Furthermore, this website will be drastically changing soon. The company has grown, and the site is going to have different needs in the future. We will still offer great production services include video and audio, and we are going to move towards producing original stories.

We are excited to move forward!

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world, but the unreasonable man tries to adapt the world to him. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.
–Samuel Butler

I have been tweeting a lot about Crossfit recently, and I thought I would post a link to an interview with the founder in order to answer a lot of the curious readers of this blog. I am enamored with the Crossfit workout routine, the philosophy, and the community. I have been doing the workouts for 2 months, and I have no plans of stopping.

Why post about Crossfit, an exercise regimen?

Good question.

Crossfit has been around for over 15 years, but in the last 7 its popularity has grown tremendously. Look at their site, every day a new workout is posted, and look how many comments are on each workout of the day… hundreds! And the workout is free! And there is no one to make sure that you do it. And if there is an exercise posted that you have never done or don’t even know what it is, just click on the exercises link and there are hundreds of videos explaining each exercise in massive detail. For free.

Yet, Crossfit does hold certification seminars, which it charges for… and you can become an affiliate, which costs money.

But overall, Crossfit is one of the best examples of a business using the Internet to combine the benefits of “free” with a way to monetize those free provisions. It is incredible! Plus, they are building a community of people who are absolutely sold out to their program. (Yes, I am one of them.)

Here’s another link to the interview with Coach Glassman.

That’s all I’m saying for now because I want you to read the article. But don’t worry, I have many more thoughts about Crossfit…

Here’s a link to the Crossfit Games.

The Crossfit games crown their winners, “the fittest person on earth”… there’s a marketing genius somewhere around here – how would you like to be called the fittest person on earth?

87 books.
37 dollars.

102 books.
45 dollars.

Those are actual numbers, by the way.

Book binges have become a lot less frequent, but I still love to buy books at Amazon.com. My wish list is ridiculously long. But in the last few years, I noticed that I can buy almost anything at Amazon. They have taken retailing online better than anyone.

I just bought a G Tech Hard Drive – from Amazon.

And it was cheaper than on G Tech’s site.

All I can say is wow.

I don’t think I’ll be going to a Barnes and Noble anytime soon and see a heavy duty hard drive sitting next to the newest Brad Thor novel.

Anyone else just love Amazon?

A YES is not always good.

And a NO is not always bad.

In fact, there are a few things better than a yes…

For instance, if I’m a writer, and I’m going to pitch a story idea, then sure, I’d love to make a sale. Money in the pocket feels great!

But what if I do such a great pitch that I turn everyone into the room into a raving fan. Maybe I don’t even get the job. But if they remember me… if I make a fan… then I just had a huge victory. It will help you. Trust me.

And what about getting a no, but learning something. Failure is just an opportunity to learn. Sometimes you need to work to learn, then to earn.

So, if you ever think it’s all about yes’s and no’s, think again.

You might not know it, but it’s true. Everything we do involves selling in some way. If you’re a filmmaker, you have to sell your ideas to the audience. You have to sell your movie so it can get made and distributed.

We sell every day of our lives. There’s no getting around it. And most of us are not good at all.

I have a my share of sales over the years, and I just thought I would provide a few pointers.

5 Ways to Get Better at Selling…

1) Help people solve a problem – do not be thinking of your commission!
This makes a difference! People can tell what you’re thinking, and more importantly, what you think of them. If you’re looking at them and you have dollars signs in your eyes, you’re in trouble.

2) Say Less.
Many people are very good at making the sale… and then losing it. There’s a point where you need to just stop talking. And it’s always before you realize that you should just stop talking. Make sure you’re listening just as much, or more, as you talk. If you’re not asking questions and listening to their answers, you’re toast.

3) Be on time.
To be early is to be on time. To be on time is to be late. To be late is unacceptable. If you can’t show up on time for an appointment, why should I trust you with my money? Enough said.

4) Be brief.
Nobody likes their time being wasted. And you shouldn’t waste your own time. If you can’t simplify what your message is, you probably don’t deserve to be successful. You’re probably a gifted writer/filmmaker/entrepreneur/investor/businessman/rockstar and if you don’t have other things to do in your life, then you look like a needy, pushy jerk who has no other things to do. Who wants to give that guy money?

5) Be sold yourself.
If you don’t believe in what you’re trying to sell, they know it. They smell it. It’s written on your face and all over your shirt. It’s that bad. And cologne doesn’t help. Not mouthwash either. Sell yourself and half of the battle is done.

Any other suggestions? I know there’s a lot more out there, but the bottom line is sales is a numbers game and emotionally challenging. Don’t be afraid to fail, and don’t forget that we are selling something every day of our lives.

Question: How did they get those funky holograms of reporters when CNN was covering the election?

Answer: CNN Senior VP David Bohrman explains the technology behind CNNs 3-D high-definition election night hologram beamed into the cable news networks Election Center in New York.

Follow this link to learn more.

Thanks to The DV Show for a great article!

In addition, fxphd is starting to take steps that provide vocational/resume assistance. For instance, you are given a link to a page with all of the courses you’ve taken. Here’s mine: Follow this link, and enter this code – 5UDRBT52A3E3E25. Also, they are starting to offer exams for specific courses. They are moving in the right direction.

From listening to their podcasts, I’ve come to appreciate how much work it takes to run an educational website like fxphd, especially since most of the contributors are working artists.

Make sure you check out their site–they are future of education.

fxphd.com April09 Term Overview from fxphd.com on Vimeo.

Produced, written, and directed by Adamo Paolo Cultraro. He chronicled the making of his first feature on dvxuser.com and then put all of the forum posts together in three sections: pre-production, production, and post production. Here’s the link again. I recommend starting with pre-production and reading in order.

The guy has a great story and a fantastic way of living his life. If you want to know how movies really get made, how distribution works, how Brandon Lee died, how to raise $300,000, how to be a better salesman, how to get an agent, and how to hire a name actor without any money… READ THIS!!!

Just remember one thing – “It is a mistake to doubt me.”

We have just made a number of final changes to our program. It has become clear that our competition is finally paying attention to what we are doing so this time we will NOT announce what the changes are.

I will say the following:

1. No negative price/performance changes.
2. Only positive feature and system changes.
3. No additional slip to the target schedule.

If our competition is shooting at us, they will be shooting at where we were and not where we are going to be.

Speculation is dangerous because people post what they think or hope and others read it as fact. Just know that every time we change something, it gets better.

See you in Las Vegas.

Jim

I love how Jim knows the competition is out there, and he knows that unless they are thinking “revolution”, they are aiming at the past.

Here’s a link to the forum if you want the full scoop.