If you have been living under a rock in the past few weeks, then you might have missed one of the biggest kerfuffles in Internet history. Or so it seems.

No, I’m not talking about the contested elections in Iran.

I’m talking about the recent Facebook username frenzy, when Facebook allowed its users to register usernames, making profile addresses shorter and more memorable.

Leading up to it, they used a countdown timer. Brilliant.

Last week, I was watching a movie with my wife Sylvie Fortin. At 12:01 AM, I decided to log onto Facebook using my iPhone, just to see. And wouldn’t you know it? I managed to secure Facebook.com/michelfortin for me, and Facebook.com/licorice for our fan page.

(Sylvie also captured “sylviefortin” for herself.)

The Licorice Group, LLC is the name of our publishing company, located in Las Vegas, Nevada. Obviously, “michelandsylviefortin” was way too long and would defeat the purpose of getting a shorter mnemonic. So I decided on “licorice.”

Anyway, you might be wondering why I said this was a kerfuffle. Well, hold on tight, because this one is a doozie (and there’s a marketing lesson in here, too)…

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Recently, Michel Fortin, author of Drop Your Goals (And Manage Your Life!), was interviewed by Ralph Zuranski. For over an hour, Michel discussed some of the concepts based on his book.

Ralph Zuranski is the creator of the "In Search Of Heroes™" program, whose aim is to generate income to fund beneficial community programs, activities, equipment, software, training and travel through cash donations and affiliate marketing, particularly for, or geared towards, disadvantaged kids.

Ralph Zuranski, a former special feature’s writer and photographer for the Coronado Eagle Newspaper, created the In Search Of Heroes™ Program for High School Students in 1992-1993.

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“Are you green and growing, or ripe and rotting?”
 — Ray Kroc (Founder of McDonald’s)

What is a problem? There’s a saying, which says that obstacles are what happens when you take your eyes off your goals. I don’t agree because problems can occur even when you are focusing on your goals. However, I would certainly agree that obstacles are what happens when you take your eyes off your priorities. In fact, to the congruent person, problems are not problems but considered as growing pains.

You are always growing no matter what. Change is, in essence, the result of growing. A “Help Wanted” ad caught my eye when it said: “We embrace change by hiring people who create it.” We do create our own changes. We are always growing, always evolving, always changing. Therefore, since we can not stop that growth, the key to living a fulfilling life is to choose how to grow and to grow in the right direction.

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“Commitment is what turns a promise into reality. It is the words that speak boldly of your intentions. And the actions that speak louder than words. It is making the time when there is none. Coming through time after time after time, year after year after year. Commitment is the stuff character is made of; the power to change the face of things. It is the daily triumph of integrity over skepticism.”
 — Unsourced

“Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.”
 — Anonymous

You may have heard of Thoreau’s advice, “Do what you fear and the death of that fear is certain.” I figured that becoming a salesperson was the best way to fight my fear since rejection is commonplace in sales. In the beginning, though, I certainly was no sales superstar. Working solely on commission and with no income to show for, I filed for bankruptcy (one of two, if you recall). You might say that I became what my father programmed me to believe.

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From my hotel, I can see a beautiful view of Redondo Beach, California, hugging the warm, breathtaking Pacific coastline lined with a panoply of restaurants, merchants, and boats.

Enjoying the scenery notwithstanding, I’m not blogging much right now because I’m out of town spending a couple of days with Jay Abraham. Upon my return from Los Angeles, my wife and I will be getting ready to leave again for Atlanta to be at the Big Seminar next weekend.

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Michel: The second law will never believe anything at first. And the third law is people will never do anything at first. So the three steps, I call it the three P’s. Pull them in, prove your case, push them back. And copy, when you should pull them in, the headline, people will scroll down a web page.

So you’ve got tons of things that you can do to pull them in. Headers throughout the copy, the story. Prove your case is of course credibility and proof and all that stuff, and your offer and value buildup and guarantees and testimonials. And push them to act is of course asking for the order, making the offer.

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The last two weeks have been nuts. So I haven’t had the chance to post much. After writing Frank Kern’s salesletter for his big Underachiever Mastery launch last Sunday working almost the entire time while at Stephen Pierce’s seminar in Detroit, barricading myself in my hotel room, it’s been more than crazy.

It’s been insane!

In fact, I promised a friend of mine in Windsor (Rick Beneteau) to visit him while down there, but Frank’s letter was such a huge affair, I had no choice. I was stuck. And now, I’m exhausted. (And that doesn’t count the fact that I’m writing two other big projects — one for John Reese, and another for Armand Morin.

But now that the bigger dust has settled, let’s roll.

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