2 “Paradigm-Shifting” Business Reads that have had my thoughts spinning lately…

All leads are not equal.
How to go from a 10% to 70% Close Ratio
Change your market, not your price
How to aim better in your marketing

These are by Justin Brooke / Justin Brooke from his daily edge newsletter.

I’ve also had similar ideas enter my mental space lately, and get reflected back to me by new roomie Alex J Moscow

I think it’s time for me to start taking this information in and stop working with people/markets that I’m not super excited about, and that don’t easily lunge forth to work with me either. Nor see or get my full value. This ends soon. Fuck.

[Article Starts]:

All leads are not equal.

There are good leads and bad leads. And the whole game of lead gen is about separating the two.

Right? With me so far?

::rubs goatee, cracks neck, and takes a deep breath::

Then whyyyyyy does everyone think a “free strategy session” is a good lead gen tool?

Wait, scratch that, it’s too much of an absolute.

If your target customers are broke newbies who have free time to sit in on “free strategy sessions” hoping to just get a few questions answered before the call turns into a pitch they can’t afford…

If that’s your good lead…

Then never mind, you’re good, stop reading, and keep doing free strategy sessions.

To each their own, but my idea of a good lead is someone who is rich enough to afford my fee and too busy to do what I do him or herself.

The other day I wrote about aiming your marketing for better customers and it applies here too.

I don’t like FSS’s for the positioning. It kinda says you have time to give away.

Usually successful people don’t have time to give away for free. It just doesn’t send the right message.

I prefer a case study that outlines your strategy, its use case, and the results.

Same goes if you sell hockey pucks, flashlights, software, or services.

What’s the big diff?

Now when we get on the phone they already know what they are buying. They know what my strategy is, how I use it, and the type of results it can generate. They know whether it’s right for them or not.

I don’t have to “sell” them. They come onto my call already desiring my product.

Not to mention I’m not trying to transition the call from FSS to sales. Talk about an uphill battle.

My leads know going into the call that it’s a sales call. They’re calling me to buy, or share some concerns before they buy.

It’s a much different call now. They’re doing all the talking now. And my positioning as an expert is still in tact, more so I think.

It’s this tiny re-aiming of my marketing that took me from 10% close rate to 70% close rate.

To each their own though. I’m gunna keep doing it my way. Would love to have you on my team though.

We can wear shirts that say “F&@$ Free Strategy Sessions, We Get Paid” hahahaha

Your #1 Fan,
Justin Brooke
Founder of AdSkills.com

P.S. If you want to read more about this type of “aiming your marketing” stuff, check out Positioning and Marketing Warfare by Al Ries & Jack Trout. Two of the 20 books I saved from Irma before I left. Tomorrow I’ll tell you the other 18.

[Part 2]

Yesterday I sent an invoice to someone for $20k and today they wrote back asking when to start.

$20k just look over their ad accounts once and month and make sure they are doing everything correctly – as well as suggest improvements.

Now I know what you are thinking.

Your brain is immediately trying to come up with arguments for why it’s not possible for you to do this, but it’s easy for me. Or maybe you’re thinking I’m an ass for charging that much.

Maybe your brain is saying “Well yeah if I had his past clients I could do that too.”

Or maybe yours is saying “Yeah easy to say when you’ve spent $10,000,000+ on ads.”

You’re right and you’re wrong.

About all of it.

Let’s discuss…

First let me tell you about the beginning of my career as a traffic guy for hire.

I was an unknown when I started selling paid traffic services. I had the confidence, the skills, but just not the recognition.

Maybe you can relate?

Maybe you’re a civilian, to me a civilian is a regular business owner. Someone who might hire a media buyer like me or one of my customers.

If you’re a “civilian” don’t drift off, this will hit home for you too.

What do you do when you don’t have the credibility, but you still want to earn top dollar? Well, you DEFINITELY don’t do what I did.

I thought I was such a hot shot that I would undercut everyone, steal they customers, and takeover the planet industry. Didn’t work out like that.

Instead what happened was I attracted all the broke people that my competitors were happily turning away.

Joke was on me.

The hard part about selling your products for too low of a price is it becomes harder to support that product. Every dollar you take away from the price is a dollar you take away from your marketing budget, from your customer support budget, etc.

And because I attracted a cheaper clientele, combined with less money to support that clientele, I ended up slowly getting a bad rep.

First it was one customer who wasn’t happy.

Of course I blamed it on them. They didn’t have the right cart, the right tracking, the right funnel.

At the end of the day I learned it was still on me. It doesn’t make the client feel better knowing that it was their fault. That doesn’t make them tell their friends “Oh he’s great to work with, I just effed it all up, and that’s why it didn’t work out.”

Noooo…

They still go tell their friends “Nah, didn’t work out with that guy. I spent more than I made. Was a loss.”

Thankfully I changed gears quickly.

That’s a reputation that spreads faster than a chubby kid picking up a dropped donut.

It was only when I raised my prices that I was able to put in the right amount of time and support to make my customer thrilled to be paying me. Because I was getting paid enough I was able to take less clients, which meant more time for the ones I had, which meant better results.

And that’s the reputation that’s helped me get where I am today.

So how did I raise my prices?

How did I still convert 70% of my sales calls while charging double, even triple what I was before?

I just moved where I was aiming my marketing.

Most of you that feel like you can’t raise the prices of your products or services, it’s because your marketing is aimed at a market that will only pay up to x dollars.

My friend Jim Whelan comes to mind.

Jim sells $3 bottles of fabic softener for $30 on Amazon. He does it because the market of the store he buys them from is to discount shoppers. Then he buys them cheap, points his marketing at a market who can’t easily get out to a store so must pay $30 to get the same product.

The morale of the story is don’t change your price, change your market.

This client who’s about to pay me $20k, he’s not in the same market where consultants are struggling to make $2,000. In fact, he thinks my price is low. He thinks he’s getting the better deal.

And yes, because of his business and his market I’ll make him an extra $100k – $1mil this year. He sells financial newsletters, and I’ve gotten quite good at that market, so it’ll be very much worth his investment.

That’s what you need to look for.

Who would think your high price is low to them?

And who would think your high price is an awesome investment.

Change your market, not your price.

I love you all, have a great weekend.

Your #1 Fan,
Justin Brooke
Founder of AdSkills.com

adskills.com/edge is where peeps can subscribe for free.

WHAT THE FUCK!?!!

I have some really concerning observations about the state of people’s relationships & love lives…

First, I want to explain why I’ve been quiet lately.

I’ve been working a lot more these days, and focused on ‘service’ and ‘production’, and a lot less on my own personal lifestyle, or my own growth and development as an individual. Instead, I have been much more focused on my growth, professionally, and in business. I am sure that at some point I will learn to juggle both more harmoniously, simultaneously. But that’s neither here nor there.

In the process of diving fully into my work, and fully owning my purpose and mission, there have been some really interesting observations that I’ve had (as well as some really cool developments on the business and professional front, that I look forward to sharing more later)

For now, I want to share some really concerning observations that I’ve had around people in their relationships after talking to two men today.

The men I spoke to were both between the ages of 34 and 60.

Quick piece of context first…

So, most clients come to me after a “rupture” in their relationship (usually a recent break-up)

However, in these two cases, I feel reluctant to call it a break up, because it wasn’t really a break up.

Why?

Because there were no actual problems in their relationship that drove them apart.

They merely couldn’t communicate or come to an effective resolution around an external set of circumstances, and their differences around those circumstances, and so they chose to give up, in a fit of helplessness and hopelessness.

In both cases, they were merely a set of external circumstances that arose (around job/potential relocation, moving and what that means, past pain of betrayal, or age differences) that came up and tore two people apart.

Not just any two people…

Two people who sound like they have perfectly happy, nourishing, supportive and divinely guided relationships (when I listened to the full story)

And yet, now they are no longer together.

As a result… they have each been suffering in silence for the last month or so, not wanting this to happen, not wanting to be apart, and yet choosing to be apart, and not really talking about it or why or what they could do differently to resolve it – and be together.

Instead, they are pretending to be friends/casual about shit, and sharing what’s happening in their lives with one another, as friends, while there’s an issue that they are both surrendering their power around, that could easily be addressed and resolved, if only they felt empowered and skilled enough to address it.

Sure, simple for me to say. I get it.

I’m a relationship coach and I’ve invested the last 9 years of my life working on this stuff, and close to $80,000 dollars learning about it for the last 10 years.

I get that I am here to serve my clients. I get that they don’t know what I know, cuz if they did, they wouldn’t need me.

I get all that.

And yet, the situation is still so troubling and frustrating to me. As well as the state of affairs in our society, especially as it relates to people and their relationships – and their love lives.

Neither of these relationships are anything less than perfect. Seriously.

There were no major fights, No blaming shaming judging or making anyone wrong. No signs of toxicitiy or codependence. Literally. Nothing.

Pure bliss, magic, support, devotion, partnership, collaboration. Love.

And no, it’s not just some crazy honeymoon phase.

They were 7 months and 2.5 years each.

And yet, they’re no longer together. They’re gone.

They’re not in eachother’s lives anymore.

They chose to separate in a fit of total helplesness and hopelessness.

One person couldn’t figure their own shit out.

And so they sold the other person on their own belief and limitation, and now the other person let them take the easy way out. Because they didn’t know what else to do.

WHAT THE FUCK

Men, these women are crying out for your help.

STEP UP

It’s so sad for me to see so many beautiful relationships get thrown away and discarded due to random reasons, that to me, seem perfectly resolvable.

From my perspective, the reason they are abandoning their relationship isn’t because of the reasons. It’s because they don’t know what the fuck to do to resolve those reasons, or any other set of reasons that would come up late.r

The reason people leave instead of making it work (at least in my opinion), all boils down to people’s lack of relational skills, and emotional awareness, and a lack of personal empowerment when it comes to navigating their inner world effectively, and then communicating that to the people in their life, in a way that actually resolves what’s arising, and realigns them both on the same page.

Rather than having the relational ability to powerfully effect their fate, and guide their relationship to where they want it to be – they are throwing up their hands, and claiming themselves powerless because of the powerlessness that their partner feels around navigating their own feelings, and working through them, while being in relationship with them.

Unfortunately most people (men AND women) don’t know how to take an empowered stand for their partner, and their relationship, in service of their love.

And so they let it die.

And then they have to sit around and deal with the pain, fear and suffering in the aftermath of their decisions.

Then, I ask them what they want, and they can’t even claim their actual desire. Because they feel so resigned and powerlessness.

Men, if you want to get your woman back and save your relationship – go get her.

Stop sitting around, feeling powerless about your inability to effect the change you want.

Learn the skills. Learn emotions. Learn to navigate shit with your partner.

What the fuck.

What’s the alternative?

Sitting there and dealing with the consequences that you are having to deal with in your life, that are an EFFECT.

Of you not knowing how to be AT CAUSE in your life when it comes to love and relationships?

Look, I get it. We all approach places that we’ve never gone, or had to go before, and we get stuck. Understandably so.

I have compassion. I do too. And still do. And continue to.

And yet, I learn.

And the more of a strong foundation I have of personal empowerment, emotional intelligence, and effective communication – the greater and easier it is for me to navigate situations in my life and in my relationships (and in my clients lives, and in their relationships, too).

Situations that I would otherwise just label myself powerless in, in the past, I can now deal with.

In the past, I’d choose to accept whatever fate I had to accept for my relationship, because of a state that my partner was in, that they couldn’t get out of. Because of their own lack of emotional awareness, communication, and personal empowerment.

God, if I had to imagine myself losing my woman over my own ineptness to be a man and to guide us out of our rocky waters, I’d be fucking pissed.

And yet, these men think that it’s their women’s problem (to some degree).

They are willing to step up and try, sure, but they don’t want to keep going if they aren’t received well. Or if the situation doesn’t seem hopeful after their first few attempts. So they can cut their losses.

WHAT THE FUCK.

Look, I get it.

It takes courage and pride to fight and go after what you want.

To go after the woman of your dreams.

To claim her heart.

To fight to destroy anything between you that is hurting her ability to open and surrender to you.

Especially when every single part of her communication, both verbal and non-verbal, is fucking closing to you.

Making you feel like it’s hopeless to even try.

Or maybe you try and it doesn’t get anywhere.

And so you feel even more powerless, helpless, and resigned.

I get it.

It’s scary fucking shit.

And it DOES seem hopeless at times.

But what the fuck?

How much does she mean to you?

You’re telling me that you’re only going to try some attempts and then look to her behavior as a sign of whether or not you should keep going and keep trying?

You’re better than that.

Do you want her?

It’s a simple fucking question.

If the answer is yes, go after her.

Go after her until she surrenders to your certainty.

Don’t look to her for certainty in a time where she herself feels uncertain.

That is completely ass backwards.

Generate your own certainty.

Your own UNWAVERING certainty.

Independent of her fluctuations and moods.

And keep generating that until she surrenders to that.

If she doesn’t, that’s cool.

You can move on like you had initially planned to do in your initial fit of helplessness, hopeless, defeat and resignation (masquerading as some noble lesson in letting go and surrender)

But at least now you’ll go out knowing that you took a fucking stand for her and your love, and fought for her heart.

And now you won’t be moving on from a disempowered state, at effect.

You’ll be moving on knowing that you were a courageous fucking warrior and you stood up for yourself, for her, and for the love that’s in your heart, and you did everything you fucking could to make it work.

WHAT THE FUCK.

I know I said that I’m sad in this post earlier, but really, I’m outraged.

It hurts me to see so many resolvable situations being discarded due to a lack of some very powerful and vital skills.

Don’t get me wrong, they are not easy skills. But they are certainly learnable. And once they are, they help you weather through times like this like a fucking champ. And come out victorious.

I want to do one of those stupid hashtags and say #LoveWarrior or something equally badass that would spread but that was my idea before it became a best-selling book by a woman. Well, not really my idea. It was my buddy Roland Mirabueno‘s. And he shared it with me while we worked together.

Anyway, I look forward to helping more people learn these vital and neccessary relationship skills. So they can lead their fucking relationships to the promiselands that Disney Movies sold them.

WHAT THE FUCK.

It’s such betrayal to sell people such fairy tales of love and romance bliss and then leave them to their own vices, in a society that gives them zero skills, tools, or trainings to ever learn how to sustain the fucking fantasy they are sold.

That’s why I’m coming out with The Relationship Academy –
which will be a website and a membership portal full of courses from me and some of the world’s leading experts around love and relationships (website launching soon).

Think: The Mindvalley of Relationships.

With the business model of The DM Lab (Digital Marketer Lab)

With the pricing structure of a successful SAAS Company at $99/month or so, rather than some stupid internet marketing price of $39/month.

I’m going to price it at $99/month so that I can actually deliver a high quality experience to people, and sustain the company in a way that helps me continue to create an amazing quality of service and experience for people.

Honestly, I’m not sure how well it’s going to do or if the universe will reward me for trying to tackle such a big and collective issue, with such a big and vast, imprecise, lack of perfectly pain-point exploiting marketing approach and angle.

I honestly don’t know whether humans would actually pay $99/month to be subscribed to something that will teach them the things that if they don’t learn, they’ll always be enslaved by, but hell, it’s worth a fucking shot. And if not, I’ll always sell business-building shit like the rest of you guys do and just make money doing that. Lol.

Okay, enough ranting for now.

Excited to share more insights and developments on both the relationship front and the work front soon.

If you’re interested in learning more about either, please comment below or shoot me a PM.

PS: I know that not every relationship needs to be saved. Or should be saved. A lot of people may be better served by people choosing to let go. I hear that. I don’t need disagreements on the point being presented or for anyone to poke holes in my perspective.

I’m merely stating that it’s fucking terrifying to see so many people give up on something so beautiful due to them being completely inept when it comes to relationships.

When will we, as a society, and as a specie, learn to develop systems to teach us how to better love and communicate with each other?

It’s the whole fucking reason that we’ve evolved beyond every other specie.

Through our ability to be communal – to build relationships with other people and evolve collectively, in community, collaboration, and harmony (rather than competition)

Sure, things arose out of that with our opposable thumbs, and our big brains, and the formation of logic and reason, and verbal communication and building of tools and such.

Which brings me to an interesting point…

When the fuck will we learn to use our logic and reason, and these big brains of ours, to build some fucking tools for us to learn how to love and communicate better?

I guess a lot of the people I know already are.

I just can’t help but feel like it’s all just a tiny drop in the ocean.

Especially when you consider that number against all the people in the world who really need to hear it. And learn it. FUCK.

WAKE UP HUMANS

LEARN TO LOVE EACH OTHER BETTER

The Top 4 Credit Cards To Get for Your Business

These Are My Top Picks Based On The Lessons I Learned From Spending Over 2.5M Dollars on Ads (And Accumulating Millions of Points)

(Note: this post, and the wisdom in it, came from scouring the internet for hours and hours on end, spending multiple weeks and months of research, comparing the best offers, talking to friends who are big media buyers and advertising spenders, and reading up all that I can find on review sites, thepointsguy.com and tons of other travel and frequent flyer websites)

I’ve created this post to simplify it all for you, based on what I learned.

I hope this serves you, and aids you in both your search and your ideal lifestyle design. So much is possible in this life. Especially when you get educated and informed, and create a life where everything serves everything. All serves all.

#1 Chase Ink Biz Preferred – 100k bonus points sign up offer through kevin +
3x points on 150k/yr in advertising (up to 450,000 points), plus 2x on other categories

#2 Amex Biz Gold – 50k bonus points sign up offer, 3x points on advertising for up to 100k/year, and then 2x points on the rest

#3 Amex Biz Platinum – 75k bonus sign up offer on 10k/20k in ad-spend,
plus 5x points on each $1 in travel, etc

#4 Amex Biz Plum – charge card, interest-free for 60 days, 1.5% discount if paid early (10 days before bill due in 30 days)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Card #1: Chase Ink Biz Preferred, 100k bonus offer through kevin’s contact, plus 3x points on advertising spend up to 150k/year

 

The Chase Ink Preferred Business Card now also offers triple points on the first $150k per year of ad spend, so I am now using that in conjunction with the Amex Gold for ad spend.

– Kevin Bombino

 

https://creditcards.chase.com/a1/InkBusinessPreferred/8tk?CELL=6H8X&AFFID=pngc6t7Ewoo-yz05gTB2KWGWe5yqXFaP2A&pvid=1c77d4219bf64282ac0337c6100a25a0&jp_cmp=cc/458410/aff/3-10002676/na

 

https://thepointsguy.com/2015/08/ultimate-rewards-transfer-times/

 

After you spend $5,000 on purchases in 3 months

 

3x on additional categories: shipping, advertising and internet/cable/phone services. Those bonus points are capped at $150,000 per year, but that’s a lot of room for extra rewards.

An interesting additional perk of this card is the cell phone protection benefit — pay your cell phone bill with this card, and you’ll get up to $600 in coverage against damage or theft(subject to a $100 deductible) with up to three claims per year. You’ll even be covered for other lines that appear on the same bill, which means your employees’ phones will be protected as well.

 

Card #2 => Amex Gold – 50k points bonus sign up offer and 3x points on the first 100k in ad-spend (300k worth of bonus points, plus 50k in sign up bonus)

 

(Sometimes 75k promos on this card are targetted internally to certain customers)

 

Not only does the second entry from American Express on this list come with a 50,000-point sign-up bonus after $5,000 in spend in the first three months, but it also lets you choose where you want to earn 3x points (on the first $100,000 in spending) from a list of categories.

On that list are some standard options such as airlines or gas stations, but also a few unusual ones, like computer hardware and software. You can also change your category at the beginning of each year, so you won’t be stuck forever with just one. And no matter which category you choose for 3x, you’ll still get 2x for the other ones from the list (on the first $100,000 spent in each category), so you’re getting extra points no matter what.

 

This card also comes with no foreign transaction fees, which makes it a great choice if you travel overseas for work. It’s also a charge card, which means it has no preset spending limit. Finally, as it’s part of the American Express OPEN network, you’ll get discounts or extra Membership Rewards points when using it at participating vendors such as FedEx and Hertz.

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/credit-cards/business-card-compare-error?timeout=true

 

will get the amex gold per your recommendation once i meet the 150k limit on the chase.

 

https://thepointsguy.com/2016/03/maximizing-amex-business-gold-rewards-card-3x-categories/

 

The beauty of pairing this card with the Business Platinum Card is that I can redeem the nearly 300,000 extra Membership Rewards points a year my business earns from the 3 points per dollar on advertising for premium seats like JetBlue Mint transcontinental business class, starting at only 29,950 points ($599) one-way when redeeming directly at Amex Travel. At that price, I could use the points from my advertising spend alone to bring nine of my friends along with me! But I can also transfer Amex points to partners like Aeroplan and redeem for Lufthansa first class with a stop at the Lufthansa First Class Terminal. It’s a terrific card with a great earning structure, and a perfect choice if your business spend fits into one or more of its many bonus categories.

 

75k offer:  https://www262.americanexpress.com/business-card-application/member/business-gold-charge-card/login/44446-104-1-CAPOBGRC

 

https://thepointsguy.com/2014/11/should-i-take-75000-point-offer-for-amex-business-rewards/

 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

Card #3 => Amex Biz Platinum

 

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/top-5-business-credit-cards/

 

https://thepointsguy.com/2016/10/amex-business-platinum-flights-transfer-or-pay-with-points/

 

https://thepointsguy.com/2017/04/amex-reduced-airfare-rebate/

 

https://thepointsguy.com/2015/01/best-american-express-membership-rewards-redemptions/

 

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/10-things-to-do-amex-platinum/

 

https://thepointsguy.com/2014/03/new-american-express-platinum-card-benefits-free-tsa-precheck-and-unlimited-free-boingo-wifi/

 

https://thepointsguy.com/2015/02/gogo-wifi-passes-for-amex-business-platinum-cardholders/

 

https://thepointsguy.com/2014/06/boingo-amex-preferred-plan-worldwide-wifi-for-free/

 

https://thepointsguy.com/2015/10/free-hilton-gold-status-with-amex-platinum/

 

https://rewards.americanexpress.com/olet/enrollOffer?campaignId=bvdk1015&offerType=hiltonbvdk1015

 

https://thepointsguy.com/2013/03/how-to-renew-your-platinum-amex-spg-gold-status/

 

https://thepointsguy.com/2013/06/my-experience-getting-refunded-for-global-entry-using-my-amex-platinum/

 

https://thepointsguy.com/2013/05/seriously-get-global-entry-already-faq-ways-to-get-it-for-free/

 

https://thepointsguy.com/2015/04/want-expedited-security-time-to-join-tsa-precheck-global-entry-or-clear/

 

https://thepointsguy.com/2014/12/using-amex-fhr-to-save-big-on-luxury-hotels/

 

For a while this card was famous for its 50% points rebate which effectively guaranteed a value of 2 cents per point whenever you redeemed Membership Rewards via Amex Travel for a first or business-class ticket, or any ticket on your selected airline.

 

But now that rebate has been reduced to 35% and as a result the value of this card is slightly diminished. However, even at 35% — which equates to 1.54 cents per point — the rebate can still be a good deal since you’ll also earn redeemable and elite miles on those flights as they’re generally considered revenue tickets.

With the Business Platinum Card you’ll also get a $200 annual airline fee credit, access to American Express Centurion Lounges, elite status with Hilton and Starwood, a $100 Global Entry fee credit, a membership in the Priority Pass lounge program, all the benefits of the American Express OPEN program and 10 free Gogo Wi-Fi passes every year. Plus, it doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees.

There is simply no other business card with those kind of benefits, plus it comes with a 75,000 bonus — 50,000 points after $10,000 spent within the first three months and an additional 25,000 points when you spend another $10,000 within the first three months.

 

Update 4/28/17 12:31pm: A bit of good news! According to an Amex Travel rep (and several reader reports), if you signed up for your card between October 6, 2016 and May 31, 2017, you’ll still receive the 50% rebate with no cap for one year from the date your card was issued. For any other customers, you’ll need to purchase (but not fly) your flight before June 1, 2017 in order to receive the 50% rebate.

 

https://thepointsguy.com/2011/12/maximizing-the-amex-platinum-200-airline-fee-credit/

 

This benefit is for all Platinum card members and runs on a calendar year – so if you don’t use it all by December 31, you lose it. So this means that if you got a Platinum card now- you’d get $200 until December 31 and then another $200 on January 1. Those $400 in credits basically pay for the first year annual fee of $450. Also, if you ever decide the Platinum card isn’t the right choice for you, you can always downgrade to a lower/no fee card or cancel and Amex will refund prorated your annual fee.

The fee credit is automatic- as long as you purchase any of the following items directly from an airline, the charge should get automatically rebated from your statement.

Approved items:

Checked baggage fees

Overweight/oversize baggage fees

Change fees

Phone reservation fees

Pet flight fees

Airport lounge day passes and annual memberships

Seat assignment fees

In-flight amenity fees (beverages, food, pillows/blankets, etc)

In-flight entertainment fees (excluding wireless internet)

This credit is not applicable for the following charges:

Airline tickets

Charges processed by merchants other than the airline the Cardmember is enrolled in (for example, inflight Internet services providers such as GoGo)

Charges made by airline partners (for example, Cardmember purchase ticket on enrolled airline Delta, but purchases food on an Air France flight)

Trip insurance / baggage insurance

Ticket upgrades (Including American Airlines Upgrade Stickers)

Travel agent fees

Point transfer fees

Duty free purchase

Award ticket fees

Gift cards issued by Airlines

There seems to be a ton anecdotal evidence on Flyertalk, however, that people have in fact been able to use their $200 reimbursement to purchase airline tickets, upgrades, and even elite status through a variety of methods that have to do with the amount a ticket or airline voucher costs in addition to the way it is coded on their credit card bill.

It seems as though, if the charge is quoted as “Travel – Airline,” that the chance of reimbursement is pretty slim. The operative factors here seem to be both the way a ticket is charged, or the amount of money spent on a fare, as well as a variety of sidestepping methods that include purchasing airline vouchers (usually at the $100 mark or under) that can then be used pretty much for any expense on the airline, including tickets.

Vouchers

One way many Amex Platinum customers seem to be finding success at reimbursement is to purchase small-amount airline vouchers. Though one AA flyer didn’t get reimbursed for a $200 travel certificate he bought on AA.com,  another who purchased four $50 certificates was reimbursed immediately, and he could use them to purchase airline tickets, so a lot of people conjecture that the amount of each purchase has a lot to do with whether the reimbursement goes through. This seems to be the method of choice–quite a few people reported being reimbursed for buying several $50 airline certificates, and for a couple, it has worked with two $100 gift cards. On Continental, a $25 gift card and a $75 gift card were reimbursed, but not one over $100, and on Alaska, a $50 gift voucher was also reimbursed. The key seems to be purchasing gift vouchers of under $100, and of just $50 each to be safe.

 

The good news is, the possibilities with Amex points are boundless thanks to the program’s 17 airline and 4 hotel partners.

You can transfer Amex Membership Rewards points to 17 airlines and 4 hotels.

 

Airlines

 

• Star Alliance: Air Canada Aeroplan, All Nippon Airlines, Singapore Airlines

• Oneworld: British Airways, Iberia, Cathay Pacific

• Skyteam: Delta, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, Alitalia, Aeromexico

• Other: El Al, Emirates, Frontier (ends March 4, 2015), Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue, Virgin America, Virgin Atlantic

 

Hotels

 

• Starwood (3:1)

• Hilton (1:1.5)

• Best Western (1:1)

• Choice Privileges (1:1)

 

 

Below, you’ll find 10 great ways to reap a lot of value from American Express Membership Rewards points, but before you get started, check out these useful posts:

 

• What Do 50,000 Amex Points Get You?

• The Ultimate Guide to American Express Membership Rewards Airline Transfers

• Should You Get the Amex Platinum for its 100,000-Point Bonus?

• Is The Amex Platinum Worth the $450 Annual Fee?

• Amex Membership Rewards Cards Showdown

 

 

https://thepointsguy.com/2016/08/ultimate-guide-to-amex-centurion-lounges-at-us-airports/

 

https://thepointsguy.com/2013/08/the-ultimate-guide-to-american-express-membership-rewards-airline-transfers/

 

In particular, the Business Platinum card offers a 25% bonus for redeeming through American Express Travel, so those 100,000 points are worth $1,250 in flights, hotels and more.

 

If you decide after a year (or even down the line) that the card isn’t for you, Amex will pro-rate the annual fee, or allow you to switch to their new EveryDay card, which has no annual fee and still allows you to keep your Membership Rewards points active.

 

NEW!

5X POINTS ON FLIGHTS& ELIGIBLE HOTELS

Platinum Card® Members get 5X MembershipRewards® points on flights and eligible hotelsat amextravel.com.*  https://travel.americanexpress.com/home https://travel.americanexpress.com/travel/travel-paywithpoints

both point redemption. 5x points. 35% – 50% point redemption. $200 travel credit for baggage fees/etc. plus free uber credit that comes with the card.

 

Card #4 => Amex Plum card -> $600 back on $30,000 in ad-spend in first 3 months (10k/mo)

 

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/credit-cards/plum/44279?linknav=us-acq-open-aj-compare-plum-lm

 

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/credit-cards/business-card-compare-error?timeout=true

 

Pay earlyGet a 1.5% early pay discount with no cap.‡Pay laterTake up to 60 days to pay with no interest.‡Buy bigwith a spending limit that can grow with your business.‡Fees$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $250†This Charge Card gives you the option to pay in full each month or to carry a balance for up to 60 days with no interest.‡

 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

Card #4:

 

https://creditcards.offers.com/offers/amex-starwood-business

 

https://creditcards.offers.com/offers/amex-starwood-preferred?path=zzz-smk5-gls-100a1a&adposition=1t2&creative=179162877788&device=c&network=g&source=s

 

• Earn 25,000 bonus Starpoints® after you use your new Card to make $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. †
• Limited Time Offer- Earn an extra 10,000 bonus Starpoints® after you make an additional $2,000 in purchases within the first 6 months. Offer ends 4/5. †
• Earn 2 Starpoints® for each dollar of eligible purchases spent on the Card at participating SPG® & Marriott Rewards® hotels. Earn 1 Starpoint for all other purchases. ‡

• Annual Fee: $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95.†¤

Enough for 2 Free Nights‡ at a Category 4 hotel

FREE NIGHTS

Earn free nights at over 1,300 hotels and resorts in over 100 countries. Some hotels may have mandatory service and resort charges.

 

The St. Regis Osaka is a Category 6 hotel available for as little as 20,000 Starpoints per night.

Current Bonus: For a limited time, earn up to 35,000 bonus Starpoints — 25,000 points when you make $3,000 in purchases with the personal card or $5,000 with the business card within the first three months. Then earn an extra 10,000 points when you make an additional $2,000 in the purchases on the personal card or an additional $3,000 on the business card within the first six months.

Standout Benefits: You’ll earn 2 Starpoints per dollar on purchases at participating Starwood (and now Marriott) hotels, and 1 Starpoint per dollar on all other purchases. The card comes with 2 stays and 5 nights of credit toward SPG elite status each year and automatic Gold status when you spend $30,000 on the card in a calendar year. Both the personal and business cards include no foreign transaction fees, complimentary unlimited Boingo Wi-Fi on up to four devices at once and complimentary premium in-room internet access. The business version gives free access to Sheraton Clubs when you book rates that are eligible to earn Starpoints and comes with OPEN program perks and discounts.

Annual Fee: $0 the first year, then $95

Why they’re worth it: If you’ve been considering getting one of the Starwood Preferred Guest cards, this is a particularly good time to do it, as you can earn 10,000 extra points by meeting an additional spending requirement in the first six months. SPG hotel redemptions can be valuable in and of themselves at properties such as the St. Regis Osaka, where I stayed last fall. But you can also transfer Starpoints to over 30 airline partners and geta 5,000-mile bonus when transferring in blocks of 20,000 points, which makes this card a popular one for many. In addition, you can now also transfer points from Starwood to Marriott Rewards at a 1:3 ratio, opening up even more redemption options such as Marriott Hotel + Air packages which combine a hotel stay with free airline miles — and in some cases even a Southwest Companion Pass. These cards may disappear entirely at some point given Marriott’s takeover of Starwood, and the elevated 35,000-point offers will only be around until April 5. So if you’re interested in signing up, this is the month to do it.

Card #4. The Business Platinum Card from American Express OPEN

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/credit-cards/business-platinum/42732?PID=15-12825003-7242679-90d81e2416334b3ab071c5f77d1f6e03&BUID=SBS&PSKU=BPC&CRTV=BAUSITE

https://thepointsguy.com/2016/10/amex-platinum-5x-airfare/

https://thepointsguy.com/2015/12/american-express-membership-rewards-transfer-times/

https://thepointsguy.com/2016/08/ultimate-guide-to-amex-centurion-lounges-at-us-airports/

A new Centurion Lounge is expected to open in Philadelphia this fall, and you can get in with the Amex Business Platinum.

Current Bonus: Earn up to 75,000 Membership Rewards points — 50,000 points after you spend $10,000 on the card and an additional 25,000 points after spending an additional $10,000, all within your first three months of cardmembership.

Benefits: Earn 5 points per dollar on airfare and prepaid hotels booked through Amextravel.com (as of March 30, 2017) and 2 points per dollar on other eligible purchases when you book through American Express Travel, 1.5 points per dollar on purchases of $5,000 or more (up to 1 million additional points per year) and 1 point per dollar on other purchases. Transfer Membership Rewards to 20 airline and hotel partners or redeem directly for airfare and get a 50% points rebate when booking first or business class, or any seat on the airline of your choice. Access to Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass lounges (with two guests) and Delta Sky Clubs (when flying Delta). A $200 annual airline fee rebate and Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application rebate.

Annual Fee: $450

Why it’s worth it: 75,000 Membership Rewards points is an impressive sign-up bonus, even though there’s a significant spending requirement. But you’re guaranteed to get at least 2 cents per point in value which makes this bonus worth at least $1,500 without even counting any of the other benefits. That 2 cents per point comes from the 50% points rebate — you get half your points back when redeeming for air travel with the same carrier you select for the annual airline fee credit, or when you book business or first-class airfare with any airline through Amex Travel. It’s a feature that has totally changed the way I book travel, and thanks to the flexibility of Membership Rewards, you can sometimes get even more value by transferring points to one of the program’s 20 transfer partners. Additionally, as of March 30, 2017, you’ll earn 5 points per dollar spent on airfare and prepaid hotels booked through Amextravel.com.

If you’re a regular traveler, you’ll want to keep this card in your wallet like I do since it gives you access to Centurion Lounges in the US and soon worldwide starting in Hong Kong, plus Priority Pass lounges and Delta Sky Clubs when you’re flying on Delta. If the $450 annual fee gives you pause, keep in mind it’s partially offset by both the $200 annual airline credit and the Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit. The Business Platinum has always been a card with great benefits, and now with the recent enhancements on the redemption side, this card is a winner.

>>>

https://thepointsguy.com/2015/06/award-availability-united-cards/

Now could be a great time to sign up for the United MileagePlus Explorer Card or the United MileagePlus Explorer Business Card if you’re hoping to boost your United account balance for an upcoming award booking. Both cards are currently offering elevated sign-up bonuses of 50,000 miles after you spend $3,000 in the first three months. Even better, some cardholders are being targeted for 70,000-mile offers, just like we saw in June.

The standard sign-up offer for these co-branded cards is 30,000 miles after you spend $1,000 in the first three months, so the current bonus is a significant step up. You have to spend $2,000 more in the first three months to earn the miles, but that’s still a relatively reasonable spending requirement — especially with Tax Day not too far away.

TPG values United miles at 1.5 cents apiece, so this 50,000-mile sign-up bonus gets you $750 in value. Of course, the actual value depends on how you redeem them, and you have a variety of options using this one bonus alone. For example, with 50,000 miles, you could book a round-trip domestic flight in first class at the Saver level, two domestic Saver round-trips in economy or a one-way Saver flight in the main cabin from the US to Europe.

Beyond the 50,000 miles you’ll earn for meeting the minimum spending requirement, these cards could be worth having thanks to the perks they extend to you when you’re flying United. With both the MileagePlus Explorer Card and the MileagePlus Explorer Business Card, you’ll get a free first checked bag, priority boarding and two United Club passes per cardmembership year.

You’ll also earn 2 miles per dollar on all United purchases, and you won’t ever have to pay foreign transaction fees. Both cards have a $95 annual fee — it appears to be waived the first year with the business card’s current offer, but not for the personal card. And with the personal card, you can earn 5,000 bonus miles when you add an authorized user and they make a purchase in the first three months. Additionally, both cards offer a Premier-Qualifying Dollar (PQD) waiver, plus 10,000 bonus miles, when you spend $25,000 or more on the card each calendar year.

Bottom Line

We saw similar bonuses on these cards last summer, but if you missed out then and are looking to jump-start your award travel on United or other Star Alliance carriers, now could be a great time to sign up for either, or both, of these cards.

How would you use 50,000 United miles?

https://thepointsguy.com/2015/06/award-availability-united-cards/

That’s not all the news, though. Amex has also updated the The Business Platinum Card from American Express OPEN with an increased earning opportunity. Now, you can get 1.5x points (equal to a 2.85% return based on TPG’s valuations) on purchases over $5,000. This isn’t as huge as the 5x points on airfare, but if you often make significant purchases for your business, it’s nice to know that you’ll enjoy 50% more points as a reward.

While the Business Platinum Card won’t be getting the 5x bonus on airfare purchases, Amex will now offer 50% points back when cardholders redeem for a flight through Amex Travel. Note that you’ll only be able to earn a 50% points rebate when you make a purchase with your selected airline, and when you purchase a business- or first-class ticket with any airline.

Bottom Line

By adding a 5x airfare category to its premium Platinum cards and updating the Business Platinum card to feature a 1.5x category, Amex is adding some real value. We’ve long bemoaned the lack of bonus categories on the Amex Platinum, and 5 points per dollar isn’t merely a step in the right direction; it makes this card an obvious choice for airfare purchases. And while the new ability to earn 1.5x points on purchases over $5,000 with the Business Platinum isn’t as revolutionary, it still shows that the issuer knows how important category bonuses can be to cardholders.

Will you be using the Amex Platinum to earn 5x points on airfare?

While this premium card has one of the highest annual fees on the market, it has several valuable perks that could make it worthwhile, depending on your travel patterns. These include a $200 annual airline rebate, lounge access, free Hilton Gold status and free Starwood Preferred Guest Gold status.

• 5X points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel.

https://thepointsguy.com/2016/10/amex-5x-on-airfare/

>>>

 

3. Lucrative Category Bonuses

 

The Amex Business Gold Card lets you choose one category to earn 3x Membership Rewards per dollar, and that bonus can really add up. Once you sign up, you can choose from one of these five categories:

• Airfare purchased directly from airlines
• US purchases for advertising in select media
• US purchases at gas stations
• US purchases for shipping
• US computer hardware, software and cloud computing purchases made directly from select providers.

You can earn 3x on one category, 2x points on the other four and 1x points on all other purchases.

Upon signing up for the card, you’ll be able to select which category with which you want to earn 3x points, and the remaining four categories will earn you 2x per dollar and you’ll earn 1x points on all other purchases. So because I selected advertising as my category, all Facebook, Google and Twitter ads count as purchases to earn that bonus. Even though you can only earn up to $100,000 in spend with the 3x bonus, that’s 300,000 Membership Rewards points — worth $5,700 based on my most recent valuations.

If I were to only earn 1x points on those same advertising purchases, I’d have 100,000 points versus the 300,000 I’ll get with Business Gold — a pretty stark difference. The difference in points earned makes this card a no-brainer, considering the annual fee is just $175, which is waived the first year.

 

The Card

Amex BGR comes with a sign-up bonus of 50,000 points after you spend $5,000 in the first three months. Note that there are 75,000-point sign-up bonus offers out there, so if you’re targeted you’ll want to go with that option instead.

I was instantly approved for my second Business Gold Rewards Card.

To add to the valuable points-earning categories with the card, I was approved for a second Business Gold card for my side business. While I won’t get the 50,000 point sign-up bonus on the second card, I’m excited to continue maximizing the 3x category spend bonus.

The Amex OPEN Savings program can be a valuable tool for small business owners, as it gives you access to discounts or bonus points for purchases made with select merchants. If you’re enrolled in the program with Business Gold, you can get an additional 2 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent OR a 5% discount as a statement credit with eligible OPEN Savings partners.

Now that Amex has added a 5x bonus on airfare purchases with The Platinum Card, I’ll be charging flights on that card so that’s one category I won’t max out with Business Gold. But if you were to max out all five categories, you could earn 1,100,000 Membership Rewards Points — worth $20,900 based on my most recent valuations — plus any points you’d earn with the 1x point bonus.

Bottom Line

Based on what your business is spending, Business Gold is a no-brainer — especially with the 50,000-point sign-up bonus. The bonus categories and the OPEN Savings program, coupled with the superior customer service of Amex, make the benefits of the card far outweigh the small annual fee.

The Business Gold Card is a mainstay with me for my business expenses. Even though I may not carry it in my wallet everyday, it’s used (including spend by the authorized cardholders on the account) for much of TPG’s expenses. It’s nice to have a Membership Rewards balance in the seven figures because there are so many ways to use Amex points.

The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN

Though the Business Gold Rewards card doesn’t have the benefits package of the more premium Business Platinum Card, it also doesn’t have that card’s $450 annual fee. In fact, the $175 annual fee on this one is waived the first year, so getting it is like a risk-free trial of its benefits plus it comes with appealing bonus spending categories like 3x on the category of choice and a range of 2x spending categories as well.

 

>>>>

 

I’ve also already used the Priority Pass and having access to airport lounges was super fun bonus. Will apply for the Global Entry credit as soon as I get my new Green Card in the mail! Lots of excellent benefits.

Copy is the #1 superskill to learn in business (IMO).

its been single handedly responsible from me selling a product i poured my heart into and having a business that barely makes $500 a month…

…to changing how i sell the same product, and having a business that did up to $165,000 a month.

nothing changed besides having better copy, a better offer, and therefore more traffic that i can buy for the funnel (because it sold better)

and then a continuity offer that i can add to the backend for recurring revenue.

plus, upsells for the funnel too (once again, copy).

learn this skill and take on this opportunity.

its rare to be gifted this kind of opportunity to learn.

The Revolution of Love is a movement to reinvent, re-imagine, and “rebrand” our current understanding of Love.

With consistently rising divorce rates (now up to 60%) and a trail of broken hearts, broken homes, broken families, and broken relationships – it’s become increasingly clear that our society’s current understanding of Love and Relationships just isn’t working.

Our collective understanding of Love is in desperate need of Evolution.

Therefore, I have created a single movement, where we can all come together under ONE shared mission – to create, publish, and curate enriching, inspiring, entertaining, and educational content that evolves our collective understanding of Love.

Join us in this movement as a fellow #LoveWarrior, and let’s work together to build a humanity that can sustain a deep understanding of Love.

With consistently rising divorce rates (now up to 60%) and a trail of broken hearts, broken homes, broken families, and broken relationships – it’s become increasingly clear that our society’s current understanding of Love and Relationships just isn’t working.

Our collective understanding of Love is in desperate need of Evolution.

Therefore, I have created a single movement, where we can all come together under ONE shared mission – to create, publish, and curate enriching, inspiring, entertaining, and educational content that evolves our collective understanding of Love.

Join us in this movement as a fellow #LoveWarrior, and let’s work together to build a humanity that can sustain a deep understanding of Love.

I was talking to one of my best friends at a party the other night…

He started asking me questions about a connection with a woman that I’ve been seeing.

He asked me how my heart feels about it, and inquired deeper into what it’s been like for my heart to be in connection with her (typical party conversation, I know)

When he imagined being in my shoes, he imagined himself feeling really shocked and disoriented.

I looked at him compassionately, and yet slightly startled.

It didn’t feel that way to me.

I told him that it’s felt really good.

And that it’s felt incredibly loving, nourishing and supportive the whole time.

Extremely nourishing and supportive, at that. And consistently so.

Then, I tuned into the subtle energetics of this connection a bit more.

And then I tuned in to the subtle energetics of some of the other connections that I’ve had in the past.

That’s when I realized something.

It was through that contrast, and through that reflection, that I uncovered this pearl of insight that I’m about to share with you right now.

As I felt into the subtle energetics of this connection, I realized that it actually IS a little surprising and startling to me. And even a bit disorienting sometimes.

When I first answered things, I was covering it up with a positive, surface-level answer, by sharing the overarching feeling of love and gratitude and positivity that I was feeling.

Yet, if I really tune into my experience, there have been a few times where I’ve had to stop and just be present, and truly receive what was right in front of me.

And to be honest, it actually DID feel a bit disorienting for me at times.

I’ll tell you why…

It was disorienting for me to NOT experience love as this tragic tale of rejection and redemption.

A simultaneously tragic yet victorious tale, at that.

The tragic part was the constancy of the rejection.

And the victorious part was the valiant redemption that I would have to work “overtime” to earn.

See, in every deeply significant relationship where I was deeply emotionally involved with a woman (read: a committed partnership), I would experience what felt like a constant sense of rejection, judgment, and criticism.

Part of this was surely self-created, through the lens I was choosing to view the world through, and what I was apparently committed to re-creating.

And then a part of it was actually the behavior that was enacted on the behalf of my partners (no surprise that these were so miraculously mirrored!)

Now, not EVERY partnership was like this…

However, all the significant relationships that I’ve had in the past, that lasted more than 9+ months had this as a very big part of them.

This tragic and triumphant tale of Rejection & Redemption

Feeling deeply inadequate and interpreting everything my partners were saying as it meaning that I’m not good enough for them. And then rejecting myself, and creating a strife-filled context where I am seeking to earn their validation and approval, for the inherent rejection that I myself had created.

And the more I did this, the more it actually enabled them to judge me, and criticize me, and reject me. Further feeding this vicious cycle. Ouch. My stomach is feeling a ping of electricity as I write this. I feel like I’m actually associating with the deeper emotional experience of it now. Wow. I uncovered a new layer, it seems. This piece about how me being this way, probably just added “fuel” to the fire, so to speak. And further perpetuated this cycle of rejection and redemption, cuz I would then expose myself and my insecurities and vulnerabilities, thus revealing even more of how vulnerable and tender I am, the stories and misunderstandings that I can sometimes fall into, making myself available to be on the receiving end of their irritation with me, as I further internalize that as being something about me, reject myself even more deeply, and feel the need to earn my redemption.

God, what an exhausting cycle.

I am so grateful to be out of that loop. Or at least be aware of it.

As soon as I shared this subtle (and yet not-so-subtle) distinction, my friend asked if I ever wrote a post about it. I said no. He insisted that I write about it, and share it with more people. Cuz they can probably relate. So here it is. Written.

May the alchemy of my pain, and the healing of my wounds, somehow lead you closer to healing and alchemizing yours.

If this touched you, inspired you, or impacted you in anyway – please let me know.

This is truly why I do this.

So any heartfelt comments and shares would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Kevin

Longing is such a fascinating phenomenon.

My friend, and amazing co-worker, Sarah wrote a beautiful poem about the nature of Longing, that I feel inspired to share with you here:

Can you feel it?

The desperate longing,

our innate

cyclical need

to be seen.
Can you uncover?
That beneath
the seemingly
empty
illusionary void
lies an equation
that only our own heart
can solve.
Can you love?
Can you show compassion?
Can you hold sacred space?

For your pain

For your suffering

For YOURSELF

Can you feel?

How worthy you are

of enveloping every expression

of your beingness

in love.

With a deep breath

and an even deeper surrender

of self judgement,

RECEIVE your self love.

So beautiful, huh?

Longing is such a fascinating phenomenon.

I’ve met myself so deeply in these moments of longing.

Such tough and tender times.

And also a beautiful time to plant the seeds for what can be an endlessly-flowing fountain of self-love and self-acceptance.

I know it has been, for me.

What a beautifully wretched gift – to long for something so deeply, that you have no choice but to hold space for that longing within your own heart, as it beats and longs for something outside of this present moment.

What a beautiful and sacred practice it is to really set in the center of that longing, and to be present to the arising feelings, needs, and sensations as they are arising.

Thi sis what allows us to experience the actual felt-sense of longing to the fullest, in this moment.

And, in essence, seeing ourselves in how desperately we long to be seen.

And therefore we are seeing ourselves, and meeting that need.

It’s such a wacky ass-backwards kind of idea when you really think about it

But it’s kind of cool at the same time, too.

Anyway

What I’m sharing with you today

Have this to incorporate smart financial planning and wealth allocation to the things that will most directly and immediately affect and improve your EXPERIENCE of life (this is part of experiencing TRUE abundance)

Step #1) Learn the art of grounded and connected “sufficiency”

Enoughness – satiation/satisfaction/sufficiency

Grounded satisfaction of desires and needs

Step #2) Get a baseline read of all your current lifestyle costs by track all your finances using Mint.com

financial tracking, get a baseline of what your expenses are now

Step 3) Create A Current & Ever-Evolving “Financial Standing” Document

My Financial Standing Document including the amount of cash on hand, account receivables, account payables

I have a google doc that summarizes/categories all the various financial standings I have, cash on hand via mint.com which tracks 90%+, and then my accounts receivables and payables that I have documented

Step 4) Determine What Your Current Lifestyle Costs on a Monthly Basis

Write down 1 clear number, 4k/mo, 5k/mo, etc

Step 5) Determine What Your Minimum to Be Happy Lifestyle Would Look Like, and Include

Step 6) Begin The Process of Intentional Lifestyle Design

The 5 Different Levels of Intentional Lifestyle Design

 

• Minimum to Be Happy -> $6,500/mo

• Preferred if I could afford it (Level 1) – (w travel/workshops) – $8,000/mo

• Preferred if i could afford it (Level 2) – (w travel/workshops/PT personal assistant) -> $8,500/mo

• Preferred if i could afford it (Level 3) – (w travel/workshops/PT personal assistant+1.5k/mo put away for savings/investments) – $10,000/mo

• Preferred if I could afford it (Level 4) – (w travel/workshops/PT personal assistant, 1.5k/mo put away for savings/investments, and 2k/mo for personal and professional development via coaching/consulting (1k/mo for each) – $12,000/mo
• No limits dream lifestyle (Level 5) -> $15k/mo (allows me to save more, invest more, and be even more generous with family/friends/loved ones)

Create a total financial standing doc

 

 

The best article I’ve ever seen on “Evolutionary Partnerships”

http://wakeup-world.com/…/a-radical-way-to-grow-spirituall…/

Seeing this level of relating in action has ultimately been the most powerful experience for me. However, this article can introduce a powerful new way of doing relationships that you may have not been exposed to before. Or, it can help you unpack it further if you’ve already seen it but haven’t quite gotten a grip on how to actually create it.

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