Offering my services for only $5

I've started playing around with fiverr.com, a site that allows you to offer or buy services or products that are made available for only $5. But you can also buy or sell 'add-on' services for extra amounts.

This page describes the value of it:

Financial Freedom

A recent study we conducted shows that as many as 86% of the entrepreneurs we surveyed were seeking job independence. More and more people are making Fiverr their go-to place to kickstart their journey to financial independence. With Fiverr, they are able to turn their skills and passions into an income, on their own terms. 14% of sellers already report Fiverr as their primary source of income.

And from there you can probably understand why I'm offering services there. At the moment it's a bit of an experiment, to see what I can offer that people will be interested in purchasing. For only $5, it's a bargain! Anyone can afford that.

I can appreciate that for $5, I'll be creating templated service offerings, where I can receive $5 for something, and then quickly send them the information they require that's already been made up. If I'm getting a dozen of these a day, it's got to require next to no effort to provide the service being purchased.

So far I've got three services active (click on the links to see them in more detail):

1. I will manage the administration of your Wordpress blog for $5


2. I will help you with meaningful dating and relationship advice for $5


3. I will help you overcome your passive aggressive behaviour for $5

All three of them are services that I have knowledge, skill or expertise in. Numbers 2 and 3 are may only require a couple personalised paragraphs, along with some standard cut and paste of applicable strategies, and they're easily done in exchange for $5.

Number 1, however, will be a bit more involved, which is why I'm offering my Wordpress administration services at $5 per admin function. A client will be advised what is required with the administration of their site, and they can choose which of the ongoing services they want to purchase, and this will be the case for every time they want something done. If there's regular administration requirements, then each occurrence will be another $5 that they manually purchase.

Alternatively, they can purchase add-on services that will purchase my service for ongoing administrator on a monthly basis, rather than as a per-function service.

But as I said, this is all an experiment to see what works and what doesn't, and what can be modified or dropped altogether.

It's the beginning of an ongoing exploration into online money making ventures. More will come, including eBooks to sell on Amazon, which I'm in the process of starting now.

I think I'll also upgrade my email subscription service (once I'm about to publish to Amazon) to a paid subscription model, with the incentive for subscribers to receive all future eBooks for free, as part of their subscription.

If you have any other suggestions of your own, I'm all ears.

Traveler Interview: Colin of Exile Lifestyle

I'm really excited to be featuring this interview with Colin Wright, ofExile Lifestyle. I first came across Colin in a travel eBook on Amazon, and I loved it so much I bought all of his books. And now, he's graciously responding to an interview for me and here he is below, for your reading pleasure.

Hi Colin, thank you for this interview. Could you please tell us about yourself?

I'm an author, entrepreneur, and full-time traveler. I'm the co-founder of Asymmetrical Press. I move to a new country every 4 months based on the votes of my readers, though at the moment I'm spending 6 months in Montana to focus on the publishing company and the authors whose work we're putting on shelves.

Why did you decide to start travelling?

I'd always wanted to since I was a little kid, but it simply wasn't in the cards most of my life. Coming from a middle class family with three siblings, there just wasn't enough money in the budget to make it happen when I was younger, and by the time I was old enough to afford it myself, I always had work taking up my spare moments.

Travel, to me, was a gateway to the unfamiliar. The challenging. To new perspectives. I felt like I was living in a little box and all the windows were tinted. I wanted to get out of that box and see what things were like outside.

How long was it between when you realised you wanted to go travelling, and when you actually started travelling?

Well, I first left the country when I was 24, and I'd wanted to since I found out what travel was, so essentially my whole life up until that point. I had all these ambitions to make it happen before that, but none came to fruition.

My priorities were a little misaligned, looking back, but at the time the decisions made sense. Hindsight is like that.

How long have you been travelling now?

I've been traveling full-time for almost 4 years now! It's wild to think that I've been up and moving that long, but yeah. It's actually weird for me to be spending half a year in Montana, because it's the longest I will have been in the US since 2009. I own furniture (a bed, a chair, a desk) for the first time since I left. Very strange feeling.

What's your favourite country, and why?

I can't really choose a favorite — each is beautiful and wonderful and flawed in its own way.

But in my opinion, New Zealand is the most naturally beautiful, Iceland has the most interesting recent history, India and Thailand were the most challenging (and I learned a whole lot, living in both places), Romania has a very pleasant quality of life, and Argentina has amazing food. The US — we've got a lot going for us — but the thing I appreciate the most is our highway system. You can get absolutely anywhere on it, and that's not something most countries can boast.

What's been your most memorable experience?

There have been way too many to choose just one!

How about this one: when I arrived in Kolkata, there was a young girl who connected with me via Twitter, then email, and offered to help me get my feet in the city when I landed. She came and picked me up at the airport, helped me get a SIM card for my phone, helped me find a place to rent, and made sure I was fed. She and her parents, who lived in a small place with little money, insisted I sleep in the only bed they had that night, all three of them sleeping on the floor so that I would be more comfortable. To be welcomed in that way — especially in a place that a lot of people will tell you to avoid — is just incredible. It's a great feeling to show up someplace so unfamiliar and have someone waiting with open arms, thrilled to be able to show you around and treat you like a long-lost friend.

What's your average cost of travel per week?

That's a good question! Honestly, I'm not sure. It's not something I've ever had to track. I know it's a lot less than I used to spend living in Los Angeles, but it changes based on the country I'm in, what kind of place I'm renting, etc.

I'd estimate that, on average, I probably spend between $400 and $800 per month, but seldom more than that. I'm not stingy, but I do live frugally when left to my own devices. The only time I spend more is when I have friends in town or if I'm networking a lot.

What do you do to earn money?

These days, most of my money comes from my published work — my books and Exiles. I also do brand consulting on a very limited basis, and I just recently started teaching a class on design. I try to keep things flexible, and always have multiple income streams in case one or two dry up!

Did you have your income streams in place before you started travelling, or did they happen along the way?

I had one in place before I left, but in the past few years on the road, that one has been reduced to almost nothing, and a few others have taken precedence.

I think it's important to be infinitely flexible and roll with the punches when you travel. If all your eggs are in one basket, you're in a precarious situation, no matter how lucrative those eggs might be. Eggs break in transit, and you want to be sure you don't get stuck somewhere without any dough. That would be a very bad situation.

What do you like and dislike about your lifestyle choice?

I love the freedom it allows me. For almost 4 years I've done what I've wanted when I've wanted, with few exceptions. I don't set alarms (unless I have an interview to do or something along those lines), and I don't invest my effort anywhere I don't want to invest it. I get to work on that projects I believe in. I've never been happier, and each day is a little better than the last.

There are not a lot of downsides, frankly. Relationships of the traditional type are tough, but I'm not really into those, anyway. There's a good deal of discomfort involved with traveling this frequently, but I don't mind that — in fact, I kind of thrive on it. I make less money than I used to, but that number is growing steadily, and my lifestyle requires far less overhead to keep afloat, so I've actually got a net gain in quality of life, rather than a net drop.

How has it changed you?

I'm a lot more aware of who I am and how I got to be who I am. Relativism is key to almost everything I do and judgement I make. I'm also far more capable — you can't expect others to swoop in and help you when you're on the road, so you get accustomed to coming up with solutions when you need them. I feel like I've learned a whole lot about the world and the people in it — things that I thought I knew a lot about before, but I only felt that way because I was blinded to the scope of what was out there in the world.

What advice would you offer people who are thinking about doing the same thing?

Make sure you know where your money is coming from — it's nice to think you'll hit the road and then come up with a money-generating idea, but that doesn't usually turn out very well. Avoid easy-money, easy-lifestyle scams. If someone tells you it's easy to make this work, they're probably trying to sell you something. It takes work and stubbornness and a good deal of failure along the way. If you're willing to go through all that, it's very possible, but don't expect it to happen overnight.

Also: be a good person. Don't fall for the idea that you need to be a jerk to succeed. If you're a jerk, people won't want you to succeed. If you're good to people and provide value to everyone you meet, you'll have people helping you out in little ways all the time. Don't underestimate what an asset having people cheering for you can be.

Colin Wright 
Blog / Books / Exiles Twitter / Facebook / Google+

Interview your job interviewers

I went for a job interview this week. I didn't need to, because I'm currently working (contracting) and reasonably happy with where I'm at (insofar as it pays good money), so I took the opportunity to interview the interviewers about this new role.

I know I've been talking recently about building online sources of income that will allow me to give up the day job and have the freedom to travel, but until I make that happen, I still need the day job. I think that's going to be an ongoing concern for a while yet.

So anyway, this opportunity was a 12 month contract for a senior role, with a couple of 12-month extensions. That's a very nice opportunity, but there's always the risk that you'll end up working for people you don't like, in a job that won't interest or challenge you.

The basic position description seemed interesting enough, but I needed to know more. So I went into the interview with the intention of having them tell me why I should work for them.

Most people go into an interview with the intention of selling themselves, to help ensure they get the job. Most people looking for work in Australia (probably anywhere, really) believe they don't have the luxury of choice, that if they're looking for a job then they need to take whatever they can get. The common attitude is that if you don't like it, you can always look for another one once you've been in the job for a while.

But how often does that work out? Many people say they'll look for another job if they don't like their current job, but how many of them never do? As a result, they'll work for years in a job they hate, because they never get around to looking for a better job.

If I'm going to work for these people for 12 months or more, they need to be relaxed, easy going, and willing to have a good time. So I asked questions that would help me make a decision as to whether or not I would be interested in working for them.

* What was it about my CV and selection criteria that made you want to talk with me?

This is probably the most important question you can ask. Their answer to this gives you an understanding of what skills or experience you have that's important to them. You can use this to frame some of your discussion with them about how you can help them.

* Apart from the skills and experience outlined in my CV, what other qualities are you looking for in whoever you decide to accept for this role?

This is another important question. They've got in mind a particular person that they're looking for, someone who can handle the sorts of challenges involved in the role. Their answers will tell you if you will fit what they're looking for, or not.

* What are some of the biggest challenges you've had with this project, and what did you do to resolve them?

This tells you more about what YOU might be challenged with, and not only does it tell you how your employers might respond in the workplace, but it can tell you how they would like you to respond when you're confronted by similar challenges.

* What are you expecting from me as a new starter in the first 1-3 months?

This is a very important question because it allows you to understand what will be expected of you. Apparently most people don't ask this during the interview, and then they're often surprised by expectations placed upon them after they've been in the job for a few weeks. If you know what their expectations are, you can work out if that's reasonable for you, or unreasonable.

* What do you enjoy about working on this project / for this company?

If they struggle to find something to answer you with, there might not be anything they enjoy. Their answers may provide you with insights about how things would be if you were working there.

* How many people in the team, and what are they like to work with?

When you put people on the spot with 'tell me more' questions, if they stumble with their words a lot, they're probably trying to come up with something that sounds good. But if they can quickly tell you a few stories and there's laughter involved, then you can probably guess the team is good to work with.

Summary

During your interview, you need to treat it as you interviewing them as well. They need to sell the job to you, less so than you need to sell yourself to them.

Your CV and selection criteria (if there are any) have already sold you to the point that they want to find out a bit more about you. This is now your opportunity to turn it around and make sure you're going to enjoy working with them, and in this particular job they're wanting you for.

It's your life. You've got to make sure you're going to enjoy what you get yourself into.

Traveler Interview: John of JetSetCitizen

A few weeks ago I decided to start interviewing other 'perpetual travelers' who are already living the kind of life I want to live. The first interview that I'm honoured to publish is with John Bardos ofJetSetCitizen. I hope you enjoy reading his insights about travel.



Hi John, thank you for this interview. Could you please tell us about yourself?

I’m a Canadian that lived in Japan for 13 years. I owned a small group of English schools for about 10 years. In 2008, my wife and I made a one year plan to sell our business, house and all our possessions to begin a new travel lifestyle. In March 2009, we reached our goal, one month ahead of schedule, and have been location independent since.

Why did you decide to start travelling?

I first left Canada, back in 1997 because I didn’t want to start working in a cubicle at some large corporation. I never wanted the traditional ideas of a good job, a nice house and 40 plus years of work until retirement. I’m an entrepreneur at heart so I need the challenge and excitement of uncertain activities like travel.

How long have you been travelling?

My father was Hungarian, so I had the opportunity to see Hungary a couple of times as a child. This was back when it was still under communist rule, so needless to say, it had a major impact on my view of the world.

However, it wasn’t until after I finished university that I really started travelling on my own. That meant relocating to Japan in 1997, and using that as a base to travel to Europe and Asia. My wife and I haven’t had a permanent home since March 2009.

Why did you decide to leave Japan?

After growing a successful business and buying all the consumer goods I wanted, I still didn’t feel fulfilled. I realized that the consumer lifestyle I was trying avoid, was exactly the life I created for myself. I was eating out in restaurants every day, drinking too much alcohol, watching too much TV and spending way too much time shopping or thinking about what I wanted to buy next.

My wife and I could have continued on that safe but unsatisfactory lifestyle, or we could give it all up for the unknown. We decided that we just couldn’t spend the next 20 years doing something that didn’t excite us any longer, so we made the decision to leave.

What's your favourite country, and why?

This is a difficult question because there are good and bad aspects to every country. Here is a quick overview of my favorites.

Thailand - is a fantastic country to visit and live in. The food is amazing, people are friendly, the weather is hot, it’s safe, there are great cafés and decent internet. Most importantly it’s very, very inexpensive. Some of the problems are pollution and traffic congestion. As tourism continues to explode, I fear that Thailand won’t be so attractive in the future.

Hungary - My wife and I love Budapest in particular. It’s inexpensive by European standards, but has all the appeal of a great, culturally rich city like Paris. I love the food, cafes, live music, architecture and accessibility to the rest of Europe. Winters are dark and cold, so I don’t think I’d want to live there year-round, but it definitely is at the top of my list.

Japan - Japan, hands down, has the best food and culture in the world. I often say that Japanese culture is about two decades ahead of the rest of the world. There is such a massive appreciation for art, music, food made from fresh ingredients, environmental awareness and everything else that makes life worth living. It still is a little expensive, but compared to cities like Sidney, New York, Vancouver, London, Paris, Rome, etc. Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka are becoming more affordable. My wife and I will definitely continue to spend more time in Japan and will likely set up a home base there again in the future.

What's been your most memorable experience?

I can’t really say that I have a most memorable experience. I’ve never had any major problems, so I’m glad I don’t have any real bad memories, but I’ve had so many great experiences that none really stand out anymore.

There are so many beautiful churches and restaurants, jaw dropping natural vistas, incredible restaurants and kind people that it’s hard to pinpoint a single best experience. When every day is amazing, it’s easy to get habituated to the amazingness, however, there isn’t a day that I don’t appreciate the opportunities I have.

What's your average cost of travel per week?

Of course, this depends on the country and how much is spent on transportation. My wife and I prefer to stay in one location for several months, and do very little moving around, so we keep our transportation costs lower than constantly nomadic travelers.

We also tend to spend more time in cheaper locations, just to save money. On average, I would say we spend about $400 per week for living expenses. Transportation costs probably add another $150 per week and are heavily affected by long haul air travel. We probably spend $6000 to $8000 per year on airfare.

What do you do to earn money?

I have several websites where I earn money through advertising and the sale of ebooks and other digital products. I also occasionally do some freelance business consulting. Overall, my wife and I keep our costs very low so that we don’t need to earn much money. Most of our time is spent on volunteer or personal projects.

What do you like and dislike about your lifestyle choice?

Getting away from a consumer focused lifestyle has been amazingly liberating. Instead of spending all our time buying things or working to pay for stuff, we have the time and freedom to do exactly what we want. I was never able to see how much my possessions influenced my life until I got rid of them.

It’s also fantastic to be able to really experience other cultures. There is a big difference between living in a foreign country and travelling there for a couple of weeks. Living in different locations helps me to see that every aspect of our lives is a social construct. From small things like how toilets work, to substantial aspects of society like government, work obligations and family expectations, everything about our lives is up for negotiation. We really can create and live any life we want. I don’t think I would have gained that insight had I not lived abroad extensively.

I really hate the travel part of a location independent lifestyle. Researching new locations, booking flights and accommodations and relocating is always very time consuming and stressful. I love being in new locations, but getting there is a pain.

How has it changed you?

I’ve definitely completely abandoned the rampant consumerism of the west. I have no desire to get a big house, new car or keep up with the latest fashion and trends. That stuff is all pretty meaningless compared to physical health and rich social connections. Travel is infinitely more rewarding than any physical product I could buy.

I think the biggest change is my awareness of the world. Watching a foreign country on TV is not the same as living in it. I care a lot more about what happens on this planet because I’m experiencing it first hand.

What advice would you offer people who are thinking about doing the same thing?

Travel is simple now. The whole world speaks English and the internet has made it possible to get information and reviews on anywhere you want to go. Don’t worry about life in other countries. You’ll find all the goods, food and services you want, all over the world.

The biggest issue most people have is how to fund a travel or expat lifestyle. Cutting costs and making money should be the biggest priorities. Ruthlessly focus on creating a business that creates value for others. Don’t start a generic travel blog or try to be a broad marketing consultant. Those things don’t make much money, unless you are at the top of your field. Find a simple problem that people have and get really good at providing the solution.

For example, don’t do ‘online marketing consulting’, instead focus on something targeted like creating wordpress websites for plumbers. Avoid popular ideas like creating a generic travel blog, an alternative might be to focus on a comprehensive travel resource for a single city.

Successful entrepreneurs make money by solving problems for a targeted niche. Don’t worry about following your passion or other trendy advice. Find the shortest route to the cash and your passion will come out of the lifestyle you create for yourself.

John, thank you so much for your time and effort in responding to this interview. I really appreciate it. I look forward to continuing to read about your own journey on your website, JetSetCitizen.

Bruce Springsteen in Sydney - I was there

[Updated 30.3.13] Almost ten years to the day since I last saw him in Auckland, New Zealand, I saw him in again in Sydney, Australia. And it was fantastic, another experience of a lifetime!

You know, there's album versions of his songs, and then there's concert versions. What he did at this concerts was to create an amazing party that took you on a wild ride that's so full of energy it leaves you breathless throughout the show.

By the way, Fanfan wasn't a fan of Bruce Springsteen before, but she is now. She was surprised by the concert experience, it was a lot more than what she expected, and now she loves his music too. Well, maybe not 'loves' it, but at least she wants to hear more, and now she understands more of why I love it.

When I saw Springsteen ten years ago it was for his The Rising tour, and it focused mostly on his songs of The Rising album but also songs from his Born in the USA album. It threw a few other popular songs from the 70's out there as well, like Badlands, Born to Run and Thunder Road - but it was NOTHING like what he did in Sydney on 22nd March 2013.

The number of songs he played from the 70's and 80's was awesome.

Back in the 80's I wanted to see him in concert but couldn't. And then I saw him in concert in 2003 and it was relevant to that time. But this concert, just a couple nights ago, was the concert of the 80's, revisited. It was the concert I wished I could have been at back then, but with so much more thrown in for good measure to bring it up to date.

The best parts of the concert included tributes to his best friend and member of the E-Street Band, Clarence Clemons, who died last year. Some very touching moments. Also, another E-Street member, Steve van Zandt, wasn't able to join the Aussie part of the tour so his place was taken by Tom Morello, from Rage Against The Machine. This guy knows how to play a guitar, and what he did on Ghost of Tom Joad was extraordinary (#18 below).

I'm going to include his song set below, along with links to YouTube videos of where you can watch the same thing I saw in person. If I can't link anything for the 22nd March concert, then I'll link to another concert or an official concert video of some kind, so you can at least see something similar to what I experienced. (Being at a Springsteen concert is definitely an experience, absolutely nothing like just seeing it on YouTube.)

The surprise for me was to hear his Trapped song, as I'd never heard it before but was blown away by how much I loved it!

Sydney concert 22.3.13

1 We Take Care Of Our Own (22.3.13 Sydney) (official)
2 Wrecking Ball (official)
3 Night (2002 Barcelona)
4 Death To My Hometown (22.3.13 Sydney) (official)
5 Hungry Heart (18.3.13 Sydney)
6 My City Of Ruins (18.3.13 Sydney)
7 Growin' Up (22.3.13 Sydney)
8 The E Street Shuffle (Late Night with Jimmy Fallon)
9 Prove It All Night (with 1978 guitar intro) (video)
10 Trapped (2012 Philadelphia)
11 The River (22.3.13 Sydney)
12 Pay Me My Money Down (18.3.13 Sydney)
13 Working On The Highway (26.3.13 Melbourne)
14 Darlington County (16.3.13 Brisbane)
15 Shackled & Drawn (18.3.13 Sydney)
16 Waiting On A Sunny Day (20.3.13 Sydney)
17 Backstreets
18 The Ghost Of Tom Joad (22.3.13 Sydney)
19 Badlands

Encore:

20 Thunder Road (22.3.13 Sydney)
21 Born In The USA (22.3.13 Sydney)
22 Born To Run (20.3.13 Sydney)
23 Dancing In The Dark (14.3.13 Brisbane)
24 10th Avenue Freeze-Out
25 Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)

A lot of the songs he played from the 70's were requests from the crowd in the mosh pit. And he didn't disappoint them, or the rest of us.

I'll add more video links as and when I find them.

Rocking the boat

Every person helms their own boat. Many people just let their boat drift along as they 'go with the flow'. Many of them tie their boats to this huge collection of boats all drifting the same way, and call it 'society'.

Sometimes they tie their boats closely to someone else's, and call it 'marriage', or some other relationship arrangement. All while still being tied to everyone else's boats, all drifting the same way.

Sometimes they steer their own course, following their own path instead of going with the flow that everyone else is.

But if anyone rocks the boat, they become a threat to the stability of everyone else. No one wants to rock the boat when it could mean they're cut loose from the collective, which provides them so much benefit. Being part of society is safe.

But what if you think the collective is 'going with the flow' in a direction that's detrimental to its wellbeing?

There's nothing you can do about it.

But you CAN do something for yourself.

You don't need to be connected to the collective. You don't need to do what everyone else is doing. You don't need to be tied to their expectations of you, just because you're connected to them.

You can cut yourself loose. You can steer your boat in a different direction. You can lead the life you want to lead, instead of the life that you're obligated to by being part of the collective.

And as you steer your boat in a different direction, and enjoy your experiences along the way, you can share your experiences with the collective. Share your insights and observations and realisations.

And as you grow and experience more joy in your life and you share it with the collective, others will want to join you. Or at least follow a different course of their own, inspired by what you've shared with them.

As you steer your boat in the direction you want to follow, instead of going along with everyone else, and you share your life with others who are still in the collective, over time you will begin to influence the collective.

Slowly but surely, if you remain committed to opening people's eyes, you never know what effect you just might have on them. You never know who will take your inspiration and run with it, and THEY might be the person to change the course of the entire collective.

Your own actions might be the one to inspire the next Ghandi. Or you might realise you've become the next Ghandi. Who knows?

No one ever knows that they'll change the world, but if you never try, nothing will ever change.

Start by steering your boat in the direction that you feel would be best for you. Not what's best for others, but best for YOU.

The world can change because of it.

And yours certainly will.

A new discovery - the Zeta male

I was researching modern masculinity after what I wrote yesterday (I'm doing it all wrong), and I discovered something fascinating. It seems that I'm not alone. (Not that I thought I was!) I discovered I'm a Zeta male, and there's more out there like me.

I used to think that there were only the alpha and beta males - that if you weren't alpha, then you must be beta - but my research has discovered there's actually much more to it than that.

Let's go through the different kinds of men out there, so that we can understand exactly what I'm talking about.

The Alpha male



This is the 'leader of the pack', the 'macho man', the 'real man'. While being a very small fraction of the population, you can usually spot them a mile away. They are arrogant, aloof, loud and obsessed about sex. They learnt early on that power and high social status lets them get the best women, so that's what drives them to achieve.

Women love the alpha male. They love his independence, his strength, his mystique and his status. They want to be part of it. But he'll only take the hottest women, because he can.

The Beta male

This is most men out there.



He's the 'yes man', who dedicates his life to pleasing others, especially women. He thinks that in order to get what he wants, he has to get others to like him. His own needs come last. He prefers taking orders than giving them. He's the 'white knight', the rescuer, the man who is 'safe' for women to run to and cry on his shoulder about the latest alpha 'jerk' that dumped them. He hopes that by being there for her that she will eventually choose him because of how wonderful and supportive he is, but he doesn't understand why she always runs back to the alpha male when she's finished crying. He's always agreeable, always supportive, always hopeful that his kindness will be rewarded one day with her choosing to have sex with him.

Attractive and sexy women are always placing beta males into 'the friend zone'. His desire to be liked makes him boring. 'Sexy' is not a word that comes to mind when a woman thinks about a beta male.

Beta males will only get to have sex with the women who know they can't get the alpha males. They will eventually get married and have children and settle down. The life of an alpha is not for them.

The Omega male



This is the man who is generally the 'loser' of society. They're the divorced and bitter and twisted, living alone and miserable, cursing their ex-wife and their life. They're the obese 40 year old computer gamers who are living in their parents' basement. They're the low income earner or long term unemployed, doing what they can to scrape by. They're the drunk or the stoned. Whatever circumstances their life is in, they're just not in the race any more for the attention of women.

Omega males are usually ashamed of themselves, drunk, detached and angry, but they do nothing to change anything.

Zeta male

This man is new to our world. They've often been alpha, beta and omega through various stages of their life, and they've come out the other side, understanding all of them but deciding they are none of them.



They don't conform to the 'traditional' image of the alpha male, but neither are they passive weaklings like betas or omegas. They can give orders and take orders. They can be assertive when they need to be, unafraid to speak out and fight for what they believe is right and just. They're also not afraid to express their emotions. They have nothing to prove to anyone, especially their manhood, and they live by their own standards without caring what others think.

The zeta male is described as 'rising from the rubble of the shattered remnants of traditional masculinity. Zeta masculinity is self taught and defiant towards traditional social structures.'

Both alphas and betas play their parts according to social expectations, being providers, chivalrous, etc. Betas love being chivalrous, seeing themselves as the 'white knights' saving damsels in distress. Alphas love being providers, the hunter, providing for their woman.

Zetas don't care about social expectations, and actively reject them. They have no interest in playing the social games that others play, and they instead want to change social expectations and traditional roles and create new ones.

They have no interest in changing themselves for women. The zeta believes that if you don't want to be with him for who he is, then he has no interest in being with you either. It's about respect, and if you don't respect who he is, and instead want to change him, then why should he be with you when you want him to be something different?

Zeta males also recognise that men themselves are guilty of trapping each other in the traditional roles. They need company and support for their choices and positions in life. Alphas will encourage men to be alpha and do what they can to have lots of sex. Betas will encourage men to settle down and get a good wife and family. Omegas... well, they want drinking buddies or gaming buddies.

Zeta males will reach out and help men to get out of the roles they're in, to encourage them to choose roles for themselves based on what's important to them, instead of what is important to others. Zeta males will not contribute to a system that they don't agree with.

This has been what I've been talking about for years. I just never knew there was a new term to describe it.

The new movement

There's a movement that's growing, with different names but all wanting the same thing. Men's Rights Activists, Masculinists, and now Zeta males.

We recognise what many others don't, or don't want to acknowledge, that there's a problem that's growing in society. It's a problem that is taking away men's rights and treating them as an enemy. There's a movement empowering women at the expense of men, but there's nothing empowering men to embrace a modern masculinity.

Feminism is about equality for both men and women. Radical feminism is about destroying the male system completely, so that the females have all the authority and control.

It's the effects of radical feminism that I'll have to fight against, to help bring the status quo back to the middle, where equality for all is what we have, rather than what we wish we had.

The best way to do that is to help men break out of the system they're stuck in. To help beta males become zeta. Alpha males won't be interested. They're too arrogant and sex obsessed to care. As long as they're getting what they want, they don't care about anyone else.

It's the betas that I have to reach, and since they make up about 90% of the male population, I at least have a large audience.

My life as alpha, beta, omega and zeta

Everything in your past has succeeded in bringing you here today

I can recognise the various stages of my life when I have been alpha, beta and omega, and in light of this blog's theme of everything in my past bringing me to this moment, I wanted to talk about it.

I started out as Omega, being unemployed for many years and struggling to understand my place in this world. I had trouble dating and just didn't 'get it'.

Then I started to 'get it', and became a bit more successful with dating and relationships, but this led me into a Beta life, where I tried to be a 'nice guy' to all the women I met and interacted with. I thought this would help me develop better relationships, and get closer to women that I wanted to be with. I thought that by being the nice guy that they'd like me more.

But I still didn't really 'get it'. It was easier for me to date and even develop relationships, but I wasn't being authentic. I wasn't living my life.

It was around this time that I started exploring other options with my life. I started learning about players and pickup artists. I started learning what it means to be 'alpha'. I started practicing. I started not caring and taking on an arrogant, aloof attitude towards women. As a result, I 'became' alpha.

I went through a few years where I dated and even had relationships with some very hot women, and I came to understand a few alpha basics of male-female interactions that threw out all my beta misunderstandings.

In the process of 'becoming alpha', I gained a confidence in myself. I started to discover more of who I was and what I really wanted in life.

I discovered I didn't want to be alpha. I didn't want to be a player. I didn't want multiple women all at the same time. It just wasn't working for me. It still wasn't my authentic self at play.

So instead of continuing to embrace it, I gave it up. I just got on with my life instead. I spent some time writing on my old blogs about how to improve life and dating and relationships, while continuing to explore my own.

I also provided mentoring to other men on how to improve their dating and their relationships. I even mentored a mentor of mine. He helped me as a life coach, and I helped him as a dating/relationship coach.

It was amazing to me that this man I looked up to, who has been of service to me for 20 years of my life, was coming to me for relationship advice.

It was because I 'got it'.

I was living authentically, doing what was important to me, and understanding alpha, beta and omega, and using elements from each in my own life. I was all of them while being none of them.

I was applying these understandings to my career and to my personal life, and getting successes with it, in ways that I never did before. I'm a combination of alpha and beta at work, working in a way that is comfortable for me, without being someone's 'lackey' or 'yes man'. I learnt how to say no, without it being a problem for anyone.

I understand what is important to me, and I understand what I need and want in life, and in my relationships. I understand that I cannot compromise on my values, and I need to find someone to fit in with them, rather than change them for other people.

I've found that in Fanfan. She is someone who meets all my needs and desires, and I love her dearly. She doesn't try to change me, and she accepts me for who I am.

Like every relationship, there are challenges and moments of difficulty, but I draw upon my past experiences and understandings to deal with them in a way that works for both of us.

I want to help other men 'get it' too. It's a burning desire, a passion in me. I've been writing about it for years. I'll continue writing too. It's through writing that I can reach these beta men out there, and help them realise they can have something better than what they've 'settled' for.

"I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more!"

Most men, being beta, and being 'yes men', have ended up inadvertently empowering the system take away more and more of their rights to simply be men. By being afraid to say no, by needing to please women all the time, men have given in to their unreasonable demands and stupidity, and as a result we have social and legal systems that border on insanity, discouraging masculinity and encouraging boys to be girls. Legal systems are introduced by beta male lawmakers who have wives that make life difficult for them if they don't support stupid policies that make life more difficult for men.

The system is broken. It needs fixing. If you're not trying to help fix it, then you're part of the problem.