Thanks to Dale, I came to the realization that I have drifted from my intent with my first post.
Linda, sorry that I seemed so harsh, I am the type of person who wants to see success from everyone with every endeavor. I stand by what I suggested especially if you lower your price.
But to others, I give. Yep I give, this has turn into a mess.
I am not here to for any personal agenda other than to help others. I state the negative because I was trained to pick out negatives to discuss them and produce positives. I don’t worry about my fan club or my supporters, again I help people.
But Phil seems to think that I was attacking him because of his success, not at all, I am glad he has had success but the problem now seeing he didn’t want to put this between him and me outside the forum, I will also use the open forum.
Phil, I left EO for a number of reasons, it was obvious to some, not so to others. I stated why to a few and didn’t owe anyone an explanation. You could have sent me a PM and I would have been honest why, even giving you details. I have nothing to hide but to save others from embarrassing statements, the right place is PM or better yet off line through email.
Now that you consider me a failure, which maybe I am in your eyes, it really doesn’t matter because I set out to have this as a stepping stone to another means of generating revenue after 18 months of living hell. I didn’t select this because I wanted to see the world, have a paid vacation or any crap like that – I already seen the world and had my paid vacations and all the other stuff I did that goes long forgotten. Rather this is something I do now and something I actually consider being successful at within the limitations that I have been handed. Surly the word success is not used because I made a cr*p load of money or because of some definition of success that you espouse is needed but because I define success and only I do.
I didn’t say all of that because I am denial of any short comings I have, and believe me I have a lot but it is the truth and recognized by a lot of others. I haven’t given up and left the business, I haven’t lost my truck and I haven’t just decided I am not going to make it. There is a word that I use when I speak about this business, perseverance. That word means a lot to people who hear how hard it is and see me still in it and how I got here. And for the record, we are all hurting in this economy through our companies, which mean for some of us it is harder than you ever imagined.
Once upon a time you made it a point to say I was wrong when I said that the company makes or breaks you. You fought a lot of us when we said luck rather than knowledge is the mitigating factor in all of this – remember? Well when I tell others what this life is like, how one has to understand that the company is there for the customer and they have to be patient and look at things a lot differently than they ever have had to before, I throw in the thing about companies making you and about luck and top it off with the word perseverance. These are people who I not just discourage from making a mistake but to encourage being patient in when to enter into this business so they don’t make uninformed decisions and have a way out. I use other resources to talk to them about this business and actually tell people what I make and the mistakes I made with each company.
I figure you have some of that word in you, maybe more than I give you credit but not enough as far as I can see when you are so defensive and try to deflect what others are trying to tell you. This has happened for years and on other sites, so it is not an EO thing and hasn’t changed.
But here is what gets into my craw, you boasting about being an editor and then doing something very un-editor like, taking me on and making it really personal in the open. I have nothing to lose being here, I don’t make money by trying to build on my reputation, it don’t matter to my customers who I am or what I write about. But it seems you need to defend everything.
I feel that what you did as editor is actually beneath the editor, look at what you wrote. I think you need to take a serious step back and understand that a defense is one thing and I am not saying you shouldn't defend yourself but the need to be restrained to craft an appropriate response that is really to the point and concise. Maybe telling me that I was wrong and pointing out the positives of your piece while explaining what it really means to have someone call it a dissertation would have been more professional than the tirade you wrote. Restraining not to stoop to my level as a common member of EO but to remain above the fray as an editor really shows your experience and fortitude to get your point across. In other words when you say I don’t have a clue, I actually do.
What makes this worst is it is not properly representing EN and people who have faith in you to do a professional job, like Lawrence. It fully detracts from everything when you keep going on and on. It is like when I offered you a couple ideas to help you and you deflected those ideas, dismissing them as something along the lines that I am an idiot to suggest them. Take them Phil, claim them as you own and use them.
The funny thing is I have been cutting a lot of people slack, you don’t see it. You don’t see what I have done and why I sit at home at times on the phone with people helping them out with serious problems in this business. Sometimes I do this at my own expense – I know you won’t. You won’t do a lot of things but again, there is a big difference in agendas.
I have every right to be critical if it means someone will take my criticism and use it to prevent their own problems, I have been open about a lot of the problems I and others have faced, and you haven’t. The thing is starting at the bottom with only one way to go and it is a hell of a lot better than starting at the top and thinking you are special.
It is like you mocking me on my helping people learn how to drive a truck. It is not helping people ‘learn’ how to drive a truck but rather getting them over the fear of a larger truck to step up to a large tractor. I borrow a truck from GM, go over to a closed business and show people who have problems learning on a tractor. I show them how to backup in a dock, how to turn the truck and how not to hit me while I am directing them. I also teach people about maintenance, what tools are what and so on. I don’t make anything off of it, but could use the money. I was asked to help out by an instructor who discovered it so go ahead and mock me. What have you done?
In closing Phil, I want you to succeed as editor, I want EN and EO to flourish. I took a while to write all of this for your benefit, not mine and wanted to have this discussion somewhere between you and I but I was told I can’t control anyone.