Biz-e-Life Beacon

Go Back To Get Ahead

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 17:10:00 +0000

The other night, I was digging through some papers from, as it turned out, years ago.

There were E-books galore, (including my own), pages of notes and things I had typed, as well as blog posts and articles from my former life on the web. And then there was the small stack of emails Larry and I had written back and forth, and back again, over the years.

It was funny, (in a different kinda way), that a lot of what we had typed about was still the same stuff we type about today.

I don't so much mean the brief asides we wrote about celebrities or politicians or local professional sports teams just totally blowing perfectly possible seasons by winning just a few games, (though that happens quite a bit). I'm talking about what the future holds, what we will be doing in say a few years (or even next week).

Like I said, it's funny in that it is the same over the years. Some of which we have made decent strides towards, yet it remains as central focus that doesn't seem to go away.

While I can't quite speak for Larry at the moment, my own ideas were based on a few ideas.

Helping others is a primary focus.
Is fun, involves humor, (definitely is not always serious).
Provides me with a sense of having done something meaningful.
Writing, maybe speaking or instructing in some fashion, is involved.

Those are what pushed me to writing my first few e-books several years ago. Since then, daily life has managed to get in the way much more than one would have wished. BUT, the primary focus which keeps coming up in our emails has never gone away.

So my questions to you are these:

What have you been thinking about year after year that you should be doing?
What idea or image keeps popping into your mind?
What, (and I hate the word), regret do you still have inside you?
What did you like or love doing in the past that you don't do any more? (not because you can't, but you just don't).
How can we help you get started on this?

Leave your thoughts and comments, and together, we shall see what we can accomplish.

A Few Things Learned This Year

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 17:39:00 +0000

While we like to talk about looking forward and not dwelling on the past, it is helpful at times to look back over the past year and see what happened that we learned from. Ok, so this is mostly my (David's) list.

1. Write it down to give it a chance.

Being writers, Larry and I write a lot of stuff about stuff. We've even written back and forth about what we were thinking about stuff prior to writing it down so it would become stuff prior to our actually writing about the stuff we had written about. (It makes sense to me, really).

Fact is, if you don't write it down somewhere, put it someplace where you will see it rather often, it just won't happen. Get it outta your head. (maybe that would have been a better #1 title. You have enough to think about, why not make the list of what you want to accomplish and get to feeling it, being it, doing it.

2. Don't wait for perfect.

Ouch! (#1) Doctors are not perfect, computers are not perfect, car companies and banks are not perfect (told myself I wouldn't go there), secretaries are not.... ummmmmm, yeah! they are.

Everything can be improved upon. Even that paper you got an A+ on back in high school can be made better with what you know now. Thing is, if you have this idea, this feeling, this urge to do something that will make things better, then go ahead and get started on it. Don't wait for the "perfect" moment, the "perfect" date, the "perfect" place or the "perfect" whatever. There is no such thing. So, just do (Oh! wait, that's then next one).

3. Do it, you'll feel better.

You ever have those moments when you just get on a roll? You know, you start something at say 10:00 in the morning and the next time you look up, it's already 2:00 and you've missed lunch? That's what happens when you just go ahead and get started on something.

Now Larry has probably known this longer than I have (See, I'm still learning), since he's been writing at a high consistent level for years. You write even when you don't necessarily feel like it. I've heard it said before a different way... It's the writing that will bring on more writing. Try in in your own field.

4. Let folks know where you are.

Just like when you knew you were going to be late, and you needed to phone home to let mom know where you were, what you were doing and why you were gonna get your butt beat because you were already late for dinner and didn't tell her ahead of time, it's a good thing to let folks know where you are.

We did that last week with a quick post. It could be thought more of as a warning that we will be doing more, being more, giving more, presenting more, but that's part of things as well. Don't necessarily tell everything in your playbook or your plans ahead, but let them know you are there and will be back with a bang.

5. Go through the damn door

Finally, when you have made up your mind in some fashion, push forward and go through the damn door. If you don't there could be someone on the other side rushing through and hitting you with it breaking your collar bone, sending you to the emergency room where they hook you up to an EKG machine (left arm for guys, right arm for women, testing for heart attacks), and then to the doctorss office for the first time in many years, taking 4-6 weeks to mend itself into some fashion that you can then use it to pull up your pants. (See David's posting about Be Naked for the new year).

But I digress. Push forward and don't let the simple things stop you.

---David

We're Coming Back, Really!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 21:17:00 +0000

I soooo want to just say that we will be taking a bit of a break from all of the blogging and related stuff. BUT, (and that's a big but), I am sure you can see we have pretty much taken our own form of a sabbatical of sorts.

For those observant many, the most recent post (not counting this one) was way back earlier this year on November 9th. Before that was sometime before Halloween, and then another one some 7 weeks before that.

But yes, we are still taking that break, mostly because of the end-of-the-year rush with work things happening, too many parties with the rich and famous we just must go to, and that game of Risk we started back in the late 90s just never seems to end.

What we won't tell you right away...

So yeah, I don't think we're gonna come out here and tell you to get to work, make a commitment, write every day, (though I do believe Larry and I do, it's just that most folks won't see it or know it's us. Well, at least that's Larry's roll as a ghost writer. Me, mostly emails and slightly creative inside joke newsletters for friends).

But Then Again...

Because of what the two of us do anyway, (all of those behind the scenes stuff not exactly connected to BEL), we just might discuss how to keep pushing forward, write when you don't really feel like it, balance your work life with your life life, bust loose in the new year (without surgery).

I can't tell you, exactly...

There is that saying when giving presentations.

Tell them what you are going to tell them
Tell them.
Tell them what you told them.

Now that works for those times when one is giving a talk, but it doesn't work so much here. First of all, we're not 119% sure what exactly BEL will always be about. And it would be crazy to tell you we will be giving away free pizzas when we don't even know where to get enough pepperoni to feed so many folks.

Biz

But over time, BEL will work itself out and become something well worth the price of admission to this site. If you run your own business, work for a business, a not-for-profit organization, want to have a business, need a business, want to write, are a writer, need a writer, give presentations, want to improve your presentations, want to get started presenting, or just want a present, (umm, might not be able to help you on that last one), but this will be the place to be.

E

It's all online. So it's electric (boogie ooogie ooogie).

Life

Also, if you have a life, need a life, want to do more with your life, need to balance your life, feel your life is out of your control, or just want ideas for what to do, this too can be the place to get started.

By now, and if you have read some of the previous posts over the year(s) either here or on our own sites and blogs, you know that we don't always come off as serious (though we have our moments). The way things are presented may not always be seriously boring (or is that boring because it's so serious?) Whichever. But what we will bring you will help, if you work with it. (wow, that was serious), sorry about that.

Anyway, as I started to say at the top of this, we're still on break. So I have no idea why I have sat here and written so much. But stay tuned.

And to do that, feel free to follow us on Twitter.

BEL: http://twitter.com/bizelifeguys
Larry: http://twitter.com/LarryLNichols
David: http://twitter.com/djstoddard

Until then, just promise us not too much eggnog, ok?

David & (Larry, but he is working his fingers off right now, but will be back as well).

Keeping Busy Does What Exactly?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 17:54:00 +0000

I've been sitting here for maybe the past hour or so looking at this screen, with the title you see above, wondering just what I am thinking about this. In the process of looking at the title, I have taken time to check mail about 17 times, (nothing there), posted a few Twitter comments, updated the MySpace page to take out what was no longer correct, looked out the window about 14 times wondering when my shoulder will be well enough for me to get back out there and rake the leaves away, and have come back to this blog entry wondering still what it is I am meaning by the title.

I've been busy.

As I can read into what I just typed, I really have been busy doing stuff. Strange thing is it doesn't really look as if I got anything done on what I had set out to do. (The goal was to have this post written, and yet it sits here, staring back at me, with all it's empty spaces mocking me.

Life and its busyness - a writer's view.

As a writer, I have heard way too often of the "necessary" distractions which can keep us from actually getting our writing done. And, um, yes. I have fallen prey to many of those. But that is a story worthy of it's own posting later on.

Writers have this thing, mainly because writing is such a solitary activity which is often done at home, of having many more distractions right in front of us because they are ours.

Necessary Distractions?

Things like needing to take the trash out, water the plants, wash the car, cut the grass, rake the leaves, paint the garage, wash the dishes, make lunch, trim the bushes, repair the bathroom doorknob, (don't ask), wash the windows, take out the plastic soda bottles from the office and make the bed, (which no, I don't totally understand why this is so necessary, most of the time).

Yes, pretty much anyone "lucky enough" to work from home has these distractions right in front of them on a daily basis. Ooops, hang on. I really need to dust this monitor and desk, it will only take me a minute.

(15 minutes later)

Ok, I'm back. You know how it is, one thing leads to another. After dusting the desk, I noticed just how dusty the shelves in here are along with the window ledge. And of course, the trash wasn't taken out last night, so I had to do that, along with raking the leaves from the driveway since I was out there. But I am back now. Really. Back to whatever I was writing about.

See how easily one can become distracted? Yes, things needed to be done. But did they need to be done in such an un-timely fashion?

I'll leave it to you to decide on your own about what is necessary to do versus what is just an untimely distraction, when it comes to doing what you are doing.

Larry's up next to give you tips, tricks and treats of keeping distractions to a minimum.

Larry has been able to fight these urges, to do something else, for a lot longer than I have. He has managed to create creative copy for clients, write witty words with wonder, and type tons of terrific tomes of tunage, while not allowing the personal world of what would be wild to work on without winding up with nothing done.

So stay tuned for his posting in the near future. Once it's written, we'll link to it from here as well.

Your turn.

But for now, what is it that is getting in your way? Yes, it may need to be done, but does it need to be worked on while you are busy doing your work? If you were working away from home on the job, where you wouldn't be able to wash your car, (necessarily), what would you be working on?

65 To Go - Git Er Done, or Stay The Course?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:21:00 +0000

Like everything, why are there so many schools of thought on.... well, um... everything?

Do you play for the tie or the win? Do you reuse plastic bottles or turn them into other things? Should you vacuum before you dust, or dust first? Should you turn your calendar's month the night before the month actually changes? In bowling, when you need a spare to win, do you still throw your normal strike ball or play it a bit safer to avoid a split?

All good topics for debate, but they don't necessarily make sense to go into overly deeply here.

But one that comes up (and maybe it's just me), is the whole end of the year thing. I know there are those "extra" things that need to be finalized before the year is up. But what about your normal activities?

Should you work more on those, harder on those, deeper on those, more focused on those as the year nears completion? Or should you just keep doing what you have been doing normally, same pace, same focus, same style and grace as the rest of the year?

I suppose it depends a bit on what your business is, what your activities include, what it is you are connecting this post to. I'm sure there are some activities which would be nice to get done by the start of 2009 (that end-of-year deadline can be a nice thing).

I guess my question is do you put extra emphasis on some things this time of year at the risk of letting other things slip by? Do you rush some things through (probably a bit too quickly) and hope mistakes are not made or things get sloppy?

How do you see it:

Is it better to rush a few things at the end of the year to get em out of the way, or just keep on doin what you've been doin?

--David

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
David Stoddard
That guy who rambles about stuff, but it makes sense, somehow.
www.djstoddard.com

Making Inconsistency The Constant Consistency

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:44:00 +0000

If you learn nothing else from us, let it be this.

Do as I say, not as i do. (Though this will be changing in the near future).

To those observant many, you may have noticed we have not been posting in quite the consistent nature as we may end up hinting at. After all, consistency is a way to not only win friends and influence people, it's also a nice way of building a following of folks who are interested in what you have to say, like what you give them, honor your thoughts with their comments, and even not ask to borrow that hat you word to the Cardinals Cubs game last night.

For us, we feel (and by we, I mean me as I sit and write this as a way of filling in the space for September 9, 2008) that we haven't been slacking off of our duties of publishing worth while information or even the occasional (often) ramblings which we have been known to do in our own parts of the WWW.

We like to think of it more as building up to something truly something. But for that something to happen, we must get started doing something, anything, which will in turn become something which is truly something.

What You Get To Do

For now, look back at the archives of the BEL Blog here and get a feeling for where we began, where we began heading, and where we will begin again from where we left off. And let us know what you think, what you feel, what you had for dinner and what time we should be there next time.

What You Get Out Of It

While I would like to say you can have a new car or a boat or a small stack of 20 dollar bills, I can say that all I want, it won't quite make it so. But what you will get is the feeling you contributed to the world at large, the web at large, the larger than life moment of something greater than all of us combined. And after all, isn't feeling great worth it in itself?

But really. We shall get our own tails moving in a more consistent fashion. Placing more articles, information and ideas out here for you to take with you, hang on restroom walls for everyone to read, and just sitting back watching the grass grow along with your business, your career, your life and a whole lot more.

Until then, get busy reading today.

Because if not now, when?

--David

David Stoddard
the Unmotivated Motivational Writer
http://www.djstoddard.net

One of the BEL BOYS

Everything Has Value, But How High Is Yours To Yourself?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 20:38:00 +0000

I was cleaning out a few boxes last week and came across this stack of cards. they seem to have once been in some sort of Rolodex type calendar or something. But these were scattered all over the place in this dusty box from the back of the basement.

Anyway, being the quotation reader kinda guy that I am, I looked through them. Many said the usual stuff like "Be the best you can be," and "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." You know, the usual stuff from years past. (not that that's a bad thing, but I had read many of those before.

Then I came to this one.

"If you really do put a small value upon yourself, rest assured that the world will not raise the price."

It got me thinking first about all of discussions writers have about writing for free when you are just starting out. Should you do it? Should you volunteer your mad word writing skills just to get a few clips? Will folks expect it out of you all the time? What will this then do for the profession? When will you ever get paid what you are worth?

But this same sort of thing should relate to all of us in whatever we are doing. Questions such as...

How much is my time worth?
Is what I am doing now adding value?
Will doing this or that help me later on to do these and those?

If you can see a larger benefit later on, then you may want to think about it. But if there is nothing in it for you, unless it just makes you feel good that you contributed to something you are passionate about, you might want to look at something else.

Remember that you have value to yourself first. It's up to you what you are worth in the long run. But it doesn't hurt to earn more right now if you can.

--David

David Stoddard
The Unmotivated Motivational Writer
http://www.djstoddard.net
http://www.insearchofourselves.com
http://www.biz-e-life.com

To Leave Or Not To Leave (An Impact), Is That The Question?

noreply@blogger.com (Larry L. Nichols) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:37:00 +0000

To Leave Or Not To Leave (An Impact), Is That The Question?

I have been having a most fascinating extended conversation with a few of my "Deep Thinking," philosophically oriented friends about the whole "ethical / moral / spiritual" ramifications of leaving any sort of noticeable, detectable impact on the world, once we are officially done doing our time and have finished passing through this particular physical manifestation amidst our Pilgrim's Progress?

One side says that we are to be as thoughtful, considerate, conscientious, careful and graceful as humanly possible to ensure that, just like when you go camping or hiking in nature, you end the experience by meticulously "policing" the area to ensure that you left behind absolutely no evidence that you were ever there.

Now I'm an ex Cub Scout - Boy Scout and was raised by my parents to be a very devout nature enthusiast and protector of the realm, so I quite instinctively totally understand and agree with this theory, at least as far as it applies to our effects on nature when sojourning out into the pure and pristine beauty of the woods and wilderness.

The other side seems to say something well along the lines of: "Every individual that comes to planet earth should do everything in their power to make sure that they leave something behind for their posterity." We owe it to this wondrous opportunity to even exist in this time and place to gift the world with something of positive value for the future inhabitants when we leave,, be that information, literature, art, music, stories, film, buildings, statues, whatever."

I think that's a very powerful and positive point of view. I am ever so grateful for those who went before me and left behind a trail of insightful books, inspirational poetry, engaging art, reflective and stimulating music, and lots and lots of time tested, valuable information on how to do everything from build a boat and grow tomatoes, to how to write the perfect press release or compelling website copy.

Is it the natural, inherent, "bridge-building" peace-maker in me that sees that these two concepts are not really at odds with one another at all, but in fact work in a perfect symbiotic cooperative manner with one another?

My view on this is that one can simply apply both strategies to one's life and not only be very happy, satisfied, popular and well liked, but at the very same time, avoid a bunch of additional bad karma / sin / negative energy or whatever you call it in your personal cosmological world view or spiritual path, predilection or predisposition.

I say, always consistently strive to make as powerfully positive an impact and impression on the rest of the world as possible, while being equally conscientious to avoid leaving even the slightest / lightest parcel of negativity or damage behind for others to have to carefully maneuver around and effectively side-track without stepping in it.

That seems to be the path that works best for me, what are your thoughts and insights on the subject?

Larry ;-)

"On Words And Up Words"

Larry L. Nichols
http://www.wordandwebwiz.com/
http://www.onwordsandupwords.blogspot.com/
http://www.larrylnichols.wordpress.com/
http://www.biz-e-life.com/

Words are my paints - Minds are my canvases.

Monday Morings Are What We Make Em

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:13:00 +0000

Another day of the week.
Another Monday.
Another new beginning.
Another chance for a change.
Another best day of our lives.
Another shot at getting more accomplished.
Another day to make the most of.
Another morning.
Another afternoon.
Another evening.
Another opportunity to do great things.
Another day to smile.
Another day to look forward to.
Another day like no other.

So Tell me, what is today like for you? How will tomorrow be better?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

David.

David Stoddard online at www. d j stoddard.com

and www.biz-e-life.com

The Amazing Benefits Of "Tag-Team" Co-Writing! (Part 5)

noreply@blogger.com (Biz-e-Life Guys) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 02:45:00 +0000

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4

(Larry) Sounds good to me. So, what benefits do you personally find yourself experiencing when co-writing in a "tag-team" effort and what specific benefits and values to you find that the reader gets and enjoys from the process?

(David) For me, the "tag-team" way of doing things helps me focus by branching out with different ideas. I know that may or may not make sense, but that's what it feels like to me.
In this article alone, I have written about things I had not necessarily written about before, or at least in a way that has been presented. I don't ever remember writing about W.C. Fields, but there he is in letters and words.

(Larry) Exactly! The other person is quite comfortably, naturally and automatically utilized as a springboard for new and originally undiscovered pathways, concepts, avenues and perspectives that never would have ever occurred to the single, individual, independent mind alone, limited to whatever is already available inside a closed system of conceptual consciousness.

It's like suddenly having the ability to see what's out there to the left, right and behind, as well as an nearly endless number of "degreed" variables in between, instead of always simply, single-mindedly and methodically pushing endlessly forward with a pre-set and dialed in stream of consciousness. I love it! Two writers working in "tag-team" tandem increase the possibilities creative awareness to an infinite degree.

(David) Plus it also helps to clean things up in one's mind, as well and helps narrow down the focus (or search for just the right word). Finally, it provides a feeling that yes, I am on the right track. The ideas I type tend to get a vote of approval or maybe a thought that something needs to be altered a little bit.

(Larry) You are precisely 100% right on that point David, but isn't it nice to know that if you were only a mere 97% right, I would be here by your side to help find that missing 3%! I know that I am so very appreciative of the fact that you are there to prod me on to look deeper, write clearer, think wider or narrower, as the case and need may be.

(David) For the reader, I'd like to believe the co-written version, while longer than just a single article, gives a bit more of an entertaining way. It gives life to a given article. It adds excitement, conflict, and a lot of other words which normally wouldn't be there had it been just 1 person.

(Larry) Bingo! That's really whole gist of the matter, right there. While a relaxed, comfortable blog post might end up LONGER than usual, as we both discuss the multiple variable involved from two very distinctly different perspectives, length is not always the natural, guaranteed outcome.

When it comes to actually doing REAL paid "WORK," be it web copy, articles, press releases, sales letters, marketing promotions, newsletters or books / e-books, whether about business, the internet or life in general, there is a combined, laser like commitment to crystal clear and concisely clean focus!

(David) So yes, while it certainly provides perspective from a 2nd point of view of sorts, a 2nd opinion, a 2nd pair of eyes, a 2nd helping of potatoes and that bacon you had mentioned earlier, it also helps us to keep it clean and simple, directly to the point and right on target. That is the benefit of having two experienced editors on our two man writing staff. Two heads are better than one kind of thing. Finally, I think it shows that we are just "people," much like those reading what we write.

(Larry) I completely concur. It is a very valuable, dual role, simultaneous processing tool to naturally:

(1) expand on the possibilities of an idea or concept, while at the exact same time, it helps improve the content by effectively

(2) "double filter" editing, limiting and focusing in on exactly where the message is now, and where it is intended to arrive at when the process is over.

This means the great and significant advantage to the reader is, there is constantly an editor, a second brain and set of eyes to catch a vital point that might be inadvertently over-looked by one writer who is so busy making sure he gets 1 , 2 or 3 major premises down on the page before they disappear into the ether, that 2 or 3 equally interesting ideas might accidentally be completely forgotten about in the process of desperately trying to "get it all down."

Plus the second person, who knows the first person well enough to have a pretty good idea where their mind is probably going with a concept, is right there on the spot to instantly ask an important question or request an example or two in order to ensure further, specific clarification of what is being conveyed to the reader.

I'm most definitely happy and very satisfied with the benefits provided by writing with the tag-team tandem approach. I thank you Sir, for your much appreciated participation.

With that, I momentarily step away from the coffee table to go watch the birds goofing around and eating stray french fries out on the deck for a while.

Hey ..... my coffee's COLD!

The Amazing Benefits Of "Tag-Team" Co-Writing! (Part 4)

noreply@blogger.com (Biz-e-Life Guys) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 02:39:00 +0000

This is part 4 of our conversation on working together as writers. If you missed the first 3 parts, they can be found here.

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

(David) W.C. did have a way of being a Wise-Cracking, West-Coast, Wild-Child, with Wonderful-Comedic timing and tendencies.

That's why I was a bit surprised by his answer about pressing on, stamina, perseverance, never giving up and doing what you feel you want to do."Son. It's like I've said before. If at first you don't succeed, try again. Then Quit. There's no use being a damn fool about it."

(Larry) Well I say a hearty "Amen" to the first part of his exhortation, the whole thing about pressing on, stamina, perseverance and never giving up on pursuing what you feel, or know it is that you want to do.

Creative screen writer / actor / director Woody Allen has been immortalized for decades for his vast number of deeply brilliant and often simultaneously humorous lines, but one of the most famous Woody Allen quote is actually quite profoundly serious in it's significant substantive stance that "90% of life is just showing up!"

It's true. You don't always have to have all the answers completely figured out and lined up in a decisively masterful "step-by-step" order arrangement. Sometimes just having the motivation and determination to show up with a sincere conviction and unwavering, driving commitment, is all you really need.

Just like the extremely resourceful "MacGyver" before us, we never fully know for sure, exactly how or what tools we will need to utilize in order to succeed at our objectives. Once we "show up," with a determination to see things through till the very end, that's when we finally have earned the opportunity to personally experience the immediacy of the circumstance.

Then and only then are we really in a reasonable position to most effectively interpret for ourselves precisely where we stand and decide whether it's going to take (a) the toothpick, stick of chewing gum, magnet, harmonica, can of hair-spray and the clock radio or (B) the "D" sized battery, slab of bacon, mini pocket calculator, cigarette lighter, plastic straw and the litre of orange soda to get us out of the current jam we find ourselves in and back onto the road to victory.

So yes, without a doubt, absolute perseverance and total commitment are vitally important to "team effort" writing project.

(David) I think you are right. And this article seems to be a perfect example of having an idea at the beginning, but then taking on a life of it's own down the road becoming more than what we thought it could become later on. What started as an article has become more of a transcript of 2 people talking about what it is to write together. This has brought about a few extra topics that we may not have thought about had this had been strictly scripted in (as you mentioned) a step-by-step manner.

Sure, it could be a whole stream of consciousness exercise (and that, by the way, is an exercise which is quite beneficial to anyone either in business or wanting more out of life, but isn't quite sure what that is). In this case, our "article" has become the beginning of a road map. An example of what can be created with just a single idea.

But in the end, one does need to get back to what works, what was begun in order to get something accomplished. So how about we move on to something more useful and personal?

The Amazing Benefits Of "Tag-Team" Co-Writing! (Part 3)

noreply@blogger.com (Biz-e-Life Guys) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 02:36:00 +0000

Part 3 of our conversation about working together. Didn't catch the first or second, click here for 1, here for 2.

(Seeing how Larry's mouth has been filled with the peanut butter and celery deliciousness, not to mention that each stick contains no less than 3 tablespoons full of the sticky peanutty rich filing - which David just forgot to mention - this has forced Larry to spend a great deal of time rearranging his tonsils in an effort to talk. So for a good 2 minutes, David gets a chance to wax poetic).

(David) Yup! I agree. (Understand that David had been sitting there waiting for a breath so he could go to the restroom. Talk of the Titanic and all of that water really wasn't helping).

(David now makes his way back to the living room drying his hands with several paper towels as Larry is finally able to open wide enough to not only stick his tougue out at David, but to also ask him a serious question).

(Larry) Any other comments that need to be discussed or addressed?

(David) Yeah, finally, as a famous actor told me in a totally made up, in my own imagination interview I conducted, we are all actors. No matter if it's our daily life, if we are on stage or screen, or even online, our best role is of ourselves. It keeps us real. Makes us real. And is the best we can possibly do.

(Larry) Sounds like a pretty smart guy. It's a significant truth that goes all the back to William Shakespeare, and probably well beyond that, though at the moment, off the top of my head, the Shakespeare line about us all being actors on the stage is the earliest historical reference to the concept that comes to mind from history.

If you have to play a role, why not choose to play the one role that no one on Earth can ever possibly even come close to playing as well as you, the role of yourself. If you are ever going to stand out and be noticed, appreciated and congratulated for effectively playing a character in life, the one you have the best chance of pulling off to perfection is "Yourself!"

Any other wise words from your actor friend?

(David) Well, before he left, I asked him about this partnership so many may seem to be worried about. He said there are 3 kinds of folks to worry about when you are working with them. First are animals. Second are children. And third, are experienced ghost writers.

So what can I say. I love animals.

(Larry) Ah, sounds like you were interviewing the ghost of W.C. Fields. Yeah, he and I have had our differences over the years, it only makes sense that he would take this opportunity to get another dig in at me over my career as a ghost writer.

Even after all these years, that's one very verbose ghost who doesn't like his lines written for him or being told what to say. ;-)

Personally, I'm a little surprised that he didn't offer up a warning about the corporate copywriter instead of the ghost-writer. After the last several years spending so much of my time writing copy and designing "Brands" for big companies, I, much like Mr. W.C. Fields, feel as if I have been spending "way too much time" working side by side with a bunch of "children" and "animals!" (LOL)

The Amazing Benefits Of "Tag-Team" Co-Writing! (Part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Biz-e-Life Guys) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 02:32:00 +0000

Part 2 of our conversation. If you missed the first, click here to get caught up.

(Larry) So how did you choose to respond back to these clearly well meaning, even if slightly off course concerns?

(David) After a moment, my slightly more serious answer becomes something closer to "Unlike many of the past changes, this one makes sense." The reason this all began, is the same. The mission, remains the same. The methods of humor and daily life connections, is also the same.

(Larry) Exactly, that's really the whole point isn't it, that the over-all final goal and desired objective actually remains pretty much consistently the same. It's only the plotted out path leading to the desired destination that necessitates change.

To stubbornly insist upon driving across a bridge that no longer exists or forcibly enter an "on-ramp" that has since been closed and barricaded, just to "stick to the original plain" would be perceived by most as a sure sign of absolute insanity.

(Larry now carefully climbs majestically up onto his very own, official public proclamation "soap-box," which he always conveniently keeps nearby, in the bottom cupboard, over by the sink, fridge and coffee machine. David wisely pushes his chair back about 7 feet, as Larry has been eating oreo cookies, and does not want to be inadvertently injured in the coming conceptual cacophony)

(Larry Continues) I think that's the really vitally important part of the whole scenario that people either seem to lose track of or simply haven't yet been around in this business long enough to fully get their feet wet, let alone behind their ears, to effectively detect smooth sailing and abundant fishing from storms on the horizon, conflicting rip-tides and the potential for drowning.

When you know precisely where it is that you want to arrive, then confidently set sail and begin the journey. As the tides change, the winds falter and then gale and the occasional storms come and go, you must continuously need to "alter your coarse," to ensure that you safely get to your planned destination, but that is nothing even close to changing your mind about where the ship is going to eventually come into port.

One quickly discovers the ultimate truth that, "not being willing" to alter you tack in order to effectively compensate for the continuously changing conditions that befall you while you are out there making your way across the raging seas, is actually a sure fire way of ending up shipwrecked, crashed on the jagged rocks, with no sign of salvation in sight.

If the Titanic could have altered it's pre-set course when icebergs were first observed directly in the ships predetermined path, it would have ended up successfully pulling into port, precisely where it was hoping to end up, with a bunch of very happy, satisfied and probably "return" customers.

Instead, the inability to change tack in time when danger was discovered directly in the middle of the ships pre-ordained coarse. is exactly what kept them from successfully be able to reach their intended objective, and the outcome was death, destruction and not a single satisfied "return" customer coming back for more.

Altering the original path most certainly does not equal a disregard fr the original plan, it actually serves to ensure that that plan is successfully achieves, safely, securely and with all your passengers and customers fully satisfied and coming back for seconds, thirds, fourth, fifths, etc.
Make sense?

(Larry descends from his lofty perch and smilingly grabs a couple of fresh celery stick with peanut butter, crafily placed there by David in hopes of getting a chance to add his 2 cents worth.)

The Amazing Benefits Of "Tag-Team" Co-Writing! (Part 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Biz-e-Life Guys) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 02:24:00 +0000

This is the first of an expanding, on-going series, or what we here at www.Biz-E-Life.com , sitting around the cofee table with our feet up and our shoes off, like to call "a conversation.”

From time to time, we’ll throw open the beaded curtains to the Biz-e-Life world to give a bit of a “behind-the-scenes” look into what we do, what we’re thinking, and what we talk about.

Why?

Because sometimes it just helps to see things in a different fashion. We could sit here and write things from a planned perspective, pulled together, parlayed and presented in a pretty piece primarily planned to position these postings in a precise pile of practicality for the perceived people to ponder.

Or we could just wing it.

This first round of conversations begins on the topic of working with another person after being a "Lone Wolf" for so long on one's own.

(Larry) Hey David, I've gotten a lot of emails recently from several long-time clients, associates and readers who are asking me "how and why" someone in my position, with an established career, following, reputation and readership, would now suddenly be willing to agree to share the spotlight with another popular, established writer.

"How do you avoid stepping on each other's toes, making sure that you get the chance to stay on track and "make your intended point," while steering clear of competitive creative confrontations?" they ask.

Dude, I've got to ask you, are you getting any such comments or questions like these, and if so, what the heck are you replying back to these deeply inquisitive minds?

(David) As word of Biz-e-Life was starting to leak out (and by leak, I don't mean nude photos of either of us being quietly released to the media in a passing fashion over a root beer float and a pair of bear claws at the corner donut shop), I began getting the occasional comment about just what in the world I was doing. People would pretty much ask, "David, what in the world are you doing?" "Won't this change all that you have been doing?"

My first thought of a reply is something like "You've seen how often I've altered the website or blogs over the years." Or "You remember the original "In Search Of Ourselves" ebook and how things have changed since then." I've probably changed things up more times than a 5-month old gets changed in a week.

(Larry) Yes, exactly, one of the things I have always been the most impressed with about you David, your ability to constantly keep your senses open to not only what's going on all around you, but what's going on inside of you. That's a very rare and valuable quality.

As one continues to grow and expand, as one takes in, absorbs and rearranges ever new and changing information, it only makes sense that one's point of view and road map will naturally be altered, based on the new bits and pieces of reality taken in by simply living life as an intelligent, sentient being from day to day. Anything other than that would be considered dangerously reckless and somewhat crazy.

If you have last year’s map to get to a location, and sense the map was published, the roads between here and there have been re-worked, some new roads opened, some old roads closed, to insist upon forcing your way through several new barricades merely because that's the path you mapped out last year, is complete lunacy!

Your Life Is Your Biz(ness). E(xclamaton point)!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:17:00 +0000

As a bit of a continuation from Larry's post last Friday about what comes first, I want to see things from a slightly different perspective with regard to our whole Biz-e-Life trilogy, trifecta, three-some (for those so inclined to think that way).

First, the BIZ

As the title of this post suggests, your life is your business. Ok, so it's not really a suggestion as it is a statement complete with an exclamation point to make it stand out. But I digress.

On the surface, many of us don't have a business of our own such as a Dairy Queen franchise or a little shop on Ebay or Cafe Press. Nor do we feel as if the place we're working at (I mean showing up at and getting paid something every couple of weeks) is "ours." Though maybe we should to a bit of an extent.

But as for us, we do have a business. It's called (enter your name here) . That businiess is far more important than say Nike, or KFC or Bob's Hair Restoration Salon. (at least it should be to us).

In our business, we have one(1) employee, manager, president, secretary, security guard, custodian, committee chair, HR professional, chef, and dog walker. (Feel free to add your own collection of worker bees you wish for your business). That's us, I mean me, I mean you... ummm, you know what I'm saying.

In this business called (enter your name here) , we are responsible for everything. This includes..

Marketing our services to companies which fit our make-up (Job/Career)
Purchasing materials and products to keep the business operational (food, clothes, shelter)
Merging our personality and values to other people (friends)
Giving of ourselves in service to those in need (community)
Helping as needs arise to help those close to us (family)

Next, The E

While I don't want to call this the most wishy-washy portion of the whole of Biz-e-Life, it is the one voted most likely to be changed from time to time to fit a given need.

When creating Biz-e-Life, the "e" was originally for electronic. At the time, it was to connect electronic communications as a way of connecting the biz and the life components. But as time has gone by (about 2 weeks of off and on study of the "e"), and with Larry's post last week, the "e" also involves effort as well as electronic communications. Actually, maybe the "e" IS Effort.

In our business called (enter your name here) , it takes effort to have this venture of ours to not only get by, but to succeed, thrive, become greater than when we began it. And yes, it can include plenty of Electronic Communications in addition to actually entertaining the elequent euphemisms of every eggheaded everything ever enunciated into ether.

Putting it a bit less rambling, it also means getting out of the basement and into the real world with real people doing real things with real results. Really!

Finally, Life

This is probably the basis of anything this business of ours, you remember (enter your name here) , is all about. Think of this as the business plan, the standards and practices section, the guidelines of all we do and are about, and yes, I'll say it this once, our mission statement.

I want to say it's simple, but it takes time. What might make this part tough, is because it's about us as individuals. Things we may not have really thought about much deeper than a passing thought while standing in line at the supermarket reading about Britney Spears, Angelina's 2 kids (or not having 2 kid yet) and the whole alien invasion in a desert somewhere in Arizona.

We'll start slow. Begin thinking about....

What do I want to accomplish?
What has my life lead up to this moment?
Where am I now?
What do I have to work with?
What can I improve upon to make it happen?
When will I get started? (You better say today for this one)

Over time, we'll work on these with you as well as probably a few hundred others along the way.

Oh, one more thing. In the end, it is up to you. (or as I usually write back and forth, it's up to each of us). No one has the answers to all of the individual questions asked by individuals about a given individual. It's up to the indivudial to uncover those answers individually. But there is plenty of help.

We'll talk again soon.

David

http://www.djstoddard.net/
http://www.insearchofourselves.com/

What Comes First: the "Biz," the "E" or the "Life"?

noreply@blogger.com (Larry L. Nichols) — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 00:36:00 +0000

What Comes First, the "Biz," the "E" or the "Life"?

By Larry L. Nichols

So many people seem to be struggling these "daze" with maintaining a personally satisfying balance between finding the "PRIORITIES" of what comes first during our short little visit on Planet Earth.

I think that when most people really stop to think it all through, their priorities really aren't nearly as confused as they sometimes appear to be in the while desperately working their way through the middle of the overly hectic, always rushing, time-constrained schedules that we all seem to be suffering through these days.

So let's stop and take a break, grab out breath and reevaluate what's really important to us.

"Biz" (Business) is important because it's both:

(A) how we personally choose to express ourselves to the rest of the world and

(B) how we make the money to fund or pay for our vast collection of various plans, dreams, needs, desires and hopes.So "Biz" definitely needs a great deal of time, energy, effort, thought, planning, creating and lets not ever let ourselves forget, dedicated application and committed execution of said plans and strategies.

But ... when it really comes down to it, if you had to choose between "Biz" and your very existence, your soul, your health, your sanity, your true inner beliefs or even something as occasionally intangible as "true love," would "Biz" actually, really, truly come out on top of all of these other vitally significant and vastly important things?

Only "YOU" can answer that question for yourself, but please think, pray, meditate and cogitate very "deep, long and hard" before quickly jumping to any hard-set conclusions that you might live to regret later. Take your time and really open your mind, heart and soul to working this all completely through deep down inside of yourself.

Moving on.

"E" (your online connection to the world through the internet, www. (wild wacky web) email, websites, blogs, forums and other public portals, etc.) is also very important, especially today.

These days, not having a continual and consistent, competent and comfortable "Web Presence" is as disastrously dangerous to your "outreach efforts" as it was not to have a telephone back in the 20th Century.

These days, if you don't have well designed, continually updated, "E-Presence" that is clear, complete, concise, comfortable and compelling, face it, your chances of succeeding as a business, organization, or public entity are bleak to dead zero.

Plus, you need to be sure keep of with all of the latest, "state of the art," updated "reality" of your chosen field of endeavor and keep in touch with your clients, partners, associates, affiliates, friends, family members and special others. That's pretty important stuff, right?

But ... what about when it comes down to the necessary efforts needed to making sure that your services or products are carefully maintained with 100% integrity, pertinence and relevancy to an ever changing, twisting and turning world, where does the internet or as we like to call it: "E" come in on your list of top priorities.

What about making sure you get enough sleep, exercise, nutritious meals, vitamins, minerals & herbs, fun and relaxing time away from the computer and work to ensure that you stay sharp, healthy, sane and on top of your game.

Are you forgetting about, "LIVE HUMAN INTERACTION," person to person physical contact, and the many variation and definitions of the word LOVE?

Oh yeah, ... and what about your inner life, self improvement, your spiritual path, etc? Hmmmmmm.

Again, only "YOU" can answer those questions for yourself. Choose Well, ... your happiness depends on it!

Moving further along.

"Life" ... wow, that's kind of important, right? I mean, really, without LIFE, ... the whole business and intenet thingy all seem sort of pointless and don't actually carry much weight at all, when you really stop to deeply think about it.

Well Done!

You have now successfully snatched the mystical pebbles from my hand and now it is officially time for you to "Re-Start" the process of developing the "perfect plans" for your uniquely specific, self determined path to ultimate happiness and optimum satisfaction.
I'm glad we could have this little talk together.

I sincerely hope you will come back so that we can continue the conversation and move even further and deeper into your plans for a enjoyable and profitable "Biz-E-Life!"

Copyright © 2008

"On Words And Up Words"

Larry L. Nichols
www.WordandWebWiz.com
www.Biz-E-Life.com
www.OnWordsAndUpWords.blogspot.com
www.WriteForMe.com

Words are my paints -Minds are my canvases.

All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

PUBLISHING GUIDELINES:This article may be reprinted, without modification, provided that the copyright notice remains completely intact. Email notification of your intent to publish would be sincerely appreciated.

So What The Heck Is This "Biz-E-Life" Thing; Anyway!

noreply@blogger.com (Larry L. Nichols) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 23:52:00 +0000

Great question, glad you asked.

Hey, have you ever noticed what a huge online need there is for sincere, honest, truthful, helpful, creative and insightful business information, based on time tested, proven principals derived directly from successful business experience and expertise?

Have you also noticed the tremendous number of very busy people who are barely able to keep up with their calendar schedule of activities and deadlines, let alone some how manage to actually find the time to really enjoy their life, their friends and family, the money that they have worked ever so hard to earn and the very process and path of the unique, personal journey that their life and business is leading them down?

Well we certainly did and we quite quickly realized that people really, truly need some "HELP" finding a way to effectively balance the needs of their time, energy and efforts dedicated to Business, Life and the other potentially positive benefits, fun and joy experienced while seeking information, entertainment, socializing and just surfing around on the internet.

Then it hit us, why not take everything that both of us have learned and experienced over the years about:

*** Business = (Biz)

*** E-mail, Online E-commerce, E-zines, Internet E-searches, Etc. = (E)

and

*** Living Life in a totally personal and deeply satisfying way, following one's own distinct passions, dreams and path to success and happiness = (Life)

(Biz) - (E) - (Life)

And then combine them all into a workable, cooperative, symbiotically nurturing process intended to help people be more successful and satisfied with their careers and lives.

(Biz) + (E) + (Life) = Biz-E-Life

Successfully and effectively developing, running and thoroughly enjoying one's "Busy Life" with the help of your friends here at Biz-E-Life.

Make sense so far?

OK, but still, who are "WE," to think we've earned the right to be the chosen ones to accomplish such a significantly important task?

OK, you're right, I guess I really do owe you a reasonable explanation. Allow me to introduce ourselves.

David Stoddard is an well respected, highly admired and much sought out "Motivational Speaker / Writer who stands head and shoulders above others in his chosen field of endeavor, due to his rare and unique ability to get directly to the very center of the issue at hand, in a comfortable, down-home, friendly and peaceful manner.

Personally and professionally, I find him to simply be one of the most amazingly well balanced, multi-talented people I have ever had the pleasure to run into and thankfully befriend here on the www. (wild, wacky web.)

I suppose it's his uncanny skill of being able to thoroughly set his own personal predilections and passions aside in order to truly listen his clients, audience, students, associates and friend.

This puts him in a position to effectively reach people at the deepest possible levels of their inner being, making his deep insights and perceptive observations "legitimately" applicable, unlike so much of the mass marketed, "one size fits all" pop psychology that is being fraudulently disbursed around the web by a vast number of unethical and unscrupulous "Snake Oil" sales people looking to make a quick buck.

As for me, ... well I'm Larry L. Nichols.

I've spent the past three decades working professionally as a celebrity Ghost-Writer and Corporate Copywriter. While performing those incredibly enjoyable creative duties for my clients, I've shosen to spend my "free time" seeking a sense of balanced well being and peace by studying and mastering the holistic "art and science" of various forms of "Holistic Healing," such as Therapeutic Massage Therapy, Deep Tissue Body Work, Meditation and Stress Reduction.

This particular field of study and application proved to be marvelously advantageous, not only in helping me to keep myself centered and fully human during my writing work, but, also leading to some deeply appreciated and highly valued, close, personal friendships with various L.A. / Hollywood celebrities and industry "Movers and Shakers" through my work with massage and meditation, as both a professional practitioner and teacher.

This has allowed me the most amazingly awesome experience of actually having the opportunity to work with many of my "writing clients" as a therapeutic massage therapist and meditation coach as well, giving me tremendously deep personal insights into what is actually going on deep in the minds, hearts and souls of these celebrities and "Industry Giants" from the worlds of Music, Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Sports, Publishing, etc.,

That in itself, is an invaluable gift to improve upon my understanding and skills, having a direct "insiders view" into the inner chambers of their personal lives as well as their businesses and careers. That makes me a far better "Ghost-Writer" and Copywriter, as well as a much more well rounded Massage and Meditation Practitioner and Teacher.

So that's who we are.

David and I have "off and on" come together on occasion to work in "tag-team tandem" on a project now and again, here or there, but for the first time ever, we have both felt the need to agree to dedicate the necessary time, energy and effort to create "Biz-E-Life."

If you or someone you know is looking for a place to find help learning to do business in a more balanced, truly human fashion or is seeking help learning to live their life and pursue their dreams in a more organized and dedicated commitment to their own uniquely personal dreams, goals, passions and objectives, you've found the place that you were looking for.

Welcome, get comfortable, enjoy yourself and please don't hesitate if you have any questions, needs, suggestions or comments.

We sincerely look forward to hearing from you,

Yours truly,

Larry L. Nichols and David J. Stoddard

The Start Of Something New

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:03:00 +0000

Hi all.

And by all I mean those already arriving to view the happenings and word-weilding ways of this blog. Together with Larry L. Nichols, I, David J. Stoddard, will now officially begin bringing you barrels and barrels of "informative information to inform you of just how informed you really are.

Most of it will be serious, pretty much all of it will be valuable, and a lot of it will be delivered with a touch of humor and fun (because humor and fun are so darned good for you, and a lot more delicious than spinich). So tune in regularly, turn on when appropriate and don't forget to take out the trash and clean your rom at least once a week.

Each new and exciting day, we plan on treat you to some truly terrific, time tested, tasty touches of thoroughly treasured things.

Mmmmmmm, ... tasty touches, mmmmmmmmm. ;-)

David J. Stoddard and Larry L. Nichols

Who Is Larry?

noreply@blogger.com (Biz-e-Life Guys) — Sat, 31 May 2008 15:54:00 +0000

I've spent the past three decades working professionally as a celebrity Ghost-Writer and Corporate Copywriter. While performing those incredibly enjoyable creative duties for my clients, I've shosen to spend my "free time" seeking a sense of balanced well being and peace by studying and mastering the holistic "art and science" of various forms of "Holistic Healing," such as Therapeutic Massage Therapy, Deep Tissue Body Work, Meditation and Stress Reduction.

This particular field of study and application proved to be marvelously advantageous, not only in helping me to keep myself centered and fully human during my writing work, but, also leading to some deeply appreciated and highly valued, close, personal friendships with various L.A. / Hollywood celebrities and industry "Movers and Shakers" through my work with massage and meditation, as both a professional practitioner and teacher.

This has allowed me the most amazingly awesome experience of actually having the opportunity to work with many of my "writing clients" as a therapeutic massage therapist and meditation coach as well, giving me tremendously deep personal insights into what is actually going on deep in the minds, hearts and souls of these celebrities and "Industry Giants" from the worlds of Music, Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Sports, Publishing, etc.,

That in itself, is an invaluable gift to improve upon my understanding and skills, having a direct "insiders view" into the inner chambers of their personal lives as well as their businesses and careers. That makes me a far better "Ghost-Writer" and Copywriter, as well as a much more well rounded Massage and Meditation Practitioner and Teacher.

Who Is David?

noreply@blogger.com (Biz-e-Life Guys) — Sat, 31 May 2008 15:52:00 +0000

David Stoddard is an well respected, highly admired and much sought out "Motivational Speaker / Writer who stands head and shoulders above others in his chosen field of endeavor, due to his rare and unique ability to get directly to the very center of the issue at hand, in a comfortable, down-home, friendly and peaceful manner.

Personally and professionally, I find him to simply be one of the most amazingly well balanced, multi-talented people I have ever had the pleasure to run into and thankfully befriend here on the www. (wild, wacky web.)

I suppose it's his uncanny skill of being able to thoroughly set his own personal predilections and passions aside in order to truly listen his clients, audience, students, associates and friend.

This puts him in a position to effectively reach people at the deepest possible levels of their inner being, making his deep insights and perceptive observations "legitimately" applicable, unlike so much of the mass marketed, "one size fits all" pop psychology that is being fraudulently disbursed around the web by a vast number of unethical and unscrupulous "Snake Oil" sales people looking to make a quick buck.

What Folks Are Saying

noreply@blogger.com (Biz-e-Life Guys) — Sat, 31 May 2008 07:30:00 +0000

Some nice things said from some great people.

"I have known David for several years. We bounce ideas off each other and he is always trying to encourage me to take that one extra step... to narrow the field and concentrate on what is important. As you read his articles and books, you'll see how he focuses in on some small characteristic of life and puts his unique spin on it."
Terry Riffey
triffey.com

"I just wanted to let you know I downloaded your ebook, "In search of Ourselves," and wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed it! What I particularly like is your writing style. Your words carry a sense of sincerity that I haven't found in other ebooks. Thank YOU!"
Lisa Graham
Houston Shopper's Guide

"Larry is extremely creative and effective, especially when it comes to telling a story that touches a chord and reaches deeply into the hearts and minds of your niche targeted audience.From planting the original seed of an idea to harvesting the fruit of his efforts, commitment to perfection and client satisfaction is the name of the game with Larry L. Nichols."
Shawn Willms
Sirius Satellite Radio / Absolute Entertainment

"Larry is one of the most insightful, creative and uplifting guys I know. I value the fact that he is open and expressive enough to share himself, as well as his thoughts, knowledge and expertise with me and so many others. He doesn't just write messages, he writes adventures! He continues to amaze me with the power of his words and his innate ability to comfortably and conversationally draw people in to what he is saying. That in itself is just awesome!"
James Mann
iNET Strategies Inc.

"Larry is much like the proverbial "fly on the wall" of each and every subculture. He doesn't just write on a subject; He writes "from" it. The subject matter could be something as diverse as the evolution of western music in a post-modern era, the stress reducing effects of Swedish Massage combined with regular chiropractic adjustments, to the how to gain the most profitable tax advantages while in the process of rolling over a 401k. Larry's simply a GREAT WRITER, what more can I say?"
Adam Montiel
"Adam On The Air"

Pushing From A Standstill

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 29 May 2008 18:56:00 +0000

How often do you start something, work on it for a little bit, ACCIDENTALLY let life cut in, plan to getting back to what you were working on, then find yourself 3-4 months later back where you took that pause?

Sometimes life just throws you a few unexpected curves that might begin to frustrate you momentarily, al least, until you really stop to assess the reality of the situation and realize that often, when one sets off on a new and interesting adventure, while all of the needed energy, enthusiasm and excitement can be there and turned all the way up to 10 (or 11 if you are a member or fan of the Rock Band "Spinal Tap") but sometimes the specific details of the itinerary or the particular, precision planning of your personal path is perhaps only partially, even if prety-much primarily mapped out. Still there may be some roadblocks, dead-ends and gaping gaps that would have led to absolute disater if not discovered until the exact moment you actually arrive at, or even worse yet, "IN" these quicksands and quagmires.

So, the important lesson for today is not to let yourself get down or depleted if you find your initial progress going a little bit slower than originally hoped for, back when you first decided upon planning this new, important project that you expect willeventually become a major part of your time, energy, effort and creativity, or as we like to say around these parts, your Biz, E, Life and Some Misc. Extras, ... "gnome sane?"

So, while we won’t say that’s where we have been recently, we do openly admit that to those many clients, friends, associates, readers and fans who have been rooting us on in this progresive process, I suppose it could very well look like that. But be that as it may, things are moving along. Slowly, perhaps, but moving along none the less. Larry and I are both working on our respective individual activities and continue to gain focus on Biz-e-Life and the possible lack of sleep we may get by taking this on in the manner that we plan to.

So while there are still many things we still need to work through, work on and put together, it's all good! Some of it is serious, professionally proven success strategies, some just some friendly words of helpful advice. Some of it will be quite nice, contemplative, memory inducing and highly sentimental stirrings of the heart and soul, while some of it will be hard and unyielding facts, storied experiences and step-by simple-step eplanations, examples and directions that will be simultaneously insightful, informative, instructive and inspiring.

Yes, a tiny bit may be a little bit of a "Pain in the … (well, I suppose its there in everything that is worth doing)." But in the end, it’s going to be something well worth the time, energy, focus, improvement and self-motivation to move from where you are "RIGHT NOW" to where you eventually want to be when all of your dreams, passions, goals, hopes and bjectives finally are effectively achieved and you are living the life that you always hoped and prayed for.

Now that Biz-E-Life is finally manifesting to the point of actually taking physical (OK, electronic) form, we think you will be well pleased with what we have to offer you on a regular, consistent basis, so now would be a really good time to officially click us on into your "FAVORITES" and check back with us ona regularly, pretty much daily basis to see what gems of truth we will be waxing prolific about day to day.

As for today, please be sure to have yourself a totally awesome one.

Your friends,

The Biz-E-life Guys,

David J. Stodard & Larry L. Nichols

A Cookie For Your Actions

noreply@blogger.com (Biz-e-Life Guys) — Mon, 26 May 2008 20:14:00 +0000

Many would call sitting in a room at a table with 60 others in the area, watching the clock for your turn to talk, waiting for the unknown to arrive and pat you on the back and give you a cookie, a waste of a day.

Actually, I decided to get up and get my own cookie from one of the vendors. After 6 hours, I learned it wasn’t just going to hop off the plate and come to me by itself.

It was the St. Louis Chapter WAHMfest conference. It’s designed for Work-At-Home Moms (and dads) and those who may be interested in working from home. (The web site address is at the end of this article).

My main reason for being there was to give a presentation on the personal side of working from home. That tied in well with the conference theme, as well as with the motivational end of what I hoped to continue to do professionally.

I’m glad my friend Terry agreed to take part in the conference with me. We believed that if nothing else, it would be a bit of exposure for the two of us. And the presentations we were giving would certainly mean something to those in attendance. At least that was our main thought at breakfast.

To make a long story short, 270 people attended the event. There were about 50 vendors set up in the main room. We had maybe 20 people visit our table, 10 who filled out entries for the drawings we had, and a grand total of three attended our presentations throughout the entire day.

Needless to say, that part was pretty depressing. But I should mention that my presentations had twice as many attendees as any of the other presentations. I had 2 people come to see me. (Oooooh!)

On the other hand, I think of it this way. Just maybe my advice or suggestions during the presentation got the two of them started in a whole new direction. Maybe they discovered new working opportunities they might not have previously thought of. Maybe one is writing an article about the conference right now and sending it out to a newspaper.

The person in Terry’s audience bought one of his e-book CDs. It turned out to be the only sale Terry made that day. But it meant something to him. That one sale has given him the push to keep going, to keep striving, and has kept him believing in what the two of us talked about earlier in the year: that this is the year we get things going.

You see, for years the two of us had been doing a lot of talking and thinking of doing different things. Eventually we got deeper into it. We began to actually plan things. We planned to think about thinking about what we could do or become. Still, we never quite got to the point of getting off the ground.

When we met for breakfast in January, we talked about a lot of things. We made the decision that this was going to be the year. We knew we could not just keep waiting for the perfect moment, or for the planets to align, or for that winning $220 million lottery ticket to be drawn.

Little did we know, that one decision, along with a lot of little things we had done, would bring us to playing a central role in a conference.

As mentioned, things did not work out as well as we had hoped. But in the end, we got out there and did something different. So what if it seemed “out of character” for either of us? We made the commitment not only with the conference organizer, but with each other and ourselves. We learned a lot of different things, not only about the conference or what it takes to get prepared for one, but also about ourselves.

We learned that you have to take chances at times. We learned that just because things don’t work out as you may have hoped, it isn’t fatal. We learned that saying things like “But there is so much to do, why even bother,” is just an excuse. We learned when you make the effort, no matter how small, great things can begin to happen. And we learned that we can do more than we have ever thought in the past.

And for that, I think we deserve a cookie.

© 2002-2007 David Stoddard

Don’t Let Those New Years Blahs, Blues & Bah Humbugs Get You Down!

noreply@blogger.com (Biz-e-Life Guys) — Mon, 26 May 2008 20:00:00 +0000

Don't Let Those New Years Blahs, Blues & Bah Humbugs Get You Down!

By Larry L. Nichols

One of the biggest and most time wasting and energy draining mistake that approximately 90% of us human souls make each year right about this time, is to get all ticked off, frustrated and annoyed with ourselves for already dropping the ball on that big “News Years Resolution” that was going to completely turn our life around into something utterly, magically wonderful in one sudden fell swoop.

Please do yourself and the rest of us a really huge favor and simply decide NOT to go around beating yourself up over something so innately and intrinsically common as merely showing clear and definitive signs that you are, in fact, HUMAN!

Remember, “Rome wasn’t built in a day” and Rome was just a bunch of inanimate material without any mind, heart, subconscious conscience or soul full of a life long collection of various disorganized and often conflicting emotions, fears, passions, hopes, concerns, insecurities, dreams, feelings and worries.

If rock and glass can’t be tossed together in a single day, why would you logically expect it to be plausible, even possible for something as complex and amazingly elaborate and symbiotically involved as a human being to change completely in one single day?

By the way, who decided that “New Years Day” is to be officially accepted by all as the official magical, mystical moment that all significant, personal change can and should be made?

Was there an election I never heard bout, or an official proclamation from God on high that I didn’t get the memo on? No, it’s just some arbitrary day that someone came up with out of the ether of pure imagination, and “BOOM” everyone just jumped on board like a bunch of sheep heading to slaughter.

First off, anyone who knows anything at all about psychology 101 knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that real, significant change takes more than a single day to set in process.

It is a matter of consistency over time that helps us to build new improved thought patterns and life-style habits. Some Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Doctors, Universities and Professors claim that it takes precisely 30 days to make any significant change in one’s life. Others say only 21, if one is really truly sincerely serious about making the change.

Either way, that’s a heck of a lot longer than the single 24 hour period supplied by the arrival of New Years Day. So give yourself a break and understand that 99.9% of all attempted change takes consistency of dedicated effort over a period of time, usually from 3 to 4 weeks.

So don’t get angry or frustrated with yourself because you promised you would stop smoking, lose weight, quit cussing, find true love or build a bigger more successful business stating this New Years, and you haven’t made your dream a reality yet.

Listen, getting angry, mad and upset about it only hinders your efforts further, making you more stressed and anxious and far less effective and resilient in your efforts, so getting ticked off is actually one of the powerful, self destructive things you are doing to set yourself up for utter failure.

Instead, it’s time to loosen up and lighten up. Then you can finally be fully free to really listen up. Change takes time, it takes effort, it takes dedication and most important, it takes consistency, as you develop a NEW better, healthier more positive and self satisfying HABIT or life-style.

Please don’t take it out on the one person who really truly wants what you want, longs for what makes you sincerely happy and honestly loves you and wishes you only the very best in happiness and success, yourself!

Copyright © 2008

"On Words And Up Words"

Larry L. Nichols
http://www.wordandwebwiz.com/
http://www.biz-e-life.com/
http://www.onwordsandupwwords.blogspot.com/
http://www.writeforme.com/

Words are my paints -Minds are my canvases.

All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

PUBLISHING GUIDELINES:This article may be reprinted, without modification, provided that the copyright notice remains completely intact. Email notification of your intent to publish would be sincerely appreciated.

Speaking Of Frustration, Fear & Other Frivolously Flighty Feelings!

noreply@blogger.com (Biz-e-Life Guys) — Mon, 26 May 2008 19:57:00 +0000

Speaking Of Frustration, Fear & Other Frivolously Flighty Feelings!

By Larry L. Nichols

Speaking of frustration, fear and other frivolously flighty feelings, I thinks it’s only fair and fitting to finally face the facts and force these farcically false and formidably fatal, fanatical fancies from our frantically forlorn foreheads and fiercely fling them into the fabulous fierce fires of freedom forever!

If that last sentence makes you want to explete a few “F” words of your own, feel free to join right in.

I simply don’t understand how so many of these so called renowned and world famous “Super Gurus” of Life and Business can continue to get away with so of these utterly inhuman and ridiculously robotic, mechanical mantras and mystical mush-headed mottos such as: “To be truly successful, you must always remain thoroughly positive, unabashedly strong, constantly upbeat unalterably optimistic!

What a total bunch of cr*p these phony puppets are proudly proclaiming through their problematically profound pie holes!

Question: Can any human being do so?

I’m a pretty well read guy. If you look throughout all of the much revered religious books studied throughout the ages and from around the entire globe, you will find a vast collection of ancient stories of even the very deities that control the universe, angrily shaking the Earth with earthquakes, throwing lightning bolts, and whipping up raging sea storms to drown stubborn sailors who chide and jeer at the gods they won’t fear.

Hey even in the Bible, God admits he has some regrets about how things have turned out with Mankind and Jesus wept. But somehow we mere mortals are somehow supposed to be able to always keep it together and be thoroughly smiling and happily upbeat all of the time, or we are instantly doomed to utter and complete failure. WOW, what a total and complete downer that would be if it were even partially true!

The truth is, it’s not even about what we as human beings allow ourselves to feel. Not allowing yourself to feel creates horrible blockages of denial which eat away at the very fabric of your consciousness like a self created, internal cancer. No, we are supposed to face and deal with our feelings, allow them to teach us whatever we need to learn from them and then let them go.

Instead, it’s really what we actually choose to do about those feelings that counts and matters most! The fact is, we humans can never hope to learn to completely control what all we think and feel.

It’s simply genetically not in our make up, we are not mere programmable computers, but are, in fact, all extremely complex and intricately weaved webs of cleverly creative and complicated character qualities and inner drives and passions that make us enigmas to even our selves.

The lesson to learn is NOT that we are to avoid or deny or thoughts, fears, concerns, worries and nightmares, but rather we are to face them and not allow them to knock us off track or destroy us.

Don’t hide from you your fear, if you do you will become a frightened and paranoid psychotic. Don’t deny your anger; if you do you will become a stone cold bully. Don’t run from your dreams or ignore your worries and concerns, they may be your inner self trying to send you a very vital and valuable message.

Simply face your fears and feelings and learn what you can from them as you meanwhile dedicate yourself more committedly to continue to move forward on your chosen path and beyond this precise point in the path where the fear or feeling’s message is pertinent to your process and progress.

Only automatons don’t have moments of normal human frustration, disappointment, worry or even fright. Automatons can’t help you to become a better person, because they are NOT people themselves.

Don’t fall for their insanely inane and idiotic antidotes to human feeling. Success in both business and life is all about following and pursuing your personal passions. How can you pursue passion if you can’t feel your feelings?

Isn’t time for us all to get passionate once again about those very things we once were so very passionate about that they served to make us who we are, and drive us to where we want to go and be in life? By Job, I think we’ve got it!

Copyright © 2008

"On Words And Up Words"

Larry L. Nichols
http://www.wordandwebwiz.com/
http://www.biz-e-life.com/
http://www.onwordsandupwords.blogspot.com/
http://www.writeforme.com/

Words are my paints -Minds are my canvases.

All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

PUBLISHING GUIDELINES:This article may be reprinted, without modification, provided that the copyright notice remains completely intact. Email notification of your intent to publish would be sincerely appreciated.