Monthly Archives: July 2022

Resistance… what is resistance?

Is it lifting up a heavy ass barbell at the gym while your bro spots you on the rack? Or perhaps its the moment that pretty girl from the store shuts you down when you ask her to the carnival on Saturday? Not exactly.

Webster’s dictionary’s meaning of the word Resistance is presented as the following:

: refusal to accept something new or different

: effort made to stop or to fight against someone or something

: the ability to prevent something from having an effect

I was recently taking my usual 10 minutes of stretching in the morning after I finished with all of my morning clients, and I decided to throw on a YouTube video that featured one of Tai Lopez’s famous talks. In the video he spoke about his ‘read a book a day club’ and how it helps speed up your learning curve to any task.

He spoke about the different techniques used to implement any subject as part of your daily habits by constantly burying your head in a book. This non-stop exposure to different perspectives, cultures, and all around diversity somehow makes the neuron synapses in your brain connect at an unfathomable rate. Supercharging all of your senses and improving your focus significantly. In other words, what it would take an average person to learn in 6 years, could cut it down to 6 months!

Now, this sounds like a fantastic idea! Learn anything and everything like a genius. But… how come not everybody does it? Well… my friends… another simple case of easier said than done.

YOU see… there’s this evil internal conflict that arises every time we catch a glimpse of what our lives could be and set out to embark on a new journeys. A new diet, a daunting project at work, or a new regimen on reading perhaps. That microchip somewhere at the rear end of your mind that seems to somehow conveniently come up with the perfect excuses to procrastinate just a ‘bit’ more.

Those of us who ever started anything know exactly what I mean.

In today’s society it is almost damn near impossible to finish anything that is worthwhile. Commercials, movies, and music all chanting and preaching about the sweet taste of instant gratification. Drink that, go there, buy this and it will all be OK… GUARANTEED!! But as much as we try to deny it we all know the bitter truth that it wont. Distraction and attention deficit are at an all time high, which entails procrastination is at an all time high.

What is it that separates the successful from the unsuccessful? Their individual relationship to resistance! They both recognize what must take place and the work that must be put in to reach greatness. The successful professional and the common man know resistance all too well. The difference is actually more subtle in nature. One chooses comfort recognizing the usual nowhere road it leads, while the other chooses agony for he knows that this is the price of ultimate bliss.

It is ultimately in your hands.

If you want that prefect body… fight resistance. Do you want that dream job of being paid to do what you love, than plow through resistance. When it comes by to knock on the door, don’t answer. Do not look through the peep hole, do not even ask who it is!! Simply chuckle and carry on to the full expression of oneself. Whether it takes you 5, 10, or even 30 years you must persist, because like that annoying neighbor next door, Resistance will never go away.

So let us silence all distractions and follow the purpose that we were made to pursue.

We were all born to succeed. It is within our DNA.

So turn down the music, silence the smartphone, and turn off the TV. Allow your brain to reach the cusp of its capacity and feed it as much knowledge as possible. Educate yourself every minute of everyday.

Our time here is short… so my question to you is… how will YOU write your LEGACY?

Now that you know how much your industry is getting paid, you can decipher how much you can charge as “billable” hours. You can count on working 10-12 hours a day, five days a week as you get yourself going. Most entrepreneur’s work that or more anyway. Point being: plan on working a lot [and remember you’re doing it for yourself]! And you will need to check e-mail in your off hours to make sure there are no customer questions that need to be replied to immediately. You will bill your clients for the amount of time it takes you to complete their project from start to finish. Take into consideration how much work you will have to do before you ever start it and add it to their invoice as well. Your billable day will look something like this:

Your average day:

* Plan on spending 4 hours on administrative and marketing tasks

* 4-8 hours on projects [depending on how many you have and how long you’re willing to work]

* You need to put 3-4 hours into the most “important” project and 2 on each of the others per day

* Take on 2-3 projects at a time to have 20-40 billable hours–If you take on more, expect to be working longer hours

“So what if I want to charge per project?” Some creative minds like to charge per project. If you do charge per project, know exactly how many actual working hours it took you to complete it and divide that by the amount you’re charging in the end. The problem with per project is that there are unforeseeable events that will undoubtedly occur during that time [that usually occur because of the delay of your client and not your software and so on] and it’s hard to increase your pay rate as your expertise and experience increase because you have only the vaguest idea of how much you actually make per hour. In short, have a per hour rate regardless.

If you have a client that gives you a specific time frame and budget, take their time frame and divide it by your hourly pay rate. For example, if a company x asks you on Monday to design a logo for their business stationary and website by Friday for $200, calculate your pay rate. You charge $44 per hour, so that’s about 4.5 hours. You know it takes about 8-10 hours to complete a logo in as many sizes that want, plus they want 10 different examples before they pick one. If you’re just started out, you may want to take the pay cut to get the business and referrals thereafter. Yet it would be better negotiate with an e-mail or phone call (whatever mode of communication they have chose to use) and give them your counter-offer until a price is reached. It would be better to do this job at $400 for the project or tell the company that you charge $44 an hour and will only do 3 hours worth of design to create their 10 options [and complete however many you can during that time] and will take the last 1.5 to spend on the logo they choose.

All and all you’re well worth it. You have what it takes to provide such excellent creative work for clients that you can’t just work with one company. Plus you love the freedom to choose how to set-up your work day, travel, and live the life you want. Before you ever send over an invoice, review the above tips and set your hourly rate. Figure out their cost per project. And do whatever you can to put your creativity and the client first.