Alex
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Posts by Alex
My Secret Weapon to Combat Distraction – White Noise
0“White Noise is the single, most effective method I
have for eliminating distraction, helping me
improve my focus and getting on with my work”
It can often be VERY difficult to sit down and get on with some work, particularly if you are working from home, where there are an incredible array of distractions to absorb your attention. Staying focussed and actually getting on with my work was one of my biggest issues when I first started working for myself as part of my own business.
I tried listening to music through headphones, but often I found that the songs I listened to distracted me and made me think of other things. After a little Googling, and careful research, I discovered white noise.
Wikipedia definition:
“White noise is a random signal (or process) with a flat power spectral density.”
(In simple terms, think of the sound that a hoover makes).
If you would like to listen to a continual loop of white noise to help you focus, then I highly recommend Simply Noise. Its a website I have open and running anytime I am working on anything important. It doesn’t distract me, and allows me to simply focus on the task that is in front of me.
Try it here for 30 minutes, and see whether you think it helps you? It doesn’t cost a dime, and you never know, you might end up getting more done!
Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous – Are the Photos Real?
0
(Picture by pacunar)
Do you ever look at the photographs of supposed “Internet marketing millionaire’s” posing in Ferrari’s, exotic cars, mansions and holiday destinations and wonder to yourself…..
“Is that real, is that how they really live?”
If you have, I am here to answer that very question, and give you a rare insight into the World of the “Internet marketing gurus” and mindset (this could get ugly).
Before I go on, let me remind you, whilst I don’t live this lifestyle, and whilst I don’t move in these circles, I have worked for one of the World’s largest Clickbank merchants and affiliates, and I also have friends who still work for these guys, and who live these “dream lifestyles” themselves. Having been in this rare and privileged position, I have had a peak behind the curtain, and had a glimpse of the lives they lead away from the Internet.
Screw SEO
0“SEO is nice to have. Its not a necessity in your
online business though.”
If you are a solo entrepreneur, operating out of a small office, your home, or your bedroom, then you need to stay focussed and dedicate the majority of your time to activities that make you money. Cash flow is key, and dedicating months to learning about SEO, tweaking your strategy, and then going back to the drawing board when Google changes their algorithm is not going to make you money.
This is something I am incredibly passionate about. When I was new to starting a business online, I did a lot of reading, learning and experimenting with SEO. In 2010, that didn’t change and I was running a small business offering SEO services to small and medium sized businesses local to me. On the side of that business, I decided to test running an affiliate campaign using SEO.
I made no money at all. It took up a lot of time and effort, and it yielded zero results from me. I used the latest tools, tricks, tips and techniques, and worked hard to build excellent links to my chosen web properties, but it was time intensive, and there was very little reward for it.
Is This Your Number 1 Most Stressful Problem?
0“My biggest anxiety, stress and problem is the lack
of money in my life”.
I have got a good job, I live in a nice apartment in the centre of an exciting city. I have met people in the last year that I am confident will be best friends for the rest of my life. In terms of relationships, although I am recently single, I am enjoying meeting new people, and I am happy with where I am. I have a great family, that I enjoy visiting in the holidays, and health wise I am feeling strong and feeling good about myself.
However, something is keeping me awake at night. This “something” has been stopping me from enjoying things I would usually love, and has been stressing me out to the point where I am not behaving in the same way I usually do with my friends, work colleagues and family.
Lesson From a Train Journey: The Worst Fear to Have
0“The worst fear you can possibly have is the fear of failure,
because if you fear failure you will never be successful.”
It was Thursday night, it was 9pm in the evening, and I was stood up, in between train carriages, squashed between 4 or 5 strangers, all who where in the 21-25 year-old bracket. Three of them had decided to sit on the floor and play a card game called “Shit Head”. I still don’t understand the rules or principles of this card game having watched them play it for the best part of an hour.
The ring-leader of these proceedings, and the individual chiefly responsible for the total lack of space in that carriage was a young guy, swigging beer from a beer can and dealing the cards out to the young females joining him in his card journey. He was a nice guy and doing his best to make the best out of a bad train situation.
It was after one of the card-players had failed to take a risk with the cards they had been dealt that the young guy I am talking about came out with the sentence at the top of this blog post. It was a nice sentiment, put quite simply and sincerely. It cheered me up, and reminded me of an important lesson that I am often in danger of over-looking.
Why Are Young People So Good at Making Money Online?
0Have you ever asked yourself why it is that so many of the top internet entrepreneurs in the World are young guys, barely in their 20′s? You can take the obvious examples like the founders of Facebook, Myspace etc and you can take the not-so-obvious examplesof George Brown, and Internet marketers such as Glen from Viperchill.com.
One of the reasons why I think so many young people find success online is because they tend to think less. They do things and take action, instead of debating the potential outcomes, results and consequences. Rather spending their time pondering whether something will work, they do it, and get actual results they can measure and analyze later.
Thinking about it, this is probably to be expected. At such a young age, most of these online entrepreneurs do not have the same commitments that many members of the older generations have (mortgages, children, pets, bills, etc).
They have a care free attitude, boundless energy and a better grasp of online technology that allows them to attack their Internet marketing projects.
There are negative consequences to this. Failing to think about what you are doing can often lead Internet Marketers to take risks and indulge in practices that are not strictly legitimate (does anyone remember the acai berry or the farticle affiliates and Internet marketers )? Its that kind of behaviour that could lead to an organisation like the FTC taking an unhealthy interest in your business.
That being said, young entrepreneurs are often fearless, and action takers. If you can strike a balance between these qualities and having a hint of caution injected into your online strategy, then I am confident anyone can follow in the “young guns” footsteps, no matter what age they are.
Finding the Right Work Space
0One of the biggest problems I have had when I am working from home is setting up the right work space. When you work for yourself, you have to be very disciplined, focus and work hard without distraction. For most of us working for ourselves, we will often start our ventures at home, where there are a vast array of distractions to take us off course.
I have often really struggled to focus and create the right working environment for myself. I have a desk and desktop computer in my bedroom, and whilst my flat mate has been away, I have been using the dining table in our living room to work on.
Although I would get work done, neither of those options has been as productive as the environment I find myself in now. Ever since the Sun started shining in the UK, I have been sat with my laptop out on my balcony, enjoying the view from my top-floor apartment. The sound of the outdoors, and the epic view seems to relax me, help me forget my distractions and crack on with some work.
Since finding this new spot, my productivity and output has increased 100% (and thats no exaggeration). If you are struggling to sit down and actually do some work, then change the format a little. Experiment with some different working environments until you find one that clicks for you.
I am pretty happy with my new work space for now, but I am going to face a couple of challenges when it starts raining again (rain due here on Friday I believe). So I will need to find a slightly more sheltered alternative!
The Early Start Boot Camp by Exrat
1In the last couple of years, there is one person who has taught me a huge amount about what it takes to live outside the Rat Race, why I should live outside of the Rat Race, and how to achieve that ambition. That person is Roger over at Exrat.com.
For the past couple of years I have been honoured to call him a friend and a mentor. My only problem with Roger is that he does not post nearly enough on his own damn blog!
You can imagine my surprise and delight then when I saw him recently smashing out a few high quality blog posts, accompanied by some stunning photography. Its all part of his Early Start Boot Camp, a self-imposed lifestyle experiment that forces him to get up earlier, and start the day the right way.
I have been guilty of some appalling starts to my days recently, and I have found although I probably stay awake for the same amount of time, the time I have is a lot less productive. So this week, inspired by Exrat’s boot camp, I am going to be waking earlier, and looking at ways I can use my time better. From getting into work earlier, to exercising or just enjoying an early morning walk. I’ll report back on my findings soon!
In the mean time, to take part in the experiment, or just to read a very good blog, head on over to Exrat’s blog, take some notes and leave him some comments. Here is the link: Early Start Boot Camp
Book Review: The Alchemist
0It was a fairly typical Friday night for me back in early March. One of the big problems of being in the thick of the Rat Race is that you tend to indulge and become familiar with some of the “comforts” of that lifestyle. One of those comforts is the Friday night drink. The walk from the office down to the bar with your colleagues, where you blow off steam, talk about the weeks events, and make plans for the weekend to come.
On this particular Friday night, I had gone back to my friend’s apartment. He has been in the company a lot longer than me, and is exceptionally good at his job. We were both planning to hit the town that night, and we had gone back to his to grab a pizza, a couple of beers, and give him a chance to get showered and changed for the night ahead.
Whilst I was waiting for my friend to get ready, I saw a book in his bookcase that I had heard of before, but I didn’t really know why I recognised the name. The book was called The Alchemist and was written by a guy called Paulo Coelho. My friend noticed me reading the blurb on the back of the book, handed me a beer and said “you should definitely read that book, its amazing”. I mumbled something back about getting round to it some time, and with that we drank our beers and headed out in to town.
3 Real Books That Can Help You Conquer The World With Your Online Business
0Okay, so I’ll admit straight up that “conquering the World” is a bit of a dramatic title, and you probably won’t achieve that through reading or applying the material in the following books, but these books will give you the ability to conquer YOUR World.
Let me explain…
If you are sick of living to work, and seeing all your hard work line the pockets of your boss or the owner of your company, and if you are sick of living your life on some one else’s terms then its about time you setup your own business. With your own business you can make more money for the same amount of work, you can empower yourself, live life on your terms, and not have to dance to some one else’s tune. Despite recent developments in the Internet marketing industry, setting up your own online business is still one of the greatest business opportunities out there for aspiring entrepreneurs, and the barriers to entry are still low enough to welcome all those with two brain cells to rub together!
These 3 books that I am about to share with you and review (in my opinion) contain ALL you need to start, grow and profit from your own online business. I see a lot of people promoting “get rich quick” ebooks, and I see a lot of people “pimping out” the latest “make money online” ecourse, and those courses are great and serve a purpose, but they often miss the basics, and leave a lot to be desired.
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