The Information Diet

Posted on May 25, 2011 by

What information do you get everyday?

Turn on news morning, noon or night and you can hear all the latest bad news, locally, in the state, in the country and in the world. When you get online you are bombarded with a myriad of informational choices. Your browser homepage lists the latest news, near, far, good, bad and totally irrelevant. You have work emails, emails from websites, twitter messages, Facebook messages.

During your TV shows the screen shows a ticker tape of information, commercials come on talking about the latest must have. The car radio tells you things going on, traffic updates and more. Your boss, your co-workers share the latest news. News about what is happening in the world and what is happening on their favorite shows.

Is it information overload?

Is this information that is going to change your life today, tomorrow, next week? Do you have any control over what happens? “Information can tell us everything. It has all the answers. But they are answers to questions we have not asked, and which doubtless don’t even arise.” Jean Baudrillard

The Information diet

Imagine not opening the newspaper for a week. Change the channel away from the news for just seven days, or even better turn off the TV. Learn to check your email just once a day. If your work depends on it, learn to check just three times. Stop checking your friends’ status updates multiple times a day.  You would not have all the time wasted checking on things that do not require your immediate attention.

What about important information?

You will hear major news from co-workers, see it online and on your social media streams. Yet during your week away from information overload maybe you will find that so much of the news you thought you had to know does not change your life. Any news that is really important will make it is way to you without you having to hunt for it.

Without the negative information, you can focus on the positive. Without constant news updates, you will have time to enjoy things that make you happy. You will have time spend with your family, friends or people who bring you joy. Trading negative for positive is always a good thing.

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How Can NASA Help You Succeed?

Posted on May 16, 2011 by

“One small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.”

As Neil Armstrong stepped out onto the moon’s surface, he spoke the now famous words, “One small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.” Like that historic first walk on the landscape of the moon, one small step at a time is the basic unit needed to make your goals attainable.

Space Walk for Success

NASA needed years of preparation, education, knowledge, commitment and focus before Neil Armstrong was even sent into space. As an astronaut, Neil Armstrong, had to spend years on education; practice; knowledge, commitment and focus. It took time to get to the moon. Yet in the same fashion you can not reach your own goals without steps.  It took commitment and focus on the end goal to reach it. The small step is what can make your goals achievable.

Preparation

Define it, understand it, educate yourself about your goal. Write your goal out, write it on sticky notes and stick them everywhere. Spend a few moments each time you see a note to think about your end goal. This will help you focus on achieving your goals.

Plan

If your goal is to lose 50 pounds and be able to run two miles a day in six months. Break this down in smaller steps. Follow a specific diet plan; and begin running 10 minutes a day. If in the first week, you begin to see results – your confidence will build; and you will become even more motivated to continue.

Stay focused

Get a journal, use part of it to record your progress. Read your journal often. Use another section to write your achievements. You are not perfect; and you do not need that kind of pressure.  You are allowed a mistake every once in a while. Your goals will happen one step at a time.

Finally, never give up. You have come so far; your confidence is growing, and you are so close to your goal – stay focused. Reward yourself every now and then. You deserve it! Do not think about the end result, enjoy the journey. If Neil Armstrong can walk on the moon; you can accomplish anything you set out to do.

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Change Is Good!

Posted on May 1, 2011 by

Change is often not taken well. Most people do not like change no matter how big or how small the change is. Often what people dislike is how a little change can mean a perspective change, either your own or in others.

Can I change perspective?

Wright Brothers make a change

Just like being able to stand on a ladder to change your point of view, you can change your perspective in life. Alternative answers are available when your perspective changes. You may be surprised at how many solutions could be right in front of you.

Reading books on a subject you want to change is a great way. You can ask others what they would do. Perhaps you need a break or to spend time on a task that is completely different and the alternative answers will appear. Another is just taking a problem and considering alternative solutions. Create a list of solutions, it does not matter if the solutions seem crazy or impossible for you to do.

What if my alternative solutions are impossible?

It was impossible for man to fly, and in 1903 the Wright Brothers proved it was not impossible. Then it was impossible for man to go to the moon and just 66 years later that became possible. In the far out solutions there may be enough information to piece together a viable solution for you. If you solution is moving, but you can not move, perhaps if you tried going to church and doing things in another city or neighborhood. There are alternative answers if you just look.

Live, Learn, Love,

MJ Schrader

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To Learn Success Be a Teacher and Student

Posted on April 20, 2011 by

Life is full of lessons. Some of them are harder to learn than others. Other lessons may not become clear until you start explaining the lesson to others. This is when the lesson becomes clearer that it has been.

In teaching another person, you need to explain the material, this causes you to process the information differently than you did. Sometimes you need to explain things differently than you learned them so it is clearer for the other person. This change of perspective may just give you enough insight that you are able to see the lesson differently and gather additional or new information. You teach to learn.

How can a student be a teacher?

There is a blessing in not knowing how to do things. After you know how to do something you may accept a certain pattern of doing without looking to see if there are alternatives. Beginners may wonder about alternatives and thereby present different ways to go about doing. Questions they ask may make you question your current methods.

What can I learn?

What you learn depends on what and how you teach. Choose to teach from the aspect of a beginner, and you may learn beginner tricks that you may have wished you had known when you started. If you choose to teach tips and secrets you may learn additional tips or secrets or better ways to implement the ones you use.

There are more ways to learn, more ways to grow and more ways to succeed. Success in life is the goal after all.

Learn, Laugh, Love

MJ Schrader

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Reduce Self Doubt and Grow Your Business

Posted on April 6, 2011 by

This past week I set up 3 websites for different clients. And I have learned several lessons in just one week’s time. These are lessons I hope can help you and your business.

Don’t be afraid to charge what you are worth.

When someone pays you for your service remember they are paying for your knowledge and skills. When you started with that skill or talent it probably took you a lot longer than it does now. Also the buyer should consider how much time it would take to learn the skill you offer and to do everything you do.

Yes, I charge 200 for installation and setup of a WordPress website. I’ve been setting up WordPress websites since 2004. I have installed and tested plugins, updated a list and refined a list of plugins most people need. Too many plugins can cause a problem, but you want the right number to offer the right things to everyone. People are paying for that knowledge from me, and they are paying for your knowledge from you.

Get paid upfront.

Previously I’ve set up websites before requesting payment and suddenly they have no money. So now I set up a test website if they want to see something. This past week, the client was happy with the test site.  He wanted his website set up immediately. When I asked for payment before setting up the website, the client suddenly didn’t need the website.

If you get tires, are they going to let you take your car without paying them?  The same should be true if you offer a service.  You can agree to amount before, and an amount after completion. But make certain amount before is worth at more the minimum you would charge, in case they disappear.

Tell people about your business.

Just because someone has what you offer, or knows how to do what you do, that does not mean they don’t know others. A friend who knows WordPress contacted me, she has a friend who will need a website soon. The friend will be a future client, because I told my friends I need WordPress clients.

Ask for help.

Well, actually that is what I will do in just a minute. Asking for help is not a weakness. It actually takes strength to be willing to admit you need help. If you don’t ask for help, how can anyone know what you need? But if you need help, explain what you need and why you need it.

Please tell your friends and family to contact me if they need a WordPress website or Social Media set up. They can check out the Installation Packages or use the contact form to contact me. Because property taxes are due this month and my car needs new tires to pass inspection. Both of these are major expenses.

Be Confident

The last lesson is a summation of all of the above. Be confident in your skills. You have knowledge that is worth the amount you charge. Be confident to ask for payment up front. Be confident enough to tell other people you have skills and are offering them. Be confident enough to ask for help when you need it.

Do not show signs of fear.

Note the wording, even people whom you think are never afraid are sometimes. The difference is they push through it. They move forward in spite of the fear.

And Learn, Laugh, Love,
MJ Schrader

Please send people to this site to get their sites and social media set up. (because I need help paying my taxes and buying tires)

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Teaching and Learning For Your Success

Posted on April 5, 2011 by

Teaching and Learning For Your Success

Teaching is another way of learning. Sharing what you know with others can help you think through things differently and provides a different level of information.

Learning and teaching is actually a two way street with students learning from teachers, and teachers learning from students. It does not matter the age between them or experience level.  There is always a level of newness that allows for new insights.

Also when you teach, you need patience and understanding. People learn in different ways, and when you provide alternatives and are open to their questions, you learn.

Some people learn fast, others learn slow. Some questions can help push you to find answers which can answer questions you did not know you had. You teach, you learn.

You do not have to teach in front of a classroom to learn. You can learn by teaching by writing yourself notes. You can teach by explaining how or why you do things in a blog. Learn by teaching yourself different ways of doing what you love. It takes research but is a great way to learn and teach.

There are many ways to teach without being directly in front of others.  No matter how you teach, you learn.  So teach, do, and learn!

 

Learn, Teach, Grow,

MJ Schrader

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Make Controversial Issues Work For Success

Posted on April 4, 2011 by

Make Controversial Issues Work For Success

You may still be wondering if controversy can ever work for success or how companies make it controversy work. The line between good controversy and bad is a very thin line. What may have worked last time may not work this time.

What people found acceptable last week may not be acceptable now. Controversial subjects are a line in the sand. A commercial joking about violent weather will not be good when weather destroys homes and lives of your buyers or people your buyers know.

Can controversy ever work?

There are cases where it can. There are companies who are able to walk the fine line and provide controversial subjects that keep buyers looking. These companies typically keep changing the subject to keep one step ahead.

Other companies are very smart and use the controversy of other companies to offer alternatives to the fleeing buyers. This is part of the strategy I used. I wanted people to be informed about a company that is not good. I wanted to make money to be able to transfer my own domain names as money is extremely tight. 1&1 which is the domain name on Domain Names Cheap Page is normally $4.99 with Private registration.

Companies like Name cheap offered their domains half off for one day and are contributing part of their funds to Elephant organizations.

Counter Controversy

If you want to use controversial issues for success you need to look at controversy other people offer and counter it. Just remember controversy changes or disappears from view. Domain names and web hosting go with websites, so I should offer those anyway. If however I were a speaker, domain names and web hosting is a stretch.

If you are going to counter controversy make certain it is something that matches what you do. Of course if something really upsets you and is likely to upset your reader, then you should write a post explaining what is going on and offer your readers substitutes.

Tomorrow will be about success and motivation once again!

 

Live, Learn, Love,

MJ Schrader

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Any News is Good News, Controversial Success or Failure

Posted on April 3, 2011 by

In discussing the GoDaddy controversy you may wonder if “any news is good news” or if controversy can be successful.  The problem with creating conflict to create news is that…

… you are creating conflict to create news.

Think about it.  If you are creating conflict, you never know what the end result will be.  It does not guarantee others will embrace your company  Depending on the controversial subject, you may lose YOUR buyers.

GoDaddy CEO shot an shot an elephant. While many people may not agree with hunting, others will.  But the video goes further.  This going further bit is what has made even hunters say, “no, you’ve gone too far.”  When your buyers stop buying, you are out of business, maybe not today, or tomorrow but eventually you will be.

But it worked for this company!

A few years ago Quiznos had a video with weird characters. The majority of the public was against the commercials, but people continued to buy from Quiznos, so the commercial stayed. But when the buyers decided they had enough of the commercial and stopped buying, Quiznos dropped the commercial.

Remember the only vote that matters is the vote by the wallet.

If your buyers like what you do. Keep doing it. If your buyers hate what you do, then they will pull their wallet from you. They will take their vote elsewhere, and as their wallet goes elsewhere so do your earnings.

What if I use a standard controversy?

The “sex sells” type commercials get progressively worse and worse.  The jokes that were funny slurs get too much.  People may ignore it for a while, but when they reach saturation your buyers will leave. You have also provided evidence for them and others to proclaim how wrong your company is to far more people, you lose and this is what you don’t want.

Tomorrow will be another article about controversy and a way to use it to bring in buyers.

MJ Schrader

PS Remember the only vote that matters is the vote by the wallet.

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Web Hosting, Domain Names, Keeping Elephants and Websites Safe

Posted on April 2, 2011 by

Yesterday I posted “A Controversial Blog Challenge Start (No Elephants Were Harmed)” and a couple people asked me about hosting.

My advice is to NEVER get your domain name and hosting at the same place.

If both are with the same company,  free domain names with web hosting LOOK delicious but you run a risk. Imagine building your website traffic. Imagine having hundreds or even thousands of visitors each day. But you are having some problems with your web hosting. So you decide to change web hosts.

While the company should transfer your domain name if you request it, that does not mean that they have to do so now, (100 people just said your site down), or later today (another 100) or tomorrow (wow, the site is still down?) or this week (maybe that site went out of business!).  Now when you think about all those visitors not seeing your website and thinking you are gone… are you willing to risk it?

While this has not happened to me personally, I have seen it happen, people who have built fabulous websites, who suddenly are scrambling to get people to a new domain name. The old web host who has the domain name is sending people to a page with their ad, saying your site is down, unpaid, blocked or who knows.

Fortunately this does not happen as often as it did a few years ago. Unfortunately it still does.  And if you get your domain name with a less than reputable registrar you can suddenly find your domain name is going to another website. That happened to me. They sent me emails several times a week, except about my domain name expiring, and sold it as soon as possible. When I asked, they “didn’t have my email address.”

Web hosting that is not reputable can disappear as well. Imagine going on somewhere for a weekend and find your website is gone. You visit your web host’s address and find it is shut down. Fortunately this seldom happens.

But the point of this story is that you want to keep your domain name and domain (via web hosting) safe. This is similar to having two different people watch over your accounting. If you have a problem with one or the other you are “fairly safe.” This is why I recommended yesterday moving only your domain name.

Several people asked me what about my hosting?

For web hosting I recommend Host Gator the baby plan. It has

  • free website transfer (they will move your website if you are changing hosting),
  • cPanel, an easy to use control panel
  • Fantastico – allows easy installation of scripts, which means easy installation of WordPress,
  • File Manager – easy access to the files that make up your websites
  • Unlimited Domains – Addon, Parked and Sub Domains
  • Unlimited emails
  • 24-7 support
  • and more but this is the important stuff.

If you want to pay just a bit more per month you can get the business plan and have your own toll free number.

They will offer a free domain transfer, but please remember you want your domain name and web hosting separate. If you don’t like Host Gator, go with Blue Host for your web hosting. And if you didn’t read yesterday’s post on why you should move your domain names if they are on GoDaddy, you probably should.

 

Live, Laugh, and Keep Elephants Safe,

MJ Schrader

PS. Yes I make money when you click on the links, but you helping me share more with you and helping me to write and help people!

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A Controversial Blog Challenge Start (No Elephants Were Harmed)

Posted on April 1, 2011 by

Today is the first day of the Ultimate blog challenge, today’s post was going to be about being true to yourself. Perhaps knowing who you are. Or to believe in yourself. Perhaps what I am about to say is my own being true to me.

I am moving.

Every domain name I own will soon be transferred to another domain name registrar. In fact my determination is so great, last night I created a new page so you can transfer your domain names as well or buy a brand new domain name.

Yesterday, a video came to my attention. Bob Parsons CEO of GoDaddy killed an elephant. He likes making provocative, controversial and even banned TV commercials. The commercials are nothing short of “Sex sells” but unfortunately many companies use this as a selling method. While he has scantily clad women on his site, I avoid those links when possible.

LAST STRAW

But the elephant video and his response is what has pushed me into saying no more. The opening sequence says “Of everything I do, this is the most rewarding.” I checked many sites to make certain I was factual in what I said, yet as many sites explained the video is nothing short of a “Snuff film” and he’s added in product placement advertising for his own gain.

I live in Texas. People hunt. People take pictures beside the deer, boar, or whatever. I’ve eaten deer, elk, and assorted birds from hunting trips. Yet this video Bob made is as he even says “Viewer discretion advised. Contains scenes of graphic violence.” He waited until after midnight to shoot this elephant he claims was charging, the video is so dark you can’t see anything at this point in time.

Later in the video he “gives all the villagers meat” by allowing them to cut up the elephant. And while the video rolls the villagers are wearing GoDaddy caps as they chop the elephant up, and the video is backed with AC/DC’s “Hells Bells.”  Bob announced yesterday that he is helping the people survive.

There are several flaws to this.

  1. Rogue elephants are sometimes (repeat SOMETIMES) killed. Yet their lives are not put to an end in a video with product placement advertisement and the CEO of a major corporation boasting of how he is making a difference.
  2. African Elephants are in fact on the endangered species list as Vulnerable
    A Vulnerable species is one which has been categorised by theInternational Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as likely to become Endangered unless the circumstances threatening its survival and reproduction improve. ~ Wikipedia
  3. That does not explain the video of him killing a leopard which has “oddly” disappeared.
  4. Where is his donation to help the villagers with needs? Where is his donation to help wildlife elsewhere?
  5. The villagers are wearing thread bare shirts torn from being so thin and yet the ones in the video are wearing ballcaps promoting GoDaddy.
  6. Why does the video proclaim *his* ability to save the villagers farms and give them protein to eat?

We know the people in those Zimbabwe villages are not going to be looking online to see their happy faces, this video was shot purely for his own self-promotion.

As a tax person, I also know that by turning this into a commercial and “helping” the villagers he’ll write off his safari hunt as a business expense.

Even if in fact this was a rogue elephant (There are alternative methods that do not involve killing elephants) his video presentation and his own statements that he saved lives is derogatory and self-righteous. This is the last straw.

His previous commercials were derogatory toward women, this video is derogatory to the villagers and to the elephants and other animals. The elephant video it the only one that exists now, but what happened to the leopard video? What about the stuff he does not video because it crosses too many lines? Where is his line?

Yesterday I created a new webpage. You can get your new domain name here, or transfer your domain name, either one is $4.99, which is cheaper AND includes private registration. If you decided to move, please keep your domain name safe and keep it separate from your hosting. If you change hosts, they can delay transfers which can hurt your website traffic.

Live, LOVE!

MJ Schrader

No elephants were harmed in the making of this blog post.

Sources:

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