At last my official blog website is actually finished. My intention of blogging for a living has become a reality.
Ok, what next?

The first thing I need to do is to go back over the archives and delete all my earlier muses.
In the early days, as is usual for blog virgins, my impression of a blog was something that no sane person would ever read or be interested in. So my first blogs were indulgent, grammatically terrible and some were even downright silly.
But as my hand hovers over the delete button I hesitate….wait a minute…this is like throwing out an old photograph album.
There’s the one about my dog Sadie, now gone, who was miraculously cured of cancer by a Spirit healer. And the time a had my cat trimmed and she looked like one of those nodding animals you put in the back window of your car.
Then there are the feelings I had when starting a new job or moving house.
I recorded my first days on Facebook and how cheeky people were, asking to be “my friend” when they didn’t even know me!
Of-course, I would hate for all you guys with discerning tastes to read these old blogs but I am definately not going to dispose of them. I’m going to print them up and stick them into a scrap book for posterity.
Maybe one day one of my grand daughters will find them and will read them to their children…how strange it will be to them…how old fashioned it will seem!
This time of Ipods, webcams and Twitter will be an archaic, bygone age to them!

I wish I had written more!

Read Pat’s Official Blog at http://www.patsutton.com

Confessions of a Blogger.

You can have the best looking website in the world, the best products ever invented, the most eye catching advertisements and a service second to none but if you don’t tell your customers how to buy from you then all your hard work is wasted!

If you want the reader to buy your product or take you up on your service, then tell him so, tell him what to do to pay now!
Unless you enjoy entertaining your prospects with your beautiful writing skills, always demand that he complete the sale now, by taking action now – by calling a telephone number, by clicking a pay now button or by writing his cheque and rushing it to the post office.

So how can you stimulate your prospect to act?

1. You could offer a reward of some kind.
However, in mentioning the reward or bonus, be very careful that you don’t end up receiving requests for the bonus with mountains of requests for refunds on the product to follow.
The bonus should be mentioned only casually if you are asking for product orders; and with lots of fanfare only when you are seeking inquiries.
2. Specify a time limit. Tell your prospect that he must act within a certain time limit or lose out on the bonus, face probably higher prices, or even the withdrawal of your offer. This is always a good hook to get action.
3. Offer a good guarantee. Any kinds of guarantee you offer always helps produce action from the prospect.
And the more liberal you can make your guarantee, the more product orders you will receive.
Be sure you state the guarantee clearly and simply. It is important to make it so easy to understand that even a child would not misinterpret what you are saying.
4. Spell out to them the whole procedure, in other words what will happen once they have paid.
5. If applicable, tell them how quickly they will receive their purchase. It really annoys me when I buy something only to find that there is a 3 week delivery time. I always want my purchase yesterday and I like to see clearly on the front page of the website how soon I will get it, for me, this will make the difference as to whether I buy or not!

So remember, the action you want your prospect to take should be easy – clearly stated – and devoid of any complicated procedural steps on their part.
The easier you make it for them to respond, the more responses you’ll get!

Pat Sutton is author of “The Image Attraction System” http://www.TheImageAttractionSystem.com
An internet marketing specialist and Authorised Representative of LifePath Unlimted
http://www.ThisBusinessRocks.com and http://www.MakeMoneyFromHomeCoventry.co.uk

That call to action – your life’s blood!

Do you have what it takes to be really successful? Have you ever thought about what you must be prepared to endure and do in order to be successful in business or your career?
I think I have been asked at least 5,000 times what it really takes to be successful in business, so I jotted down 10 questions you can use to gauge whether you already have what it takes, or if you need to do a little “work” to get there.
Many years ago I heard Jim Rohn say that you either pay the price of discipline or the price of regret. Discipline weighs ounces… regret weighs tons! With that said, here are 10 questions to ask yourself:
1. Are you disciplined?
2. Do you take rejection personally? What about criticism?
3. Do you bounce back quickly from making errors or failing over and over again?
4. Are you a planner or do you do things by the seat of your pants?
5. Are you prepared to take risks? Moderate or Big?
6. Do you stay focused on one thing and one thing only until the result you want is achieved?
7. Do you have the stamina to keep going long after everyone else is tired?
8. Can you delegate well, or are you the only one who can do things right?
9. Do you wait for things to happen or do you aggressively go after what you want?
10. Do you do whatever it takes to achieve your goals or just what’s convenient?

These questions are critical for you to ask yourself in order to get a true picture of your nature and behavior.
What I have found is that successful people are aware of the consequences of not being efficient in these areas, and find other ways, resources or people to manage for them.
Food for thought?
Remember to create a masterpiece!

Copyright © 2004 John Assaraf
John Assaraf, aka The Street Kid, a New York Times & Wall Street Journal Best-Selling Author, Trainer & Entrepreneur.
Go to: http://www.thestreetkid.com to discover his “Secrets To Building A Multi-Million Dollar Business – Guaranteed!”

Go to: http://www.TheStreetKid.com/seminars to register for your No-Cost eCourse, “The Science Of Making Tons Of Dough.”

10 QUESTIONS: DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES? By John Assaraf

Many of us feel set in our ways. We’ve been doing things the same way for so long, it is hard to imagine we could change.
But anyone can change, yes I said anyone!
You can create changes in your life by doing the tiniest of actions each day, like doing 5 minutes of exercise or cutting out that second piece of toast, but the problem is that a lot of us just don’t have the discipline or the will power to do it and these things are so easy to do but even easier not to do.

This creates a self defeating cycle which means our negative thinking leads to not taking action, then not taking action leads to no results, and no results confirms and reinforces the negative thinking. We are stopped from making changes even before we start.

So how can we change this “not making changes” spiral?

The answer:
Introduce the following word into our vocabulary.

“YET”

“I haven’t been able to find a better source of income…yet”.

“I can’t do an exercise program…yet!”.

“I tried that and it hasn’t worked…yet”.

“I don’t have the discipline or will power…yet”.

This may sound like a small step but it opens up big possibilities. It introduces the potential for success, which can help keep us motivated to continue trying.
In the future all things can be possible. Where is it written that something is impossible?
Others have been successful, others have made these changes, why can’t we?
Of-course it may take work but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done.
Just because we haven’t done it so far doesn’t mean we won’t be able to eventually.
Many people who succeed at making lifestyle changes, at first experienced some failures.

Remember riding a bike? Did you ride perfectly the first time? Probably not, chances are you needed to practice a number of times, or build up your confidence, or just be in the right frame of mind to be willing to try.

You need to challenge your negative thinking. Break out of the self-defeating negative cycle of thinking that keeps you from taking positive steps to improve your wealth. Hold open the door to possibility. You’ll get there…yet!

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Some great quotes:

“There is no shame in failure only in quitting.”

“All personal breakthroughs begin with a change in beliefs.”
Anthony Robbins

“Change your thoughts and you change your destiny.”

“When nothing seems to help, I go look at a stonecutter
hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without
as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and
first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that
blow that did it, but all that had gone before.” Jacob Riis

Don’t listen to the negative thinkers!

…for the taxes you pay because it means that you’re employed.
…for the mess to clean up after a party because it means you’ve been surrounded by friends.
…for the clothes that fit a little too snug because it means you have enough to eat.
…for the shadow that follows you everywhere because it means you’re out in the sunshine.
…for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means you have a home.
…for all the complaining you hear about the government because it means we have freedom of speech.
…for the spot you find at the far end of the car park because it means you’re capable of walking.
…for the person who sings loud and off key because it means you can hear.
…for the piles of washing and ironing because it means you have clothes to wear.
…for weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day because it means you’ve been productive.
…for the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means that you are alive.
…for getting too much e-mail because it means you must have people who are thinking of you.
Can you think of any more?

12 things to be thankful for.