Hey there,

How are you today…?  Thanks for asking, I’m fine.  Yes, I might be talking to myself, but that’s okay because it’s late right now.  I wanted to post a few things that I found today that I believe are really going to help me with a few projects I am working on.

Organization for a Wednesday

I came across the blog of www.MarketingWithMiles.com for the first time today and feel a stupid that I hadn’t thought of this first.  Miles created the concept of using a basic HTML based page that you access from your local computer.  The page is used strictly for your own personal organization.  The setup is very easy, but if you end up using his basic template, you will have the ability to do things such as:

• Place links to blogs that you visit a lot.  My bookmark page is almost useless now that it consists of about 200 links.  Having a short list of blogs I visit on a daily basis does save me time.
• Link to some motivational pictures, then place a goal underneath each.  This is great for practically anybody.  What works better than looking at your goals every day?
• Link to sites that you manage all on one page.  This was the most attractive part of the concept.  Yes, I could use my Cpanel to look through all of my websites, but having a link to my stats, wp-admin, crawltrack, etc… for each page is an amazing time saver.

So, I think this concept is useful to pretty much anybody who does anything on a computer.  There are some management programs that you can use for to do lists, but what works better than something you created specifically for YOU?

Flip It Good!

I found this video camera on the net today called The Flip.  It is a neat looking little device that is also quite cost effective.  I am in my consideration phase mentally right now, so I will probably wait until tomorrow before I sort through the accessories and figure out what I need.  My reason for buying this thing is due to the fact that I am wanting to do video blogging on a few blogs.  Not only that, but I haven’t ever had a video camera of my own that I could play around with.

I have tried both ways. Writing my journal in the morning about what I am going to do that day and what I did the previous day, and doing the same at the end of the day. The most beneficial process that works for me is to write in the morning.

Why is this?

I believe that when I layout my concerns from yesterday, I am in turn creating a list of things to do. This list is what gives me the ability to get things done that I have thoroughly thought out through journaling. On the other hand, if I created journal entries at night when I had already completed everything, I feel that the gap of time while I sleep would get my mind off track from what I had previously written.

To do Lists from Journaling

Pulling my to do list from my journal is one of the most productive things I have learned to do as of yet. Considering that everything I write about in my journal entries have to do with concerns and things I have done and would like to do, it is no wonder why I was able to find an already formed to do list within it.

Another process I haven’t tried would be to journal in the morning and also journal in the evening when I had completed all of the tasks I had previously set out.

How do you keep track of what you are going to do on any given day?

• Do you make to do lists?
• Do you write a journal?
• Or do you have a different process entirely?

Christopher Gardner: Hey. Don’t ever let somebody tell you… You can’t do something. Not even me. All right?

Christopher: All right.

Christopher Gardner: You got a dream… You gotta protect it. People can’t do somethin’ themselves, they wanna tell you you can’t do it. If you want somethin’, go get it. Period.

I was watching the movie, “The Pursuit of Happyness,” yesterday, and one scene really stuck with me.

Christopher Gardner (Will Smith) and his son (Jaden Christopher Syre Smith) have a father son sort of moment in the basketball courts. The father has a feeling of regret, reflects on his life, and gives advice so that his son doesn’t have to feel or go through the same problems. This information, in my opinion, is the best that you can ever give your child.

All throughout our lives we are told more often what we shouldn’t do, and not what we should or can do. However, there is a logical reason why this is the case. When we are children, our parents want to give us the best life possible. Some think that if they play it safe by never taking chances or risks, they will teach us to be safe by example. The basic reason that our parents do this is because they have learned what to do and what not to do in life- what works and what doesn’t. The major problem with this reasoning is that the perception of, “safe,” and, “danger,” or, “not safe,” is entirely up to the individual.

One person might think that poverty is something to fear, and will not take risks in life because of this. On the other hand, a person who has experienced poverty first hand has nothing to lose and will take a risk as though it is not a risk. For this man a risk is only an area of opportunity or a challenge. For the previous man, a risk is something to fear because he does not completely understand what it is to lose something. Without knowing what it feels like to lose something, to try something and fail, you can imagine the fear you would have to overcome.

To change, you have to redefine what, “safe,” actually is. One day you open your eyes and see the world for what it really is. Is there actually anything to fear in your life? Do you work the same job you are unhappy with for 20 years because it is safe? Or do you work towards a better life, take a few risks, and find true happiness? I’m not saying that you can’t be happy with a job and work it for as long as you would like, but I am only pointing out a common example that I see everyday.

The bottom line is exactly what this quote points out…

“You got a dream… You gotta protect it. People can’t do somethin’ themselves, they wanna tell you you can’t do it. If you want somethin’, go get it. Period.”

If you have a passion for something, then fulfill your dream. If someone tells you that you can’t do it, then that is their problem. Forget what they tell you, make your own mistakes, create success from what you learn, and fulfill your own dreams.

All too often you find someone searching out that one answer that should exist- how to make money. However, the answer is not always easy to find. This person will search and search until they finally understand a simple thing. This my friend is the first thing you must learn when beginning to make money on your own.

Working for someone else usually has a lasting affect on the way you know how to make money. Every week, two weeks, or month you receive a paycheck for a certain amount and that is reassuring. Whether you had worked yourself to death that month, or not really at all doesn’t matter too much. You have actually learned that instead of working to your full potential, you can set engines to half speed and you’ll still accomplish the same thing in the end.

To make money by yourself, you have to break this work pattern. You have to understand that you cannot use the same rules you had used all these years to make money, but instead have to flex your creative muscle in order to make this money.

Have you noticed why you only hear that money is easy to make if you are paying for the information. On the other hand, if you go to a blog on the internet with free information, you will read the opposite. This is because creating means of making money takes… creativity… As you know, anything that takes creativity is often thought of as difficult. I’m not saying that making money cannot be difficult, but you have to weigh your options accordingly. What is more difficult? Working for 20 years and realizing your work has not given you much in return. Or trying, failing, trying, failing, succeeding and finally establishing a means of making money that will give you much more- skills to repeat the process, unlimited potential, to say a few…

What Not to do

Searching out, “make quick money,” or, “get rich quick,” books will get you nowhere and quick. These books are usually (99.97% of the time) designed to lead you in circles. They are also most often based on out dated concepts that have already been used over and over again until they are no longer effective. Before you spend money on this information, ask yourself the following:

• If this information is worth a million dollars, why is the author selling it… and for $14.95?
• Was this information easy to find? If the information was very easy to find, imagine all the other people like you who have already read it…
• If the author really has made a large sum of money so that he doesn’t have to work, why is he writing an e-book and selling it for X amount of money? However, there are some legitimate e-books with authors who really have made a lot of money. But don’t expect them to tell you all of their secrets.

Many people don’t realize how much of a difference they can make in the world.  They spend most of, if not their entire lives, not knowing their true potential.  All because they don’t recognize something- change.  Your life can change in an instant.  In no time you can go from happy to sad, rich to poor, and even healthy to unhealthy.  Could these changes be entirely based on fate?  Or is there more to it?  I believe that we all have complete control over our lives.

• Do you hate your job?  Well, you are the one that chose it- so why can’t you find one that you like? 

• Does your car break down constantly?  You bought the car.  You pay for the gas.  You can find a way to getting it fixed.  Stop getting used to complaining and plan for a solution.

• Maybe you have a problem with your friend’s constant bad attitude.  Making friends does take two.  If you are unhappy with the presence of that person, you can change it. 

You have control over your life.  Not your government, job, friends, etc…  If you want to see change in the world around you, don’t vent your frustrations on the world, but take action and make that change.