Personal
From The Heart… [A Personal Story]
Well, unless you’ve had your head in the ground the last few days, you’ve probably seen that I’m kinda in “launch mode”. 
You know I’m leading up to something. I have put on my marketer’s cap. The list has gotten a bit noisy. Yeah, I know. It is part of the process.
Everything will quiet down again once the club doors close. I’ll continue to provide my usual free blog content. Those bloggers who decided to take a step further and join the Blog Masters Club will continue to work with me as I teach them the most in-depth course on blogging as a real business which is available anywhere (no exaggeration).
Tomorrow is the big webinar. It is free for everybody and I hope you can make it.
RSVP For The Webinar Now
Space is limited. I’m not sure if we’ll tap the limits of GotoWebinar, but you never know. It is tomorrow night at 8PM EST. If you are at all interested in making money as a blogger and learning about the opportunities for us moving forward, then I invite you to RSVP. Please don’t RSVP if you know you can’t make it at that time. I want to conserve space for people who can be there with me in real time. 622 people have already decided to join me tomorrow night. 1,000 is my cap, imposed on me by GotoWebinar.
Before that, though, I wanted to get something off my chest. This is something I feel very strongly about.
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Life As A Pro Blogger [VIDEO]
I’ve just been the video guy lately, haven’t I? 
Well, today I have another one for you. In this video, you’re going to take a little car trip with me.
That’s right, we’re going to hop in the car together and ride down to the post office for…. what else? To see if I have any checks waiting for me.
When you run an internet-based business, you do make real money. Most of it comes in online and goes directly into my account. But, some companies send me checks and, for that, I use the PO Box.
I hope you enjoy the video. I had some fun getting a little creative with iMovie.
Click Here To Watch The Video.
Next week is when the fun starts. Be sure to RSVP for my LIVE webinar on Monday, at 8PM EST.
How Can I Help You In 2010?
2009 was an exciting year.
2009 was my first full year blogging about blogging. I began this blog in 2008. Before that, there was nothing but a placeholder page here with goofy images of myself.
As my long-time readers know, I’ve been blogging since before this was even called blogging. However, I was a tech blogger. I managed to make my living at it fairly comfortably. Then, in 2008, a series of events led me to the idea of starting a second blog where I would talk about what I did for a living.
It has been SO rewarding. I really enjoy helping and interacting with others with the same goals as I have. I love helping bloggers realize their goals in this medium. So, this has been very rewarding for me on a personal basis.
And, yes, I’m not going to lie, it has been rewarding on a financial basis as well. This move has brought my online business in a different direction than it was and the effect on income has been a positive one. I may provide a final year-end income report later (it has been awhile since I’ve posted one), but I will say that I surpassed $200K in gross revenue in 2009, increasing my income about $60K over 2008.
I have big plans for 2010, and I want you to be involved with them. I’ll post some of my 2010 goals a little later, but overriding all of it is this….
YOU.
That’s right, because I wouldn’t succeed in anything if I was not providing value to you.
Money, traffic – all the things we like as bloggers – all of it comes from delivering a result to your customers (actual customers as well as blog readers).
Our job, as bloggers, is to take our market and provide them with results. And, even higher up the totem poll, to give them HAPPINESS.
That’s what all people are after. More happiness.
So, the question has to be asked…
HOW CAN I HELP YOU?
What would you like to see from me in the coming year which would really help you? How can I make you happy?
I hope this doesn’t seem like a corny question. I could have asked this in a private survey to my list (and maybe I will), but I figured just starting a public discussion would be interesting. And, hell, maybe some other probloggers out there who blog about blogging can learn from my audience. We’ll see.
So, the ball is in your court. Now is a time to put your order into David’s kitchen. Let me know what I can “”cook” for you this next year.
I look forward to helping you in 2010.
What My 2-Year-Old Can Teach Us About Life
Meet Elyana. She just turned 2 years old. And even at her age, she has things figured out that many adults just fail to get.
My daughter wants what she wants. And, dammit, she’s gonna get it.
Case in point… while I was typing up some posts for this week, my daughter popped onto the couch. She came over to me, put her head right in front of my views of the computer, gave me a gorgeous little smile, then proceeded to grab my chin and turn my head toward her. She wanted my attention! And she got it!
Another instance… she is playing with her crayons. She loves to draw endless circles all over her notebooks. However, she wants mommy involved. She wants interaction. "Mommy!", she says. Over and over again. Then when mommy looks at her, she just keeps drawing more circles. Target acquired.
It is easy to say "Awww, she’s just being a cute little kid.". And, of course, you’d be right. However, I admire her persistence. I think her persistence serves as a great lesson for the rest of us. But, it isn’t just persistence…
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A Word of Thanks
I just pinched myself. Yeah, it hurt a little, but I needed to make sure this life I have is real.
My life is awesome. The fact that I make my living doing THIS for a living? [pinches self again]
Most of all, I’m thankful for…
My family is always top of the list for me. Unpictured is my son, who is due in February. I’m thankful for him, too. Can’t wait to meet him.
I’m thankful to all of my readers and subscribers – that’s you. It is you guys who continue to support me in this business. Without you, I wouldn’t have a business.
I’m thankful for living in a country where we have the opportunity to prosper and make our own way. Let’s hope we can keep it that way despite some efforts to the contrary. This is a great country and there are a lot of other countries where doing what I do for a living would be much more difficult.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Let’s not forget what this day is really about.
Return From Pukecon
Sometimes things just don’t go according to plan.
As my subscribers know, I flew to Las Vegas last week for Pubcon, a leading conference for the search marketing and SEO industry. I had high hopes and was expecting a good time.
Day 1 went well. Picked up some good tips, took some notes and met up with a few people. That night, I decided to get some work done rather than attend the Pubcon party because they were doing it at a night club. I don’t care how cool people think they are at parties at a night club, I find it counter-intuitive for a conference built around networking. It is so loud you can’t talk to anybody. So screw it.
I decided to hit the Grand Buffet at the MGM Grand for dinner that evening. Yes, I overate. But, damn was it good. I even picked up a ticket to see Cirque Du Solei Ka at the MGM the next evening.
Fast forward to about 3AM the next morning. Nausea. Vomiting. Living over the toilet and holding a lot of unflattering body positions. Not cool. I was sick as a dog. I got no more sleep because I literally had to get up every 20-30 minutes to puke.
The next day, I was clearly too sick to attend day 2 of Pubcon, so I camped out in my hotel room all day. I “enjoyed” some personal time… just me, the bed, and my hotel toilet. That toilet and I got to be friends.
The only time I stepped out of my hotel room during the day was to walk over to the CVS in front of the Monte Carlo to buy some water. I thought going for a walk might be therapeutic. Well, I ended up throwing up on the street. That went well.
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Review of Mystere, From Cirque Du Soleil
Mr. FTC dude: Yes, I was given this show ticket for free. Because Cirque Du Soleil is smart to use a bunch of bloggers coming to Vegas for show promotion. I’m about to say good things about them. If you don’t like it, fine me.
OK, now that that is out of the way, yes, I was provided a great opportunity to check out Mystere while I was in Las Vegas for Blogworld. This show is performed inside Treasure Island.
Here is my review: “WOW!”
Simply put, there are things done in this show that I’m pretty sure God never intended the human body to do.
First, when the show began, it was unofficial. The spotlights came on and moved around the audience a little. It was almost as if they were just setting up the lights. Soon, I realized they were focusing on this man with spiked white hair and a black suit. He acts like an usher. He’ll take your tickets and act like he’s walking you to your seat, then he’ll just walk off with them. He does other things throughout the show to mess with the audience. It is quite funny, actually.
The show starts with a baby carriage and a dance which represents the birth of a baby (or so it appeared). Then, this small woman plays the part of the baby. Complete with baby sounds. She is a constant source of comic relief throughout the show.
In fact, that is one of the things I like about this show. There are elements of comedy throughout, mixed in with the art and the gymnastics. The show takes you from moments of wow to laughter, back and forth until the end. The audience participation built into the show keeps you on your toes.
The set is incredible. This is one of the amazing things about a Cirque Du Soleil show which is stationary. The theater is essentially built for their show. In this case, the stage moves all over the place, up and down. The roof of the theater is customized to allow the high-wire acts that occur high above the stage. It is really quite impressive.
Ticket pricing starts at $69 and goes up from there, depending on your seat. My seat was pretty awesome, however it didn’t look like there would be a bad seat. The theater really wasn’t that large, so no matter where you are, you’re not too far from the stage. A word of warning, however: If you sit in the seats near the stage, you stand a risk of being part of the show.
Mystere was like a moving Salvador Dali painting. It is pure art mixed with gymnastics that will amaze you, combined with pure entertainment. These guys know how to put on a show.
It’s a Boy
Many of my Twitter followers probably saw already. My wife and I went in for an ultrasound to determine the gender of our second child. And yes….
I’m going to have a son.
My wife will be putting a scan of the ultrasound on her blog, and I’m not going to steal her thunder on that one.
I’m excited. I was actually 100% fine either way. Had no preferences. For a father, there is something special about “daddy’s little girl”. Yet, there is also something that a father and son share that is unique. Either way, I’m good.
It is exciting to have one of each, however. Best (and worse) of both worlds. It is the full spectrum of child ups and downs. It will, no doubt, be an adventure.
As my brother said:
Most couples want one of each – you guys are very lucky in the kid department. So easy, so quick, and good results.
He also said…
It’s a Risley, must have been easy to tell.
Hey, that’s just how we roll.
Behold – New Blog Design
My regular readers probably arrived here and went – WHOAH. Yeah, the site looks different.
The biggest thing that motivated me to make a change was that I was getting really tired of the dark background. It made the site look crunched and lacking space.
I’ve also made another notable design decision: I’ve decided to make the homepage more of a traditional blog layout. Rather than the multi-column homepage, I will now have a single column of new posts with more content on the homepage itself. I think this will allow me the flexibility to have shorter, more current posts to the blog without the need to make it a “feature post” when it isn’t really worthy of the title.
I may make a few more changes to things. I may reintroduce the rotating photographs at the top of the site. I may play around with the logo some more (I’m definitely not a graphics artist).
Feel free to share your opinion in the comments. And if you notice something not working, let me know. I’ve tested the design in Firefox, IE7 and Safari and it seems to work just fine here. But, browsers will be browsers.
Enjoy your weekend.
Wanna Meet Up At BlogWorld Expo?
Are you going to BlogWorld? It is taking place in Las Vegas, October 15-17.
Blogworld is the industry’s largest conference geared specifically to blogging. If you are interested in blogging or making money as a blogger (and you probably are if you’re reading this blog), then you really should go.
There is really no comparison between reading blogs and actually immersing yourself in it IN PERSON for a few days.
Better yet, I’d like to meet you. If you’re going to be at BlogWorld, I’d like to arrange an informal meetup somewhere where we can chat in person and hang out. I especially want to extend this invite to any of my Blog Masters Club students who are attending BlogWorld.
So, about those logistics…
I know it takes time and money to travel. You have to get yourself to Las Vegas, for one. There is also a cost to attend BlogWorld. The weekend pass is going to set you back $395. If you run a quick Google search for coupon codes, you should be able to find some which will save you 10%-20% on attendance.
In my opinion, the cost of the event is worth it. You’ve got full days of instructional sessions plus exhibits. Plus, you’re going to have fantastic networking opportunities with leading bloggers out there. It is almost a “who’s who” of blogging at this conference.
As for the hotel, that’s up to you. BlogWorld has special room rates set up at the Las Vegas Hilton and two others. Personally, I’m going to be staying at the Hilton. It is an easy overhead train ride to the convention center. Even though the Hilton is right next door to the convention center, it is a lot further away than it looks. Trust me. But, I’m staying at the Hilton for only $69/night. The Courtyard is only $79/night and includes free Internet (you have to pay a daily charge for internet at the Hilton).
I’m flying in on Wednesday and I’ll be leaving on Sunday. So, if you’re coming, let me know and we can arrange a meetup! Perhaps at one of the bars in the Hilton.
I look forward to meeting you in person in Las Vegas.
I am a pro-blogger and Internet entrepreneur who generates six figures online per year. This blog is a plain-English, pull-no-punches tale of my life as an Internet entrepreneur and problogger. 
