The Rick Schwartz Domain Name and Traffic Blog: RicksBlog.com – Home of The Domain King®

Morning Folks!!

To understand this post you need to read this one that I
wrote in May first or it will have no value and why waste your time?

http://www.ricksblog.com/2009/05/screwing-with-success-a-change-more-important-than-the-presidency.html

So we have the 15 second SuperBowl commercial with Jay, Dave
and Oprah and nobody can get the right answer so I will publish it here so they
get it. If Burger King went out of
business would McDonalds double their business? The answer is no. If the
Tonight Show has a weak host does that help Letterman? The answer is no.

Now without even knowing the real numbers I can tell you
that Conan did not help Dave. My guess is Letterman’s audience is getting
smaller. He has weak competition and that means the overall INTEREST LEVEL is
much lower and at 11:30 folks are looking for a new home. I like “Forensic
Files”. So a splintered audience is hurting Dave and will hurt Jay. So, just like Ali/Frazier
brought the game of boxing to new highs, so will this. Two Titans back fighting
it out for America’s favorite? Not exactly. Here is what I see and why they
would both did this. They are both in trouble. They are both scared. The 11:30
slot has been the prize of TV for my entire lifetime. But is it today?

Folks change habits over 7 months. This was a big habit to
break. Many broke it. I just
believe they are working with a smaller audience overall and that hurts their
pocketbook. This change could even collapse one or the other. See the equation
is no longer the same. Damage has been done. NBC looks like a bunch of fools
and Dave has plenty of baggage these days.

So while I was pretty certain about the post I made back in
May that pretty much unfolded as predicted, this one is much more murky. I don’t
have a clear vision of the overall outcome. It could go either way. My point is
while I explained in that last post about why this was related to domains and
honing your skills, this one is the opposite. The other was clear and that
presents a great opportunity. This one is not so clear and so it is an opportunity
worth walking away from. It is more of a gamble. The outcome can go many
different ways. So this is how I pick what business to get into, what domains
to buy, what real estate to choose. Clarity of how things will unfold. Then
just get to where the masses go before they even know they want to go there.

Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Sometimes a simple phrase says more than a book of
words. I heard something today that would fall into that category.A complete recipe from beginning to end and it is basic and simple.

Anything is a possibility

All you have to do is open the door

Create the opportunity

And move forward.

Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

I had to leave Las Vegas TRAFFIC early as my mother was near
death. Death induced by doctors that DON’T CARE and a system that may or may
not work. When it works, and it usually does, it is as good as it gets, but
when it does not work, it is a nightmare.

So I send my mother and her girlfriend on 1 or 2 cruises each
year since 1997 when my dad died. They are the “Golden Girls” and this would have been #27. Each cruise they go on they get special
treatment because they have
cruised more than any other passengers on the entire ship and almost always go with the same line. That’s good for at
least a nice bottle of Champagne. So they sit at the Captain’s table and they
get other little perks and upgrades that they really enjoy. My mom is 86 and her girlfriend
is about 2 years behind.

Our nightmare began on January 10^thwhen she
started the last cruise. She got sick on the ship before it even sailed. Went
up for the lunch buffet and that was the last thing she basically remembers. She
was so sick that the ship had to leave her in St. Kitts at a small hospital
with very little equipment. 2 days later She was too sick and too weak to fly
home. (Just yesterday I found out she was sick before she boarded) What to do when you are sitting 1000 miles away and no communications
whatsoever? Who is her advocate? After 24 hours I was able to convince the
insurance company that the insurance I purchased for her cruise now needed to
be activated. They did perform and they arranged an air ambulance on a Lear jet
at a cost of $17,000 plus other fees. But it worked and they did their job. We
were confident that once we got her here we would quickly get things sorted
out. They THOUGHT they had things done and they released her from the hospital
prematurely and unable to even get out of bed. Still in pain and discomfort and
not eating or drinking. My vibrant mother was withering away in DAYS! She even
began to lose her will to live. My brother calls 911 and they readmit her. They
just do nothing and release her. 48 hours more passes, now 12 days into this.
Not eating, not drinking, getting dehydrated, no intravenous to keep her
hydrated. She was dying but there was no reason for her to die. NONE! She had an acute attack but it was nothing chronic which to me meant it was totally fixable!

Ineptness was killing her. Not her age, not even her medical
problem. The doctor was just too busy to pay her any mind or attention. Too
busy to really take a moment to see what was happening. So I left Las Vegas early
when I heard she was giving up.
When I landed my brother called and said he again called 911. He also
left a voice mail for the doctor. Let him know what a jerk he has been. I was
on the way home to pay a personal visit to the doctor. I was going with my
brothers to his office to physically confront him. He has 2000 patients and we
have 1 mother. If it were her time to die it would be one thing. She would
outlast anyone reading this. Tough and strong and survived more than I care to
divulge. I am not sure what I would have done had that event happened. I was
prepared to be disruptive if I had to for him to either focus on my mother or not
be a roadblock to finding another doctor that would.

Well, my brother’s angry voice mail to the doctor finally got
his attention and he got into gear and showed up at the emergency room and a
TEAM of doctors went to work on her. That was Saturday (Jan 23^rd) and she is still
not stable. More tests this morning. Each day getting weaker and the discomfort
is evident. They finally believe they have it nailed down but her recovery is
far from certain. So many
complications can set in and her initial problem is still not resolved as I
write this. So been a pretty rough
few days and there is still no light at the end of the tunnel. Each day we hope
she turns the corner. That has yet to happen and at her age with no food for so
long, time is against her until she can eat and start to regain her strength.
We are hoping after the tests today she can try and eat and drink again.

Sunday the 24th and then again on Tuesday the 26^thwere the toughest days. We were just praying the phone did not ring n the
middle of the night. Our mother was dying and the system was killing her not
her body not her malady. The system, the doctors that don’t communicate and the
cracks that things fall thru were more than I can even write about. I started
writing this about 2 weeks ago and it still goes on.

I struggled for the entire time whether
to post any of this. It is very personal, yet I want everyone to know what you
are up against. You cannot trust the medical system to provide good care unless
you have an advocate and watch them like a hawk. With my mom close to death I
just broke down and did not know what to do. The system we all believe in was
failing her. I was trapped with no answers. Then I just cried out NO! NO! I was
not going to stand by and watch this. NO WAY! I solve problems for a living. I solve every other problem, I must solve this one because no problem ever meant more and if I were really good at what I do then this was the moment it all was for. Earlier in the day I tried to get her a
private nurse. 8PM and with all that was going on I noticed they never even
called back. So desperate I tried another route and luckily I got a call back 10 minutes later.

I told them I needed my own
'Nurse Ratched' to scare the doctors into doing their jobs. For those that don't know, she was the nurse in one
of the greatest movies ever on the screen. 'One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest' with Jack Nicholson. Pretty damn mean
and nasty nurse. But I need one of those to put every doctor she had on notice that
this was not going to be business as usual. Put them on notice that we are
watching and you are going to CARE! My mom is not just another piece of meat
and I don't give a rats ass that you have 2000 other patients, I have ONE
mother.

At 8am the next morning my mom's
private nurse arrived. I did not tell my brothers. I just did it and hoped
everyone was on board. They met her, they loved her and now my mom had somebody
actually tending to her needs. The hospital is just so understaffed that there
is no time for actually nursing anymore. It takes hours to get the simplest of
things and sometimes days. The doctors are so callused they just don't care. They see she is about to be 87
and would rather call a mortuary than a specialist. I write this because everyone needs to
know what they are up against. It is cruel out there and you must be loaded for
bear.

So the nurse was great. She
basically nursed my mom off of the death bed the fucking doctors were
sentencing her to. Without the 6 of us and the nurse, my mom would not be alive
today. We were not sure she would survive on Sunday night and then again
Tuesday night. Today (Thursday the 28th) she seems to be on the mend. It would
not have happened without this private nurse. She was dying until she arrived
on the scene.

No insurance will cover this. Not
really. There are some fake stuff out there. But when you have a NEED, it is
useless. The cost is high but life cannot be replaced. The system is failing
and I watched what they did to my dad in 1997 and I watched what they almost
did to my mom in 2010.

It was not easy to find a private
nurse that was qualified and licensed to do what we needed. We lucked out and
now just one week later instead of a funeral she is eating, walking and getting
stronger with every passing day. It has been a very tough few weeks and an ordeal I wish on none of you.
Had the doctors continued to be in control and doing what they were doing,
there is no possible way she would have survived given what we were witnessing.
Sense of urgency? Completely foreign to a broken system. Things that were
ordered to do on one day was not done until the next. We saw this over and over
again. The nurses on staff were great but all trapped in a bad system,
understaffed, over worked and full of roadblocks and uncaring doctors that
manage things poorly and fail to communicate. The hospital itself as a facility is one of the top 50 and a non profit. But a hospital is only as good as the doctors that use it and the management that controls it. This is difficult to post, but I think everyone reading and all my friends need to know what to expect when doctors lose their passion to save their own patients and a system that has no backup but YOU. I thank the domain business for giving me the resources to pay tens of thousands of dollars it took to save my mom!! Dollars the 'System' would not spend. The system would rather bury her. Friday she started to really turn the corner. By Sunday she was sharp, alert and eating pizza. She will be home this afternoon after 3 weeks of hell. Thanks to a great nurse and possibly a story thatJoseph McClendon III shared at TRAFFIC just a few hours before I left that made me refuse to accept what was happening and maybe bend destiny just a tad.

Rick Schwartz

My mom on the RIGHT. Her traveling friend on the LEFT. Our families have been friends for 44 years.

Morning Folks!!

In business we are all salesmen. If we own or operate a
business you are a salesmen. Now there are good salesmen and bad ones. Ones
that know how to close a sale and get a result and those that can’t.

One year ago today was possibly the most historic day any of
us will live to see and Iblogged about it. A young, energetic black president taking the oath of
office. From slavery to the presidency. We have a lot to be proud of. But as
salesmen by trade this has to be the worst sales event I have ever seen. With
goodwill that I have never seen in all my life, with an opportunity
unprecedented in history what can I really say? Here it is…He blew it!

Broken promises without explanation or even a good reason.
Over reaching the likes we have never seen before. And a deaf ear for the
majority who are justifiably concerned.

So it all came to a crashing end last night with an earth
shattering victory for a seat held by Democrats for nearly my entire
lifetime. The bluest of blue
states even rejected the nonsense going on in Washington. Ted Kennedy is
spinning in his grave.

The bi-product of all this is that folks are once again
talking politics with a much more open mind. While things may be more divided
than ever in Washington, the same cannot be said for the heartland. People are
becoming more and more united against the waste and corruption we are
seeing. Sickening is a word that
comes to mind. We sit and watch our way of life be challenged at every level.
Sorry, I don’t feel guilty for living well because I work very hard. Since when
is success punished? Since when is
it ok to not listen to the electorate?

So just one year later and the President, who is very
likeable, cannot keep saying the same things when we see this stuff with our
own very eyes. One year ago today
we were all filled with hope. Well, that was all it was, hope. I can only hope
the election last night and the losses in New Jersey and Virginia will finally
get the message thru. We are Americans for a reason. We rejected the European
style of life and government 234 years ago and it is great to see that even in
the most liberal state in America they did not lose sight of that. That was a
stunning defeat for Obama as it was a referendum on his policies and even in Massachusetts it was rejected
in no uncertain manner.

Healthcare? Certainly it needs to be updated. But I sure
would sleep better at night knowing 80 Senators agreed on how to do that then
some new social program that punishes success and rewards those on the
sidelines. Terrorism? I wish the president would be as passionate about our rights and protecting us as he is in protecting these PRICKS that want to kill us. WTF is wrong here?? There is more torture on TV than the Military ever thought of!

So my wish is that the President stops ignoring the folks
and starts to have some success.
Where are we a year later? Other than the wasteful stimulus, this transformational
President has accomplished nothing in his first year. Nothing. The only thing he has accomplished is
wasting the great opportunity he had and turning the bluest seat in the Senate, RED after 52 YEARS! 12 months ago you could have gotten 1 million to 1 odds against that happening. Today, it is a reality and it did not happen by accident. Obama's liberal plans was rejected by the most liberal state in the country and that is a huge event. Even liberals want to be protected from these terror attacks and I GUARANTEE that if it was your wife, mother or child that the terrorist had information about and could save their lives with it, that ANY METHOD would be fine as long as you got the info before it was too late.

In the next days ahead we will see if the President and
Congress get the message or are still tone deaf. No matter which side of the
political spectrum you are on we all want to have these folks make decisions in
OUR best interests, not THEIRS!

Sorry, I don’t like a country that has 2 groups. One that
carries the water, and those that drink the water. Sorry, this is 100%
bullshit. It is one thing to help the helpless; it is another thing to help
folks that deserve no help. Somewhere along the line, the oldest law of man has
to be the key. “Survival of the fittest”.

Some think compassion is giving a guy a fish so he can eat
today. That is not compassion that is dependency. Teaching a guy to fish is
compassion. If he is not interested in learning, that is NOT your problem and
it is not my problem and the government needs to learn it is not their problem
either..

Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

This will be the first time I am attending TRAFFIC
as an attendee. No more getting in
5 days early to prepare for the show. No printing badges and preparing
registration. No getting all types of last minute emergency emails. No floorplans, diagrams, setup or breakdown. No pressure
to perform. Just a few relaxing days in Las Vegas with the brightest guys on
earth and their families. I am looking forward to having free time and meetings
with productive outcomes.

One of the things I am looking most forward to is
meetingJoseph
McClendon III

The reason is because it was Tony Robbins that
changed my life. I have written many times over the years about the cassette
tapes I bought back in 1992. It was like a set of 20. I failed. I made it thru only the 4^th
tape and that was so life changing that I have never looked back. I just love
when folks can’t figure out how this stuff relates to domains. I think maybe because
domaining is the only business they have ever been in and they don’t quite
grasp that success or failure comes from within and your habits (Bad or good) are your destiny. That it transcends the product
or service or business you have. That your mindset will determine your success or failure before you
even begin. Also identifying the very thin line between failure, success,
determination and wasting time by going down a dead end. Knowing when giving up is because it is
time to give up or there is just a lack or perseverance or no chance of your vision coming true.

Excuses in life are easy to make up. Excuse makers
focus on excuses. Failure never has to be excused or blamed on others. Failure is only bad when it
is due to your own laziness or lack of effort or sloppiness or other such error
caused by a thinking pattern that did not serve you well. You have the control
and ability to teach yourself anything you want. Including success which in many cases is taught by failure itself.

So when I get on that plane, my entire focus will
be different. My approach may be the same because once you learn that it is
with you every second of every day. What makes TRAFFIC so special is the invisible
recharge you go through when you hang with energized folks that are walking
serial success stories. They see
things others don’t. They react when others ponder. They perform while others
talk.

So a unique group presents unique opportunities at
a unique point in time. That produce unique results. That is just one of the
formulas that makes TRAFFIC different and this TRAFFIC will be like a breath of
fresh air with a new format but using the same formula. An invisible formula
that can’t be copied because it has many formulas inside other formulas and
wrapped up with a shared vision.

TRAFFIC means business and I am one excited guy to
be able to actually go to TRAFFIC and focus on nothing but deal making,
partnerships and other innovative ways to make BIG things happen in 2010. Life changing
things. The only difference is I will be focusing on life changing things for
myself for the first time since 2004 and I am gonna have a GREAT time doing it. Everything many of us have done until now were nothing more than preparation for the next 5 years. We have survived a bubble and a collapse and watched institutions crumble while we got stronger in the process. We are coming to center stage at a precise moment and the bi-product of the current economic conditions is that it is now universally agreed that the Internet is the future. A far cry from the bubble of 2003 when newspapers, TV stations and Main Street did everything in their power to discredit this medium. Now they have joined and embraced the Internet and 2010 is the FIRST year of the 'New Economy'. What has happened until now does not even count. Training wheels on a rocket ship. Prepare for liftoff!

Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Tia Wood made an interestingblog post about me and how I operate the other day. She articulated things I never could and then I did my best to follow up with the following comment. I am sure the folks the post is intended for won't give it a second thought. They do, one at a time. Not in mass. But for the umpteenth time over too many years to count I will try and explain how I see things.

'If I drive a Ferrari and a guy has a 15 year old junker, I will
share my story of how I got the Ferrari and what I believe and how I see things
but don’t expect me to get into the junker if I am not stranded. I already had
my share of junkers. I was already where others were. All I can do is share
what I personally learned and believe. I can’t force anyone, nor do I want to.
I can lend a helping hand when I have time and willing to pull others up. But I
do get annoyed when I lower my hand and others try and pull me down. THOSE are
the people I have no time for. The time wasters with bad attitudes that are mad
at everyone else for THEIR shortcomings. THOSE are the people I avoid in the
domain business and in life in general. Pretty simple. The only ones that get
offended are those very people. So they stick out and it makes it easy to
exclude them. When they figure it out, they are included. I say it out loud and
in writing because that is the foundation of my belief system. Surround
yourself with people that pull you up not the ones that try and pull you down.
SIMPLE! People that pull you up NEVER get offended by that or have to make
snide comments. It only reflects badly on them. So what we see, they don’t.
That’s the magic of life.'

If I started in domaining today I would do it differently. I would have to do it differently even if I got into domains 6 months later than I did. The equation changes every day of our lives. Business does not stay still. It evolves and you have to evolve with it. But evolving does not change standard business principles and approach and attitude and behavior and many other things. That is the common thread and if that is flawed, everything you do is flawed because the foundation is not solid. Folks that are not making a lot of money in domaining can't blame anyone but themselves. I can see some getting red in the face just for saying something that is simple fact. Ok fine, blame me. Blame your mother. Blame the man on the moon. I am the one on the planet that has held you back. I am the bad guy. If not for me you would be a wildly successful. Just know that YOU are the only one that believes it and silly is the only word that comes to mind. YOU are in control of your destiny and you own it because you created it! A dose of reality is the way I give a helping hand and I can't help those that blame others for their failures or shortcomings. Until you get past that, you will never understand a word of what I am saying. Raise your game by stopping and thinking and accomplishing things and being deliberate. When you lash out, use that energy to pull yourself up because there is only one person on the entire planet that can hold you back and if you are looking my way, then you are foolish and it is time to adjust your attitude or suffer another year of anger and frustration. Want to be a winner? Then be a winner. It is your decision and I have no power to stop you nor desire. I do have a desire to lend that hand by posting in your face stuff that exposes the basic things that may be holding you back. Extend your hand and I will shake it. Bite my hand it and I will bite back. Attitude is everything and will determine your success or failure before you even begin your project.

Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

My year started very interesting. I was stunned last week whenAdam Strongadvised me on New Years Day that Foreclosure.com parent company had declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy just a week earlier. I read the story in theSouth Florida Biz Journal with my jaw hanging down. Man, did I dodge a bullet! Then another article appeared today in a second publicationInman.comwith more juicy details and some history and a couple pending lawsuits. BIG lawsuits.

What jumped out at me the most was the $9 million in
assets and the $27 million in liabilities. That seemed to dove tail with the
value Brad Geisen himself put on this deal. $20 million. That deal would help his spreadsheet. It also helped to explain why his valuation was higher than my $16-$18 million.

My attorney was labeled a 'Deal Breaker'
which in hindsight saved my bacon after 15 months of trying to get to a
permanent contract while operating under an LOI. I was not happy that I spent 60% of the money they were
paying me negotiating this deal and ended up walking away with nothing. In hindsight that was a small price to pay to protect and now save one of my most
valuable properties.

You can't say the motives behind what someone does
but you sure as hell can speculate and when I do, I don't like what I see. It
just reinforces how I do business and the power and freedom to walk away from a
$20 million deal that would have turned out very bad. I am sure this is not the
last we hear of this and whether they survive or not may not be up to them.

At some point I will write more details about the deal. I posted about the initial breakdown back in October 'Foreclosing on Foreclosure.com'. It started turning south in August when
they defaulted on their monthly payment. I continued to send them traffic in good faith as I
thought we were close to getting this nailed down. In fact, I was just wasting
my time and getting jerked around. But better that than losing the domain name
for pennies on the dollar. So what some may have thought was weakness when this fell
apart as actually strength in walking away. What gets my dander up is in my
heart I believe they knew this was coming and the fact they would not sign the
deal that mirrored the fail safe in the candy.com spoke volumes. How could you not know in August, September and October that bankruptcy was looming just WEEKS later? I don't forget SHIT like that and folks need to know the skinny on all this.

Knowing when to say 'No' and walking away has been my single biggest strength in business since the 1970's. Even when I could not afford to say 'No', I did. Each time the future proved the decision to be a good one. Never give in to the pressure. It is your RIGHT and your DUTY to walk away from bad deals or deals that don't cover everything. Walking away from a $20 million Property.com deal (My biggest deal ever) only makes the domain more valuable and I feel 100% vindicated that I followed the advice of my attorney. It was one of the toughest decisions I ever made and until New Years Day, one I questioned daily and my greatest defeat is now my most cherished victory!

Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

As I do every year, December is a month of reflection and
planning. I don’t work in December. At least not in the way I do the other 11
months. So I just got back from a
10 day cruise. I spent over one month this year on the High Seas. More than a
year of my life in all. Downtime is very important if you don’t want to Burn
Out.

So as my role in the industry now requires less time, I will be entering
another universe of sorts in 2010.
A new focus. Just like nobody can take my adult industry years away from
me, nobody can take my domaining years away from me either. But now it is time just
like it was a decade ago when I left the adult world as an everyday participant
and started to help work on the framework for an industry. In 2010 I will basically repeat that except with a new
audience, a new focus, a new agenda and a new end game. I never forget or even
try to hide where I came from. The adult industry taught me so much that I am still employing those things I
learned. That industry is nothing like it once was. But that is a natural
occurrence and it repeats itself. Now again in domaining. Again, I won't hide where I came from. I am proud of my accomplishments even tho the audience I may be speaking to may not share that view. They are likely to have the same opinion of domainers as many domainers have about the adult industry. That 'Prejudice' is just a reality you deal with and overcome. But how
many times can you take the same ride, the same cruise and not want to do, see,
and learn more?

The “End user” we refer to is not a group. It is a ONE that is HIDDEN in a group. Like
I say all the time, “End users come one need, one project and one domain at a time.” You
can’t change that. But you can do things that accelerate that eventuality. See
I am all about acceleration. That is what I do. Making things happen in a compressed amount of
time. Things have a “Natural progression” but since life is short, accelerating
things is always been the key. The key since the invention of the wheel. We
always try and go faster. So my role, that I created for myself, has always been to make things happen
faster because if you let it take its' natural path, it may take too long and we
will all be dead. I am happy with a smaller piece of a larger pie. Had I not thought that way I would have never shared my views and what I learned along the way. But it was so much bigger than just one. As we can see, an army of thousands of domainers are still trying to make headway Alone?? Impossible.

So when I went from adult to mainstream it was quite a leap
with lots less resources but a much bigger playing field. Now another leap is in my future. There
is something missing. Something very big. Something I looked for when I met and pitched Steve Forbes, Ben Stein, Barbara Corcoran, and many of our other speakers along the way. TRAFFIC financed those appointments. Those pitches. We will never know what those conversations produced. But I guarantee it did not dead end when they left the podium. A SEED was planted deep in them. We will never know the point of germination, but WE together made an impact on THEM. While they touched us with their wisdom, we also returned the same with what we do. How do I know this? Because planting seeds is what it is all about. They can't 'Unseed' themselves.

When I travel I go into a lot of retail stores. I TRY and
discuss the Internet with them and their sales. They all basically tell me they
do well on the Internet and abruptly change the subject. That’s cause they are
full of shit. I still try to engage, but it is fruitless. Some even still
fighting about all types of things as the Internet is still a threat to them
because of distribution, cutting online competitors off, doing things
defensively instead of offensively.
So I am out to change that. Not sure how I will or can accomplish that goal.
But in 2010 I want to talk to large audiences of diversified businesses. I want
to break down this wall once and for all. There is no longer ANY excuse. The #1 way to grow your business is via the Internet. We ALL know that. THEY DON’T. That
needs to be changed and that is what I will focus my time on in 2010.

What does that have to do with domains? Nothing and
everything. It is about BUSINESS and as I have said for a long time, domains
are a VEHICLE, a product, a commodity. It’s a horse to another destination. But
when you ride your horse, does not mean you don’t keep an eye out for another
mode of transportation. Faster, more efficient methods and a way to make more
money in a quicker amount of time. THAT is what it is about. The adult
industry, domains, lighting, furniture, are all vehicles. The only reason I
landed up in any of these is I was always looking for something, bigger,
faster, more profitable and easier after some initial very hard work.

So in a few days this journey enters the 15^th
year for me and another stage. Literally. As David Castello says, “Been waiting 15 years for the next 5.” My friends, that is as clear as it gets. It took an economic collapse of 2009
for the Internet to reach critical mass in every category and every industry in
every corner of the world. The next 5 years is what it is all about. The amount
of money coming to the net is unfathomable. Don’t trap yourself and don’t box
yourselves in. Domainers? I don’t think so. It’s just a piece of what we really
are. This is the start, not the end. If you are not making the dollars you
should, start over! Get rid of the crap. The liabilities. Start with assets and
you will never have to look back. You have the power to turn things around but
first you must stop running in the wrong direction if indeed things are not working out for you. On the other hand, if they are, just keep doing what you are doing. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

No matter which way the general economy goes in 2010 it will
be one of the best years ever for opportunity and great wealth. The weakness of
some will become the fruit for others.
There is such chaos and hurt and collapse that if you are in a strong
cash position or not, you can really do some big things. Just be as diversified and PORTABLE as possible. Don't have all your assets in domains, or cash, or gold, or stock, or this or that. Make sure if one thing crashes, and it may, that something else will keep you afloat. We are far from out of the woods and forces every day want to sink the dollar and change the balance of power. The result is unknowable at this point in time. One incident can change the world and how we all do business. When things are unstable as they have been, long term planning is much more difficult and in some cases, impossible. That will be the headwind we have to deal with.

Our success or failure comes from within. Nobody can hold back a winner and nobody can help a loser unless they do the things necessary to be a winner. We all see what we want to see, hear what we want to hear, read what we want to read. Many times without regard for the overall intent. When folks are supposed to read between the lines, they don't. When they are supposed to take something literally, they are too busy trying to read between the lines. Timing really does count. Approach counts. But it is results that matter. Blah, blah, blah forever, but without results, it is just Lip Service.

Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas, Happy and Healthy New Years! See you all in Las Vegas!

Have a GREAT Day

Rick Schwartz

PS: I have racked my brain for the last 18 months and I can't find a better, safer or more portable investment than INCOME PRODUCING domain names. NONE! The TRUE GOLD and OIL WELLS of this century.

Morning Folks!!

The days of going to a tradeshow for the parties are over.
What may have been in vogue in the past is no longer in fashion. The focus is business. Business
and Networking. Those focused on other extraneous events are just not in tune
with the times. That is why where a tradeshow is held is important. Business
during the day, hard business and then play hard at night. Often times you are
not sure where the show begins and the parties end. I think you need some
definition.

If you have not listened to Rick Latona’s interview with
Andrew Allerman, you should. The audio is a bit hard on the ears but the
content is solid. Rick answers one of the single biggest questions in the industry. Definitely worth a few minutes of your time.

One thing Rick mentions is that they called up their top 100
customers and asked them why they come to TRAFFIC. I think Rick was surprised
by the answer. Not me. It is what I have been saying all along. When he asked
the question he assumed “Parties” would be much higher on the chart. In a way he
is right. But in a minute I will explain what it is. First of all the #1 answer
by far was “Networking”. Parties were barely a mention even tho we have had
some legendary ones. But Like I said, that is no surprise to me as TRAFFIC
means business and always has. Now if you were to ask the same question at
other venues, the numbers would be different. So when you mix folks that come
for the parties with serious folks that are coming to do business, that my
friends is a distraction. Wasting time with folks that could care less about
other things. I am really happy that Rick Latona took the time and energy to do
that. Rick will tell you himself that he has learned things about TRAFFIC from the inside that surprised him. Good stuff. That allows him to build on our foundation and still stick to business.

I want to be 100%
inclusive, but I have always wanted to have as few distractions as possible.
When you bring great people together, great things happen. I have said that for
years and there is just no time for sideshows and drama.

Folks make up all types of stuff to fit their biases and agenda. The partnership we have with Latona is based on OUR VISION that we all share and to give me the time to do what I want in 2010 that I will be discussing in my next Blog post. None
of the folks that think they know so much was ever there privy to our
conversations however they speak like they know something. Ignorance in action. Price is no longer a barrier in coming to TRAFFIC. Invitations are no longer a barrier. The only barriers are the ones that are made up in the mind. Also known as EXCUSES.

So while Rick Latona is opening up TRAFFIC to more folks, I will still discourage folks
from coming that are not focused on business and furthering their careers and
the industry in general. TRAFFIC means Business and I think the industry is going to be delighted with the changes in Las Vegas and then delighted with our Florida show in October not to mention the International shows in between. Hong Kong to Vancouver with stops in Milan and Dublin. That is pretty damn exciting!

Last year I explained that during a recession businesses do one of two things. Either they pull back on the throttle because they are inexperienced, timid and scared and that puts them in jeopardy or they put the pedal to the metal and expand because that is what you do if you want to have success during hard times. So when you look back at 2009, how did you do? What did you do? Are you stronger or weaker? Are others that you work with stronger or weaker? Have you seen some that have fallen into my first category?

As you can see I took my own advice. Expansion to every corner of the world by TRAFFIC at the very least likely time. Full throttle baby! The ONLY way to navigate times like this. In my next post I will discuss other things that I have done and am doing. Candy.com was also a great success in 2009 but not even included in my equation or list of accomplishments. That was just a little bonus and sweet reward for work done YEARS ago. Now we all get to see what happens to a GREAT domain in the hands of a GREAT company that has a vision and the energy to fulfill that vision. And do it at the BOTTOM of the business cycle. These guys did not pull back either. They expanded. They expanded while others were scared and that will produce rewards greater than anything I can write. Just look at the big winners of 2009. They ALL expanded. And the losers? Well you can fill in those blanks with those that have pulled back and are now paying dearly for that decision. Yup, 2009 was tough. 2010 may be tougher in many respects. But let me be clear, that has nothing to do with making great fortunes. It is easier to make $$$ in times like this. Just have to know how it works and how to look at things. A prism is only a piece of glass until you hold it and look at it exactly right.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz