The Writers Manifesto Blog

It’s Time To Strip Naked

2008-07-23T14:39:08Z

A common thread I keep seeing while traversing the Internet is the struggle many of you face every day to get things done. I think the biggest problem we face in the modern world is the constant barrages of information. We are getting bombarded with junk email, RSS feeds, blogs, news sites, chat messages, comments, new announcements and new cool tools.

All of this makes our life increasingly complicated and whoever said that the Internet and digital will make life easier clearly lied. In fact they made life a lot harder and certainly more cluttered.

In pre-digital times we only had to deal with physical clutter which was bad enough. Today, we also have to consistently fight clutter of the digital kind.

This is enough intrusion for the most patient and organized human beings and unless we adapt some workable methods to strip ourselves of all the unneeded and unwanted clutter, we will keep turning in circles, while chasing our tails.

1.) Assess your bulk

The first step in taking control of your time and clutter is to assess the situation. This is the time where you have to be totally honest with yourself.

No cheating!

Clutter bulk can sneak into our lives almost without our own intervention. I said almost, since in the end we still have ultimate control. Look at the areas where you struggle most.

Once you have identified where you waste most of your time, follow the suggestions in the next steps to help take back control.

2.) Shed your excess baggage

Problem: Do you find it hard to wade through hundreds of emails to find the one from your business partner last week?

Solution: Clear your inbox. Use Gmail combined with the GTD Inbox to organize your Gmail account effectively.

Problem: Is your computer slow and takes ages to load and digest information?

Solution: Clear your hard drive. Get rid of those ebooks and other data from last year. Unless you really need to use the stuff on your computer regularly, delete it or back it up to an external hard drive.

Alternatively you can also upload documents, PDF files, spreadsheets and slide shows to Google Docs or Zoho. These are great applications to store your old work and I believe they are reasonably safe. The only thing I wouldn’t store is passwords or personal info, but I don’t see why you couldn’t upload your ebooks, reports, articles, notes, etc. to clear space on your computer and make it more user friendly.

Problem: Do you find yourself wasting hours every day with social networks?

Solution: While social networking is an integral part of how we communicate with each other these days, it doesn’t mean it has to rule your working day. If you find yourself fighting against the pull of yet another new cool looking social network, resist and stick to a maximum of two. Work them without wasting time.

Problem: Are you a chat-a-holic?

Solution: It’s cool to chat with our online friends. Plus it is so easy these days to connect with tools like Skype and Google Talk. But, be wary of the steal-a chat-monster. It can sneak into your day without you even noticing it and before you know it, you just “wasted” an hour talking to your buddy while the deadline looms over your head.

Set your profile to “not available” or “away” to deter those monsters if you are working.

You can do this. All you need is conviction. A want, fueled by your shame, anger, frustration.

Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.

Lin Yutang:

3.) Dare to bare it all - strip naked

Stripping naked involves ruthless shedding of all your baggage, take off your clutter layers and experience the feeling of true bliss - nakedness.

You will feel elated, clean, clutter free and a new sense of calmness will take hold of you once all those poisoned layers have been stripped.

4.) Hey sexy - how cool do you really look

Now check yourself out in the mirror. How cool do you look all of a sudden? I bet you fell gorgeous, sexy and wanton.

And you know what, all of a sudden getting things done becomes second nature to you. You are now a new born effective tasks management ninja.

5.) Happy ending - a new confidence

Not only will de-cluttering your life make you feel great, but by cleaning out all the unnecessary stuff from your immediate environment, you will experience a new found confidence.

At this stage you deserve a big pat on your shoulder and a cold beer, glass of wine or whatever drink takes your fancy. It’s time to celebrate the new you.

Go on - I know you want to.

Monika

Musings on Article Submissions
I hear it all the time. People ask on forums, on websites, on blogs. Why do we submit articles? Is i...
Is it Worth To Invest Time into Blogging?
When I visit online forums people always ask whether it is worth to blog. My answer would be you bet...
The 30 day Challenge is in Full Swing
For those new Internet marketers who want to earn money online, but never earned a dime yet there is...
Keeping the Focus!
Why Niche Marketing Matters

Bookmark To:

Keep Productive With Writing Prep Rituals

2008-07-23T05:28:40Z

Writing prep rituals can keep our productivity levels at high gear. Best of all, they don’t need to be elaborate to work well either. Small rituals work best, because we can perform them any time to get us into the right writing mood.

The worst situation for a writer is when he can’t feel comfortable with his surrounding. If there are any disturbing factors, it is so easy to make excuses on why we don’t write. I know this too well as I experience this type of situation right now.

My house is a mess, I can’t find anything anymore and my creative sanctuary has been ripped apart, all because we are doing some renovations. That means right now I have to dig very deep to find that special space to keep me writing undisturbed. To make matters worse, my birds are also feeling the difference in the house and act accordingly. This puts a huge strain on my days and make working a lot harder than in normal circumstances.

But hold on, isn’t a writer supposed to be flexible?

Exactly, the whole beauty of working as a freelance writer is to be able to work anywhere in the world with a laptop computer and an Internet connection. While this sounds all great in theory, in practice it is often complicated if not a little hard to implement.

By working at home we are within the same environment day in and day out (much like working in a job), but when we travel, this environment changes, sometimes daily.

Therefore it is most important to create a space (visual, mental and actual) around our work area, wherever we are, regardless whether this is at home or on the road.

How to create your instant writer’s zone

To do this we need to surround ourselves with items that help us make the connection from playtime to work. Some people can do this with their willpower alone and if push came to shove I might be able to stretch to this myself, but to be honest, I would miss my little writing prep ritual: the preparation of my mind and my workspace to help me make that transformation as smooth as possible.

Benefits of writing prep rituals

The obvious benefit is the creation of a “special zone’ in which we can work without distractions by switching to the right mind set.

Another benefit is the instant way we react to the environment around us. A minute ago we felt stressed out and fussed about the state of the room in which we write and now we feel calm, collected and ready to tackle our working day.

To create your very own special writing prep ritual you really don’t need much. For me it is the following “tools” that put me in the right writing mood:

A clean workspace
My laptop computer
Broadband Internet
My Moleskine diary
My favorite pen
Unlimited access to cups of herbal tea and one coffee/day
Plenty of nibbles in the fridge

That’s it. I can take any of these things with me, even when I travel, except of course the nibbles in the fridge. But even that can be substituted for other foods that keep my brain working at top performance.

Creative workspace killers

The worst part for any writer is in my eyes a destructive environment and clutter. Although I have plenty of clutter around me right now - the bathroom is in the kitchen and the bedroom is so full it looks like a store room - my little writing prep ritual keeps me grounded amongst the mess.

We all face distractions every day. Writing prep rituals help us to step over them and use our concentration for what needs to be done.

I even use a certain layout to keep my writing prep tools around me. It might sound trivial, but I truly believe this little ritual keeps me grounded.

The ritual

The actual writing prep ritual is pretty straight forward. All I do is clean my laptop if it is dirty, pour myself a cup of tea, position my diary, pen and off I go. It works because I take my focus from where it was to my work by arranging my stuff and setting myself up for the right mind set.

Do you have a writing prep ritual? If so, would you care to share what is involved?

Thank you for visiting

Monika

Litemind’s GWP - My Votes
I recently took part in Luciano's group writing project over at Litemind and just spent the last 3 h...
Structuring your DMO
DMO is an expression I learned in my network marketing days. It stands for "daily method of operatio...
18 Tips to Become a Productive Blogger
Time offers the same value for all of us. And yet, some bloggers seem to manage cramming all kin...
3 Ways to Get The Job Done
7 Guaranteed Ways To Waste Your Day

Bookmark To:

The Remarkable Person Within You

2008-07-22T02:59:31Z

Have you ever wished to be truly remarkable? You know, the type of remarkable that turns heads and gets people’s attention? Remarkable people are those who will be remembered long after they are gone. Think Martin Luther King, think Stephen Covey. Even the living can be outstanding remarkable personalities.

But to be remarkable we have to be different. And those differences start with your actions. Small steps can eventually lead you to become a remarkable person, even if you don’t believe so yourself.

Contrary to what we think, not just the famous people are remarkable. In fact many people walk quietly amongst us doing remarkable things for mankind.

The blood donor who helps to save lives
The aid worker who volunteers in famished countries
The countless researchers who help us to understand the ways of the world and what is contained within.
The young kid who helps his elderly neighbor with the shopping
Bloggers who share their knowledge tirelessly with others
People who give from their heart
Happy souls
The fireman who digs through the rubble
Life guards
People who inspire us to be better

Being remarkable stems from taking a stance, a non conformist’s outlook on life.

Remarkable people have made a decision to embrace life. They practice what they preach and they appreciate what they have.

Remarkable people are grateful people!

To become remarkable you will need to be different than the masses of people around you. Those who get up with a bad mood and go to bed with the same.

Become the person you want to be

It all starts with taking pro-active action and stop making excuses. In case you don’t know yet, nobody is interested in hearing you had a bad day. Most of us are so absorbed in the everyday actions of our life that negativity acts like a buffer.

We are naturally attracted to positive people. Success is like a magnet we all want to be associated with. If you look at the people you are drawn to in your life, it is the people who make us feel good, not the nay-sayers and the bullies.

Be responsible for your actions

Making mistakes is all part of the growth process. Never be afraid to admit your mistakes. People will actually respect you more for it than if you tried to wriggle your way out of a tight situation.

Is your glass half full or half empty?

Look at the way you perceive things around you. If you constantly see the negatives in every situation, it’s high time your checked in for a brainwash - the positive kind of course.

Don’t be a conformist

Just because things have been done a certain way for ages doesn’t mean it’s the correct way. Sometimes it helps change rotten systems to breathe some fresh air into them. Think outside the box and look for fresh answers, rather than the obvious.

We have enough people acting like sheep around us who say baa… baa… to everything that is being presented to them.

Remarkable people find their own ways, that is what makes them remarkable.

Live your passion

I think if there were three nouns by which I had to describe remarkable, it would be the following:

passion - happiness - health

If you are not happy and passionate about what you do, why do it? Instead of saying; ‘well, I have to’, say ‘I am going to change this situation’ - this is your time to be remarkable. Grab the opportunity.

Live it up

Remarkable people live a life of plenty. You know why? Because they embrace life and they just know that the universe will provide what they need.

Trust the universe!

If you think I’m talking in riddles, I advise you to look up the laws of the universe. Trust me, they are real!

Remarkable people are the best they can be at every moment of their lives. Their positive mind set allows them to push through their own limitations, depression, setbacks and failures.

Their secret is to keep going despite massive adversities.

Are you remarkable?

If so, tell me why! I’d love to get a huge collection from all of you and your reasons why and where you see yourself to be a remarkable person. This is your moment to shine - and please, don’t practice false modesty.

Be remarkable and show us how we can be too!

Monika

Is There A Best MLM Program?
Is there a best MLM program? When I get asked that question, I have to laugh. Everybody wants to kno...
Proposing For A Job - Freelance Writing Guide
In my last post I touched on the subject of queries to find work as a freelance writer. This post is...
Driveaway - Online File Sharing
Now here is a nifty way to share your files with others via this file sharing website. DriveAway of...
You Didn’t Know It - But I’m a Rhyming Poet!
Forming a Focus Group

Bookmark To:

Success Principles As Seen By My Readers

2008-07-18T05:56:02Z

Success is paramount for any business owner. While many of us chase the holy grail of success some, or most sadly will deviate from their journey at some stages. While success can actually mean many things for each individual, most people associate the word with becoming financially successful.

Perhaps we see it this way because we see money as a means to acquire anything we ever want. While money certainly does help to feel successful in some ways, it isn’t the only way to measure success at all. Far from it actually.

Attaining success could be:

overcoming a long and hard illness
mastering our fears
following and realizing a long held dream
mastering the concept of living in the now
helping those less fortunate to overcome their hurdles
living by the laws of the universe
being truly happy

As you know, success is also in the heart of you. Regardless of whether others see us as being successful or not, what really matters is that you do with all your heart.

I am successful. I have been blessed with a soul that helps me to understand the many whys of my life while discovering new ones all the time. I consider myself to be on an exhilarating success journey and am excited about every corner I round, every new branch I discover and the people I meet along the way.

Most of my success has been made possible by my belief system and the way I am willing to learn every day. A recent soul reading with Akemi Gaines opened my eyes even more to the possibilities that are open to me in this lifetime.

Many of you are my friends who I deem to be my success journey buddies. Most of us strive for a better life, more freedom, more time and more happiness. We can all do this together by embracing each other in spirit and by sharing our strength.

As far as I’m concerned we all gain so much more by helping each other, rather than fighting. There truly is enough for each of us, all you have to do is grab the opportunities that present themselves each and every day.

Practice gratitude and soon enough you will see positive changes in the attitude of those around you. Anyway, enough of the success talk, I open the floor to all of you and what you have to say about success.

1.) Cath Lawson: (BTW, Cath, thanks for your awesome star bloggers link post, mine is only partial but still shared with lots of love)

2.) Mark Hayward:

3.) Hendry Lee:

4.) Ellen Moore:

5.) Athlyn Green:

6.) Tom Volkar:

7.) James Chartrand/ Harry McLeod:

8.) Brett Legree:

9.) Friar:

10.) John Leonard:

11.) Kathy Hendershot-Hurd:

12.) Lillie Ammann:

13.) Ed (no success links but still a reader worth linking):

14.) Vered:

15.) Tonie Konig:

16.) Lin (beating adversities is also success):

18.) Jenny Tomlin:

It Is My Life
It’s Always Sunny (this made me smile)

19.) Lissie (non success but worth to be mentioned as a reader):

Backlinks Are Everything (here is one )

20.) Alex:

21.) Andrew Randazzo (sorry, no blog):

Andrew Randazzo Portfolio

22.) Angela Stringfellow (website):

Angela Stringfellow

23.) Mr. Javo:

The Road Of Blogging

24.) Jack (website):

Kindle Conversion

25.) BetShopBoy/Cheewee (website):

BetShopBoy

26.) Sharon Hurley Hall:

27.) Terry Finley:

28.) Kelly:

29.) Steph Vandermeulen

30.) Sean Revell (website):

Argentina Soccer

31.) Lindsay:

Writing For Your Wealth

32.) Rebecca Leigh:

33.) Beelissa (website)

The Busy Bee Hive Blog

34.) Deborah:

How I Choose My Career Path

35.) Medic (website):

Gout Treatments

36.) Kevin Hassett:

Begin With The End In Mind

37.) Glen Allsopp

38.) Samir:

7 Tricks You Need To Fight Procrastination

I also wanted to let you know, although some of these links are not success related, they still are successful in their own ways, plus they do deserve a link too since many of you are regular readers.

Also, these are only links from the comments since the beginning of this month. I think to do a link post like Cath’s, I would take me about 1 month alone. LOL. God knows how many hours she slaved away to post hers. It took me about 2.5 hours. Phew….

So, this is a simple thank you for staying with me while I’ve hardly had time to visit any of your blogs. If it is a little consolation though, I am subscribed to pretty much all of you, except the newer guys which of course I have to do now.

Monika

Digg Into You!
This saying says it all really. Too often we under sell ourselves by NOT believing of what we ar...
Blogging to the Bank has Just Become Easier!
Getting up today has been a breeze. Being excited about what I do helps tremendously. Do you feel gr...
3 Things Your Blog Readers Don’t Tell You!
As bloggers we strive for certain things to validate to us that we are on...
Maki’s Ultimate Make Money List
Your Business Success Quotient

Bookmark To:

Copywriting - The 10 Magic Words

2008-07-17T01:29:44Z

This is post number twelve in my Freelance Writing Guide For New Freelancers. Back in 2006 I did a copywriting workshop with one of the famous copywriters in modern history. His name is David Garfinkel. Tim Erway also happened to be on the same call. Funny enough, after finishing the workshop, I never actually ventured into much copywriting work. I did some jobs for a few clients, but they weren’t huge squeeze pages or sales pages. Although I’m very confident I can pull this off if need be, I haven’t ventured down that particular road just yet.

In reality though copywriting is what fills the pockets of the famous Internet marketers. Without the magic input of a good copywriter, many product launches will simply flop. Despite this, if there is no sufficient list, or the marketer failed to study his target customers needs accordingly, the best copywriter will not be able to pull you out of the trenches.

A copywriter needs to understand a lot about how the human psyche works. Knowing why people react a certain way and what makes them tick goes a long way in understanding the fine details in a well written copy (text). It also takes a thorough understanding of the sales funnel process and how it all fits together.

The foundation on which most copy’s are built are a the 10 magic words of copywriting. These words have the power to make us grab the credit card and buy in a feeding frenzy. A good copywriter manages you to sell yourself to the product that is presented to you without you even realizing it.

Once you know the magic words, you might be able to identify whether you really need that latest Ebook.

1.) FREE

Free is an extremely powerful word. It catches people’s attention. It makes them curious. But within email messages it can also trip Spam filters, since free is often used by spammers.

If you are thinking of using the word free, don’t use it heavily. Use the free spam score check tool (AWeber has an excellent one too), to see whether your email might be eaten before it arrives at its destination.

2.) You and Your

Marketers should use the word you twice as much than using their own name. When people see the word you, it’s just like a magnet (are you ever tongue tied at a party). Talk about heir benefits and their situation. If we give away a free report, it helps to pass ownership by saying claim your free “…”. They will already feel like it’s their book before they even have it (Mini courses, bribes, audio) People like different stuff.

3.) Announcing

This is a news word like nr. 4 and 5. It creates interest, intrigue and gets people to take action because they want to be the first to own a product. 4) Introducing

The word introducing is often used in headlines, with Google Adwords and articles. It is a powerful word, since it announces something brand new. Our mentality has us rushing to buy, since we want to be among the first as the first often make a lot of money too, especially if it is with affiliate programs.

5.) New

As seen before, the word new is another attention grabber. Simple but very powerful.

6.) Secret(s)

Secrets evoke thoughts of forbidden knowledge. Knowledge that has only been granted to a few lucky ones and we want in on this knowledge. Why do you think the movie The Secret was such a success?

7.) How to

“How to win friends and influence people” by Dale Carnegie was one of the most successful books ever sold. If we start an article or an ad with “how to” it is very powerful. If you search for any information online, “how to” stuff is everywhere. Even though it’s old knowledge, “how to’s” are still selling like hot cakes, because there will always be new people looking for information.

8.) Guarantee

A good copy needs to have a water tight guarantee. It helps in the trust building process between seller and customer as it empowers the customer. Knowing that you can buy something with a backdoor open is very satisfying, especially for people whose credit card is way past the healthy stages.

9.) Magic

Magic is self explanatory. The word magic evokes magic. When we read copy containing the word magic we are allowed to dream and fantasize. We think bigger and the promise of this magic makes us feel good (which is a deciding factor to buy).

10.) Easy

Easy does it. People are always looking for easy. Why else would they ask me questions on how to start a freelance writing career when they can find everything on this blog.

Why bother reading the information when you can ask. Why walk to the shop when we can drive. Why cook a meal when we can eat at the restaurant. In some ways most of us have areas where we are simply too lazy. So we look for fast and easy answers.

If you are a seller, remember this, it sells.

Hot buttons

The following 3 questions get us started very fast when we look for effective copy:

Who is the prospect?
What is their problem?
What am I offering them to solve their problem and fulfill their desires

Copywriting in short is the art of finding people’s hot buttons. The ones that provoke us into buying. Naturally there is a lot more to it but this just about sums it up.

If you are interested in learning more about copywriting, I suggest you study the Gary Halbert Letter.

Monika

Freelance Writing Guide For New Freelancers
I've given this much thought. Hardly a day goes by when I don't receive an email from new freelance ...
Trim The Fat Of Your Words
Trim is sexy or so they say. Normally acquainted with weigh tloss, trim is also sexy when it comes ...
Unlock Your Creative Genius
When we visualize, we open our channels of perception and unlock the creative genius within. Visuali...
Digg Into You!
Awaken The Writer Inside!

Bookmark To: