SAMPLE: Ten strangers said my name

Good morning, {name}. Today's dare scared me more than anything so far: get ten strangers to say my business name on camera. No script, no friends, no paid actors. Just me, a phone, and a sidewalk.

I almost didn't do it. I wrote three excuses in my notes app before 7 AM. Then I remembered why this diary exists: every day I do one thing I'd never normally do, and I sell one thing, in public, with the numbers showing.

Why this dare | The fear

For fifteen years I worked behind the scenes. I made other people visible. Asking a stranger for anything, for me, still feels like stepping off a ledge. So the dare isn't really about filming. It's about asking.

And here's the part nobody posts: most people who "can't sell" don't have a product problem. They have an asking problem. They'll build for months to avoid one awkward ten-second conversation.

Nobody says yes to a pitch. People say yes to a favor.

this is where I almost left

What I did | The first hour

I stood outside a coffee shop at 7:40 AM with my phone and one line: "Can you help me with something that will take ten seconds?" The first four people walked past. The fifth said yes.

Once I had one yes, the rest got easier. Every clip ran the same five beats, and I didn't change a word between them.

Steps: Ask > Film > Thank > Post > Follow up

The trick was the thank-you. After each clip I said, "You just helped a small business. Want to see what it is?" That one sentence turned a favor into a conversation.

Choose: The fifth person says yes. What would you do next?

Path A | Ask them to tag a friend

You walk up to the next person with the first one still filming. Strangers trust strangers who already have a yes. Two more say yes in five minutes.

Path B | Post it right away

You post the clip from the parking lot. Nobody replies for an hour, then three people ask what you sell. Slower, but they came to you.

The numbers | What it made

Here's the whole morning, from the people who ignored me to the one who paid.

Funnel: 40 | walked past / 10 | said yes / 3 | asked what I sell / 1 | bought on the spot

Stats: $27 | made / 10 | clips / 2h | spent

Reveal: What it made today | $27 in, $0 spent on ads

A $27 sale doesn't sound like much. But this diary is about how the money actually moves, so here's where every cent of it went.

Money: Where the $27 went

• Sale (Square payment link) | $27.00
• Square fee (2.9% + 30¢) | -$1.08
• Ads | -$0.00
• Kept | $25.92

How the money moves | One clip, five jobs

The sale was the smallest thing I got today. The ten clips are worth more, because one ten-second video can do five different jobs before it's used up.

Cards: Why it worked

• A favor, not a pitch: Ten seconds is small enough that saying no feels ruder than saying yes.
• Proof you can watch: Ten strangers on camera beat any testimonial I could write.
• Curiosity: "What do you sell?" is the best question a stranger can ask you.
• A reason to follow up: Everyone who said yes already knows my face. Tomorrow's text isn't cold.

The gap | What nobody tells you

You can buy a course on this. Plenty of people sell the script. But a script was never the hard part.

Gives: What a how-to gives you | The line / The steps / A template

Takes: What today actually took | Standing there after four people ignored you / Asking again anyway / Posting it before you feel ready

That's the gap I'm writing about every day. Not the information. The doing, with the numbers showing.

Off the clock | Body and brain

I ate before I filmed, which I never do on hard days, and it helped. I walked to the coffee shop instead of driving so I'd arrive warmed up instead of sitting in my car rehearsing. Small things, but the dares are teaching me that my energy is part of the sale.

Your turn | Steal it

Q: What do you sell? {business}

Q: What's your goal this month? {goal} [First sale / $1,000 / $10,000]

Your version: tomorrow, ask ten people to say {business|your business} on camera. Write your line: I sell {business:___} to {audience:___}.

{name}, if {business|your business} hit {goal|your goal} this month, what would you do first?

Take it with you | The tools

Everything I used today is below. The checklist is free. The Series Pass is today's drop.

Bump: Series workbook | $47 | Guided exercises for every episode | https://square.link/u/WORKBOOK

Bump: Cheat sheets | $27 | One-page summaries of every strategy | https://square.link/u/CHEATS

Bump: Action plans | $67 | Step-by-step plans to run each episode in your business | https://square.link/u/PLANS

Tip: https://square.link/u/TIP

Shop: PLAYBOOK | The Velvet Rope Waitlist | $197 | https://square.link/u/VR

Shop: REPORT | The Creator Economy Money Map | $197 | https://square.link/u/MAP

Shop: INSTALL | Sell Every Day Install | $197 | https://square.link/u/SED

Where I'm headed | Tomorrow

Day 3 unlocks at midnight. It's the one I've been avoiding: I'm texting every person who said yes today and asking them to buy. I'll show you what I sent, who answered, and what it made.

See you at midnight.