An important update

This is a quick update to let you know that I have not stepped entirely off the face of the planet. There are several things in the works that you should know about.

The Rowe Conference begins tomorrow (Friday) and I look forward to meeting quite a few of you there. I am very excited at the chance to meet this particular crowd. Being a near-compulsive planner/organizer, I have dedicated quite a lot of time preparing for the conference, as has Becca, who will be leading all the parts on beliefs.

The DVD pricing has been changed. The original, introductory price of roughly $1/disc covered the direct costs of production only, and that’s about it. Fortunately, around that time we had some generous donations come in that subsidized the distribution of those discs. But now that more than 20,000 DVDs have gone out the door at that low, low price, I have raised the prices to help raise some funds. Some have already expressed dissatisfaction at these new prices, but I would like to remind everyone that paying $10 or less for an item that can change your world view is, well, a pretty good deal.

Here are the new prices:

• 1 DVD - $10 each
• 10 DVDs - $7 each
• 30 DVDs - $5 each
• 50 DVDs - $4 each
• 100 DVDs - $3 each

As always, if you have a special need or cannot afford these prices, please contact us and we’ll do what we can to accommodate you. I have a special soft spot for anybody distributing DVDs to libraries, schools, and elected officials, so don’t be afraid to ask. But if you can afford a few bucks to try and change a few minds, we could really use your support.

The PBS shoot (WGBY – Springfield MA) is “in the can” and will be broadcast on Tuesday February 10th between 8:00 pm and 9:00 pm. I am still trying to find out if it will be streamed on the Web. If it is, I will post the link as soon as I get it. I’ve seen the pre-final cut and it looks very good. I will almost certainly be there that evening, in the studio, helping to man the phones and field a few questions live. The “format” is three roughly 10-minute seminar sections with a studio audience and a video intro and outro. Since I never do the same thing twice, preferring instead to torture myself, you’ve never seen most of this material.

Regarding offering the Crash Course videos for free on the site, we’ve come to a few decisions. The pressing issue is that in late January we ‘ran out’ of bandwidth. Ron and I have spent a lot of brain-time exploring various approaches to solving this problem and weighing the pros and cons of each. Our decision at this point is to continue to offer the high resolution versions for both registered and subscribed users, but to serve up the YouTube versions for anonymous viewers at the site. We wish it could be otherwise, but at this time it is necessary.

[note: just to be clear,there will always be an available version of Crash Course at this site]  

I will soon begin doing something that I have been very reticent to do in the past, and that is to send out emails to registered users that sometimes have ‘commercial’ content. As I recently wrote in the forums:

Along with this, I will be announcing a change in policy regarding communications from this site back out to registered users. In short, I will be sending out occasional communications that could result in additional revenue to support this site. For example, when the new 3-DVD set for the Crash Course is available, I will send that out. Or I might send out a communication extolling the virtues of being a site subscriber, or announce a membership special or something.

The bottom line is that I have heavily subsidized this site up to this point, and while I wish I was independently wealthy and could simply offer my best work to everyone for free forever, that's just not the case.

So there will be more affiliate relationships, products developed, and other revenue generating materials offered so that I can continue to keep this site running, answer your emails promptly, develop new materials and keep the message moving.

Since we now have over 9,700 registered users, this makes sense as a means of supporting this site and the incredible people who now work with me on this project.

I have a confession to make. I have been a bonehead. While I have secured some of the best help I can imagine, with Ron on the tech side, Amanda on the administrative side, and Michelle answering emails, I have not taken care of myself by finding ways to clear off my desk so that I can do what I do best, which is create new content. But that has changed. This week, two exciting people have been hired to help me out. I now have an assistant and a production assistant. I cannot even begin to tell you how much this has improved my life over the past 3 days.

So here’s what it means, to subscribers, first, and everybody else, second. I am investing quite a bit of money in a production studio (of sorts) that will allow me to produce high-quality video and podcast material with (and this is the magic part!) my role being confined to the generation of the core material itself.

As of last week, I would have spent countless hours poring over technical specifications and prices to source the materials. This week I let that go. By next week, the hardware will be in place, and I will have someone there to edit the material once it’s recorded, leaving me free to carry on at the site and produce new material.

This is where the bonehead part comes in. Why didn’t I do this a long time ago?!

The people I’ve recently hired are young, competent, and full of energy, both for the challenges of the tasks and the mission of this site. (A special thanks goes out to Derek for his role in this miracle. Thanks, Derek!)

So I will now be able to greatly increase the amount of productive time I spend developing new content. There’s the second DVD to finalize (with a study guide and presenter’s pack), I can commit to more frequent podcasts now that my role has been reduced to simply preparing and recording the material, and the entire second part of the Crash Course is now on the drawing board for production (Hint: It’s about the role of beliefs in shaping our actions).

I am incredibly excited by all of this, and I hope you will be, too.

If you support the idea of me producing more material, then you must also support the idea of me needing to raise enough revenue to cover the cost of these bright, energetic people who are helping me in that task.

I can't do it alone. I need your help. I am open to hearing your ideas. I believe I speak for hundreds and possibly thousands of people in thanking those who have supported, and who continue to support, my work. I firmly believe that together we can make a difference.

Best,
Chris

P.S. Thank you to everyone who has been supplying ideas about how to continue to offer the Crash Course for free. I am taking all of your ideas under advisement. Keep them coming!