Get Self Centered

My MASSIVE Failure (very personal story)

October 20, 2011 By Max Simon 7 Comments

OK… this was a very difficult post for me to write.

Yet there are a few things that have happened in my business (lately) and I’m feeling compelled to share them with you.

Because they have to do with FAILURE…

And I’m pretty sure we ALL struggle with this issue at one time or another.

Here’s The Back Story…

A few months ago, we decided to start trying out some new things in our business…

… Like a newsletter, a web TV show, and some unique new growth strategies.

Because I felt like we needed to expand into new areas and these were the ideas we came up with to do it.

So We Took Masive Action, And…

Here’s the truth:

Open rates on our emails PLUMMETED.
We got TERRIBLE feedback on our new web tv show.
A huge chunk of people in our tribe said they no longer resonated with our message (ouch).

In A Matter Of Days, It Felt Like We Crashed & Burned

It was painful and scary to watch…

Plus it was a total surprise because I honestly thought these things would be very well received.

So Why Am I Sharing This With You?

First, to get you back (if you were one of the people who felt the disconnect).

… Because we have built up such an incredible tribe and relationship with you that it would be a real bummer if you went away just because you didn’t vibe with a few experiments.

Secondly, to share a very valuable learning lesson.

Which is that the stuff you do WILL NOT always strike the right chord. It will not always work. Heck, somethings it will flat out suck!

… Especially when you’re trying to innovate something entirely new.

But That DOESN’T Mean You Are A Failure

I was once told to think of everything in business as “a test“.

… Because you never really know what will work and what won’t.

So when you do something and it rocks… it was a good test.

And when you do something that doesn’t work… it was a bad test.

But either way, it’s not a good idea to take it personally.

You just gather the data and move forward with the information you have.

That’s it…

Too Many People Take Their Failures Personally

They create “a story” that their failures are because they are un-worthy, un-qualified, and all the other “un’s” you can come up with…

But if my little story has taught you one thing… it’s that EVERYONE fails at one time or another.

… And if they are being honest with you, they fail over, and over, and over again (yes, even the big names).

Yet what makes them unique (and ultimately succesful) is that they don’t stay down for long.

Instead, they learn, grow, and get back into action.

Time and time again…

So To Finish This Little Personal Story…

I wanted to let you know a few things:

We’ve killed the newsletter.
We’re re-doing The Big Vision Show to be more in alignment.
We’re moving forward full steam ahead.
And we love you…

Because that’s what you do when you’re a Big Vision Entrepreneur…

You keep moving. You keep trusting. And you keep loving… Even when you’ve totally sucked (haha)…

If You Are So Bold…

I’d love to hear some of your thoughts about your experiences with this issue.

When have you tried something and failed?

How did you pick yourself back up?

What came out of it?

What do you think about this raw and real little post?

I’d be honored and grateful for your comments…

I’m not going to lie, I’ve missed hearing from you.

Much love,

Max

Filed Under: Learning Lessons

You are the AVERAGE of the 5 people who…

July 18, 2011 By Max Simon 27 Comments

A few months ago, I heard Stewart Emery speak at a private event and he declared something that I’ll never forget.

He said: “Environment always wins.”

Meaning, the closest people in your life and the places where you spend your time will always have the great influence over you and impact your reality in the deepest and most profound way…

What does this have to do with you?

I don’t think most people realize how powerful their environments are on their success and wealth.

To throw out another great quote (that I live by), Jim Rohn said:

“You are the AVERAGE of the 5 people you spend the most time with.”

That should either scare the living day lights out of you or make you smile.

But here’s the thing… take it a step further. What if you were the average INCOME of the 5 people you spend the most time with?

Meaning, let’s say that the amount of money you are destined to earn was the average of 5 of your closest relationships.

Would you be satisfied with that?

The answer is probably NO!

But is it really true?

Do the people around you and the environments you spend time in really influence you that much?

Well… let’s take a look.

Have you ever wanted to go try something new that you’ve never done before? Maybe it’s going to take dance classes. Maybe it’s starting your own business. Maybe it’s getting a tattoo.

And when you shared this new-found desire with your closest kin, they didn’t have the same level of enthusiasm as excitement as you did.

Maybe the called the idea silly. Maybe they thought it wasn’t the right thing to do. Or maybe they just didn’t respond at all…

So what did you do?

Did you let their opinions change your desire or did you go ahead and do it anyways?

If you’re like just about everyone on the planet (myself included), you probably had the first experience. You started to doubt, change, or adjust the desire based upon the response of your inner-circle.

Now that doesn’t make you or them bad people. It’s just proof that our environment impacts the way we operate in the world.

This is important…

So if there is one thing I’ve learned over the last few years of generating over $1.7 million dollars in my business, it’s that the people and environments you surround yourself with are MEGA-IMPORTANT.

You need to be conscious of of where you spend your time and who you spend your time with. Period.

And if you don’t feel like these people and places are substantially ELEVATING your game and INSPIRING you to be bigger, better, and more bold…

Then you need to find new people and places to be.

Why I’m writing this post…

Because last night, I spent time with a really good friend Jonathan Budd (his blog is killer!)

And we talked business, new projects, what’s most important, and everything in between. And I left feeling so ALIVE, so INSPIRED, and so GRATEFUL for having someone like JB in my inner circle.

Which is what inspired me to take the time and write this little story for you. Which again, is solid proof that being around great people inspires you to do great things.

It’s a natural law…

Here’s a great exercise

Write down the 5 people you spend the most time with and the 3 environments you spend the most time in.

In regards to people, rate each of them on a scale of 1-10 in these categories (and don’t worry… they won’t see this):

Wealth consciousness (1-10)
Up to BIG things (1-10)
Encouraging & positive (1-10)
Health conscious (1-10)

In regards to your environment, rate each place on a scale of 1-10 in these categories:

Feels abundant (1-10)
Clean (1-10)
Good energy (1-10)
Positive & uplifting(1-10)

Then average your scores together in each category for each environment and person.

You CANNOT settle

An 8 (for each) should be your bottom line. No less…

YES… it will be difficult to change.
YES… it will be worth it.
YES… the types of people and environments you’ve always dreamed about are out there.

You simply need to be conscious, courageous, and caring enough realize what isn’t working and make a commitment to find the type of people and places that will lift you up.

So tell me…

What will you commit to doing after reading this post?

Be bold. Be courageous. And know that you deserve to be with people and in environments that support you playing at your highest.

Please share your thoughts below!

And if you want to know where you can find an entire room full of the most amazing and positive entrepreneurs in the world, click here.

Filed Under: Great stories, Learning Lessons

Do you live in FEAR of the “Opt-Out”?

July 8, 2011 By Max Simon 65 Comments

Oh man do I have a powerful and controversial lesson to share with you today.

It’s about your fear of “the opt out”… and the cold hard truth about it.

Just in case you don’t know what an opt-out is…

An opt-out is an action someone takes who has subscribed to your newsletter in the past but they decided that they don’t want to hear from you anymore and thus they “opt-out” or un-subscribe.

Basically… they’re saying that you’re wasting their time and they don’t want YOU taking up any more space in their life because what you’re contributing isn’t adding value any more.

Ouch.

Now if you think I’m being harsh… it’s because I am.

But I’m doing it to prove a point…. Because this is what people think is happening when someone opt’s out from their list.

They take it very personal. They get upset. They feel worried that they said something wrong. They go into a tailspin of negative self-talk and remorse…

Essentially… people get genuinely freaked out by an opt-out.

… and it’s totally UN-NECESSARY!

Here comes the truth engine to rear it’s POSITIVE head…

First, let me tell you that on EVERY single email I send to my list, I get between .2-.5% opt-out.

Meaning… about 1 person out of every 200 or so on my list is going to opt-out no matter what I send to them.

And just to prove a point, let me tell you a story.

When my dad was going in for brain surgery and I sent out a super quick note asking for everyone to just keep him in their prayers so that we had “collective support”… 35 people opted-out.

And 7 people didn’t just opt-out… they COMPLAINED!!

So you might be thinking…

That’s understandable. Max’s note about his dad had nothing to do with business so people might feel like it’s just cluttering up their inbox.

But here’s the thing…

I’ve sent out notes giving away FREE hour long videos jam packed with money making guidance and wisdom. Stuff people invested thousands of dollars to purchase.

… and I had the exact same experience. People still opted-out!

So now the important question is…

Why do people opt-out?

And the answer to that is simple…

1) Most people are overwhelmed.

2) Most people get too much email.

3) Most people are over-stimulated.

4) Most people just don’t need any “more” stuff.

And does that make YOU a bad person for sending them an email? Does that make you wrong for sharing your message? Does that mean your business is going to crash and burn when people opt-out?

The answer to all of those questions is no.

Stop Worrying…

That is my advice to you around feeling worried and concerned around people unsubscribing.

The “bigger” you get… the more it’s going to happen. Just accept it and be ok with it.

Some people will decide you are not right for them at this time… and that’s cool. You’ll live.

Some people will leave, come back, leave again, and come back again. It’s happened to me many times in my business.

And some people will become your loyal die-hard fans, love your controversial messages, buy everything you offer, and tell all their friends about you.

Speak to those people. Focus on your tribe. Lead them…

It’s much easier to stay excited, engaged, and creative when you’ve got YOUR people in mind.

But whatever you do… keep speaking your truth. Keep sharing your message. Keep confronting people. And keep doing the work you love.

Because if you stop speaking up just because you’re afraid of a few people leaving your email list… you’re destined to stay small.

… And that doesn’t serve you, your tribe, or the world.

What do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? Let’s start a conversation here. Please Share Your Thoughts Below!

Filed Under: Learning Lessons, Personalized Letters Tagged With: email marketing, Max Simon, Prevent opt-out

My Raw, Real, & Personal Story About Failure (It Will Happen To You Too!)

June 20, 2011 By Max Simon 58 Comments

I’d like to tell you a raw, real, and personal story about FAILURE today.

… Because I’ve discovered this can be people’s biggest concern and what stops them from taking big BOLD actions in their biz.

So here’s the undercover tale of utter disaster.

I decided to try something new and really out of the box this month.

… Which was to create a new on-line training platform that could run multiple times each week for FREE…

And we could train people LIVE from all over the world (every week) using this super cool new technology we developed.

It Started Off Great!

We had a few close promotional partners spread the word to over 340,000 people.

Everyone was REALLY EXCITED about it.

We had thousands of people register for these on-line trainings.

… And I was PUMPED!!

Here’s where the story of FAILURE begins.

Over the course of the next two weeks, here’s just a few of the DISASTERS that ensued:

- An entire training with 400 people CRASHED and wouldn’t let anyone on

- When it did work, it would cut out every 60 seconds or so

- Certain web browsers did not see any of the video training

- It DID NOT work on the iPhone (even though it was supposed to)

- Some people did not even get the link to join us (email glitch)

- Others got the wrong link all together

- Some were even sent directly to an order form (yikes!) and that’s all they saw.

It was a painful period with many late night conversations that went something like this: “How the hell do we fix this by tomorrow morning?”

Haha… just writing that makes me see how insane it really was!

But here’s the thing (and where the story gets juicy)

Even with disaster after disaster happening…

My team never gave up.
They never stopped looking for creative solutions.
They never stopped coming up with new ideas.
They never stopped working together.

Because in our business, we have learned to cultivate an attitude of constant improvement and change.

Knowing that this is the ONLY WAY to thrive in a business environment that moves so fast and contains so many moving pieces.

Which is what allows us to STILL experience regular $$50,000 – $100,000 months in midst of all these challenges and difficulties.

What This Means To You…

First, we all have a tendency to put “big names” on a pedestal and believe that “everything works perfectly for them but just sucks for me.”

Well… look at my story above.

Clearly that is NOT the case. This was a true disaster where pretty much everything went wrong.

In fact, sometimes the bigger you are the harder you fall. Could you imagine having 400 people try to get on a training and have EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM get locked out?

Ouch…

I feel it’s important to share these stories authentically, so that you don’t get so down on yourself when sh*t hits the fan in your business.

Ok?

The Second Great Lesson In This…

The fear that things ARE NOT going to work out should NEVER stop you from moving forward and taking big bold actions in your business.

In fact, after so many things going gone wrong over and over again, I’ve even developed a COMPLETELY different philosophy around failure.

Ready for this? It’s weird…

I EXPECT things to go wrong.

So when they do, it’s not such a big deal. And when they don’t, I’m thrilled!

Now this isn’t to say that I walk around with a bad attitude waiting for everything to break down (that’s not smart either)…

I just mean that I anticipate lots of stuff going “off plan” so when these obstacles show up (like they inevitably do)…

I can treat them like speed bumps rather than road blocks.

Because that truly is what they are… just a bump in the road meant to test your commitment and faith in yourself.

Maybe You Can Apply This To You?

It’s likely that there is SOMETHING you want to do in your business that’s scary for you.

… And because of that, you’re probably putting it off, and putting it off, and putting it off (right?).

So what do you say you embrace this post as TRUE and get into action with that thing you’ve been wanting to do?

As in… just go do it. Because you have that choice…

You game?

If so…

I’m not going to lie. This is just a strange story…

February 28, 2011 By Max Simon 63 Comments

I’ve been feeling strange lately.

And because I’ve learned a lot from these “bizarre” feelings, I thought I would share with you as I think you might pick up something useful from my story.

You see, earlier this month…

We had the most successful launch in our history.

We generated over $186,000 in 7 days, added over 8,500 to our email list, and got promoted to over 1.5 million people.

I guess you could say it was a good week.

But directly following what many would call a massive success, I started to have all sorts of unusual and uncomfortable thoughts and feelings.

… like I frantically needed to “move on” to the next thing.

… like what we accomplished wasn’t “good enough”.

… like I had too much “pressure” on my shoulders and I couldn’t handle it.

To be honest, I just felt kind of like a failure… and I couldn’t figure out why.

So I did what I usually do when I’m confused

I get super solid with my spiritual practices (for me it’s meditation and yoga)…

… And I speak to my mentors (everyone needs coaches).

And as long as I stay open-hearted and aware about what I can learn, something profound usually comes through.

This time was no exception (and this is where the lessons come in).

The “download” that really cracked me came during a hot yoga class where I was dripping in a pool of my own sweat and mental chatter…

And here’s what it was…

I realized that I was finally starting to get what I wanted…

… to be successful. To be recognized. To have a big reach.

And that was actually making me feel deeply uncomfortable.

Because it was so new.

It was uncharted territory.

It was a place I hadn’t experienced in this way before.

So all of my feelings and thoughts of insecurity and self-sabotage were simply trying to “keep me safe” and in a space that was familiar…

Because leaving your comfort zone can feel scary.

And whether you are aware of it or not, your mind & body will revert to what it knows (aka the past) to try and keep you protected…even when it’s not what you really want.

But that was also when I realized that everything I truly wanted was NEW and not from the past…

I wanted to have NEW experiences

NEW successes.

NEW opportunities.

NEW creative expressions.

… and that if I allowed myself to stay stuck in what I already knew, nothing NEW would unfold.

So in that moment, I did something kinda strange.

I made a commitment to my discomfort.

That’s right… I made a commitment to my discomfort.

… which means that I decided to use my discomfort as a compass to tell me when I was moving in the right direction.

Because if I was uncomfortable, it meant that I was moving into an unfamiliar place…

… and an unfamiliar place is where my NEW experiences reside.

In that moment, I started to enjoy the “strange” feelings that I had inside…

Because I realized that they meant that I was doing EXACTLY what I was supposed to be doing…

And everything was progressing just fine.

So why am I sharing this with you?

Truthfully, I imagine a whole bunch of people have this very same experience.

You do something new, it feels totally scary and uncomfortable, and you don’t quite know how to handle it.

And you probably look at people like me and think:

“Hey, that guy has it all together and never deals with stuff like this so I must just be the weird one…”

Well, you’re not.

I’m weird too… and I imagine lots of people in this tribe can wave a nod of acknowledgment right back at us.

So if you’re feeling out of place, like you’re not moving in the right direction, or that you’re just plain not good enough…

Just know that those thoughts are simply trying to keep you in your past and that they are actually signs that you’re moving in the right direction of your NEW life…

Which is actually a good thing.

So if you got something of value from this little story, please share your thoughts below.

I’d love to hear from you.

Much love, Max…

Filed Under: Learning Lessons Tagged With: Feeling strange, internet launch, Max Simon, the affiliate tribe