AsktheBuilder.com Issue #1259 (I think)

November 19, 2023

Dear ,

Are you a brand-new subscriber? I'm thankful for your trust and hope you have a marvelous experience being part of my Ask the Builder family.

This is by no means a typical newsletter. On special occasions, I do a deep emotional dive into what's on my mind. Today is one of those days.

Let's get started.

Thanksgiving

I live in one of the small handful of countries that celebrate Thanksgiving. The age-old tale taught to us urchins in grade school speaks to how the generous Native Americans, the Indians, extended their food and warmth to the hapless European settlers who were starving and somewhat unprepared for living in harsh New England. Assuming it's true, there are two messages in the story. Which one applies to how you live your daily life?

You may find this hard to believe, but I struggled to come up with a compelling message today. That's why this was not in your inbox just after 5 am today.

I love to reflect on the days leading up to Thanksgiving. It's so easy to just plod along in life and not think about where you are as compared to where you might be.

First and foremost I'm grateful that everyone in my family is doing well. It could be so much worse.

I'm not doing bad myself. My left elbow is healing from a bonehead injury brought on by my impatience just over two weeks ago. Since then, I aggravated the injury twice so now I'm really watching what I do with my left arm. But other than that, I'm extremely thankful for the happiness that washes over me each day.

In my seventy-one trips around the sun, I've NEVER been happier and more relaxed than I am now. I thank God each day for His blessings and for all He has given me. Do you do that?

You

I can't begin to share how thankful I am for you. Twelve years my world resembled a decorative Christmas snow globe. The software engineers at Google shook the Algorithm Snow Globe in the third week of February, 2011. Think 9.0 earthquake.

Overnight I lost 95% of my revenue. I almost went bankrupt. The traffic to my Ask the Builder website never come back.

You are what kept me and my family alive. Yes, this newsletter paid the bills. It's remarkable when I stop and think about it. 

I have Jeff Walker to thank for this. He is a good friend I met over twenty years ago. Jeff shared one day at a private conference how important it was to maintain your own list. He shared how it was vital to have the email address of followers instead of having thousands of INVISIBLE people visit one's website.

Those who worshiped at the altar of Google, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. would come to discover that tying their boats to that dock would be a mistake.

Jeff was solely responsible for making sure I've done my best to rarely miss the date you and I have each week. Thanks, Jeff!

Waking Up

Jeff is also indirectly responsible for waking me up. I met Jeff just after meeting one of my closest friends, Steve. Steve and I were part of the tiny handful of charter members of a very secret Internet mastermind group. Jeff was onboarded within months of the birth of the group.

This group was made up of entrepreneurs from across the globe although most lived in the USA. We started to meet face-to-face twice a year for three days. The ideas I discovered from the group accelerated my online success.

One day in my hotel room in Phoenix, Jeff talked about Abundance Juice. He grabbed one of the bottles of water on the chest of drawers. You know, the ones the hotels charge you $5 if you pop it open. 

Jeff cracked open the bottle and drank from it. He passed it around the room. We all cackled with laughter as he proclaimed that abundance is the mindset we should adopt. In other words, give away a substantial amount of knowledge to our followers and then some would pay to get the things they really needed.

He was right. I came to grasp this when I read the book he BEGGED us all to read. I've mentioned this book at least ten times here in the newsletter over the past fifteen years.

This book contained the secret formula to business success and personal financial security. 

But little did I know all those years ago this book also showed how I was being manipulated just like you are each day if you're still asleep.

Prior to meeting Jeff and reading the book, I was sleeping like a baby - much to my detriment.

The book changed my life. 

It lifted my eyelids showing how easy it is to be manipulated OR to manipulate others. Sharing yourself in any number of ways - being abundant - is the first step in persuading someone to do what you want. The formal name for this is reciprocity.

I'll share the book with you in just a moment.

Chief Dan George

"Your heart may never be as soft as it is today." 

Do you remember that line Chief Dan George uttered in the movie Little Big Man? It speaks to how as you age you often find it very difficult to forgive. You find it exceedingly difficult to bury the hatchet. 

It parallels what happens to your ego as you age. Have you noticed how fragile the egos get of many who age? They're not open to new ideas for fear of thinking they've been played for decades.

They're weak.

Is this you? Are the words Coniuratio Doctrina painted on the invisible shield you carry with you when you get into a discussion about any of your core beliefs? Go ahead, use an online translator to decipher that Latin. After suffering through two years of summer school for Latin, I've come to grasp why it was a required course in high school.

Your fragile ego may be getting in the way of so many things.

If you're still asleep, your ego is to blame.

Be thankful that I'm trying to help you wake up. 

Once awake, you're going to be so much happier. You're going to understand what's really happening in all aspects of your life.

You'll be able to savor pumpkin and pecan pies like never before.

You'll be able to better grasp who I am if that is of any interest to you.

You'll be stronger. You'll understand why I gravitate to the message in the Game of Thrones book and TV series. You'll understand why Queen Cersei's words to Lord Stark are on the front of my business card.

"You Can't Handle the Truth!"

Have you seen the movie clip where Jack Nicholson screams that to the young Tom Cruise? If not, watch it.

Can you handle waking up? Or, will your fragile ego rob you of this mental delicacy?

Speaking of delicacies, are you a subscriber to my new Adventures & Advice newsletter? 

If not, such a sad mistake. This morning I treated each subscriber to a very private story about my delightful Aunt Margaret and how she introduced me to one of my favorite foods.

You should subscribe to that newsletter. Each issue I dump a bucket of warm happiness all over you.

Okay, it's time for the book Jeff had me read.

You too should read the book. 

I GUARANTEE you it will change your life. 

If you scoff at it and reject my advice, you'll quite possibly go to your grave as shriveled up as the driest raisen you've ever seen. I'm talking about one stuck to the bottom of the forgotten container in your pantry.

Don't be that raisen.

If you don't already know this, Thanksgiving is my favorite meal of the year. I'll share photos of mine next Sunday.

#DoNotComply

Once bitten, twice shy...

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel - The BEST Love Story of all time - well, maybe a close second...

That's enough for a Sunday morning.

Peace out.

Tim Carter (PhD, FullyAwakeology)

Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com

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Do It Right, Not Over!