Do you think it is to amass as much money as possible and then what you don’t need right now, you invest?
And of course that investment has to earn you a return that not only beats inflation but other forms of investment too.
All this making money online stuff is all well and good but look around at the planet now will all it’s problems of debt, resource depletion, and climate change.It is clear we must redefine what it is to be wealthy for what use is it to look at a computer screen and see all that virtual money you have amassed, if all around you the planet is dying .
For me there are other ways than bytes on a computer to judge how wealthy I am and here they are:
stay fit and healthy- the obesity crisis is well documented and seems only to be getting worse.Fast food is so easy to come by,it’s a shame it is all so unhealthy.It’s your responsibility to get healthy and this is achieved through diet and exercise.You may think that the two are equally important but actually diet is the more important of the two.I follow a raw vegan diet and whilst that may seem extreme to you,at least start reducing your meat and milk consumption.
Live below your means- put away that credit card,it’s the cause of the mountain of debt we now have and why any economy will not get going again until we have some form of debt jubilee.
Buy Quality- this may seem like a contradiction of point 2 however buying cheap can be a false economy in the long run.If you want something that should last a long time then go for quality.
Develop Your Own income – I am probably preaching to the converted here as you are reading this if you already have an online business or are thinking of starting one.People stay as employees all their lives because they think it is safe.It is not.You can be fired at a moment’s notice.Your boss decides what you do ,when you do it and how much you are paid.There is no security in that.
Move to self sufficiency-grow your own food,generate your own power and heating.Just as relying on an employer to keep paying you a salary is dangerous so is reliance on big business to keep you warm and the lights on.They say we are only three days away from anarchy meaning that’s how much food is on supermarket shelves.If you had no food where would you get it from?Start planing now.
Simplify your life and seek happiness-just how complicated is your life?Are you rushing around all the time?Is life any better by year end.Sit down with you family and decide what is most important.You will find alot of it does not involve spending money.
Connect with your community in a real way.What gifts can you offer?How can you help others that does not involve the exchange of money.A gifting community is a real community and something the tax man cannot touch.A good place to start is the Transition Network an organization that shows how a community can transition to a carbon free way of living.There are local groups all over the world so there should be one near you.
I hope this give you a few pointers as to where true wealth lies.It is all around us in our natural resources and our own talents,let’s use them wisely.
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People love to buy but they hate being sold to.You may have heard that a few times.
In these very difficult economic times people will only move towards a product that will add massive value to their life and really there are 5 niches that can do that.They are
Financial well being
Health and nutrition
Relationships
Community
Spiritual Life- that which transcends ordinary life an death.
You really need to look at the products you are promoting either because they are you own products or the products of others and ask yourself if they fit in any of the 5 above.
Because people will only move towards something if they have a pressing problem that needs to be overcome.We all want financial security.Health is a harder one because when I look around I see many people who seem bent in making their health worse through bad food lack of exercise and the taking of intoxicants mainly alcohol or cigarettes.
I have never smoked although it was considered really cool and school as was the sign you were grown up.As for booze I gave up about three years ago and see it as one of the best decisions of my life.I have a clear head at all times I lost weight and my health has improved.I can go out and enjoy myself more and not worry about how I am going to get home.
We all want great relationships and have friends to turn to so this niche is filled with very motivated people.No one wants to feel lonely,we all want someone to turn to,so have you looked at this niche.
These first three I see are about getting something for oneself money health and a relationship.
But then people feel they want to give something back.They want a sense of fulfillment, a sense of having made a difference.If you have ever been to a funeral notice how a well constructed eulogy focuses on what the deceased gave back to the world.People want to be remembered when they are gone so how can you help people accomplish this.
Finally many people want something that goes beyond ordinary life.I know for many this area is a closed book.They convince themselves that consciousness dies when the body dies so why bother either thinking about death and what lies beyond it.
But for me and many other this is the most important area.I follow a Buddhist spiritual practice,specifically the New Kadampa Tradition brought to the West by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso and you can find out more by going to kadampa.org.
But whatever your faith people want to connect with deeper meaning in their life,so what can you offer in this area?
So try and connect with your deeper authentic self and see what you can offer the world in one or more of these catergories.Then the process of helping people see you what you offer adds massive value to their lives won’t feel like selling.Your customers will become your advocates and they are the best customers to have.
I meditate.Alot,as in every day.Why?Until you start to know your mind you will have no idea just how wild it is and how much control it has over you.
People talk about getting focused all the time so much it’s become a cliche.What people need to understand is that to get a focus that lasts the mind has to be tamed and controlled so it serves us, not the other way round.
So the way to achieve this is to sit comfortably in a chair close our eyes and start to observe our mind.This will be very easy as our mind will immediately say “well this is boring sitting in this chair,get up and go and have some fun”
We believe our mind is on our side but in reality it is run by our delusions that will be the cause of so much suffering in our life.Our mind kids us into thinking that our external world determines whether we are happy or sad but if you check I am sure you can remember when you were at a beautiful holiday destination but had a heated argument with your partner and felt miserable.You state of mind and the outer world are not related.By training the mind you can be happy all the time.
What you must do at this point is ignore the rants of your mind.Instead you must look for an anchor to which you can tie your wild mind.In this way you can start to bring it under control.The most common practice that gives you this anchor is the breath.I want you to focus on it as it enters and leaves your nose.
Just start,do it for five minutes in the morning and slowly you will start to perceive gaps in all the random thoughts of your wild deluded mind.As your meditations get longer and deeper you will start to feel a great sense of inner peace that you can carry out into your daily life.
If your focus is building a business then it will help you here.We are under great pressure to deliver excellent customer service and with a calm and peaceful mind you can always deal with difficult situations, difficult clients,without losing your temper.
Calming your mind will add to your bottom line.I long for the day when meditation becomes common practice in the work place.
If you are a boss have the courage to introduce it in your company.Remember a happy workforce is a hard working workforce.
1.Reply to comments.It is true that many comments are just spam placed on your site merely to get back links.But some comments are genuine and you should reply as someone has taken time out of their day to comment on your blog post.So the least you can do is respond.If the comment is long and adds real value that give it a detailed response not just “thanks for your great comments”.
2.If someone mentions you on social media or a blog go and thank them.To track a mention of your name use Google Alerts and set up your name or business and the keyword phrase.Then once a week check your alerts and see who has mentioned you.If they talk about you in a nice way thank them.
3.Use the like and tweet buttons a lot when you find something of value.It will spread your name and hopefully people will like and follow you back.
4.Decrease your page load time.A page heavy with graphics and images will frustrate your visitor and they will more likely hit the back button.Also I have heard page load time has an effect on your Google ranking so re visit your site and remove anything that slows the load time down.
5.Lay off the sales pitches.Don’t you run a mile when someone who has just joined some MLM program launches into their sales pitch and may even take you through a Power Point presentation.If you help people they will buy from you because they have grown to know like and trust you.Let your site or blog do the selling.
6.Write an evergreen post i.e. one that will survive the test of time.Sure you need to report on the current trends but you also need to write about timeless truths.These become your landmark posts and are longer in length than most you do.These are the posts that get ranked by Google.They will take more time to research but start one now and get it posted.
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The way to have your website and blog be different from all the other is to find your voice and then put that or your web pages.
The best way to find your voice is to actually record it and then put what you said down in words.
This is how you do it.
First select the keyword phrase that will form the core of your page,file name ,meta description and page title.
Then imagine you have a friend across the table from you who has a problem around your keyword phrase.Then start recording yourself.I use a Garage band as I have a Mac,but go with Media Player if you are using Windows.
Once the recording begins you will become more self conscious .The ums and ahs will be very noticable. Now record yourself again and again until the words flow out of your mouth with ease.
Then write down exactly what you said and then you will “see” your voice on paper.
You will know you have got it write when the page is focused on your keyword phrase,is full of your personality,direct,clear and shows genuine concern for your audiences problem.A way of ensuring this happens is always to include the word”you” as much as possible in each paragraph.Make the page about your reader not you.You are there to solve their problems.
Then it’s just a question of rinse and repeat.Once your personality starts flowing through the words on your website,traffic will increase.
In this video I talk about discouragement as a type of laziness.We all feel like giving up at times but if we do it is a type of laziness in that we return to the easy comfortable but unsatisfying life we had before.We need that steely determination to push through the obstacles we face and I give two tips on how to do that.
The links to the first two video on laziness are here andhere
I hope you enjoy the video and leave your comments on how you overcome discouragement.
In this video I look at the second type of laziness,which is being pulled off what is important to you.We all give in to it from time to time but the less you give in the more rewards you will come back to you.Enjoy the video and let me know how you stay focused.
Here is a review the book The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz
The basic premise of the book is that we need to manage our energy more than our time if we are to get the most out of life be it in business, relationships, or contribution to the world.
Grab the book at Amazon
Have you read the book?What did you think.Leave your comments below.
I’ve just been watching a corporate video about how a company can get more from it’s employees.
Well I was wondering if these principles could be applied to the home business owner.So let’s look at what they are.
The idea is that at the end of each working day an employee sends their supervisor an email which answers the following questions.
1.What results have you achieved today?Not what are you still working on or what is coming up but what did you achieve today.Notice how this is not the same as what did you DO today.We fill our lives with activity but are we getting the job done?If you are not sure you need to break down a process into it’s parts and see where there are bottlenecks.
2.What did you learn today?We only grow if we overcome challenges.If you can do a job with your eyes closed it means you probably are asleep at your desk most of the time.Only by identifying our learnings can we be sure that we are growing and keeping our work interesting.
3.What problems did you encounter and how can your boss/company help you overcome them.?Your boss will want to know the problems you encountered otherwise how can things be changed to make your job easier.What training do you need and where can that training be found.
So if you are a home based business owner ask these questions of yourself.Only you have to be really honest as it is you who suffers if these questions are not answered truthfully.For me the big one is what results did I get.Sometimes there’s too much surfing round the net and checking email.Don’t let that me you.
Are there any other questions you ask of yourself.Leave your comments and let me know.
Best Wishes
Andrew Collinson
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