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© 2014, Jonathan Mead

Published by Insurgent Publishing

All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, in whole or in part, without written permission from
the publisher.

For information, inquiries, or riffs on new editions, contact: INFO@INSURGENTPUBLISHING.COM

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section 1: Your Deeper Purpose Section 3: Living on your own Terms
The Two Most Dangerous Words ........................................................................................7 How to Negotiate Asking to Work from Home (while working less and
Inspiration vs. Motivation .................................................................................................... 10 Getting Paid More).................................................................................................................. 74

A Framework for Finding Your Passion ........................................................................ 15 How to Quit Your Day Job .................................................................................................... 88

The Power of Giving Up ......................................................................................................... 25 How to Sneak in the Back Door to Living On Your Own Terms ......................... 99

10 Ways to Avoid Brainwashing on Your Path to Finding Your Deeper How to Create Predictable Income Doing What You Love .................................106
Purpose ......................................................................................................................................... 31 The Ultimate Guide to Building Your Tribe ...............................................................113
How to Build an Incredibly Lazy (and Successful Business) ..............................126

Section 2: Trailblazing The Secret to Attracting 1,000 True Fans ..................................................................132

6 Keys to Develop the Action Habit.................................................................................. 39

Section 4: Additional Resources
Seven Counterintuitive Ways to Start Blazing Your Own Trails ....................... 49
How to Stop Feeling Like You’re Not Enough ............................................................. 58 Join the Insurgency ...............................................................................................................143
Why You Need More Than Passion to Live and Work on Your Own Terms .. 64

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FORWARD BY JONATHAN MEAD
I made a silent vow to myself, someday soon I would be working for myself, pursuing what I truly
loved to do.

I would have freedom. Control. Unencumbered creative expression.

I was tired of working for someone else. And not only that, I didn't buy into the whole "you have to
work to live" deal. Give your gifts to the world and be of service to others? Sure, community,
connection and reciprocity makes cosmic sense to me. It's something I can buy into.

But just getting a job, doing what you're told and eeking out an existence? Not for me.

Nope. Screw that.

I guess you could say that since a young age I've always had a rebellious streak. I want to do it on
my own terms. My first word was "broke" -- because I broke my toy trying to figure out how it
worked. Go figure.

So, I've always been curious. I've always asked "why" and that ceaseless questioning (which drove
my parents crazy sometimes) has served me very well.

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When the answer to "why" doesn't feel right to me, doesn't satisfy my internal conscience, I can't
accept it.

That questioning led me to quit my job, build my own business on my own terms and help
thousands of others make their escape.

If you don't feel that the work-to-survive model of keeping your head down and accepting your
"good job" makes sense to you, I'm here to tell you that you don't have to just buckle down and
grin and bear it.

There is another path. One that you create from your deepest heart.

What follows is a field guide to you building your own livelihood.

I encourage you to stay curious, to always venture to be of service and never, ever let anyone tell
you that what feels right in your heart cannot be done.

To your deepest success,

Jonathan Mead
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 Section 1…

YOUR DEEPER
PURPOSE
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THE TWO MOST DANGEROUS WORDS
There are two dangerous words you probably say all the time, and they could ruin your life… if you
let them.

You might be surprised at what they are because they’re so common.

What are these two words?

NOT YET.
The scariest thing about these words is that they let you off the hook. It lets you off the hook
because you’re not actually saying the word ‘no’ – instead you’re making a non-committal
agreement to do something in the future…

And that’s the thing - you’re not actually saying ‘yes’ at all. You’re really saying no.

I’ll start working on doing what I love for a living, when I have enough time.

I’ll travel when the time is right.

I’ll spend more time with my family after I get this promotion.

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I’ll start taking that class I’ve really wanted to, once I get the courage.

What you’re really saying is: I’ll take action when the risk or effort is minimal - I’ll put off
fulfillment for the sake of comfort.

That’s if you want to be really honest with yourself. Of course most people will never admit this, so
instead they stick with the safe, comfortable, seemingly innocent life of ‘Not Yet.’

The most insidious aspect of ‘not yet’ is that ‘not yet’ rarely ever turns into ‘yes’ – instead, it drifts
away into oblivion. Not yet really means never.

At the end of the day, the choices we make in life come down to one thing: comfort or fulfillment.

Which will you choose?

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PUTTING IT TO WORK:
What are you saying ‘not yet’ to in your life?

Write these down into a list and for each item, answer the question: Why? Why ‘not yet’
instead of a definitive ‘no’ or definitive ‘yes’?

Once your list is complete, identify which of these ‘not yet’ items you’ll say yes to today.
Now go and make them happen.

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INSPIRATION VS. MOTIVATION
It may seem like a subtle distinction, but the worlds of motivation and inspiration are millions of
miles apart.

A lot of people use the words “motivated” and “inspired” interchangeably. But I’ve found
something different to be the case. When I try to motivate myself, nine times out of ten I’m
pushing myself to do something I don’t really care about.

Motivation is about psyching yourself up. Chest-pounding. Fire-walking. Heavy-metal riffs. You get
the point.

Inspiration comes from a completely different place.

The word inspiration means to be in spirit. When you’re tuned into your spirit, you are naturally
drawn to do whatever feels best. You may do things that aren’t outwardly productive. Or you may
write a book in 30 days. Either way, it’s all good because fulfillment is the end result.

Motivation, on the other hand, usually has a lot to do with fake growth.

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You think you should be doing something (without thinking about why) and it often leads in the
direction of something that doesn’t really matter. It’s what you’re “supposed” to be doing. It’s just
a good idea, not a passionate, burning desire that emanates from the core of your being.

So, motivation is about things that you think you should do or that you’re supposed to do.
Inspiration is about being called to act because you’re in direct alignment with the magnetic,
luminous marrow of potential that is you.

When you’re inspired you know because…

 Life feels effortless.

 You have to hold yourself back from starting right now.
 Your passion burns steady, it doesn’t flatline.
 It occupies magnitudes of mental space, there’s no vacancy.
 You feel called to do this; the feeling comes from your core.
 You feel it in your bones.

INSPIRATION AND REALIGNMENT

Continual inspiration is about continual realignment.

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You might be thinking… “How do I get inspired?” Well, you can’t. Inspiration isn’t something
you get, it comes from within - it comes from your core. So being inspired isn’t about doing
something external to bring something in. That’s motivation, remember?

Being inspired is about a constant process of realignment.

Whenever you’re feeling like you have to push, it’s time to realign.

Whenever you’re feeling like you’re not enjoying life, it’s time to realign.

Whenever you feel like you’re trying to fulfill a quota or expectation, it’s time to realign.

Realignment isn’t anything complicated. It’s very simple, actually. All it involves is drawing
inward and exploring what you really want. Your home cosmography, as Thoreau put it.

So, what do you really want? Not what should you want, not what you think might be a good idea
for you to want. What lights you up? Once you’ve got a grasp on that, stay with it for a little while.
Bathe in it, savor it. Taste it on your tongue. Feel it tingling down your spine.

It feels good, doesn’t it?

If it doesn’t feel good, you’re still not there. Keep going.

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Once you’ve come to that state of anticipation, you’ve reached inspiration. And inspiration is
where true success comes from.

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PUTTING IT TO WORK:
Create a list of ‘wants’ in your life. For each item, identify where the desire comes from. Is
it internal or external? Is this something you truly want, or is something you’re
supposed to want, or should want, or ought to want?

Once you’ve identified which wants are internal and which are external, scratch out the
external items. Rewrite the internal wants on a new piece of paper and post that piece of
paper on the wall next to your work space.

Everyday practice aligning with these deepest wants for five minutes – this will allow you
to maintain your inspiration for days, months and years to come.

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A FRAMEWORK FOR FINDING YOUR PASSION
The one true calling!

Your life’s purpose!

Your magnum opus!

No matter what you want to call it, it’s important.

The only problem is that most people are confused about how to discover it.

The follow is a framework to help you uncover your life’s deepest passion, once and for all.

FINDING YOUR PASSION DOESN’T HAVE TO BE DIFFICULT OR SCARY

I’m guessing you might be a little bit stuck with this whole “do what you love” thing.

It’s something you take seriously — it’s deeply important to you, yet you feel intimidated. You
don’t want to screw it up. You don’t want to spend years of your life going in the wrong direction.

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Unfortunately, life doesn’t come with a manual on finding your passion. There is no
guidebook you’re given in adolescence to help you with this important rite of passage. There is no
class in school on Making Your Life Matter.

While I can’t claim that this guide presented here will be everything you need (you’ll have to do the
work and make adjustments based on your own needs), it is a start that will set you off on the right
footing.

But there is one, huge and fundamental shift that you must make if you want to finally live your
deepest passion…

WHY YOU MUST RECOVER, AND NOT DISCOVER

Most people will tell you that you need to go on a quest to “discover” your passion.

I don’t think that’s the best advice.

Take that counsel and you’ll end up on a Holy Grail kind of quest seeking, striving and straining to
find that elusive Ultimate Purpose. And because you make it into such a grandiose endeavor,
you’re always questioning it. Always tweaking and second-guessing yourself. You’re never quite
sure if you’re on the right track.

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Well, I have news for you.

Your greatest passion is within you. And there’s an incredibly great chance that it’s not singular.

Your passion can include a multitude of desires and a melting pot of interests. You can be
passionate about many things and not have any of them compete for the #1 spot.

But whether you have one passion or an infinite number of passions, they are within you. Right
now. Waiting to be recovered.

REUNITING WITH YOUR LONG LOST LOVE

The real reason most of us don’t follow our passion is not because we don’t know what it is, but
because we’re so out of touch with our hearts that we don’t stop to give our dreams a fighting
chance. We see them as frivolous or impractical, and immediately toss them to the side. Or worse,
we’ve become so entrenched in the world of accomplishments, materialism and status that we
can’t even connect with what we truly love.

The word passion evokes nothing more than the view of a featureless landscape. Flat and lifeless.

The key to recovering your passion is to reconnect with your ability to feel inspired and
hopeful. You let go of your mind’s impulse to judge the merit of your passion, and begin seeing its

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value by the feeling it evokes in your heart. This is the absence of judgment all together. You either
feel it or you don’t.

I’m guessing that there are many interests and loves that you once had — whether as a child or
adolescent — that you gave up on because at some point you determined that they weren’t
practical. There was no money in it. It wasn’t a “legitimate” vocation. You weren’t any good at it.
Whatever the reason was, you gave up on it because you came to believe that it was frivolous or
foolhardy.

Whatever it is, if you love it, if you feel drawn to it, let that be enough.

NOW, LET’S TALK ABOUT MONEY

It’s easy to naively herald Follow your passion! Do what you love and the money will follow!

But we both know that it’s not true. There are many interests we might have that don’t interest
others. Or, we might be able to serve others with it, but for us it is a completely self-centered
pursuit. There is nothing wrong with either of these types of devotions. They are valid whether or
not service and interest on the part of others exists.

However, if you are interested in making your passion your livelihood, then you must consider
others.
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One thing to reiterate: A passion is still valid even if you have no interest or there is no potential
for it to bring in income.

So, what are the keys to a passion that is both deeply rooted in who you are and deeply founded in
service to the world?

Here are a few keys:

1. You must not only have a passion for your craft, but an earnest desire to help others. If you
can’t get as thrilled about helping others with your gifts as you get about the gift itself, it’s
unlikely that you’ll be able to attract others to your message.
2. There must be a significant need in the world that you can relieve with your gifts, or an intense
passion around your gift. Without intensity, urgency and emotion, it’s unlikely that people will
care enough to pay for the solution or gift you offer.
3. It must have longevity. No craft will ever become profitable unless you can cultivate it for years
or decades.
4. It must tap into a cause a tribe is fiery about, or something people can rally around. It needs to
have the ability to create and foster community.

If you evaluate your interest(s) through the lens of these four areas, there is a much greater
likelihood that your passion is something that can both sustain and support you in the world.

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HOW TO RECOVER YOUR PASSION
A common approach to finding your passion often involves looking through a community class
brochure or talking to a career counselor.

These are okay places to start, but the problem with both of them is that they are usually founded
on the assumption that your passion is something you need to go out and locate, kind of like a bad
episode of Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?

If you take that approach, you’ll likely set yourself up for a long heartache of soul mate-style
searching. You’ll always be wondering if this is the one. But what if you relaxed your grasp and
instead accepted that you may have many passions or many desires? And then, when you
considered those desires and felt into what called you the most — what do you feel most drawn or
pulled to?

Here are some questions that will help you uncover or recover your passion:

1. What’s something you’d love to be an expert in?

2. What are you naturally talented at? What seems second nature to you?
3. In what ways do you deeply enjoy serving others?
4. What are you called to in your heart to pursue as a craft or vocation?

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 5. What is a profession you could enjoy exploring for years without ever tiring or becoming bored?
6. What are some moments in the past when you’ve felt deeply fulfilled in a project or cause?
7. What are some moments where you’ve become completely lost in your work and time ceased to
exist?

The key here is to focus on what’s within you, and to go excavating in your past to uncover artifacts
of events, pursuits or key moments that will help guide you to your passion. Again, it’s completely
fine if all the evidence doesn’t point in one direction. It rarely will.

AVOIDING THE “ANGELS IN THE SKY” MISTAKE

Most of us, after endeavoring on such an exploratory mission, will expect a very clear and concrete
answer. We anticipate a Magic 8 Ball to miraculously tell us that “Your future lies in 18th century
cast iron welding.”

Not only do we expect immediate specificity, we expect angels to burst from the heavens and our
heart to light up in a blaze of glory at our reunion with what we love.

And to make matters worse, we dismiss any answer or clue that isn’t incredibly specific or doesn’t
incite tremors of enthusiasm. The problem is that we expect the fruits of our labor before we’ve
toiled in the field.

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This is a mistake. Our path will never become completely clear until we start walking it. And we
will never be fully excited until we are knees-deep in the work.

This doesn’t mean we should just blindly start hacking away in any direction, hoping that through
trial and error we will find our way. The goal is to first have a very clear direction of where we
want to head without trying to establish what the exact destination looks like in advance.

The truth is that there is no destination. The destination is the path. And we become more and
more familiar with it, more passionate, more invested and more clear about it as we take bold
action.

Taking this approach we can relax our need to have all the details at the outset of our journey, and
accept that through our forays we will inevitably correct and change course over time. What this
means is honoring that our deepest purpose is a living, breathing craft. It’s not something we can
whittle down to a few trite sentences. It’s not to be crystallized, forbidding any refinement or
iteration.

Our work is beautifully alive and unfolding every single day.

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YOUR JOURNEY STARTS NOW
Your journey will be wonderfully unique, as it should be. The only true way to find your passion or
your life’s calling will be to follow your heart and listen to your inner guidance. That takes courage,
patience and a fierce inner calm that most never cultivate.

I know you have it in you.

I know you have what it takes to boldly live your deepest purpose, and bring it to the world in a
way that is useful and inspiring. Stay focused on making your gifts an expression of pure love and
service, and you will do just fine, no matter how much you my wander off track along the way.

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PUTTING IT TO WORK:
Take 10 minutes to reflect on your deepest inspired ‘wants.’

Using the results from the last PUTTING IT TO WORK, dive deep into these wants and
reflect on what draws you to them.

Now identify which ‘want’ you will see made into reality.

Prioritize this above everything and make this your daily 5 minute focus and mediation
practice, exploring ways you will turn this idea into reality.

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THE POWER OF GIVING UP
Sometimes, the pursuit of finding your deeper purpose is confusing.

After all, if you’re new to the concept of finding your purpose, where do you start?

It’s easy to think of all the problems we have – all the things we have to fix, all the problems we
need to solve, etc. But maybe trying to fix these broken things or solve these problems isn’t the
best solution…

Maybe the best solution is actually a little counterintuitive…

Maybe the best solution is giving up.

This isn’t to say you should give up on everything…but maybe there are particular things you
should let fade away.

The more we stop trying to force things to happen, the more they just seem to sort themselves out.

The more we let things happen, the less time we spend trying to make them happen.

Giving up is really about honoring your feelings. It’s about giving up trying to force yourself into
a mold of societal shoulds and embracing your true self.

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SO HERE’S AN INVITATION TO…
Give up trying to be cool.

Give up your golden handcuffs.

Give up wanting to be a famous musician, artist, architect, thinker, writer, whatever-it-is. Maybe
it’s smarter to make your purpose to have an impact, instead.

Give up wanting to be different for the sake of being unique.

Give up trying to be perfect.

Give up keeping relationships with people you don’t really like.

Give up trying to be the center of attention.

Give up trying to be important. (Focusing on community is usually more fulfilling.)

Give up achieving a lot of ego-driven goals.

Give up trying to be super-focused. Sometimes the most compelling ideas come from the most
messy, unexpected sources.

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Give up trying to be indie.

Give up trying to popular.

Give up caring about owning a lot of cool things, which keep you distracted from acknowledging
that you don’t like what you’re doing with your life.

Give up trying to have a perfectly organized workspace and a zero inbox.

With that said, there are a lot of ways we think we’re doing good, but we’re really not. Counter-
intuitive to what you think, it might make more sense to…

Give up trying to be super happy all the time. Instead, settle for being peaceful.

Give up needing a reason to share your love. Being alive is reason enough.

Give up trying to be everything to everyone.

Give up trying to fit the mold of your race, astrological sign, job title, religious group, political party
or other erroneous associations.

Give up caring about being the smartest, best and fastest. At least don’t let your ego get caught up
in it.

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Give up caring about “being a man” or “being a woman.” Or doing what is expected of your gender.

Give up sacrificing your life for an expensive degree that makes you feel important.

Give up trying to be ultra-productive, especially if productivity is making you miserable.

Give up caring about having a respectable job, a respectable resume, and a respectable life. Replace
following a template, with freestyling life.

Give up trying to constantly improve yourself. Sometimes too much self-improvement can cause
you to lose sight of the present.

Give up caring about doing what works.

Give up thinking you don’t have the time or skills to make your dreams a reality.

Give up caring about knowing everything in advance before you take action. Put yourself on auto-
response instead.

Give up trying to always find interesting experiences and interesting things to do. Alternatively, be
interesting and be interested.

Give up trying to live up to the expectation of your parents, your friends, your boss, and peers.

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Give up trying to live up to the expectation of… yourself.

Give up trying to have a flawless body, perfect face, or an impeccable wardrobe. Care more about
beautifying your mind and being a person who takes beautiful actions.

THE NEXT STEP

Trying to make things happen all the time creates a lot of unnecessary anxiety.

It’s stressful trying to deny what is.

When we give up, we accept life as it is. No strings attached. No wishing things were different.

If an action needs to be taken, we take it.

But we’ve given up letting our happiness be dependent on a thing.

It may seem like a simple solution, but the power of this technique is palpable.

So when things start getting confusing, remember: maybe everything doesn’t have to be fixed or
solved – maybe the right answer is to give up instead.

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PUTTING IT TO WORK:
Take 10 minutes to reflect on what activities you feel pressured to do, not because you
want to (internal) but because of something external.

Which of these items can you give up on today?

Practice going through the list and saying “I give up” out loud to yourself. How does this
change your emotional state?

Write it down and come back to this exercise a week later to try it again.

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10 WAYS TO AVOID BRAINWASHING ON YOUR PATH TO
FINDING YOUR DEEPER PURPOSE
Finding your deeper purpose can be overwhelming.

When a path isn’t clear, sometimes we defer to those around us for guidance, instruction and
advice.

Be careful!

If you’re not in complete control of your mind, you may be at the mercy of those who don’t have
your best interest in heart.

In a lot of ways, when we don’t control our thoughts and own our mindset, we’re like pawns in a
game of chess: we’re easily played.

Corporations, governments, advertisers and cults have gone to great lengths to control minds for
generations.

Sometimes their tactics are obvious, but most of the time they are insidious.

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If we want to ensure that we’re living for ourselves and not serving some corporation’s agenda, we
have to put on our mental armor. We have to arm our minds so we can first know when there is an
assault on our sovereignty.

Here are 10 tools you can use to avoid brainwashing and retain the ownership of your mind:

1. DECRYPT MEDIA SPIN.

The media uses many different tools and angles to sensationalize things that aren’t inherently
sensational. “Experts generally agree” can mean a community college professor and “recent
surveys find” can mean the polling of 10 people.

Be wary of any claims where the sources aren’t explicitly stated.

2. BREAK THROUGH THE HYPE.

Have you ever noticed that the most genuinely talented people don’t feel the need to convince you
of their ability? If something is authentically awesome, it advertises itself.

All hype isn’t necessarily bad, but having some man scream at you about the amazing cleaning
power of OxyClean is most likely an attempt to scare you into believing something.

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3. DON’T BUY INTO SCARE TACTICS.
This approach is most popular among the military. This is for an obvious reason: to make you
conform and adhere to the purpose of the larger whole. On one hand, I understand why they have
to do what they do. But on the other, I am wary of any group the discourages questioning the
command. If you don’t think the purpose of your troop’s mission ethical, sorry, you don’t get an
opinion. If you don’t agree with the chain of command, too bad.

Sometimes we think there is no other choice but to follow the leader with our heads down. But if
we just look a little further, there’s usually another way we didn’t see before.

4. SURVEY SAYS.
Surveys and statistics are often skewed to support the agenda of the presenter. Just because a
survey says something, doesn’t mean you have to believe it. Even if it’s from a reputable source,
keep in mind that everyone has an agenda. Even Green Peace. Even Obama. Even your mom.

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5. BE CONSCIOUS OF SUBLIMINAL MESSAGES.
Advertisers have cleverly discovered that they can sell you something much easier if it’s associated
with a certain lifestyle. A Mercedes equals luxury and high class; a Jeep means you’re rugged and
adventurous. Cut through the BS. You define the way you live; your lifestyle doesn’t define you.

6. DON’T BE A SHEEP.
The word “authority” derives from the word author, which simply means the one who originated
the idea. It doesn’t mean they are right, or that they are the end of the line. Get as many different
opinions as possible before making a decision and trust your common sense.

7. BE CERTAIN, OR CIRCUMVENT.
Have you ever noticed that extremely enthusiastic people have an uncanny ability to sway others?
Their unshakeable certainty lures others into follow them, simply because they don’t have a strong
opinion one way or the other. If you don’t know, don’t let someone else’s certainty force you to
make a choice. Do your own research and come to your own conclusion.

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8. LISTEN TO YOUR GUT.
Follow your gut/intuition. If you think something’s shady, chances are it is. Your mind will usually
want to prolong making a decision until it gets all the facts straight. You’ll usually find that after
you’ve sorted everything out your gut was right all along. Save yourself some time and trust
yourself.

9. AVOID GROUPTHINK.
Following the crowd is fine if you’re making that choice consciously. We’ve all heard the saying “if
so and so told you to jump off a cliff, would you do it?” I always thought that that was the most
idiotic question. That doesn’t prove anything. That’s just stupid. And it’s not what I’m talking about
here.

What I mean is following the group because you’re afraid of standing out. You’re afraid of being
seen, being heard. Because, geez, if you do that you might actually have to defend your opinion.

Don’t be afraid to be different. Ghandi was different. Einstein was different. People used to think
they were crazy, radical and had possible birth defects (just kidding). Now they are considered
geniuses.

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10. DON’T BE A TREND-JUNKIE.
“Newly reformulated” shaving cream is often just a newly reformulated packaging design. If you
have to buy a new version of your camera, phone, or iPod every 6 months, are you buying it, or is it
buying you? Do you really own your things, or do they own you?

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PUTTING IT TO WORK:
Now that you’re on “alert” what hidden anchors and limiting beliefs created by others
have held you back up to this point in your life?

Create a list and go through each line – then be deliberate about which ones you will
believe and which ones you won’t.

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 Section 2…

TRAILBLAZING

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6 KEYS TO DEVELOP THE ACTION HABIT
“An idea can be profound, but it is useless unless used”-Richard Bach

We all know of course that results are the cause of action.

But how do you develop the habit of taking action?

In order for us to successfully implement the habit of taking action, we have to learn how to use
our imagination and independent will to overcome our conditioning.

We have a unique endowment as humans: we are responsible. When we take a closer look at the
word responsible we find its roots come from the two words; response and able. We are able to
respond.

In other words, we have the ability to take action.

When we make the decision of becoming response-able, we accept that our lives are the product of
our choices. The choice to take action, or not will ultimately determine your results. If you want
results in life, you must master the habit of taking consistent action.

1. YOUR ENVIRONMENT IS A PRODUCT OF YOU

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The reason most people don’t take action is because they think they are a product of their
environment. This is a classic case of determinism and a distorted view of reality.

This thinking gets us nowhere as it leaves our fate beyond our control. If our circumstances are
beyond our control, naturally, we’ll lack motivation to take action. What’s the point when we’re a
product of our environment?

Here’s what this type of thinking look likes:

As you can see, this is a linear thinking process.

Here’s what is actually happening in reality:

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You might ask “Jonathan, why did you make the arrows rainbow colored?” Good question.

I think diagrams are boring in general, which is why I hesitated to use them. However I think for
this purpose, it’s good to be able to see the difference. The rainbow colors are just for added effect.
If you really need a meaning though, perhaps it’s because life is much more colorful when you see
things clearly. =)

When we can see that this is a continuous cycle, we realize that our environment is a product of us.
If our environment is a product of us, well jeez, that means we have to take responsibility for it,
don’t we? If you want to give up that responsibility, fine, live a determined life. But at least make
that decision consciously.

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2. FOLLOW YOUR PASSION
This may seem like a no-brainer, but most people go for exactly the opposite. They go for security,
safety and comfort. They spend more time acquiring outer resources then developing inner ones.

If you’re going to develop the habit of taking action, you need to be inpsired.

If you’re doing what you love to do every day, you’re likely to take consistent and massive action.

If you’re working in a job you hate, slaving yourself away in a cubicle, you’re less likely to take
action. You’re just going to do the bare minimum to get by.

To develop the habit of action, we need to make goals that inspire us. When we’re inspired, the
natural result is that we’ll take lots and lots of action.

Find a way to start doing what you love, even if you have to start small. You’re more likely to
develop your talents in something you love, rather than something that gives you a false sense of
security. If you feel like you don’t have enough time, consider making time for the important. If we
don’t make time for the things that really matter to us, when will we? Who wants to go from the
cubicle to the casket?

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3. FOCUS ON THE RESULTS YOU WANT, NOT ON THE MEANS BY WHICH YOU’LL ACHIEVE THEM
When we’re constantly trying to figure out how we’ll get things done, we’re stuck in the mode of
planning. Move your focus to what you want, instead of how you’re going to get it. Start taking
action toward your goals and stop trying to plan everything out perfectly in advance.

Don’t be afraid to make up how you’ll get there as you go along. Use the Ready Fire Aim approach,
instead of Ready Aim Aim Aim Aim Fire. Correct your course as you go along instead of trying to
find the perfect course. Often the perfect conditions never come and 5 (or 50) years later you
realize you’re in the same place you’ve always been.

Don’t let anyone get in your way, most importantly, don’t let yourself get in the way. If your mind
has doubts about your ability, silence it. Take a rain check on your opinion.

4. INSPIRATION AND GREAT IDEAS ARE THE RESULT OF ACTION

Don’t wait for inspiration and great ideas to happen to you.

Most people think that a great mind precedes great action. It’s easy to see why people think this
way when we refer to the world’s most influential people as “great thinkers” or “great minds.”

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What we don’t realize is the reason they were great thinkers is they didn’t wait for inspiration to
come to them, they came to the inspiration. They took action and may have failed repeatedly, but
the difference is that they didn’t wait around for a great idea to just pop into their heads. They
actively sought out inspiration, instead of just passively waiting for it to happen. They were not
simply “great thinkers” they were “great doers.”

Not only did they actively seek out ideas and creative genius, but they failed many times before
reaching their own level of greatness. Fear of failure didn’t paralyze them. Instead they realized
with each failure, they were that much closer to success.

5. PRACTICE MAKES THE MASTER

It takes time to develop the habit of taking action.

Especially when you’ve spent years doing exactly the opposite. Start small and don’t let your fear
of failure or self-doubt stop you from taking action. Sometimes, if we don’t have anything nice to
say to ourselves, it’s better that we remain silent. We readily apply this principle with other people
all the time, but how often do we talk negatively to ourselves on a daily basis?

The best way to overcome fear and self-doubt is to take action. Action crushes fear, because it
demystifies it. Often we realize we weren’t afraid of anything other than simply not knowing.

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Release yourself from your need to know, and trust that you’ll find the answers as you go along.
Remember, you can always change course. You can always change your aim, but if you haven’t
fired yet, what’s the point of aiming?

6. DON’T THINK, WHAT DO I HAVE? THINK, WHAT DO I WANT?

Are you waiting until all the conditions are right in order for you to take action? Perhaps you think,
“if only I had enough time”, “if only I had the money”, “if only I had the resources”, “if only I knew
the right people.”

You’re not the only one who’s thought this way. I used to think that I could accomplish my goals “if
only I had this.”

If only I was born with better rhythm I could become a good drummer. If only I was born with a
better voice I could write better songs. If only I had a better memory I might be a better web
developer. If only I was more romantic I could have a better relationship.

Do you know where all this thinking got me? Absolutely nowhere.

Fortunately I managed to overcome my focus on what I didn’t have and started focusing on what I
could do.

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Stop focusing on what you have and start focusing on what you want. Doors will start to open for
you where before there were only walls. And hey, if there’s no door, there’s always a sledge
hammer.

IMPLEMENTING THE ACTION HABIT:

The following are 4 steps you can take today to begin developing the action habit:

1. Make a commitment. Sometimes the easiest way to take action is to make commitment. Tell
your friends and family about it, so you have their support. A commitment helps you stay
accountable.
2. Enjoy the process of discovery. Trying to plan everything before you start will often paralyze
you from taking action. It’s fine to a vision, and actually essentially to success, but don’t let your
need to know every detail stop you from taking action.
3. Focus on your strengths, not your limitations. Not everyone will have the same approach to
solving a particular problem. Use your unique talents to your advantage.
4. Use your imagination to create to build up your emotional desire. Whatever your goal is,
just visualize in your mind for a moment what it would feel like to accomplish your goal. What
would it feel like emotionally to know that you completed it? Often this process of creating an
emotional build-up will be enough to make us start itching to take action.

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Whatever you do, start taking action even if you don’t have a clear idea of what needs to be
done. Start moving towards you goal. Make corrections later. The greatest killer of action is
hesitation. Don’t hesitate.

Begin today.

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PUTTING IT TO WORK:
Put these 4 steps to work today:

1) Make a Commitment

2) Enjoy the Process of Discovery

3) Focus on Your Strengths

4) Use Your Imagination to Build Desire

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SEVEN COUNTERINTUITIVE WAYS TO START BLAZING YOUR
OWN TRAILS
Let’s be honest, it’s one thing to say ‘blaze your own trail’ and ‘live on your own terms’ and another
thing entirely to do it.

One of the biggest obstacles keeping us from truly living a life we define is our inability to organize
and produce. When we’re designing a lifestyle business or doing anything else unconventional, the
reality is there aren’t any blueprints out there to help you along the path – if there were, it really
wouldn’t be blazing your own trail, would it?

But that’s not to say there aren’t guidelines and principles you can adhere to in order to create the
life you want.

The following are 7 counterintuitive ways to get organized, productive, and start blazing your own
trails.

COUNTERINTUITIVE TIP #1: SEASONS AND CYCLES OVER STEADY-STATE ROBOTICISM

Most people try to make themselves into productivity robots.

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We force quotas, lists and deadlines on ourselves as if we’re some type of Input Fuel, Output Work
Machine. We are not machines, and we need to stop acting like it. Machines are steady-state output
producers. Humans are ebbing and flowing organic beings.

Relax your expectations of constant, never-ceasing production. Instead, focus your energies on
how you want to feel and what you need to operate with greatness. Maybe that means more self-
care, more breaks, or more doing shit you actually care about.

Remember, we come from nature and are born from seasons. This means that we’ll naturally cycle
inward and naturally cycle back outward. Sometimes we will feel drawn to reflect, meditate and
grow internally with no outward signs of productivity or results. And sometimes we will feel an
inescapable urge to create, shine and radiate our gifts uncontrollably to the world.

The key is in learning to identify and honor your natural rhythms. Listen and lean into whatever
you’re being pulled to.

COUNTERINTUITIVE TIP #2: FLOW BEFORE PATTERNS

If you start your day writing down the stuff you think you should do based on patterns of what you
normally do or what’s just a good business move, you’re immediately screwed.

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Resistance creeps in. You feel trapped. You feel an immediate urge to put it off in favor of
something more fun and interesting.

Realize this: People don’t procrastinate because they’re lazy. People procrastinate as a self-defense
mechanism against doing stuff they despise or doing things too mechanically.

Instead, ask yourself What would I absolutely love to do and feel immensely proud of doing today?

Most productivity systems are built like crutches meant to prop you up.

They’re pushing you to do something that might be unnatural.

So what if instead of needing to be pushed, you simply focused on activities that pulled you and
were hard not to do?

A good rule of thumb: The more productivity tricks you need to get it done, the less likely it is that
it’s meaningful to you.

COUNTERINTUITIVE TIP #3: TRY TO GET ALMOST NOTHING DONE

Do not start your day thinking, I need to accomplish everything! Do not start a project thinking, I
need to finish this today. This leads to paralysis and indecision.

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Instead, get insanely micro.

Focus on doing two minutes of important work on whatever it is you want to do. Set a timer and
just do two minutes. Anyone can do two freaking minutes.

Starting and getting momentum is the hardest part. Getting insanely micro is the cure.

COUNTERINTUITIVE TIP #4: FORGET EVERYTHING YOU KNOW

We humans abhor the predictable.

Have you ever noticed that if you feel like you can predict what a speaker or teacher is saying, you
immediately start ignoring them and doze off?

That’s because we can’t stand anything we think we already know. It’s boring. It’s done. It’s old hat.

So whenever you begin a task, even if you’ve done it before, focus on changing your approach.

Ask yourself:

 What new lessons can storytelling teach me today?

 How can I make writing this blog post incredibly ridiculous and off-the-wall?
 Where are the limits to this project, how can I take this to the extreme?

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When you completely change your approach, you renew your excitement.

COUNTERINTUITIVE TIP #5: MAKE IT PAINFUL NOT TO DO

Sometimes there’s shit you need to get done that you’re not going to jump for joy at the thought of.

Taxes are due. Your manuscript needs to be edited. Whatever it is, it sucks and it needs to be done
regardless.

Trying to get excited about it is only tricking yourself, which makes you feel like even more of a
phony.

Instead, do this: tell someone (a team member, close friend, your coach) that you’re going to get
this done by X date at X time. But not only that, you’re going to show them what you’ve done. And if
you need even more motivation: if you don’t complete it, you’re going to actually give money to a
cause you don’t believe in.

Misfits are plagued by procrastination because we have no tolerance for doing things we don’t
want to do.

But that doesn’t take away the fact that sometimes you need to get it done. And that can require a
kick in the ass to do it.

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COUNTERINTUITIVE TIP #6: GIVE YOURSELF LESS TIME
It’s ridiculous how often we think that more = better. More time means more productivity, right?
Wrong.

More time often means more time spent screwing around. Face time is not important. Ass-in-chair
is not important. What is important is getting things accomplished that really matter to you.

Stop measuring your self-worth (how much you get done) based on how much time you put in.

First, divorce your self-worth from your productivity. You are worthy no matter what.

Secondly, give yourself less time. Try getting everything on your list done by noon. You’ll be
amazed at what you can do.

COUNTERINTUITIVE TIP #7: PRODUCTIVITY DOESN’T MATTER

At the end of the day, what you’ve done and what you’ve accomplished is no where near as
important as how you feel.

If you feel amazing, who cares what you did?

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If you did something that’s meaningful, who cares how many things you checked off a list? The
whole point of being productive should be to do things that are interesting and meaningful to you
so that you feel good.

If you don’t feel good at the end of the day, then what’s the point?

THE FINAL TIP: ACKNOWLEDGING YOUR COMPLEXITY

I’ll repeat the obvious: you are human.

The industrial and agricultural revolutions shifted human focus away from community and flow to
production and measurement.

But our complexities and needs haven’t changed. Just because you’re doing something that “isn’t
productive” doesn’t mean that it doesn’t matter. Is taking care of your sick grandmother
productive? Is walking aimlessly in the woods productive?

Is sleeping in with your spouse on a random Tuesday productive?

Just because something does not produce a measurable result, it doesn’t mean that it’s not
productive.

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When we’re able to change how we view value and what’s important, only then can we truly live
fully.

We can honor both our gifts that create transformation, and those that are beautifully
immeasurable.

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PUTTING IT TO WORK:
Take time today to implement one of these counterintuitive ways to start blazing your
own trail. Be particular and be disciplined about your execution. Put one of these
techniques to use every day for a week.

At the end of the week, decide which technique was the most powerful and continue to
refine and perfect this process in your life.

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HOW TO STOP FEELING LIKE YOU’RE NOT ENOUGH
How often do you end each day feeling that you haven’t done enough?

I usually feel like I could have done more, I could have been more.

My list is long. My ambitions are ballsy. And my vision always seems to be greater than the
resources I possess.

It’s no wonder that creative giants beat themselves up about not being and doing enough.

So, here’s an uncomfortable question I need to ask you:

How’s that working for you?

My guess is, not too well. I’ve found that I’m far more productive, effective and creatively on fire
when I’m fueled with encouragement and praise rather than constant critique.

What follows are five of the world’s most powerful antidotes I’ve discovered for stopping the cycle
of judgment, shame and poor performance.

These strategies or ways of being will help you start becoming your own ally so you can let your
greatness shine.

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1. CREATE A “WHAT I’M PROUD OF” RITUAL AND ANCHOR IT.
Watch this short video to learn how I’ve experienced massive changes from using this strategy.

2. SHIFT FROM “DID I DO ENOUGH?” TO “DID I GIVE MY BEST?”

Our post-industrial cranking culture has us trained to think in quotas. Throughout our schooling
we’re taught to do assignments, fulfill credits and complete curriculums.

There’s just one major problem:

Humans are not machines.

So stop basing your worth on quantity (we all know that doesn’t add up to much in the end
anyway) and start gauging your success on whether you gave your best, loved fully, and gave
bravely.

That’s what will truly matter when all is said and done.

3. THE TRUTH IS THAT YOU ARE ALWAYS ENOUGH.

The problem is that you’ve let your mind rule your life too much.

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When we’re in our heads too much, we’re always measuring, we’re always counting.

Don’t get me wrong, our minds help us a lot. It’s great at comparing and contrasting, and without
our mind we cannot learn from our mistakes and get better.

But we must also keep the heart in its proper place, which is to guide us to what matters.

The truth is that in this moment, right now, you are always enough. You are exactly as much as you
need to be.

4. PRETEND THAT YOU’RE TALKING TO YOURSELF AS A BEST FRIEND.

It’s easy to judge yourself harshly. It’s so stupid, yet we all do it.

But, would you talk to a good friend that way?

We are harder on ourselves than we would ever be to a good friend. Why is this?

Doesn’t it make more sense to be your own ally, rather than constantly root against yourself?

The next time the Voice of Judgment comes up, respond as if you’re giving advice to a good friend.

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5. LET THE WORLD PASS YOU BY.
It’s easy to get caught up in the endless more, churning… the hungry ghost of the modern world.

I do it. We all do it.

We’re always encouraged to produce, build, create, squeeze. We’re stressed, overwhelmed and
tired. We have too much yang (masculine) energy in our culture, and not enough yin (feminine)
energy.

But we forget that the world outside is just fine.

Go ahead, go out into nature and see if it is overwhelmed or stressed. You won’t find a depressed
squirrel or an overwhelmed river. You’ll find what is.

Whenever you forget, go back to where you came from, the place you’ve wandered away from, and
realize that that place is your home.

And it’s always waiting for you.

MY DARE TO YOU: DEFY THE STATUS QUO AND SHARE WHAT YOU’RE PROUD OF
It’s not easy. I know it’s not.
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We’re taught that it’s impolite to talk about what we’re proud of. But I’m here to tell you that you
must if you don’t want to burn out fast.

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PUTTING IT TO WORK:
Write down one thing you’re proud of at this moment and share it with someone you’re
close to…

I dare you.

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WHY YOU NEED MORE THAN PASSION TO LIVE AND WORK ON
YOUR OWN TERMS
What I’m about to tell you isn’t the typical passion-drunk advice.

In fact, this advice is anything but pleasant – it’s actually a bit brutal…

But it’s important you hear the truth:

No one really cares if you’re passionate about what you do, and no one cares if you do what you
love for a living.

WHY IT DOESN’T MATTER IF YOU’RE FILLED TO THE BRIM WITH PASSION

Whoever said “do what you love and the money will follow” was pretty off-base.

Not only that, but they inadvertently have caused a lot of people a lot of heartache and confusion.
Many people set out to do what they love, thinking if they just work at it enough someone will
come along and pay them for it. If they just become ridiculously amazing at what they do, the
money will follow.

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Wrong.

No one cares how passionate you are about what you do. They want to know what’s in it for them.

No one can be bothered to pay anything without a clear and tangible benefit communicated to
them. The hardest thing you can get someone to do is to take out their wallet, and they’re not going
to do it just because you’re really enthusiastic and follow your heart.

That’s because, deeper than that…

FOLLOWING YOUR PASSION ALONE IS SELFISH

Simply doing what you love is not enough.

Aiming to do what you love for a living has to be more about just blindly doing what you’re
passionate about.

But that’s what most people do. They start a “business” pursuing their passion, and sometimes if
they’re smart they try to provide people value while they’re doing it. They share their experience,
or if they’re even smarter they’ll package their experience in a way that people can easily extract
value from.

Even that’s not enough.

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If you don’t start out filling a desperate need or solving an urgent problem from the start, you’ve
already lost. It doesn’t matter if you’re absolutely overdosing on passion. It’s not enough.

Here’s what else:

Sometimes your passion won’t align with what other people need. If you’re passionate about
13th century architecture, but no one is interested in contracting you, it’s game over. You’ll have to
find something else, or not pursue your passion as a means of income.

Sometimes your passion is too personal to turn into a business. If you play a style of music or
create a type of art that only appeals to you, it will be hard to create an income from it. And
sometimes the pressure of turning an art into an income will make you feel stifled.

The other major problem is that the call to follow your passion only looks at half of the picture.
Choosing to change the work you do isn’t enough. In order to really find meaningful fulfillment,
you need to change the way you approach work itself.

THIS MIGHT MEAN…

Adjusting your attitude toward work. Showing up excited about the work you do instead of just
seeking exciting work. Changing your beliefs about work. Looking at it from a different

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perspective and re-framing the way you see work, not simply as a chore (which is most often the
reason we avoid it), but as a way to make a meaningful contribution to the world.

Choosing purpose, not just passion. Often most of the meaning and fulfillment from work comes
not just from being passionate about it, but from specifically choosing and being intimately
connected with a deeper purpose. The passion work call to action heralded on high from most
gurus fails to point out this missing part of the picture. Simply doing what you love isn’t enough.

Meaningful work is often different than passion-crazed romanticism. When you’re working toward
a cause you deeply believe in, your tolerance for doing work that isn’t super exciting increases
dramatically. You can feel purposeful doing the work because you can actual relate to the purpose
behind it.

The reason many people are dissatisfied with cubicle work (as I was) is caused by a major
disconnect between the work that you actually do and the result it produces in the world. When
you’re blindly following instructions handed down from high that are loaded with corporate
jargon, whether you’re passionate about the actual work you’re doing becomes irrelevant.

A graphic designer working on an interoffice media campaign that supports cryptic objectives that
are out of context will probably feel pretty damn bored with what they’re doing, even if they have a
deep passion for design. On the flip side someone that has no passion for tedious transcription of

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endless video footage can find a lot of meaning in it if it’s supporting a message they find incredibly
important.

Obviously, the ideal situation would be an intersection of passion and meaning. But in most cases,
meaning trumps passion.

ALIGNMENT OF YOUR VALUES OVER PASSION

While value-based passion work should be inherent in whatever path you pursue, it’s not always
the case. If you’re passionate about engineering and innovation working for a military weapons
design firm and one of your core values is non-violence, there’s a major value-conflict. Whether or
not the work is exciting is irrelevant if it does not agree with your character.

If you’re passionate about design and one of your core values is sustainability, you’ll probably feel
a huge disconnect designing SUVs and Hummer-like gas guzzling vehicles.

If programming and simplicity turns you on, but you’re working for Windows, you’ll probably find
that this hurts you inside. ;)

Making sure your values align with your passion is just as important as doing work that makes you
come alive. Sometimes even less passion is better.

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP AS DOGMA
Most people will tell you in order to do what you love for a living, you’ll need to start your own
business, freelance or some other autonomously structured work life.

While this is right for some people, it’s not for everyone.

The truth is, working for yourself is not a walk in the park.

You have to think about a lot of aspects of business that would otherwise be irrelevant to you as an
employee. You have to consider things like accounting, marketing, administrative and legal
concerns that can sometimes be a bit overwhelming.

And even if you are committed to the entrepreneurial path, building a business can take quite a
while. In the meantime, you’ll have to find something else to pay the bills and make sure you
don’t end up in a van down by the river.

And still, for some people, the entrepreneurial path just doesn’t appeal to them. That’s perfectly
fine. You can live a life of passion-filled meaning by consciously choosing to partner with an
employer that has similar values, alignment of purpose, and can utilize your passionate skills.

This is a perfectly valid path, and anyone who tells you otherwise is full of shit.

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COMMUNITY AND CULTURE FUELS PASSION
Another often overlooked matter the passion proclaimers don’t mention is the importance of
community you’re involved in, and the people that you work with. Working with and/or for people
you resonate with, admire and like makes a world of difference in the quality of work you
experience.

It’s irrelevant how passionate you are if you work with a bunch of dicks that you can’t stand. On
the other hand, you can probably grind it out a lot easier if you’re working with people you have
fun with and resonate with.

Community and culture creates belonging and the feeling that you’re a part of something. And no
level of excitement in your work can replace that.

It’s important to note here that culture is not passive either. It’s not enough to just search for the
right culture, you have to be actively engaged in creating the culture that you want to participate
in.

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THERE IS NO MAGIC FORMULA
To say that passion is the most important ingredient to fulfilling work would be misleading.
Sometimes you find passion by pursuing meaning. Sometimes you create fulfillment when you find
a community and a shared purpose. Sometimes it’s just a matter of changing your limiting beliefs
about work.

The only way to make this happen is to take responsibility for designing your ideal work. The
perfect business or job will not fall out of the sky. You will probably have to create it.

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PUTTING IT TO WORK:
Instead of starting with your passion, begin by asking the question ‘where is there pain
and how can I fix it?’

Don’t get stuck on your solution to a problem – instead, become deeply attached to a pain
or problem that needs fixing. This will give you direction and is a key indicator in telling
whether you can turn your passion into a business.

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 Section 3…

LIVING ON YOUR
OWN TERMS
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HOW TO NEGOTIATE ASKING TO WORK FROM HOME (WHILE
WORKING LESS AND GETTING PAID MORE)
If you work for a company where systems and processes — filling out forms, creating reports and
attending meetings — seem more important than actually doing the work, you likely wouldn’t
believe you could negotiate an alternative work arrangement with your employer.

In fact, you probably have some major resistance to it, especially if something as simple as
requesting a day off involves submitting a form six weeks in advance to human resources.

Here are some other common corporate assumptions:

 Working from home is off limits or reserved for the privileged (although a study by Microsoft
claims over 40% of companies actually have a work-from-home policy).
 Face time matters more than results.
 Negotiations only come during performance reviews.

The problem with all of these assumptions is that, for the most part, they’re completely untested.
But the real question is this: Have you ever actually asked for what you want? And if so, did you
come up with a strategic plan for doing so?
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If not, then you’re living in an assumed reality.

When I was trapped in a demanding corporate job that, while interesting, didn’t challenge give me,
I assumed that I couldn’t do anything about it, save for quitting my job and finding a new one. That
was until I had the revelation that I didn’t have to follow the same template as everyone else. Just
like all of my coworkers, I was assuming that all of these “unspoken” rules were set in stone.

Wrong.

I discovered how to negotiate a part-time, work-from-home arrangement with my employer, all

while getting paid 15% more per hour than I had the year before. And I’m going to show you
exactly how I did it, giving you scripts that you can use to negotiate with your employer, no matter
how much of a tight-ass they might be.

But before I get into how I created this arrangement, let me be completely upfront with you: I
didn’t have any special circumstances that made me any more advantaged than anyone else. Note:
While this is an article about negotiating working from home and a raise, it can be applied to
negotiating anything with an employer.

Here are some of the things I was up against:

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  I worked for a very large, very stiff non-profit company, which entailed a lot of red-tape and
corporate BS.
 Very few people in my organization worked from home.
 The economic downturn of 2008 had just happened, and budgets were being cut left and right.
It wasn’t exactly the best time to ask for more money and the ability to work from home.

Even with all of those odds stacked against me, I was still able to make my case for co-creating a
more desirable work arrangement with my employer.

It all came down to what I did that no one else seemed willing to do: Ask.

As a society we’re trained that asking for what you want is selfish. But the truth is, it’s pretty dumb
not to take the risk in asking, especially if it can benefit everyone involved. If there’s one thing I
had going for me it was drive (more like desperation, to be honest). I seriously wanted to reclaim
my time and work on things that gave me joy.

But in order to really build momentum with my business, I needed the extra time by working at my
job one day less a week. Because I was hungry to do whatever it took, I built up the courage to ask
for what I wanted.

Overview of how I negotiated asking to work from home:

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 1. I elicited the rule of reciprocity. Before I ever had the conversation with my boss and made the
proposal, I made sure that I bent over backwards to create an abundance of value for my
company and team.
2. Procured a recommendation in advance. I knew it would be harder for my boss, the ultimate
decision maker, to say no if I had received a recommendation beforehand from my direct
supervisor.
3. Prepped exhaustively for the meeting. I went through all possible scenarios and addressed all
the objections I could think of before the actual meeting took place.
4. Held the meeting with confidence. I made sure I was in a positive and confident state before the
meeting. Because all of the hard work had been done in advance, everything went smoothly.

Now, let’s get into the nitty-gritty.

STEP 1: TIMING AND SETTING THE STAGE

It’s important to know that I didn’t just engage in a random conversation and surprise my boss
with the idea of an alternative work arrangement. That’s like popping the question to a girl on the
first date. Probably not a good idea.

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Instead, I made sure that the timing was right. I carefully waited to discuss what I wanted until the
odds were stacked in my favor.

To do this, I wanted to make sure that I had deposited a surplus of social goodwill into my work
relationships. The more I could leverage the rule of reciprocity (that all humans are naturally more
likely to do something for you when you’ve done something for them first), the more I knew I
could set myself up to win.

While you might not have a big project coming up as I did, you can still apply this principle by
regularly going above and beyond for your employer. Take on new responsibilities, seek out new
projects that will impact the bottom line, and most of all, find ways to do work that makes your
boss look good. In my case, I worked in a multimedia department and we just had a project
handed down to us that was a significant undertaking. It involved photographing over seven
hundred physicians in a two hundred mile radius within the span of two months. Not an easy feat,
even when you have the resources that a $40 billion a year non-profit does.

I was tasked with project management and overseeing the organization and execution of the it.
That meant ensuring all the photographers had the right information, scheduling all of the shoots
and making sure that post-production went without a hitch. The biggest challenge was controlling
the photography and lighting style from one shoot to the next when we had over a dozen
photographers with varying lighting set ups, cameras and different ways of seeing things.
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There was also having to deal with reshoots and corrupt memory disks. With all of this, the success
or failure of the project rested on my shoulders.

Here’s a big takeaway: If you want to be seen as indispensable, make it your daily mission to make
the lives of those you work with easier, especially those higher up than you.

I was working on my own business at the time and it could have been easy for me to give a half-
hearted attempt at the undertaking. But I chose to see my day job as a springboard for the business
I was creating, not something to be compartmentalized and shoved into a corner.

I went to extreme measures to deposit an abundance of value into the bank account of my work
relationships before I ever requested anything.

STEP 2: RECOMMENDATION IN ADVANCE

The next step for me was to get a recommendation from my direct supervisor. While she wasn’t
the one that made the final call, I knew that it would strengthen my case. My boss (the ultimate
decision maker) trusted her judgment because she was closer to the daily operations of our team.

It wasn’t hard to ask her for it; she was already saying great things about me anyway. I regularly
found ways to make her life easier and I knew she appreciated that.

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Here’s what I said to my direct supervisor (names changed for confidentiality):

“Hey, Margaret. As you know, I’ve really been working hard lately on this Physician’s Photo Project.
I’ve been thinking about sitting down with Barbara [our boss] to negotiate some changes in my
work arrangement, such as working from home. But before I do that, I’d love to have your blessing.
It would mean a lot to me. Would you mind giving her a report on how I’ve been doing before I sit
down with her?”

While it’s always a bit daunting to ask for a testimonial or referral, I’ve found that people generally
appreciate the opportunity to say good things about you when you’ve done great things for them.
Once you get the courage to ask, you’ll find it’s not as bad as you might think

Bringing in that letter to the official meeting with my boss went a long way to helping me get what
I ultimately wanted.

“In war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is
destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.” —Sun Tzu

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STEP 3: PREPPING FOR THE MEETING
Before I had the official conversation with my boss I wanted to be able to clearly demonstrate how
much time I had saved the company by working more efficiently.

Just as a seasoned general steps onto the battlefield confident in victory before he ever fights, I
knew that I had to win first and then discuss the details with my boss.

A big part of that meant being prepared for any objections that might come up. Such as:

 How are you going to get things done remotely?

 How will you be able to work less and still get everything done?
 What if this doesn’t work out?

I’ll get more detailed in my script below, but the key here is that I made sure that I was prepared
for and rehearsed the conversation before it happened. I tried to emulate every possible scenario I
could imagine and determine in advance how I would respond in each situation, much like you
would prepare for a job interview.

I also made some key changes to my work and recurring tasks that I was prepared to present to
my boss during the meeting. I optimized and streamlined many of the repetitive tasks associated

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with my job. I created checklists for bigger recurring projects. I batched much of the mundane
work and implemented personal productivity practices that made me much more efficient.

One of the most effective techniques I implemented was the Pomodoro technique, which is
essentially setting a timer for twenty minutes, working on a selected task, then taking a break for
another five minutes. Not rocket science, but I’ve found the hardest part of getting things done is
often indecision. Having a deadline is one of the best ways to force you to make a decision.

But one of the biggest changes I made was automating an extremely tedious and manual part of my
job. It basically amounted to creating and sending certificates to recipients of our employee
recognition program. I turned a once long, tiresome affair into a process 90% automated by a
database and templates.

STEP 4: HAVING THE DISCUSSION

Now it was time to get down to business and have the “official” discussion. One of the key traps I
wanted to avoid was letting the conversation become fear-based and defensive on the part of my
boss. To combat this, I made sure that I made my boss feel heard and went to great lengths to
address all of her concerns. This let her know I was taking this seriously and to preempt any
potential fear or defensiveness that might come up.

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Secondly, to remove all of the risk, I presented the idea as a trial run. We’d try it out for two weeks
and we’d review afterward. If it wasn’t working, we’d go back to the old way of doing things. If it
was working, we’d keep going and continue to check in to make sure things ran smoothly.

Finally, to avoid any sort of logical defense on her part (I knew I couldn’t win if it went to what the
rule book said), I presented a strong moral case that appealed to my boss’s environmental
awareness. Working from home was simply the right thing to do. It saved gas, cut down on traffic
and pollution, and the overhead needed to keep the office powered constantly. It wasn’t just smart,
it was ethical action as a responsible human being.

Here’s how the conversation went:

Me: Hey, Barbara. Do you have a minute?

Boss: Sure, what’s up?

Me: Margaret has probably mentioned to you by now that I’ve been really working hard to take
our department’s work to the next level. And it’s got me thinking a lot about how I can be even
more effective working from home and working less hours.

Boss: Okay, what do you mean?

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Me: Well, I’ve been doing a lot of research and it’s ridiculous how inefficient we can be, especially
when it comes to the time we spend commuting. I know how much of an environmental advocate
you are and it’s just crazy how much energy and time we could save telecommuting. And let’s not
even mention how we could impact traffic, which as you know, makes you want to kill yourself
most days in LA.

Boss: That’s very true. So, where is this going?

Me: I’ll get to that in a second. But first I want to show you how I completely streamlined this
repetitive part of my work that used to take forever. You know that certificate fulfillment process
we used to have? I’ve completely automated it.

[I show her what I've done in detail.]

Boss: Wow, this is really awesome!

Me: I know, and it’s made me realize how much more I can do in less time. So what I’ve been
thinking is that I can start working from home one day a week, and cut one day back entirely
(three days a week in the office, one day a week at home). It would save you guys a lot of money,
and it would make my life way easier. Also, I know that I’ve been working a lot of overtime lately
on our big project and haven’t been compensated for that, which I’m happy to do. But I’ve also
been with the team for over a year and haven’t received a raise. So I’m thinking with the amount of
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time I’ll be saving us — working one less day a week — a 15% increase in my pay sounds pretty
reasonable. To make it fair to you guys, and to make everyone comfortable, we could do it on a trial
basis, say, for 14 days, and then evaluate. If it’s not working, we can go back to the old format. If it
is working, we can just keep checking in to make sure everything is going smoothly. How does that
sound to you?

Boss: Well, Jonathan, you obviously spent a lot of time preparing for this and thinking this through.
It sounds reasonable, but I do have some concerns. What if we need you to work more than four
days some weeks, are you going to be okay with that?

Me: Yeah, that’s definitely doable. If a big project comes up and I need to spend some more time
working on it, I’m happy to do it. But I’d still like to be able to do it from home if possible.

Boss: Okay, and what if we need to show you something in the office? Do you have a plan for this?

Me: Well, I can definitely always stop by. But there’s always Dropbox or screen-sharing via Skype.
We can rely on those on days when I’m not in the office.

Boss: Okay, I think we can try that, but I’d still like for you to be able to come in sometimes, and I
also want to track your work performance. If you’re not able to get the same amount of work done,
then this isn’t going to work.

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Me: I’m confident that with the changes I’ve made it won’t be a problem. The best thing about this
is that since it’s a trial, we can always go back to the old way if things don’t work out.

Boss: Okay, that sounds good. Let’s give it a shot.

CRAFTING YOUR OWN ALTERNATIVE WORK NEGOTIATION

While you may not use the exact same strategy as me, and may not want the same type of work
arrangement that I did, I’m sure you can apply some of the strategies here.

Now, what type of work arrangement would you like to negotiate? It’s important to be clear on
what you want before you devise your plan.

Granted, this takes work, but if you do all of these things you move the odds from their favor (just
you trying to get something) to your favor.

But please, don’t forget that the most important thing is that you ask. Simply start asking for what
you want more. You’ll be surprised at how often you’ll get it.

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PUTTING IT TO WORK:
1. Brainstorm what type of work arrangement you’d like to negotiate.

2. Become very clear on your goals and desires.

3. Identify your best case scenario and your still-good-but-not-perfect case scenario (the
one your employer may negotiate you down to). Using upper and lower limits like this
will give you focus in the meeting when you do decide to negotiate working from
home.

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HOW TO QUIT YOUR DAY JOB
The purpose of this article is to guide you through the steps necessary to go from: a) working at a
job that turns you into a zombie you’re not happy with to b) beginning self-employment.

What this guide is not: The following is not meant to teach you how to create a successful business.
That is beyond the scope of this article.

So, if this isn’t meant to teach you how to create a business, how can it help you to quit your job?
Well, it turns out there is a lot more that goes into quitting your job than just creating a self-
sustaining income. You’ll have to figure out how to talk to your family and partner about it, set and
stick to a firm date, and create a savings fund to cushion your transition (unless you prefer no
safety net when you jump).

This guide intends to address these often un-talked about concerns.

BEING DISSATISFIED ISN’T ENOUGH

A lot of people know that they would rather not be stuck in their current work situation. But
knowing what you don’t want and being dissatisfied isn’t enough. And while dreaming about what
you’d rather do is great (it keeps your hope alive), it’s not enough either.

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At some point you’re going to have to address the gritty, practical and tactical side of how you’re
actually going to change your situation.

Below, I’ll address each of these topics related to taking the plunge (actually quitting your job and
doing what you want):

1. Is self-employment right for me? Or am I just jumping on a bandwagon?

2. Finding your niche and hanging up your shingle.
3. Setting your date for your final day of work.
4. Approaching the topic of quitting with your partner and loved ones.
5. Safety nets, savings accounts, and preparing for the transition.
6. Saying “I quit” and reclaiming your time.
7. Acclimating to freedom and the schedule-free life.

Let’s get started, shall we?

1. IS SELF-EMPLOYMENT RIGHT FOR ME? OR AM I JUST JUMPING ON A BANDWAGON?

There are a lot of blogs out there (this one included) that tout the benefits of self-employment:
more freedom, greater control of your work, and choosing the people you want to work with, to
name a few. All of this is awesome, trust me, but are you also willing to accept the responsibility?

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When you’re self-employed you are the one responsible for making sure enough money comes in
each month to pay the bills. When you work for someone else, you don’t have to think about that.
You just wake up and do your job.

Are you also okay with running the details of overseeing administrative work, scheduling, taxes
and operations in your business? Most people talk about the rosy and alluring side of working for
yourself, but they don’t mention some of the very real changes you have to make that you might
not have known about.

I’m not saying that it’s not worth it, it is. But it’s not right for everyone.

So, the first step is to ask yourself… Do I really want this? If the answer is yes, then proceed. And if
it’s not, that’s okay too. You’re not any less cool than the “lifestyle design digital nomads.”

2. FINDING YOUR NICHE AND HANGING UP YOUR SHINGLE

I mentioned earlier that this article isn’t intended to teach you how to start or run a business. But
we should at least cover the two most important steps: selecting a market and opening for
business.

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A lot of people email me telling me how they’d like to start a business. But they’re paralyzed.
They’re unable to make a decision about the market they’ll get into and continually second guess
themselves. There’s a place for exploration and discovery, but at some point you have to saddle up.

If you need some help finding your niche, try reading The Seven Keys to Discovering Your Passion,
found on the Armory page. There are a lot of resources out there that can help you with this. But if
you don’t firmly choose a market you’re not even in the game yet. You’re just sitting on the
sidelines. And it’s hard to build a business that way (obviously).

Once you select a niche, it’s time to hang up your shingle. And by that I mean actually putting up a
website and making an offer.

If you have a “blog” that you want to eventually “monetize,” then you don’t have a business. You
don’t have a business until you actually have something for sale. Until you then, you only have a
hobby. That’s fine if that’s what you want. But then why are you reading this article?

Obviously you don’t just want a blog, you want a business. So don’t put off creating an offer until
you have X amount of subscribers or “1,000 true fans” or whatever you think you need to start. If
you wait to put out an offer, you have no idea if people are willing to buy something from you. And
that really sucks. You might spend a lot of time building an audience that is just there to hang out.
Great if you want a hobby or community, bad if you want a business.

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3. SETTING THE DATE (OR TYING THE KNOT)
People that are engaged know this. If you haven’t set a date, then you getting married may or may
not happen. Who knows, right?

Same thing goes with quitting your job. Without an actual date it’s just a nice idea.

So if you haven’t already, what I want you to do right now is set an actual date. Write it down. Put it
in your calendar. And if you’d like type it out in big 48pt. type, print it, frame it, and put it on your
nightstand.

Now it’s going to happen. Why? Because now your mind has shifted from “Nice idea” to “Damn, I’ve
gotta figure out how to do this by this actual date.” It makes a huge difference.

4. TALKING ABOUT QUITTING WITH YOUR PARTNER AND LOVED ONES

If you want to quit your job, at some point you’re going to have to tell your partner (or whomever
is close to you) about it. When I first mentioned that I wanted to quit my job to Ev’Yan, I wasn’t
very smart about it. I just said, “Hey honey, I’m going to be a professional blogger and quit my job.
Just thought I’d let you know.” And she said, “Oh, yeah. Right. That’s nice babe.” Needless to say,

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because I didn’t really explain my plans, it was seen as a fleeting fantasy and I didn’t get much
support. So, don’t do what I did.

Actually come up with a plan that details at the very least:

1. How you’re going to become self employed

2. How much money you’ll need in savings
3. How much you expect to be making at the time you quit

He or she may not believe you at first. My wife was skeptical even when I broke down the
numbers.

But when the money started to come in, she started to believe that this might actually be possible.
And guess what? It was. Some people will respond and be more supportive when you show them
results. But either way, talking to your loved ones about it and showing them you consider them in
your decision (because it most likely affects them, too) goes a long way.

It’s scary to know that you may be met with skepticism and disbelief, but the more you show
them with your actions the more they will begin to take you seriously.

It should also be noted here that if you want the best support on your path to work freedom, it’s
best to look for that from people that are already self-employed or currently on the same path as

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you. They will be the most sympathetic and are more likely to cheer you on. It’s not fair to ask the
same of people living in a completely different reality.

5. SAFETY NETS, SAVINGS ACCOUNTS, AND PREPARING FOR YOUR TRANSITION

Should you have a cushion when you jump or are you confident that you’ll land on your feet? This
is something you’ll really need to consider. When I quit my job to work on Paid to Exist full time, I
had about three months’ worth of savings. It wasn’t a ton, but it was enough to make me feel a little
better about it (I was also making a job-replacement income from Paid to Exist at that point for
several consecutive months).

For some people, only three months of savings would scare the shit out of them. For others, it’s
more than enough to give them that kick in the ass to make the leap.

So, you’ll need to ask yourself a few questions:

1. How much money do I need in savings to feel comfortable quitting my day job?
2. When do I need to save this money by? (Hint: it should be your quit date that you defined a few
minutes ago. You did do that, right?)

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 3. Do I expect to be making the same amount of money from my business (job replacement
income) as I’m currently making from my job when I quit? Or am I okay with quitting without
making any money (or only some) from another source?

I know a lot of people that are okay with only having a giant savings and no money coming in yet
from alternative means. I wasn’t one of those people.

I wanted proof that I could consistently make the same amount of money I was making at my job
before I felt safe quitting. So did my wife. You’ll need to decide what you’re most comfortable with
and plan accordingly.

6. SAYING “I QUIT” AND RECLAIMING YOUR TIME

When it finally comes time for you to give notice to your employer, you must follow through.

You will likely second-guess your decision at this point. This is perfectly natural. But now is not
the time to back out.

You’ve been working diligently for months (or perhaps years), and you’ve done all you can.
Nothing else at this point will prepare you anymore. You have to get in the water to learn how to
swim.

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A month or so before your quitting date, it’s a good idea to take some time to think about what
you’ll say to your employer. Writing it out helps. You can have fun with this too.

In my resignation letter I told my boss “I will no longer be requiring your employment services.”
Obviously you don’t want to burn any bridges (or do you?), but feel free to be creative. This is
something you’ll remember for the rest of your life; why not make it fun?

You may even want to write your resignation letter now. Doing this helps make it more real and in
turn will help you follow through.

7. ACCLIMATING TO FREEDOM AND THE SCHEDULE-FREE LIFE

It would be a bit dramatic to say that reclaiming your time is the same as being released from a
long sentence in the state penitentiary. But it does have a parallel in that you will need to take
some time to adjust. Things will feel funny at first. You’ll feel weird not having to ask for
permission to take a long lunch or go for a hike in the middle of the day.

One day you might wake up late and start automatically thinking about the excuse you’ll tell your
boss. Rest easy, you’re the only one you need to answer to now. But the schedule-free life also
comes with its own set of challenges. Now that you have the reins on your time, you’ll need to
develop your own methods to ensure things get done.

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You could have worse problems, right?

The last thing to do once you’ve finally quit is celebrate. Do something special for yourself and
savor the rite of passage you’ve just undergone. When I quit, a friend gave me a clock to symbolize
that I’d been “given back my time.”

You might consider doing something like that for yourself. Just like writing your resignation letter
in advance helps to make things more real, so does deciding what you’ll do to celebrate on the final
day.

FREEDOM IS CREATED
You have to create your own freedom. If you don’t, no one else will do it for you. If you don’t have a
plan for yourself, it’s likely that someone else does. Or you’ll just end up living by default, by a
template you certainly didn’t design.

If you want to be your own master, you’ll have to reclaim ownership of your mind.

And that starts with small daily choices that are completely in your control.

What will you choose?

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PUTTING IT TO WORK:
What is the greatest fear you have about quitting your job?

Is this fear based on fact or speculation (i.e. real or imaginary)?

What can you start working on today to conquer this fear and make your dream a
reality?

Whatever you do, make sure you follow and are comfortable with the first 5 steps before
you jump into quitting your job.

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HOW TO SNEAK IN THE BACK DOOR TO LIVING ON YOUR OWN
TERMS
A long, long time ago, there were no such things as schools or credentials.

Your reputation in the community was your certification. Your diploma came from the school of
real-world, hands-on practice. Institutionalized training and schooling has changed that. You can
now get a degree or certification in just about anything. And there are certain professions where
this is a necessity (doctor, dentist, therapist, etc). But this isn’t the only way you can build
authority. Where there is a traditional, obvious path, there is always a less obvious, hidden path.

So, you can get someone to qualify you (degree, certification), or you can qualify yourself.

Qualifying yourself is what I like to call the backdoor method.

A lot of people will never take this approach, because it’s unconventional; it’s unorthodox. Not only
that, it’s messy and requires a lot of self-initiative. Not that the conventional path doesn’t require
self-initiative, because it does. It’s just that the unconventional path is not so neatly laid out.
Without such a clear road map it can be hard not to get frustrated and give up.

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I’ve pretty much taken the “self-qualified” or unqualified path my entire life. I’ve always been self-
taught. I dropped out of high school. I went to college and didn’t follow a set course (I only took
classes I was interested in). I’ve found ways to establish credibility and authority that don’t involve
a set of credentials or transcripts. It was a wild ride, but I figured out a way to make it work.

BACKDOOR STRATEGIES FOR SELF-QUALIFIED SUCCESS:

1. FIND SOMEONE WHO’S DONE IT.

Seems obvious, right? If you want to learn how to write for magazines… contact some editors. If
you want to learn how to be a firefighter, make a trip to your local fire station.

Whatever you want to do or become, there’s a pretty good chance if you ask enough people, you
can find someone who’ll be willing to answer some of your dumb questions. This is not necessarily
done with the intention of being apprenticed, but to get a road map from someone who’s been
there. Once you know what it takes, the mystery and scariness of the unknown diminishes.

2. GET A MENTOR
After you’ve found someone to bug, the next step is to find someone that will actually take you
under their wing. I personally found several mentors when I wanted to get into coaching. Finding
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someone to teach you can be as easy as being in the right place at the right time, or doing a lot of
leg work emailing, calling, or showing up at events. The best way to find a mentor is to be where
they always hang out.

3. GET A LIBRARY CARD

Books can’t teach you everything, but they’re a good way to go from not knowing your ass from a
hole in the ground, to having a decent grasp of a subject. Books are great supplementary education.
They’re essential for refining and exploring different approaches, and they’ll help you get started.
They won’t take you completely to competency, but they’re a good, obvious place to start.

4. HAVE CONVERSATIONS
Did I mention that this is a messy path? “Having conversations” sounds awfully ambiguous and
imprecise. However, it can be highly effective. Simply starting conversations about the topic that
you’d like to become an expert in will often lead you to unexpected insights. The more
conversations you have and the more diverse group of people you talk to, the more you’re likely to
learn. They will lead to gaining new insights, building relationships and making new connections.

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5. TAP INTO YOUR TRIBE
Find out where the people in your industry hang out. Then go there. A lot. Go to meet-ups,
conferences, summits, special events, workshops, parties, or whatever other kind of group meet-
up you can find that relates to your pursuit. You can do this online as well, by hanging out in social
media circles.

6. GIVE YOURSELF AWAY

Once you’ve got a decent handle on whatever you’re trying to establish yourself in, try giving
yourself away. Create a service and offer it for free. Whip up a mockup product and give it away.
Hold a contest where the prize is consulting time with you. This serves two purposes: a) You get
more experience and b) If you do things right, you’ll get free testimonials.

Once you’ve started to gain a foothold as a budding expert, you’ll need to find a way
to demonstrate that authority to others. That’s how you’re going to build trust, create
relationships, and ultimately… make money.

So, here are some “renegade” methods for creating social proof

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7. CREATE A BLOG
The word “authority” comes from the root word “to author.” By demonstrating knowledge and
giving away content for free, you demonstrate your authority. Pretty simple, right?

8. BORROW SOMEONE ELSE’S AUTHORITY

Authors do this all the time. They write a book and cite a bunch of other established authors. And
in doing so, they borrow the credibility of others. You can do this, too. Write for other established
blogs, get reviews by a-listers (or even b-listers to start out), hang out with leaders, write for a
well-known magazine or website. There are plenty of ways to do this.

9. GET RECOGNIZED
This will eventually happen in some way or another. Someone might talk about you in an article,
newspaper, website, or an event. You can then (with permission) use what they’ve said as an
endorsement. This isn’t something you can directly control, but you can indirectly control it by
putting yourself out there a lot. The more you put yourself out there, the more likely you are to be
recognized.

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10. GIVE YOURSELF AWAY AGAIN
I know I mentioned this previously, but it’s worth saying again. Do something to give yourself
away. Hold a contest and give the winner a consulting package in exchange for a case study or
testimonial.

11. HELP OTHERS

The best way to generate social proof is to be a good person. The more you help others, the more
generous you are, the more value you provide, the more people will talk about you. Word of mouth
is the best credibility, because you don’t have to do any convincing; someone else is doing it for
you.

IN SUMMARY
This is a quick-start guide. The more you follow this course, the more you’ll discover ways to
qualify yourself and create authority.

This route isn’t for everyone, though. For those who prefer a more established, secure approach,
the conventional path may be the right choice. For those that prefer a more messy, self-taught
path, this will work incredibly well for you. Of course, you can also create your own mix of both.
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PUTTING IT TO WORK:
Where are you on your personal journey?

Depending on whether you’re just beginning or years into building a business and a
brand, these steps can be applied. But first you must take note of where you stand in
order to effectively execute these various steps.

Start by taking a personal inventory of where you are and where you want to be.

Now identify people who are already where you want to be and begin building
relationships with them. This is the fastest path to mastery – but it’s not always easy.

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HOW TO CREATE PREDICTABLE INCOME DOING WHAT YOU LOVE
The funny thing about freedom is that it often feels inextricably tied to security and what’s known.

Freedom seems infinite, endless; one lives by the seat of their pants, traverses the open road,
destination unknown. But we don’t truly feel safe to explore and venture out without an anchor
making us feel safe to do so. Have you ever noticed that most relationships with two wild, free-
spirited and carefree people rarely ever works?

The majority of successful relationships I’ve witnessed are where one half is earth and the other
wind. Where she flies with reckless abandon, chasing her dreams and the next shiny pursuit, he’s
busy trying to figure out how to put together the new desk from Ikea.

Our twin desires for freedom and security are the complementary yin and yang, forces that drive
us toward the actualization of what we desire.

If we truly want to create freedom, we need to create predictable sources of income that we can
depend on, as reliable as the rising sun.

While there are many paths to creating a predictable income, this is the fastest and simplest to
execute that I know of.

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Here it is:

 One Offer.
 One Sales Process.
 One Lead Source.

Focusing on these three things for one year = predictable revenue.

THE POWER OF ONE THING

The first thing this approach gives you is focus.

When you only have three variables, there’s little room for confusion or complication. It allows you
to scientifically diagnose where your lack of sales are coming from. You know that you either have
a conversion problem (your marketing is not effective enough to get someone to make an
investment with you), or a lead problem (not enough leads or not properly qualified).

Sound like I’m speaking a foreign language? If so, I’m not surprised. The problem with pursuing
self-reliance and earning bread by our own hands is that most of us are never taught the skill of
making money.

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Yes, making (and managing) money is a very specific skill. It involves being able to effectively
market the express value you have to provide in terms of the benefit and outcome it will provide.

Many experts have varying definitions of marketing. Mine is simple.

Marketing = the effective communication of value that creates a desire strong enough to get the
person to make an investment.

That’s it. Of course, marketing, like anything, can be used for the purposes of good or evil. If you
have any negative beliefs regarding marketing or selling, like thinking it’s about tricking people,
annoying people, or taking advantage of them, you’ll need to overcome those blocks to create your
own new, positive definition.

“Today I live like a hermit, so later I can live like a King.”

Now, what exactly do I mean by One Offer, One Sales Process, and One Lead Source?

1. An offer is everything that’s included in the presentation and proposal you are making to
another person. This includes the outcome you’re helping the person reach, the price, the
content, the packaging or delivery method, and the guarantee. For instance: Trailblazer is a
step-by-step, reality-based program that guides you into identifying your passion, creating an
offer to the world and getting paid to be you. It’s a six month program that guarantees you’ll
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 make at least $1,000 in six months doing something you love through video training and
monthly mentorship calls.

2. A sales process is the mechanism you use to create desire in the person to get them to make a
decision. Marketing is not about getting people to want something, it’s about getting them to
want it enough to make a decision to purchase. This could be by a live webinar, a video
marketing campaign, an auto-responder series, or an introductory coaching session. The
purpose here is to demonstrate your value, provide social proof and give a strong call to action.
Example: This is 60 minute webinar that guides people through the three transformations they
must make to stop following the template and become a trailblazer, followed by a pitch/offer
for further training and mentorship at the end.

3. A lead source is a dependable source of new potential buyers for what you’re selling. This could
come in the form of partnerships, searches, social media, or live speaking engagements. The key
here, though, is to define which of these is most effective, and within that, what the specific
keywords or sub niches are the most qualified. As an example, partnerships with influencers in

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 the lifestyle design space that have audiences of 10,000 subscribers or more can be a
dependable lead source for Trailblazer webinars.

This is what a fully developed predictable income stream looks like.

Over the course of one year, I devoted all of my energies to honing and refining the offer, the sales
webinar and finding the right partners to promote Trailblazer.

Does this sound boring? It might be to some.

Predictable success and security that I can bank on, however, is far from boring to me. It’s the
foundation for my freedom.

I guarantee you this, freedom seeker: devote an entire year to honing one product, one offer, one
sales process and one lead source and you will quickly catapult yourself to success.

Want to know the best part about this approach? Once you do all of this, once you know your
numbers and the game plan that predictably creates results, you can automate it.

A lot of people throw around words like “passive income” that have no idea what they’re talking
about. But this is a true, reality based path to get you there.

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Implement it like your head’s on fire, and live like no one else, so that later, you can truly live like
no one else.

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PUTTING IT TO WORK:

Identify your ONE thing. What is your super power? If you were a superhero, what
would people know to call you for?

In business, the more one dimensional your ‘thing’ or ‘super power’ is, the better. This
way, people know you are the expert and authority and they know to call you if they ever
need help doing [fill in blank here].

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THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO BUILDING YOUR TRIBE
We all know that “build it and they will come” is a myth…

“Build it, nourish it, and then constantly improve it and they will come” is more like it.

Anyone can start a movement, anyone can create a cause. But if you want to build more than a
passive, lukewarm community it will take guts, sweat and heart. A community of raving, die-
hard members is never built over night. Despite the hard work, there are many benefits to creating
a thriving, enduring tribe.

Here are some of the rewards you’ll reap for your efforts:

1. Support when you feel like giving up.

2. More energy and strength than you could ever possibly generate alone.
3. Enrichment through many life-long relationships.
4. A raving community will allow you to make your passion your livelihood.
5. Perhaps the greatest — and most unexpected — gift is that leading a community will serve as a
catalyst for you to become a better human being.

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As you can see, there are many benefits to creating and building a die-hard community. But what
makes a strong community? What’s the difference between a community that crumbles, and one
that thrives for decades or centuries?

An enduring community is…

 Rooted in deeply held values and is not simply a fad or quickly passing trend.
 About moving toward something bigger than any one individual’s goal in the group.
 Founded on creating major change in the world, or centered on a deeply shared passion.
 Led not for self-interest, but for the highest good of the community as a whole.
 Nourished by a sense of meaning and living out a common purpose.

So, how do you actually do it? How do you create a thriving tribe from the ground up? Well, it all
begins with you.

STEP 1: WHY YOUR VISION IS THE MOST CRITICAL INGREDIENT TO A CULT-LIKE COMMUNITY
In order to build and lead a strong tribe, you need to have a vision for yourself and others to rally
around.

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Others come to you for your vision because they either don’t have one, or because they believe in
the compelling vision you stand for. Remember: The people in your community can only be as
passionate about your cause as you are.

My vision for this community is to create a world where people freely live and work on their own
terms. One where work is not simply required to live, but is a vehicle for self-expression, service
and deep joy. Without this vision, it would be unlikely that many people would rally behind what
we’re creating. They would go somewhere else or do their own thing. Your vision, while important,
has little to nothing to do with you.

So the first step is to create a compelling vision as it relates to your passion. Please note that while
it’s up to you to supply the vision, it has little to nothing to do with you. It’s about something bigger
than you, and that is precisely why it fosters community.

By putting a stake in the ground for what you believe in, you fashion a space for others to bond and
connect around your core mission.

STEP 2: INTRODUCING THE SHARED PURPOSE (AND A NOT-SO HIDDEN ENEMY)

Perhaps the most uniting quality of your community is the shared purpose; what you are working
toward as a whole, what you’re moving toward and what you stand for. While this isn’t as dramatic

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as a revolution or supplanting a regime, it is vital and absolutely necessary. Without it you have
nothing more than a hollow destination; a summit with no underpinning why for climbing to that
endpoint.

People don’t buy into arbitrary goals or purely self-centered pursuits (well, sometimes they do).
People rally behind ideas, causes and missions they believe in. And underlying the “what you
do” is a deeply seated sense of purpose. It’s the essential and Deep Why behind every milestone
and leg of the journey.

What’s your “Deep Why” behind what you do? Can you turn it into a shared purpose?

Without it you have nothing more than a jumbled pile of information and disjointed ideas. A
common purpose, or why, is the web-like fabric that interlaces and connects all of what you do
under a unifying theme. It gives context and meaning to each action. Even miniscule or mundane
tasks can be seen as important and vital when connected to the contribution made to the bigger
mission.

Within this community, the shared purpose is to opt-out of template following and create work on
our own terms. To create a new paradigm (as dramatic as that sounds) where work is seen as joy
and the creation of legacy. We call that getting paid to be who you are, or working on your own
terms.

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However, that’s not the whole story. It’s only half of the battlefield.

On the other side stands the shared enemy: Working to survive. Grinding it out, paying the bills
and going through the motions. This is a stale, energy draining paradigm — conceived by the
factory line model of work — where work is simply a means to an end; a boring, lifeless means to
survive.

In stark contrast to the Shared Purpose of getting paid to be who you are lies the status quo of
working to earn your joy at some undisclosed date that never arrives. It involves separation and
dissection of work and life, whereas getting paid to be who you are involves total integration of the
two.

This is our Shared Purpose and Shared Enemy. Every great community has at its core these two
competing forces.

Can you identify the basic elements of yours? Once you do that, it’s time to…

STEP 3: CREATE A CORE IDENTITY WITHIN YOUR TRIBE

Every great community has identifiers that signify membership or alliance within it.

Your community or tribe is no different.

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Probably the best illustration of this comes from the sports world. In soccer, fans commonly
identify with the team of their respective country. When their team wins, they take credit and brag
about their team’s victory. In the same way, when their team loses, they themselves feel a sense of
defeat and loss.

When their team wins, they win. When their team loses, they lose.

Your community in similar ways is a team, a band of brothers and sisters united around a mission,
passion or idea. They feel invested in the successes and failures of the community. The key here is
to create a language and adoptable identity that the members of your tribe can assume. Around
here, our flagship community is Trailblazer.

The people in our program identify themselves as trailblazers because of their investment in the
shared principles we stand behind. Being a trailblazer is about getting paid to exist. It’s about
forging your own way and creating a path you’d never want to stop walking. The word trailblazer
encompasses all of those qualities in a single word. The language we use in our tribe is specific,
unique and speaks to the background and personality of the people we love connecting with and
the community we want to cultivate.

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We also use phases like “creating a no-end path,” “becoming an anti-authority,” and “identifying
your active seeker.” All of these expressions tie together to create a lexicon in our community. You
can do the same for your tribe.

For instance, my friends at Gold Medal Bodies call the members of their community the “Posse.”

What are the unique and core expressions of your community? How can you create a Core Identity
and lexicon around your mission that others can adopt and espouse?

STEP 4: IDENTIFYING THE IDEAL MEMBERS OF YOUR TRIBE

Identifying and recruiting exemplar members of your community is critical. A community starts
with a leader, but is defined by the people in it.

These people are the lifeblood of your tribe. Without them, you have nothing more than an empty
room.

Specifically, there are three different types of people you need to enroll and mobilize.

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FIELD RECRUITS
These vital members make up the bedrock and core of your tribe. They do the important
grassroots work of getting your message out there.

How to recruit them: Find out the top three places that your followers are engaging online and
offline. These might be popular blogs, conferences or meet-ups in your niche. Build a presence at
these places by being an active and valuable asset within those centers of interaction.

AMBASSADORS
These are the champions and die-hard members of your community. They’ll stop at nothing to
support the platform you’re creating. You can usually spot ambassadors easily. They will naturally
rise to the top. They’re commonly the people that share all of your stuff, buy all of your products
and will do whatever it takes to support you and the tribe.

How to recruit them: Reward the people that champion your work with special perks like early
access to your products, beta testing, and by highlighting the value they bring to the community.
You can highlight them in comments on your blog, thank them publicly on social networks and use
examples of their transformations as case studies in your products.

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TORCHBEARERS
These are the influencers and leaders in your broader market. They’re often people that have more
clout and authority then you do. But if you can ally them to your cause, they will be huge
supporters and vital members of your community. They’re the people that give you leverage.
They’re people with existing platforms you can borrow.

How to recruit them: Find ways you can add value to their work. Use the rule of reciprocity and
become an asset to them where you are strongest. If you’re great at copywriting, offer to review
their landing pages. If your genius is in technology, come to their aid when they’re wrestling with a
difficult problem that could jeopardize their launch. Become an asset to their work, and they will
naturally want to help you build your community in turn.

The final, and never-ending leg: cultivating and creating a culture of engagement

The final leg of the journey is to create and cultivate a culture of engagement.

A vision is nothing without forward motion and continual resolution to furthering the cause. In
order to keep your community strong and thriving, you need to build a strong foundation built on
perpetual interaction.

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Here are some fundamental rules for creating a culture of engagement and build an enduring,
unshakeable tribe:

1. Set the stage. Be vocal to your community about the importance of your message and that you
need their help sharing it. Make it centered on the shared purpose, and not about you and your
ego. Drive home that this is something bigger than just you, and make them feel like they’re
doing something good by contributing to the cause.

2. Regularly brief your tribe. Regularly update your tribe on new happenings in the community.
What’s coming next? What milestones have you reached? If you have any shared goals, are you
reaching them? Have you brought someone new onto the team? Being transparent about
what’s happening “behind the scenes” with your business or project helps people feel involved
and like they’re getting an inside view.

3. Share the spotlight. Highlight ambassadors and create a narrative around those who invest in
the community. Have certain people been with your community or joined your program at the

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 very beginning? How can you make them feel special (by giving them status for instance) and
share that story with the public?

4. Encourage engagement. Reward those that are highly active and engaged. Give shoutouts in
blog posts, on Twitter, or in weekly videos to the most frequent commenters on your blog or the
most active members of your community. The more you make people feel like their efforts are
recognized, the more it encourages other to contribute as well.

5. Teach via example. Set up expectations of engagement from the beginning, and continually
reinforce them. On your about page, can you highlight and share stories about people in your
community that are highly engaged and dedicated? How about in your welcome email when
someone signs up to your newsletter? In as many places as possible, try to both set up the
expectation for engagement and continually reinforce that in blog posts, tweets and other
places.

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 6. Get them invested. Make people feel a part of the key decisions that are made in your
community. Make them feel involved in the origin story and the ongoing unfolding of your
story. This could be as big as co-creating a product with your audience, or as small as having
people vote on a new logo for your website. People support things they feel like they’ve
contributed to.

Perhaps the most effective way to learn how to build a great community is to immerse yourself in
them.

Joining and participating in communities can serve as valuable experiences for creating your own.

Of course, no tribe is built overnight. It takes dedication, hard work and long-term commitment to
build anything truly great.

The best thing you can do? Get started today.

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PUTTING IT TO WORK:
If you identified your ‘one thing’ from the last section, forming a message for your tribe
should be simple.

How does your super power translate to a community message? How does what you do
translate to a group purpose?

Continue to refine and develop this idea and be sure to test it with others. The best way
to validate an idea is through implementation. Once you have an idea of something that
could work, test it with real people.

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HOW TO BUILD AN INCREDIBLY LAZY (AND SUCCESSFUL
BUSINESS)
“Progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things.” —Robert Heinlein

I’ll be the first one to admit it: I don’t like working hard.

I go out of my way to be as lazy as possible. I have a hard time doing stuff that I don’t want to do.
And even the things that I really don’t mind doing, I’m just not driven enough to pursue them full
force. Other people might want to do 50 state book tours and create content five days a week. Not
me.

And yet, I’ve still managed to build a pretty successful business, deliberately going out of my way
to not put in too much effort.

Sometimes I feel inspired to do a lot of connecting, writing or work on a big product launch. But
most of the time I work 4 or 5 hour days. I spend the rest of my time hiking, practicing martial arts,
reading and spending time with my wife.

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It’s one thing to be able to do something; it’s another to know how you do it. For the past few days
I’ve been trying to figure out exactly how I do this, so I could help other people do the same thing.

So, here’s how to build an incredibly lazy (and successful) business:

1. GET OVER THE URGE TO WORK FOR WORK’S SAKE

This is probably the biggest hurdle that you’ll struggle with, and it’s something I have trouble with
as well. It’s easy to work because you think it’s a “good idea” or because you think you should, and
not because it’s necessary or beneficial. At all costs, the urge to work just because it seems smart
must be avoided. Working more than average doesn’t guarantee better results. Working hard +
working smart = stellar success, of course, but we want to take that even a step further. We want to
ask “How can we work smart without much effort and still see stellar results?” It is absolutely
possible, but you have to stop filling up your time with work.

Once you stop working just because it’s a good idea, you’ll be able to develop a filter for the type of
work that is essential, highest leverage and produces the best results.

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2. BE ORIGINAL
The more original and remarkable your ideas, the more leverage they have. The more what you
do stands out, the less work is in your hands.

You want to create remarkable ideas that spread themselves, not mediocre ideas that require a lot
of poster blanketing to make it successful. The best marketing doesn’t require any money to be
spent on PR or advertising. The best marketing puts the work of spreading the word into the hands
of the audience.

3. LEVERAGE, BABY
What are the key activities that make you the most money? There are probably two or three, MAX.

One deliciously high leverage activity I realized in my business is doing webinars. This past month
I realized that I could do a webinar (about an hour) for a strategic partner’s launch and make about
$3-4,000. Including the two emails I write to my list, that’s about 1.5 hours time total. That’s pretty
damn good leverage.

So, forget tweaking with your theme, finding the perfect wordpress plugins and organizing your
files… what are the highest leverage activities for your business?

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4. SYSTEMS GIVE YOU POWER
If being lazy is about using more leverage and doing less, the support and scaffolding necessary to
do that is created with systems. When you leverage systems in your business, you free up time for
the things that you’re best at that will create the greatest impact.

There are tons of things you can create systems for as soon as you start paying attention. Customer
service, schedule management and autoresponders are just a few possibilities. The more you can
automate and outsource things, the more time you have to do what really matters to you.

5. DO WHAT YOU WANT

Know that your business is a product of your own design. You can have as little or as much
involvement as you want, but you have to decide that.

So in order to create the business you really want, you have to be deliberate about it. If you only
want to work four hours a day, then be ruthless about it. If you only want to work with certain
types of clients, only accept those. If you want to make a certain amount of money, make a plan and
execute it.

Just remember that doing what you want will probably involve a lot of…

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 1. Smiling at your unfinished list
2. Saying NO… a lot
3. Meeting a lot of remarkable people
4. Taking days off on a whim
5. Living on your own terms
6. Working in your pajamas
7. Actively letting go

Perhaps the most important aspect of building an incredibly lazy and successful business is
consciously deciding what you will say No to.

What will you stop doing?

What will you give up to have what you want?

Remember, things can be exactly the way you want them to be, but you have to decide that. Test
your assumptions. Live ruthlessly.

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PUTTING IT TO WORK:
Identify what you can remove today from your schedule.

What items are on your to do list that aren’t important? Ignore the things that seem
urgent – focus instead on just the top 3 most important tasks you could implement that
would have the greatest impact on your life and work.

After you’ve executed these three tasks (and this is the hard part) – don’t do ANYTHING
else. Take time to read, run, and enjoy your family and friends.

Warning: this will feel wrong, but the reality is this: by doing this every day, you force
yourself to be efficient and powerful with the actions you take every day. And success
comes as a result of efficient, powerful, focused effort.

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THE SECRET TO ATTRACTING 1,000 TRUE FANS
Everyone says play bigger, grow, keep expanding.

But is all growth and development good, or even necessary?

I’ve learned that there’s no guarantee that growth will make a difference in your business. You can
have more people on your list, and no one actually buying. You can have more traffic, and only
crickets in your comments section.

There’s a big difference between growth that’s meaningful and growth that’s hollow. The
difference is depth. A lot of people say you need 1,000 true fans. I think that’s a good, tangible goal
to aim for.

For our purposes, “True Fans” are defined as: People that buy everything you create. When you
announce the launch of a product, creation, or offer, they are actively waiting for you to release it.
They refresh the “coming soon” page. They comment on every post. They tell everyone they can
about what you do. 1,000 is good because it’s a number that we can wrap our minds around. It
seems like a stretch, but it also seems doable. You can convert one true fan a day if you’re really on
your game.

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But the way most people go about trying to get fans is completely backwards. They target
everyone they can (instead of using deliberate content marketing). They shoot for a certain
amount of traffic, or try to increase their conversion rate to their email list.

These numbers, however, aren’t worth much of anything without those people becoming true fans.

THE TRUTH ABOUT TRUE FANS

Not everyone is going to become a true fan. Even if you go out of your way to do something
memorable for every person you come in contact with, not everyone is going to connect with what
you do on an insatiable level. And that’s okay.

But the chances of getting 1,000 true fans by a “shotgun” approach is slim at best. I would venture
that simply trying to add people to your list will get you about 1 true fan for every 100-500 people
you sign up. That’s pretty poor. Not to mention it’s going to take you a long time (potentially
100,000-500,000 people on your list to get you to 1,000 true fans).

So how do you ensure that you don’t just collect a bunch of lukewarm dabblers? How do you find
people that are willing to take up arms for your cause, that will vehemently support your work?

There are two keys:

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 1. Relevance
2. Context

In order to gain true fans you need to be highly relevant. Your work isn’t merely useful (that’s a
baseline requirement), they also identify with it. They feel like it’s their work because they it’s
something they believe in or feel strongly pulled to.

THE DIE-HARD FAN

Have you ever seen a die-hard sports fan talk about their team? They don’t say “The Jets lost the
super bowl.” They say “OUR team lost the super bowl.” When their team loses, they have lost.
When their team wins, they win.

A lot of teams and athletes have this camaraderie built in, simply because that team or athlete
comes from the same city or state the fan has. But you don’t need to rely on having “home-town
status.” You can create a sense of belonging with your tribe by giving them a reason to rally
together.

Here are some questions to think about:

1. What is the cause your true fan feels strongly pulled to?

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 2. What is the common enemy your tribe is railing against?
3. What makes them feel different?
4. What makes them feel united?
5. What about their story, history or experiences makes them strongly identified with your cause?

The more you can tell a story that person identifies with, and keep your content relevant and
useful, the greater the chances of that person becoming and staying a true fan are.

THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTEXT (AND SOME BAD NEWS)

The amount of messages, advertisements and marketing intrusions a person receives on a daily
basis is massive. 250 billion emails are sent per day. 80% of them are spam.

As creators and artists, our battle is not to win the game of who can create the most stuff. Our
challenge is to be at the top of the list of importance to our audience.

That ladder looks something like this:

1. Unmissable. Everything you create must be given attention.

2. Important. Relevant and important, but can be set aside to be looked at later (and potentially
forgotten).

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 3. Relevant. Your content is useful, and relevant, but it’s not important enough to take priority.
4. Mildly interesting. Seems interesting, but there’s too much incoming to pay any attention.
5. Noise. Considered spam or is completely irrelevant. Might as well be invisible.

True fans view everything you create as unmissable. Missing is not an option. If they can’t get
tickets (not likely, since they’ve been refreshing the web page), they will jump the fence to get in.

The bad news is, that these true fans are not created out of thin air. They require attention, and
care, and to win them you must be memorable.

THE CASE FOR HIGH-TOUCH

What used to be amazing and unexpected is simply a requirement now.

Free shipping used to blow people’s minds. Now people won’t buy something online without free
shipping in most cases.

If you want to gain true fans (life-long fans) you need to do something to be a pattern interrupt.
You have to care about more than giving people just value. You have to create a memorable
experience.

Here are some way you can do that (warning: they all require work):
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 1. Personally call and thank every customer that buys your product.
2. Create a short, personalized thank-you video for repeat customers.
3. Spend time at an event personally shaking each person’s hand.
4. Create an unexpected bonus for people that sign up to your email list.
5. Answer every single email.
6. Release a movie-style trailer for your product, or do something unexpected. (See how we did
this with Trailblazer.)
7. Reward your true fans with something memorable that relates to your message or product.
Personalize it.
8. Hold a contest with one winner, then surprise everyone by giving every entrant a prize.
9. Spend a month giving revenue from every sale to a charity related to your message or cause.

Most importantly, do something different. There’s very little competition at the leading edge
because everyone is afraid to do something that hasn’t been proven to work.

When it has been proven, it will no longer be effective. It will simply become a requirement to not
failing.

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THIS IS A MARATHON
The path to creating a tribe of 1,000 true fans is more of a marathon than a sprint. It’s more like
farming than hunting.

Most people won’t do it because it’s laborious, time intensive and you don’t often see the results
immediately.

But I’m guessing you’re not most people. I’m guessing you were brought here to do more than
what’s already been done.

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PUTTING IT TO WORK:
What story can you create that will give people a shared purpose? What emotions can
you tap into that will affect people in a positive way?

People want to be a part of a group or organization bigger than themselves. How can
you facilitate this for them?

Write down your ideas and begin systematically testing them with parts of your
audience. Continue to refine and perfect your purpose and story until you hit the
message that truly resonates with your audience.

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 Section 4…

ADDITIONAL

RESOURCES
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TRAILBLAZER

Thinking about quitting your job? Trailblazer is the fastest path to working and living on your own
terms. Learn how to build and launch your business in six months. Trailblazer is like traveling with
an experienced and successful guide as you explore territory that is uniquely yours. Plus, with a
“better than money back” guarantee, a rich community of Trailblazers and weekly mentorship
calls, success is closer than ever. Learn more

JOB ESCAPE KIT

What if you had a plan for taking one dangerously effective action every day that made quitting
your job inevitable? The Job Escape Kit provides you with one powerful action step delivered to
your inbox every day for a year. Plus, you’ll get the 20,000+ ebook, two (2) interviews from hugely
successful job escape artists and four (4) case studies. And with three different packages to choose
from, you’re sure to find the right one for you. Learn more

OFFER TO THE WORLD

Could there be a much better way to make a living from what you love? The Offer to the World
Project is a step-by-step process to help you finally get closure on your true passion, so you can
move forward once and for all. The package includes extensive video training, workbooks,

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templates and scorecards to guide you to finding your offer to the world. Plus, with our 100% Find
Your Passion Guarantee you can find your purpose risk-free. Learn more

THE BACKPACK

Are you ready to start your journey? Have you had enough of the work-to-survive template where
you’re always chasing a bigger, less meaningful prize? The Backpack is a collection of fundamental
tools that will help you start your journey. You’ll get a detailed field guide, in-depth case studies,
and expert advice from Jonathan Mead on building your business. And to make it easy to start your
journey, we’re offering The Backpack as our gift to you. Learn more

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