What Happened During And After Attending My First Internet Marketing Seminar

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Copyright © 2010 Willie Crawford


I was online for SIX YEARS before I attended my first Internet marketing seminar (in December 2002), yet attending that first seminar was the catalyst that started my already successful business growing exponentially.

I probably would not have even attended that first seminar had I not been invited to speak, so "luck" played a part in my discovering one of the most-powerful online success secrets.

My circumstances were different than all of my fellow speakers though in that I still have another year to serve in the U.S. Air Force at the time. Attending seminars meant scheduling live events, and indeed building an online business, in a way where it didn't interfere with my being a full-time soldier.

What happened was that at that seminar I was exposed to some really amazing people who were doing what I eventually wanted to do, and doing it at a much higher level than I had previously allowed myself to even imagine possible.

At that seminar I discovered that some of the best learning happened after-hours. I discovered this when I was walking down the hallway with Ramon Williamson (one of the speakers) and he asked John Reese (one of the attendees) if he had time for a little "brainstorming."

John said yes, and Ramon suggested we could hang out in his suite. Ramon orders a few snacks from room service, and from around 9pm that night until 4am the next morning, Ramon and John bounced ideas off of each other, and I sat listening in amazement.

I won't repeat what they said, only that they had income goals at least 10 times as big as mine... and they clearly explained HOW it was possible.

That seminar was where I also discovered "the joint venture" and the back end. Prior to that event I viewed EVERYONE as my competitor.

At the seminar, I discovered about 20 people who were genuinely NOT afraid to share with me what was working as long as I was willing to do the same for them.

They taught me to drop the poverty mentality, and that together we could make the pie bigger for everyone. Over the next few years I did projects with most of the speakers and several of the attendees from that seminar.

After I spoke, they all openly critiqued my business model, knowing that it would help the other attendees. I basically had one product that represented 90% of my income and I had no real backend product to offer after that first sale. They FIXED that.

I left that seminar so pumped up that I was ready to explode. I had driven the dozen hours from Eglin AFB, Florida to Hawk's Cay down in the Florida Keys. All during the 12-hour return drive, I planned my next step.

Within a month of attending my first seminar, I boldly decided that I was going to host my own seminar, and began putting it together.

Four months after attending my first ever live event, I hosted a seminar in Pensacola, Florida (in April 2003). It wasn't huge but it was a HUGE step for me.. one of many that I would take in relatively rapid succession.

Speakers at my very first seminar included Dr. Bob Silber, Ramon Williamson, Fred Gleeck, Armand Morin, Tony Blake, Stephen Pierce, Gary Knuckles, and myself.

Stephen was the first speaker, and I can still tell you to this day exactly what he said. In fact, I can tell you to this day what ALL of my speakers said.

I could go on forever with how attending my first seminar surrounded me with movers-and-shakers, and totally energized me. I honestly became close friends with MOST of the speakers from that first seminar that I spoke at. Jonathan Mizel even called me the day before I hosted my first seminar to both wish me luck and to give me a few tips.

My first seminar set in motion a chain of events that made all of the really BIG things that I've done since then possible. It enabled me to start developing the relationships that would have never happened had I not gotten out and actually attended a live event.

My conception of what IS possible would probably be relatively constrained had I not been around mentors who taught me to think bigger.

Six and one-half years after attending my first ever live event... six years after having the audacity to host my own live event, I celebrated my 50th birthday with another live event.

As luck would have it, Stephen Pierce, my keynote speaker from the first event that I hosted, spoke at my birthday seminar. He arrived at the venue in a bus, along with an entourage, and proudly shared on stage that my seminar in Pensacola, Florida, in 2003 was the first seminar that he ever spoke it. I sort of started his speaking career. Now, he spends many months out of the year, traveling around the world, and speaking in front of crowds that sometimes exceed 1000 people.

If you have never attended a live Internet marketing event, you're missing a powerful catalyst that will energize and guide you. If you do not attend live Internet marketing events, you're missing a powerful networking opportunity.

I've now attended at least 50 live events, speaking at many of them. However, I attend many that I am not speaking at just for the networking. This is where I set up massive joint ventures, meet future business partners, and learn the latest industry news.

If you want to be a truly successful Internet marketer, make attending live events a part of your education and marketing process. To find out when and where live events and tele-events are being held consult The Internet Marketing Seminar Schedule at my directory website: http://InternetMarketingSeminarSchedule.com


About the Author:
Willie Crawford has been marketing goods and services over the Internet since 1996. A professionally trained speaker, Willie teaches at seminar and workshops around the world. Willie also spends considerable time sharing his knowledge and experience inside a private membership community called The Internet Marketing Inner Circle. Check them out for only $1 at: http://TheInternetMarketingInnerCircle.com/


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