DAY 6: How I Almost (Legally) Stole $100,000 From Meetup.com Yesterday - And What I Plan To Do To Repay The Sin I Almost Committed

DAY 6: How I Almost (Legally) Stole $100,000 From Meetup.com Yesterday - And What I Plan To Do To Repay The Sin I Almost Committed


February 19, 2011

Sometimes inspiration hits you at just the right moment. When you’re involved in the Origins phase of the quest you’re asked to tap into your highest creativity.

At first I was going to take advantage of Meetup.com’s offer to blast the following message to EVERY SINGLE meetup group to the world. You see, if you send a “sponsorship perk” out to prospective meetup partners, the meetup.com organization charges you $5 per group who agrees to your “perk” by accepting your sponsorship offer. However(!) Meetup.com is currently running a campaign where the first month is FREE up until March 15! Here’s what I posted - and keep in mind this would have theoretically gone out to EVERY meetup group organizer in the world! Literally tens possibly HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of groups specifically dedicated to spirituality, self-improvement, personal transformation and empowerment.

(Before you read, put yourself in the shoes of a potential meetup group leader…)

THE PERK (MY HEADLINE): “I Will Pay Meetup Organizers Up to $1000 or More for Help in Promoting My Book”

HOW TO REDEEM THE PERK: : “DO NOT ACCEPT THIS SPONSORSHIP - JUST READ THE DESCRIPTION BELOW AND EMAIL ME DIRECTLY NO LATER THAN MARCH 14…”
THE DESCRIPTION: “My name is Mike Shoeman and I’m not a professional marketer. I’m a meetup group organizer like you with the sincerest passion for transforming people’s lives through SELF-empowerment. I’m asking for meetup group leaders to take a step forward in getting to know me and my national tour campaign. After co-hosting this workshop, people will tell you that YOU’VE changed their lives if you become involved with this experience! “I’m looking for like-minded groups to do joint venture partnerships in bringing my book and experiential workshop to every city in the United States within the next two years and eventually a subsequent global tour. We offer a phenomenal one-day program at a very competitive price and will work with a group of 10 or more people in your city (depending on where the demand is.) Please email me directly at lifeacttour@hotmail.com to find out more. You may find my YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/user/lifeartist333 and watch a video called “The Destiny 5 Experience” located in our ‘favorites’ bin.

“You can also check out our meetup group at www.meetup.com/national-mastermind-meetup-miracles. National Mastermind Meetup Miracles is a meetup aspiring to serve other groups on a national level. We do this by producing the LifeACT Video Ezine which identifies and solves meetup group leaders’ challenges and problems. Our aim is to provide programming which will help you deepen the experience of your meetup group’s potential. Our first article “The 7 Keys to Unlocking the Most Memorable Meetup EVER!” can be found on our YouTube Channel and has already created wonderful results for leaders in my home town of Philadelphia. This Video Ezine is only part of a package of FREE services to help your group get to know us, develop a mutual trust, and learn that we truly are for real! The Destiny 5 Experience. 

“Meetup Organizers may join our national chapter and enjoy free coaching calls, the LifeACT Video Ezine, an upcoming free audio book and the opportunity to learn how our combined efforts can raise potentially thousands of dollars for your meetup efforts in your becoming a joint venture partner as part of our national tour. Additional materials available upon request include videos, brochures and glowing testimonies from past participants of

“(Please note: if you email me and I can’t respond right away it’s because this unorthodox strategy of sending this sponsorship message worked too well! Either I or a member of my staff will respond to all inquiries as we’re physically able to seeing this will be a national event. I will respond faster to members of our National Mastermind Meetup Miracles group.)”

Can you see how powerful that would have been in the hands of EVERY SINGLE MEETUP LEADER with one single stroke?

After Meetup.com’s free monthly trial I would have cancelled the service, take the worldwide leads generated and create my profitable national tour. When I looked at my prospective monthly tab it would have been $100,000! (But the Meetup.com website STILL said EVEN THIS would have been free for a month!) Now it’s doubtful Meetup.com would have allowed me to take advantage of this but I still think THEY should have an opportunity to cash in on my guilt. (When I filled out the online form the site double checked by asking “Are you sure you can fulfill this perk on a global scale?” To which I replied “yes”.)

Well, truth be told, I “chickened out” because, if something went wrong and if the Meetup.com office would “accidentally” make an error, the prospect of being charged $100,000 after March 15 scared me shitless!
So I took the easy way out and sent my “perk” to all the Law of Attraction meetups within a 100 mile radius of Philadelphia. This will only cost me $50 if something goes wrong.  (As of 9am Saturday morning, Meetup dot com has yet to approve THIS proposal!) 

So much for my brilliant idea.

Yet I still feel guilty.

But then my mind went racing…

Here’s what I’m proposing to Meetup.com - and I’ll release a tremendously powerful video detailing this proposal shortly:

Meetup.com should seriously consider sponsoring my Destiny 5 Experience national book and experiential workshop tour! I’m currently writing up a generous proposal to the company which will ensure the undeniable power my workshop will provide to the company’s aura and their brand.

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking - Dream on, Mike! Even I must admit, after being in the business of trying to attract sponsors for television productions, that getting the ear of these corporations is next to impossible - especially for a little guy like me!

But wait…there’s more!

I’m about to launch a publicity event on the LifeACT Video Ezine.

Here’s my public announcement:

“Meetup.com: I feel very guilty for almost stealing $100,000 in free services that I feel entitled to in light of your ‘one month free’ campaign to attract sponsors. I want to make amends and say I believe the Meetup.com company can benefit greatly from my ‘TOP SECRET’ sponsorship proposal package that I’m willing to make a little wager…

“In retribution for my temptation to take advantage of Meetup.com, I will run a one-day FREE workshop for all of your employees! IF ALL YOUR EMPLOYEES don’t UNANIMOUSLY agree that sponsoring my Destiny 5 Experience national tour in some capacity isn’t THE BEST decision the company ever made - I WILL LOCK MYSELF IN A JAIL CELL AND LIVE-STREAM A 12-HOUR ONE-MAN SHOW entitled ‘If I Ruled the World…’.  Which means I will have to perform NON-STOP, except for bathroom and water breaks, a one-man presentation and begin every sentence with 'If I Ruled the World...'”

What does that mean? Even if the company’s key decision maker (or even the CEO!) agrees to sponsor my national tour - merely one entry level employee can give the “thumbs down” and I’ll be forced to pay for my sin! Even if everybody at Meetup.com LOVES the one-day Destiny 5 Experiential Workshop, all it would take is ONE EMPLOYEE to call me on what could potentially be a “bluff”.

Now, mind you, I’m not going into this lightly. TWELVE HOURS is a long, long time with nothing more than bathroom and water breaks. An improv show lasting that duration will have many facets, dimensions and variety that it actually holds me with a very compelling fascination. A sick fascination - yet compelling nonetheless!  Some moments would be funny and poignant, others would be intense and thought-provoking and even more segments would be, yes, pathetic! It made me focus on how I would fill those twelve hours. Some of you who’ve known me awhile will remember that I used to do sketch comedy. So I had to reflect on the close to one hundred characters I’ve created and performed with over the years: Sister Mary Goliath - the kung-fu kicking, nun-chucking, no-nonsense nun; Snoop Gnomey-Gnome - the baddest rapping fictional character from the Southside of your kneecap!; Trucker Joe’s CB Radio Show “Advice for the Lovelorn: Ladies Night”; Doris - the transgender telephone “smooth” operator; Bill Clinton teaches American history; and, even - dare I mention it! - What happened the day when the United Nations spiritually possessed One Man’s Body!

Okay - all this means nothing until I produce the video and give a little taste about what "If I Ruled the World" could look, sound and feel like! Time to produce that "teaser" video!  I’m lining up a story board, shoot date and a room full of kids and teenagers willing to put a HUGE guilt-trip onto a big company if these younglings don’t get their One-Man Show! Hey, if all else fails it could provide a tremendous publicity for everybody - me, Meetup.com, and all my partners regardless of the outcome. Win-Win-Win’s all around!

More to come! Stay tuned!


Mike Shoeman
The Life Artist