Don’t buy “Question the Rules!”

Drum Roll . . .

Number 6 If you do not know how to properly use the word “adage-g” in a sentence, and you are not interested in learning how, this course may not be for you.

Number 5 You are not ready to face your own inner “Punk” – this is an investment. Why buy into it if you aren’t willing to cash the check on your own soul?

Number 4 You are offended by “dirty-words” – yep there in there. Fortunately for me, I don’t notice them, it took my wife’s mentioning it to me.

Number 3 You think even dialogue should be pitch shifted to sound like T-Pain and your offended by unedited audio

Number 2. Your attention span can’t get past a 3 item list; forget about 5! – this program is packed with hours of great information

And the number 1 reason you should NOT buy Question the Rules . . .  You want to be spoon fed a cookie-cutter get rich quick internet multi-marketing program – wrong place. You need to come ready to take what you hear and apply it to your life and your business goals!

Bonus – you are allergic or otherwise have an adamant aversion to apples! – please just be careful here. You know your own health better than me – I am not a Doctor – Heck I’m not even Rick Springfield!

Now, if you are still reading you can do one of 3 things.

You still here? Ok, here we go; first a little about me to frame this review. I have a 15 plus year background running operations for a training company, building a brand and formatting course content. Additionally, I have purchased many books and listened to many business offerings; including a large quantity of Tony Robbins material, who I really enjoy, but have not always acted on, even though I agree with pretty much everything that he says.

When I am not involved in training, I am a writer, composer, video editor, story-teller and adventure rider motorcycle writer adventurehermit. So I take each of these facets of my life into consideration when reviewing Question the Rules.

In fairness, before I continue, I must tell you, I HAVE purchased Question the Rules and was able to get in when it was much less expensive; but more about that later.

Why did I buy it?

Quite simply I was attracted to the punk rock aspect. Also, one of the creators is named Johnny B. Truant, which is such a cool name. Coincidentally, I call my youngest daughter “Nya B”, which is also a cool name, so perhaps it was a subconscious buy.

Growing up I was more of a Kiss fan(yep that’s me!) than a punk fan, even though I did perform in an all acoustic bass ensemble version of the Sex Pistols Anarchy in the UK in college. So I figured I was not a complete poser.

Lee and Johnny instantly put me at ease as I began listening to the recordings. They quicklyexplained the mind set of punk rock vs. the music aspect. Hell, Willie Nelson’s name even gets dropped during the networking session!  Well placed Star F*cking. Put simply, it just felt right; which is hard to explain, but it is the best way to describe my purchasing experience.

Why did I almost NOT buy it?

I did not know who the hell Johnny B Truant or Lee Stranahan were before 2 weeks ago. Cool name aside, I was skeptical. There are a lot of programs to buy, not to mention a lot of really good free stuff out there. So parting with cold hard cash on someone I was not familiar with took a little bit of faith. Quick aside, there is a great section on FAITH in the QTR series.

As I mentioned above, I was able to buy QTR at a lower price than it is currently. But here is where I was hung up. I was prompted with a “buy now, before Saturday because the price is going up” message. This almost made me NOT buy it. I have seen other programs that say this and then the price does not go up and I feel tricked. This was not the case with QTR. The price DID go up, as promised. My wallet is glad I got in before the deadline. However, my soul would not hesitate to pay the current price, now that I see how great it is. Guys, if you are reading this, no need to send an invoice, the last sentence was strictly for emphasis.

What I can tell you is as of 5/17/10 it still costs less than the last set of Tony Robbins CD’s that I purchased; and for me has been far more effective.

What was odd?

Being an early adopter not all of the promised bonus materials were available right away. I was a little concerned but Johnny replied to an email very quickly. He assured me that he and Lee were on it and all would be available soon; “now shut up and look at all the other great stuff we HAVE posted!” (he didn’t actually say that last part – but he could have and he would have been right, there was a lot of great content to get started on)

As promised, everything was up in a couple of days. Personally, I would liked to have known in advance that everything was not ready. However, the customer service aspect more than quelled any concerns I might have had. Rather than making a lame excuse, Johnny was honest about being overwhelmed.  Monster bonus points there! Honesty Rules!

First Reaction

The audio quality was a bit on the low-fi side. At first, I was not sure if it was a nod to Punk Rock or simply the setting in which the recordings were done. There is background noise, breaks for beverages, even conversations that take place about what will be edited out before they release the recordings. At this point I am thinking to myself, “Self, are you not listening to the released product?”

As I continued to listen I realized the recordings were simply conversations over the internet between Lee, Johnny and the various people they interviewed. Hmmm? Where was my Tony Robbins perfect studio environment? As an audio guy I immediately made a squishy face (a term of my daughters, when I disapprove of something). But before I could google “Lee Stanahan and Johnny Rotten” I realized something. IT DIDN’T MATTER . . . AND . . . It might be better this way . . . it’s real!

All of my preconceived notions of perfection went out the window. Lee and Johnny were getting it done, and I was benefiting from listening to real world scenarios get worked out. They were not wasting time polishing something, they were making it happen and I was benefiting from it! A double bonus, in my opinion.

The sessions are perfect. I love that the network session blows away the myth of how to network. Something I have never been very comfortable with in traditional terms. Johnny and Lee break it down over 3 hours of very engaging discussion that makes networking more accessible than I ever imagined. Additionally, I learned it is not some foreign thing that I must go do in a vaccum. In fact, I am already unconsciously it. Now I need to see how to turn this unconscious behavior into something I can use productively.

Favorite Part

The fact that everything is recorded and I do not have to read it! I am busy, as I am sure most people who are interested in the program are. Being able to listen as opposed to plowing through hours of transcripts is excellent. The conversation aspect is simply the best. You listen to real dialogue as opposed to one person’s opinion.Even better Lee and Johnny do not always agree, offering contrasting opinionsor alternatives to each others ideas adds to the immediacy and the learning.

All the interviewers, that I have heard so far, are “doing something.” It is not pyramid scheme, where you send someone money to teach you how to get someone to send you money, etc. These folks are working their business and sharing their stories. Listening to people talk about their businesses rather than baiting me to send money the whole time has been breathtakingly refreshing! I cannot express how powerful this is, but, if you are reading this, I am sure you can relate.

The diversity of each interviewee and the hosts is also comforting. They do not work themselves into a paperbag. On the contrary they diversify and stay inspired. I am often involved in many things at once, but rarely meet other people who can relate. At times I have wondered if my diversity is a lack of focus. Now I can see it as a valuable way to stay sharp.

What would I like to see in the future?

First and foremost do not change it! PLEASE, do not start editing and cleaning up the interviews. I know this sounds like a punk band telling another band, “don’t play in tune or you won’t be punk,” but, don’t do it. The sessions are great as is! To change it would be to lessen the spontaneity and DIYpunk aspect that sets QTR apart from other programs.

BOTTOM LINE SUMMARY

The bottom line I purchased Question the Rules. In the week since I have owned it I have made more changes to my personal and business life then ever. I have been through much of  Tony Robbins materials and I believe his information is fantastic. It has helped me personally, but I could never successfully convert it to my business life. Some of what  Johnny and Lee have to say is similar to Tony’s approach and the guys give props to him throughout.

ADD MOMENT – Come to think of it I also use “Tony Horton’s” Beach Body workout videos (what is it with guys named Tony and motivation?) Maybe I should simply change my name to Tony and forget about trying so hard?

BELOW THE BOTTOM LINE

If you are ready to awaken your inner punk and take action in your life – then GET Question the Rules and get busy!

Yes the links throughout are affiliate links! And yes, I would appreciate if you click on them. If you do not want to; I understand. Well, not really, but I won’t hold it against you. Either way, do yourself a favor and go directly to the site, check it out, sign up and change your life!

<<nothing to see here, now get going and do something!>>