Will 2009 make you Stronger or Weaker? Here is a Roadmap to Avoid the Latter

Afternoon Folks!!

My dad used to say that if your neighbor was unemployed it was a recession.
If you were unemployed, it was a depression. Can't argue with that. Perception
is everything. This is not my first recession and I had one depression in my
life. That lasted for 3 weeks. It was awful. Losing what you love to do is like
a death. A romantic death.

But it was those 3 weeks that would point me into my life's direction.
Through adversity great things are inseminated. The seed of almost all great
success came from the greatest adversity. That is a pretty interesting
phenomenon. Have you experienced the same?

So I want to know how things are in your area? Are stores closing? Are you
living in a tourist area? Are you seeing indications of decay or expansion? The
best way to really find out the state of things is to ask a lot of people and
listen to what they report.

So while we are going through this storm, the good news is most will come
out stronger. The strong will get stronger because they get great strength from
adversity. They rise to the occasion. They work better under pressure. The weak
do just the opposite. They either get weaker, or some will get stronger because
they get great strength from adversity and they may not have known it. It takes
a real disaster to see what folks are really made of. Most rise to the occasion.
Weak or strong, most will find their soul and dig deep when it really counts.
THAT is the difference between everything. The true test.

So as we go through 2009 and what is coming, know you will come out of it
much stronger IF you can understand it and harness it. Harness the mood. Harness
the fear. Harness the energy that times like this produce. There are always new
ways to make old money. There are always old ways to make new money. There are
always ways.

That brings us to us and how lucky we are. We have been challenged before
and come out stronger each and every time. This will be no different however you
can position yourself for the rewards to be much bigger and much sweeter.

If you posses the right mind set, you will sit back, relax, observe, engage
and excel. But knowing where you are at in this down cycle will have a great
impact, if you act too soon, you could be at risk. If you wait too long you could
miss great opportunity. So observing is the key and when the TIME IS RIGHT (and
EVERYTHING is about timing) then you can swoop in and make the deal that can
change your life. It only takes one deal. The right deal. If you are busy making the wrong deal, then you will likely miss it.

Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz

What does”Word of mouth” Really Mean and How do you Make That Happen??


Morning Folks!!
Let's start from scratch. The fastest way to get the word out of something
you have is word of mouth. You want to motivate somebody not motivated to take
an action by telling someone else. That is the essence of great marketing. So we
can talk about development but we are not really developing anything. We need to
create businesses. But in that creation the key is attracting people by having
them tell their friends. It's about hitting critical mass. It's what youtube.com
is about. It's about what all the social networks are about.

So what can you do to make someone as lazy as me to take action? That is
the key question when we develop or open a business. Finding a niche. Tapping
into an energy that we ourselves must create. It is hard to grow a business on
the Internet unless you tap into it in one form or another.

Blogs are a great way to create an audience. But there are millions of
others on their soapboxes and their megaphones. All wanting to do the same
thing. Strike gold. Tap into a gusher. Everyone out their screaming ME! ME! ME!
Soon nobody will be out there to even listen. So getting folks together looking
for similar things is a task that will be getting harder in the future not
easier. That is why I believe domain names with traffic will just become more
and more valuable,

Bottom line, we are all searching for what works. Most things will fail,
but you know it only takes one spark to light the world on fire. One item, one
vehicle, one idea. So folks either spend too much time chasing failure or not
enough time chasing success. That TIME is really the key along with the timing.

Let's say you know a train is going to come in 3 days and is an express
from Miami to NY that takes only 1 day. Is it foolish to do nothing for 2 days
while folks that may not know about the express leave 3 days earlier on a train
that makes 100 stops and takes 4 days to get there? What if I told you that the
local with 100 stops cost 3x as much. What if I told you that the on time record
of the local with 100 stops was 42% and 50% of the time it was a day late? At
some point there is enough info and pitfalls to make you realize that the local
with 100 stops is just kinda silly and the express is much easier, cheaper and
more enjoyable. Sometimes doing nothing can make you more. Especially when you
know the real info. On the express you get in all refreshed. On the local after
4 days and an extra day late you are dirty and tired. It's a tough route. You
still get there, but if you had it to do over again probably enjoy a few extra
days on the beach. So it isn't about working, it is about working
smarter
Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz