I get about 50 emails a day from a wide variety of internet gurus. All of them seem to be getting progressively getting sneakier in their approach. I remember, fondly, when you'd get an offer that clearly showed that it was the front of a continuity product but only cost you $7.95 for shipping and handling. Now you get the offer with the same hype but it only costs $1, that's right one thin dollar, what a deal you think. Go to the sales page scroll down looking at all the bonuses included till you finally get to the pay for this box... and there in small print (not hidden but still not pronounced) is the you'll get 30 days access to this program or that coaching program and then you'll be charged $99 a month.

Now don't get me started with the whole joint venture approach to this as well. Since most of my GURUS come from the Dan Kennedy model they all JV with each other all the time. That means I get to see the same offer two or three times a day. Sometimes with different bonuses sometimes not. But guess what it's pretty much all the same information.

This whole approach is really starting to bother me...

More on this later.

The following is an email that is making the rounds. It is heart warming and this time of year especially important.
The closing is especially appropriate. Please take the time to read this and do send it to your email list. Too many of us forget that we have sons, daughters, fathers and mothers overseas.
Happy 4th.
A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made
payable to 'The United States of America ' for an amount of 'up to and
including my life.'

I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned
seat. It was going to be a long flight. 'I'm glad I have a good book to
read. Perhaps I will get a short nap,' I thought. Just before take-off, a
line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats,
totally surrounding me. I decided to start a conversation. 'Where are you
headed?' I asked the soldier seated nearest to me.

'Petawawa. We'll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we're
being deployed to Afghanistan.

After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack lunches
were available for five dollars. It would be several hours before we reached
the east, and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time.. As I
reached for my wallet, I overheard a soldier ask his buddy if he planned to
buy lunch. 'No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch.
Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get to base '. His
friend agreed.

I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I walked to
the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill.
'Take a lunch to all those soldiers.' She grabbed my arms and squeezed
tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. 'My son was a soldier in
Iraq ; it's almost like you are doing it for him.'. Picking up ten sacks,
she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my
seat and asked, 'Which do you like best - beef or chicken?' 'Chicken,' I
replied, wondering why she asked. She turned and went to the front of plane,
returning a minute later with a dinner plate from
first class. 'This is your thanks..'

After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for
the rest room.
A man stopped me. 'I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take
this.' He handed me twenty-five dollars. Soon after I returned to my seat, I
saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers
as he walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking
at the numbers only on my side of the plane. When he got to my row he
stopped, smiled, held out his hand, and said, 'I want to shake your hand.'

Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took the Captain's hand. With a
booming voice he said, 'I was a soldier and I was a military pilot. Once,
someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.' I was
embarrassed when applause was heard from all of
the passengers.

Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A man
who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting
to shake mine. He left
another twenty-five dollars in my palm. When we landed I gathered my
belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was
a man who stopped me, put
something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word.
Another twenty-five dollars! Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers
gathering for their trip to the base. I walked over to them and handed them
seventy-five dollars. 'It will take you some time to reach the base. It will
be about time for a sandwich. God Bless You.'

Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow
travelers. As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their
safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could
only give them a couple of meals. It seemed so little...

A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made
payable to 'The United States of America ' for an amount of 'up to and
including my life.' That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this
country who no longer understand it.' May God give you the strength and
courage to pass this along to everyone on your email buddy list....

I JUST DID

My business partner and I just finished giving our first Life Planning Executive Briefing. This seminar was created to provide both the space and permission to move away from working in your business and allow you the freedom to focus on what is really important in your life. When you do that, you have a much better chance to create the balance between work and family plus all the other obligations we are under.

The response was amazing. I thought when I put the program together, that we had created something pretty special. But the truth is, I was simply overwhelmed by what the participants did. This program was built with the idea of creating space (both in time and place) and encouraging dialogue so all participants could share at their own comfort level. Most of all, we wanted to give permission to the attendees to step outside their normal day-to-day activities and focus on what was truly important to them.

It worked on all levels. As each person shared directly from the workbooks they were filling out, I was amazed at what was revealed. In many cases, the ideas came out as pure poetry.

I've personally taken more than my fair share of these kinds of programs, but if I do say so myself, this program produced the most amazing results.

How to get competitive intelligence on a terrain that may not exist in a world that has not arrived?

I am going to try and answer the question: "Is it possible to perform competitive analysis when you are the first in a new niche or where you are combining multiple functionalities in ways never seen before?"

The answer is yes! However, you must understand one critical issue: knowing the topography of your marketplace is critically important in determining the most effective strategic and tactical approaches you take when marketing your product or service. To gain that knowledge you have to be able to map a terrain that does not exist in a world that has not arrived. You are at this point literally off the map. How you think here is far more important than what you think.

Interesting talk by Chris Anderson 2 years before the book came out. Worth a look.

Click here to listen to his talk.

<a href="http://technorati.com/claim/9wb7yeq866" rel="me">Technorati Profile</a>

The following two headlines I gleaned from our local paper last week.

GRIM TOLL ON WORKERS
                and
JOBLESS MISERY ESCALATES

Is it surprising that the mood in the country is negative. Now I'm sot saying put on rose colored glasses and act as if we are not facing challenges, we certainly are. But my goodness, if you have a "real job" and work for someone else don't let these headlines put you into a panic. (Unless you work for one of the big three automakers, then you probably should be worried.)

My point is that this is also a time of great opportunity. Take charge of your own life, or someone else will. You can be the star of your story or a bit player in another persons, it really is up to you to decide.

Take a look at the www.YouIncRevolution.com site and see if there isn't an opportunity there for you to take those first steps in taking full responsibility and ownership of your life.

Good Luck.

7 Ways To Know If You’re

Preventing Success!

“Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right.”

Henry Ford

So, “What’s wrong with being a perfectionist?”
Perfectionists hold themselves and others to nearly impossible standards. This produces an environment where success becomes progressively more difficult and “bad failure” becomes prevalent. Remember, the lessons we learn only come when we fail, not when we succeed.  I define good failure as “Failing-Forward -Fast. Try it; if it doesn’t work, try something else; keep trying (testing) until you hit a formula that works and then repeat.
Perfectionists expect too much, and when something goes wrong, they give up entirely.
How many of these statements describe you and your attitudes:

1. Do you feel that you must never fail at anything?
2. Do you feel that you never have enough time to do your best?
3. Are you afraid of making a mistake in public?
4. Do you feel no effort is ever good enough?
5. Do you think co-workers, friends and family should know what you need and supply it without having to ask?
6. Do you demand perfection and are intolerant of other's mistakes?
7. Do you never seem to have enough time to do your best?

Say “yes” to any three of these and you could be standing in the way of your own success.