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Fascination Advantage Assessment

by

Note:

This post has nothing to do with debt. I was meaning to have a post about last month’s budget, but it would appear that is wasn’t meant to be. The program that I use (Quicken Home & Business) is on my laptop, which is currently unaccessible to me. Hopefully either this weekend or next Tuesday I should have up.

Today I want to talk about something that some of you might find interesting, others will not. This weekend on my way to one of my contracts, I was listening to podcasts (I tend to listen to around 20 hours of podcasts per week.) And on one of my favorite podcasts Entrepreneur on Fire, John Lee Dumas interviewed Sally Hogshead, a branding expert and leading authority figure on the science of fascination, about her newest Book, How The World Sees You: Discover Your Highest Value through the Science of Fascination.

I was first introduced to Sally back at the end of last year when John interviewed her the first time. I immediately fell in love with what this woman is doing. After reading her first book, Fascinate: Your 7 Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation, I started understanding how to start using the right triggers to make anything become fascinating.

Back when I listened to the first interview, Sally gave John a code to be able to get a free Fascination Advantage Assessment for the first 500 people. Well I guess I wasn’t fast enough because by the time I went to redeem the code it was already sold out. I was a little bummed, but I figured I would get an assessment when I could afford it.

Well this weekend, while listening to this podcast and LOVING what Sally was bringing to the table, I happened to be driving past a Barnes and Noble and without hesitation when and grabbed myself a copy of the book.

When I got home I tweeted out

During the podcast there was mention on the Free Assessment again. I did that first. And I must say I was completely blown away with the results. Sally nailed my complete essence when I read my assessment. After taking the test there was an auto tweet that I sent out explaining what I got and how the world saw me. Sally tweeted back to me…

This totally intrigued me, because of how well she nailed me and I totally think people will see value in this. So I joined…

So What is The Fascination Advantage?

It is the first personality assessment developed based on the science of branding, rather than psychology. Unlike traditional tests (such as Myers-Brigss or StrengthsFinder, which I have taken), this isn’t measuring how you see the world, but how the world sees you.

Sally started Project Fascination in order to celebrate all of the insights she’s learned over the past decade of research. Her goal is to show 100,000 people how their personalities add value. That is why she has given me the special code BL-ElementalUnity to give the first 100 people who use it her Assessment for free. This offer lasts until July 25!

How Do You Take The Assessment?

Simple. Go to www.HowTheWorldSeesYou.com/You and use code BL-ElementalUnity. Once you’ve taken the assessment, Sally’s team will load 100 assessments into your account for you to share as well. Note: I don’t think this happened for me till I signed up for Project Fascination.

This Assessment has less than 30 questions and it literally takes less than five minutes to complete.

Now note the code I provided does have some value to me. I didn’t sign up for any benefits, but they are included. I will explain here what is on the table if I hit goals. I highly doubt that I will reach any of these and these are really not the reason I am sharing this. The reason I am sharing this is so you can learn a little about yourself.

There are three prizes noted in the advocates page on the website.

Prize #1: Once 50 people use your code, the team will send you a pre-release copy of How the World Sees You for free. (First the book came out on July 1st, so I am not even sure if this prize is still available. Second I already own the book, so I really don’t need it.)

Prize #2 When 100 people use your code, the team will give you a top-line snapshot of your audience’s results using your code. (Not sure what this means.)

Prize #3 When 1,000 people use your code, the team will create a custom heat map for your audience. (Again not sure what this means.)

So once again note, I am not doing this for the rewards. Now if they were including a way to create my anthem, that is a complete different story.

Well that’s it, I hope at least a few of you will like this.


54 Comments

  • Reply Maureen |

    Another self-serving post that creates links to your potential gain. Come on Jim. You talk about getting real. Well, get real with your updates, your accountability to yourself, and the readers. This is a get out of debt blog and should not be used for any potential personal gains.

    • Reply Jim |

      This doesn’t self serve me one bit. I think by taking this assessment can help you understand how the world see you and by that you can become your better self. Which in turn can help you in all aspects of your life.

      • Reply Mysti |

        I am assuming that this is a self-reporting type of survey, so how does it know how others see you?

        Jim, I really want to be in your corner….I really do! But these posts tend to stir the pot…maybe it is better to hold off on these posts for awhile, It is ok to post stuff on your day to life…stuff you struggle with, or thoughts. It doesn’t always have to be a “number” post.

        • Reply Jim |

          Did you take the Assessment Mysti? Heck, if people don’t want to use my code, use the code from the podcaster that I got it from “FIRE” The assessment is totally free. It basically shows you a way to present the best possible you so that you have a better impact in life.

          • Mysti |

            I did take it…I am A Victor…and I really don’t think what it said is accurate. But I think any self reporting type of survey is really open to interpretation. If I report that something isn’t important to me….others may disagree and have evidence to the contrary. But because I reported it…that is how it goes.

            But back to my other comment…these posts just rile everyone up…and maybe that is your intention. I don’t know. I am just saying that each post that people react negatively to should give you the impression that this isn’t what people are interested in, and therefore you may consider changing tactics. If you don’t care what the community has to say…that is totally your call. But I don’t know why you would choose to post things that you know will have a negative response…

          • Jim |

            Very true Mysti. But the way I see it, if one person gets the same benefit out of it as I did, then I will be happy. One thing I am learning is that no matter what I post rile people up, even if it is debt related.

    • Reply Patrick |

      I agree. Jim is falling for the same thing that a lot of these personal finance bloggers do, which is to write nothing but endless posts moving readers from one personal finance blogger to the next, collecting email addresses and personal information and clicks. This blog is supposed to be about personal debt journeys, not about trying to take advantage of the readers for the personal gain of the bloggers.

      Jim, stick to stories about you, not about what clickbait, “entrepreneur” site has struck your fancy this hour.

  • Reply Denise @ My House, My Rules |

    Tuesdays appear to be infomercial day at BAD. I sort of feel bad for the other three bloggers who seem to really take blogging here seriously.

  • Reply debtor |

    i was very confused when I read this (in a didn’t understand whether I was reading an ad or what EXACTLY I was reading) but I gathered I could take a personality test for free.

    I tried it and for those who are wondering, all you need to part with is your email address (doesn’t even have to be real as it doesn’t ask you to confirm)…and you answer 35 questions or so that come up with a type (i’m a rockstar, who knew!).

    Nothing harmful, it didn’t ask me to recommend 5 friends or give a CC or anything before showing me the results….so if you feel like a buzzfeedy type of quiz….you can try it out.

  • Reply Walnut |

    How much did the book cost that you purchased? Do you feel it was worth the value? Could you have purchased it cheaper on half.com or Amazon?

    • Reply anonymous |

      That is where I stopped reading, too. You wanted a book, so you just went into B & N and bought it? Maybe you could have borrowed it from the library? Gotten it online cheaper? Clearly your spending habits haven’t changed that much

      • Reply Helene |

        And this too. The thought of buying a new book at a retail outlet makes my hair stand up. No way.

      • Reply Jim |

        My library seldom gets new books until at least six months after they come out. Yes I went into B&N and bought the book. At the time of buying I didn’t see anything cheaper. Although this was definitely spur of the moment, I have budgeted for books & courses in my business.

        Also the way I look at this is the same way I look at music. Yes I can probably get this music for free, but I wouldn’t be supporting the band. If someone I follow pretty regularly puts out a book, and even if I get one to review for free, I will probably buy the book to support the author’s stats.

        • Reply Walnut |

          How much do you have budgeted for books and courses? This might be a place for you to cut the budget and make a snowball payment.

    • Reply Jim |

      Hi Walnut,

      The book cost me $30. I am only a little way through it, but so far it is great. And if it is anything like her last book, it will be well worth it. In the book is another code for the assessment. I have a book called StrengthsFinders2.0 by Tom Rath, that this book is comparable to (in the way that it describes strengths about yourself and gives a individualized code to take an assessment) and it is on my “Successful Seven” Books to read. If this is anything like SF2.0 it will likely make my Seven become 8. At the time of purchase it was the same price on Amazon. But as of today when I wrote this post the book is actually $10 cheaper.

      • Reply Walnut |

        Do you sell these books when you are finished reading them? That might be one way to generate a bit of cash. If they are all selling for a small amount on half.com, then it might make sense to bundle all of these together and sell them as a lot on ebay.

        • Reply Jim |

          I usually put the ones that I probably wouldn’t read again up as a giveaway on my site.

      • Reply anonymous |

        Selling for $19 on Amazon right now – not that you can afford it

  • Reply Helene |

    Posts that begin, “This has nothing to do with debt…” don’t belong here, IMO. :-/ That’s what the rest of the web is for. IDK about anyone else, but I come here for get-out-of-debt info only. Argh.

    • Reply debtor |

      i don’t even think everything has to be “get out of debt” laser focused….but even other aspects of your life will be impacted by the get ouf of debt mission and you could talk about it.

      Jim, considering how people have always reacted to these types of posts from you specifically (fairly or unfairly) – don’t you think it would be wise to hold off from them for a little bit and just build rapport with the readers?

      You know what non-debt related things you could talk about – how maybe you read x book and it made you wonder about y, what do you readers think about that….

      I remember another blogger wanted ideas about how to keep her kdis entertained while she traveled…not super debty related but people were more than happy to help. 1. because she’d built a little rapport and 2. because it didn’t sound like an ad…just a genuine request for ideas…

      anyway, i think you know all this… i don’t think anyone is THAT naive to not have caught on yet.

      • Reply scarr |

        I agree with you, for sure! I actually enjoy reading posts that are not 100% debt-focused and the example you gave was perfect.

  • Reply Carnyanna |

    “Not meant to be…” why not? That would be a far more interesting post. What the heck Jim?

  • Reply Jackie |

    I’m starting to have a real issue with you as a blogger here. What does this have to do with getting out of debt? Maybe these types of posts wouldn’t bother me so much if you also provided debt related content. I know very little about your debt journey and what you’re doing to try to better your financial situation. And when you do post about your income and such, you are very defensive and it always seems like you’re leaving out very important pieces. I’ve been a loyal reader of BAD since the very beginning (going on 7 years, I think?) and you are the first blogger I genuinely dislike. I don’t think you’re a bad guy and I wish you all the best. But, in my opinion you’re not the right fit for this blog and I think I’ll be skipping Tuesday’s from now on.

  • Reply Theresa |

    I think reading about personal growth can be fascinating and certainly helpful but I get the impression that you take it to the next level and perhaps are using these types of topics to hide from your present life. It is kinda how I can spend way to much time think and planning on how to redecorate our laundry room/mud room and never get to the actual laundry that is laying on the floor.

    I hope you are still plugging away at the debt journey. As always I wish you the best.

  • Reply AS |

    You know, a different way to approach this would to have have said “the test said I was a . That was ” and go from there to write a more personal blog post about what you learned from this test and engage the community that way.

  • Reply Adam |

    You seem to be obsessed with the idea of “Success!” rather than actual success. You are chasing a dream by “investing” in these programs and books and podcasts, but what you don’t realize is that the walls of success are built on a foundation of stability, and with these phony programs you are spending your money on, you are chipping away at the foundation so that the walls can never be built.

    Jim, when will you realize that these people in the entrepreneur culture that you adore are taking advantage of people’s dreams and delusions to enrich themselves, NOT you. They are hucksters and scheisters and you are trying to become the same thing.

    Since you like books about how to be successful, I recommend The Millionaire Next Door. The honestly successful people living next door will never shout it from the rooftop of these ridiculous blogs, they keep quiet about it. It’s old but it is still relevant. It profiles the wealthy people of America and how they got there. Blogging and the like is not on the list.

    • Reply Kili |

      Totally agree. Isn’t that just another example of “shiney object syndrome” that you, Jim, acknowledged a couple of weeks back?

      • Reply Jim |

        It is and it isn’t Kili. Reading books is necessary for me to learn and grow. Many of the times I read books that I get to review on one of my sites. This book will be on the site as well.

        • Reply scarr |

          I felt that this post was a perfect example of you having shiny object syndrome, as you previously described. In my comment I left below, this is what I was trying to say.

          I can be easily distracted from goals by finding other things to accomplish besides my “set” goals. Sometimes I don’t even realize I am setting myself for failure by moving on to a new task before finishing the current one

    • Reply Jim |

      I know how it works with some of these people Adam. But almost any program or book you can find at least one nugget. But not every single one is like as you described. Many people deliver excellent content, and at sometime will come out with a product.

      In my eyes those that shout from the rooftops are being transparent and not trying to gloat. They are straight up with everything. The problem is that you don’t see blogging as a business. Many of the news online is now consumed in blog format. There are many many successful blogging careers. Plus there are many careers now in the online marketing format.

  • Reply Adam |

    I also have a feeling none of the wealthy people profiled cared a bit about a personality test that tells them what people think about them.

    Maybe this fascination stuff is more relevant to your life outside of the blog, but the comments on your posts should provide plenty of evidence as to what people think about you online; you don’t need a buzzfeed quiz to tell you that.

    • Reply scarr |

      I agree with everything adam said here and his above comment.

      Jim, I think you need to focus. These posts that don’t really have anything to do with debt seem to distract you from your goal of becoming debt-free but also from your own struggles to be a successful entrepreneur. I understand reading a book or article or seeing someone speak and being captivated by it and how reconsidering your own ideas can lead to future success but I am afraid this post doesn’t convince me that this is something that is tangibly helpful to you – in more ways than just getting out of debt.

      • Reply Jim |

        Scarr, I respect everything you have said to me since starting blogging here. If you happen to have 30-45 minutes listen to the podcast I have linked up under “Entrepreneur On Fire”, listen how Sally explains John’s Assessment and Anthem. I think it is unbelievable and very accurate of the guy.

  • Reply OC Budget |

    I thought this was an interesting post, along the lines of how mymoneyblog is..jonathan posts alot of posts relating to credit card promotions as well as interesting information on various investment vehicles, articles on money/investing/thoughts/Books, etc. Some of jonathan’s posts can have “self-serving” links that will give him credit as the referral link or even comission, etc.

    But i don’t see people attacking jonathan for doing those posts. I have noticed that people are attacking whatever jim decides to take an interest on posting.

    I thought that the article was an interesting read.

    The commenter, Walnut, has really great advice and feedback, that I, myself, should take.

  • Reply Adam |

    Funny thing about Ms. Hogshead. She went to a good college and then started work as a Jr. copywriter at an ad agency. Worked up to copywriter and kept moving up until she started her own agency. Her work experience and expertise with real world business problems and clients have her the platform she needed to write a book about branding and influencing. She didn’t just come up with these ideas one day. She became a respected expert over time.

    Maybe take a page from her biography rather than her “fascination assessment.”

    • Reply Jim |

      And what exactly is your point Adam??? I went to a great college and did work my way up as well. People are allowed to side step their life path and pursue after their dreams. You keep working your 9-5, that is your choice. I will do what makes me happy.

      • Reply Anon |

        This seems extremely defensive, Jim. Aren’t you a blogger on here to get advice and communicate with others?

        Even if you feel a commentor is being rude, it would really speak a lot more about your character if you could remain professional…just saying.

      • Reply Adam |

        Jim I made my point above but I will expand here. I commented on one of your previous posts that you can make whatever choices you want. You are certainly allowed to do your own path. Doesn’t make a difference to me.

        Please don’t misunderstand me; I am not attacking your choice to pursue your dream of entrepreneurship.

        But I want to be clear that these people you are buying into are taking advantage of you and your dream. They are profiting, you aren’t.

        Yes, there are bloggers who make a living blogging. But they are fewer in number and the industry is consolidating. This occupation peaked in the mid-2000s. It will be very difficult for you to build a business on blogging now.

        Yes, people make a living doing online marketing, but that industry has peaked as well; the market is owned by companies with more resources to stay ahead of you and earn market share.

        You made a great point in your comment – the successful online personalities are delivering excellent content and products. They also give speeches and create great brands – they are real pros. Jim, your online business that you’ve discussed on this blog is direct sales of makeup, affiliate marketing, and Amazon arbitrage. These markets have all passed you by. You are not delivering excellent content and great products, at least that you’ve detailed here.

        I respect your choice to be an entrepreneur. But affiliate marketing is not going to do it for you. I am just trying to warn you away from buying into hucksters who prey on your dreams and I am also telling you that what you are trying to do is not a smart formula for success.

        You may someday produce enough income online to pay your basic bills, but if you are relying on amazon sales and affiliate marketing, it’s unlikely you’ll make enough money to be comfortable or get out of debt with these tactics.

        Good luck.

        • Reply Jim |

          That is true Adam, I have not detailed what I have been doing. Some people found some sites of mine that fizzled out, but none have found the active ones. I make a good bit from some of them, the problem I have is that some of the sites don’t net as much. I want to work on that, since they gross a good bit. I probably won’t be sharing those sites at all.

          I am not relying on either of those. The Amazon come about sporadically and isn’t a constant. The affiliate sales are gravy, I do have products out there that make some money.

          I also disagree with you on how the three categories you talk about being dried up and passed me by. I honestly don’t see affiliate marketing going anywhere but up. The Amazon arbitrage might fizzle if big companies start selling their own clearance (I don’t think most will) and Amazon has become more strict. Direct Sales as well as MLM will not go anywhere, I honestly see more companies going this route in some way or another.

          I also want to note that until I got the new vehicle that these things were making me enough money to get out of debt this year.

          • debtor |

            ” I make a good bit from some of them, the problem I have is that some of the sites don’t net as much. I want to work on that, since they gross a good bit. I probably won’t be sharing those sites at all. ”

            That right there is why people tend to moan and complain at all your posts. Can’t you see this is what you do. I’ll summarise it in step format for clarity.

            1. Post something about how you are doing/going to try/did X
            2. A reader will tell you, but X is not a good idea because of Y, see for example A, B &C
            3. You then say, but I’m different because i’m not doing it the same way. You guys don’t have the full story so you don’t understand. But i’m not going to share the full story because of Excuse.

            Rinse and repeat.

            Can you see how frustrating it is for a reader? In step 1, you don’t even mention that you are leaving out part of the story or whatever. What’ the point on blogging on a forum that is supposed to HELP you be accountable but for whatever reason you don’t want to be transparent.

            Someone is commenting on your income source not being a viable option for someone looking to get out of debt, and then you’re response is, well it’s because you didn’t know about this OTHER income stream that i have never bothered to mention in the months i’ve blogged here.

            There was some other blogger (might have been Adam) that told the readers that they had rental income but they were not reporting on it for blog purposes because they kept it separate….some folks nitpicked the decision but ultimately, it’s their choice….

            you can’t keep going to the doctor complaining about knee pain and neglect to mention you had a knee replacement 6 months ago and expect the doctor’s advice to actually help you. you’ll just end up wasting both people’s time.

          • Adam |

            Well it’s commendable that you responded directly to my pretty tough assessment. I think we disagree about the market and the future of your chosen path, but nobody knows the future. If that’s what you want for yourself, then good luck with it. I can appreciate not wanting to put everything on display on this blog. I have rental properties that I kept separate from the blog- they were totally separate accounts that I don’t touch for personal income. I brought them up once and people got upset about me including them in my numbers, so then I excluded them and people got upset about that. You can’t make everyone happy.
            I hope you’ll take some time to think through if there’s any validity to my assessment. I know you disagree right now but I’d hate to see you get 5 years down the road and say I was right. Ask yourself the tough questions and do some market research. Also, do read the millionaire next door book.

          • Jim |

            Debtor…

            First I want to say, I do see what you are saying. I have mentioned I made a majority of my income online… I make more during certain months when I take contracts that take me outside of my house. I also make a decent amount for my paper route, I decided to do this so I could have more net income. I simply wasn’t netting enough to support my family.

          • Jim |

            Hi Adam,

            It does seem we do disagree about the market and there is nothing wrong with that. In all honesty it is good that many people feel the way you do. Can I ask you something? How long have you known about these subjects and how long did you take to study these subjects?

            I have been in the market since around 2007 and made my first dollar around 2009. Things have definitely changed, but in many markets this has been the case. I would love to discuss this in another format, as I seem to always jumble the words I type.

            Like for instance how I said direct sales, MLM, and Affiliate marketing will not go anywhere… My opinion this is just another avenue for the stores that are like you described in your first comment. A form of word of mouth, which is by far the best form of advertising. Big box stores all have a form of affiliate marketing. The way these companies see it as they will pay money to other people for sales that they might not have gotten.

          • adam |

            To answer your question – I started on this path long before you, making a few bucks in the late 90s and early 2000s. But I was also smart enough to get out of it early as well.

          • Jim |

            I made a few bucks back then as well, but that was nothing compared to the stuff that is going on in today’s market. With all the advanced techniques, there is more room to grow. Especially in FB paid advertisments.

          • Anon2 |

            Jim-

            This is a perfect example of how you contradict yourself and make you untrustworthy to readers.

            Step 1: You say you have “been in the market since around 2007 and made my first dollar around 2009.”

            Step 2: Adam’s reply is that he had been doing this longer and he began “making a few bucks in the late 90s and early 2000s.”

            Step 3: You reply to Adam saying that “I made a few bucks back then as well.” A direct contradiction to what you said in step one.

            There are others all over the place, you said in your kick-off post that you got out of the military at 22, then later said you did almost 8 years. Even if you joined at 17 that is only 5 years. Now, I could chalk this up to a simple mathematical error, but you stated in your introductory article that in high school you excelled in maths.

            In fact, as I went looking back over your initial posts it seems you put more interest and care into them. It seems that being a blogger here was simply another symptom of “Shiny Object Syndrome.” Lately, your writing has become more and more riddled with grammatical, spelling, and definitional errors. (For the love of God, you were a Soldier during a time of war, a “perimeter” is something you secure, a “parameter” is a guideline toward choosing something such as a contract job!)

            I never really comment, but generally read all the comments so I would like to put forth a few observations:

            The few readers you managed to keep after your whole plagiarism scandal have been giving you literal story ideas in the comments so stop implying you don’t know what we want to know. Ex. When you posted your advertisement this morning a reader specifically said why you couldn’t get to your laptop seemed like an interesting story.
            -For a couple of weeks you have been saying in the comments that you have implemented many reader suggestions and would write a post about it, still waiting.
            -Also, you could tell us about how your attempts to get your bank fees resolved went.

            You have been continually asked to explain where the bulk of your income is coming from, and continually explain that you can’t tell us/we wouldn’t understand. I am officially calling “bullshit” to this response. Give us a specific example; by telling us we wouldn’t understand or that it is difficult to explain you are effectively calling us idiots. This lack of transparency is really uncalled for, unless you are doing something top secret for the government or something. (Considering how often you post articles with affiliate links I find it rather silly that you don’t want to share posts you are supposedly writing for other blogs, as you have claimed in the past, I would think that if those are paid jobs you would want to direct traffic to them.”)

          • Jim |

            Hi Anon… I made money online back then through sources like ebay and a few magic the gathering card forums. In 2007 is when I got into blogging, affiliate marketing, and internet marketing. In 2009 I made my first dollar doing this stuff.

            As for the army… I got out of active duty in 4 years I continued with the reserves for another 4 years. It isn’t about “maths” or anything. But if you do the math I can still work regular jobs when I am in the reserves.

            And I have said where my bulk of my income comes from, I just said I wouldn’t name the sites I make my money from nor would I explain all the different forms of payment in each site. You simply do not need to know this kind of information.

            Not one post in this blog has made me one penny. Most were referral links. None of the links had any monetary value associated with them.

  • Reply Tara |

    Adie’s comments on this post https://www.bloggingawaydebt.com/2014/06/misconceptions/#comments sum up what we’re all thinking and saying.

  • Reply ginsue |

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So, what do you think ?