How Should I Respond?

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by Ken McArthur · 103 comments

“I face the very real possibility of becoming homeless. “

I got this message in an email yesterday.

This isn’t the person’s picture, but the person who e-mailed me could be in a similar situation to the man in the picture soon.

This may be happening to someone you know and care for, if not today then soon.  I’m predicting a flood of people in this same situation.

I’m getting more and more of these types of e-mails every day and I need your help to know …

How should I respond?

I know we haven’t spoken much, nor have we met, though I hope you can help me. I’m in deep financial trouble. I have almost nothing left and if I don’t come up with some money by the end of the month, I face the very real possibility of becoming homeless. That terrifies me.

I’ve worked as hard as I can with all the resources I have available to me and while some things are in motion, the one thing I need the most has dried up completely. Cash flow. At the moment, I have none. I’m down to about $150.00 in my bank account and I have about $1,300 in credit left for cash advances on my Visa.

If I can get as little as $500.00 coming in, I can pay the minimum on the Visa and my Amex and make cash withdrawals on my Visa, but not for much longer, as you can imagine. My monthly expenses are only about $1,000.00 but I’m unable to match that.

I’m incredibly frustrated. I’ve worked as hard as I know how, even up to seven days a week and virtually everything I’ve touched has failed. I feel incredible shame even in writing this, but I have no choice anymore. I can see things getting better with the joint ventures I’m working on. The problem is that they’re taking time to come together and I’m almost out of time. I know that things will get better; I just don’t know when.

I’m not asking for a handout. I have a lot of skills and am quite capable. Unfortunately I’ve made a lot of  mistakes and it’s led me to where I am now.

I sincerely hope you can help me or point me in the right direction.”

Let me know what you think!

What kind of advice can I give this person that will really help … right now.

All the best,

Ken McArthur

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  • http://lgstarr.blogsot.co lgstarr

    Sometimes one man does have the answer:

    http://www.dailynews.com/opinions/ci_17113981

  • http://www.facebook.com/pages/Platform-Persuasion/166646710037046 David Simone

    Have the guy contact me and I will talk to him personally to look for a solution. http://Www.facebook.com/davidsimonepersuasion. I am moved by his story. Sadly, it is not unique. He, however, is unique. I will help him find his heart and transform into just the right place–if I am able at all, I will do it.

    I think the key to helping people in these situations is that when people reach out to us in this personal way, exposed, vulnerable, in agony–we are THERE for them personally. This weekend, I trained with 200 others at Joel Bauer’s Passion2Profit. I spoke with a billionaire who drives around Los Angeles to look for homeless people. He invites them to his mansion for dinner. Now THAT is something.

  • Richard Posner

    It is so easy to speak condescendingly to a person on the brink. It is so easy to tell such an individual to f*** off because “I/my father/my abandoned mother made it without stooping low and begging outright.” It’s so easy to give this guy IM ideas, but truth be it very few people who even have cash on hand make any or very much in the online world. It’s easy to say, “I don’t feel responsibility for every vagabond knocking at my real or virtual door. It’s easy to take an attitude of labeling someone stupid, irresponsible, lazy or a host of ego-drivenadjectives used to blind us to the plea of a needy individual. It’s all so easy to believe that our flesh-and-bone experience is in total disconnect with our fellow human being who can’t seem to discover and overcome his blindspot. It’s even easy to build an orphanage in Africa or innoculate children in the Philippines while our naeighbors need the same care. There is a thread which connects us all and just because some of us want to deny it, does not make it less true. In the end, there are no graveyards for millionaires. What we earn is taken away without exception. The only thing that remains is how we treat each other when nobody is looking.

  • Nathan Segal

    This experience has been both illuminating and disappointing.
    Several people on this blog have said: “He needs to identify himself and tell us about his background so we can help him.”
    I did.
    I stated my background, skills and abilities and listed many of my credits, all of which can be easily verified.
    The result?
    Nothing.
    The exceptions are Ross Goldberg and Dave Lakhani, both of whom I contacted personally, and of course, David Simone, who asked me to contact him.
    Talk is cheap.
    I put myself on the line, identified myself and my situation, despite my discomfort and I stepped out of my comfort zone in a huge way.
    There are those of you who implied you would help, but even though I placed all my contact information on this blog and took major action, as many of you have exhorted me to do, no one has contacted me directly with any offers of work in any form.
    As I’ve said, talk is cheap.
    Many of you have bashed me in a huge way for what happened. The attitude seems to be that you’re better than I am. What a load of crap. As Richard Posner correctly points out, anyone could lose their standing in life in a heartbeat. No one is exempt. And yet, several of you act like you’re so superior.
    The truth is something else. I think my situation terrifies you. It forces you to look at a part of your life that you don’t want to look at and by vilifying me, you don’t have to deal with your own issues.
    My question is this: Are any of you willing to step up to the plate and help your fellow human beings? Or are you content to give lip service and close the door on those in need when life inconveniently intrudes on your comfy space?
    As I said, I placed myself on the line even though it was very difficult and painful to do so.
    And the result is that my misfortune seems to be nothing more than your weekly entertainment.

    • Dan Nickerson

      Nathan, I came up with a unique idea for you last night that is also perfect for your skill set.

      I don’t know anyone offhand who offers the service and it’s something I and every product owner on this thread needs and would probably pay you money for today. I would have paid $100 today.

      However when I came here to post it, I saw your most recent post. I’m really not sure what comment thread you’re reading, but it certainly wasn’t this one.

      I’m also truly sorry but after reading that post, I no longer think the idea is suited to you.

      Creating unique business ideas is what I’m most well known for… this was not a joke or “lip service” as you say.

      I truly hope it all works out for you. If I hadn’t thought you insulted a lot of good people with your latest post you’d have a new business today.

      • Nathan Segal

        Hello Dan,

        Thanks for your message. Perhaps I don’t have enough experience with blogging and threads, though my message was a followup to what Richard Posner wrote.

        I knew that my most recent message would make some people angry. That was deliberate. I wrote it because no one was contacting me .

        You don’t seem to appreciate the urgency of my situation. I’m facing imminent homelessness. I’m desperate and time is of the essence. And even if I do manage to make my rent I don’t have enough money to see things through and I run the risk of starving next month.

        I need help. NOW! How many times do I have to make that clear?

        And you’re offended or insulted? Fine, but unless I’m sorely mistaken, you still have a home, while I’m on the verge of losing mine.

        I don’t have the time or luxury to mess around. If you really want to help, write to me. My address is: visualartist49 AT gmail DOT com

        • Dan Nickerson

          Not the best approach to get me to help. Regardless, I’m sending you an email shortly.

          • Nathan Segal

            Hello Dan,

            Thanks for your response and your ideas. I sent you a detailed message off this blog and I also have another offer in place for my computer book for only $9.97. I posted that above, but for reference, here it is again.

            http://speedupmycomputernow.com/3dayspecial.html

            This time the offer should be much more appealing.

            Regards,

            Nathan

    • Mcdonell Derry

      Judging by later posts in this thread, it seems like things might be turning around for you. If so, good. And you should thank those who chose to let this petulant rant slide by. Next time you feel inclined to vent your spleen, remember there’s a reason the Delete button is next to the Return.

  • Leslie

    I’m in the same boat and it sinking fast

  • Nathan Segal

    MAJOR UPDATE FROM NATHAN SEGAL
    In the last few hours, things have changed dramatically. I heard back from Frank Garon who said he will help me. I’ll be getting a call from him tomorrow.
    The second major event came from Bill Clemens who also posted on the blog. Bill is in the process of helping me in a huge way by doing a promotion to his list.
    In addition, I wrote a highly controversial press release that I sent to Bill. In the next day or so all of these events should take place.
    I’m going to be sending this release to all of my Internet marketing contacts. You can read the content of it here: http://www.simplehowtoguides.com/cppx3x4ir/imminenthomelessness.pdf
    Since I wrote the release, things have changed, though at the time I wrote it they were different. Still, it’s gone out in its current form. I’d appreciate it if you would forward this release to everyone you know.
    My intention is to create a media firestorm and a lot of buzz. As I said many times on this blog, I need help NOW! I don’t have the luxury of waiting around.
    I want to offer a big thank you to everyone who has helped me so far. I’ll keep all of you posted as things develop.
    Nathan Segal

    • http://www.facebook.com/bill.clemens Bill Clemens

      Nathan,

      I just sent out the first mailing to about 60%+ of my list. I also pointed people back to Kens site for any social proof in case they think it’s BS. I have my Fingers, Toes and Eye’s crossed buddy. :-)

      • Dan Nickerson

        I sent an email to Nathan with a number of ideas, one of which is I highly recommend there’s another option besides the $67 offer.

        If you’re going to do a split mailing I would do one to the “Speed Up PC” book for $10.00. The photographic market is tiny and $67 is a lot of money for people to donate. Everyone has a computer and the lower donation option will result in far more conversions. Also others would be much more likely to promote that offer.

        • http://www.facebook.com/bill.clemens Bill Clemens

          Hi Dan,

          I feel the same way, I did my inital mailing set for the full package, and The nexyt mailing is going to sell individual it

        • Nathan Segal

          Dan, Bill,

          As luck would have it, I was doing some split testing awhile ago on that offer and I have a page all ready to go. You can find it at:

          http://speedupmycomputernow.com/3dayspecial.html

          The offer is for $9.97.

          Regards,

          Nathan

  • http://www.facebook.com/bill.clemens Bill Clemens

    Just wanted to post the email I sent out for Nathan and I am looking for anyone interested in helping with constructive criticisms. Here it is below,

    Dear Friend,

    You may have been on my list for a short time or a long time, I don’t know.
    I do want you to know that do my best to provide as much value with my
    work as I can and I have done this for many years. I also am a firm believer in Paying It Forward.

    My buddy Nathan Segal, like many others in this world today, has been hit by a number of financial disasters and the end result is that he now is seriously in the red.

    The result is that he is now running an emergency sale, made up of all his digital products, for the low price of $67.00 for everything.

    It’s all here:

    http://goo.gl/Tqo0E

    Here’s what you get:
    • His book, Speed Up Your Computer In 30 Minutes Or Less, with all the video tutorials
    • A one-year membership to DigitalArtistU.com which gives you information on how to increase your work flow if you’re a photographer or computer designer
    • His book on PHOTO-PAINT X3/X4 and two hours of video tutorials
    • His book on how to use Photoshop CS2 (a bit out of date, yes, but it’s the best I have)
    • His new course, Secrets of Profitable Freelance Writing. In this course, he
    shows you everything he knows about how to find high-paying writing jobs online, how to write a query letter that sells and how to build long-term relationships with magazines and editors.
    • Photographic MS Word Templates (50 of them) designed for creating professional reports

    Like I said, this is a special sale to help Nathan get back on an even financial
    footing. If you can help me help him, it would be greatly appreciated.

    BTW, Heres a special BONUS from me directly just for purchasing this.

    Bonus #1
    I am going to be running a (2) month long weekly Mastermind Group on Skype. Where I will be showing you all the ins and outs of list building, I am also going to do my best to get some of the Biggest Guru’s and authors on the net right now to join us each week where they can share their special tips with you.

    Bonus #2
    You get full access to my course List Building Fast 101,

    http://listbuildingfast101.com/

    In this you’ll learn, how to build your own massive list of people interested in what you are selling, with the simple click of a button you could have cash in mere hours, just like I’m doing here to help Nathan out.

    All of this could be yours without having to spend $197 on the course which is what I have sold it for in the past or precious dollars on some high risk PPC campaign, without wasting months of your time trying to SEO your site, or paying anything for advertising…

    One final thing, These Bonus’s are only for those who purchase through my link, once you purchase email a copy of your receipt and I will forward all the bonus information to you right away.

    And just in case your wondering if this is for real or some scam here is the full story on my friend Ken McArthur’s Blog http://kenmcarthur.com/?p=431

    Here’s that URL to buy from again:
    http://goo.gl/Tqo0E

    Thanks in advance.
    Bill

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  • http://twitter.com/RickEllwood RickEllwood

    I agree with Linda on this one, I happen to have access to a course that is aimed at those with no money and as long as they don’t buy the up sell they will get access to http://thenomoneyplan.com for free.

  • Nathan Segal

    UPDATE FROM NATHAN SEGAL

    It seems that there are many people who have said they would like to help me, but the question seems to be, “How?”

    Here are a couple of ideas for you:

    1. If you have a head shot that needs some basic editing, such as color changes or blemishes removed, I’ll do that for $25.00.

    2. If you have articles or reports that need editing, I’ll give you a half hour of time for $25.00, as well. If you more work than that, we can negotiate a rate.

    For more information, write to me at: visualartist49 AT gmail DOT com.

    • Nathan Segal

      Sorry, all. I made a bit of an error in a fast post.

      I meant, “If you need more editing than that, we can negotiate a rate.”

  • Vua612015

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      ??????? ?? ???? ??????????? ????. ? ????? ???? ??.

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  • Mark Hendricks

    Nathan,

    http://hunteridge.com/15minutes

    Best,
    Mark Hendricks

  • Philominajoyson

    Pl. don’t take a hasty decision, by just going through an email content. It may also be a false message.

  • http://www.facebook.com/larry.steinhouse Larry Steinhouse

    You can consider this a shameless plug but, Everything you guys are saying and everything he needs to do are right here in my book!

    http://www.amazon.com/Won-Million-Dollars-Lottery-Happiness/dp/1440198721/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341595272&sr=8-1&keywords=larry+steinhouse

  • enkeliguide

    Change in life can be good. What I have found is that trusting in God for answers and being willing to accept the answers is crucial. Then ask yourself, is this about me or is there someone else who will benefit from my experience. Whom shall I serve? What do you really want. Focus on that and it will come.

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