A New Beginning.

Years have past since I looked at this site! I live in paradise, mine anyway, where I lose my sense of time.  I grew up on the northwestern flat lands of Minnesota.  Seasons appeared and disappeared every two weeks, with the exception of winter which runs from the middle of Octobers first snow, through the subzero temps of January into the end of April.  Leaves appear in May and the first two weeks of June were always my favorite.

I live in the first two weeks of June year round now. It seems I have been here only just over two weeks ago. It has been three plus years.

Heading forward I am taking on a new mountain. I will look for the ones with no top. The most interesting is called Integrity.  I'll have a lot to say too. I love to climb and my first evaluation suggests I am deficient in my integrity. Stay tuned!

A building has integrity just like a man. And just as seldom. - Ayn Rand

If humanity does not opt for integrity we are through completely. It is absolutely touch and go. Each one of us could make the difference. - R. Buckminster Fuller

Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful. - Samuel Johnson

If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity, nothing else matters. - Harvey Mackay

I Rediscovered an Old Friend

I Rediscovered an Old Friend


Thirty years later and the "way" is just as new!

The Way of Transformation!

Seven Money Making Ways Using Your Opt-In List

An opt-in list is crucial to any site or internet based company. Even for a small venture such as a niche profit site an opt-in list can make a world of difference and also add some extra income to your pocket. Rarely will you see an e-commerce site, big or small, that is without an opt-in list.

An opt-in list allows a company to market their wares and site via e-mail. With an opt-in list, a site and a subscriber consent to sending and receiving a newsletter from your company. You can keep your subscribers abreast of what is currently available in your site as well as whatever is planned.

Because there is mutual consent between the two parties, any mail sent to the list is not considered spam. There is a great number of successfully read promotional materials such as catalogs, newsletters and ezines that are sent because the subscribers themselves have signed up for them, meaning, they do want to be sent those items.

Building a list is crucial, only a small percentage actually subscribe to an opt-in list. Many people find promotional mails annoying but of you provide a good newsletter or promotional material, you will see your list build and grow. You can also achieve this by having good content on your site. If people like what they see and read on your site, then they will want more. Newsletters are a way to attract them back to your site.

But other than marketing your wares and your services, an opt-in list can also be used to earn extra profit. The more subscribers you have, the more money you can make. Here are seven ways to make money using nothing more than your list.

1) Place advertisements. Many corporations will be willing to pay to put their banners and ads on a list with many subscribers. Selling or renting out lists is not a good idea so rather than doing that, many companies would just rather place ads with lists that have a huge subscriber base. Your newsletter can have ads and each one spells money.

2) Have affiliations with other companies that have at least a semblance or relation to your site. Here other companies will provide links and brief descriptions of what their products and services. With every click made on the link that directs or leads a subscriber from your list to their site, the company will pay you. This is P4P or pay for performance.

3) Make deals with other companies by asking for a small percentage of sales done through your list. With every sale done by customers that have come from your list and have gone there because of your newsletter, the other company will pay you a small percentage of your sales.

4) You may also get products from other sites on a consignment basis and sell them to your list via your newsletter. Place descriptions, articles and photos of the product in your newsletter. There will be those who will buy from you and when that happens, you can order the product from the other site and sell it to your buyer.

5) Sell e-books or a compilation of your articles on your list. Manuals and how-to articles are in great demand. Many people will be willing to shell out money to gain knowledge about a certain topic and subject. With your existing list trusting your expertise in that area, an e-book may be offered and sold or used as an incentive.

6) Create a network out of your list. Get people to invite more people to view your site and subscribe to your list. The larger your list the more people will be able to click on your links and affiliate links as well as make your advertisement rates higher.

7) Subscribers are willing to pay for information if they know that it can be trusted and relied upon. Use your list to get more and more people to subscribe to you as well as browse your site. Lastly, you can use your list to earn money by making them your partners. Your list will be the bloodline of your growth and increase.

Knock Knock! Who is There?

While cleaning shelves and deciding what to keep and what to give away an old book appeared or Knock Knock jocks.

Are they still relevant?

Knock KNOCK! Who's there?

Yah.

Yah who?

Gosh! I'm glad to see you too!

Knock KNOCK! Who's there?

Ella.

Ella who?

Ella-Vator! Doesn't that give you a lift?


Knock KNOCK! Who's there?

Tarzan!

Tarzan who?

Tarzan Stripes Forever!

Knock KNOCK! Who's there?

Soup!

Soup who?

Superman!

Knock KNOCK! Who's there?

Gable.

Gable who?

Gable to leap tall buildings in a single bound. 

What are your favorites?

Pass The Butter ... Please.        This is interesting . .. .     Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys.  When it killed the turkeys, the people who had put all the money into the research wanted a payback so they put their heads together to figure out what to do with this product to get their money back.    It was a white substance with no food appeal so they added the yellow colouring and sold it to people to use in place of butter.  How do you like it?   They have come out with some clever new flavourings....        DO  YOU KNOW.. The difference between margarine and butter?       Read on to the end...gets very interesting!        Both  have the same amount of calories. Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams; compared to 5 grams for margarine.     Eating margarine can increase  heart disease in women by  53%  over  eating the same amount of butter, according to a recent  Harvard  Medical Study.     Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in  other foods. Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few and only because  they are added!     Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavours of other foods.     Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less than 100 years.    And now, for Margarine..     Very High in Trans fatty acids.     Triples risk of coronary heart disease ...    Increases  total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and  lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol)     Increases the risk of cancers up to five times..     Lowers quality of breast milk     Decreases immune response.     Decreases insulin response.     And  here's the most disturbing fact... HERE IS THE PART THAT  IS  VERY INTERESTING!     Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC... and shares 27 ingredients with PAINT    These facts alone were enough to have me avoiding margarine for life and anything else that is hydrogenated (this means hydrogen is added, changing the molecular structure of the substance).        Open a tub of margarine and leave it open in your garage or shaded area.  Within a couple of days you will notice a couple of things:      *  no flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it (that should tell you something)     *  it does not rot or smell differently because it has  nonutritional value ; nothing will grow on it. Even those teeny weeny microorganisms will not a find a home to grow.  Why?   Because it is nearly plastic .  Would you melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast?       Share This With Your Friends.....(If you want to butter them up')!    Chinese Proverb:    When someone shares something of value with you and you benefit from it,  you have a  moral obligation to share it with others.      Pass the BUTTER PLEASE

Happiness...a quote

“So we do wish to live after all, but without having to suffer. We want to live happily, but not any sort of happy life.  We would like our happiness to grow continually rather than diminish; in fact, the knowledge itself that we might find an insurmountable obstacle in our path would diminish our happiness.  We long for happiness, but it should have no limits.”

            “Quite so.”

            “And not only should it have no limits, but is should last for a very long time, as long as possible; endlessly, if possible.”

            “Indeed.”

            “Evidently, there is no such thing as unlimited happiness in this limited world; such happiness can only be found in the infinite, eternal God himself, in heaven.”

            Besides, all of us who are here, long for this, and every person, regardless of nationality, lives on such longing.  The longing comes from human nature itself, which is common to us all.

            Could God Himself, who has bestowed on us abilities and natural tendencies to reach our goal (eyes to see the objects that really exist, ears to hear the sounds that really exist), give His creatures a higher, intellectual longing, without offering them the chance to fulfill it?

            If this were the case, then that longing would be pointless.

            A God who has created in nature this somehow unquenchable longing for happiness, explicitly intending it to be unlimited, but without offering the way to satisfy this burning thirst, would not be acting sensibly nor lovingly.  In short, He would not be God.

            Therefore, there must be such happiness.

                                                                        Saint Maximilian Kolbe

Etiquette for Online Networking

Online networking is growing because Internet tools make it easy for anyone to reach out to almost anyone who has a presence online. Lofty executives, potential clients, and future employers are within easy reach to anyone with a browser and an email account. But it won't do to rush off and start blasting off email messages to strangers -- that's a recipe for being ignored or added to an email blacklist.

Take the time to think through your online marketing approach, and your results will improve dramatically.

It's Not All About You

When you've read about an interesting person you'd like to get to know, it pays to dig a little deeper before you launch an introduction via email. An email message with the subject line "Loved your article" has a much better chance of being read than one titled "Hope you can help me."

If you want to establish a relationship, spend half an hour online and learn a few things about the person you're interested in meeting.

Cut to the Chase

Most of us reach out to well-placed strangers when we need help with something -- finding a new job, closing a plum client, or meeting a person who's otherwise out of our reach. So when you launch a networking overture, come to the point. No one has time to read the saga that describes your last 15 jobs, as fascinating as it may be. Write, "I was hoping that you can advise me on my Marketing job search." Be specific.

Don't ever send your resume as an attachment to a person you don't know -- it's presumptuous, and raises fears of computer viruses. Ask, instead, for one specific thing, perhaps a bit of emailed advice on best companies for brand managers or some tips on moving from Operations into IT. Your target person's time is valuable, and you want to demonstrate that you know that.

Offer to Reciprocate

People think that it sounds silly to offer to help the person whose help you are seeking, but it's not. It's far better to write, "Of course, I would love to help you in any way I can, as well" than to behave as though you believe perfect strangers should be falling down with eagerness to assist you with your projects.

Don't be surprised if the person you're looking to contact takes you up your offer. He or she may have a young relative graduating from college who needs an "in" at your employer. Networking is about reciprocity.

Don't Press Your Advantage

Let's say you've reached out to a VP at a major manufacturer, and you've now exchanged email messages a couple of times. That's great. Be happy about your new contact, and don't push the young relationship by introducing six of your closest friends to your newest associate or adding your new pal to your newsletter distribution list.

Close the Circle

If you write to a technology expert asking for a technical answer and you get one, write back immediately to express your gratitude. After you've implemented the solution, write again and say so. It's frustrating for a person to take time helping a networker with an issue, and then never to hear from him or her again. Close the circle by writing, "Dear Allan, thanks for your job-search networking tips. I'm happy to say I got the job, and I owe you a beer the next time you're in Medellin!"

Perceptive networkers know that the power of networking is in the quality of the relationships they build, not the number of people they know or their titles. Cultivate your connections with your focus on the people, and your network will pay you back in spades.