The feeling you get when working towards an end is the best feeling in the world.

I remember when I first came to college. For years it had been my sole purpose to get accepted into a top institution. All the years poured into mindless education had finally paid off when I got accepted into the University of Chicago. I was at a loss for words. But soon I myself would feel lost as well.

Having lived out my purpose, I felt like there wasn’t much left to do but wander aimlessly for a few months, going to parties, cutting back on classwork, but mostly just seeing how everybody was going about their college careers.

To my surprise, a lot of my housemates where majoring in the sciences. I thought maybe this meant something. I originally had come to become a doctor. Maybe this was where I belonged.

Unfortunately, my grades didn’t reflect this. And in reality, I wasn’t all that astonished. The work was just too difficult. It seemed that all we were learning were pointless theoretical concepts. Concepts that I couldn’t be less motivated to understand.

This wasn’t what I wanted to do. In truth, I aspired to be a businessman. And not the type that merely sold things for the sake of money, but sold inspiration.

Realizing this, I went online and looked for inspiration. There, I learned of people I came to idolize: Steve Pavlina, Jonathan Mead, Tim Ferriss. It didn’t take much to figure out what they all had in common; they were writers.

My true calling

I found a new purpose and discovered my passion: writing. Writing to inspire others.

It’s been over a year since then, with many bumps crossed, lots of confusion clarified, and focuses regained. I’m now living my passion.

With my third year far into the future, I’m happy to be able to focus more directly on improving my writing and my relationships with other bloggers seeking to make a difference.

What’s more, I’ve finally the time to work on shipping an actual product. In the coming weeks, I’ll be releasing a very short (maybe 15 pages or so), free e-book. This will be nothing too major, since this is just my first foray into product creation and design.

I’ve read countless e-books, devoured advice from other bloggers, and learned about all the possible outcomes. Worst case scenario, no one downloads the e-book, though my aim is to get over a hundred downloads.

Creating your first product – a series

I’ve decided to give you guys an up-close-and-personal look into how I’ve gotten started making my first e-book.

1. Find an audience that’s yours

For a product to have any traction, you have to take the initiative to find a crowd that’s interested in your type of art. After that, all you have to do is make some commotion. Make yourself known, state a clear purpose, and be original.

Not many people do this online. Take this to heart and you’ll be able to differentiate yourself from the fakes and become a true linchpin – someone indispensable.

2. Research on material related to your niche

An artist’s inspiration does not come from only looking over his old works, but also from taking bits of wisdom from other artists. But isn’t that stealing?

Actually, it isn’t. Whatever has been said in the past is being regurgitated right in front of you. What separates new works of art from classics is how the modern artist integrates his perspective into what’s already been done.

3. Be ruthless with what you create

Revise, refresh, repaint, resurface, recreate, whatever; do what you have to do to put out your best work. What you’ve giving away for free has merely been the appetizer. This time, for your very first work, pull out all the stops.

It’s taken weeks for me to try and make what this e-book says worth remembering… and I’m still not completely finished.

This is how all great art is made. Constant revision and critique until it’s as good as it can get. It’ll never be perfect, but putting in your best effort will make it worth it.

To be continued in part 2…

photo credit: Marco Arment

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On Friday, I received this email:

“Saw your post at Brazen Careerist, and was immediately turned off when you stated you’re not going to reply to comments there. If I feel this way, I’m sure others do as well.

Take Care.”

At first, I didn’t mind much, seeing as I stated an alternative on Brazen Careerist (a well-known site for networking/connecting/working with employees, employers, or just nice people, online) to come to the site and leave a thought on the original post.

Eventually, I admitted to myself that the ‘comment thing’ has been picking at my conscience for some time.

I have addressed comment/response policies in passing on previous blog posts. When this blog was much younger, I even said that I would reply to every comment within 24 hours.

I’ve been wishy-washy throughout this blog’s entire life cycle with comments, just devouring articles on when to reply and when not reply, on whether to keep them up, or on whether to take them down, and loosely referring to how I’ll respond and how I’ll not respond.

It’s time to, finally and forever, squash this issue:

- First of all, I’d like to say that I enjoy reading what you guys have to say. Keep the comments coming.

- I read every single one. No joke. No one gets left behind, young or old, long or short, big or small.

- I don’t, however, respond to every single one. I simply can’t respond to every ‘thank you’ or ‘nice post’ that I get. It takes away too much from the time I spend learning new things and getting inspiration for what you guys comment on in the first place: the blog post.

- In fact, if you want to share something personal, you want to send me hate mail, or you just want to say hello, shoot me an e-mail. You’ll get a response within 2-3 days, usually.

- Comments are necessary for community. No matter how many or how little I get, I don’t plan on cutting them off.

- Bashing other commenters or just contributing to an overall negative atmosphere isn’t cool. Don’t do it.

- Just because I don’t reply, it doesn’t mean I don’t care.

At the end of the day, it’s the people that matter. This blog wouldn’t be where it is now without you. It’s come pretty far in just one year. Maybe not as far as other blogs (due to the initial lack of purpose) and maybe not as profitable (due to not shipping a product as early as I should have), but the progress is still astounding.

Rest assured that I’m grateful to you for making me feel that my voice can make some sort of impact and some sort of difference.

Comments or no comments, this movement matters.

photo credit: s h a r i :}

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I’ve once again fallen into the rut of writing for the sake of writing instead of writing for the sake of caring.

There are so many things I want to read and want to share with you guys.

Unfortunately there are too many distractions occupying my time. Namely school.

Thankfully, the school term’s about to come to an end in a few weeks. Another great end to another semi-interesting year.

On the plus side, I’ve made over $200 courtesy of my affiliate products. Thanks Chris Guillebeau! And thank you guys for supporting my blog and Chris’s work by purchasing his e-books. You’ll find that they’re worth the money. When summer starts, I’ll provide definitive reviews on all of the products that I’ve read and used.

Anyways, did you guys catch that? I made over $200 dollars (more like $278.56) online. I never thought that I could make any sort of cash through the internet. I mean, sure I believed that it was possible, just that I never thought it would happen right now. It always seemed like some sort of faraway accomplishment. Like my head was up in the clouds when I decided take on that challenge.

Now that I’ve achieved that goal, I feel like getting a full-time income from blogging is entirely attainable.

******

When you have so many things going through your head each and every day, it’s hard to be really focused on one thing. It’s not difficult to find time to write, but when I stare at the screen for literally hours at a time not knowing what to write because my mind wanders to assignments that might be due or errands I have to finish, it gets frustrating.

I actually have a lot to say, but that ends up being a double-edged sword at times.

******

I’ve changed how I respond to comments. If readers ask me questions or leave comments that warrant a response, I’ll reply in full. If not, please understand that even if I don’t respond, I read all the comments (I even skim over spam). Rest assured your comment is being read by human eyes.

******

Some of my favorite blogs aren’t within the personal development sphere. I think I know why. Most of the personal development blogs that I don’t tend to come back to simply relay advice. Where’s the personality? The pizazz? The intoxicating oneness with the blog and the blogger?

I don’t want this blog to just be about “giving advice”. I don’t want this blog to be just like the other blogs. This is about inspiring people to achieve their dreams – in a creative way.

My personality must shine through.

******

I’ve always wondered why my most popular post of all time is “Blog Update: The Road Ahead”. Now I think I know the answer.

******

I’ve noticed some bloggers have left the blogosphere. We (including everyone you have affected with your writings) will not forget you. We’ll always have Facebook and Twitter… even long after they merge into Twitterbook.

******

I hope you found this post as useful to yourself as it was for me. I just needed to clear my head for a bit.
photo credit: Vince Kusters

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Sarah and Julia! Congratulations to each of you on winning a free copy of the Lemonade Movie at no cost to you. I’ll be shipping it at the standard rate so it won’t come quickly, but it will definitely get there. Expect emails in your inboxes asking for your mailing addresses, shortly.

There were a lot of great comments (it was seriously a tough decision), but these two were the ones that I felt signified the most active pursuit towards owning one’s passion and using it for a great cause.

Here’s Sarah’s comment-

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About a week ago, I posted a video of a very inspiring documentary called the Lemonade movie. I was a bit puzzled because I expected comments consisting of what everyone thought about the movie. It then came to my attention that only people who live in the U.S. could watch the video since it is hosted on Hulu.

So naturally, I felt bad for leaving my international readers out of the loop. I thought to myself, “How can I make this up to them?” And then it hit me. How about I just give the movie away for free?

How to WIN

Yep, you read that sentence right. The first ever contest on the blog with feature ME giving away 2 copies of the Lemonade movie DVD absolutely FREE. ANYONE from ANYWHERE in the world can enter to win. Even if you live in Antarctica, the shipping costs are all mine. If you’d like to enter, all I ask you to do is any of these five things (the first of which is mandatory):

1. Comment on this post by answering the question, “If you could make any of your hobbies profitable, which SPECIFIC hobby would you pick and why?” (if you don’t comment, you won’t be eligible for this contest)

2. Subscribe to the blog

3. Share this post

4. Become a fan of HiLife2B on Facebook

5. Do ALL of the above

Remember, you MUST comment on this post to be eligible to win a copy of this phenomenal movie. This contest will run for the entire week (Feb. 28 – Mar. 6, 2010) and I’ll be picking two winners on Monday, March 7.

Once again, here’s a summary of the documentary from Lemonademovie.com with a trailer:

“It’s not a pink slip. It’s a blank page.”

What do people who were once paid to be creative for a living do when they’re laid off? They get creative with their own lives. Lemonade is an inspirational film about 16 advertising professionals who lost their jobs and found their calling, encouraging people to listen to that little voice inside their head that asks, “What if?”

All resources for Lemonade were donated. From cameras to lights to flights, this is a project by and for those who have been affected by unemployment.

Good luck guys!

-image courtesy of kunaki

EDIT: Contest over! Thanks to all of you who participated and left such amazing comments. The winners will be announced tomorrow. Later!

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This isn’t something I normally do i.e. ask for something of my readers, but I’m in desperate need of advice. During winter break (which was a while ago), I worked on setting up a site that would start making me “mucho dinero”. It’s been a month since my site’s launch, and despite massive social media campaigning on a separate Twitter account and on Myspace, I’ve got bupkis. Not a single sale.

I know what I’ve been doing wrong so far (and I plan on fixing these in the coming months):

- No Google ads

- Haven’t been promoting site enough (it’s hard not to be a spammer and promote)

- Haven’t updated site blog

Here are my three main “sites of business”:

Anime Sword Monk (Twitter Page)

Anime Sword Master (Official Website)

Anime Sword Master (Official Myspace page)

Oh, and my website’s purpose is to sell swords. Yep, I’m an official swords dealer .

Got any suggestions for me on what I should do to make my website(s) more visible? Get them in front of more sword buyers/collectors? Any business websites you recommend? I’ve never been in business before so any nuggets of gold will be appreciated.

Also, feel free to ask any specific questions regarding what I’ve done so far.

photo credit: Bracketing Life

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Hey guys, reporting in from HQ. If most of you aren’t already aware, I’ve been guest posting on a multitude of other blogs in recent weeks.

Take a gander at some of my latest and greatest guest posts:

How to Make a Difference Without a Whole Lot of Money | The Jungle of Life

How Reading Books Saved My Life | World’s Strongest Librarian

Why Losing Some of the Time is Necessary to Winning All of the Time | Quest for Balance

Why You Struggle to Connect With Others | The Change Blog

Tell Stories ~ It’s Good For You | Psi Mentor

What else I’ve been up to

- Well, I had a blast downtown last weekend. Why, you ask? Because I spent the whole morning taking part in the Levity Project! (Click here for more information on what the Levity Project is.) It was really fun laughing and spreading joy with people that I usually just speak with online. This just confirms that connections made over the net run just as deep as those made in real life.

- My up-and-coming website is coming along…. very slowly. School work is pretty time-consuming, so I only have time to really work on it during the weekends. The name of the game now is content creation – I’ll tell you much more once I get closer to completion (whenever that will be).

- A few more design changes coming soon that’ll hopefully facilitate more fluid convo in this small, but strong community

That’s all folks! I’m disabling comments for now, but don’t fret! Go check out my guest posts and comment on those, or drop me a line on Twitter!

Until next time, my friends,

John

photo credit: a4gpa

———–

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Just a few things to note about the blog and it’s future which you may or may not have heard already:

- A big “Thank You!” to those who participated in the survey. I won’t be retweeting the link anymore, but if you didn’t get a chance, feel free to take it by selecting “Personal Goal-Setting Survey” from the tab above.

Your opinions are priceless to me

- Remember, the new posting schedule will be Mondays and Thursdays starting Sept. 28th.

- I promise to post my first video blog in a few weeks… no matter how embarrassing it feels.

- I currently (and will continue to) reply to comments only by the end of the day… because they make me happy before I go to bed

If you have something urgent to say to me and you can’t possibly wait, try email. It’s easier: cjanyasor@yahoo.com

- Planning a logo redesign (which it really needs). I’m going for a cleaner look…

- There will be more guest posts in the future. I haven’t done much external contribution other than commenting on, stumbling, and retweeting other blogs.

- The “project” I’m constantly hinting at and currently working on will incorporate the results from the survey.

- I’d like to do a 30-day experiment. Any ideas for a college student?

- I’ll update my flickr photos the next time someone takes a picture of me.

- Thinking of adding a weekly link post called “What I’m Reading”, which includes links to posts, articles, or books that I’ve read and found interesting, inspiring, motivating, or just plain awesome.

That’s all I plan to do for now.

What about you? Have plans for anything you’ve been working on? A blog? A project? Yourself? Feel free to share your thoughts!

photo credit: PhillipC

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Hello, everyone!

The survey that I’m conducting doesn’t have much to do with the actual blog, but instead involves research I’m conducting that surrounds personal-goal setting.

I believe there are a lot of personal goal-setting products out there that aren’t very effective in terms of their main purpose (helping people reach their goals in addition to just setting them). Of course, just because I feel that way doesn’t mean you do. So, if you have tried any goal-setting products in the past or know anyone who has, please encourage them to take this survey.

Share this in any matter you see fit.

If you would like to go to the survey landing page, click here.

Or if you’d rather just go right ahead and take the survey, click here.

Thanks everybody and have an awesome weekend!

- John

P.S. A survey about the blog will be coming real soon

photo credit: Robyn Gallagher

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“Summer is the time when one sheds one’s tensions with one’s clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all’s right with the world.” – Ada Louise

As the title of this post suggests, my summer will soon be coming to a close. Yes, I’ll be the back in the dorms doing the soul crushing work laid out by my sometimes fascinating, but always ruthless professors.

Part of me is excited to return to college, but part of me really doesn’t want this summer to end. While the summer days have been quite tame in terms of the things I’m actually doing (reading, social media, listening to music, playing video games for an half hour, and writing blog drafts), I like the solitude of the suburbs. And with this solitude comes more time to think and put down ideas.

However, my summer break is slowing detracting from the source of all my writing material – life.

Though I do love writing about personal development, how can I actually develop myself if I’m just stuck at home all day? If I don’t have anymore of these experiences, what can I write about?

To be honest, I’m surprised I’ve come this far with writing on the blog. That has to be some sort of accomplishment.

But what surprises me the most is that I actually created a blog that people like. I thought that for someone like me, this was impossible. Last year, when I told my housemates the idea for my blog, some of them said to me “Who’s going to read what you write? You write like sh**!” Hearing those words, I began to doubt myself and  think that maybe I should give up. Maybe my efforts weren”t worth the criticism.

But then I looked at bloggers who’ve been at it for years. I saw the ones who succeeded, the ones who made better incomes and new lifestyles from their blogs. I read their stories and was touched by their beginnings. I soon learned that some of their stories weren’t so different from mine. In fact, some of their stories were much worse. Most notably, Jonathan Mead and his story of change - it opened my eyes.

You can have the entire world against you. All of the people who once stood beside you can abandon you. You can have no prospects and seemingly no hope. But if you have the will – the burning desire to change yourself – you can live your dreams.

Well, this pretty much sums up my summer. Anyway, starting September 28th, my posting schedule of Mondays and Thursdays will resume. Sure, I’ll be writing less, but I’ll be experiencing more.

I’d like to thank all of my subscribers, mentors, readers, and friends. Many of you have shown me a world of happiness and support that I can’t even begin to describe.

“We thought a life, by analogy, was a journey with a pilgrimage , which had a serious purpose at the end, and the thing was to get to that end. Success, or whatever it is, or maybe heaven after you’re dead…but we missed the point the whole way along. It was a musical thing and you were supposed to sing or dance while the music was being played.” – Alan Watts

———–

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photo credit: Kansas Poetry (Patrick)

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