It’s been a crazy week. I’m currently tossing around about 5 money making website ideas in my head, have some great ideas for promoting affiliate programs, trying to make notes for a book that I’m writing, I’m in the process of launching a new website dedicated to vacant work at home jobs (complete with a forum and blog), trying to keep Obzokee.com updated with fresh content, working with a friend in Miami to launch a new website about “what to do” in South Florida and I promised our girls that I’d help them get their blog designed and launched. I’d be going bonkers if I didn’t have the help of my virtual assistant.

Here’s the problem… I’m trying to do too many things at the same freaking time. I’m restless and not getting much done at this point. The plan for the next 30 days… get one thing done before attempting to do anything else. All the new ideas that usually pop-up in my head… I’ll write them down on my new note pad dedicated to “IDEAS”!

Stayed Tuned to Obzokee.com

In the coming weeks… I have some great interviews lined up with some of the brightest minds on the internet, sharing with you their work from home experiences and keys to being successful. Should I name some names? NAH! You’ll have to keep coming back and reading or subscribe for the feed (top right side of the page). I’ve also planned a 5 part series on keeping your Virtual Assistant happy and eager to work for you. This one kicks off on Monday, so stay tuned.

How do I relax? Garden. Enjoy the pics and stay tuned for exciting things at Obzokee.com.

BTW, I think it was Thomas Edison who said… Restlessness and discontent are the first necessities of progress.

Make it a great week!

When it comes to motivation and staying motivated the things that work for you will not necessarily work for me. So is life! I find that by writing things down and being able to constantly see and edit the list keeps me motivated. It works as a reminder in plain sight - here is what you want to accomplish, now what are you doing about it.

Here are some motivational tips I found online, maybe you can use a few.

1. Start simple. Keep motivators around your work area - things that give you that initial spark to get going.

2. Keep good company. Make more regular encounters with positive and motivated people. This could be as simple as IM chats with peers or a quick discussion with a friend who likes sharing ideas.

3. Keep learning. Read and try to take in everything you can. The more you learn, the more confident you become in starting projects.

4. Stay Positive. See the good in bad. When encountering obstacles, you want to be in the habit of finding what works to get over them.

5. Stop thinking. Just do. If you find motivation for a particular project lacking, try getting started on something else. Something trivial even, then you’ll develop the momentum to begin the more important stuff.

6. Know yourself. Keep notes on when your motivation sucks and when you feel like a superstar. There will be a pattern that, once you are aware of, you can work around and develop.

7. Track your progress. Keep a tally or a progress bar for ongoing projects. When you see something growing you will always want to nurture it.

8. Help others. Share your ideas and help friends get motivated. Seeing others do well will motivate you to do the same. Write about your success and get feedback from readers.

What I would hope happens here is you will gradually develop certain skills that become motivational habits.

Once you get to the stage where you are regularly helping others keep motivated - be it with a blog or talking with peers - you’ll find the cycle continuing where each facet of staying motivated is refined and developed.

Motivation can be difficult to come by when you are too busy to even take a break to have lunch. Today’s lack of motivation is one product of overfilled lives. The thing is that some people have lives so jam packed with activities that they cannot be successful with anything. You should always be sure that what you choose to spend your time with should be an important part of your life or the lives of your family. If the events are not important, they should not be pondered upon and should not take an extensive amount of your time. Sometimes writing down what we need to do and what we would like to do will help weed out the important things from the unnecessary things. You can write things down in order to organize and commit yourself to success. Use these tips to help you along the way.

Here’s a interesting clip I came across this morning…

Commuters can spend up to 18 years of their working life traveling to and from work.

Most people in Britain spend five years behind the wheel but the misery increases for travelers living in London where traffic chaos is worse, reports The Sun.

The average person traveling to work now faces a three-hour round trip, according to the report by the AA and Work Wise UK.

The report aims to persuade bosses to allow more staff to work from home as congestion and delays cost Britain’s economy £22billion a year.

Work Wise UK boss Phil Flaxton said: “The requirement to travel to and from work at the same time to the same place every weekday is going to look more and more old-fashioned.

“A change to work practices, and hence travel patterns, is one of the solutions to road congestion and public transport overcrowding.”

AA president Edmund King said working from home one day a week would help reduce the crippling cost of commuting.

He said: “The equivalent of our annual holiday from work is lost commuting by car.”

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What do you do when you don’t want to give the “wrong” answer? Make use of your contacts - the experts in the field. Late last week I received an email from a reader who is new to blogging and from what I understood, she was a bit confused. Here’s what Lisa wrote…

first thanks for your blog…i appreciate it.

second…how do you get inital traffic to your blog.how do i get exposure? how
will anyone know i’m there?

any thoughts for me?

Early this morning I contacted David Ledoux, expert, mentor and friend to seek his advice in responding to Lisa. Without hesitation David responded with a different approach - an article on the subject. BTW, for those of you not familiar with Mr. Ledoux, it’s time you did. This man backs the talk with proven results.

Here’s David’s response…

5 Steps To Getting Noticed by David Ledoux

So you want to blog, eh?

My advice? Don’t do it. Quit now. It’s too hard. There’s good TV on.

Did you quit? No? Good for you…stubborn is good. So since you’re gonna be a blogger, you might as well be a good one.

Step 1. Dull Is Death.

If you blog boring, you’re dead and done for. Pick a belief system, and then hammer out why you are right about it. Is the sky blue or green? If you say green, then say it with some vigor. Look at the bloated gas bags that are pseudo-celebrities in the US. Ann Coulter? Rush Limbaugh? And you wonder why the planet is suffering from climate change? Don’t just be loud and obnoxious…those angles are covered. Say something!

Step 2. Blog Every Day. (Or at least every week!)

If you’re boring, blogging every minute won’t help. But if you can create an exchange of ideas, question the status quo and engage the reader, then they will consume your content at a rate that will shock you. If you are always waiting for something to inspire you in order to write then you will be just another dusty dead blog.

Step 3. Don’t Wait For Google

Get your content in front of where the real humans are. Go to Google and search “social media”. Get your content on Digg, Propeller, Spicypage, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, EzineArticles and the thousands, (yes thousands) of places where real people are. If you have a face fit for radio, then perfect, get your ugly mug on a few viral videos at YouTube and the 4 dozen other video sites. Come on, its not supposed to be easy. What, did you think you’d peck out a few pieces of crap, post them and wait for the checks to roll in?

Step 4. It’s A Marathon, Not A Sprint

Write 40 blog posts this weekend. Yes, you will be drained. Yes it will suck. Now do you want to quit yet? And don’t blast out 40 posts in 40 days you twit! 40 posts will at least create a foundation for a year of posting. Make those 40 posts the best you can. Work 40 hours on them, an hour per post. Now the rest of the year is filling in the gaps with smaller more topical posts. And the remainder of your time is spent promoting your blog.

Step 5. Quit Now.

I’m telling you now, quit while you can. This is way too hard for wimps with nothing to say. Your blog will be Craptown USA in 3 months. You will have nightmares about your blog. Get a job with a bank. It’s safe and dull and easy. The 40 years will pass before you know it and then you can retire on 2 cans of cat food a day.

http://DidYouSmellThat.com David Ledoux is a lifelong entrepreneur, author, speaker and trainer. He is the author of the best-selling books The Road To Gold, How I Went From Welfare To Millionaire Without Winning The Lottery, and The Ultimate MLM Blueprint. His popular training programs include How To Make A Whole Lot More Than $100,000 Per Year On The Internet, BigMoneyFreeTime, A Dream Come True, and Million Dollar Secrets.

He has been featured on video, radio and has traveled globally speaking to tens of thousands of entrepreneurs on the merits of the Free Enterprise System. He was named the #1 Trainer In The World in 2000 by MLM Insider Magazine.

David retired in 2005 at the age of 37 with his wife Falia to pursue adventures in mixed martial arts, travel, writing and coaching other entrepreneurs.

On behalf of Lisa and all the readers at Obzokee.com I’d like to say thanks to David for taking the time share his thoughts on the subject in such a truthful manner. No fluff or sugar coating the reality of blogging and getting noticed.

Does anyone know I exist?

Have you started a home based business? Are you waiting for the first phone order? Or the first client? If you have not compiled a marketing plan, you will wait by the phone for your first client for years! I can not emphasize enough, the critical factor played by marketing in the success of a business. It is the marketing of your company that targets your clients, grabs their attention and offers a service or product with the utmost high regards, and demonstrates a product or service’s quality over the competitors. Without the sole concept of marketing, a business will lack all elements needed for success. Marketing is the path to achieving high goals, as it will announce the opening of your business and the importance of your products. As small business owners are advised to create a business plan, in an effort to maintain a focus for the company, it is also advised that a marketing plan be implemented to increase sales and reach the target market that is needed for success. An effective marketing plan will result in higher sales, therefore there are a few elements that are vital in creating a successful marketing plan.

Step One: Situation Analysis - The first section of the marketing plan, like a business plan, defines your company, its products or services and demonstrates the benefits of your products/services oppose to your competitors. The situation analysis is also considered the SWAT analysis, in which you review the strength’s, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of your company in a graphical display.

Step Two: Describe your target audience - Create a one paragraph profile of your prospective customer. This step will allow for a breakdown of your target market, as you will show the terms of demographics (age, sex, family status, earnings, and geographical location). If your business is a B2B (Business to Business) company, you will define the terms of the companies that will need and use your products/services.

Step Three: Define your marketing goals - Ask yourself, what is the overall goal of your marketing plan. What do you hope to achieve in efforts of establishing a marketing plan? For example, many companies establish marketing plans in efforts to increase sales by a certain percentage or increase sales of a specific product/service line.

Step Four: Establish the marketing communication strategies - The first three steps create in creating a marketing plan are to create a vision for your company’s expectations and goals, and in step four, you will allow yourself to establish various tactics in efforts of achieving the goals and expectations listed prior. These tactics include advertising, public relations, and even direct marketing. To complete this section, outline the tactics that you will enforce to achieve your goals. Then to identify your marketing mix, find out which media sources are preferred among your target market.

Step Five: Set a marketing budget - Do not use all of your revenue for marketing! Create a budget that your marketing aspect will have to abide by. This budget can be annual, monthly or bimonthly, depending on company preference.

Once you have established a marketing plan into your home based business, you have created a tool that will allow you to focus on a vital aspect of running a successful business, whether it is at an outside location or out of the comfort of your home. Marketing is essential and when it is done efficiently, the results yeild high expectations.

This is a guest post by one of our feature writer, Giselle Rivera - Eliteresumes.org