discussion Overcoming Scarcity Mindset by Co-Creating Abundance

[robmonster]

One of the things I have learned a lot about in recent years is the idea of God's providence. I have concluded that scarcity mindset is actually a trap which serves to reduce one's world. Along the way, the team at Epik has been particularly active in promoting a culture that emphasizes co-creation and cooperation as a remedy for the scarcity mindset.

Here is a simple illustration that makes the case for co-creation very clear to even the most hardened skeptic:



The same principle illustrated here in this case study also applies to so many aspects of the domain industry. Here are just a few examples:

- Learn from each other: Projects like DNForum.com and DomainGraduate.com are platforms for sharing best practices. We are barely scratching the surface now but when we hear stories about new domain investors lifting themselves out of poverty through smart domain arbitrage, the potential for impact at scale is massive!

- Monetize expiry streams: Traditionally domains are dropped and the registrar will keep 100% of the proceeds from monetizing the expiry stream. NameLiquidate.com developed a model where the domain owner keeps 91% and the buyer buys wholesale from the domain owner who would have otherwise gotten nothing.

- Empower new brokers: The Epik escrow platform offers a means for brokers to securely clear transactions between buyers and sellers, including the option of earning a spread between the buy and sell price, as well as transaction across currencies. In some cases we see broker fees of more than $500K on a single transaction. Risk-free!

- Make it free: At Epik, many things are free. The list is long -- see it here. If it can be free, there is a good chance it will be free. Free tools for finding domains are at NameInvestors.com. Free SSL certificates at DNEncrypt.com. Etc.

- Share data transparently: When a lead comes in on an Epik lander, we disclose the full contact details. The logic there is that it allows smarter pricing. It sometimes means we don't get a commission, but we know that successful domain investors usually means larger domain investments. It is a leap of faith. It usually works out.

- Innovate together: I often see many people embarking on their own custom reinvent-the-wheel projects like custom landing pages or custom marketplace portals. This rarely makes sense as the ongoing cost is usually far greater than the ongoing benefit. The Epik team is listening for ideas and deploying them swiftly for the benefit of all.

- Build trust and familiarity: During the time when I was active on NamePros, I was a vocal advocate for using real identities. I believe this is essential for establishing trust and reputation in any community. It should be obvious to everyone that it is way more rewarding to help out a real person than some anonymous avatar!

- Domain Lending: Our DomainEquity.com platform is an increasing popular way for borrowers and lenders to co-create abundance by allowing domains to be used as collateral. Epik is frequently a direct lender, particularly for domains that are registered at Epik. More on this topic in a future post.

The end goal is to empower abundance and prosperity. I am fully confident that this is possible. There have been some success stories like this one:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1393685899100164100

I hope this thread can be used to share ways for the industry to co-create more abundance. Use your imagination!

 

[robmonster]

As some folks know, my favorite book from the last 350 years is a text from a Puritan writer from 1687 called John Flavel. The book is called "Mystery of Providence".

The story is written from the perspective of a small town preacher who, after the 1662 Act of Conformity, opted to abide by a law which would violated his truth, and did so by preaching only in the woods instead of inside of any town limits.

For the next 26 years he would preach mostly in the woods, and live as an itinerant preacher outside of any town. But in 1688, John Flavel preached at the Coronation of William of Orange. Persistence, faith and providence paid off big-time.

You can read the full text here:

The Mystery of Providence

mysteryofprovidence.com

The PDF there is actually published by a friend named John Hendryckx in Oregon who did a great job preparing a PDF. Epik incubated a software project called LiteReader.com which turns PDFs into free online FlipBooks.

That story right there is an example of co-creating abundance -- now anyone in the world can read something from 1687 that previously was only available to a much smaller audience .

Some day we may add a translator module to LiteReader which would make it easy for a new eBook to become available in other languages. If that draws upon volunteer translators, that would once again be an example as well!

 

[WarpedMind]

Great post and mindset, Rob. I hope many will read this and take it to heart. We can raise the bar on the domaining industry by working together, taking advantage of what is already out there (such as on Epik), as well as bringing creativity with contributory non-selfish motives behind it. If we help each other, we help ourselves. The Golden Rule works.

Thanks for the Mystery of Providence link... I've been wanting to read that classic.

 

[accurate]

Keep up the great work @robmonster!

 

[jugred]

Thanks for all your work in the domain industry

 

[CintaQs]

One more is to self-reflect on that scarcity. Mostly we are stuck in an illusion. Meditating on it can also help. But nice thanks!