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.

 

[Rob Monster]

Domains will find you ...

<SERMON>

People are laughing but let me share something with you about Satan and his firey darts. They are absolutely real. Cupid's arrow is a codeword for Satan's firey darts.

Want some examples?

- AshleyMadison.com will get you sex with a married woman. They make that promise very clear. And guess what, if you go that route you will curse yourself. It is called Adultery. God hates it.

- SeekingArrangements.com will get a any would-be "sugar daddy" a date with a young woman who is trying to make ends meet through prostitution by another name. Seems like a win-win but in fact both lose.

- Abortion is not a form of birth control. It is cold-blooded murder. I don't judge anyone for making that choice, but it is a sacrifice to Moloch and was designed to be that way from the beginning.

In case anyone missed it, those are 3 guaranteed ways for anyone to curse themselves and they are all a result of "Cupid's arrow" -- the firey dart that turns lust into cursing. This is no joke.

Pornography is the appetizer. It is not free. People eventually pay for it with their soul when they put thought in action through fornication, adultery or murder. Porn is the gateway drug in other words.

Yes, it's complicated. However, if you understand the adversary's methods, you will evade those firey darts, not just on Valentine's Day or Halloween when people are an easy target, but year round.

And for those who are accursed, the good news is that all curses are broken in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. People can believe that or not, but I am 100% certain that is true. I am very studied on the topic.

As some folks here know, I am a prayer warrior -- often engaging in intercessory prayer for those who are dealing with adversity. I take prayer requests, and I know others who will do the same.

</SERMON>

 

[Samer]

I believe the culmination of my life’s work, led to NP, inventory acquired, will play a role in what’s to come. I dont know which name yet;
Still waiting for name calling, pretty sure own it, maybe not! Until then, will keep learning, strategic acquiring, and optimistic!!

this a long-term game. Waiting planets align,”
But love progress made! Organize portfolio! finally! almost done; all in one registrar, i trust !
Samer

 

[Samer]

In this ups-speak, are you asking or telling to join you on the journey?

I took it as; everyone has their own journey; bound together, by our love for domains.

Everyone goes different path to get they are;

i always believe “light at end of the tunnel.”!!
Samer

 

[Internet.Domains]

Awesome speech @Rob Monster!

 

[branding]

Thanks for this @Rob Monster . I really enjoyed watching this for various reasons. Words of wisdom. God bless.

 

[CJ6]

That was a great speech!
I hope your wife gets better. I didn't realize that she was hurt. (I'll say a prayer for her.)

Keep up the battle... stay strong.

 

[Larion]

@Rob Monster

Inspiring journey and speech.


You need to be at the very bottom in life, in order to understand the meaning of life.

GBY

 

[lock]

A calling might be a niche or a hobby making a living rather than the 9-5. I think as domainers everyone would like that ideal company name or to dominate a niche industry. A calling if you build it they will come. Field of dreams.

 

[branding]

Hey Eric, I live in an 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

I agree. The biggest issue to date is changing peoples mindset. People have to be prepared to give up space and luxury to make Earth sustainable.

Like the other day I was talking to someone at random who was so excited about his new Tesla. So great green thinking right? ... lateron he told me he had 3 more 'regular' cars. Sigh.... ( On a side note, Teslas are great but why do they have to be this big? Like tiny houses they could easily do tiny cars. ).

Back to printed housing...

I can see this becoming more common practice in the future. It's fast and cheap. Depending on where you live it's actually a viable solution. I'm involved in a small spaces project because of my architectural background and we've done one printed house so far as a proof of concept. It's a small project and we build just a couple of tiny houses a year but the best thing is they're 100% self sufficient.

So in short, I agree. That's the future

 

[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.

 

[Business Brands]

We are blessed to have Robert Monster around us.

 

[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:

 

[.X.]

Although Domaining wasn't my actual calling, Musical Instruments, buying and selling land ended up being my calling. Domaining has been a God send for me, It keeps me more grounded in life than anything else can.

I feel my next calling is doing volunteer work, I feel helping the homeless and elderly is where i belong in that capacity, we will see in the next couple of years as i venture into volunteer work.

 

[Tia Wood]

My current calling has allowed my wife and I to help hundreds of homeless (Many of which are veterans) and economically challenged individuals and their families from areas where housing costs exceed that of minimum wage or average household income find work that provides them with a furnished place to stay, utilities, meals, and a pay check to help them get back on their feet (A life-line/second-chance). 3 to 12 month contracts or longer/permanent in some cases.

That is inspiring. I had no idea! Thank you for sharing.

I'm an atheist but I have no idea what my "calling" is. I thought I used to know but it seems to be shifting.

 

[biggie]

Easy solution: stop selling to domainers.

The words of wisdom here. Why so many domainers are primarily selling to other domainers is beyond my comprehension.

Hi

I sell to whoever meets my asking price or comes close enough to where I feel comfortable releasing it from the list.
and don't care if it's a domainer or end-user, an illegal alien, a republican or a democrat.
I don't discriminate against the person.....only against the offer or amount they are willing to pay.

I think those who may.dismiss domainers as prospective/potential buyers, do so because they are assuming that their budgets aren't any higher, than their own budgets,

or in other words, assuming that domainers can't afford to pay what they think an end-user will pay, for the same domain.

perhaps that perception is conceived from the consistent lowball offers one gets on NP, but I and others I know, have sold domains to other domainers, in 5 figure ranges.

domainers as a group of buyers, may be more discerning than end-users, but their buying power is what keeps domain sales active.

perhaps instead of checking how many names sold, see how many of those sold names now have websites or are parked, waiting to be resold.


imo...

 

[Eric Lyon]

"Never" is a long time, and things can change. Just in case she ever changes her mind and would like a break at times from being totally nomad: Maybe something like a couple or more $10-$20,000 'habitats', strategically located? Maybe shared among a group? An idea I floated by a friend a bit ago, when we were discussing 3D printed habitats. Just a thought.
https://www.google.com/search?ei=3h...hUKEwji8IuLv9DlAhUSIKwKHWxbBpIQ4dUDCAo&uact=5

Maybe one place, in Nevada, that would welcome such things? https://www.google.com/search?ei=AR...&ved=0ahUKEwjmopSQwdDlAhVLJKwKHSU3ATkQ4dUDCAo

In case you or Tia haven't come across it, there's a term called 'portfolio career': https://www.google.com/search?sourc...hUKEwjl892lu9DlAhUBC6wKHWSqAYkQ4dUDCAc&uact=5



Any need for asphalt repairs at some of the places you go? I've an infrared asphalt reheating system prototype I built a few years ago. Its purpose was to design around some of the issues of other infrared systems. The initial test results were positive, and I'm thinking to resurrect the project in the future - quite possibly next year, depending on what speed some other things move along. The units should be cheap to build, easy to move around, easy to maintain.
https://www.google.com/search?ei=8Q...hUKEwidyYqsu9DlAhVBQKwKHe3cAm8Q4dUDCAo&uact=5

An alternative to asphalt, that could also be of possible use in some situations. I was thinking of it as one possible use for a low cost, low maintenance pump system I'm working on: http://www.polypavement.com/​

There's tons of communes and communities like that already. For us, we looked at land in the north for summer and south for winter in areas acreage can be found for $3k to $7k per 4 acres with recreation and hunting in their zoning. 6 months each out of a year or base stations to stop into from time to time.

Turnkey rv parks are an option as well and we've been finding small 5 to 20 rv spot parks in the $25k to $60k range all over the u.s.. some with another 10 to 20 acres to expand on.

As for K12, our toddler will be using that when he turns 5 so he can have a remote one on one teacher in video chat each day instead of a public school classroom with 50 kids competing for the teachers attention. It's bad enough schools these days need metal detectors and rampant with drugs and violence.

Asphalt is not used much, if any at rv parks because it's too soft and these rigs get pretty heavy, causing divits and sink spots that end up being more of a hassle to keep filling and fixing than just laying gravel/rock or concrete.

Lots of options and directions for us to go at the moment. Still in deep research mode on a lot of it, re-weighing options to ensure the best puzzle piece fits.

 

[handpicked]

The digital nomad living @Eric Lyon is inspiring, so also, lots of valuable insights @Rob Monster and others. Interesting thread 'The Call in the Digital Age' , maybe a nice book title for someone to pen.

 

[Rob Monster]

In this ups-speak, are you asking or telling to join you on the journey?

No particular agenda there. I debated whether to share the video, but since I got a lot of feedback from people who were in the audience that it helped them, I thought to share it with the NP family. If folks feel called to work for Epik, happy to have that discussion, but that did not really factor into the decision to do the talk, nor did it factor into the decision to make reference to the talk here.

 

[marcreative]

My current calling has allowed my wife and I to help hundreds of homeless (Many of which are veterans) and economically challenged individuals and their families from areas where housing costs exceed that of minimum wage or average household income find work that provides them with a furnished place to stay, utilities, meals, and a pay check to help them get back on their feet (A life-line/second-chance). 3 to 12 month contracts or longer/permanent in some cases.

Oh this is so awesome! Good for you and your family.

 

[oldtimer]

Oh, yes..... going through something like that and living in a tiny space full-time (30ft Motorhome, which we are still full-time in), definitely becomes a sink or swim situation.

(About 2 years now full-time in an RV, as a family).

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

 

[Cal2]

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

​

I agree. The biggest issue to date is changing peoples mindset. People have to be prepared to give up space and luxury to make Earth sustainable.

Like the other day I was talking to someone at random who was so excited about his new Tesla. So great green thinking right? ... lateron he told me he had 3 more 'regular' cars. Sigh.... ( On a side note, Teslas are great but why do they have to be this big? Like tiny houses they could easily do tiny cars. ).

Back to printed housing...

I can see this becoming more common practice in the future. It's fast and cheap. Depending on where you live it's actually a viable solution. I'm involved in a small spaces project because of my architectural background and we've done one printed house so far as a proof of concept. It's a small project and we build just a couple of tiny houses a year but the best thing is they're 100% self sufficient.

So in short, I agree. That's the future

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.

 

[branding]

Show attachment 133800

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

 

[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]

The camera wasn't panning around, so it wouldn't show the audience. A quiet audience. There was some clapping at the end - but that could've been added in after, so no real proof there.

The video shows the Mid Atlantic Reformation Society put the conference on, so I checked their site. Rob's listed there as one of the guest speakers: https://futureofchristendom.org/2019-speakers/

There were ~200 registered delegates in attendance but their videos usually get more views than their live events. Not sure it really matters. If the content is useful to someone, great.

I did also speak on a couple of panels, and I also did mention NamePros specifically in one of those panels. You can catch that here:

You can skip to 28:55

It was a real event though with humans in attendance. Crazy, right?

 

[Rob Monster]

Do you feel you gave an honest reply? You used the term wrong speak/speech. That sounds better than hate speech. Then went on about being a "sacrificial lamb" from left leaning publications. You say the Huff Post article was a hit piece before, but they quote stuff, link to stuff etc. It's the second result in Google when people type in your name. What part of the article is wrong? I've never seen you take that article apart. You are the main source of the article, the things you've said on the internet. Does any of the responsibility fall on you? It seems you're always blaming the left or somebody else. You served this stuff up to people.
I still don't understand to this day, why you continue to reference all of this stuff. Why not simply focus on the product? Faith-based marketing usually is selling faith based items/something else. If your product is good, market that.

Actually, I am quite content to just focus on running a business. I don't go looking for these opportunities. I have not talked to the media in more than 6 months now. I rarely engage on Gab.

As for HuffPo, ICYMI, at least 7 of my 8 comments were removed there. It is impossible to comment there now. That article would have had thousands of comments on it.

There were comments like this one:

Notice zero replies? Mine was removed there. People that know me and could attest to my true nature were not able to participate. That is what is known as "Manufactured consensus".

The Dissenter plugin had hundreds of comments on it, but HuffPo changed the URL so you can't see those now either.

Do you possibly see an issue with their choice of headline picture? Do you think they might have been engaging in a tiny bit of character assassination?

In the meantime, I do have the unfinished business of dealing with a false characterization on Wikipedia, comprised of narratives concocted by left-leaning media:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Monster

In case you are wondering, I am actually unable to edit the article, and anyone who edits the articles in a way that does not fit the prescribed narrative sees their edits removed.

I am evaluating my options there. For now, I have simply put Wikipedia on notice:

https://twitter.com/robmonster/status/1160620833020293120