Yo Awesome One,
I've got some pretty awesome and inspiring things to share with you folks, live and direct from the RoMann Empire. Yes, folks, live and direct to YOU (a valuable and crucial part of the RoMann Legion). So read on, and get drunk off the grog of fortune and success. Whose fortune and success? YOUR fortune and success, duh!
This is probably the longest email I have sent in a long time, but rest assured, it's chock full of worthwhile reading material. Enjoy!
Oh, and always remember that you can hire me as your personal one-on-one career, life, or business coach. I would love to help you reach your dreams, and well, I'm damn good at it. How do I know? Well, I was hired to write the book on the subject. ("Start Your Own Coaching Business" by Monroe Mann, 2008). Call or email to set up a free 20-minute consultation by phone with yours truly. :)
In this email:
C. WATCH MY CNBC INTERVIEW AND LEARN ABOUT GUERRILLA NETWORKING
D. OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS
E. DECISIONS, DECISIONS, DREAMS, AND DECISIONS
F. BATTLE CRY # 52 (Ayn Rand)
G. LATEST NEWS FROM THE ROMANN EMPIRE & LOCO DAWN FILMS, LLC
For those rockin' individuals who live in the tri-state, come get motivated and intellectually challenged at my 2-hour seminar ("Producing Your Own Projects") tomorrow, Tuesday, at AFTRA in Manhattan. For those who don't know, AFTRA is short for the "American Federation of Television and Radio Artists". Really cool organization (of which I am a member). If you want to learn the ten steps to successfully producing a film or television project, stop on by at 6PM tomorrow, AFTRA HQs on Madison Avenue. You'll learn why the script is the most important part; why most people can't seem to ever raise the money they need to shoot their projects; why the smartest actors are PRODUCING actors; and so much more.
NOTE: You must be a member of AFTRA to get in. IT IS FREE. You need to RSVP with Michelle at AFTRA. If you want to come, but are not in AFTRA, send a text message to me at 646-764-1764 and I can potentially get you in as my VIP guest.
My latest book, "Time Zen - Winners Do It Now" was just released--you can find it on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Here's are two inspiring excerpts, "5 Minutes or Bust" and "Winners Do It Now":
5 MINUTES OR BUST
But we're not done yet. The next key is to make sure that no single item on your daily to-do list will take more than 5 minutes of your time. Sounds weird, right? Stay with me.
The reason why most people don't get as much done as they would like during each day is because the tasks they ask of themselves ARE WAY TOO BIG AND UNWIELDY! For instance, you cannot, "Wash the car," in ten minutes; or "Write a book," or "Buy a house."—and yet how many of us put large tasks like that on our to-do lists? You can't do those tasks in five minutes, but in that same time frame, you most certainly can, "Fill up bucket with water," or "Come up with five potential book ideas," or "Look in the newspaper for local real estate that's for sale." Does that make sense? The latter group of tasks are far more likely to get done. And why? Because they are doable—they are not overwhelming.
So you see, the key to a well constructed daily to-do list is not just that it is based on a ten-year plan. That's only part of it. The other part is to ensure that every task on your daily to-do list is easy enough for you to wrap your head around. It may sound silly, but I sometimes find things on my list such as, "Drive to gas station," "Choose a new book to read from the bookshelf," and "brush teeth." Those tasks get done. As opposed to, "Get ready for trip," "Become more educated," and "Get ready for bed,"—which I just don't have time for. But when I break down each task into something I can do in less than five minutes—it's truly amazing how much I can get done, simply because I realize that I 'have the time'. Another way of doing this is breaking your to-do list down into 5-minute subcategories. In other words, you list the major task, and break it down into its subordinate 5-minute tasks, i.e.
[ ] Wash Car
-Buy bucket at home depot
-Cancel appointments on Saturday
-Pick out old clothing to wear for the task
-Drive car down driveway into back yard
Make sense? In this way, you have all of the component tasks broken down. Now, even if you just drive the car around back and pick out the clothing for the job, you know that you are making progress. You can check off those two tasks, and feel good knowing that you are getting very close to washing the car.
Why does this work? Simple: we often have a poor conception of time. We think something is going to take us an hour, when in actuality, it would only take us ten minutes. But we never get started because we think it will take us an hour, and we don't have an hour. By breaking down everything you do into five-minute tasks, you often end up getting a lot more accomplished in an hour than you normally would because you help your brain realize that you actually do have the time. While no one has a free hour, we all have 5 minutes to spare. And this leads to my next point: Winners do it now!™
WINNERS DO IT NOW!™
Look, it's all nice and good if we all can find five minutes to spare, but who cares if we have five minutes to spare if we don't do what we're supposed to be doing during those five minutes? Makes sense, right?
So… do it now! DO IT NOW DAMMIT!
This is the most basic and fundamental time management technique on the planet. And it is so simple that most people will think it's too simple to actually have any impact on their productivity. But mark my words: if you take no other advice from this book, take this advice: DO IT NOW. Don't think. Just: DO IT NOW. It will turn your life around.
When to do it? DO IT NOW! Now does not mean tomorrow. Now doesn't even mean 'in five minutes'. 'Do it now' means just that: NOW! As in, "Stop thinking about it, and start doing it!" IMMEDIATELY DAMMIT! Why are you still reading?
Right at this very moment, think about something you know you should be doing, but you are putting off. Here's my magical advice: stop reading this book, for a moment, and do what you know you are supposed to be doing! My gosh, doesn't this make such logical sense? Becoming better at time management is as simple as making one simple change in your life: Learn how to do it now. Do it now. DO IT NOW. DO IT NOW! GET OFF YOUR LAZY PROCRASTINATING ASS AND DO IT NOW ALREADY!!!!
NOTE: You can purchase your copy of TIME ZEN at Amazon.com or BN.com.C. WATCH MY CNBC INTERVIEW AND LEARN ABOUT GUERRILLA NETWORKING
Have you still not seen my 10-minute interview on CNBC's The Big Idea from last year? I was invited on to the show to talk about my Barnes & Noble # 1 bestselling book I wrote with Jay Conrad Levinson called, "Guerrilla Networking". Where can you watch it? Right on my company's homepage at www.UnstoppableArtists.com Remember: traditional networking is about meeting people; guerrilla networking is... BECOMING THE TYPE OF PERSON OTHER PEOPLE WANT TO MEET BABY!
D. OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS
1. GOYA (GET OFF YOUR ASS). Monroe Mann & the Ass Kickers are coming to you live this spring at New York's most famous cabaret club, Don't Tell Mama! Ever been to a motivational rock show? Imagine a cross between a Tony Robbins seminar and a Dave Matthews/Green Day concert. Yeah, pretty awesome. The three shows are scheduled for the last week of April, and the first two weeks of May. Stay tuned for specific dates and times!
2. MORE SEMINARS! I'm gonna be teaching two seminars regularly at 36 Street Studios starting next month. One will be basic career management for actors and musicians. The other will be advanced career management for actors and musicians. Stay tuned!
3. AFTRA IN JUNE: I've been asked to return to AFTRA in June to teach another seminar. Details forthcoming.
4. PUBLISHING SCHOOL. You know what? I believe that EVERYONE should write and publish a book. Why? Because it is so damn cool, and talk about a great conversation starter: "So what are you up to?" "Oh I just published a book. You can find it on Amazon and BN.com" That breeds interest from ANYONE. If you are interested in this 3-week TELEPHONE-based course that teaches you how to write, publish, and market your very own book, and all for less than $200, let me know!
5. CASTING FOR MY FILM, "THE QUIET". Yes, ladies and gents. The casting for our SAG horror film, "The Quiet" is starting soon. Probably in early May. Stay on this email list for all of the details.
E. DECISIONS, DECISIONS, DREAMS, AND DECISIONS
I am at an incredible crossroads in my life. I am in a very strange and (ironically) difficult position: I am being forced to choose between two different dreams. As my mom always says, "Rejoice Rejoice You Have No Choice!" But here, I do have a choice, and it's a HUGE choice. This decision could impact the very trajectory of my life irrevocably.
On one hand, I am nearly done with law school. 6 more weeks to be precise. I have finished my coursework for my MBA. I take the bar this summer. My horror film is going into production this summer. I have honed my business and marketing skills to such an extent that I know exactly what I need to successfully finish my climb to the top of Hollywood. If I just continue moving forward... I am assured success. I don't think I'll get there; I KNOW IT. But only if I continue on the same path that I am currently traveling on.
On the other hand, a dream of mine that I had ever since I was 21 years old---a dream that I thought was gone, dead, and never to be revived--suddenly reared its beautifully ugly head. And it's moving forward at full speed.
This is all good news, right? Well, not really. The reality is that I am being forced to choose. If I choose Hollywood, I am quite certain I'll get where I'm heading, but will I always regret turning my back on this secondary dream? If I choose this other path---which would take a minimum of three years of my life---it would require me to shut down all my businesses and get out of showbiz completely. And while I am confident I could regain my current momentum, I would have to abandon showbiz for three years, and I don't know if I can handle that again after my (wonderful) experience in Iraq.
What's my point? My point is that I don't think I have to choose between dreams. I think giving up one dream to pursue another is a cop out. STANDARDS, NO COMPROMISE PEOPLE! So I am plotting feverishly a way to ensure that on my deathbed, I can say, "I made both dreams come true."
Is this going to be easy? No. It's probably in fact going to be very painful in some ways. And it is going to require a hell of a lot of work. But ya know what: I DO NOT TAKE MY DREAMS LIGHTLY, AND MY DREAMS ARE WORTH IT!!!
The big question is: are yours?
F. BATTLE CRY # 52 (Ayn Rand)
This is an excerpt from the book, "Battle Cries for the Underdog" by Monroe Mann
BATTLE CRY: "Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won. It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours." - AYN RAND
FIGHTIN' WORDS "First, if you haven't yet read the book Anthem by Ayn Rand... go out and read it right now--it'll give you goosebumps. Second, think back to your childhood. All of us have at some point wanted to be the superhero, or the war hero, or even just the neighborhood hero. Unfortunately, at some point between our childhood and adulthood, the word 'hero' merely became a term for a sandwich (and for some people, the word 'hero' doesn't even mean sandwich). I'm urging you to find that original meaning of the word 'hero', and to once again discover your childhood yearning to be someone amazing. Rediscover that hero you always wanted to be. For you ARE that hero. You have everything within you to be that hero right here, right now; to be what you always knew you could and should be. And becoming what you always knew you could and should be is certainly a battle worth sacrificing everything for. Isn't it? Is so, go forth and propser. If not, where exactly are your priorities?" - MONROE MANN
G. LATEST NEWS FROM THE ROMANN EMPIRE & LOCO DAWN FILMS, LLC
And finally, here are some cool things going on in my life right now that I wanted to share with you:
1) Haiti Pictures -- I posted all of my Haiti pics on my Facebook profile. If you're not my friend yet, friend me!
2) New Awesome Job! -- I'm super stoked to report that out of 25 applicants, 17 of whom were native French speakers, I was the one On Locations Tours chose to be their very first French-speaking tour guide for French tourists on a 'movie bus tour' of Manhattan. In other language news, I have restarted my studies of Chinese, Arabic, Italian, and German. Ahh, feels so great.
3) Swing Lesson! -- Yay, I am dancing again. I have started intermediate swing dance lessons again at Dance Manhattan. It is so great to once again be on the dance floor.
4) CFP -- I am finally approaching the end of my CFP (Certified Financial Planner) studies at BU's Boston Institute of Finance. I should be taking the CFP exam in November.
5) BAR EXAM! -- Hard to believe, but I am but 6 weeks from graduating law school. I just registered for the NJ bar exam, and will be registering for the NY bar exam in April. Bring it on!!
6) SCUBA INSTRUCTOR -- Finally! I have begun my training to progess from a PADI Rescue Diver to a PADI Divemaster. Divemaster is the first 'professional' scuba diver level, and the first 'instructor' level. I'll be getting certified through Empire Divers in Manhattan. Check this out: I just found out the owner, Cliff, is also... an attorney! So needless to say, we hit it off immediately. ROMP ON!
7) LIFE/CAREER COACHING -- You guys know that I am one kick ass career and life coach? Whether you're seeking to put together your ten year plan, a personal investment strategy, publish a book, change careers, or just want someone to help put your life into perspective... contact me for a free 20-minute consultation by phone to see if one of my coaching programs is right for you.
Oh, if you need help figuring out the life you are meant to be living, or how to make it happen, I am offering 10% off my 5-week coaching program until Dec 31st. Instead of $750, pay only $675. Save $75! Mention the discount when you call or email me. I also offer a free 20-minute consultation.
Sincerely,
Monroe Mann, ME, GMC
(JD/MBA, May 2010)
UnstoppableArtists.com <--sign up here to receive this e-newsletter directly.
Books by Monroe Mann
Time Zen - The Shortest and Most Effective Time Management & Success System Ever Created (December 09)
The Theatrical Juggernaut - The Psyche of the Star
Guerrilla Networking (with Jay Conrad Levinson)
Start Your Own Coaching Business
Battle Cries for the Underdog - Fightin Words for an Extraordinary Life
To Benning & Back - The Making of a Citizen Soldier
