Fly on the E-Commerce Cyberwall

Einstein's Three Rules for Succeeding at Whatever You Do
Here's a favorite quote from Albert Einstein:

"Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity; From discord find harmony; In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity."

In my days trying to breaking into the movie business as a screenwriter, one thing I was told repeatedly by other screenwriters was that stories revolved around conflict. The more I worked at perfecting my writing, though, the more I found that that particular truism only scratched the surface.

I found that simple conflict wasn't always interesting enough to carry a story. Seeing two people mad at each other might catch our attention, but it won't hold it.

What held people's interest in any good story was a compelling contrast underneath the conflict. A good story always has the main character thrust into a situation that was the exact opposite of what he or she was equipped to handle. A contrast existed between what the hero felt comfortable with and what the hero needed to do.

That contrast makes the story compelling -- much more compelling than the conflict itself that emerged from the contrast.

Einstein, here, hits on that same point. Succeeding at whatever you do involves contrasts: bringing simplicity out of clutter, bringing harmony out of discord, bringing opportunity out of difficulty.

Success doesn't involve avoiding those negatives. It involves finding the positives that lie hidden inside of them.

Don't shrink back from those negatives. Tackle them. Explore them. Only by doing that will you find the ways that they can bring you success.
Jeff

Labels: inspirational quotes

Easy Backlinks at 50 Percent Off?
A colleague of mine has developed a pretty ingenious way to get A LOT of backlinks to your site pretty easily. And she's letting me give my readers a special, end-of-year discount. Order through my link and you get 50% off.

You get the discount only through Friday, though. And you get it only through my link. Go and check out her backlinking method. If it looks good to you, order it. Make sure, though, that you put the code NEWYEAR in the coupon code box as you complete your order.

Just so there's no confusion, the coupon code box is not on the information page. It's on the page where you enter your purchase information, just above the button that completes your order.

Check out her linking strategy. I think you'll be impressed.
Jeff

Labels: link-building

Advice for a Brand New Business Owner
A mentor, Jim Cockrum, showed me an email he just got from someone who had bought his ebook and wanted some extra advice.

The email said that the buyer had just become disabled, but didn't want his new disability to be the end of his productive life. He felt he could still do things online and wanted to start a business, but his medical bills put a definite constraint on what he was able to spend on starting a business.

My mentor showed me his response to the guy and asked if I wanted to add anything to it.

Let's face it, many of you face similar financial constraints, whether or not you're physically disabled as the writer of the email was. And with a lot of people making resolutions at this time of year to finally get serious about starting that business they've always dreamed of, I thought I would share my response also with you.

"Don't give up!

"Focus on what you know and what you love. Lots of people, when they think of starting a business online, think they have to sell something they know nothing about. They completely overlook the things they know about.

"Starting a business is enough of a learning curve without also needing to learn about something you know nothing about as well! With the things you know and love, you've already had experience with them. You know the ins and outs of them. You know the problems you've encountered and how to overcome them.

"Feel that what you know isn't enough to help anyone else? Then consider this, whatever you know anything about, many people know even less about it than you do. The level of knowledge you already have can help them immeasurably!

"If you're reading Jim's book, you're already getting some great ideas on how to use the resources you already have at your disposal to help others find what they need -- and make money in the process.

"Don't be afraid to take the step. Whatever you already have is enough to get started with. As you build momentum (and revenues) with what comes out of your initial efforts, you can always grow what you're doing larger and more profitable.

"Just get started. Don't sit back and feel that you have to learn absolutely everything before you take that first step. Trust me, you'll learn more by taking action than you will from simply trying to absorb everything before you start.

"Good luck!"

Wherever you are in your dream of starting a business, leverage what you already have. You DO have knowledge of things that could help others. You DO have solutions that they will gladly pay for you to provide.

That's what business is all about, providing solutions to people who are looking for them. So start your business in areas of experience you already have. That's the best -- and most profitable -- place for you to start.
Jeff

Labels: start business