I discovered this by accident. I kinda just said “screw it” and set up this little process. I got my first client this way. And, I suddenly started getting WAY more job invites. And, every time I did it, I’d noticed a jump in the number of invites I was getting. Anyway, what it is… Is a kind of “cheat code” that lets you juice Upwork’s algorithm in your favor (And no, it’s nothing shady or immoral or against their TOS. In fact, Upwork WANTS you to do it… but it absolutely does give you an advantage outside the normal

Last chance. The 50% off Black Friday Week sale I’ve been running on my courses ends in just about an hour. So, if you want to get in on it, it’s now or never. Time to pot or get of the… You know what I mean. Anyway, here’s the links: R2 Protocol (Upwork) 5-Figure Formula (Premium Pricing) AM2 Protocol (Content Marketing) These will never be offered at a lower price. So, there’s no better time to grab them, dig in and IMPLEMENT. Later, John Idea Engine LLC P.O. Box 245 Winona, MO 65588 Want to unsubscribe or change your subscriber

Heads up… The 50% off Black Friday Week sale I’ve been running on my courses ends tonight at 11:59pm PST. So, if you want to get in on it, this is your last day. Time to decide. Here’s the links: R2 Protocol (Upwork) 5-Figure Formula (Premium Pricing) AM2 Protocol (Content Marketing) These will never be offered at a lower price. So, there’s no better time to grab them, dig in and IMPLEMENT. Later, John Idea Engine LLC P.O. Box 245 Winona, MO 65588 Want to unsubscribe or change your subscriber settings? Use the links below:

This was my older brother. A state trooper in Nebraska. Several years back, he came to me with an “idea” for a website. Sigh. If you’re like me, you’ve probably had 1,000 friends and family do that to you. They’re always just amazing, too (not). His wasn’t bad, though. It was “letters to Santa”. Kids could go online and fill out a form, their parents pay a small fee and they’d get a letter back from Santa in the mail. This was back before all the sites, today, that actually do this. I probably should have done it. But, I

I was telling my son Davin this last night. We’d just traveled from Missouri back to Nebraska. I took this whole week off because… well, I can. And, we were sitting there playing XBox. And, I told him… “You know this whole Black Friday thing? Some people are buying up all the deals… while others are the ones offering those deals. Some people are spending while others and earning.” His response? “Yeah, but Flamingo is having a Black Friday sale on his merch.” Lol. You win some, you lose some. But, it is a different way of looking at it.

It was as if he could physically FEEL his soul retching inside him. Claws as long as fingernails… scratching and clawing at him from inside. Eyes red with anger. The physical embodiment of envy and greed — slowing infecting every inch of his mind and body. In HIS mind, he was just tired. Tired of the constant pressure. The stress. Of having to scratch and claw for every inch of success in his life. While he watched others effortlessly prosper. Why him? What did he do to deserve this? He’d always done the right thing. Been kind to others. Worked

I’ve gone to the dark side. Doing a whole week of Black Friday deals for my courses. It’s super straight-forward, though. Get 50% off any of my courses until Monday, Novemember 30th at 11:59pm CST. The discounts are already active and on the site. You’ll see them on the checkout page. To be clear, the buttons and such still say the regular price. But, when you click the “purchase” button you’ll see the discounted price… BEFORE you enter payment details and all that. Anyway, here’s the courses I currently have in my portal that are eligible: R2 Protocol Video Training

This won’t apply for 90% of the people reading this. If you’re a low-IQ freelancer — the people who have this weird split personality where they want people to hire THEM, but they screech and shriek and clutch their pearls every time anyone else tries to sell them. Doesn’t matter what I tell you… You’ll never do anything until you un-flub your own messed up thinking. But, for the very small percentage of you left… Let’s talk UBI. You may have heard of this. This idea going around in political circles of creating a Universal Basic Income. Basically, every person

It started at 9:30 am every morning. That’s when I’d come slumping in the back door. Black pants, company shirt… and “DON’T FORGET YOUR HAT OR ELSE!” Clock in and begin the riveting work of cooking chicken… at a pizza restaurant. A career full of meaning and purpose! Yeah right. “Hey, chicken boy, I want more legs.” “Hey, chicken boy, the potatoes are cold.” “Hey, chicken boy, your chicken is garbage.” Day after day, month after month — sucking the life out of me. A former college athlete, an Army veteran who’d successfully led a squad of soldiers in Iraq

It was the look in her eye. The way she’d laugh at the waiter’s jokes when we went out to eat. How she’d light up when we’d have her male co-workers over to the house. The way she seemed to flirt with her male friends in Facebook comments. Always on her phone. Laugh and immediately responding to new texts. I didn’t make her light up like that. She didn’t laugh like that at my jokes. She’d barely respond to the things I put on Facebook. When I would text her, she’d take hours to respond. If I called, it seemed

What if I told you there’s a place you can go… right now… to get a quick injection of cash? 500, 1,000, 3,000 and up. A kind of “safe space” from the recession we’re still in. Not some new “opportunity”… Or some shiny new technology. Nope, actually an old faithful. One that’s been there this entire time: Yep. Upwork. 17 hours ago, 18 hours ag0, 18 hours ago. 200, 6,000, 3,500. Brand new jobs posted in the last 24 hours. If the pandemic has you against the wall, the work you need to find your way out is STILL pouring

Was watching Below Deck on Bravo. And, this bloated pig on there says, “I wonder what the poor people are doing, today”. As he sits their on a yacht in the middle of the Caribbean. I’m talking pasty white, warts — wouldn’t touch with a 100-ft pole. Not gonna lie… As a kid who grew up in a mice-infested trailer house, that rubbed me the wrong way. The jimmies are definitely rustled. But, that’s how these people snicker and laugh at you. That’s what they think of you. No, not all of them, but more than you might think. It

I ain’t no dumb-dumb… I know when I say, “the flaw in Upwork’s algorithm”… it elicits an eye-roll or two. “Whatever, dude!” And, maybe I’m being my eccentric self when I say that, but what I’m pointing to is as real as death and taxes. And, it can send a bunch of new client work flooding your way… If you know how to exploit it. So, let me show you, sparky: What you’re looking at is an interview from Upwork’s former VP of Product and Marketing. It’s nauseatingly-boring corp-speak, but what she’s saying is Upwork’s growth and differentiation strategy is

Was telling my son Jantz this. There’s a reason Batman is the de facto “leader” of the DC heroes. No special powers. No mythological origin. Just a guy — with an uncanny focus and obsession with his mission in life. A perfect example is Justice League: Doom. The villain, Vandal Savage, systematically eliminated all the Justice League heroes (Superman, Green Lantern, Flash, Wonder Woman, etc) so he could execute his evil plan without them interrupting. And Batman, of course, escapes the trap he was in. And discovers all the other Justice Leaguers are in trouble. And, he immediately knows exactly

I read this blog post the other day… Guy’s genius insight for pricing your freelance services was… “just make it up”. Probably SOUNDS good to some people out there, but it’s terrible advice. Because, ya know, you have actually get hired at the rate you charge. In any case, I decided to give you a real answer. If you’re a freelancer trying to figure out what you should charge… This is the video for you: Be sure to say hi over there, too. 🙂 Later, John Idea Engine LLC P.O. Box 245 Winona, MO 65588 Want to unsubscribe or change

Welcome to Biden’s America! 😉 Don’t worry… I’m not gonna go full Trumpian on you. In actuality, I couldn’t care less about who’s president. I barely even live in the U.S. anymore, so it doesn’t affect me much. (I know… I’m so privileged. But, in my case, it’s a privilege I created.) But, there’s that window. That first six months. They all blather on during their campaigns, making promises and somesuch… how they’re gonna “save democracy” and “fix healthcare” and “unity” and whatever nonsense it happens to be. But, that first six months… That where you really see. That’s what

Some might call it a flaw. Some a “loophole”. Whatever it is, it’s there and it gives freelancers NEW to the platform a huge advantage over even the most experienced Upworkers. Unfortunately, very few people know what it is… And, more importantly… how to EXPLOIT it. And, for the record… no, it’s not some shady “hack” or something that breaks their TOS. It’s simply a quirk in how it works, based on their own internal growth strategy, that can revive dead profiles and give new Upworkers a leg up. And can lead to things like this from Jithin: “John is

I know you’ve been DYING to hear my take on politics. So, let me go all Expensify on you for a second. It’s a pretty riveting take. You ready? Here it is: Meh. I’m old enough to remember when the last election was the most important one in the history of the Republic. And the one before. In fact, this is the 6th election I could have voted in — and every one was the life or death. And sure… Some of them of have affected me in ways… But, for the most part… eh. Even more, it’s complete nonsense

Today, Wall Drug Store does $10 million+ in revenue. It has 225 employees, a 76,000 square foot store and is visited by up to 20,000 people per day. But, in 1931, when Ted Hustead purchased the store — in a 231-person town in the middle of nowhere, South Dakota — business was slow. Hustead made just enough to stay open, but things didn’t look good. They were 2 years into the Great Depression… And, by 1936 — and the birth of second child — Hustead and his wife were beginning to question whether they should give up on their dream