My wake-up call about online safety

The Dark Side of Sharing Online

When I bought a house on Long Island four years ago, it came with its own small, crab-filled beach.

​One of the first days in my new house, I walked down to the water, snapped a picture of the melting peach cobbler sunset, and posted it on Instagram, saying something cheesy and indulgent like, “can’t believe this is my backyard.”

​Within an hour, I got a DM from someone saying, “I know where you live!” She went on to name my exact street, and even my house, knowing it had recently sold.

​Oof.

​She meant well, but it was a holy crappola moment for me. If she knows, other people — people I don’t want — can definitely figure this out.

​Since then, I’ve been stopped when out with friends or family, received more “I know where you live” DMs, or had people send really rude and insensitive forward messages like, “how was your mom killed?”

​I’ve been careful not to give ‘too much away,’ while also remaining keenly aware of the fact that most people don’t care about me or where I live.

​But then a few weeks ago, I got an email from this guy.

​It was disgusting, assaultive, and illegal.

​Any innocence I had about my identity or any potential lurkers flew out the window faster than a baby spider on my dashboard.

​I absolutely love my business and creating content online.

​But not at the risk of my safety or privacy.

​Luckily, you don’t have to choose one or the other.

​It’s possible to grow an online business and maintain some sense of privacy, too.

​In my new YouTube video I share 6 ways to protect your privacy (without disappearing from the internet):

Or you can listen to my podcast episode instead: LISTEN HERE→​

​And before you write this off and say, “I don’t have an audience big enough to worry about privacy yet…”

​Size doesn’t matter.

​Creepers gonna creep creep creep…

​And leaving breadcrumbs online now will lead to a whole mess of privacy issues down the line.

​Once you watch my new video (or listen here), comment below and let me know how you liked this episode.

​I’ve been playing with a new format and types of episodes on my podcast, On Your Terms®️, and YouTube channel — I hope you’ve liked the episodes lately!Just don’t send me an email with a video showing me how much you loved it / me. 

 Links You’ll Love

 Learn how I built a $9mil+ online business with 50k email subscribers on my friends Chenell and Dylan’s podcast, Growth In Reverse.  LISTEN AS A PODCAST→ |  WATCH ON YOUTUBE→​

 Want to create your own $1 million product online? I sat down with my friend, Jay Papasan, on The One Thing to chat about how to uncover your own signature offer.  LISTEN AS A PODCAST→ |  WATCH ON YOUTUBE→

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✔️ Your Task This Week

The world feels… heavy.  I trust you know what’s best for you.

​Personally, I’m spending as much time off social as possible, limiting my caffeine intake (I got these half caff beans!), and prioritizing movement that makes me feel good.

​Take good care of yourself. It will be OK… I think.