When I was 21 years old, I decided that I wanted a career in technology. A friend of mine was attending a Microsoft-oriented technical school near where I lived and suggested I take a look around and see if it was something I’d be interested in. I took a tour of the “campus” (which was comprised of 5 large classrooms and a computer lab) and thought, yep, this was my diving board.
To complete their MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) track would cost several thousand dollars, far more than I had at the time. I approached my grandfather and asked for a loan, which he generously gave. I went to the classes, passed the tests and now, many years later, I am right where I want to be.
I had support.
My little ebook about Evernote has been enjoyed by many, many more people than I ever dreamt it would. As much as I like to think that I don’t suck at writing, the quality of the work is only half the story (or less, depending on who you ask). No, a great deal of the popularity of my product is the responsibility of many Internet friends, my homeboys (and girls) in the LifeRemix network and Evernote itself.
Support.
There are so many lovely stories about people who drag their drunken faces out of the gutter and go on to do great things, completely on their own. To quote the television commercials for countless weight loss products, these results are not typical.
Show me somebody who does something awesome and I’ll show you somebody who is backed by an incredibly supportive and sacrificial network of friends and colleagues.
My friends Michael and Terry have recently launched a new podcasting network called 70Decibels. These guys bust their asses to produce some of my favorite Internet radio shows and, as it stands right now, they don’t earn one red cent from any of it. They do it because they love it.
Thing is, they really are really good at it.
The only way these fine fellows are going to be able to take this thing where it ought to go is with support. Right now, they need two types of such support: social and financial.
I’m asking you to give them both.
First, go to the 70Decibels.com donation page and sign up for a recurring donation. Any one of the subscription options is a drop in your bucket and we both know it, so don’t skimp. I’m totally serious. Give them money. They’re trying to turn a good thing into an epic thing. Do it.
Second, I want you to click this link which will mention them on Twitter. FeedBurner tells me that a few thousand people read this, so if even everybody who reads these words right now clicks the link, we could get a pretty damn good groundswell of support going.
If this doesn’t resonate with you, do me this favor: think back to the time when you somebody helped you for no reason at all. It’s happened to all of us. Remember how profoundly grateful you felt when you were given help that you never thought possible.
I’ve been helped in more ways than I could ever possibly repay. That’s why I’m going to yell about 70Decibels until I’m hoarse and give them money every single month.
I hope you’ll consider doing the same.
Thanks.
