Intellectual property (IP) is the most slept on (underrated) type of property there is.

It’s pretty much the only thing you own that becomes more and more valuable every time you use it 🤯. Meaning: after you turn one of your smart ideas into an IP asset, the more you write books on it, and speak on stages about it, and host workshops around it, and get interviewed on podcasts about it, etc., the more widely accepted and sought after (and valuable) it becomes.

Say, what? I repeat . . . 🤯.

I first experienced the magic of IP in 2008 when I started publishing ideas online and “consulting” (gotta use that term loosely here) friends and acquaintances who were coming to me with questions about how I started and ran my first businesses—a cleaning business with three service providers and, later, a graphic design business I ran with my best friend.

I found myself happily answering the same questions over and over, but I knew I could be more efficient and more helpful. Finally, in 2012 I decided to package up everything I’d learned operating my own business (and some of what I’d learned in business school) and teach some continuing education courses at The University of Texas at Austin.

I haven’t looked back since that first day, nervously standing in front of a room full of strangers, helping them create their first WordPress websites, learn the basics of starting a business, and dive into social media.

All those convos during free coffee dates with friends had matured into my course materials. They were making me a lot more money and I was reaching a lot more people.

So, a year later I published my first print book (The Small Business Manual, 2013), and it became a required “textbook” at multiple colleges in the United States. My second independently published print book (Epic Blog, 2014) sold 12,000+ copies—earning over $100,000 in profit—in its first few years.

You get where I’m going with this. Intellectual property can be magical. Highly impactful, highly profitable, and extremely long-lasting.

So, by 2014, I was fully launched on a mission to help others create an amazing income online through their IP. I felt that disenfranchised people (like me) finally had a way to “level the playing field” a bit on income opportunities.

Writing, online and in print, became my primary vehicle for personal growth, business growth, and impact. My two main sites (this one and a health-focused blog) each had more than 5 million pageviews in 6 years. Teaching online (for 20,000 amazing learners and counting) soon became my life's work.

But, as the years passed, my mission changed. Now, I work not just to help people become infopreneurs (information entrepreneurs) profiting off their IP, but to become the gold standard of thought leadership in their industries. It’s no longer “enough” for us to be making great money. I want you to prolifically spread your ideas and transform the world (or your industry/community).

You are a thought leader. This is your year to publish high-value content and solutions for the problems your industry, society, community, or clients are having in clearer & more thought-provoking ways than others.