One thing I’ve struggled to wrap my mind around for a long time is visual appearances… Should I care? Is it shallow to care? How important are appearances? Should I go back to my hippie days?

My dilemma was this: I simultaneously thought anyone interested in fashion and style was stupid… but also realized the power of dressing sharp, the power of having a great body, the power of confident body language.

I realized how quickly people judge based on appearances. But I also didn’t want to be judged solely on my looks and didn’t really care to judge others like that either.

This view was based partly on the fact that I’m not the most attractive individual in the world. And judging based on attractiveness is like judging based on inherited wealth.

Alone visual appearances wont provide much, if any, benefit to world.

Collectively, the hipsters aren’t doing much to pull the world forward because a large part of their movement is based solely on appearances… which I wont get in to.

Now, there are two options here:

You can play the game or not.

You can focus on improving your visual attractiveness. Or, like one my best friends, you can just not give a shit. (And depending on your goals, it might be preferable for you to not care.)

But what I realized that is as long as you don’t tie your identity to clothing and visible appearances, making use of subtle ‘body language’ cues (subconscious signals like dressing well) is SUPER valuable.

Here’s why:

I’m beginning to see (and fully understand) that my happiest times in life are filled with PRODUCTION. When I’m building meaningful stuff. When I’m reaching new levels of thought. When I’m producing.

And, here’s the thing: you can use visual appearances to FURTHER your productive work.

Note: I think it’s important to find your self-esteem from your capability to think and produce…not from your outward appearance. So you can use your appearance as a tool, not as a means to judge your self-worth.

Here’s how this works…

PART of want I want to do professionally is to publish and learn from bad asses – to work with, and enable producers. To help them get their knowledge out into the world.

[David Patrick Green of HackHollywood.com is one such example... his advice is INSANELY valuable but it's been a long road exposing him to actors because of the entrenched industry. It's filled with scams and people preying on beginning actors, so when David speaks out against the lies, it's hard for us to find powerful allies.]

What I’m personally BUILDING is the business.

For many reasons, part of actually getting to the point where I want to be with this type of business, will be ‘looking the part’.

A sampling of things I’m working towards visually:

• Developing & maintaining the Dressing Sharp look which is the ‘Most Influential Look’ possible. ALWAYS wearing clean clothes with an emphasis on FIT.
• Focusing on having fewer items in my life… but QUALITY items.
• Developing my physical body more with the Hollywood Physique: Lower body fat and muscle. Lower body fat immediately changes your face shape and makes you look more masculine.

There are many other visual cues that I’m experimenting with, but that’s the gist.

This subtle ‘body language’ stuff coupled with GOING for it… infiltrating elite circles. Coordinating and enabling entrepreneurs… it adds up quickly.

It amplifies my ability to focus on production.

I think it’s valuable to devote some energies towards visual appearances – what do you think?

Hype! Create an information product and never work a day in your life again! Scams! Retire to a beach with easy infoproduct money!

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NOT!

Today is a pretty cool day – Sean Ogle has just released the 12th entrepreneur blueprint inside his Location Rebel course. You might have read my Location Rebel review before. It’s a damn solid product with a big growing community of entrepreneurs trying to hustle to create location independent businesses for themselves.

Anyway, Sean and I worked together to create the latest blueprint: How to create information products.

We actually put the finishing touches on it while we were in Mexico… a few days after getting back from Cuba (see picture below)!

Look creating (semi)passive income through information products ain’t easy… but it’s possible. The 2 guys to my right in that picture are producing full-time incomes (and then some) with their information products.

Can you create one yourself?

Maybe…

If you’ve consider creating an information product listen up:

The process behind launching an info product can be extremely overwhelming and Sean and I want to help if you’re interested.

We’re going to take on some clients via application process, and walk them through every single step of the information product creation process. From selecting the perfect niche, to creating sales copy, to all of the technical aspects of setting it up. For a select few, we will help them with EVERYTHING.

If you’ve been thinking about creating a some (semi)passive income or just online income at all… do yourself a solid, check out Sean’s latest post, and fill out the application form.

>> Read Sean’s blog post and apply here.

Hey, do you want to get into the best shape of your life AND win $1,000?

That should be a rhetorical question.

Here’s the scoop: I’m going to host a Hollywood Physique contest: the most **dramatic** 13 week transformation is going to take home $1,000. There are a few catches here, so read below to make sure you understand the rules and how this will work.

First, read about the Hollywood Physique here if you haven’t already: Hollywood Physique Review
Second, read more about my THP group mentoring here: THP Group Mentoring.

The Contest:

(Read carefully so we’re all on the same page)

1. This contest will be limited to those who signup for the Hollywood Physique mentoring group I’m putting together. So yes, you must pay to enter the contest (there’s a reason I’m doing it like this… see below).
2. I’m going to make this contest kind of like a Groupon deal. I need to fill my 10 group mentoring spots. If we hit 10, the contest is on. We already have 4 people signed up, so we need 6 more. I’ll update this page as signups come in.
3. If we don’t hit 10, then I’ll work out something with group members where they compete directly against me for cash prizes (so there’s nothing to lose by joining). And heck, if we don’t hit 10, I’ll refund your purchase if you want.
4. You must submit a photo to me this Monday February 20th.
5. You must submit a photo every Monday for 13 weeks. But, we will only judge the first photo against the last.
6. As a group we’ll judge the most **dramatic** transformation. It can be the most dramatic fat loss, or muscle shape change, or a combo of both. This way, everyone has an equal shot of winning.

If you win:

You’ll get $500 plus a refund for your group mentoring fee – for a possible $1,000 total value. Plus, you’ll be in crazy good shape! Win or lose you’re getting the value of the mentoring sessions coupled with the extreme effectiveness of THP.

Hollywood Physique Contest Purpose:

A. I’d like to fill all my group mentoring spots.
B. It’s simple human psychology: the more you pay for something the more likely you are to value and believe in it. This creates more commitment, and in our case, more dramatic results.

I think holding this contest is going to take the group mentoring benefits to the next level and create INSANE transformations. I believe as a group we’ll be hitting on a lot of important psychological triggers:

Paying, plus an accountability group, plus competition = powerful results.

To Join:

Simply signup below, submit your photos to me on Monday, and you’re in.

This is for serious applicants only. Please read the group mentoring post to see the requirements.

Included in the price, is access to the Hollywood Physique ($120). So that’s $38 per week ($500)

Closed:

If you’ve already purchased the Hollywood Physique and want to join, use this button (must have proof of purchase). $29 per week ($380).

Closed:

There are 10 0 more spots left until the contest is on.

The cut-off to sign up is on Sunday night, February 19th.

Why not join me for the contest, the mentoring group, and to get in phenomenal shape!?

Let’s do this.

Here’s the #1 thing that’s keeping you unhappy: no defined principles in your life.

Here’s why: Principles lead to smart decision making. No principles, leads to bad decision making.

One thing I’m working towards is eliminating decision making based on my emotional states.

I don’t make business decisions when I’m emotional, why would I make personal decisions in an elevated emotional state?

People say you’ve got to follow your heart? Bullshit. My best decisions have come when I followed my mind. When I followed logical & reasonable thought.

Look back and consider this: when have you made bad decisions in your life?

For me, most of my bad decisions occur when I’m emotional… when I’m holding fear of something, when I’m drunk, when I’m feeling negative thoughts, when I’m sad.

I’ll eat bad foods when I’m in an emotional state but I wont make these same decisions when I’m thinking clearly.

Avoid Emotions All Together?

Feeling emotional at points in our life seems unavoidable. There are times when I get super close to being completely clear headed (especially when my diet & exercise  is perfect). But emotions will continue to creep into the picture and it’s beneficial to understand how to best manage them.

So how do we manage emotions and the poor decision making processes they induce?

We’ve got to have safeguards in place: For me, it’s principles.

When I have sound principles that I base decision making on, I don’t falter. My emotions don’t influence my decision making as heavily.

As an example: when I’m on the Hollywood Physique diet I have HARD dietary principles. I eat eggs, meat, and vegetables ONLY. Those are my options.

So if I get emotional when I’m following the Hollywood Physique diet plan, I don’t cheat. I have a firm principle in place. A principle based on logic, reason, and thought.

However, when I’m not on the Hollywood Physique, my dietary principles are a bit looser. They’re not hard-fast. They’re nebulous, un-concrete.

So if emotions work their way into my life, I’m much more likely to make a poor dietary decision. If I get drunk, a slice or 6 of pizza is totally fine.

Here’s What I’m Doing

I set my principles when I’m thinking clearly – when I’m not in an emotional state. I set my principles based on the best available logic, reason, and thought I have available to me.

Now go out into the world and notice that when you’re emotional, your actions don’t change. You stick more easily to the principles you’ve set.

IMPORTANT: you have to BELIEVE fully in the principles you set for yourself. There has to be extreme belief that the principles you’ve set are best for you. That they will help you achieve your purpose and goals fully.

And remember: only revisit your principles when you’re thinking straight. Don’t revisit them in an emotional state.

We all want to attract MORE in our lives and to exert more influence. We want more money, more experiences, more good people (more magnets on our cars like the picture to the left).

To get MORE, you’ll hear this a lot: create value and people will give you more value back.

I LOVE this… I’d like the whole world to judge based on merit, on our work, on our VALUE to society.

But the sad reality is, most of the time we don’t place value on value.

• People pirate stuff because they think they’re somehow entitled to it.
• In our marketing-centric society, the best product don’t always win.
• People are famous because they’re hot, not because they’ve done something valuable for society.
• People idolize drunks, drug-addicts, and zero-value humans.

I’ve learned a lot about general influence principles in my time studying and implementing sales & marketing strategies and here’s what I’m discovering: people’s judgement (and assignment of value) is based more heavily on appearance & emotions than rational thought.

Look at any book on effective copywriting – they’ll tell you to sell to people’s emotions, not their rationality.

This creates a major problem for the PRODUCER.

If you create valuable shit, you should receive the most value back. But it doesn’t always happen. Marketing wins in most cases.

(If the world as a whole would THINK more rationally and rely less on emotions to dictate action, this wouldn’t be true.)

What To Do?

So what do you do if you want to get value back for your efforts? What if you’re not a super attractive dude? What if you chose to not be a mindless zombie who makes decisions based on emotions?

I’ve been struggling with this for awhile now.

I want to be judged on my work not on my superficial aspects.

I want to live in a world where people’s minds and rationality are KING, not their stupidity or emotionality.

I don’t want to live in a world of non-thinking drunks and sheep.

So I can either recede from the human race, retire my mind to the mountains, or I can fight back for the world of producers… but how without sacrificing my values and principles?

My Thoughts On Appearance Based Influence

I haven’t quite reached my definitive conclusion yet but here’s some thoughts I’m having:

1. As long as you don’t tie your identity, self-esteem (value) to your appearance, then working on your looks is valuable. Tie your self-worth to your productive work. Take pride in the things you’ve created. Draw confidence from your mind and ability to THINK, not from your calf implants.
2. Work on your appearance and influence in the world to move it forward. To further your productive work. To further your value to society. Paris Hilton isn’t pulling the world forward with her appearances. She’s setting us all back. Don’t do the same.

The #1 Personal Influence Hack

So if you want to move your productive work forward and influence others, yes I think you should work on your appearance.

And the number one place to start is with your body.

I’ve found that my physical appearance is the fastest superficial influence hack I have available. Certain clothing items come in at a close second, but having LOWER BODY FAT, and a bit of muscle, is where I start.

The thing about having lower body fat is that it directly effects your face shape. It seems like the first place people lose fat is in their face.

For a man, having a masculine face is crucial. You’re not always going to have your shirt off (unless you’re awesome and live in Thailand full-time).

Your face is what people will be looking at most of the time. And it’s no secret that a masculine man (and face), will exert more influence, and people will assign more respect to that man. There are countless studies on the benefits of being seen as attractive. Good looking people make more money and are seen as more trustworthy.

So, I think a more masculine face will land you more money and I even have some anecdotal evidence to back it up: Each time I’ve finished a round of the Hollywood Physique, I’ve pulled more money into my businesses.

Look at the difference in my face:

Conclusion:

- Go out there, lose some fat, and build some muscle. Your face shape will change for the better.
- Exert more influence and attract MORE into your life.
- Use your increased influence & resources for GOOD and to pull the world forward… otherwise you’re just another MINDLESS SHEEP.

Want MAX Influence Via Your Body?

If you want to take your influence to the next level, I’m still accepting *value valuing* clients for the Hollywood Physique group coaching program. Click here for details.

photo credit: Chris Devers via photopin cc

This is a message to the guys who have been working out for years but still don’t have the body they actually want. I have three quick questions for you:

1. How many workout programs have you started, thinking you’d look like Ryan Reynolds (or at minimum have a six pack) when you were done?
2. How many of those programs delivered nothing CLOSE to the actual result you were after?
3. How many years has this cycle (get excited over a workout program… go all in… then experience extreme disappointment when you don’t look how you really want) gone on for? 5 years? 10 years? More?

Whatever you think about yourself now (“I don’t have the genetics for that body”… “I just can’t have that exact body”… “I’m not built for it”… etc), I can prove you 100% wrong.

You need to take one last shot at it. And if you do, I’ll get you the body you want, guaranteed.

Here’s the deal:

On Monday February 20th, 2012 I’m going to start my third round of the Hollywood Physique program.

I’ve decided that I’d like to do something special to see how far I can take my results, and see if I can help a few other motivated individuals in the process.

I’m going to mentor a small group of 10 dedicated people through the Hollywood Physique.

I want to motivate, push, and guarantee these 10 people that they’ll get the ‘Hollywood Physique’. I wont let you quit or make excuses. As a group we’ll keep each other accountable. We’ll push each other to new limits. And, in the end, we’ll all look like bad asses.

Keep reading below to see exactly what the group mentoring will entail. If you haven’t read the THP sales page and seen the new testimonial pictures, do that here: The Hollywood Physique For Men by Clay Rogers.

IMPORTANT: The majority of people wont need anything more than what the program and forum offer. THP is a COMPLETE system and Clay’s level of support on the forum is phenomenal. This is for those who feel that to reach their goals, they need an extra level of hand holding, personal coaching, and attention. These people also understand that this level of support isn’t possible without a premium.

I want to service a tight group of smart, driven, and motivated guys who’d love to start the Hollywood Physique and get the results it promises, but something is holding them back. Or, they just want additional guidance and a HARD push.

Here’s why I’m doing this, and why it matters to you.

I have 2 primary goals with this group mentoring:

1. Personally, I want to learn how to PUSH already motivated people to reach their ultimate potential (Optimized Man research).
2. Professionally, I’m trying to figure out a smart model for fitness training/coaching/mentoring via the internet. This is still relatively ‘new’ territory. I’m an entrepreneur trying to deconstruct the optimal process behind something like this so that it can be repeated quickly & easily by other trainers. Yes, I’ll be profiting. But as you’ll see, not a whole lot. The real benefit for me is the knowledge of the system behind this style of coaching. Clay has allowed me to do this because he might ultimately use a similar model in his business in the future.

Here’s How This Group Mentoring Will Work

1. Everyone will start at the same time. You must be committed to start the Hollywood Physique program on February 20th, 2012.
2. We’ll start with a personal, 1 hour, one-on-one consultations with me. We’ll ‘go deep’ and analyze your true motivations and goals. We’ll get to the bottom of your ‘hang-ups’. We’ll decide on your optimal schedule for the 3 month period. (Having a full schedule is extremely important). We’ll customize the diet even further than the program recommendations if necessary. And, we’ll get all beginning questions answered.
3. Then, every week for the 13 weeks of the program, we’ll have a private group call (~ 1 hr). This call will serve mainly as motivation. THP can be exhausting both physically and mentally so going at it ‘alone’ can be rough. I’ll share mental tips and tricks I have for breaking through sticking points. We’ll all just get together and rap and you can ask any questions you have that haven’t been answered via email support.
4. Email support throughout the entire 13 weeks. Ask me ANYTHING. Coupled with the already responsive forum inside THP, you should have ZERO unanswered questions.

Applying:

This is for serious applicants only. I’m dead serious about everyone achieving INSANE results. Don’t waste your time and my time. You must have the motivation to finish the Hollywood Physique. At the end of 13 weeks, you will, and I guarantee it, have the Hollywood Physique. But, you MUST BE COMMITTED TO FOLLOWING THE PROGRAM 100%.

Other requirements include:

1. VERY IMPORTANT: At least 1 year of gym experience. I can’t take very beginners at this point because the learning curve (related to exercise form & intensity) is steep.
2. The ability to take progress pictures – and these pictures will be used for testimonials in the future (your face will not be shown if specified). I need the ability to prove the effectiveness of these group mentorship programs.

If this is what you want, personal hand-holding, guaranteed success, an internet success coach, then join me. Use the button below to pay. I’ll close the cart when we hit 10.

Included in the price, is access to the Hollywood Physique ($120)

The price is $38 per week ($500)

By paying, you agree that you’re dedicated as hell to doing this.

If you follow the program, you WILL get results. It’s guaranteed by Clay and myself. You can get your money back if after 13 weeks you can prove that you followed the program 100% and your body doesn’t change significantly. You have to have pictures proving this. No one should have to request a refund. I will not process refunds for quitters.

After you’ve paid, allow 1 business day for your account to be made and to receive email with further details.

Seriously, dude, picture what you’re going to look like 13 weeks from now… how that will feel. For $38 a week, I’ll get you there. This is a no-brainer if you have some motivation and a bit of money to throw at your physique goals. I want to work with dedicated people. Let’s do this.

If you’ve already purchased the Hollywood Physique and want to join, use this button (must have proof of purchase).

$29 per week ($380)

I’m back in Playa del Carmen, Mexico after a top-secret mini-vacation I’ll reveal later. I’m now joined by a few other smart, motivated, entrepreneurs. Playa has been a great spot to sneak away from winter in the USA.

In this podcast episode I talk to Dan Andrews of the Lifestyle Business Podcast. Dan is one of my favorite bloggers at the moment. I can’t get enough of his writing and his podcasts. The dude is an incredibly smart businessman doing awesome things.

• His ecommerce businesses pulled in over a million dollars last year.
• Dan spends most of time living in Bali and South East Asia.
• Dan tells it like is and regularly blows people’s minds.

If you’ve ever wanted to know how to start an ecommerce store and business, this podcast is for you.

I ask Dan how he’d setup an ecommerce store selling ‘fake baby bumps’ (haha – yeah buddy). We cover market research all the way to long-term marketing strategies.

This is a fun one – go learn how to start an ecommerce store:

>> Right click here to download the mp3

And seriously, go check out Dan’s podcast here: http://www.lifestylebusinesspodcast.com/.

Hola from Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

In the Optimized Man podcast episode #3 I talk to Greg Rollett of ProductProSystems.com about information publishing. Greg Rollett and his partners at the The ProductPros, have marketed and sold over $1 Billion in products and services. NICE!

If you have some expertise that you think you could turn into an information product, then you wont want to miss this episode.

We talk about:

• Greg’s 4-step webinar system (that’s seriously easy to use) that can help you get a product up and onto the market relatively fast.
• The mechanics of why info products are great for producing ‘passive income’. (And even if it’s not passive (because nothing truly is), it’s still a great way to free yourself from a location dependent job).
• The ideal info products to go after and how to narrow a niche so you can dominate.

Listen to the episode below:

>> Right click here to download episode #03

>> Connect with Greg here: The Product Pros

If you’re interested in learning more about info publishing then signup for my newsletter below. I have some exciting new products I’m working on this year that will be released soon. I’ll hook you up with early bird access, discounts, and any free goodies I can.

Gracias,
Derek

As the online world gets smaller and the individual consumer has more ability to be heard, it’s increasingly important to focus on finding your best customers. The customers that are going to spend lots of money with you. The customers that you’ll the have the best value exchange with.

If you sell a $37 ebook that’s good, there are going to be customers who love it and want more. You need to have $97-$197 course or community behind that product.

Then you need to have a home-study course for ~ $500-997 (obviously depends).

Then you need to have a done-for-you option for ~ $1k-10k.

Then you need to have private, intensive consultations for ~ 10k-25k-100k.

Let your best customers spend money with you.