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          Most people worry about their financial health.  Work, make more money. 
Get more stressed – make more money.  I have just one question?  If your health gets so bad 
that you can’t enjoy living, then what good is all of that money going to do you?  Not much. Continue reading →

Circular thinking may be costing you money

Is circular thinking keeping you working in circles?.

Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā 

The circular thinking process, also known as Circular Reasoning,
is basically just that.Ā  You createĀ a thought that does not go beyond
your original starting point.Ā Ā 

Let me take something that everyone is familiar with – making money.

Some of us have a grasp of how to create and have an income, but even
with that many people still feel the need to have more.Ā  What do you do?

The starting point for your circular thought is that “I need more money”.

So you explore some ways to bring in extra cash. You rule out a second job,
you don’t want to ask friends and family for cash, so you think that
starting a business is a good idea.Ā  Then you get to thinking, “Well, I can’t
start a business because “I will need more money“.

Check this out –
Can’t make money online? Here’s why!


Killing your productivity with Circular Thinking

Whether you are in business online, or just trying to get through life,
the way you deal with your own thoughts can make or break your success.

Everyone has a tendency to fall into the trap on occasion where they get
sidetracked by something.

The internet marketing, blogging, or doing anything online where you
are trying to make a few dollars, or even just get people to your site so
that you can provide them with information, can be a challengeĀ for most of us.

 

There are really only a few things that you need to do to get a business
going online, but those few things can get really complicated very quickly.
Why?Ā It is because of circular thinking.Ā  This is a common problem, especially
if you are just starting out online.Ā  It even affects those of us who have been
working online for a while (guilty as charged!).

The circular thinking that takes place is the idea that you have to do more,
spend more, and worry more, but you still seem to end up in the same place
that you started.Ā  The worry comes from all the spending and doing that
doesn’t seem to work no matter how much you do.Ā  Ever been there?

Check this out –
Can’t make money online? Here’s why!

Circles to Lines

Now it’s time to straighten out those thoughts. Bear in mind that you will no longer
be a “Big Wheel”:) No more circles!

Here are a few suggestions that may help keep you from running in circles.


1. Before you start any project, large or small, write down EXACTLY what you
are going to do, how much time you want to take, and how you are going to do it.
The less time that you waste going from thing to thing, and trying to figure out
everything as you go, the less time you will waste, and the more focused you will be.


2. Give yourself 30 minutes and check yourself to make
certain that you are still on task and not engaging in circular thinking again.
If at the end of the 30 minutes you are still on target, then run another 30 minutes.


3. Did you meet your 30 minute goal?
Maybe you you initially set out to write a blog post. After 30 minutes,
you are now trying to adjust the color of an image. Maybe that image
is part of the post, but you haven’t gotten the post written. You can
always add in the images later, or add the image, finish the post,
and go back and adjust the image.

When you get distracted by things that keep you from your original goal,
you will end up getting very little done in the end.

What is it that keeps you motivated?

Are You Still Motivated? HOW?

I was recently asked “How do you stay motivated?”. I do
speak about motivation, but usually not on a personal level.
So, forgive me, but I will be talking about me, myself, and I
for the next few moments.

The fact is, I am not always motivated. Motivation is not
something that just happens. If you are human at all, you
know that you do not always want to be productive.

The 3 “Selfs”

You like to sit and watch a movie, take a vacation,
take a nap – maybe take another nap. That’s okay.
I enjoy those things, but there is more. The “More” part
is self-responsibility, self-reliance, and self-respect.

I would feel worse taking that nap when I knew
that I had things to do that are going to
keep my family fed (self-reliance).

I know that there are a lot of people who rely on the information
that I give them to help keep THEM motivated,
and that I need to keep up with reliable content (self-reponsibility).

Self-respect is something that I would lose quickly
if I fell into the trap of allowing myself to get lazy.

Self-Responsibility

Let’s begin with Self-Responsibility. Being responsible for
the things that you do, and taking that responsibility
seriously, is a major milestone in becoming successful – at anything!

How do you know if you are a responsible person?
Do you always begin work on time? This means that
even if you are working at home, you begin your
day at approximately the same time each day.

Do you manage distraction effectively? If you can’t control
the things that take you away from your work, then
you are not managing your time very well. You may
mean well, but to others you may be tagged as irresponsible.

Self-Reliance

Self-reliance is important because it shows others that you
are confident in your abilities. If you have confidence in yourself,
then others will be drawn to you, and will be more willing to give
you their time, and their business.

Self-Respect

Self-respect keeps you in touch with yourself, and helps
tie together your other two “Selfs”.

When you have self-respect, you have personal guidelines that
help others like and respect you.

Self-respect holds things like honesty, integrity, and trust at the
forefront of personal and business dealings. Your self-respect keeps
you in touch with what is important to you.

As with anything else, some of these things are learned
through trial and error. Even though we are often taught
these things growing up, listening, understanding, and
believing is often a difficult concept for youthful desires.

I was a hard study. I often thought that I was working hard,
but would fall short of my goals. It wasn’t until I learned
to control myself (mind, body, and soul) that I finally
was able to overcome most (unfortunately not all) of the
obstacles that were standing in my way of success.

I did become successful by working harder, and becoming
stronger. I later realized that I had gained a close
relationship with my 3 “R’s” which made my successes possible.

By mind-body-soul, I do not mean that you must be able to
drop into some state of sub-conscious enlightenment at the
drop of a hat, but that you recognize what directions you
need to be taking – and when.

You need to be able to control your body so that you can
get up and get to work, instead of continually hitting
that “Snooze” button on your alarm. When I get tired, but
I still have work that must be finished, I finish it.

The soul part has nothing to do with being religious, not
that religion will not be helpful at times, but it is
keeping in touch with your “Self”. Something that I have
been talking about for a number of paragraphs!

How to maintain when the world around you is going nuts

How To Maintain

As a Performance Psychology Specialist/Coach (God I hate
all this hypey credential crap, but you need to know what I do)
I know that you go through a lot of varied emotions
during your working day.

Whether you are working online or offline, you still have
those elements that drive you NUTS!

You know what I’m talking about. You’re right at the end
of a new section you are writing, and your computer decides
that it’s time to take a nap. It quits and you are S.O.L.
(in case you don’t know what S.O.L. is, you might be able
to find one on Ebay – kidding of course).

You’re on a road with no one behind you, yet someone
decides that they need to get out of their driveway
before you reach it. The catch is that they wait until
they can read the VIN number on your windshield!

You are either holding your breath in hopes that you will
pass out, stretch down your foot so that it pushes down hard on the
gas pedal, and you can take out that crazy S.O.B. (also on Ebay)
but not yourself (you’re relaxed, remember?).

We all have our good days (been waiting for 27 years now), and
our bad days (yep, today was another one for me). But, they
come and go.

How To Maintain Yourself

Now how do we combat, and work with the things that we
really can’t do much about?

I have mentioned getting organized. Getting more organized
can take a lifetime of aggravation away for many people.

Not everyone is very good at it. Actually, most people
are not. I am one who is not, even though I know most of
the tricks, tips, and ins and outs of the “How To’s”.

I think it is mostly inbred. I have a step son who when he
was only 3 years old used to line up his toys in lines.

His sister was different. She would take all of the books
off of a shelf and throw them in piles on the floor, also
all of the pots and pans she could manage to get out
of the cabinets.

Sister has a PhD, and brother is in the Navy. Sister still
make piles on the floor, and brother has no choice but
to line things up in an orderly fashion – including himself.

Damn! went off on another tangent. See, I’m not all that
organized. So, if you are not, and if something helps me,
it should certainly help you.

On the other hand, if you ARE organized . . . HELP!

I want to know your secrets!

Okay, back to not being serious.

When you have to deal with things that are
just ungodly awful, and you want to vomit
on your boss, do-worker(s), dog, wife, or
whatever and whoever, you will want to do
one of two things:

1. Go ahead and vomit! Do the projectile thing
so that you get the most benefit out of it.

OR,

2. Open the door to the box that you are presently in,
and take a look at what is happening – from the outside.

If everyone else is nuts, do you have to be? No!

You always have choices. Sometimes it is more effective
to stand up, stand your ground, and be firm. At other times
it is just as easy to just listen, don’t take what is said
personally, and move on.

Yes, when do you stand firm, and when do you listen.

If you are trying to be efficient, which is turn leads to
better productivity, the sooner that you get out of any
turmoil, the better. Agreed? Okay.

When you are in a situation that is very important,
affects others (as well as you), and you KNOW
that something is the wrong thing, then it is good
to stand your ground.

On the other hand, if someone (like the motorist
who likes to read VIN numbers) take you on, or
a co-worker gives you grief, then isn’t it best to
grab a cold drink (well, maybe that kind, just don’t drive),
and give yourself “Brain Freeze” and “Chill”?

This is easier to do for some people, but not so
easy for others. That said, it is never really “Easy”.
What you do is just mentally tell people off and
keep your mouth shut. Take those deep breaths,
and walk away.

Efficiency, organization, work habits, and a multitude
of other facets all go into being more productive.

If you want to get more productive, then you really
should check this out.

To your continued success,

Bob

What does it take to add value and market smarts?

So, just what DOES it take to add value and market smarts
in your business, or at least give the impression of having
that added value in your products or services?

Let me begin with a few questions.
– Does an auto have more value with, or without, wheels?
– Would you rather have a glass that is half-full, or half-empty?
– How much value do you see in “FREE”?

Let’s take these in order shall we. . .

1. That auto down the road that you have been looking at,
it has four wheels and runs – right? Would you buy it
at the same asking price if it had NO wheels?

Maybe. If it was a Classic that you were planning on
restoring anyway, and you knew you could make $10,000
when it is finished, then you might buy it anyway.

What if it was just a regular car that you wanted to
be able to drive to work, and use for a vacation or two?
You would likely want a discount on the car, because
it has no wheels.

Why is this? Perception!
2. Do you look at things as half-full, or half-empty?
We have probably heard this old saying thousands of times.

When you buy something, the advertiser (copywriter) will
attempt to always give you that “Half-Full” picture, and
paint the “Half-Full” scenario.

For example (and I will use the Internet Marketing niche),
you see an ad that tells you that you can generate traffic
on “Auto Pilot”. Glass half-empty.

What you are not told is that you have to
spend $1,000 for their software, spend days trying to figure
out how everything works, sign up to several websites that
work in conjunction with the software (if it is going to
run as they deomonstrated), and it will cost you another
$272 for these extras – the half-full side of it.


3. Everyone likes “Free” correct? But, just how much do you
expect to get for your free report, keychain, information,
ebook, or whatever? Do you think that you will learn more
than you already know? Hopefully, and occasionally, yes, you will

The real value (and information) usually comes from the
paid product that is promoted (half-full by the way) when
you download your free item.

Going back to the original question, “What does it take to add
value to something?” It is not a matter of adding value per-se,
but adding the perception of value. You also want to give value.

Many things are written, produced, and delivered that already
do have value. The problem is that people who see these items
are not seeing the “Half-Full” part, but instead they are seeing
the “Half-Empty” glass

It is not that the product or service does not already have value,
but the perception is that it is just not worth it, or it will
be there later (we all know that later never comes).

Make sure that you add value, and market smart every time you
write your advertising by keeping the perception of your target
audience in mind. Get to know your readers and find out what
they really want. Then give it to them. Just make
certain that what you give them really does have value.

Bob

Your autoresponder can make or break it for you – learn what to write

Your autoresponder – what to feed your list

As a internet marketer, potential marketer, or if you already
have an offline business of some kind, but are ready to
take it to the world via your computer, then listen up.
 
You may already have an auto responder and are writing
ā€œGazillionsā€ of emails. I hope that is the case, but just in
case you are in the category of still trying to get things going,
or just getting started, there are some things that are
really important that you should know.

When you write your emails to put into your autoresponder:

1. Do they make sense?
Your information must make sense to your subscriber.
If your subscribers came to your list wanting to know
about the latest trends in smart phones, and you tell
them about cake decorating, that makes no sense, and will
probably send them running.

2. Does each message fit together with the next?
When you write your emails, while not always
necessary, also consider writing something that
is in a two or three part sequence.

3. Is each email about something different?
If your emails jump around too much from subject to
subject, then you could lose a personā€™s attention.

5. Are you providing the information your readers want?
My focus is on a number of things that include marketing.
I am a Performance Psychology Consultant, and therefore
address any number of issues that can influence success
in any arena (i.e. anything performance related). So, I must
be careful that I donā€™t throw out too much about too many
things. If I do, then I likely lose people’s attention.

Most topics can carry with them any number of facets that
can be written about. When you write your emails, and keep
them focused to your reader’s interests.

4. Do you just keep pushing offers?
The final thing to consider is that if you do affiliate marketing,
or have a few products that you have created, then offer
them with the intent to help the person, and NOT just sell
your wares through every email, because people will likely
leave your list.

To your online success,

Bob

P.S. Here is one more thing to think about. . .
90+ percent of working online involves writing. Sales copy,
emails, blog posts, etc. all involve writing.

How do you know that you are getting the right message across?

You can make sure that your words are working by clicking here