Todd's Blog

I've been playing golf since I was 8 years old. I love the game. Fortunately for me, golf is an excellent way to network ... whether it's a regular weekend foursome, or just showing up at the course and joining the next group off the tee.

Many of the same qualities and habits that can help you to improve and enjoy your golf game, can also be applied to growing your part-time home business ...

I recently subscribed to a new golf blog, and one of the first articles I read was Seven Habits of Highly Effective Golfers. In this article, Mr Pedersen describes seven strategies that he believes highly effective golfers use to improve their games:

Focus on golf fundamentals
Smart Practice
Physical preparation
Mental training
Nutrition for prolonged energy
Goal setting
Golf swing analysis

Go give the article a read. Then, see if you can think of some ways that these same principles can also be applied to effective part-time networking.

Til next time ...
Todd 8-)

I had a very productive evening the other night. Google blogsearch was nice enough to lead me to Mark Yarnell's blog. I've read a few of his books in the past, but a lot of his recent thoughts on this blog really resonated with me ...
If you are approached by anyone who suggests that you join a second program…run. I don’t care what they call it. You need to focus on one deal until you hit the big checks. If lead lists worked, your company would provide them for free. After all, everyone wants to earn big money so it’s very easy to find the names of such people. What you need to understand is how to build your own 30,000 person warm market.
and ...
Without a doubt. In fact, we can earn much more in today’s economic climate but we have to accept two facts. One, big money is about retailing and recruiting. Two, big money is about retailing and recruiting. When we got started in MLM there were no prospecting lists for sale, cell phones, computers, back office tracking systems, auto …

Ok, I'm almost embarrased to say this; but up until a couple of days ago, if I found a blog that I liked reading, I was saving it in my favorites and then opening it up later in an individual browser window (when I remembered).

Then a couple of days ago, I finally decided to explore my Google Reader. I simply typed http://reader.google.com into my browser, then signed in with my gmail username and password.

There are a couple of ways to add blogs to the reader.

If you know the feed url - there's a green bar on the left menu of the reader that says "+ Add subscription" ... for a wordpress blog such as this one, just add "feed" to the end of the url (or there's usually a link all the way at the bottom of the page called "Entries RSS") . Example: http://tmtips.com/feed ... paste this into the box, hit "add", and it will go retrieve all the entries from that blog.
There is also an even easier way - Many blogs use a service called Feedburn…

Well, after 8 long months here in Iraq, I'm finally going back home to Hawaii in less than 3 weeks.  Obviously I spent a lot of time (probably too much) griping about things I didn't like about being here ... I missed my family!  But just to keep things in perspective, I thought it was important to also write down some of the things I liked.

First, let me qualify this a little bit.  During my time here I was what's known as a Fobbit ... someone who spends their whole tour on a relatively secure base.  I can hardly begin to imagine the real sacrifices that the soldiers who are outside the wire everyday have made during their very long time here in Iraq.  I feel for those guys/girls.

That being said, here's my list of things that actually weren't too bad about living on FOB Sykes for 8 months ...

The food was excellent - While I'm not even going to try to guess what Uncle Sam is paying them to feed us, I do have to say that KBR put on a good spread.  Every day they …

I posted this to my dreamboard the other day.

I am retired from the Air Force. This is my office ...

This will be the first in a series of "resources for part-time networkers".  Eventually I'll link them all together on a static page and add it to the blog menu.

I'm going to start this out with just 4 boards that I actually visit, and somewhat know.  I definitely plan to add more in the future.  In fact, if you know of any quality message boards out there, please leave a comment ... I'll check em out, and possibly add them to the list.

mlm.com  - This is probably my favorite message board.  I've been visting on and off for about 7 year now.  A lot of "drama", and some interesting personalities.  It's definitely entertaining, and there's enough knowledge represented, that if you pay attention, it's not too hard to pick up a nugget or two of quality brain candy from time to time.

wham.com - Oddly enough, I just visited this board for the first time recently ... although once I looked around, I recognized a lot of the names.  There are litera…

I was over at mlm.com yet when a thread was started recommending a few good websites. One of them was call MrPositive.com. Sounded like my kind of place, so I decided to check it out, and ended up signing up for his newsletter. Below is what showed up in my email box today ... I like ... and since he aske me to share ...
+++++++++++++++++
POSITIVE THOUGHTS
+++++++++++++++++

LOVE/RELATIONSHIPS:

If we are incapable of finding peace in ourselves,
it is pointless to search elsewhere.
--Francois de la Rochefoucauld

LEADERSHIP/SUCCESS:

Vision is not enough, it must be combined with venture.
It is not enough to stare up the steps, we must step up
the stairs. --Vaclav Havel

MOTIVATION/INSPIRATION:

Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice.
It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.
--William Jennings Bryan



STAY POSITIVE!

Dave Boufford

PS  Please share this newsletter with your friends, family and co-workers...everyone deserves a little inspiration. www.mrpositive.com
T…

I suscribe to many newsletters.  One of the best is "Leadership Wired" from John C. Maxwell.  I really enjoyed one of today's articles, and thought I'd share it here ...
9 Things You Simply Must Do
By Dr. John C. Maxwell

Oprah Winfrey and Anderson Cooper are two of the most popular media personalities in America. Yet, their backgrounds hardly could be more dissimilar. Oprah was born to unmarried teenage parents in rural Mississippi. Anderson’s mother was fashionable railroad heiress, Gloria Vanderbilt, and his father was a successful writer/editor in Manhattan. Oprah grew up in poverty, spending her childhood in the inner-city ghettoes of Milwaukee. Anderson was born into wealth. He appeared with his mom on The Tonight Show when he was three, and he modeled for Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, and Macy’s as a child.

Yet, for all of their differences (background, race, and gender), Oprah Winfrey and Anderson Cooper have unmistakable similarities. At some level, they resemble e…

I was browsing through Digg the other day, and found a new blog that I expect I'll be reading on a regular basis. One article that caught my eye was 10 Big Lessons from Little Kids. #8 was my favorite:
8. Playtime is important and laughter feels good.

We get so caught up in work, chores and a host of “have-to’s” that we forget to take time for ourselves. Not only does relaxing and regrouping make life worthwhile, it has real health benefits. Most of all, it will help you stay consistent and motivated. Kids also seem to inherently know that laughter can ease blood pressure, help your brain function, give you energy, and help you reach your goals. Smiling and enjoying yourself can be serious help.
You can read the rest of them over at: http://ririanproject.com/2007/09/04/10-big-lessons-from-little-kids/

Till next time ...
Todd :-)