Hi Gordon - and thanks.

I have read this thread and suspect many of the comments reflect the changing use of forums and the shrinking attention span of Internet users these days.

I notice that a lot of writers (including me) are self confessed lurkers.

If I could have anything from this forum it would be something interactive on opportunity selection, mindset and implementation.

If you lurk too long (in my case at least) you can get locked into a cycle of inactivity.

I can read the greatest idea in the world and not have any idea whether it is a great do-able opportunity or worthless. As a result no idea ends up being judged as worth the tangible investment of time and energy - never mind the paltry $15, or $50 or so for the blueprint.

This can go on for years...

Maybe sections or threads on obstacles could be worth pursuing.

Obstacles for me...

Selling skills
Copy writing
Graphics
Time
Focus and concentration
Guts
Getting started
Tax and accounting
Incorporation in the US (I'm in the UK).
International perspectives - how ideas can or have played out in other locations

Of all the obstacles, getting started is probably the biggest one.

I remember reading "spiders and snakes" a way back in which Gordon recounts as a young 'un collecting and selling flowers from waste ground which people were prepared to pay for because they didn't want the hassle and exposure to spiders and snakes necessary to go and get them for themselves.

That early experience of making sales taught Gordon that making sales was possible and that value was everywhere.

When I was still at school I got a job selling magazine subscriptions door to door. Probably a poor choice.

I didn't sell one and gave up in bitter frustration.

So we have completely different starting points.

I guess from that the most valuable thing I could get from this forum is just a taste of success.

Just to offer something and have someone pay for it. To taste a little success could change my experience and hence my beliefs. Kind of a bootstrap process. Also I guess maybe relevant for many others here.

PS - I'd also love to see Spiders and Snakes finished. That's a book I'd buy!
PPS Maybe a $1 kindle book on entrepreneurial secrets from the legends on SOWPUB might also "kindle" interest from a fresh market? Include links to resources on SOW?
PPPS Maybe migrate to FB group? Kind of throwing in the towel - there is something magic about the forum. Try finding a 10 year old thread on FB. Everything is transient...
PPPPS Apprentice? Must have missed that! Dang...