Question the Rules: My Review

I have a love-hate relationship with (or should I say, addiction to) information products. I’ve probably spent a cool thousand trying to learn how to successfully launch an e-book, start a small business, market my writing, build an empire, get right with money, and work on my patterns… mostly with limited success, I must admit.

When I got word that Question the Rules program was launching, I totally didn’t want to pay for it. But when I heard that Lee and Johnny were looking for guinea pigs for a discounted price, I couldn’t resist putting my critic hat on and going for broke. Here’s my review, and some of my favorite tunes. (I’d tell you how cool these guys are, but that wouldn’t be very punk rock. Let’s just say they’re normal guys that picked up a ton of cool shit along the way, along with the ability to distill it. Or, if that’s not enough, their the bios are plastered on the site.)

Described as “the nonconformist’s punk rock, DIY, nuts-and-bolts guide to creating the business and life you really want, starting with what you already have,” Question the Rules is a vast collection of audio files covering some essential but often neglected aspects of the whole business-building thing.

The first module is about the d.i.y. mindset. As someone who started self-publishing at the age of twelve (cutting out strips of typewritten prose, pasting them on dark magazine-ad cutouts and spraypainting the whole thing with Halloween hair paint before heading to Staple’s) I think I needed the reminder that the punk rock mindset can apply to many things–like, maybe even things I’m trying to do today.

The second module covers goal-setting, but not in the annoying school counselor or Franklin Covey “will that meet your needs over time?” way. Instead the focus is on figuring out what your real goals are, and what you can do to realize those goals right now without waiting for some moment in the far-off future.

The third module is on belief and faith, but not in a church sermon or New Age-y type of way. Although I’m pretty much agnostic, this section pretty much made sense to me. At this point, my cynical self was getting a bit edgy since I couldn’t find anything to rip apart.

The final module was actually a series of three audio files on the ins and outs of networking and how to do it in a non-slimy way that doesn’t piss people off (but still helps you get what you want.)

Finally, there are a ton of bonus interviews with some rock stars, including a few that don’t have a zillion interviews plastered all over the internet. (In addition, Lee and Johnny give good interviews and focused on specifics that are different than the bajillion other interviews out there.)

PROS: I found the content incredibly useful and a lot of fun to listen to. I liked that it’s not a cut-and-dried, step-by-step approach but focuses more on philosophy and mindset in addition to personal anecdotes we can sometimes apply to our own lives and businesses (or use our own brains and creativity to adapt to our unique circumstances). In the world of self-professed internet gurus, I found the approach refreshing. So many products are authoritarian step-by-step guides found everywhere that often don’t work for unique situations. And then the developers wonder why they’re getting a lot of e-mail with questions (as people try to fit their circular businesses and lives into a box-shaped pattern) and wonder why people guru-ify them (the inevitable outcome of a “do what I did and be rich and famous like me” approach). And as someone who grew up with a love for all things punk rock (I was a part of the riot grrrl movement), I got personal satisfaction out of seeing the strategies I was attracted to back in the day applied to the type of work I’m attempting to do now.

CONS: Although there are practical strategies, this is definitely not an overnight effort, nor is it specific to any one industry. If looking for specific results in the short-term, this is probably not the product to buy. It’s great food for thought that will help with long-term strategy, and can help put you back in the right direction, but it’s certainly not something I’d see as absolutely essential. Also, they mispronounced Sedoku.

MY EXPERIENCE: It may be a coincidence, but I happened to land a couple of nice gigs I didn’t apply for shortly after listening to the QRT audio–and while contemplating the approaches described. (Of course, I also work my little tale off, which may have something to do with it. But I’ve been doing that for years.) And even though Ben Weasel pissed off my middle school self in the early ’90s when he wrote a song about how he didn’t give a shit about Nicaragua (he can’t even spell it right), QTR-inspired nostalgia still compelled me to go buy Screeching Weasel tickets for this summer. Watch out! It could happen to you!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the review and music. Check out Question the Rules here, if you’re interested. And feel free to post your favorite punk rock vid links in the comments. I miss that shit.