Burn your ships, or: Brandon Frederickson is my hero.

Hey guys,

I'm sure a lot of you watched Jeff Walker's pre-launch videos for his PLM training and were as impressed by them as I was. Gotta love his style :)

Anyway, when I saw his last video which revealed the price, my eyeballs popped out. I'm not going to ruin the surprise for those who didn't watch the video, but let's just say that the average university student would have no hope in hell of affording the program. Even when Jeff introduced the payment options, I was still pretty disappointed because I didn't think I'd get in.

Luckily, I've got a spot saved...so I will be taking the plunge within the next few days. Let me tell you something - it's not easy to make huge investments like this. I haven't seen him around here in awhile, but Brandon Frederickson is a truly awesome guy because of his inspirational story. He left a comment on the PLM blog, but the short version is that he had cancer, got divorced, and was half a million bucks in debt due to medical bills. He spent his last $900 on the first payment on Jeff's Walker's training and now makes bajillions of dollars per year. The bajillions of dollars isn't the awesome part though - it's the fact that he took a calculated risk with all the money left in his possession and basically gave himself no other option but to succeed.

There's an old story about a general who sailed across a sea or something with his army to fight another army. His army was greatly outnumbered. Upon arrival, the general ordered all the ships to be burned and proceeded to tell his troops that to get home, they'd have to win the war. They won, or so the story goes.

To succeed, you've got to want it enough. Brandon did, and his calculated risk paid off...in epic fashion. He's pretty much the reason that I'm investing in the PLM training...if you told me a month ago that I'd be investing in a ridiculously high ticket training program right now, I'd laugh in your face.

I think it's too late for people to join the PLM training because the waiting list is probably really long. However, one thing I wanted to get across to people here is to take some calculated risks in your business. Don't shrink into your comfort zone to play it safe. If I wanted to play it "safe", I'd start studying harder to get a 4.0 GPA, then go to grad school, then get a high paying government job or something. Find some way to burn some ships so to speak so that you give yourself no choice but to succeed.

But yeah, hopefully, with this PLM training under my belt, I'll become a more valuable member of this community and be able to bring some valuable insights just like our friend Brandon has done so frequently.

Best,
Curtis

Awesome post bro.

Brandon is really a cool guy and every single time I do a launch, I somehow think about him. ???

I'm glad you got a spot in PLM training. I was planning to get it too to improve my product launch skills but I don't think I have the time for it. >:(

(College is really slaughtering me)

Hey Desmond,

I hear ya man...school is technically slaughtering me too, but then again, I'm not aiming for good marks...I just want to pass, lol.

It would be nice to hire Brandon, wouldn't it? The reason we haven't seen here of late is probably because he's busy with some massive launches or he's in some exotic place sipping on an exotic drink :P

But yeah...I'm pretty stoked for this training...can't wait.

Curtis

P.S. Jeff reopened...it'll probably stay open for another 3-4 hours...LAST CHANCE! :P

Someplace exotic later, I'm still technically quarantined and can't leave the country due to one of the infections I had (have to be clear of it for 1 year). I am going to go to New Orleans for a few days around Christmas, which I'm really looking forward too.

This year overall has been pretty amazing for me. Had you told me at the end of last year that 2009 would look the way it's looked, I'd have laughed and thought you needed to take your medicine!

The year has been great! One thing I'd do over, even though I'm very proud of having paid off all of the medical debt, I'd have probably paid less in and done more for myself. At first it was very easy to be motivted, kicking ass and whatnot seeing how much I was paying down the debt. Towards the end it got to be like "Great, Mercy Hospital is going to love this!"

I leave ya with one thought. Go for equity! Getting your first client is going to be the hardest part, and once you have that first client, if you do a good job for them with the launch, whats going to happen is that their affiliates and JV's are going to be watching..and a few of them are going to want you to manage a launch for them. In doing a launch, you get paid for the launch, but your not getting the affiliate commissions that will come off the list that is generated, and your may or may not take part in the next launch. As your stock goes higher, you can ask for more, and I think it's short sighted to think of "more" only in terms of retainers and royalty fee's.

One last "last" thing. Be sure to choose your clients carefully. There are way more of them then there are of us, and that's just the fact. Don't feel like you "have" to take someone just because they have a potential big launch. Make sure that your working styles are going to be compatable (this has been a big one with me...I'm kind of a pain in the ass I'm told...imagine that!) and that your going to like the person.

Brandon
PS. I wouldnt advice anyone to burn their ships if they can help it :)