Matt and the Irish Car Bombs
So yeah… Saturday night was something that only an Internet marketer could dream about.
Really.
Matt Bacak had a birthday party for Mark Joyner and 120 people were invited. If your name wasn’t on the list, you were out, baby. I was both honored and delighted that my name was on that list. I know it was thanks to Tellman, but hey… I got to be there!
(If you really hate gushy stuff, now it’s time to stop reading. Thanks for coming. I can’t help it. I’m totally psyched!)
Think of any big-time marketer and he or she was probably there. Stephen Pierce showed up, just for the party. And the usual suspects were there. People who had already presented, people going to present on Sunday, and some friends of mine like Carrie Wilkerson (the Barefoot Executive) and Perry Lawrence (Ask Mr. Video) and folks I’ve come to know through Tellman like Ric Thompson (HealthyWealthynWise.com) and Harris Fellman. And other folks I didn’t recognize, but if they were at the party, I guarantee they were smart marketers. It was awesome! I never, ever, ever dreamed I’d be in a room with people I looked up to for so long.
Listen, I even got a hug from Mark Joyner.
Now, that’s something I will never forget. Sounds silly, but hey. Oh, and also Matt Bacak, who in my opinion rocks out loud with the speakers at 11. Well, they both do, but well…Â It was almost as good as when I saw the Beatles in person.
No…
Kidding.
It was better.
So, Matt goes, “I’m buying Irish Car Bombs for everyone to celebrate Mark’s birthday.” I’m thinking, Hmm… interesting, and probably pretty potent, right? Right.
An Irish Car Bomb, for those who don’t know, is half a shot of Bailey’s and half a shot of Jameson, which you drop into a pint of Guinness and drink really, really fast. Now, I’m Irish and I can really hold my liquor, but well… Us older folks have tender stomachs so I drank mine in effigy (or something), or I’d probably have been on the floor and calling 911. 
OK, enough of that.
Sunday’s roster for the conference was just as impressive as the two prior days. Joe Sugarman, the guy who came out with Blu-Blocker sunglasses in the late ’70s, did a presentation that I’ve heard before, but I gotta tell you… no matter how many times I hear it, I’ll still laugh. It was great!
Oh, and here’s something you’d not expect: Keith Wellman in a suit. Yep. Keith looked great. AND, he started the presentation with Coheed & Cambria (one of my current favorite bands), which totally rocked. He talked about his video skinning system, and I was plotting how to use it. I got so enthused that I wrote an entire video script immediately. I’m really excited about and interested in trying it out. I have some time off tomorrow afternoon. Hmm… Think I’ll be recording.
Dan Kuschell was there, too. Tellman works with him a lot, so though I don’t know him, I know well of him. His presentation was smart and interesting and even though it was near end of day, who could NOT pay attention? I was glued.
Then, this crazy guy with really long hair, a chili pepper bandanna, and BARE FEET got on stage.
Yeah, it was Tellman.
He did a talk about crowd funding and sourcing, and people were really amazed. Most had never heard of the topic, and in inimitable Tellman style, of course he wowed the audience. At the end of his talk, he agreed to create a course on the concepts he taught and promised to do it if he collected $100K in donations for RunTellmanRun.org. I never saw so many people run to the back of the room at once.
Tellman had brought 200 T-shirts with him, so anyone who donated $100 or more got one. We were practically throwing shirts at people. It was crazy!
Sad to say, though he managed to raise tens of thousands of dollars, he didn’t raise the whole $100K, and though he promised to give the money back if he didn’t raise that much, people are begging him to keep it for the cause. He has another idea about making the product happen, and you can read the whole story at http://RunTellmanRun.com. I got to film the his talk from the sidelines, which was neat.
And then, Matt Bacak wrapped things up. What can I say? The guy is brilliant, and he ended up getting me and my cohorts into IM Gold after his talk. It was our turn to run to the back of the room. Actually, it was kind of funny. Me, Kyle Battis, and Mike Purvis were all lined up like the three monkeys and getting our IM Gold T-shirts. I’m excited about the whole deal, and know that I can learn a whole lot from Matt, who was kind enough to comment on yesterday’s post. I’m excited about all the very cool stuff I’m going to learn from him, which will be over and above all the cool stuff I’ve already learned from him in the past.
So, that was it. Sunday night we were all wiped out and we headed home Monday morning. What a weekend! In terms on Internet marketing, it was probably the best weekend like… ever. No offense to Russell Brunson, whose mastermind was mind blowing, but well… I was too sick to enjoy that. Grr… I have to find a way to go to these things and stay healthy.
Thanks, Matt! Happy Birthday, Mark! And… well… thank you! You ARE AWESOME!
And not least, I got to meet tons of people who are on my list or in the ListBuilding Club, which I really enjoyed. Conferences are vital! The more connections you can make with people, the better, and I can say that I enjoyed meeting and talking with every one of you. I just know we’ll meet again, only next time, we’ll no longer be strangers. Isn’t that what makes conferences the best? We sit in our little holes, making words and pictures on pages, but the real magic happens in the face to face.
If you haven’t gone to a conference… it’s as important as anything else you can do. Get off your butts. Find a way. It’s totally worth the effort.
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