Adding Value

Good Morning!
I Have Been Thinking

Always look for ways to add value and you will find countless opportunities that others never see.

In every problem, in every obstacle, in every challenge there is an opportunity for you to add value. Then by doing it, you gain powerful advantage. In every success, ther are opportunities fo you to make it even more successful.

If you are looking at any situation and wondering “what is in it for me?” the answer depends entirely on what you put into it. The surest way to success and achievement is to be a creator of value.

Ask, “How can I make a difference?” and it puts you on a level vastly higher that those who merely as “How can I make a quick buck.?” because when you “make a buck” you will just need to make another one tomorrow. However when you make a real contribution, you open doors that others don’t even know exist.

Opportunity is never lost
It goes To Those Ready to Accept It!

Carolyn

Ice Breakers
Band

My college roommate, Laura, a music student majoring in
piano, wanted to join the Army Band. The grueling series
of interviews included written tests and two piano-playing
demonstrations in different parts of the country.

Finally, she received notification that she was selected.

Thrilled, she signed up for overseas duty and was shipped off to Germany. On her first leave, I asked her how it felt to finally play the piano for a living.

“Oh,” she said with a shrug, “we can’t lug a piano around
Germany, so I’m playing the triangle.”

Thought for Today:
“To follow, without halt, one aim: There’s the secret of success. ”
— Anna Pavlova

Tips and Techniques

I want to challenge you today to do just one thing that is going to add value to what you are doing in your online or offline business.

Happy designing!

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Oops, Better Late than Never

Good Morning!
I Have Been Thinking

Cant believe I am this late getting out today’s news. I have just been so busy getting together a new training series for the Lab, that this went clean out of my head. Sorry about that!

I couldn’t let the whole day go by without at least saying hello. What is this series that is taking all of my attention? Well, let me tell you. I have been researching, interviewing and gathering information from all of my favorite and successful friends and associates just what they know about what it takes to be a successful affiliate marketer.

I have been selling my own products for years consulting and counceling small and independent business people. I do sell some affiliate products but am very very picky. You know you have seen me advertise NetObjects which I also teach, and Kiosk where I host my web sites. There is also the conference room where I do all of my training. They are all products and services that I use to run my own business.

There are just dozens and dozens of strategies for incorporating affiliate programs into your business so my thought was to get them all wrapped up into a neat little 20 or maybe 30 day eCourse to be sponsored by the Internet Niche Lab.

Opportunity is never lost
It goes To Those Ready to Accept It!

Carolyn

Ice Breakers

See the World

After being at sea in the Persian Gulf for 90 straight days,
I went to the squadron command master chief to complain.

“Chief, I joined the Navy to see the world,” I said, “but for
the past three months all I’ve seen is water.”

“Lieutenant,” he replied, “three-quarters of the earth is
covered with water, and the Navy has been showing you
that. If you wanted to see the other quarter, you should have joined the Army.”

Thought for Today:
“The whole worth of a kind deed is in the love that inspires it.”
-The Talmud

Tips and Techniques

Even the best of the best make mistakes. Chalk it down to experience and keep on going.

Happy designing!

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Effort Makes It

Good Morning!
I Have Been Thinking

Here is one to think about. “The harder you work, the easier life becomes.”

If you try to avoid effort, life gets more and more difficult. Choose to make a difference to make a contribution. What you will find is a sense of fulfillment like none other.

Each moment is an opportunity to improve the quality of your life. You are capable of taking on challenges, overcoming obstacles and achieving great things. But there is a catch it only happens when you make the effort.

Work each day to fulfill the potential that is your life. The challenges will come whether you face them or not. They can help you grow, or they can bring you down. Choose to make the effort. Choose to make you own good luck. Choose to take actions that lead to one after another successful accomplishment.

Opportunity is never lost
It goes To Those Ready to Accept It!

Carolyn

Ice Breakers
Laundry

A young couple moves into a new neighborhood.

The next morning while they are eating breakfast, the
young woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside. “That laundry is not very clean,” she said. “She doesn’t know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap.”

Her husband looked on, but remained silent.

Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry,
the young woman would make the same comments.

About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a
nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband: “Look, she has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this?”

The husband said, “I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows.”

Thought for Today:

“You have to find something that you love enough to be able to take risks, jump over the hurdles and break through the brick walls that are always going to be placed in front of you. If you don’t have that kind of feeling for what it is you are doing, you’ll stop at the first giant hurdle.”
George Lucas

Tips and Techniques

I know you have heard, “When the road gets tough the tough get going.” When the road gets tough it is more important to keep your compass straight and your eyes on the result you want. All it takes is taking that next step and keep going.

Happy designing!

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What Can We Do?

Good Morning!
I Have Been Thinking

What is the one key difference between someone you consider to be very successful and someone that is average?

The difference that I have found over the past yeh 50 years between these two types of people is that one things the conditions of his life is permanent and there is nothing that can be done about it. While the other views his current conditions as only temporary.

One will look at bad situations and say there is no hope, the other will look at the situation and see the challenge in it. He will look and see the opportunity.

If you listen to the news every day of your life and subscribe to the hopelessness, you are right ther is no way out. We have come through difficult situations in the past and we will come through difficult situations now IF, we look for solutions. They are out there.

Opportunity is never lost
It goes To Those Ready to Accept It!

Carolyn

Ice Breakers
Captain Can’t Swim

I worked in the biology department at Buffalo State College in New York. The Great Lakes Laboratory, also stationed at the college, employed a licensed boat captain to man its research vessel. It was common knowledge that the captain couldn’t swim. When newcomers learned of this, they would approach him about it.

“Is it true?” one of them asked incredulously. “You, a boat
captain, can’t swim?”

“No, I can’t,” he replied. “Can pilots fly?”

Thought for Today:

“Realize that if you have time to whine and complain about something, then you have the time to do something about it.”
— Anthony D’Angelo

Tips and Techniques

Whatever you do it is up to you. You can decided to throw up your arms and say there is no way out. Or you can decided ok so we have hit another bump in the road and decide to go around it, or through it, or over it. The truth is you can do whatever you decide you are going to do no matter what. Do you want a real shot in the arm? Watch the special Olympics then say you can’t.

Happy designing!

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Just Do It

Good Morning!
I Have Been Thinking

Too often we are scared. Scared of what we might not be able to do. Scared of what people might think if we tried.

We let our fears stand in the way of our hopes. We say no when we want to say yes. We sit quietly when we want to scream, We shout with others, when we should keep our mouths shut.

Why? After all, we do only go around once. There’s really no time to be afraid. So stop. Try. Do it. Take the risk.

FDR siad, “the only fear is fear itself.” But did you realize that as Roseanne Cash said, “the key to change is to let go the fear.” and “Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves – regret for the past and fear of the future.” – Fulton Oursler

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain if you just put the fear behind you and do the thing you most want to do. Swallow that lump in your throat and just do it man – do it!

Opportunity is never lost
It goes To Those Ready to Accept It!

Carolyn

Ice Breakers
Newlywed Repairs

A man came home from the office and found his new bride sobbing convulsively. “I feel terrible,” she told him. “I was pressing your suit and I burned a big hole in the seat of your trousers.”

“Oh, just forget it,” consoled her husband. “Remember that I’ve got an extra pair of pants for that suit.”

“Yes, I know. And it’s lucky you have!” said the woman, drying her eyes. “I was able to use a piece from them to patch the hole!”

Thought for Today:
“I am not where I need to be, but thank God I am not where I used to be.” -Joyce Meyers

Tips and Techniques

A dream just becomes a nightmare without a plan and action on that plan. Stop dreaming and just do it.

Happy designing!

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Make it Real

Good Morning!
I Have Been Thinking

It is easy to set goals for yourself. Yet they are meaningless if you don’t really believe you can achieve them.

When you set a goal, think of all the actions you will have to take to achieve that goal. Better yet, write them down. The more you can come up with the better.

When you start to consider the real details of achieving your goal, the goal itself becomes more real and reachable. Developing a list of specific actions will enable you to see yourself doing it. As you begin to actually take those actions, you goal becomes more and more real to you.

Once you believe you can, you can. Belief comes from a clear, specific set of actions that you can see yourself taking. Set you goal. In your mind, build a road to that goal. Then start walking down that road.

Opportunity is never lost
It goes To Those Ready to Accept It!

Carolyn

Ice Breakers
And with You….

In our Anglican Church, each service begins with a greeting.

The officiating clergyman says, “The Lord be with you.”

The congregation used to respond by saying, “And with thy spirit.”

But, with the modernizing of the liturgy, the minister now says, “The Lord be with you.” and everyone responds with, “And also with you.”

One Sunday a visiting bishop went to a church where the
sound system was known to be old and unreliable. As he
approached the microphone, he tapped it several times and finally said, “There’s something wrong with this!”

Without hesitation the whole congregation answered
faithfully, “And also with you.”

Thought for Today:
“Good people are good because they’ve come to wisdom through failure. We get very little wisdom from success, you know.”
William Saroyan

Tips and Techniques
There is no secret to setting the actions that need to be taken to complete a goal. It is simply a matter of thinking backwards. Then just start at the beginning and get each action done. Keep in front of you a picture of the end result that in itself will help keeping you putting one foot in front of the other.

Happy designing!

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Just Keep Going

Good Morning!
I Have Been Thinking
The more worthwhile the accomplishment, the more groundwork it requires.

The first 80% of effort toward a particular goal gets you only 20% of the desired results. And then the final 20% of the total effort brings you the additional 80% of the way there. Results excellerate as you approach your goal, so by all means keep on going.

Have you ever noticed that when you are going somewhere a distance from home it takes longer to get there as it does to get back home?

The last 20% of effort is crucial. It makes the difference between success and failure. Achievement comes to those wo can go the distance dispite any discouragement.

The re are times when I have to keep reminding myself of this. “you are almost there – keep going!” A little bit of extra effort makes all the difference.

How do you know you are getting so close to that last 20%? You know because that it when it is the hardest, the darkest. You know because the body hurts and cries for rest. You know because the light at the end of the tunnel is just there on the horizon, but just barely there.

Opportunity is never lost
It goes To Those Ready to Accept It!

Carolyn

Ice Breakers
Obvious Relationship

Science has a language of its own which sometimes puzzles laymen. The word “obvious” is a case in point.

A professor of physics, deriving some profound point of
theory for the class, scribbled an equation on the board and said, “From this, it is obvious that we can proceed to write the following relationship…” and he scribbled a second and equally long equation on the board.

Then he paused. He stared hard at the two equations and
said, “Wait a minute, I may be wrong…”

He sat down and began to write at his desk furiously,
crossing out and rewriting for five minutes while the class
sat in absolute silence waiting for the verdict.

Finally, the professor rose with an air of satisfaction and said, “Yes, I was right in the first place. It *IS* obvious that the second equation follows from the first.”

Thought for Today:
“Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you’ll help them to become what they are capable of becoming.” -Goethe

Tips and Techniques

When things get really tough do you have a plan of action? Do you have exercises you can do that keep you going?
We are facing a tough economy, that’s a given. We have known years of plenty. Are you able to face the lean years and still come out of it with you head on straight and both feet on the ground. You do and you will providing you just keep going. You just keep your integrity high and your eyes on the future. That is the lesson I learned from my grandpa. Grandpa made his fortune during the depression he knew when and how to cut back and he knew how to give the kind of service people would pay for no matter what. You can do that too. When things get tough today just keep on going.

Happy designing!

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A Day In History – Remembered

Good Morning!
I Have Been Thinking

It was pretty exciting today to watch the inauguration of a new president. It made me start to think about the many breakthrough’s that have been made in MY lifetime.

The world had suffered the effects of two world wars before I was born, but since then there have been many major conflicts. We have been witness to the assassination of an American President, the end of the cold war, a man walk on the moon and the biggest change in communication that our world has ever seen.

It was said that more than 2 million people attended today’s festivities in the district. They got there by car, train. plane and even walked in but they got there.

I couldn’t help but notice all the reference made to Dr Martin Luther King. We celebrated his anniversary just yesterday. The man with the “dream” and someone said that “dream” has come true.

I remember busing and segregation.

I remember the cross burnings.

I remember the burning and bombing of churches and

I remember 9-11

I also agree with our new President freedom is costly. The price must be paid. The country is sick and sometime the cure is bitter and painful, but I believe that the American people are the best when things are at their worst. We all know because we run a business that nothing changes over night. Our world is smaller than it has ever been. Two things I remember about today – it will take accepting the responsibility and being accountable for what we do.

Opportunity is never lost
It goes To Those Ready to Accept It!

Carolyn

Start every day with a smile Ice Breakers

Thought for Today:
“All our dreams can come true – if we have the courage to pursue them.” Walt Disney

Tips and Techniques

Do you have a dream that you are willing to fight for?

Happy designing!

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What Is A Life Worth?

Good Morning!
I Have Been Thinking
I don’t usually do this, but I am going to recount a movie that I watched last night called, “The Five People You Meet In Heaven” What really is a life worth? What really is your life worth?

The movie was all about a man who believed with his whole heart that his life wasn’t worth much and that he had been “stuck” in a God forsaken job. He had found happiness in his life with his wife. She meant everything to him, but even she was taken from him while still very young.

The five people he met were people who waited for him so that he would learn the “lesson” that he should know. Have you ever wondered just why things happen the way they do. If you believe that everything happens for a reason, you know you would feel better about things if you only knew the “good” that has to come out of what happens. I know we all can’t see the good. We might say that we understand that all things work for good… and often say that it could be a blessing in disguise, but in this life we may never know why.

Our character, extremely well played by Jon Voight found the meaning to 5 seemingly horrible events in his life and the fact that being “stuck” in his job was not being stuck at all.

The next time it shows, I would like to recommend that you watch it. Then ask yourself, “what if…”

Opportunity is never lost
It goes To Those Ready to Accept It!

Carolyn

Ice Breakers
Chow

During my Army Reserve unit’s annual training at Fort Ord,
Calif., our battalion commander was upset that evening chow was late. He called the mess hall, and the mess sergeant explained that because their vehicle broke down, they couldn’t deliver the field rations to our bivouac site.

The commander immediately yelled to his driver, “Private! Drive to the mess hall and get chow!”

The private took off on the 15-minute trip. Over an hour later, we were dismayed to see him return empty-handed.

“Private!” demanded the commander. “What about chow?”

“It was delicious, sir,” replied the driver. “I got there right
before the mess hall closed, so I got seconds.”

Thought for Today:
“Habit is habit and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.” – Mark Twain

Tips and Techniques

Self improvement is just one of those things no one wants to own up to and yet, if we don’t building a business is going to be next to impossible. Yes a business is about processes. Yes a business is about using the technology and knowing how to use the technology, but if you are too proud to get help when you need it then success will continue to elude you. No one has time on this earth to make all of the mistakes himself.

Happy designing!

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Why!

Good Morning!
I Have Been Thinking

Whatever you are doing remember why you are doing it. It will help keep you focused and motivated. Keeping the ‘reasons” in mind will put everything into perspective.

Sometime I know that I can get so obsessed with the details of life, that I forget life is supposed to be fun. It is supposed to be worth something and that something is always always always tied up in what you value and your purpose. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in “things” that we forget the “reasons”. We settle into habits and patterns, and continue with them just because they are comfortable. By remembering why, often the door will open to new options and possibilities.

If an obstacle or obstacles is blocking your path, ask yourself why you want to get around it. that takes the focus off the obstacle and allows you to cocentrate on your goal. Consider that there may be and entirely different way of getting there.

What are you doing today? Why?

Knowing the reason, when it is meaningful enough to you, will keep you going no matter what.

Opportunity is never lost
It goes To Those Ready to Accept It!

Carolyn

Ice Breakers
Phonetic Problem

Many hymnals have a hymn called “Gladly the Cross I’d Bear.” It seems that one week when the church secretary was typing the Sunday bulletin, she asked the pastor which hymn would come just before the sermon. He replied with the above-mentioned hymn.

The following Sunday the bulletin read:

Hymn No. 134: “Gladly, the Cross-eyed Bear.”

Thought for Today:

“The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible — and achieve it, generation after generation.” -Pearl S. Buck

Tips and Techniques

What picture are you painting on your canvas? What is the book of life saying about you and your time? Are you making a difference around you. You can you know if you know your reason for doing it.

Happy designing!

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