It’s not difficult at all to believe that reading still ranks as a top leisure-time activity.

After all, you’re doing it right now.

If reading ranks right up there as part of your Dot Com lifestyle, then think about it as an inspiration to become more active by planning a trip based on your literary preferences.

Your success has given yourself the time to do whatever you want whenever you want, so here are 10 locations where you can personify your bookish pursuits:

1. Go to Scotland for the Edinburgh International Book Festival

Every August, the Edinburgh International Book Festival hosts 800 authors in the world heritage site of Charlotte Square Gardens for 700 book-related events: workshops, panels, signings, talks and more.

Previous guests include Neil Gaimain, JK Rowling, Salman Rushdie, and Zadie Smith. It’s basically an amusement park for bibliophiles.

2. Go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Meanwhile, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is literally an amusement park for book lovers.

Part of Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, this theme park lets us live out our fondest Harry Potter fantasies.

On the London side, you can wander around Diagon Alley, take a ride through the vaults of Gringots Bank, and catch the Hogwarts Express from Kings’ Cross station.

By Hogwarts, you can shop at Hogsmeade, visit classrooms and common rooms, and fly on a Hippogriff.

3. Go to Bath, England: Jane Austen’s onetime home

Tourists in the small Georgian city of Bath can visit the Jane Austen Centre to learn about the author’s experiences living there and how they figured into her novels.

The centre has a permanent exhibition, holds Austen-themed walking tours and even puts on a Jane Austen festival every September.

4. Go to Romeo and Juliet’s Verona

We don’t know if Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet ever really lived, but their story was set in real places in Verona, Italy, and based on real family rivalries.

Fans of their tragic tale can visit Juliet’s tomb and the Montague and Capulet houses — including Juliet’s famous balcony — to see what light through yonder window breaks. The especially lovestruck, or morbid, among us can even get married there.

5. Go to Walden

Simplify, simplify, simplify in Walden Pond.

It’s the Massachusetts reservation that once inspired Henry David Thoreau’s manifesto of natural living. Visitors can swim, hike or cross country ski, as the park is open year round.

6. Go to India for the Jaipur Literature Festival

In eight years of existence, the Jaipur Literary Festival has become the largest book festival in Asia and the largest free one in the world.

It takes place for five days every January and hosts a diverse array of Indian and international authors. After appearing there in 2010, Tina Brown called it, “The greatest literary show on Earth!”

7. Go to James Joyce’s Dublin

The James Joyce Centre of Dublin offers a number of tours to experience the author’s works.

Follow the path of Ulysses protagonist Leopold Bloom or learn about Joyce’s life in the city. You can also visit the center to attend a workshop on one of his famously difficult books.

8. Go to Anne of Green Gables’ Prince Edward Island

Not only can you visit the place where Anne of Green Gables is set, but also the time.

In Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, Avonlea Village recreates Anne’s everyday life. You can go for wagon rides, drink raspberry cordial, and attend a kitchen party … if you can handle the excitement.

9. Go to Stockholm for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

The Stockholm City Museum runs a walking tour through the city, where you can trace the footsteps of Lisbeth Salander and Mikel Blomkvist.

You’ll see the building where Lisbeth lived in a giant luxury apartment and the café where Mikel — and Steig Larsson — worked on their writing.

10. Go to Twilight’s site in Forks, Washington

The rainy town of Forks, Washington has fully given itself over to Twilight fame.

On tours of the area, you’ll see a local family’s home designated as the Swan House, life size cutouts of the characters, and special menu items in restaurants where the characters ate.

It can’t be expressed enough: the Dot Com lifestyle allows you the time to do whatever you want, whenever you want.

Like considering existential moments.

And there aren’t many more effective ways to do that than ziplining.

If you’ve already gotten over the sensation of regular ride, then it’s time to seek out the special ones.

Like what its promoters call the world’s fastest zipline, promising speeds of up to 100mph over an old slate mine:

Or getting a 2200ft-long view of Niagara Falls:

For stunning scenery, it’s hard to top what’s on offer at Whistler, BC:

However, if mega-thrills are the goal, head to Nepal.

Amidst the world’s highest peaks nestles the world’s most extreme zipline.

That’s where you’ll find the ZipFlyer:

• It’s one of the world’s steepest, tallest and longest ziplines,
• It has a vertical drop of 600 meters, and
• It reaches a top speed of up to 140 kmh/86mph.

If your life is going to go zipping by, be in a position to enjoy it!

It’s such a simple word, and yet, it’s one of the most ignored in the entrepreneurial world:

For all the training emphasis on commitment, discipline, and tips, you must keep your eyes on the tasks at hand if you expect to be one of the 3% who achieve the Dot Com lifestyle.

Furthermore, once the focus issue is addressed, a more refined approach becomes essential:

Don’t focus on the wrong things.

As your business progresses on a daily basis, this can become the main challenge. By the very fact that you’ve decided to succeed in cyberspace, your creativity is likely one of your best traits. That’s awesome, but you need to channel it.

There are free versions of tools that help with this. Trello is one of the more popular because it’s effective. It puts your daily objectives front and center. Just make certain they’re relevant to your prime objectives of generating revenue. In a home-office environment, even that can be easier said than done.

An excellent guide on this topic is Organize Your Mind, Organize Your Life: Train Your Brain to Get More Done in Less Time by Dr Paul Hammerness, a Harvard Medical School psychiatrist, and Margaret Moore, an executive wellness coach and co-director of the Institute of Coaching.

The key, of course, is making a practical plan of operations. Give it some serious thought from the perspective of commercial success:

• Itemize the three objectives that will be vital to generating revenues,
• Apply the 80/20 rule, because it works, and then
• Take action, every single day.

And then, stick with it. Schedule a time each day where you can deploy your focus and fight off any distractions that may occur.

This plan of attack is as simple and achievable as the word focus itself.

You’ve just got to do it.

A fundamental premise of this site is that time is our most important currency.

We only have so much of it in our lives, and the older we get, the faster it seems to go. As well, we all have phases where we take it and everything it allows us for granted.

The Dot Com lifestyle is all about reclaiming time, and one of the luxuries earned is the ability to enjoy more of it.

However, no matter how far along we are in our quest, it’s still important to value both out time and surroundings.

Here are 15 simple tips to help you take back control of a life that was always meant to be yours.

1. Be thankful for everything

Life is not an entitlement.

That mile-long list of things you may believe are absolute rights needs to be tossed. Instead, realize everything you have is a gift, and as such, it’s good manners to say thank you.

2. Own a rescued pet

There’s something about saving the life of an innocent that brings happiness to anyone’s life.

And remember, you’re saving two lives: the one you adopted, and the one who takes its place.

Who knows? In a way, you may even be saving yours.

3. Manage your attire

If you dress for success, you tend to be successful.

Take care of your appearance. Not only does it tell the world that you value yourself, but more importantly, you tell yourself that you value yourself.

4. Stay in touch with friends

Don’t let the hustle of society blind you from what’s truly important.

At the end of the day, your work won’t take care of you when you’re sick or hurting. Your friends will. So make time for those who truly have your best interests at heart.

5. Don’t let others define you

Only you know who you are.

True, friends can sometimes point out our faults, which makes us stronger people. But not even friends define us. That’s down to each and every one of us.

So don’t let what anyone says bring you down. Self-awareness makes you stronger!

6. Spend time getting to know yourself

It’s easy to want to be someone else, but don’t let that happen.

Take a moment and look in the mirror. That’s you. No one else. You are you. And once you spend time getting to know how awesome you are, you won’t want to be anyone else.

7. Surround yourself with humor

Humor promotes spontaneity and creativity. Both are key ingredients in a successful life.

Keep things and people that make you laugh close to you on a consistent basis.

8. Choose to be happy

When you face circumstances, you make a choice as to how they affect you.

They’re not holding you hostage and/or forcing you to be sad, mad, or bitter. So, why indulge in them?

Sure, life can be edgy sometimes, but that’s even more reason why you should choose to be happy. Control what you can, and choose your moments with the rest.

9. Daydream

In your quieter moments, let your mind wander through the vast expanse of thought.

This is a time for creativity. Good things often begin with it.

10. Laugh at yourself

No one knows the material like you do!

You’ve heard it a thousand times, and it’s true. Life is too short to take yourself too seriously.

11. Know your limits

Don’t let your limits defeat you, but don’t be fooled into believing all limits are meant to be defeated.

Understand your parameters. Know which boundaries are meant for good and which are meant to be broken.

12. Read

Reading is to your mind as weights are to your muscles.

Read things you enjoy and don’t be afraid of the big, thick books. Here’s a goal for you: Every year, try to read one more book than you did the year before.

13. Play games

Why is it that when we grow up, fun things become childish?

Don’t let these silly labels hamper your enjoyment of something that makes you happy. Go ahead, grab that Super Soaker and have a blast with family and friends. Or, have a blast with total strangers if you must. Just have a blast!

14. Eschew negative thoughts

As I mentioned earlier, there are things you can control and things you can’t. But thinking negatively won’t have any effect on either.

Instead, accept things for what they are and move forward.

15. Don’t compare your life to others

You’re unique and so is your life.

Don’t waste precious time by comparing yourself to someone you’re not. You’ve got enough to work with. Odds are, more than enough.

The life of an e-commerce entrepreneur can be extremely rewarding.

After all, that’s the point, in every sense of the word.

While it’s certainly true that some routes to the Dot Com lifestyle are more accommodating than others, it’s important to guard against adding challenges to your quest that can be avoided no matter what avenue you choose.

Yes, there’s a 3% success rate, but a motivated marketer can beat those odds.

It starts with planning, and a key component in that stage is setting an effective budget, and here are five efficiency tips to keep in mind:

1. Keep your records up to the minute

Literally.

If you’re starting out on a shoestring budget, there’s no need to purchase bookkeeping software right away. Just create an Excel spreadsheet. It’ll have an accompanying app, so you’ll be able to make entries the moment you’ve taken a financial action.

Don’t forget about tracking income, too. That’s the fun part.

The more information you have, the better an overview you’ll gain as to how your business is doing financially.

2. Shop around

Research everything.

Whether you’re looking for the latest software or a new microwave for the office kitchen, seeking the more appropriate deal is one of the best ways to save money in your new enterprise.

The significant term here is appropriate. Read consumer reviews that have references, thus doing what you can to avoid those that are written by the vendors’ friends or clandestinely paid to do so.

Value supplants cheap. After all, you want your e-commerce tools to be reliable.

Obviously, shopping online can make the acquisition task much more efficient.

3. Explore funding options

Financing is a huge consideration for new businesses.

Credit deals to match your situation can be found on sites like Credit.com and CreditKarma. And just like car insurance policies, take this to heart:

Make sure you read Page 5.

Also, if you plan on using an online service like PayPal to handle your sales transactions, be aware that they offer non-status credit based on the volume of revenues that move through your account.

As your business grows, they’ll be only too glad to increase your credit line.

4. Understand your sales patterns

While there is chaos in the world, even some of it can be seen to have structure.

You’ll clearly be keeping tabs on on your current and projected sales, but don’t forget to take note of any emergence of an overall pattern. Odds are you’ll notice peak times and low times, depending on your niche.

Whether you’re selling a seasonal product like patio furniture or something people need year-round like digital marketing services, all businesses sell more at some times than at others.

By tracking and understanding your sales pattern, you can plan ahead for the lean times and keep your business strong year round.

5. Analyze your every purchase

From office supplies to customer relationship management (CRM) software, take a hard look at how it relates to your daily tasks.

Groups from the Rolling Stones to Make Out were right: there’s a difference between what you want and what you need.

For the necessary purchases, make certain they’re performing efficiently and evaluate if they’re truly the most appropriate deal for you.

Effective budgeting improves your chances of staying in the black.

These are simple tips, but over time, they’ll do their bit to keep you and your business sharp and in strong financial shape.

The old bromide that time is money doesn’t go far enough in getting to the real point:

• Time itself is the precious commodity.
• The money determines how much of it is yours to enjoy as you choose.

The Dot Com lifestyle, then, is predicated on how efficiently you dedicate your time to generate the revenues necessary to reclaim more of it.

When you decide to become an e-commerce entrepreneur, you’ve made a logical decision to stop trading your time for what someone else thinks you’re worth.

Then, when you take it a step further and choose to become a motivated e-commerce entrepreneur, you’ve made a strong statement that you’re totally committed to becoming a success.

The efficient use of time in this quest is why I strongly advocate including at least one high-ticket product in your online portfolio. The logic is straightforward:

It really doesn’t take any more time to promote than lesser-priced products.

The key is being part of a system that provides the wherewithal to make this strategy viable and eliminate those clock-chomping promotional chores that should be passé in 21st century e-commerce.

One way to explore this concept is to engage with a licensing system, which is a revenue-generating introduction to the high-ticket concept. Its sales funnels lead to back-end services that provide training as well as direct contact with the system’s principals and administrators.

For example, this is a screenshot of one of my high-ticket back-end pages, showing:

• a range of proven traffic-attracting tools that can become complementary with a license purchase, and
• a walk-through of everything you’ll need to capitalize on the high-ticket opportunity.

Furthermore, the page comes complete with an introductory video — that you’re free to customize, if you wish — surrounded by testimonials to underscore the system’s viability:

At the bottom of the page, you’ll find:

• a bar you can click for a no-obligation, one-on-one Skype call with a program coordinator, and
• my direct e-mail address, should you have any questions for me.

As you can see, in my case, I did customize the video to offer my own testimonial and introduce the system’s creator, Paul Lynch. I’m a founding member of his Inner Circle Riches group, so I already knew this system was a winner.

Here’s the video:

Again, unless I make a special invitation, only e-commerce entrepreneurs who purchased one of the products listed — I’ve set prices to vary between $1 and $29 — will arrive at the back-end page.

It’s a built-in sign they’re motivated, which is the precursor to commitment. They’re who I’m seeking as business associates.

And that’s why I’ve set the License price at a totally affordable $10. Given that it could be a fast track to a life-changing future, it could be the best tenner you ever spent!

Once you review what’s available as part of the system — training, tools, and a professional sales staff — you’ll understand that high-ticket programs are indeed a fast-track to the Dot Com lifestyle.

This could be for you. Give it a try. If it’s a fit, then I’ll see you soon!

by James Clear

Late in his career, Steve Jobs famously drove his car without a license plate.

There were all sorts of theories about why Jobs decided to drive without tags. Some people said he didn’t want to be tracked. Others believed he was trying to make a game of avoiding parking tickets.

Jon Callas, a former computer security expert who worked for Apple, revealed a different reason.

He said Steve Jobs discovered a loophole in the California vehicle registration laws. Anyone with a new car had up to six months to get a proper license plate for their new vehicle. During the first six months, however, you could simply drive the vehicle without a license plate.

Once he realized this, Jobs arranged a special leasing agreement with his Mercedes dealer, so that every six months, he could drop off his current car and receive a new Mercedes SL55 AMG to replace it.

This meant he never drove a car older than six months and he never had to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get a license plate.

After hearing the story, many people responded by saying things like, “I guess that’s what you do when you have a lot of money.” And, to be fair, it is true that this license plate strategy isn’t reasonable for most people on the planet.

It’s not reasonable in California anymore, either. For anyone.

If you look deeper, however, you’ll notice that something else was happening: Steve Jobs was building a time asset.

Time Assets vs Time Debts

Most productivity strategies focus on short-term efficiency:

• how to manage your to-do list effectively,
• how to get more done each morning,
• how to shorten your weekly meetings, and so on.

These are all reasonable ideas.

We often fail to realize, however, that there are certain strategic choices that impact our time on a larger scale, too. These choices can be categorized as time assets or time debts, which are two concepts I learned from Patrick McKenzie.

Time assets are actions or choices you make today that will save you time in the future.

Software is a classic example of a time asset. You can write a program one time today and it will run processes for you over and over again every day afterward. You pay an upfront investment of time and get a payoff each day afterward.

The car leasing system Steve Jobs developed is an example of a time asset. It took him some time to find a loophole and arrange a repeatable leasing system, but his process rewarded him with additional time and less hassle every six months.

Time debts are actions or choices you make today that will cost you additional time in the future.

Email is a time debt in which most people participate each day. If you send an email now, you are committing to reading the reply or responding with an additional message later. Every email you send creates a small debt you have to pay back at a later time.

This is not to say that all time debts are bad. Perhaps you enjoy serving on your school committee or volunteering with a local organization. However, when you make these commitments, you are also creating a time debt that you will have to pay at some point.

Sometimes, the debts to which we commit are worth sacrificing for, but many times, they are not.

Time Assets in Real Life

I wrote down a short list of time assets and time debts for my business. Here are a few:

Assets

Speaking. I can create a speaking page on my website that answers common questions and qualifies the right kind of people. This could include a descriptive Frequently Asked Questions section or a better sign-up form. The goal of the system is to set clear expectations and answer common questions I usually have to answer via email.

Accounting. By setting clear rules for my bookkeeper and accountant, we can develop a system to automatically tag certain expenses and transactions each month, which minimizes the need for me to manually approve repeated transactions.

Scheduling. Booking calendar appointments, calls and interviews requires a lot of emailing. Using software, like ScheduleOnce, eliminates this problem and lets people choose from a pre-selected list of available times.

Debts

Email. The more email I answer, the more email I generate.

Comments. I like the comments on my site and I don’t plan to remove them. But, every time I publish an article with a comments section, I create a time debt that I have to pay back by approving and moderating comments.

Interviews. At first, I said yes to every interview that came my way. Today, I typically do three to five every week. Saying yes to every interview became a time debt.

Low-quality work. If you don’t edit your article now, you have to fix the grammar later. If you write sloppy code now, you have to debug it later. If you create a poor product in the beginning, you have to service customers and process refunds later.

Every low-quality piece of work is a time debt that you have to pay back. To quote John Wooden, “If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?”

A System for Your Time

Systems are more important than goals, and time assets are a perfect example of why this is true. Each time asset you create is a system that works for you, day in and day out.

If your schedule is filled with time debts, it doesn’t matter how hard you work. Your choices will constantly put you in a productivity hole. However, if you strategically build time assets day after day, you multiply your time exponentially.

Driving a car without a license plate might seem like an extreme way to save time, but it’s also a level of strategic thinking most people never embrace. This isn’t an approach that only works for Steve Jobs. It works for all of us.

Time debts need to be paid, so be careful how you choose them.

Time assets pay you over and over again, so spend more time creating them.

James Clear shares science-based ideas for living a better life and building habits that stick. Over 100,000 people read his free weekly newsletter.

Mention private jets, and the general impressions are usually:

• JL Gotrocks is off on another jaunt, just because he can;
• Someone’s got luxury perks in the corporate expense account; and/or
• The rich and famous are rising above the great unwashed yet again.

That’s changing, region by region. And you don’t have to be mega-rich or privileged to take advantage of travel’s ultimate time saver.

If you’re in the New York City area, welcome to Blade:

This is an on-demand aviation service that lets you crowdsource flights or book a last-minute seat in helicopters, seaplanes, and now, private jets to destinations like the Hamptons, Nantucket, JFK Airport, and Miami.

If you’re well on your way to the Dot Com lifestyle — hint: high-ticket programs get you there faster — amenities like these become affordable. Just calculate your day rate to see what your time is worth.

If you’re saving enough of it by, in essence, shaving hours of ordinary travel hassle from your itinerary, then welcome to the new way.

Incidentally, Blade’s downtown lounges are an added convenience where you can enjoy the surroundings, nosh, and drink while waiting for a jet copter to whisk you to the airport.

Impressively, it’s the millennials who form the fastest-growing client base. But it makes sense.

From Über to Seamless, that demographic was virtually raised on instant, on-demand everything. As well, more and more of them are choosing digital careers, where the earning upsides are higher for motivated marketers.

And, of course, there are some who simply do it for the ‘Gram.

Many millennials don’t see private air services as a luxury at all.

They’ll cite cars as an example. Whether they drive a Ferrari or a Volkswagen, they’re still in a car, driving on the same road. Thus, there’s no tangible benefit to a luxury car as long as their current vehicle is serviceable.

In contrast, the private charters eliminate airport traffic congestion, security lines, herding on and off the plane, luggage checking and pick-up, and scrunching into whatever personal space they’ve bought. That’s an impressive list of rebated time and stress.

Another intangible can occur on the crowdsourcing flights: quality networking.

Those who utilize charter services are most likely to be of the motivated persuasion with a high work ethic. Quite often, they’d be good people to know, and the setting of a shared private jet provides an opportune occasion to do so.

There’s truth to the adage that success mingles with success.

Blade utilizes Gulfstream IV jets from the JFI fleet. There’s ample room to relax and review.

Each of the 12 individual captain’s seats come with their own iPad Pros, which have been preloaded with movies curated by the Tribeca Film Festival. Flight attendants wearing uniforms designed by Tamara Mellon will serve cocktails and a meal designed by noted chef Todd English.

Companies like Blade offer all the trappings of luxury as a part of everyday life, and millennials get it.

They’re accessing direct services to reclaim time. It starts with being independent and motivated. Done well, it never ends.

Anyone who’s successful in e-commerce — where credibility is essential — knows the value of their words.

And anyone who’s achieved the Dot Com lifestyle can attest to the value of their actions.

January is the traditional month for people to put it out there for all to see how serious they are when the rubber meets the road. Frankly, New Year’s resolutions can be fun and frivolous, but they can also be an excellent opportunity for you to follow through on those promises to yourself if you’re truly seeking a meaningful upgrade in your current financial status.

At some point, this involves earning life-changing money.

Grant Cardone is a self-made millionaire who speaks bluntly about what it takes to get rich. His basic message is don’t kid yourself.

Paraphrasing in e-commerce context:

• You’re not going to turn petty cash into a pile of cash;
• You must commit to mastering fundamentals of the business;
• You need symbiotic revenue streams; and
• You must strive to be great, as ordinary doesn’t cut it.

If you’ve steeled yourself to achieve the Dot Com lifestyle — and it’s a true commitment — then open up a spreadsheet and put yourself in prime position to succeed:

• Account for every penny you have, from savings to stocks;
• Account for your long-term debt and monthly expenses;
• Begin to pay down your debt and build an entrepreneurship war chest.

• Stabilize your spending; do not increase it as your income increases.
• Do not borrow to enhance your business growth.

If you’re going to make a life-changing leap in wealth, you’ll need the resources to expand without increasing your obligations. Being stuck with your current standard of living should provide motivation enough to stay the course.

And why borrow when you can factor? PayPal offers a facility that scales your operating capital as your business grows.

Finally, let’s address the term done for you.

It’s not describing a silver bullet system that allows you to merely sit back and watch the revenues appear. Any enterprise promising that is likely marketing snake oil. After all, if it’s so self-sustaining, why would you even be needed?

The reputable operations use this term to offer a marketing base that handles all the technical aspects of e-commerce and includes the basic elements — website and/or blog template, promotional materials, sales funnels, professional sales staffs, training and support, etc — for you to customize and administer.

It’s still your responsibility to attract the prospects.

It is if you know what you’re doing.

You’re not going to get far by being like everybody else. Embrace your uniqueness and show it in cyberspace.

Scalability and engagement start with you.

Be prepared to put at least 80% of your revenues back into your business. This will include:

• Outsourcing as your operations increase;
• Adding more sophisticated software to handle more daily tasks;and
• Travel expenses for in-person informational and networking opportunities.

If you stay true to your plan, choose a successful mentor, increase your automated functions, and become an authority figure within your product and/or service’s niche, you’ll be positioned to realize a 10x increase in your wealth.

That’s life-changing money.

Where it goes from there is your decision. It’s one of the perks in the Dot Com lifestyle.

The life of an e-commerce entrepreneur can be extremely rewarding.

After all, that’s the point, in every sense of the word.

While it’s certainly true that some routes to the Dot Com lifestyle are more accommodating than others, it’s important to guard against adding challenges to your quest that can be avoided no matter what avenue you choose.

Yes, there’s a 3% success rate, but a motivated marketer can beat those odds.

It starts with planning, and a key component in that stage is setting an effective budget, and here are five efficiency tips to keep in mind:

1. Keep your records up to the minute

Literally.

If you’re starting out on a shoestring budget, there’s no need to purchase bookkeeping software right away. Just create an Excel spreadsheet. It’ll have an accompanying app, so you’ll be able to make entries the moment you’ve taken a financial action.

Don’t forget about tracking income, too. That’s the fun part.

The more information you have, the better an overview you’ll gain as to how your business is doing financially.

2. Shop around

Research everything.

Whether you’re looking for the latest software or a new microwave for the office kitchen, seeking the more appropriate deal is one of the best ways to save money in your new enterprise.

The significant term here is appropriate. Read consumer reviews that have references, thus doing what you can to avoid those that are written by the vendors’ friends or clandestinely paid to do so.

Value supplants cheap. After all, you want your e-commerce tools to be reliable.

Obviously, shopping online can make the acquisition task much more efficient.

3. Explore funding options

Financing is a huge consideration for new businesses.

Credit deals to match your situation can be found on sites like Credit.com and CreditKarma. And just like car insurance policies, take this to heart:

Make sure you read Page 5.

Also, if you plan on using an online service like PayPal to handle your sales transactions, be aware that they offer non-status credit based on the volume of revenues that move through your account.

As your business grows, they’ll be only too glad to increase your credit line.

4. Understand your sales patterns

While there is chaos in the world, even some of it can be seen to have structure.

You’ll clearly be keeping tabs on on your current and projected sales, but don’t forget to take note of any emergence of an overall pattern. Odds are you’ll notice peak times and low times, depending on your niche.

Whether you’re selling a seasonal product like patio furniture or something people need year-round like digital marketing services, all businesses sell more at some times than at others.

By tracking and understanding your sales pattern, you can plan ahead for the lean times and keep your business strong year round.

5. Analyze your every purchase

From office supplies to customer relationship management (CRM) software, take a hard look at how it relates to your daily tasks.

Groups from the Rolling Stones to Make Out were right: there’s a difference between what you want and what you need.

For the necessary purchases, make certain they’re performing efficiently and evaluate if they’re truly the most appropriate deal for you.

Effective budgeting improves your chances of staying in the black.

These are simple tips, but over time, they’ll do their bit to keep you and your business sharp and in strong financial shape.

The old bromide that time is money doesn’t go far enough in getting to the real point:

• Time itself is the precious commodity.
• The money determines how much of it is yours to enjoy as you choose.

The Dot Com lifestyle, then, is predicated on how efficiently you dedicate your time to generate the revenues necessary to reclaim more of it.

When you decide to become an e-commerce entrepreneur, you’ve made a logical decision to stop trading your time for what someone else thinks you’re worth.

Then, when you take it a step further and choose to become a motivated e-commerce entrepreneur, you’ve made a strong statement that you’re totally committed to becoming a success.

The efficient use of time in this quest is why I strongly advocate including at least one high-ticket product in your online portfolio. The logic is straightforward:

It really doesn’t take any more time to promote than lesser-priced products.

The key is being part of a system that provides the wherewithal to make this strategy viable and eliminate those clock-chomping promotional chores that should be passé in 21st century e-commerce.

One way to explore this concept is to engage with a licensing system, which is a revenue-generating introduction to the high-ticket concept. Its sales funnels lead to back-end services that provide training as well as direct contact with the system’s principals and administrators.

For example, this is a screenshot of one of my high-ticket back-end pages, showing:

• a range of proven traffic-attracting tools that you can access immediately,
• a walk-through of everything you’ll need to capitalize on the high-ticket opportunity, and
• an introductory video — that you’re free to customize, if you wish — surrounded by testimonials to underscore the system’s viability:

At the bottom of the page, you’ll find:

• a bar you can click for a no-obligation, one-on-one Skype call with a program coordinator, and
• my direct e-mail address, should you have any questions for me.

As you can see, in my case, I did customize the video to offer my own testimonial and introduce the system’s creator, Paul Lynch. I’m a founding member of his Inner Circle Riches group, so I already knew this system was a winner.

Here’s the video:

Again, unless I make a special invitation, only e-commerce entrepreneurs who purchased one of the products listed — I’ve set prices to vary between $1 and $29 — will arrive at the back-end page.

It’s a built-in sign they’re motivated, which is the precursor to commitment. They’re who I’m seeking as business associates.

However, since you’ve taken the initiative to visit this page, here’s a special deal:

Click on this banner to get a proven traffic magnet for free:

Like the other useful tools listed in the screenshot above — and five go for the totally affordable price of $1 — this one works now. Given that it could help put you on the fast track to a life-changing future, the logical business decision is to check it out!

Once you review what’s available as part of the system — training, tools, and a professional sales staff — you’ll understand that high-ticket programs are indeed a fast-track to the Dot Com lifestyle.

This could be for you. Give it a try. If it’s a fit, then I’ll see you soon!

by James Clear

Late in his career, Steve Jobs famously drove his car without a license plate.

There were all sorts of theories about why Jobs decided to drive without tags. Some people said he didn’t want to be tracked. Others believed he was trying to make a game of avoiding parking tickets.

Jon Callas, a former computer security expert who worked for Apple, revealed a different reason.

He said Steve Jobs discovered a loophole in the California vehicle registration laws. Anyone with a new car had up to six months to get a proper license plate for their new vehicle. During the first six months, however, you could simply drive the vehicle without a license plate.

Once he realized this, Jobs arranged a special leasing agreement with his Mercedes dealer, so that every six months, he could drop off his current car and receive a new Mercedes SL55 AMG to replace it.

This meant he never drove a car older than six months and he never had to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get a license plate.

After hearing the story, many people responded by saying things like, “I guess that’s what you do when you have a lot of money.” And, to be fair, it is true that this license plate strategy isn’t reasonable for most people on the planet.

It’s not reasonable in California anymore, either. For anyone.

If you look deeper, however, you’ll notice that something else was happening: Steve Jobs was building a time asset.

Time Assets vs Time Debts

Most productivity strategies focus on short-term efficiency:

• how to manage your to-do list effectively,
• how to get more done each morning,
• how to shorten your weekly meetings, and so on.

These are all reasonable ideas.

We often fail to realize, however, that there are certain strategic choices that impact our time on a larger scale, too. These choices can be categorized as time assets or time debts, which are two concepts I learned from Patrick McKenzie.

Time assets are actions or choices you make today that will save you time in the future.

Software is a classic example of a time asset. You can write a program one time today and it will run processes for you over and over again every day afterward. You pay an upfront investment of time and get a payoff each day afterward.

The car leasing system Steve Jobs developed is an example of a time asset. It took him some time to find a loophole and arrange a repeatable leasing system, but his process rewarded him with additional time and less hassle every six months.

Time debts are actions or choices you make today that will cost you additional time in the future.

Email is a time debt in which most people participate each day. If you send an email now, you are committing to reading the reply or responding with an additional message later. Every email you send creates a small debt you have to pay back at a later time.

This is not to say that all time debts are bad. Perhaps you enjoy serving on your school committee or volunteering with a local organization. However, when you make these commitments, you are also creating a time debt that you will have to pay at some point.

Sometimes, the debts to which we commit are worth sacrificing for, but many times, they are not.

Time Assets in Real Life

I wrote down a short list of time assets and time debts for my business. Here are a few:

Assets

Speaking. I can create a speaking page on my website that answers common questions and qualifies the right kind of people. This could include a descriptive Frequently Asked Questions section or a better sign-up form. The goal of the system is to set clear expectations and answer common questions I usually have to answer via email.

Accounting. By setting clear rules for my bookkeeper and accountant, we can develop a system to automatically tag certain expenses and transactions each month, which minimizes the need for me to manually approve repeated transactions.

Scheduling. Booking calendar appointments, calls and interviews requires a lot of emailing. Using software, like ScheduleOnce, eliminates this problem and lets people choose from a pre-selected list of available times.

Debts

Email. The more email I answer, the more email I generate.

Comments. I like the comments on my site and I don’t plan to remove them. But, every time I publish an article with a comments section, I create a time debt that I have to pay back by approving and moderating comments.

Interviews. At first, I said yes to every interview that came my way. Today, I typically do three to five every week. Saying yes to every interview became a time debt.

Low-quality work. If you don’t edit your article now, you have to fix the grammar later. If you write sloppy code now, you have to debug it later. If you create a poor product in the beginning, you have to service customers and process refunds later.

Every low-quality piece of work is a time debt that you have to pay back. To quote John Wooden, “If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?”

A System for Your Time

Systems are more important than goals, and time assets are a perfect example of why this is true. Each time asset you create is a system that works for you, day in and day out.

If your schedule is filled with time debts, it doesn’t matter how hard you work. Your choices will constantly put you in a productivity hole. However, if you strategically build time assets day after day, you multiply your time exponentially.

Driving a car without a license plate might seem like an extreme way to save time, but it’s also a level of strategic thinking most people never embrace. This isn’t an approach that only works for Steve Jobs. It works for all of us.

Time debts need to be paid, so be careful how you choose them.

Time assets pay you over and over again, so spend more time creating them.

James Clear shares science-based ideas for living a better life and building habits that stick. Over 100,000 people read his free weekly newsletter.

Mention private jets, and the general impressions are usually:

• JL Gotrocks is off on another jaunt, just because he can;
• Someone’s got luxury perks in the corporate expense account; and/or
• The rich and famous are rising above the great unwashed yet again.

That’s changing, region by region. And you don’t have to be mega-rich or privileged to take advantage of travel’s ultimate time saver.

If you’re in the New York City area, welcome to Blade:

This is an on-demand aviation service that lets you crowdsource flights or book a last-minute seat in helicopters, seaplanes, and now, private jets to destinations like the Hamptons, Nantucket, JFK Airport, and Miami.

If you’re well on your way to the Dot Com lifestyle — hint: high-ticket programs get you there faster — amenities like these become affordable. Just calculate your day rate to see what your time is worth.

If you’re saving enough of it by, in essence, shaving hours of ordinary travel hassle from your itinerary, then welcome to the new way.

Incidentally, Blade’s downtown lounges are an added convenience where you can enjoy the surroundings, nosh, and drink while waiting for a jet copter to whisk you to the airport.

Impressively, it’s the millennials who form the fastest-growing client base. But it makes sense.

From Über to Seamless, that demographic was virtually raised on instant, on-demand everything. As well, more and more of them are choosing digital careers, where the earning upsides are higher for motivated marketers.

And, of course, there are some who simply do it for the ‘Gram.

Many millennials don’t see private air services as a luxury at all.

They’ll cite cars as an example. Whether they drive a Ferrari or a Volkswagen, they’re still in a car, driving on the same road. Thus, there’s no tangible benefit to a luxury car as long as their current vehicle is serviceable.

In contrast, the private charters eliminate airport traffic congestion, security lines, herding on and off the plane, luggage checking and pick-up, and scrunching into whatever personal space they’ve bought. That’s an impressive list of rebated time and stress.

Another intangible can occur on the crowdsourcing flights: quality networking.

Those who utilize charter services are most likely to be of the motivated persuasion with a high work ethic. Quite often, they’d be good people to know, and the setting of a shared private jet provides an opportune occasion to do so.

There’s truth to the adage that success mingles with success.

Blade utilizes Gulfstream IV jets from the JFI fleet. There’s ample room to relax and review.

Each of the 12 individual captain’s seats come with their own iPad Pros, which have been preloaded with movies curated by the Tribeca Film Festival. Flight attendants wearing uniforms designed by Tamara Mellon will serve cocktails and a meal designed by noted chef Todd English.

Companies like Blade offer all the trappings of luxury as a part of everyday life, and millennials get it.

They’re accessing direct services to reclaim time. It starts with being independent and motivated. Done well, it never ends.

Anyone who’s successful in e-commerce — where credibility is essential — knows the value of their words.

And anyone who’s achieved the Dot Com lifestyle can attest to the value of their actions.

January is the traditional month for people to put it out there for all to see how serious they are when the rubber meets the road. Frankly, New Year’s resolutions can be fun and frivolous, but they can also be an excellent opportunity for you to follow through on those promises to yourself if you’re truly seeking a meaningful upgrade in your current financial status.

At some point, this involves earning life-changing money.

Grant Cardone is a self-made millionaire who speaks bluntly about what it takes to get rich. His basic message is don’t kid yourself.

Paraphrasing in e-commerce context:

• You’re not going to turn petty cash into an instant pile of cash;
• You must commit to mastering fundamentals of the business;
• You need symbiotic revenue streams; and
• You must strive to be great, as ordinary doesn’t cut it.

If you’ve steeled yourself to achieve the Dot Com lifestyle — and it’s a true commitment — then open up a spreadsheet and put yourself in prime position to succeed:

• Account for every penny you have, from savings to stocks;
• Account for your long-term debt and monthly expenses;
• Begin to pay down your debt and build an entrepreneurship war chest.

• Stabilize your spending; do not increase it as your income increases.
• Do not borrow to enhance your business growth.

If you’re going to make a life-changing leap in wealth, you’ll need the resources to expand without increasing your obligations. Being stuck with your current standard of living should provide motivation enough to stay the course.

And why borrow when you can factor? PayPal offers a facility that scales your operating capital as your business grows.

Finally, let’s address the term done for you.

It’s not describing a silver bullet system that allows you to merely sit back and watch the revenues appear. Any enterprise promising that is likely marketing snake oil. After all, if it’s so self-sustaining, why would you even be needed?

The reputable operations use this term to offer a marketing base that handles all the technical aspects of e-commerce and includes the basic elements — website and/or blog template, promotional materials, sales funnels, professional sales staffs, training and support, etc — for you to customize and administer.

It’s still your responsibility to attract the prospects.

It is if you know what you’re doing.

You’re not going to get far by being like everybody else. Embrace your uniqueness and show it in cyberspace.

Scalability and engagement start with you.

Be prepared to put at least 80% of your revenues back into your business. This will include:

• Outsourcing as your operations increase;
• Adding more sophisticated software to handle more daily tasks; and
• Travel expenses for in-person informational and networking opportunities.

If you stay true to your plan, choose a successful mentor, increase your automated functions, and become an authority figure within your product and/or service’s niche, you’ll be positioned to realize a 10x increase in your wealth.

That’s life-changing money.

Where it goes from there is your decision. It’s one of the perks in the Dot Com lifestyle.

First of all, let’s be clear: We’ve heard this announcement before.

While it’s notable that Bitcoin just passed gold in present value for a second time, this is by no means a confirmation that it’s the currency of the future.

For the record, as of this article’s date — and it’s always important to notice details like that — here’s the state of play:

• One Bitcoin … $1287.72
• One ounce of gold … $1236.87

The issue now is whether Bitcoin’s value will remain higher than gold longer than it did in 2013, which is the actual first time Bitcoin prevailed:

Also for the record, here’s our position: We’ve totally bought into the concept that digital currency is not only inevitable, it’s a more efficient means of trade in all respects. Our own sites, stores, and services accept Bitcoin, and we’re working to ensure anything we represent will accommodate it.

However, it may not be Bitcoin that prevails as the universal digital currency of choice.

The lasting development here will be the blockchain.

Note that IBM produced this video, as opposed to an organization that isn’t a household name. It’s yet another indication that mainstream commerce is embracing the blockchain technology.

Bitcoin itself remains controversial.

The most balanced reports of its rise over gold’s value this time around gave equal time to its skeptics, and for good reason:

• Bitcoin is still a limited market of shallow depth; and
• It’s still more of an investment vehicle than a means of exchange.

Remember the Winklevoss twins? Rhetorical question; of course you do.

They had to find something where they could put that Facebook settlement package to work, and establishing a Bitcoin beachhead in the global marketplace was their landing spot, as another report from 2013 shows:

Anticipation that the Securities and Exchange Commission will green-light their ETF is a major factor in Bitcoin’s run-up right now.

Coincidentally, a currency-hedged gold ETF was launched last month. Will the twins finally realize their ambition of joining it?

Again, that’s a decision prospective investors will have to decide for themselves.

It’s fascinating stuff for e-commerce entrepreneurs. No matter how this episode unfolds, it’s clear that a viable digital currency will ultimately emerge as their coin of choice because it’s specifically designed for their milieu.

Those who adapt the most efficiently will likely benefit the greatest.

The tipping point will occur when a digital currency becomes ubiquitous in the marketplace. And it’s the blockchain, not Bitcoin, that will make this happen.

One pleasant aspect of the Dot Com lifestyle is this:

You don’t have a bucket list. You have a life.

There’s nowhere on this globe you can’t go when your time is your own and you have the means to make the most of it.

Traveling is considered a luxury, but really, it’s an essential element in understanding just what’s out there, how we fit into it, and why we should appreciate it.

1. Swim in the Grand Canyon’s Havasupai Falls

Better yet, hop off the cliff for up to 90 feet of sudden thrills!

But there’s nothing wrong with simply being breathtaken by the scenery, either.

2. Take a journey to the Amazon … anywhere in the Amazon

It’s as large as the USA, with so much to discover just how important this rainforest is to the entire world’s well-being.

3. See a sunset on Santorini

Officially known as Thira, this spectacular island in the southern Aegean Sea lies about 200km southeast of Greece’s mainland.

It’s the largest island of a small, circular archipelago that’s the remnant of a volcanic eruption 3500 years ago.

4. Go below the surface in Belize’s Great Blue Hole

This is the world’s best known submerged sinkhole. It’s 410ft deep, which means only the most experienced scuba divers can explore the floor.

However, see the light blue rim? It’s awesome for snorkeling!

5. Hike the Wave in Arizona and Utah

No, that’s not a painting. It’s one of the most mesmerizing sandstone formations in the American Southwest.

You can indeed take a trek in it, but a permit is required. This is a popular site, so make your plans in advance.

6. Hike to the edge of the sky in Norway

This is the section of Scandinavia where mountains literally stab into the sea, forming the fjords — narrow inlets — that are framed by harrowing precipices.

Take Preikestolen — Pulpit Rock — — not far from Stavanger. It’s not hard to get there, but looming almost 2000ft above the water, this cliff is kept amazingly free of fences:

For the truly hardy, though, the Trolltunga — Troll’s Tongue — is a tougher access but well worth it if you don’t mind peering from a ledge that’s 3000ft above the inlet:

This is well and truly an existential experience.

7. Explore Zhangjiajie National Forest Park

Look familiar?

8. Get a history lesson in Turkey’s underground Basilica Cistern

The Hagia Sofia is rightly the showpiece of what was then called Constantinople — look for the Viking runes that state “Hafdan was here” etched into one of its walls — but this subterranean wonder is well worth the visit.

The cistern arose from humble beginnings: it was originally designed to be a water filtration system for the royal buildings above it.

9. Take flight over Albuquerque

Their annual International Balloon Festival takes advantage of the regions casual breezes to provide what can ironically be described as a peaceful adventure.

… And that’s just a start! Where will you go first?

A major benefit of the Dot Com lifestyle is the world is your office, at the time and place of your choosing.

In fact, there are numerous advantages to running a business and traveling while you’re doing it.

Successful e-commerce entrepreneurs make use of this strategy. Quite often, getting away from the home office routine allows you to see your situation from a different perspective.

Plus, you don’t get caught up with the usual daily distractions.

With your mind clear and able to focus on the tasks at hand, this is when making more objective decisions would be easier.

Besides, this is how to be an e-commerce entrepreneur in the 21st century. Technology today has made it so much easier to run your business while you are on the go.

• You can contact people at work through video chat.
• You can also send emails or use other messaging apps.
• Your automation software can be run from anywhere.

This only means that you don’t have to worry about leaving everything behind. You don’t even have to feel guilty, as you are still working at something you enjoy in a venue you’ve chosen.

For more tips on how to successfully run the business while traveling, read the infographic below. Apply these strategies and see how it makes you a better business owner.

If ever there was a white-hot sub-niche for Millennials, this is it.

Just check the churning forum over at Reddit. As of this writing, it’s accrued almost 80,000 members.

There’s a reason those Jennifer Garner commercials for Capital One air miles credit cards just keep running into infinity …

Accumulating points for travel perks have become a virtual obsession to those who strive to wring every last drip of value from their credit card purchases.

Millennials have turned it into an art form.

Introduced late in 2016, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card instantly became the pièce de résistance in the demographic that’s replaced Baby Boomers as the coveted target market.

The card’s rollout left no doubt of this. There was no advertising campaign. Instead, its presence went viral via word of mouth and social media.

It’s a perkoholic’s dream.

The company reported that response was so overwhelming — in the “tens of thousands” with Millennials in the majority — that they ran out of their proprietary metallic blend issues. They had to send temporary plastic cards until they could restock.

As to packaging, Chase was excessive, to put it mildly:

Chase has instituted measures to stem the flow of churners. For example:

• It’s advisable to have a credit score of 740 or better, and
• It will likely refuse anyone who’s received five new cards in the past two years.

There’s no end in sight to the escalation, either.

American Express is ready to raise the stakes — or at least offer a competitive match — with its Platinum card.

But they have work to do.

And they’re hard at it. the über-churners are no doubt watching. Closely.

Add this to the list of things easier said than done.

The ultimate irony of being an e-commerce entrepreneur is we are better placed than most to understand certain trends on the Internet, and yet we stand the most to lose by taking overt stands on them.

This is true even on our Norra Ljusen Trust websites, two of which are The Daily Player and Better Life Focus.

Their themes, for example, have nothing to do with politics or religion, so we advise our writers to tread carefully. The reason is obvious: we respect each customer’s beliefs and don’t want to alienate them unnecessarily.

But there’s no doubt we’ve all been tempted …

Polarization has been around ever since our distant ancestors came up with differing opinions on the same topic.

What cyberspace has done is amplify it.

It’s put behavioral traits such as selective exposure — the so-called echo chambers — and cognitive dissonance on Front Street.

It’s given rise to unqualified information sources in numerous categories:

• OK, we all know how this happens, but really,
• How does this happen?

The antidote for identifying and removing toxic thoughts and actions is obviously by both being real with yourself and utilizing more well-rounded sources.

One successful company — KIND Snacks — has mandated its charitable foundation to encourage just that, on a one-to-one basis:

If you’re up to the challenge, add their Pop Your Bubble tool to your Facebook page and randomly connect with people who may not think like you, but they think.

This project isn’t necessarily about debate, but affirmation.

It’s not about political correctness, but civil discourse.

The strongest societies are built upon understanding and compromise rather than dominance and disdain.

If you’re brave enough to accept that notion, give Pop Your Bubble a shot.

There are sayings and phrases we hear so often, we don’t really pause to fully consider their full meaning.

For example, we’ve all heard that time is money.

In a general sense, that’s true. In a literal sense, it’s the essence of the Dot Com lifestyle. It’s the conclusion of a logical progression:

• Time is a scarcity;
• Scarcity has value;
• Results have value;
• Value is money.

And money buys you the freedom of time to spend your life the way you want.

In determining your current relationship with time, calculate your day rate and then deploy this simple equation:

Thus, if you’re earning $20/hour and a purchase you’re considering costs $100, you’re looking at five hours of work to cover it.

That’s half a day out of your life.

For motivated individuals, this example is an unacceptable rate. Fortunately, there are ways to beat it.

One course of action is to become an e-commerce entrepreneur.

The key is having the self-discipline to incorporate time management into that part of the day that you control.

There’s almost always a temptation to surge into a new endeavor that, frankly, is an unsustainable pace that often leads to frustration. Thus, the essential ingredient in time management is planning.

Begin by getting into a positive and practical frame of mind. If you’re one whose motivation begins with inspiration, think first about where you currently stand in the time-money equation and add deep thoughts like these:

Then, become efficient.

Just remember that it begins and ends with you:

Never lose sight of achieving results in every task you do. That’s the difference between getting into a routine or a rut.

Sufficient empirical data exists to validate the 80/20 rule, so heed the work of those who have found success and utilize it.

Time is your life’s real currency.

• You must consciously choose to give it value by thinking of it in that sense.
• You begin by taking action so that it’s more than just a concept.

Then, how you save and spend time is your choice, not someone else’s.

When you achieve this as an e-commerce entrepreneur by making your time your own, you’re living the Dot Com lifestyle.

It’s there to be done.