We Need YOUR Help!

Firstly, our apologies for the striking lack of posts recently. Both myself and Tim have taken time off over the holiday period to recharge the batteries and think seriously about the direction we want to take How To Be Rich and Happy. This post and one on Tims site, is the result of our thoughts.

Last week Tim and I met to discuss the long-term strategy of the book. Things have gone well, feedback has blown us away (in a good way) and the book is having the positive impact on people we both intended and hoped for.

In other words, all is going fantastic.

So we decided to up the ante on ourselves.

We started asking crazy questions like what goal would it take to get us over the top excited for 2010?  What could we do with the book that would be so ridiculously cool that not only would we be digging it, but so would lots of other people too.  What would not only do all of that, it would, in the spirit of the book, make a HUGE difference in the lives of lots of people.

And we liked the energy behind that.

So in a moment of tremendous clarity, or insanity, or something in between, we decided.

Our great big goal for 2010 is to partner with the world to give away one million copies of How to be Rich and Happy.

We are undaunted by the logistics, unfazed by the obviously huge hurdles, and unsomething else by all the reasons why this looks impossible.

For us, we came up with a core group of people that we most want to get the book into the hands of.

• - Kids ages between 15 – 20
• - Single parents on income support
• - Unemployed people
• - Homeless people

Why those people?  Why not?  Also because we think those are the people who REALLY would get a life boost from some insights into the Rich and Happy formula.

We don’t expect every person who is offered the book to read it.  But think of the positive difference it could make in the lives of those who do!

Who would you give it to?  Keep that answer handy as you read some of the thoughts below.

To help you understand why we need your help in this goal, and in case you might be thinking about dismissing the ideas as not that big of a deal, let’s break it down a little.

First, we have to raise about $1,000,000 to pay for the books. So far we’ve raised $100. (Tim and I each put in fifty).

Then we have to get the books into the hands of the people we’ve picked.  No small logistical issue there.

Considering we have 40 physical copies so far (it was designed as an e-book after all) that means we’re 999,960 short and the clock is ticking.

Even if we had all the books paid for and in storage as I write this, that would still mean we have to distribute about 20,000 books per week until the end of 2010!

That’s an enormous number and quite frankly without the help of a nationwide distribution network it’s hard to picture that one happening.

As Tim and I bantered back and forth about ways to make our goal happen, we took a step back and realized we were getting caught up with ‘Mad How Disease’.

We were focusing too much on the how and not enough on the who. We were doing the exact opposite of what the Rich and Happy formula has proven to be true.  WHICH WE EXPLAIN IN THE BOOK!  How ridiculous is that?

So who is the who you may be wondering? Who is the person who can help us?

Well, it could very well be YOU!

We’ve decided to ask the people that already read our stuff if they can think of cool ways to help make this happen and if they want, to get involved.

I’m going to tell you the three options we’re thinking of.  I’d love to know which one you think is the approach most likely to succeed.  And of course, tell us any other one’s you think of.

Option One – Reverse Tithe

We keep selling the e-book version only we reverse tithe the proceeds.  90% of all money that comes in from the sale of the book goes toward achieving the goal of giving the million copies away.

10% may be a tight margin to maintain the website and other sundry costs and it may need to be closer to 15%, but that’s the general idea.

If we go this route, we thought about making the cost of the book variable but with a minimum amount. So if someone wanted to pay the $47 full price and be a major part of this effort, great.  If they can only afford $15, that’s great too.

Another variable of this is that for every person who buys the e-book at full price, we send THEM a case of 25 paperback books (or so, don’t hold me to the number) which they can give to people THEY feel would most benefit from it.

They win, the people they give it to win, and we get lots of help.

Pros

Please advise if we are slightly or COMPLETELY wrong.

We think people who want to buy the book but are on the fence, would get in the game knowing the money would go toward the giveaway goal.

The lower price option would make the book affordable for more people.

This option is probably the most likely to go viral, although that’s in the lap of the gods and not something we’d ever want to bank on.

Cons

We’re a little concerned about ticking off people that have already bought the book at full price.

Need to get an awful lot of people to buy the book at any price to get us where we want to go.

Shipping is costly.  It’s about $10 to ship a case of books.

Option Two – Ask For Donations

We continue to sell the book as we’re currently doing. Then as a separate entity running parallel, we work on getting a multitude of small donations that are filtered off to be used to get the book printed and shipped.

Pros

Easy to do.  We just set up another link on the website and do our best to create buzz about it.

Cons

Could be a long slow process to get to our goal.  Lots of people raising money for lots of good causes out there.

Option Three – Find A Wealthy Sponsor or Foundation

This option is the one that could move us from zero to a million in no time flat.

There are definitely people who have access to the kind of funds required to pull this off.    So what would make them get involved with this project in particular?

Pros

If we hit on the right person it’s a done deal. $1m is not a huge commitment in the great scheme of things and it would be fun having a huge name behind the project.

Tim has said he would literally sacrifice a small cute furry stuffed animal to have Sir Richard Branson on board*.  I said I’d sacrifice Tim, but I was mostly joking.

We are more than happy to have the book branded so that the sponsors name is on it.  Yes, we want this to be a win across the board for everyone involved.

Cons

We could spend all of 2010 working on bringing in the right person/organization only to be turned down flat for reasons out of our control (economic crisis part two).

In order to get someone on board, they probably need to read and get excited about the book.  So how the heck do you get it in front of them?  And how the heck do you help them find time to read it?

How Can You Help?

This is a truly monstrous goal. We realize the odds are against us, but that’s what makes it so compelling.  We do know this.  The odds of us pulling this off are infinitesimally small without your help. And yes, I do mean YOU!

What would it take for you to say YES, I’M IN?

If you have an idea no matter how off-the-wall or silly you think it may seem, please, please, let us know in the comments.

Think six degrees of separation.  Who do you know that might know somebody that might know someone who can help?  Please forward this blog post to them.

The person could work in the media or the charitable or distribution sectors. Who would ship for free???

They may work for any large organization that has the kind of pull we need to make this happen or whatever else you can think of.

If you know of reasons why one of the ideas will simply not work, please say so.  Even better, throw us an alternate suggestion too.

If you have a spare million dollars lying around let us know.

If you have a blog or a Twitter account and you can help us publicize this, that would be amazing, thanks!

Even a Digg, Stumble Upon, Reddit or Facebook mention would be appreciated.

I’m sure there are ways you can help that we haven’t even thought about, but you have, so we’re open to all options.

Tim and I are massively excited to hear your ideas and hope you’ll help us make this happen.  Not to mention have a lot of fun in the process.

And by the way, this is game on already.  It takes 12 weeks to get the books printed.  I’m committing that although I don’t know the way it will all come together, we will be distributing the first of the books come April 15th.

Nothing like a little insight into the Rich and Happy formula on the day income tax is due.