This is not the email I expected to write today.
I thought I was going to write “launch email 2” or whatever.
Instead, I find myself scrambling to fix things going pear shaped.
But rather than run from it…
I’m going to confront it head on.
.
.
.
So, yesterday, two things happened:
- I ran a webinar: “AI, Google and the Future of Course Businesses”
- I launched a new course: “AI Launch Accelerator”
Now…
Let’s ignore for a moment the fact that I released two things on the same day.
(That’s just not smart — But sometimes it’s the way things work out.)
I’ll forgive myself that one.
Things started to go wrong with the webinar…
It was 15:45…
350 people registered…
I turned on Zoom, set up the lights, fired up my Vibe Board and…
.
.
.
[ — BLANK SCREEN — ]
.
.
.
Nothing.
The damn thing didn’t load.
That presentation I’d spent all day preparing… just decided not to appear on the board.
I restarted, rebooted…
Gave it a thorough talking to and a piece of my mind…
Spent the first 5 minutes of the webinar trying everything I could think of…
But alas to no avail.
[ — BLANK SCREEN — ]
It was like the Vibe board was just sitting there sticking a middle finger up at me.
So there I was…
Standing there like a lemon at 16:07…
With nothing but a blank screen and lot of eyeballs staring at me.
What do I do?
Improvise?
Just talk?
Try to “remember” I wanted to cover everything?
It’s weird in the moment, you know. I’m fighting two different impulses:
- Wanting to deliver the best possible webinar to everyone in the room
- My intense irritation at my presentation not loading — and not wanting to just abandon it
Anyway…
I made a decision and went with it.
Once you make the decision you just have to surrender to it.
The hardest thing is composing yourself in the middle of the turmoil.
.
.
.
Not the best start to the afternoon.
It gets better…
Shortly before starting the webinar, I sent the announcement email for my new course, AI Launch Accelerator.
All good.
But, a few hours later (after the webinar), I open my email to check for any issues.
And I’m greeted with a common response:
“Olly, I already bought this course.”
What?
I don’t think so, given that I just recorded it this week.
But then it hits me…
“AI Launch Accelerator” sounds a lot like my other programme: “AI Email Accelerator”.
AI…
Accelerator…
Oops.
I was trying create some continuity in the product names, but instead I just confused the hell out of everyone.
The result?
Hardly any sales.
Partly because of the fact I launched it at the same time as the webinar.
Partly because of the name confusion.
Own goal.
Nice one, Olly.
.
.
.
But this brings me to the point of this email.
You can only judge someone’s true character by how they respond to adversity… not how they act in times of comfort.
Likewise…
The true measure of the entrepreneur is how you respond to things going wrong…
Not how much you brag about success when things are going well.
Part of this is character — who are you?
Identity — who’s the person you want to be?
Experience — how much have you dealt with this before?
Because sometimes things don’t go to plan:
- Your launch stalls
- The tech doesn’t work
- The cat throws up on the sofa right before your guests arrive
It’s not what happens that matters…
It’s how you respond.
You’ll see for yourself how I handled the webinar calamity when I send out the replay soon.
As for the launch, I’m tackling the confusion head-on and changing the name.
Not ideal to do on day 2 of a launch.
But you always have two choices:
- Be the passive observer
- Be the one steering the ship
I always choose #2.
And so…
From this day forth…
The “AI Launch Accelerator” shall now be known as:
“AI Launch Code”
Namaste,
Olly
P.S.
Remember…
Whatever’s going on in life…
No matter how s** things may be…
You always, always have power over the way you respond.