The Myth of Scarcity: 12 Stupidly Easy Things That’ll Set You Apart from the Pack #TBT

Today's blog post was originally published two years ago:

Here's an interesting article from The Art of Manliness.

In the modern world, it often seems like it’s harder than ever to accomplish your goals.

It seems like everyone has already done the thing you want to do — that your idea is already out there, that your niche is beyond saturated.

But is that really true? Or does it just seem that way?

Yet this feeling of scarcity is just an illusion, a myth.

In truth, there’s never been a more opportune time to live. Not only because it’s never been cheaper and easier to write a book, share your art, or start a business, but because the average person’s ability to execute on the basics has never been in such short supply.

Most of us deal in scarcity thinking. There's only so much...time, money, people, you name it - whatever it is, there's not enough of it. I prefer abundance thinking...there is more than enough for everybody. There is about $241 trillion in assets worldwide...And if the world’s wealth were distributed completely evenly and every adult human had an even share, everyone would have $51,600 (according to Wait but Why) - not a lot of money but it makes an interesting comparison, since half the world has less that $4,000 of net worth!

More from the AoM article:

While opportunities to achieve your goals aren’t as scarce as you think, there are areas where true scarcity does exist: in common sense, in social skills, in manners, in reliability. There’s a dearth of people who know, or have the will, to do the stupidly easy stuff to be charming and successful.

And this:

There are tons of people doing what you want to do, but how are they executing? In 90% of cases, not as well as they could be.

That’s your opening. And such openings are absolutely everywhere.

Here is the list:

What is some of that stupidly easy stuff? Below you’ll find a (non-exhaustive) list of the things it’s hard to believe people don’t do more often, and which have a huge ROI because most people can’t be bothered.

1. Send a thank you text when you get home from a nice party/date.  
2. Write handwritten thank you notes, always and often. 
3. Edit your emails/texts before sending. 
4. Know how to make small talk.
5. Don’t be a conversational narcissist.
6. Don’t look at your phone during a conversation.
7. Dress well for a job interview. 
8. Come to a job interview prepared to ask questions of the interviewer. 
9. Take a woman on a real date. 
10. Offer a sincere apology when you mess up.
11. Follow through.
12. Be reliable.

OK, a few of these are aimed specifically at young, single males but I think that most of them can be applied to anyone.

Be sure to check out the article for more details.

Interesting days

Today - Scouse Day, Rare Disease Day, Digital Learning Day, Chocolate Soufflé Day, Tooth Fairy Day, Floral Design Day and Chilli Day

March will be Umbrella Month, Music In Our Schools Month, Social Work Month, Small Press Month, Rising Star Month, Hemophilia Awareness Month, Kidney Month, Peanut Month, Multiple Sclerosis Month, Nutrition Month, Women’s History Month, Craft Month, International Ideas Month, Credit Education Month, Caffeine Awareness Month, Cheerleading Safety Month and Endometriosis Awareness Month

Tomorrow - Pig Day, Employee Appreciation Day, Salesperson Day, Horse Protection Day, Fruit Compote Day, Plan A Solo Vacation Day, World Compliment Day, Refired, Not Retired Day, Dress in Blue Day, Wedding Planning Day and Day of Unplugging

Week long celebrations:

Feb 24 - Mar 2: Peace Corps Week

Feb 25 - Mar 3: Invasive Species Awareness Week

Feb 25 - Mar 10: Fairtrade Fortnight

Mar 1 - Mar 7: Universal Human Beings Week, Write a Letter Appreciation Week, Will Eisner Week and Cheerleading Week

Next Thursday - World Book Day, Cereal Day, World Maths Day, Name Tag Day, Be Heard Day and Crown Roast of Pork Day Check out this recipe 

Week long celebrations:

Feb 25 - Mar 10: Fairtrade Fortnight

Mar 1 - Mar 7: Universal Human Beings Week, Write a Letter Appreciation Week, Will Eisner Week and Cheerleading Week

Mar 2 - Mar 10: Jewish Book Week

Mar 3 - Mar 9: Procrastination Week, World Orphan Week, Consumer Protection Week, Dental Assistants Recognition Week, Read an E-Book Week, Return Borrowed Books Week, Women in Construction Week and No More Week,

Mar 4 - Mar 10: British Pie Week, Pet Sitters Week, Schools Social Work Week, School Breakfast Week and Endometriosis Awareness Week

March 28 - Something On A Stick Day, Weed Appreciation Day and Black Forest Cake Day 

March 29 - World Piano Day, Lemon Chiffon Cake Day, Niagara Falls Runs Dry Day and Smoke and Mirrors Day

March 30 - Earth Hour, Pencil Day, Take A Walk In The Park Day and Doctors' Day

March 31 - Neighbor Day, International Transgender Day of Visibility, Bunsen Burner Day, World Backup Day, Eiffel Tower Day and Crayola Crayon Day

No blog post today

Sorry...I just wasn't able to fit one into my schedule. I'm going to work on getting blog posts written ahead of time so I'm ready in case I get too busy...like right now!

The Gig Economy and How You Can Benefit

Jordan Adler had a very interesting SendOutCards training call yesterday, but this call is relevant to anyone in network marketing.

Jordan had dinner with Larry Thompson, and his wife, Taylor, who have been in network marketing for over 50 years! To find out more about them, check out this interview in the Relationship Marketing podcast with Kody Bateman.

I'll let Jordan tell the story now:

Larry suggested that the audience has changed in the past 5-10 years. He said we are marketing an old and tired philosophy to a much smaller group of people. And he said there is a new group of people out there but they are looking for something completely different. They don’t hear the old message. What is the old message he is referring to?

GET RICH!
MAKE $10,000/MO
RETIRE EARLY

The market interested in this message is a fraction of what it was. And, the government frowns upon it! There is a new market of people that need to hear something different and are looking for something different!

What has this got to do with the gig economy? And what is the gig economy?

And he kept on talking about this thing called the “Gig Economy”. I had never heard of it. I thought Gig had something to do with Gigabytes . . . it doesn’t.

Here’s why I believe things have changed:

1. Technology allows companies to bring the opportunity directly to the consumer.
2. More and more people are fed up with the constraints of working for a large corporation. In other words they want their freedom and flexibility.
3. For the most part, Millennial’s want to call their own shots and don’t want to be like their parents by working a 9 to 5 job.

WHAT IS THE GIG ECONOMY?

A gig economy is a free market system in which temporary positions are common and organizations contract with independent workers for short-term engagements. The trend toward a gig economy has begun. A study by Intuit predicted that by 2020, 40 percent of American workers would be independent contractors.

What are some examples of side gigs (as they're often known)?

HOW ARE PEOPLE EARNING EXTRA MONEY TODAY?

Have you ever taken an Uber ride and found out that the driver is also a Real Estate Agent? Here are some things that I have heard from Uber drivers:

1. I’m going to school and Uber is helping me pay for it.
2. I’m in Real Estate and I’m not selling enough yet to make ends meet.
3. I’m in retirement and Uber gives me extra spending money.
4. My wife and I plan a vacation each year and Uber helps me pay for it.

Uber is a product of the gig economy.

When I googled opportunities at Uber, it said,

EARN MONEY ON YOUR SCHEDULE

Some other examples of opportunities in the Gig Economy are:

Etsy
Task Rabbit
Elance
Air BNB
RVShare
VRBO
Grubhub
Amazon Flex
Fiverr

 What has that got to do with network marketing?

The audience driving the Gig Economy is not interested in big money. They are interested in calling their own shots and making extra money alongside what they are already doing. The message must be simple and must speak to those that are looking.

I’ve alway said, “The Big Money is In the Small Money!” Help lots of people make a little and you’ll make a lot! Start with PAID4! You earn PAID4 and then teach others to earn PAID4. This is a brilliant plan that is consistent with the required messaging to attract this audience!

Paid 4 is the SendOutCards term for how many customers (four) that you need to have to get your monthly subscription paid for. So, whatever your company calls that, that's the building block of building your business.

IN THE GIG ECONOMY:

1. The message must be simple
2. The message must focus on earning extra money and calling your own shots
3. The “Build Plan” must require almost a zero learning curve

Don't tell others how they can get rich in your business. Instead tell them how they can make some additional money alongside what they're doing while being in control of their time.

For more, check out Jordan's call. And to learn more about the Johnson's, watch Kody's interview with them.

Interesting days

Today - Tell A Fairy Tale Day, Pistachio Day, For Pete’s Sake Day, Personal Chef Day and  Levi Strauss Day

Tomorrow - Pokémon Day, Pink Day, Polar Bear Day, Strawberry Day, Inconvenience Yourself Day, Kahlua Day and World NGO Day

Week long celebrations:

Feb 24 - Mar 2: Peace Corps Week

Feb 25 - Mar 3: Invasive Species Awareness Week

Feb 25 - Mar 10: Fairtrade Fortnight

Next Tuesday - Unique Names Day, Cheese Doodle Day, Absinthe Day and Dissociative Identity Disorder Awareness Day

Week long celebrations:

Feb 25 - Mar 10: Fairtrade Fortnight

Mar 1 - Mar 7: Universal Human Beings Week, Write a Letter Appreciation Week, Will Eisner Week and Cheerleading Week

Mar 2 - Mar 10: Jewish Book Week

Mar 3 - Mar 9: Procrastination Week, World Orphan Week, Consumer Protection Week, Dental Assistants Recognition Week, Read an E-Book Week, Return Borrowed Books Week, Women in Construction Week and No More Week,

Mar 4 - Mar 10: British Pie Week, Pet Sitters Week, Schools Social Work Week, School Breakfast Week and Endometriosis Awareness Week

March 26 - Make Up Your Own Holiday Day, Nougat Day, Spinach Day and Purple Day

Messenger Marketing: The New Way To Do Business

Today's blog post is based on an article from Forbes. I'm sure most of you have run across marketing on Facebook Messenger, as well as possibly some other messaging apps. But  how can you use it to market your business?

Within the next two years, 85% of customer-business relationships will be through technology. A huge part of these relationships will take place on messaging apps, where businesses can not only provide lightning-fast customer service but also drive sales. In anticipation, business owners should be perfecting their messenger marketing strategy right now. Facebook Messenger is one of the largest messaging platforms out there, with more than 1.3 billion monthly users.

Platforms like Facebook Messenger are the new trend in the social media marketing world since they allow business owners to reach out to consumers on a large scale through advertisements, then continue to interact on an individual level.

There are tools that you can use to automate your customers' or prospects' experience by using bots to automatically handle inquiries or other interactions:

Similarly to WhatsApp Business, Messenger offers a number of tools to help business owners keep their different threads under control. Messenger Greetings are customizable messages that appear automatically when a user begins a conversation with a business for the first time.

Instant Replies are similar to Messenger Greetings, in that they are automatic replies in response to anyone who messages a business. However, these can be programmed to appear after any message, not just the first in a given thread. Saved Replies are messages you can program with common answers to questions like business hours or contact information.

Customer cards, however, are a Messenger exclusive. They give a business important information about the customer at hand to craft the perfect response. Businesses can find information like the customer’s location, local time and even order history.

The article talks about using Messenger for customer service, but our focus here is on marketing:

Using Facebook Messenger for marketing is another great opportunity for small businesses looking to get the most out of their advertising budget. The ads cannot seem too pushy or “salesy.” Instead, focus on creating friendly and natural conversations that mention different reasons or benefits why users should continue communicating with your business on Messenger.

There are several ways to use messenger ads:

Click-to-Messenger ads can be placed on Facebook, Instagram and directly on the Messenger home screen (currently just for the mobile app). The Messenger icon appears on your ad, regardless whether the ad is an image, video or in the carousel format. The best CTA buttons for this type of advertisement are “Learn More” or “Send a Message.” Businesses have the option to create a greeting during ad creation. When a user clicks on your ad, a Messenger conversation will open with your business. If this message was created, it is the first thing users will see. Otherwise, users will be provided a message showing them how to proceed in Messenger.

On Facebook, businesses can also create ads that are placed directly on the mobile Messenger home screen. If consumers do click on your ad, they will be sent to a landing page of your choosing or a Messenger conversation with your business.

Sponsored messages are another type of ad offered on the Messenger platform. These ads are best to re-engage previous customers or Facebook users that have previously interacted with your brand. Sponsored messages are sent to existing threads, which makes them perfect for last-minute sale reminders and updates.

I'm still doing research on this. Hopefully, I'll be able to develop some Messenger marketing that I can share with you.

Interesting days

Today - Chocolate-Covered Peanuts Day, Wine and Cheese Day, Clam Chowder Day and Play More Cards Day

Tomorrow - Tell A Fairy Tale Day, Pistachio Day, For Pete’s Sake Day, Personal Chef Day and  Levi Strauss Day

Week long celebrations:

Feb 24 - Mar 2: Peace Corps Week

Feb 25 - Mar 3: Invasive Species Awareness Week

Feb 25 - Mar 10: Fairtrade Fortnight

Next Monday - Grammar Day, Fun Facts About Names Day, International Scrapbooking Industry Day, Pound Cake Day, Toy Soldier Day and Marching Band Day

Week long celebrations:

Feb 25 - Mar 10: Fairtrade Fortnight

Mar 1 - Mar 7: Universal Human Beings Week, Write a Letter Appreciation Week, Will Eisner Week and Cheerleading Week

Mar 2 - Mar 10: Jewish Book Week

Mar 3 - Mar 9: Procrastination Week, World Orphan Week, Consumer Protection Week, Dental Assistants Recognition Week, Read an E-Book Week, Return Borrowed Books Week, Women in Construction Week and No More Week,

Mar 4 - Mar 10: British Pie Week, Pet Sitters Week, Schools Social Work Week, School Breakfast Week and Endometriosis Awareness Week 

March 25 - Tolkien Reading Day, Waffle Day and Pecan Day

Your weekend guide to interesting days - February 23, 2019

This week

Sunday - Random Acts Of Kindness Day, My Way Day and World Human Spirit Day

Monday - Drink Wine Day, Battery Day and Pluto Day

Tuesday - Chocolate Mint Day and International Tug-of-War Day

Wednesday - Love Your Pet Day, Cherry Pie Day and Handcuff Day

Thursday - Sticky Bun Day, Introduce A Girl To Engineering Day and International Mother Language Day

Yesterday - Single Tasking Day, World Thinking Day, Margarita Day, Walking the Dog Day, World Yoga Day and Cook a Sweet Potato Day

Today - Curling Is Cool Day, World Sword Swallower’s Day, Banana Bread Day, Open That Bottle Night, International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day and Play Tennis Day

Next week

Tomorrow - World Bartender Day and Tortilla Chip Day

Monday - Chocolate-Covered Peanuts Day, Wine and Cheese Day, Clam Chowder Day and Play More Cards Day

Tuesday - Tell A Fairy Tale Day, Pistachio Day, For Pete’s Sake Day, Personal Chef Day and  Levi Strauss Day

Wednesday - Pokémon Day, Pink Day, Polar Bear Day, Strawberry Day, Inconvenience Yourself Day, Kahlua Day and World NGO Day

Thursday -  Scouse Day, Rare Disease Day, Digital Learning Day, Chocolate Soufflé Day, Tooth Fairy Day, Floral Design Day and Chilli Day

March will be Umbrella Month, Music In Our Schools Month, Social Work Month, Small Press Month, Rising Star Month, Hemophilia Awareness Month, Kidney Month, Peanut Month, Multiple Sclerosis Month, Nutrition Month, Women’s History Month, Craft Month, International Ideas Month, Credit Education Month, Caffeine Awareness Month, Cheerleading Safety Month and Endometriosis Awareness Month

Friday - Pig Day, Employee Appreciation Day, Salesperson Day, Horse Protection Day, Fruit Compote Day, Plan A Solo Vacation Day, World Compliment Day, Refired, Not Retired Day, Dress in Blue Day, Wedding Planning Day and Day of Unplugging 

Saturday - Read Across America Day, Old Stuff Day, Dr. Seuss Day and Banana Cream Pie Day

Week long celebrations:

Feb 24 - Mar 2: Peace Corps Week

Feb 25 - Mar 3: Invasive Species Awareness Week

Feb 25 - Mar 10: Fairtrade Fortnight

Mar 1 - Mar 7: Universal Human Beings Week, Write a Letter Appreciation Week, Will Eisner Week and Cheerleading Week

Next month

March 17 - Quilting Day

March 18 - Biodiesel Day, Awkward Moments Day, Forgive Mom & Dad Day and Companies That Care Day

March 19 - Chocolate Caramel Day, Poultry Day and Client’s Day

March 20 - Snowman Burning Day, Kiss Your Fiance Day, Ravioli Day, World Storytelling Day, Proposal Day, Won’t You Be My Neighbor Day, International Day of Happiness and  Hufflepuff Pride Day

March 21 - World Poetry Day, Common Courtesy Day, French Bread Day, Single Parent’s Day, Memory Day, World Down Syndrome Day and Slytherin Pride Day

March 22 - Goof Off Day, World Water Day, As Young As You Feel Day and Gryffindor Pride Day 

March 23 - Near Miss Day, Puppy Day, Melba Toast Day, Chip and Dip Day and Ravenclaw Pride Day

Week long celebrations:

Mar 10 - Mar 17: Universal Women’s Week

Mar 18 - Mar 24: Introverts Week

The week in review - February 22, 2019

Monday - "Say Yes To Your Passion and No To Everything Else" You'll be happier if you stay within your circle of competence. "Instead of trying to be something you’re not, you’re accepting your own limitations. More importantly, you’re also accepting your strengths."

Tuesday - "How To Increase your Network Marketing Income" Jordan Adler shares 6 ways to increase your network marketing income. "What is this specific technology that Jordan is talking about? If you haven't guessed by now, it's SendOutCards and he shared 6 ways to use cards to build your income."

Wednesday - "Frustrated That Your Friends and Family Aren’t Interested in Investing?" From Bigger Pockets. "I tried to get my Facebook friends to sign up for an investing app called Acorns for free. And just for signing up they'd get $5 for free (and I'd also get $5). And they'd get another $5 for every friend that signed up. Plus, in the months of November and December, they were giving an additional $1,000 to anyone who signed up 12 friends during either of those months! I thought it would be a no-brainer but apparently I was wrong! I didn't get a single person to take advantage of that offer."

Thursday - "Are you P.O.O.R.? #TBT" It's all about mindset. "Because with network marketing it's possible to create residual income, and another acronym I came across yesterday is R.I.C.H."

Interesting days

Today - Single Tasking Day, World Thinking Day, Margarita Day, Walking the Dog Day, World Yoga Day and Cook a Sweet Potato Day

Tomorrow - Curling Is Cool Day, World Sword Swallower’s Day, Banana Bread Day, Open That Bottle Night, International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day and Play Tennis Day

March will be Umbrella Month, Music In Our Schools Month, Social Work Month, Small Press Month, Rising Star Month, Hemophilia Awareness Month, Kidney Month, Peanut Month, Multiple Sclerosis Month, Nutrition Month, Women’s History Month, Craft Month, International Ideas Month, Credit Education Month, Caffeine Awareness Month, Cheerleading Safety Month and Endometriosis Awareness Month

Next Friday - Pig Day, Employee Appreciation Day, Salesperson Day, Horse Protection Day, Fruit Compote Day, Plan A Solo Vacation Day, World Compliment Day, Refired, Not Retired Day, Dress in Blue Day, Wedding Planning Day and Day of Unplugging

Week long celebrations:

Feb 24 - Mar 2: Peace Corps Week

Feb 25 - Mar 3: Invasive Species Awareness Week

Feb 25 - Mar 10: Fairtrade Fortnight

Mar 1 - Mar 7: Universal Human Beings Week, Write a Letter Appreciation Week, Will Eisner Week and Cheerleading Week

March 22 - Goof Off Day, World Water Day, As Young As You Feel Day and Gryffindor Pride Day

Week long celebrations:

Mar 18 - Mar 24: Introverts Week

Are you P.O.O.R.? #TBT

Today's blog post was originally published last year. I was actually thinking about this blog post a couple of days ago and here it is!

Today's blog post is inspired by a Facebook Live that Casey Eberhart did yesterday.

I hadn't heard of the acronym P.O.O.R. before seeing that video.

Are you the type of person who will at least look at an opportunity that presents itself to you or do you prefer to keep doing what you're doing?

There are lots of opportunities in the world, but we're going to be talking about financial opportunities here.

What kind of financial opportunities are there?

• Job
• Investing
• Starting a business

Most of us have, or have had, a job. But what kind of opportunities are there?

• We can get a raise at our current job
• We can get a better paying job
• We can get a 2nd (or 3rd) job

Suppose you want to make an additional $300 per month. If you have a full time job, you can ask your boss for a $2 an hour raise or you can find a job that pays an additional $2 an hour. Or you can find a part-time job for additional income. In California, the minimum wage is $10.50 an hour, so you could find a minimum wage job and work 28 1/2 hours a month...or about 7 hours a week. (On January 1st of this year, the CA minimum wage went up to $12/hour).

What about investing? If you get a 5% return, you need to save or invest $72,000. Most of us don't have $72,000 to save or invest, but if you did this is one way to make an additional $300 per month.

Or you could start a business. I'm not talking about a traditional business, but a network marketing business. Because with network marketing it's possible to create residual income, and another acronym I came across yesterday is R.I.C.H.

Elvis Presley earned $27 million in 2016, 39 years after his death. Fans still purchase a million Elvis albums a year. But you don't have to be a singer, songwriter or author to make residual income.

Most network marketers don't make that much money, although some do. The top earner worldwide made $4.8 million per month according to a list from April of 2017. While Jordan Adler, the top earner in SendOutCards, is number 121 on the list, with a monthly income of $150,000.

I'm not at the point of making $300 a month yet, but since I'm a Manager with SendOutCards, I make 7% of the sales from the members of my team. So, when my team gets to the point of generating $4,300 a month in sales, I'll earn $300...every month!

So, you can be P.O.O.R. or you can be R.I.C.H. The choice is yours.

Interesting days

Today - Sticky Bun Day, Introduce A Girl To Engineering Day and International Mother Language Day

Tomorrow - Single Tasking Day, World Thinking Day, Margarita Day, Walking the Dog Day, World Yoga Day and Cook a Sweet Potato Day

Next Thursday -  Scouse Day, Rare Disease Day, Digital Learning Day, Chocolate Soufflé Day, Tooth Fairy Day, Floral Design Day and Chilli Day

Week long celebrations:

Feb 24 - Mar 2: Peace Corps Week

Feb 25 - Mar 3: Invasive Species Awareness Week

Feb 25 - Mar 10: Fairtrade Fortnight

March 21 - World Poetry Day, Common Courtesy Day, French Bread Day, Single Parent’s Day, Memory Day, World Down Syndrome Day and Slytherin Pride Day

Week long celebrations:

Mar 18 - Mar 24: Introverts Week

Frustrated That Your Friends and Family Aren’t Interested in Investing?

I've been following Bigger Pockets for a month or so now, and I thought this article sounded interesting.

I tried to get my Facebook friends to sign up for an investing app called Acorns for free. And just for signing up they'd get $5 for free (and I'd also get $5). And they'd get another $5 for every friend that signed up. Plus, in the months of November and December, they were giving an additional $1,000 to anyone who signed up 12 friends during either of those months! I thought it would be a no-brainer but apparently I was wrong! I didn't get a single person to take advantage of that offer.

I've written about Acorns before. Basically, Acorns will round up any purchases you make on your debit or credit card to the nearest dollar and invest that money automatically for you. But I guess my presentation didn't work as well as I had liked. And this article may tell me why.

On trying to share the concept of financial freedom:

I remember trying to convince friends, family, and colleagues to go down this route. I thought, truly, that I was doing these people a “favor” by enlightening them! I’d approach them with something more or less like the following:

Great news! Life does NOT have to be spent behind that desk earning a paycheck so that you can invest $5 per day and maybe become a millionaire at 65, just in time to where that is enough to scrape together a passable existence until the end! There is a far superior financial strategy that eliminates the need for work at all much earlier in life and exposes you far less to the whims of the market when you are old and unable to work!

I believe that I am fairly persuasive to some, and I have managed to get multiple people in my life on this train by explaining the benefits and articulating the steps needed to get there articulately and in an easy-to-understand way.

But I’ve also ticked a lot of folks off. Instead of hearing what I’d hoped to be saying to them, they interpreted my words like this:

YOU SUCKER! You are wasting so much money on crap that is not important! You are stuck at that horrible job in your mediocre house, with your mediocre car. You’ll be doing that same old stuff for the next 45 years because your ability to handle money STINKS! Listen to me instead, because I, Scott Trench, Lord of the Universe, am smarter and more happy than you, even though I know very little about you. Change your entire life to be more like me!

When you come off like this (and you do come off like this if you try to tell people how to live their life to pursue early financial freedom in an annoyingly superior tone), you make no friends and win no new converts. Other people do not care about what you think is best. They do not care to hear that they do not know how to manage money. They do not care to revisit what they feel makes them happy. They do not care to be told how to manage material parts of their lives.

This website is primarily about investing in real estate, but this article applies to those of us in network marketing who are trying to share our business opportunity!

So, how do we bring up the subject of financial freedom, whether through real estate investing, investing your spare change, or with your business opportunity?

The worst way to broach the subject of financial independence and financial strategy with folks who have not brought up the point on their own is to in any form insinuate that the other person is “doing it wrong.” The pursuit of financial freedom encompasses almost all of the major aspects of an individual’s personal life, including their career, housing/transportation expenses, children, pets, spouse, entertainment, and money/investment management. Telling someone that they are living their life unwisely is not your job and is likely to create an enemy that loses respect for you.

Instead, if I want to share this concept with someone new, someone who has not asked me to talk about this subject, I explain to them what I am doing and why I am doing it, without any reference to what they are doing or what they should be doing in their life. I simply keep my elevator pitch to the following:

“I am house-hacking so that my tenants can cover the rent. I’ve done this a few times, and I have a nice little portfolio of rental properties and plan to continue doing it so that I can keep easily building passive income to supplement my wage income.”

At this point, folks either have their interest piqued and will inquire further about how I’m doing it (at which point I’m only too happy to dive into my favorite subject), or they have no interest and the conversation ends. If interested, I begin giving a how-to, describing what will and what will not produce a result that accelerates one toward early financial freedom.

The worst follow-up to this is something to the effect of, “You know, you should consider this approach as well!” This statement does not help your cause. If they listened to what you said, they will be interested of their own accord and will follow up.

The best way to bring up the subject is just to share what you're doing. If they're interested, they'll ask about it.

The site has lots of interesting articles and I'm sure I'll share more of them in the future!

Interesting days

Today - Love Your Pet Day, Cherry Pie Day and Handcuff Day

Tomorrow - Sticky Bun Day, Introduce A Girl To Engineering Day and International Mother Language Day

Next  Wednesday - Pokémon Day, Pink Day, Polar Bear Day, Strawberry Day, Inconvenience Yourself Day, Kahlua Day and World NGO Day,

Week long celebrations:

Feb 24 - Mar 2: Peace Corps Week

Feb 25 - Mar 3: Invasive Species Awareness Week

Feb 25 - Mar 10: Fairtrade Fortnight

March 20 - Snowman Burning Day, Kiss Your Fiance Day, Ravioli Day, World Storytelling Day, Proposal Day, Won’t You Be My Neighbor Day, International Day of Happiness and  Hufflepuff Pride Day

Week long celebrations:

Mar 18 - Mar 24: Introverts Week