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7 Psychological Barriers You Must Overcome To Successfully Sell Anything Online | Maverick Traveler
Selling is a fundamental part of any business; in fact, it defines the business. If you can’t sell, you don’t have a business. It’s what separates the 9-5 middle class sheeple from self-made men who go on to make millions of dollars. It’s your ability to create something and persuade others that it’ll benefit them in some shape or form.
The System Is Fundamentally Fucked | Maverick Traveler
Entrepreneurship should never be viewed as something that you do in addition to your job; it should be viewed as something who you are.
Take all your knowledge, expertise and perseverance—everything that’s dear to you—and market it to the masses. Cut out the middleman. Unleash yourself to the world. Instead of fighting the system, let the system work for you. The world is hungry for information, knowledge and original content, so why not provide it?
The System Is Fundamentally Fucked | Maverick Traveler
instead of picking dimes in front of the steamroller (which is what you do when you side-hustle), you must embrace hustling as a way of life. It’s not that hard or stressful. It doesn’t mean you must work 24-7 for many months. It just requires a slight mindset shift, changing the way you think about how stuff is made and sold.
Living In Russia Made Me Realize Just How Utterly Helpless And Needy We, Westerners, Have Become | Maverick Traveler
What is a service? It’s another word for holding your hand, while gently guiding you into achieving a certain task. The more someone else has to do, the less you have to do, and the less you have to do, the less capable you become. That’s why we, as Americans, are conditioned from an early age to seek assistance and help instead of independently figuring things out ourselves.
Core Business Skills Everyone Must Learn And Master | Maverick Traveler
Being able to design, build a product, write the marketing and sales messages are the three core skills that you need in order to build something truly of your own. These skills are the pillars of any business.
Why My Seven Years Of Working As A Computer Programmer In Silicon Valley Were A Complete Waste Of Time | Maverick Traveler
None of these are real world skills. None of them are. These skills don’t scale. These aren’t skills that contribute to my freedom in any way. If I were suddenly airdropped on some uninhabited island or even in the middle of Mexico or Brazil, how would these skills help me in any way? How would these skills let me live a better life? The answer: they would not help in any way whatsoever. They only have value as a component of a well-owned machine.
Why My Seven Years Of Working As A Computer Programmer In Silicon Valley Were A Complete Waste Of Time | Maverick Traveler
When I look back at my years of working there, I ask myself, what did I really learn? Sure, I became a better programmer. No doubt about it. I learned a couple of new languages. I learned a couple of cool frameworks. I became friends with other geeks (who are conspicuously absent from my life now). I learned how to design better software with less bugs. I learned how to use a debugger. But so what? Who cares about all that? All I learned was how to use tools that someone else built. I became a glorified mechanic and nothing else.
Why My Seven Years Of Working As A Computer Programmer In Silicon Valley Were A Complete Waste Of Time | Maverick Traveler
In Eastern Europe, where I’m originally from and where I’m living now, it seems that every other guy is hustling and making money some way or another. Many of these guys are very bright and understand technology (Eastern European software developers are one of the most highly sought-after in the world), so they can easily code and build websites. But because there isn’t a Silicon Valley in Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus or Russia, they’re forced to be creative and build an actual business that actually generates money (even a little) instead of constructing a pyramid scheme only to unload on the unsuspecting masses (i.e., going public, IPO).
Why My Seven Years Of Working As A Computer Programmer In Silicon Valley Were A Complete Waste Of Time | Maverick Traveler
I’ll be really blunt and direct with you. You’re not going to change jack shit. Nobody cares that you helped write some obtuse peace of functionality in a program like Microsoft Word, Adobe Photoshop, or a web app like Yahoo! Mail. It’s not your goddamn product. You didn’t create it. You don’t own the rights to it. It’s the company’s product. And you’re just a mere employee. A cog in a wheel. Nobody will remember you. All you’re doing is wasting your best years making someone else very, very rich. Unfortunately, by the time you realize this, it’ll be too late.
Why My Seven Years Of Working As A Computer Programmer In Silicon Valley Were A Complete Waste Of Time | Maverick Traveler
Companies with zero revenue cleverly incentivize their employees into working long hours by dangling a carrot in front of them. Apart from working on “life changing products,” that carrot is usually in the form of some paper money: stock options, employee stock purchase plan, etc. Once the army of mechanics (aka programmers) builds the actual product, the company is then taken public, making its founders and their close friends insanely rich.
Why My Seven Years Of Working As A Computer Programmer In Silicon Valley Were A Complete Waste Of Time | Maverick Traveler
Eventually I realized that, more than anything, Silicon Valley is a symbol and nothing more. Through the use of clever mass psychology, it acts like an enormous sponge, mopping up dreams and aspirations of young people everywhere. These young souls are lured to this mythical land by money, various perks and benefits, but most importantly, by the chance to work on something “great,” “life-changing” and even “world-changing.”
Why My Seven Years Of Working As A Computer Programmer In Silicon Valley Were A Complete Waste Of Time | Maverick Traveler
Silicon Valley is a barren, grey and depressing piece of land. There are no cities. There’s no civilization. There’s really nothing there. During the day, its population swells when vast armies of engineers arrive, go to their cubicles (or a loud open space), write code, and then go home in the evening. If you’re coming from Europe, or pretty much any other place except America or Canada, you will be underwhelmed. Guaranteed. It’s no surprise that my friends and I joked that Silicon Valley is “the armpit of America.” It’s really that soul-destroying.
Life Is A Series Of Experiments | Maverick Traveler
Taking risks is important. Life without risks is a conventional, boring, stagnant life. When you don’t deviate from a defined path, you’re simply doing what others have done before you; and there can be no fortune when you follow a well-defined path.
But taking too many unnecessary risks is also not prudent. The solution is to take small, calculated risks. Follow along a well-defined path, but also deviate with a mixture of experiments. Try that idea that you’ve been putting off for months or years. If it works, that’s great. If it doesn’t, then no harm done.
"Take My Money, You Idiot!" | Maverick Traveler
People say that starting a business is tough. And, partly, they’re right. But the tough part is actually the discipline and the work. There’s no substitute for putting in the hours and actually trying to create something, then marketing and selling it to prospective customers.
Don't Build A Startup, Just Make Money | Maverick Traveler
A business that makes money today, even if it’s not a lot initially, is always better than a business that might make money in six months or a year. Besides, if you really want to, you can always build a startup later. Since you’ve created lots of value and build a massive audience, you would know exactly what your audience is interested in and willing to pay for. This will allow you to create a product or service that you will absolutely know your audience wants and is willing to pay for. This is by far the easiest and most straightforward path to financial and location-independent success. Something that you can start doing right now.
Don't Build A Startup, Just Make Money | Maverick Traveler
The beauty of pursuing this path is that you can immediately get started with something that matters: adding value and making money. This way you’re not spending time obsessing and perfecting your idea (remember: ideas by themselves are worthless). You’re not spending time searching for a co-founder. You’re not spending time attending various workshops, seminars and meetups. You’re also not begging investors for money. You’re simply telling people what you’re doing and then selling them value. You’re the captain of your own destiny. Making money is the best validation that what you’re doing actually matters.
Don't Build A Startup, Just Make Money | Maverick Traveler
Take something that you’re good at, something where you can add value and begin talking about it. Create a website and sell your knowledge. This knowledge can encompass pretty much anything. If you’ve learned to do something important, chances are it will be of value to others as well. Not only is this the most straightforward way to make money, it’s also the easiest.
Don't Build A Startup, Just Make Money | Maverick Traveler
Startups are inherently risky. You toil for many months and even years before realizing that no one wants what you’re selling. Fortunately, there’s another way. Instead of building a product you’re not even sure will sell, a product that won’t be profitable for a long time, start building a brand around what you already know how to do well, like yourself and what you do.
Don't Build A Startup, Just Make Money | Maverick Traveler
It’s safe to say that these guys are living very comfortable lives. Many of them are easily making several thousand dollars per month (many guys I’ve met are easily clearing $5,000-15,000/month). This is the money that’s coming into their pockets today—right now. Plus they’re actually enjoying their lives because they’re living in an exotic foreign country, and not working in overpriced Silicon Valley/San Francisco while waiting for some “payoff” down the road.
Don't Build A Startup, Just Make Money | Maverick Traveler
What these guys do know how to do really well is to make a lot of money. They’re businessmen not startup experts. Many of them run several businesses in different niche areas. Some of them are running e-commerce stores that sell very basic things that everyone needs like screws or power tools. Many guys are running simple SaaS businesses charging customers $5-50 per month for a service. Others are building high-trafficked websites in all kinds of niches that people are interested about and sell advertising or sponsorships. None of what they’re doing even closely resembles a startup and because they’re profitable, they don’t need to seek outside investment.
Don't Build A Startup, Just Make Money | Maverick Traveler
One of the things I discovered after I began living and traveling around the world after living for a decade in San Francisco is that most successful people aren’t building or even thinking about building a startup. Most of the self-made guys I met living and roaming in places like Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Lima, Medellin, Bangkok and Bali wouldn’t know a single thing about startups if someone put a gun to their head.
Don't Build A Startup, Just Make Money | Maverick Traveler
building a startup is far from the only way to assert yourself and build something of your own. In some cases, it is actually an unnecessarily hard approach. This is something most people completely miss because they think that startups are the only way to make money online. Actually, this couldn’t be farther from the truth.
