This is a post simultaneously written for and released on The Dream Lounge and The21Convention.com.
It is as much a declaration of change in my actions, as it is an assertion of the right to exist for my own sake, and nothing else.
While brief in script, this is months if not years in the making – slow as some of these realizations have been.
1. The 21 Convention is the #1 men’s convention in the world. There is nothing else like it even remote in comparison, on any level, and to any degree.
2. The 21 Convention is a gathering of the best and brightest men in the world – both on stage and in the audience. It is these individuals that I have sought to address since the very beginning – knowingly or unknowingly – and it is these individuals I will continue to address.
3. If you are not one of these individuals yet, fear not, access is not limited to a privileged few. It is limited however, to the minority of individuals found throughout the world willing to work towards their individual peak potential.
4. If you have not yet found this will, The 21 Convention in its entirety is one of, if not the most potent catalysts available for such change.
5. The 21 Convention represents a limited, voluntary, mutually beneficial union, of individual ideas, and individual effort. It is extremely valuable, both to me, others involved in its continuity, and the best and brightest it attracts online and in person as live events.
While different in form and expression, all of the above applies to The Dream Lounge.
What I have come to realize of the course of the past few years – the first of my adult life so to speak – is that my time and effort (and the fruits of such combination) have not been valued accurately by my own judgment.
Nor have they been accurately valued by the majority (how could they?). In fact, it is only the select few of the minority I have always sought to address that have valued my time, intellect, and effort – it is these men and women that have helped guide me to where I am today.
In all cases, I am using this post as a closure of the final gap between the reality of what my time, effort, and the products there of, are actually worth, and what I have mistakenly valued them at in years gone by.
I am not sorry for the time it has taken me to realize and now close this gap. To the contrary, I am quite pleased it has taken me the exact amount of time it has.
I am glad I was able to make and appreciate this mistake in judgment so rapidly and at such a young age.
What does this look like in practical application?
For one, it means the further (stricter) funneling of effort and intellect into The Dream Lounge, and more disciplined, condensed effort into The 21 Convention.
What this means is that I will no longer be granting advice free of charge outside of those mediums, or if I do, it will be exceedingly rare.
No responses will be given further via e-mail, Facebook, or similar medium without compensation for my time.
I have been far too generous in years gone by. So generous in fact, that I at times have made myself a slave not to a few individuals, but everyone.
Well, no more.
Not only is this self-immolating beyond the most extremely limited of amounts, but it takes precious, finite time away from other tasks of greater importance, that are in accordance with my own personal values and interests – namely, The Dream Lounge and The 21 Convention.
By continuing to engage in this rat race of self-sacrifice, I compromise my own progress towards reaching my peak potential, and impede upon the joy I find in continuing such endeavors as The 21 Convention and The Dream Lounge.
For two, it means all content of such endeavors will release as soon as it’s ready, and at the time I deem the release to be most suitable, as well as in the fashion I judge best.
What this translates as is this: the whims of the masses no longer have any bearing on my decisions, for better or worse, outcry or silence. I simply refuse to think about them from this point on (they cease to be of any relevance to me).
In this sense, I am as interested as ever in the support, criticism, and feedback from the best and brightest my endeavors attract – but if you take me as a servant to deliver content of any kind at no charge, and at the demand of anyone, you are sorely mistaken, and getting the “off button” every single time from this moment forward.
Footage from The 21 Convention and written works on The Dream Lounge are released free because I deem that to be the best course of action possible for all parties involved – not because 10,000, or even one person demands I do so.
This is not only disrespectful to me, but poisonous for your own growth process, on all fronts.
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In summary, if you want my personal time and effort directed at improving your life – should I choose to accept – you will likely have to pay for it. Even if we are to accept that “money” as we know it today is inherently worthless, I simply am past the point of devoting any significant portion of my time, without a type of just compensation, to helping others – beyond the limited and carefully defined amount I choose out of generosity/charity.
It’s unthinkable that I would do anything else from this point forward. T21C and TDL are simply too important to me. They deserve to be accurately valued, and I am seeing to it that they are.
I will be announcing training on my blog soon enough, both long term and short sessions.
The 21 Convention in Orlando this year is $750, and London a bit higher than that. I will honor the discounts available throughout the year in the quantities originally specified. However, that is the real and final price to attend the event. If you get in less than that you were fortunate, wise, or both.
In addition, all 2010 event footage will be available on DVD before it is released on the web for free (which will consist of periodic releases over the course of a few months, not all at once as in previous releases).
-Anthony/Dream
About time to make the shift
Good for you. A major step and announcement like this takes serious thought and kajones (for lack of a better word). You continue to do great work and spread inspiration and light- keep it up.
Eliminating the non-essential to focus the critical areas. No big deal there. Standard procedure in my opinion.
No way I, or I would think “most” people, could afford those prices though. Always best to go cheap. You’ll actually earn MORE and at the same time help more PEOPLE too.
Neither the less its good to put one’s focus where it matters most.
The last thing I’m interested in is limiting people (who simply can’t afford it) from coming to the live events with a high price tag. This is why I offer tickets in limited quantity tiers throughout the year – tiers meaning discounts off the main price.
This is different from offering tickets at lower prices. While the end result is the same (price wise), the means are different, and I believe more accurately represent what a seat at The 21 Convention is truly worth.
Should that price be too low, and not represent that true value of attending, I’d bet a lot that the event would sell even less – illogical as it seems.
People simply don’t buy what they don’t value. This is seen not only with events, but any mutually beneficial exchange.
It seems strange, but I absolutely believe if I lowered the prices, less people would come, and the quality of the event would necessarily drop with the decreased available funds – with a gloomy long term result.
i believe it was the denver transit system that started out free years ago, but when they switched over to paid fares, ridership increased….many other examples like that. -but you need to provide value, and you need to nurture your core audience. parettos 80/20 law…20% of your audience will provide 80 % of your income, and break it down further, 20% of the top 20% equals 4%, this is your inner core and they will provide 96% of income., good luck anthony, im in my 30′s and this is the period when people begin to see that time is getting critical….critically short. when i was in my twenties i had no $ but lots of time, i traded that time to learn my skill set, now i have the $ but no time, and i find myself trading cash to gain more time…..thats what they call a “quality problem”
Will you offer only DVDs or also an earlier access to the online material against money?
DVDs have priority right now. I may also offer the audio, and perhaps video on Itunes for download at cost. That said (all of) the footage in its entirety will still be released online for free in a long enough time span.
well sounds like you’ve grown some business sense. And maybe like you want to separate out your work from your personal life, as they kind of got mixed up. its hard because your “business” just so happens to be what other people do for fun (your old business at least).