The Time to Act by Jim Rohn

Engaging in genuine discipline requires that you develop the ability to take action. You don't need to be hasty if it isn't required, but you don't want to lose much time either. Here's the time to act: when the idea is hot and the emotion is strong.

Let's say you would like to build your library. If that is a strong desire for you, what you've got to do is get the first book. Then get the second book. Take action as soon as possible, before the feeling passes and before the idea dims. If you don't, here's what happens . . . .

YOU FALL PREY TO THE LAW OF DIMINISHING INTENT.

We intend to take action when the idea strikes us. We intend to do something when the emotion is high. But if we don't translate that intention into action fairly soon, the urgency starts to diminish. A month from now the passion is cold. A year from now it can't be found.

So take action. Set up a discipline when the emotions are high and the idea is strong, clear, and powerful. If somebody talks about good health and you're motivated by it, you need to get a book on nutrition. Get the book before the idea passes, before the emotion gets cold. Begin the process. Fall on the floor and do some push-ups. You've got to take action; otherwise the wisdom is wasted. The emotion soon passes unless you apply it to a disciplined activity. Discipline enables you to capture the emotion and the wisdom and translate them into action. The key is to increase your motivation by quickly setting up the disciplines. By doing so, you've started a whole new life process.

Here is the greatest value of discipline: self-worth, also known as self-esteem. Many people who are teaching self-esteem these days don't connect it to discipline. But once we sense the least lack of discipline within ourselves, it starts to erode our psyche. One of the greatest temptations is to just ease up a little bit. Instead of doing your best, you allow yourself to do just a little less than your best. Sure enough, you've started in the slightest way to decrease your sense of self-worth.

There is a problem with even a little bit of neglect. Neglect starts as an infection. If you don't take care of it, it becomes a disease. And one neglect leads to another. Worst of all, when neglect starts, it diminishes our self-worth.

Once this has happened, how can you regain your self-respect? All you have to do is act now! Start with the smallest discipline that corresponds to your own philosophy. Make the commitment: "I will discipline myself to achieve my goals so that in the years ahead I can celebrate my successes."

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn

Procrastination...

Who hasn't put off doing things at one time or another?

In It's About Time: The 6 Styles of Procrastination and How to Overcome Them, Dr. Linda Sapadin and Jack Maguire write: "Of course, everybody procrastinates occasionally. An unusually messy closet gets cursed for months without ever being cleaned, or the task of writing an especially difficult letter is put off until the last possible minute."

Root Cause
Sapadin and Maguire further investigate the problem that is procrastination and point out that its roots are deep. "For many people, [procrastination] is chronic, pervasive, and deeply-rooted," they analyze. "Because of how, as children, they were conditioned to think, speak, and behave, these individuals have a built-in tendency to not only procrastinate whenever they face a challenging situation, but to do so consistently, in the same way."

Sapadin and Maguire likewise classify procrastinators into six types: Perfectionists, Crisis-Makers, Worriers, Overdoers, Defiers, and Dreamers.

Timely Breakthroughs
While each procrastinator has idiosyncrasies that distinguish him from the rest, Sapadin and Maguire assert that all procrastinators have to take these steps to break free from the bad habit:

1. Stop the negative vibes. Chronic procrastinators have a high level of frustration. This is because they often feel angry over the fact that nothing seems to be happening in their lives. "Some direct this feeling inward and come to regard themselves--at least in certain respects--worthless, stupid, unreliable, or incompetent," say Sapadin and Maguire. So, isolate your procrastination problem and don't let it spawn more negative feelings.

2. Own up to the truth. Procrastinators who don't own up to their problems may also direct "anger at the people around them" or express "resentment of the situations they're in." Own up to your procrastination problem and start finding a way to break away from it with "more productive ways of speaking, thinking, and acting."

3. Take note of your procrastination triggers. You have to pay attention to the factors that make you want to put things off. Keeping track of your reaction to certain situations would make you more conscious of the behavior that you have to correct. Take a notebook and take note of your weak moments. It's not going to be easy to do this, but you have to come clean so you can eventually move forward. You shouldn't keep making excuses like "There's no perfect time for me to do it," "I'm not ready yet," and such to avoid doing things that take you out of your comfort zone. Procrastination shouldn't become your dysfunctional "security blankets."

Good Prognosis
Chronic procrastinators need not despair. "You can solve your [procrastination] problem, no matter how long suffered from it or how hopelessly trapped you may feel," assure Sapadin and Maguire.

As long as you're committed to licking your procrastination ASAP, you're guaranteed a successful rehabilitation and a productive life.

Seven Steps To Blogging Success For Affiliate Marketers

You've probably heard us say this often, but it's worth repeating: One of the MOST important strategies for successful affiliate marketing is building relationships of trust with your customers and subscribers.

You'll always sell the MOST products (and earn the highest commissions) if you recommend your products to your list...

... and the MORE they trust you, the GREATER the chances they'll act on your recommendations.

Now, while we've always said that email marketing is the BEST way to go about building these relationships with your customers, it's certainly not the ONLY way!

Another excellent way to create a sense of familiarity and trust with your visitors and subscribers -- and build your online credibility -- is through a blog.

A blog gives your readers the chance to get to know the "real" person behind your website: You!

By writing short, simple blog posts related to your market or area of interest, your visitors will quickly begin to view you as a trusted friend who is looking out for their best interests, and they'll also see for themselves that you're a reliable resource for information and help.

So, if you'd like to try creating a blog for your site, here are seven simple "rules" you can follow to create one that your customers will return to again and again...

... and one that will help you sell even MORE of your affiliate products:

1. Post often, over an extended period of time

The most important element of EVERY successful blog is the frequency of posting.

Posting often -- daily if possible -- over a long period of time, is the best way to build a large, loyal audience. This large readership provides the base for you to make good money, so posting often is crucial to making your business profitable.

Ideally, you want your blog readers to return every day to read your latest post. If you stop posting for a few days, you risk losing those readers.

Imagine if your favorite daily newspaper often didn't appear for a few days without warning... you'd end up finding a more reliable source of news pretty quickly!

2. Make your content relevant to your target audience

Of course, there's no point posting frequently if your content isn't relevant to your target audience. By providing valuable information and links to other web sites and resources that they can explore for more information, you will keep your readers coming back for more.

To generate sustained levels of good traffic, it's not enough for your content just to be relevant to your audience -- it also needs to be insightful, informative, and even controversial at times (within reason).

And you don't have to be the greatest writer!

If your voice is your own, your tone is genuine, and your content is worth reading, then you'll attract an audience.

3. Encourage dialog and debate through your blog

The most controversial blogs often attract the most traffic. Political blogs are prime examples.

Obviously, if you're running a business blog, you need to be careful what you write, but there's no doubt that a great way to generate large spikes in traffic is to write something new, fresh, and, if not controversial, then at least noteworthy.

Not only does this generate interest in the blogosphere, resulting in other blogs linking to you, but it encourages debate. People leave a comment and then invariably return to read the responses to it, and maybe leave another contribution.

Asking for people's opinion, experience, or ideas is another great way to invite comments.

In a business blog you need to be careful when allowing comments to be left in case someone writes something damaging to your business.

However, blog comments can be managed, and there's no doubt that this dialog is one of the standout features of a blog.

4. Promote your blog everywhere, all the time -- online and offline

To make your blog work, you need to start by driving traffic -- and lots of it -- to it.

The most successful blogs use every tool, directory, and promotional technique they can lay their hands on. And because blogs are now so popular online, there are a LOT of these tools available for you to take advantage of.

5. Make friends, link, and connect

Blogging is not a solitary activity. "Community," "dialog," and "linking" are words you'll hear constantly in blog-related discussions. And the best blogs make full use of the linking features available to link to other relevant web sites or blogs.

By "making friends" and connecting with other blogs where your target audience may hang out, you can get those blogs to link to you, providing a bridge from their blog to yours... and more traffic for you!

Every time you post a comment on a blog you like, or drop the blog owner an email, you are effectively giving out your business card -- complete with an instant link to your blog.

6. Be active in the blogosphere

Just as blogging is a social activity, it's also an active one. The bloggers who really put themselves out there... who link with other blogs... who post comments on message boards, forums, and blogs... who become recognized as an authority in a particular subject... are the ones whose blogs pull in the really big traffic figures.

And ultimately, they're the ones who have the ability to make BIG money!

Think of promoting your blog as "working the room" at your local Chamber of Commerce networking lunch. Okay, the Internet is a large, global "room," but if you find out where your target audience and the other businesses that cater to that audience spend their time, then that's where you should spend your time "networking" and making sure they know who you are.

7. Make your blog a great place to hang out!

Of course, attracting tons of traffic is pointless if you don't ensure that your blog is a fulfilling and worthwhile experience for your visitors.

The content itself is important, but your blog should also be well designed, easy to navigate, and home to features like categorized archives and image folders.

The most successful blogs combine the best elements of chatrooms, online forums, and information and news web sites -- all held together by a template that's pleasing to the eye and easy to navigate.

Many blog readers treat their favorite blogs like their favorite coffee shops -- friendly, comfortable places where they can hang out to read, chat, and socialize.

Finally, remember that you don't need to be a professional writer to write your own blog! Just be yourself, write from the heart, and make sure you're providing relevant information to your audience...

... and you'll be rewarded with increased sales and commissions!

Four Strategies to Find A New Business

By: Brian Tracy

There are four strategies you can use to find a new product or service to start or build your own business.

Search Your Own Field
The first strategy is to find a new product or service in your own field or skills. You may have a million dollar idea in your own mind. Many people have had the experience of having an idea for a product or service nag at them over and over again, and you keep pushing it away or ignoring it.

They say the average person has four ideas each year driving to and from work, any one of which would make them a millionaire if they would just follow it up. So look into your own field or skills. Look into your own mind. Look into your own ideas.

Keep Your Eyes Open
The second strategy is to find a new product or service while you travel. Keep your eyes open for opportunities.

A very good friend of mine who is now a multi-millionaire, started his fortune by traveling east and seeing a unique type of orange drink called Orange Julius and then getting the exclusive rights to sell it in a large Western city. From there, he expanded into other restaurants, into real estate, and into apartments. He developed a high positive cash flow from his Orange Julius business that made him a millionaire.

Sometimes just finding a new product or service that is doing well somewhere else that hasn't come to your market area can make you wealthy.

Get the Rights to Sell It
Remember your objective, when you find a new product or service, is to acquire the rights to sell the product or service exclusively in your market area. Sometimes these rights are available for the asking.

A gentleman I know named Peter Thomas got the rights for Century 21 to Canada simply by going to the offices and asking for them when Century 21 was a young company. From that, he turned Century 21 into one of the most successful real estate franchises in Canada. He is now worth millions of dollars, having taken the cash flow from Century 21 and channeled it into other real estate investments.

Be Sure it is Already Successful
Sometimes just asking for the right to sell it in your market area is all you have to do. Here's the key, though. Before you bring a new product or service back to your market area, be absolutely sure that it sells well somewhere else. Many people advertise products outside their market area because they are not selling inside their market area, so make very sure that the product is selling well already in other markets.

Look For Business Opportunities
Strategy number three is to keep your eyes and ears open and alert to new business opportunities occurring around you. Develop a money-making attitude. A friend of mine became very successful by building commercial property across the street from a new shopping center that was being developed. The traffic from the shopping center made that commercial space extremely valuable. He opened two businesses in it, and started his fortune. So be alert to what is going on around you.

Be Sure You Believe In Your Product
And strategy number four is this. Remember you will only be successful marketing and selling something that you believe in, use yourself and would recommend to your best friend.

Many times, I see people who make the critical mistake of trying to sell a product or service that they themselves would neither use nor afford, nor would they recommend to someone else, but they think that other people will buy it even though they wouldn't. So remember you must really, really believe it the product. You must be excited about the product. You must absolutely believe that this product can enhance the life or work of someone else and then be eager to tell them about it.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do to put these business building strategies to work in your own life:

First, develop a new business mentality. Continually look around you for new products and services that people need, want and are willing to pay for.

Second, develop a money making attitude. Look around you for opportunities to sell products or services that are not currently being offered, at either higher prices or in greater quantities. The possibilities are everywhere.