You don’t have to buy anything from me, to improve your eyesight. Everything here is provided without prejudice (but with some sarcasm). Anyone can come, take, use these tools, and never necessarily have to contribute or give anything back.
I say this often, and it’s even one of the first lines in my e-mail signature. Right now there is the free e-mail course which definitely includes some nudges towards the (paid) BackTo20/20 option. BackTo20/20 is the serious R&D project part of this site. The goal with it is to create one structured system that will work for just about any myope looking to improve their own eyesight, have a tool as well as data to back it up.
And yes, that one particular option involves money (which gets a small but vocal percentage of site visitors all riled up – because gasp, how isn’t everything free?!). The money helps weed out those who aren’t serious or motivated, and it helps me stay motivated to provide support (working for free isn’t that fun).
I used to like how it’s all set up. There’s the blog with everything you need for better eyesight, and BackTo20/20 for a more focused approach for those who want it. No matter who you are or how you want to go about it, there are plenty of options. Nice, right?
And yet, behind the scenes I’ve been gradually working towards ending new BackTo20/20 invites. Why?
Because, the Internet. At least in part I hope to get rid of the excuse in some people’s minds that what all of what we do is somehow invalid, just because some small part of it isn’t free. It’s quite a sticking point, especially with the establishment types. Imagine the irony, the $100,000 car-driving ophthalmologists pointing at the paid course, saying that endmyopia is a money grab just because we have one little paid product option. Happens quite a bit, and I’m a little less than excited every time I hear that particular argument.
It’s a silly, unfounded, and as-usual, illogical argument from the old-timers. In the spirit of hey-the-free-stuff-works-just-fine, here’s yet another improvement update, yet again entirely from the free contents from the blog.
Joel writes:
There we go. Good progress, right?
Quite a few success stories are just like Joel’s. And sure, BackTo20/20 is miles better than just the blog, being simple and structured, and having support and some level of community. I’d absolutely go that route, if I had the means and really wanted to get the most out of what this site has to offer. But, it’s optional. Continental breakfast is always free. Some people find it suspicious that the steak and lobster isn’t.
There it is. Hopefully this sheds some light for those who weren’t fully clear on purpose and distinction between available options. And in either case, I really hope you’re enjoying endmyopia.
Want to give back, for the free blog things? Just drop me a line on occasion. I always very much enjoy reading about your own improvements and experiences, as well as feedback, gripes, and just-hey-Jakes (just hit reply to any of the automated e-mails, they comes straight to me – or use the contact form link).
Cheers,
-Jake
