Life & Mindset

How To Handle Negative or Annoying Feedback (Without Blowing Your Lid)

Apparently, when I talk about my family, it can be annoying. At least that’s the feedback I got from a subscriber earlier this week. This person sent me a private email (which will remain private) in response to an email to my list where I mentioned that I was hanging with my kids and my [...]

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8 Cold, Hard Facts About The Successful Online Entrepreneur

There is something bad going on.

In fact, it is rather disheartening sometimes. It really is a cold, hard fact of life that we’re up against here. And nobody is exempt.

Today, I’m going to be blunt as a spoon. Because it needs to be said.

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Can Technology and “Technique” Take the Place of Relationships?

I’ve said it many times, but this whole blogging thing is a really a people business. Focus on people and awesome things happen. Today’s post is from Mark Aylward and he talks about this. It should be a reminder for ALL businesses, but is important for bloggers as well. Content isn’t king – relationship is. So, I’ll hand you off to Mark..

I started blogging about a year ago, and one of the things that I realized after a while was that I was so caught up in the logic of search engine optimization, keyword research, and the use of anchor text links, that I had lost my voice.

What I mean by that is that my personality and humanity were taking a back seat to technology and “technique”.

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Are You A Business Opportunity Seeker?

You might have winced at that question just now. These days, the words “business opportunity” just don’t have the ring to it they once did. Instead, we think things like MLM, pyramid schemes, and disguised affiliate programs where you make somebody else rich and get screwed.

I see some of these things. They advertise as if you’re “starting your own business”. There are promises of thousands of dollars per month with just a few hours of work per week. They parade success stories of people who quit their job and now make more money at home than they did when working. Come to find out, all you are is an affiliate for them. You’re selling THEIR stuff. You’re using some cookie-cutter affiliate site which you’re supposed to go market. In some cases, you actually have to PAY THEM to get started with this.

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Maybe It’s Time To Practice A Little Minimalism In Your Business

There are two ways to make more money: (1) Make more money, (2) spend less.

Sounds like a life lesson passed down from our grandfather in a lecture about saving money. Of course, it is sound advice. Smart advice to apply to our business and our personal finances.

I’ve talked about minimalism before and I think there is a lot of truth to the workability of it. It is the idea of simple living, reducing the number of possessions, and increasing self-sufficiency. When you get rid of stuff in your life, you gain more time and you gain more mental energy. Many people have changed their lives for the better simply by getting rid of a lot of their stuff (to whatever degree they’re OK with).

What about applying it to our businesses?

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The 3 Harsh Truths About Making Money Online

My readers know that I tell it like it is. And, I’m about to do it again.

… Because I get asked questions fairly often, and sometimes those questions make me want to bash my head up against the wall.

The typical template of that question goes something like this….

If I work X hours per day, how long will it take me to be making $____ per month?

Ugh.

So, time to dish out some truths. Once you understand these things and accept them, the closer you’ll be to actually creating the success that you want online.

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How To Tackle 2011 Like A Blog Master [Webinar Recording]

Last night, I did a public webinar with the above title. It went really well and the feedback I got from it was incredible. If I had to summarize the general “mood” of the feedback I got from it, it was this…

“It changed my way of thinking.”

… and that was the point.

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Declaring War On Distractions And Lost Productivity

Ever had that feeling when you get to the end of a day and realized you haven’t really accomplished anything?

You went into it with the best of intentions. You had a mighty to-do list, and you told yourself, “Hello new day. Prepare to be pwned.” You have that cup of coffee and you set out on your quest of efficiency.

Several tweets, wall updates, blog comments and emails later – it is lunch time. Well…. I guess that was work. But, I’ll get the REAL work done after lunch. Yeah…

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My Gratitude… For Them

Ending off my little mini-series on gratitude, I want to talk about my family for a bit. You can read my thoughts on gratitude, as well as my thanks… to YOU.

And, yeah, I’m a dad. So, I’m gonna brag my ass off.

I’m a lucky man. Here’s why…

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My Gratitude…. To You

Today, I want to extend upon my post from yesterday about gratitude. Today and tomorrow, I want to do a couple of gratitude posts on the blog. Today, I’ll talk business. Tomorrow, I’ll get personal.

I find it utterly amazing to be able to do what it is that I do, and there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t feel gratitude for that.

Last week, I was invited to be interviewed in front of a local internet marketing group here in the Tampa area. I had around 25 people show up, some driving as much as 50 miles, just to come see me be interviewed. In the process, I had this guy raining all kinds of kudos down on me. It was weird, in all honesty.

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