Back in 2014 I was sharing the platform with a couple of the new gTLD registry representatives at a TRAFFIC conference (one of the last). Both of them were telling everyone at the conference that they needed to buy what they were selling before it was too late. I had a decision....should I gag myself or not?

I listened as they both told the audience that the new gTLDs were the most awesome thing to ever occur on the Internet. To get into the gold rush all the conference attendees needed to do was secure their stake in the future of domaining!

After all the huff and puff I decided it was time for someone to bring some sanity to the debate and remove the self-imposed gag of politeness. So I waded in and attempted to pour a bucket of hard cold reality over the audience. A summary of what I said was, “There is no business model for investors in the new gTLDs.”

I then ticked off the business models. Do they have traffic? Nope. Can I buy one for $10 and sell it for $2,000? In a market of massive supply….unlikely. Can I buy a premium domain for $10,000 and sell it for $100,000? Nope. Can I build them out? I may as well build out the many .com domains I have.

Have some investors made money selling the new gTLDs? Yes. Just like some people win the lottery….but as a rule there is no sustainable business model for investors.

I then stated that I believed that as investors we were on at least a seven-year journey while the market decided which extension would succeed and which would fail. It would also provide some time to see which of the three major investment business models would become viable.

As I spoke a hush descended over the audience. I then said that some in them would ignore my advice and mortgage their houses to buy some of the new gTLDs. As their cash ran out I would likely pick up some of the domains for registration cost, post seven-years.

This past week was a complete mess for me. Monday and Tuesday were fine but Wednesday morning I woke up with a bad case of the flu. My brain was about as useful as a squished tomato and my body felt like a truck had driven over every square inch of it.

In this sense of stupor, I developed a fresh love affair with the couch and television remote. It’s amazing how many useless shows you can catch-up on that you didn’t even know existed prior to your state of incapacitation.

It was during this time I began to ponder the important aspects of life such as; Why does every part of Netflix seem to have exactly the same shows listed? Why is it that the categorisation system for iTunes seems to think that “Top Gun” is a romantic comedy? Who thought that Disney’s “A Wrinkle in Time” was actually worth ninety minutes of my life?

The one saving grace was many of the shows overcame the drums beating in my head and sent me to sleep. So day one was largely consumed with mindless television, sleeping and answering a couple of emails…..by the way, I cannot be held responsible for whatever I wrote on Wednesday so if you received an email from me then just reply with a big question mark.

I recently said to a person, “Would you rather I cheered as you leap over the edge of a cliff or say something to stop you from jumping?” As I’m sure you can appreciate, it was a tough conversation.

A true friend is a person that says something to you when they think you’re in danger of losing your shirt in a business deal. A Facebook friend is a person that clicks “like” at the stupid idea just before you lose your house.

The silly thing is that we often get disgruntled by the friend who is trying to provide some guidance….and in our exuberance, we don’t listen to what they are trying to say to us. After all, who are they to pour a bucket of cold water on the brilliant new venture we’re just about to invest in?

The other night, I found myself in these exact circumstances but on the other side of the fence. A few friends were trying to provide me with some good advice about a new project I was about to embark upon.

In my arrogance, all I could think about was saying to them, “So what’s the view like from the cheap seats?” Gratefully, I didn’t say the words aloud but rest assured, I was thinking them.

It took me about half an hour to calm down and realise what they were suggesting had wisdom and despite my emotions they weren’t against me. In the end, after careful consideration I decided to adopt many of their suggestions. BTW, the project I’m working upon revolves around helping a group of young people reach their full potential.

Determining your own limitations is often necessary for your very survival but are you placing limitations upon yourself that you’ve accidentally embraced? As we journey through life there are many well meaning people that say things to us that impose limitations upon our thinking. Isn’t it time to snap the shackles of good intentions?

A silly example of this can be a belief that you can’t sing. You may not be able to sing like Pavarotti but “can’t sing?”, I think not. It’s the rare individual that can’t actually sing but most of the population have bought into limitation that not only can’t they sing but for the sake of those people around them, they shouldn’t sing.

Have you allowed others to limit what you are capable? Such as, you have to work to pay the mortgage, so the bank now sets the limits for your own life. You can’t start that business you’ve always wanted to because of the financial risk. You have a sense that you’re in a mess and you can’t do anything without disaster befalling you.

You could believe that last statement or make decisions that break the bindings of the limitations that you have embraced for your life. Sometimes a simple decision maybe to just sell the house....

A number of years ago Roselyn and I were having a cup of tea and lamenting the fact that our two eldest children were wanting to borrow our second car all the time. Sometimes they wanted the car at the same time and we had to have the wisdom of Solomon to decide who could borrow it.

Last night I watched an interesting video which really challenged the whole notion of the way I’d thought about marketing. For me, marketing had always been about informing people about the benefits of a product/service and explaining how it’s awesome! What I’d missed in my thinking was the reason “why” a business behaves the way it does and how this concept impacts customers.

The below circle diagram illustrates how most marketers think about their marketing activities. They proceed from the outside of “What” they do and move inwards towards “How” they do it and finally some get to the “Why” they do what they do.

Pause to think about this for a second. Brochures inevitably espouse the “What” is great about a product and “How” it’s going to benefit you. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this approach other than the “Why” you made the product has been left out.

In the video, the presenter encouraged the group of entrepreneurs he was sharing with to work from the inside of the circle to the outside. Talk about the “Why” and work your way out to the “How” and “What”.

He then highlighted that both “Apple” and “Harley-Davidson” use this approach in all their marketing communications. When customers understand the “Why” they then begin to associate with the company’s values.