Edition Five from none other than @GaryVee
Yes, I threw a “right hook” and asked for the interview. No, it didn’t land. However, a Tweet that he shared served as a better launching point than I could have asked or expected!
Here’s the Tweet:
(Link: https://twitter.com/garyvee/status/1292112303924576257)
It’s super easy to lose a lot of money 💴 in the current sports card market
— Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) August 8, 2020
People will wildly over speculate on rookies, especially in basketball 🏀
People will be under educate themselves and go to eBay and buy cards from “poor grading companies”
Please educate
For just a bit of background, Vaynerchuk has been heavily involved in the sports card market. It has been a passion for him back to his youth when he would attend and trade cards as a business. While others were playing in arcades, playing sports, and hanging out with friends, Vaynerchuk was making good money for his age trading sports cards.
A recent surge in sports card activity has brought that hobby in the cultural view and Gary’s spending a lot of time engaged in it.
All that to say this, his warning is important and something that everyone should note because his advice applies to things way beyond collecting and selling sports cards.
The individuals who would jump on buying & selling cards are often the same people who were “flipping shoes” less than a year ago. They were “dropshipping Amazon” or “mining cryptocurrency” two years ago. Five years ago, these were your “house flippers” who were building downlines to sell soap two decades ago.
It is not a new phenomenon. During the 1800’s Gold Rush, thousands on the East Coast streamed westward to California. In their dreams, they expected to quick jaunt where they would find gold nuggets sitting atop the ground waiting to be picked up. Fortunes were there for the taking. The shattered lives and broken bodies became their tragic story when their dreams of “easy” riches turned sour.
We see that same behavior now on social platforms with automated sequences attempting to sign you up for a newsletter, sell you a course, and offering their “coaching” within five minutes of you having simply followed their account! It is the marketer’s version of someone proposing marriage at the bar after simply offering to buy you a drink!
- Technology and automation are good things
- There are more widespread opportunities for average people to build communities (and businesses) than there has ever been
Recognizing that, the things to remember are (1) action trumps knowledge (but both are required for success) and (2) no technology can replace the connectivity of human relationships. Ignorance teaches painful lessons & acting in ignorance trying to use technology to replace human interactions turns off the very people that we try to attract!
I found this quote from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson right after he & his group of investors had just purchased the XFL out of bankruptcy.
It caught my attention for a number of reasons, but most of all that it represents the timeless idea that we rarely know what is “best” for us. Garth Brooks delivered a very similar message in his song, “Thank God for Unanswered Prayers”.
Dwayne Johnson’s story intersects in many ways.
- Johnson was a defensive star at the University of Miami playing alongside NFL Hall of Famer Warren Sapp. His football roots are only eclipsed by his family connections to Professional Wrestling as it’s the first “Third Generation” star.
- Johnson’s team purchased the XFL which was started by Vince McMahon who owned WWE where Johnson started his career.
His biography shares the disappointment and frustrations that Johnson was feeling as his professional football career ended in the CFL. His production company, Seven Bucks Productions, is named for that chapter in his life when he started training with his father, Rocky Johnson, having only $7 to his name.
Looking back now, it is unlikely that Johnson would have risen to similar heights has his football career not imploded. Might he have returned to the wrestling ring after an NFL career, yes, but maybe not.
As he notes, that thing he wanted the most (an NFL career) turned out to be the best thing that he never got because the future in front of him (while unknown at the time) would take him to heights he’d neven have imagined before.
Here’s an update from last week’s thoughts on E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber. You can check out that newsletter here.
I finished the book and can say that I was more impressed as a read farther in the book. It is truly amazing that he wrote it in 1995 building upon his original The E-Myth which appeared in 1986.
I plan to publish a post on my blog soon sharing my notes and takeaways. Be on the lookout for that.
As for my action items, I’m starting my Franchise Prototype & Business Development Process on a related endeavor. My website reskin goes live this week and that set of exercises is next on the list!
More to come…..:)
P.S. If you are so inclined to follow along, The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes is next on my list. I will be focusing on his thoughts about your Dream 100 and Client Retention, but I expect there to be a wealth of other “nuggets” that I will find along the path!
Here are a few other things that I have caught my eye this week! I included a quick synopsis, but I would love to hear your thoughts on them as well!
Creating Pillar Content
I have followed Content Marketing Institute and their work since I first read Joe Pulizzi’s Content Inc. If you are interested in using content to attract an audience to you and your businesses, this is a great place to start. Search engine algorithms value consistency & delivery.
- Are you consistent with the content you produce and the audience that you satisfy?
- Are you delivering real value that satisfies the questions that they are asking?
How To Identify Your Ideal Customer
I’ve gotten a lot of value from Dave Ramsey and his EntreLeadership material. This is a free webinar that they are delivering on Thursday, August 13th. I am sure that it will be time well invested if you are working on your Customer Avatars.
WordPress Suspends Astra Theme
If you are one of the over 1M WordPress sites that are built upon the Astra theme, take note. As of last week, its availability has reportedly been suspended on WordPress’ platform for five weeks. The theme creators are appealing, but website owners should check your site (especially if you use the theme).
Here are the things to know:
- If you want to use Astra, you will have to get it from the Astra site and load it manually.
- If you are running it on your site, automatic updates via the WordPress engine will not work during the suspension. Again, you will manually have to monitor and handle any updates during this period.
10 Best Google Slides Presentation Templates
Note: This one was shared last week, but I would definitely recommend it if you build presentations and want to work on-line.
If there are posts, articles, etc. that you found valuable, add a comment below or shoot me a reply to suggest it.
