Oh man do I have a powerful and controversial lesson to share with you today.

It’s about your fear of “the opt out”… and the cold hard truth about it.

Just in case you don’t know what an opt-out is…

An opt-out is an action someone takes who has subscribed to your newsletter in the past but they decided that they don’t want to hear from you anymore and thus they “opt-out” or un-subscribe.

Basically… they’re saying that you’re wasting their time and they don’t want YOU taking up any more space in their life because what you’re contributing isn’t adding value any more.

Ouch.

Now if you think I’m being harsh… it’s because I am.

But I’m doing it to prove a point…. Because this is what people think is happening when someone opt’s out from their list.

They take it very personal. They get upset. They feel worried that they said something wrong. They go into a tailspin of negative self-talk and remorse…

Essentially… people get genuinely freaked out by an opt-out.

… and it’s totally UN-NECESSARY!

Here comes the truth engine to rear it’s POSITIVE head…

First, let me tell you that on EVERY single email I send to my list, I get between .2-.5% opt-out.

Meaning… about 1 person out of every 200 or so on my list is going to opt-out no matter what I send to them.

And just to prove a point, let me tell you a story.

When my dad was going in for brain surgery and I sent out a super quick note asking for everyone to just keep him in their prayers so that we had “collective support”… 35 people opted-out.

And 7 people didn’t just opt-out… they COMPLAINED!!

So you might be thinking…

That’s understandable. Max’s note about his dad had nothing to do with business so people might feel like it’s just cluttering up their inbox.

But here’s the thing…

I’ve sent out notes giving away FREE hour long videos jam packed with money making guidance and wisdom. Stuff people invested thousands of dollars to purchase.

… and I had the exact same experience. People still opted-out!

So now the important question is…

Why do people opt-out?

And the answer to that is simple…

1) Most people are overwhelmed.

2) Most people get too much email.

3) Most people are over-stimulated.

4) Most people just don’t need any “more” stuff.

And does that make YOU a bad person for sending them an email? Does that make you wrong for sharing your message? Does that mean your business is going to crash and burn when people opt-out?

The answer to all of those questions is no.

Stop Worrying…

That is my advice to you around feeling worried and concerned around people unsubscribing.

The “bigger” you get… the more it’s going to happen. Just accept it and be ok with it.

Some people will decide you are not right for them at this time… and that’s cool. You’ll live.

Some people will leave, come back, leave again, and come back again. It’s happened to me many times in my business.

And some people will become your loyal die-hard fans, love your controversial messages, buy everything you offer, and tell all their friends about you.

Speak to those people. Focus on your tribe. Lead them…

It’s much easier to stay excited, engaged, and creative when you’ve got YOUR people in mind.

But whatever you do… keep speaking your truth. Keep sharing your message. Keep confronting people. And keep doing the work you love.

Because if you stop speaking up just because you’re afraid of a few people leaving your email list… you’re destined to stay small.

… And that doesn’t serve you, your tribe, or the world.

What do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? Let’s start a conversation here. Please Share Your Thoughts Below!

 

Yesterday, my dad had his SECOND brain surgery to attempt to remove as much of his Glioblastoma tumor as possible.

There was a surprisingly calm energy amongst my family and the doctors… almost as if to communicate: “We’ve  done this once before so we’re good to go.”

It’s strange how life-experience can quickly give you the impression that you know how to handle a situation…. isn’t it?

The Surgery Went Well

It only took 2 hours instead of the expected 4… and the doctor came out of the room with a positive energy. He said:

“We took a lot out. I’d say about 90%. And doing this surgery again was definitely the right thing to do.”

We felt a wave of relief… followed by an out pour of tears. The tension and pressure inside just needed a release…

My Dad Was Hilarious

About an hour later, we were allowed to see him… and he was surprisingly aware and conscious for someone who just had a big chunk of his brain taken out.

The nurse came up to say: “He’s a feisty one this guy. He already tried to get out of bed to go the bathroom and yelled at me when I tried to stop him.”

Haha… I took it as another good sign that my dad hadn’t lost his fire yet.

And from that point forward, he was in good spirits. He even had a moment when he opened his eyes and said with a smile on his face:

“Ok… well that was fun… Can we go dancing now?”

Haha… what a sweet man. Here’s a little picture that should make you smile.

Something else happened in the ICU

The ICU stands for “Intensive Care Unit” and is where they take people right after a very serious surgery or when they are very sick and need constant attention and care.

So here we were in a small room in this crazy section of the hospital where people all around us were one breath away from leaving this planet… or at least that’s what it seemed like.

And I had this interesting thought (that is relevant to you).

“The deepest and most scary fear any of us have is dying. Whether we are willing to embrace it or not… that is our greatest fear.”

And yet here we are. Dealing with it. Head on. And it’s ok.

I mean… this is a totally f*cked up situation. But we can handle it. Because that’s what we do when something, or anything for that matter, shows up in our lives.

We just handle it the best we can.

And I don’t mean “we” as in my family. I mean “we” as in our collective. I mean you, us, this tribe, everyone…

We just handle it. Because that’s what you do in life when crazy stuff shows up without warning… You learn, grow, evolve, and keep going.

So there really shouldn’t be anything to fear…

Yesterday, my little sister asked me what I did for a living.

And I was explaining to her that day in and day out, I help entrepreneurs to overcome their fears about getting their message out into the world so they can become world-changing leaders and make a big difference.

Because when it really comes down to it… that’s all anyone really needs. To get over their fears so they can take the actions necessary to be successful.

Right?

Because fear is the only thing that stops you in your life and in your business.

Your fears that something will go wrong. Your fears that someone will not like you or respond well. Your fears that you don’t deserve it. Your fear that you will look stupid.

The list goes on and on and on…

But seriously… go spend a day in the ICU. Surround yourself with those who are one breath away from dying.

You’ll probably have the same thought I did which was: “What the hell are we really afraid of?”

I mean… let’s say your worst possible fear came true in your business.

Could you handle it?

I’ll bet you could. I’ll bet that you would muster up the strength, courage, love, compassion, and faith to just keep on keepin’ on.

Because that’s what we do in life. We just handle it. Period.

… and life continues to unfold… and everything is OK.

Right?

So again… let’s all collectively stop waiting for everything to be right. Let’s stop getting in our own way. Let’s stop saying: “I can’t”. And let’s just get moving…

Because time is precious, we don’t know how long we have, and now is here.

OK, I’m off to go back to the hospital now. I hope this little update made you smile. I like writing these sometimes just because it helps me clear my mind… and I hope you get something out of it too. So I hope I didn’t babble on too much for ya today.

Let me know your thoughts below.

Much love,

Max

 

I’d like to tell you a raw, real, and personal story about FAILURE today.

… Because I’ve discovered this can be people’s biggest concern and what stops them from taking big BOLD actions in their biz.

So here’s the undercover tale of utter disaster.

I decided to try something new and really out of the box this month.

… Which was to create a new on-line training platform that could run multiple times each week for FREE…

And we could train people LIVE from all over the world (every week) using this super cool new technology we developed.

It Started Off Great!

We had a few close promotional partners spread the word to over 340,000 people.

Everyone was REALLY EXCITED about it.

We had thousands of people register for these on-line trainings.

… And I was PUMPED!!

Here’s where the story of FAILURE begins.

Over the course of the next two weeks, here’s just a few of the DISASTERS that ensued:

- An entire training with 400 people CRASHED and wouldn’t let anyone on

- When it did work, it would cut out every 60 seconds or so

- Certain web browsers did not see any of the video training

- It DID NOT work on the iPhone (even though it was supposed to)

- Some people did not even get the link to join us (email glitch)

- Others got the wrong link all together

- Some were even sent directly to an order form (yikes!) and that’s all they saw.

It was a painful period with many late night conversations that went something like this: “How the hell do we fix this by tomorrow morning?”

Haha… just writing that makes me see how insane it really was!

But here’s the thing (and where the story gets juicy)

Even with disaster after disaster happening…

My team never gave up.
They never stopped looking for creative solutions.
They never stopped coming up with new ideas.
They never stopped working together.

Because in our business, we have learned to cultivate an attitude of constant improvement and change.

Knowing that this is the ONLY WAY to thrive in a business environment that moves so fast and contains so many moving pieces.

Which is what allows us to STILL experience regular $$50,000 – $100,000 months in midst of all these challenges and difficulties.

What This Means To You…

First, we all have a tendency to put “big names” on a pedestal and believe that “everything works perfectly for them but just sucks for me.”

Well… look at my story above.

Clearly that is NOT the case. This was a true disaster where pretty much everything went wrong.

In fact, sometimes the bigger you are the harder you fall. Could you imagine having 400 people try to get on a training and have EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM get locked out?

Ouch…

I feel it’s important to share these stories authentically, so that you don’t get so down on yourself when sh*t hits the fan in your business.

Ok?

The Second Great Lesson In This…

The fear that things ARE NOT going to work out should NEVER stop you from moving forward and taking big bold actions in your business.

In fact, after so many things going gone wrong over and over again, I’ve even developed a COMPLETELY different philosophy around failure.

Ready for this? It’s weird…

I EXPECT things to go wrong.

So when they do, it’s not such a big deal. And when they don’t, I’m thrilled!

Now this isn’t to say that I walk around with a bad attitude waiting for everything to break down (that’s not smart either)…

I just mean that I anticipate lots of stuff going “off plan” so when these obstacles show up (like they inevitably do)…

I can treat them like speed bumps rather than road blocks.

Because that truly is what they are… just a bump in the road meant to test your commitment and faith in yourself.

Maybe You Can Apply This To You?

It’s likely that there is SOMETHING you want to do in your business that’s scary for you.

… And because of that, you’re probably putting it off, and putting it off, and putting it off (right?).

So what do you say you embrace this post as TRUE and get into action with that thing you’ve been wanting to do?

As in… just go do it. Because you have that choice…

You game?

If so…

POST A COMMENT BELOW

Let me know what you’re taking away from this little story and more importantly, what you’re going to do NOW because of it.

I’m excited to read your comments!

Much love,

Max

P.S. Because of the massive technology breakdowns, we’ve decided to post the new training online for just TWO DAYS this Thursday & Friday (June 23 & 24).

Though we prefer the LIVE environment, this felt like a nice way to make up for our mistakes.

… So as long as you are on our newsletter tribe, you’ll get a link to it on Thursday.

And please don’t ask for it early. We’re going to test everything to make sure it all works (geez)….haha.

I have a special treat for you today.

We just got the footage from our last live event and I wanted to share an entire section with you… just because you’re in this amazing tribe of big-vision entrepreneurs!

And I’ll tell you, I also have an ulterior motive… which is to inspire you to register for our next live event while the early-bird rate is still open to you (ends this Friday).

So check out this video, soak up all the juicy knowledge about the 5 things to stop doing right now that are preventing you from making more money in your business…

… And then go register for The Enlightened Entrepreneur Experience while you still can.

What are you going to stop doing? Leave a comment below!

I’ve been hearing the same story time and time again from entrepreneurs who just kind “fell into their business”.

Meaning, they never sought out to start a business or become an entrepreneur but rather they discovered something profound that transformed them, and they wanted to share this knowledge and wisdom with the world.

… and then came the challenge of monetizing these gifts and life-experiences (which can be one heck of a challenge). And in that process, you started acting and behaving in ways that weren’t congruent with the person you set out to be.

If you fall into this crazy scenario, enjoy this story… I think it will strike a chord with you.

Leave A Comment With Your Thoughts!

One of the guys who’s helping fund my dad’s documentary is an amazing man named Murray.

And before I tell you about how this guy totally rocked my world with a single sentence, let me tell you a little about Murray.

Murray Never Has To Work Again

I don’t know exact numbers (and it doesn’t really matter) but Murray has made enough money to be able to do anything he wants for the rest of his life.

He’s sold two different companies, done very well with a few select investments, and is now managing his money in such a smart way by diversifying his portfolio that money will never ever be an issue for him again.

But what’s most interesting about Murray is not how much money he’s made… but his approach to life that’s made him all the money.

From Shrink to Scientist to Entrepreneur to Philanthropist to Philosopher

This has been Murray’s path.

He decided to become a doctor, then he became fascinated with research, then his research became a very successful business, then he started using his resources to give back, and now he has a very different outlook on the world than most.

As you can tell, it’s been a very NON-LINEAR journey… jumping from one seemingly un-related thing to the next (which he attributes as a huge cause of his success).

Here’s How Murray Changed My Life Forever

We started talking about my own personal (biggest) challenge in my life…

… which is my almost un-satiable desire to “get to the next level“. Meaning, I’m always hungry to jump the next thing… even when what’s happening now is totally fantastic.

It’s weird… because I’m totally aware that “getting there” (wherever there is) is not going to be any more fulfilling than what’s happening right now…

But the desire to keep going never seems to slow down.

Can you relate?

That’s When Murray Asked Me This…

He said: “Max… are your goals getting in the way of your happiness?”

Whoa…pause, deep breath, pause, deep breath…

That struck a chord with me… like a super deep one.

I mean… really think about it. Say it out-loud. Are your goals getting in the way of your happiness?

And then he went on to say: “Because I can assure you that if you’re not happy making $500, you’re certainly not going to be happy making $5 million.”

And then… as if to make sure that I really heard him… he told me his story:

“Max… I never set out to make millions of dollars. I always focused on doing things that excited me. I always loved pushing the envelope. And I realized that striving for excellence and looking for ways to really help others was what I wanted to do…”

“And it just so happened that when I got really good at doing these things… a whole lot of money followed it.”

This Is Nothing New That We Haven’t Heard A Million Times

But for some reason… this single question: “Are your goals getting in the way of your happiness?” really shifted something in me.

Because I realized that consciously or un-consciously, I had a deeply rooted belief that reaching a certain goal would make my life that much better.

Or that I would be that much happier once I got to some new destination in my mind.

You know what I mean?

Here’s What’s Cool

Since that conversation, I’ve given myself 100% permission to be completely and totally happy RIGHT NOW…

Like no exceptions… meaning regardless of what I’m doing, how much money we’re making, or whatever else is transpiring…

I focus on being happy. Totally happy. Like annoyingly happy…

And I must say… it’s been pretty darn cool experience.

Because happy = happy. Plain and simple… and that makes life good.

What This Means To You…

First off… ask yourself: “Are your goals getting in the way of your happiness?”

And if they are… make the same commitment to switch it around. Have your happiness get in the way of your goals! (how you like that turnaround?!?!)

Secondly… look at whether you are doing what you really, really, really love.

… Or if you’ve chosen a path because you believe it will lead to a better outcome somewhere down the road.

If you realize that what you’re doing now is NOT making you happy… be willing to put the wheels in motion to make a shift.

It Probably Won’t Be Easy

Because all of your doubts, fears, insecurities, and conditioning will show up to tell you that “you have to keep doing it the way you’re doing it” or “there is no other way out so just stay put.”

But realize... that simply is your mind trying to keep you safe.

And realize you have a choice… you can keep playing it safe but not being super happy. Or you can muster up the courage to EMBRACE that there is a unique path for you that is BETTER than what you’re doing now and prepare to make the shift.

As My Dad Always Says…

You deserve to be happy. In fact, it’s your birthright.

And if you’ve never been told that before… I’m sorry & happy to be the first to break the news to you.

Because you know what they say… “Better late than never.”

Much love,

Max

Have your goals been getting in the way of your happiness? Did this story strike a deep chord with you too? Please share your comments, thoughts, or questions below!

 

Every month, my girlfriend and I go away for a weekend and rent a house in some unique destination to un-plug and spend some time in nature.

And I’m proud to announce that this weekend, we spent approximately 32 hour straight…NAKED!

Now before your mind starts spinning off into some kinky story about what we did all that time… let me share some cool highlights from the experience (that just might mean something to you and your life).

The Yoga Story

While we were practicing yoga on Saturday morning on our beautiful deck overlooking the mountains, I helped my girlfriend slightly adjust one of her poses to be more in alignment.

After a few moments of silence, she said:

“It’s so interesting how one little moment of support can change your experience so much. And then once you get that little bit of guidance, you know how it feels to do it right and can just continue doing it that way from that point forward.”

Boy is that a nugget of wisdom.

In life and business, so many people are so close to “doing it right”… yet they just don’t have the right knowledge or guidance to make that slight little adjustment… mostly just because they don’t know what they don’t know.

So instead, they just keep doing it wrong… time after time.

And what’s worse… most people don’t actively SEEK OUT the help they need to “adjust”… so they just stay exactly where they are and don’t make any progress.

Not knowing that one little “adjustment” could make a world of difference in their results.

The Moral of the Story: If you want to be great at something, find a coach or mentor who can give you those subtle yet important “adjustments” now.

You might not even know that you’re doing things wrong until your teacher shows you a different way. So don’t wait for something to be broken to get support. If you’re serious about improving your life and being the best you can be, find people now who can take you to that next level.

Remember… all Olympic athletes have a coach… and they are the best in the world at what they do.

The 45-Minute Brainstorming Session Story

Look… I’ll be honest.

Even when I unplug, my mind still thinks about creative ideas, new programs I want to develop, upcoming projects, etc.

Fortunately, I’ve found a partner who loves to brainstorm these things with me… so she gives me permission to spend a little bit of time talking about stuff like this with her.

But get this…

Over the weekend, we spent 98% of the time relaxing, swimming, cooking, watching movies, napping in the sun, and all around enjoying our private home.

Then we took about 45 minutes to brainstorm a new idea that was on my mind and I was amazed at how much we got done in that super short amount of time.

In fact, I’m willing to bet that it would take an average person 4-5 hours to come up with the ideas we developed instead of the 45 minutes it took us.

The Moral of the Story: We all think that working hard is the answer. We’ve been conditioned to believe that everything needs to take a lot of time and effort.

But what if the opposite was more true? What if we could be 5 times more productive by doing less and having more fun?

At the private Mastermind I just co-led with John Assaraf, he kept saying: “Intention, Attention, No Tension.”

Meaning, set your intention on a clear direction, put your attention on manifesting it, and do it with absolutely no tension or stress (and have more fun in the process).

But is that what we do?

Mostly not. Instead we work hard, work long hours, put in more time, and all around struggle to find clarity.

… Because we’re afraid that stopping or slowing down would mean we would lose momentum.

It’s a hard pattern to break (I’m still working on it myself)… but I’m convinced that this is where the gold lies. Do less, have more fun, and get more done.

Sounds like a sweet recipe to me.

The “Naked” Story

Ok… just so all sorts of crazy rumors don’t start spreading through the internet that Max Simon is turning into a nudist… let me explain.

So much of the time in life, we put on “masks”.

Masks to pretend to be somebody… something… or someone.

And fortunately or unfortunately, we spend so much time reinforcing this image of who we think we need to be that we lose sight of the person behind the mask. Let’s call him or her “the real you.”

So this weekend, I decided that it was the perfect opportunity to put everything down and just be “naked”.

… Literally and metaphorically speaking.

Because the truth is… it’s difficult to hide behind a story when you ain’t got no clothes on (haha).

The Moral of the Story: Get naked… right now!

Haha… just kidding. The real moral of the story is that it’s OK to get away sometimes, put down all of your roles, responsibilities, and identities… and just “let your freak flag fly” as my friend Suzanne Falter Barnes says.

I mean look… I’m sure some people will read this story and get a little weird-ed out by it.

But you know what… I’m ok with that. Because I’m a weird guy… and I like playing with other weirdo’s who are willing to do un-orthadox things like spend an entire weekend o’natural.

And if you’re running a business, you should do the same.

Not the be naked all weekend (unless that’s what you’re into but rather the be willing to let “the real you” come out. Don’t worry what people will think of you.

You already know that YOU are your worst critic. So instead of holding back or trying to conform to what other people say you should be…

Just be you… in your business… in your life.

I’ll bet a bunch of other people in your tribe might hear your naked story, smile a little bigger, and love you a little more.

Right?

If this story “touched you” in any way (haha… I couldn’t resist), leave a comment below!

Much love,

Max