The silence...

Make money online being focused...

2009-11-06T21:27:00.000Z

Unsurprisingly...you never really know what's on the horizon in life and that itself makes life interesting, if we always knew it would be boring for sure and that's where you get set in a "rut" as they say.

We have all been there, seemingly nothing changes and everyday it's the same old same old and yet, most of the time, we aren't even looking at the damn path, let alone taking control of the point we are blindly heading for, sometime we are indeed lead down the path by circumstances, not always but often it's us that create the circumstances.

Snapping out of it is not always so easy but you have to and the only solution is to...

Stop ourselves, recognise it for what it is, accept it then take charge and change it, we already know a few degrees change now leads to a big difference at the horizon.

I had to be inadvertently reminded of this myself recently, I'm thankful for it too because it will help me short and long term.

This is why I have been quieter of late on the site's I am usually seen on... like the social sites I frequent, ironically having looked forward to google wave for a while I got the invite to try it out just the last couple of days and that's for another post altoghter, first impressions are not so great as I'd expected but then that could also be down this recent "kick in the arse" or change of mindset to be more precise more than anything.

I have mentioned before about the choice between either make money online or being more social, until you can blend the two in some way it's going to have to be balanced in favour of what works for me now, what is more important.

I am reminded of the why I started this whole internet marketing thing off for myself, what grabbed me in the first place and what it can be, do, yet with the experience of what I have and what I know from doing and learning over the years I still get hit by fluff and crap out there although the difference is I know it's crap or fluff really.

I do underestimate what I already know and can do, then again don't we all?

Yet I still struggle at things and I know for a fact I am not the only one, not that special! meh!

To that end there is the one underlying important aspect to keep reminding myself, it's not that anyone wants to make money online for the sake of it but what that money can do for them, (a holiday for instance is not free lol) the lifestyle it could lead to, the being in control, knowing that any result is down to yourself.

What other business is better if this is done right?

What other business can you start up for as low as free and pack into a bag?!

Meaning that's a business in the cloud so to speak, you can be anywhere, anytime and do what's needed and benefit, you know, chasing the dream.

Is that not what every internet marketer and many bloggers want?

Of course, people scoff too yet you look at the shakers and movers on the young rich list and you see internet business owners, tells you something really.

The one thing that has to be put in is time, that's the one thing people won't put in yet they still want the results...we have all seen this mentality.

This same stuff apply's anywhere, online, offline, any business, so we wonder why do people waste so much time trying to do this make money online stuff but the reality is that time is wasted on the wrong stuff and often fed to them as advice from the wrong people, people who ain't got a clue or people who don't give a stuff about where you end up, (as long as you bought their crap).

OR We waste our time on shit we shouldn't!

I always stuck to the belief if you don't put time in yourself to learn what's needed then you can never be 100% sure of anything anyone else said as you can only go by what you know, what data you have, what your experience showed you.

The only other way is to get others doing it for you and that is where you need money off the bat for, you are paying out before anything can come back.

The truth is, anyone wants the rewards is gonna have to roll their sleeves up and do something, do something that has focus.

That is where I am going, focused on things that are incrementally building to one goal and that goal is mine to shoot for.

Focus... THAT is what people need to do, what I need to do, if you could focus on 1 thing for 15 minutes you would be ahead of the majority...didn't Einstein or someone say as much?

If anyone is to be serious about anything they have to focus on it.

It doesn't have to be only make money online issue, what about your work, love life, any area where you want better results.

So what are YOU focused on?

Guy Fawkes, top man....

2009-11-05T01:09:00.003Z

Guy Fawkes, are we not misunderstood with this man?
Having been vilified every year on bonfires all over the country for the powder plot and each generation keeping up these traditions half blindly, even sharing the moment with our kids as a celebration but never really saying why or even if they agree with it.

Have you with your kids?

Knowing what we know about those who work in that same building and what they have done to the country and indeed also having an influence on worldwide politics in some way or other, what they have done to the people, their values and what it meant to be British.

Have these people betrayed our past generations who fought, died and lived after losing loved ones to keep Britain from the clutches of outside rule?

Knowing what a shower of traitors who work in that building don't you feel Guy was onto something?

Have those people and they are a "type" (always the higher class, ie snobs) really changed much from Guy's time?

Did he know something we don't?

Or have we chosen not to see it?

Turn a blind eye?

If you are going to burn a guy on the bonfire try and stick this mask on top of it...he sold us down the river with the EU, if you can't find his mask, Blair's will do, same agenda from both, same lack of respect for the people of the UK.

The last person to leave the UK...will you please turn out the lights!

Portland Bill, the Sacred Isle...FASCINATING!

2009-11-03T15:45:00.000Z

Writing for the Portland bill site is a pleasure in many ways and this also makes it easy to write for, I am passionate about the place, there is alot to be passionate about and it is a unique place, importantly I am not the only one who is passionate about it.

There is a fascinating and intriguing history told in The Spirit of Portland: Revelations of a Sacred Isle which really opened my eyes too, please do grab a copy if you have an interest, it will make a good stocking filler too for someone you love.

Again I recommend anyone with an interest in Portland take a look at this, yeah... I will gain some small chump change if you buy, pennies literally... !!
On the plus side, free delivery and it will get to you, no worrying about Royal mail on strike!

Please do share your thoughts about it if you have already read the book.

Anchoring the moment

2009-11-01T17:00:00.000Z

Anchors, useful things when used the right way and that goes for all types of anchor.

Types?

The one above we obviously know and know what it's use is, to hold steady a ship, the "anchoring" of the ship to one place.

Seems appropriate that when you consider the other types of anchoring and their meaning...

Most of will even if unknowingly have used the mental anchoring as used in NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) which is a powerful thing, you may have seen Derren Brown using it.

One way you will have experienced this anchoring is through memories.

When you suddenly smell something that reminds you of your childhood, in a sense that's anchored in the moment of the childhood, unknowingly too, the smell takes you back, the smell IS the anchor.

It's something I have been conscience of trying to improve over the last few months.

You can try anchoring but one thing I have to say, this NLP stuff is powerful and DOES get used for bad as well as good even if the person doing bad doesn't realise it.

How can you try it then?

Some good information on the link above and worth reading, one simple way to try this is to see it work on another person, maybe your better half or one of your friends.

A common way to try this I read about is when you talk to someone else and get them talking about something that makes them happy, when they are visibly happy do something they see, for instance rub your chin, pinch your earlobe.

This will be the anchor and if it worked that person should feel happy if they see you pinch your earlobe, rub chin whatever the anchor was.

They may not know why they feel that way and have no idea you know why. :o)

Like I say, it should be used for good.

Doing it for yourself may be a little different but can be great if you get it right.

Funny enough, what I did was think of a time when I was really upbeat, feeling good and then put my hands on my forehead and rub both hands back along my hair... you know it makes me smile each time I do it.

Have you tried anchoring?

Did it work for you, or do you have any tips to share?

Are you, unknowingly, creating invisible barriers too?

2009-10-29T22:55:00.000Z

Why is it we keep being stopped by invisible barriers?

More often than not we create our own invisible barrier, we can't do it because of this, or that, I need this, that... *sigh.

There's the goal, you see it, you know you want to get there, your'e a bit unsure so you ask others how, what's needed to get there and if you ask ten people you will ten different opinions, views...

Nine out of ten of them will be irrelevant, maybe all of them until we actually go forth and do we will never know, we can only really learn by our own experience, yet... worse by asking others you put ten potential barriers in front of you which needn't happen, they didn't exist.

How silly of us!
How real though...

It happens every day with...

Blog posts, forum posts and what advice they share, tweets, even the news.
A lot of smoke and mirrors to fog the view.

The only real barrier we should be dealing with in any given situation is the one we create ourselves, that natural questioning part of us throws it up for good reason really.

Doesn't mean it's real...

Doesn't mean it should stop us.

The one constant is we will learn from what we actually do, regardless of what others say will work or not, that may be true for them but for yourself it's just do it, learn from it and move forward.

The barriers we create are invisible, so there is nothing to stop us.

I realise I have been doing it myself lately, but that will change...

I am going to keep fishing for results to build on.

The only way to get results is to work at it, focus, have the right mindset.

Do you do what you owe to the world?

2009-10-27T23:17:00.001Z

Doing one thing and doing it to the best you can possibly do so, then sharing it with the world.

Isn't that what we should all be doing?

The only person who will ever give you the real answer is yourself, there's alot to be said for "question thyself, trust you'll know the answer" as in most cases it's true, who knows you better than you?

Nevertheless it seems an interesting notion, what is it we do best?

Do you know what it is you do best that's really worth sharing with the world?
In the sense you owe it to the world to do it and share it.

In most cases doing that is likely to lead to success, as long as you are better than most at whatever it is, in other words you stand out.

Me...I am still trying to work it out...what about you?

It's good to listen, silly to not think for yourself...

2009-10-24T18:08:00.000Z

We all have our crosses to bear, they are always different, what bothers me may not bother you, vice versa... as we all know there is always someone worse off than you, always someone better off too.

I get amazed at what people get bothered by, what they let wind them up and so on, also at what they take for granted and yet it's also odd how so many struggle to think for themselves too!

It matters...

If you listened to everyone on any subject, topic, you will always hear opposing views, conflicting advice and sometimes it's bloody misleading/dangerous/costly/stupid!

It never pays to blindly follow what others say.

It does pay to listen but for christ sake people should make their own minds up.

They take for granted that they CAN think for themselves if they choose to, they take for granted what they do know, then blindly follow those who ain't got a clue!

Sad to see, more so when there is so much misinformation out there.
I have been reminded of it a few times recently, online and offline.

Do you see this sort of crazy stuff happening?

Going fishing...where the money is

2009-10-23T02:43:00.000Z

To make money you gotta go where the money is, we all know that and we all need to make money to live and I am no exception to that rule, which is why I have not posted here for a few days, actually a week! (blimey!) I also need a new pc, and that cost money!

One reason for me not posting here as much is simply due to this blog not being a money maker, I posted recently hinting at good reasons why it's not, the reality is this was never started with that in mind, as shown by the earliest post here, maybe I should have rethought that, back then!

I digress, time is the most important thing and the only thing you do not get a second chance to grab, unlike money, easy come easy go, for some... that is, although it's true ANY of us can get another dollar, pound, euro, whatever...you can't gain a minute on anyone else.

So the most important point remains, NONE of us can get time back, so spending that as best as possible is more important than how you spend money itself, money is just the means to an end as they say, but you still gotta go where it is to get any of it!

That is what I've been beavering away on, using my time better to focus on the things I should be focusing on.

Going fishing, so to speak!
But clearly, not in the desert!

The most important question for any blogger...

2009-10-12T22:56:00.000Z

Penelope of Brazen Careerist did a great post about asking the right questions, the post really got me thinking, actually, it was gold...for me all because of one question it got me asking myself.

One important question, which also led to another for me.

It all come from a part this one paragraph and I quote...

(snipped)..."really about how a good blog is based on a good question. (My question is: how can we make the the intersection of work and life better?)"

The (my question is) part is Penelope in a way asking what is her blog answering for others, as linked above...and the blog does answer that question.

Interesting...so it got me really thinking about it, asking... "what is the one question this blog should answer?

I really racked my brain on that, yet it should be simpler then that, in the end...

Couldn't honestly think of it, have you any ideas?

But then something else made me think, what if we were to ask a question for everything we do, each choice we make...ask the most important question for whatever that situation or choice is.

Penelope talks of the importance to ask good questions, after all it's how you get good answers.

I felt it also could go a little deeper than that in a simplistic way, the intent, if you like.

For example, you want to lose weight...when asking yourself why?
The answer is usually something like "I want to be thinner"... is that the real answer?

Is that your reflection of what the real question is, the real why?

"Because I want to be healthy fitter, and feel better inside and out, I want to feel happier" is nearer the real answer, is it not?

So the why is more likely..."because I feel bad, unfit, overweight, ugly, unhappy and ready to change"

That is a worthy value of why, because it is the intent, it gives you the real motivation to give it the best answer, by making that change happen.

Why?... is such a simple question and only one bloody word, yet so much power in a sense, power to change things, if asked well.

So, while I could say, "well, I didn't get the answer to the question of.."what is the question this blog is answering, ie WHY am I doing it?"... I could now say.."what is the question this post itself answering, WHY am I writing it?

My answer, because it will change this blog, thank you Penelope for a such a questionable post, it was VERY timely and important for me, it will change things because I am asking myself the most important question I can ask regarding this blog, by posting it now I am committed to answering that all important question,

What question does this blog really answer?

If I can't answer it, there is something that needs addressing badly, needing changing.

Why? So damn simple yet so...

So, you wanna get to the top?

2009-10-11T20:58:00.004Z

How will you get there?

One step at a time eh...

I know every single one of you is smart enough to know that, yet, and I see it quite often, even had emails say as much from people...

"I just wanna get to the top without the hassle, how do I do that?"

That was in reference to blogging itself, they wanted to know how to get among all these so well known names as fast and effortlessly as possible, join the A list basically, no idea why they asked me when I have never been there, I wouldn't want to be there. That's fame blogging!

Do people assume those A list bloggers just jumped to the top? Easily and effortlessly?

If so WOW! lol...

Regardless, you could say people want the same in whatever it is, they want the easy, painless route.

Where would we be if everything was so easy, effortless, we didn't need the pain, mistakes, hassle?
Good luck in finding that!

It has been shown we do learn faster when we get it right but we simply can't just get everything right first time on everything we decide to do, it's gotta be impossible, don't you think?

Of course we all want to do as well as we can and get to the top if possible, the fact we aren't means we aren't doing what it takes to get there, even me, in fact this got me realising what I should have done in some ways to make this blog and my overall blogging strategy better.

Not that I want to be an A-lister...but the perks of being known to them has to be nice, getting them to spread your work would be great, but only if that's what you want.
Let's assume you do want to get to the top like these A-listers, how would you do it?

Well, let me say this, the A-listers don't hide it, it's clear how they did it, what's needed to get there, a few even posted saying as much too, telling you how they do what they do.

I am not an A-lister, so it's also what I didn't do myself...I think personally from looking at it and what experience I do have and what I can see from these A-listers, it really only boils down to a few points, several have mixed these points, some may have just done the one point to a great standard.

Create very compelling evergreen content, likely the most important point of all.

Looking at some of the post(s) on these A-listers blogs one thing stands out, they share top quality content, 9 times out 10 it's also evergreen content, meaning it doesn't matter when you read it, it will still be good and relevant, this content will always get shared too.

Maki of doshdosh has not posted to his blog for months (may 18th) and yet he still gains subscribers and readers daily. He is probably also gaining traffic organically and all this is likely now providing residual income for him, meaning he doesn't need to keep posting to keep earning or even for gaining readers.

One thing is he never had others write his content, he does them all, this may be why he has not posted in a while and why they are ALL quality content post.

*My content is not good enough!

Stick to one topic, theme for the content.

Sticking to one topic means better focused traffic, more targeted readers, as well as building some authority which is something that should be taken into account from day one.

Darren Rowse of problogger sticks to the one topic, blogging for a living on the problogger one as you will have guessed, sticking to this one topic and also having great content means readers know what to expect when they check it out and come back for more.

Darren does have guests post which means he can also keep the blog freshly updated and not have to do it all himself, the downside is many may prefer to read his writing style.

*Mine is not on one specific topic!

Post alot at the start, and always decent content that is share-worthy, over time find the right rhythm for your blog and stick to it

New blogs need big action to get going and the only way to really do that is to post often, as often as possible without diluting the quality of the content. Doing this means your readers will come back knowing you will have posted something new.

Pete Cashmore of mashable by his own admission was posting like a madman at the start, you know, 10 times a day or something and it still gets posted to alot but now has posts also written by others, not surprised at that to be honest!

It is something you cannot just keep doing unless you really are a prolific writer, it will wear you out and more so when on one topic, theme.

You don't have to post like a madman, one a day would be ok if you were doing it yourself and stuck to it because your readers will know and expect it, mind you after a while if you suddenly post twice or 3 times one day it would make your readers eyebrows go up, simply because it's not expected.

Looking at your visitor stats you will soon find a rhythm to post for best results, you could easily post to often or to little (if you started posting alot then slow down to much that is)

*I don't post often enough to this blog!

Build a fanbase rather than a readership, who happily spread your work.

We all want readers don't we, no matter what it is you write you need and want someone reading it and when you start out it can be pretty frustrating, so you have to show someone... this is why family, friends are usually some of the first readers of your blog, nothing wrong with that as it gives you the confidence to go on from there.

The faster your readers turn into fans the faster you will grow, it makes sense and in reality you do not need 100's of 1000's them either (though I wouldn't say no to that many subscribers!), depending on the topic etc, you could hit the top with 1000 true fans, what matters is who they are and what reach they have.

Leo Babuta of Zenhabits I think has done this right, with over 100,000 subscriptions I don't doub't he has some true fans there. Fans that acted on his content and probably made changes in their own lives.

Why wouldn't they be fans after that?

These fans will continue to read his blog, buy his books and share his work.

One difference I noticed with Leo is he un-copyrighted his work which is empowering the fans to share it more, building new fans.

Getting readers is great, they are...readers, we all need them.

Having fans is better, they are readers with a (promotional) voice and they use it.

I love you readers, are you fans? :o)

*It would seem I don't build fans and empower them! (Do I?)

Get your content shared, make it easy to share it, ask!

One thing that is a must, marketing and sharing is marketing, viral marketing, the best and cheapest form, if the first point is covered people will want to share it because it's quality content that is shareworthy whether on twitter, facebook...also whatever platform your fans use, you ought to use as well.

All these bloggers get their content shared and they share it too, we have to get it out there for others to share so it makes sense to utilise these sharing opportunities for the fans, then share with them.

A-listers will often ask you to share them, whether directly in the post, or as they share them on sites they use.

I don't think you need to do anymore than this really, get all these points right (I must get own act together!) and you will get somewhere...at least be on the way.

So, I will ask you nicely, please share this if you think it's worth sharing, using the button below, or whatever method you use.

Taking action, hard yet without it there are no rewards

2009-10-08T13:54:00.000Z

Having a bit of a chain reaction at the moment and making the most of it, that is one thing is nicely leading onto another...

In the last post regarding the system my friend created I also mentioned the private blog to go with it, which is up and I have already started posting to it and it's fired me up a bit, lead to a couple of very late nights and something I was starting to do less of, but it was worth it!

Originally I considered it to be a good addition and somewhere those who grab the system could ask questions, get some opinions, share thoughts, tips, what is learnt along the way and yet I thought I'd do something a little different too, I decided to use the system from scratch and document it on the private blog to share with the readers, warts and all!

But you can't follow along unless you take action.

So I got cracking with it and started the blog and used a few of the videos, tools, sites for researching etc to find a new topic, niche.

Didn't take long to get some ideas.
I even underestimated a few things myself, easy to overcomplicate things as I've said before.
KISS ~ keep it stupid simple, as they say, or when talking to yourself, keep it simple stupid! (working for me!)

Are you along for the ride?

Well I damn near gave up with it...

2009-10-07T12:43:00.001Z

Just when it seems there's...

Something comes along to make things a little easier, better, bearable, often it's just a new day!

It always happens, yet we manage, everything bothering you today seems so trivial next week, you wonder why you let it bother you in the first place.

Something I thought we get better at as we get older, I mean we know these things yet still it gets under our skin, we should know better...I must have been mistaken!

Then again, knowing and accepting are two different things!

As some of you know I started writing an ebook, digital report, (whatever you want to call them) I had wanted to write for a while hoping it would help some of my friends and others if it interested them.

Obviously I didn't want to put out crap, no matter if sold or free, I wanted it to be worthy of the reader.
I at least wanted people to think it worth reading like the last (free) one I did for a forum community.

Yet I knew it would never be "perfect" as they never are (is there a perfect book?) but I just couldn't get to grips with it, not in a sense it made me comfortable putting it out there. It plain stressed me out, obvious as I posted recently it didn't help.

I kept rewriting it, rearranging it etc, never really getting it to sit right.

So I stopped, sod it, but then...

Something happened just a couple of days ago that made me rethink it all, now I think I have a better way to make it work for the user.

Here lies a dilemma though...my ears!

I'll explain...it matters.

A great friend I have known online for several years now has come back into action after a short period of absence, I don't blame her to be honest... having started online at a similar time and walking this path along with her to a point I can see why the break was needed...being hunched over the damn pc night after night does take its toll...in more ways than one, but now Kim is back.

No doubt back with a different perspective, a fresh vigour to do the things the way it should be done, that is utilising the knowledge and experience gained over that time "doing it all" night after night.

I know that feeling!

I forget what I know...and yet assume others know as much about whatever at times, when we all know better than to assume!

I realised that no matter how the book I was doing turns out, it will never please everyone, it will even bore some possibly, depending on them and what they already know.

In fact it's my friend Kim who I host this blog with, well Kim has created something I felt was worth grabbing...and yes I grabbed it the other night and I tell you this much, it's a product I would normally get last, or second from last at least...of all the digital formats, given the choice I prefer to read.

As with anything you follow the system itself is what matters, and the fact people will be able to make sense of it, understand it and follow it through is the value of it.

The system is a set of videos, by which I mean screencast style videos showing you exactly what is to be done, how and where while Kim or whoever speaks explains the "action" while doing the action.

There was my dilemma...I can't hear the damn things!! *sigh.

But you know what? I didn't need to hear them to see the value of them and understand them.

Granted out of the many, I have only looked at the ones that I needed to look at...so far, that is ones I knew I could learn something from as some of them I know about anyway through my own experience, although I will watch them all!

Interestingly...

It got me ripping my book/report apart again and the reason for that was the videos show alot of what I wrote of, but watching the videos with no sound was an eyeopener!

I could guess at some of what Kim or whomever spoke talked of during the videos but even then it would be a guess...instead I got a completely different perspective of the videos themselves, the whole experience was strange yet interesting.

Sometimes it's a blessing that my ears are crap!

So now I got started thinking about writing a complimentary style report(s) to go with the videos, depending on each video I could do a short report, or maybe a bigger report covering a few videos at once, just some thoughts, tips, ideas, even added resources etc, no idea if worth doing yet.

I could send each to Kim first, see if they were anywhere near what the actual narration is... that will be interesting, for both of us no doubt, after all there are sites on the videos I have never heard of, likewise I am likely to know sites Kim has yet to know of.

It may give Kim a new perspective on the videos.

See, Kim has gone way further down the path of online success than I have, so I knew I would get value from what I needed to see, learn...thankfully I got that too.

Kim has been at the other end of the scale I have yet to (not sure I would like to now) go, that is being a boss of sorts, hiring others...others who as Kim put it "dream of sacking their bosses"...you know, pretty much everyone in a job, do people envy bosses?

So, not so long ago Kim sold all her business, online business that is, Kim is a nurse by day but Kim is also a family person and I can see why that hunching over the pc would affect family life, being single that is living alone, I guess for me it's not the same. Understandable when family comes first.

As I said, Kim is back at the old passion...yet keeping it simple, effective and manageable no doubt.

Kim has gone back to the basics she knows works, stopped all the madness and back to what got us into it in the first place but with the knowledge of what works, how it works, stripped it bare... plus created the videos showing you just that, no shortcuts to success, just following a system and do it right, work at it until it pays off.

Rinse, repeat until you have enough...no more, no less, to much is too absurd.

Residual income is the aim really, the holy grail of wealth isn't it? Not the money...the freedom.

There lies the reality of what people strive for, repeat payments for one time work and daily freeing up time to live, to enjoy.

One way to do this is online with internet being the biggest marketplace of them all there is always going to be ways to create value, if you know how to, where to and the why, and there are many different ways.

The videos go a long way to helping with that and cutting out what huge amounts of time it takes to "learn it for yourself" at your own pace, you know, by experience, and I know from my own it will save time, not something anyone can afford to waste.

In effect these videos are your shortcut on the curve well trodden by many of us, still being trodden for many.

I also know some of you will probably be that new to it you need a little more in a sense that both myself and Kim can easily forget what we know, we forget what it was like before we started...in your position maybe?

We know how easy it can be to overcomplicate things too, leading to not doing.

I hardly ever promote much on here and what I do I have usually tried it, used it, liked it and would recommend it to anyone, most are evergreen, yet as I already said, I cannot hear the words spoken so I obviously can't comment on that, or voice or content spoken! (Sorry Kim!)

These videos are Kim giving great value, but I also want to give all those who grab these videos through this system link added value, by way of the short reports, whichever I do or which are needed...freely, that I hope will help with getting going utilising the videos better, faster.
I send these to those who buy through that link as the payment goes to me, so I then know your email to send you these...

See Kim has set this up so I get paid when you buy... now you maybe asking why the heck has she done that and why not just buy from her directly?

Good question and in a way it shows the point exactly. (Reading between the lines on this post I mean).

This is affiliate marketing in action, something you learn of in the videos. yet this is affiliate marketing with a small difference, instead of getting a % of the payment like most affiliate set ups I get all of it if you use these links, so you are also helping me out in a big way.

Yet, as soon as YOU buy these you can also then do the same as what I am doing now...earn 100% from anyone else buying through your link... if you think it's worth doing which is likely.

How does Kim gain and why the hell would she give it all away?

Because Kim is doing one of the most important aspects of all, building an email list, an ezine list, newsletter list, you know the type and Kim does what's right with that list of people, builds a relationship with them.

Kim values it highly enough to let me, you, anyone profit from those who end up on that list via any products...tells you something right there.

No bullshitting anyone here...likewise Kim is not to take anyone for a "numpty" as she likes to say, I am on her list already and I have no doubt Kim will also share a few nuggets with you too once you receive it...after all she has plenty to teach us, that includes myself.

Simple transparent honesty is right is it not?

You get way more value than the price you pay, Kim gains great people (you) to build a relationship with (she loves helping if she can) and I gain from your generosity too, not to mention you can also promote the system too once you know it works for you, (no doubt you will want to show others by then!) and get the payment(s) from Kims generosity as well.

Then I thought I would try to take one step further...I thought it would be an idea to set up a blog, have it private so only those I choose, IE...those who buy through the link above or this system link can see it, post a comment, ask a question etc so it would be a useful bonus for those who buy it from here to go with the videos and any mentioned reports I do. (Sod it, set the blog up already, will just email the link as people buy)

So what next?

Grab the videos, (right click to open in new tab) save them to a folder on your desktop (videos are separate so smaller downloads), when opening them, extract to the folder it shows, watch the chosen video by clicking the Browser icon, IE...Firefox, Chrome, whatever you use in the folder... don't over do it by watching all one after the other and take notes!

Also expect an email from me with private blog link for you to decide to join or not.

Then take action. Any thoughts, when you come back from buying that is?

Perception...pretty important if you ask me!

2009-09-30T13:10:00.000Z

Have you given thought other peoples perception of you?

Online, offline?

I was reminded of this a few times recently offline when talking to local friends, they kept saying to me... "you are always online" ... hhmmmm.

Interesting, why?

A year or two ago that would have been right...huh?

Well the reality is very different to what my friends percieved it to be. The truth is I am not online that much.

I am not online writing this... ;o)

I learnt the hard way how easy it is to waste time online with the forums a few years ago, while great to use they are so easy to get sucked into and hours roll by.

With social sites it's worse!

What you, my friends, see is me being very active when I AM online, that is I try to cram what I can into what little time I am online, I make the minutes count.

You will see this for yourself if you look at my facebook, twitter activity etc, it's all short but usually very acticve bursts.

Something I do is open several facebook home pages in several tabs and no waiting for things to load...while one is loading I am already doing something on another and so on, my fingers literally don't stop for say the 10 mins I allow myself, hopping from one comment to another speeds it all right up for me.

(Social sites are not too bad if you are mainly using a mobile through the day seeing as you can do that anywhere, while in a queue, while on the bus etc.)

So, you see this perception of me in some way is good, I seem more active than others but I am in fact on these sites far less than those who say to me "you are always online"!!

Love irony..don't you? :o)

What I do is spend too much time on the pc... not online, sorting out my pictures, resizing etc takes up time, writing articles takes up time, sorting things takes time, all time I spend on the pc but rarely online.

The internet is one massive distraction. You won't find a bigger one. :o)

If there is one thing these "gurus" and such don't tell you, it's the sheer amount of time that has to be spent on the damn pc...unless you can outscorce everything.

They sell you the perception that it's all push button easy riches!

I digress...

Perception, something I have also pointed out the the younger generation on facebook and such, our friends late teenage kids for exapmle, people percieve you a certain way and that can have a big influence on many things... think future bosses!

Another reason I hint they should write as well as they can, not txt lingo and such, you are not limited to letter count to that extreme (like twitter) so there is no need to write "dnt" instead of "don't"... it smacks of illiteracy and reflects on you.

Face the fact bosses and such DO and WILL always use your scoial activity and such to get a perception of you.

Google my name and you get what I am talking about.

What sort of perception are you putting out there?

Week of ups and downs...and a panic attack!

2009-09-30T11:17:00.000Z

It's been a week of ups and downs for me, hence I have been quiet of late which culminated on Sunday when I had a scary panic attack, the only one I have ever had and I hope I never have another one.

Having been taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture from a different perspective it dawned on me that things just aren't good enough really, what I do and where I am going is bothering me alot, not to mention the sheer time and effort I have put into it, along with the stress I have been under.

It feels as though I am swimming against a tide, and failing at it!

Then I thought about it... who really cares?

I am not asking for sympathy, or anything of the sort, I am looking at it realistically...

I am wasting my time with certain things and have already deleted some blogs, stopped "trying" in certain areas of what I do, the niches I have tried to get somewhere with.

This last week I have been taking big action of some areas, meaning I have deleted sites, blogs, lots of crap from my pc and decided to make some big lifestyle changes.

I'm going to come straight out and say, regarding online stuff... all this effort was a total waste of time, time I don't get back, time I should have spent doing other meaningful stuff with. I take full responsibility for wasting that time!

Yet there are people out there selling it as "easy, and anyone can do it" which I am going to tell you is utter bollox!

I talk from experience too.

Yes anyone can start a blog, making it work and keeping at it until it is a success (by way of getting back what you put in) is what they DON'T tell you about...that is the work and the hard part.

Let me ask you this...

If this blog was deleted tomorrow, who would it really impact? Me? You? My friends?
My sons? (who really matter)

This is no A list blog so it's not likely to impact many people.

Therefore if I did delete it and start all over again and making it what I really want it to be, it's not the end of the world..like I say, it's not a A list blog with tens of thousands of readers every day, far from it!

Maybe you see this blog sometime and it will look different simply because I decided to bite the bullet and change it. I know what mistakes I have made and where, which means I can at least pin point what I should have done and need to do better.

I need to be alot more serious about it than I have been if I want to see big improvements, I also need to focus better, I need to narrow the focus of what I do and where.

I am in some way glad this last week was as it was for me, it gave me the kick in the arse I needed.

I certainly want to see my fantastic sons have kids, so first and foremost is to improve my health, after all what if's not a panic attack next time, but a bloody heart attack!

A big part of that problem is stress, we all know what stress is like and how damaging in can be so I have to get that at a minimum, part of the reason I stopped doing so much this week.

I do feel more ready to face things now.

Oi, where is my pot of gold?

2009-09-18T20:44:00.003Z

Interesting response I recieved regarding last ranty post, nevertheless it did get me thinking...positively too which is just as well.

The gist of the email was basically...

I agree with that, over the last few weeks I have got myself off lots of email list (ezines) and stopped reading certain forums, blogs and stopped listening to the crap which in some instances were so bad I can't believe they didn't themselves think it was crap!

I am down right fed up of it, it's daily!

I have been trying so hard to get somewhere for a while and it's endless pitching and freebies if I get on this list or that list and it led me nowhere, just adds to the crap I already have so where is this damn pot of gold at the end of the rainbow they so effortlessly promise?

Well... that sounds familiar to anyone who has been thorough any stages of Internet marketing, blogging, whatever, but that last line got me thinking.

Where is the pot of gold?

What exactly are you expecting it to be?

Let me ask this, what would YOUR pot of gold be? Look like?

For each of us, it will be a different picture, depending on what you want and it takes unique action to get there.

I remember mum saying to me as a kid "go take a walk next time you see a rainbow and see if you can get to the end of it."

We know why now, but it serves a good point here too, even IF there was a pot of gold as you expected, getting to it is your problem!

I mean this in no offence to the person who sent the email, but kind of ironic they missed the very reason we say there is a pot of gold at the end of that rainbow...we say it to kids knowing the reality, you know... the fact you CAN'T get to it.

Thought it was an odd analogy in that sense, I mean you don't want to think you can't get to where you want to because you can, I was thinking, could've used a better one really.

These people who you have gotten ebooks from and such don't care if people don't take action as long as you get their knowledge.

Funnily enough, it makes another good point, you certainly won't get there by simply reading ebooks and ezines, blogs, forums etc...without actually acting on anything, taking steps!

So getting off them list was a good move as long as you act on what you have already learnt, if anything. (depending on the ezines!)

We have all done it, you won't be the last.

Knowledge is good but it's just fuel, action from that fuel is what counts, don't waste it!

Stop looking for a pot of gold that doesn't exist... you gotta create it!

It's not you, it's me...(maybe)

2009-09-18T14:00:00.001Z

Bah, did I wake up on the wrong side of the bed today? (rant of sorts)

Or as someone else so well put it... Cornflakes... give over, I eat a proper breakfast... like weetabix!
(get with the program mate!!)

No... I just woke realising I have had enough... enough of the one sided social media, enough of the spammy crap, enough of the bullshit, the lameness of some people, smartarse experts who try to be clever by fooling the sheeple with stupid made up words and gobblygook, something we Brits see continuously with stupid job descriptions!

Baaa ... what a load of bollox! Excuse me while I PUKE!

It's not just the stupid bloody made-up-shit like that though...

The accumulation of so many things that have pissed me off in little ways that I could do without, so I will, offline and online.

But, it's not just this and now, I realise part of this "rant" is the fact I let things build up, and then blow a gasket...a legacy of my teen years and my dad treating me like shit with his fists.

Things can build up for months, even a year or so before I release it...and I have (thankfully not often) let rip in the wrong way in the wrong direction ~ ie what/who started it all is long gone by that point of letting it out.

So... I can stop myself, yeah, but why should I do that? Better to let this crap out, going from my own past experience!

Now I gotta blog instead of a gob!

Hence the reason I am making changes rather than ignoring it, which is just stopping myself being straight and honest with myself...and whoever reads this.

As with anything there are two sides to it, so it's not all bad because of others.

Anyway, part of this I realise is due to some of the recent changes, like the google reader changes for example, the experiences on several of these places have just made my own experience worse and I am filling my head with crap I don't need or want.

I am bored with so many of the blogs which seem to have changed from what made them great into an "old boys" pimpfest, yeah that old chestnut!

I am bored with the constant airy-fairy-shit and spam on twitter.

I am bored with the egotistical "experts" and their bloody opinions, cos that is usually what they are, just opinions...count for shit half the time!

Pissed off at so called friends who can't be honest.

Annoyed at MYSELF for letting this crap happen or bother me.

Yes, I know a big part of this whole problem is ME...after all... I subbed to the crap, I joined twitter, I screwed up in places, I may have expected too much, I share peoples stuff with no thanks or similar in return, I waste my time!

No one else...

Some of you may notice I hardly use some of the places like I did, partly due to the users and partly due to me screwing up.

What I am going to do about it is unsub from the crap, clean up my twitter, get rid of what I don't want, stop reading so much or refine better what I do read, stop using certain places.

I have realised all that crap has changed how I feel, my mindset, it's has a negative effect on me, which I don't want or need and it effects others around me...for example, why would I want some anonymous dickhead online making my time with say my kids offline crap?

I don't. From now... things change as I am the only one who can do that.

If you lose me as a follower on twitter, lost me as subscriber on your blog, tough... I don't give a toss, you have to deal with that, not me, deal with WHY I unsubbed... I deal with my own thanks.

Not to say it's all bad, just starting to realise I got to the point of feeling like I don't give a shit!

This is the day I make changes, for better for worse, I am doing it because if I don't it will get worse.

No offence to anyone else, I am just sick of things being the way they are and have to take responsibility for that and do something about it.

Any thoughts? Want to share this crap?

Barriers, break em down, change the rules...

2009-09-16T18:48:00.001Z

I've been giving some thought to why we do certain things, even in a certain way, why some things seem hard to do, some seem so easy, what input do we actually put into it rather than it being like second nature, why do we still do certain things that are not really good or productive when we already know it's not.

How easy we can pick up a habit even without the intention.

We grow up with all these narrow beliefs, ideals, goals, fears, barriers ~~imposed~~ forced onto us, in and out of the home, by everyone we encounter, friends, family, teachers, strangers and peers.

Changing these is no mean feat, lifelong held habits, fears and traits are going to be hard to break, for anyone.

That's my aim, break my own bad habits, quash any notion that doesn't resonate with me.

Life's not easy and it's not made any easier by the way society moulds you, not to say everyone is bad, more accurate would be to say... structured moulding to benefit "some other" rather than yourself, it's also limiting in most cases to what yourself truly has to offer.

A big reason "self help" and "self improvement" is such an active area, self education really only happens when you are an adult and it's by choice.

Mindset is everything, as they say, sadly though...

Most don't bother, saying it's all "namby pamby crap" and the like... self education is not confined to "self improvement books" ~ not by a long shot.

Even though it is probably the most important education we have...it's not forced, like school... which is the whole reason school works as it does, they gotta do it!

It shapes us so well for the end means.

You know the score, be a good boy/girl, do as you're told, go to school, get good grades, work all you life to make someone rich, pay taxes for governments to waste, have a child for the next batch of people moulding, die.... and so on!

Living by the rules of others.

The rules need ~~changing~~ making up as you go along.

That's not to say, you should just do as you please, break the law, anything like it... that's daft.

I am saying what rules really apply to you, for example, when I was little being born deaf it was commonly presumed I'd have to learn signing, go to a "special school" and learn to "fit in".

Well they weren't my rules, and I had no problem "fitting in" because I never felt "out of place" in the first place.

It wasn't a self imposed barrier. I wasn't going to have someone else decide how I would fare.

So many barriers we tend to live with, the main ones that need to be dealt with are self imposed but as we all know... knowing a problem is the hard part, not solving it. Recognising which barriers, problems, issues are self imposed as opposed to being due outside forces is where the real focus should be, as they are the most rewarding to break, resolve.

Truth is some barriers we simply don't see, like the one above regarding myself, they only exist in other peoples minds.

Self imposed ones we may miss, initially, but we can see them if we look at it head on and recognise it for what it is... a problem, barrier, you knowingly or unknowingly created and one you can also get over, break down.

I get reminded of this with relationships, you know some gal ya know will post "why are all men bastards" on a status somewhere, yet miss the fact they choose the men they have, they have certain relationship traits which attract a certain man...so instead of recognising it and dealing with it, they blame the men!

The fact is we all have certain relationships, rather then certain partners.

I digress... some are... so are some ladies we could as easily say!

Obviously we are not all bastards!

Take a step back...

2009-09-15T15:40:00.005Z

Taking a step back can give you a view you initially miss...Often too late... ;o)

No good blaming anything but lack or focus and foresight.

Stop wishing your life away?

2009-09-10T12:43:00.000Z

Life and it's nuances with issues, problems and even pleasures make every one our lives different, it makes our life path unique. Life is itself unique in that sense. Unique but also fragile.

The pace of life these days is scary, everyone seems to be in a constant rush, everyone seems to "wish their time away" and it's plain to see when so many moan about the J.O.B on the social sites and collectively wish for the weekend to "hurry up and get here" so they can have...fun?

Life is SHORT people.

If someone is in the position of wishing their week away (5 days) to enjoy their weekends (2 days)...something is wrong!

If that sounds like you or someone you know then the best thing you can do is change it...

They say you "work to live not live to work" and yes that seems to fit with people saying roll on the weekend... but you don't just live at the weekend and if you wish your weeks away to get to the weekend you need to address it, if it is because you don't enjoy your work, do something about it, change it.

This is the reason those who work online say everyday is like the weekend, they likely do this at the weekend too.
Doing something you enjoy is not work.

Everyone has something unique to give to the world and that is what you should do, you owe it to the world to do your best at what you are best at.

Not everyone will even know what they are really best at, nor will they care, they may be happy just doing their J.O.B. if so, that's ok but will you still feel that way when you retire?

Will you wonder?

What if?

Those who do what they are great at look forward to Mondays as much as the weekend.

Your working years are a huge chunk of your life, make the most of it and do what fires you up.

Any thoughts?

More changes...but not here

2009-09-06T21:55:00.000Z

Things are continuing to move forward, admittedly after a few hiccups.
Having not had my lads this last weekend of their holiday I have been busy with several things. It's all good. :o) (so far!)

As you know from previous post I had been trying to move this blog off the FTP system, but not sorted that yet, as you know I use blogger and I love to use it, alot of stuff going around at the moment about WP (wordpress) security online so it no doubt gave us blogger users a little smile after all the WP lovers bashing blogger for years, at times justifiably too. ;o)

Anyway, as a blogger user and with the improvements rolling out I decided to get a domain for one of blogspot blog I have, I only like to get domains if the blog is worth keeping...this one is one, but up till now I'd only done FTP set up so I hosted the blog itself.

So I decided to try the custom domain set up bypassing the FTP set up.

Having been doing the postland blog for a while I decided to get the domain I had been meaning to get, it is now changed to portland bill and one reason for that is anchor linking is better using a keyword domain.

That means any backlinks should also be better, because most people just use the url, which is ok, better now though. ;o)

I also now own the blog really.

There was a few years ago some perfectly ok blogspot blogs being wrongly deleted, think it came down some hair-trigger fingered worker, thankfully it's not happened since as far as I know but blogger are cleaning up their database.

Splogs (spam blogs) and dormant, empty blogs are being reclaimed, I know my portland one was ok as I actually use it like many I have, I still aim to get domains for the ones I want to keep ~ for whatever reasons. ;o)

I have to say it's probably not so straightforward for someone who has never registered a domain, I worked it out because I have set up my own sites and blogs on own domains and hosting, so I am a little familiar with DNS and domains, but...

I do think if the registrars themselves had a set up page showing how to set their new customers domains up with blogger, they would gain a better user experience...then again they are trying to sell hosting too, so a doubled edged sword there. If it was me, I'd say do it... blogger has how many millions of users?

Overall though the registrar I used I am pleased with, it was a good service and I did need to ask support a question, got a reply within an hour...on a sunday too.

Should you use it and want to get the blogpsot blog you have moved, it's simple once you know, if you have any issues just ask, I am happy to help, if I can't or I am asleep (sleep?) and you need help I am sure they will help you.

The links and such from the old blogspot will all work ok, nothing is lost as far as I can tell, possible a bit of PageRank, but that will improve again and should get better, I don't place to much importance on that anyway.

Also on the Portland bill blog I have made a few changes, having decided to take it another step further and improve it all round, I know the users/readers experience is the most important part and hopefully changes I make will reflect that. :o)

I would love to hear any of your thoughts regarding the Portland bill blog and any changes made, or changes you like to see.

All in all, a good weekend, how was yours? :o)

Forge your own path for success, happiness...

2009-09-05T12:59:00.000Z

It's not all a bed of roses this thing called life...
...for ~~some~~ most of us that is. ;o)

Ever got to wondering why everything seems easy to some people, why things seemingly never screw up for them, why they can do something, it works out and you can do the same thing yet it goes wrong.

Why everything they do comes up smelling of roses, as they say.

It's funny but I seem to think some people will have success in whatever they do, no mater how they do it.

You know what they say about looking at what real successes do in order to copy them, not literally but the way they do what they do and why. Getting to the core of why they have succeeded in doing what they do, you know... the reality of what you want to do.

Makes sense, you want to learn from those who have gone before and know what they are doing, how they did it, then do it yourself.

Only there's one problem with that...

You are not them, more importantly, they are not you.

No matter what you do you will never replicate someone else's success in the way they did it. Work, love, anything...life, every single one of us has a unique experience with it.

For example... with love you may envy that special persons relationship with their current other half, wish you had the same, yet every relationship is unique, you will never have a relationship with someone like another person had with them, no-one will have a relationship like you had with any person. Every two person relationship is unique.

Much like success, the path is ours and ours alone. You cant tread someone else's path, nor they your path.

Your success, happiness, whatever, is yours alone, what's really special is no-one can replicate that either.

Not forgetting it's all subjective. ;o)

"Ok, what's with all the ~~philosifical~~, philosophical shit and what ya done wrong?" you may be thinking. ;o)

Well, as I said in earlier post, been busy on things, but really I have been looking into this particular thought over the last few weeks, maybe a month.
So, I threw any notions out of the window, battened my hatches, got stuck in.

Doing?

In a way, you could say among a few other things, I have been looking at those who have good success at different business models, there are people who just want to make money online, some want to build a business, others just want to have something happening, many don't care...just dream.

I wanted to see where I could improve things for myself, the one thing I don't do is blindly copy others, or do everything I read about, i read it, learn it, see if it fits and make up my own mind.

Something odd struck me though...

Looking at successful bloggers, successful affiliates, successful article writers/marketers, successful ezine owners, successful forum owners, successful ebook creators, successful direct sales site owners, I noticed something.

Notice it too?

They are all standalone business models, that is you could do any one of them, most successful people started with ONE and perfected it, then plugged another into their existing one, where and importantly when it mattered and it all grew. If they didn't know how to do it, they got someone who did and got it done.

Some have all the models plugged in together and make thousands or tens of thousands a month...easily too.

There is something to learn from it all.
Especially for the newbies or aspiring online business starters.

See most people when they start look at doing everything, thus getting nowhere.
Perfect one business model, strategy, then expand from there but it must fit with what you have perfected already...you just want to plug it into what you already do.

Where most new people (newbies) go wrong is they decide, "I am gonna make money online" then set up a blog trying to teach people how to make money...when they have only read how it's done, not actually done it themselves. Bad mistake and a hard way to get started.

You see them on forums galore...sadly.

Far better to concentrate on one business model above centred around your own passion, or a profitable passion you know you can write about, or your particular expertise.
Build that up then learn one of the other models and plug that in.

For a simple crude example, you may start article writing, decide to then set up a blog to share some articles, as well as having the blog for the articles on directories to point back to, after a while add email list building so you can start an ezine.

The main point being don't do to much at once and stick to perfecting one thing, leverage that after you get somewhere. If you are determined to be in the teaching people how to make money niche, learn to make it first, get to the point where the ~~making money niche~~ IM niche itself can't ignore you. ;o)

It's a small competitive niche yet it can be hugely profitable as we have seen over the years. (John Reese making a million in a day was a good example)

Far better to make your passion work for you and expand in that niche as best as you can.

Leverage, that is the key to it all.

So, while I respect and admire what alot of these successful people have done, and most of them are probably great people too, I can see and understand no matter how often or hard I would try I could never get the same results. (If I was to try that is)

I will always learn from them, simply because there is always something of value to learn.
It pays to watch not only what people say, but what they do and how they do it.

Whatever happens, the only way anyone can succeed is to forge their own path and be clear on how they define success for themselves.

Any thoughts?

A few subtle changes made...

2009-09-03T17:09:00.001Z

Seems to be I am seeing the moon more than the sun at the moment!
Yeah, another late night...and a moment of reflection outside when things got a bit much.

Might be asking why the hell I am up so late doing stuff and what am I doing...

Normally writing stuff, tweaking things, checking stats, that's after being social when everyone else is online during the busy times.

Not having to conform to certain hours to do things, I like to do things late at night, it's quiet (ok, no sniggering, I know it's quiet anytime for me lol) the point is, I can get things done, my body and mind works better on that later in the night.

But lately I have been making changes to this blog and a few other blogs, also been looking at and trying to change this blog over to blogger custom domain set up, if you have ever used FTP to blogger you will know why (damn publishing) so, awkward busy and getting stressed at that! It won't work for me how it's supposed to. So, looking like I am stuck with this, for now.

Getting to bed at 5am. Waking at 11, back on the machine...(still not getting it right) *sigh... the life of s single guy is not? ;o)

I digress... what did wok out was worth the learning curve, as always that valuable part is the learning.

On this blog... the main thing you notice will be the new link to ...continue reading the post, not all post have this, only the slightly longer ones but I think it will keep the main page looking neater.
It drove me up the wall sorting it out as it's a hack really, couldn't move the "labels", but in this post here I am going to add it by hand to the post itself, see what happens. ;o)

Hoping you prefer it, also on the blog...

I have made some changes which, I hope, will improve things on the interaction front for you as well as the valuable benefits I gain from seeing what works for you, what doesn't, which means improvements all round. :o)

There are some limitations to this blog so adding and changing it is needed really, the main reason I added the "star rating and post you may like section" that shows up on the bottom of some post, only post which have related similar post(s), and the "continue reading" link on post(s) is because I have no popular post widgets or likewise to show of these types of relevant post, only archives which show the whole month, no idea which of those in that month people read or not.

It's first a benefit to you the reader, as the post are likely to be relevant to what you already read, then a benefit to me. :o)

I will have a better idea which if any links get clicked, I also tidied up the main pages at the same time, while having more post show on the home page.

Another thing you may or may not have noticed is the google friend connect bar across the bottom of the blog, had to raise the footer as it hid. I removed the small one under the box on the sidebar a while ago, much prefer this one.
Simply put you can comment on there using you google account log in, if you are logged into gmail in the browser at anytime and haven't closed the window you should be logged in now. :o)

I am considering disqus for the main comments, just as an addition but I'm really undecided at the moment.
The one benefit to that would be having people able to post here using their facebook profile.
Or twitter. ;o)

There are several things I would like to try out, improve, test... it's finding that balance to doing it without screwing it up or annoying everyone as well myself! (toooo easy done!, if you are unsure, right click on any blog or site, choose "view source" to see the site or blogs code, where I been spending my time!)
It teaches me more than widget drag and drop does, that's for sure. ;o)

Part of the issue is I been stuck in this mode to long, the code on the blogger layout style is different. I am now aiming to get more up to speed on that.

I mentioned I tried to move this blog, with blogger I have only used blogspot, or FTP, never set up custom domain and such, so I am going to do that...get a new domain or two and test it out.
I may do one with the classic set up...one with the layout style, learn to create complete templates/widgets as well. ;o)

Above all I will learn fast and that's always a plus.
Dig in learn, the best way to learn is always to do. ;o)
I am keen to try these as they are almost the cheapest way to get started online...yes free is ok but a domain cost is the least needed anyway and it IS needed.

I am tempted to do this now as I had some interesting ideas stemming from a chat with someone, in a sense it was a wake up call so I am all'a buzzing to get doing.

So, busy but it's all good, alot clearer on what I am doing and where I am going with this blog, until it's a seamless move and I know what I am doing should an hassle arise...I will stick to this blog as it is.

The new domains will be a better option, and I hope blogger keeps improving the way it does, just a shame the FTP is a bit annoying, and that's not their fault as I understand it.

What do you feel about the changes made so far here?

Another test post, trying show/hide post

2009-09-02T15:09:00.009Z

Another test post...

Update: It works... but there is no way to move the labels?

After these words... it should cut off, like the last two post did... but the link YOU need to click is under my sig saying... continue..
I can't seem to get the labels or signature below the damn ...continue reading link to open the post page itself! *sigh... try again.

Well, I got a bit lucky getting some of it tweaked, but looking like I will have to not use labels to avoid it. *sigh

Just hacking at my blog, testing...

2009-09-02T01:23:00.005Z

Busy making small changes on the blog, just to test out several things, you will already have noticed the new part at the bottom of each post with "you may like" links to other post as well as the rating by stars.

I would like to increase any interactivity here but it also helps me to tune to blog to better fit what you the reader like to see here, so I can improve it over time for you, a self feeding circle if you like. :o)

I am not keen on some of the blogs out there plastered with ads, flashing banners all down one side etc, simple is better, I like the cleaner white style, so will keep it that way.

After all, the only part that should get the most of the bloggers effort and your attention is the content.

As with any blog... if the content is ok then you will read it all, the content is the reason you read a blog is it not?

Better content is the only way to really improve what matters on any blog, the readership and I believe to improve that in a significant way the content must get better and more in depth at times if needed, so longer post may pop up on here... one reason I am testing out the new "full post" link here, possibly leading to have more post available on the main page, so they will all take up a bit less space. Something I like about some wordpress blogs, but hardly see with any blogger blogs.

So, it's not ideal but worth a try, not sure it will work properly to be honest!

Update: Nope.. crap, didn't work :o(

September...a time of change

2009-08-30T23:04:00.013Z

Some things are just not meant to be the way you ~~expect~~ want them to be...and summer here is no different.

End of august and I see people ~~moaning~~ saying "chilly now, got the heating on" on the social sites!
Talk about damn good timing. :o)

Wanna make money in simple terms, best start betting on that timing more often, it happens alot, look at sports and stuff to see it's true, like rain on wimbledon...usually a cert it will rain hard at least ONE day...yet it didn't really happen this year because of that roof, you could have laid money it wasn't gonna bloody rain hard this year!

Sods law isn't it? ;o)
There's money in that sods law there!

I digress...

September soon, I always felt it was a time of change, a sense of the start of the real year, must be from that upbringing of school new years, the nights drawing in and getting the coat out, the school starts mean...winter won't be long!
(yes, that too...short winter please) ;o)

Is the year flying by or...??

Sorry I know most don't want to hear it, but Christmas will be here in no time, then new year!!...
How will you be looking back on this year?
We still have a few months to make choices and take actions on influencing that outcome, well some do...

For most it's been a crappy year with the economy and such, but no where near as bad as the media made out at the time, even now they are already changing their tune..."green-shoots and shit" (bollox) but it sells papers!

It don't hide the truth of matter though, it's a crap situation for everyone, the whole stupidity and greed of the banks and such, the incompetence of the ~~thieving~~ expense pilfering government.

It is a sad state of affairs when our government has lumbered the younger generation with a massive debt and shit start to working life without them having the means to pay that debt (money ~~robbedborrowed~~on the never never by the banks) with no work!

Looking on the brighter side of things, we have had a decent-ish summer here this year after a very nice spring. So, cold winter I bet! ;o)

Autumn first, a nice time of the year, nice skies at dusk, shooting stars, red leaves and almost a constant breeze!
I got plenty to sort out this Autumn and looking forward to doing so too, a great time to take plenty of photo's as well.

Hows the year shaped up so far for you?
Are ya looking forward to the kids getting back to school, or dare I ask!? :o)
Does Sept feel like a time of change to you?