It happened to by older brother a few years back. The cult of vegan got ahold of him… and suddenly he was an instant expert on all things food and health. :/ I could go on for days about the way they mislead people with outright lies and backwards logic… But, the most annoying one has to be “The China Study”. If you’re ever had a run-in with the cult of vegan you’ve no doubt heard this one. It’s a book by Dr. T. Colin Campbell that touts itself as “The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted..” What it

This was posted over on LinkedIn by a freelancer named Ahmad: === Got rejected multiple times on Upwork. After being rejected, I started to research freelancing and realized that I was not ready. So, I spent countless hours on YouTube and Skillshare to grasp the maximum knowledge of freelancing and how to dominate it. (Lex DeVille, Josh Burns, and John Morris — Thanks for sharing the valuable content) Today Alhamdulilah, I have completed my first year on Upwork and here are achievement highlights!! – Among Top 10% Mobile App Developers – Among Top 20% Web Developers – At 4th Place

For one of my clients… We’re redoing an API and we came across this file, written by a no-longer-employed-with-us developer that was 12,000 lines of code! Now, I hope I don’t have to explain to you how insane that is. Even worse, it wasn’t organized top-to-bottom. So, to read it, you had to jump up and down in the file. Through 12,000 lines of code! I’ve done some dumb things in my coding career — we all do as we learn — but, not quite THAT dumb. In case, it’s things like this that are the “unadvertised bonuses” of my

This guy I know… Seriously, though… I once read about a technique used by veteran prostitutes to ensure they always get paid. (And before you fire off your angry email, I’m not commenting AT ALL on the industry, either way. Frankly, people can do what they want, in my opinion… but whatever.) It’s quite simple really. They demand payment upfront. Sounds simple enough, but apparently, it was a lesson that had to be learned — and patrons were far less likely to pay after the service than before. Makes sense, but I find a lot of freelancers ignore these words

September 5th, 1989. That day changed my life forever. Our little S-10 pickup was struck, on the passenger side, by an oncoming car at 65 mph. We flew 30 feet in air, spun 180 degrees and slammed into the a telephone pole… again, on the passenger side. Where I was sitting. With no seat belt. I was inches from dying both times. We slammed to the ground and my dad, my little brother and I were all thrown from the truck. Oddly enough, I was the least injured. My dad was the worst. He severed part of his spinal cord

I’m watching Criminal Minds on Netflix. Season 7, Episode 10. Jimmy Hall. A Philadelphia boxer whose son is dying and he goes on a killing spree because he doesn’t know how to cope. There’s a scene after they catch him. His son is dying. And they let him in to see him. And, he tells his son it’s okay to let go. That letting go doesn’t make you a quitter. It just means, in that moment, you gave it your best — and it’s just time to let go and move on. And then as he tell his son he

Another lesson learned in the windy sand dunes of Iraq. The day I arrived on base (I was about 30 days behind everyone else because I had to stay in Kuwait and load all our equipment on the convoys taking them to Iraq)… I had been there less than 5 minutes. And my platoon sergeant said… “Hey, glad you made it safe. So, here’s the deal… you’re now a squad leader. And, you’re also going to be our supply warehouse NCOIC (the guy in charge).” Uh… whaaaaat? I went from regular ol’ grunt to suddenly in charge of the most

Welcome to “JMO After Dark”… Just messin’. I was laying in bed, last night, and was thinking about you. Well, an experience I had with a client early in the day that I thought would make for a good lesson for you. Another simple thing to make clients love you. Want to put you on retainer. Tell their friends to hire you. And, pay you more to keep you around. But, it was like 1am and the fam was asleep, so I had to whisper and the video is well… pitch black. If that rustles your jimmies, this won’t be

Got a quickie for you, today. No… not that kind, dirty mind. A little vid-yo I put together on a simple little freelance secret I learned back in my G.I. Joe days. A new client of mind reminded me of it and I wanted to share it with you. It’s one of those simple little secrets… That I’ve used for years to get (and keep) monthly retainer clients. Anyway, it’s waiting for you in the app. Link is here: https://learnistic.me/37PB. If you don’t have the app, yet… that link will walk you through installing it. Later, Good Johnny Idea Engine

I wrote a whole blog post about this awhile back… But, the idea is pretty simple. We all know 2020 being strapped to the front of a runaway roller coaster with no brakes. And, 2021 isn’t likely to be a whole lot better. Whiners will sit around and moan and complain. Winners will do something about it. My plan? You’ve probably heard a zillion times that, during tough times like this, there are always winners and losers. People who get wrecked and people profit wildly. Amazon, Nintendo, Clorox — they’ve all seen huge gains. Meanwhile, local businesses across the country

Here’s another message I got… this one from Ani: === I took this course 5 days ago and created an Upwork profile and everything according to course instruction and today I got 2 projects all thanks to this course. === As I’ve said… I ain’t hummin’ Reveille with all this. But, let me give you a bit more on this. Something you can take with whether you want to take my Upwork course or not (because, frankly, it’s NOT for everyone). Because, the thing you should be wondering is… How? I’ve shown you examples of Upworkers who were dead in

Just got this message from Tessa: === I’ve been following your course on upwork doing the specialized profile. With a small portfolio and only 3 other jobs I’m 2nd on the search for Twitch, crazy! Thank you for the course. === I tell you all the time… I’m not whistling dixie on this stuff, chuckles. I’ve spent the better part of a decade scavenging for every ounce of information on “hacking” Upwork I can find. Testing that info myself… and then putting it out to over 27,000 other freelancers to test. This shyte works. The key to the whole thing

It was the second conference I’d ever attended. I was with a client of mine and he knew the guy who was putting it on. So, about halfway through we got to go in the back and eat pizza with this guy and his staff. I honestly think he was trying to show off a bit. But, he started talking mad shyte. All the little things they were doing to manipulate the audience. Hitting all their hot buttons… Increasing their desire… Priming them to buy… Until the big finale where they’d pitch their expensive coaching program. I’m an entrepreneur through

I’ll tell ya this… it has nothing to do with talent. I recently had another fupastar send me one of their hysterical emails complaining about… “John, why for you talk about da munies”. I get these from time to time… any time I talk about the business side of web development. Well… heaven forbid! God forbid I talk about the thing all of us are not-so-secretly after — and help people to build a lucrative career around their web development skills. What a monster! Of course, this is the very thing that holds most developers back. Hell, most people. Because

Can we cut the BS? Seriously. I see a lot people posing. On their Instagram or Twitter, spouting a bunch of koombaya, “we’re all in this together” nonsense. The truth? We all want ours. I had a weird dichotomy growing up. I literally lived in a trailer home. And not one of these fancy, clean double-wides. An old, dirty, mice-infested single-wide. I wore clothes with holes in them. I was a poor, dirty river rat. Yet… I went to a private high school. With a bunch of kids who were, at a minimum, middle-class. Many came from the wealthiest families

I just uploaded a brand new Upwork course that lays out my entire evil scheme for exploiting Upwork. The same scheme I used to earn over 12K in my first few months on the platform AND I’ve taught to other Upworkers who’ve said things like: === I made account on upwork but it did not get approved. After viewing his course during lockdown I made account again and it got approved the same day and amazingly I got my first job the very same day, I couldn’t believe it. I thought may be I got it by coincidence. Anyways I

I know you’ve seen them. The Upwork boo-roos on Twitter bragging about how they’ve made 400K or 5 or whatever it is. It’s kinda tacky, but whatevs… not gonna hate on them. But, it does beg the question… What do they know? That the Upwork dropouts (who plod around the internet dumping their stinky piles of “it’s a scam” on every YouTube video or blog post) don’t? I can tell you. It has to do with how you start. The first few crucial months. Get a couple projects, do a good job and get quality reviews… and your Upwork will

It’s like living in two different worlds. Where you go to find clients, what services you offer, what you say to get hired, how you deliver — everything you do in freelancing — is different depending on *which* archetype you are. Neither is wrong. They’re just different. And, it’s not about “high-paying” versus not. That’s an overly-simplistic view for low-IQ freelancers. In any case, I just uploaded a new episode of the audio newsletter where I reveal these two archetypes and how to figure out which you are. And, how to change your freelancing… And, start getting more clients based

I got this email from Jerry: === My question is how do you get past the mental block of “needing to know everything” before one is to offer freelance web dev services? I’m stuck in this mindset of “I need to know a little more” before freelancing. Even after completing the basic courses on these coding sites. I feel like if I were hired on upwork, the client could watch me (via screenshots etc.) and see that I refer to the PHP documentation and would not think I’m capable of completing the project. Did you ever experience this or do

I know… bahumbug. But, I always find it interesting the importance people place on the New Year. As if it actually means a damn thing. That the number changing in a calendar system we completely made up has any kind of real significance. Suddenly the virus will disappear. The economy will surge. You’ll easily shed 50 pounds. The love of your life will knock on your door. And all your hopes and dreams will magically come true. Be honest… it’s weird. It’s only significant… if you MAKE it significant. But, how many New Year’s have come and gone with nothing

I’ve been doing this a long time. I started on the internet over 15 years ago. I was also just a few years into my military career at that time. Growing up in those two worlds at the same time was a bit surreal. It was also a big advantage. I can’t tell you how many New Year’s… I sat down and laid out my evil plan for the next year. All the amazing things I was going to do. THIS year was always going to be “the year”. (Sound familiar?) And like most people… it never happened. I lasted

Just a heads up… If you’ve recently purchased one of my courses on my new training portal (R2 Protocol, 5-Figure Formula and AM2 Protocol), you’ll be getting an invite to my new phone app where you’ll also have access to those courses. The email will come from “Learnistic”… And, prompt you to download the Learnistic app. Once inside, you’ll see my app where you’ll have access to all the courses. It’s a few steps, but once it’s set up, the app will be synced with my training portal and you’ll have access to everything inside. So, if you prefer mobile…

Schwing scwhing! Lol… I was listening to a podcast last night on the way home from the gym and the guy interjected with an ad about this stuff called “Blue Chew”. Apparently, it’s an ED pill like Viagra and Cialis, but a chewable gummy. Anyway, don’t care about the product. It was this guy’s ad. He’s like… “Get Blue Chew and use my coupon code so whenever you get… ahem… you know, you’ll think of me.” I almost spit my post-workout McDonald’s all over my truck. Now, THAT is an ad! Anyway, in my warped head… I immediately thought, “Hmmm…

Seriously. I know there’s jackwads out there that’ll tell you their video got “banned” when it really didn’t. But, in this case… they legit did. I’ll show you: Each one of these is a message Upwork sent me about a particular video. Here’s one of the emails in case you don’t believe me: I was baffled, at first. Violation of their trademark? Turns out they were talking about some YouTube videos I’d made. And, it wasn’t about their trademark. It was about the content of the videos. It’s a tough spot. Because, they threatened to issue takedown notices on YouTube

My last email elicited this doozy from Sidney: “So your message is ‘If it can work for Hitler, and Manson, it can work for you too?’. This is not an enrolling conversation. You can do better John. By what underlying scientific principle are your methods going to work for those wanting to change their condition? After reading your email I’m left with Murder, Sharon Tate, Manson, Hitler and not the brilliance of John Morris and why I should listen to you.” Sure Sidney… THAT’S what I said. Sigh. And, surprise, surprise… Sidney didn’t actually listen to the episode. It makes

Been watching Mindhunter on Netflix. If you haven’t seen it, it’s about how the FBI developed its criminal profiling technique back in the 70s. Anyway, in season 2, they finally get to interview Charles Manson. It’s a wild scene. But, the one that stuck out to me is the one after. With Tex Watson. He was one of Manson’s “family”. And, the guy who did the actually murdering of Sharon Tate and the others at her house. The way he talked ABOUT Manson. How Manson was able to train and persuade them to commit the murders. A lot of people

I know this chica. She’s one of those Instagram “influencers”. She has over 45,000 followers on her Instagram. And, she makes exactly ZERO from her account. And, believe me, she WANTS to. But every time she tries to “monetize” it, her fans mutiny, she freaks out and she stops. I always wonder… what the hell is the point? Even more… I often get these YouTube losers… who seem to know it all when it comes to YouTube, but don’t actually upload video themselves. They’ll give me their “expert” advice that selling my products and services in every video is killing

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