SPI 240 Tips and Tricks for Getting the Most Out of the ...Neil Strauss. Now, I will say that this book is not a business book. It’s an interesting book about the dating world. Neil

SPI 240

Tips and Tricks for Getting the Most Out of the Conferences You Attend

November 16, 2016

Show NoteS: http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/session240

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Pat: ThisistheSmartPassiveIncomePodcastwithPatFlynn,session

number240:“Hey,WanttoMeetUp?”

Announcer: WelcometotheSmartPassiveIncomePodcast,whereit’sallabout

workinghardnowsoyoucansitbackandreapthebenefitslater.

Nowyourhost-heprepsallofhisfoodfortheweekonSunday-Pat

Flynn.

Pat: What’sup,everybody?Thankyousomuchforjoiningmetodayin

thissessionoftheSmartPassiveIncomePodcast.I’msuperthankful

you’reherewithme,andit’sjustyouandmetoday.Noguestson

theshowtoday.

Ithinkthelasttimewedidthiswasactually10episodesago,in

episode230,whereItalkedaboutmyjourneyfromstartingout

onstageasapublicspeaker,andthathappenedin2011.Inthat

episode,episode230,IactuallytakeyoubackintheDeLorean

andweactuallylistentomyselffrom2011andafewofmyother

presentations,andIgivecommentaryaboutit.Actually,byfar,over

thepast-Idon’tknow-I’dsay50,60episodes,thatonehashadthe

mostincrediblefeedback,justbecauseit’sdoneinaverydifferent

way.Ifyouhaven’tlistenedtothatyet,Ihighlyrecommendyou

checkitout.That’sepisode230,andofcourse,theshortlinkstoall

theepisodesareSmartPassiveIncome.com/session,andthenthe

sessionnumber.Forthatone,itwouldbeSmartPassiveIncome.com/

session230,andforthisone,itwillbeSmartPassiveIncome.com/

session240.Allthelinksandshownotesandresourcesaregoing

tobethere.I’llre-mentionthatlinkattheendoftheshow.

Speakingofpublicspeaking,speakingofpublicspeakingand

events,that’skindofwhatIwantedtotalkabouttoday.Not

necessarilythepublicspeakingpartofit,butmoresothe,“How

doyougotoaneventandattendit,andenjoyit,andgetthe

mostoutofit?”2017iscomingup.Someofyoumightbelooking

aheadatyourcalendar,tryingtodecidewhatconferencestogo

to,wheretogoandmeetupwithotherpeople,whoyouwantto

listento.IactuallyhaveascheduleonSmartPassiveIncome.com

whereI’llbespeaking,atleastwhereIknowI’llbespeakingin

http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/

http://smartpassiveincome.com/session240


2

2017rightnow.IfyougotoSmartPassiveIncome.com/speaking,

youcangoaheadandcheckthatout.That’sactuallyalsowhere

youcangoandhireme,ifyou’dliketohiremetospeakonstage

foryouandyourpeeps.

Anyway,Ijustactuallygotbackfromanevent,FinCon.I’mrecording

thisinSeptember,aweekafterFinConjustended.FinCon2016,

whichistheFinancialBloggerConference.Actually,that’soneof

myfavoriteconferences.It’sactuallythefirstconferenceIever

spokeat,backin2011.NotthefirstoneIattended,though.Iwant

totalkalittlebitaboutthefirsttimeIattendedoneofthesemajor

conferences,anditwasBlogWorldExpobackin2010.I’donly

beenbloggingforacoupleofyears,hadn’tyetstartedmypodcast

yet.Iwasabouttodothat.Irememberbuyingaticketforthisevent,

andthenimmediatelyfeelingcompletelyoverwhelmedbecause

Ididn’treallyknowwhatIwasgettingmyselfinto.Howareyou

supposedtoknowwhatyou’regettingyourselfintountilyouattend

oneofthesethings?

Well,hopefullythisepisodewillhelpyoufigurethatout,because

Iwantyoutogototheseevents.ThereasonIwantyoutogoto

theseevents,evenifit’sjustoneofthem,isbecauseit’ssuchan

amazingexperiencetogetinvolvedwithotherpeoplewhoarelike-

minded,toseetheminperson,tobreakbreadwiththem,towatch

themspeak,tositnexttotheminthecrowd,tohaveadrinkwith

them,tohavecoffeewiththem,andjustbearoundthosepeople.

It’ssodifferentthanwhenwedoworkoutofourhomes,oreven

inouroffices.Peopledon’tgotothesethingstohaveabadtime.

Peoplegototheseconferencestohaveagreattime,andtolearn

alot,anddependingonwhichoneyougoto,itcanbeanamazing

experienceforyou.However,Iremembergoingbackto2010and

BlogWorldExpo,whichlaterchangeditsnametoNewMediaExpo,

whichlaterjustdiedout,whichsucks,becausethatwasoneofmy

alltimefavoriteevents.

Itwaskindoflikemyhomeaudience,Ifelt,afterIstartedspeaking.

Beforethat,itwasoneofthefirstconferences,orthefirstthatI’d

everbeento,andman,whenIgotthere...Justletmepaintthe




3

pictureforyou.Vegas,right?Ican’trememberexactlywhichhotel

itwas.IthinkitwasMandalayBay.Yougointhereandalreadyit’s

acasinoinVegas,sothere’salotofpeoplealready,andthenyou

seeallthesepeoplewearingthesebadgesthatsaythenameof

theevent.“BlogWorldExpo.”Then,youjustseepeoplewalking

ingroups,andcliques,andsomepeoplewalkingalone,movingto

theirnextdestination,goingtothecheck-incounter.There’saload

ofpeoplethere,linesofpeople,andbackthen,Ididn’treallyknow

anybody,andnobodyreallyknewwhoIwas.Itwasjustme.Idid

knowafewpeople,andIlookedoutforthemandtriedtofindthem,

triedtextingthembecauseweconnectedbeforehand,whichisa

hugerecommendation.Ifatallpossible,connectwithotherpeople

whoyouknowaregoingtobewithyouatthisevent,andeven

better,trytotravelwiththem,ifyou’recomingfromthesametown.

Itcanbeaveryoverwhelmingplacetobe,especiallyifyouare

anintrovertlikeme.Steppingintoaspacewherethere’satonof

people,atonofstuffgoingon,forme,Ijustwantedtocrawlinto

alittleshell,headbackupintomyhotelroom,andjustnoteven

dealwiththis.Youknow,Iwasthekidinthebackoftheclassin

schoolwhowouldneverraisehishandunlesscalledupon,andit

wasthesamewayevenaftercollege,evenafterIgotcomfortable

talkingtopeople.PuttingmyselfinanenvironmentlikethiswhereI

didn’tknowanybody,itwasvery,veryscary.Plus,thiskindofevent,

unlikemanyotherevents,well,therearemanyeventslikethisone,

too.There’sdifferentkinds.I’llgettothatinasecond,butthisone

hadanumberofdifferentthingsgoingonallatthesametime.

Theschedule,forexample,at4pmononedaytheremightbe10

differenttalksgoingon.Itwasalittleconfusingtryingtofigureout,

“Hey,whichoneshouldIgoto?”

Ididn’tevenknowmanyofthesespeakers.Iknewacouple

peoplewhoIwantedtoreallylistento,oneofthosepeoplebeing

DarrenRowse,whowas,like,myherobackthen.Hestillis.Darren

RowsefromProBlogger.net.Darren,ifyou’relisteningtothis,Ilove

you,man.Iappreciateyou.Thanksforallyourinspirationwhen

Iwasstartingoutinthebloggingworld.DarrenandIhavenow

sincebecomefriends.IhavespokenathiseventinAustralia,Pro




4

BloggerLive,whichisawesome.Irememberseeinghimatthis

eventwalking,andhehad,like,thiscrowdofpeoplearoundhim,

andIjustthought,“Man.Thisguyisasuperstar.”Isawhimspeak

afewdayslaterinaroomthatwaspacked,standingroomonly,

andIdidn’tevengetachancetogoinbecauseIwastooscaredto

squeezemywaythroughandbotherpeople.

Tobehonest,IdidnotplanaheadlikeIshouldhave.Iboughta

ticket.Itwasacouplehundredbucks,andIdidn’tevenwatchany

ofthepresentations,partlybecauseIendedupfindingacouple

peoplethatIkindoflatchedonto,notinabadkindofway.Not

likealeech,ifyouwill,butIfoundpeoplewhoIknewandImeta

fewpeopleinandaroundthehalls,andstartedtogetcomfortable,

startedtotalktothem,andthat’sreallywhatittakes.That’skindof

whatIwantedtotalkaboutinthisepisode.Goingintooneofthese

events,likeIsaid,itcanbeveryoverwhelming,butthere’safew

tipsandtricksIcangiveyoutohelpyouactuallyjustgetthrough

someofthatanxietythatyoumightbefeeling.

Someofyou,youmaybeextroverts,youmaybecompletely

comfortableinthesesituations,andseriously,kudostoyou.IwishI

hadyourjust,whatever,charismagoingintosomeofthesethings.

Forme,it’sarealstruggle.Eventoday,atFinCon,Igointothese

rooms,andeventhoughI’montheothersidenow,Iamnowthe

DarrenRowse,andpeoplecomesometimestotheseeventstohear

mespeak,whichI’mjustcompletelyflatteredandhumbledby,but

eventhoughI’minthatsituation,Istillwalkintotheseplacesand

sometimesIjustwanttoescape,becausetoomanypeopleisreally

scarytome.However,andthisisthefirsttrickthatIwanttoteach

you,somethingthatIincorporateallthetime,whenyoujuststarta

conversation,everythinggetsbetter.Ithinkalltheanxietyhappens

beforeyoustarttalkingtopeople.It’sallthelead-up,andthemore

timeyougiveyourselftopsychyourselfout,theharderit’sgoingto

be.Thatwasmyproblematfirst.Iwastoomuchofachickenand

tooscared,andbecauseofthat,Ithoughtaboutitmore,andIgot

evenmorescared.

IactuallypickedupafunlittleruleinabookcalledTheGameby




5

NeilStrauss.Now,Iwillsaythatthisbookisnotabusinessbook.It’s

aninterestingbookaboutthedatingworld.NeilStraussandafew

otherpeoplegottogetherandtheylivedinthismansion,andthey

werekindofpickupartists,astheycalledthemselves,orwhatare

theycalled?PUAs.P-U-As.Anyway,therewerealotofthingsinthis

bookthattheyuseforstrategieswhich,I’mahappilymarriedman,

soIwasn’tactuallyreadingitforthatreason,butIwasreadingit

moresobecauseitwasabestseller,anditwasagreatbook.Alot

ofpeoplerecommendedit.

Therewasoneparticularrulethattheyused,whentheseguys

weretryingtostartconversationswithgirls.Irememberjusthearing

Neiltalkabouthisanxietywhenhewasfirststartingoutinthis

journey,withthesepickupartiststhathewaslearningfrom,thathe

justwouldgetscaredtoo,inasimilarway.Heincorporated,and

theytaughthimthisrule,calledthe“threesecondrule.”Youmay

haveheardmetalkaboutthisbeforeonblogpostsandpodcast

episodes.Seriously.Whenyouareinapeoplesituation,thethree

secondrulecanbeyourbestfriend.Thethreesecondrulesays,

“Nevergiveyourselfmorethanthreesecondstopsychyourself

outifyouwanttomeetsomebody.”Youseesomebodyacross

theroom,oryouseesomebodysittingnexttoyou,youknowyou

shouldtalktothatperson,oratleastintroduceyourself,don’tgive

yourselfmorethanthreeseconds.One,two,three,boom.That’sit.

That’sallyougiveyourself.Youmust,withinthattimeperiod.One,

two,three.Withinthosethreeseconds,yougouptothatperson,

youintroduceyourself.

Introducingyourselfisveryeasy.Youcanaskquestions.Oneofmy

favoritethingstodotomeetnewpeopleis,whenI’msittingdown

andI’mabouttolearnfromsomebodywho’scomingonstagein

afewminutes,Ijustseewho’saroundme,andIjustintroduce

myself.Ithink,overtime,whenyoudothismore,youjustgetmore

comfortablewithit.EventhoughIknowifIgivemyselftoomuch

timeIwillstillpsychmyselfout,Idon’tthinkthere’sanygetting

ridofthat,forthoseofyouwhocanrelate,butthethreesecond

rulehascompletelyworkedforme.I’vemetalotofgreatpeople.

I’vespokentopeoplewhoweretheequivalentofDarrenRowse




6

atrecentevents,whoIwouldhavenormallybeenjustcompletely

afraidofwalkinguptoandspeaking,andtalkingto.Youdon’tgive

yourselfthreesecondstopsychyourselfout,andyoujustgoand

youstartchatting.Thoseinitialconversations,onceyougetstarted,

reallyeverythingjuststartstohappenfromthere.

Imean,whenyoutalktoafriend,forexample,whenyouthink

aboutit,youdon’tnecessarilyplanaheadonwhatyou’regoing

tosay,butit’syourfriend,soyou’recomfortablejustsayinghiand

introducingyourself,becauseyou’vedoneitbefore.Whenit’s

somebodynew,it’skindof,you’reafraidofbeingawkward.You’re

afraidofbeingstifforweird,orthatpersonwalkingaway.Onceyou

getstartedinthatconversation,andremember,peoplearegoing

totheseconferences...It’snotlikeyou’rewalkinguptorandom

strangersonthestreetwhodon’tevenknowwhyyou’rethere.

Peopleknowwhyyou’rethere.They’rethereforthesameexact

reason.They’retheretolearn,andtypicallynetwork,andmostly

networkmorethanlearn,actually.Manypeoplearedoingthisthing

nowcalledun-conferencing,wheretheygoandflytoaconference

whereaconferenceishappening,buttheydon’tevenattendanyof

thesessionsoranyofthekeynotes.Theyactuallysitinthehallways

andjustchatwithpeople,anddependingonwhichconferenceit

is,youmayormaynotbeabletogetaccesstothehallways,but

manypeopledothisun-conferencingthingbecausethenetworking

aspectiswhypeoplego.

Pointbeing,peoplegototheseplacestomeetandtalkwith

people,andtrustme,iftheotherpersonisalsoanintrovert,also

somebodywho’snotgoingtostartaconversationbecausethey’ve

waitedlongerthanthreeseconds,becausetheyareworriedabout

lookingbad,too,orsayingthewrongthing,guesswhat?You’re

doingthemafavorbybeingtheonewhojustsays,“Hey.What’s

yourname?Whereareyoufrom?Whatdoyoudo?”Thosekindsof

questionsarereallysimple,andyes,youmaysaythesamething

overandoverandoverandoverandoveragaintodifferentpeople,

buttothatperson,it’sthefirstinteractiontheyhavewithyou.

Allyouhavetodoisjustsmileandbeconfident,stickoutyour




7

hand,orjustlookoverandsay,“Hey,howyoudoing?Areyou

enjoyingtheconference?Whatdoyouthinksofar?Whohasbeen

yourfavoritespeaker?”ThosearesometricksthatIuse.Ioften

ask...Obviouslydon’taskthatifit’sthefirstspeakeroftheday,

becausethenyou’llsoundkindofweird,becausenobodyelsehas

spoken,butifit’sthesecondday,forexample,I’llsay,“Hey,have

youseenanybodyonstagethat’sbeengreat?”Or,“Whatdoyou

thinkoftheconferencesofar?”Or,“Whereareyoufrom?Whatdo

youdo?”Peoplegototheseplacestonetwork,andyoucanstart

thatconversationveryeasily.It’snotashardasyouthink.

TheotherthingIalwayshavetocheckmyselfwith,orjustask

myself,is,“Well,what’stheworstthatcanhappen?”Theworst

thatcanhappenisyougototheseconferencesandyoudon’tsay

anything,right?Theonlymistakeyoucanmakeisbeingafraidto

makeone.Justgooutthere,putyourselfoutthere,andstartthese

conversations.Theworstthingthatcanhappenissomebodyjust

doesn’thavetime,orjustsays,“Sorry,I’mbusy,”or,“Idon’twant

totalkrightnow,”andthat’stotallyfine.You’renevergoingtosee

thispersonagain,mostlikely,orifyoudo,itwillbeindifferent

circumstanceswhereyoucanthenstartaconversationlater.

Ifyouaren’tsokeenonstartingconversationsinthehallways,

which,again,peoplearealreadyhavingconversations,already

chatting.Ifsomebody’sstandingalone,gouptothem.Theywant

totalktopeople,mostlikely.Usecommonsense,however.If

somebody’sonthephone,obviouslydon’tinterruptthemwhile

they’reonthephone,butifthey’rekindofjuststandingthere

waiting,juststartaconversation.Lookattheirbadge.Lookattheir

name.Maybetheirwebsite’sonthere.Askthemwhatthatmeans.

Notwhattheirnamemeans,butwhattheirwebsitemeans,orwhat

theirbusinessmeans.Allthosekindsofthingsarereally,reallyeasy

conversationstartersthatcanthengetyouintosomethingwhere

youcouldpotentiallyhaveafriendshipbudoutofthat.Actually,a

lotofmyfriendsthatInowhaveonlinearearesultofjustthelittle

minusculerandomconversationsthathappeninthehallwaysat

theseevents.That’swhytheseeventsaresoimportant.




8

Iwantyoutolookaheadto2017,andtrytoseeifthere’sone

ortwoofthesethingsthatyoucangoto.Now,Idohaveafew

recommendations,becauseIwillbeattheseeventstypically,

butofcoursethere’salwaysfamilyschedulesandotherthings

pending,whichmaymeanImightnotattendthem,buttheseare

onesthatI’veattendedinthepastthatIthoroughlyenjoy.There’s

TrafficandConversionSummitinFebruary,whichis,inmyopinion,

amoreadvancedconferenceforpeoplewhoarelookingfor

someofthemorenewedge,brandnewstrategiesthatpeopleare

usingtoreallyincreasetheirROI.Itrangesfromeverythingfrom

blogging,podcasting,toe-commerce,paidadvertising,anything

digitalmarketing.

It’sactuallyrunbyDigitalMarketer,orRyanDice,somebodywho

Ihighlyrespect,andhedoeshangaroundthosecirclesItypically

don’twanttobeinvolvedwith.However,he’soneofthegood

guys,Ifeel.I’vemethiminperson,andIreallylikehimandwhat

he’sdone.Hehasamulti,multi-milliondollarcompany,andhe’s

doingsomegreatthingsinthedigitalmarketingspace.Again,that

conferenceiscalledTrafficandConversionSummit,andthat’s

...Historically,it’salwaysbeeninSanDiego,whichisreallycool,

whichisinmyhometown.SometimesIdoholdmeetupsinand

aroundtheseconferencesthatareinmyhometown,andwhereIgo

speakaswell.I’lltalkmoreaboutthatinasecond.

Thenextconferencethatishappeningisin,Ithink,thesecond

tolastorthelastweekofMarch.ThatisSocialMediaMarketing

World,thelargestsocialmediaconferenceintheworld.It’sliterally

takingoverSanDiego,intheSanDiegoConventionCenter.The

sameconventioncenterwheretheyhaveComic-Coneveryyear

inSanDiego.IknowthefounderofSocialMediaExaminer,who’s

thefounderofSocialMediaMarketingWorld,andhe’sawesome.

He’sactuallyinamastermindgroupwithme,MichaelStelzner.

Thisevent,byfar,isthemostprofessionalthatI’vebeento.It’sa

littlebitmorehigherofaticketprice,becausemuchofthecore

audienceare...Imaginepeoplewhoareworkingatinmarketing

firmsofbigcompanies.Thosekindsofpeople.Theseheadof

socialmediaatcertaincompanies.Thosekindsofpeopleare




9

theonesthatattendthisevent,andsothiseventcancommand

ahigherpricepoint.Thatdoesn’tstopthebloggersandthe

podcastersfromcomingtothisevent,becauseforone,it’shuge.

There’satonofnetworkingopportunities.

Two,Michaelalwaysputsonanamazingshow.Forthelasttwoor

threeyears,theopeningpartyhasbeenontheMidway,whichis

aretiredUSSbattleshipherethat’sstationedinSanDiegooffthe

shore,whichisreallycool.Thisisoftenadinnercruiseorsomething

thathappensthesecondnight.Reallygoodkaraokegoingon.

Thesethingsarealotoffun,butalsosomeofthebestspeakers

cometothisevent,too.Michaelalwaysfindssomereallygood

speakers.EverybodyfromMariSmithtoJayBehr,GaryVaynerchuk

camelastyear.Reallyhighnamesinthesesocialmarketingsort

ofatmospheres.Again,that’sSocialMediaMarketingWorld,

happeninginsortoftheendofMarch,whichisreallycool.

I’malsogoingtobeattending,mostlikely,PodcastMovement,

whichIbelieveishappeninginJulyorAugustof2017.I’msuper

stokedaboutthisonebecauseit’soneofmyfavoriteevents.

Podcasting,obviously,Imeanyou’realllisteningtopodcastsright

now.It’savery,verybigthing,andthisconferencehasbecomethe

hubofPodcastingNation.Thisiswheregreatpodcastersinthe

businessspace,totheentertainmentspace,SarahfromSerialcame

tokeynoteonetime,andallofthesebignames.Ihadtheprivilege

ofkeynotinganddoingtheopeningkeynotein2015.Ialsodida

sessionlastyear,andifIgettogothisyear,Iwilllikelybedoing

anotherworkshoporsessionofsomekind,whichI’mreallyexcited

about.Plus,thepeople,thepodcastingspacesislikefamily,yo,

becauseweallhavethisconnectionwithusingourvoicetosharea

message,andIthinkwecanallrelate.Forwhateverreason,itkind

of...Well,notwhateverreason,makessense.Wealluseourvoice

tochatandcommunicate,sowhenwegototheseevents,weuse

ourvoicetochatandcommunicate.Wejustallhappentobethere

inperson.Itreallyhelpstheindustry,andthere’sagreataward

showthereaswell.Again,that’sPodcastMovement.

Then,wealsohavetheonethatIjustcamebackfrom,whichis




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FinCon.Nextyear,it’sgoingtobeinDallas,whichisreallycool.It’s

beenchangingcitieseverysingleyear.Acoupleofyearsagoitwas

inSt.Louis,thenitwasinCharlotte,theninNewOrleans,thenSan

Diego,allthewayonthewestcoast.Now,it’scomingbacktomid-

countryhereinDallas.What’sreallycool,andIwanttotalkalittle

bitmoreindetailaboutthis,werethemeetupsthatwerehappening

inandaroundFinConhereinSanDiego.OnethingthatIdid,now

Iknewthatthereweresomepeoplewhoplayedbasketballwho

wereattendingthisconference,sointheconferenceFacebook

group,Ijustputalittlemessagesaying,“Hey,arethereanyballers,

basketballplayers,intheaudiencewhowouldliketogettogethera

daybeforetheevent?Maybewe’llshootsomehoops.”

Wehadabout25to30peopleexpressinterest,andsomygood

buddyJoelRunyonandI,werentedacoupleofcourtsatBalboa

Park,whichisanicedestination,historicalareaofSanDiego,and

wehad20peoplecomeout.IbroughtsomeGoPros,andwefilmed

it,andhonestlyitwasoneofthecoolestpartsoftheevent,even

beforeitstarted.Everybodywhoattendedhadsaid,thebasketball

portionoftheevent,saidthatitwasjustanamazingwaytomeet

newpeople,tobreaktheice,togetalittlecompetitionin.Some

peoplejustcametowatch,whichwasalotoffun.Pointbeing,ifyou

aregoingtoanevent,andyouhavecertaininterests,Imean,just

plugamessageintotheFacebookgroupforthatevent,orjustshare

withtheownersofthatevent,andseeifthere’sanywaythatyou

cangetotherpeoplewhohavethesameinterestsasyoutogether.

Maybeyou’reafisherman,andyoujustwanttogoout,gofishing

thedaybeforewithsomepeoplefromtheevent.Imean,howcool

isthat?Imaginethekindoffriendshipsthatcouldbemade,andthe

conversationsthatyoucouldhave.Golf,soccer.Anotherthingthat

theydidatFinConthatIdidacoupleofyearsago,wasn’tableto

doitthisyear,butitwasreallycool.It’sveryeasy.It’savisionboard

exercise.JDRoth,aformerownerofGetRichSlowly.org,another

personwhohadamajorinfluenceonmybloggingcareer,heled

thisgroupofpeopletocutoutimagesinmagazinesandstartto

createtheirownvisionboards.Ithinkweallhaveanideaofhow

importantthesekindsofthingsare,andtodoitinagroup,and




11

toinspireeachother,andtoshareitwitheachother,justsocool.

It’sjustalittlesidethingthathappenedoutsideofthemainevent,

withthespeakingandtheworkshopsandthekeynotesandallthe

mixersandstuff.

Thebasketballthingwassupercool.I’mverythankfulforeverybody

whocameout.There’sactuallysomeprettyathleticfinancial

bloggers,tobehonest.What’sreallycoolis,we’regoingtomake

thisanannualthing,mostlikely.We’llbedoingitagaininDallas,

havingalittlebasketballmeetup,andsomepeopleinthegroup

whohadseenthevideothatIeditedandpostedontheresaid,

“Ohman,weshoulddothesamethingwithgolf,becauseIgolf.I

knowsomeotherpeoplegolf.”Golf’sprettycoolbecauseit’svery

casual.Alotofconversationscanhappen,andalotofbusiness

doeshappenonthegolfcourse.I’vebeenonagolfcoursebefore

makingdeals,andsoit’snotjustasaying.

Now,theeventhappened,whichwascool,andagain,we’retalking

aboutFinConinSanDiego.Iwasverythankfulthatmybestfriend

ChrisDuckerflewintotownfromthePhilippineswithhisbeautiful

wife,andwejusthungout,wehadconversation.Alsogottoseea

goodfriend,GrantBaldwin,fromGrantBaldwin.com.Hehelpedme

alittlebitonthepresentationthatIwasdoingfortheevent,which

wasreallycool,becausethat’shisexpertise.NoahKagancame

totownaswell,whoisafavoriteguesthereontheSPIPodcast.

I’vegottobringhimbackon,becausewetalkedaboutalotof

greatthings,especiallyinoure-mailmarketingpanel.Oure-mail

marketingpanelwasfantastic.ChrisDucker,NoahKaganandI,and

afewotherswereonthatpanel.Man,somegreatinformationcame

out.Ishouldgethimontotalke-mail,orsomething,becauseNoah

hasalwaysjustbeenonetosharethingsinaveryinterestingway.

Thatbeingsaid,heknowsthis:Thelasttimehewasontheshow,I

spentanhourandahalfcuttingoutalltheswearwords,butIthink

heknowsthatIdon’tdoswearwordsonmypodcast,becauseI’ve

gotkidswholisten,andit’sjustwhoheis,butstill,Iwantkidsto

listentohisinformation.That’swhatI’vegottodo.

Anyway,I’mgoingoffonatangent,here.Alotofgreatpeople




12

cametotown.Wehungout,andhaddinner,anditwasanamazing

experience.Theeventwasgreat.It’salwaysoneofmyfavorites

becauseit’ssowell-run.BigshoutouttoPhillipTaylor,whoputson

theeventfromPTMoney.com.AnotherthingIdidwas,beforethe

event,IsharedonFacebook,IactuallycreatedaFacebookevent

thatwastitled“SPILunchMeetup,”andIjustputtheaddressofa

particularlunchplacehereinSanDiego,atimeononeofthedays

oftheeventwheretherewaskindofabreakforlunch,anditwas

atwo,twoandahalfhourthing.IjustposteditonTwitter,andon

FacebookinmyFacebookgroup,andonmyFacebookpage,and

hadabout25peoplewhocameout,whichwasamazing.Itwasa

lotoffun.

Thankyoutoeverybodywhocameout.Ican’tremember

everybody’snames,butMichael,Monica,Levi,Sarah.Somany

otherpeoplecameup.Itwasreallyfun.Weallwentaroundina

circleandtalkedaboutwhatweweredoing,whatourbiggest

challengeswere.Wewerehelpingeachotherout,andthenit

justbecamethisreallycool,organicQandAsession.Wetalked

abouteverythingfrome-mailmarketing,tomastermindgroups,

toaugmentedreality,andeverything.Itwassuchacoolthing,

andwhat’sreallycoolisIsaw...Thishappenseverysingletime.

IsawpeopleintheSPIcommunitywhowerethere,somefrom

SanDiego,somefromoutoftownwhoweretherefortheevent,

somewhowerenotevenattheevent,butpeoplejustcoming

togetherwho,thethingincommonwastheyreadmyblog.Now,

they’remeetingtogether,they’regoingtoformmastermindgroups

together,they’veexchangednumbers.

OnethingI’mgoingtodo,andIwouldloveforyoutoholdme

accountabletothis,isifIhaven’tdoneitalready,becausewe

recordtheseshowsaheadoftime,Iwouldlovetodoaregular

meetuplikethateverysinglemonth.Atleastonceamonth,forthe

peopleinSanDiego.ForpeoplewholiveinSanDiego,theycan

comeoutasmuchastheywant,everysinglemonth.Forpeople

whoareoutoftowners,maybetheywanttocomeinforoneof

them.Maybeitgetstoapointwheretheybecomebig,where

maybeit’sheldwithaseatingarrangementofsomekind,whereI




13

couldbringonaguestwhocomesintotown,orwecandosome

sortofpresentations,orsomebodyintheSPIcommunitycanshare

theirfindingsandpracticepublicspeakingatthesametime.It

wouldbesomuchfun,Imean,togetthecommunitytogether.

EverytimeIdothisatdifferentevents,andI’mactuallygoingtobe

doingthisagaininMinnesota,andbythetimethisepisodecomes

out,IwouldhavealreadyspokenatConverted2016inMinnesota,

whichistheleadpagesconferences,andhavehaddoneabreakfast,

coffeemeetupinoneofthosemornings,whichI’vealreadyplanned

out.EverytimeIdothat,justsomanyamazingthingshappen.Great

connectionshappen.IrememberdoingoneinSt.LouisatFinCon

again,in2013,andIrentedawholepizzaplace,paidforpizzafor

everybody,andwhatwasreallycoolissomeofthosegroupsthat

wereformedthatnight,peoplewhowerethereatthesametime,

they’restillinthesamemastermindgroupstogetherthreeyears

later.Thatwouldn’thavehappenedunlessIhaddonethat.

Ifyouatallhaveanysortoffollowing,orcommunity,oranumberof

fans,pleasedowhateveryoucanto,wheneveryoucanthroughout

theyear,trytogetyourcommunitymemberstogethertoapoint

wheretheycanmeeteachotherinperson.It’snotalwaysgoing

tobeeasy,andagain,Ihavehundredsofthousandsofpeopleon

socialmediafollowings,and20,25peopleshowedup,butthat’s

whowasabletoshowuponthatday,andsometimesIdothese

things,andIdidoneinVegasthatwascombinedwithChrisDucker

andCliffRavenscraftin2014,andwehad150spots,butIswear

thereweremorethanthatthatshowedup.Ithinksomepeople

crashed,butthat’sokay.Wehad200peopleshowup,whichwas

reallyawesome.

Again,gettingpeopletogetherwhoarelikeminded.Ithinkpeople

arethirstyforthatkindofstuff.Itdoesn’tmatterwhatnicheyou’re

in.Itdoesn’tmatterifyouhaveabusiness,anditdoesn’teven

havetodoabout...Justgetyourcommunitytogether.Amazing

thingshappen,andwhenyoucouldbecometheonetofosterthose

relationships,whenyou’retheonewhoistheheadofwherepeople

meetup,andhavefun,andgettolearnabouteachother,andform




14

moreofabondwitheachother,itonlyheightensyourbrand.This

ishowyoucreateravingfans.It’snotwhenyourcommunityisjust

talkingbacktoyou,butit’swhentheystarttalkingtoeachother

thatamazingthingshappen.That’swhentheycanstarttoidentify

themselvesasfansofyou,whogettogetherinthesecertain

situations,becauseyouhavesetthattime,andsetthatdate.Make

eventshappenforyourcommunity.Ithinkit’sahuge,hugething,

andIknowIneedtodomoreofit.

Again,Iwantyoutoholdmeaccountable.IfIhaveyettodothis,

hopefullystartingin2017iswhenforsureitwillhappen.I’dlove

to,everysinglemonth,havearegularmeetup.Sameday,same

time,everysinglemonth,sothateverybodyknowsthatthat’swhen

we’remeeting,andtheycanchoosetogothereiftheyhavetime

to,ornot.Ifyou’recominginfromoutoftown,andyouhappento

bethereononeofthosedays,youcancomeby.Idon’tknowifit

wouldbeapaidthing.I’dloveforittonotbe.I’dloveittobesome

sortofsponsoredgig,wheremaybesomebodywhosponsorsit

cancomeinandtalkfor10minutestothegrouporsomething,in

exchangeforlunchandavenue,orIdon’tknow.Istillhavetofigure

itout.It’soneofmyalltimefavoritethingstodo,andIwanttodoit

more,andIthinkyoushoulddoitmore,too,ifpossible.

Seeifyoucangetyourcommunitymemberstogether,andagreat

placetotrythisoutatisatsomeoftheseevents.Thesekindsof

eventshavealotofthesesidemeetupsandgigshappeningall

thetime.Thisisagreatplacewhereyouknowpeoplearetogether

whoshareacommoninterest,andyoucangetpeopletogetherto,

Idon’tknow,playbasketball,orplayping-pong.That’ssomething

I’mgoingtodoinMinnesota,becauseIrememberthelasttimeI

wasinMinnesota,theguysoveratSamcart,BrianandScott,weall

playedping-ponguntil,like,thewee,earlyhoursofthemorning.We

foundsomeping-pongslashbarjoint,anditwassofun.Icouldsee

somethinglikethathappeningmoreregularly,withdifferentpeople,

justhavingsuchagreattime.

Anyway,justwantedtogiveyouthisrecaponthelatestevent,

andsomeofthecoolthingsthatareontopofmymindrightnow,




15

andwhatI’mplanningforthefuture.I’llalsogiveyoujustkindof

aquickoverviewofwhat’shappeningin2017forevents,ifany

ofthoseseeminterestingtoyou.Thereareobviouslywaymore

eventsgoingonthanjusttheonesthatImentioned,andyoucan

seeafulllistofspeakinggigsthatI’llbeat,andeventsthatI’ll

beat,atSmartPassiveIncome.com/speaking.Alltheshownotes

andlinksmentionedforeachoftheseevents,andotherthings

thatImentioned,aregoingtobeavailableattheshownotelink,

likeIsharedwithyouearlier,whichisSmartPassiveIncome.com/

session240.

Also,reallyquick,beforeIletyougo,Iwanttothanktoday’s

sponsor,whichis99Designs.com,anawesomecompanythatyou

canuseifyou’rejuststartingout,tohelpyouwithyourdesigns,

andyourimages,andallthisstuffforyourwebsite.It’sreallyhard

tofindthatonepersontohelpyouwithyourdesignswhenyou’re

firststartingout,andyou’rebootstrapping.Well,99Designsisa

veryeconomicalwaytogoaboutit,andacoolway,becausewhat

youcandoisputinyourdescriptionforwhatkindofgraphicsyou

need-maybeit’sjustalogo,maybeit’sanentirewebsitedesign,or

at-shirt,orwhateveryouneeddesigned-anddifferentdesigners

fromaroundtheworldaregoingtocompeteforyourfavorite

design,whichisreallycool.

Yougettopickyourfavorite,andwithinsevendays,youcan

choosetheonethatyoulike,andifyoudon’tseeanythatyou

likebytheendofit,youcangetyourmoneyback,whichisreally

awesome.I’vejustrecentlyuseditforthedevelopmentofsome

infographicsthatI...Wow,Isaidthatweird.InfographicsthatIuse

onthewebsite,andthatwasalldonethrough99Designs,and

verypainless.Irecommendcheckingitout.Justheadonoverto

99Designs.com/SPI,andifyouusethatlink,you’llget$99that

youcanputtowardsyournextdesignproject,whichisreallycool.

Again,that’s99Designs.com/SPI.

Thankyousomuchforlistening,andIappreciateyou.Ihopeto

seeyouinthefuture.Ifnothereonthepodcast,throughthesortof

interwebshere,welltheninperson.I’dlovetoseeyouinperson.If

youseeme,don’tgiveyourselfmorethanthreesecondstopsych




16

yourselfout.I’dlovetochatwithyou.Idon’tbite.Ilovetalking

topeople.Ilovetalkingshop,andifyouseemeatanevent,and

youlistenedtothisepisode,letmeknowthatyouusedthethree

secondrule.Ithinkthatwouldbereallycool.Iappreciateyou,and

I’llseeyouthenextepisode.Byefornow.

Announcer: ThanksforlisteningtotheSmartPassiveIncomePodcast,atwww.

SmartPassiveIncome.com.




17

ReSouRceS: Pat’sSpeakingPage

TrafficandConversionSummit

SocialMediaMarketingWorld

PodcastMovement

Fincon

SpoNSoRS: 99Designs.com




http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/speaking

https://finconexpo.com

https://trafficandconversionsummit.com

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/smmworld

http://podcastmovement.com


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Documents

SPI 240 Tips and Tricks for Getting the Most Out of the ...Neil Strauss. Now, I will say that this book is not a business book. It’s an interesting book about the dating world. Neil