Do you let the choas of life define you? Or are you inclined to self-evolve and adapt?

Let’s take two drastic over dramatised scenarios whereby I can provide you evidence of your own power that is yours to harness at times of great adversity and even at times that seem menial. You can change your life in incredible ways without even changing your circumstances. If you can understand this, then your life will change guaranteed! Many times it’s the very frequent engagement with the menial activities in life that can seem to reinforce our lack of power and ability to truly live.

Scenario one: A car accident takes your legs off.
Scenario two: Administrative clerk on low wage bracket and long hours.

If your legs are taken off in an accident, do you revert to a hermit like existence? Living in a wheelchair hidden in your home away from the glare of the world. Or do you take up a sport like wheelchair basketball or rowing and become a Paralympics world champion? What makes the difference between the hermit and the champion? Same set of circumstances, right?

In a dead end job, do you go home and watch TV or do you research what skills are needed in the next 10 years in your local library and then take online courses or night classes to earn the skills or certificate in skills that will give you the opportunity to create the life you despise others for having? Your income has not changed and your circumstances are the same right?

So in your life, do you let chaos define you? Do you let life’s challenges strangle your every breath of hope in life? Or are you inclined to self-evolve and adapt?

It all boils down to perception on any given circumstance. What’s your perception of your circumstance? How can you change it?

Act now! Adapt and evolve!

Entreprenuer : What’s it really like?

It’s like vertigo. A rollercoaster ride. Volatile. Emotional. Everlasting.

It’s like a summer romance and married couple of 40 years all in one.

Being an entreprenuer before you’ve made an income can be devasting difficult to process. The world precieves you as a “wannabe” and you struggle from day to day fighting to prove yourself. Hoping that if you just keep moving closer to your complete vision that the next step will present itself until you breakthrough.

Each day is a love story sometimes peppered with thriller and nightmare scenes.

You have to love it.

You have to want it with all of your being.

You have to have courage and balls!!!!!

I’m 2 weeks away from launching my first business. And I can say, although It has been life and soul demanding journey, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Each day you get closer the more valuable your work becomes.

In the beginning you dream and envision what your future will be like, but when you actually complete 90% of the work, it no longer seems like a dream. It becomes a reality. A moment to embrace!

I haven’t discussed my journey as much as I have wanted but I will update as frequently as I can from here on in.

Best of luck to you.

The power of a definite purpose

Can I really achieve what I want to achieve in my life? – This may be the undelining question that catapolts our psyche into a haze of insecurities, doubts and fears.

Why?

Because we can’t see the future. We don’t see how it can all happen. We know that there are steps that can be taken to move towards our goals, however, the path seems to end where darkness fuses with our hope. There at that point, as we view from our starting point, we cannot envision what would happen next.

I’ve taken massive leaps and bounds over the past 7 months. I started with a goal, as dream, and now I have 6 people working with me towards my dream. Each contributing to the overall success of the business.

I’ve picked up the phone, I’ve emailed and I’ve met many people, all of whom I communicated my vision with so that I may build a team.

If you had asked me months ago, do you believe you would have an office with 4 people working with you and another two vital to the success of the project, I would have said “I sure hope so” but it certainly would have been very hard for me to see. Because in my mind there were a hundred and one things that needed to be accomplished before I could see what I have now accomplished.

There’s much more I want to say about how I have communicated, what learnings I have been taught through my trails and who I have leaned on during times of psychological lows.

This site was originally meant to serve as a guide to those that will come after me looking for a way through the darkness at the end of the path. I hope dearly to begin to settle down soon and spend more time identifying resources and techniques I’ve used to pull things together.

But for the moment, I’m 7 months deep in learning news skills, studying, researching, networking and praying! and I have only 4-6 weeks left before I launch the business, so I spend most of my energy planning and executing. I promise though, soon, I will spend more time outlining what can be done.

For now, take heed of Martin Luther King Junior – “Take the first step in faith, you don’t have to see the whole staircase, you only have to take the first step”

Take action

Are Your Dreams Your Reality? : Part 2

A follow on from a previous post. Find it here

Martin Luther King, father of “The Dream”, spoke of freedom, a freedom from slavery. The shakles of prejudice hanging from his wrist, he spoke with passion and commitment to the envy of the common white man far removed from dreams and passion.

Today, the common mans wrists ache like once that of the enslaved blackman, and so too does his back but not from whistling whip kissing the skin. No. Instead, wrists and backs ache from our prison cells: a place we reside defeated with ego torn and dreams fading into themes of nightmarish pattern sounding and ringing as alarm bells scare us awake before the crack of dawn, too many days a week.

And what of our desire? It trembles behind dissapoinment for fears reminiscint of play-yard bullies’ vicious taunts. Height increased of those that point and laugh, girls breasts grow voluptious; and so too their tales beyond covered mouth by hand. World size seems to expand as our minds aim for clouds and our bodies wrestle with natures advancement of our flesh and bone.

All this, yet our worlds shrivle and our territories wilt, confining us to bastardized cells for rest upon a long days labour. We embrace minimalism and fashionable cloths with not so deep pockets. Atlas, with our very own jester, square and plasmatic, who should say we are not entertained!

No one may suggest that we are not ambitions like the days of our youth, still, tall we stand on own or with stiletoo. Yet, our muscles grow, atrophic, and like the breasts of a woman grow, taking on a life of their own almost alien to the chest of the body, our wastes expand voluptuously.

Oh, but who would dare to riducle one mans greed or anothers pleasure. Who dare point a finger! Like seeds watered and roots rooted to one day bloom of beauty, our inner senses feel compelled by external aids to embrace: to consume!

Perplexed by riddles I grabble like student with master upon a thought: where has the animal gone from natures beauty? Where is life in the life we are living?

It is time.

It is time to dream again. It is time for us to awake. Our people, our nation, our family and our friends may stand sleeping, but like cracking speed and precison of execution, the standing sleeping will fall like dominos and lay out with their bodies afresh a trail, a path, a destination. The shape of a mans hand rested upon is eyes is far from figure, but from the right distance he may see shape and form.

Let us stand back from the path of fallen dominos and see direction and take with wind. Let us take “The the first step in faith, we don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step”.

A mans life viewed from a distance is grandiose when compared to the will and action of his most immediate desire. Shakles will not need keys, and backs will rise with brawn and vigor. Stretching arms to sky, and eyes gazing, once again, at clouds and stars: as they once did in their former glory. All this when we dream of distant desires.

Drare to dream. Dare to imagine. As father EMC2 radiates from beyond nature, “Imagination is everything, it is the preview of life’s coming attractions”

Are dreams your reality?

Sure, who would point a finger?

Do fear and greed feed wealth?

I haven’t wrote a blog in so long because I’ve been working on getting a business off the ground, but also for another strange reason, unexplored before, but the reason is that I fear off giving too much information away about what I am doing.

Isn’t that wildly contrary to reason I set up this blog: to document the story of the path to wealth.

I find that i’m afraid someone will steel my idea and get it to market first. Surely that’s a feeling brought on by fear? or perhaps our basic instinct for survival guided through a reptilian brain function: survival of the fittest and the protection of life.

Isn’t this contrary to how society should be working? Shouldn’t we be working together to provide for each other? Except with our westernised culture it seems that we are happy to help others as long as we get there first. Maybe it’s just me?

An explorative journey I feel needs to be taken. Perhaps only by me, perhaps by each of us, but a journey that explores the definition of societal “progress.” Especially, since progress is in most forms the acqusition of wealth and power; each spurred on by greed and fear?

Perhaps at the end of this journey we may ask ourselves or even realise that our society may be running in the wrong direction as it is fuelled more each day by individuals fearing loss and in greed of the aquistion of the infamos “more.”

Get Feedback To Increase Sales

Most companies don’t take advantage of feedback. Sure, the blue chips do. And any large organisation that continues to grow its customer base will invite feedback for analysis. However, I don’t know too many people that will sleep with a person without knowing what their name is, what their interests are and if they’re crazy!

Same applies to business. Your can’t go to bed with random strangers! It just does not work like that. Business is like any good relationship. Sure you may start off on the instant attraction but to make the engagement a pattern you’ll have to call the next morning, remember their name and at least remark on a few interesting points of the others life and interests.

Business is no different.

If you want to know how to get new customers you must first learn what it is your current customer likes about you. You wouldn’t go around using the exact same chat up line with every woman or man you met, would you? or do you? How’s it working?

Every strategiest must have an arsenol of weapons to be used in battle. In order to bed more customers, you’re going to have to know what they like. This means testing different chat up lines. It means knowing what works and what doesn’t work by testing, listening and analysing what works. Their’s no sense in tickling their toes if they have an aversion for feet!

So. The point is as follows. No matter what size your company. Take the time to understand what your customer likes about your company, product or service. When you know what they like you can talk about it more. Point it out as something a new customer would like about your product or service. Describe it as benefits current customers enjoy.

It all seems like commone sense right? When’s the last time you highlighted to your customer base those charecteristics that they find valuable in you? You may think they know it. And they may. But they may forget it when a competitor can out do you in a certain area. In addition, they may have a fuzzy overall feeling of why they do business with you rather than a competitor but if you don’t communicate and define exactly why they should continue to do business with you, it may be harder for them to explain exactly to their boss or industry why they are with you over a competitor.

Think of your benefit messages as armor: “Protection”. If you don’t highlight and keep highlighted to your customer the benefits of doing business with you over a competitor it leaves weak positions available for attack by your competitors.

Don’t let the slimmy, wiggly little bastards in! All in good humor.

Finally, use a feedback form. Or use your contact form with the addition of a couple of questions. There is no better time to get some feedback than when the customer is already contacting you. Throw in a couple of questions. Always take every opportunity to learn all you can about your customer base.

How To Know Your Customer

The world is changing very quickly. Blogging, twitter and social media in general is changing the pace at which information is distributed to us. In addition it is reaching us, for the most part without bias. In other words, large corporations, political agendas and the like are not getting the chance to get their dirty hands on the message that is being distributed.

Every company and every person are becoming their very own publisher. They release their own publications on the subjects of their choice.

This is good and bad for companies.

It means that your company message can reach your target market instantly and be measured, but it also means that your target market are much more discerning about what messages they tune to and listen to.

If you want to increase sales for your company you will have to become much more aware of these significant changes within mass communication. Email shots, flyers, adverts on tv and radio are holding much less appeal and demanding far less attention than what they did only a few short years ago. This is because people are relying more on the networks of friends and associates created through social media such as forums etc.

However, for the general consumer, they must continue to be on guard because multinational corporations are learning how to lobby with bloggers and the like just as they have done with governement officials. A few quid and greasy palm go along way in getting someone to advocate certain politics, products, services or ethics. It works like this for much of society. We call this employment.

Nonetheless, there is an opportunity for smaller companies to make leaps in bounds in terms of brand awareness and massive increases in sales leads. The way forward is to create communities where your industry, products or services are discussed, rated, and reviewed. This way you will create valuable content that can be found on the web when your target market comes looking for more information.

Think of your blog as your front window to your shop and think of your content as your sales associate. Now, you wouldn’t expect or want your sales team to rush the customer and start “selling” the features of your products or services as the customer enters the shop would you? No. If your sales team is worth their salt and have been given the right training they will want to get a pleasant introduction to the customer and then proceed to inquire into why the customer has come to the store? What products or services brought them there and what are the current issues / needs for your products or services? and how does the customer expect to benefit from the product or service?

When your sales team has the anwser to these questions, only then can they begin to sell. Likewise your blog must endevour to ask questions, not be afraid to debate the downsides as much as the upsides. When your blog / forum has got dialogue only then can it begin to sell / influence the customer to purchase.

How to increase sales? Create dialogue with good all round content and don’t be afriad to touch on the negatives as much as the positive. Just because you haven’t mentioned the downsides, does not mean that your customer is not thinking about them.

Best of luck!

Parallel Worlds

For those of you that are following, you know I left my partner, corporate job and social “thumbs up” when I recoiled into an office an begun peddling towards my dream goal: to start a business.

When I did, I believed that I would probably never meet the type of woman that could be a partner in life. You know. A family life not dependent on a job, not depended on definite work hours, a life of flexibility for children and each other, and a life accomplishing all those ambitions. Of course this can only happen with planning and hard work. Work that should bare fruits and allow for self employment and enough cash flow to enjoy some of the finer things in life. To get out of the rat race if you will.

I figured I would have to wait until I had “made it” and then It would be easier for me accept a partner who just wants to walk the dogs, lie in, cook dinners, watch movies and take a slower pace of life.

Unfortunately, propabably like most people, I would die inside had I not taken the opportunity in my youth to give life my best shot. To go after the dreams and believe that life has much more to offer.

Last week I met a woman, my age, who is going through the exact same thing. Leaving her husband of 12 years for lack of commitment to their life partnership. I was in awe by her work ethic and courage. She still took time to meet with pensioners and teach them to paint. Amazing. All this while remortgaging the house, setting up a businesses and investing in a show room.

I’m so happy to have met her. Not that I seek a relationship but because she has shown me that there are women like her out there. I have a renewed hope that I may find a true partner in life. I now know that I am still on the right path. As painful as it was to disconnect from where I was going, I saved my life, I could have died inside.

I’m free again. Free to experience life and live it and all that it offers.

MAN IN THE GLASS
When you get what you want in your struggle for self

And the world makes you king for a day

Just go to the mirror and look at yourself

And see what that man has to say.

For it isn’t your father, or mother, or wife

Whose judgment upon you must pass

The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life

Is the one staring back from the glass.

He’s the fellow to please ‘ never mind all the rest

For he’s with you, clear to the end

And you’ve passed your most difficult, dangerous test

If the man in the glass is your friend.

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years

And get pats on the back as you pass

But your final reward will be heartache and tears

If you’ve cheated the man in the glass.

Entreprenuer : The Life Challenge

I’ve watched quite a few interviews of “Made It” entreprenuers at Cmypitch.com and It seems a universal truth that you know when you are on the right track when you’re alone.

You here about these entrepreuers talking about the trials and tribulations but it does not have nearly the same impact as when you are going through the process yourself.

I’ve embarked on similar journeys all my life.

I’ve trained for 10 years as a long distance runner. I used to go to the gym at least twice a day not including runs in the mountains or repeats on the track. Cycling, swimming and lifting were a part of every day life along side studying for my degree.

I completed a similar journey to obtain my masters. I joined the army so that I could earn money, save money and get paid to train. After which I used my savings to pay for my masters degree to the tune of €20,000.

But i’ve never been on a journey that has no periodic “wins” like this one.

The research is constant, the learning is constant, the details can be painful at times. Worst case is that there is no glory along the way.

So i’ve learned a coding language like css and I have developed a website, where’s the glory? So i’ve learned more about SEO and have the tools to drive in traffic, where’s the glory? I’ve studied clolor and tones of voice to make my site attractive to convert visitors to customers but where is the glory?

Although researching the market and learning where possible gaps in the market took over a year, I’ve been hacking away at putting structure around this business for 6 months. I gave up my life with a woman I loved, I left a corporate job and have not applied for a job in over a 2 years.

The hard part is that day after day, week after week, and month after month I see people around me enjoying life ( not that i’m not happy ) but going out, socialising, and experiencing life and people, and it makes me wonder.

All this work that no one can see. I know they are roots, it’s like a massive potato growing under the ground that will not be seen until it is unearth, but dang! it’s a soulful journey.

I know why I am doing it, I know that I can do it, but I ( you ) have to watch life pass you by for a while before you can jump into your sports car or personal yaht and take the foot of the gas for a while.

I’ve spent my entire life working in social environements getting through college: sales, bar tender, waiter and team sports. But I do have to admit this is a trial. A challenge.

So if you’re in my position at the moment. I feel for ya. If you’ve passed my position and made it. I’d be delighted to hear from you. To hear from others who have experienced this challenge.

Cannot stop external hard drive using ‘safely remove hardware’ option

I bought a new hardrive for the business that I am working on. Myself and co worker needed a central place to deposit and retrieve information, in addition to backing up work after the countless times we saved over previous work or a virus attacked and we lost our work.

So we bought a Cyclone 1TB External Hard Drive with some nice advanced features for playing movies etc….

We tried removing the hard drive safetly but it would not work. And when we wanted to view the information on the Hard Drive we found that it was not registered when trying to view it through a telvision screen even though if reconnected to the computer it was available.

The ability to safetly remove the Hard Drive is very important because we did not want to loose any backup informoation we had stored. Countless hours of research, blood, sweat and tears.

I found this site that offers some solutions for you to explore if you have the same problem.

Safetly remove hardware solution

Best of luck.