Christmas is a time for giving - But who is buying this BS?

It never ceases to amaze me how generous some people can be and especially at this time of year. Christmas is a time for giving but I had begun to think folks had forgetten this. You see all the ads on TV and the children and parents who all want, want, want.
"Daddy, please can I have that? Oh please Daddy."

"Oh darling, it's only 3 carats, Pretty please with a cherry on top!"

We are such an on demand society that I thought the era of giving was dying. But this week I've been amazed at what people will do for others. And not just any people. Complete strangers seem to be incredibly generous.

Today I got an email from a lady called Amanda Guld from West Africa. She emailed completely out of the blue and she told me that she had a cheque for me for $900,000! I nearly fell off my chair. She said she had been trying to get hold of me with no luck. I couldn't understand this as my name "Dickie Armour" is easily looked up on any of the search engines and all my email addresses work and I've had the same telephone numbers for years. But Mrs Amanda Guld was having trouble. I guess the Interent in West Africa might be a little slower.

Anyways, she told me she had deposited my cheque with a UPS Courier called Daniel Cole and I was to get in touch to get my cheque. I am so excited. I've pretty much got all of the $900,000 spent already. Aston Martin DB9 Volante will be arriving any day now.

Aren't people just so generous?!! The other thing I'm truly excited about is a complete stranger called Martha Smith emailed me this time last week and has promised me that she can help me pull in over $40,000 a month using her easy to follow system! Now this truly is great news because as soon as I spend the $900,000 that Amanda Guld's sending me I'll need some more bucks, so I'm quite excited about this new online marketing system. It sounds like a no brainer. Hey, Martha I will be in touch real soon.

So that's my good news about two incredibly generous strangers but as if this wasn't special enough, my mate called me yesterday to tell me he had won £2.6million in the Dutch Lottery. He got an email from them telling him he had won. Can you believe that?! And what was really staggering about my mate winning this? He hadn't even bought a ticket! He was so excited and is convinced a friend or member of his family must have bought the ticket for him. And like me he's got his Aston Martin DB9 arriving anyday too.

So Christmas 2009 has been incredible - so many nice strangers getting in touch with me to give me loads of money!

Merry Christmas you scumbags!

Please tell me you are not someone who buys this BS when you get an email from a complete stranger? Well if it's not you then who is being taken in? We all need to wake up and stop being so gullible! Surely as people who Blog; use Twitter; Facebook; LinkedIn; Ecadeny; Flickr; YouTube etc we should be educating all our friends and family NOT to get sucked into this crap?!

So which one of you hasn't told all your friends and family?

If we all stop being so gullible and we stop responding to these idiots surely this problem will eventually go away? Please promise to do your bit in 2010 and spread the word through your friends and family. If they haven't bought a lottery ticket then they have not won!
If they get an email from West Africa, Nigeria, Russia, China or any where from a stranger claiming they are holding some long lost family inheritance, please tell them not to respond.

And if they are promised some clever system will make them the next Internet gazzilonaire, then tell them not to bother. Or perhaps do like I do and get in touch and ask them to prove it by letting me use the system free for 6 months and if it's as good as they claim, they should be happy to put their money where their mouth is!

But best of all, tell your friends and family that the next time (and sadly there will be a next time) they get an incredible, too good to be true offer from a complete stranger, they should simply hit the delete button and carry on with their day.

You can read more about other these and other well known scams in this article I wrote in January 2009.

My First Mobile Blog - Twitter Search Nearby Function

I'm actually sat at my desk trying this Blogger app on my iPhone. It amazes me how far Internet related technology has come in the last 5 years.
It didn't seem that long ago that everyone was talking about WAP enabled websites and how they were going to be the next big thing!
So as I said I'm just trying this new blog app out. I could be sat on a train; waiting for my flight at an airport or I could be sat by the pool on holiday writing my blog!
OK, so I can type but can I add photos? Ummm, let's see.

Yes, it seems I can! This is a photo of a book which arrived in the post this morning. Thanks Jim for sending it to me. It's by a guy called Brad Burton and the title speaks for itself! www.getoffyourarse.biz Brad's book site.
OK, so I got off my preverbial and am writing my blog using the new iPhone app I've been meaning to download and try. Thanks Brad!
I love the iPhone. I use Tweetie** for Twitter and I recently discovered the "search nearby" function. See screenshot below.







This was a search in Bristol and I used it to show a mate of mine. He's a car valeter and was asking how he could use Twitter to find new customers. His concern was that he wanted to connect with local people and not so many people from the US and other countries. He likes connecting with people but he would be unlikely to win much car Valeting business from someone in Texas!

So I showed him how the Search Nearby function works explaining that he can find people in his area in real time. He can them connect with them and perhaps offer a promotion or similar via Twitter!
He was blown away and has already won 2 customers as a direct result of using this Search Nearby function.

So if you're in the Bristol area watch out for @bristolvaleting. I'm sure he'll seek you out soon! Or if you need your car Valeting perhaps you could seek him out instead! He's offering a 10% discount on 19th Dec.
www.bristolvaleting.com

So there you have it. My new blog post from my iPhone.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

**Update - July 2010. Tweetie for Twitter became Twitter for iPhone a while back. If you want more info go to http://blog.twitter.com/2010/05/twitter-for-iphone.html

Social Media - Why you need to be on board

The video below demonstrates the power of Social Media and why you should be on board.

I was staggered when I read some of the stats in the video! "If Facebook was a country it would be the 4th largest"!
This is a really exciting time! Social Media has been around for a few years now but it is only in the last few months that a real buzz has started. More and more people are using Twitter, FaceBook, FriendFeed, and Blogs and people are engaging with each other in a way we hadn't imagined.

These aren't just loose and random connections, but genuine conversations which are leading to new friendships and business relationships with real meaning.

It's hard to explain precisely but there is something happening and no one truly knows where the current thirst for social media is taking us. It's a bit like being on a train which has just left the station. It's not too late for people to jump on board; it will be stopping at all stations. The atmosphere is electric and all those on board are really energised and full of enthusiasm and whilst there appear to be quite a few experts on board; it's also clear that none of them can say for sure what's going to happen on the journey and the really exciting part is this - no one knows where the train will end up!

If you're considering getting involved on Twitter or Facebook, LinkedIn or Ecademy or any of the other social networks, then do it! Jump on board the train - "right here - right now!" I also suggest setting up a profile on as many of them as possible. The reason for this is many people have a preference and only use one or two of the social network websites. So if you want to maximise your chance of being discovered, then you need a profile on as many of these sites as possible. If someone's preferred site is Ecademy and they are using Ecademy to search for someone with your area of expertise, if you're not on Ecademy then they won't find you.

Many experts are saying that social media profiles are beginning to be more effective than a company website. This doesn't mean there is no need for a corporate website; of course there is still a need! But what it tells you is you should have both. You need a company website so those people you are having conversations with via the social media websites can find your company website when they are ready.

The social network websites are getting good search engine rankings so somebody looking for you or your business stands more chance of finding your social media profile via one of the many websites than they will of finding your official company website.

The image above shows the result of a search on Google for me - "Dickie Armour". Whilst my personal website is 1st (not hard when you have a name like mine) you'll see that within the first 2 pages my profile comes up on at least 10 different social media websites including my blog. But neither of my company websites appear in the top 20 search results.

What about a great friend of mine, Jamie Forster? See the Google Search result for him below.

Again, his company website doesn't appear either, but he does appear 4 times in the first ten results. And from any of those 4 links you can find Jamie's company website.

So you need to have your profile on as many of the different social media websites as possible to increase your chance of being found and to be able to connect with a person on their preferred social media arena.

So all aboard! This train departs from the next station near you right now. Join us on the journey; I've not a clue where it's going, but it's going to be great fun, we're all going to learn bucket loads of stuff and I promise you'll make some wonderful new friends and you might just pick up some new business along the way.

Social Networking - Are you just a card dealer?

There are more and more people attending networking events and there are a huge number of people networking on the many different social media websites.

But how are you contributing to these different mediums?

Networking Offline

When you attend an event, whether it's a business breakfast; a seminar; a training day with networking breaks, what are your expectations?

Many people attend these events with the definite intention of winning new customers by selling to as many of the people there as possible. We've all been to meetings where there's a guy working through the crowd handing out his business cards, rather like a bumble bee flitting from flower to flower. He stays with a person for no more than a few moments; long enough to impress them with his well honed "elevator pitch" before he's off to find his next victim. He doesn't spare more than a minute to listen to the other person. He doesn't really care what they do. He listens for long enough to discover if they are a potential victim; someone he can sell to.

This is serial networking at it's worst. In business and in life people buy people. So it is important that you learn the art of being a caring networker. People are NOT going to “buy you” if you’re just a card dealer. You have to truly care about the other person and it’s always a good start if you can make a great first impression.

The word SHINE was introduced to me at a recent marketing conference I attended and like any conference or seminar there was an element of networking throughout the event. A great guy called Mark Perl was the host and he explained the concept of SHINE.

   S - Smile
   H - Handshake
   I - Eye Contact
   N - Name
   E - Enthusiasm

Smile as you look at the person and shake their hand firmly but not weakly or with a limp wrist. Equally don’t crush the other person’s hand! Look them in the eye and keep looking at them as you give them your name and listen as they say their name. Be enthusiastic during this. Don’t speak in a boring, monotone voice but introduce yourself as if you’re excited.
Then once you’ve done the introductions ask questions. Ask the person what they do for a living. Ask them how they heard about the event, ask them where they live.

I always try to find out as much as I can about the other person and I always try to ask them the first question. This really puts the other person at ease because people naturally enjoy talking about themselves. Always try to show real interest in what they are telling you and find out if you have some things in common. The best way to do this is to make sure you really listen. Don’t get distracted by other people in the room or a loud conversation going on nearby. Stay focused on the other person while they’re speaking and try not to interrupt them.

I have a general rule that I never offer my business card until either I’ve discovered that the person I’m talking to is someone I want to connect with and stay in touch with; or they ask me for my business card. And if they are someone I want to connect with I always ask them for their card and in most cases they reciprocate by asking for mine.

Networking Online

Many of the same rules apply when you are participating via online social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Ecademy, Bebo, Xing, MySpace or on people’s blogs and your own blog. But the main mistake people make when using these sites is, without realising it they become the card dealer! They just broadcast messages about themselves and their business. They send tweets on Twitter promoting their company.

The art of communication through social media is having conversations. You have to take part in discussions with people and you have to go where the conversation is taking place. If your favourite social network is Facebook and you only “talk” to people on Facebook you are going to be missing out on a whole load of conversations which you might want to take part in.

Use some of the aggregator tools such as FriendFeed to see where the conversations are taking place and then go and join in. This is the beauty of using social media. Unlike a bar or a café where conversations are happening but you don’t feel you can “barge in” and just sit down at a table and join a conversation with strangers. On social media sites you can. You can see a conversation happening around a subject that interests you and you can jump right in by posting your opinion.

You can add your comments to a conversation and people can read them and reply and all in real time. It’s amazing to watch and take part in and it is so exciting when you then make a connection with someone in this way.

I follow some runners on Twitter and I was training to run a half marathon and we were having a conversation about training. I tweeted about why I was raising money for Cancer Research UK and a lady I had never met joined in the conversation. She wrote a lovely reply saying how moved she was by my story about my dad dying of cancer and she very generously sponsored me via my fundraising website! That just blew me away. About a month later on the marketing weekend I mentioned earlier there were over 200 people from all over the UK there and the hosts asked members of the audience to stand up and give feedback. I heard this lady introduce herself and I realised it was the same lady who had sponsored me via Twitter. During the break we met up and it was just amazing to meet this generous person in real life! We are now connected and we have met up since and become really good friends.

So try and take part more in the conversations going on and post comments on people’s blogs. There is nothing worse that writing a blog and getting no comments! It happens to us all, so I make sure if I read an interesting blog that I post a comment and add my opinion. It’s also nice to share things which you have found interesting from other people. Don’t just share your stuff. It’s more rewarding to let people know about other people’s stuff and one day, you never know, someone might just promote our stuff.

Take part in the conversations and start to contribute more, but please don’t be a card dealer.

Part 3 - Fantastic & Rare Tony Robbins Audio from 1989.

As promised Tony Robbins, a world renowned expert on Leadership Psychology, has released an incredible audio this time from 20 years ago!

It's a rare recording Tony did back in 1989 and I'd like to give it to you.

You can download it here for free as a gift from Tony:


http://www.moneymastersseries.com/audiodownload.php

This has NEVER been released before ...but I think it's *critical* that you hear it because you'll discover what Tony calls the "5 Keys to Wealth & Happiness".

Please download this as soon as you can because Tony has said he doesn't think he'll be leaving it on the Internet for long. 

Yes to Facebook in the Workplace!

At a recent Ecademy event in London on Social Media for Business with Louis Gray, the topic of Facebook in the workplace was raised and Louis gave his opinion. He, and most of the audience agreed, that employers should allow the use of Facebook in the workplace.

Interesting to note in this week's issue of Webuser magazine their News Editor, Ben Camm-Jones comments on the same issue and highlights the recent issue Dixons Store Group faced when some staff were insulting customers on Facebook.

See coverage on the story from the BBC earlier this month.

He sums the article up by saying: "So it's simple - let your employees use Facebook. The weakest links in your workforce will soon reveal themselves."

Click the image above to enlarge and read.

I agree. Business owners, directors and managers have to realise that Social Media is an exciting new way of communicating with their customers (not always positvely!) and they should be embracing the likes of Facebook, Ecademy, Twitter etc. When staff are using these mediums employers must ensure the content is monitored and any wrong doings are nipped in the bud.

But I know the power of using these social media sites as an amazing way of connecting with customers and potential new customers in a really positive way. Working for a company that knows and understands this helps boost the morale of it's staff and people feel they can make a difference.

So if you're an employer who doesn't allow access to these social media sites, think about how your staff feel and think of the positive ways you can harness these sites to help your customers. And sure, the odd idiot might abuse the new found trust you've given them, but as Ben Camm-Jones says "Facebook is an excellent way to suss out unsuitable employees".

Business start ups Start with a Domain Name

Have you recently set up a new business?
Are you considering setting up a new business?

The recession and redundancies have caused a large number of people to start up their own businesses. In an article in today's USA Today it says "...starting a business from scratch or buying a franchise has been the way out for many. Of job seekers who gained employment in the second quarter of 2009, nearly one in 10 — 8.7% — did so by launching their own businesses, according to outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas' quarterly Job Market Index."

Read the USA Today article.

No doubt in the UK, some of those who have been made redundant will have started up their own business too.

If you are considering starting up your own business or you have already, you need to make sure you register a domain name for your business. You also need to make sure you choose the right domain name for your business and you need to choose the right domain name registration provider.

The following couple of articles might be of some assistance to you if you are considering setting up your online business.

Domain Name Registration for your Online Business

How do you choose the right domain provider for your business?

The reason every new business starts with a domain name is because everyone now expects a business to have a website and a company email address and if you don't, you'll get left behind.

So don't leave it to chance, take some time and think about the right name for your business and make sure the domain name to match your business name is available. I would always recommend registering both the .co.uk and the .com variations as a minimum. There are other options too, but these are the 2 most recognised.

Then once you've decided on the name, find a domain name provider and get your domain name/s regsitered.

Fundraising can be Heart Warming ...

.... in more ways than one! I am doing the Cardiff Half Marathon on 18th October and raising money for Cancer Research UK. It is such an incredible feeling when someone sponsors me.
 
Because during these tricky times they have put their hand in their pocket and shared their hard earned cash with me for my cause.

Because I think of all the good it will do.
 
Cancer Research UK is entirely funded by the public, so they rely on people like me and you to help them continue their life-saving work.

But on the flip side, the other way Fundraising can be "heart warming" is when a non-runner like me has to go out and run 8 miles!!! My heart rate went through the roof today!
 
This was without any shadow of a doubt the hardest run I have ever done.
You can see details of my workout by clicking here.

The thing people always say about exercise is it's great because it increases the endorphins in your body which put you on a real high.
 
Today was not one of those endorphin enducing days - I was so shattered after the run that my heart rate was still up at 145 as I lay on the carpet trying to recover. Even after my shower those elusive endorphins didn't show up.
 
But I am so thrilled that I was able to run 8 miles without stopping! I still can't believe it! In fact, as I write this entry I can feel the first waves of endorphins kicking in. I think I'll sleep well tonight!

You can help support me in this mad cause by sponsoring me. Just click here.
Thank you in advance for your support.

Remember by giving, you are warming my heart in the right way; without me collapsing on the carpet from exhaustion!

Thanks again.

Part 2 - Fantastic Tony Robbins video - Creating Massive Action!

As promised Tony Robbins, a world renowned expert on Leadership Psychology, has released another incredible video.

Imagine this: You're on the run because your home town is right in the path of a hurricane.

...And you've fled to your parents house in the next town over, hoping the storm will pass and everything will be OK.

Now, imagine that on that very same day, you make ONE MILLION DOLLARS ...with nothing but a laptop computer and a spotty internet connection.

Even though this sounds like something from a movie, it actually happened to the person Tony interviews in his new video:

http://tonyrobbinstraining.com/328/john-tony/

The video is free and it should start playing automatically.

I'll post Part 3 later on this week with details of a very rare recording which Tony did back in 1989 called the "5 Keys to Wealth & Happiness".

Part 1 - Fantastic Tony Robbins video - Creating Massive Action!

Tony Robbins, a world renowned expert on Leadership Psychology, has just posted a brand new video for you on his blog and you can watch it here:

http://tonyrobbinstraining.com/320/interview-with-frank-kern-and-john-reese/

In the video, you'll discover:

• The "4-Square" System For Creating Massive Action TODAY.
• The number one thing that's holding you back...and how you can banish it from your life forever.
• The subtle mental shift that millionaires use to get a financial jumpstart.
• A short exercise that destroys your nagging skepticism and builds your momentum to succeed.

It's free for you and should start playing automatically.

It will really get you excited and motivated to begin taking massive action on some of those things you've been stalling on.

I'll post Part 2 later on this week which is a great video of Tony & John discussing John's million dollar day - the day when he launched a new product and took over $1m in sales in less than 24hours!!

New songs for my 5 mile Run

I'm off on a 5 mile run today and I spent last night adding a new playlist to my iPod.

• Boom Boom Pow - Black Eyed Peas
• Rock That Body - Black Eyed Peas
• Party All the Time - Black Eyed Peas
• Single Ladies - Beyoncé
• Lose Yourself - Eminem
• Sandstorm - Darude
• Love Is Gone - Chris Willis, David Guetta & Joachim Garraud
• Turn It on Again - Genesis
• Dodo - Genesis
• Misunderstanding - Genesis
• In the Cage Medley - Genesis
• I See You Baby - Groove Armada
• Ray Of Light - Madonna
• Catch - Kosheen
• Freak Like Me - Sugababes
• Round Round - Sugababes
• In The Middle - Sugababes
• I See Girls - Studio B
• Joyride - Roxette
• How Do You Do! - Roxette
• The Look Roxette - Tourism
• The Real Things - 2 Unlimited
• Encore une Fois - Sash!
• I Like To Move It - Reel 2 Reel
• I Love My Chick - Busta Rhymes ft. Kelis

It's quite a mixture but should keep my legs pumping long enough to get me round!

I take a Success Coach with me on my Runs!

I've been puffed in to do the Cardiff Half Marathon by a good friend, Martin Gibbs, who's a very good runner and he did the Cardiff Half Marathon last year.

I am just at the end of Week 5 of my training and I remembered Stephen Fry saying that he listens to audio books whilst walking. So I thought I'd do the same on my runs.

I'm a huge advocate of goal setting and positive thinking and so I decided to find some Antony Robbins and Zig Ziglar audio books on iTunes. I've downloaded "Awaken the Giant Within" by Tony Robbins which I read ages ago and it was great last week, to listen to Tony on my runs. It really helps to keep me focused on my runs.

Zig Ziglar is more of an acquired taste as his voice can be a little bit annoying to begin with. I love his stuff now and I've got "Motivation - The key to Accomplishment" and "Secrets of Closing the sale". I've also bought Brian Tracy's "Flight Plan - The Real Secrets of Success".

Finding time to spare to read or listen to these great motivational speakers can be hard, but now I'm running, it's the perfect time!

I've got a 4 mile run to do in the morning and I think I'll take Zig Ziglar with me tomorrow!


www.justgiving.com/formydad2009 - Please support me in my cause.

Feeling Refreshed - What's your Goal?

First day back today from a great holiday in Tenerife. Way too many emails to deal with but I'm feeling very refreshed.

Relaxing by the pool is the perfect time to clear your mind and think of new ideas and get focused.

One of mine is to keep on top of my goal setting. People in the UK aren't generally known as good goal setters. We don't really set goals; we tend to set New Year's Resolutions. The problem with New Year's Resolutions is that you don't really keep an eye on your progress and it's only when you come to the end of the year that you realise, in most cases, that your resolution didn't happen.

Goal setting is a much better idea. Bruce King, one of the UK's leading sales and personal growth specialists, has just published a 4 point guide on Goal Setting:

Goal Setting
You attended a seminar or read a book about goal setting and you were all fired up. You established some exciting and challenging goals and even set a date by when you would achieve them. Everything was going to get so much better from then on. And the days went by and the weeks went by and the months went by - and those goals simply slipped from your mind.

Has that ever happened to you? Regrettably it happens to most people - unless they keep to a formal routine and keep those goals at the forefront of their conscious and subconscious minds, linked together by really strong neuronal pathways. The simplest and most effective way to do this is:

1: Write your goals down in a GOAL BOOK. Collect pictures and photographs which illustrate what your life will be like when you have achieved those goals and paste them in. Read it every day.

2: Keep a daily journal and record everything you did that day that moved you towards achieving your goals and everything else that came to mind that that you could do to make them happen even faster.

3: Carry out a Visualization exercise at least once a day and preferably twice a day for at least twenty minutes. Use my Visualization CD to keep you on track with this. (See Products page)

4: Repeat your affirmations to achieve those goals, out loud and with enthusiasm, at least twenty five times, twice a day.
And the days, and the weeks and the months will go by and one day you will wake up and find all that you had dreamed of is yours.

Your can find out more about Bruce King on his website -  

http://www.bruceking.co.uk/development/achievers/indexnew.asp

If anyone is interested in Goal Setting and would like to know more on the subject, please give me a call on 0845 363 1173.

Fight back Against the Spammers

Spam affects all of us. Everyday as part of our daily task of going through our emails we have to remove and delete Spam from our inboxes.

Well now we can fight back with help from Spam Poison. http://www.spampoison.com/

If you have a website just add a small line of code to your website and whenever a Spammer's robot scans your web page it will be sucked into a Spam Poison page.

These links will redirect email harvesting bots to trap sites that will feed it with an almost infinite loop of dynamically generated fake email addresses, mostly on known spammer owned domains! This will render their harvested lists practically useless and of no commercial value.

Add the Spam Poison code to your website today and let's fight back against the Spammers!

http://www.spampoison.com

BEWARE! Domain Name SCAM!!

Please READ this carefully.

I received this letter in the post yesterday from an outfit called Domain Renewal Group. They were originally called the Domain Registry of America (DRoA). Please click the image to see large version.

The letter is very clever in the way it's written. It makes the reader assume that their domain name is due for renewal with this company. Most domain names need to be renewed every 2 years and to the less versed on these things it is quite easy to forget who you registered your domain name with. So the assumption is this letter is an invoice which must be paid.

It is not an invoice. It's an attempt by DRoA to get you to pay them for a domain name that they don't even control! Many people and businesses fall for this trap. Make sure you are NOT one of them!

Please click the image above and familiarise yourself with the look of the letter.

If you receive one of these in the post, ignore it
and call the person who looks after your domain name and website.

If you have any doubts please get in touch and I will be happy to advise you.

The Power of Positive Thinking

"If your mind can conceive and believe, then it can achieve" - Napolean Hill

I've always been a positive thinker; I'm a glass half full guy and have always set myself goals. I truly believe that you get what you focus on in life.

I've been a huge fan of Tony Robbins since the late 80's and have attended 2 of his "Awaken the Giant Within" seminars and walked across hot coals; and no, I didn't burn my feet! There's usually a positive thinking book somewhere near me and I have 2 shelves full of them in my office.

I discovered some great videos on YouTube earlier this week and have listed some of them below. Watch one each day; it's a great way to start your day.

Earl Nightingale - The Strangest Secret
Episode 1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajIRxdeCRZM
Episode 2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es7UjzlSRcU
Episode 3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuPdzHd8idk

Jim Rohn - How to have your Best Year ever
Episode 1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfA-qNWLBHo
Episode 2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2AyudSJl_s
Episode 3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWOJt1kCYP0

Zig Ziglar - Setting Goals
Episode 1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae-VJ_lauCw
Episode 2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiQV0oTyd98
Episode 3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su2UuP3aqZg

Jim Rohn - Attitude makes The Difference
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRMogDrHnMQ

Tony Robbins
Why we do what we do, and how we can do it better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cpc-t-Uwv1I
The Hour TV Show
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etArvM1WUE4
Shift Your Focus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxckAUEOhJU
Create the Energy, Vitality and Health You Deserve!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byRSHkcG7Ig

Invited to be Industry Expert for .Net Magazine

From March 2009 .net magazine has invited me to be one of their Industry Experts each month in the Big Question section if their magazing and website. Click the image below:

I appear for the first time in this month's issue - 188. I'm really pleased to have been asked to write in the feature.

Second Life - a whole new world

www.secondlife.com for those who don't know is a free online virtual world imagined and created by its Residents. From the moment you enter Second Life (SL), you'll discover a fast-growing digital world filled with people, entertainment, experiences and opportunity.

As I explained in my earlier Blog; we are researching the popular web platform to see if there are ways for us to engage with our current customers and potential new customers.

We've had a busy few weeks on SL. We now have a virtual office and we've even got a Red Bull vending machine! LOL! Yes I know it sounds a little bit "out there" but you'll have to come in and experience it for yourself to understand!
Lots of other plans but can't go into more detail at this stage.

Come and have an explore around this amazing world - my name in Second Life is Dickie Antfarm. Feel free to hook up and I'll be happy to show you around.

If anyone reading this is an expert in SL, then please do get in touch. It's always good to pick up tips and recommendations.

Search Engine Submission Made Easy

It's all well and good having a nice website designed but you also need to make sure the major search engines know that your website is there and that it gets listed so you can drive extra traffic to your site.

The easiest way to do this is to manually submit the website. Each search engine has it's own submission process. It's best to go to the submission page of each site and read the guidelines listed there.

I have listed the different search engines below with a link to their submission pages:

Google: http://www.google.co.uk/addurl/?continue=/addurl
Yahoo: http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/uk/free/request
MSN: http://search.msn.com/docs/submit.aspx

Don't worry about AOL, they now use Google as their search engine.

There are also a couple of directories which you should submit your website to:

Open Directory Project: http://www.dmoz.org/add.html
Yahoo! Directory: http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/directory/suggest/suggest-06.html

Google is without doubt the search engine used by the majority of people so make sure you spend some time going through the Google site and check out their tools and other resources such as Google AdWords. Go to http://www.google.co.uk/options/ to find out more.

Finding your way around the search engines might seem slightly daunting to begin with, but it will definitely be worth your investment in time and before long that extra traffic will arrive.

Solve your Problems Overnight

I write my To Do List every day and I think they are an extremely useful tool for getting things done. I usually write mine last thing at night so when I start my next day I have my fresh To Do list ready and I don't need to waste time first thing in the morning thinking about what I need to to that day.

You can click the photo above to see one of my recent to do lists. Please excuse the items which have been blotted out but some of the tasks are not for outside eyes! I don't want to start breaching corporate or client confidentiality! The danger of blogs.

I've read in books and been told that it also helps to write your To Do List last thing at night because that way it's on your mind when you go to sleep. As you drop off to sleep and during your sleep your mind clears out all the other clutter and with your To Do List fresh in your mind, you'll be amazed at the ideas and problem solving your mind will have done for you over night. I've woken on many mornings with the answers I need or a clear way of how to handle or deal with items on my list.

I number each item just for neatness, but the numbers do not always represent the importance of an item. As I complete each item I tick it off the list.

The other great thing about having a To Do List is that it sits on my desk, next to my laptop or PC and I can then add other items as required throughout the day.

Then at the end of the day, those items which have not been completed, get added to my new list for the next day, along with lots of new ones! So start writing your To Do List today and get "doing" each and everyday. You'll be amazed at how effective you'll become.

Follow me on Twitter

If you're not sure what Twitter is go to www.twitter.com/dickiearmour where you can see my profile and you'll get a feel for what goes on.

Stephen Fry is www.twitter.com/stephenfry and Jonathan Ross is www.twitter.com/wossy. There are loads more celebs on Twitter. But it's not just all about celebs. I've connected with some business colleagues and made some new aquaintences too.

I've currently got 30 followers on Twitter.
Please follow me so I can get up to the dizzy heights of Stephen Fry who has about 115,000 followers!

It's still early days for me. I only joined last week but so far I'm liking it.

I got my mate to join and he's already saved 20% on a magazine subscription after he met the editor of the magazine on Twitter.

So you can even save money through Twitter. Follow me today! www.twitter.com/dickiearmour

eMarketing is the In-Thing

eMarketing is more popular than ever. I say this based on the Business Link presentation I went to last week in Dorset.

Normally Business Link expects to get 20-30 people at these sort of events. But this one called "Guerilla eMarketing" was almost over subscribed. There must have been 70 plus people there and all looking for new ways to market their businesses online.

More and more people and businesses are setting up websites and they are beginning to realise they need to get traffic to their websites. But it was obvious from many of the questions on the day that most of these business owners didn't really understand or know about all the great new ways of marketing their businesses online.

I'll be writing an article on the back of this so keep an eye on my Articles  page in the next few weeks.

My new look website

My new look website went live in January 2009.

www.dickiearmour.me.uk

I hope you like it. I'll be adding lots more content over the coming months and hope to get a lot better at blogging.

Get in touch if you want to ask me anything or you need any help or guidance on anything Internet related.