Generate passive income from Linkedin

Most people on Linkedin are not aware of how they can use Linkedin to generate an interesting source of passive income. So I created a flowchart map to show how it can be done.

This map is worth a FORTUNE, but you can download it for free here: http://linkedinmastermind.wordpress.com. Good luck!

Create a product to make a fortune on Linkedin

In a previous post, I coined the word "productional" to refer to people who are creating a product, in contrast to professionals who are offering a professional service.

Since a product can be sold to almost anyone almost anywhere on the planet, thanks to the Internet and FedEx, then the sooner you become a productional, the sooner you can achieve financial freedom.

Linkedin, in particular, enables productionals to sell their products to potentially 25 million buyers.

There are actually ways to combine your service with your product, and Stan Davis does a marvelous job of explaining this in his little book BLUR -- the speed of change in the connected economy. That book is definitely a must-read for anybody who wants to achieve prosperity in the new, Internet-based economy.

Don't worry if you don't have time to read the book, I'll provide a quick summary soon.

For now, I'd like to invite you to seriously think about this possibility: that Linkedin, which is valuated at one billion dollars, could actually enable YOU to get very, very rich.

First, let's talk about how much you are currently earning.

The average Linkedin user has a household income of $102,000.

It's not bad, but at that rate, nobody is going to get rich -- let alone be able to retire financially free.

The key is to be able to LEVERAGE Linkedin in order to build your fortune.

I'm talking about a high six-figure in passive income.

Now, please understand I'm NOT talking about "using" Linkedin. When you use Linkedin, Linkedin is using you back. It's a symmetrical exploitation, although Linkedin owners make money while you do not.

I'm talking about LEVERAGING Linkedin by connecting directly with every one of the 25 million users, and then offering them a product that will improve their lives. If the use value of that product is $100, and you charge only $20, then your fortune is made.

Like I often say in my business workshops, "If your price is right, your fortune is made."

Right now, like most Linkedin users, your price is $0.00. In short, you have no product to sell. So even if you had 1,000,000 direct connections, your profit is still zero (1,000,000 X $0.00 = $0.00).

In other words, the major constraint to making money from Linkedin has nothing to do with Linkedin itself, or the number of connections you have on Linkedin. It has to do with you. It has to do with your economic philosophy, which drives you to think of yourself as a "professional" and not a "productional."

You see, when you're a professional, only YOU can deliver value to a client. But when you are a productional (that is, you create and legally own the rights to a product), then thousands of people could potentially market and deliver your value to a market of thousands of buyers.

Here's my point: Linkedin is like a market of 25 million people who have significant purchasing power. They're all waiting to give you their money. But they want you to show what your product is.

I can teach you, for free, how to create an information product. I've done it several times before, and trust me, I make easy money. Send a blank email to peter@careerknowledge.net with "Register me to info-product creation course please" in the subject heading.

Blogging could advance your career

http://www.blogmastermind.com/video/ The above video explains some of the fundamentals of blogging. I know most Linkedin users won't quit their job tomorrow in order to blog full-time like Yaro Starak, but I do believe that you can gain valuable insights about how to leverage blogging to promote yourself and your career. For instance, you can create a blog and upload past work samples there. Your blog can be promoted in your Linkedin profile. If you package your professional knowledge into an ebook, you could also sell that ebook on your blog (using Payloadz or Lulu). This is, in fact, what I'm doing on my blog: http://peterswork.wordpress.com I'll write more about strategic career blogging. But feel free to create your own account at Wordpress or Blogger, and explore the possibilities. Personally, I use both Blogger and Wordpress. Blogger has the email-to-blog function, meaning that I can send an email to a specific address and it is instantly uploaded on my blog. Wordpress doesn't allow that, but it does track statistics so you know how many visitors you get.

Great news!

I have GREAT NEWS for you.

I'm giving away a course I created in May 2006, called the BMW workshop, which teaches entrepreneurs and professionals how to create value, build wealth and achieve financial independence.

I usually charge $800 to corporate clients, but I decided to give away this valuable course material to anyone who's interested.

I'm doing this because I feel it's my mission to empower people intellectually so they can be liberated economically and financially.

Indeed, three days after creating the workshop, I launched a blog (at http://businessmodelworkout.blogspot.com) where I stated the mission:

Our mission is to increase the business literacy of citizens so they can proactively take control of their economic affairs and achieve financial independence through the correct and practiced application of business principles to their career or business.

To receive this course for FREE, simply send a blank email to bmwcourse@gmail.com. The deadline for registering is September 1st, 2008 so please invite all your friends and Linkedin connections. They will NEVER forget your kindness!

Sure, I'll offer for sale a few reports, diagrams and mind maps here and there, but you don't have to buy anything. The course itself will be free if you register before September 15, 2008.

Most of the 280 subscribers to this blog know me as a blogger writing about Linkedin and networking strategies, but I'm fundamentally a wealth intellectual and instructional innovator.

In plain English, my talent is to be able to extract STRATEGIC and CRITICAL frameworks from books, white papers, workshops, seminars, etc. and to create NEW frameworks so as to empower people intellectually for economic autonomy and financial independence.

In short, I help people to get rich.

The BMW course is truly the best that I can come up with, so I hope it will help you to think clearly and strategically, so you can achieve financial freedom as soon as possible.

Good luck!

I'm giving away $9,000 to my Linkedin connections!

If you have 100 connections on Linkedin, you can easily make $1,000 by working only for 15 minutes. I'm not kidding!

As you can see in the above picture, I give $10 to my affiliates (and I keep a modest $7). But this is only for my Linkedin connections.

The BMW eBook is a 50-page document capturing the principles and techniques I've been teaching since May 2006 (at Tyark.com, CEFQ.ca, McGill University, chambers of commerce, etc.). This BWM workshop has been featured in the Montreal Gazette HERE.

So assuming my 900 connections make $10 each, then it's like me giving away $9,000!

However, an affiliate will usually be able to make much more. If you have 200 connections, then your net profit could be 200 X $10, or $2,000.

It takes only 15 minutes to insert the purchase link in your email signature and on your Linkedin profile or Facebook profile.

Please note that the BMW eBook is just the first of a series of ebooks I'm currently writing (there are 20 more ebooks coming up!).

Contact me asap if you're interested in monetizing your Linkedin connections: peter@careerknowledge.net.

Launch of Linkedin Mastermind

I just created a new Linkedin blogzine here: http://linkedinmastermind.wordpress.com. Feel free to register as a subscriber by clicking on the link at the top righthand corner.

It's an elite version of this blog, and it will contain secrets NOT posted on Linkedin User Manual. Subscription cost will be $200 in a few weeks, so please register as soon as you can!

Acquire LOTS of marketable skills for free!

I've been thinking about an open-source system where highly skilled and knowledgeable people could get together and exchange expertise and skills.

I call it S.E.N.S.E. (for Skills Exchange Network for Strategic Empowerment).

Since I have over 900 connections on Linkedin, perhaps Linkedin is a good place to launch such a promising system, where people can become members and learn from one another.

This would work like those language exchange clubs, where two people get together to learn one another's language. For example, an English native gets together with a Japanese native and for the first half-hour, they speak only in Japanese (this would improve the Japanese conversational skills of the English native). Then, for the second half-hour, they speak only in English (for the learning benefit of the Japanese person).

In the case of S.E.N.S.E., it is not language skills that are learned but all kinds of skills, including:

Project management
Direct marketing
Marketing research
Operations
Quality control and assurance
Leadership
Team management
Finance
Entrepreneurship
Effective written communications
Knowledge management
etc.

The list can be quite exhaustive. The point is that we are all experts at something, and we could all learn from other people who are knowledgeable at something.

S.E.N.S.E. makes sense!

Now WHY would you join such a skill-exchange network?

1. Your employer will ONLY train you on skills that are SPECIFIC to your job. Your market value might not necessarily be increased as a result of such company-specific training. SENSE enables you to pick up valuable skills while networking with knowledgeable people.

2. SENSE leverages the existing connections on Linkedin. For example, you can just invite all your connections to SENSE so that everybody can learn from everybody else.

3. Skype enables worldwide phone communications, so this dramatically expands the number of people you can learn from!

4. SENSE screens applicants so only people who are experts or highly knowledgeable in their field, will be admitted. This guarantees that you will learn useful and practical knowledge.

5. Membership is FREE so SENSE will grow fairly rapidly. Joining gives you benefits, while not joining might cause you to fall behind relative to others in your profession or industry. Note: Membership is FREE but is by invitation only from existing members, and is subject to approval by the SENSE team. That is, ONLY experts and highly knowledgeable people are admitted. Also, all members must buy the SENSE User Guide on Payloadz, which costs $27. This Guide ensures that all SENSE members behave in a way that facilitates knowledge-sharing for the benefit of all.

6. If you work for a small company, the training budget is usually small. So SENSE can help you to acquire valuable skills that will advance your career.

7. Through interactions with other members, you will learn WHICH part of your knowledge is most valuable, so you can focus on developing that knowledge in order to continually increase your market value.

If you are interested in joining the SENSE network, please email me at peter@careerknowledge.net with "Register me for SENSE please" in the subject heading. No need to write anything else. The SENSE team will communicate with you for the next steps. Thanks.

Offer something valuable to all your connections!

I'm currently translating, from French to English, an ebook that will be distributed to all the 21 million users of Linkedin. If you read French, you can download that ebook immediately at www.superquebec.org (password is "superquebec").

The problem, of course, is that I have only 900 connections on Linkedin. So I'll need the collaboration of many Linkedin users in order to distribute that valuable ebook about a revolutionary way to design and develop one's ideal career.

If you wish to participate, the following text will appear on the cover of that ebook: "This special ebook has a regular value of $50 and is being offered free of charge to you, courtesy of (your name here)."

In other words, as a sponsor of this ebook, you will generate a lot of goodwill from all the people in your Linkedin network. For my part, I benefit from your distributing this ebook to your connections. The reader benefits from receiving a valuable ebook for free.

Everybody wins!

This ebook is only the first ebook I'm publishing. I'm planning on publishing more ebooks this way, and I call it "hyperpublishing."

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, please contact me at peter@careerknowledge.net and mention "Request information on ebook sponsorship opportunity." Remember, you are NOT paying anything and you are generating goodwill among your Linkedin connections so they appreciate the fact of being connected to you. This offer ends on June 30, 2008. Thank you.

Professional vs Productional

I coined the word "productional" to refer to talented people who are creating a product, in contrast to talented people -- called professionals -- who are offering a professional service.

Since a product can be sold to almost anyone almost anywhere on the planet, thanks to the Internet and FedEx, there seems to be more economic leverage to be exploited.

That is, productionals could be making much more money than professionals.

Note: I provide a detailed report on this topic to subscribers of this blog. Please register via the top, righthand corner to receive this special report.

But let me share with you now the main differences between a productional and a professional.

A productional focuses on creating more and more products. of increasingly higher quality, to be distributed to all potential clients.

A professional, in contrast, cannot do this since he has to serve clients one at a time (or, in some cases, several at a time. Lawyers, for instance, can handle several cases at any given point).

A productional focuses more on efficiency while a professional focuses more on effectiveness (his employing organization focuses on efficiency).

The question then arises, "Which is better, to be a professional or a productional?"

In a world without Internet, being a professional seems better. In today's world, however, where the Internet enables the quasi-instant distribution worldwide of digital content created by one's intellect and imagination, it seems better to be a productional.

The overwhelming majority of Linkedin users are professionals (and managers, whom I consider to be management professionals), not productionals.

Why? If the concept of a productional is better, financially speaking, why aren't more people productionals?

I guess it's a new idea, so it needs time to catch on. But it will catch on pretty fast given the serious financial payoff involved.

More and more professionals are writing ebooks in order to promote their expertise. There are many tutorials on Youtube about how to create an ebook and sell it over the Internet.

As more and more people realize that the knowledge in their heads is actually GOLD, they will aggressively seek to market their expert knowledge. For some, this will be a second career whose income will complement the income from their daytime job. Note that this second income is PASSIVE income, that is, they make money without having to work. Sites like Payloadz enables them to make money without doing much.

As these productionals become more and more efficient in the marketing of their ebooks (or other kinds of digital content, like DVDs), they will reduce their "professional" activities and concentrate more on their "productional" activities.

Although I foresee a wholesale shift, in the worldwide population of professionals, toward a product-based career, this will not happen overnight, nor will it happen without much toil and hard work and struggling.

But this mega shift will happen nonetheless for the simple reason that people hate to lose. And when they (the professionals) begin to see people around them (the productionals) make lots of money via the commercialization of their expert ebooks, they will want in. Because they definitely do not want to lose out on this huge opportunity to generate passive income from their expert knowledge.

Make $$$ on Linkedin by creating a digital document

Search for Eben Pagan on Google or Youtube, and you'll quickly find out he created a $20 million information business within 6 years. Not bad.

He started by writing, in one week, an ebook to give dating advice to men. That's how it all started for him.

This is proof positive that one can make a fortune with an information product.

Of course, he didn't use Linkedin nor Facebook. So you DO have an edge. But you have to learn how to create a valuable digital document first.

Headhunters make a lot of money from Linkedin, and I'm happy for them. Those who really care about putting talented people in a position where they can shine while contributing to the continued success of the employer, definitely deserve success and recognition.

But what about the rest of us, at Linkedin, who are not headhunters or recruiters? How do we monetize our participation on Linkedin? After all, time is money.

Creating an information product that is valuable to Linkedin users, is one way. There are writers who specialize in helping people to capture their valuable knowledge and expertise in the form of an ebook. I'd be glad to recommend a few if you're interested.

Another way is to create a virtual service, which can be delivered via Skype, regular phone line, email, instant messaging, etc. Consultants and experts are best qualified to make money this way.

But the bottom line is that whether you sell a product or a service, you first have to buy trust. Having 500 connections on Linkedin does not mean that 500 people trust you. And if they don't trust you, they are unlikely to buy anything from you.

Fortunately, there IS a surefire way to buy trust from ALL your connections. It's a secret that few people know.

I will share that secret in my next post.

The key to wealth for Linkedin users

Facts:

1. Everybody wants to make more money
2. To make more money, one must sell more (of one's services and/or products, or of others' services and/or products)
3. To sell more, one must BUY more trust, confidence, goodwill, etc.
4. To buy more trust (from potential buyers), one must GIVE value. Lots of value. Frequently. Without any strings attached.
5. The only thing that one can give away to (thousands of) potential buyers WITHOUT impoverishing oneself, is a digital document (text, video, audio, etc.).

Conclusion:

The key to making more money (possibly a fortune!), is to thoroughly understand point #5 and master it.

The discussion above points to an important insight for all Linkedin users: it doesn't matter whether you have 100 or 10,000 connections.

What matters critically is whether you have a useful, valuable digital document to give away, for free, to all your connections. If you are able to create such a document, then it will be easy to secure people's goodwill and trust.

It will then be easier to sell products and services to them (whether they are your own or somebody else's -- in this case, you would act as an affiliate or reseller).

I will write more about how to create such a super-critical digital document.

Answers to your requests

Several subscribers have selected the following requests from a previous post, so let me briefly address these issues. I will write in greater detail about each question.

LUM 001 - Please write more about how I can make money by using Linkedin

It's important here to understand that making money from one's products, is quite different from making money from one's services. Then, within the services category, one must distinguish between services that can be delivered virtually (i.e. through Skype, email, instant messaging, etc.) vs services that must be delivered in person (i.e. hairdressing, massage, etc.).

It's also important to understand that a network (such as one's network of connections on Linkedin) is different from a market. A market is a homogeneous group of buyers, and they usually share a common characteristic such as age, educational level, income, interest, etc. So because they are homogeneous in at least one dimension, they are likely to respond similarly to a marketing offer.

So it is critical to carefully segment one's connections on Linkedin. For example, I group all the CEOs together, or group all the professional together, or put in a group all the entrepreneurs. This way, I can send a specific marketing offer to EACH group.

LUM 002 - Write about how I can increase the number of connections I have

This request is actually badly formulated, now that I think of it. The strategic consideration should be, "How can I get connected to the specific people that I want to connect to, such as entrepreneurs, CEOs, mothers, etc."

For instance, if you're selling a product that is targeting mothers, then it would make sense for you to find a way to spot mothers on Linkedin.

LUM 004 - Write about how I can find a better job by using Linkedin

LUM 006 - Write about how I can use Linkedin to study my competitors

One way is to ask a question on Linkedin, something like: "I'm launching a service called XYZ. Would you know of direct or indirect competitors in that space?"

LUM 007 - Write about how I can use Linkedin to generate leads for my professional services

Business is war, and war is very much like chess. Sometimes, one must give up one's rook in order to capture the opponent's king.

In plain English, it means you should offer a free service so that your clients can see how good you are, and they would return to you. The lifetime client value will more than compensate for your loss of income during that first free service. For example, if you charge $100 for a service and give it away for free on the first visit, you can make several times that amount after the client has been satisfied and comes back to you.

General principle: to generate leads, give away something valuable for free.

LUM 008 - Write about how I can use Linkedin to generate leads for my products

Same answer as above.

LUM 009 - Write about how I can use Linkedin to become a millionaire

I know several secrets for becoming a millionaire, but if I tell you, I will have to kill you right after. :-)

Here's a tip for now: "Focus on what you do best, AND knock on every door."

In other words, "Excellence opens all doors."

Okay, enough mysterious aphorisms, let me be blunt and direct because there's a lot of money at stake here! You must create value worth $100, then put it in people's hands so they can experience it, and then charge them $10. Do this for a million people and you'll become a millionaire.

Last time I checked, Linkedin has 21 million users. It's not necessary for you to be personally connected to all of them. You can create an affiliate marketing program so that others get 30-40% of the sales. If you're really, really bold, you could also give them 100% of the sales, that is, they net 100% in profit. You can make money by upselling and cross selling to the clients that you get.

LUM 010 - Write about how I can use Linkedin to find affiliate opportunities

Find an author who wrote a book, and propose to him an affiliate deal where you get 30% of the sales to the people in your network. For instance, if a book sells for $50, then you get $15 every time one of your connections orders the book.

LUM 015 - Write about how I can use Linkedin to market my knowledge

This is a very complex, but highly enjoyable process. First, you've got to know what it is that you know that is worth something to someone. Then, find that someone and give it to him/her.

I will write more about this. It's about "monetizing your intellect."

LUM 016 - Write about how I can use Linkedin to refine my knowledge

Participate on Linkedin Answers by asking interesting questions and formulating interesting, helpful answers.

LUM 017 - Write about how I can use Linkedin to acquire new skills

Send an email to all your connections and list the skills you can teach someone, over the phone, and the skills you would like to learn from someone.

In fact, I'm planning to create a Linkedin-wide network where people can exchange skills. Stay tuned!

Tell me what you want me to write about

Below is a list of "codes" that you can use to request an article. For example, email me at peter@careerknowledge.net with the code (ex. "LUM 001") in the subject heading of your email. No need to write anything in the email.

I will then write an article or many articles on the topic you chose.

This is an example of on-demand blogging! I believe I am the first in the world to do this kind of thing.

LUM 001 - Please write more about how I can make money by using Linkedin
LUM 002 - Write about how I can increase the number of connections I have
LUM 003 - Write about how I can find business partners or joint venture partners
LUM 004 - Write about how I can find a better job by using Linkedin
LUM 005 - Write about how I can use Linkedin to find hot dates (just kidding)
LUM 006 - Write about how I can use Linkedin to study my competitors
LUM 007 - Write about how I can use Linkedin to generate leads for my professional services
LUM 008 - Write about how I can use Linkedin to generate leads for my products
LUM 009 - Write about how I can use Linkedin to become a millionaire
LUM 010 - Write about how I can use Linkedin to find affiliate opportunities
LUM 011 - Write about how I can use Linkedin to create new products
LUM 012 - Write about how I can use Linkedin to find (or steal) product ideas
LUM 013 - Write about how I can use Linkedin to learn more about business or management
LUM 014 - Write about how I can use Linkedin to advance my career
LUM 015 - Write about how I can use Linkedin to market my knowledge
LUM 016 - Write about how I can use Linkedin to refine my knowledge
LUM 017 - Write about how I can use Linkedin to acquire new skills

The end of your career

WARNING: After you read this post, you'll think I'm a crazy person. Like one of those white-bearded fellows who think they are prophets and can accurately predict the End of the World while shouting, "It's Judgment Day! Repent! Repent!"

Well, I'll take my chances because I believe this insight could help you to think in new ways and, quite possibly, help you to MAKE A FORTUNE.

Yes, I mean a fortune as in a net worth of US$1 million. 33 million Americans already have such net worth (which, by the way, does not include the value of the residence you live in).

So here's my "prophecy": The end of your career is coming. (But there's no need to repent, you didn't do anything wrong or naughty. At least, not that I'm aware of.)

In fact, your "career" mostly likely never existed. You were just used as a human resource to power the business engine called "the company" or "the corporation."

I know many people might be offended when reading this, and might decide to crucify me. But please, hear me out. Put down the wooden cross, the hammer and the nails. Please.

A career can be defined in so many ways, but the best way is to consider a spectrum with "laborism" on the left end and "productism" on the right end.

If you're working for McDonald's, then you're labor. You're easily replaceable. This doesn't mean the job is not good, because many young or inexperienced people could learn a lot by entering the workforce with a McJob. I myself, at age 16, began working in a fast food restaurant and I learned a great deal.

On the other hand, if you're a graphic designer working for an ad agency, then you're closer to the "productism" end, since you actually do create a product which you may decide to include in your portfolio.

Whether or not you own the product you created, is a complicated matter that I'll discuss in a future post.

But right now, for the sake of discussing how "vulnerable" or "solid" your career is, let's focus on where you are on the laborism-productism spectrum.

My main point is that the more your work focuses on creating a product, the faster or sooner you will achieve financial independence. With the Internet and Fedex, your time to financial freedom is even dramatically shortened if you have a product to sell that has near-universal appeal.

Most Linkedin users are, in fact, facing only one major obstacle to becoming financially free: they do not know how to create a product.

The average Linkedin user is 39 years old, and has a household income of $140,000. That's not a lot. It's about $70,000 per person.

A mid six-figure income would be acceptable.

The best way to earn an income of $500,000, of course, is to create a product and then spam everybody.

I'm just kidding. Create an information product, then sell it to people who could benefit from it.

That's what I mean when I say that everybody's career will end soon. That's because:

1. If your job involves mostly labor (and no creation of new products), then your job will soon be outsourced or automated.

2. If your job involves creating a product, then the employer owns ALL the legal rights to that product, including the intellectual property involved in creating it or resulting from it. In such a case, you will one day realize that you're being unfairly exploited and will quit your job to start your own business. Watch the movie The Spanish Prisoner for an entertaining and suspenseful treatment of this crucial topic of who should own the intellectual property.

In both cases, your career -- as you know it -- will end.

This is why so many people are flocking to Linkedin. They sense that something is wrong in the system, and they want to explore new ways to make a living. They want new economic options.

In my case, I quit corporate America in June 2000 when I was 31 years old. I've launched several successful businesses since then, and will likely retire financially wealthy before I'm 40 years old.

I'm becoming a global wealth consultant who sincerely desires to help people to achieve financial freedom. Read PowerKnowledge.net and subscribe to the free newsletter. You won't regret it.

The first thing I tell clients is, "Consider the possibility that your career is the biggest obstacle to your financial freedom."

Think about that for a while. I will write more on it.

How user-friendly are you? (part 2)

Networking is very much like dating. You've got to know, as precisely as possible, what you're looking for.

Blind dates doesn't work. (Well, if you're really desperate, they might work!).

Online dating sites also do not work. Of course, this does not mean they are completely useless. Sometimes, a shy person can create an account on those online dating sites and interact with others online in order to realize that we're all the same, and this might reduce her or his shyness.

But perhaps the main reason why online dating sites don't work is that they shift the focus to something external. Dating and effective networking is really about focusing on YOURSELF.

On what makes you truly unique or special.

I have 890 connections on Linkedin, and have not invited anyone (except perhaps a few people when I first joined Linkedin three years ago). People invite me, because they read my answers on Linkedin Answers. They know the value I'm bringing to the marketplace.

They know I'm going out of my way to make myself "user-friendly," by sharing my valuable information and knowledge as much as possible (through my blogs and Linkedin answers).

Often, I even share a lot of useful ideas and information in the form of questions I ask on Linkedin Answers!

My point is that in the networking game, you are only as useful as the information you share.

If your information and knowledge are not good or useful, well, don't be surprised if people hesitate to network with you.

The solution is very simple: share what you learn as soon as you learn it. Don't keep your knowledge to yourself. It will not benefit you, nor will it benefit your connections.

Why should you give away your valuable information and knowledge? Because of the universal law that says: "Giving starts the process of receiving."

If you want to receive MORE, all you have to do is give MORE.

I guarantee you that after you adopt the policy of giving away much of your valuable information, you will become very popular. And very connected.

Being well connected on Linkedin and in real life, puts you in the very best position to succeed in your career or business.

How user-friendly are you?

Networking today is dramatically different than it was 10 years ago, yet most people have not realized this.

It's no longer just about meeting people or even building "relationships." What does "relationship" mean anyway?

It's more about maximizing your utility to the members of your network.

In other words, make yourself "user-friendly." Make it EASY and CONVENIENT for people in your network to USE you, your knowledge, your experience, your judgment, etc.

As an aside, some people (especially headhunters and HR professionals) are actually doing the opposite: they spam their entire network with job ads that have absolutely no relevance to any member of their network. These folks are being blacklisted and are getting a bad reputation among the 21 million users of Linkedin, so they should revise their strategy of broadcasting unsolicited job positions.

Indeed, they are being of zero utility to their connections, YET they want to USE their connections. They run the risk of being perceived as unprofessional "peddlers" of untargeted job vacancies. As a headhunter or HR professional, once you lose your reputation, you lose everything.

But back to being "user-friendly." A good way is to send your connections a list of questions that you are qualified to answer. They can then just "copy and paste" the questions whose answers they want, and email them to you.

For instance, I would email the following questions to my connections:

1. What is KM and why should I, as a professional, care?
2. How can I repackage my human capital into solutions, products or services so I can quit the rat race and launch my own business?
3. What is the one secret about entrepreneurship that is not taught in any entrepreneurship program, without which the odds of success in business are dramatically reduced?
4. What is the mysterious process you went through, to create valuable and popular workshops at Talentelle.com?

Then, all my connections have to do is email me with the question number (e.g. 2, 4) in the subject heading of an email. I would then provide them with the answers.

The answers will be different for each connection, because as much as possible, I will customize the answer to the specific situation of the person asking the question.

So just look at your connections on Linkedin. If nobody has asked you any question, then you might not be useful to your connections.

It's not that you CANNOT be useful to your connections. It's just that you are not "user-friendly": that is, your connections do not know HOW to use you or your knowledge or your experience.

"User-friendly optimality" (UFO) must be consciously designed. In other words, you have to create specific systems, like my pre-written, numbered questions above, that enables your connections to use you.

Because the networking game is very simple: if they can't rely on you, you cannot rely on them.

You could have 500 connections, but that's just a fancy number without any practical value behind it if you are not being useful to your connections.

I will write more on UFO later.

Launch of Systematic Wealth newsletter (beta)

My friends, you are looking (above) at the prototype of a millionaire instrument! Indeed, newsletter publishing is one of the ten most common millionaire occupations!

My marketing plan is to offer this newsletter at a nominal fee to all the users of Linkedin (all 21 million of them).

You can subscribe for FREE, for a limited time, by sending me an email at omnidigitalbrain@yahoo.com with "Register me for Systematic Wealth please" in the subject heading. No need to write anything else. This offer is valid ONLY for subscribers of this blog.

To your fabulous success!

Should you reveal your connections?

If you're one of my Linkedin connections, you might have noticed that my connections are not viewable publicly.

I chose not to reveal my connections for a very simple reason: I have joint venture plans of a very confidential nature, so an astute competitive intelligence specialist would easily infer, from the CEOs or other executive-level persons I'm connected, what my future plans are.

However, to increase transparency and thus enable everyone to "see" everyone else, I will publish a monthly newsletter soon to share stories about what's going on in my network of 860+ connections.

This way, all my connections can see what other people in my network are doing that is interesting, and can contact them directly and invite them to connect on Linkedin.

In the end, whether you choose to reveal or not reveal your connections is really your decision to make.

Except for a few rare situations, either decision is fine and will not prevent you from fully benefitting from Linkedin.

Your mind determines the scope of opportunities

What you consider to be impossible for you, basically sets the boundaries of your mind.

In other words, if you consider something to be impossible for you to achieve, then your mind will NOT consider opportunities for you to test (and possibly disprove) your assumption.

For instance, if you think it's impossible for you to make $10,000 in 5 hours, then you will naturally avoid or even ignore such opportunities.

In my case, I was able to make $10,000 in 5 hours a few years ago, so that experience has expanded my mind as to what I could achieve.

It's the same principle at work when you use Linkedin.

If you believe it's possible for you to find a five-figure client through Linkedin, then your mind will consciously and subconsciously search for such opportunities until you find it.

In other words, our minds are like "flashlights": opportunities will emerge, from the darkness of the timespacemind abyss, only if we project the light of our mind on them.

I know, this sounds like weird esoteric stuff, but trust me, without this deeper understanding of how reality unfolds and, in particular, how a person's life is totally determined by himself/herself, Linkedin will only remain a sophisticated Rolodex or contact management system.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with Linkedin being used as a virtual Rolodex or a powerful contact management system.

But to create wealth for oneself by using Linkedin will require a more subtle understanding of how we can use our minds to shape certain life experiences that occur within our waking consciousness.

For example, when we sleep, we are absolutely unaware of what is going around us, whether in our bedroom or in any room of the house -- or anywhere in the city, for that matter.

Only by waking up can we begin to see the objects and events happening around us, and to take action based on what we perceive.

Similarly, most users on Linkedin are still asleep and do not yet "see" the real opportunities being offered by Linkedin.

I will write more on how a person can "awaken" and learn to use Linkedin as a vast and expanding pool of economic agents who can work for her, and for whom she can work -- in win-win partnerships.

Linkedin is a tool for financial freedom

Many people use Linkedin for career purposes, and there's nothing wrong with that.

But the minority who use it for business purposes -- to continually build and refine, in a compounding fashion, their competitive advantages while multiplying marketing options and accelerating sales cycles -- those are the ones who get rich.

What do I mean by "continually building and refining one's competitive advantages"?

I mean you have to keep getting better and better at doing what matters most to your clients.

If you're an accountant, and you spend your time on Linkedin Answers answering questions that have little to do with accounting, that's not good.

But suppose you do spend your time answering questions that are related to accounting, the next question is, "Would you be able to gather all your answers into an eBook and offer it to your existing clients? Would they appreciate that eBook?" If the answer is Yes, then your time spent on Linkedin Answers is worth it because it "builds and refines your competitive advantage," which in this case is your accounting expertise.

Ultimately, Linkedin can be a huge black hole into which a person's time will disappear. So we have to learn to use it strategically.

Multiplying connections without having a clear goal, is another example of not using Linkedin strategically. If you don't have a clear product or service to sell, then you could have 10,000 direct connections and it still would not make a difference to your bank account.

Let's take a real example to see how important it is to have a product that you can sell through Linkedin.

Imagine Person A, who has 500 connections but no product to sell. Then imagine Person B, who has only 50 connections, but has an ebook that he sells for $20.

Person B is ahead of the game, since he could easily identify people in his Linkedin network who have 500+ connections, and propose an affiliate deal with them: they can inform their connections of the availability of the ebook, and they get 30% of sales.

Not only will Person B make more money that Person A, he will also be invited by his readers to join their Linkedin network.

In other words, Linkedin can be a powerful tool for achieving financial freedom if it is used strategically.

I've seen many sites talking about how to use Linkedin, but few of them mention any method or technique for making money with Linkedin.

Ultimately, making money is not rocket science nor is it that complicated. You've got to have a product, and you've got to sell it to the people in your network.

The biggest problem of Linkedin users

About 600 people in my Linkedin network have over 500 connections. That's great.

But assuming that most people eventually will have such a great number of connections, the real problem will be the following: How do I monetize my connections?

In fact, the problem can be more accurately formulated this way: What product do I offer to all my connections?

It doesn't even matter at what price you offer a product. For instance, if you offered an ebook priced at $5, then with 500 connections, you'd be making $2,500. And that's not even including the consulting gigs that might come from your readers, who are now (hopefully) convinced that you are the undisputed expert in your field.

However, if you do not have a product to sell to your connections, then having 10,000 connections will not help. Indeed, 10,000 X $0 = $0.

You could even have 100,000 connections, it still would not help you economically.

So why is it that Linkedin users do not sell a product like an ebook capturing their precious knowhow and expertise? Why don't they just hire a ghostwriter to interview them and put down on paper what they actually know, so they can begin to sell their ebook (which can be 20 pages long or 500) to their connections on Linkedin?

Mind conditioning.

People have been conditioned to think that you only earn money by working personally, that is, putting in the hours (whether you work from home or at the office).

We have never thought about the possibility of earning money WITHOUT working (that is, earning passive income through the selling of a document, whether it's an ebook, a DVD, etc.).

It's a bit like what Copernicus discovered, that the Earth revolves around the Sun, not the other way around. Similarly, we will all soon discover that our wealth is based on our knowledge in physical format, NOT on our personal services delivered to an employer.

This is not some fantasy of mine. Just look at the facts: authors like Anthony Robbins, Robert Allen, Robert Kiyosaki, Wayne Dyer, etc. became rich because they wrote books.

Personally, I don't know any employee who has become rich. In fact, the friends I have who are rich have created their own business.

So there you have it. The biggest problem of Linkedin users: How to create a product that can be sold through their Linkedin network.

Turn your network into a private army 0:12

Ultimately, we all want our network of connections to work for us.

In other words, I would LOVE IT if I could turn my personal network on Linkedin into my "private army." Since I have 850 connections, that would mean a private army of 850 soldiers and mercenaries working for me.

Is this just some fantasy of mine or could it become a reality some time soon?

I think it could become a reality. Recently, I exported all my contacts into an Excel spreadsheet and began to segment my connections into groups, like:

1. People with more than 500 connections (I've about 600 connections who each have more than 500 connections)
2. People who are CEOs (I've about a dozen)
3. People who are VPs (I've about 30)
4. People who are young, beautiful, single and talented ladies. I'm just kidding.

The next step is probably to contact these people and propose a deal with them. Sort of like "I'll scratch your back if you'll massage my feet" kind of thing.

Actually, let's keep it strictly business. I will do THIS for you if you'll agree to do THAT for me. Fair enough?

This, I believe, is the kind of blunt, candid, honest, down-to-Earth and direct approach most likely to yield business results.

But this requires that you know exactly what you're trying to do in your career, and therefore what you need from your connections; it also requires that you know precisely what you have to offer to others.

Of course, what you offer and what you need, will vary depending on the group you're talking to. In my case, the groups (as listed above) will be able to help me or benefit from me in different ways.

For instance, the VPs can get me into their corporations because I'm selling a valuable, exclusive and revolutionary career management framework that will help them in their war for talent.

The people with 500+ connections, on the other hand, could become affiliates and sell my products via the Web (in which case they make 30% on sales).

My point is that it is possible to turn your network into an army who will work for you IF you will work for them. But to know precisely what you can do for them, and what they can do for you, requires a systematic method of segmenting your "population of connections."

In other words, creating such homogeneous groups will make it easier for you to talk to them and offer them something that they find relevant and useful.

Intellectual employment 0:13

If you had to choose between being employed vs being unemployed, I'm sure you would choose the former. This is because having a job will give you money.

However, the challenge of most Linkedin users is not finding a job; most already have a job.

But not all jobs are equal. For the sake of this discussion, I will distinguish between two types of jobs:

1. A job where you use your brain creatively
2. A job where you do not use your brain creatively

Jobs in category 1 include: graphic designers, architects, engineers (especially those who designs stuff), writers, consultants, high-level and creative sales positions, etc.

Jobs in category 2 include: operational managers, accountants (a "creative" accountant is one that probably will land in jail!), customer service, low-level ("order-taking") sales positions, etc.

Why is it important to distinguish between these two types of jobs? Because one leads to wealth while the other perpetuates economic enslavement.

In other words, people in #1 jobs are able -- if they wish to -- become independent professionals or free agents. They can also launch their own professional practice or business ventures. There are in the U.S. about 21 million such businesses run by a solo owner / operator.

#1 jobs lead to wealth because not only do you make money from doing your job, you also create "intellectual capital" which you normally own if you run your own business, or whose ownership you explicitly transfer to the employer if you're an employee. This transfer of intellectual property rights is not necessarily bad since that's the fair price to pay for having an employer organization that provides you with the tools, resources, working environment and clients so you can practice the art of intellectual capital creation.

Linkedin can be quite useful for a person who currently has a #2 job and wants to find a #1 job, that is, one where he can develop his creative abilities and generate new solutions.

#1 jobs are more secure in the new global economy because most uncreative jobs will be outsourced, automated or handled by expert systems and artificial intelligence.

Secret strategic plan

Have you ever wanted to see the secret strategic plan of a multimillion-dollar Internet startup?

Now you can. At http://pkstrategicplan.wordpress.com. (Password: worlddomination).

I know it sounds crazy that I'm sharing with the world my secret business plan. It does feel like some sort of commercial harakiri.

But this idea is not as crazy as it sounds. Perhaps you can even do something similar to get your Linkedin connections engaged in a mutually beneficial conversation with you.

(By the way, that's another secret on how to use Linkedin effectively: it's not just about connections, it's mainly about conversations. Connection (or agency) is mostly a male thing while conversation is a feminine thing. And a feminine approach to Linkedin might be more effective. Why? Because connection is about the possibility of cashflow while conversation is about the probability of cashflow. I say cashflow but it could be something less liquid yet still useful, like cooperation or collaboration. More on this later.)

Okay, here's how it works: Any person who submits by email a good comment or insight or interesting feedback on the PK strategic plan, will receive the new password (updated on a weekly basis) so he/she can continue to read new versions of the strategic plan.

This makes sense: If a reader is not submitting feedback, he/she is not interested in reading more of the strategic plan. On the other hand, those who submit good feedback are "rewarded" by having access, the following week, to updates of the strategic plan.

Of course, I'm not so crazy as to share trade secrets or any proprietary information in the strategic plan. But it is obviously in my interest to share as much valuable and strategic knowledge as possible with the smart people who submit feedback on my strategic plan.

After all, there are dozens of CEOs and Vice Presidents in my Linkedin network. I'm bound to learn something valuable.

How to become a serial skiller

Employers respect only one word -- skill. And they understand only one language -- capability.

Therefore, to ensure his economic survival and financial success, a Linkedin user has to become a "serial skiller." That is, a person who's capable of learning and acquiring new skills rapidly and efficiently.

Since most people have a limited professional development budget, here's an idea to consider: join a group on Linkedin where people exchange skills with one another.

Better yet, create a group on your own (call it a "skills exchange club" or SEC) and invite your Linked connections to join the club, so everybody can share their skills with everybody else.

To make it fair, a member should talk (on the phone or in person) with another person for one hour. During the first 30 minutes, one person picks the other person's brain, and during the second 30 minutes, it's the other person's turn.

This is a good way to become a serial skiller and ensure your long-term professional success.

For example, if you have 100 people in your SEC, then every person could conceivably learn 99 different skills. Oh, and nobody pays anything!

Plus, every person will gain a greater awareness of what knowledge or skills he/she has which are really useful to others. He/she can then focus efforts on developing those skills or knowledge areas, thus increasing his/her own market value.

Catch 22: No product, no networking; no network, no product development

There are only two ways to get wealthy: do a lot of innovation, or do a lot of marketing.

Of course, the really wealthy people (like Steve Jobs) do both innovation and marketing. In fact, Apple's marketing comes FROM its highly developed innovation capability.

In contrast, Microsoft's innovation comes from its highly developed marketing clout. Indeed, since the very beginning when Bill Gates struck a deal with IBM to develop DOS, he has sought to saturate the market by using and leveraging more established players.

Okay, enough about those multibillionaires, let's talk about ordinary folks like you and me.

The situation faced by most people (and by myself prior to August 2005) is a Catch 22 situation: without a product that you can sell, you don't really have any incentive to network extensively as an Linkedin Open Networker (also called "LION"). So you are likely to have only 2 to 50 connections or, at best, 150. These connections are usually people that you've met in real life, and they come from your personal network or your professional network (coworkers, colleagues, clients, suppliers, etc.).

Since your network of 2 to 150 is relatively small, you don't feel any incentive to develop a product that can be sold and shipped to them. Since you have no product to sell, you have no incentive to develop your network, and so on and so forth.

This is the Catch 22 problem, and the overwhelming majority of Linkedin users are facing that big challenge.

Only a small minority of users on Linkedin make significant money, and that's because they have a liquid product (the job offers or opportunities sold by headhunters and placement counselors are considered as a "liquid product" also because it can be sold "as is.")

How can you, as a hard-working professional, manager or executive, get in on the action and make money too by using Linkedin?

The best way is to liquefy yourself, and then liquidate yourself.

I know it sounds a bit horrible, but here's what I mean by "liquefy yourself": capture your tacit knowledge and expertise into EXPLICIT knowledge and expertise. That is, write a short eBook of 20 pages containing the best of what you know which could be useful to other people.

"Liquidate yourself" means sell that document, via Payloadz, etc. to people that you think might benefit from it. At this point, don't be greedy; just set a price that allows for market penetration.

For example, charge $10-20 for your document. Then, from the feedback you receive from readers/buyers, improve your little eBook. Also, write a second eBook and sell especially to your current customers.

Alternatively, you can also buy many eBooks on the Internet that are sold along with reseller rights, meaning that you can resell the eBook and keep 100% of the profits.

I will write more in detail about those reseller ebooks, but my point for now is that the Catch 22 challenge afflicts perhaps 95% of the 18 million Linkedin users.

A person must honestly and bluntly confront this challenge if she is to overcome it, and be able to leverage Linkedin as an economic platform for creating significant wealth.

Cubicle = value, Classroom = wealth 0:08

Wealth happens when you transition from the cubicle to the classroom.

In other words, employees create value, teachers create wealth.

I don't mean teachers who work for the public education system, but strategic teachers who are able to impart valuable knowledge to millions of people through the Internet (or, in the context of this blogzine, through Linkedin. Facebook, by the way, has 67 users and is growing at a weekly rate of 3%, so it will likely reach 200 million users by the end of this year).

Wealth is superior to value in the same way that a river is superior to the water flowing in it.

So when you're a teacher, you create wealth because not only do you create value (and are paid for it by seminar or workshop participants), but you continually increase the width and depth of your "river" so as to create MORE value (more water flowing) in the future.

This is why Linkedin is so critical: it enables people to connect to thousands of other people so that when, one day, they are ready to teach, there is a global, multinational audience ready to hear what they have to say.

For instance, for over two years, I built a network of over 850 connections on Linkedin, and a few days ago invited them all to subscribe to this blogzine. Tons of people have subscribed already and are reading this blog. I have nearly 300 subscribers. More are coming. Eventually, I expect the 18 million people on Linkedin to subscribe.

In your case, you may not have a blog or even something valuable to teach, but trust me, one day you will. So it's important to prepare for that day by connecting, right now, to as many people as you can.

It is indeed no possible to become rich while working in a cubicle, because you never own the intellectual capital you help to create. But as an independent teacher / trainer, and with the Internet to back you up, you can create enormous wealth as I do right now, using the teaching materials I've developed for over two years at Talentelle.com.

The overwhelming majority of Linkedin users do not yet understand this, so if you do, you are way ahead of everybody else.

My point is that Linkedin can unleash enormous wealth for you, but you've got to use it strategically and start doing it right now. There is a compounding effect at work, so the earlier you start using Linkedin strategically, the greater the financial payoff for you.

Welcome to my Linkedin connections!

If you're connected to me on Linkedin, then you probably received an email inviting you to visit this blogzine.

Welcome!

Please subscribe now so you don't miss any important information since the most valuable posts are deleted within a few days. I do this so that my subscribers get premium content.

This blog is not about the technical aspects of Linkedin; most users are smart enough to figure out how to use the features and functionalities on the site.

This blog is about the strategic issues that, if fully understood and mastered, can make you rich.

Indeed, my cyber-doctrine is that the Internet is "programming space" and that a person can program it so as to massively create value and thus become a financially sovereign individual.

In other words, Linkedin -- which is a very organized and civilized and professional part of the Internet -- is not just a virtual "Rolodex." You CAN use it to create value and wealth for yourself.

This blogzine will teach you how.

Enjoy and let me know if you have questions: omnidigitalbrain@yahoo.com

How to use Linkedin Answers to establish your credibility

If you click on the above picture, you'll see my "track record" as an answerer on Linkedin Answers.

When I first started using Linkedin Answers, I indiscriminately answered any question that seemed interesting. This has resulted in my being labeled an "expert" in many areas.

However, it was a mistake to try to cover too many areas.

So I began to answer ONLY questions in the Career Development section. This has resulted in my getting 23 Best Answers and, as far as I know, my being perceived as one of the top advisors on career matters in the Linkedin community.

In fact, many people wrote to me privately asking for career advice. A lot of people also want to connect to me because of the high number of Career Development Best Answers.

So that's one strategy I highly recommend: focus on answering questions in ONE area so that you get better and better at writing answers in that area.

A second strategy is to try to figure out exactly what kind of information the person is asking for. Knowing this will help you to formulate an answer that has a great chance of being voted Best Answer.

Third, try to answer only serious questions. There are a great many questions that are very trivial or, to say the least, not very serious. These questions will not push you to work hard mentally and intellectually, hence they have very little value. (Unless you just want to socialize and write what's off the top of your mind).

In the end, Linkedin Answers is REALLY the place where you show your intellect, your reasoning skills, your expertise and your professionalism. Many people don't know this. For instance, many answers are filled with typos and/or are not even coherent!

Your attitude towards work, life, other people, etc. is also revealed, so don't write something that you would be embarrassed about a few days later. Sadly enough, some people show a very negative attitude (through the tone or style of their writing), not knowing that what they write down cannot be deleted or rescinded.

Fiction kills friction

On my Linkedin home page, it says I have 851 connections, and that they link me to 7,645,400 professionals.

That sounds like a really big number! Maybe I should start my own country and ask these folks to vote for me so I become their duly elected President.

This is not as farfetched as it sounds. Cyberspace is, in many ways, the new frontier. The World Wide Web is the new Wild Wild West.

And Linkedin is like a new town built by people of goodwill right on the edge that separates civilization from wilderness.

In other words, cyberspace is becoming more civilized, and the Internet is becoming more humanized, more socialized.

So I think there's a need to distinguish between the chaotic Internet and the more civilized and socialized area within the Internet. Hence, I've coined a new word to refer to "socialized cyberspace": syberspace.

In other words, if cyberspace is made up of computers linked through networks, syberspace is made up of people linked through relationships, both formal (e.g. Linkedin) and informal (e.g. Facebook).

Obviously, due to the human element, there is more friction in syberspace than in cyberspace. It is indeed easier for computers to connect and talk to one another than for humans to connect and talk to one another.

"Friction" simply refers to a person's inability to network with as many people as he'd like, due to various factors.

For instance, if you have 1 to 50 connections, and are at a loss as to how you can gain more connections, you are indeed facing a "friction" problem.

One solution is based on the idea that "fiction kills friction."

In other words, reinvent yourself and become a more interesting person. Become someone worthy of being connected to.

Be a little daring! And don't worry, you can always change what you write in your profile. It will never be set in stone. Experiment a little bit.

I'm not suggesting that you lie about who you are; just focus on the parts of you that make you stand out.

My point is, if you don't stand out on Linkedin, you're not playing the game right.

Linkedin is a professional / business environment where you get to express your Brand You, as Tom Peters calls it.

It will take a while before you can craft a solid and memorable Brand you, but it's fully worth it. Brainstorm with friends and coworkers if you wish.

The bottom line is that only by being special will you attract others. Only then will they seek you out and want to connect to you.

Are you a millionaire?

Feel free to answer my question regarding wealth on Linkedin Answers HERE.

I provided stats about the mass affluents, millionaires and mega-millionaires.

In the U.S., there are about 33 mass affluents, 8 millionaires and one million mega-millionaires.

Promote your work, not yourself, Part 2

I wrote previously that one should promote one's work, not oneself, on Linkedin. The key to doing that is to capture your knowledge into a physical or digital medium, like a book, an ebook, a podcast, a blog, etc.

That's what I did at http://realtimesuccesssecrets.blogspot.com, http://superparentsnetwork.wordpress.com, etc.

Indeed, make no mistake: Linkedin is mostly a business tool; people want to know what value you offer. They care less about who you are as a person. They care a little bit more about you as a professional. But ultimately, they care the most about you as a business person.

In short, they constantly ask themselves, "What is the value that this person (you) will or could bring me? Can I do business with this person?"

The only way for them to get a satisfactory answer is if you share your work samples or knowledge products that you've created in the past, such as a technical article, a white paper, a seminar, a podcast, a blog, an ebook, a published book, etc.

In other words, promote your work when you network. Don't promote yourself. There are over 18 million users on Linkedin, and the ONLY way to distinguish yourself is to create a knowledge product that effectively establishes you as an expert.

Indeed, if you tell people that you are an expert, they may or may not believe it. Personally, I instantly doubt all such claims.

However, if you give people an ebook you wrote, then that will make it easier for them to believe that you are indeed an authority in your field -- that is, an expert who can be trusted.

In other words, whatever you say to your Linkedin connections, ultimately, is just a promise. But what you've written in the form of a blog, ebook, article, etc. is a performance -- not a promise.

People believe performances, not promises.

Every minute makes money or loses money 0:12

The expression "time is money" is basically correct, but when you seriously seek wealth, there is a need to go deeper and analyze that statement more, shall we say, technically.

The more technical we get about analyzing the nature, source, limits and power of time, the faster we can become wealthy.

This being said, wealth is truly beyond time (or space, for that matter). A person can become wealthy in a few seconds. The actualization of that certain wealth may take a few months or years, but that is just the manifestation in the physical world of the wealth that the person has ALREADY realized in his mind.

But back to the technical analysis of time as a resource to build wealth in the real world.

Think of it this way: Every minute either brings money to you, or takes money (further) away from you. By money, I mean a big pile of money. Something like $10,000,000. U.S. currency, please.

So every minute that you spend on Linkedin will either bring you closer to great wealth, or pull you away or further from wealth.

Take Linkedin Answers, for example.

Many people participate by asking questions or providing answers.

Every question asked, will either help the asker to attract more high-quality people into his network, or will make other people AVOID the asker.

For example, some questions are:

1. full of typos
2. trivial
3. ambiguous
4. badly formulated

Such askers do not realize that whatever they write on Linkedin, is permanently recorded. It's like a credit report. Once you show the kind of person you are (disorderly, incapable of formulating a good question, disorganized, unfocused, etc.), 18 million users on Linkedin then decide to either connect with you or not.

In other words, many people tend to think that Linkedin Answers is an informal environment, therefore they write whatever comes to their mind without making sure that their professional image is protected. This is a huge mistake that may cost them a job, a promotion, a business opportunity, and in general a lot of money for the next few years.

On the other hand, a few people use Linkedin Answers quite expertly in order to subtly and tastefully promote their expertise, their business, their products, their services and their overall professional or commercial "attractiveness."

In other words, every minute that they spend on Linkedin (whether it's writing to other users or asking a question or providing a thoughtful answer) brings them closer to their goal or to wealth. They use Linkedin strategically and verify, in earnest, the return on every minute they spend on the site.

How to print money

Learning how to print money is really the ultimate fantasy. Indeed, as it says in the Bible (Eclesiastes 10:19):

"A party gives laughter, and wine gives happiness; but money gives everything."

Another author wrote that "money is the sixth sense which enables a better use of the other five."

Okay, now that we're all convinced of the value of money, let's examine ways to design and print money.

Wait, don't call the Feds! I'm not about to suggest illegal ways of printing money! Please put that phone down.

First, let's be clear about what "money" really is. It is just evidence, socially agreed upon, that someone owes you something.

That's where the POWER of money comes from: the fact that someone "owes" you something. (Notice, by the way, that "OWE" appears in the word "POWER").

For example, a five-dollar bill is just physical evidence, socially agreed upon in a particular country where the currency's value is enforced institutionally, that someone owes you something worth five dollars.

So if you were to enter a convenience store and pull out your five-dollar bill and show it to the owner, he would say: "Yup, Mister, I can see indeed that I owe you something worth five dollars. Why don't you look around and find something you like that has a price tag of $5.00? I'd be glad to relieve my debt to you, if you please, sir."

Therefore, the key to "printing money" (and thus become obscenely wealthy -- excuse my French) is to print as much "evidence" as possible that other people owe you stuff.

Here's an interesting fact: Billionaire Richard Branson never carries any money with him, nor any credit card. He probably gets a free lunch and any product or service for free no matter where he goes. The business owners who give him free products or services are not crazy. They correctly calculate that whatever they lose in profit by giving free stuff to Mr Branson, can be recuperated many times over by the possibility of starting a social or business relationship with a billionaire.

You might wonder, "Pete, what does all this have to do with Linkedin?"

Linkedin, my friends, is nothing but a money-printing machine. The fact that most Linkedin users have not yet realized this, doesn't change at all the nature of Linkedin as a perfect money-printing machine.

But how do you use Linkedin to print "money"?

As we saw above, money is evidence that someone owes you something.

So first, you have to connect with as many people as possible on Linkedin. I have 845 connections, for instance.

Next, you have to start giving them something of value. ONLY BY DOING THIS CAN YOU BUILD POWER, THAT IS, CREATE EVIDENCE SOCIALLY AGREED UPON THAT SOMEONE OWES YOU SOMETHING.

Of course, you can charge a small amount for the value you're giving away, or you can just give it away for free, as I do at http://realtimesuccesssecrets.blogspot.com. At the following blog, I actually charge some money: http://superpeterliquidation.wordpress.com.

But my point is, some value must be transferred from you to all your connections. Otherwise, your list of connections is just like a page in the Yellow Pages: names and contact information without much value.