For those of you who think you might be the only one who can’t stand to live and work in the normal way anymore. Where the default “shoulds” and rules of society don’t work for you – they don’t make you happy or satisfied or give purpose to your life – and even more, living life that way is making you miserable, dejected, broken.

Yes, this program is for those of you who are still in that stuck, broken place.

But this program is also for those of you who already made the big change.

You already quit the job or started the business or left the relationship or pulled your kids out of school or moved to a hut in the woods (with high speed internet, of course) … and while it’s sometimes been awesome and fulfilling and powerful …

It’s still hard.

And occasionally, you still have trouble having faith. You still feel crazy and scared and alone.

This program is to help you remember that you are not the only one.

That there are others just as crazy as you, who are figuring out how to live an extraordinary life, questioning all those default rules of society, and creating an existence that works for them.

This is a program for you to learn from and connect with your people. People crazy like you. 

As you know, I rarely recommend programs. I’m picky and know that most stuff is bullshit. And I’m protective of you guys – I don’t want you to get screwed.

But as I said when I originally reviewed this program when it came out two years ago, the Question the Rules program is different.

I’m listening to this program myself. And I’ve actually learned stuff. Stuff I’ve already applied in my business today.

I recommend that anyone who resonates with the Live Your Truth message consider Question the Rules 2.0 … and decide if it resonates with you.

Click Here to Get Question the Rules 2.0

If you have any questions about the program or whether it’s a good fit for you, ask in the comments below or contact me directly – and I’ll make sure your questions get answered asap.

Watch the Updated Video Review:

Watch the 2010 Review: I did a screen-capture video review of the program (see below), including a sneak peek of what’s actually inside. Check it out.

I’m sharing my recommendations of who should consider the program, what’s missing, and ideas of how to decide if it’s a great match for you.

(summary: if you’re scared, weird, and/or need to network, check this out.)

Click Here to Get Question the Rules 2.0

The above link are affiliate links — because you could pay them, or you could pay both me and them. If you don’t like that, just do a google search for what I’m talking about. I would *never* recommend something unless I have used it myself or have a relationship with the creator such that I am confident that the service/product is awesome. If you don’t like something that I have recommended, please let me know.

You say that what you are is “a real-time information network powered by people all around the world that lets you share and discover what’s happening now.”

You are so much more than that, my dear.

You are so much more than about sharing facts and figures, feelings and fascinations.

More than discovering the latest depressingly beautiful picture of the latest oil spill disaster, more than knowing which drunk celebrity went off on a photographer last night, more than learning what your customers think about your inability to test the antenna on your latest super phone.

No, honey, what you are is more profound and fundamental than you may ever know.

Twitter, what you do is reduce the transaction costs of people connecting with the mates of their souls.

And I don’t just mean the various levels of romance (even though yes, that can be had. ahem. cough cough.), and I don’t mean the one-soulmate-for-forever-for-each-of-us fantasy.

I mean connecting with those people who, for some reason, we need at this particular moment.

To help us with a problem. To show us where we are blind. To invite us to grow into the next level our our existence on their earth.

Whether what they provide is a better cup of coffee or a less expensive power cord for our iPhone or the step by step process to edit an iMovie video … or the core truth of our existence or our purpose here on this earth.

All of those connections, from the simple to the profound, are important.

Valuable. Expensive (in time and money) to find anywhere else.

(btw, when I say “people” – I mean individuals, friends, lovers. I mean coaches, consultants, mentors. I mean people who are part of business, agencies, corporations. However they are titled, whatever they are part of, twitter (and business, and life) is simply about people connecting with people.)

Yes, I’ve made money from my connections on twitter.

About 1/2 of my sales in the last 12 months, and a huge percentage of my business relationships – all come through twitter. Also had some fun stuff, like I got a fancypants person at AT&T to call when I threw a fit about my DSL, and got a free plane ticket to Toronto from Klout/Virgin America.

But that’s not the most important thing that happened for me.

I met or made the powerful connection with the most important people in my life via twitter.

These people are my best friends on this earth, who are the ones who support me when things get bad, who celebrate when things are fantastic, who love me for who I really am. Yes, we took it beyond you (skype, texting, email, facebook, telephone, face-to-face) to deepen the relationships.

But twitter is where the magical resonance first happened.

So thank you twitter, you changed my life.

Love,
@ElizabethPW

P.S. I wish you would let me pay you money, especially if that would mean I would get analytics and more uptime reliability. #justsayin

I write blog posts. I write emails. I write tweets. I write outlines for videos. I write marketing copy for the latest new things I’m launching.

It just hasn’t occurred to me to write for no reason.

No reason except that … that I need to. I need to see if I can still do it. I need to express that part of my truth. I need to share a piece of my soul.

And know that it doesn’t matter if anyone thinks it is good.

I mean, I’d like them to …

But I’m not desperate to sell poetry for food. I don’t have to sell that out. All I need to do is write something that is an expression of the real me.

But to create poetry, to create anything, I need time and space for that creation.

Time. Space. Things I have not felt for a very long time.

So, for the next 60 days I’m not launching anything.

No sales pages, no promotional emails, no “buy this now” tweets – nothing new.

I’m using some of the proceeds of the sale of my car to fund a 60 day sabbatical from sales & promotions.

Not that there is anything wrong with sales & promotions. (Of course not. This is not a non-profit.)

But because I need time to think. To walk. To adventure. To create. To write poetry. To twirl around a pole.

I need time to develop deeper relationships with you. Time to listen. Time to share.

I need time to create & deliver all of the content that I’ve already promised. To get everything out of my head onto paper/video, to have all the consulting sessions and answer all of the questions and do the video critiques and schedule the interviews.

I need time for new people to find Live Your Truth. Get that message out there, beyond the core group on twitter, Facebook, blog & email readers … to new people who have never heard of this world. And give them time to learn about us, develop relationships, start their own journey.

I need time to decide where in the heck Live Your Truth is going. I can’t physically deliver every program that’s in my head and that you’ve asked for (at least I can’t in the next six months) – so what programs do I launch in what order? Info products or classes or ebooks? Price points? Membership programs or one-time-only’s? I need to analyze what worked in the past with programs, ask you what you want, and think about what you really want but you’re not saying. I need some plans.

So here’s how it’s going to work.

I know there’s some of you who’ve been waiting for me to reopen stuff this month (like I’ve promised), and I don’t want to disappoint you – especially since I may not reopen anything again until January.

So here’s what I’m going to do – I’m reopening Build Your Tribe and my hourly Consulting for a few days – until Tuesday September 7th. To get in just comment below (or email me elizabeth [at] elizabethpw [dot] com) and I’ll send you the information you need to get you signed up.

Besides that – for the next 60 days, I’m concentrating on four things:

(1) thinking. not thinking. writing. space. walking. dancing. etc.

(2) delivering content for programs that already exist (Build Your Tribe, the Video Advanced Modules).

(3) developing relationships with you, my tribe.

(4) evangelizing Live Your Truth to new people.

In November I will be sharing the new Live Your Truth in Relationships course (a 10 month program, both personal & business relationships).

Besides that, I don’t know what’s next.

I’m so excited (and relaxed, unstressed, all in the flow) to go on this mini adventure, this promotional sabbatical with you.

So what’s up with you?

What phase are you in with your business or life? Do you need a break from launching or doing new stuff? What are you focusing on for the next 30, 60, 90 days?

Leave a comment below – I’d love to hear from you!

One week from today is the anniversary of me deciding to live my truth.

As I reflect on that journey over the last year, on what I’m writing and creating and my role in bringing this work to the world, I realized what’s been nagging me the last few months.

I’m not speaking the cutting edge of my personal exploration of my truth.

I created boundaries in the speaking of my truth that are meant to protect the sacred. To free me to explore relationships and care for my loved ones, in a place protected from examination from the outside world, so we have the space to be 100% ourselves.

I am still committed to providing that safe place for those people in my life.

But I’m not hiding out there anymore.

So here’s tonight’s confession that freaks me out to come out and say.

I’ve never been sure about monogamy.

Now, I’m all about serial monogamy.

I know I’m not built to sleep with more than one man at a time. I’ve never cheated in a relationship (which, in shock to me, is apparently a rare thing). Even in a casual dating or best-friends-with-benefits relationship, I get all dramafied if I have more than one going on. That’s where my most crazy comes from.

I’m everything or nothing.

What I’ve never been sure about is this forever thing.

Is it possible for two dynamic, ever-changing, self-aware people to grow together for the rest of their lives?

To stay together without falling into mediocrity, without one person (or both) compromising their truth, their growth, just to stay on the journey with the other?

Yes, maybe I feel this way because I’m recently divorced, and so many of my closest friends are either single-never-married, recently divorced or having marital problems.

Yes, maybe I feel this way because I’m in a radically high-growth, discovering my truth place in my life, and I’ll start evening out eventually.

Yes, maybe I feel this way because I haven’t recognized the guy for me yet.

But the thing is, I’ve always thought forever was bizarre.

When I was a little girl, regardless of the goals of my barbie dolls, I never dreamed about a country club wedding.

I’ve had many long term boyfriends, but I didn’t plan on marrying any of them. For me, at least, it was about spending time together and learning from each other, until our time was up.

I don’t expect to have the exact same best friends for the rest of my life – our friendships will evolve as we grow, as our life situations change. Some best friends morph into close friends. New people appear so we can learn and grow from each other.

But somehow I’m supposed to be with just one man?

Is it possible for a man to see the real truth of who I am, the woman I am evolving into, something I don’t even quite understand yet myself?

Is it possible for me to know if I’m capable of fulfilling everything a man needs from his partner, for the rest of his life?

Is forever just another cultural “should” that I don’t have to buy into?

Or … am I just being chicken shit?

Is being completely vulnerable, taking that ultimate risk of letting another human all the way in, past that last wall that has always stayed up …

… is that the pushing of my boundaries I must do to discover my truth?

Is the potential of forever a necessary step in the evolution of my soul?

#thingsthatwillbecontinued #obviously

—-

Update –> P.S. This post was written at 1 AM. And it was exactly how I felt at the time, and how I’ve been feeling for years.

But it’s not exactly the truth.

This morning my resident caller of bullshit Ken Moorhead skyped me his reaction to this post.

And he was right.

This post is how I feel, but it’s a lie. A lie I’m telling to myself.

I’m scared of getting my heart broken over and over, broken in that profound way that only happens if you’re looking for forever.

It’s much easier to lose faith, to hide behind “forever is not reasonable” – than to open myself up to receive what might be possible.

And be disappointed.

As I read this post, I realize that my soul did not write it – it was written by that chickenshit part of me who wants to keep me small & safe.

So, fuck all that.

The truth is I do want forever.

Eventually. Even though I really can’t deal with it right now. The truth is I do believe it’s possible.

And the truth is that I’m willing to do the work and take the risks to find it. Or be open to it finding me.

#thatisall

#notatruestory

No, I’m not going to talk you into this with bullshit promises of fame and glory. That’s not my job.

My job here is to help you make a decision – yes or no. Anything but a maybe.

So in honor of you, of this program, of my purpose in empowering you to live your truth, here’s my guide on how to make the decision to buy Build Your Tribe.

Read the information. Watch the videos. Ask me any questions that come up for you.

For some of you, that will be it. You’ll know, and you’ll join us on the adventure.

And for some of you, you’re still not sure.

You’re still worried, concerned it may not work for you, unsure if spending the $97 pre-sale price is a good investment for your business, for your life.

So for you, I ask you to sit quietly and check in with yourself.

That feeling of uncomfortable – where is it coming from?

Does it feel slimy, coming from the outside of your body? Does it feel like you “should” buy this, that if you don’t buy it you’re missing out on something everyone else will know? Does it feel like this is the thing that will “save” you from yourself? Am I talking you into it, even though your gut knows better?

If that’s you, then don’t buy it.

That feeling of uncomfortable is your soul talking to you, saying that this is not the right program for you today. (Maybe it will be later, and you’ll join us next time. Either way, I still love you and you’re still in my tribe.)

Or … does that uncomfortable feel bubbly? Nervous? Excited-scary?

Is your brain making logical excuses for why you shouldn’t spend the money, why it won’t work for you, why you’re not ready or how you already know this stuff? Are you feeling weird about pushing your boundaries, being yourself online, revealing your truth to the world, taking big steps you’re not quite sure you’re up for yet?

If that’s you, today is the day. Build Your Tribe is for you.

That’s just your ego talking, that reptilian part of your brain who is trying to keep you mediocre and safe, who’s trying to make sure you don’t take any risks, that you keep to the rules of your industry or culture or family and do what everyone else is doing.

You deserve more.

Your business, your message, your story, your calling on this earth deserves more.

Join us for Build Your Tribe right now.

Don’t wait any longer to start creating the rest of your life.

#thatisall

the most important resource in building your tribe are your evangelists.

If you want to learn more about building your tribe –> next week I’m launching the pre-sale of Build Your Tribe, the new program to teach you how to find those people who resonate with you and build relationships to revolutionize your business & your life. Learn more and get on the First Dibs list (it will only be open for 3 days!).

How do you want to be acknowledged for spreading the word about your favorite people, programs, & brands?

How do you thank members of your tribe for passing you along to their people?

I’d love to hear your ideas, feedback, and comments below!

And I don’t mean that crazy stalking that results in me unfollowing & blocking some creepy dude at one in the morning while I’m in Vegas because he is suggesting he may drive across 4 states to find me. #truestory

I mean keeping up with the most important people in your business.

The most important people in your life. Not missing those most important tweets.

And this is hard to scale. I mean, I obviously can’t read all of the tweets of the 13K people who follow me.

And no, I don’t use Tweetdesk or Semantic or any of the twitter clients or applications to manage my stalking.

I use twitter lists.

No only do I love using twitter lists on twitter.com from my desktop or laptop (I typically have 4-5 tabs open in Chrome to do this), now Tweetie 2.0 on my iPhone can also access my twitter lists, so I can effectively stalk from anywhere.

Here’s how I use twitter lists to maintain my most important relationships and make additional connections with my tribe.

1. Stalking in real life.

When I went to South by Southwest in March, I dreaded being in downtown Austin overflowing with 11K people at SXSW interactive (plus thousands more at the film & music festivals). How could I possibly find the people most important to me?

So, I created a SXSW twitter list of my twitter connections going to SXSW. Now I could easily use Tweetie on my iPhone to find out who was doing what at any particular time. I could find out who was having coffee where, what bar they were going to, who was at what session, who was missing because they were still in their hotel room. And hunt them down.

I have also used location based twitter lists to develop a network of connections before I visit & have a tweetup (like Chicago, SF, San Diego, Canada), have a list of awesome people who I’m stalking and want to connect with in real life, and a list of people who I’ve tweeted up with so I can remember to connect with them again online.

2. Stalking online.

There are some people for whom I don’t want to miss anything they say on twitter. And there are others for whom I want to catch most of what they say.

For business, I use lists like my private “rock star” list (179 people, changes weekly), and my lists of members of Live Your Truth and #lytchat.

For fun, I keep a list of people who are inappropriate (yes, as you know, always need a bit more snark in my life).

For me, I want to keep track of all my best friends. So I’ve created a private twitter list just of those 7 BFFs. And I pretty much read all of their tweets. #powerstalkingFTW

Why do I keep my “rock star” and “bff” lists private? Because those are just for me. It’s not an objective standard I’m using for those lists. It’s pretty much just who I feel like reading today.

3. To enable others to stalk each other.

I’ve created lists to facilitate different parts of my community to connect with each other. Lists for INFJs, #lytchat and for members of Live Your Truth.

Here’s the secret tip – if you care about building relationships & creating a tribe – the most effective thing you can do is to empower your tribe to build relationships with each other.

Relationships that don’t necessarily involve you, but you were the thing that brought them together. Not only does this strengthen your tribe, but it cements you in their minds as the connector. The nexus.

Have you seen other effective uses of twitter lists?

Are you using twitter lists?

I love to hear your experiences, feedback, and questions below!

This post started out as a post-sxsw rant. Against how some people got big as a result of being in the right place at the right time but are not really going anywhere, so now they have that defensive “look how cool I am and how many big A-lister names I can drop” thing going on. Ick.

And then it changed into a post-sxsw worry. About how people are lonely. Left out of the VIP room. Buried in their iPhone instead of engaging. About how people are wandering the halls looking for connection and instead just finding pitches and panels and Zone bars.

And then it changed into a post-sxsw love fest. Rejoicing in how the profound parts of sxsw don’t happen in the seminar room, they happen in coffee houses and margarita bars and vege wrap restaurants. Sitting on the floor of the hallway sharing a powerstrip or hanging out with someone on the corner of 8th and Congress.

But now, two weeks after sxsw, I realized what is post is about. What sxsw is about. What my business is about.

People are terrible. They are full of bullsh*t and fear and think they need to cut others down to keep themselves from going backwards.

People are lonely. They are full of worry and stress and think they might be the only one who feels this way.

People are amazing. They are full of joy and sharing and think that we are capable of changing the world if we just all come together and help each other fulfill our purposes.

Bottom line – people are human.

We are capable of anything. Of causing great pain to others and ourselves. Of withdrawing and hiding our brilliance from the world. Of caring and courage and deep, intimate connections to each other and the beyond.

And that is why I started my business.

Why I have not quit. Why I’m going to keep doing this, maybe for as long as I’m on this earth with you.

Because I can never be finished with people.

There are six billion of us, chaotic and mysterious and changing every day. And unlike all of the other things that I have studied – mathematics, chemistry, environmental studies, law, finance – people (which is what business & marketing is all about), well, I’ll never be done. I’ll never have mastered how people work.

So instead of a rant, or a worry, or a love fest … I forgive those who are being lame out of fear. I’m developing new programs & events to help those who have lost faith. And, I’m so freaking excited to come together with those who want to make a difference with each other, and the world.

So perhaps instead of concluding how terrible, helpless, or awesome people are, instead of concluding anything, let’s rejoice in how infinitely complicated we are. How we are capable of everything.

And … let’s get started on the awesome parts of everything, shall we?

(photo of me, @unmarketing, @nummiesbras & @couchsurfingori at Techkaraoke, courtesy of Pinqued)

But in the age of social media, of being able to connect with people via twitter, facebook, phone, email, skype … why do we need to go to live events at all?

Why go to seminars and conferences to learn? Why not just learn new stuff via information products and

Why do we need in real life?

Are you coming to SXSW? Make sure we find each other!!

And … what have you got out of meeting people in real life?