16 Rules For Success in Business and Life in General
This is from Bob Parson’s Blog, good advise and worth listening to! Get and stay out of your comfort zone. I believe that not much happens of any significance when we’re in our comfort zone. I hear people say, “But I’m concerned about security.” My response to that is simple: “Security is for cadavers.” Never give up. Almost nothing works the first time it’s attempted. Just because what you’re doing does not seem to be working, doesn’t mean it won’t work. It just means that it might not work the way you’re doing it. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and you wouldn’t have an opportunity. When you’re ready to quit, you’re closer than you think. There’s an old Chinese saying that I just love, and I believe it is so true. It goes like this: “The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed.” With regard to whatever worries you, not only accept the worst thing that could happen, but make it a point to quantify what the worst thing could be. Very seldom will the worst consequence be anywhere near as bad as a cloud of “undefined consequences.” My father would tell me early on, when I was struggling and losing my shirt trying to get Parsons Technology going, “Well, Robert, if it doesn’t work, they can’t eat you.” Focus on what you want to have happen. Remember that old saying, “As you think, so shall you be.” Take things a day at a time. No matter how difficult your situation is, you can get through it if you don’t look too far into the future, and focus on the present moment. You can get through anything one day at a time. Always be moving forward. Never stop investing. Never stop improving. Never stop doing something new. The moment you stop improving your organization, it starts to die. Make it your goal to be better each and every day, in some small way. Remember the Japanese concept of Kaizen. Small daily improvements eventually result in huge advantages. Be quick to decide. Remember what General George S. Patton said: “A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow.” Measure everything of significance. I swear this is true. Anything that is measured and watched, improves. Anything that is not managed will deteriorate. If you want to uncover problems you don’t know about, take a few moments and look closely at the areas you haven’t examined for a while. I guarantee you problems will be there. Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to what you’re doing. When you look at your competitors, remember that everything looks perfect at a distance.Even the planet Earth, if you get far enough into space, looks like a peaceful place. Never let anybody push you around. In our society, with our laws and even playing field, you have just as much right to what you’re doing as anyone else, provided that what you’re doing is legal. Never expect life to be fair. Life isn’t fair. You make your own breaks. You’ll be doing good if the only meaning fair has to you, is something that you pay when you get on a bus (i.e., fare). Solve your own problems. You’ll find that by coming up with your own solutions, you’ll develop a competitive edge. Masura Ibuka, the co-founder of SONY, said it best: “You never succeed in technology, business, or anything by following the others.” There’s also an old Asian saying that I remind myself of frequently. It goes like this: “A wise man keeps his own counsel.” Don’t take yourself too seriously. Lighten up. Often, at least half of what we accomplish is due to luck. None of us are in control as much as we like to think we are. There’s always a reason to smile. Find it. After all, you’re really lucky just to be alive. Life is short. More and more, I agree with my little brother. He always reminds me: “We’re not here for a long time, we’re here for a good...
Twitter Power: 5 Ways to Use Twitter for Business
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey (From Realtor.com) QUICK SKIM The micro blogging site Twitter has generated plenty of buzz lately and all from the simple question: “What are you doing now?” Those who use the site have 140 characters or less to respond to the question. Members “follow” other members, and vice-versa, to stay up-to-date on what everyone is doing. Many real estate pros have jumped on the Twitter bandwagon, using it as a way to connect with clients. In the book Twitter Power (Wiley, 2009), authors Joel Comm and Ken Burge show how individuals and organizations can use it as a marketing tool and how such short “tweets” can even land new business. Buy The Book FROM THE BOOK: 5 WAYS TO USE TWITTER FOR BUSINESS When you use Twitter for business reasons, you want to “blend in” and make sure your messages don’t come across as blatant sales pitches, or you could face a backlash from followers, the authors write. Your goal for using Twitter should be to make your business stand out and turn your customers into a community. “Your Twitter timeline is not a sales page,” Comm and Burge write. “Gripping headlines and hard call-to-actions on Twitter are more likely to drive people away than drive them to buy. Your Tweets need to be subtle. They have to build interest and trust. Only then will your followers feel that doing what you want them to do will be worth their while. ” Here are five tips from the book on using Twitter for business. 1. Make yourself personable. You want your messages, or “tweets,” to be written in a laid-back tone that creates the impression that you’re chatting with others. “Businesses that tweet like a corporate executive addressing a board meeting will … scream that they have no idea what they’re doing—or who they’re talking to,” the authors write. To help make your Twitter account more personable, use a photo or an icon that represents your business instead of your company’s logo as your Twitter image. For example, Southwest Airlines uses an image of its planes’ tail and the sky as its background; Comcast’s Twitter.com/comcastcares uses a human face and tweets in an informal, friendly tone. 2. Give your tweet the “who cares?” test. If you just repainted your office or grabbed a donut on your way to the kitchen, should you really tweet about it? You’ll read a lot of random thoughts from Twitterers, but if you’re using it to land new business, think before you tweet. “News announcements that affect the reader are always going to be the most interesting,” the authors write. “The best way to handle news for branding, then, is to mix it in with other kinds of content and to add a personal comment so that it sounds like its coming from a real person, not from a company. ” If you’re tweeting on behalf of a company, keep it human, but not too personal, the authors write. And if you’re tweeting on behalf of a personal brand, you might include random thoughts (e.g., the donuts on the way to the kitchen) but keep them limited and mix them in with helpful tweets. 3. Build a following. Once you’re using Twitter, of course, you’ll want others to be reading and responding to your messages. So how can you build a strong following? Simply, start following others. Reciprocal following is like good manners in the Twitter universe so those who you follow will likely start following you. Follow the major Twitterers and reply to their tweets with interesting, valuable information. Others will notice your comments and reciprocate. 4. Find who’s talking about you and your business. You might want to reply to others who appear to have an interest in your topic. Try using Twellow (the site allows you to find who’s talking about what in a field or topic) or use TweetBeep (to receive alerts for keywords you set). You might want to use these sites so you receive alerts for mentions of your business name, blog, Twitter name, or topics such as “real estate” or “short sales.” 5. Know your audience. Offer advice and solutions to Twitterers who pose questions or are struggling with something in your field of expertise. This also helps you build a core group of followers. If you have a real estate blog, you might want to use Twitter to provide quick notices about upcoming blog posts and what you’re working on. Include links to your blog or Web site where your followers can read more. Just watch out for linking overload: If you want to increase the odds that...
Installing XP on a Dell Inspiron Desktop 519
I recently had to help a client with a computer upgrade, their computer crashed and it was an older Intel P4 they went online and purchased a Dell Desktop Inspiron 519 with an AMD processor thinking they could swap the hard drive and reload XP. well if you are reading this you probably know that it wont work and is not supported by Ole’ Uncle Bill. I found some online resources that made it possible, Problem number one was getting rid of the BSOD! i thought the main problem was the different HAL required for the AMD processor, that was not as big an issue as the intelppm.sys to disable it follow these instructions, click here the other main issue was the 519 is Sata the old P4 Clone was IDE requireing different drivers, and how to disable them if i can’t load the OS even in safe mode, fortunatly i found an answer with UBDC4win Click Here for full instructions,after making these changes i was able to get to a Desktop, but missing alot of drivers. the last step was finding the missing drivers for XP. a few of the drivers for Vista 32 will work, the audio driver the modem driver (Dont ask why he bought one) i had to get the network driver from Realtek and force it to install, then it worked perfectly. by force i mean let me choose which driver to install, have disk and tell XP i know what im doing and install the Driver any how, the Realtek driver you will need is for a realtek 8169, 8168, 8101E and 8102E and can be found Here. i used the WinXP (WinServer 2003) Driver and did a manual install as XP said they were not correct. the remaining drivers can be found by using drivers from a Inspiron Desktop 546ST found Here. i used the AMD RS780 Video drivers and that also resolved the SM Bus Driver. the unknown PCI device will be resolved with the Audio Drivers from the...
The Side of Network Marketing They Never Told You About!
If you’re sick of harassing your friends and co-workers about your “business opportunity” and going broke buying leads that only turn out to be duds… you may be interested in learning the closely-guarded secret that every guru knows about marketing: You can attract people to you and actually have them PAY YOU to prospect them. Rather than spending money to get people into your business, you can put cash in your pocket upfront instead… regardless of whether you sponsor them or not! Click here to learn...
PSI Seminars: Education for Life : Free_intro
In 2007 I attended a seminar on how to to maximize your effectiveness and create a more balanced, satisfying life. The course stresses balance in four key areas of your life: physical, mental, spiritual and emotional. It was the most dramatic and life changing event i have experienced. If you are truly interested in making a change in your life I encourage you to attend a Free Into presentation. ~~~~~~~~~ GET EDUCATED, GET EMPOWERED Has a family member, friend, or co-worker invited you to the PSI Basic course? Have you noticed some dramatic changes in that person? Are you curious to find out why? By attending a free PSI Basic Intro you will have an opportunity to gets answer to these questions. Additionally, you will learn the benefits of the PSI Basic, and we provide you with simple tools you can use now to improve many areas of your life. The free PSI Basic Intro is usually around one hour and will cover most of the concepts and focuses that you can expect at the PSI Basic. AT THE FREE PSI BASIC INTRO YOU WILL HEAR HOW YOU CAN LEARN THE FOLLOWING: Learn how to become a better communicator. Learn to resolve past and current conflicts. Learn how to get 2-3 hours of rest in less than 20 minutes. Learn the top three things that deeply affect relationships. Learn to use more imagination and creativity in your life. Learn how to create more wealth in your life. Learn the attitudes successful people use in business to win. Learn how your attitude affects others and why attitude creates up to 90% of your results. If you’re ready to advance straight to the PSI Basic, click here to register. If you want to learn more, click here to attend a free PSI Basic Intro program in a city near you. via PSI Seminars – Personal Success Institute : Education for Life :...