Monthly Archives: November 2012

GPS Your Best Life- Are you a Front Seat or Back Seat Driver?

by Charmaine Hammond and Debra Kasowski

Are you a front or back seat driver?

You have probably heard phrases like “you are judged by the people you associate with” or “your results I life are a result of the people you choose to have in your life”.  Our lives mirror the people we choose to associate with the most. Who do you associate with…. Front or back seat drivers?

Front seat drivers are people who support others; help them find their way, show patience when there is a detour or a wrong turn, and who offer to share the driving on a long or tiring journey.

Back seat drivers have the potential to drain your passion and deplete your positive energy. Backseat drivers often find fault with or complain about others, tell you what to do, or nitpick at issues. The great news is that you have the power to choose a) which type of driver you will be, and b) who you let in your vehicle on the journey of life.

How can you ensure that you bring more front seat drivers into your life?

  1. Be conscious of how much time you devote or spend with backseat drivers. Set boundaries, and provide respectful feedback if need be. The truth is that sometimes people simply don’t realize how they are coming across, or how their behavior is impacting others.
  2. Demonstrate self awareness and ensure your actions, and attitudes are closely aligned to front seat drivers.
  3. Notice the warning signs. Your body sends signals (such as knots in your gut, a drifting mind to escape the dialogue, discomfort, or a urge to be defensive), this is an opportunity for you to a) notice, and b) choose a response.
  4. Define, honor and protect your personal space. Make sure that you are open to receiving as well as giving. Allow others to support and assist you, as you are doing for people in your life.
  5. Practice ways to respectfully end the conversations that you are uncomfortable with.
  6. Model front seat driver behaviors, you will likely find that front seat drivers stick together.
  7. Forgive yourself and move on. Often when people make mistakes, they turn into their own worst backseat driver… self blame, put downs and making the situation worse. Instead, breathe. And breathe again. And Forgive. This allows you to get back into the front seat with ease, grace, dignity, and new learning.

You will likely notice that being a front seat driver is a much easier way to live life, and reach your goals faster.

 

Charmaine Hammond and Debra Kasowski are the authors of GPS Your Best Life- Charting Your Destination and Getting There in Style.  Jack Canfield, co-author of The Success Principles and Chicken Soup for the Soul says that “Charmaine and Debra show you how to navigate through life’s inevitable roadblocks and obstacles with ease and grace, so you can reach your desired destination”. To find out how to GPS Your Best Life, visit www.gpsyourbestlife.com

 

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4 Simple Ways You Can Be in Two (or More) Places at Once

By Gail Z. Martin

Sure, you’d love to rule the web with a gazillion fans, friends and followers on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites.  You know you should be posting more frequently; if not once a day, at least several times a week.  But who has time?

Fortunately for you, there are a growing number of social media productivity tools available to help you organize your online activity, making it easier for you to get more done in less time.  Most of these sites enable you to post once and have your messages go to numerous social media sites, and a few of them have additional handy bells and whistles to help you manage your online life more efficiently.

“Dashboard” programs provide all-in-one-place control, much like the console of a car or airplane.  Programs like HootSuite, Social Oomph, Ping and TweetDeck make it possible for you to plan your social media campaigns and load content in advance.

One of the central benefits of a dashboard program is the “set it and forget it” feature; the ability to enter content into the dashboard and schedule blog posts, Facebook updates and Twitter tweets to go out over a period of time.  While pre-scheduled content is no substitute for live conversations, dashboard programs fill the very real need of making sure that busy people maintain a baseline, consistent level of content without large gaps.  You can always pop in online to add updates, post photos or jump into conversations in addition to your pre-scheduled content, but you won’t get to Thursday and realize you haven’t posted or tweeted all week.

A caveat: many dashboard programs post content with a source credit that says “from API”, meaning that it has been automatically posted.  Some social media users and search engines view pre-scheduled content as less desirable than live-posted information, regardless of the quality of the actual information itself.  This means that to keep your friends, fans and followers happy and to raise your social media score with ranking programs like Klout and Alexa, keep a good balance of live posts and pre-scheduled posts.  On the other hand, realize that pre-scheduled content is better than no content. Followers, search engines and ranking programs also take a dim view of prolonged absences. I maintain that if the best you can do during a busy period is pre-scheduled content, being present on a consistent basis far outweighs the alternatives.

Excerpted from 30 Days to Virtual Productivity Success by Gail Martin.  Order this book at https://amzn.com/1601632266

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GPS Your Best life…The What and the Why Make the HOW possible!

by Charmaine Hammond and Debra Kasowski

“If you don’t know where you are going, how can you expect to get there?”  This is a quote by Basil S. Walsh.

The challenge for many people is knowing where they want to go, and what they want to have, be and achieve. ]

Imagine going to a mega mall that you have never been to, one where you could get lost in the parking lot, let alone in the mall. Amy and Emma had were overwhelmed by the size of the mall, and how they would find their vehicle after a day of shopping. As they entered the mall they noticed the “you are here” sign. Taking note of the current location was the first step in finding their car at the end of the day and navigating through the mall. This sign helped them Get Positioned for Success (GPS).

To GPS your best life, you must first know where you are, then visualize where you would like to be, and finally map out a plan to get you there. Here are a few tips to help you GPS your best life, and get there in style:

Knowing where you are:

Knowing where you are right now… not yesterday and not tomorrow… but right now, is the first step.  Take a few minutes to acknowledge your strengths, your values and what makes you who YOU are. Think about the quality of the relationships you are in (friendships, business collaborations, marriage or dating, family relationships, and your relationship with yourself). Consider the aspects of your life that are comfortable or better yet, going well. What about the areas where you feel off course?

Knowing where you are is the first step in getting in the driver’s seat to create your best life.

Where you’d like you go:

Once you have a sense of where you are, think about where you would like to go, or what you would like to do, be and have. Sometimes people discover their purpose (true calling), some were born with it, and in some cases, their purpose finds them. Your purpose or true calling is your WHY. To get greater clarity on your true calling, ask yourself these questions:

What revs my engine?

What do I love to do that feels effortless?

What do people acknowledge my strengths to be?

When I sit back and imagine my life as it could be, what does that look like?

When you are crystal CLEAR on the “what and the why”, the how begins to emerge

Mapping a plan to get there:

Sometimes people try to map their plan before they are CLEAR on the what and the why.  Mapping your plan is the how. When you know what your life is like now, and what you envision for future, you can map out how to achieve that reality.

Chunk it down, think about the actions in bite size pieces. Write down every possible action (don’t’ worry about the order of the steps) to make the goal a reality. Every day, choose five mini actions, we call this your Daily Five GPS steps. Little steps lead to consistent action and big results.

And along the journey remember to acknowledge your growth and successes, and share them with others.

 

Charmaine Hammond and Debra Kasowski are the authors of GPS Your Best Life- Charting Your Destination and Getting There in Style.  Jack Canfield, co-author of The Success Principles and Chicken Soup for the Soul says that “Charmaine and Debra show you how to navigate through life’s inevitable roadblocks and obstacles with ease and grace, so you can reach your desired destination”. To find out how to GPS Your Best Life, visit www.gpsyourbestlife.com

 

 

 

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My 3 Favorite Do-It-All From One Place Web Sites

By Gail Z. Martin

Social media “dashboards” allow you to post and monitor many of your social media sites all from one convenient place.  Even better, you can upload and schedule your tweets and posts so that you can keep a more consistent social media presence, which is important to friends, fans and followers.

There are a lot of programs out there to help you organize your social media life.  Here are a few of my favorites:

HootSuite is one of the best-known dashboard programs.  It’s a powerful, user-friendly site that offers levels of membership ranging from a basic free service to a more robust Pro level.  The heart of HootSuite is the ability to enter posts in advance into the dashboard and program when your content goes live across multiple social media sites.  This works especially well if you are using a virtual assistant to help you load the content you’ve written, and it makes it easy to keep track of what you’ve said and where you said it.  HootSuite also has a convenient mobile app for smart phones, so you can keep an eye on your account when you’re on the go.

SocialOomph is another dashboard with many of the same capabilities as HootSuite.  As you’d expect, SocialOomph lets you pre-load and schedule on Twitter, blogs and Facebook, and provides both a basic free level of service and an extended professional level.  You can track keywords, view your @Mentions and Retweets, purge spammy Direct Messages (DM), and monitor multiple accounts from one dashboard.  The professional level offers blog integration, profile filters, and some interesting ways to assess which of your followers might be your most valuable prospects.  While SocialOomph leans heavily toward Twitter with a nod toward Facebook and blogs, it does enable Ping to send your information to LinkedIn and MySpace.

TweetDeck is another of the well-known dashboards.  TweetDeck offers connectivity with Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google Buzz, and Foursquare.  It makes it easy to create and manage Twitter Lists and helps cut down on Twitter spam.  Another valuable feature is the ability to follow Twitter Trends, real-time topics and TwitScoop to stay abreast of the most popular topics.  TweetDeck is available for iPhone, Android, iPad and a new Web-based interface, as well as the original desktop version.  At the time of this writing, TweetDeck is free, which is good for a solid, basic dashboard.  However, if you’re looking for a pro version with additional features or you want more analytics, at the moment, they’re not built into TweetDeck, so one of the other dashboards may do a better job if those elements are important to you.

Regardless of which dashboard program you use, remember that it’s your content that matters.  If you’re creating content that is highly targeted and meets the needs of your ideal audience, then how it gets posted is a back office issue of no consequence to your online network.  Remember also that while these dashboards have the ability to increase your reach, poor quality content will hurt your brand and over-posting with hard-sell copy will lose you friends and followers, and may get your account suspended.  These are power tools; use them with caution!

Excerpted from 30 Days to Virtual Productivity Success by Gail Martin.  Order this book at https://amzn.com/1601632266

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Adventures in Publishing: Why I Chose to Go Independent

By Sheri Fink, Best-selling, Award-winning Children’s Author

One of the biggest decisions today’s aspiring authors make is whether to go the traditional route with a publisher (whether large or small) or to explore the independent publishing path. I chose to go independent and many writers have asked me about my decision. So, here’s the scoop:  when I made a commitment to myself two years ago to bring The Little Rose children’s book to life, I had limited experience with self-publishing and was beginning to understand the advantages and disadvantages of the variety of publishing options available.

I attended the Southern California Writers Conference (www.writersconference.com) and networking events with writers. I asked both traditionally published and independently published authors about their experiences. I learned so much and decided to independently publish The Little Rose for several reasons:

  1. Passion and Speed – I felt a burning need to get the uplifting message of The Little Rose to children quickly. I didn’t have the time or patience to woo an agent, find a publisher, go through the whole process, and then wait for a slot on their release calendar several years later.
  2. Control – I wanted to be 100% happy with the final result of all of my hard work. I wanted to choose the right illustrator to bring my story to life and to influence the ultimate look and feel of my book. Even though I published independently, having a high-quality product was really important to me and I knew I could find the right partners to make that goal a reality.
  3. Entrepreneurial Spirit – I’ve always been very entrepreneurial and I was excited about the possibility of building a business around doing something that I absolutely loved. I also learned from other authors about the value of the rights tied in with a book and felt like I would be able to make those decisions for my brand better than a big publisher could. And, my background is in Marketing. I believed that I could leverage my knowledge and skills to be successful.
  4. Happiness – When I talked with other authors, the happiest ones tended to be the self-published authors. They had control over their destiny, their schedules, their agreements, their rights licensing, etc. That really appealed to me.

My best advice for authors who are exploring traditional vs. independent publishing is to talk with successful authors who are already doing it. See what their experiences were like and what they would do differently knowing what they know now. Find out who’s happy and why. Writing and publishing my first book was one of the most challenging and rewarding things I’ve ever done.

Independent publishing is exciting and easier than it’s ever been before (although it’s still not an easy business), but it isn’t the right solution for everyone. Only the individual authors can truly decide what’s right for them, their books, and their careers.

About Sheri Fink

Sheri Fink is the #1 best-selling, award-winning children’s author of The Little Rose and The Little Gnome, the creator of “The Whimsical World of Sheri Fink” children’s brand, and an international speaker. Sheri writes books that inspire and delight children while planting seeds of self-esteem.

Sheri’s next book, Exploring the Garden with the Little Rose, debuts on October 2, 2012 and takes 2-5 year olds on an educational adventure through the garden. Along the way, kids will have fun and learn the names of the plants and animals in the garden. Exploring the Garden with the Little Rose retails for $14.95 and is available on Amazon.com at: https://tinyurl.com/exploringthegarden.

Discover more about The Whimsical World of Sheri Fink at https://www.WhimsicalWorldofSheriFink.com.

 

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4 Tips for Managing Your Documents When You’re On the Road

By Gail Z. Martin

Cloud computing programs let you access powerful software (usually with a monthly membership) while the programs live on web servers and not on your hard drive, meaning you don’t have to worry about installing, updating and uninstalling.   Most of these cloud-based programs have mobile apps, so you can truly access your information no matter where you are or what kind of device you’re using.

This is where the power of the Cloud really makes a difference, because through Cloud-based storage, you can access, edit and share many more documents than your mobile phone or tablet PC could store locally, without slowing down your device or maxing out your storage.  Google Docs, SugarSync, Box.net, and Dropbox all have mobile apps, making it easy to grab your documents no matter where you are.

Many apps also allow you to email documents as attachments, which is a nice back-up storage option.  Be wary, however, of relying on email if your document is large or your WiFi connection is of questionable strength.  Remember, too, that if you’re using a public WiFi connection in a hotel or airport, your data is not encrypted so don’t email or upload sensitive files until you have a secure connection. Also, mobile plans differ in the way they charge for data usage, especially if you’re using your own Internet hot spot, so make sure you understand your phone plan pricing or you could be in for a surprise when your next bill arrives.

Excerpted from 30 Days to Virtual Productivity Success by Gail Martin.  Order this book at https://amzn.com/1601632266

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Freebie Friday from Debbi Dachinger!

This week’s guest blogger, Deborah Dachinger, is kind enough to share a freebie with us today. Click this gift to receive an MP3 teaching how to make dreams into reality/goals attained.

www.deborahdachinger.com/freegift

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7 Great Reasons to Store Your Programs in the “Cloud”

By Gail Z. Martin

The term “Cloud computing” sounds intangible, and that’s just the point.

“Cloud computing” refers to access to software that is accessible via subscription over the Internet.  Programs that reside in the Cloud are actually housed on the servers of the company that owns the software and which provides subscription access.  Unlike traditional software, such as word processing or spreadsheet programs that are stored on your computer’s hard drive, programs that reside in the Cloud never have to be installed, updated or uninstalled from your computer.  That’s the beauty of the “Cloud.”

Why would you want your software to be housed on the Cloud?  Several good reasons come to mind:

  • You don’t have to install the program, so you can use software that requires greater speed or memory than your desktop or laptop might possess.
  • Because the software is stored on the Cloud, it doesn’t hog memory or bog down your computer.
  • You don’t have to worry about updating the software; the tech staff at the company providing the software takes care of doing that.
  • Since you access the software via the Internet (and a secure password), you can access your software (and possibly your related files) from any computer, anywhere you have an Internet connection.
  • Since your access is via subscription (usually monthly or annually), your costs are much less than if you were to purchase a private license for the program.
  • When you no longer want or need the software, cancel the subscription.  There is no software to uninstall on your computer.
  • If there’s a problem with the software, your subscription includes access to technical support.  It’s the provider’s responsibility to fix the bugs, and you don’t have to download patches or new versions.

Starting to see the appeal?  Cloud computing programs offer extremely flexible access to powerful programs without the hassles of maintaining the software on your own computer.  If you’ve ever suffered through a lengthy software download (especially one that needed to be done over several times), you’ll understand the appeal of being able to “visit” your software instead of needing to have it all on your hard drive.

Excerpted from 30 Days to Virtual Productivity Success by Gail Martin.  Order this book at https://amzn.com/1601632266

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The 3-2-1 Method. Easy for Accomplishing Your To-Do List

By Debbi Dachinger (Goal Achievement Expert)

 

3-2-1 Method:  A technique to assist in accomplishing your to-do list. Can be used for getting through a holiday season or building your business and anything in-between that you intend to create.  The method is to write a list consisting of 3 items, 2 items and 1 item:

3- Tweaks…write 3 small tweaks to engage in that will move you toward your goal

2– Celebrations..write down which 2 things you will celebrate and be grateful for today

1-    Thing You’ll Stop today…Pick one thing to stop doing that contradicts your goal

The 3-2-1 Tracker keeps you on track and it’s simple to do – each week or once a week.

Decide – what you want

Figure– out how to get it

Identify – the people, places and things you need to accomplish your goal.

Go – about doing it

In creating life skills, we build new muscles that support us to move ahead.

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Today while speaking with a talented and high-level Web Developer / Computer Technician, we were discussing moving ahead together on a project.  He said something that really perked my ears up regarding the numbers that result in a call to action.  When you generate a call to action with people, i.e. – a radio show asking listeners to do something, or a business asking potential clients to do something, or buy a book, or sell a product – did you know what the statistics are for things like that?  I was really surprised.  When you get 1-3% people to take an action you are doing very well. Those are the numbers. So that means that about 99% of people will never do anything.  Wow.  The technician said that 97-99% of people will never do anything no matter what you tell them or offer them they’ll just sit there doing the same thing… no result. The other 1-3% of folks are hungry – they’re hungry to change, to grow, to do something better for their life. They will bite, they’ll buy; they’ll take action. And they’ll get the result – whatever they’re doing or being will improve greatly because of the action they took!!  Where do you fall in those numbers?  In what percent have you been living your life? And do you want to make a new choice about that?

If you’re in the 1-3% like me and want to improve your life, your work, finances, health, relationships, and spirituality – stay with me here. (And bless you for your willingness to take action, to do the work – to want to live La Vida Plena or la increíble vida, or la vida mágica …. meaning The Full Life, The Amazing Life or The Magical Life.)

Regarding Fear – I watched a TV show where a trainer works with people who are extremely overweight to lose weight and get healthy. He made a pushing his clients to face their fears. The trainer said the longer we avoid something we fear the more it grows and he suggests we face them, take them on– get through them. And just like in life or pursuing dreams and goals and intentions often we must face down a fear in order to get to the dream come true. Facing your fear, not avoiding, but walking through the experience, in spite of fear (which is what courage really means) has inherent life lessons in them.

So create your dreams come true:  Be, think, act, and receive. Fill it with joy and love so the quantum field of energy matches the vibrational match of what you’re feeling and envisioning.  In other words, what you create and attract to you will match the energy you’re imbuing your goal with and bring it to you.

Tell yourself: “I am consistently in the right vibration to attract wealth.”  Finish the sentence with whatever it is you are ready to attract to yourself and your life right now.

Napoleon Hill, 1883-1970, Author, wrote:

“The moment you commit and quit holding back, all sorts of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, will rise up to help you. The simple act of commitment is a powerful magnet for help.”

Debbi Dachinger is an expert in goal achievement.  She is a radio and TV personality; a three-time bestselling author, keynote speaker, and coach (for goal attainment and in coaching people how to be exquisite talent while being interviewed on  radio).  Her work with people in the media, workshops and through coaching has been achieved through decades of research, education and her gifts as a clairsentient and intuitive.

Debbi’s “Dare to Dream” radio show is a syndicated, multi-award winning program with 2+ million listeners offering inspiring information and methods on how to achieve goals and dreams. Deborah is a top-notch radio personality, was an award-winning actress and singer, a successful motivational speaker, a professional voice over artist, and was a popular jewelry designer.

Awards or Accolades to mention:

  • Editor’s Pick: Featured Intriguing Creator;
  • Broadcasting Industry Lifetime Achievement Award;
  • Featured in Yahoo News, Earth Times, and Singapore Star News and multiple news sources;
  • Inducted into the Who’s Who Hall of Fame for entertainment,
  • Opened the stage for don Miguel Ruiz,
  • Will be featured soon in Social Media Magazines,
  • Soon-to-be on the cover of SPIRIT Magazine,
  • Seen in the documentary film “Girl’s Rule,” about Self-Esteem and Confidence,
  • Author of the bestselling book: “DARE TO DREAM: THIS LIFE COUNTS!” (At Amazon and all bookstores)
  • A regular video contributor at: YouTube.com (debontheradio)

Debbi’s abundant career is in using her voice to live out loud, to teach and inspire others to Dare to Dream and make their dreams a reality.

Debbi Dachinger

Goal Achievement Expert

Syndicated, Award-Winning Host of “Dare to Dream” Radio

Bestselling author of “DARE TO DREAM: This Life Counts!”

Amazon 3x bestseller: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1467930814

https://www.deborahdachinger.com

https://www.YouTube.com/debontheradio

https://www.Twitter.com/debontheradio

https://www.DebOnTheRadio@blogspot.com

Facebook.com Fan Page ~ Dare-to-Dream-radio & tv

https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbidachinger

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FREEBIE FRIDAY: How to DOUBLE YOUR BUSINESS in The Next 90 Days!

Our guest blogger this week, Terri Levine, is kind enough to share the attached report:  How to DOUBLE YOUR BUSINESS in The Next 90 Days!

Click here to download.

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