In his book The War of Art, Steven Pressfield outlines and fleshes out the battle of creativity and artistry that any entrepreneur goes through in order to give birth the things of real value from which others will gain benefit.

Through his own experiences and reflections on humanity, Pressfield powerfully makes the case for the releasing of the artist (or artisan) that lies within the creative higher self we each have.

Although Pressfield doesn’t use the word artisan, but artist, in my book the only tangible difference is the territory traditionally ascribed to each.

And, it’s in the idea of territory that he asserts his premise that this is only real ‘place’ where every true artist can flourish, whether they are a fusion researcher, scientist, entrepreneur, body builder, fashion designer, or writer.

‘Territory’ in essence, as Pressfield defines it, is the region of expertise or influence within which the true artisan flows with purpose and energy, giving birth to what is hidden within, purely for the purpose that it must be released into the world.

On the other hand, the opposite of territory – hierarchy - is a stultifying and inhibiting framework of operation. In a hierarchy, the artist is reduced to being a hack: someone who produces only for affect; not for the higher ideal of releasing inspiration into the world, but for the egocentric accolades they wish to receive from others as a consequence of their creation.

As Pressfield defines it then, the hack has sold out on the higher goals of sharing their intrinsic creativity, to a baser version which is only interested in producing something that will promote the hack’s ego contra his or her peers.

In plain English: the hack does his or her work thinking of how their potential audience will or won’t like the results, but the artist does her work to bring forth of what is within, whether or not an audience exists to receive it.

The artisan gains his or her energy and sustenance from doing the work itself, and not from the praise they hope to receive.

So, is it better to be an artist/artisan or a hack? Clearly not a hack, because at worst a hack is a sycophantic people-pleaser, pandering to the perceived opinions of those the hack is trying to impress, with the hope of receiving some positive affirmation or recognition.

When none comes, the hack is devastated, not having any internal reference point from which to seek solace.

The artist/artisan, on the other hand, travails like a mother-to-be in labor, and as Pressfield beautifully describes, and cries in awe when the miracle baby is held in her arms.

So, can only the hack become wealthy? The answer I believe, is that the hack is never wealthy, even if they are a multi-millionaire, because their offering is never given: instead, the hack always remain the victim of the approval of others, always seeking to compete in a hierarchy rather than operating with skill in their own territory or expertise.

Can the artist/artisan be wealthy? My point is that they will always be wealthy, whether they live in a wooden shack in a shanty town, or in a grand mansion in Beverley Hills. What defines the artist is not the approval of of others’ praise or money showered upon them, but the satisfaction that comes from within at having completed the work that they ached to bring forth, regardless of onlookers’ nods or shakes of head.

Make up your mind then, to be an artist/artisan, and not a hack.

And if you are in any doubt, read Pressfield’s book, the War of Art.

Are You an Artisan or a Hack? is a post from: Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 Blog.If you want to learn how to use the internet to automate your online marketing, consider joining Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 course - it's FREE & could save you thousands of dollars (and gain some dollars too!!)

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Chris Pearson is a great model of what business should be like: he is using his skills to help others. Not only that, but he is willing to put himself out there and let other people know what’s happening. You can read more about Chris at his Blog here.

What I love about the video about is what he says (5:30 onwards) about Twitter (& yes, I’m an avid Twitter user, so I’m not shooting down what it offers, by any means!):

“The bottom line is, if you keep getting capital to the tune of $200 million, it’s much harder to make that money back- it becomes more and more of a speculative thing where you’re hoping to get bought out by one of the few players with billions dollars. And that’s a bogus play. Why can’t your goal with your business be to..make your business awesome and not rely on a buyout down the road?  What’s so bad about that – I don’t know….

He pulls no punches with what he says next – but you’ll have to watch the rest of the video to find out! What I particularly like about his diatribe, is that I passionately believe in the same model of doing business: aim for just offering a solution to your clients that is simply the best that it can be. And don’t be afraid to put yourself out there to promote it, because it’s no use waiting for an angel investor to come along and discover your talent. You are the best person to do that.

So, a big round of applause to Mr Pearson for ‘doing the thing’.

By the way – in case you are wondering how I know about Chris, it’s because I buy his stuff. In particular, the Thesis framework theme that this website runs on. Thesis is incredibly flexible, and customizable compared to the bucket-load of themes I’ve used before, that I’m now using it exclusively on web development projects for local businesses. Click on the image below to take a peak at what Thesis can offer. And yes, that is an affiliate link.

Make The Goal of Your Business to Be Awesome is a post from: Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 Blog.If you want to learn how to use the internet to automate your online marketing, consider joining Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 course - it's FREE & could save you thousands of dollars (and gain some dollars too!!)

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If you’d like to learn how to generate more leads, and more cash for your Network Marketing or MLM business, without having to spend all of your valuable time reading expensive marketing courses, then read on..

Just click on the button the right and you’ll be re-directed to Mike Dillard’s GetWWN landing page, where you’ll need to fill in your contact details.

Mike is an expert network and internet marketer, who has gone from waiting at tables to a seven figure earner in the last 5 years.

If you want to shortcut the learning curve, be free from the multidude of confusing offers coming your way, and learn how to get the results you want faster, and cheaper, than you ever thought possible, then get “What’s Working Now”, and save yourself thousands of dollars in marketing training (yes, I know – I’ve done that, to my shame!).
Mike Dillard knows what he’s talking about – but more than that, he’s pulling in the best of the best of the internet marketing world to help train you to become a successful marketer – whether you’re representing an network marketing opportunity, doing affiliate marketing, or CPA offers, you won’t want to miss out on what Mike will be sharing in this course.

Get WWN: Mike Dillard’s “What’s Working Now?” Out at Noon Central Time is a post from: Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 Blog.If you want to learn how to use the internet to automate your online marketing, consider joining Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 course - it's FREE & could save you thousands of dollars (and gain some dollars too!!)

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So What’s The 10 for 10 All About? In essence, it’s about networking, masterminding, building certainty, expectancy, vision, passion, and most of all, hope. Company directors Jay Kubassek & Aaron Parkinson come from humble beginnings, and they both recognise how important it is for any budding entrepreneur to see it actually working, for real. In fact, all of the speakers you see in the above video have been through the hedge backwards to get to where they are now. They know the sleepless nights, the debt, the doubts, the fears. But instead of being paralysed by the oncoming headlights from the freight train, they took action. They knew it wouldn’t be easy. They knew it would cost them time, energy, effort and pain, to get where they are today. But what kept them going, beyond anything, was a rock-solid belief in themsleves and the vision that they were, and still are reaching for today. If you believe Jay & Aaron do this to make themselves richer, then perhaps you don’t yet understand the power of giving. The Carbon Copy PRO community has been infected by the giving virus. Members at every level understand the power and release that comes from helping others to improve their lives, and that’s what the 10 for 10 is all about. If you’re a struggling online marketer, or perhaps from a network marketing or home-based business background, then you will no doubt identify with, and possibly espouse similar values. What makes Carbon Copy PRO unique in the field of the internet marketing world, is that the training, mindset and leadership development equips any entrepreneur with the right skills to make their business, and life, a success.

Want to know More? Fill in the box above or opposite to find out more from Jay Jubassek, and I’ll get in contact with you too to answer any questions you might have. Make no mistake, Carbon Copy PRO is the premier marketing training platform for any online business, and that’s not just sales hype. Dez.

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Carbon Copy PRO 10 for 10 – What is it? is a post from: Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 Blog.If you want to learn how to use the internet to automate your online marketing, consider joining Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 course - it's FREE & could save you thousands of dollars (and gain some dollars too!!)

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If you’ve been hanging around the IT world for a while, you might know that at one point (and maybe they still do), Microsoft adopted the policy of "embrace and extend".

Translation: take what others are doing, and make it waaaay better.

Often this involves buying companies (and I’m not going to "Microsoft bash" in this post by the way) and working with their existing teams to rapidly move a research project forward to its commercial phase.

Market place dominance becomes possible in an increasing number of meshed niches once a company establishes its brand (think of how many products Amazon now sells compared to 10 years ago).

Is embrace and extend good news for the consumer?

It all depends (of course).

Ubiquity is probably the elixir of life that a company will chase, either to its ultimate ruin, or its universal success, depending on the wisdom and tenacity of its leaders. Becoming a household name on the lips and in the minds of billions of people is a rare accolade only achieved by a few hundred worldwide brands.

In a sense, positioning your company to be some kind of service or infrastructural  backbone almost guarantees your immortality.

I say almost because of course, the environment which sustains brand  dominance is ever-changing, and successful companies ignore the ever-shifting sands of their surroundings at their peril.

So what about Google? Has it drank from this elixir, never to die?

Nobody knows that – but the evidence looks in their favor. Today when Google announced Google Broadband the world almost forgot that just 24 hours ago, we were told about Google Buzz. So, that’s two major innovations within a day.

Talk about ‘stacking’.

I freely admit that the actual rollout of gigabit home broadband is ‘only’ for a pilot group of a maximum of 500,000 North Americans, but nevertheless, Google is clearly straining (perhaps "steam rolling" is more apt) its way into becoming as well known as Coca Cola.

Think about this: less than ten years ago, the small startup had a cool idea about a new way to do to search.

Now even my 3 year old daughter knows the verb "to Google". And every internet marketer around the globe who uses the ubiquitous search engines knows the phrase "Google slap".

And we have the Google phone. And Google Mail. And Google video (aka YouTube). And now a Google Twitter/Facebook mashup that looks like it just might scratch in more places than Google Wave ever will.

And global(?) Google broadband soon…

And Google has its eyes on many other prizes that might well be within its grasp.

Truly embrace and extend.

Truly good for the world?

It all depends, as always, on the character of the leadership of the company. Are they motivated to make the world a better place? It certainly seems so. Google is treading its way to lead ("drag"?) red-necked dollar-driven, hard-nosed multi-nationals into a new era of social capitalism in a way that no-one thought possible – like a Moon-landing-4-minute-mile-water-into-wine extravaganza of "unliklihoods" all rolled into one.

On the other hand, how it all pans out depends, as always, on how Google copes with such universal acceptance. Will it remain able to hold to its open-handed philosophy of "do no evil" (as I alluded to in yesterday’s musings)?

Let’s hope so. Now is a good time to foster the entrepreneurial and innovative mindset like nobody’s business.

Or everybody’s business, perhaps.

Dez.

Google Fiber – “Embrace and Extend”? is a post from: Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 Blog.If you want to learn how to use the internet to automate your online marketing, consider joining Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 course - it's FREE & could save you thousands of dollars (and gain some dollars too!!)

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Back in October 2008, I remember listening in to a call with guest speaker Robert Kiyosaki, who as early as 2002 had seen the writing on the economic wall.

He warned of a global economic downturn so substantial – a new Global Depression, that traditional economies would not recover for many years to come.

Just as in an earthquake, where there are many aftershocks, so it is with the economic equivalent. So where has all the money gone?

Andew Cass strongly indicates that there is an unprecendented economic shift away from traditional ways of doing business: the online market place is continuing to grow at an unprecendented rate.

Is this then a contradiction: are the economies of the world suffering in an unprecended way, not seen since the 1930′s?

Or is there another story to tell?

There is an idea bouncing around the internet that:

More millionaires were created in the 1930′s Depression than at any other time in history.

Now I’m the first to admit that I haven’t check this statement, but probing a bit deeper might help explain how this could be the case.

The last global economic depression didn’t result in there being less money, but it did result in there being less money available.

That’s one view, in any case. What if it were true?

If it is true, then perhaps it might explain why more millionaires were created like never before.

Those who espouse the "Free-market" philosophy of economics would point perhaps to the idea that in tough economic times, only the fittest survive. Others might explain it slightly different language: only those businesses which continued to deliver real value to their clients survived and flourished.

The rest went to the wall, as they were either not good enough, or, more likely they were not flexible enough to adapt in the face of the massive change being thrust upon them.

Doesn’t this sound all so depressing, as we think of the unforseen knock-on effects of the last global depression?

In my opinion, it’s only depressing if we choose to see the game in the same old way. If we choose to re-align ourselves with the demands of the current reality, we will find solutions.

I’m not saying that there is a magic economic pill that can be swallowed to make things better, but I am saying that challenging problems require creative solutions.

It doesn’t take an economic expert (and I’m not one) to see this.

If that’s true, then, why is it that so many organizations don’t adapt in the face of adversity??

Why do they carry on as if it’s business as usual?

Here’s my ‘gut’ answer (and no evidence here – sorry!):

We don’t change because there is comfort in our present habits and routines and reliance on past successes to lull us into a disastrous false sense of security, summed up by beliefs such as:

"this is the way it has always been"

or, another powerful maxim that hacks and mortally wounds creativity like a unleashed samurai sword:

"if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it".

These, and many other well-meaning beliefs blind us to the solutions to the possible dangers that lie ahead.

Think about this for a moment: when was the last time you asked yourself the questions:

"Is what I am doing the best thing I could do?"

or:

"Is this solution the only realistic way to overcome the problem?"

What if Andrew Cass is correct in believing that there is no recession on the world wide web? What if there really are ways to survive this current economic chaos?

One way we can gain some clues as to possible solutions is to study what others are doing.

Here’s a name that you might have heard of:

AMAZON

And here’s another:

GOOGLE

You get my point, I hope.

I’m not trying to say things are rosey in the online garden. They’re patrolled by scorpions and black-widow spiders just like anywhere else.

But what I am saying is this: if you are in business (whether it’s as a home-based sole trader, or traditional offline brick and mortar business) and you don’t equip yourself with the latest online marketing training that works now, you will get left behind by someone else who does adapt, who is willing to change.

If that sounds unsettling, then maybe you need to re-evaluate how and what your business is doing.

It only takes an innovative entrepreneur to come along with a new way of doing things to wipe the floor clean before his or her competitors have had time to draw a sharp intake of breath.

I believe Andrew Cass is right: there is no recession on the worldwide web. But only for those who know how to use it.

Dez.

Where Has All The Money Gone? is a post from: Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 Blog.If you want to learn how to use the internet to automate your online marketing, consider joining Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 course - it's FREE & could save you thousands of dollars (and gain some dollars too!!)

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Why Integrity Matters

Integrity, as author Dr Henry Cloud says in his groundbreaking book of the same title, is important because "It affects our real results in the areas of our lives which matter to us most". (Preface, Integrity: the courage to meet the demands of reality).

In other words, integrity is all to do with joining up the dots between personal character and the actions which flow out into the real world around us. Dr Cloud aptly describes how a right approach to dealing with integrity or its lack, both within ourselves and with those around us, leads to incalculable yet measurable benefits to all.

The pathway to producing people who have a firm commitment to following this path is one of the most important considerations in business and any interpersonal relationships.

So, what exactly is integrity? The bulk of this article will describe it different facets, or dimensions, leaving you with a very clear understanding of what you must do in order to realize and plan out how to foster a culture which embraces the values each dimension represents.

Let’s begin.

Integrity is Six Dimensional

Treating integrity as multi-dimensional allows us to map out each facet in a clear way. In reality, these dimensions are not independent of one another, but are inextricably meshed and intertwined within the very fabric of human relationships. I’m only separating out the different strands to help steer a careful pathway to make things easier!

Dimension 1: Establishing Trust

Being able to successfully follow through on what you say you are going to do is a significant part of trust-building. In old-fashioned language, someone who "is as good as his word" is a person who has a dependable consistency that others can rely on.

But establishing trust not only entails consistent actions, it also involves consistent behaviour. People trust others who they feel are stable in their response to challenges.

Trust runs deeper than this alone however, and it’s to do with the way in which we express understanding and empathy as we relate to others.

Cultivating empathy – being able to put yourself in the shoes of others, and being able to communicate that to them, is a sign of caring for others that I will examine in more detail when I look at transcendence, but for now, hang on to the fact that establishing yourself as a trustworthy person entails becoming a master of consistency as well as empathy.

Dimension 2: Oriented Towards Truth

This dimension is summed up in the phrase "actively seeking after and communicating the full reality of the situation".

In other words, people who are oriented towards the truth aren’t merely those who don’t lie, but they have a tendency to be honest even when it might be painful to themselves or others.

The reason for this is that they understand that the full reality of a situation is the description within which there is the best likelihood of a solution that will work.

Dimension 3: Getting Results

Finishing well is the best way to sum up this dimension of integrity. Those who finish well have a very good understanding of their key strengths, and at the same time they recognise where they require the help of others to manage those areas where they lack skill or experience.

Getting results depends on the awareness that to bring order, to make things work, you have to invest your and your team’s skills in a wholehearted and skilful way, matching each person’s strengths to the different aspects of the task in hand.

For example, you wouldn’t ask the creative director of a company to audit the company’s finances. Likewise, your finance officer wouldn’t necessarily be most suited to think of new ways to market you company’s products.

But getting results goes deeper than just skills or talents.

Finishing well is a character trait of someone who is mature – they are able to realistically assess what they can and can’t do, they are not afraid to be vulnerable to their team; they have confidence in their own strengths and yet fully recognise and validate the strengths of others around them.

Dimension 4: Embracing the Negative

When was the last time you welcomed criticism, even embraced it? How easy do you find it to separate out the message from the messenger?

"Tell me the last 10%" sums up someone who is willing to hear the valid criticisms of others, knowing full well that there is the real risk that the messenger may not want to withhold their grievances in a kind way.

But a person or business that has learned the value of not only allowing the criticism, but actively seeks it out gains immeasurably over those who would want to avoid the painful realities that encompass the untold 10% of any given problem.

As Henry Cloud puts it so aptly:

No Problem, No Profit.

Facing into the wind of a problem is a tough call, but for those people or organisations who dare, they understand the fullness of the extent of the realities surrounding them, and are in a much better position to bring real and lasting solutions that remain totally inaccessible to others.

Dimension 5: Oriented Towards Increase

Cloud beautifully sums up this dimension of integrity:

You will not grow if you do not attempt to do things you cannot yet do.

Being oriented towards increase means that you or your organizations are on a continuous pathway to learn, to develop, to want to be stretched and challenged.

Muscles that don’t get used eventually wither, and the effects they were intended to produce eventually die through lack of exercise.

Likewise, a person or organization that loses that hunger to develop, to increase – to become more of who they are, eventually loses those skills and abilities.

Conversely, those who have an insatiable appetite to grow, to become more of who they are finish up with a greater sense of mission, purpose and direction.

They surround themselves with others, who coach, mentor them towards excellence. They pursue this goal by allowing others the permission to have an important say in how they are doing.

Dimension 6: Oriented Towards Transcendence

Lastly, integrity has to do with cultivating an awareness that there is a bigger picture that you are part of, that you as an individual or organization are a necessary jigsaw puzzle within which to fit.

This last characteristic of integrity is perhaps the hardest to achieve, because it involves a willingness of self-denial, self-correction and the ability to adjust to the demands around us.

As Dr Cloud puts it:

The immature character asks life to meet his demands. But the mature character meets the demands of life.

Action: An Integrity Audit

If you have read the above and realise there are gaps within yourself or your company, now is the time to do something about it. Don’t let the experience of the past dictate the patterns of the future. There are many good organisations which can help struggling companies and individuals make the breakthroughs they know they need to achieve.

The key thing, if you lack integrity in significant ways, is to take action. Failure to do so will invariably result (sooner or later) in negative consequences that could otherwise be changed before they look imminent and unstoppable.

You owe it to yourself, and those around you to make those changes happen.

About the Author

Dez Futak, is an online entrepreneur, business owner and teacher who devotes his time and energy helping others achieve the results they want for their business and lives.

Visit Dez’s website now if you would like to find out more about training in online marketing.

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Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ – Integrity In Business

Integrity In Business: The 6 Dimensions is a post from: Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 Blog.If you want to learn how to use the internet to automate your online marketing, consider joining Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 course - it's FREE & could save you thousands of dollars (and gain some dollars too!!)

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In his groundbreaking book Integrity, The Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality, Dr Henry Cloud outlines what he considers to be one of the most important character traits that any child can gain as they grow up. As the title suggests, the ability or skill in learning how to lose well is that character trait. Why is this? What is Henry Could wanting to communicate here?

After all, if you’ve read the book or seen the film Apollo 13, you’ll probably remember the phrase that echoes down the corridors of time, cheering us on:

"Failure is not an option!".

The tenacity, brilliance, creativity and sheer dogged determinism to save the precious lives of the astronauts aboard the Apollo 13 spacecraft will be studied and remember for decades, if not centuries.

So, is failure ever an option? What would 77 year old Gene Kranz say to Henry Cloud’s ideas?

Obviously I think they both have some valid things to say.

Here’s my angle on it: winners want to be successful in what they work at, they are not satisfied with second best. They want to achieve the best possible result for the goal they have in mind. They don’t want anything else. When winners don’t achieve their original goal however, they recognize that they have lost, but they know that they haven’t failed.

This is a very important point. Think about the last time you lost. Did you feel like a failure, coming down hard on yourself for not having achieved what you might have done had you just been that much smarter or perhaps if you had worked that bit harder….

It’s an easy thing to do.

But, and listen up here: it’s a killer way to analyze your loss. Losing is, after all, is as much part of life as winning. But in a real sense, failure is not an option, winning or losing. If Gene Kranz hadn’t managed to pull the team together, if they hadn’t been able to save the lives of their friends some 250,000 miles from home, they would have indeed lost.

But they would have done everything in their power to make a success – to get a win – out of what was understandably an almost impossible situation.

How they responded to their reality made ALL the difference.

They were tenacious, focused and determined. But they knew that success was not an automatic given.. Gene Kranz and his team of engineers, scientists and technicians also knew that their mindset would play a huge part in the chances of success, however. AND THIS IS THE KEY.

How we respond to the challenges, setbacks, lack of desired outcomes, makes all the difference to whether or not we are winners or not.

You see, I believe, we can be winners whether or not we get what we want. We might not always succeed in our goals. We might, if our lives are anything like the other billions of people on the planet, sometimes suffer hardship, pain, or disappointment.

But despite this, if we have the right mindset – if we know how to lose well – to accept that things might not always go the way we want – then we are far more likely to maintain our sense of destiny, courage, tenacity and enthusiasm for life. Whilst there is always something to be sad about in life, there are many things a grateful heart has to be thankful for.

So make it your goal to know how to lose well, to gain the type of thinking which has resilience and creativity in the face of adversity.

How do you do that? Well, the only way I know is by letting others into my space, either via my personal development through books and courses, or ultimately via the process of relationship with an important other or others. In my case, my wife, family  and my faith in God are the biggest influence on an on-going basis.

But if you have a different outlook on life, or are not in a close relationship, you can achieve a very high degree of success by surrounding yourself with a like-minded community of people who all share the same quest for wholeness (one of the six faces of integrity as Henry Cloud defines it).

Masterminding, finding a group of people with whom you can be honest with, and many other methods, can all help improve our mindset, our outlook on the world, our perception of ourselves and others.

Don’t make the mistake of confusing this with developing skills. Real winners know that the main difference between winners and failures is not skill. It’s our mindset and character.

As Jim Rohn famously said: work harder on yourself than your job. More than ever n the current economy, we know that a job is a fleeting hope for many. But real winners have the courage to face the reality of their situations and turn them to a new direction to create the circumstances for success.

They know they might not always achieve what they want. But they know how lose well.

Dez.

PS: I’ve recently started a new website called the 365 Secrets of Success Please do pay the website a visit and add your comments. Share your wisdom and insight.

Winners Know How to Lose Well is a post from: Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 Blog.If you want to learn how to use the internet to automate your online marketing, consider joining Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 course - it's FREE & could save you thousands of dollars (and gain some dollars too!!)

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For anyone that’s been around for a while, you have almost certainly heard of the legendary rise of Gary Vaynerchuk. If not, just use Google.com or even better – search.twitter.com.

Gary definitely has what I call SIX APPEAL.

So, what is Six Appeal, and why would you want it?

Well, here it is in a nutshell:

Six Essential Qualities That Are Guaranteed to Get Others to Follow You And Buy Your Stuff.

So, what are these six essential qualities?

You know the first three:

• Know you
• Like you
• Trust you

It’s almost become a mantra that personal branding mentors, network marketers and home business owners soothingly send themselves to sleep with every night, and wake up feeling refreshed in the morning.

Seriously a minute: we all know there is nothing new in the KLT formula above. It’s not new to the world of direct sales or marketing. It’s fundamental to the way societies hold together: everyone wants to be known, liked and trusted, and/or be part of a community which reflects and shares those values.

What about the other three keys to Six Appeal?

As usual, someone (OK, it was me) always likes to come up with a simple "It’s as easy as A,B,C" system to help you remember this sort of thing, so here it is:

People want to follow others who are:

• Able
• Bold
• Clever

Now before you shoot me down here, let me qualify where I’m going:

Able – someone who has a high degree of skill or experience in a particular field, in other words an expert. Gary clearly knew a lot about wine when he launched his web-business. Score 1.

Bold – someone who is not afraid to take risks and try things others have never done before. http://tv.winelibrary.com was an unheard of and untried phenomenon before Gary got there. Score 2.

Clever – someone who is able to creatively put together ideas and thoughts to make something new, brilliant, or incredibly useful. Or some combination of all of those, or more. Score 3 Gary.

So, by my definition, Gary Vaynerchuk scores 6/6. So he DEFINITELY has Six Appeal.

Hey – but what if you don’t like him? Well, not everybody like his raw language. But that’s who he is. Raw. Uncut. Not afraid. Gary. Himself.

So, if you’re an aspiring entrepreneur who is trying to carve out a niche, gain a following, become a leader in your own right, take a leaf ouf of WineLibrary.tv ‘s founder.

Don’t just be liked, known and trusted. Add the other three ingredients to the mix, because when you have something of great value to others, you’ll have the A, B, C as well as the K, L, T.

Right, I’m off to study Hungarian basket weaving like nobody has ever done it before. <joke>.

Dez.

Have You Got Six Appeal? is a post from: Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 Blog.If you want to learn how to use the internet to automate your online marketing, consider joining Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 course - it's FREE & could save you thousands of dollars (and gain some dollars too!!)

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Here’s a funny story.

I was staying in an inn with family for a short trip to see relatives recently. We got to our room late at night, so in the morning I was dog tired from the journey and lack of sleep.

So I decided to take a shower to get the blood flowing again. I pulled back the shower curtain and noticed that it was an electric shower, with it’s own heater.

Now I don’t know about you, but when I see electric showers, I always groan inwardly: “Aw no, it’s gonna be a dribble…that ain’t gonna wake me up!”.

From the title of this post, you’ve probably already guessed where I’m heading with what I’m about to tell you next.

I was wrong. Dead wrong. In fact, I was so completely wrong, I ended up laughing to myself as I got blasted by the jet of hot water that blasted my tired head.

It was one of the best showers I’ve had.

Here’s the funniest thing though: the following place we stayed, also in the same chain of inns, the shower looked the part. Big cubicle. Large shower head. But the water just dribbled out.

I know you’re thinking that I must be exaggerating here. But I’m not. It was as if the message was being drummed home to me like nobody’s business:

Don’t be fooled by how things look. 99 times out of a hundred you may be right. But you don’t know that your past experience will be a good enough guide for what happens today.

So don’t use past experience to pre-judge the way things will pan out with what’s happening to you now. Otherwise you’ll miss out on possibly what could be pretty amazing.

Dez .

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Things Ain’t always What They Seem… is a post from: Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 Blog.If you want to learn how to use the internet to automate your online marketing, consider joining Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 course - it's FREE & could save you thousands of dollars (and gain some dollars too!!)

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Josh Klein’s exposition on how to get crows to cooperate with human beings is a creative example of how we can work with other species to both our advantages – a classic case of symbiosis.

What about in business? Competitors are usually seen as a threat to an established dominance – a threat which some would want to quash or crush out of existence, in order to maintain a singular stranglehold on a hard-won market.

But is there another, more eco-centric way of doing business? Does conscious capitalism provide any possible solutions to such an survival-of-the-fittest approach?

Obviously I believe "yes" is the answer to these questions. Josh’s TED talk raises important questions on how we should do business in the rapidly changing twenty first century. We need, as Richard Dawkins would wholeheartedly agree, to move beyond evolutionary behavio(u)r, to a new paradigm in which forging links with like-minded entrepreneurs forces us to think creatively to find solutions in which we both benefit – the win-win, rather than win-lose methodologies that dominated the last century.

But, you might think – isn’t this all a bit idealistic, with so many out there still preferring the smell of blood rather than the smell of fresh bread shared around a table?

After all, the litigation industry has its wheels oiled by the kill or be killed approach, so why try and do something different?

Well, like Josh Klein, I would argue that there is, in the long run, a much better way of living, in which there is something for everyone to gain. My role is to find those business partners who share this approach, and with eyes open to the wolves, defend myself against those who are solely out to destroy. Let me be clear – I am talking metaphorically here, in case anyone is worried by such language.

So – why not make the crows in your life a benefit, and not attempt to just wipe them out?

Don’t kill Your Competition – Find a Symbiotic Solution is a post from: Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 Blog.If you want to learn how to use the internet to automate your online marketing, consider joining Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 course - it's FREE & could save you thousands of dollars (and gain some dollars too!!)

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The story of Jay Kubassek & Aaron Parkinson is one worth knowing: how they came from relative obscurity, to creating one of the most dynamic online internet marketing communities within the space of a couple of years. Jay’s background as a farmer & then car muffler salesman, and Aaron’s as a bouncer -are testimony that anyone with enough desire for change can escape the slavery of modern poverty that so many are becoming increasingly entrapped by.

Did it cost them lots of time and money? You bet. And probably lots of sleepless nights as they broke free from the chains that hold so many back from becoming truly financially independent.

What’s special about their story is that instead of just making themselves wealthy (which they will be quick to tell you would’ve been far less hassle and a lot easier), they decided to form a community where anyone who wants to have the opportunity to do what they have done, can tap into a nurturing training environment which provides an unmatched resource-base alongside teachers who are in the top 1% income bracket online.

Both Jay & Aaron continue to market their business themselves, so they know how things change as the changes happen.

Above all this, they knew that traveling this journey together has made all the difference. Since joining in with what they’ve created, I know exactly what they mean, and exactly what to do to make it happen in my life as I walk with like-minded entrepreneurs into the biggest opportunity in the history of the post-technology age.

As Aaron himself points out: if two teenagers can make a living online, anyone can. It just takes guts and persistance.

If you’ve got the guts and a vision for life that is bigger than you, click on the image below & signup to find out what Jay & Aaron have created.

 

Click on the Image Above to Find out How Jay & Aaron have helped change thousands of lives

Work on your own? No way! is a post from: Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 Blog.If you want to learn how to use the internet to automate your online marketing, consider joining Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 course - it's FREE & could save you thousands of dollars (and gain some dollars too!!)

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This might end up just being for a bit of fun, but I’m constantly on the lookout for smart ways to attract traffic, I admit!

I’m launching a new url shortening service over the next few days, and I’ll be interested to monitor how effective the advertising space will be at generating traffic/leads & also possible revenue.

I’ll keep shtum about the details just for now, for obvious reasons, but as soon as it’s out of beta, you’ll get a chance to test drive.

What could it offer than existing services like bit.ly don’t already provide?? Well, that’d be telling, but it will have a few bells & whistles some url shortners lack.

I have to be honest though: I’m more wanting to see whether or not it provides a useful traffic boost for my primary business .

More news soon.

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Coming soon: New url shortener! is a post from: Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 Blog.If you want to learn how to use the internet to automate your online marketing, consider joining Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 course - it's FREE & could save you thousands of dollars (and gain some dollars too!!)

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What should you do to avoid the slide into poverty through forced redundancy?

How will you manage your debt when your income looks set to become uncertain?

These and many other questions are undoubtedly being asked by many people today across the United Kingdom, as the official figures released by the government  show how fragile and unstable our current economic model has become in the face of the global economic metropolis that we are now all part of.

The biggest question each one of us needs to answer is: what will I do to avoid the increasing likelihood of long term poverty, the likes of which we haven’t known since the 1940′s and 1950′s?

The only viable answer, as I’ve previously blogged, is to become financially independent through entrepreneurship. The illusion of a guaranteed job for life was shattered a long time ago, but now we are faced with the distinct possibility of there being no real jobs of any economic value for many of us.

What are you doing about this dilemma?

If you don’t have a plan B yet, get one now.

UK unemployment climbs to 2.47m‎ is a post from: Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 Blog.If you want to learn how to use the internet to automate your online marketing, consider joining Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 course - it's FREE & could save you thousands of dollars (and gain some dollars too!!)

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Notes from a Business Trainee

These notes are transcripts and personal additions that I’ve added, taken from the daily Wake-up Conference calls.

I’ll be quick to admit that I’m on my own path to achieving these characteristics, and that I don’t consider myself to have mastered them all in my own life or business.

Integrity & Honesty

Do what you say your going to do by when you say you’re going to do it,

This isn’t easy.

We all struggle to attain this, but the more you can aim for this in what you do in your personal and professional life, the more people around you will trust you, and be willing to hear what you have to say.

Integrity is the onion-layer that should you find underneath honesty in your role as a leader, as a person in your own right. It’s not enough to be honest as such. There needs to be a consistency of character in who you are as person for people to really be able to trust you.

This requires humility – something I’ll talk about in a minute. But before I do, I want to talk about an internal characteristic which you might call one of the primary engines of living: having a purpose.

A Purpose-driven life

If you’re goal in life is just to become wealthy, you’ll find life at the top of that particular ladder very lonely.

If, on the other hand, you seek to find a purpose which serves the interests of those around you in some clearly defined way, you will be far more likely to gain a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction that comes from giving to others what they can’t get on their own.

What if you haven’t found a purpose?

If you’re in this position, you need to start thinking about this now. You won’t achieve greatness in your life by simply stumbling along. Having higher goals in life, that go beyond your material comfort, are what will help you to keep going. If you’re reading this page, you’re here because you want to know about successful leadership. It would be a good guess to suggest you might already be a leader in some way, then.

What I’m talking about here is the need to aim for a higher vision of life so that when internal struggles and external adversity comes your way, you will be able to creatively work through them and learn the lessons which fan into flame your ultimate goals.

If you don’t have any such goals, or purpose, you won’t stay the course.

More importantly, if you desire to inspire in others a sense of their own purpose, they will look to you without question. Leadership, then, depends not just on integrity but also your ability to gain a higher purpose for your own life and for those around you. Just think of leaders you know who have modelled this, and you’ll soon understand what I mean.

Humility

• in team-work
• in being honest with your mistakes: own your mistakes. Mistakes happen.

This has nothing to do with flaws in your character as such. In your pursuit of aiming for higher goals in life, you’ll not be able to do everything. You shouldn’t aim for this. You will make mistakes – this is part of life. Another perspective on what mistakes are is this:

A mistake is merely your attempt to do something you haven’t yet mastered.

People sometimes confuse a mistake with a character flaw, or weakness – but it’s obvious, in the light of the above definition that they aren’t the same. As soon as you’re able to distinguish between mistakes and character flaws, you’re heading in the right direction to becoming a true leader.

As you rise in leadership, your mistakes will become more transparent to you and others around you, so humility in the face of them is ever-more important.If you’re a leader and you think can impose the direction your team will go, you’re in for a painful ride. Openness to others is a key component of mutual trust and you can’t build trust if you’re not willing to listen to those around you.

It’s true that it’s humbling to admit to mistakes, but as soon as you do, those around you will trust you with theirs. More importantly, you’ll be able to help one another in those areas of life where you know you have weaknesses. This isn’t new: it’s one of the bases of any successful community or team.

Humility, then, is a strong foundation for commitment amongst your team, and your commitment to them.

Know how to express sincere appreciation for your team. Where would you be without them? The head is useless without the rest of the body. Honour the members of your team.

What has this got to do with humility? In essence, your acknowledgement of their role gives them significance, it elevates their contribution. If each person in your team is embraced in this way, you won’t need to ask them to play their part. As they see you serve, they’ll serve.

This servant leader-perspective is not new, but it’s the most powerful. There are many examples in history of great leaders who have modeled this to the nth degree.

If you’re based in the US, you might well bring to mind John Wooden, the UCLA championship basketball coach. Now reaching towards his centenary year (he was born in 1910), John Wooden’s inspirational leadership is the direct result of his own study and following of arguably the greatest leader of all time.

Although John Wooden has long since retired from basketball, his influence echoes powerfully on today, as many have struggled to emulate his outstanding model of leadership.

The most satisfying and enjoyable workplaces I’ve been in have all had leaders which have modeled these characteristics in their professional lives. If you want to leave a similar legacy in the way you lead, I highly recommend you aim for these characteristics in your own sphere of leadership, whether that’s in business, or wherever you have that role to play in life.

As a father and teacher by background, these are salutary lessons I know I’m still on the pathway to achieving, but with the help of others in my latest business adventure, I’m confident of being able to achieve them like never before.

If you’d like to find out more about what I’m up to, please click on the links below, in the resources section.

Resources

For more information about this new business, click here.

Key Characteristics to Successful Leadership in Business part 1 is a post from: Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 Blog.If you want to learn how to use the internet to automate your online marketing, consider joining Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 course - it's FREE & could save you thousands of dollars (and gain some dollars too!!)

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What do you Hope to Achieve in Your Life?

Although the above video is all but a small snapshot of motivational training, the Carbon Copy Pro team enable the average business person to become a true entrepreneur. But more than that, they empower anyone who wants to, to find a bigger purpose in life.

It’s not that money isn’t useful – it’s more that it enables things to happen. Whilst this is an obvious point, it’s so often missed by wannabe business owners who are breaking free from an employee mindset. The initial almost euphoric rush associated with having more money than you know what to do with can soon be replaced with concerns that come with being wealthy. Unless you have a bigger purpose.

If you don’t have a bigger purpose – if your goal is merely to replace your employers income, or to have lots of money so you can show how good you are, the wealth will corrode your character, and diminish it.

That’s what Jay & Aaron are most concerned about in the people they are training. The last thing they want is a bunch of people who end up worse that they were before they had financial independence. Carbon Copy Pro is committed to helping people to become more than just financially independent.

They want to inspire people to become leaders who will shape the world for the better.

And it all starts with what inside our heads.

What are you wanting to do with what remains of your life? Do you have as yet unfulfilled goals? Do you have a practical method to fulfill them?

But more than that, are you ready to allow what’s inside your head to be changed? Because without that change, we remain stuck where we are.

If you want to see some things change around you, then maybe you can be part of the solution.

If you’re willing to do what it takes, find out more here.

But please don’t click if you don’t want to see change happen, or you’re just in it for the money. There’s already plenty of money. What the world needs is change-makers. People who are willing to have both eyes fixed on the bigger picture of life.

What’s Inside Your Head? is a post from: Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 Blog.If you want to learn how to use the internet to automate your online marketing, consider joining Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 course - it's FREE & could save you thousands of dollars (and gain some dollars too!!)

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SUMMARY:

• Running your own business can be a bit like becoming an explosives expert, especially in the realm of handling money.
• You need the right training, skills and help to use the money wisely and powerfully.

My wife was chatting with me earlier on today about my business, and she came out with this statement, which has stuck with me ever since:

“Handling money is a bit like being able to handle dynamite. It’s a very powerful tool, but you need to use it wisely, so you can do things like quarrying for diamonds, or making amazing shapes in mountainsides. Otherwise you’ll get hurt.”

This is a very pithy summary of a long conversation we had together, which came on the back of a new business venture I’ve recently embarked upon. My wife is my personal & primary business coach – she often has profound insights which help me avoid driving off the side of a cliff at high speed (oblivious to the dangers I hasten to add – not because I’ve had enough!!).

In our personal and working lives, we all need something larger than ourselves – often times business owners will form mastermind groups, where new creative ideas can flow synergistically.

Wherever we’re at in our working or business life, we undoubtedly need human relationships as a more profound basis for meaning and fulfilment. But we also need expertise and training alongside those more personal needs.

If you want to handle dynamite, you’ll need advice and support, and on-going training.

To find out more about where I get mine, click here.

Are you Ready to Handle Dynamite? is a post from: Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 Blog.If you want to learn how to use the internet to automate your online marketing, consider joining Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 course - it's FREE & could save you thousands of dollars (and gain some dollars too!!)

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• Eban Pagan attributes much of his success down to the fact that he moves the “free line” (ie the proportion of content that he gives away) deep into the territory of content that can genuinely make a massive difference to his viewers, and the above is a typical example of the invaluable advice he gives away.
• Watch the videos & you’ll understand why he entitles the mini series this way – apart from being very eye-grabbing, it’s a useful way to frame what you might be doing in your business – are you setting things up to make you a hostage of your own success, or will your business set you free?
• If you’re new to Internet Marketing, you might feel bewildered and confused by the exponentially-growing opportunities that exist, and you may not know where to start. For a limited time, I’m offering a free Internet Marketing Course that I’ll be running in the next few months. If you want to be kept up to date with its release, sign up below.

Held Hostage! Or, Set Free? is a post from: Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 Blog.If you want to learn how to use the internet to automate your online marketing, consider joining Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 course - it's FREE & could save you thousands of dollars (and gain some dollars too!!)

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Getting the Rocket off the Ground

Sometimes, getting started in something new can seem like a very frustrating experience: you spend a lot of time and energy building the foundations of your business/career/whatever, and yet there doesn’t seem much to show for your efforts. Whilst there are possible quick ways to build, they often involve an initial upfront financial outlay that is beyond people’s cashflow, and there’s no guarantee that you’ll have the technical skills needed to make such high octane methods actually work.

I’m not saying that it’s not possible – you just need to be careful that you don’t try & get the rocket off the ground before it’s ready. If you think of all the preparation that goes into a typical rocket launch – the number of people involved, the careful preparation, the seeming endless checking & re-checking, maybe it’ll help you from letting impatience get the better of the sober judgment that can be all too easily thrown out of the window for the sake of some possible shortcut.

Most of the fatal historical space missions were, after all, much to do with people trying to take shortcuts. So don’t you fall into the same trap when considering amazing opportunities.

Don’t skip on the preparation. It may seem slow, and sometimes it’s hard to maintain your focus when you don’t see the outcome of your efforts soon, but remember that the most amazing things take the longest to build. Or get to the launch phase, ready for take-off.

Lastly, (as I’m a physicist by training!) – don’t forget that the rocket has the most mass at launch…it only starts really accelerating once quite a bit of the fuel has been used…then things start to change at an amazng pace

Getting the Rocket Off The Ground is a post from: Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 Blog.If you want to learn how to use the internet to automate your online marketing, consider joining Dez Futak's Internet Marketing 101 course - it's FREE & could save you thousands of dollars (and gain some dollars too!!)

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