My Rich Pickings

Review - Harmonic Wealth by James Arthur Ray

2009-06-22T11:19:00.004Z

If you have read the book or seen the movie The Secret then you will have already seen or read James Arthur Ray’s opinions about the Law of Attraction as he was one of the many contributors. However, Harmonic Wealth is far more than another of the countless books that have sprung up in the wake of The Secret’s incredible success.

The content and structure of Harmonic Wealth is divided into the so called “five pillars of wealth” which the author believes are essential to a harmonious and wealthy life. On the face of it this makes perfect sense as it is pointless in having lots of money if we are in poor health or have nobody to share it with.

In order to grasp more of what the book is about it might be a good idea for me to outline the five pillars:

Financial – income, savings etc. These are the obvious things that spring to mind when most people think of wealth; but have you stopped to consider exactly how much you need, or more specifically, want?

Relational – your relationship with yourself and those around you. Not just your marriage, your children and family, but also the relationships you have from day to day with everybody you come into contact with; including work colleagues and even the checkout operator at the supermarket.

Mental – are you of the opinion that your education finished when you left school or college? Or perhaps you are a voracious reader and have a constant hunger for knowledge? Personally, I would tend to agree with the author when he suggests that working on your mental ‘pillar’ can only help when it comes to increasing your overall wealth. It seems obvious, but is it really?

Physical – It stands to reason that if you are fit and healthy then you will have more potential to make the most of your time. After all; a person who is in poor health will not have the energy or inclination to enjoy any of the more physical pursuits that life has to offer. Have you paid attention to your physical well-being recently?

Spiritual – Just what does it mean to be more spiritual? Do you have to subscribe to one of the long established religions and keep up a structured routine of worship, or is there another way? James Arthur Ray’s writing on the subject will certainly give you some food for thought.

Conclusion
All in all I found Harmonic Wealth very enjoyable and at times enlightening and motivational reading. However, I did get the impression that the author was at times on his ‘soapbox’ – particularly when he is enthusing about his diet and his obvious obsession with wholesome and natural foods. I personally would not wish to subscribe to a carbon copy lifestyle as I believe that most things taken in moderation won’t do any harm. It’s only a minor criticism though, and does not detract from the overall quality of the book.

If you’re like me and like to regularly top up your positive thinking levels while also relaxing with a good book, then Harmonic Wealth will be right up your street। The five pillars of wealth seem like obvious good sense and I’m sure that paying attention to each of them, with a sprinkling of common sense, can help us all to live happier and wealthier lives.

Buy Harmonic Wealth on Amazon

Find Harmonic Wealth on eBay

Is Magento the Rubik's Cube for Web Developers?

2009-03-13T13:07:00.002Z

If you haven't heard of it, Magento is the latest all singing and dancing open source eCommerce solution. The features are far and away the best available for any serious online store and quite frankly blow the competition clean out of the water. Being open source, it is also FREE (which as you might know, I am always keen on!). So for a tight-wad Web developer it would appear to be the ideal platform for creating new eCommerce sites.

However, there seems to be one huge problem which is scuppering many potential users before they even get into the starting gates... The installation process is an absolute nightmare!

Me, myself, and indeed I, (left brain, right brain and no brain) have wasted more than a couple of hours trying to install a working copy of Magento. Initially I was quite excited at the prospect of having such a wonderful open source eCommerce platform to experiment with, but my excitement has now made a hasty retreat and I am left feeling very frustrated and wondering if Magento is really worth the investment of time and concentration required - If you think I'm overstating things, then check out the Magento help forums where you will see all sorts of queries and virtual head scratching from equally frustrated wannabe Magento users. In fact; at the time of writing there are currently 4026 threads in the Installation Problems topic alone!

Now I'm not new to installing scripts and I have successfully negotiated my way around quite a few different eCommerce, Content Management, PHP and MySQL packages and there are occasionally little 'quirks' which have to be addressed. But Magento is in a whole different league IMO and makes the Rubik's Cube look like one of those kid's join-the-dots puzzles.

Call me cynical, and many do, but I can't help thinking that this difficulty is sustaining the professional installation service touted from the Magento home page and currently costing $149. If this Open Source package is as good as it is supposed to be, then the price of installation is small beer and I wouldn't begrudge it for a moment, but I really would like to try before I buy.

How To Link To Your Website From eBay

2009-01-09T16:14:00.002Z

Ever wondered how you can link to your own Website from an eBay item listing without breaking the rules and getting your listing, or even worse your account, banned?

It's not difficult if you follow some simple steps and I have put together a simple guide at www.easyprofits.co.uk called Linking to a Website from an eBay Listing. Check it out!

Easy And Quick Money Making Website

2008-12-17T11:14:00.003Z

There really are plenty of tools online for creating money-making opportunities and one of the best in my opinion is still the BANS Website building package. It has been around for a while now, but unlike others, it has been updated and continues to be a very simple way for anybody with little or no technical knowledge to quickly set up a Website that will earn money from affiliate programs.

The main focus of any site created with BANS is the eBay affiliate program as it 'scrapes' live listings from eBay itself. Of course, this means that you could be in competition with a lot of others using the software, but the trick is to focus on a small niche and create a site that visitors will find useful. In addition to the money making potential of the eBay affiliate program; it is simplicity itself to put Adsense or other advertising in various positions on your site's pages.

You can view an example of a niche store at Buy Beatles memorabilia and I think you will agree that it looks very professional. Apart from the custom header, this has all been accomplished from the very powerful and easy to use BANS admin panel. Another very persuasive feature about the Build A Niche Store software is that you only need to invest in it once and you can build as many sites as you need - this means that you could multiply a number of low earning niches into a full time income.

But is it worth the bother of building multiple sites? Well you should probably ask yourself how else you are going to earn money on the Web and if you come up with a better answer then probably not. However, it is one way that a lot of people are earning a living and once the initial work is done the system will run practically on auto-pilot!

Learn more about how you can quickly and easily set up money-making sites using BANS >>

Every Wondered How They Do It?

2008-12-10T12:34:00.003Z

It often surprises me when people tell me they never win the items they want on eBay. Perhaps it's because I have been a keen eBayer for quite a few years now, but I sort of imagined that everybody had sussed it by now. It is not a secret, but there seem to be plenty of people who miss out simply because they don't follow a very simple strategy.

If you are one of those people and you would like to know what this simple strategy is then I have written a short guide and published it on my Easy Profits site. Read all about it at How To Win eBay Items...

I hope it helps and good luck!

Get Cash For Shopping Online!

2008-11-28T08:02:00.000Z

This service is completely free to use and allows online shoppers to claim money back when buying items at certain Websites - and incredibly that even includes eBay! Unlike other similar services, there is no commission to pay and you get to keep 100% of your earnings. There is also no minimum balance required before you can withdraw money which is also a bonus.

Some of the biggest earnings can be made with financial services such as taking out a new home insurance policy, but don’t rule out the money making potential of consumer goods and smaller domestic purchases as it all adds up.

Easy Profits Verdict:
A simple to use system that can enable anybody to earn cash back either by cheque, bank transfer or Paypal; (or, if you’re feeling generous, you could even donate your earnings to charity). Check it out at topcashback.co.uk

FREE Domain Names, But Hurry!

2008-11-06T14:26:00.002Z

Just a very quick post to mention the fact that you can get a couple of quality domain names absolutely free and with no catch either. Yes, it's true so check it out and get your own free domain name now!

How Fast To Index?

2008-11-06T14:19:00.002Z

Working with the Web leads one naturally to an interest in SEO and regular readers will know that I have done much previous study and even produced a Website devoted to the subject (www.ultimatewebtraffic.com). So I was quite surprised when a simple one page Website had not been indexed after almost 3 weeks.

I followed my usual tactic of getting some inbound links from pages of sites that are crawled regularly, but despite excellent success in the past with this method, this time it hasn't worked out quite as well.

The site in question is Pleavin's who are Independent Floor Removal Specialists based in Wirral (maybe linking out from here will help ;) I suppose it just goes to show that you can't always rely on search engines to behave as you would expect. Watch this space...

Free Games (But Don't Tell The Boss!)

2008-10-03T18:29:00.002Z

I love playing games on the PC, but then who doesn't? It can be very relaxing to while away the hours with a good computer game. The time seems to fly by when I am totally absorbed in a shoot em up or puzzle. And as you know I'm also very fond of freebies, so it was nice to find a Website offering free online games this week.

The site is very well designed with a nice uncluttered layout and features obvious navigation at the top of each page to each section featuring the various style of online game such as puzzle, racing, shooter and strategy. I was gobsmacked at just how many games are on the site – definitely plenty of choice for any taste and each one is quick to load on screen and requires no additional software apart from the Flash plugin which just about everybody has already.

Mind you, I have to be careful because some of the free retro games are so addictive I can often forget what I'm supposed to be doing as my work goes out of the window – not good at all!

If you have the urge to kill some time playing games you can find plenty at www.online-games-zone.com

World Of Electronics

2008-10-03T18:24:00.002Z

This week I stumbled across the Elatec Vertriebs GmbH website for the electronics distributor. The company was founded in 1988 and has branch offices in ten European countries and since 2006 they have had a joint venture partnership with KAGA Electronics, a leading Japanese independent distributor. Elatec develops RFID Readers as modules, OEM boards, PC cards and as complete devices in housing.

Well designed and simple to use, the site is navigated via links at the top and also at the left hand side of each page and there is an excellent download section containing a multitude of PDFs. I feel that the site would benefit from a design update as it does look a little dated compared to a lot of contemporary “Web 2.0” sites out there. However, this does not detract from it's useability and the site has obviously been built to be standards compliant.

The Industrial Computing section features some excellent stuff about Elatec's Embedded Computer products with very useful hyperlinks for order enquiries or to request further information. All in all the Website is certainly fit for purpose and definitely lives up to the company byline of “electronics is our world”. Check it out at www.elatecworld.com

Travelling in Central Asia?

2008-09-27T16:02:00.003Z

I like travelling and I always enjoy discovering new places and cultures. However, I haven't as yet done much travelling in central Asia, so it was useful to find a Website featuring exactly that. If you are looking to travel central Asia then you will probably find the East Site useful. It offers a plethora of information about visiting and touring a variety of places in central Asia including Armenia, Georgia, Uzbekistan and more.

The site is very well designed with a nice menu structure and features lots of hyperlinks offering easy access to all sorts of information such as Silk Road Tours and on-line hotel reservations. There is even a forum where users can discuss all aspects of travelling in central Asia – although it has to be said that being new, there aren't that many members yet, although I'm sure that will be rectified in the near future.

One area of the Website which may be of particular interest is the About Silk Road page which explains the history and geography of the great Silk Road and how important it continues to be for travellers and traders in central Asia. Fascinating stuff!

You can find the site at www.east-site.com

The 7 Day Affiliate eBay Course

2008-09-26T12:22:00.001Z

“Build Your Own Niche Store From Scratch!”

The 7 Day Affiliate E-Bay Course consists of a 69 page PDF manual, an example Website with some alternative themes, some extra example files and lastly a folder containing 5 useful bonuses. The course explains how to create a Website designed to generate income through the eBay affiliate program and also includes sections on incorporating Google Adsense and other online money making systems.

The first chapter is titled Introduction to Affiliate Marketing and does exactly that. If you already know this stuff then you can skip this section. But if you are new to generating income as an affiliate then you will probably find it invaluable as it explains just how the system works and the various ways of implementing affiliate links on a Website.

I'm not sure if the details of how to register with eBay and the eBay Partner Network featured in the second chapter are really necessary here, but more info is always better than not enough and the sections can always be skipped. Having said that; the section describing how to create a Website affiliate widget will be very useful to anybody who hasn't done it before and is certainly relevant.
If you are looking for a simple way to set up a money making Website then the Introduction to HTML and Web Page Layouts will probably leave you cold as it gets very techy by describing the intricacies of HTML and CSS – there is even an explanation of the Hexadecimal coding used for specifying colours in Web pages! I can't help thinking that this section could have been left out and perhaps substituted with a link to an online resource for those who are interested. Similarly the section describing how the example Website was created will appear very complicated to anybody not familiar with coding Web pages by hand. However, if you love getting down and dirty with a text editor then this could be right up your street and after all; this is a course that explains how to create a niche affiliate Website.

The manual contains some very good information about finding a suitable niche to target with a store, and it has to be said that without this info it would be very easy to miss out on the most profitable money making opportunities. And the section about marketing will be particularly useful to newbies as even the best site in the world will fail without promotion.

The course also comes with 5 free bonuses, including AdSense Revenue Exposed, AdSense Empire and Affiliate Money Machine which are not to be sneezed at and complement the main package very well.

Conclusion: Yes, there are 'out of the box' solutions available, including the excellent BANS or PHPBay Pro products, which in fairness will be far simpler to use for the complete beginner. But what the 7 Day Affiliate eBay Course offers is a full instruction manual that with a bit of effort will enable anybody to create their own niche money earning Websites to exact specifications – it is also far cheaper than the alternatives.

The author, Jonathan Castro has obviously put the hours in creating this course and the accompanying software, but I feel that it tries to cover far too much ground and would benefit from some simplification. However, after studying the course you will have a complete understanding of Internet money making as an affiliate. If you want a proper understanding of how the system works and wish to build your own affiliate niche sites from scratch you won't find a more comprehensive tutorial than the 7 Day Affiliate E-Bay Course.

Can you make money with the resulting Website/s? The answer is a resounding yes! But it has to be said that this isn't the easiest solution out there.

Find out more on the 7 Day Affiliate E-Bay Course

Rewards Despite Financial Catastrophe?

2008-09-22T06:38:00.002Z

The recent financial catastrophes in which we have seen the collapse of big banks in both the US and the UK have provoked much comment among newspaper journalists. Talk of the "credit crunch" is rife and many are proposing belt tightening en-masse in order to try and offset some of the hardship which will inevitably follow.

We’ve already been witness to frightening price rises in our supermarkets over the past year so it is worrying to think that things are set to get even worse. (Strange how inflation is still being quoted at around the 5% mark when staple foods such as bread and rice have risen by as much as 40 or 50% in real terms. But I digress…)

Typical recommendations from the literary harbingers of doom are to avoid foreign holidays, buy cheaper brands at the supermarket and generally cut down on spending - as if anybody had the choice but to cut down when money won’t buy nearly much as it did a year ago.

Just a thought, but if we are to do without holidays abroad; does it mean we should not have a holiday at all or perhaps stay in our own country? Anybody living in the UK will know just how expensive it can be to check into a hotel or rent a holiday property in a popular area; in fact the cost of a package holiday abroad is more often than not a cheaper alternative to a holiday in the UK. Ridiculous when you take into account the price of flying to another country! Perhaps there is a clue there somewhere – something is definitely wrong with that situation.

But regardless of how we should be compensating, why should any hard working person have to cut down and do without in the first place? Life is for living after all. I’m not proposing that we should all take out loans and get further into debt in order to fund a couple of weeks in the sun. But I do say that a working person deserves some reward for his/her efforts.

Is that really too much to ask?

Are You Robbing Peter To Pay Paul?

2008-09-19T18:20:00.003Z

Paying Paul is an online resource dedicated to helping you pay off debt without resorting to robbing Peter or filing for bankruptcy – quite topical at the moment with the daily news reports of the 'credit crunch' and of big banks going broke. I suspect that more and more people will be looking for the vital information that will help them to pay off debt.

The site is reasonably well designed with navigation consistently featured at the top of each page. Despite a great logo, I feel that some more images would break up the considerable amount of text and make it easier on the eye. Having said that though, there is a plethora of debt advice articles and information all hyperlinked throughout the site making it pretty straightforward (and perhaps even unavoidable) to find the info you need.

If you are looking for information about debt management, debt consolidation or bankruptcy then this site could be the one you need to see. It appears to have everything you need to learn how to get out of debt. You can check it out at www.payingpaul.com

Web Hosting Solutions

2008-09-19T12:06:00.002Z

I found a useful site today offering affordable business Web hosting, design, etc. The company are Mckremie Solutions and they accept Paypal payments which is always handy for those of us who do business online. Their philosopy is to provide excellent customer support, fast reliable servers and to always be available to the customer – a nice promise in these days of poor service where too many companies will take your money and run.

The site is well laid out and intuitive to use featuring a main menu across the top. One feature I particularly like is the Cpanel demo – ideal if you are considering buying hosting but want to see what you will get before committing yourself. There is also a 30 day unconditional guarantee which provides reassurance.

Standard hosting is at $7.95 per month (about £4.45) and business hosting at $12.95 (£7.25) per month. The importance of web hosting uptime cannot be overemphasised and McKremie promise 99.8% uptime. Overall the hosting features look excellent.

McKremie Solutions also offer free web design quotes with no obligation. I'm not sure what price range they are working in but the example sites look pretty good so it might be worth getting a quote if you're in the market for a new site.

Real Success Without a Real Job

2008-09-15T09:26:00.003Z

Real Success Without a Real Job aims to describe how it is possible to escape a traditional working life and avoid the corporate existence most people fall naturally in to – hardly surprising when you realise that our education system and culture is geared towards preparing us for exactly that.

The author; Ernie Zelinski claims to work only 4 or 5 hours per day while earning a considerably better living than more than 80% of the corporate world. How does he do that? By writing books such as this one for starters.

If you are hankering to escape the 'rat race' then you might just find some inspiration in Real Success Without a Real Job and in fact the book goes to great lengths to describe how good an alternative way can be. However, if you simply want to sit around and do nothing then I suspect you won't find what you are looking for here; although Ernie's obvious zeal at staying in bed until early afternoon will probably appeal. In fact this is one area where I totally disagree with the author because I relish my early mornings (yes, even in winter!) and I find it difficult to understand anybody, but especially a writer, who doesn't enjoy the peace and stillness of our world as it gradually wakes up to another day. But perhaps that's just me.

I think the book lacks any real ideas or advice for living this idealistic alternative life without a corporate job, aside from becoming a writer or some brief allusions to making money on the Internet, and it does seem to draw heavily from Zelinski's previous publications; The Joy of Not Working, and How To Retire Happy Wild and Free. It is nicely laid out though, and features inspirational quotations and jokey cartoons on each page to break up the text making the book easier going on people who don't like reading pages of 'dry' text.

I know that people become institutionalized and conditioned to corporate life as this is borne out by the shock that many feel upon reaching retirement age and suddenly finding that their lives don't seem to have any real purpose. So I believe that Zelinski's ideas do have some validity and the book will certainly be inspiring reading for anybody contemplating an alternative lifestyle. However, if you are looking for definite answers or perhaps a 'blueprint' for achieving your own Real Success Without a Real Job then you might find that some further study elsewhere is necessary.

In conclusion: An entertaining read with some good ideas but critics could perhaps quote the book's subtitle There Is No Life Like It! as being more literal than the author intended.

Buy Real Success Without a Real Job on Amazon

Find Ernie Zelinski on eBay

The Answer To Life The Universe And Everything

2008-07-21T10:30:00.007Z

In the superb HitchHiker's Guide To The Galaxy, written by the late Douglas Adams, it is revealed that the answer to the meaning of life is 42. However, this is wrong. Talented and wise though the late Mr Adams was, I think I may have discovered a better answer (the Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy was a work of fiction after all.).

Ok, I'm not the first person to discover this. Far from it, in fact; there have been countless books written about the very subject. some of them are in my opinion essential reading. Inspirational classics like The Power of Positive Thinking, Think and Grow Rich, The Magic of Thinking Big, Awaken The Giant Within and more recently The Secret; all reveal a more satisfying solution than 7 times 6.

So just what is the answer then? Quite simply it is this:

KNOW WHAT YOU WANT

Is that it? I hear you cry. Well, hang on it's not as simple as it sounds. Think about it for a moment... If there were no restrictions such as how much money you have, or how your actions might affect family members, or even where you live, just what is it that would make you truly happy? You should give some thought to things like:

Where in the world would you live?
What would you do with your days?
Would you go to work? If so, what would you do?
Who would your friends be?

Now think about this for a while, but above all, leave aside all restrictions and believe that whatever it is you want you can have. Then when you've done some thinking make a list. yes, that's right; actually write down exactly what it is that you want.

Now here's the good part:

Hard though it might at first seem. You can have all of the things on your list. Yes, you can actually achieve all of your hopes desires, dreams and wishes. You simply have to know what they are.

You see I believe that most of us just coast along through life without giving it too much thought. I know I did for a very long time. We go to work on a Monday morning not particularly liking it and in some cases actually dreading it. But we go all the same because we need the money to pay our bills and maybe have some left over for shopping and leisure pursuits.

Each day might bring thoughts of how much better life would be if we didn't have to do that job. But at the end of the day comes time to go home and relax, watch some TV, maybe have a walk or go out for the evening, perhaps even have a glass or two of wine. Then the weekend arrives and the excitement is at fever pitch. We all know that 'Friday feeling' when the working week is nearly over and we are anticipating another weekend of leisure.

Perhaps during our weekend we go shopping or take part in sports such as with a local football team. In the evening we might go out and celebrate with a meal, or drown our sorrows with too much alcohol at the local pub - It's an easy and comfortable routine to fall into and most of us do exactly that. Then in the blink of an eye it is Monday morning again and time to return to work.

The important thing to understand is that carrying on in this fashion means that life passes by without anything ever changing. If you keep doing the same things then things will always stay the same.

I don't know about you, but I have a fear of reaching the end of my life and regretting that I had never tried to achieve my dreams. It has been said that we don't regret what we did in life; only what we didn't do. So if that's true, there is nothing to fear from change.

The point is; if you really want to change things then you have to grasp the nettle and take action! And the time to take action is right now, this week, today, right this minute in fact. Whatever it is you want you can have - but only if you take action!

So, to sum up there are only 4 steps to achieving the life and the happiness you desire.

1. Decide exactly what it is you want
2. Plan how to achieve it
3. Take action
4. Be consistent in achieving your goals

Your plans might change along the way, but this is a natural part of the process and you will come to realise that as they do you are actually living the life you wanted to all along.

So have you started your list yet or are you waiting until after the weekend?

I Can Make You Rich - Book Review

2008-07-18T18:50:00.003Z

Paul McKenna has put his own stamp on the Self Help genre and created a series of books with accompanying CDs on the most popular subjects of self development such as Self Confidence, Weight Loss, and Quitting Smoking. Each title features a mix of thought provoking examples, quotes from famous people, and self-hypnosis or mind programming exercises. The latest; I Can Make You Rich is now available in paperback.

I Can Make You Rich is in two parts: Part One, The Psychology of Wealth, focuses on analysing just what it means to become “rich” and then examining our attitudes towards abundance and wealthy people. As one would expect from Mr McKenna there are self-hypnosis exercises throughout. The ones in this book focus on programming the mind to accept and invite wealth and encourage us to focus on richness in a more healthy and positive way. If you have been brought up with phrases such as money doesn't grow on trees and you believe that you have to work really hard to make money then you will find this section useful.

In all there are six chapters in part one:

Getting Rich is an Inside Job
Transforming Your Relationship with Money
Reprogramming Your Wealth Thermostat
Overcoming Emotional Spending
Tapping into the Flow of Wealth
Creating a Rich Vision

Part Two, Let's Go Make Money! Turns to the more practical aspects of becoming wealthy and is obviously in part influenced by earlier works on the subject from the likes of Napoleon Hill and Robert T Kiyosaki. On the whole there is some good advice in this section although the so called 'business plan' would not win a fledgling enterprise any serious funding.

The second part of the book features another six chapters:

How To Make Money
Assembling Your Wealth Team
A Proven Formula for Success
The Simplest Business Plan in the World
The Three Skills that Lead to Riches
The Secrets of Living Rich

Conclusion:
By analyzing just what it means to be rich and how that could apply to our own lives, and then outlining the methods and philosophies of wealthy and successful people, Paul McKenna has produced a very readable book in the Self Help genre. Drawing inspiration from some of the many other excellent books on the subject such as Think and Grow Rich and Rich Dad Poor Dad, McKenna goes a step further and actually attempts to provide a sort of blueprint for becoming rich; which is something that I suspect many would shy away from for fear of not delivering.

But does the book actually deliver and fulfil McKenna's boast of being able to make you rich? Well, I am not aware of anybody who has attributed great success to reading this book alone and it probably remains to be seen if anybody ever does, but if you have a desire to live a more abundant lifestyle then I Can Make You Rich will certainly put you on the right track. And if you are in the process of studying the many books written about the methods of acquiring wealth and success then it will probably be an essential part of your reading.

Overall I would recommend I Can Make You Rich

Buy I Can Make You Rich on Amazon

Find I Can Make You Rich on eBay

Rich Dad, Poor Dad - Any Good?

2008-06-16T11:48:00.001Z

“The main reason people struggle financially is because they have spent years in school but learned nothing about money. The result is that people learn to work for money… but never learn to have money work for them”

Why is Rich Dad Poor Dad a world number one bestseller and why does it continually attract top ratings and excellent reviews at Amazon?

Quite simply because the author Robert T. Kiyosaki is writing from his own experience about a subject that should interest all of us - and especially visitors to this Website. That subject is money; or rather how we choose to obtain it in order to live our lives (or indeed just how we choose to live our lives).

Robert explains how as nine year old boys, he and a friend decided they wanted to become rich. The obvious place to turn for advice was to their fathers. From one corner they were told to work hard and get a good education so that they could get good steady jobs, and from the other they were told that good jobs were the last thing they needed if they wanted to become rich.

As you would expect, Rich Dad Poor Dad extols the merits of investing in property and the stock exchange. But this isn’t a 250 page economics lecture and it won’t bore you rigid with dry facts and figures about investment portfolios either. It is rather more of a novel than a book about business; although the lessons learned by the boys (and the reader) are solid foundations for accumulating wealth.

Through six powerful lessons we learn, amongst other things, why the rich don’t work for money and why the poor are sucked into a trap that means they spend their whole lives not just working hard, but also paying back most of what they earn in taxes.

CONCLUSION:
If you have ever wondered about developing passive income, paying less tax, or why the latest pay rise will never be enough then you should read this book. There is a trap that most of us are taught to fall into at an early age: And that is to get a good job and work hard until we retire – but there is another way and that is to learn what the rich teach their kids. Rich Dad Poor Dad reveals all.

Buy Rich Dad, Poor Dad at Amazon

Find Rich Dad Poor Dad on eBay

Free SEO Web Traffic Guide

2008-05-22T08:24:00.004Z

You may remember my eBook about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and getting traffic to a Website called Web Traffic in Black & White which I released at the tail end of 2006 and updated in 2007? Well, not to worry because most (but not all) of the content is now available online for free! (If you're impatient to find out what it's all about hurry over to www.ultimatewebtraffic.com straight away.)

I took the decision to convert it to a website format for several reasons; but mainly because although the sales page was getting plenty of visitors, the conversion rate was very low. Is this because it was a rubbish product? Absolutely not. After all, how would a prospect be able to tell in advance? No, I think it is because there is already a plethora of freely available SEO information and some excellent Websites out there, so people are reluctant to part with hard earned cash in return for what may or may not be of value to them, and what they might be able to get for free elsewhere. Besides, I think my decision to develop The Ultimate Web Traffic Guide as a Website allows for growth and evolution of the site as it can be updated on a regular basis - something which a hard copy book, and an eBook, cannot.

I believe the site offers excellent SEO and Web traffic information primarily for newbies, but there are also some snippets which seasoned Webmasters may have overlooked. My intention when writing was to tell it like it is without fluff and filler, and present the information in an easy to understand manner. Have I succeeded? Well, that is for the reader to decide. You can learn about SEO right now at www.ultimatewebtraffic.com

The Blogging Habit

2008-04-25T10:13:00.002Z

It has been an awful long time since my last post. Where have I been and what have I been doing???

It's no great secret - just the usual stuff building websites, earning a crust and as ever learning new stuff. One site I recently finished is for a Villa in Calis Beach, Turkey. If you're looking for somewhere to stay in those parts for your summer holiday then check it out quickly because judging by the huge number of interested people the prices won't stay at their current bargain levels that's for sure! If you're interested it's at www.villaorchid.co.uk (tell them I sent you!).

I've read a couple of good books recently too; including The Millionaire Course by Marc Allen. Don't be put off by the title; this isn't some heavy going business book about finance and investing, but a rather more 'spiritual' (in parts) title which will help you to live the life of your dreams without necessarily becoming insanely rich first - although if that is your ultimate goal then the book will help you to achieve that too. Self help? Well, yes it does fall into that category but some are better than others and I personally found this one to be a very enjoyable read.

Well after losing the habit of blogging for the last couple of months, it looks as though I might be blowing off the cobwebs. As the big man said in that film; "I'll be back!"

Happy New Year

2008-01-02T16:03:00.000Z

Wow, 2008 already! Where did 2007 go? It seems to have passed so very quickly...

I've got lots of plans for the new year, including a fully re-designed TDL Web Developments site, a new ebook especially for small business owners who want to know the ins and outs of marketing on the Web, and a whole host of other money making stuff. Not to mention some of the projects that have carried over from last year, such as Web Traffic in Black & White.

I suppose I should get to it then, no rest for the wicked as they say. Catch you soon, but in the meantime; Happy New Year!

Waterproof Golf Suits Save The Day

2007-12-06T11:50:00.000Z

Golf anybody?

I was talking to a friend of mine recently who runs a golf equipment shop attached to a golf course. He was telling me that because the weather in the UK has been so wet in 2007 there have been fewer people turning up to play - this has had a knock on effect on sales in the shop. Poor weather = fewer golfers = fewer sales.

His solution has been to set up an online golf equipment shop (www.hoylakegolfstore.co.uk), and it's early days yet but so far so good; things seem to be working out quite well. In fact, inspired by his plight with the poor UK weather, he is now launching a new more specialized golf store which will stock all manner of waterproof clothing for golfers. It will be called (appropriately enough) Golf Waterproof Suits. Hopefully promoting special waterproofs will get more people on the course and into his shop, but failing that; the power of the Web will save the day (and yes, this post is also a bit of a plug for his business).

My conclusion for today (apart from if at first you don't succeed etc) is that if things look pear shaped in business, whether it be online or off, then a bit of lateral thinking can often turn up trumps. Now, I could do with a boost so where did I put my lateral thinking cap?...

Easy WTBW Affiliate Resources

2007-12-03T20:58:00.000Z

Finally, the updated and revised version of Web Traffic in Black & White is now available to download. For anybody who has been wandering the desert without a wifi connection, WTBW is my fully featured SEO and Web Traffic guide, and is now completely up to date for 2008. I've had some excellent reviews already and sales are quickly picking up.

You can get a piece of the action (50% to be precise) just for referring people to the sales page (www.ultimatewebtraffic.com). I've even created a full promotional kit which includes banners, forum links, articles and more. So if you fancy earning an easy few bob simply check out the affiliate resources page at www.ultimatewebtraffic.com/affiliate.htm

Don't forget; this isn't the usual ebook rubbish, but a well written and very comprehensive guide that explains all about getting visitors to a Website. It also contains more Web references than you can shake a stick at and I guarantee readers will find it and invaluable resource. Adam Sussman, from www.reviewsandratingsguide.com said; "Not only do you get the foundation required to understand and practise good SEO, you also get the tactics to compete with the best. This guide is one of the few that I will print out and no doubt deface with my highlighter pen."

And that's just one of the many fantastic responses so far! Check out some more at www.ultimatewebtraffic.com

Are You Searching For The Magic Bullet?

2007-11-30T10:46:00.000Z

There is a trend amongst Webmasters and especially new contenders to the Internet Marketing scene to hunt out what I call 'the magic bullet'. They are all looking for the same thing - an instant solution that will bring them immediate success and quick riches.

Yes, there are apparent 'overnight' success stories (remember the student with his one million pixels?). But they are few and far between. The reality is that behind the vast majority of successful endeavours lies a longer process of planning and gradual growth.

It is natural in the often confusing world of the Internet to imagine that successful competitors must be closely guarding some secret that they don't want you to know, and all too easy when faced with the facts for a newbie to dismiss them and immediately look for an alternative 'easier' solution. And this is precisely what many of the so called Internet Marketing 'gurus' thrive on. The same people continually looking for an answer that will make life easy and catapult them to the dizzy heights.

If that sounds like you then wise up right now; there isn't one.

While there are some methods that are not immediately obvious to the newbie, there is no 'magic bullet'. No instant solution that will bring immediate results. That goes for every aspect of online business. Having the best software is not going to help you build the best Web site if you don't understand the fundamentals of Web design; and spending thousands of dollars on Adwords is not going to get results if you don't understand how direct response marketing works.

This is going to come as a bitter pill to swallow for those looking for quick solutions, but the fact is that to get the success craved for will take time, effort and above all... Work.

There, I've gone and said the 'w' word!

I imagine that most people dislike work, but the incredible thing is: If you can find something that you actually enjoy doing it doesn't feel like work at all. For instance; I saw a firefighter being interviewed on TV last night and he described how he loved being 'on the hose' and how they would have to drag him away when it became his time to retire. Anybody could see in his eyes that he meant what he said, and you could almost feel sorry for the guy imagining when that day came.

I believe that we are all capable of enjoying our work – we just need to be doing the right thing for us. And as many wise people have been saying since time began: What you get out is in direct proportion to what you put in.

For now, if you find yourself looking for the 'magic bullet' then perhaps you should re-think your strategy. There's no substitute: So gird your loins, grit your teeth, grab the nettle and get your head down to some good old fashioned WORK (but remember that it doesn't have to be an ordeal).