Have you ever had an encounter that looks a little something like this?
- Someone asks you for advice
- You give them advice
- Upon receiving advice they say “Oh this is great, this is exactly what I needed to hear.”
- They swear they will act on advice immediately
- They do nothing even remotely close to the advice given – and often do the exact opposite.
Of course, it’s happened to you, it’s happened to us all!
On it’s own? That’s not such a big deal. After all, I’m the first to admit that not all the advice I give is good.
It’s often nice to simply get feedback from friends or acquaintances so that you can then make the decision that’s best for you.
However, what if we add a little kink to the story?
What if this person paid you for said advice? Would that change anything?
Let’s take it a step further, what if they paid you for it, didn’t act on it, and then asked for their money back because you didn’t tell them what they wanted to hear?
Recently I received an email from a reader that wanted to do a consulting session with me. I almost never do lifestyle consulting unless you’ve already joined Location Rebel Academy, and shown a desire to follow through on the goals you’ve set for yourself – because I don’t want it to be a waste of either of our time or your money.
However, there was something about this instance that I made an exception for.
This person wanted to successfully create a lifestyle business. They seemed motivated, hungry, and more than willing to do what it took to make it happen.
So I made an exception.
We talked for an hour. They seemed fully engaged with everything we talked about, and promised to follow up with me with their progress on the actionable goals we set.
A week went by, nothing.
I even followed up because I was legitimately invested in their success – I really thought they had potential.
Nothing.
Then a week later, I received an email saying nothing but “this information wasn’t what I thought it would be, I’d like a refund of all my money”.
I’ll preface this by saying I immediately gave them their money back, no questions asked, and never heard anything from them after that.
But I thought this was a good illustration of how many people are afraid to put in the work to be successful with a lifestyle business.
This person, in bold, told me this before we got on the call: I need someone to tell me what I need to hear, rather than what I want to hear.
Fair enough.
From the beginning, I knew their end goal was to create an information product. That’s great I thought. They had a good idea that had potential, but there are already a few people out there who have larger audiences, and more experience that were doing versions of this pretty successfully.
So my suggestion was that they not start there if their primary goal is to build a lifestyle business.
The Model that Works
I’ve found a system that’s worked great for me, as well as hundreds of other people I’ve helped mentor in Location Rebel Academy.
It’s simple. It’s a lot of work, but it isn’t difficult to grasp. Here it is:
- Step 1: Get Relevant Skills. I sum up the best skills to learn for having success online in this blog post. That’s the basis, without understanding these you’re going to be hard-pressed to have any real success online
- Step 2: Freelance. I believe freelancing is the best way to get started on the internet. It doesn’t have to be your end game, but if you specialize in one thing, and do it well, getting clients isn’t all that difficult. Here’s how to start freelance writing.
- Step 3: Create a Personal Venture. Only after building credibility, skills, and your online income to a base level should you build your own product, start an eCommerce store, or jump into affiliate marketing.
Yes, you can see success in any of those things while skipping step #2, but if you follow these steps in order you’ll have less stress, more big wins, and be fully location independent in less time.
On the call, I laid out a detailed plan for how to achieve their goals by following this plan. I even offered to help with some of the accountability after the fact.
However, because it wasn’t what they wanted to hear, they weren’t happy with the result.
Important lesson: Most people who say “Tell me what I need to hear, not what I want to hear” don’t mean it. Most people want you to tell them what they want to hear. Period.
There’s a reason you asked me for advice on this particular topic in the first place. I’ve proven I know how to be successful with it. I have hundreds of testimonials from people who I’ve helped. You can see the path through the last 13 years of blog posts.
So, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you what you wanted to hear. I told you what works based on my experiences.
If you were unhappy with the information, you should have said something after I asked you three separate times “What else do you want to talk about? Does this all make sense? Does this seem like a path that will fit for you?”
If you have the balls to ask for your money back after spending an hour on the phone with me, then you should have the balls to tell me at the time you’re not getting the information you were looking for!
Something to Ask Yourself
Are you telling your friends what they want to hear because it’s easier and it makes everybody smile and feel good about themselves?
If their plan sucks, tell them.
If their idea is no good, they need to hear about it.
You’ll be saving them a lot of heartache, stress, and potentially money by being upfront with them from the beginning.
Period.
Sean Ogle
Sean Ogle is the Founder of Location Rebel where he has spent the last 12+ years teaching people how to build online businesses that give them the freedom to do more of the things they like to do in life. When he's not in the coffee shops of Portland, or the beaches of Bali, he's probably sneaking into some other high-class establishment where he most certainly doesn't belong.Join over 40,000 people who have taken our 6 part freelance writing course. Sign up below and let’s do this together.
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