Bouldering

People are naturally anti-cheap, despite what everyone claims

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I remember when I last went shopping for some new climbing shoes.

As most people do when buying something, especially when it’s your first time and you have no idea what to look for, I did some research on the different types of climbing shoes, what makes each shoe different, what a good shoe should have (and what it shouldn’t), and some other tips and tricks to know whether a shoe fits me and my climbing style.

So, armed with my newfound knowledge, I went to my local sports equipment store to find myself a new pair of shoes.

There were so, so many different shoes, but eventually I narrowed it down to three pairs of shoes that had all the qualities I was looking for (and which I found visually appealing, an importance that can’t be understated, of course)

Out of those three, one had a price way above what I was willing to spend at that time.

So only two remained…

As far as I could tell, the features were the same. They both looked equally nice. They both fit my feet (and my climbing style) equally well. And they were almost identical when it came to the specific attributes that mattered.

The only difference was the price…

One of them was about $50 and the other was $80. (this happened quite a while ago, so the real figures could differ, but the relative difference was more or less the same)

Now, seeing as both shoes were more or less the same, you would think I, or any other rational, thinking human being, would have chosen the $50 pair of shoes and continued with their day, right? Right??

Well, that’s not what happened.

Instead my mind, even though I wasn’t aware of it at the time, went “Huh, why is this one almost half the price of the other one? There must be something wrong with it.”Of course, I had no idea what that something was. And I’m not even sure if there actually was something wrong with it in the first place. But this, seemingly odd, behavior isn’t all that weird when you look at how people make buying decisions.

In fact, that’s how most, if not all, people think—or at least in circumstances where money isn’t a major issue and people actually have a choice to make instead of being forced into one.

This is why merely “competing on price” isn’t a viable strategy.

There are, of course, many reasons for that. One of them is that, as Dan Kennedy said, “There’s no strategic advantage to being the second cheapest…”, and I can guarantee you there are always dozens of others who will compete with you to be the cheapest of all, resulting in an arms race to going out out business.

Another, which neatly ties up my shopping adventure, is that, to the consumer, price is an indicator of quality and people simply won’t trust something that’s cheap… unless there’s a narrative around it as to where the cost savings are made.

That’s why Ikea can afford to be “cheap”, you have to build the damn thing yourself, after all.

Funnily enough, that’s why Ryanair not only has to be cheap, it has to look and sound cheap as well. If they acted like any other normal airline, people wouldn’t trust their prices and decide not to fly with them. Instead, Ryanair does everything it can to uphold its reputation of “cheapness” so there’s a surrounding narrative as to why tickets are so cheap compared to other airlines.

Moral of the story: if you want to compete on price, you better create a narrative as to why that’s the case. Otherwise, just increase your prices, increase the perceived quality, and call it a day.

Speaking of quality.

It might not be cheap, but one of my best-selling courses, Product Creation Made Easy will teach you how to easily ideate, create, and launch profitable digital products in 21 days or less.

There’s even an entire module on pricing strategies!

Seriously, check it out here: https://alexvandromme.com/pcme/


Getting more done in the same amount of time

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A while ago I received a hangboard—a wooden training instrument with specific-sized holes to train yourself to hang on to small ledges with anywhere from all 5 to 2 fingers per hand—as a gift.

A great and useful tool to up my bouldering game.

For months now, it’s been above the door of my room where I work, read, sleep, relax, and more than occasionally waste a lot of time—long story short, I’m in there a lot.

I also enter and leave a lot, whether it’s to get something to drink, to eat, to go to the toilet, to go on a walk, to the gym, to talk to people, whatever it is.

The consequence?

Every time I leave my room I use the hangboard.

It’s the easiest thing ever. It takes all but 5 seconds and it’s always “on the way” to whatever I want to do.

The result?

I get tons of practice and training without thinking about it, let alone realizing I’m “training”.

Now, I don’t know how this might be useful in your life, but what I do know is that you could use this same strategy to force yourself to write a small opening line (or a subject line) to an email every time you think of an idea worthy to write down.

You want to write it down anyway, so why not practice creating more curiosity in your writing—and then send it to the world and see what happens?

Anyway.

Another way to learn how to create more curiosity in your writing and improve your persuasiveness is by checking out Email Valhalla here: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla


The best lifehack I discovered since ’00

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But before I can share it with you, here’s some context you need:

See, if you’ve been on my list for any reasonable amount of time, you’ll probably know I’m big on bouldering. I try to go bouldering at least once a week… unless I’ve got injuries and my physical therapist forbids me to.

Anyway.

Last week I finally got myself a hangboard—a wooden training instrument with specific sized holes to train yourself to hang on to small ledges with anywhere from all 5 to 2 fingers per hand.

A great and useful tool.

In my case, I mounted it above the door of my room where I work, read, sleep, relax, and more than occasionally waste some time—I’m in there a lot.

I also enter and leave a lot, whether it’s to get something to drink, to eat, to go to the toilet, to go on a walk, to the gym, talk to people, whatever it is.

So my new lifehack?

Simple.

Every time I either enter or leave through my door I have to use the hangboard at least once.

It’s the easiest thing ever. It takes all but 5 seconds and it’s always “on the way” to whatever I want to do.

The result?

I get tons of practice and training in without even thinking about it, let alone even realizing I’m “training”.

Now I don’t know how this might be useful in your life, but what I do know is that you could use this same strategy to force yourself to write a small opening line (or a subject line) to an email everytime you think of an idea and want to write it down.

You want to write it down anyway, so why not practice creating more curiosity in your writing?

Anyway.

Another way to learn how to create more curiosity in your writing and improve your persuasiveness is by checking out Email Valhalla here: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla


My long-awaited return to the boulder gym

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I’m going bouldering later today for the first time in months.

For the past however long it may have been, I couldn’t go because of an injury that had to recover.

But now, with lot’s of physical therapy behind my back, a lot of specific exercises, and a whole lot of patience, well now I’m finally going to get back at it on the wall for the first time.

Yet it’s still going to be a different session than I’d normally have.

See, I’ve been told to build it up from the bottom again. To go slow and see how it goes. My shoulder injury hasn’t yet healed completely so I can’t just go all out again, that could easily mess up my shoulder once again and send me back another few months.

There’s just one big problem.

Doing the easy stuff and taking it slow, as if I was a beginner (the advice my physical therapist gave me) is boring as hell.

So, logically I had to come up with a new game plan.

Instead of doing the usual bouldering stuff I’d do—only a lot easier—I’ll turn this first session into a technique session where I’ll spend the entirety of my time improving my movement and practicing the fundamentals.

I won’t just be going through the movements on easier climbs.

I’ll purposely turn the “easy” climbs (aka, not difficult on my shoulder) into real challenges of technical skill. The purpose won’t be to finish the climb. The purpose will be to finish the climb as flawlessly and as efficiently as possible.

This is called “forward intent”.

Aka, making something more difficult than it needs to be with the sole purpose of improving your craft.

Forward intent, as well as going back to the basics and practicing your fundamentals, is something you can (and should) do in business as well.

Add constraints to the things you do, really focus on practicing you otherwise wouldn’t, and don’t skip the “boring” parts.

And if you’d like to know a nice way to start improving your craft, especially your email writing ability, then check out my flagship course Email Valhalla, where I hone in on the fundamentals to get your email writing capabilities to the next level.

Check it out here: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla


I’m entering my first bouldering competition tomorrow

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It’s become a core hobby of mine last year.

Bouldering is fun, exciting, and sometimes scary, but above all else, it pushes you outside your comfort zone.

As with any sport or skill, you start with the basics. You take a few simple routes to get the gist of it. Understand how things work and build up the confidence to try trickier routes.

And it’s with those trickier routes where you sometimes have to take a leap of faith, quite literally.

Some routes have been designed with jumps in mind, where you have to leave to the safety of your footing behind and launch onto the next part of the course, believing in your ability to catch it and continue climbing.

None of the routes are extremely high, but it’s a scary feeling, nonetheless.

One of the biggest mindset shifts I had to make early on was to believe I could actually complete these routes.

I remember in the early days I wouldn’t even try to climb some routes. It seemed like I hadn’t the slightest chance of pulling those off.

But I had to convince myself to get out there and attempt them anyway if I hoped to improve. Now, I didn’t immediately succeed in everything I attempted, but once in a while, I could get one—raising my confidence and allowing the next run to be even smoother.

What does this have to do with business?

Dan Kennedy said it doesn’t make sense to promise people amazing results if they feel they won’t be able to achieve those results. Or in other words. How likely does the prospect feel they’ll be able to achieve the result you promise them with your product/service?

This is an objection you have to overcome.

Tell them how easy it can be. Show them proof of other people in similar situations who achieved the results they desire. Nobody will buy your product or service if they don’t believe themselves capable of using it successfully.

And if you want to learn more about creating products people will buy.

Then check out Product Creation Made Easy here: https://alexvandromme.gumroad.com/l/product


Would you go bouldering without limbs?

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Because that’s exactly what I witnessed last week.

As you may (or may not) know, I’m a big bouldering fan. I’ve been climbing for just about a year now and I try to go at least once a week, sometimes more.

It’s a fun, engaging, healthy, and challenging hobby and one I share with many friends of mine.

But just last week I saw something I never could’ve expected.

There I was, practicing a new competition boulder my gym placed (I’m competing in my first ever boulder competition next week) when a friend told me to look behind me at someone who was climbing across the room.

Nothing could’ve prepared me for what I saw.

Up on that wall, I saw a guy who lost both his legs and one arm. All three of them replaced by prosthetics. Yet that didn’t seem to stop him from going climbing.

Yeah.

What a chad.

I doubt many people in the same situation would even dare to attempt the same. Hell, I’m sure a few people reading this won’t even believe me. But that’s fine. This isn’t for them. This is for you.

Because you know how much is possible if you set your mind to it.

You know that no explosion or accident (I don’t know how the guy lost his limbs, I didn’t talk to him, this is just me guessing) would ever hold you back from bouldering (assuming you’d want to go bouldering).

But seriously.

You should’ve seen it.

That said.

What’s your excuse for not making and selling the products you want and making a buttload of money while helping as many people as you possibly can?

And if you can’t answer that question.

Then check out Product Creation Made Easy and get started right away: https://alexvandromme.com/pcme