Butters

Day 4: I'm planning to do a complete post-mortum on my 4-year print-on-demand business that I ran from 2020 to 2024. I will post that here. Before I can start a new business, I must identify exactly what went wrong and how I can avoid the traps in my next venture. Only once I have done that can I start my next business. If I just start my next business on a whim, I will make the same mistakes again and waste so much time. I'm convinced I can make this work and reach 10K pm in profit after tax, I just need the right approach. The cool thing about a post-mortum like the one I'm working on is that by knowing exactly what I did wrong (in exact detail), it should automatically draw out how to start my new business. So by carefully analyzing my mistakes I'm basically getting top-level, accurate, personalized mentorship for free. A little preview of that post-mortum: my biggest mistake was not knowing my numbers, not looking at them at all. I could have made plenty of other mistakes, wasting time in different areas of my business, but the one mistake of financial mismanagement was deadly. In order to succeed at this, I must get better at my finances. And what better way to learn than from my own financial history? I have everything logged, I just need to study my own numbers. I couldn't learn all this from a book, it's right here under my nose! I've also updated my previous post with more traps. Unfortunately the forum doesn't allow me to edit that post anymore but once I identify more traps I will add them. Will post the full post-mortum here soon, hopefully that will be interesting to you guys as well.

Let's say you can create a little space between you and your thoughts by meditating. This gives you some peace and clarity. But what if you create a LOT of space? More space = more peace? What about INFINITE space between you and your thoughts? Just a thought.

Just got around to watching this, wonderful! In between his responses you can see, nobody there 🤷‍♀️

Traps: It is important I know my personal traps. I've "failed" at my business earlier so I must avoid certain traps. Let's look at these one by one. Trap #1: Wriggling Being indecisive, making a decision and changing it quickly. For example I could think "oh this business isn't really who I am, I'm a comedian and I should focus on that". And then the next moment I go "no I'm also a real entrepreneur". This back-and-forth can be deadly. Solution is to be patient, and once a decision has been made, stick to it. And of course; never lose the goal out of sight. That's why I hammer so hard in this thread that the PURPOSE OF THE BUSINESS IS TO FUEL MY COMEDY. Also the impulse to quickly shift between business models "oh this isn't for me, let's do something else" or "this isn't working". Trap #2: Finances Poor financial management, not willing to look at my financial situation, seeing money as unimportant, glorifying money, identifying negatively with money, "struggling" with money, strong negative emotions around money, seeing money as something that would save me from my (bad) current situation. The whole subject of money seems often tied to my fight-or-flight response. Another example: receiving money, then immediately think of paying bills and thinking "it's not enough". Solution I think is gratitude and accepting reality on reality's terms. I'm still working on this. Trap #3: Impulsivity Ties in with traps 1 and 2. It's just work, it's just money, leave your emotions at the door. Solution to impulsivity: taking time. Nothing can really happen to me, I'll live. Also stoicism. Also planning my days. Trap #4: Influencers Love this trap! So basically I'd start watching some hardcore millionaire entrepreneur on YouTube and try to emulate his whole style of work. He might talk about monk-mode or hustling really hard, or perhaps following some strict diet or regimen for success. These kinds of things don't resonate with me, and once again, a split will occur "maybe this is what I should be". Yeah, don't think so. Once again, here I can create a duality between my "comedian self" and my "hustling entrepreneur self". Unnecessary, bullshit. This split may indicate a lack of confidence in my abilities as an entrepreneur. Trap #5: Taking it all too seriously Love this trap too! I'd start taking myself so damn seriously, it ruins my quality of life. Who cares!? It's just work. Jesus. Ironically by not taking it too seriously and staying true to my core values, I actually have way more success. Picture a comedian being at home alone doing monk-mode on his online business because some influencer said so while not making any money. Now that's a good joke. Trap #6: No balance Ties in with all the above. What I mean by this one is an obsessive behavior in a toxic way. I will completely isolate socially and kind of stop being myself, all because I MUST make this business work, and THEN I can present myself to others. Or whatever. So it's putting my real self into the future, or something like that. All because I am DISHONEST about my actual situation while living in fantasy-land where I'm a millionaire 'soon'. Then of course I become defensive once the fantasy gets attacked. This has to stop. Thankfully with my business failing this has stopped, lol. Trap #7: Stress Doubt and worry creates more doubt and worry. Quite literally. Such wasted energy. In my old state of mind, the business SUCCEEDING would actually be the worst outcome. Having money would be worse than not having money, because not having money you have nothing to lose. So if I want to have a nice income, I better not be emotionally attached to it. It's just money, it's just work. Family, friends, comedy, a blooming flower, all things that are way more important. If my next business succeeds but then fails again in the long run, I'll be fine. I'll be fine. I'll be fine. Seriously, that's the irony of it all. If you worry, you're not fine. If you don't worry, you're fine. The worry ITSELF is the fucking problem you idiot. Trap #8: Alcohol, cigarettes, drugs Had some drinks last night at a comedy show and the next day I definitely notice more ego than usual. I'm a bit less serene, a little less at peace with reality. Something about alcohol that does a number on my intuitive feeling. If I want to strive, I'd have to give up drinking almost entirely. At comedy shows I will be tempted constantly to drink, so I'm gonna have to learn to say no. I can imagine regular drinking completely ruining my nice intuitive and peaceful states of being so let's not even go there. Cigarettes are also ridiculous for many reasons, mainly: fucks up my health in the short term, makes me catch flues makes my mind obsessed with smoking instead of focusing on the task at hand gives me weird tingles from not getting enough oxygen in my blood (I think) expensive af, and since it's addictive I'll spend money on it constantly while smoking obvious longer term health consequences it stinks I'm not going to discuss harder drugs but they're just a more hardcore version of the alcohol, creating more ego and basically misery. I've a bit of an addictive personality. So how do I avoid this trap? Instead of simply saying "stop drinking" I could make a rule not to drink at comedy shows, because that's where most of the temptation will be. Let's make that rule now; no alcohol at comedy shows. Well, for me at least, God forbid the audience stopped drinking. That covers alcohol, because with alcohol I can be loose since I've never really been tempted to become a daily drinker. With cigarettes I need to be more strict, there is no casual smoking for me. So also; a cigarette-free existence. Trap #9: Not doing comedy Not applying for spots or not writing out of some fear or neurosis. Solution: daily habit of writing, daily habit of applying for spots and never canceling a show for no good reason. Trap #10: The comedy scene Funny how this is a trap in and of itself. This one includes: Getting caught up in drama Taking the comedy scene too serious Thinking I'm gonna 'make it' and identifying as such Comparing myself to others Being jealous of other's careers and progress Thinking or speaking badly of other comedians Giving away personal power in exchange for 'career help' from narcissists Expecting things from others in the scene Any form of judgement of self or other I've spoken to experienced comedians and often these guys are very humble and interested in another, they don't have their own heads up their ass. How else would you make it? Unless you actually suffer from NPD, you will need to genuinely cooperate with others to keep doing this. But at the same time, everyone is in it for themselves so don't think of anyone as your true friends. Each individual and institution within this scene serves a specific purpose. It's a very stage Orange environment. This trap is multidimensional and very tricky, because I could go ahead and vilify the scene now based how it functions, which would be yet another trap. Funny enough, thinking of the comedy scene as being selfish and not having my back, is in itself selfish. The solution here is to stay true to myself and understand who I am; not just a comedian, but also someone who's into self-actualization and business, and has his own values and beliefs. The comedy scene is not worth sacrificing the self for, but I should not push against it either. Be like water. Trap #11: Balance I could write a whole entry on just this. I'm a guy who really needs balance. I'm an individualist but I need to also function in groups. I'm a thinker but I also need to let that go. I'm a taker but I also need to give. I'm still trying to find this balance. My personality is usually obsessive, lacking balance, which breeds stress. Recently it's going better. See also: letting go, having faith Trap #12: Conflict Oh boy! This ties in again with earlier points. This is such a bare ego thing. My ego wants to push off against the 'other'. These are all thoughts. I've spent years resenting my dad, resenting the comedy scene, resenting certain people, even resenting kind of random people. I've even had a period where I thought everyone was a 'narcissist' and out to exploit me. And for what? Just wasted time. Let it go. Trap #13: Arrogance and superiority Again, ties in with earlier points. Arrogance and superiority are also forms of self-harm and are ultimately a waste of time. Accept life and reality as it comes. Trap #14: Intuition I should follow my intuition more and be a peace with the consequences. If I really want to go out and party, then go out and party. Then accept the hangover and empty bank account the next day also. Burn through the karma as much as you please with a positive attitude. Don't judge it. This is my life, so live it. Don't become dogmatic about these traps or this journey, it's a waste of mental energy. Trap #15: Pedestalizing outcomes See also: putting happiness off into the future. Don't link happiness to outcome. This moment right now is as good as it will ever get.

Day 2: So, once again, the business must serve as fuel for my comedy. The moment I forget that, I go down a road I don't wanna go down again. So if I'd have to cancel an open mic or have less time to just be completely free with my creative thoughts, I'm fucking up. This does not mean I cannot put dedicated focused time towards the business, but it must never take away from comedy. Ever. Not mentally or time-wise. I watched some videos on funnels yesterday and it annoyed me. Even the word marketing makes me wanna vomit a little. So becoming a guy who sells marketing services perhaps isn't the right way. What business models do fit my criteria? YouTube channel(s) Shopify; dropshipping or print-on-demand Selling digital products through my own website Amazon FBA or similar Affiliate marketing (funnel) Etsy is not on the list for several reasons, mainly that it requires you to reply to customers within 24 hours and is much less scalable. If I were to start something like print-on-demand again I'd wanna sell through my own website, which is then also an asset that can be sold. Let's go over each one: YouTube channel: So I currently have this spirituality / law of attraction Youtube channel where I make faceless videos with Elevenlabs. You might think this is fast but it takes a lot of time for me to make a video. Flippa is a website auction marketplace that now also allows you to sell established YouTube channels so if I can build this out to be a bigger channel I can not only monetize it but also sell the asset in the long run. I do enjoy making these videos, so I will continue doing that. I just need to figure out why my videos got up to 5K views and new ones that I upload get almost no views. So basically; learn Youtube. That's a good skill for me to have as a comedian as well, so I will continue with this channel. Shopify: If I were to start another Shopify store it would be a high-margin Print-on-Demand product. For example, this die-cut metal sign from Teelaunch: This has a $50 or higher margin. I would not sell t-shirts or anything like that on my own Shopify because the profits are just too low. I would add a personalization app to my Shopify store and offer customized signs or other products that people buy as gifts. This is similar to what I have experience with on Etsy, so I kinda know the market and everything. I have very little experience with PPC ads, social media or any form of marketing a business like this. But if I choose the right product I'd be happy to learn. Really, the key is choosing a high-margin product. Imagine the difference between waking up to 2 sales totaling $10 profit or 2 sales totaling $150 profit. Big difference in motivation. For this I'd probably choose influencers to help mostly with the promotion, but I would ultimately split between PPC ads, organic social, influences and SEO / Youtube SEO. Digital products: Not a clue what I would sell as digital products through my own website. I have no intention of putting together a course on anything. Selling ChatGPT prompts or something is going to get old really fast and probably won't even exist anymore in 18 months. I could sell digital assets that people could use for their Etsy shops but I already do that on my Etsy digital store right now. This would again be very small amounts, I don't see the point and seems like a lot of work. Actually if I were to do that last one it could work with YT shorts / TikTok and promote them as Etsy supplies. But mostly SEO for low-comp high-search keywords. Amazon FBA: Never done it. Requires research and upfront investment. Does seem to have high potential, especially when I combine it with a local competitor that is similar to FBA. Affiliate Marketing (funnel): This could be anything. I was once in a live webinar where they sold a $1500 online course on making money. I ended up pirating this thing and it was just hypnosis tapes. Imagine creating a funnel and making $500+ per sign up for something like this. The money really seems insane, especially once you have a solid PPC campaign running. I could also do this for local self-help seminars. === All in all, for now, my mind goes towards creating the high-margin print-on-demand Shopify store. I have experience with print-on-demand and having a Shopify store that does $5K profit per month you could sell for 18 - 24 months of profit on Flippa or through a broker like Empire Flippers. So even if this is not something I want to continue with 3 years from now, I could still sell it for $5K*24 = $120K. Just a hypothetical of course. But that's the cool thing about having your own asset instead of an Etsy shop; it actually has value. I could also end up with a combination of income streams, but when I start this I should focus on just 1 and really build that out with patience and consistency. Note: if you're wondering why I don't try to monetize my stand-up on Youtube for example, is because I don't want to contaminate my art with commerce. Sure I might have podcasts or stand-up on Youtube once I get a little better but this shouldn't be for the money. So I kinda want to be financially independent so I can pursue my art properly without financial motive.

Ask yourself: why do you ask this question on here? What would a yes or no do for you?

Do it then, stop overthinking. I was on Bali with no money left and no business and started building and selling websites on Flippa and I turned out fine. You seem to be smarter with actual work / some cash saved up so go for it.

You'll turn into Hamburger Man and save the world!

I think MDMA can be good if you haven't opened your heart in some time. It can make you accept life for how it is and have some empathy for the Whole. But it's extreme stimulation of serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine, of course that feels fantastic but has a downside the days / weeks after and as you said easy to abuse.

Replace Thetan with enlightenment and you love it.

OK I might try cbd oil for this. It's not anxiety in general, it also doesn't usually happen on my way back, just as I get on the train straight out of home (safe environment / routine).

Just curious if anyone has tips to manage anxiety on train and airplane. Basically I am anxious because I can't get off whenever I want to. Or perhaps I'm anxious because I fear having a panic attack. I do understand that these places are technically safe but that doesn't make much of a difference. I don't have any anxiety outside of these situations, no fear of social situations or anything. Breathing or any sort of consciousness work hasn't helped so far. Playing a mobile game kinda works because it distracts my mind.

And Russia. And China.

So what does this mean for him in concrete terms?

And only TIkTok benefits, just one company. Reason for regulation if you ask me.

I get fake videos of animal footage that's real but the Ai voice over tells a fake story. Like "this elephant got saved by his friends because he learned how to paint" and then clips of elephants and one elephant painting.

I think falling into the whole starving artist frame is a trap.

Yeah maybe, but that one's more a concept that will just get misinterpreted. I thought he meant society related stuff.

@Leo Gura could you please give some examples of videos that would be a blackpill warning video? I'm really curious.

Why don't you tickle Hitler? Maybe it'll turn him around.

I don't understand what this means. Can you give an example of where you talk to a woman and it is feministic nonsense?

Additionally, I could be fully green but then my society, family, and surroundings will force me to behave in Orange ways. So then I'd have to grow more into yellow to fully and passionately integrate the lower stages. To best function in the world you could argue you'd have to get to yellow as soon as possible. Orange can be experienced as painful from Green.

Interesting. Are physical objects more "persistent" than thoughts of a vacation for example? How do these degrees work? Because if all is equal as thought then I should be able to think my way into enlightenment, or a tropical vacation, but that is not the case. Or: is the stretching of the elastic band and snapping it equal to enlightenment?

And then the old constructs are replaced by new ones, or by nothing?

Is there a cap to this work we do if we do not have mystical experiences?