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    Fact: I have been part of a small mastermind group of fellow marketers. Ideas were discussed, shared, and the clause was made very clear “what is said in this room, stays in this room, and BELONGS to those who mention it – not to the group”.
     
    Fact: One of the marketers is someone whom I admire – like a whole lot, feel honored to be able to contact at will, etc. etc.. all good things. I felt lucky to be included!
     
    Fact: About 2 weeks ago, he noncholantly mentioned his intention to market as PLR (public label rights – content you can buy and then put your name on, therefore you can sell larger quantities for more affordable prices..) one of my ‘secret niches’ that I mentioned in our meetings.
     
    Of course I thought he was joking.. and say “ha, good one”
     
    He – “I’m serious”
     
    Me – “what about secret alliance??” (remember I am a big wimp and a little scared of this bloke, so thats about as bold as I was going to get)
     
    He – “OH! You mean it was YOU who came up with the idea – I couldnt remember. Hang on a second”… (I am hanging on in Skype).. “yes, you are right! X (his assistant) remembers it being you.”
     
    Now I am feeling relieved at the close call! Whew! He was about to sell it to the PUBLIC at large – and the Internet Marketers who know what to do with a niche public! So glad we had this conversation and caught it..
     
    Next Day He says:
     
    “So do you want to buy it or shall I sell it as PLR?”
     
    Say WHAT? I mean truth be told, buying the materials helps me get a LOT of steps closer to completing a task.. great – I admit that this is not 100% rotten for me.. but OFFER it to me.. dont talk about PROFITS, and EXPENSES..
     
    YOU MESSED UP But I have to pay for it??
     
    Fact: Repeating my choices if you are following. To either pay TOP DOLLAR and be the exclusive owner, and I mean top dollar since I could have personally outsourced all those pieces and gotten MORE for the money for half price, OR just resign myself to the fact that he already worked hard (poor thing!!) on the topic, and watch him sell it for less than $50 to an open hungry market.
     
    Last I checked… that is called BLACKMAIL.
     
    Of course I had a CHOICE.. he didnt extort the money from me, but well.. here is a quote from a good friend of mine about the subject:
     
    “I think everyone has an A/B switch. That defy’s the purpose of a mastermind. I am a firm believer in disclosure forms to help people remember their rightful obligation when they have convenient moments to forget.”
     
    The bizarre part is that He had been SO nice to me, offering me ‘freebies’, advice (in his cryptic style), etc.. but when he didnt offer to scrap the product or to have me buy it at cost.. I was really floored. About a week later, I thought we were coming to a head when he asked me what I really wanted (prior to this convo I was delaying an answer hoping he would come around). I came clean and told him that I wanted to pay half his asking price.
     
    When he responded “but then I would not make any profit”, thats when I realized it was a lost cause. In fact when I was finally paying, he had quoted me 2 prices – one $25 less than the other, and I went ahead and paid him the the higher quote – clearly he needs the money. (even though in that same conversation he mentioned he was making 5 figures a month)
     
    Listen.. if you are all about money today and not thinking about the long term benefits of having someone local be on YOUR side, and a potential JV, or just general good contact, ESPECIALLY when you know that this particular woman has just had a change in fortune and is definitely ‘ON THE MAP’, and that you screwed up… well then my friend, I can see no reason to trust you and work with you again. I hope the couple of dollars earned from this deal was worth it.
     
    Btw just feel like saying this now – my ‘angel’ told me that you never want to go to a PPC affiliate convention, since everyone there acts like total morons.. they figure the dumber you come across the more likely you will be able to convince someone to give you their keywords and then you can go home and steal their campaign. Instead of a marketing group where sharing is power, here being an idiot is the secret to success.
     
    Maybe this post is pointless and makes me sound a lot more ‘emotional’ than I really am lol and maybe I dont care that much about it really.. but maybe thats a problem too.

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