I like chocolates. Should I start up a chocolate factory?

I like watching movies. Should I setup a movie rental store?

Why do they say you should “Do what you like and money will follow” ?

Why is the number of books being written on this topic increasing while the failure rate of startup businesses is not decreasing?

Is there any correlation perhaps?

Are we unnecessarily being lied about the importance of formal education?

Those entrepreneurs who undermine the value of formal education… don’t they themselves hold Masters and even Ph.D degrees?

Is “Do what you are passionate about” a boogeyman created to sell how-to books and courses?

Any successful entrepreneur care to answer?

Thanks for reading!

I had this eBook I wrote last year, gathering electronic dust in the hardisk.

And publishing on Kindle store was on my mind for a long time.

So I just created a cover image for my ebook  (in under 2 minutes) and formatted the ebook according to Kindle guidelines.

Then headed over to Google (every internet marketer’s best friend) and searched for “How to publish on kindle”.

Cutting the long story short, my ebook is now available for purchase at the Amazon Kindle Store, a feat many can’t accomplish.

The last part of the above sentence refers to a research institute in Pakistan (can’t name it, sorry) established since last 2 decades or more. I have been pushing them to sell their books from Amazon Kindle plattf0rm, but they don’t seem to live in 21st century. Hopefully now they will pay attention.

Here’s the link to my ebook on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00835VPTY

Pinterest is the next Social Media revolution.

It’s an online pinboard which allows you to share and organize beautiful things you come across online.

A bit like Twitter (except that Pinterest is about sharing pictures)

“Pin” is a picture which you find “Interest”ing … and so the name Pinterest. But that’s just what I think, can be wrong too But it makes sense that way.

Ever wondered what it would have been like to join Facebook back in early 2000′s when it was still new and unheard of?

Well you can’t roll back in time can you, but you can join Pinterest because it’s still very new (currently running in invite-only mode).

I have this feeling that Pinterest will become very popular in the coming months.

It has 10.4 million users already.

And breakthrough news for internet marketers: According to one case study, Pinterest generated more traffic than Google+, Youtube and Linkenin combined! (Yeah I can see the grin on your face )

Anyways, here’s a tutorial on how to use Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/about/help/. It’s pretty straight forward and you’ll get hang of it in no time.

Time to sign off.

Osman

Had a discussion about this concept with my friend last night.

Overall the concept seems very logical and sensible and noble but then there are a few key exceptions where I tend to be highly polarized.

Doesn’t it make sense to help others by sharing whatever knowledge you have? After all, only if we help others, we can expect others to help us. Or is it really the case?

Here’s where I think the whole “Sharing for free” concept does not apply:

Business.

And since I am into internet marketing, let me bring you some examples from the internet marketing industry:

In this industry, if you are always sharing away all your tips and techniques and all those “secrets”, you are only attracting freebie seekers. And it’s very hard to convert those freebie seekers into buyers.

But what about “Karma”?

What about “The Law of Reciprocity”?

Because the truth is, no body shares this kind of information for nothing. Whenever we share this kind of knowledge, we expect some of form of benefit in return, either financial benefit(more about this in a second) or spiritual benefit(as in expecting good things to happen to you, out of the blue).

Example of how how an email marketer lost all the financial benefit down the drain:

Once upon a time there was an email marketer who was high on sharing useful tips and information for free. He had a large list of subscribers. Everyone liked him because he always used to giveaway his “tricks of trade” for free…. and they always expected more free information from him.

One day he sent out a promotional email to his list. It was a product his friend had created.

Only a few people purchased that product. Others on his list got angry and hurled all sorts of nasty comments to this email marketer. Why? Because his list consisted mostly of freebie seekers. They were not there to buy something, they were there just to get free information.

This email marketer, Ben Settle, learned his lesson and changed his ways. Now he’s raking in thousands of dollars every month. You can read his story in his own words over here: http://bensettle.com/blog/?s=freebie+seekers

It all boils down to this: Effort and Reward.

If you are in any business, you are actually there to sell. Period.

And selling is nothing but rewarding people for making the effort (of paying the price). And doesn’t it make sense to reward someone only if that person makes the effort to be rewarded?

That’s why in internet marketing, we always go after a market of hungry buyers, those who are ready to make the effort, not freebie seekers. I am not making this up. That’s what everyone in this industry will tell you.

One more thing, if “Sharing your knowledge” is like helping others…. then so is “Selling your knowledge”.

Suhail Algosaibi once said this and I agree with him: there’s nothing wrong with helping others profitably.

This has happened to you many, many times: You get down with fever. You go to pharmacy. You “buy” the pill. The pill “helps you” get rid of fever.

Here the pharmacist hit 2 birds with 1 stone. He made money by selling the pill AND he helped you get relieved from fever. This is called helping others profitably.

Same goes with internet marketing business, where your tricks of trade IS the pill you are supposed to sell, not handover for free.

When it’s not about business, then “sharing your knowledge” works just fine.

By doing this, you make more friends, who love you, and are always eager to listen to you. In times of need, they are the ones who will go out of their way to help you. You become a sort of authority on the subject you always share information about. You come in their good books. You earn people’s goodwill.

And that’s all right so far as non-business issues are concerned. Your eyes should always be on earning people’s good will and that’s a very noble pursuit. If everyone earn’s everyone else’s goodwill…. world will become a better place.

But when it’s about business, your eyes should always be on earning money and everything else (including earning people’s goodwill)  should come as a result of it. Not the other way around.

Just one more example before I end this post.

It’s about Matt Furey, a person whom I have a huge respect for. Matt Furey is a highly reputed fitness guru on the internet. His book Combat Conditioning became a best-seller. In this book he basically teaches 3 exercises that easily burn fat and increase muscle. Thousands of people consider this book as their fitness gospel, because the techniques and exercises he teaches in this book work very well.

Matt became a millionaire by selling Combat Conditioning and other fitness products to his email subscribers list.

What sets him apart is, he sends out emails everyday. And no, they are not spam. No body thinks of his daily emails as spam. Why. Because his emails always contain value. He always shares useful information about health and fitness. And he does that in a very entertaining way. BUT he never tells you what those 3 exercises are that helps burn fat and increase muscles. If you want to know what those 3 specific exercises are, go buy Combat Conditioning.

That’s what I am talking about. That’s the place from where I say that sharing your knowledge for free might not be in the best interests of you nor the receiver.

Alright, that’s all for now. Looking forward to your input.

Osman.

We expect things (like relationships,  events,  daily activities and everything else in between) to be perfect, as planned,  as if our plans are set out in stone. And when things run their natural course (which is never perfect by the way,  ups and downs are always there),  we get frustrated and angry. Why so much perfectionism to begin with?

And thus my war against perfectionism continues. Excellence,  though,  is a virtue and I am all for it.

Osman S.

The two “RES” of decision-making: RESources and RESponsibilities! It’s like whenever you need to make a decision, see if you have enough resources and if there are more important responsibilities that need your attention.

Still a premature theory, in my oh-so-humble opinion.

Lets see where more contemplation on my “The Two RES Theory of Decision Making” theory would take me to. You can join me in this contemplation if you’d like.

“With power comes RESponsibility”!

Osman Safdar

I find it difficult.

I believe we should keep on evolving our minds,rather than living in the prison of “Who I am”. At one point in life,I started stuttering,heavily. Easily,I could have attributed “stuttering”to “myself”. If I did that,the part of my mind that deals with stuttering would have stopped growing.

No sir.

I don’t subscribe to the whole “Be Who You Are”movement.

If you want to find out your strengths and weaknesses (using some personality “quiz”) and then live the rest of your days in that comfy zone of your strengths,be my guest.

Me? I’d like to walk the road less traveled.

Anyways,here’s some non-philosophical info about yours truly:

Basically I hold a B.Sc degree in Civil Engineering. And at the time of this writing (August,2011) I am unemployed.

I have a blog,where you are reading this right now. I like the idea of blogging. More than blogging I like the idea of having an online business. Done the right way,online businesses can really be called “Fastlane”businesses. Fastlane business is term coined by my favorite business author MJ DeMarco,the author of “Millionaire Fastlane”. It’s a must read in my opinion.

Other must-read books that I recommend:

1. Mindset by Dr. Carol Dweck
2. The Luck Factor by Dr. Richard Wiseman
3. Pace by Dr. Al Sears

Those are numero uno on my priority list,though I’ve read them more than once already. I like the old-fashioned advice of reading something again and again so it becomes your second nature.

———-

Listen,as I said above,I find it a bit difficult to write an essay about myself. As soon as something interesting comes up on my mind,I’ll include it in this little biography. Signing off till then…

Basically they started joking about something very silly, pulled me in it and then stretched it for another couple of hours until it got on my nerves. Obviously I got irritated and impatient. When I expressed that I’ve had enough of this, they were like ‘Osman why are you being so serious, we’re just having fun’.

Next thing I did I slapped them hard and said “See I am having fun too”.

But I didn’t do that. I forgave ‘em.

So why bring this up now.

Because Ramadan is around the corner. And I wanted to remind MYSELF a few things on this occasion:

1. This month, try forgiving others. It aint about skipping meals only. It’s about purification of body AND soul.

2. Forgive your body. Don’t punish it by thrusting meals upon meals upon meals into this tiny little chamber popularly known as stomach.

3. How about forgiving fellow drivers and pedestrians. Yep, don’t let an empty chamber be the reezun for over-speeding.

That’s all for now.

Osman S.

P.S If thou art fancying the idea of losing flab while fasting, clicketh here.

“So” you might ask.

“Nothing”

Just that whenever this happens, I wonder why they say it takes only 21 days to change a habit. Had that been the case  - had 21 days been enough to make waking up 6am every morning a habit  - alarm clocks would’ve been out of business even before you were born.

If you’re like any normal person, then since the last 21 years, not days, you’ve been trying to wake up at 6 – first for school, then for college and now for work. Be honest, don’t you still struggle smashin’ the crap outa the snooze button.

I was reading somewhere – can’t remember where – one MIT student has designed a clock that moves around the room when the alarm starts ringing. So you’d have to chase after it to stop it. So much to wake up early.

On the contrast, practice something “mindfully” for as short as 5 days, and that might get hardwired in the cerebrums. Take handwriting for example.

Back in college, I remember reading a bunch of books on handwriting analysis – more stylishly known as “Graphology”. My friends would bring me their handwriting samples and I’d reveal their personality traits from it. Beware, your handwriting might just reveal your dark secrets to someone who has the eye for it (aka me). Kidding of course.

Now can you really change your handwriting in 5 days? I don’t know. I yet have to try that.

A friend told me at a coffee meetup I attended 2 Fridays ago that habits form when we practice things mindfully. I believe my friend is right. Take fasting for example. Few days into it and it starts to feel like a routine.

I leave it up to you to confirm my doubts – specifically about the whole 21 day equation. Is it even researched? Or is it a legend passed down to us from ambitious self-help gurus?

21 days or 5 – It does take some time. Stop thinking you can bring about a drastic change in an instant. Effort is the currency of success – a lesson Dr. Carol Dweck teaches like no one else in her outstanding extraordinaire book “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success”.

That’s all for now.

G’ Night.

Osman S.

So why am I telling you this? Because there’s a lesson in here I’d like to share with you.

Look, everyone has a comfort zone inside which they feel comfortable. But this zone must be expanded to reach the goals we previously thought impossible, right?

So there are two ways to expand your comfort zone. Imagine if your comfort zone is a circle around you, the imaginary comfort zone circle.

1. Either we can stay inside the circle and try to push its boundaries out to expand it.

2. Or we can step out of the circle and then drag the boundaries farther.

Which one them is them more effective? I think stepping out the comfort zone circle is more effective. Reason: When we are inside the circle, we’re not really sure where the boundaries are. We can only guess and make an assumption. More often we underestimate the location of boundaries and so we don’t make as much effort as needed for expansion to take place. Where as once we step out of the zone, we know where the boundaries are, where the limits are, so can accurately and effectively try to expand it.

In practical terms, it’s when we feel a little nervous, a bit hesitant, thats when we know we are outside our comfort zone. That’s the time to take action.

Just trying to play jujitsu with your mind!

It feels good to try to accomplish new things rather than just sitting at home and visualizing about accomplishment (as self help gurus say).

Anyways, that was just some food for thought. Hope you enjoyed.

Osman S.

P.S. You might be living in a comfort zone when it comes to making money online. Maybe you think “It’s just impossible” or “It’s not my cup of tea”. How would you know if you don’t step out and see for yourself? Agreed? Then signup below to know more about my online money making tips.