How a Single Meeting Changed My Life

It almost ended as quickly as it started.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [UNSTUCK]() From the desk of Pat Flynn November 22, 2022 --------------------------------------------------------------- [Pat Flynn smiling, wearing a shirt that reads "Do a lot with a little"] ​ Hi there, it’s Pat. There are many moments when I can look back on what changed the trajectory of my business and life, but there’s one moment in particular that I want to share that had the most profound impact on my career. Here is that story, and here’s how you can set yourself up to create moments like this, too. Let’s get unstuck. QUOTE OF THE WEEK --------------------------------------------------------------- “You can’t read the label when you’re inside the bottle.” — Unknown THE STORY --------------------------------------------------------------- After being laid off, I was at one of the lowest points in my life. I had to move back in with my parents, and despite sending my resume to dozens of companies, no one was hiring. The only thing that gave me hope was a podcast I discovered titled Internet Business Mastery, and I listened to every episode multiple times. Sterling and Jay, the hosts, were giving me a glimpse of what owning an Internet-based business could be like. Because of them, I went live with a website to help architects pass a specific exam (The LEED exam), and to my surprise, it started to get some traffic. I even made my first $1.18 in Google Adsense revenue on the blog, but it definitely wasn’t going to help me pay for anything other than a soft taco at Taco Bell. At least the hot sauce was free. Then, on a recent episode of the podcast, Sterling said he was moving to San Diego and wanted to meet up with any listeners who lived nearby, and when he shared the exact address of where he was going to meet up, it was literally a 3-minute drive from my parent’s home. I wanted to go so badly, but I was frightened. Who else was going to be there? Would I look stupid? Was I even going to have anything to say or will this just be a waste of time and confirm I’m definitely not qualified to do any of this. The day eventually came, and as I drove up to the spot I saw them—about 8 to 10 people sitting on chairs arranged in a circle, all facing my favorite podcast host. I started to make every excuse to leave: there weren’t any convenient parking spots, they seemed to have grabbed all the chairs, it was too warm outside. But, despite those internal thoughts, I parked and walked over to the group. This was my first experience being in a mastermind group, and immediately I was welcomed with excitement and warm smiles. Everyone who was there was also on their path to an online business, some further ahead than others. Everyone had a chance to share a bit about themselves and what they were up to, and it became quite clear that I was definitely more on the newbie side of this group, which made me nervous when it was my time to share. And I do remember wondering if I could make my escape by asking where the bathroom was, but I decided to stick around and when it was my turn to go, here’s how the conversation started: Me: “Hi, I’m Pat. I actually live, like, 3 minutes away from here. (Nervous laughter) Anyway, I started a website to help architects pass an exam and it makes a few dollars on Adsense, but I haven’t even hit the $100 threshold to withdraw anything.” Sterling: “That’s cool Pat, it can take a while to see results. How much traffic do you have coming to your website?” Me: “A few thousand people.” Another person: “Oh, that’s decent monthly traffic for a new website.” Me: “Actually that's a few thousand people each day.” The group: (silence)...WHAT? For the next 15 minutes, there was so much energy in the air, and it was all directed towards me. It was overwhelming, but also exhilarating. Everyone in the group started to share ideas left and right, and after several conversations about my next steps, Sterling stepped in to say: “Pat, you need to write an Ebook.” Me: …”What’s an Ebook?” And that was the start of my new career. That Ebook, which I eventually published in October 2008, turned into hundreds of thousands of dollars within a year, and it became an example to share with others on what eventually became The Smart Passive Income Blog. I only knew what I knew, and although I consumed a ton of podcasts and blogs around that time, nothing accelerated my success more than having other people see what I couldn’t see. As today's quote says, “You can’t read the label when you’re inside the bottle.” And to think, I was making every excuse not to show up. Your Call to Action Fact: it’s much easier to do this business thing when you’re doing it with other people. Find at least one other person to connect with to share ideas and get feedback from, preferably on a regular basis. Or, find a group of 3-5 people and form a more formal mastermind group. [Here’s a video from 7 years ago](=) (pre-beard, just warning you, it’s a bit scary lol) about how to formally structure and run a group like this for maximum benefit. The best place to find people would be in an online community of like-minded entrepreneurs. The Internet Business Mastery group was perfect and lasted for a couple of years, but after Sterling moved away from San Diego, and then later changed industries, the groups disbanded and people moved on. This is exactly why we at SPI have invested time, team and money into building long-lasting [communities]( for like-minded entrepreneurs like you to join and connect with one another. In fact, next month we’re launching something HUGE called our [SPI ALL-ACCESS PASS](). Not only will the All-Access Pass give you entry into our courses and workshops, it gives you a guided experience based on where you’re at in your journey, along with a community and support from our team of experts. It’s our investment into the most impactful way to educate you on what you need to know to succeed online, and it launches next month! Oh, and the financial barrier to enter it lower than anything we’ve ever offered. To be one of the first to learn about the All-Access Pass, [click here]() so you get the announcement right away and have the opportunity to become one of our founding members! And even if the All-Access pass isn’t the right fit for you now, please invest in finding people to support you and help you get to where you need to go. You got this. SPONSORED BY APPSUMO AppSumo's Black Friday #1 Deal of the Week - Biteplay You’re ready to share your video content with the world, but you’re missing the tools to make it big on YouTube. (“You’re telling me I need more than a ring light and a Black Friday haul??”). Growing your audience by tailoring your videos to random trends or pushing out paid ads can cost a ton of time and money. If only there was a way you could find and connect with audiences who are interested in your content. Meet Biteplay, a YouTube marketing toolkit that helps you with content research, video advertising, and YouTube influencer collaboration. Grab AppSumo’s Black Friday Biteplay deal here (it’s a discount on top of the already discounted price!) until November 29th at noon CT. [GET THE APPSUMO BLACK FRIDAY DEAL]( ​SPI NEWS AND NOTES --------------------------------------------------------------- We work hard at SPI to remain unstuck and consistently provide you with the latest news, trends, and events to support your businesses. Check it out: - Did you miss our November Community Networking event? Don’t worry, it was so much fun that we decided to do it again in December! We witnessed first hand new connections being made and business ideas shared back and forth in our breakout rooms. At SPI, we even saw a jump in our [Twitter]( and [LinkedIn]() followers! [RSVP here]() to add it to your calendar, it’s completely FREE and a great chance to meet like-minded entrepreneurs. - For months, the SPI team has been developing a revolutionary way to educate entrepreneurs with what we call Community-Powered Courses. You’re invited to an exclusive event on December 7th at 12:00PM ET (9AM PT) to be the first to learn about the brand-new All-Access Pass. [Add to your calendar!](​ - Entrepreneurs everywhere are jumping on the community-powered course bandwagon that’s taking digital learning by storm. But what exactly are CPCs? Are they the right fit for you? And how do you create experiences that will enhance student outcome? On [The Community Experience]() podcast, SPI CEO Matt Gartland joins host Jillian Benbow to answer those questions and discuss how community is reshaping educational content. [Subscribe and listen!]()​ What is the biggest thing getting in your way from achieving your business goals? We’d love to hear from you! [Click here]( to take our 1-question survey. DAD JOKE OF THE WEEK --------------------------------------------------------------- I wouldn't buy anything with velcro… …it's a total rip-off. ​ Did a cool person forward you this email? [Sign up here for free.]( Want to reach over 125,000 entrepreneurs? [Become a sponsor.]( ​ Thanks for reading! You are receiving this because you signed up for Pat Flynn’s newsletter at [smartpassiveincome.com](). If you'd like to adjust which emails you receive or update your name and email address, [click here to update your Subscriber Preferences.]( If you'd like to stop receiving all emails from SPI, simply [unsubscribe from my emails.]( No hard feelings. 10531 4S Commons Drive, Suite 524, San Diego, CA 92127