It’s been a long, long time since I shared a list of the blogs that regularly influence my life and my business. It’s time I did so.
We’ve gained several new readers in the past couple of months, some interested in personal finance, some in the travel aspect. Others in entrepreneurship or ditching their clutter. With such a diverse community, I decided it would be best to share the leading blogs I follow for inspiration in several of these niches.
At one point, not so long ago, I followed over 100+ blogs. More recently, I simply don’t have the time to keep up with many of them, despite the information being incredibly valuable. So slowly, but surely, I’ve eliminated my RSS Reader down to just most of the sites below.
Keep in mind I have dozens and dozens of other blogs I regularly follow via Twitter and Facebook. This isn’t simply a list of my blogging friends (while some of them are good friends), it’s a compilation of what sources have been the greatest influence on me in several topics that I’m currently interested in.
I hope you enjoy what turned out to be a fairly beefy list. If you happen to find any new sources for inspiration amongst these rockstars, please help share the post by stumbling it below:
A big part of this blog from the beginning has been financial transparency. I’ve shifted from sharing the details of our daily spending (what we used to do), to sharing the details of the business side of the blog. It seems many of you are most interested in this one segment of our financial journey. :-)
May saw the lowest dip in income generated online, since the release of Unautomate Your Finances back in March. This was expected and anticipated, although I did nothing to help it. I had planned on guest posting and exposing new lists and audience to my first guide, as well as attempting to push forward the launch date of my forthcoming guide, Sell Your Crap.
Neither happened.
Instead, I posted only a few posts here, with absolutely no guest posts, no new exposure, no attempt at media mentions, and no additions, bonus, or specials on the first guide. Not exactly a great business plan! :-)
The only silver lining is that almost all of the income I received in May was very close to passive. A far majority (as high as 90%) of the sales were initiated from old “evergreen” posts and content.
Today, I’m sharing a video post about an important topic that applies to finances, lifestyle, and business. Actually, I believe it to be the most important element of making any change.
This may just be a personality thing, but I’m starting to hear from others that it’s universal (not just me). :-)
[2:08] – How “changing your environment” can be applied in your finances.
[3:25] – Why the same principle helped us sell 95% of our clutter (and why it’s fighting against us now). :-)
[4:38] – My fitness advice… ironic, yes I know. (Actually it’s environment-based fitness advice I recently read!)
[6:37] – Conclusion and questions for you guys!
[7:00] – I show off my cool new office swag (pictures of media mentions that Courtney framed).
I’m really interested to hear your thoughts on this issue. Specifically, whether you feel the benefit in the same way I do and how you take steps to accomplish “environment change”. It’s been a very interesting concept for me lately.
Today, Chris Guillebeau opens up another 24-hour window to his blockbuster “Empire Building Kit” guide.
The Empire Building Kit, Chris’ most ambitious and value-packed guide to date, focuses on building a “lifestyle business”, which Chris defines as “a business oriented around something you love, with less than three employees and net income of $50,000+ a year.”
Now that’s what I’m talking about! :-)
Last time Chris opened up a 24 hour window (his launch last month), his payment processor freaked out at the sudden surge of traffic and sales. Buzz dominated the interwebs for a day and it quickly became Chris’ most successful launch (that’s saying a lot). But after the 24 hours, as promised, Chris removed the product from the market.
This time around, Chris is opening the product up again for affiliates of his Unconventional Guides. As most of you know, Chris is one of the few people/products I proudly support on the “Products I Love” page here. His previous guides have changed my life, enhanced my travel, and revolutionized my business, so I knew Empire Building Kit would be great… I just didn’t realize how insanely deep Chris was going to take it!
In honor of the impact Empire Building Kit is having (with myself and several other people I know), I wanted to share 3 of the countless business lessons I’ve learned from Chris. These are the areas where he’s influence me the most, either through his writing or in our chats. Whenever I talk to someone who asks me for advice, these are almost always the first few concepts I share.
Today, I’m proud to share with you a rare guide I’ll be adding to the “Products I Love”. (The first of two this month)!
Danielle LaPorte unleashed her much anticipated “Fire Starter Sessions” today. Danielle, who blogs at White Hot Truth, has been someone I’ve looked up to since my first few months blogging. She’s directly influenced my levels of transparency and my quest to be as genuine as possible here.
I interviewed her on finding passion, building momentum, avoiding burnout, and the details of her product launch. Here’s the breakdown of the above video interview:
[00:40] – Who is Danielle LaPorte? (Danielle’s 30-sec elevator pitch)
[02:05] - Danielle’s tips for unearthing your business passions.
[03:10] - How Danielle defines a strength and a weakness. [<-- powerful]
[04:25] - Danielle gives ME advice on finding my specific strengths.
[05:55] - How to tap into the “real” reason certain people inspire you… and what resources/people inspired Danielle when she was getting into “go” mode.
[08:50] - How to maintain your motivation/drive without hitting “burnout”
[12:55] - Overcoming urges to conform and why being authentic will explode your business.
[17:40] - The “features” of Danielle’s new “Fire Starter Sessions“ (What people get)
[19:05] – The “benefits” of the “Fire Starter Sessions“. (What’s it going to do for me?)
This is a guest post by Matt Gartland. In his own words, Matt is a healthy lifestyle geek extraordinaire, blogger, world traveler, lifestyle entrepreneur, coffee fanatic, web techie, and more. He writes at Healthy Lifestyle Design (HLD), where he unleashes his passion for remarkable and unconventional living propelled by amazing health. Follow Matt on Twitter and join the HLD Tribe on Facebook.
Imagine eating yourself into an abyss of debt. It’s possible. And it’s not a pretty picture.
This tragedy befalls many unknowingly. How? Because many lack an adequate education about food and food products. Many don’t respect the profound lifelong impacts of their food choices. Many are short-sighted about the cost-relationship between food and money. And many believe there is no meaningful correlation between literal health and financial health.
So let’s get something straight - food is like money, in every way.
Food is a currency – actually, a collection of currencies. Different foods have different values (qualities) as currencies do. Thus, they have different exchange rates – some foods yield greater returns (lifestyle benefits) than others. And like smart investment decisions, smart food choices are wonderful long-term growth vehicles for your financial and literal health.
Hence, savvy food choices are way serious. So the need for dietary responsibility (like fiscal responsibility) is paramount. You have to make smart, conscious decisions to better your overall situation. If you don’t and instead allow yourself to make apathetic and nonchalant choices then you risk going way deep into debt.
Sadly, this allegory isn’t enough to assuage the danger. Many (perhaps you) will still fall victim to the veiled and pernicious sources of food-incited debt. So I think it’s high time that they be fully exposed and put into perspective.
[If you cannot see the video above, click here to watch the interview directly]
Episode 4 features Grant Peelle and Alan Ledford of The Ren Men Show.Grant and Alan have built a Real Estate portfolio of 80+ properties, run a vending machine business, own a video production company, and just recently started a used car lot. Their online video show, The Ren Men Show, is the best produced and edited show I’ve ever seen in the niche. They go in depth with different issues surrounding their businesses and passive income opportunities and always seem to have a blast in the process. I never miss a week!
Over the course of this blog, I’ve shared the details of our debt, our income, and our spending. Back in March, I took a big step in the business side of this site by releasing my first premium guide, Unautomate Your Finances.
As I continue to take steps to grow my business, I want it to remain open and transparent to the members of the community who help support it. Last month, I gave a breakdown of March’s sales and income, as well as results from the product launch.
Every month moving forward (launch or not) I want to continue this habit of reviewing/sharing the past month and forecasting out the current month. Here’s April’s numbers and my business plans for May…
This post is going to serve a couple purposes. I want to update everyone on our travel “situation” (especially those who don’t follow me on Twitter or on Facebook). And I also want to shed light on a tough crossroads that Courtney and I have found ourselves.
For anyone who doesn’t know, we are currently back home in Indiana. We’ve been home for a couple months now. Undoubtedly, this yields two questions…
Why did you decide to come home?
When/where are you going to go next?
Unfortunately, neither of these questions have a single sentence answer! (I know, right)
While I rarely try to comment on politics, I was recently sent this graphic which outlines the impending changes to the Health Care reform that was signed into law a few months ago.
For most people, health insurance plays a big role in personal finances (sometimes good and sometimes bad). Courtney and I currently paid $138/month for high-deductible insurance (it’s either $2,000 or $3,000 deductible). We basically just want to cover catastrophic-type events.
Personally, I’m not really for or against these changes. I won’t be at any tea parties, but I didn’t cheer in victory when Obama signed it into law. The biggest concern for me is children. I think minors under 18 should be fully covered no matter what. No pre-existing condition garbage. This includes pregnant women, as well.
Beyond children, I’m not such a fan of mandated health insurance. I think adults should have that responsibility fall upon themselves. I would be in favor of having a government sponsored option and very strict penalties on abuse from insurance companies, though.
What are your opinions on the Health Care reform changes?
Leave the sensational politics on the sideline please. I don’t want to hear about socialism, communists, or racism.
I’m more interested in the specific changes and how they may/may not affect you. Do you see these changes affecting your finances (besides a potentially increased tax burden)? Would you personally take advantage of any of the above?
Interested to hear your thoughts!
Note: Thanks to HealthInsuranceProviders.com, a site where you can compare health insurance options, for allowing their infographic to be shared!
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