A while back I reviewed a book by my friend Bill Masur. That’s him in the photo up top.
I liked his book for a lot of reasons including the fact that wasn’t politically correct.
However, the thing I liked most about it was that I watched Bill write it in real time.
First he tweeted out all this mad stuff. And then seeing the engagement he got online, in a very short space of time, he turned it into a book. It was an interesting model for publishing that I’m keen to emulate at some stage.
Well, it turns out that Bill had another interesting business model up his sleeve.
He’s running a conference – an online conference. It’s for men on how to unf*ck yourself, build your character, lead your tribe and generally handle adversity and build mental toughness.
More on that shortly.
But Bill’s conference model caught my attention because I’ve also considered running conferences. I’ve wanted to do this for various reasons and I know how complicated it can be in terms of the logistics, let alone the costs.
Here’s the interesting thing. Bill’s is an online conference so you don’t have to go anywhere and he doesn’t have to pay to fly in expensive keynotes and speakers.
It’s actually a stroke of genius in many ways.
I guess, if you want a conference where you get to mill around and socialise with people while eating sausage rolls and cucumber sandwiches then this isn’t it.
However, if you’re more interested in the content and prepared to make some time available over a few days to engage with the content then it might work just fine.
It’s also free. That’s the business model.
Well, it’s part of the business model. It’s free for the days of the conference, but you can purchase lifetime access to all of the video and audio of more than 40 talks if you want to for USD$98.
Bill’s also bundling a bonus PDF of his book and the opportunity for some online mentoring with him to help you focus on your mission or get your shit together in whatever way is relevant.
Which brings me to the content. This is advice for men. Mainly, but not exclusively by men for men.
Here’s an uncomfortable truth:
- It’s tough to be a man in the 21st century.
Here’s another uncomfortable truth
- The world needs great men.
There are reasons for both of these… I’m not diminishing women or the need for a conversation about what’s wrong in the world with regards to men and women.
But I’m not going to discuss that here.
What I do want to say is that I want my son to grow up to be a strong man with a good character and a solid work ethic who can take care of his family and add some value to his community.
As he grows, he’ll need to be able to do stuff like this:
- Take action, real physical action, including with full responsibility for his life and actions.
- Start and change careers.
- Make and save money.
- Dress well and with style.
- Ask for what he wants and influence others.
- Master himself first if he wants to make a difference in the world.
- Have a positive and authentic approach to marriage, fatherhood and parenting in general.
- Live with honour including during difficult times.
- Be disciplined and, at times, not care what others think about things.
- Get and stay healthy including understanding diet and fitness.
- Overcome anxiety and depression and if necessary even addiction.
- Excel at what he does by creating good habits and breaking bad ones.
- Maximise his energy and time to be effective, fulfilled and productive.
- Be mentally tough and able to handle adversity.
- Understand positive relationships between men and women.
- Understand what it takes to succeed in business including as an entrepreneur.
That’s a big shopping list. But that’s what’s on the agenda.
Don’t get me wrong… I want these things for my daughters too. But the focus here is on men.
And monkey see, monkey do… so there’s some skin in the game as well.
Some of the speakers I know personally, like Bill. Others I follow on Twitter and I can vouch for their authenticity. There’s a few I haven’t heard of but I’m keen to find out more about what they have to say.
If this sounds like something that interests you or others you know, have a look here.
Remember, it’s free for the days of the conference. There is no obligation to sign up to anything.
Bill’s completely upfront about the business model. If you want lifetime access, then yeah, there’s a fee and you can watch and rewatch the content, including with family or friends, as much as you want.
If not, no drama… Enjoy the conference and free wisdom imparted by some of the wisest folks alive who living and breathing this stuff at the moment.
