It can get lonely working in an online business: Produce content and upload it to a website and then connect through email, twitter, and Facebook to tell the world about your latest post. Sometimes while I’m writing or emailing or website building, my computer will make a funny beeping noise. I get excited because my computer must have loved that killer paragraph I wrote.

Most of my social and business life have been connecting with people online. It has been an intention of mine since 2008 to run a successful online business and help people spiritually grow. Then, about a year ago, I tried something different. I offered free one-on-one phone consultations about money evolution. I absolutely loved that adventure. Being able to teach and interact with someone was most fulfilling. I did that for four weeks and each day I found myself looking forward to the next conversation.

Once I moved on from the one-on-one consultations, I realized that I was out of alignment with my values and life purpose when it came to work and creativity. My heart was screaming “yes, do this Nick. It is most rewarding,” while my mind was rationalizing that I need to survive and meet my needs. I could feel the tension. I needed to listen to my heart; and this time around I did.

My heart told me that I value intimacy, contribution, compassion, connectedness, being an inspiration, and peace above all else. This was an enlightened realization and devastating in the same moment. Truth hits hard. To be honest, I didn’t want to hear what my heart told me – my social, financial, and business life were hemorrhaging because I’m choosing fear instead of love. I felt most connected to my values and life purpose when interacting with human beings, not with online human profiles. Being online – forums, twitter, Facebook, email, etc. – is not true social interaction and a functional relationship; it’s a faux relationship. I can’t hug my computer, a Facebook profile, or twitter profile and have that technology hug me back. I know to some of you this is a no-brainer. But I was lost in an imaginary reality of what a successful online/blogging business would be like. In other words, I used my online business as a means to an end, therefore I suffered.

This enlightened experience is not a recent realization. I’ve been considering different alternatives about what direction to go in with the Spiritual Avatar for over a year now. On my birthday, which was March 6th, it finally hit me: I’m giving up the pursuit of being a 100% online business blog and shifting my attention to a new model, in which true human interaction takes place.

Let me be clear: I’m not abandoning the online aspect of Spiritual Avatar. I’m still going to produce and post valuable articles about awakening to your life’s purpose so that you can respond with wisdom, manifest as compassion, and be full functioning – that’s not going away. The significant changes are going to be “attention shifts” for the most part. I’m dropping what I think I should do (be a blogger and online business) and follow what my heart is nudging me to do – interact with human beings in person is primary, and then interact with the online world. If I could put percentages on the two, it would look like this: 70% of my efforts will be focused on in-person interaction and 30% of my efforts will be online.

A major design shift and flow of the Spiritual Avatar’s website is coming in the next few months. The main goal of the design and flow is to make sure that the Spiritual Avatar’s message is a match for your needs, desires, and goals. I’m going to guide you through various pages so you get value and so you come away saying, “Yes! This is what I need and want to learn more of.” Then, if we are a match, I will give you a few outlets to explore the value you desire.

In the past few months, I have been working feverishly on a solid direction and vision for the Spiritual Avatar to journey upon. Once the Spiritual Avatar is ready to launch its new model, which will be sometime in June, I will send you an email and write a blog post. If you are interested in reading some outlets I may explore and abandon, please continue to read this post. I thank you for your support and patience while I go through this transition period in my life. In the mean time, the best way to interact with me is on twitter: http://twitter.com/spiritualavatar

---

Mediums and models considering to explore

The basic model I am going to explore with the Spiritual Avatar is what they call “the experts model” or “coaching model.” I don’t like to use those terms because I don’t consider myself an expert or a guru. However, it is the closet model out there to give you perspective and that is similar to the Spiritual Avatar’s direction.

I don’t see myself as a person who is better and more successful than you. That’s one of my pet peeves about the personal and spiritual growth industry: They position themselves as being successful or enlightened and you not being successful or enlightened, therefore that’s why you need their information and product. I believe that’s a model based in fear and not from love.

I am like you. I have challenges, problems, and heartaches; I sometimes feel angry and sad; I can be peaceful and happy; I drink the occasional cup of coffee, alcoholic drink, watch the Steelers, and eat dessert. How I can help and give you value is that I am continually studying myself, dropping the self, meditating, working on my growth, and figuring out how to be full functioning, so it can be simple and possible for you to do the same. Therefore, one of my goals is to be transparent, authentic, and creative and also interact with you as one loving human being. I want to stand in a circle with you, not stand in the center.

That being said, what exactly does the Spiritual Avatar’s model look like? Well, here is a preview of what’s to come:

1. My number one goal is to meet with you in person. Whether that is over the phone, through video calling, at a workshop or coaching session, or having a cup of coffee, it doesn’t matter, what I value is real human interaction – hearing each other, seeing each other, and possibly hugging each other. This means I’m going to have to abandon a lot of online activity. There is only so much time in a day and being behind a computer all day will not be living true to the Spiritual Avatar. Instead of being 100% active in the online social community, such as Facebook, twitter, email, forums, and whatever latest and greatest online tool arises, I’m going to “beat the streets” and be active in my community.

   What if you are not local? We can still meet! That’s the beauty of having your business and website online. A majority of the Spiritual Avatar’s model will be encouraging you to come to a workshop or coaching session. And if the timing is right, when I’m out traveling I will let you know of my destination so we can do “meet-ups” and hang out.

   So what about those online activities – blog, email, and social media? Are they not important for attracting people who need and want the Spiritual Avatar’s message? Yes, they allow me to make my value accessible and easily consumed. It will also help create safety, so you can make a conscious decision on whether or not to follow the Spiritual Avatar.

   I’m going to use email for close relationships and probably logistical reasons. Twitter has piked my interest since it is real time, short, and to the point. So I will be giving that a try. However, I’m using these online tools consciously and will not be glued to them. There isn’t going to be an email or twitter marketing plan. I’m not interested in traditional online marketing and figuring out how to get you to opt-in to my newsletter. There will be an email newsletter offered, in which you can subscribe to, however, it’s being used as a way to communicate and interact for meeting up, events and workshops, encouragement to contact me (phone or video), blog articles that express my creativity and give value at the Spiritual Avatar, and conscious breaks (oooo…what are those?). The same is true for twitter: I’m interested in talking with you on twitter and expressing my creativity and inspiration, not sending out 10 quotes a day and five fill in the blank sentences and never responding to your tweet. That may work for some people, but it is not aligned with my values and purpose. If you subscribe to the Spiritual Avatar through email, it is likely that you’ll receive one email a week, unless there are time sensitive matters or a learning series going on.

2. My second goal is to keep providing you value online. I love video; I intend creating a video blog or a “vlog” from what I hear people calling it. My plans are to do weekly articles in a video format and podcast, and to do monthly teleseminars over the phone or through video. The vlog is there as an outlet for you to consciously grow. I want you to build character, consciousness, and power, so that you can function from a place of wisdom and compassion. Each vlog topic will focus on helping you become an integrated full functioning human being and not be a small limited self stuck in fear, desire, anger, victim, not enough, and seeking. I’m going to tackle topics about journey inward and clarifying your true nature; you’re going to learn how to create an abundant relationship with your external life and create with wisdom and compassion; finally, you’re going to understand and realize what it is to be full functioning and embrace the self and no self. There are not enough words to express how excited I am to launch the vlog. I believe you will find tremendous value in it and I hope you share it with your friends and family.

3. My third goal is to write. I have recently completed my first novel and it is now in the editing stages. Nichole, my alpha reader, is doing a pass on it and then I will do one more editing pass before I send it off to publishing. I am also looking for beta readers to receive feedback about the book. If you are interested, please send me an email at nick@spiritual-avatar.com with the subject line “beta-reader.” Once I receive your email, I will send you more details about the commitment and experience to expect.

   Aside from the completion of my first novel, I have many ideas for non-fiction and fiction books that I intend to pursue. This means I will be writing about four pages everyday. I’m not writing that much in an attempt to fulfill a goal or purpose, however. I love to write books and seriously believe I have that much content to write about. Four pages is also a breeze for me now-a-days. If the inspiration is there, it take me about an hour and a half to two hours to write that much. Some people suggest that much writing will become monotonous. I would agree with them if I was writing about the same topic day in and day out. However, my topics are going to be all over the board: Spiritual novels, personal growth novels, fiction stories, short stories, learning and how to, etc. If I need a break from writing, I will not force the inspiration. I will gladly relinquish and give writing a rest.

   There are a few outlets I am considering for writing:

   • The traditional publishing route. However, from what I hear, this industry is dying and a lot of authors had challenging experiences with publishers and agents. I will probably go this route, but it may not be my first choice.
   • Self publishing. The self publishing route sounds promising. The electronic and online market for books is growing rapidly. I can upload my novel to create-a-space (amazon) and they will deliver my book on demand when an order is placed. I also have the option of uploading it to kindle. I see this as an effective route because word-of-mouth can spread quickly and one of my novels may go viral. The plan for my first novel is to self publish and do online kindle, while also marketing for a traditional publisher.
   • The last publishing route I am considering is audio books. I am most likely going to offer my novels through audio because I know of the value it provides. There have been many times I wished my favorite novels were available in audio to listen while I drive, run, or do taxes. Since the main topic of my novels are spirituality and personal growth, audio books will be a perfect medium for the message.

There are a few other outlets for the Spiritual Avatar to express its creativity, but I am still getting clear on those. Right now I am finalizing the Spiritual Avatar’s business model and how I’m going to express my creativity and value. That’s why since the middle of March you have not heard from me. I will be playing it low until June. So hang in there

Mediums that I am dumping

Unless I have a huge “ah-ha” moment or someone can show me the tremendous value of doing Facebook, you will not see me as an active participant. I am on Facebook, but it is for other reasons not related to Spiritual Avatar or any business matters. Facebook I am out.

Having too many social media outlets means investing all of my time in social media. I don’t care what people say, you cannot give extraordinary value with social media. Why would you invest your days building a fan page knowing that Facebook controls everything about the process. They have done it in the past and will do it again – changed their terms of service and screw everything that you have worked for. Facebook only cares about increasing advertising revenue. If they did care about you, the user’s experience would be amazing, but it’s not – spam and poor interfacing. Twitter is on the same path as Facebook, but at least with Twitter (for the time being) you have a better user experience. Read this post for more about “Why not to invest your time on Facebook.”

As I said earlier, you cannot hug and share an intimate connection with an online profile. Instead of investing time in social media and being online 24/7, work on building human relationships by giving value and treating them as human beings. You can still be online. Sharing your value online is a great way to make your value accessible and to spread your wisdom and compassion. Do not let the online world, however, consume you. I did and woke up one day realizing how much of life I was missing. I cried. Then, I thanked the Universe that I was still alive and had a chance to live true to my values and purpose.

I know there are a lot of people out there who disagree with me. That’s okay, everyone is entitled to their own perspective. There is also a lot of people who create and maintain an online business as a means to an end. They want to be online to create passive income so they can live more fully. That’s a cop-out. Why would you waste your precious life on this planet working for money so you can later spend time with your loved ones? If you do that, you will miss life. You can have all of your life integrated in which each compartment supports and nourishes the other. You will learn how to do this with the Spiritual Avatar.

Along with the Facebook dumping follows Google plus, LinkedIn, Identica, and any other online social outlet. For now, just Twitter and that could change, too.

There are still a few other outlets I am considering dumping, such as email (not the newsletter), but I haven’t made the final decision on that yet. If I do dump email, then you will have to give me a call with your questions or if you want to talk. This does sound appealing because the quality of communication will be high. In other words, if you pick up the phone and call me, you either have a very good question or a topic worth talking about.

I know for me, there have been many times I wanted to call someone instead of using email. Even if I received a voice mail, that didn’t matter because I would wait for the return call. I wanted the intimacy of a phone call and not a default email reply that says, “Thanks for contacting us. Someone will be with you in the next 24 hours…” Lame. I have not purchased products because people do not return emails or I get the default reply. I am not a droid dammit! I am a human being with a heart – most days. If we do have a relationship, I will use email for logistical reasons and convenience. I know there are times when a quick message is needed.

Email has become so simple that we are disconnecting more from each other. I’m trying to experiment with communication that will be more connected and a win-win for everyone involved. If you have any ideas, you can hit me up at Twitter until the Spiritual Avatar launches. Again, ditching email is not definite. I’m running stream of consciousness here and considering other opportunities.

What’s happening right now?

I’m going dark for the next two months to clean up some personal and business matters, so there will not be any activity on the Spiritual Avatar Blog or newsletter. I’m excited for these changes. It finally feels as if I’m aligned with my values and life purpose in what I do. I encourage you to join me on this journey. I look forward to the many new relationships that lie ahead. I know we will have an awesome time and consciously evolve as human beings in the process. For now, the best way to contact me and chat is to join me over on twitter. Peace.