I am now a pastor.  A little more than two months ago I visited this town in East Tennessee and spent some time with the church here.  The people were amazing and I knew pretty quick that I wanted to join their pastoral team.  My job is an assistant pastor of Adult Ministries.  I will be working to help the church (and her members) grow.

For several years my job has centered around the content of this blog.  Affiliate marketing, social media, and entrepreneurial tips and ideas.  This sprang from my career as a business consultant.

I loved that job and I enjoyed talking about it here.

This is changing.

However, I don’t see why everything has to change.  I love the internet and I enjoy technology.  So this blog will remain active (again) on these topics.

I also like to talk about productivity, success and effectiveness.  So these topics will remain a part of the content of this site as well.

What will change is my own thinking and application of these topics.  I will be using social media to connect with the church and with the community we are in.

On topics such as productivity and effectiveness I will be working these ideas out in the area of church leadership instead of small business management.  That means that some things will have a slightly different tone, however effectiveness is just as important in the church (maybe even more so).

So I hope you will stay with me!  I look forward to continue our pursuit of the good life together.

Maybe you want to know their weaknesses so you can bring them down.  That might be a fun experiment.  But tangling with an ISTJ might be a bit more than you bargained for.

ISTJ Strengths

ISTJ types are incredibly detailed.  Nothing ever slips by.  In addition to being some of the most successful leaders, they are also incredibly successful accountants and attorneys.  It should come as no surprise that most of the politicians in the country are the same type.

When a plan comes up they are the first to look critically at it.  They are slow to make decisions for this very reason.  Almost any change is considered dangerous and foolhardy.  Before they make a change they think really hard about it.

This is one reason I have a suspicion that a part of Microsoft’s strategy is to release a software version that they anticipate changing very soon after it hits the market.  Windows Millineum and Vista could have been a part of the decision making process for Microsoft.

Compare the speed at which Microsoft implements change to the speed Apple does.  Apple has been incredibly innovative since Steve Jobs stepped back in as CEO.  Steve Jobs is an INTP, one of the most innovative of all the Meyers-Briggs types.

But don’t let that fool you.  It turns out to not be a terrible strategy since more than 7o percent of the people who read this will do so with a Microsoft product.

Being slow to change, detail oriented and slow to make decisions has proven to be a strong tendency time and again for smart ISTJ’s.  But it can get in the way.

ISTJ Weaknesses

One of the biggest weaknesses of the ISTJ is their inability to trust other personality types.  The phrase “my way or the highway” never applied to anyone as much as a strong ISTJ.

ISTJ’s must learn to listen to others and really, truly  consider their input.  Microsoft could be much further along in product development if there were a trusted INTP in high leadership.  But there probably isn’t because an ISTJ thinks an INTP is a radical and a rabble rouser because they actually like change!

ISTJ Focus Areas

An ISTJ entrepreneur needs to think about a few things in order to be successful.

1. You need a visionary.  ISTJ’s have a very difficult time seeing the long term future ahead.  Even making a decision about what type of product to promote can be difficult for them. They want to know where to click and which person to follow on twitter, but ask them to describe what type of website they want to develop and they clam up.

2. You need a plan.  You need a very concrete plan based on a vision.  If you can get people in your life to help you see the future, then you can easily come up with action steps that will help you reach that ultimate goal. If you plan your work and work your plan – you are the type that will absolutely be successful.

Since you are so driven by the technical details of a project, if you are an ISTJ considering launching a new business on the internet, I would highly suggest you consider joining the 8 weeks to affiliate marketing success.  It is designed with you in mind.

3 You need to re-evaluate.  Every plan needs some re-evaluation from time to time.  ISTJ’s are the most likely personality to neglect this altogether.  From the very start you should schedule time at least monthly and then more time quarterly to re-evaluate where you are in your goals, and the efficiency of everything you are doing.  Then you should alter course as you need to.  If you plan to do this, you will do it.  I am sure you will find it to be both incredibly fun and helpful.

How am I doing?  Are these articles helping you discover yourself better and learn more about yourself?

Check the archive of posts in this series and feel free to comment.

Some famous ESTJ’s are Sam Walton (arguably one of the most successful entrepreneurs ever), Harry Truman, Archie Bunker, Joan Rivers, Billy Graham and Simon Peter the Apostle.

You can see right away that ESTJ’s are the full force, all or nothing kind of people when they decide on something they are already charging straight toward it.

Strengths

An ESTJ is an ideal manager.  They are outgoing enough to be involved with their team.  They are very detail oriented people and rarely ever overlook the small details that other personalities can easily miss.

These types of people tend to have very high standards for themselves and for others.

These are great qualities in a leader and an entrepreneur.  Because ESTJ’s are detail oriented, they are great at seeing all the steps that need to be taken to accomplish a task.  They can develop an initial vision, but they are better at developing and living out action plans.

Interactions

As an Entreprenuer, they need to focus on this area.  Because ESTJ’s make great managers, they should quickly develop a team of people around them.  Some ideal personality types to work for an ESTJ would be an INTJ, INFP, or ESFJ.

An ESTJ hiring and INFP could just be asking for trouble, but if they both trusted each other and understood their own weaknesses it could be an incredible team.  An INFP is better at developing a vision and not as good as creating an action plan.  They can help the ESTJ see the big picture, but should not be depended on in the implementation.  An INFP would make a great consultant for an ESTJ to have on retainer.

The INTJ should work closely with the ESTJ.  They have enough in common that they will work well together.  Neither will typically have a messy desk.  Both are excellent implementers, both care deeply about quality and will go to just about an lengths to insure that.  The INTJ is a better visionary, and the ESTJ is far better at details.  An excellent business partner or trusted manager for the ESTJ is an INTJ.

An ESFJ cares about people and duty.  They will work hard to make sure the organization thrives, but they will also notice when people within the organization are not performing at the best potential.  The ESFJ will want to get to the root of the problem and help people to thrive.  The ESFJ makes a good manager because they care about people.  People withing the organization and even those affected by the organization will feel cared about if they interact with the ESFJ in your organization. An asbolutly perfect position in your organization for an ESFJ would be a social media person.  Some organizations are creating these types of positions and hiring people who will maintain the public image of the company in new media.  If you are an ESTJ, you need an ESFJ handling your public face or your human resources.

Weaknesses

The areas of weakness for an ESTJ revolve around their tendency to focus on details. WHile this is certainly a strength and they will notice things others may have missed.  It is also a weakness.  They will not notice other people’s needs as quickly.  People may feel neglected when an ESTJ is on task.

They also don’t notice as quickly when a plan needs to be adjusted.  Sometimes as a plan is being carried it, it needs to be reevaluated and adjusted.  An ESTJ may not realize this before it is too late and has cost too much money.  They need to be aware of this tendency and do their best to keep their eye on the big picture and listen closely to others close to them.

An ESTJ can be a good entrepreneur if they have people they can depend on and use their managerial skills carefully.  They should always look for people who can help them develop a vision and who can tone down their tendencies to focus on details.

The truth – as it usually is – is in the middle. Meyers-Briggs is an excellent indicator of how you are made to function. There are some significantly large differences between people and this is one good way of understanding and capitalizing upon those differences.

If you understood more clearly where your strengths were, you would know better how to operate your business and what sorts of people you need to hire or consult with.

I will be going through a series of posts on this topic. We will actually be looking at each of the 16 personality types individually. If you follow along, you will explore the strengths and weaknesses of each. And most importantly, you will discover how each personality type functions best as an entrepreneur.

I will tell you right away that some of these 16 are naturally much better entrepreneurs and managers than others. But knowing is half the battle. So it is best if you take a look at a couple of resources that will help you determine your own unique personality type. This way you can use the information here to your advantage.

Meyers Briggs Explained

Let me give you a quick rundown of the basic components and what they mean, then if you really want to be successful I will urge you to do a little more research.

You are either an Introvert or an Extrovert. This means you are either energized by people, crowds and action or you need a little time alone to recharge.  If you are an introvert you think best when no one is around, and if you are an extrovert you do your best planning and thinking verbally with someone else.

You are either Sensing or iNtuiting. If you are Sensing you interact best with the world with what you can see and touch.  You notice and remember details easily.  In short, you can’t see the forest for the trees.  My son is a Sensing child and he can spot a bird eating a berry on a magnolia tree from 500 paces, but he wouldn’t be able to tell you what city the tree was in.

An iNtuitive person, on the other hand never notices the trees.  These are your big picture folks.   If you need a big plan to throw an outrageous party find an iNtuitive person.  Just make sure there is a Sensing one nearby to make sure they don’t forget to buy the beer.

You are either Thinking or Feeling. Thinkers plan things out rationally and find it difficult to understand how their plan might affect humans or be effected by emotions. Feelers on the other hand are less rational, but much more caring.  They depend on their feelings of situations to make decisions even when Thinkers with a day planner are telling them their plan doesn’t make sense.

You are either Judging or Perceiving. Judgers always have excellent calendars.  They carry out tasks without a hitch and they are always on time.  Perceivers are a bit more fly by the seat of the pants.  They are rarely on time, and usually work from a pile on their desk rather than a filing system.

Further research

Before following the links below, it would be good to subscribe to these posts, or you can fill out the email form on the top right of my website to get email updates. This is to make sure you don’t miss it when your personality type comes up.

I would also advise you to learn the Meyers-Briggs type of some of the people closest to you. A business partner, spouse, parent. Someone you interact with regularly. It would be ideal if you can think of someone you have a business relationship with. This way as we specifically explore how each of these types can interact with each other, hopefully we will shed some light on ways to improve that relationship.

OK so on with it!

Look for those posts to be coming soon. And in the meantime, check out the resources below and find out what your Meyers-Briggs type is.

• the personality page – This website is very well done. While you might think it suffers in design, it more than makes up for it in content. They offer a test, but the many profiles of personality types may help you to discover your own without the test. Though it is a good idea to take a test ad confirm it.

• Human Metrics Test – Here you will find a simple test.  This is not as involved as some, but it may give you a good idea of your type. I recommend that if you take the test, you read the profile of that type at personality page and see if that is really you.

• A fast test – this is the briefest and therefore most unreliable. It is a simple four question test. But it might set you on the right path. Again, be sure to read the profile on personality page to see if this type is really you.

Wow. Can you say misconception?

Another common misunderstanding is that affiliate marketers are just out there promoting whatever they can, to whoever they can, regardless of the product or its effectiveness.

Certainly, spammers have given the rest of us who earn money online a bad name.  But we need to reclaim our reputation as respectable, sincere, and authentic professionals.  And we are starting right here.

What Is Affiliate Marketing?

So first of all, let me explain what affiliate marketing is.  It is really just a sales job.  You get paid a commission for recommending products and services.  If you have a blog right now, you could easily start to earn a little bit of income from it just by linking to a few products at amazon.

Think for a second, you know there have been times when you said to a friend “you know this is a good book you should read…”

If you have a blog I bet you have recommended that your readers check out a certain book or movie.

Does that make you a scam artist?  Is it bad if you get paid to say that?

No! But, here is the struggle.  Some people think that taking money for recommending a product harms your credibility.  It might.

For some jerks it SHOULD, because they don’t care about you.  But if you build a track record of showing your readers that you actually do care about them.  If you prove that you really do think that the stuff you recommend is good stuff.  Then this won’t harm your credibility at all – because after all – your time is valuable.

How to get started with Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate Marketing is easy to start.  Especially if you already have a blog or a website.  If not, it just takes a minute to get one.  I wrote “101 pages to affiliate marketing Success” to help you start a successful affiliate business even if you don’t have any computer background at all.

You need a website, traffic, and an affiliate account!  That’s it.  I recommend starting with clickbank and amazon.  You can see the complete list of recommended affiliate sources for some other suggestions.

For a complete list of the things you need to do, take a look at the Start Page where you will find free tools that show you how to begin marketing with clickbank and amazon, and even get me to set up a website for you FOR FREE!

If you are new to affiliate Marketing and new to Wordpress, this is going to be an essential element of your education in learning how to earn money from a blog.

Many people who are struggling to navigate the web of affiliate marketing have asked me questions like

• “how do I create and use an account with commission Junction?“
• “How do I make My posts look really good in WordPress?“
• “How do I get more people to come to my website?“

In these 101 pages you will start by learning what a blog is, what RSS is and how that works.  You will finish by learning how you can drive tons of traffic to your site on a regular basis and convert that traffic into a living!

I literally walk you step by step through getting a website of your own – and there is even a way you can get a free wordpress site set up for you!

How this will help you

Every Single step of the way, I hold you hand and teach you the essentials of:

1. Finding a Niche in the Online Marketplace
   
2. Blogging
3. Social network Marketing
4. Affiliate Marketing
5. Post design
6. WordPress theme Design
7. WordPress Plugins
8. Clickbank
9. Commission Junction
   
10. Amazon Associates
11. Digg
12. Twitter
13. Search Engine Optimization
14. Uploading and Downloading Images and files…
15. and Far more
    

What You get

The chapters are laid out in 8 week sections.  Each week you will get advanced training in how to use a different application or feature of wordpress.  You will be given instructions for what you need to do THAT WEEK.

There are homework assignments, and even contests!

I am certain this will prove to be invaluable to you if you are working to learn how to make a living online.

When I first sat down to create this document, my goal was to help people who were learning how to build a business online.  I have seen that pay off.  I have heard from many people that this really has helped them to learn how to start an affiliate marketing business.

When I first released this, it sold for almost $100.  I have updated it with new text and images, and lowered the price!

You can get 101 Pages to Wordpress Affiliate Marketing Success for just $59.99!

Of course if you are unhappy for any reason, just let me know.  It is my hope that this document will contribute to your online success.  However if you follow my instructions and then think that it has not helped, while I will be completely shocked I will issue you a full refund.

So first of all let me tell you that I have a new service for you.

Handbooks for help and income

I now have handbooks that help to answer questions and improve your business.

This Blog started as a way of helping people begin and build an online business.  While I have covered Affiliate marketing and Social Networking till I am blue in the face, there is always more and people often need more specific help.

I took most of the questions that I seemed to get most often and converted them into step by step handbooks.

These are available for $9.95 from the handbooks page.

By the way, you can sign up for my affiliate program here.

Take a look at the tools you can download and please let me know if you can think of others that I should include.

If you think a particular topic would be marketable on your site, let me know that too.  I will be happy to consider it and make it available to you as another source of income.

Another Site

Speaking of sources of income.  I launched another site recently.  The new site is a devotional site intended for Christians but with a slightly different angle.  Most devotionals tend to speak about the life to come.  I wanted to fill the gap and talk a bit about the life we are in right now.

I address other things there which are relevant to the audience.  I am not sure exactly what it will become just yet, but  I felt it was a need and a certain call which I could answer.

Feel free to take a look.

I have also been rather busy lately doing design work.  A few local companies have contracted me to work on new site designs.

All of this is certainly no excuse for not being present here much.  But hopefully it gives you an idea of where I am, and it gives you some other ways to improve your own success selling these new products!

So sign up for my affiliate program, and feel free to follow my new blog.

A teaser of what is coming

I want to hint at a series I will be covering soon.  It deals specifically with knowing yourself so you can work in a way which is more productive for you.

One of my past times for the last few years has been a study of personalities.  I will be adapting what I have learned about entrepreneurship and combining it with what I know about the Meyers-Briggs personality types to help you know yourself better and work in a way that best fits your own strengths and weaknesses.

So be sure to stay tuned by subscribing to the feed.

Oh!  And don’t forget that for the next week, you can purchase anything from the handbooks page or the 101 Pages to Affiliate Marketing Wordpress Success for HALF PRICE!  All you need to do is use the discount code “thanks” and happy Thanksgiving!

I had seen this happening at twitter since the early days, people paying money for “friends” and followers. And of course I thought to myself, “what a worthless load of crap!”

Hey, if you are paying for friends, let me ask you something. Back when you were a loser in school, did you pay for friends then? Did they really like you?

You see, if you need to pay someone to follow you on any social network, they don’t really care what you are saying. The beauty of the social networks is that the people who follow you actually care! They are customers and clients, not sales people providing a service.

As far as I am concerned, taking money for following and friending people is another incarnation of the world’s oldest profession.

What really bothers me is that it is dishonest. There was once a time when you could determine the social value of a site, profile or page by how many friends and followers there were. No longer. Now the only thing that says is that they have deep pockets.

These people taking money for extending the social graph are pimps. The followers you gain are their whores. The red light district always becomes seedy and run down pretty soon after these folks move in.

Facebook, Digg, twitter, and the others can try their very best to police this, but you and I need to take an active interest in our communities and take the following steps.

1. Never take cash for your social friendship
2. Immediately unfollow anyone you suspect of paying for friends
3. Immediately unfollow anyone you suspect of selling their friendship
4. report every solicitation to the authorities as spam

If we work together we can save our communities from becoming a bunch of whore houses.

However, there are some people who probably don’t need one.  Here are a few reasons you might not need one.

1 – If you believe everything you read, you probably don’t need a computer.

Let me break it down for you.  Ever since Gutenburg created the printing press, morons have been able to disseminate information rapidly.  I could point to examples, but it would pretty much offend everyone.  Because you all have certain news outlets that you like.  They are all liars.  Most things in print are created by people with a bias in one direction or another.

The internet made it even worse.  Why? Because any yahoo could create a password and start spewing out idiocy.

You doubt me?  I won’t link to them, but try out a search for “American Nazi” or even “Earn Money online” if you would like to see the spewing forth of the fingers of morons.

If that fails, try a search for “fox.”

2 – If you think whatever Twitter is, it might be illegal in some states, you probably don’t need a computer.

Oh My Gosh!  Twitter has taken off in the last year.  I realize that with the way things change, by the time I hit publish, twitter could be irrelevant, but right now it is the thing.  And so many people don’t have a clue what it is, or why they need to use it!

Ok let me break it down like this.  If you would like to keep in touch with anyone, or expand your reach beyond your own nose, you need twitter.

I just walked into a restaurant in a brand new town and shook hands with the owner of cosmic kitchen because I follow their account on twitter.  I felt like I knew the guy.  Instant connection.

If you would like that or if you think it might be beneficial to your business, how about get on board and figure it out.

You can read more about twitter if it helps.

3 – If you didn’t know google was a verb, you probably don’t need a computer.

Yes, I realize that Google is the large multi-national corporation that runs the world in every futuristic movie ever made.  (Really it is… you wait… and now it’s in print).  But for now, it is incredibly useful.

Still wonder what twitter is for?  Why not type in “what is twitter for” in google.  That is called googling.  It can answer most of your questions.

4 – If you really believe you can protect your Privacy, you probably don’t need a computer.

If I had a nickel for everyone who asked me if it was really safe to reveal your identity online, I would buy an island and retire.  Of course its not safe! But it doesn’t matter.

Your information is connected to servers all over the world.  Some fake prince in Nigeria is probably checking your credit right now.

I got an email as I was writing this from Land of Nod.  They said they had some nice new gifts for my brand new baby.  Let me ask you something?  Do you think I told them I was having a baby? NO!  They got it from some marketing list someplace, probably sold to them by the hospital my little girl was born in.  Privacy is dead.

By the way, smile every time you pass a stop light.

5 – If you spell website with a “gh,” you probably don’t need a computer.

I mean, I honestly just don’t know what else to say about that.  Web Sight? …  really?

So If any of these points apply to you, how about do me a favor and ship your PC to me.  I will be happy to take it off your hands.

Seriously though, if you have problems or are learning about these things, refer to point three above and go google it.

You  like this?  Subscribe for more.  And then Share it below.

Now that I have inundated you with that information, I want you to reflect with me for a few minutes on why that whole experience was important.

On this blog, I often play the role of a snarky rude jerk, but if you know me you will understand that I really do care about you and want you to be successful in life.

I recently had a conversation with someone who is simply not doing the things necessary to succeed in business.  As I began to challenge and ask the hard questions, I discovered that this person has been giving away their time to two different friends who are dying of cancer.  One of them died a few days ago.

Of course, at that point I said something to the effect of  “business should never get in the way of life.”

I believe that.  I hear people sometimes say “life just gets in the way.”  The best response (which I can publish) is, “hold on a second there cowboy!”

What do you mean life gets in the way? Have you lost your mind?  Life is all there is! And it will soon be gone, so don’t blow it in a vain effort of attaining success.

Life Matters

You will probably recognize the painting below.  The Persistence of Memory was painted in 1932 by Salvador Dali.

If you really think about it, you will notice that time seems to be melting away.  There are ants eating one of the clocks.  The monstrous, rotting carcass in the center is Dali himself, yet the cliffs stand firm despite the collapse around them.

I once read a quote that went something to the effect of “no man has a right to pass through the world without leaving behind some reason for having passed through it.”

Sooner than any of us think, we will be gone.  We can and should learn ways to manage our time well, not so that we can get rich or be famous, rather so we can leave a good reason for having lived.

I hope that as you practice time management you will keep that in mind.

Life is wonderful. Stop and smell the flowers.  Enjoy your family and friends and have a glass of red wine.  I am convinced that red wine is one of the best medicines known to man, with beer running a close second.  Make sure you arrange your schedule to allow you to enjoy life, rather than allow your schedule to master you.