Wisdom – I Regret Missing an Opportunity to Stay Silent

The title of this post was a bit of wisdom I got from my wise friend, Jack. “The Italians say: I regret missing an opportunity to remain silent.” This dovetailed nicely with another bit of wisdom from a colleague: “You cannot be hurt by what you do not say” Put them together, and it’s a powerful combination. I wish I had just shut up sometimes. I’m better at that now. …

Wisdom – And Finally, Blogging

Blogging was meant to be a web log. Not a tweet, not a facebook post, but more of a “Dear Diary”. There to read, but not to be imposed on people like the tweet about being at Starbucks, then going to the bathroom, then getting your latte. I read a statistic that 90% of the tweets are generated by 10% of the users. Add Lindsey Lohan or whoever else to that, and you get … Read More

Wisdom – A Quote I Want to Live By

I read a quote from Mark Twain about 3 years ago, and it captures how I would like to learn to live. “I’ve have a horrible life, 99% of which never happened” How Samuel Clemens could encapsulate in one sentence the irony of our bad thoughts-ridden brains is a thing of wonder. He also said, “There is a release found in swearing, that is denied even to prayer”. I have to explain that quote … Read More

Tips – Never Underestimate the Baby Wipe

My Mother swore by baby wipes. She never left home without them. She always counseled us to have them, and NEVER to buy the brand name because the generic were just as good. Like the fact that she carried instant coffee in a zip lock bag in her purse (because she could not understand how people didn’t have coffee, even instant around their houses, so she cheerfully brought her own). She never left the … Read More

Wisdom – Don’t Fight the Phase

I’ve got a term I internally coined and don’t really share, until now. “Don’t fight the Phase” All things in life are phasic. Everything you go through, is a phase. Best not to fight it. Like a wave, better to try and ride it. Learn its boundaries, don’t make it bigger (or smaller) than it is, and ride it until it’s over. Let it transform you. By all means, find the peace and positiveness … Read More

Life Lessons – What is Mistake Number 1?

I want to talk about what has for me become Mistake NUMBER 1. If you are starting a web marketing or niche marketing course, you WILL make it. I’m 100% confident. I just want the time you endure it to be short. What is Internet Marketing Mistake number 1? DILUTION. The best part, and worst part of our work as emerging internet marketing is that we can get into literally any niche we want. … Read More

Life Lessons – Niche Marketing is like French Bread

Hi Guys, Mark here! Building niche sites is a lot like French Bread. For years, the fantastic, traditional artisan made baguette was deteriorating due to being mass produced. The wonderful symbol of the french diet, with it profound craftsmanship was dying. There were even billboards around Paris saying EAT BREAD OR THERE WON’T BE ANY, meaning support your local bakery or it will go belly up. So guess what. THEY WERE ABLE TO MASS … Read More

Life Lessons – Rome was Not Built in a Day

Hi Guys, Mark here! Indeed Rome was not built in a day, and guess what, they had a lot of free help in the form of slaves. There is no sin, and indeed everything to gain in considering farming out, outsourcing or just plain getting help in building good web properties. Personally, I hate to write. I really do unless it’s this stuff I write now. I have writers I use all over the … Read More

Wisdom – I’d Rather be Smart than Right

Hi Guys, Mark here! I’ve learned a valuable lesson, or insight that has occurred to me in the past 6 months: There are lots of people out there who will fight tooth and nail to be RIGHT. Even if they are wrong, reckless and just downright stupid. They have to be right at all costs. They wear me out. I fight to be Smart. Even if I appear wrong, or if I risk being … Read More

Life Lessons – What is Sales and Why do We Hate it so Much

One thing that I believe is that we are all NOT born salespeople. Some of us are better at it, and some of us, INCLUDING ME, hate it. Loathe it. Makes me feel as cheap as a sleazy used car salesman. My old Internet buddy Brian J. Johnson said to me once “we’re salesman, after all” and I cringed. I just had a bad association with it. But making good money on the internet … Read More

Life Lessons – What is Really Important, Anyway

Hi Guys, Mark here! I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what is really important. Money? Time? For me, the past two months have been my mother. She’s developed a bit of dementia, and we’ve had to move her to assisted living. If you’ve ever had to do that you know how hard it is. Luckily, she’s thriving, and well cared for. And the time I’ve spent becoming successful online has paid off in … Read More

Life Lessons – Fear, Fear, Always Fear

There is a fearsome predator marketing. It preys on fear, and preys on our desire to learn and not to act. And that predator is: The ability of a marketers to confuse you into thinking that their product is the best, that what you are doing is wrong! I get emails from folks that say “I realize I was doing it wrong and abandoned what I was doing” because I saw so and so’s … Read More

Life Lessons – Patience

I read years ago: don’t overestimate what you can do in a day or a week, but don’t UNDERESTIMATE what you can do in a year, or 6 months. I wanted to share this with you to remind you that what we do in Web Marketing is long term build and not a short term win. Build pages each day, brick by brick. And then, in a year look back. And by all means … Read More

Life Lessons – Patience and Oreo Cookies

Hi Guys, Mark here! I was listening to National Public Radio yesterday and they have a new study out where they found a correlation between 4 year old kids and their ability to wait to eat a marshmallow, and their later success in life. Essentially, a large group of kids was tested give a Marshmallow and asked to wait as long as they could before eating it. Years later they located the kids again, … Read More

Life Lessons – You Need a Friend to Give You Perspective.

Hi Guys, Mark here! I remember seeing “Silence of the Lambs” when Hannibal Lecter says to Jodi Foster “Read Marcus Aurelius, First rule — Simplicity! Ask of all things, what is it in itself? What is it’s nature?” I’ve had to do that lots of times in this business, and just yesterday I had a major problem with some sites I was working on. I could not see the problem, and called a friend … Read More

Life Lessons – Critical Step – Find a Teacher

In my last lesson, I talked about how if you start something, and intend to be it, you are IT from the moment you begin. Even though you are it, recognize that you need to learn more. To Master the IT. What is the best way to Master this field? I learned this the hard way: Anything you are becoming cannot be learned from a book, you need a teacher. Why? Because with a … Read More

Life Lessons – You Are it!

Web Master Marketer Michael Cheney said to me once: “The minute you start doing something you ARE that. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.” Meaning: You launch your first website to become a web marketer and YOU ARE NOW A WEB MARKETER! You are that, you work at it, you become that. You have begun. It means, I do it seriously and with INTENT. Are you a photographer or a person who takes photographs? … Read More

Life Lessons – The Parable of the Fisherman

Hi Folks Mark here! The anecdote and parable I’m about to share is perhaps the most profound one I remember when I think about the freedom of earning a great living, or even getting wealthy online. I’ll let the parable explain itself. Basically, what are you trying to achieve. I first came across it in Tim Ferris’s “Four Hour Workweek” which I think has some great ideas and is a must read for anyone … Read More

Life Lessons – Taskcrastinating

“TASKCRASTINATING” I coined this term about 10 years ago. The process of allowing oneself to be drawn into tasks that seem important and are seemingly essential to something but in actuality are a way of stalling actually doing the work. It’s a form of distraction that feels productive. I’ve been there. You know what I do? I set the stove timer for 20 minutes and then force myself to do the things that I … Read More

Life Lessons – Occam’s Razor-Why it Matters

What is Occam’s Razor? Wikipedia has it as …The principle is popularly interpreted as “the simplest explanation is usually the correct one”… Occam’s Razor is attributed to the 14th-century English logician, theologian and Franciscan friar William of Ockham who wrote “entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity” PUT SIMPLY: If you are tired, you probably need Sleep If you are hungry, you probably need to eat If the car is puttering to a stop, … Read More

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