"Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning."

Aerodynamically a bumblebee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn't know that so it goes on flying anyway.

Mary Kay Ash

A smile is the beginning of peace. - Mother Teresa

"If you obey all the rules, you'll miss all the fun." - Katherine Hepburn

"Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another." Walter Elliott

When I chased after money
, I never had enough. When I got my life on purpose and focused on giving of myself and everything that arrived into my life, then I was prosperous.
Wayne Dyer

Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally.
David Frost

Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally.
David Frost

Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. ~Abraham Lincoln

When you finally allow yourself to trust joy and embrace it, you will find you dance with everything.
- Emanuel

I can give you a six-word formula for success: Think things through - then follow through.
Edward V. Rickenbacker

Small Business Owners: 7 Tips for YOU

No matter type of business you operate you've got to know how to
keep your business alive during economic recessions. Anytime the
cash flow in a business, large or small, starts to tighten up, the
money management of that business has to be run as a "tight ship."

(1) Pause Before Paying

Some of the things you can and should do include protecting
yourself from impulse expenditures. We've all bought merchandise or
services we really didn't need simply because we were in the mood,
then we sort of "wake up" a couple of days later and find that
we've committed hundreds of dollars of business funds for an item
or service that's not essential to the success of our own business,
when really pressing items had been waiting for those dollars.

(2) Using Professionals

While you may think you cannot afford it, be sure that you don't
"short-change" your self on professional services. This would apply
especially during a time of emergency. Anytime you commit yourself
and move ahead without completely investigating all the angles, and
preparing yourself for all the contingencies that may arise, you're
skating on thin ice. Regardless of the costs involved, it always
pays off in the long run to seek out the advice of experienced
professionals before embarking on a plan that could ruin you.

(3) Your Financials

Your company's books should reflect your way of thinking, and
whoever maintains them should generate information according to
your policies. Thus, you should hire an outside accountant or
accounting firm to figure your return on your investment, as well
as the turnover on your accounts receivable and inventory. Such an
audit or survey should focus in depth on any or every item within
your financial statement that merits special attention. In this
way, you'll probably uncover any potential financial problems
before they become readily apparent, and certainly before they
could get out of hand.

(4) Advisory Boards

Many smaller companies set up advisory boards of outside
professional people. These are sometimes known as Power Circles and
once in place, the business always benefits, especially in times of
short operating capital. Such an advisory board or power circle
should include a lawyer, a certified public accountant, civic club
leaders, owners or managers of businesses similar to yours, and
retired executives. Setting up such an advisory board of directors
is really quite easy, because most people you ask will be honoured
to serve.

Once your board is set up, you should meet about once a month and
present material for review. Each meeting should be a discussion of
your business problems and an input from your advisors relative to
possible solutions. These members of your board of advisors should
offer you advice as well as alternatives, and provide you with
objectivity. No formal decisions need to be made either at your
board meeting, or as a result of them, but you should be able to
gain a great deal from the suggestions you hear.

(5) Joining Associations

By all means, join your industry's local and national trade
associations. Most of these organizations have a wealth of
information available on everything from details on your
competitors to average industry sales figures, new products,
services, and trends. If you are given a membership certificate or
wall plaque, you should display these conspicuously on you office
wall. Customers like to see such "seals of approval" and feel
additional confidence in your business when they see them.

(6) Free Advice

Whenever you can, and as often as you need it, take advantage of
whatever free business counseling is available. Your local chamber
of commerce or small business advisory will likely have numerous
free publications. Most local universities, and many private
organizations hold seminars at minimal cost, and often without
charge. Take advantage of the service s offered by your bank and
local library.

(7) Direction Is Everything

The important thing about running a small business is to know the
direction in which you're heading; to know on a day-to-day basis
your progress in that very direction; to be aware of what your
competitors are doing and to practice good money management at all
times. All this will prepare you to recognize potential problems
before they arise.

In order to survive with a small business, regardless of the
economic climate, it is essential to surround yourself with smart
people, and practice sound business management at all times.

'Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what is still possible for you to do' - Pope John XXIII

Check out Tony Robbins tells you how to take control of your finances

Hi,

I want you to take a look at: Tony Robbins tells you how to take control of your finances 

It's some really cool stuff from Tony Robbins.

I found out about it on CNN last week.

The way to gain a good reputation, is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear. - Socrates

For Success, attitude is equally as important as ability.
Harry F. Banks

Important Online Trends for 2010

If you've been paying attention to the various breaking trends for 2010 you'd have noted most of the "new trends" are not new at all! In fact, if you've been reading my blog, emails and other materials for the last year or so you'll be wondering what all the fuss is about - perhaps I should explain.

Here are the various trends that have 'just caught on' for 2010:

* Social Media: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn etc. Naysayers have been bashing this for ages. EVen "colleagues" made fun of me and my wish to spread the news in various public forums. The best part now is the strongest opponents have finally converted to SM! Ironic really, they wasted so much time 'bad mouthing' SM and it basic human nature. We're all social - this is just the next evolution. Get with the program or get left behind.

* Local Search - Local content to feed the new 'Google' spiders, global is not relevant when searching local. The implications are profound. What happens if you're an international business? What happens if you need a presence in many countries - are you looking at multiple websites ... *tip* You should be.

* Mobile Internet - Got a smart mobile phone? Then you need to know about this. New frontiers ... it's all I'm going to say at the moment *wink*

* Blogging - it's baaaack. Never went away, and now it's do or die. But how to blog, what to say? Remember good writers make writing look easy - and lets not forget writing is the end result or output of thinking (strategy). Think of writing as the tip of the iceberg - what lies beneath is larger and more imposing than you might imagine Don't let it sink you too.

* Email marketing - Not dead, very much alive and still #1 (even SM uses Email to power the framework.) Are you doing it right? Most businesses are not. If you're sending more than a handful of emails from your computer then you run the very real risk of getting slammed for various email "infractions." Use a reputable 3rd party email delivery service for your email marketing like Aweber or Infusionsoft.

* Automation - "Manual" is no fun (never was) and now automation is the key to autopilot profits. Machines make life easier, let's not forget computers are machines and built for the simple purpose of making us 'redundant' so we can do the things we love to do. Most people don't use computers/machines properly and simply make more work for themselves! There is a process, I've been helping companies define and apply it for over 20 years.

* Reputation Management - Online is forever... think immortal. Do you command and control your presence? Are your main profiles set up, locked down and so on. Don't wait until the proverbial horse has bolted. You'll look silly and sloppy and anything you say will be too late, and discounted anyway. Pre-emptive management is only the way to go.

"Not what we have But what we
enjoy, constitutes our abundance."
- John Petit-Senn