Ivaylo's BASE 2.0 Journal

[Ivaylo]

Thanks, Shannon, I really appreciate you posting here. You definitely saved me some (probably a lot of) time figuring out the insights you shared.

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I'm actually becoming aware of a resistance to share some of my progress here, as this first run of BASE slowly draws to a close. I think it's mostly because I perceive it (my progress) as not stable enough and I wouldn't want to state it as a fact just yet.
Well, back to work, only 11:30PM around here still.

[Ivaylo]

Right now I'm waking up to my first day of a week of rest from subliminals. I'm going to start BASE again after that.There's no particular reason for posting this, except to make it official that my first run is over.

There have been a lot of changes over the last 6+ months, but I think I've shared enough of those already. I can't give a full-blown positive testimonial until I've made significant improvements to my income level, since that is the main goal of BASE - it just wouldn't sound as convincing to me, no matter what.

I definitely stirred up a hornet nest with my realizations about fear of money, and I'm still dealing with this. Due to this, I don't necessarily agree that my first run was just "setting the stage" as I previously considered - there's a good chance I was simply holding myself back from actual entrepreneurial action. There's also the other possibility, that exactly by setting the rest of my life more or less in order, it allowed me to see those issues much more clearly.

Whatever the case, a second run of BASE is just what the doctor ordered.

[jonathan4all]

Ivaylo how is your post-BASE experience ?

[Ivaylo]

Ivaylo how is your post-BASE experience ?

Hey, Jonathan!

I'm already on day 8 of my second run of BASE. The off period was... well, more of the same, at least consciously. I kept growing, kept getting more and more ambitious. I've actually started working on a bigger project (I wouldn't call it a startup, not yet at least) in the last few weeks.

The rest period only made me wonder more if I could ever distinguish the effects of the subliminal from my personal effort. I really don't mind, though.

One weird thing, that happened while resting, was that I was almost ready to get into a monogamous relationship and started calling girls, that I knew might be interested. Highly unnatural for me, even before BASE. Somehow... I started BASE again and to a large extent I forgot about them. I'm still meeting one of them in a few days for drinks, but my focus is definitely back on business.

First time around, I was very impatient with time-wasters. During the rest period that definitely weakened and now I'm returning to form. This time though, it seems that I can narrow down what irritates me more accurately, instead of dismissing the whole person. Maybe the people (who are different than last time) are more patient themselves. Still, that tells me that a monogamous relationship might be workable, with the right girl.

Whatever it is, I've decided to just focus on my work and then try to be in the right places at the right times for the magic to happen. (both in entrepreneurial and romantic context). First time around, there was a lot more of the former and not enough of the latter.

P.S. A mini-testimonial on networking skills. Went with a few friends to a entrepreneurial get-together event a few weeks ago - probably the last day of stage 6. A few days after that, one of my friends casually mentioned that he was impressed how I knew everyone there and had a lot of people to chat with. In reality, though, I knew probably 3 people out of 20+. He was REALLY surprised when I told him that what he thought wasn't the case.

[Ivaylo]

I'm nearing the end of Stage 1 for the second time. The experience closely resembles the one from last time, except deeper. Oh, and now there's the added bonus of rethinking my life values and goals every 2-3 days. I don't remember this being there before. While this may not sound very productive, it actually isn't affecting productivity that much and it shapes me to be more authentic.

I've let go of the last programmer, that used to work with me. Disappointing performance, but still salvageable. I definitely learned a lot of stuff regarding how to pick the right people better. I have to point out that every one of my business partners for the last 6 months has been picked before the stages with relevant programming in BASE.

This time around I'll be considering a lot more variables when choosing partners. For one, I'll be slower to trust that someone has the startup's best interest at heart.

"Judge a man by his actions, not by his words." Apart from the soft skills this entails, it is also much easier to judge a programmer's actions when you know programming yourself, so there's that. There's a soft smile on my face when I remember how I used to treat with high respect anyone, who had the ability to "talk to computers". Now I'm far from being that easily impressed. Let's see what this brings.

[Ivaylo]

I can officially say that for me, Stage 2 is forming up to be the "honesty stage". This time though, I seem to be cool as ice.

Some examples:
- I told two friends that I'm fascinated by how they can seamlessly transition between being silly to the point of almost annoying in one moment, and being normal in the next one. They took it with a sense of humor, although I was being pretty forward, albeit with no ill intent whatsoever. I guess I picked better fitting social circle this time around. At least as far as friendships are concerned. Mastermind circle is still pending as of June 21st.
- I met an ex today and I told her that the only reason for sexual tension between us is because /loosely translated/ "she is batshit crazy and I'm not, and that tension can translate into sexual tension". I also went ahead to tell her that I don't need that kind of tension in my relationships. Well, considering how batshit crazy she used to be before, she reacted pretty well... maybe too well even.

At this point I really have no idea why I'm journaling. Just thought those were funny situations. I would imagine though, that this kind of honesty can only bring forth some really good relationships - romantic, business and otherwise. Well, let's see.

[heavysm]

At this point I really have no idea why I'm journaling. Just thought those were funny situations. I would imagine though, that this kind of honesty can only bring forth some really good relationships - romantic, business and otherwise. Well, let's see.

Seeing the journal is the only way us other members can see how you get through the subs, at which stage, and what we might generally expect. It's always interesting to see what others experience, much more so when you factor in that not everyone has a strictly positive experience. I think of this process as becoming a diamond - everyone wants to be one but no one wants to get cut lol - but that's the journey inclusive of resistance and that's vitally important.

I'm jumping on BASE after my run with LTU, which has been a nice little journey all unto itself.

But my point is that seeing journals like yours about relevant subs is a very good thing. How else will other members know what to expect from a sub experientially without a nice journal to refer to? It's incredibly valuable that you post, so don't think for a second that you're wasting your time, because you're not.

I'm a fellow SEO guy myself, so you keep those fingers tapping away so we can see what the hell is going with you

[Ivaylo]

But my point is that seeing journals like yours about relevant subs is a very good thing. How else will other members know what to expect from a sub experientially without a nice journal to refer to? It's incredibly valuable that you post, so don't think for a second that you're wasting your time, because you're not.

Thanks for the reminder, heavysm. I keep forgetting that somehow.

I liked the metaphor with the diamond, lol. Really motivating stuff.

[Jake2015]

I also agree with heavysm. I'm new here and eager to start my first sub but can't as I have no headphones or speakers due to a ceiling/roof caving in flooding my room and things. So everyday while I work on sorting all that out I come here to keep myself.positive and to gain greater trust in these subs so that when the time final comes to start these I can know what to expect as well as not give up etc. All of you here that take the time to write or share their knowledge and those that kindly reply to me aren't just helping your providing more than if we all just bought subliminals. It's a huge thank you to Shannon and Andrew and Ben to have offered this to us all via forums so thanks to them to you my friend I say keep writing and posting!

[Ivaylo]

Thanks, Jake! I appreciate the encouragement.

Unfortunately, that does not necessarily translate into me posting more often. I'm noticing a pattern in my writing here. When I'm confused, I make a new post in my journal and often that's enough for me to get clarity. On the other hand though, when I have clarity, putting my realizations into words only makes me confused.

In a way, posting less often here means that I'm getting more confident and I have more clarity. Of course, there still are times when I'm confused, demotivated, etc. but even then they follow a certain pattern, which I can easily identify. Once I identify a pattern, I know that it's only a matter of time before it dissolves and a new reality sets in. I suspect that this is what begins to happen once enough GSF is cleared.

There's a barrage of new realizations coming to me every day and most of the time it seems fruitless to share anything here, since it's only a matter of time for it to disappear and be replaced with another game-changer.

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My main struggle at the moment (one that I can't fit into a pattern yet) is finding a real, authentic social circle of entrepreneurs that are doing a bit more than just sweet-talking investors and operating their startups at a loss. It's very surprising to me how willing our startup accelerators are to invest in people, who are clearly talking out of their butt.

Those same people then continue to give lectures and to become mentors, long before (if ever) they start operating at a profit. They are not necessarily bad people, but still it seems stupid. I guess that's to be expected when a philosophy like entrepreneurship turns mainstream. Just because it's entrepreneurship, it doesn't mean that people will suddenly stop responding to the shiny and start valuing substance.

Not that chasing the shiny is bad, in my opinion. Chasing it while pretending to be a dreamer and a visionary - now that sucks. It seems to hurt both your chances of becoming a visionary, as well as the chances of catching the shiny. That's my takeaway from the whole situation, which I realized just now and this journal has once again served its purpose. Thanks to anyone reading!

[heavysm]

Not that chasing the shiny is bad, in my opinion. Chasing it while pretending to be a dreamer and a visionary - now that sucks. It seems to hurt both your chances of becoming a visionary, as well as the chances of catching the shiny. That's my takeaway from the whole situation, which I realized just now and this journal has once again served its purpose. Thanks to anyone reading!

From what you say it appears you just haven't found your market to concentrate on. If that sounds a little vague, I mean that you haven't found a market to create a product/service within thereby solving a need.

For about a year and half that was me back between 2009 and 2010/11ish. I knew i wanted to create and sustain a business but i had no idea what to get into. That's when i just decided to make SEO and ranking sites work for me.

Then in 2013 i got into email marketing (customer retention) and just this year into kindle publishing.

I would write down every profitable idea you have (literally - grab a pen and paper and write it down) so that you can go through the list over time to see what appeals.

That's more or less what i did. It wasn't logic that led me to any of my businesses. I just felt good about working within them. The items on my list that endured my curiosity were the things i focused on (they didn't feel stupid or unrealistic after i mulled them over; again not by thinking about them, but by checking how my body responded to them. That's more of an intuitive hit than logic or rationale).

I also dived in and made friends and learned my way through sort of "drown-swimming" until i had a good stroke going and things clicked for me. That may sound stupid, but from Shannon has shared with us, that's sort of how he started his business. I'm just saying that diving in when you barely have a clue seemed to work itself out though it might feel incredibly weird, uncomfortable, or even outright stupid. Especially if you don't think you have anything going for you. Somehow in some odd way it just tends to work out.

[Ivaylo]

From what you say it appears you just haven't found your market to concentrate on. If that sounds a little vague, I mean that you haven't found a market to create a product/service within thereby solving a need.

I can see how you reached that conclusion, but I don't think that's the case. /You still gave me 1-2 good ideas though, thanks for that. /
I have found a market, a few markets actually. If "chasing the shiny" was what tipped you off, what I was actually referring to was something different.

I used to make a very decent sum of money with SEO before I somehow got into my head, that what I was doing was "bad". When I did that (and few of my former closest people were more than willing to reinforce that mindset), I lost my edge and looking back, it was only a matter of time for things to go downhill.

I'm getting it back now, remembering what I did right and fixing what could be improved. I was lying through my teeth about what I was selling (herbal supplements, you know the kind ) back then and it was working beautifully. The thing is - I threw out the baby with the bathwater, so to speak, and decided that my whole approach was "bad". Nope, only the lying part should have went away. I should have kept my aggressiveness in selling (and life in general), instead of suppressing it and labeling it as wrong, but I am getting it back. That was what "chasing the shiny" was about.

Again, though, I appreciate the help. Always nice to hear from someone, who's earning money with SEO/online marketing.

[heavysm]

I can see how you reached that conclusion, but I don't think that's the case. /You still gave me 1-2 good ideas though, thanks for that. /
I have found a market, a few markets actually. If "chasing the shiny" was what tipped you off, what I was actually referring to was something different.

I used to make a very decent sum of money with SEO before I somehow got into my head, that what I was doing was "bad". When I did that (and few of my former closest people were more than willing to reinforce that mindset), I lost my edge and looking back, it was only a matter of time for things to go downhill.

I'm getting it back now, remembering what I did right and fixing what could be improved. I was lying through my teeth about what I was selling (herbal supplements, you know the kind ) back then and it was working beautifully. The thing is - I threw out the baby with the bathwater, so to speak, and decided that my whole approach was "bad". Nope, only the lying part should have went away. I should have kept my aggressiveness in selling (and life in general), instead of suppressing it and labeling it as wrong, but I am getting it back. That was what "chasing the shiny" was about.

Again, though, I appreciate the help. Always nice to hear from someone, who's earning money with SEO/online marketing.

Well you're making solid progress then and that's all that really matters.

I just made my response above on the off chance that you had shiny object syndrome (it's common enough to be called that) where people just from opportunity to opportunity trying to find what works. I'm glad that's not you though, because I've been in that boat and it was frustrating to say the least.

I actually had my own business related epiphany sort of like you. There was a market that i didn't want to touch because it didn't fit my mental image of what a business should be, but now i see it completely differently and there's a chance i might jump in with it.

It's funny, once you change your perception of things, everything changes, because that's all we have really - when our perception of reality changes it literally changes everything, for us. That might seem trivial or like "duh - lol" but when it happens it's like the clouds part and things are just different, because to you it is different.

Anyway, I'll be on BASE very soon when my run with LTU finishes. Definitely looking forward to that

[Ivaylo]

Great to see you've started your BASE journey, heavysm. Following you closely.

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So... I've been working on the sales copy of one of my product launches for about a week now, on and off. I've never been this aggressive and confident for years, but I'm still not where I was, say, 6 years ago. Back then, at the age of 21, with much more testosterone flowing in my veins, I was a different kind of aggressive - possibly what you would call a jerk. And it worked, sales were flowing in nicely.

It seems to me that now it's too late to come back to being that jerk. I'm more than ready to be perceived as jerk at any point, though, if that's what it takes, which I think is a healthy compromise. Still, widening my perspective of life seems to make things less certain. I can still be aggressive and passionate, but I find a necessity to also include empathy and appreciation for truth, which gives a completely different feel to what I do (and I like it).

Moving on.