Apr 29, 2024 |
Hey…
You love me because of my chaotic-good, non-linear, ADHD ways, right?
RIGHT?
Okay.
Because I juuust finally wrote up the blurb on exactly what you’re going to learn in the Way of the Sword. hahahaha
(File me under evidence for: “people will buy your stuff even if they have no idea what’s going to happen inside it”…)
And we don’t have a curriculum. Instead, we have … quests!!
Here’s what you’ll be playing with…
Quest 1. The Magic of the “Right Person”
There is a “right person” profile for your business. And it has absolutely NOTHING to do with niches, or the often-taught “ideal customer avatar.” Fuck that shit. I’ll teach you how to identify your “right person,” and make them come out of the woodwork.
Quest 2. The “Addictive Copy” Recipe
Yes, there IS a recipe! I actually reverse-engineered this process by looking back on my most viral posts, and most responded-to emails. Aha — clear pattern emerged, and I myself follow it religiously. Now, it’s yours, too.
Quest 3. Befriending the Darkness
We’re not here for the “Love and Light” stuff. You know that right?
To become a true leader, and not just an ‘influencer’, you must not shy away from dark topics (both personal, and about the larger world) that most people would rather avoid. I’ll teach you how to write about the hard stuff in a way that feels good to you, and is actually useful for people.
Quest 4. The Superpower of Specificity
The epidemic of vague copy needs to stop! I will teach you how to write in a way that is so specific that makes people say “ARE YOU READING MY DIARY??” and makes you stand out from the “Sea of Beige.”
Quest 5. Pro-level Editing
It’s all about the editing, baby! There is a specific sequence I take myself through after I write the first draft to cut the fluff, hook their attention, and keep them reading all the way until the end… and of course, make it irresistible for them to take action. And it takes minutes, not hours. Grab my entire detailed guide for this.
Quest 6. Cash-generating Copy
There are about a handful of extremely simple things you should be doing that will help you to sell a lot more. Emphasis on SIMPLE!!!! I will guide you through the steps, and help you establish a habit of doing them consistently. (None of them will feel gross, I promise.) And then you make more money… for the rest of your life. Simple as that.
(And even though quests 5 + 6 look like they come last, they’re gonna be dropped on the very first day… because, hello? I want you to be editing like a pro and bringing in those ca$hdollaz from day 1.)
Ohhhh yeah, baby.
7 whole weeks of implementing the shit out of all of these. With me as your copy fairy and editor. YES.
We start May 8th!
Damn… that’s next week!
P.S. — ummmm did you grab the INSANE new resource I just dropped?
I just compiled the Ultimate Copywriting Q&A. You can download that biatch right away, for FREE.
Play with this while you wait for the course to begin!
Mar 7, 2024 |
okay, i know that’s a dramatic subject line — and NO, I haven’t become one of THOSE people — but I did write an old school style allegory that involves the Big Bad One.
check out out.
< The Allegory of Stymied Healers >
The Supreme Creator of the Universe saw the world, and saw that humans were suffering from pain.
Creator said: “Hmm… I don’t want them to suffer. But I cannot go personally help each one of those people. Whatever shall I do?”
“Wait, I know! I’m going to create humans who are also HEALERS and WISDOM GIVERS so they can relieve the suffering of humankind!”
So, Creator went to work and made all kinds of healers and wisdom givers, in every color, in every culture, and in every gender. They were pleased to see this.
The healers were then set free to begin to help other humans. It was going great!
Humans were finding their way to healing, wholeness, joy, creativity, connection, starting to remember their true nature as Love embodied.
But… someone had a problem with this.
It was Satan.
Satan looked around and said, “Wait, what’s happening? Why are all these people starting to suffer less? It was perfect before when everyone was in pain! These damn healers… I gotta do something about this.”
Here was a wrinkle.
Satan couldn’t just “get rid of” the healers because the Supreme Creator already installed them, and he couldn’t destroy the Creator’s creation or intention.
So, he had to come up with a clever way to stop them without destroying them, AND cover his tracks.
He brainstormed day and night.
One day, on his morning walk along the bank of the scenic River of Misery, he suddenly slapped himself in the forehead.
“I GOT IT!!!” The perfect plan came to him in a flash of satanic inspiration.
“I might not be able to kill off the healers… but I’m going to mass-hypnotize them into believing that healing work is only legitimate when it’s tied to a lucrative business!”
Satan cackled.
“This way, instead of knowing how and why God made them, they’ll be constantly doubting themselves. And instead of eliminating suffering in the world, they’ll be so occupied ‘trying to get clients’ and ‘grow a successful business’ that they’ll be exponentially increasing their own suffering. After a while, that suffering will begin to eclipse any desire they had to help others! Muahahahah!!!”
Satan continued to plot: “Given enough time, they’ll just give up healing altogether because the rules of conventional business will be so soul-sucking for them, they will be permanently drained of the energy or willingness to do this work.”
“No one will even question this plan, because I’ll hypnotize them into believing that all the ‘chasing material success’ is NOT for their own selfish sake, but the only real way to help people and be seen as a healer. Which means they can never escape it. It is the perfect plan!!!!”
Satan thought, smiling ear to ear: “I have to say, this is one of my all-time best ideas.”
So, he went to his workroom, the penthouse of the high rise behind the Gates of Hell.
He created an excellent mass hypnosis, and unleashed it upon the populace. Then he went to bed feeling very satisfied with himself.
A while later, Satan went to check up on what’s happening on Earth.
He was delighted to see his plan was working PERFECTLY.
The healers had gotten super confused.
The healers were caught up in a frenzy of “marketing” that felt weird and off to them, and they told themselves they weren’t allowed to stop. And the more they did it, the less connected they felt to their own healing powers.
Instead of leading with their healer hearts, they were taught to hide inside certain boxes and masks to be “professional” and “profitable”, which meant no one who was looking for a healer’s heart could even find one.
One by one, the healers gave up.
They went back to living as though they were NOT healers, and even when they occasionally did healing things here and there, their actions were plagued with doubt and shame.
That meant nobody healed. And everyone suffered.
Satan looked at all this, giggled, and said, “I am so good, I sometimes scare myself.”
****
If you are reading this, break the spell of the mass hypnosis now.
This is your cue.
The Supreme Creator is infinitely stronger than the Deceiver. Claim the truth of your inheritance.
Wake up. Wake up. Wake up.
Love,
Simone
P.S. — The Way of the Dragon drops its 2nd lesson of the 5-part series today. Last week, we explored the fundamental nature of soul power. This week, we are exploring authentic compassion and how we can access power through it.
It is going to be fascinating, mind-bending, and liberating.
It’s not too late to jump in. Join us.
Feb 5, 2024 |
Wanna know what happens when you stop launching for a year…?
I’m going to tell you… I’m revealing my revenue figures from last year, but there is a bit of a story first.
Early in 2023, I decided that I needed a break. After a handful of years of creating and launching nonstop, I needed to…. just STOP.
I didn’t have a masterplan for what to do instead, or when to get back into it or anything. All I knew was that whatever has been happening is no longer sustainable to continue, and that I must simply STOP, let the chips fall where they may, and figure out what’s next one day at a time.
If that sounds terrifying, it kind of was…
That said, it’s not like I completely stopped work. I did keep up the baseline of existing commitments. However, I scrapped plans, shooed away all new opportunity and completely stopped launching for most of the year (until Slumber Party, which took place in December, was my only launch in all of 2023).
Every time my brain offered me a new business idea, I said to myself: “Nope. Not now.”
So, what was I doing instead? I “cleaned house”. I cleared some shit out that clearly no longer belonged in my world anymore, I broke some shit and sat with the broken pieces, and sat and sat and sat and sat…. until I felt completely done sitting.
Sounds dramatic? Yep, it was… it was actually so painful at times. But that’s a story for another day. I promise I’ll tell you some other time.
Now, thanks to how well my business did in previous years, I fortunately had the cushion to basically “coast” for a while — an immense privilege I am endlessly grateful for.
Even so, it was going to be a big change. Going from “always selling something” mode to “selling nothing” mode, I was expecting a big drop in income. But I wasn’t sure how much.
Well, I found out. And I get to tell you, too.
Here we go.
My total 2023 revenue: $1.57 million (by the way, this is less than 1/3 of the previous year)
My flagship program: $1.2 million (Joyful Marketing, which became HOME):
Slumber Party: $257K (the only new thing I live-launched at the end of the year)
My pre-recorded classes (mostly pre-recorded classes costing $25) brought in nearly $170K.
Looking back at these numbers, a few things struck me.
First thought: well DAMN. Honestly, I kind of can’t believe we pulled THAT while not launching at all 11 months out of the year.
How was I able to make that much? I believe the answer is: the quality of products, reputation and community I had built around my business in previous years. For that, I am proud of myself, and so grateful for the miraculous ecosystem of people and ideas I get to play in. THANK YOU.
Second thing: notice… I no longer have high-ticket programs. I retired my mastermind with a 5-figure price tag a couple years ago. The most expensive thing you can buy from me right now is $1,500 or $3,500 (tiered options, depending on your financial circumstance).
And significant chunk of my revenue came from $25 and $100 classes. This is something I am celebrating big, because I love that I got to prove to myself and my community that you can have a healthy 7-figure business without relying on high ticket items.
I might bring back high ticket items one day, but I know I love what my business looks like without them.
Third, let me share a few observations about intentionally making less money.
Of course, this is all soooooo much easier to do when you have a cushion. And making “less” money for me is still a crazy huge amount for most people.
But don’t make the mistake of thinking that objectively having “enough” in the bank means it’s easier to take the foot off the gas.
You probably know many stressed out workaholics who have enough money but just can’t stop worrying and hustling for the next milestone. Many can’t slow down even when they do have a cushion, because the fear of “I’m just gonna bleed money from here on and everything’s going to fall apart and I’m going to eventually end up on the streets” is emotional, not purely rational.
This shit is conditioned in the nervous system, not logic… and it’s often passed down from generation to generation.
For many years, I did very intentionally work on recalibrating my nervous system to feel safe independent of the number in the bank account. A lot of intentional work on money and safety.
And in 2023, I found that I was able to access more unconditional trust in myself than I was ever capable of before. I didn’t need to see money constantly coming in to feel safe. I didn’t need to be achieving more and more to like myself.
I even had a convo with my husband, where we talked about how we would both go out and find jobs again if my business just completely stopped being profitable, and we’d depleted all our savings. We talked about the steps we’d take. It would be a change… but we’d make it work. That was a scenario we were 100% willing to face.
Having said that, I’d be lying if I said I felt 100% chill throughout 2023. I most definitely did NOT. There were moments of big meltdowns. But the journey was made a LOT easier thanks to the work I’d already done in previous years.
Now I feel emotionally and spiritually more resilient than ever. More in love with who I am outside of all the business-related identities.
And I’m proud of myself for that, and grateful for the space in which I could do this work.
Why am I sharing these things?
Every year, I share my revenue numbers even though I don’t owe anyone this info (except the IRS, I guess) because this kind of information is so unnecessarily shrouded by secrecy in the online business world. And I hate that.
Without transparency, what spreads is all kinds of illusions and distortions that have little to do with reality, and nothing good grows from that environment. If I can do a small part to change that, I will.
Moreover, it would have meant the world to me when I was starting out to see this kind of honest sharing from someone that I looked up to, who is a little bit ahead of me in the journey.
It would have helped me to contextualize my own journey, move “money stuff” from out of the shadows into the light in my own mind, and give me a more concrete sense of what’s possible for me down the line.
Please know that that is why I share.
Now, I have a lot more thoughts to share with you about money, work, rest, sabbatical, and creativity.
All of that is coming up.
I am so grateful to be alive today.
Thank you for walking alongside me.
Onward with the year of the dragon.
Jan 27, 2024 |
Want to free your mind from all social media-related compulsions and anxieties?
Play with this phrase.
There is no one to help, no one to rescue, no one to impress, no one tow in over, no one to influence, no one to entertain, no one to serve.
Now what?
Watch what ripples that creates in your awareness.
If that feels interesting, play again.
Dec 4, 2023 |
“You don’t need to pay attention to me or buy from me, no worries”…
… can either be a genuine statement of caring for the other person, coming from grounded non-attachment…
… OR it can be a form of fawning, like “please don’t have any bad thoughts about me, I’ll back off and make myself small if that means I can stay in your good graces.”
Dec 4, 2023 |
Sometimes, what gets me feeling better the fastest is a good ol’ fashioned Asian mom smackdown.
So here is one for you.
Do you know that social media doesn’t owe you shit?
It doesn’t owe you money, it doesn’t owe you success, it doesn’t owe you one goddamn thing.
Actually, this entire platform actually exists to make a small number of white dudes very rich and that ain’t you or me.
Social media is just there. It does what it does.
You don’t have to be on it. But you chose to be.
You gonna sit there and list your complaints and feel sorry for yourself or do the work to get what you want out of it?
