Unseminar VI is over. If you attended or followed along on Pat O’Bryan’s Portable Empire TV, you probably thought Unseminar ended just over a week ago but you’d be wrong. But don’t worry, I’ll fill you in on what you missed.
Craig Perrine and I drove down to San Antonio the day before the official start of the seminar. After checking in at our hotel, we walked over to world famous Mi Tierra for dinner.
A few weeks earlier, I’d been contacted by Scot McKay on Twitter. Scot and his lovely wife, Emily, are Internet marketers working in the dating/relationship niche. The McKays recently started a new networking group in San Antonio and invited me to be a guest speaker.
The McKay’s had family in town and couldn’t make Unseminar weekend so Craig and I hooked up with Scot at Mi Tierra. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed excellent Tex-Mex and cigars on the patio. Mi Tierra has been around since 1941 and is popular with tourists. They do Tex-Mex right and they’re open 24/7.
The next morning, we were up bright but not too early to meet Ann Collins for breakfast at the Crowne Plaza. One of the reasons this event is called the Unseminar is because unlike most seminars, Pat lets you sleep in. Friday’s festivities kicked off at 10 AM. (Thank you Pat O’Bryan!)
Networking
Before I get into what some of the speakers talked about, I want to say a word or two about networking.
Yes, networking.
Networking is the most important thing you should be doing at seminars. Sure, you can learn a lot from the speakers but let’s face it, you can do that sitting at home in your PJ’s reading an ebook. The juice from a seminar like this is getting together with the speakers and attendees face to face. It’s hard to put a price tag on that one, it’s just invaluable.
This year, we did a LOT of networking.
One thing that’s been a game changer in that regard is Twitter.
Twitter, in case you’ve been trapped in a cave for the past year or two, is a free website that let’s people ‘follow’ each other and write little 2-3 line posts (Tweets) about what they’re up to. (Follow me on Twitter here: http://twitter.com/BillHibbler)
People were Tweeting about Unseminar VI days before the event. They expressed their excitement and arranged getogethers (Tweetups) before they left home and en route. During the actual seminar, they’d be tweeting about people they’d met and things they learned from the speaker’s onstage. Twitter also has a companion called Twitpic that let attendees post pics taken at the event so Unseminar pictures were going out almost instantaneously.
It was wild to be able to search Twitter to see what people were saying about our presentation as well as my fellow speakers almost in real time. I also loved being able to thank people for their feedback while sitting in the seminar room with Twitter on my iPhone.
Another benefit of Twitter at an event is being able to invite or track down other attendees to share a meal or a cocktail. If a lively meeting gets going at a nearby club or restaurant, a post or two on Twitter will usually lead to more attendees showing up. The more the merrier.
This isn’t just about having fun. It’s usually at these informal gatherings outside the seminar that the real magic happens. Ideas get kicked around. Teams are formed. Joint Ventures get setup. New relationships are formed and old relationships solidified.
Of course there’s always plenty of magic inside the Unseminar, too.
Dr. Joe Vitale
There were lots of speakers this time around including our headliner, Dr. Joe Vitale. I’ve probably seen Joe speak dozens of times but he never fails to inspire me because a) he never gives the same talk twice and b) he speaks straight from the heart. The Un6 crowd gave Joe a standing ovation before he even got to the stage!
He really moved the attendees this year, myself included. Joe made people laugh, cry and jump for joy. At the end of his talk, Joe was asked what he feels is the #1 thing is that holds people back from living their dreams. Without hesitation, Joe said it was people not feeling they deserved success, not loving themselves.
As I looked around the room, I could see that one really hit home. Most people were nodding their heads and some tears were flowing. I completely agree this is why so many fail and I include myself in that category. I’m no stranger to self-sabotage and I’m glad to have Joe remind me of the solution.
Tony Laidig
Another inspiring speaker this year was Tony Laidig, the Public Domain Expert. Tony blew me away long before he got onstage. The man has lost over 70 pounds since Unseminar V!
Tony, along with fellow UN6 speakers Ben Mack & Craig Perrine are working with a new health coach and the results are phenomenal. Ben has also lost 70 pounds. Their secret weapon is Lynette Patterson.
Lynette is working with numerous authors and speakers helping them to get in the best shape of their lives. Craig, who’s dropped 10 pounds in less than 2 weeks on Lynette’s plan told me about it on our drive up. After seeing Tony & Ben onstage, I’m convinced. Lynette has a special program for diabetics and I’m starting on it this week.
Tony Laidig’s specialty is making money with the Public Domain. As you may or may not know, certain materials are included in the public domain, which means anyone is free to use them for publication, modification, etc.
Hereβs how it works: “public domain” refers to anything that is NOT protected under US copyright law. This includes all works published before 1923 AND, under certain conditions, works published up to 1978. A βworkβ can be anything: a book, movies, plays, songs, photographs, instruction manuals, posters, courses, reports, etc. It also includes most works published by the US government since they are funded by taxpayer dollars.
Republishing and repackaging public domain works and other information can generate huge profits and the reason why is pretty simple β with public domain information you do not have to pay any royalties or copyright fees.
But not everyone knows where to find public domain works. Tony gave us dozens of free resources and pointed out the key to making money with public domain products is choosing proven content and creative innovation to modify the product to make it unique.
This can be done by updating the language, adding unique illustrations, creating an audio version of a book or demonstration video, etc.
While listening to Tony, I had a couple of product ideas that I plan to implement right away. I believe both will be big sellers. And you don’t have to be a writer or publisher to do this. Tony showed us how anyone could quickly raise $10,000 with a public domain work in their own neighborhood. You don’t even have to have a website.
Tony showed us the different types of public domain products, how to profit from them, how to use government content for a variety of online and offline uses and much much more.
There are some great ebooks on making money with Public Domain but Tony takes this to a whole different level.
Eric Farewell
Another repeat from UN5 was Eric Farewell.
When you have a conversation with Eric about his lifetime experience, it isn’t particularly unusual. Most people I’ve met that have been successful in this business have some great stories to tell. In addition to being part of some major product launches, Eric is a brilliant photographer, a surfer, a racer, a pilot, etc. What’s unusual is that Eric seems to have done it all and he’s 23 years old. He started his first Internet business when he was 13!
Eric is into a variety of niches and makes most of his income outside of the ‘How to make money online’ niche. He shared lots of great resources and showed a different side of the Internet marketing lifestyle than we usually see. He’s also full of energy and enthusiasm and is super bright. Pat O’Bryan thinks Eric will be running the planet some day. It wouldn’t surprise me.
More on Eric later.
Wendi Friesen
Our headliner on day 2 was the incomparable Wendi Friesen. Wendi is one of the most successful hypnotists in the world and her website is the #1 hypnosis site online.
This was my first time to see Wendi speak and she did not disappoint.
First of all, she’s funny as hell. She could have just done 90 minutes of stand-up but of course she also taught us a great deal about marketing and the language we use when selling in person or in our copy.
Another great point she made was the importance of being memorable and not being afraid to do so even if it might offend or alienate part of the audience. In Wendi’s case, that meant using risque humor. And she pulls it off.
If you’ve been following what I do online for long, you know I agree with her. In fact, I’m about to record a video using my favorite rock star (Colin Cleveland) in response to one of Wendi’s YouTube videos. This is going to be fun. And, like Wendi taught us, it will be memorable.
A Cast of Dozens
There were several other excellent speakers including my good friend Nathan Anderson (accompanied by his lovely wife Trish), ‘rock stars’ Simon Leung & Lee Collins, Ben Mack, Erica Douglass, & Andy Huang.
Craig Perrine closed the show and alternated between inspiring the crowd and making them laugh. Craig let the audience see a side of him that’s usually reserved for the ‘after-show’ crowd and they loved every minute of it. Like Wendi Friesen taught us, it’s all about being yourself and being memorable. If you’ve got a great sense of humor, don’t hide it. It’s a great way to stand out from the crowd.
When it was my turn, I didn’t do my usual presentation. In past Unseminars, I’ve spoken as many as three times and I usually run the morning masterminds where I form the crowd into groups on Saturday & Sunday morning. This year, I worked with a former student and close friend, Ann Collins. We decided to do something different this time around experimenting with what’s going to be my new business model.
I’ll tell you more about it in my next blog post. We had a lot of fun with it and I look forward to giving you the details in a few days.
Mellow Monday Mastermind
Although the seminar officially ended Sunday evening, the party continued to the wee hours. Then we had probably 20-30 attendees and speakers over at our house in Wimberley Monday afternoon. Miss Lisa had the gang jumping on the trampoline while the gang networked, brainstormed, relaxed and had a great time despite the Texas heat.
The Unseminar Never Really Ends
Although almost everyone but the locals flew out Monday night or Tuesday, Eric Farewell and his right-hand man, Cody Robert hung out all week.
Our good friend Rodney Bursiel (who’s usually behind the cameras at Unseminar) was getting married on Saturday and asked Eric to be his photographer.
So usually some combination of Joe, Pat, Eric, Craig, Rodney, Cody and me ended up at Cedar Grove, our favorite local hangout every night holding informal masterminds and sampling some fine cigars.
Product ideas were flying and at least a couple were finished or are well under way. That’s the power of the mastermind.
On Saturday, the wedding came off without a hitch… wait a minute, better rephrase that. The wedding was a thing of beauty and Dr. Vitale even chauffeured the happy couple in his Rolls Royce Phantom.
One attendee, Mike Williams, took Wendi Friesen’s advice on being memorable to heart. His unusual shoes caused quite a stir at Unseminar. And of course Craig Perrine had to ask if they made underwear like that.
Before I let you leave, be sure and check out one of the reasons Pat calls this event The Unseminar. It all started when Pat asked me to be a judge in the seminar dance contest. Thanks to Mike “Memorable Shoes” Williams for posting this. Hmmm, so you think you can dance? If so, click here.
Thanks to Pat O’Bryan and his crew for making Unseminar VI the best ever!
Feel free to leave a comment. Comments are moderated so they won’t show up until I get a chance to have a quick look to make sure you’re not here to promote your Britney Spears fansite. π
Until next time…
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Thanks for this very informative and amusing post, Bill. Sad I had to miss it. Looks like everyone had a really great time and I KNOW everyone learned lots and made some great friends and contacts. Next time…..
[Thanks, Barb! Un6 will be in October. Hope to see you there — BH]
Boy that looked like fun. Sorry I missed it this time. And Mike Williams who shot the dance contest is in my mastermind, which you introduced me to! See you in October at US7.
[We missed you, Heidi. Mike was great and I’m going to try to hook up with him again soon. See ya at UN7 — BH]
Bill, meeting you was a pleasure and you have captured the spirit of the US6. It was a blast and you’re right the networking opportunities alone made it worth the while.
The shoes? Well, I won’t touch that one.
Thanks to you and to Ann for the morning information.
[Is it time for the next one yet? π Great to meet you, Tam, and thanks for commenting — BH]
Awesome review of events, Bill!
I thought I could dance until I saw this! (OUCH!)
Mando tried to get me to come to the mellow Monday thing. I wish I could’ve been there. Mucho thanks to you for your phenomenal service to us at Unseminar6. Looking forward to working with you again soon!
KK
[Thanks, Karen! Hey, I can’t dance. I guess that’s why they made me a judge. π — BH]
Bill, What a great post! You totally captured the essence of the Unseminars! The networking. . .the laughter. . . the friendships. . . the fun! The info gained is invaluable. I am so glad we got to meet! You are one really cool guy!
[Thanks, Martha! Congratulations for getting the ball rolling and getting products created. I’ll bet you’ll be a regular speaker at Unseminar before long. — BH]
Bill, Days have been spent on re-typing my 30 plus pages of notes from UNSEMINAR 6…WHAT FABULOUS SPEAKERS (you included) and GREAT step by step information. My email box dinged and there was a nice email from you inviting me to read your US6 post. You said it well and succinctly, new/continued friendships, free flow of ideas from the more experienced, and people helping people succeed-all in an atmosphere of FUN. Your words continue to inspire me,I look forward to future encounters and living the internet lifestyle like each of you with freedom and assistance to others to make the world a better place. Be blessed my friend, you are loved from afar…JMH ( Former SL neighbor)
[Thanks, Joan! It was great to see you again at an Unseminar. Btw, I use this pen called a lightscribe that records while you’re taking notes. Check `em out on Amazon. Great for seminars — BH]
Thanks so much for having the Unseminar6 and
the special party on Monday for Memorial day at Bill and Lisa’ home!
I enjoyed sharing some energy healing with all.
Thanks again,
Taylore
[You’re welcome, Taylore. We enjoyed having you! — Bill]