Welcome to another issue of the no-BS newsletter dedicated to demystifying the world of passive income, where we share practical, reliable strategies to build and sustain income streams that work for you.

If you want to help someone else make money while they sleep, forward this email to them.

In today's issue:

• The Entitlement Epidemic on Upwork

• Napoleon Hill’s ‘Mastermind’ Secret to Wealth

• My Weird Trick for Setting Goals That Stick

• The Ultimate Guide To Landing Pages From Leadpages' Expert With Bob Sparkins

• Survival Guide for Entrepreneurs

FROM MY WORLD

The Entitlement Epidemic on Upwork

So, I’m on Upwork, hunting for someone to help with a video project for my podcast. You’d think with thousands of freelancers at your fingertips, this would be a smooth process, right?

Wrong.

I started by searching for people with video and podcast experience—folks who can handle being on camera, who know how to deliver a message like a pro. I reached out to a handful of them, expecting to get into some good conversations.

But here’s what happened instead: boilerplate madness. 

Every response I got was generic—just copy-paste cover letters with random links. No personal touch. No effort to show they’d even read my project details. Just “Here’s what I’ve done, now pay me.”

It was like they didn’t even care what I needed. I’m looking for a professional, and instead, I’m getting someone who’s shot a TikTok on their phone and thinks that qualifies them for the gig.

Anyway, I weeded out the worst of the bunch and started chatting with the rest. That’s when I hit my next hurdle: no one wanted to work by the hour.

Now, their profiles all clearly stated their hourly rates. Some were charging $50, others $100 an hour. Great! So, I figured we’d be looking at a couple of hours of work, right? 

Just get on a Zoom call, hit record, and boom—job done.

But no. These guys wanted to throw out their hourly rates and charge me thousands instead. “Oh, you want one hour of recording? Sure, that’ll be $1,500.” 

What?! I’m sorry, but I’m not paying someone in Bulgaria $3,500 to get on a call with me for an hour—especially when their setup is a phone camera, and their mic is probably from the dollar store.

It felt like they were trying to squeeze me dry just because I’m in Canada and run a successful business. 

The funny part is, I’m cheap when it comes to this stuff. I’ve got a budget, and if I’m going to lose sleep over how much I’m paying you, the answer is no.

Once I finally got someone to agree on a reasonable price, I started asking the real questions—"What does your video frame look like? Can you send me a soundbite? Is your mic going to make you sound like you’re calling from a tin can?"

And then the real entitlement started.

I couldn’t believe it. These amateurs, with no real experience or credentials, started acting like they were too good for my questions. They’d snap back with, “I don’t have time for this. Just send me a contract, or I’m out.”

I mean, are you kidding me? If you want someone to pay you thousands of dollars for your time, the least you can do is show me you’ve got a professional setup. These guys didn’t even own proper cameras, and they’re acting like I’m asking for the moon.

But here’s where things get crazy.

I finally connect with a guy from SiriusXM Radio. You know, the premium radio service that comes with most cars in North America. This guy was legit—professional studio, high-quality gear, everything. He even sent me voice samples without me having to ask twice.

So, I’m thinking, Great! But this guy’s going to cost a fortune.

Now, after dealing with all those entitled wannabes, I figured this guy’s rate would be way out of my budget. But I had to ask. So, I told him, “Look, I’ll be honest, I’m nervous about even suggesting a price here because with your credentials, I’m afraid I’ll offend you.”

He goes, “Try me.”

So, I throw it out there. “How about $500?” And I brace myself for him to laugh in my face. Instead, he goes, “$500? Wow, that’s more than I expected. I’m in!”

I couldn’t believe it. Here’s this top-tier pro with years of experience, a high-end studio, and he’s perfectly happy with $500. Meanwhile, I’ve got guys with no real setup, no credentials, and an attitude bigger than their work history, demanding five times as much.

It just blew my mind—the more experienced and skilled someone was, the more humble and professional they were. 

And the ones who hadn’t earned their stripes? They acted like they were doing me a favor by even talking to me.

It’s a funny thing about entitlement. The ones who haven’t really earned it are the ones asking for the moon. Meanwhile, the real pros? They just want to get the job done right.

MY GIFT FOR YOU

I Want To Ship You a Copy of My Book

As our way of saying thanks for subscribing to the newsletter, we’d like to ship you a free copy of the Amazon best-seller List Building Lifestyle: Confessions of an Email Millionaire. This book shows how to build a scalable passive income online even if you’ve got no previous experience.

Claim your no cost copy by texting the word BOOK to +1 833-259-7282

You can also just click the button below if you’re reading this on your mobile device.

This book costs $20 on Amazon, but if you text the word BOOK to +1 833-259-7282, you’ll receive a special link allowing you to get a free copy of the book plus $3,251.88 in bonuses (just chip in on S&H).

LESSONS FROM LEGENDS

Napoleon Hill’s ‘Mastermind’ Secret to Wealth

Napoleon Hill had one of the most unique jobs in history. In the early 1900s, he was tasked by steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie to interview the wealthiest and most successful people in the world. 

Hill spent 20 years picking the brains of legends like Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Alexander Graham Bell, trying to find the common thread that made them so successful.

After two decades of interviews, Hill published Think and Grow Rich, one of the most influential personal development books of all time. In it, he revealed a concept that would go on to transform how entrepreneurs, marketers, and businesspeople operate today: the power of the mastermind.

So, what is a mastermind?

Hill described it as the coordination of knowledge and effort between two or more people working towards a definite purpose. 

But here’s the catch—it's not just about networking or teaming up with others for the sake of it. A true mastermind group combines different perspectives, skills, and experiences to create something greater than the sum of its parts.

Think of it like this: When you’re surrounded by smart, driven people, their ideas start to unlock new possibilities for you, and vice versa. It’s a two-way street of growth. You gain from their knowledge, and they gain from yours.

The wealthiest people Hill interviewed all had a mastermind group—a trusted circle of advisors, peers, and mentors who helped them refine their ideas and solve problems. 

Henry Ford, for example, worked closely with Thomas Edison and Harvey Firestone. Each one had their own industry, but together, they fueled each other’s success.

Now, you might think, That’s great for these titans of industry, but how does this help me?

The truth is, you don’t need to be a millionaire to build a mastermind group. You just need people who are on the same journey, or maybe even a few steps ahead. Surround yourself with those who challenge you, keep you accountable, and push you to think bigger.

A mastermind isn’t about finding cheerleaders to pat you on the back—it’s about finding partners who will call you out when you’re slacking and help you push through when you’re stuck.

Napoleon Hill’s lesson is clear: If you want to grow faster, surround yourself with a group of people who won’t let you settle for anything less than your full potential. 

That’s the power of the mastermind.

MINDSET MAKEOVER

My Weird Trick for Setting Goals That Stick

I was stuck. Big time.

I had this goal of moving to Canada. I wanted it bad. I knew it would change my life—getting that Canadian passport, starting fresh in the western hemisphere—but I couldn’t make myself do anything about it.

I kept putting it off. "I’ll call the lawyers next week," I’d tell myself. "I’ll get to it after this project." Weeks turned into months, and I hadn’t even booked a flight to check out the place. 

Heck, I hadn’t even Googled how to apply for citizenship.

That’s when it hit me—just wanting something isn’t enough. It’s not that I didn’t care; I just didn’t have a real reason to take action.

So, there I was, sitting with my mentor, Tom Beale, when he hit me with something that sounded ridiculous: “Write down 100 reasons why you need to move to Canada.”

“A hundred?!” I thought he was nuts. “I can barely think of one.”

But he was serious. “If you don’t know why it matters, you’ll never make it happen,” he said.

At first, I struggled. But then I realized something. The reasons I was procrastinating weren’t because I didn’t want to move—it was because I wasn’t focusing on what was driving me nuts.

What I hated about my current situation was way more powerful than what I wanted.

I hated being stuck in bad time zones, missing out on opportunities because of where I was. I hated thinking my kids wouldn’t have the best future if we stayed where we were. Once I started thinking about what I didn’t want, the list of reasons began to flow.

Before I knew it, I had 10. Then 20. Then 70.

By the time I hit 70 reasons, something flipped inside me. The move wasn’t just a goal anymore. It became a must. I had to make it happen.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that moving wasn’t just about me. It was about my family. If I moved to Canada, my kids would grow up in a better environment, with more opportunities, better education, a higher quality of life.

That’s when it stopped being about me, and became about them. The stakes were suddenly higher. It wasn’t just about time zones and joint ventures anymore. It was about the future of my family.

Once I saw that, I couldn’t sit around anymore. I started making calls, booking appointments, getting my paperwork sorted. I didn’t even visit Canada before moving—I just made the decision and went for it. Because the goal wasn’t a “nice to have” anymore—it was a necessity.

And that’s the key to setting goals that stick. It’s not enough to just want something. You have to make it real. You have to give it so much meaning that you can’t ignore it anymore.

I realized that for me, it wasn’t about setting some big, shiny, positive goal. I needed to start with what I didn’t want. That’s what gave me clarity. That’s what gave me the fire to take action.

Once I connected my goal to something bigger—something that affected my family’s future—there was no stopping me. The goal had substance. It had weight. I didn’t need motivation or willpower. It just got done.

So, if you’re struggling with your goals, maybe you’re thinking about them the wrong way. Don’t start with what you want. Start with what you can’t stand in your current situation. Then, tie your goal to something bigger than just you.

Once you do that, you’ll find yourself taking action without even realizing it. And that’s when the magic happens.

FOR YOUR LISTENING PLEASURE

The Ultimate Guide To Landing Pages From Leadpages' Expert With Bob Sparkins

Are you planning to build a profitable list down the road but find it hard to effectively communicate with your list? Well, you’re in luck because Greg Johnson is here to spill his top strategies to extract the most money from your list, and he's got the results to prove it!

Let’s get started!

CURATED READS

Survival Guide for Entrepreneurs

If you’ve ever felt like running a business is an endless string of problems, Ben Horowitz gets it. In The Hard Thing About Hard Things, Horowitz, a Silicon Valley veteran, doesn’t sugarcoat what it takes to build and scale a company. He shares brutally honest lessons on making the tough decisions no one talks about—like firing a friend, leading through a crisis, and keeping a business afloat when the odds are stacked against you.

Horowitz’s insights are raw and real. This isn’t a feel-good, “follow your passion” kind of book. It’s about how to survive and thrive in the chaotic world of entrepreneurship.

If you want practical advice from someone who’s been in the trenches, this book will be your guide.

RIDDLE ME THIS

Can You Crack The Code?

I'm a gentle rain, not a sudden storm.

Nurturing leads, 'til they transform.

Consistent and timely, my messages flow.

Building trust, helping businesses grow.

What am I?

Think you've cracked the code? Reply to this email with your guess and see if you're right!