I living the dream? No, not yet. But I’m getting there. And it’s a lot closer than I think.
Great to know that I helped you get back on track to happy Chris. :)
Thanks!
Karol
Excellent article, and congratulations on your product launch.
Your post really strikes a chord with me. My major focus in building an online income is to get away from the day to day restrictions of a traditional job. We all need money, but setting our targets for only what we actually need can free us to do so much more in life.
I always say – Work to Live not Live to Work!
Hey Des!
Thank you. :)
The thing is leaving the day job is actually not a very strong goal. Most people who have day jobs want to leave them. Most people don’t leave them. That said, if just the thought of leaving your day job lights a fire under your ass (although that is rare) then kudos!
Karol