

The Three Month Vacation Podcast
Sean D'Souza
Sean D'Souza made two vows when he started up Psychotactics back in 2002. The first was that he'd always get paid in advance and the second was that work wouldn't control his life. He decided to take three months off every year. But how do you take three months off, without affecting your business and profits? Do you buy into the myth of "outsourcing everything and working just a few hours a week?" Not really. Instead, you structure your business in a way that enables you to work hard and then take three months off every single year. And Sean walks his talk. Since 2004, he's taken three months off every year (except in 2005, when there was a medical emergency). This podcast isn't about the easy life. It's not some magic trick about working less. Instead with this podcast you learn how to really enjoy your work, enjoy your vacation time and yes, get paid in advance.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 19, 2020 • 33min
How to create a pricing ecosystem that helps increase revenue and free time)
Imagine making one change in your pricing strategy. Then let's say you make two. But let's say we make three changes. With three tiny changes, we have not just made tiny little moves, but have created a whole pricing environment. Or a trophic cascade, where one thing leads to the other, and then the entire cascading effect changes the way you do business. Your revenue goes up, which buys you more time. Wouldn't you like to know how to create this cascade? That's what today's episode is all about and how to go about putting together the elements of the cascade.

Sep 12, 2020 • 15min
How to extend or reduce article length by using the power of examples
Either your article is too long and bloated or it's much too skimpy. When faced with either of these situations we are at a loss as to what needs to be done. Well, worry no more because "examples" are waiting to rush to your rescue. Let's find out how to use examples to extend or reduce content in articles, books, presentations and just about any other media that goes out to clients.

Sep 5, 2020 • 28min
3 Pesky Things That Bug Us at Psychotactics (And How We Overcame Them)
When you run a business, there are three things that seems to come up. The first is "ungrateful subscribers", the second is definitely "pirates" and the third is the "competition. No matter how hard you try, these three pesky occurrences seem hard to avoid, but as you'd expect, there's a way out.

Aug 29, 2020 • 15min
Why "Normal Headlines" are more powerful than "Clickbait Headlines"
Clickbait headlines seem to be designed to get our curiosity. But what makes a clickbait headline so attractive in the first place? And how do we write "normal" headlines that are far superior in getting the attention of the client?

Aug 22, 2020 • 20min
How to give contrarian advice to clients (without a ton of proof and research)
Often contrarian advice is precisely what the client needs. But how do you present the concepts to clients? Don't you need a lot of proof and research? Here's how you can get your client to not just listen, but also implement your contrarian advice.

Aug 15, 2020 • 24min
How to reframe your business with a contrarian system (and make it stand out)
It's one thing to say "be contrarian" but you can stick out too much. And anyway, we don't particularly care to disagree. Yet, being contrarian gives you a uniqueness factor that gets the attention of the client. What steps do we need to take to get to this attention? And how do we go about it systematically? Let's find out.

Aug 8, 2020 • 28min
How To Use a Contrarian Mindset to Your Advantage
Do you know why the Tesla is such a big car? Think about it for a second. Tesla Motors only make electric cars. The bigger the car, the heavier it's going to be and the greater the drain on the battery. So why make a big car? Why not make it more compact like other electric cars? The answer lies in the battery. The entire base of the car is nothing but a battery. The bigger the battery, the greater the distance the car can go. The top of the line Tesla can go 400 miles (that's over 640 kilometres) on a single charge. How did Tesla come up with technology that far supersedes the range of a fuel-driven car? The answer lies in a concept of contrarianism. Being a contrarian means you're not like sheep, just following what has been done in the past. Being contrarian means you're creating an end point and working backwards, without even knowing how you're going to get to the "finish line". Find out how to use the power of being contrarian to your advantage.

Aug 1, 2020 • 5min
Why You Need To Start a Project—Not a Business
When we think of making the transition to our own business, why do we freeze? It's simply because we're not sure where to start. A business has so many aspects to it. Yet, most business people never start up a business. Find out what you really should be doing.

Jul 25, 2020 • 18min
Quick Tips: 3 Speedy Methods to Get Great Testimonials
When it comes to testimonials, we tend to end up with rambling, not so great testimonials? How do we get powerful experiences, instead of watered down testimonials? Here are three quick (and relatively easy) ways to go about the task of getting great testimonials.

Jul 18, 2020 • 25min
Rerun 6: Info-product Creation Part 2: Double Your Sales With Versions and Satellite Products
The final rerun of six re-runs: Can you really double your sales of a product you've created a while ago? And why are satellite products so very useful to clients and profitable to your info-product business? In this episode we look at info-products as we'd look at a piece of software like Photoshop. Find out the magic that already exists within your info-product and why you don't have to keep crazily searching for newer clients all the time.