What I don't love is getting all the people that end up with me that got their start with other coaches... coaches that lack the most fundamental elements of teaching, attitudes , thinking, foundation, and actions steps.

I mean... after all they call it internet BUSINESS... so one could expect that some business know-how rubs off on these coaches... but it doesn't seem that way to me. At least when I look at their results: clueless students.

The latest evidence for the current marketing training culture I had last night when one of my students kept on griping why I would not coddle and nurture his inane, stupid, clumsy, poorly thought out, unproven attempts at product creation. Why I don't tell him "this is good and you could change this, or you could change that..." type of politically correct but mistaken and damaging way of teaching and leading someone to success.

When I learned (and later taught) architecture, the typical scenario was:

1. you had an idea. you put it on paper and you brought it in for your twice a week consultation.
2. the teacher looked at it, placed a semi-transparent sketching paper on top of it, and drew his "response" to your idea. Most of the time there seemed to be no connection: just that HIS idea was triggered by your idea.
3. you went home, you draw the idea, to scale, on paper an brought it back to your next consultation.
4. the teacher looked at it, placed a semi-transparent sketching paper on top of it, and drew his "response" to your idea. Most of the time there seemed to be no connection: just that HIS idea was triggered by your idea.
5. you went home, you draw the idea, to scale, on paper an brought it back to your next consultation.

You did this for the next 20-25 times. Then it was time to finalize the plan, so he stopped getting triggered.

You got a grade. You went through this process about 10 times during your 5-year training. On the other end you came out as an architect. You wondered if you were talented or you had good teachers. But you found out soon enough. Your grades reflected your talent and your willingness to take correction very accurately.

I had an A- from all my design subjects. I became an award winning architect. Some of my friends had B's or even C's and their later achievements showed a consistent level... go figure.

Had the teacher told me: this is really good, just try to change this or that, I would have stayed in my own little world of puny. Never would have gone the 20+ incarnation of the same project, 200-300 during my studies. I would have become an "I can design one type of building, if you want that, come along." type of architect. Boring, and not very satisfying, not very profitable.

The architecture school I was studying at and later taught at had a success rate of 90 percent. Internet marketing programs, coaching programs, apprentice programs, etc. have a less than 5% success rate.

Do you think the teaching methodology has something to do with it? ... and the fact that ALL teachers at architecture school had to be successful working architects or they would lose their job?

Do you thing the selection process has something to do with it? To get into architecture school you needed to be better than 95% of the applicants: there were 20 people vying for every spot. My best friend got in only the second time around. She is a good architect, still working. Not great, but good.

Today I teach internet marketing the same way. the student has the idea, works it up, maybe records it, writes it, slides, mindmap, the whole nine yard. Then we meet on the internet and I do the equivalent of the sketch paper: I suggest a new way of doing the whole project. He goes home and does the whole thing again. Some whine that I didn't coddle them. Some get discouraged. But all learn. All... unless they don't have the mental toughness to stick it out.

One could think that to enter the paradigm of success is enough, but my experience with myself and clients has shown that until you start practicing the actions that come from the world-view of the new paradigm, only your "head" will live in the new zone, your body and your circumstances will lag behind.

It's Monday morning, and I have been working on a project for about 3 weeks. A project like this takes 4-5 hours, so why has it been taking so long, for me.

I did a challenge for one of my classes last Tuesday. I started at 9:30 pm, finished and 10:15 pm. There are people in that class that are still working on the same challenge.

I personally and actively helped one of them. As we were on Teamviewer, a client support software, free to use, I had to deal with three things:

1. the job in front of me, the actual doing,
2. the job of commentary, so she can turn around and do it herself
3. the constant chatter of the other student.

I took many hours to complete the task successfully. What was the difference between the 45-minute and the many-hour examples? It was one little thing: when I was doing it for myself, with the intent to win, I kept saying in my head: "Don't think, just follow instructions." It was a yes to doing and no to thinking, wandering, following links, doing unrelated tasks.

When I was doing it for the other student, her constant pull to unrelated questions and activities made the task a marathon instead of a sprint, and I had to stay up till 2 am... which is way past my bedtime.

So, can you guess what I have been doing this 4-hour project I have been attempting (trying) to complete for 3 weeks now? You guessed right: I have been doing everything else remotely connected to this task: logo design, logo redesign, searching for examples, searching for more examples, creating variations, and on and on and on.

Now, why would I do that? That's a real question... I'll give you the answer if you comment on this post. Guess why I've taken three weeks to "almost" complete a 4-hour task? If you guess correctly, I'll give you access to my membership site, www.faststartsecrets.com/members for a whole month for just 1 cent... it's worth hundreds.

OK, go and comment below.

One of the things I am learning that people relate to internet marketing learning like it is television. They consider that if they comprehended what they learned, that was actual learning.

In my future programs I plan to have the following price structure: price is per session. Example base price: $167 for the session. If you complete the assignment, and on time, I refund $100 of your tuition, so you paid $67 for your session. If not, you paid for your TV show...

I will call that: get paid for your results... or something like that.

Do you think it will motivate the participants? Share what you think in the comments section.

Software, ebooks, reports, whole programs. Most of them are still in their wrappers or collecting "dust" on my computer.

Some, on the other hand are used and used and used.

I found something just like that this past week.

It's free, and it is amazing. I was thinking of hiring an assistant to do the work that it does, and probably the assistant would have done a worse job than this software for tons of money. I have been there, I have done that.

I am recommending this as a MUST-USE tool to anyone who wants more targeted traffic...

This free tool finds high-traffic, highly targeted sites that you can get a lot of traffic from for a lot less than normal PPC rates.

Go right now and try it...

This is a valuable free tool: http://www.sophieslist.com/targeted

I love it. I have already got my eyes on some sites to get traffic from for an affiliate program that I had a hard time getting more traffic for. I would have had a hard time finding those sites, or it would have cost me hours of frustration to find them.

I'll probably make a Camtasia video to show how to benefit from it in the smartest way...

http://www.sophieslist.com/targeted

No One CAN Do Anything FOR You... And Even if They Could...

Surprising title, isn't it? Especially from an Internet Marketer and Coach. After all, the best product to sell is something that you do for them, right?

Yes and no.

Everyone hopes that what they need can and will be done for them. So, as an Internet Marketer I can make a buttload of cash by promising that.

But here is the kicker: No one really appreciates what they get ready. Why? Are they unappreciative? Do they lack the genes for appreciation? Do they have the habit of it?

No.

If we take what Kabbalah* says about how it all works, especially what is the inner motivator of every human being: to develop one's Self to the fullest in a lifetime by correcting the areas where they fall short from fully being their divine (giving) nature... every time someone does something FOR you, they rob you of the opportunity to do it for your Self... because the thing looks done.

Last year I participated in a cca. 6-month program that had two parts in it: 1. it promised to wipe away all negativity in my nature 2. it promised to teach me to live consistently with this cleaned divine vehicle of myself, so now that it is not hindered by the negativity, it can become a super boosted accomplishing machine bringing me riches, happiness, relationship bliss, a thin and supple body, bountiful energy, fame, fortune, whatever your heart desires.

I went into this program with a mixture of doubt, suspicion, and hope in my heart. I wanted the program mostly to get rid of the anxiety attacks, the feelings of inferiority and worthlessness that enveloped me like a dark cloud.

I wanted to experience being worthy of living on this beautiful planet, worthy to contribute to people, and worthy of happiness... all of which have eluded me in the past.

I had weekly conversations with six of the other participants for whom I was like a mentor. I gained insights I hadn't had, into what people wanted most.

I saw that people wanted their spiritual work done for them. They were willing to do hocus pocus, some mechanical self protection like visualization, affirmations, but not their spiritual work.

Spiritual work is being willing to face what is dark about you, confront it, and attempt to restrict it and weed it out of your nature.

No one can do it for you. People can be there to listen, to support you while you are doing it, but can't do the digging.

It is similar to digging for gold: you need to remove a lot of dirt. And while you are doing that, it is a good idea to have someone hold the dirt, so that you can concentrate your efforts on removing new dirt, not the same one over and over again. When you ruminate in your head, engaging in monologue, what you are doing is turning over the same dirt... that is why having someone to listen actively, so you can get to new dirt is so important.

I had two psychologists do psychoanalysis with me. The only thing they had in common was that the therapy was expensive and totally worthless. They made no input and I came to no conclusion: it was like I played with my poo-poo for years... and I also paid for it with real money.

On the other hand, in a program I took over a weekend some years ago, in a "paired" exercise, I could glimpse at something like gold, right underneath the darkness... and I never needed therapy again. The difference was that the other of the pair listened with the intention to reveal something, and so I did. What I revealed set me free in a big way.

But first it appalled me, disgusted me, mortified me... but ultimately it set me free.

Anyway, let's get back to the question, why wouldn't you appreciate what is done for you.

Your soul doesn't like handouts. Your soul doesn't want to just receive. Your soul want to live consistent with its divine nature, and therefore it will refuse any deal that is about receiving only.

Also, your soul is interested in experiencing, good and bad, bitter and sweet, painful and blissful, failure and success, and would rather not have any of it handed to it on a silver platter.

Your soul wants to work on its correction through those experiences. Everything else feels like "bread of shame" that it didn't earn.

And even when your ego wants it done for it, the soul with make you sabotage it, and you'll lose that gain that the "gift" has bought you. Just look at lottery millionaires... without exception they lose it all.

Now you have it. That is why no one can do it for you.

But one could offer doing it WITH you, supporting through the stops, the barriers, the hurdles, every step of the way.

This is what I am about. I have overcome more hurdles than most, and know how to overcome them, allowing your soul to do its work. That is what's special about me.

Don't misunderstand me, me ego wants to give it to you and move to the next chomp... but my soul won't let me. Thank G-d. This way you have someone to support you to get everything you ever wanted.

Including Internet Marketing Success.

There was once a farmer who had a donkey. The donkey was a real pain, it kicked and it bit...

One day the donkey fell into a well that was not in use.

The farmer tried to pull up the donkey from the well, but he did not succeed. He called for help and a few of his neighbors came, but even together they could not pull out the poor donkey.

The farmer had a change of heart and decided that the donkey was old, and it had only been trouble, so they will be all better off if they just bury the donkey. They will get rid of the old well and the donkey at the same time.

So they started to fill the well with dirt, one shovelful at a time.

The donkey, every time the dirt hit his back, shook himself and stepped up a little, on the top of the dirt. After half an hour or so, to the amazement of the farmers, the donkey stepped out of the hole and ran away. But before he ran, he bit the farmer well.

This story will play out well... in the following case study.

I will be painfully honest in this series of articles. It will be painful to me, because I will be admitting to some of my weaknesses. And it may be painful to some other marketer, who I decided not to mention by name, but he will recognize himself.

Now, the painful part: I have been in internet marketing, unconsciously and consciously, for 12-13 years.

I started by turning an offline wildly successful local magazine into an online venture, mainly because 1. printing was too expensive, 2. my health didn't make it easy for me to work that hard any longer, go to clubs, deliver magazines, go, go, go, work work work.

I didn't know I was in marketing. I was a publisher. I didn't know my main job was marketing, so I knew nothing about marketing. I did some stuff that I now consider marketing, but then... I didn't even have the word. I thought marketing was focus groups, and I despised that then.

So I didn't make any money, and only after quite a few years I started to make a full time income. By full time I mean I could pay the bills and eat. I mean I didn't have to have another job.

About five years ago I heard the word marketing in a different context, and this time it sounded like that is maybe what I should be doing... if I knew how to do it.

I started to study, but could not see how it applied to what I was already doing.

I learned that if I could build a mailing list, I could start to make more money than just paying the bills.

I met Tellman at the Underground Internet Marketing Seminar at breakfast, and shared with him. When he found out what kind of traffic my site had, he went ballistic. He was sure I was sitting on a million dollar goldmine. Everyone had always thought that, but all I could eke out is a meager living.

He told me exactly how to build a mailing list, then went his merry way. I tried. I failed at it.

I hired this coach for six months, that coach for six months... some increase, but still no mailing list.

Then I had a brainstorm, and managed to build a list of 278, fans, lovers of what I had to say, not buyers.

By that time I was successful with affiliate marketing in the self-improvement field, became good at ppc, could teach what to do (like a good basketball coach... not good at throwing baskets, lol), still no list.

In July of this year I took on a fellow bumbling, fumbling wannabe. I spoke authoritatively, so she trusted that I'll be able to guide her to make money.

She had few skills, little knowledge, so I decided that I'll teach her, but I'll use the energy of the relationship to fuel me to get through the stopping points, the rough spots, the walls I hadn't been able to go through. I wanted to scale high walls, I wanted to jump over big canyons... I wanted to become the basketball coach who can throw baskets. I wanted to become the internet marketing coach that made money doing internet marketing.

Continued in Part 2

As I said at the end of Part 1: I wanted to become an internet marketing coach that made money DOING internet marketing.

Diana's job was to help me, just by being there, so I become unstoppable. I knew that if I didn't stop when it was hard, if I didn't stop when something failed, if I didn't stop when I didn't know what else to do, then ultimately I would get where I was heading: making at least a million dollars a year in internet marketing.I wrote out a check for 100K to my favorite cause, signed it, and put it on my refrigerator door.

I told my closest friends, my little brother, and my spiritual teacher what I was planning.

Warning: some of what I say next is going to be hokey, woowoo, etc. to you. Please stay with me, it will be short, and you can get the story without getting my spiritual explanation. And the story, the case study is worth reading, I promise.

Then the bottom fell out. The Dark Side of my nature started to put up a fight.

Monies that were coming in steadily, started to come in drops, dribbles.

Diana's income source died.

I knew I was attempting a major overhaul of my life. That amount of resistance from the Dark Side indicated that. I was overjoyed. I must be on the right path, I must be doing what I am supposed to do.

We tried the usual things, but nothing looked like a good path. We bought some products, but the spark didn't ignite.

Then, at the darkest, I received an email from a marketer whose offers I have bought before.

I read it, and knew that it was the answer to my prayers.

The offer was: buy a lot of leads of people who requested money making information, and they will also set you up with a site from where you can mail them, and even an optin page and an upsell... Sweet deal.

It was cheap. The whole deal was inexpensive. I bought 4 times the amount of leads. The leads were to be delivered in five days.

I aroused Diana and infected her with hope.

We were going to make it rich. 15,000 strong instant mailing list.

But what are we going to sell? We got to work. We scoured our hard drives for plr products, and found more than 200 of them. Then we evaluated, and created pages, audios, rewrote, salesletters, emails, the whole nine yards.

We changed direction a few times, and it took us three weeks to be ready to mail...

Continued in Part 3

As I said in the previous part, we were ready to mail.

We added 2K leads that Diana got from another source, so now we had 17K hungry prospects... right?

I decided to "clean" the list before we start to bombard them with frequent emails.

I imported the data into a database program called Filemaker Pro (I used to be a Mac person... back in my paper publishing days, :-), the Filemaker is a Claris program...)

Anyway, Filemaker can email personalized email through your own email client, like Outlook Express, or in my case, The Bat, and the recipient's ISP won't know it is not a hand sent, personal email.

I have 3 gmail accounts, each with 500 sends limit a day, 5 yahoo premium accounts, each with 250 sends limit a day, we'll get through this mailing in a few weeks, but by then we'll have, as I hoped, no, strike that, expected 300 buyers, which could be the seed of a great business. Right?

First I was segmenting the data by ISP. Gmail is an ISP. Yahoo is an ISP. Hotmail is and ISP. Aol is an ISP.

I found only 175, circa 10% gmail accounts. 100 of them came from Diana's 2,000. Hmmm. Interesting. In my experience, any internet marketing list has at least 30% gmail emails... and it is also my experience, that gmail is the most deliverable email address given google's very good spam filter that does not catch many legitimate emails as spam.

8161 yahoo,
813 hotmail
221 aol

I emailed the yahoo people from my yahoo accounts.

The rest of them I emailed from my gmail accounts.

I am exactly half way through. I have had 2134 undeliverables (about 25%). 90% of the hotmail accounts were returned undeliverable. Verizon: ditto. Bellsouth: ditto.

No gmail was returned.

I have changed the email I sent every day...

As a test, I posted one email as an article on my blog, and it attracted 78 visitors that came to read that article from bookmarking services.

I expect that I'll chuck the whole 17108 leads... I won't even bother removing the bad emails... why bother.

I paid $400 for the list. I have wasted more money before...

I have an option to be resentful, to be depressed, to grieve my losses, to demand my money back, or be grateful for the sudden injection of urgency that helped me over some barriers I could never get over before.

I have finally become good at using Dreamweaver. I have finally set up my account correctly with 2checkout. I have seen my way through a funnel system that can and will make money, as soon as I drive real prospects to it.

I have become clear about what I need to get better at:

writing sales copy, both salespages and email.

Crafting an offer

Credibility... why they should buy from me

What's unique about me. Half of the time I was trying to be someone else, other than myself. I thought modeling meant trying to be that other person, the successful one, because I am not successful because I am me...

I got really clear for myself that no one can be coached who is not in action. I am now sure that the only kind of person I want to coach in the future who is attempting to do something and needs my coaching and teaching.

I am immensely grateful. I spent the best 400 dollars I have ever spent. Including everything. Because it has brought me to a place from where I can see. And I didn't even know that I was in a deep hole trying to see beyond the walls of the hole. Those 400 bucks brought me up to see out of the hole...

I am looking to spend the next 400 bucks to put me on a mountain... Any suggestions? :-)

Remember the donkey story from Part 1 of this case study?

Be the donkey... indomitable spirit.

PS: I'll put all the findings in a follow up as soon as I have it. Stay tuned.

How they express this varies: my parents, my schooling, what I have been doing, my genes, etc. etc. but all in all, they all mean the same: what makes me who I am today is the past.

If that were true, that would be bad news, really.

Imagine that it is true. Now see yourself trying to be successful online. Given your track record, and your genes, and your past behavior, how much chance do you have for success?

I'd love to say zero, but it would be unfair to many of you. So instead, I answer it in a way that applies to all of you:

The same as yesterday. Or a year ago...

Now, that is a total bummer, isn't it?

And it is total hogwash. It is a lie. It is an illusion.

If that were true, no change would be possible. And people do change. Not many, not often, but they do.

If change weren't possible, then...

People would not suddenly become winners, they would never move out of their current predicament.

Jim Edwards would still be living in a trailer park delivering newspapers every morning. Probably alone, because his wife would not have put up with it this long... :-)

Mike Littman would still be working at a local store selling wares, live in a rented room, and would not be a celebrated coach and entrepreneur.

I would be still depressed every day and bemoan my portion in life.

I would give you more examples, but I want to go on with this... this is so important.

If your past gives your who you am today, then you am screwed... so maybe it is the circumstances that give you the chance or no chance for success, isn't that true?

Maybe, let's look: Have you ever read the statistics about lottery winners? They all felt that the winnings destroyed their lives. They spent or lost the money they won in two-six years, and were worse off than they were before the winnings.

So what is the truth about this?

Who you are being, at any moment, is given by the future you live into.

What do I mean by that? If your mindset is that of a pauper, your mind will make sure continue living like a pauper.

If your mindset is that of a millionaire, you can lose everything and it will come back to you faster than you made your first million.

But how do you know what your mindset is? Answer: look around you, look at your life, and see what you have, what you do, who you hang out with. They all come from your mindset.

Oh no, Sophie, that is bad news. So how do I change that? I want to be rich, live the easy life... how can I get that?

My answer to this: change the future you live into.

Easier said than done.

Most people think they can do it once, and then it is all done... but you must create an appealing future many times, every day, for the rest of your life, if you want the change to stick.

Because it is very true that the past has a hold on your future, and it is not very willing to let go.

A friend of mine got very ill a few years ago. She had no idea it had anything to do with her until one day a kindly massage therapist suggested that she avoids any negativity in her environment, including talking daily to her excessively negative mother. Including watching television. Including reading the newspaper.

She made that sacrifice, and she got well.

But the past and negativity is catching up with her nowadays: I read her emails and she is always pissed about something, hates something else... how long is she going to stay well, physically and financially?

My prediction is: not long, if she doesn't catch herself. And FAST.

She used to have a daily ritual to put herself in a winning state of mind, and she has been slacking off. Or maybe she started to talk to her mother... or some other negative folks... students maybe?

Anyway, what you want to be left with is this: Change the future you live into and you can change yourself into a person who can and will have that future. Then you can buy an internet marketing program and suck out every juicy benefit... and make more money with it... instead of having it collect dust on your shelf or hard drive... Do you know what I am talking about?

I am a master at helping people change their mindset... while I guide you in YOUR business.

I have unique programs where people start a new business and I coach them through it while having plenty of opportunity to change their mindset. My next coaching program will be starting in a few weeks.

This program is not right for everyone who is interested in it, and I only take people for whom it is right.

If you would like to have a personal phone call with me to see if you are eligible, if there is a fit for you, please email me at

mavencentral@gmail.com and I'll find a suitable time through email correspondence...

I hope to speak with you soon.

In the meantime, I have a gift for you:

go to http://www.cashmachines4u.com/10steps

Go and get it.

Talk to you soon,

Sophie Maven Central

But whether you will vote to Obama, McCain, or stay at home and let others decide, one thing is certain, no one is looking at the real issue:

The skill it takes to win the votes of the majority, i.e. win an election is a very different skill from the skill of running a country. Unless running it to the ground qualifies as running it.... ;-)  as we have experienced, time and time again.

Just like in politics, the same is true for teaching anything, including internet marketing. The skill it takes to be a successful internet marketer is a vastly different skill from the skill of causing another person's success.

We all look to our guru to teach us what to do and how to do it, so that we can be successful like them, and we all get very frustrated and very weary, because what they say and what they do are often different, and even if and when we did exactly what they said to do, we meet with meager success.

How come? We seem all very surprised.

Well, let me ask you this: have you ever heard of a successful football or basketball coach that played real well?

Or the reverse: have you ever heard of a successful player that was also a great coach?

Most successful players play from their "other than conscious mind."

Their conscious mind doesn't know what they are doing: they feel their way.
They say that chess masters use their other than conscious mind to play with lightening speed, that their conscious mind doesn't even comprehend.

I play freecell (a computer game). In the beginning I looked and looked, and only made moves that made sense to me. As the years passed, I am catching myself that when I give my other than conscious mind a good look at the computer screen with the game open, it knows what to do and wins the game for me. Thank you other than conscious mind.

So what does this have to do with internet marketing?
Unfortunately, a lot.

They say internet marketing is simple but not easy.
If we stay with the freecell computer game, the moves are real simple. but it is rare that someone can score a 100. why? Because you can make the simple moves ONLY in a certain order, and be successful at the same time.

The pull to pick the low hanging fruit, and make the easy moves first, will certainly get you in trouble.

And here are we, back where we started:

The advantage of a good teacher is to give us a step by step plan... which the chess-master type guru can't.
He never did what he did consciously, so he can't give you the plan.

So what is the solution? What can a 'guru' give you that will make you succeed?

I have come up with two possible solutions that look hopeful:

1. give people chunks of ready made pieces of the puzzle, and a simple assembly plan. i.e. do it FOR them.
2. give people and environment where they can do it with others, and guide them

I am going to give you solution #1 today.

I have prepared for you six websites, each designed to self-run itself and become successful with just a little help from you.

And I have prepared for you a marketing goldmine: 103 different small and big strategies that you can follow to help nature in its work, and make the sites more successful, even take them to the top.

But how to promote stuff, in what order, how to keep track of what has been done and what needs to get done when, is way above most people's head.

Even creating a plan for promotion is beyond me... and I have been in this for a long time. So what do I do? Oh well, the good old fashioned winging it comes useful.

But what is wrong with winging it? Well, in addition to it being ineffective, time and money hogging... it's a real headache. You know you could do more, or better, but what?

Marlon Sanders to the rescue again, and his new product www.promodashboard.com/. A simple scheduling, a what and a when... for the whole process. I promise, if you have something to promote, you will make your investment back in one week, max.

Click image for a full size image of the dashboard.

I bought the program myself. I have gone to the first of the 36 buttons, and I decided that just that one button is worth the price. I have learned what's there is a 7 thousand dollar program, that had 5 modules, and this was the topic of one of them, so I paid more than a thousand dollars to gain the same knowledge. I am not kidding you. I am so impressed with this dashboard, that I am going to use it in my own teaching, it is as good as what I can teach, and it is much less money than you would pay me... so it is a good deal for everyone.

If you are interested in internet marketing, you would be crazy not to buy this less than 60 buck product. Go, buy it, it is still www.promodashboard.com/

Socrates is a great teacher. In addition to the great content, what's great about his webinars is that he allows the participants to brainstorm, so it is a natural continuation of things to form a mastermind group.

We had our first session, a conference call, and it was very useful to see where everyone is at.

One of the questions came up how can someone send people to another website through a redirect link instead of an affiliate link. The best free solution I have ever seen is at http://www.sophieslist.com/redirectvideo

It's a site with about 48 videos that include this one, how to redirect without every revealing the affiliate link. I am a member on a lot of sites that offer how-to videos, but this is far the best, and it is free. I use it, refer to it all the time... and I've been a member for almost two years... but you forget things, so it is good that it's there.

Another resource that I find invaluable and would not cancel if I had to eat beans and rice for a week is Jim Edwards' membership site, at http://www.sophieslist.com/netr

It will be mandatory for anyone in my coaching/apprentice/incubator program to subscribe to that... a lot of what you need to build a successful and very profitable information business is there, in a clear, concise, visual way. Jim Edwards is the special marketing teacher who doesn't believe in giving useful but incomplete information like most others. That's why I stick with him, and that's why I want to use his material to train others with.

His latest webinar was on brainstorming and it was the best in that topic. And it was effective: I have started to use the tools I have, and now I can see that I can launch this incubator program very soon... whereas without using the brainstorming tools I have been quite stuck... :-(

And then later today I heard Jim Edwards' inspired rant about the same thing... using his own going-to-the-gym as an example of how one can actually take action on what they want... in his case, go to the gym and work out, seriously.

And I also heard his resigned "ehh" off camera at the end of the video.

We, coaches, all feel that way. We want you to succeed... we can take you to the water, but we can't force you to drink.. And, it seems, you don't, even though, you say, you are thirsty....

So my note, and my planned Internet Kindergarten may be a solution for some... I won't kid myself that it is for everyone... but for the ones that if you put their snout into the water, they wake up, they say "water" and start drinking it...

Are you one of them?

Send me an email at mavencentral-339076@autocontactor.com
to get yourself on my notification list.

It will be fun.

About an hour later I woke up from a dream of writing THIS article. Here it is, just the way it came to me in my dream:

Each great thing that was ever built started with something that had the greatness, as a potential only.

Most didn't look like the start of something great. Many times it was a comedy of errors and their correction that took someone to something big.

But, you say, we are always told to create with the big picture in mind... Oh yes, that one. I know that well. The misunderstanding of that notion has robbed me of many successes...

The misunderstanding of that principle has rendered me undecisive, unresponsive, tentative, or jumping from one sure thing to another.

Imagine if the tree thought that every seed it is producing must become a big tree... it would be so afraid of living, it would start to shrink and refuse to go to seed. The prospect of so many wasted seeds would kill the tree's aliveness and creativity.

No, greatness is a potential, dormant in every little seed, and with enough great little seeds produced, one of them may become a big tree...

Let's look at MY story.

Back in 1988 I found myself unemployed from architecture, and unemployable at the same time... don't ask me why, I won't tell.

I was spending quite a few months depressed, going to self help programs, 12-step, Werner Erhard and Associates, etc. ... barely having 3-day worth of work a month to live on.

I couldn't think of anything to do... I was too entrenched in being an architect. At some point, I did an exercise from the "What Color Is Your Parachute" and found that what I wanted to do, that caused me pleasure, is "put ink on paper and communicate."

I took it literally at the time, and thought advertising or publishing.

I didn't know much of either.

I went and apprenticed (free) with a small printer for a while, and learned some stuff, bought a letter press with some letters, wrote advertising in mail order magazines... to sell some pyramid schemes... and then when I really needed some money to earn, I wrote a letter to the two throw-away magazines in my area, asking if they had a job opening for publisher's apprentice.

One of them called and said that such a job didn't exist but I could start selling advertising. No "draw" (salary), only commission. Does that put me closer to publishing, I asked, and the guy said yes. I took the job.

I was trained by another salesperson. We visited a few stores in my town--typical advertisers in that paper. We sold 5 small ads that day. I say "we", but I think it was her. That day completed my training. Next day I walked back to the business area of my little town, and found that by the time I got there, the training salesperson had driven there and sold them, or attempted to. I had no wheels, and soon I had no hope.

I called the other magazine, and bragged that I had sold 7 ads my first week for their competitor... they were impressed. They gave me a 200 dollar advance, and a beat up car with a gas card.

I worked my butt off, sold ads, delivered magazines, partook in every office meeting, went to the printer, went to the typesetter, collected monies... two months later, I was put in charge of designing the ads and laying out the magazine. Two more months later I was offered a partnership in the magazine. Still, my best week I made $400... I didn't have many good weeks.

I worked 20 hours a day 7 days a week... I was bossy, I was certain, I was "dynamic", I was disrespectful... 5 months later I was offered the choice to resign, or... blackmail. I resigned. No-brainer.

That same evening I called all the advertisers in my care, the typesetting company and the printer with the same question: Would you take a chance on me for one issue? They all said yes, so next day there was a brand new magazine born, printed and delivered.

I made money with the first issue, and with every issue thereafter. More than $400 a week. :-)

That magazine, through the time, became 90-thousand circulation strong, and I published it for 11 years.

Now, there are two lessons in this story: 1. I first looked what it is that I love so much that I would do it for free (putting ink on paper and communicate) and 2. I was willing to fumble through phases that didn't seem to go anywhere, and I was rewarded through small corrective steps, with a business I loved.

When I watch internet marketing, I see many thousands who never get started. They got attracted to the visions of greatness (millions of dollars) but are unable or unwilling to start where one needs to start in fear of starting at the wrong place.

I have had coaching clients that were so afraid of making the wrong move, that they never got started... that is until I made them do stuff...

I have had coaching clients that wanted to do internet marketing, but hated every aspect of it... and sucked at it too... of course.

I have had coaching clients that thought that without any skills they can make millions and they never actually learned anything...

Remember, childhood was to learn skills, without the significance. At least in most countries... of course, in the US kids must perform early on, sports are not skill builders, but opportunities to be big... which teaches us early on that we were supposed to be born with the skills we need, and if we weren't, then we are doomed.

The same applies in business. You need to play first in the sandbox, and build some easy structures, without the significance. Write an article here, a blogpost there, a salesletter here, make a video there, copy and rewrite an ebook, just to practice the structure... Just to get a feel what you like to do. What you are good at.

Every guru you meet started that way.

My current favorite, Eben Pagan, wrote an ebook, full of typos, and that's how he started his now 20 million dollars a year empire, 7 years ago. He wrote about something he knew something about: seduction. Something that he was personally very interested in... he desperately wanted companionship...

He has made it big. With a topic like that. He learned as he went. He had mentors, teachers, mastermind partners every step of the way. It wasn't a straight path... not in the least.

You can do it too. Just start getting that every tree came from a seed sometimes as tiny as a pinhead, and then grew. It went through the phases... It didn't come out a tree at once. It was a seedling for a long time.

Share hotel rooms. Find someone to share with at http://www hotelroom-rideshare.com

I haven’t posted on this blog in a while. Not because nothing was going on… au contraire… too much was/is going on.

I don’t know about you, but just like no one is a prophet in their own land… you are never going to be able to see the value of your stuff like other people do.

Even if you think a lot about yourself, familiarity breeds contempt, and your work is going to be “just what you do”, even if it is/would be of tremendous value to others.

This is why I value what has happened in the past 2 weeks.

You may not know, but the bulk of my income comes from marketing affiliate products.

One of the things I have been marketing, ever since I first started to use it some 2 years ago, is the Healing Codes package, a unique energy product where you use your innate energies to heal the cause of disease… I had a cancerous growth fall off my right arm after a few days of using The Codes… so I am a believer.

I signed up to be an affiliate. I made a few sales here and there, but every month I learned a little bit more about marketing, google adwords, etc. and every time I learned something, I immediately put it into practice with the Healing Codes affiliate program. I watched a webinar 5 months ago, and the rest happened:

The past 4 months the commission, grew $400 every month. Why always 400? Beats me. So I have gotten accustomed to the income, they paid directly to my checking account… until the 8th of this month, when, instead or the money, I got an email telling me that my affiliate status was withdrawn and I wasn’t even going to get my last commission.

Why, you would ask. The answer came right in the email: I violated the affiliate agreement: I did not get my ads reviewed by the 3 people assigned to review marketing material… But the email said, my violation was that I used the product name in my advertising… hmmm. How am I supposed to sell something I can’t name?

I made a quick calculation, and saw that I lost $35K just in the first year (calculating the growth trend also). They lost 140K net, for the first year. Interesting. I wonder if they have heard of the expression: “Do you want to be right, or do you want to be rich? Choose!”

Anyway, let’s see what I have learned from this incident that is worth for you to read:

1. Before you invest so much time and energy into marketing a product, check if the company really wants you to market their product, or secretly they hope that you will share with everyone, but they will buy from the company directly, cutting you out of the loop.
2. The processes I employed to go from zero to substantial income could help a lot of people out there… so maybe I should find a way to tell people. If I had had a roadmap like that two years ago, I could have started to make money much sooner, and that would have been worth for me to buy. I forgot to say that I used exclusively PPC advertising, my return on my investments was consistently 10-fold, i.e. with a $3500 a year budget I could turn a 31,300 dollar profit. And some of my keywords ran at $5 a click. Which means: this market is competitive, baby.
3. It will be interesting to watch how the Boomerang Principle will play out.
4. I'd love to train an army of affiliates for the Healing Codes company... if I could do it, anyone can do it.

Another thing that happened since I last wrote, is that I did my first “Craft Your Public Persona” presentation. It needs more work, but I am over the hump. I have worked with a client today, who was praising the knowledge he gleaned from our session, and that felt really good.

I am just wondering how to reach all the people who would be interested in that: coaches, consultants, bloggers, marketers, realtors… anyone, who makes a living selling themselves first, an product second. Everyone, who need repeat clients, repeat sales, etc. Everyone, who needs to influence people. Any ideas? If so, please write a comment. I would appreciate it.

And a 3rd thing: I have built a small video sharing site on blogging but you can put the topic in a search box and it finds videos for you… really great… want to check it out? It is at http://www.mavencentral.com/videos

That’s it for now. Please give me your ideas about how to reach my target audience, and if you have any idea what to do with my lost affiliate position story, so that it can make a difference for others.

So long.

1. You trade your time for money. You have a job. Your income has a limit, because the amount of hours and the amount of money customarily paid per hour is limited. This is true if you are a cleaning lady, if you are a dentist, or if you are a movie star... (which shows that the limit can be high, but it is a limit nevertheless). You trade your life for money...
2. You are self-employed: see #1. it is still a job.... How do you know it? If you are not working (sick, vacation, work on something else), you don't earn money.
3. You own a business but it needs you... it may not have a limit, but you still trade your life for money. See #1 and #2
4. You own a business, and you set it up such, that it sporadically, if ever, needs you, or your time, or your expertise. Unlimited income, and your life is yours.
5. You made money earlier, and now your money is working for you. The problem: did you trade your life for that seed capital?

As you see, #4 is the most desirable way to make money: you can have your cake and eat it too.

Now, if you are like most of the readers of this blog, you are a coach, consultant, trainer, or a combination of these.

What is the fastest and most reliable way to be in the position of #4 for you?

Well, if you are like me, you have a lot of knowledge, you have been tested by having clients as a coach, consultant, of speaker. Which, in business terms, means: you have knowledge that other people want.

So for you, the best way to create a business, or a part of a business that makes money even when you sleep, sick, or on vacation, is to create a passive income source: work once, and get paid, over, and over, and over, and over.

Your product should be an information product.

OK, you say, that's easy... And it may very well be! But creating a product will not automatically mean sales, and therefore passive income. You need a Marketing Machine, that you throw the information product in one end, and money comes out on the other, day in-day out.

This sounds like magic, and in a way it is.

Lots of people teach how to do this, but most people still fail. There is only one product that I have tried that teaches this well, at a modest price, and does an exceptional job at holding your hand while you walk "the yellow brick road" to success, and that is the Info Product Dashboard. See the little video below about one principle no one will teach you quite like this way... but it works, it is true, and if you miss it, you are doomed to fail.

I have bought it, and I recommend it. It's about 80 bucks, and it can be the missing piece of this puzzle for you. Go and get it!
To your success,
Sophie

PS: go and get the dashboard: Info Product Dashboard

And for some... it borders the impossible. Even with a close supervision they will go somewhere where the sun doesn't shine...

For those of us that are willing and able to follow step by step proven processes (I recommend you do that)  there is always the Info Product Dashboard, an online step by step walk you through it, walk with you method...

Check it out. I bought it and I love it. 

More about it after the coaching call that I must interrupt this message for :-)

In the next post I'll elaborate on it... Now I have to run, I have a teleconference I am leading in 10 minutes... Back shortly. Watch the video.

Some 44 years ago, when I was in high school, and a celebrity of sorts, I was presented with a lesson that did not land until just today.

Back in 1963, my friend, Pamacs an I, applied to a talent show. She sang, I sang, she could strum the guitar, I was an accomplished guitar player. We opted to sing two Neil Sedaka songs, in English, instead of my native Hungarian. We stayed in the competition for quite a few rounds, and became everyone's favorite Bambi.

Duo, as we called ourselves. I have seen photos taken from the Television show, and we looked sweet, fresh, and just adorable.

Everyone who watched TV watched that show: that was the only TV station in Hungary, back in the olden days ;-)

Every Saturday, Pamacs showed up at our house, and we went dancing. She danced the whole evening, I danced maybe two

songs. At the end of the night hordes of boys wanted to walk her home, no one cared about me. I was prettier than Pam. I was dumbfounded...

Fast forward a few years... a few months ago Pam got in touch with me: the magic of the Internet.

She now lives in London, married to a famous and absolutely smashing guy, step mother of an Oscar Best Actress winner, has a striving psychology counseling practice.

I am not married (have never been), live alone, so you see, the story continued as it started. What is the difference between Pam and myself? If you guessed: her personality, you guessed it right.

So that means that I am screwed, right?

Now, I happen to agree with you, but we are both wrong.
Potentially...

Because in my new course, to be released soon, "Design Your Winning Personality" I have good news for you! You are not stuck with your personality, warts and all... You have built it, you can build another one. One that will get you what you want, the right guy/gal, the right job, the right connections, the right income, the right mood: happiness.

Let me ask you a question: if you could change anything about yourself: what would you change? What do you think would happen different in your life, if you could successfully changed that?

Please post a comment below.

Looking forward to hearing your answers.

xoxo Sophie

PS: In my next post I will write about a real-life example, another friend of mine’s… how she changed from a needy wallflower to a married, happy, successful architect.

Tags: personality,+persona,+character,+nice+person, winning, persona, the+face+of+your+business, mindset, change

I have just finished Peak Potential's Never Work Again in Orlando. Did the Guerilla Business School last year, have done tons of internet marketing courses and seminars, I am in 4 coaching programs, business or self-development, etc. and got to the point where

<<<drumroll please!>>>

I am financially free and work only 4 hours a week, not because I have to but because I choose to...

None of the above programs were the cause of my success, I have to admit, it all came from a little free membership I signed up to when it
opened, about 2 years ago.

The same guy, Mark Joyner, is now releasing a new program, that will be probably very inexpensive (his other programs are around a hundred bucks...), it is called the 7 Day Business Turnaround Kit

You can bet your sweet a__ I'll be the first in line to buy it.

A little f.a.q. from their site:

1. What is the Product?
It's the "7 Day Business Turnaround Kit" - our new "Intensive" course.

2. Is it Good?
Joe Vitale said:
"I don't think I've ever seen anything so comprehensive, so detailed, so caring, and so strategically designed to help."

3. When Do You Go Live?
8 PM EST Sunday July 1st

4. What Link Do I Click to get to it?

http://www.p27.net/7day

5. The Link Goes to Your Launch Blog - Why?
The link goes to the launch blog for now so you can see 2 free amazing videos that takes a look at the world in a whole
different way: I loved it and I want more of it!

At the moment of launch, the blog, and your link, will point to the sales letter where you can read all about the course and buy it.

Love,
Sophie
PS: I thought it would be great for you. I am sure you would like to work only 4 hours a week, like me.

- by Jim Edwards

© Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved
http://www.thenet reporter.com
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Unless you live under a rock, you know by now that online video represents the hottest thing to hit the Internet since the invention of the modem.

YouTube.com reportedly receives over 65,000 video submissions every day.

Video sites crowd the TOP 10 most popular destinations online and web video frequently appears on national TV while sometimes breaking the news before the networks even know a story exists.

Despite the popularity of online video, most video sites feel like the early days of radio when it comes to user-friendly features (or obvious lack thereof).

But, have not fear, the following tools will help you drastically improve both the flexibility and enjoyment you get from online videos.

** YouTube.com In Your iPod **

Most people would agree that YouTube.com carries the largest selection of free online videos available anywhere on the Net.

Once you get past the skateboard crashes and bike wrecks, some very interesting videos can be found with a little digging.

However, unlike Google Video, YouTube.com does not offer video downloads.

Google Video enables you to download almost any video in popular formats for your Apple iPod, Sony PSP, and other compatible portable video devices.

YouTube.com requires you to stay on their site to watch the videos or view them on a site with embedded code which streams the content.

Either way, YouTube.com wants your eyeballs on a web page when you watch their videos so they can make money from advertising.

So, if you want to start watching YouTube.com videos on your desktop, iPod, PSP (or other compatible portable video device), you need a little help.

These two tools will do just that!

** DVDVideoSoft.com **

Virtually all online video sites stream their videos in FLV (Flash Video) format, a format that works very well on both PC and Mac computers over the Web.

Unfortunately, the FLV file format does not work on most portable video players, so you need a way to convert them to a file format that will work.

DVDVideoSoft.com offers a free PC software program that will convert YouTube.com videos to MP4 format for use on your iPod or other portable devices, including mobile phones.

Log onto the site, look for the link that says "FLV to iPod" (currently in the lower right corner of the front page) and follow the instructions.

I found the software simple, easy-to-use and straight to the point with an intuitive interface (that means you can figure out how to use it without reading the instructions).

** Vixy.net - Online Conversions **

Vixy.net is an online service (currently in beta) offering online video conversion for both PC and Mac since it works through a standard web browser.

Just give the site the URL of the FLV video you want to convert, choose the format you want (AVI, MP4, 3GP, MOV, or MP3 audio-only) and click the button.

Once Vixy.net finishes converting, they give you a link to download the file.

My only complaint with Vixy.net is that they "throttle" their bandwidth, so it took forever to download the converted file.

Other than that, it worked like a charm!

–
Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the
co-creator of an amazing course that will teach you step-by-
step and click-by-click how to get your own money-making
videos posted online…

-=-=-==-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"Finally! A Quick and Easy Way For YOU To Painlessly
Create, Post and PROFIT From Your Own Money-Making
Online Videos… Without Being a Computer Geek or
Paying Outrageous Fees To A Webmaster!"
=> www.Website Video Secrets
-=-=-==-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

=====================================

"The Web's Best-Kept Traffic Secret"

- by Jim Edwards

(c) Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved

http://www.thenetreporter.com

=====================================

Did you realize that thousands of website operators use a
simple technique to generate targeted visitors to their
websites without paying a dime in advertising? It's true.

In fact, the technique works so well that many of them
don't want you to discover how they get those thousands of
website visitors and make so many sales on virtual "auto-
pilot."

Their method?

Creating tightly focused articles other people publish in
their ezines (online magazines and email newsletters) and
post on their websites. This method rates so powerful that
some even call it "the web's best kept traffic secret."

Now, you may ask, "Why would an ezine publisher or website
owner publish my articles for their subscribers?"

The answer: Content!

Over a 100,000 ezines and newsletters operate on the web
(along with millions of websites) covering everything from
pets and cooking to investments and real estate. Many of
them need tightly focused content and they simply can't
produce all of it themselves.

Look at it this way... it's the same reason newspapers use
the Associated Press. Individual newspapers often can't
afford staff writers to cover every story, so they accept
articles from outside their organization.

You can do the exact same thing for various ezines and
websites catering to your niche audience!

You can get valuable publicity -- exposure you often
couldn't even pay for if you wanted to -- by providing
valuable, content-rich articles in exchange for a byline
and a link to your website (called a "resource box")!

The following represent only a few of the enormous benefits
of writing and distributing simple articles online:

** Attain "Expert" Status **

Let's face it! In the eyes of virtually everyone who reads
your articles you rank as the "expert" on the subject.

Just look at people who write newspaper columns. You
may disagree with their viewpoints, but they still have an
elevated status in your mind compared to the "average Joe"
off the street.

** Pre-sell Website Visitors **

If your article appeals to a niche audience hungry for more
information on a very focused subject, you actually pre-
sell them better than any sales pitch. In their minds,
you've already delivered content they really want so when
they click over to your site you already have a
"reputation" in their minds.

** Traffic Lasts Longer **

Even though the Internet changes very quickly, webmasters
are usually very slow to remove content from their sites.
Once you get an article posted on another person's website,
you have an excellent chance of that article staying there
for weeks, months, even years.

** Increase Links To Your Site **

In a recent search I found just a dozen of my articles
posted on over 813 different websites! Not only do those
postings bring me traffic, but they also help my search
engine positioning because of my increased "Link
Popularity."

** Builds Your Affiliate Base **

Fact: Affiliates always take the path of least resistance.

If you provide excellent articles they can easily post on
their sites or copy and paste into their ezines, your
affiliates will promote you more often and more effectively
compared to those who don't give them tools.

Plus, as you make more sales and publish articles, other
people will see you providing excellent tools and will want
to sign up as your affiliate so they can use them too!

** Build a Huge "Opt-In" Email List **

You can use articles to build up a huge list of subscribers
by simply compiling several articles into a series and
delivering them at preset intervals.

Often called a "mini-course," this technique allows you not
only to prove to your subscribers that you deliver great
information, but enables you to capture their name and
email adress so you can send them articles and special
offers in the future (with their permission).

** Requires No Special Skills **

People often think they need to be a "writer" in order to
publish articles, but that's not true!

FACT: If you have a passion for a subject and can talk and
explain things like you would to a friend over a cup of
coffee, you can write articles people will love to read.

So if you operate a website selling virtually any type of
product or service (whether your own or as an affiliate),
publishing and promoting with articles should rank high on
your list of traffic generation strategies.

No other method of generating targeted traffic to your
website provides the quality, quantity and steadiness of
traffic in such a simple, straightforward, and cost-
effective manner.

----

Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-
author of an amazing new ebook, "Turn Words Into Traffic,"
that will teach you how to use free articles to quickly
drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website or
affiliate link!
Click=> http://sophieslist.com/recommends/jimedwards/

http://www.sophieschoice.org/marion/?feed=rss2&p=5

http://www.sophieschoice.org/marion/wp-trackback.php?p=5

http://www.sophieschoice.org/marion/wp-trackback.php?p=3

The price and the product is great as a standalone, but what is even greater, is that you can get a 100% commission on it, and I simply can't think of anyone who would not want it.

If someone is in internet marketing, this is a great product to have, and can be used profitably again and again. It makes you money, and it builds your list for you, but not just any old list, it builds a list of people who are willing to spend money on the internet...

But I didn't forget to use it.

I've implemented this script already and love it. Click here to get your copy of the $7 Program: a pdf report and a great viral script

Believe me, in the right hands, the $7 script can be worth thousands!