Happy Boxing Day!
Since the Middle Ages, today has been a day throughout Europe where tradesmen and other servants receive a Christmas-box from their employer, usually containing gifts, gratuities, sometimes even leftover food from Christmas Day.
That background is something I started to research last week while preparing to share this message. You see, it was intended to be an email to folks who have been thinking about starting a business. But then as I read, I stumbled on the most amazing thing.
You see, in case you didn’t know, I’m the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) for SiteSell. SiteSell has been helping people to start their own online business since the 1990’s, and it’s been my pleasure to be able to write about what SiteSell and SiteSell members (SBIers) are doing. (And it’s been an amazing year for solopreneurs, but more on that in a moment.)
So, today being a holiday in many cultures around the world, I wanted to send a message, but also knew I needed to share just what Boxing Day is for those who may not be familiar.
That’s when I found that there’s a carol I’ve been singing since I was a child that shares a story about something that happened on December 26th.
The Christmas carol, Good King Wenceslas, is set on Boxing Day and is about a King who brings food to a poor family. Here are the lyrics (go ahead and sing ’em out!):
Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the feast of Stephen
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and even
Brightly shone the moon that night
Though the frost was cruel
When a poor man came in sight
Gath’ring winter fuel
“Hither, page, and stand by me
If thou know’st it, telling
Yonder peasant, who is he?
Where and what his dwelling?”
“Sire, he lives a good league hence
Underneath the mountain
Right against the forest fence
By Saint Agnes’ fountain.”
“Bring me flesh and bring me wine
Bring me pine logs hither
Thou and I will see him dine
When we bear him thither.”
Page and monarch forth they went
Forth they went together
Through the rude wind’s wild lament
And the bitter weather
“Sire, the night is darker now
And the wind blows stronger
Fails my heart, I know not how,
I can go no longer.”
“Mark my footsteps, my good page
Tread thou in them boldly
Thou shalt find the winter’s rage
Freeze thy blood less coldly.”
In his master’s steps he trod
Where the snow lay dinted
Heat was in the very sod
Which the Saint had printed
Therefore, Christian men, be sure
Wealth or rank possessing
Ye who now will bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing
Now, what’s interesting immediately is that this is one of the few Christmas carols that has no real mention of Christmas or the nativity. But there’s more to it than that.
Some quick background for you on who this King guy was… Wenceslas was the King of Bohemia in the 10th Century. He was Catholic and was martyred following his assassination by his brother Boleslaw. His Saint’s Day is September 28th, and he is the Patron Saint of the Czech Republic. John Mason Neale later wrote these words and song in 1853.
So it’s a story about a real guy who got a raw deal. Got it.
Back to the carol…
To get to their home, the King and his page set off through the cold and snow and have a hard go of it. At one point, the page is ready to stop, but the King says,
“Mark my footsteps, my good page
Tread thou in them boldly
Thou shalt find the winter’s rage
Freeze thy blood less coldly.”
Mark my footsteps, my good page.
Watch where the King steps and forges a path, so that you don’t have to walk through quite as much drifting snow.
Tread thou in them boldly.
Walk with energy and motivation, and get your blood pumping. Stick close to the King and stay warm!
While you may have never heard or read those lines, the idea is familiar enough, right? Step where I step. Don’t reinvent the wheel.
These are lessons we’ve been taught all our lives and yet, when it comes to starting an online business, why are these truths so quickly forgotten?
While some website builders suggest all you need is a website and success is easy, we at SiteSell say “It’s NOT!” We say you have to do the hard work of walking, one step at a time, through the cold, high drifts of snow.
But you don’t have to go it alone. You don’t have to forge your own path to failure. Instead, follow in the footsteps of Successful Solopreneurs!
People that I wrote about just last week, like…
Taylor Flanery, who became not just an entrepreneur, but a serial entrepreneur owning multiple successful online businesses.
David Gibson, who successfully transitioned from military life to civilian life following the processes we outline in our Action Guide.
Michelle Jay, whose decision to start an online business literally changed her life.
Jan Lingen, who channeled his constant pain and used it to fuel a lifetime of helping others.
Bobby Don Johnson, who used his layoff to motivate the beginning of his online career.
What did all of these successful online business owners have in common?
They all started with SBI!.
We’re not saying it’s easy. But it’s do-able if you have the right process, tools, community guidance, auto-updating and help. And, not coincidentally, that’s exactly what SBI! happens to do.
This Holiday Season, give yourself a gift. The kind of gift that has a lasting impact on both you and your family: SBI!
- Start a real online business around your passion and love your work!
- Determine your own schedule!
- Create financial security for you and your family.
Save 33% Off SBI! or Save 33% Off SBI! for WP
That’s right! From now until December 30th, you can get SBI! or SBI! for WP on sale for 33% off.
This is how you can turn your idea into an income, and there’s no better time than right now, during the SiteSell Holiday Special. For less than the cost of a cup of coffee a day, you can create an opportunity for yourself, and one that lasts much longer than that Peppermint Mocha Latte.
We have never had so many successful SBIers. So we’ve started posting some of them in the blog recently, along with great takeaway lessons. That section of the blog is just a few of our “recent” stories (many more to come), while Case Studies are deep-dive multi-year, in-depth follow-ups. And the Results page is a wide scan of 500 SBI! Top 0.5% sites.
“In his master’s steps he trod
Where the snow lay dinted
Heat was in the very sod
Which the Saint had printed”
2016 has been a great year for SBIers and we suspect that solopreneur-favoring trends (ex., smarter search, social media and others) will lead those who do it right to an even better year in 2017. So hurry and get it while it lasts…
Save 33% Off SBI! or Save 33% Off SBI! for WP
Happy Boxing Day!
– Mike Allton, and the entire team at SiteSell
P.S. In any event, this incredible deal won’t last. The SiteSell Holiday Special ends no later than Friday, December 30th at 12pm ET. Frankly, we wouldn’t wait ‘til then!
P.P.S. We’re so excited about this that we almost forgot to mention The Guarantee. It turns this crazy-priced purchase into a risk-free trial.