As you guys know, I posted something a little different on Monday. Whether you think it’s a big idea or not, it’s definitely the next evolution of this blog. My week was literally filled with responding to hundreds of emails (possibly over a thousand). I expected a handful of messages and had NO CLUE the response would be anything like this. To see my inbox on Monday morning was completely overwhelming. But I learned a few things I’d like to share with you. As you know, my posts are short…that’s kind of my niche…but today I feel like talking.
I learned that so many people have been affected by me. I didn’t realize that. So many of you just really wanted to say thanks. As we all know, some blogs out there are run by teams of people, some have basically become corporate businesses, and some are written by douchebags (sorry blog guys, but deep down you know you’re douchebags). Me, I’m just a guy who writes every night. And even though we’ve never met, for some reason, you guys seem to have realized I’m a person worth trusting. Somehow, you realized I care. True, I’ve never sold out and always tried to do my best. But the surprise is, you noticed. And you’re very welcome.
The new venture is going to be based on that trust I’ve built in these last 2 years. You guys sent me Facebook pages, Linkedin profiles, and Flyertalk user names almost as if you were submitting your resumes. I didn’t ask for that, and I didn’t want this to become some big power play. What I did want was to be super careful. When we start in January, everyone can feel free to share and talk openly. I’ve been really selective and somehow kept this under 100 people. I picked good people who are excited to share their ideas. In the next year, if you all just come up with 2 great ideas each, we’d benefit with 200 new tricks to use.
About 25% of the group will be clever people looking to learn, 50% will be seasoned mile hunters, and 25% will be true mile “superhero” experts. I want to finish this post by talking to each type of person I’ve dealt with in the emails:
To my skeptics:
Look guys, deals die eventually. Time will kill all deals. Period. If your attitude is, “I posted something and the deal was shut down 2 months later,” then don’t bother being here. Take your ball and go home. Everyone I’ve selected just wants to take their family on more trips. Nobody is trying to screw you. So there is no room for your skepticism here. Don’t keep score on who’s posting and who’s not. Don’t tell me how some deals came from Flyertalk and others from FatWallet. Yes, some deals will be better than others, but if you provide a safe place where everyone can speak freely, we’ll all reap the benefits eventually .
To my experts:
Some of you hate when other people aren’t as smart as you. Well, not many people are that smart. But today’s newbies are tomorrow’s experts. I selected 20 eager people who want to learn how we came up with our tricks so they can contribute as well. Be helpful. If this fails, I’ll shut it down and we all lose. But go into it realizing that if this works, it could be incredible for all of us for YEARS. Please answer questions, drop the attitude, and stop speaking in code. This is a private forum based on trust.
To my eager learners:
Don’t be scared to ask questions. The rest of us are depending on you to grow slicker. So ask your questions. Learn how we find these deals. Then do the same thing in your life. If you’re the kind of person who doesn’t post in forums, I need this to be the exception. I want to hear your voice. Eventually you will have something to offer and we need you to speak up.
To my human beings:
Yes, that’s all of you. Human nature is that when you hear some great news, you want to share it. We will share it. But only with each other, and on no other forums. Even if some ideas may have shown up elsewhere, treat it all as private information. We need to trust each other. It would be very self-defeating to have loose lips here. If that’s the case, I’ll just take the 20 people I know best and start something smaller. This is a chance to be part of something special that will eventually multiply your mileage accounts.
Guys, this will take time. Not every deal is going to blow your mind, but right off the bat, you’ll find some things that work best for you. Take your defenses down and come into this with kindness. I want this to be a group of people who treat each other well. We’re going to look out for each other and cultivate ideas. No negativity or snarkiness like you see on Flyertalk. Learn from each other, help each other, and share. I seriously can’t tell you how excited I am!
Have a great weekend. MileNerd out.