Secrets to making money on FanBox

Happy New Year!

As we embark on a new year – please allow me to take the conversation up to 30,000 feet… and then we’ll drill down to what will be most important in 2012.

Some of the underlying philosophies surrounding the FanBox approach to product and community development stem from the teachings of Abraham Maslow.

From Wikipedia:

Abraham Harold Maslow (April 1, 1908 – June 8, 1970) was an American professor of psychology at Columbia University who created “Maslow's hierarchy of needs”. He stressed the importance of focusing on the positive qualities in people, as opposed to treating them as a 'bag of symptoms.'

Maslow was a student of Alfred Adler, one of Sigmund Freud's early colleagues, and wrote extensively on the concepts of happy, high-performing persons, and peak experiences.

In particular, much of the FanBox approach is inspired by Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs: 

Let’s take a look:

1)    Our first level of needs are our basic biological needs, especially food.

When we have enough to eat, and are not worried about where our next meal will come from, we then automatically start thinking about our 2nd level of needs:  Our safety needs. 

2)    Our safety needs boil down to a place (our home or apartment) where we can be safe from things (people, animals, weather) that can harm us. 

When we have a safe place to stay, and we are not worried about our next meal, our minds automatically start thinking of our third level of needs:  Love.

3)    We all have a need to be loved.  The need for love is so deeply engrained in the human psyche, that we could actually die without it. 

Once we feel a certain degree of love; and we have an apartment and are not worried about where our next meal will come from, we automatically start thinking of our 4^th level of need: Respect.

4)    Respect is knowing that other people around us sincerely believe that we are good and worthy people.

We want to be really good at something – so that we are bringing value to others – and admired for that. 

We often go to great lengths to earn the respect of others – and the need for respect is a fantastic aspect of the human condition.

When we feel we are good at something and have a certain degree of respect from others; feel a certain degree of love; feel safe and are not worried about our next meal – it is then and only then that our minds wander off to the 5^th and final great need:  The need for purpose.

5)     What value does our life have?

Now that we have attained food, shelter, love and respect for ourselves -- is that it?

Is that all there is to this life?

What good is our life if we do not use it to do something amazing?

What is our Purpose?

When all the prior levels are fulfilled to a satisfactory level, we start asking ourselves this question.

We start thinking... wanting... YEARNING for some higher meaning... some purpose to our life other than just satisfying our own basic needs.

We start fearing that, in the end, we may have been just another person who was born, lived and died without much consequence or value to anyone but ourselves.

Yes, we may have created value for our families...

... but wasn't that really also self-serving in that we were simply looking to satisfy our own basic need for Love (#3 above)?

So beyond satisfying our own basic needs:

What is our purpose?

How can we ensure that - in the end - our life made the biggest difference possible for OTHER PEOPLE?

OK, please pay special attention to this:

Many people will have a tough time understanding and/or believing what I am about to tell you -- because most people have not yet experienced it:

If we are one of the lucky few that find the answer to that question – and find our purpose...

... and begin to put more and more of our time into the fulfillment of that purpose...

... well, that’s when we enter a phase called “Self Actualization”.

Are you Self Actualizing right now?

If you are, here's how you know:

   - Everything actually seems visually better and brighter.

   - People have compared the feeling one has, when Self Actualizing, to “being on drugs”. 

   - There are a number of psychological and chemical reasons to this, but your brain is actually put into a special state where the physical, mental and emotional sensations experienced are similar to the feelings that users of drugs attempt to describe. 

In other words, the positive sensation that users of (often illegal, unhealthy and/or dangerous) drugs attempt to achieve via drugs, is actually attainable via the understanding and systematic execution of a plan to satisfy your (5) basic human needs.

The big difference is that when you are Self Actualizing, you are not high on anything… but Life!

… and you are not doing anything that is dangerous, unhealthy or illegal.

In addition to feelings of happiness and euphoria, people that have achieved the state of Self Actualizing, report that:

   A) Their thoughts are incredibly clear. Their brains seem to process information faster and more accurately. They seem to be able to communicate more clearly and with more passion.

   B) They feel incredibly optimistic about things that happen in their lives, and are more capable of seeing the bright side of things that happen, including things that others would perceive as negative.

IE: Their cup appears to them to be “half full” instead of “half empty”.

   C) There is a certain energy to them. They seem to be passionate about everything. People are attracted to them, and feel better about themselves when they are around them.

Less than 1% of the population are “Self Actualizing” at any particular time. 

At FanBox, we believe that (whether people realize it or not) they share the same underlying objective:

It is our belief that the meaning (the purpose) of life is to achieve the state of self-actualization… 

… and then utilize that state to help others also achieve self-actualization.

In other words, when you achieve Self Actualization, your purpose and focus usually turn to helping others satisfy their biological, safety, love, respect or purpose needs.

By helping others get closer to Self Actualizing, you are doing your part to elevate human kind to a higher level, and so (in the end) your life on this planet would have meant something. 

So FanBox is an attempt to use technology to help people achieve Self Actualization – by helping them achieve their biological, safety, love, respect or purpose needs. 

Examples:

Levels 1 and 2 -- our Biological and Safety needs:

OK, so we all know that FanBox is a place where people can earn money.

Well, money is what easily enables levels 1 and 2. (All it really takes to get food or an apartment, is money).

Until people have enough money so they are not worried about food or shelter, it is very difficult and often meaningless to ask them to focus on their purpose.

So that’s why FanBox started with a focus on levels 1 and 2… helping people earn. 

Level 3 – Love:

Has anyone noticed that people so often use the word “Love” when they speak about their friends, fans or experiences on FanBox?

From 2007 to the early parts of 2011, the team focused on the creation of the social media (communication) platform – so that love could easily be exchanged and felt. 

If FanBox was just about helping people earn money, this very long and expensive step could have been avoided.

In the future, what else can we do to make FanBox a better place for finding love? 

Level 4 – Respect:

The idea for the LeaderBoard and Earning Stories (that show up in your feed) came straight out of Maslow’s Hierarchies – as the team was looking for a systematic way for people to quantifiably and publicly track their achievements – as they began to master the different knowledge roles.

It’s great to see how much respect FanBoxers give each other – through their comments and Likes – when people earn on FanBox and/or move up the LeaderBoard.

Level 5 – Purpose:

Well, it’s definitely no secret that -- as one community of members and employees – we all share the purpose of helping others. 

In other words, as each of us succeeds, FanBoxers are quick to help others learn what worked for us and what did not.

As we earn more, we’re also driving more money to charitable causes of our choosing.

But perhaps the most important point is this:

As a result of their time on FanBox, if some members can achieve the state of Self Actualization, they will be best positioned and most motivated to help others also attain Self Actualization. 

Have you noticed that certain FanBoxers give so selflessly to others with their time, learnings and energy?

Have you ever wondered why?

There really is hope for mankind!

The more people that are Self Actualizing: 

… the less likely it is for people to steal; murder, become terrorists; commit crimes; or hurt other people.

… and the easier it becomes for everyone else to achieve Self Actualization too… because Self Actualizing people are quick to help others to achieve the same.

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Technology is making it easier and easier for all of us to have food and shelter.

Don't believe me? Remember that just 100 years ago, most of us would have been farmers.

Fast-forward another 50 years. At the same rate, it is easy to visualize a world where many, if not most, people are Self Actualizing.

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So, as we move into the New Year, as a community, what can we do to help people achieve their 5 basic needs? 

And what’s the best thing that we can do, in 2012, to accelerate our own success?

Let me say this as plainly and boldly as I can:

2012 will be the year of the Success Coach.

Many new products, features and programs will be launched in 2012, and the one thing they will share and have in common between them, is the Success Coach program at the center of it all.

As you may know by now, FanBox believes that nations will rise or fall, based on the success of their educational system.

Imagine this for a moment:

Imagine where your country would be today, if it were able to quantifiably track the most successful people in society…

… and then (proportional to the success of their students) compensate the teachers that helped those successful people become successful…

… in the process, making successful teachers the most respected, best paid members of society – all based on their proven, measurable and public success?

Can you imagine if the teachers of very successful people became millionaires?

Can you imagine what would happen if Bill Gates’ teachers became (very publicly) billionaires?

What message would that send to society about teaching -- and the possibilities of such?

Instead of going to industry, don’t you think that many of the most capable, talented, intelligent and motivated people would become teachers?

This would all happen if the value being created could be measured accurately, so that the people responsible for the value creation could be compensated in proportion to the value they created.

The good news is that FanBox was built from the ground up to track value and compensation.

And so the goal of creating a knowledge economy -- with education at its center --- can become a reality on FanBox.           

That’s why so much emphasis is being put on the Success Coach Program.

Have you already noticed that Success Coaches are among the best paid citizens of FanBox?

In the coming weeks, and all through-out 2012, we will be making some very exciting announcements.

For now, please trust me when I say that: 

A)    2012 will belong to Success Coaches.  

Many -- if not most -- of the new features, applications or programs we will be launching will have Success Coaches as their core educators, operators, decision makers, judges and managers.

I know this is hard to imagine for many people:

Since there are no exact comparisons in modern society to use here, it may be hard for everyone to imagine this instantly:

We are placing the educational system at the heart and command center of the economy – an approach not seen yet in modern society. 

The reason we don’t see this anywhere yet in modern society is that the technology to track and compensate in this fashion is not yet available to teachers and governments.

B)   Success Coaching will always be among the (if not THE) best ways to earn on FanBox 

C)   It will definitely not be rare to see some Success Coaches earning in excess of U.S. $100,000 per year (probably not this year, but who am I to predict such things or limit anyone).

Welcome to 2012. 

Now that (finally) everyone can become a Success Coach, one of the best things you can do for your future is become a great success coach.

How?

Practice makes perfect:

Start with your first client. 

Get to know them, personally.

Learn what matters to them, so you can help them set goals to achieve the things that matter to them.

Then, work hard to help them achieve those goals. 

As they succeed, so will you.

With each client, you will be getting more practice. 

 Practice makes perfect.

New opportunities will naturally FIRST become available to the best Success Coaches in each country.

From one FanBoxer to another, I want to personally thank you for a great year (2011) and wish you an even greater year in 2012:

-- May you get closer to achieving all the steps along your own path to Self Actualization!

-- And if you are already Self Actualizing, may your contribution to society reach new heights this year!