discuss So what's your calling? And what do domain names have to do with it?

[Rob Monster]

Earlier this month, I gave a TED-style talk at a leadership conference near Philadelphia. The title of my talk was called "Answering the call in a Digital Age". It is a reflection on my own journey from my youth onward. The talk ends with an up to date commentary on life as a tech entrepreneur who has gotten a bit of media attention. The audience for the live talk was predominantly Christian but I think the message has secular relevance:

Long story short, I believe everyone has gifts and talents. At any given time, some people have more financial resources available to them, but everyone has some unique combination of time, talent, treasure and circumstance. Moreover, from time to time, we all have our encounters with providence. Sometimes those are opportunities to move a step closer towards working on the thing that we are uniquely equipped to do.

Curious to know how many folks on NamePros think they might have some kind of calling and if so how domaining fits into that calling, if at all.

 

[Mister Funsky]

I believe the "system" is designed to have people spend most of their time either working multiple jobs or being distracted with nonsense, rather than focused on higher order priorities.

Exactly. I've been telling people this for many years...the enemy is attempting to distract us to death (both physically and spiritually).

 

[CDM]

This thread speaks to the picture I have as my avatar. It’s from a pic I took of a sign that once hung in a liquor store a friend of mine owned. “What will you do with your life?” He posted it with the hope it might get some of his customers thinking about the kinds of things some of you are relating in this thread. I use it as my avatar with the same intention - in hopes of engaging/confronting others on the forum with this most important question. For some domaining genuinely serves and aligns with their calling, for some it may be a way station on their journey toward a truer purpose, and for others it may be a detour or something they are pursuing for the wrong reasons. The avatar pays homage to my good friend and now you know the story behind it in case you have ever wondered.

 

[Rob Monster]

Exactly. I've been telling people this for many years...the enemy is attempting to distract us to death (both physically and spiritually).

Once someone is awake to the possibility that they are being played by a system that keeps them like a hamster on a treadmill, it is a transformative moment. It raises questions that deserve answers. The challenge is not to be wrapped up in fear, but to find one's calling and execute it courageously. I had to figure that out, and that process it took years.

 

[Rob Monster]

The question was; what's your "state" of mind; at the beginning there are moments where you're (mind) prayer on deliverance.

(My Q has nothing to do with the Epik nor Audience)

Regards

The thing I have concluded is that we are all on a journey. Anyone who has read the old John Bunyan classic Pilgrim's Progress can relate to the metaphor. As such, I think the goal here was to just to invite people to be more deliberate and mindful in contemplating where they are now, relative to where they want to be in the future. However, rather than measuring the goal in financial terms, i.e. "I want to have $10 million" or similar metric, to look toward some impact goal that aligns to one's unique tools in their toolbag.

 

[oldtimer]

Exactly. I've been telling people this for many years...the enemy is attempting to distract us to death (both physically and spiritually).

The way that I look at this is that there is currently too much pain, suffering, destruction, waste, hate, animosity, delinquency, greed, lust, torture, abuse, addiction, inequality, oppression, suppression, discrimination, and killings going on all over the World, anyone who wants to help free the Humanity from all these is on the side of good and all those who want to keep the status quo and continue to add to all that keeps us in bondage are wrong and should be encouraged and educated to change their ways. Unfortunately the label Enemy is often used by those who want to eliminate anyone who wants to change the status quo.

IMO

 

[Business Brands]

We are blessed to have Robert Monster around us.

 

[Eric Lyon]

Hey Eric, I live in a RV too and I really like it, think of it as if you are living on the Space Station or inside a Submarine with the difference that whenever you want you can open the door and come out.

Tiny homes (houses) can probably help solve the homelessness problem specially if they are 3d printed at very low cost.

I registered the domain name 3dPrintableHouse.com yesterday (I had 3dPrintableHome.com from before). I believe that Printable Houses are the way of the future. Big homes and mansions have too much of a carbon footprint and contribute to too much waste and pollution. Making houses smaller and more durable so that they can last for several generations is more earth friendly, so in a way you are living in the future

IMO

Oh, I completely agree.... We love our RV and the freedoms/possibilities it brings.

As a matter of fact, RVs are 70% of our non-profit initiative geared towards matching rv owners with work camping spots that provide full utility hookups plus pay at resorts, ranches, farms, and more in exchange for work. Whether they got a $250 to $500 Craigslist fixer up travel trailer or a million dollar deisel pusher, they can offset some of life's overhead and put more money back in the bank while having an adventure.

The 30% are the apprinticeships, internships, bed and breakfast, ski resorts, hunting lodges, etc. That provide room, meal, and amenities in exchange for work to help get people off the streets and making money again. A second chance.

In either case 70 or 30, we provide adventure, hope, and solutions for those in need.

I believe more people should embrace tiny living or rv living. As A matter of fact, the rv park industry is booming with more demand than supply. Spots average $400 to $650 per month with water, sewage, cable, wifi, included and elect billed seperately.

Parks are cash cows at 100 to 200+ spots and offset some of the overhead by hiring 1099 work campers to run them.

Water front parks stay rented out most the year and southern state water front parks stay booked year round.

The bubble in this niche isn't even close to popping yet. It's unfortunate we don't have the capital to help more people and build out the next chapter yet. In time though, eventually.

It's nice to see another full timer on namePros.

Eric Lyon

 

[garptrader]

Oftentimes domain portfolios center around one's particular hobbies, interests, profession, etc. Despite the significant costs businesses regularly incur to operate, market, administrate their businesses, domain names are still largely underappreciated by end users for branding a product, service, or enterprise. Can domain owners take one domain in a niche they are passionate about and turn it into a business? Yes, but one needs to realize that the skillsets needed to be a successful entrepreneur are different than those to acquire and administer a passive domain portfolio.

 

[Rob Monster]

Oftentimes domain portfolios center around one's particular hobbies, interests, profession, etc. Despite the significant costs businesses regularly incur to operate, market, administrate their businesses, domain names are still largely underappreciated by end users for branding a product, service, or enterprise. Can domain owners take one domain in a niche they are passionate about and turn it into a business? Yes, but one needs to realize that the skillsets needed to be a successful entrepreneur are different than those to acquire and administer a passive domain portfolio.

I think that is spot on.

I would add that many people have little clue on how to go about choosing a suitable domain. There are obviously many experts here on NP in that arena as can be seen in some of the poll/contest threads.

Also, if a domainer has a great domain and a small business needs help getting started, it is possible to give them a big league domain through leasing, financing or equity participation, even if they are bootstrapping.

Domainers definitely have a role to play when it comes to leveling the playing field. It does require a bit of self-governance with regards to knowing when to "shoot the moon" versus co-invest / cooperate with a client.

 

[HotKey]

Went looking for my calling once, as a young man.

Ended up thousands of kilometers away from home, in a country where language and culture were completely different to what I was accustomed to.

Found myself on the precipice, arguing and shouting at an old Mongolian woman, in a tongue I spoke but which was foreign to her, and her shouting back at me in a tongue native to her and her land. She would not let me pass, this I determined through her gestures and posture. Where I wanted adventure, she wanted to keep holy and sacred from trespassers.

I ended up experiencing the forbidden place, and during the visit I came to understand why it so protected from people, well, like me. Will always and forever be thankful to the old lady, through whom waving of the arms and hand gestures we were able to come to an agreement: Her allowance in return for my appreciation was enough for both of us.

From that trip, I learned my calling was not abroad, rather, it was back at home. My beautiful wife to be, and a future together, perhaps lucky enough to duplicate ourselves, but in smaller versions.

Kids. Parents. Grandparents. As once we were, again we become. The cycle of life. My calling has been nothing special, it has been getting the truth. A truthgetter, of sorts. There is a proverb, Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. Sometimes your calling is staring at you right in the face, and you just have to embrace it.

How does this tie into domaining? Well, the truth of the matter is, I am about what fits. Get the name that works best for you, not what works best for the numbers. If you think numbers don't lie, think again. When it comes to domaining, numbers are representative of the herd, not the person who stands out and above.

 

[branding]

Tying saving the world together with domain names, and 'calling':

A favourite marketing consultant wrote "A great name can take you places a good name can’t. A truly great brand name makes room for a new story in people’s hearts and minds and can position a good product beyond it’s utility.

Don’t set out to name a company or a product, set out to name your vision of what you want to see in the world."

Just as an fyi, here in Canada, our Conference Board of Canada is looking at 3D printing viability for building in places like our North.

Btw, NameDeck: I'd like to find out a bit more on what you're up to with construction 3D printing, when it's convenient to you. If you happen to have something like a link to your proving out project.... . I've a pump prototype I came up with a few years ago for handling liquids and semi-solids, that I'm looking to start putting out into the marketplace sometime in the near future. With a couple modifications it should work fine, if not maybe very well, for handling 3D construction printing materials.

Long ramble ahead. Sorry if that bothers anyone:

Yeah the hardest part is dealing with governments and legislation. Like, we build something better than regular housing but because of legislation it cannot be used as actual housing. This may change but it'll take time.

The biggest argument (imo) for tiny sustainable housing is that the less wealthy would be able to afford their own home which beats renting. Real estate has gone up a lot over the last decade. It's insane. Like my own property has gone up close to 40% in a decade (as per valuation for taxes). Wages haven't shown that increase so even for the middle class it's getting harder to find reasonably affordable housing.

On the other hand legislation is a good thing because solar panels have already become somewhat mandatory on new to be built housing and everything is being built 'gas free'. Drilling for gas has actually been causing earthquakes over here and caused a lot of damages to houses in the north because of shifting grounds.

It's something that helps although imo the only thing that will save us all is cutting back on our total footprint, less unsustainable luxury, less space. I'm afraid we will never get there though. The poor cannot afford to do it and the majority of the middle-class and upperclass don't want to risk becoming a social paria for not indulging in the latest fad (clothing, electronic devices, holidays, cars, phones, you name it.). Myself included in certain areas.

Things is, what really bothers me is for a long time (past generations) we could get away with saying, "sorry we just didn't know". But now we do know and we basically just carry on to continue destroying the environment, knowingly. (Myself included). I

I mentioned Tesla earlier, how come (since they thrive on the green sustainable market) they don't just cut the crap and make real affordable cars. In full disclose, in my country we're not that used to take up loans for a car, we usually save up then buy it so a €40K car is out of reach for most. Leasing is gaining traction though. Anyway, Electric SUVs? (sort of). Just... Facepalm. Sure it beats the alternative but it's not like the people who usually drive those need them to drive around the entire family. They could easily produce more small cars causing the same 'damage' to the environment. They could be empowering more people to drive a decent electric car but they choose not to. Enough about that because I'm going off track. I worked with them in the past. Good company, not good enough .

So @Cal2 to conclude, I may take you up about getting in touch although I have a lot going on these days. It's still a very young and unmature project but if it gains more momentum I might. Better start chasing a good domain and dev a website for it actually . (Had to work domains in somewhere to honour the topic).

In short, my true calling probably is to find the courage to live a truly sustainable life myself, and encourage and support others who want to do so. That's something I'm praying for.

We have the knowledge, we have the means, all that's left is actually doing it.

 

[biggie]

who you gonna call?

callmobile.com

my calling is calling out when I see it

no matter the status, position, popularity, etc.

sometimes folks do or say things that fly over the heads of others
either they see and be silent or they don't see and be silent

but I see and can read between the lines, of lines.
you can't just tell me something and i say "oh tay" just because "you" said it.

it's got to make sense and if it doesn't and I find it questionable, then i'll raise the question.

somebody's got to shine the light on the before others step in it ,and I ain't scared to do it.

what about you?



imo...

 

[branding]

somebody's got to shine the light on the before others step in it ,and I ain't scared to do it.

Where can I donate a flashlight to support your calling?

 

[biggie]

Where can I donate a flashlight to support your calling?

just have some fresh batteries ready


imo...

 

[Rob Monster]

Long ramble ahead. Sorry if that bothers anyone:

Yeah the hardest part is dealing with governments and legislation. Like, we build something better than regular housing but because of legislation it cannot be used as actual housing. This may change but it'll take time.

The biggest argument (imo) for tiny sustainable housing is that the less wealthy would be able to afford their own home which beats renting. Real estate has gone up a lot over the last decade. It's insane. Like my own property has gone up close to 40% in a decade (as per valuation for taxes). Wages haven't shown that increase so even for the middle class it's getting harder to find reasonably affordable housing.

On the other hand legislation is a good thing because solar panels have already become somewhat mandatory on new to be built housing and everything is being built 'gas free'. Drilling for gas has actually been causing earthquakes over here and caused a lot of damages to houses in the north because of shifting grounds.

It's something that helps although imo the only thing that will save us all is cutting back on our total footprint, less unsustainable luxury, less space. I'm afraid we will never get there though. The poor cannot afford to do it and the majority of the middle-class and upperclass don't want to risk becoming a social paria for not indulging in the latest fad (clothing, electronic devices, holidays, cars, phones, you name it.). Myself included in certain areas.

Things is, what really bothers me is for a long time (past generations) we could get away with saying, "sorry we just didn't know". But now we do know and we basically just carry on to continue destroying the environment, knowingly. (Myself included). I

I mentioned Tesla earlier, how come (since they thrive on the green sustainable market) they don't just cut the crap and make real affordable cars. In full disclose, in my country we're not that used to take up loans for a car, we usually save up then buy it so a €40K car is out of reach for most. Leasing is gaining traction though. Anyway, Electric SUVs? (sort of). Just... Facepalm. Sure it beats the alternative but it's not like the people who usually drive those need them to drive around the entire family. They could easily produce more small cars causing the same 'damage' to the environment. They could be empowering more people to drive a decent electric car but they choose not to. Enough about that because I'm going off track. I worked with them in the past. Good company, not good enough .

So @Cal2 to conclude, I may take you up about getting in touch although I have a lot going on these days. It's still a very young and unmature project but if it gains more momentum I might. Better start chasing a good domain and dev a website for it actually . (Had to work domains in somewhere to honour the topic).

In short, my true calling probably is to find the courage to live a truly sustainable life myself, and encourage and support others who want to do so. That's something I'm praying for.

We have the knowledge, we have the means, all that's left is actually doing it.

Good one.

Funny enough, I just had a fun call with @Bernard Wright who is big on extended reality applications. I actually think there is a tremendous potential for such applications for reducing environmental impact. Telecommuting was a fine start, but there is vastly more potential being "virtually there" which also means you never have to hop into that Tesla in the first place!

As I think about @Eric Lyon and his story about RV living in remote places, it also raises the question about how to help those people who might be isolated with limited mobility to also be virtually there. The implications are pretty vast, e.g. telemedicine, community, remote learning, virtual tourism, etc.

How many people really need to fly to Peru to hike up Machu Picchu just to take the same picture a million other people already took? You know the one:

 

[frank-germany]

who you gonna call?

callmobile.com

my calling is calling out when I see it

no matter the status, position, popularity, etc.

sometimes folks do or say things that fly over the heads of others
either they see and be silent or they don't see and be silent

but I see and can read between the lines, of lines.
you can't just tell me something and i say "oh tay" just because "you" said it.

it's got to make sense and if it doesn't and I find it questionable, then i'll raise the question.

somebody's got to shine the light on the before others step in it ,and I ain't scared to do it.

what about you?



imo...

I love you

 

[branding]

Show attachment 133800

Hey... Who hacked my Google photos ??!!

 

[oldtimer]

It's nice to see another full timer on namePros.

Eric Lyon

I live full time in my RV, but I haven't moved around since I had a heart attack and became disabled a few years back. The last time that I took a trip I was pulling my RV with an old 1986 diesel GMC Sierra Truck that I owned at the time and it was a real nice adventure going up and down the hills in Texas. That old faithful truck did its job and never broke down when I was on the road. I still miss that Truck I wish I hadn't sold it to the junk yard.

PS: I had the break system completely redone on the Truck and I also had put new tires on both the RV and the Truck and had all the wheel bearings repacked which saved me a lot of trouble when traveling.

IMO

 

[Rob Monster]

Quick update on this poll. You know from your high school statistics about sample sizes and that N=30 is a statistically usable sample. Well, we have one:

I think it is pretty impressive that nearly 90% of the people on NamePros have some idea about their particular calling. That is actually mind-blowing.

Sure, there is some inherent bias in the sample of people that would enter this thread in the first place and would choose to poll, but in spite of that, it is a remarkable pattern.

Domaining income, and the freedom that it provides, has the potential to empower a lot people to fulfill their calling. If you think about it, that is a pretty cool role this community can play!

 

[frank-germany]

I think it is pretty impressive that nearly 90% of the people on NamePros have some idea about their particular calling. That is actually mind-blowing.

90% of the namepros members
who were answering your poll, Rob


not 90% of the namepros members

 

[branding]

90% of the namepros members
who were answering your poll, Rob


not 90% of the namepros members

Lol, obviously. I guess we all know your calling

 

[Rob Monster]

90% of the namepros members
who were answering your poll, Rob


not 90% of the namepros members

Thanks Frank. We'll see how the poll responses go. I did keep it private so nobody's answer is visible to anyone else. However, so far you have to admit that this is a pretty overwhelming pattern indicating that there are a lot of people on NamePros who are not drifting through life aimlessly!

 

[frank-germany]

Thanks Frank. We'll see how the poll responses go. I did keep it private so nobody's answer is visible to anyone else. However, so far you have to admit that this is a pretty overwhelming pattern indicating that there are a lot of people on NamePros who are not drifting through life aimlessly!

correct.

27 to be exact

10 % think:
"this thread is stupid"

I didn't vote,
as I think:
Rob's selfpromotion is goin' on

 

[Rob Monster]

correct.

27 to be exact

It is time for you to go back to your high school statistics textbook and re-learn the part about sampling.

Similarweb reports 534K monthly visits:

https://www.similarweb.com/website/namepros.com

For the sake of discussion, let's say that is 50K unique visitors.

That is a lot of people not walking through life aimlessly.

So, Frank, in all seriousness, since you are presumably now past middle age, what exactly are you doing with your life?

 

[frank-germany]

It is time for you to go back to your high school statistics textbook and re-learn the part about sampling.

Similarweb reports 534K monthly visits:

https://www.similarweb.com/website/namepros.com

For the sake of discussion, let's say that is 50K unique visitors.

That is a lot of people not walking through life aimlessly.

So, Frank, in all seriousness, since you are presumably now past middle age, what exactly are you doing with your life?

27 to be exact

10 % think:
"this thread is stupid"

well ok
you are right

it's only 9.7%