Progress, No Matter What by David Cross

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    Article by the Expert: Progress, No Matter What
                            by David Cross

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I make it a point to follow up with everyone who asks me a
question about setting up an Internet business. It takes me
just a few seconds, and it usually motivates them to take
action.

Usually. But not always. After my most recent follow-up e-mail
to "Bob," for example, I received this response...

"Hi David,

"Sorry, we've been having challenges with infrastructure here
in paradise. Internet is more off than on. Our landline was
just fixed this week. It has been down since June 22. There
was a major fire at the power plant 2 weeks ago. And to add to
the festivities, I was assaulted by a crackhead who, I am
told, was turned into a zombie by some Haitian voodoo curse.
(I couldn't make this stuff up.) I am about to leave for
Albuquerque to visit my son and grandchildren. I haven't seen
them since my son's commissioning with the Air Force 8 years
ago. I am anxious to get going with my website. But, as you
can see, there have been a few distractions."

The last time I followed up with Bob, he had a few other
"distractions" that were preventing him from starting his Web
business (though none as interesting as being attacked by a
voodoo-cursed crackhead).

What I can't seem to get Bob to recognize is that achieving
success in your Internet business (or anything else) is not a
place you suddenly arrive at. It's part of a process. And it's
formed by a habit. A habit of doing something to progress
toward your goal every day, no matter what. I am not saying
that the "challenges" of day-to-day life won't throw you
off-kilter. But in the time it took Bob to write and explain
why he hadn't yet made a start, he could have made a start.

Just Do It!

Now is the time to start anything -- not necessarily a
brand-new business. It could be starting something new with an
Internet business you're already operating. Maybe advertising
on Facebook... using video on your website... or sending a
follow-up e-mail series to your subscribers.

For the online entrepreneur, now is always the time to make
improvements. To do more of something that's working; to stop
doing something that's not.

But when you have a long list of things you want to try...
how do you know what to focus on first?

The answer to that is easy. Focus on the one that will
generate the most results that most closely match the core
purpose of your business or your stated conversion goal.

Let's say your primary purpose is to build an e-mail list and
market to that list. In that case, what would give you the
best return on your investment of time and money? Should you
do paid search advertising? Write more articles? Build a new
shopping cart? Or test landing pages?

In my experience, you should begin with a combination of paid
search advertising and writing articles designed to drive
organic ("free") search engine traffic to a simple landing
page. On the landing page, you offer a free report on your
chosen topic. People who are interested in your topic sign up.
You deliver the report. You then e-mail them ongoing
information -- and offers -- related to that same topic.

You could get all of this set up with one day of focused
effort. You could start right now by spending just one hour to
open your Google AdWords account and create a single ad.

You say you can't find even one extra hour to work on your
Internet business? What about some of the time you spend idly
surfing the Web? Or watching television? According to a recent
Veronis Suhler Stevenson's Communications Industry Forecast
and Report, the average American spends 1,745 hours watching
television in a typical year. That works out to 145 hours a
month -- more than six full days in front of the TV every
month, or slightly less than five hours a day.

You cannot alter the fact that there are only 24 hours in a
day, but you can change the way you use them. So figure out
how to use some of those hours to make progress on your
Internet business goals. Do it now. There's no excuse not to.

About the Expert:

David Cross is a veteran Internet marketing expert who has
worked closely with Early to Rise and Agora for many years. He
is also a featured expert in ETR's Internet Money Club.

Are you sure you are "nice"? Or are you just scared?

Are you sure you are "nice"?

I watched X men with Joyce yesterday at Dhoby Ghaut. Being school holidays,  the cinema was quite crowded with kids. During the movie, there were two boys sitting behind me, and two girls beside us. One of the boys sitting behind was giving a running commentary on the show and was disturbing me. I turned around,  gave him a finger to lip motion, smiled, and  say thanks. Not sure if he saw my smile though. After the show, the two girls beside Joyce stood up and left. And as soon as they were out of earshot, Joyce immediately turned to me, and  startedscolding them under her breath. She kept saying that they were talking during  the show, and were disturbing her. I watched X men with Joyce yesterday at Dhoby Ghaut. Being school holidays, the cinema was quite crowded with kids. During the movie, there were two boys sitting behind me, and two girls beside us. Something like this: SCREEN Me - Joyce- Girl 1 - Girl 2 Boy 1 - Boy 2 One of the boys sitting behind was giving a running commentary on the show and  was disturbing me. I turned around,  gave him a lip to figer motion, smiled, and say  thanks. Not sure if he saw my smile though. After the show, the two girls beside Joyce stood up and left. And as soon as they were out of earshot, Joyce immediately turned to me, and started scolding them under her breath. She kept saying that they were talking during the show, and were disturbing her. I was quite perplexed. Why did she not tell the girls to keep quiet DURING the show, rather than just grin and bear with it, then explode after the show? I told her that. And she just dismissed me. And went back to ranting about the girls, and how people in Singapore are so inconsiderate. Nice? Or scared? This kind of behavour is actually quite common in Singapore, and sadly, many of these people think that they are being "nice" and "kind" not to exert their rights in public. There is a HUGE difference between being nice, and being scared to do something. My personal definition of a nice person is someone who is able to do something, but  resists it out of compassion or kindness. It is critical that you are able to do it if you want to.  For example, if I am a Grandmaster world champion martial arts expert, and I am able to kill  a person with one flick of my finger. I go to a bar, and this guys tries to pick a fight.  Instead of fighting him, I walk away. Thats being nice. Thats being kind. Because I know  I can fight him, but I choose not to. Back to the cinema scenario. I knew I could turn around and "Shhhh" those boys behind me. If I restrained myself and let them continue talking, I would have been nice. But since I am not a nice guy, I still "Shhhhed" them. However.... If you are not able to do the action because of fear, and you walk away. Then you are not  being "nice". You are acting out of fear, and using "nice" to justify your actions. It is critical to recognise the difference. Otherwise, you will live your entire life in fear, and be disillusioned to think you are a "nice" person. So what if you are fearful? The most important thing to realise is that: Its ok to be scared.  Nobody popped out of their mothers womb with the courage to do everything in the world. So if you feel the fear, and are unable to act because of it, admit it. Being truthful to yourself is paramount. Because if you continue to hide behind the facade of  "nice-ness",  you will  never be able to breakthrough. Admit your fear.  Instead of being angry at others for XX action, be angry at yourself for not having the  courage to tell them off.

This article originated from CourageGym. 

5 Ways to Make Hard Decisions a Little Easier - by Yanik Silver

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    Article by the Expert: 5 Ways to Make Hard Decisions
                   a Little Easier - by Yanik Silver

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Yesterday, my wife Missy woke up with her stomach in knots.
Clara, the woman who'd been cleaning our house for the past
two years, was becoming more and more unreliable. Sometimes
she called to say she'd be late - but sometimes she just
didn't show up at all. Not only that, but she was doing a
terrible job.

"I should probably fire her," Missy said. "Then again... she's
been working for us for a long time. And she used to be so
good. Maybe if I talk to her..."

Missy knew she had to do something about this problem, but had
been procrastinating for weeks. And watching her agonize over
it got me thinking about "tough" decisions - the kind we all
struggle with.

It seems to be easier to keep putting them off... but that
just prolongs the discomfort.

Whenever I've had a decision weighing on my mind, it's kept
nagging at me. But when I finally made the hard call, it was
never as bad as I had worked it up to be. In fact, I've found
that the longer you chew on it, the worse it gets.

Thinking back, there are two vivid examples that spring to
mind...

Breaking Away From My Dad's Business...

One of the biggest decisions I ever had to make was whether or
not to leave my father's business. I started working with him
when I was 14. And I fully intended to stay with him and help
grow the company - a medical equipment sales and service
business. But I got the "itch" to go on my own in 1998.

That's when I started experimenting with information
marketing.

At first, I spun off of my dad's business by selling
information to plastic surgeons on how to get more patients.
And my dad was pretty flexible. He let me use his office as my
home base while I was still working for him. Then he let me
take Fridays off so I had more time to work on my own
projects.

The idea that I was somehow "betraying" him and the family
business was eating me up. I knew my heart was no longer into
it, and I had to break away. My dad expected me to work with
him side-by-side until he retired. But I couldn't continue to
live my life based on someone else's expectations. I had to do
what was right for me. So, nine years ago, I made the decision
to leave the company.

Looking back, it was by far the best decision I ever made for
my financial future.

Attending My First Seminar...

To get my business off the ground, I had been learning a lot
about direct marketing. And when I got an invitation to a
copywriting seminar in Phoenix, I was tempted. This was back
in October 1998. But because the seminar was so expensive, I
almost passed up this opportunity that I later realized was
the turning point in my business (and bank account).

My fledging information marketing business had been pulling in
maybe $2,000 or $3,000 per month. No great shakes. So I was
understandably hesitant to spend several thousand dollars and
miss several days of work (both of which I couldn't afford) in
order to attend the seminar.

My dad thought I would be a fool to go. He chided me (in his
thick Russian accent) "Mr. Yanik, why do you want to throw
away your money. If you have so much of it, I can help you get
rid of it. Don't you already have enough of these books and
tapes?"
But I bit the bullet and went. Another tough - but smart -
decision.

Frankly, if I had listened to my dad, I know I wouldn't be
anywhere near where I am today. I can directly trace the
moment when everything "clicked" for me and I "got it" to that
seminar. That's when I discovered the power of how to use
words and turn them into cash windfalls.

I've found that people regret things they don't do much more
than things they do. That's not how I want to live my life -
brooding over "shouldas" "couldas" or "wouldas."

In fact, I believe that most of our "tough" decisions aren't
really so tough. But the longer it takes for us to get off the
fence and take action, the more we magnify them in our own
heads.

With that in mind, here are five simple things to try when you
are having trouble making a decision:

Decision-Making Method #1: Think about the worst-case
scenario.

What is the worst possible thing that can happen if you make
the wrong decision? It almost certainly won't happen - but
even if it does, you can probably live with it. When I was
torturing myself over going off on my own, for example, I had
wild thoughts of my father disowning me. Of course, he didn't
do that. He may have been disappointed, but he didn't flip
out.

Decision-Making Method #2: Listen to your gut.

This is huge! Don't try to rationalize your way out of making
the decision. You've got good instincts. Take advantage of
them.

Decision-Making Method #3: Give yourself a deadline.

If you give yourself an indefinite amount of time to decide on
a course of action, you'll never do it. Not to mention, you'll
drive yourself crazy! Think of yourself as the high-powered
CEO of your own life - an executive who MUST make decisions
quickly.

Decision-Making Method #4: Visualize your ideal

outcome.

This is an exercise I learned from my friend John Harricharan.
He calls it the "Power Pause." It takes three minutes - one
minute to think about what you want to happen... one minute to
think about how good you'll feel when it does happen... and
one minute to calm yourself down by thinking about what you
are already grateful for in your life.

Decision-Making Method #5: The Band-Aid solution.

You know how painful it can be to pull off a bandage
(especially for those of us who are kind of hairy)? Well, the
secret is to pull it off quickly. Nothing is worse than
paralysis by analysis. You'll never have all the information
you need to make the perfect decision. Do the best you can
with what you've got. Then move on.

And here's a bonus tip: When all else fails, flip a coin.
That's how I decided the time had come for me to propose to
Missy!

By the way, in case you're wondering what Missy decided to do
about Clara... she gave her a call and simply told her we
weren't going to be able to use her anymore. Much to Missy's
surprise, Clara was relieved. It seems that there's another
family much closer to her own neighborhood that she's been
wanting to work for, and she was happy to have us free up a
day for her.

There you go - all that angst and gut-wrenching turmoil could
have been avoided simply by making the decision to fire Clara
weeks ago.

About the Expert:

Yanik Silver is an established internet marketing expert,
having been in business online since 1998. He believes you can
make more, have more fun, and give more back!