Picking Fights And Making Money, A Love Letter To Ben Settle

…today I thought I’d take a back seat and rather than talk about myself, I’d talk about someone that’s had a huge influence on my life.

That gentleman is Ben Settle.

Now, you may have heard me mention Ben’s name from time to time, if you haven’t, go do a Google search you’ll find plenty to keep you occupied.

So, what makes this ‘Plastic Paddy’ worth your time today?

Well, I’ll give you five reasons.

1 – His Opposite Day View On Having An Online Business.

A man who famously zags, when everyone else is zigging, Ben’s simplistic 10 minute day is as much a 180 degree turn from everyone else’s online business as you can get.

With some many people promoting hustle, hustle, hustle, it’s refreshing to find someone that has business that’s the complete opposite. – He gets up, writes a daily email, sends it off to his list, and he’s done for the day.

What that’s meant for me?

– Don’t make anything more complicated than it needs to be. If you can make a two minute video instead of writing a three thousand word blog post do it.

– If everyone is fighting for attention on a platform, or a marketplace is saturated with sellers, go looking elsewhere. Just because the herd’s there doesn’t mean you can’t be successful somewhere else instead.

2 – Gives Credit Where Credit Is Due.

In a world where any Tom, Dick, or Harry can read a page of a book, and regurgitate it as their own content on Facebook. Ben regularly mentions that his work has come from standing on the shoulders of other giants in the marketing and sales world. – Routinely dropping names of direct sales men and copywriters from years past, he’s sent me off down more rabbit holes in the Amazon kindle store than I care to remember.

What that’s meant for me?

– Everything’s learnable. Listening to some ‘experts’ who sound like they’ve been that way since they came out of the womb, it’s refreshing to know that the knowledge is already out there. And sometimes even for free, but you’ve got to read it and take action on it.

– You also need to read, listen to, or view products more than once. Since going back through books I’ve previously bought, I’m always amazed at the content I missed, or wasn’t clever enough to understand, the first time I came in contact with it.

3 – His Principles Not Tactics Viewpoint

Showing up daily in my email inbox, and regular smirking at those that use tactics rather than principles, Ben’s opened my eyes to the simplicity of just showing up and putting the work in. – Never one to sell me on a piece of software, his daily sitting down to write an email a day is the reason I’ve gone back to the very basics of doing the same.

What that’s meant for me?

– It’s tough to sit down and write an email, blog post, create a video, or put a book together…it’s always going to be that way. But doing those concrete and basic steps, day in and day out, will always grow that small snowball of success into the huge avalanche of a reputation, business, or lifestyle that will be there for you in the future.  – I know this only too well.

For hours I sat and wrote fiction in the back of my car when I could have done anything other than do that. Five years later, those pages still are making me money in the Amazon kindle store. – There’s no piece of software could have ever done that.

4 – Trolling His Critics.

One who loves nothing more than being trolled, Ben was the first, and probably only person that I know of, that runs toward the fight rather than the other way around. – Routinely putting examples of emails, bad book reviews, and criticism in his emails, it’s interesting to see how the bigger you get, the more the haters show up, trying to pull the rug out from under you. – That’s if you let them.

What that’s meant for me?

– Criticism is nothing to be afraid of. Dan Kennedy once said that if he didn’t offend someone by lunchtime he wasn’t doing his job properly. For the longest time I used to be afraid of a bad book review, a disgruntled customer, or a negative comment about my work. Those days thankful, are behind me.

You’re never going to be liked by everyone, no matter how great a person you think you are. And the bigger you are, the more those types of haters will be attracted to you. – It’s like moths to a bright light at night. The brighter you shine, the more attractive you’ll be. – Be ready for it when it comes. Because it’s waiting for you.

Yes, even you.

5 – He’s A Dog Lover.

Bill Murray once said that he didn’t trust a person his dog didn’t like, I’d agree with that. Being a big dog lover and a regular walker myself, I’ve spent many a morning walking through fields with Ben in my ears. – Now while I could happily leave it that, one of my favorite purchases from Ben is a series of videos he made of him and his dog Zoe walking along the beach. Proving that you don’t need to be constantly plugged into the interwebs to come up with great content ideas, there’s no one that I know of that would make their videos with simply a dog on the screen and nothing else. – Genius!

What that’s meant for me?

– The easiest way to be the same as everyone else is to be watching and doing what everyone else is doing. That’s one reason why I unsubscribed from ninety nine percent of all my email subscriptions. With some many people copying email titles, email copy, or creating lookalike products, it’s little wonder why so many people never stand out from the crowd. Those that do however, are the ones that are liked, trusted, and followed, remember that.

Also, if you want to get ahead, use that thing between your ears. Fill it with great books, ideas, podcasts, or YouTube videos, and leave it to work with all that content offline. Go take a walk, listen to people, or read your local paper, you’ll find connections, trends, and ideas that you never will reading a seven dollar ebook from a hack that’s never actually used the content they’re selling.

Use that brain of yours.

And that folks is why I’m a big fan of Ben Settle and his work. While I’ve never met the man, or even spoken to him, his bluntness, example, and advice, has meant that I’ve build a business and a work ethic that wasn’t around years ago.  Distracted by bright shiny objects, attracted by push button solutions, I could have been so much further ahead if only I’d had more courage, showed up everyday, and focused on doing the same minimum things over and over again.

I’d also wouldn’t have had as much fun as I do writing these emails. Thanks for sticking with me.

Here’s the link to Ben’s site….BenSettle.com

PS – I’m sure I’ve send some people off looking for some insulin to cope with the overload of sweetness and back clapping in their email.

Oh, and the ‘Plastic Paddy’ term, that’s what call someone that’s Irish, but wasn’t born on the sod over here.

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