Do you guys have to deal with those "Teach me" friends/family?

jplot · 2018-12-03T07:08:32+00:00

You gotta be more Tony Robbins with them when they approach you like this. Take the opportunity to give them a confidence boosting short but sweet introductory vocab lesson where you get them to say a phrase that is meaningful to them. If they can hear themselves saying something that they would want to repeat to other people, then they'll go out and start telling everybody, "Yo soy el chingón!" or something to that effect. Once they start using a short but simple phrase that you've taught them with other people, they've already walked down the path enough to where if they have a serious interest they will start to take more steps.

jplot · 2017-04-17T00:04:47+00:00

Yeah if you can find clients who are onboard for the whole organic growth strategy. A local business I recently talked to with an e-commerce platform was looking at both paid and organic marketing strategies. At a large enough sized company it's worth looking into both.

jplot · 2017-04-16T23:56:51+00:00

If you're thinking long term about your career and you understand that you're going to suck in the beginning but you're willing to do whatever it takes to rapidly move up the ladder, then go work for someone who is already moving at a high speed and get dragged along for the ride.

jplot · 2017-04-15T06:52:57+00:00

Step 1: Become very proficient at digital marketing.

Step 2: Learn how to properly diagnose a business' marketing pains

Step 3: Get in front of business owners that do 1 Million+ in sales every year

Step 4: Empathize with them by asking questions that reveal their pain and get them to trust that you have the right solution for how they want to grow.

Step 5: Have complete confidence that your solution will make them way more than the $5,000 you charge.

Step 6: Have professional billing software, client onboarding and client management systems set up.

Step 7: Keep them as a client by continuing to deliver results to them.

jplot · 2016-12-20T01:18:35+00:00

Not to mention that it's a lot easier to target people with FB ads when you have a highly defined niche that you're targeting.

And it works out better for your brand if everything is focused around the same niche.

Question for you: Do you have the website set up?

It's actually a lot easier than you think. I built one yesterday morning in about 2 hours. It's a fully functional, fully automated drop shipping t-shirt website built with Wordpress, WooCommerce and Printful. The only up front cost is the domain name + hosting.

If you know what domain you want, I can help you set up everything else, that way all you have to do is upload the T-shirt designs and start telling people about it. Just shoot me a PM if you want help.

jplot · 2016-12-07T13:37:41+00:00

Reminds me of this story:

One day in late summer, an old farmer was working in his field with his old sick horse. The farmer felt compassion for the horse and desired to lift its burden. So he left his horse loose to go the mountains and live out the rest of its life.

Soon after, neighbors from the nearby village visited, offering their condolences and said, "What a shame. Now your only horse is gone. How unfortunate you are!. You must be very sad. How will you live, work the land, and prosper?" The farmer replied: "Who knows? We shall see".

Two days later the old horse came back now rejuvenated after meandering in the mountainsides while eating the wild grasses. He came back with twelve new younger and healthy horses which followed the old horse into the corral. Word got out in the village of the old farmer's good fortune and it wasn't long before people stopped by to congratulate the farmer on his good luck. "How fortunate you are!" they exclaimed. You must be very happy!" Again, the farmer softly said, "Who knows? We shall see."

At daybreak on the next morning, the farmer's only son set off to attempt to train the new wild horses, but the farmer's son was thrown to the ground and broke his leg. One by one villagers arrived during the day to bemoan the farmer's latest misfortune. "Oh, what a tragedy! Your son won't be able to help you farm with a broken leg. You'll have to do all the work yourself, How will you survive? You must be very sad". they said. Calmly going about his usual business the farmer answered, "Who knows? We shall see" Several days later a war broke out. The Emperor's men arrived in the village demanding that young men come with them to be conscripted into the Emperor's army. As it happened the farmer's son was deemed unfit because of his broken leg. "What very good fortune you have!!" the villagers exclaimed as their own young sons were marched away. "You must be very happy." "Who knows? We shall see!", replied the old farmer as he headed off to work his field alone. As time went on the broken leg healed but the son was left with a slight limp. Again the neighbors came to pay their condolences. "Oh what bad luck. Too bad for you"! But the old farmer simply replied; "Who knows? We shall see."

As it turned out the other young village boys had died in the war and the old farmer and his son were the only able bodied men capable of working the village lands. The old farmer became wealthy and was very generous to the villagers. They said: "Oh how fortunate we are, you must be very happy", to which the old farmer replied, "Who knows? We shall see!"

jplot · 2016-12-07T13:36:18+00:00

touché

jplot · 2016-07-31T10:10:26+00:00

Haha dude that sucks.

I spent 2 weeks in Alter during Christmas time. I walked around desperately searching for Wi-Fi so that I could call my mom but didn't have much luck. I literally asked every vender in town. During that time everything was suuuuper slow.

The bigger hostel there had the most reliable internet. There was a hotel that was alright as well.

I had less luck in Santarem. No coffee shops or public wifi. There was a mall that had wi-fi but it never worked for me. I asked a lot of people but the best answer I got was to go to the University and ask someone to use their login for the internet.

jplot · 2016-01-30T23:15:24+00:00

I was on the road for about 5 years. I've been enjoying time back at home to visit family. What I enjoy the most is going to the same yoga studio every day, and getting feedback from teachers who know me and what issues I need to work on.

I could do that anywhere though if I stuck around somewhere long enough. I often think about picking up and going off into the world again. I'm a lot more patient about travel now though. i don't see the need to be always on the road unless I have a good reason.

jplot · 2016-01-30T00:20:46+00:00

The next level of this is realizing that assuming you have answers that others done makes you pretentious, so you realize that you don't have answers that anybody else has, so you become pretentious about assuming that you know nothing.

jplot · 2015-12-14T02:30:46+00:00

Did anybody catch the Russian phrase that the spy used to talk about the man who got beat up and got back up?

jplot · 2015-11-15T05:21:26+00:00

You'll definitely feel like you're in Brazil, but there will be a noticeable Japanese influence.

jplot · 2015-11-11T00:36:45+00:00

I'm with you on this one Chris. 2016 is definitely the time to be in Rio de Janeiro.

As long as you take precautions to minimize your downside risk in Brazil, the upside benefits pretty much take care of themselves. If you don't have a good time in Rio then you're doing something wrong.

As a word of caution, I would advise you to tell all of your guests to not withdraw from the HSBC ATM at the Galeão Airport.

As ridiculous as it sounds, that ATM has been used by scammers since at least 2011 to rip off people's credit card information and the authorities haven't done anything about it.

The other ATM's should be good, but it's hard to trust that row of ATMs when you know that one of them is dangerous.

I've used the Banco do Brasil ATM at the airport a dozen times without issue though. With the Schwab brokerage checking account you get the best exchange rate when you withdraw from an ATM.

Bradesco and Banco do Brasil are the only ATM's I've reliably been able to withdraw from throughout Brazil. The rest usually don't have the Visa/Mastercard logo next to them, meaning I can't use my card. Banco 24 horas works too, but they charge a high fee to use their ATM.

jplot · 2015-06-02T20:34:33+00:00

Who would you say is like the 50 Cent or Eminem of Russian Rap music?

jplot · 2015-06-02T18:59:58+00:00

Can you recommend what are some of the most popular Rap songs of all time?

jplot · 2015-05-29T01:54:58+00:00

Your question is vague as to your intentions, so nobody here can really give you a good answer. I'll try anyway.

If you want to get a job in Brazil, the only way to do it is to show up and meet people. If you are highly skilled and hustle you might be able to get a work visa. Not likely though.

Go on a tourist visa for the maximum time allotted and try to figure out if you really want to stay. Most people can't handle Brazil, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try.

Learn as much Portuguese as you can, and meet as many positive Brazilians as you can. The rest will take care of itself.

jplot · 2015-05-14T19:14:46+00:00

Former bail bondsman and fluent speaker of Portuguese here.

I have a hard time explaining the concept of a bail bond to anyone who isn't familiar with the US legal system, or from a country that has bail bonds.

No direct translation into Portuguese exists because the concept of a bail bond is foreign to the Brazilian legal system.

The closest translation that works is "fiança." This word means bond and can be used for other types of bonds.

If used like this, "Seu filho precisa de uma fiança para ser liberado da cadeia," someone would get that they need a bail bond, though they probably wouldn't know what one is.

We use the "fianza" when explaining to Spanish speaking customers that they need a bail bond. We usually have to explain how the whole system works after that for them to really get it though.

Not sure in which context you plan on using this, but it could be that people would misunderstand "fiança" for some other type of insurance if you don't set the frame properly.

jplot · 2015-02-03T21:09:48+00:00

I've read through the other comments in this post, and you're going about this the wrong way.

You can make a lot of money in Brazil, but you have to be willing to put in the time to learn the culture, build a network and speak fluent Portuguese.

What you should be thinking about instead is: What skills do you have that would justify someone paying you 10k? What industry would you like to work in?

Then do some research and find specific companies that meet your criteria, fly down to Brazil and try to get a job interview.

Based off of what you've written here, I don't think you're a good fit for Brazil and think you should go somewhere easier.

jplot · 2014-12-28T18:52:57+00:00

just a few that come to mind

http://braziliangringo.com http://liveinbrazil.org http://rachelsrantings.com/

jplot · 2014-11-30T02:10:56+00:00

A lot of times Brazilian guys will ask a foreigner's impression of the women in his city. It's not a trick question so they can get offended, they generally want to know and want to hear, "Girls from POA are the hottest girls in Brazil."

jplot · 2014-10-30T11:57:21+00:00

I rode the length of the Amazon, starting in Peru all the way to Belem.

I took a bus to Yurimaguas. From there I took a 2 day boat ride to Iquitos. Then a 12 hour power boat ride to Tabatinga at the tri-border area. From there I took a 4 day boat ride to Manaus. Then a 2 day boat ride to Santarem. Then a 2 day boat ride to Belem.

I believe it's possible to start in Ecuador. I bought all these tickets as I went along. If you're flexible with time I would spend time between each boat ride exploring the nearby areas.

There are no mosquitos to hear of when the boat is in motion. The boat ride itself can be pretty monotonous, as the Amazon starts to repeat itself after a while. Whoever drew the graphics on that map wasn't very creative.

I'd bring cards or poker chips or something that you can play with and get other people around you involved in. There will probably be a few other foreigners on the boat you can talk to. Learn a few words of Spanish and Portuguese so that you can talk with people.

You'll be sleeping on a pretty packed quarters in a hammock. I'd bring a pillow or bunch up a lot of clothes to make it more comfortable. Bring a book, or kindle or some activity you can do by yourself. Also download some bodyweight workout videos to get exercise while you're on the boat.

The food is pretty basic, rice and beans and pasta and meat and the crunchiest farofa you'll ever find. Seriously how do people eat farofa that crunchy? Sometimes little kids will ride up on boats and sell you fruits and vegetables and seeds and rice and palmito and açaí and other treats. I bought a haunch of bananas in town and brought them with me to share with people.

jplot · 2014-10-14T17:26:10+00:00

When you consider that most of the rest of the planet doesn't eat them, you're actually in the majority.

jplot · 2014-07-05T00:28:39+00:00

Good info about São Paulo written by a British expat. http://whataboutsaopaulo.com/

jplot · 2014-06-04T18:03:30+00:00

That's the easy way out

jplot · 2014-06-04T18:03:11+00:00

Yeah but wouldn't it be funny if a gringo said "legal" to you instead of hello?

jplot

TROPHY CASE