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I hate my job

"Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come."

- Victor Hugo

**Urgent Announcement: Today is the official launch of Version 2.0 of Live Off Your Passion: A award-winning career course to help you find passion and build a career around work you love. Over 700 changes, big and small, and a redesigned 72-page workbook. Can't wait to see what you think! Check out all the details plus a couple fun v2.0 bonuses here. *****

Lessons from Creating the #1 Personal Development Product of 2011

I want to start by saying THANK YOU! To all you massively passionate and loyal readers, supporters and those of you who have purchased Live Off Your Passion in the past few months. Somehow, thanks to all of you, Live Off Your Passion was voted The #1 Personal Development Product of 2011!! Wow! Seriously, I was blown away to hear this. I didn't even know it was being considered until I heard the big news. And the only reason it happened was because of all you. The contest was held by Steve Aitchison of Change Your Thoughts, where over 20,000 people from around the world were asked to nominate and then cast their vote. Seriously, thank you! I poured my heart and soul into this course (as you likely saw from the surveys, product checklists and all else). The project technically started about 6 months ago but in reality it began nearly 8 years ago...

i hate my job

"If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you always got."

-Mark Twain

Let's talk about why people keep doing work they hate.

By now I'm sure you know the terrifying stat: Over 80% of people don't enjoy their work and nearly 75% don't know their passion.  These two numbers kill me. But thanks to our work here at Live Your Legend, it's getting better by the day (congrats to so many of you who've made massive change - it's not easy, but I bet it was worth it)! But for the rest of the world, it's crazy to think that so many people are willing continue to act in a way that doesn't make them happy. And trust me, by now I feel like I've seen it all...yet I continue to be surprised.

Richard Branson Productivity Space

"The more you do, the more you'll do."

- Anonymous

On discovering the ultimate source of confidence & productivity...

Not long ago I attended an event with Sir Richard Branson and a bunch of other entrepreneurs. Something about his message and his presence brought clarity to a concept I've inherently known & practiced for years. Now that it's clear, I'd like to share it. It's a topic I rarely write about, but it's a huge part of every one of my days (often before I check an email, write my first sentence or even open my computer). It's the primary foundation of not only my own confidence and productivity, but that of almost every successful lifestyle entrepreneur and CEO on the planet.

"So, how do you get more done?"

Why is it that so many successful people seem to be able to do so much? How is it that the more accomplished the person, the more it seems they're able to get done? Shouldn't it be the opposite? How is a CEO of one company able to found another one on the side, while administering his charity and still taking the occasional family trip? For years this has blown my mind. With how much effort it takes to do one thing well, I couldn't imagine how people who seemed even 'busier' than me could produce magnitudes more results. Then I figured it out.

taylor swift becoming famous

"If you're lucky enough to be different, don't ever change."

~Taylor Swift

Today I want to challenge you to be different. Not necessarily better. Just different. To stand out in a way no one has. I challenge you to do something that causes people to say: "What the */$# are you talking about?!" The path to this type of recognition (and even fame), be it business, social or whatever, is not as complicated as you think.  So why is it that some people seem to crush it while so many others flail around in mediocrity? Somehow the lucky few become overnight-famous, while the rest spin their tires. *Side note: by now I hope you know that nothing meaningful happens overnight - we seem to like to think it does for others, but it's really all in our head. I've made a study of the ordinary vs. extraordinary since as long as I can remember. And spending time with all kinds of relatively well-known Living Legends, exposed some interesting results. And I have good news.

Simon Sinek Start with Why

"The goal is not to do business with everybody who needs what you have. The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe."

- Simon Sinek, Start with Why

Early last year I came across one sentence that turned out to be the single most profound business concept and tool of 2011 (and perhaps my lifetime). It caused me to fully rebrand and reposition Live Your Legend as well as my investment business. I believe it has everything to do with why Live Your Legend has experienced the rapid growth and success it has. It's only fitting that I share this with you as the closing to our "Monetize Your Passion Online" series. The man who taught me this lesson was Simon Sinek.  In 2009 he wrote a book called Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action. Within a few years that book, and the concept behind it, literally swept across the world. Simon Sinek is now considered one of the preeminent thinkers both on leadership strategy and passionate work around the world. He often speaks upwards of 20-25 times a month and does much of his work with the United States Military. He's been invited to do work with groups like Microsoft, Dell, SAP, Intel, Chanel, various government groups and Members of the United States Congress. He's also presented his ideas to the Ambassadors of Bahrain and Iraq, at the United Nations and to the senior leadership of the United States Air Force. This guys' the real deal.

You will you help the world

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." ~Anne Frank

*Note: This is the third article in the “Monetizing Your Passion Online” series. It's also a little primer to some of the big ideas Jonathan Mead and I are going to cover in our free webinar/online presentation ****

I have a little secret...

It took me a while to learn it. Ready? Most blogs don't make much money. With how many there are, that might seem obvious. But I'm talking about the moderately big ones too (and even some really big ones). I know quite a few sites with thousands of followers and even tens or hundreds of thousands of monthly page views, that hardly make any money. And it's not because they're doing it for charity either... On the other hand, I know even more friends and mentors who have even smaller blogs and sites, but yet make more money than they'd ever need. Contrary to what many early stage business builders believe (and I was just as guilty as any), it is not all about size. The truth is that even the small guys can kick some major ass.  It just requires the right offering.

The Full Live Your Legend Business Model

"A hobby is just a hobby unit you make a sale. Then it's a business." ~Anonymous

*Note: This is the second article in the “Monetizing Your Passion Online” series I’m running for the next few weeks. Enjoy *****

Now on to the good stuff - exactly how this site makes money...

At the beginning of last year I had a goal of making $1,000 from Live Your Legend in one 30-day period by the end of 2011. It seemed like a pretty ambitious goal at the time. But that's not quite how it turned out… Instead, by the end of 2011 this website had made enough money to support a pretty nice existence in San Francisco. That works out to a bit more than 1k a month... The full details of how I did it are in the next few thousand words.

"Goals in writting are dreams with deadlines." ~Brian Tracy

*Note: Below is my full list of goals for 2012, which I created using the free Goal-Setting and Action Workbook. If you haven't downloaded your copy, do it now and let's get cranking, because it's time to share your biggest goal of 2012 with our community! *****

There's no getting around it, accountability creates results.

For some reason we tend to have a difficult time keeping promises to ourselves. But most people absolutely hate breaking commitments with others. That's exactly why further down this post I've shared every goal of mine for 2012. Showing you all everything scares me a bit, but I know that the more people I commit to (10,435 of you as of today), the more on the hook I am and the more likely these things are to actually become reality. I've found no more powerful way to produce results. So now's it's your turn. In this edition of Ask The Reader, I want to hear what matters to you most this year. This is your chance to speak up and add direct value to what we’re building at Live Your Legend, and get specific help on your biggest goals, both from me and the community.