By Philip Douthett

Get your mind out of the damn gutter!

Here’s the deal…this particular 4-letter word will waste a lot of your time, money, and other

resources if not taken seriously.

It starts with an F…

…And can literally destroy your business.

I get it – people are ALWAYS looking to save money, cut costs, and figure how to reduce

expenses…but everything comes to a point.

But still, if you’re looking for a Get-Out- Of-Jail- Free card to build your business, pack your bags

for Neverland.

Guess what…it’s going to cost you…and big time!

So many ‘fluffpreneurs’ think that they can just follow some lame-ass blueprint or follow a 3-

step formula and in a few months, they’ll be retiring on a beach with sand in their crack!

But there’s a price to pay…and it ain’t free!

But wait…it is free…at least the dirtiest 4-letter word is. From experience, free resources have

cost me more time, more energy, more headache, and more money compared to just paying

up front for what the hell I wanted in the first place!

Let’s take a quick trip to Free Shit Ville for a minute. Several months ago, I ‘won’ a free night’s

stay at a lavish hotel about an hour away from the ol’ homestead. The Mrs. and I showed up,

checked in, and then learned it was the old bait-n- switch. To claim this free stay, complete with

chocolate and wine mind you, we had to attend a free timeshare presentation the following

morning.

Damn it! Shoulda coulda woulda walked out right there…but we didn’t. The next morning, we

attended this oh-so- wonderful presentation…and it was actually a pretty good deal. We

bought. Then, and that’s a big THEN, I had one of my company lawyers read over the fine print

the next day. I received a 20-minute phone call that same day and it was conclusively time to

get out of the contract. Shit!!!

Long story short, it ended up costing more time dealing with legal, formal cancellation letters to

get out of the damn thing and wait for the refund to process. Not to mention, our gas to drive

an hour each way, the drive time itself, and the calls with the lawyer at God-only- knows-how-

much per hour.

All this time wasted and headache for something that was supposed to be “FREE.” FML…

Two lessons learned by me and for you to take note on:

1. Never sign a contract without having a trusted lawyer read it FIRST and advise you on

what action to take based on literal wording of the contract, even if it is “Only good for a

limited time. Once you walk out the door, it’s going to someone else.” Never allow the

‘fear of loss’ bite you in the ass.

2. Hold yourself to a higher standard. Know your value and the value of your time. Time is

the most precious resource because it can never be replenished. No matter what you’re

doing, there’s some opportunity cost…and that cost isn’t free.

Don’t get me wrong, some free things are literally free and great to receive. But in business,

free ALWAYS has bitten me square in the ass due to the amount of time and energy wasted

doing or learning something myself instead of paying someone else to handle the meaningless

shit that I’m not free to do myself.

If you do actually get something for free, think about what you COULD actually be paying for

this item/skill/process.

In other words, what are you sacrificing in order to obtain or utilize this free…thing?

You may use a free piece of video editing software that has only a few features, but you’ll end

up spending a lot of time putting out a poor quality, unattractive video. If you had spent a

small amount of dough to get the Legit-Shit video editing software that has all the bells and

whistles, then you would have put out a high-quality video that would be much more likely to

catch the eye of your prospective client…and you would have spent less time, energy, and

frustration doing it.

Remember this: you’re in business to win. You’re NOT in business to NOT LOSE! That’s a

completely different mindset and place from which you draw energy. For example, if you think

that spending money on Facebook ads is a cost, you’re always going to feel like shit for pulling

out that credit card. But, if you nail your audience and message, Facebook ads are an

investment. It’s a completely different perspective.

If you lose, lose big, and then learn from it and do something else to win big.

Either way, you win.

Which brings me back around to free. Trying to grow a business with free traffic strategies isn’t

going to put food in your dog’s belly. If you see an ad from someone claiming to have built a

business using free strategies, then why the hell are they paying for the ad to get it in front of

you to claim that they can show you how to do it for free? I call that hypocritical bullshit. Plain

and simple.

That said, another 4-letter word comes to mind:

Time.

Time is the one thing that no one under any circumstance can ever get back. Spend it wisely.

Money can always be replenished.

This means you can always afford to spend money on something that will save you time…since

time is money and money is time.

People will sacrifice tens of thousands of dollars and thousands of hours to go to school to

learn how to make someone else rich working as a paid slave for the next 30+ years.  However,

those same people won’t spend a few hundred dollars to invest in themselves and learn how to

build a profitable business.

They’re just going to spin their wheels and get nowhere fast…

What exactly does that mean?  Well, if you’re looking for a free way out of your broke situation

and into a profitable, life-changing financial situation, it WON’T be…free!

Running a business takes time, money, self-development, and HARD WORK! It all comes with

sacrifice.  And sacrifice isn’t free…

So, for your own sake, stop being such a cheapskate, looking for the next free thing, and

INVEST in your education.

You journey begins here: https://philipdouthett.com/manawakened2.0/