Today we continue our story with the Man and his journey to Mount Success. He and his faithful horse have just taken their first steps into the Swamp of Failure. Let’s see how our hero does.

If you are just joining in this story, you may want to start from the beginning. Here is what’s posted so far:

The Intro
The Plains of Overwhelming

Let’s continue shall we?

He and his faithful horse slowly make their way through the swamp. It’s so thick they have to take one step at a time. Not only is it very muddy, it’s also very stinky. The swamp water and mud reek of old earth and dead trees. It’s enough to take one’s breath away.

Even at this early stage the trek has made some thoughts creep into the Man’s head. “Is it even worth it? Am I wasting my time? Should I really be doing this?”

He quickly blows these thoughts off but he can’t help but think about them once in a while. And he senses something nearby. Someone watching him.

Both horse and hero walk slowly with their heads bowed, concentrating on moving forward following the trail of flowers. A voice echoes through the trees and stops The Man in his tracks.

“You look like you could use a bite to eat!”

He looks around and sees a man standing by a stand full of fruit and water. He swore he could smell meat too.

“Come, come, enjoy this food and the journey through this swamp will be that much easier. You’ll be done before you know it!”

It wasn’t until he saw this convenient supply of food that realized how hungry he really was. He almost started turning towards the delicious cart of food when he felt a tug from his horse. He turned around to look at the horse and it stared at him with a warning glance.

“Come sir,” The cart man continued, “Just one little bite is all. The finest tasting fruit you’ll ever have!”

The horse nudged our hero again, reminding him of the temptations he had read about in the book. This was too easy, he thought.

The cart man seemed to have realized his thoughts as he gave him a nasty sneer. With a swing of his hand both him and the cart disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Whew, that was close. The man looked back at the path at his feet. The book said to watch the white flowers, they will lead out of the swamp. He followed the trail until it disappeared into the trees a few feet ahead of him.

The Man and his horse pushed on through the swamp, slowly, tediously. More and more doubts crept into his mind as he trudged on. Even his faithful horse seemed to slowing as he grew more and more tired. It seemed like the the mud was getting deeper.

The cart man kept showing up with more tempting offers and he kept getting closer, offering better and better offers to pull The Man away from the path. He kept getting closer and each time he became more transparent. It was the ghost of the swamp.

Eventually The Man was hearing the whispers from the ghost in his ear, taunting him, telling him to give up. He tried to ignore it. But sometimes he wanted to give up.

Between the ghostly figure that seemed to be in his head and the mud that was making it’s way up his thighs, he started wondering if he should just stop and let the grimy water take him. It would be easier. Easier than this hard work. Even easier than taking the shortcuts the ghost kept trying to show him.

But he kept his eyes on the white flower trail leading through the trees. His shoulders felt heavy and he kept having thoughts of running off the path into oblivion. It was just the ghost he reminded himself. A small nudge from the horse kept him moving forward.

He was so tired and focused on moving one step after another after the trail of flowers that he almost ran into the tree that the flowers led to. He looked up blinking the weariness out of his eyes.

The tree almost glowed in the dreariness of the swamp. It was fresh and alive. It had a big trunk and was covered in white flowers similar to the ones he had been following. It was beautiful.

Protruding from the trunk was a small branch. Hanging from the branch was a necklace with a small pendant on it. He hesitated to touch it when he heard the quiet voice of the ghost in his ears. He could feel the weight on his back with each word.

“Don’t touch that. Do you really want to do things that way?” The ghost whispered.

In this simple statement, our hero sensed some fear and knew this to be the necklace of confidence. He quickly grabbed it up and read the inscription on the back.

You have the power to create your own path. The hard times are only there if you let them. The path is clear if you want it to be. You have the power to make things work for you.

With that simple statement he had a simple realization. He heard a snarl fade in his ears and weight lift off his back. He had a choice. He could stay here and continually struggle or he could find a way to make things work his way and make his own path out of the swamp.

He walked around the tree to look beyond. It seemed even the mud was becoming less deep with each step. He looked beyond the trees and envisioned what he wanted. Before his eyes the edge of the swamp seemed to come into view. So simple.

It wasn’t long before his feet his solid ground and he heard the click clack of his horses hooves. They had finally made it out. The Man took a great big deep breath and closed his eyes.

When he opened them again he saw a great green forest ahead of him. It looked beautiful. It looked inviting. He took a step and noticed the sunlight hitting something nearby.

He looked over and saw a huge book, a tomb of knowledge. It had followed him. He figured it was time for a break anyways so he sat down in front of the book and flipped through the giant pages.

~Chris

The Forest of Experience lays beyond. It looks like a perfectly normal forest but what obstacles does it hold for our hero? Stay tuned to find out.

This a continuation from a previous post. If you haven’t read the first part go here. Grab that cup of coffee, let’s see how our hero fares in the Plains of Overwhelming.

The Plains of Overwhelming

The man makes his way into the tall grass. He glances one more time behind him as the rolling green hills fade away to make way for a sea of brown, swaying grass. Before long all he can see is brown grass, stretching as far as the eye can see.

He stopped to attempt to gather his bearings. He was heading north when he entered but since every part of the land looked just like the last it was hard to figure out if he was still heading in that direction.

A movement in the sky caught his eye. The man looked up to see a huge flock of griffins drifting through the air this way and that. The old man had said there would be a guide in the sky but which one was it? They were all flying in different directions. How was he supposed to know which one to follow?

Before long he noticed something different about one of the griffins. It had something in it’s talons. It looked like a large book. He double checked the other griffins and that was the only one carrying this huge book.

He followed the creature as it separated from the rest of them. He urged the horse onward as the griffin started picking up speed. Before he knew he had the horse at full tilt trying to keep up. His horse snorted as he pushed it to run faster. Just as the griffin was about out of the line of site, it dropped the book. The man watched it as it plummeted to the earth.

He kept running towards where he had seen the book fall and finally came across a huge book laying on the ground. As he looked through the book, carefully flipping each page, he realized that this book had all the knowledge in the world contained within it.

Imagine what he could do with all this knowledge. But there was no way to take the book with him. So he read what he could and left it there. He would spend the rest of his life here trying to absorb all the knowledge within. He had to chose what part of the book he wanted to remember, what parts were important to him.

Maybe someday he could return to learn something new but for now the tome would stay here, lodged into the dirt.

He took what knowledge he could from the book that might help in the swamp. He walked away from the Plains of Overwhelming with a sense of focus and direction. He could feel his goal getting closer. He could see it in his mind and that gave him the drive to nudge the horse forward.

They could smell the Swamp of Failure before they even set foot in it. It was wet and dirty. The smell itself was enough to make any normal person turn back. But he had direction and confidence from the knowledge he acquired from the large tome.

The horse’s hoofs sank into the wet muck but they didn’t sink too far. He climbed off the horse and grabbed the reigns to help the horse clamor through the sticky mud.

Will our hero make through the sticky, wet mud and dead trees of the swamp? What else does the swamp hold that will test our hero and his quest for the Cup of Dreams? Will the Swamp of Failure claim a new victim? Find out here.

~Chris

Grab yourself a cup of coffee and sit back an relax. I have a story to tell you.

There was a man that was given a quest. This man lived in a time of dragons, knights, and other mythical creatures that no longer exist. To say the least his quest was going to be a dangerous one. He would have to leave his family and his home that he knows oh so well. He has to leave a life that he has grown comfortable with.

But he still accepts this quest, as dangerous as it may be, because deep down he isn’t happy. There is a greater glory in his life that he feels he must achieve. There must to be some way to make things better. For himself but even more so for his loving family. Times are hard and he knows he can provide a better life. He knows it, deep down, that he can bring happiness to his family and the land they live in.

If he succeeds in his quest he will make the world he knows and loves a better place. If he reaches the mountain and claims The Cup of Dreams he will bring light to the rest of the world.

On the way are many obstacles. There are many dangers that stand between this man and his quest. He takes with him the tools to defeat his foes. But he will need much more than that to become the hero he so desires.

He prepares for the long journey ahead and thinks of reason for starting this journey. A few days ago an old man appeared to him in a vision. The man was old and wise and the man sensed something a little more to the old man. The old man gave him his quest, the quest that would save the world and bring a lighter, happier life to everyone.

Somehow he knew it was up to him to make a difference. And he listened to the old man telling him what he needed to do he started to wonder if it was possible. The journey for this quest was not going to be easy. The man listened intently to what he was going to have to do to reach Mount Success.

Your journey starts on the Plain of Overwhelming. It’s a large expanse of tall brown grass that blows in the wind. It seems to draw on for as far as the eye can see. Once you make your way into the Plains of Overwhelming you be able to see the end of it either way. You will have no sense of direction as everything looks the same. But there is one way to make it through. Look up and you will see a guide soaring high in the sky. A great big winged beast that will lead you across the Plains if it deems you worthy.

Once you enter the cave and claim the Cup of Dreams your quest will be complete. You will have brought glory to the land and to your family. I bid you farewell and hope to see you at the end of your journey to Mount Success.

With that the old man disappeared as suddenly as he came, leaving the man wondering. The vision was still just as vivid to him now as it was when it happened and he knew it to be true. He grabbed the reigns of his horse and kissed his wife and child good bye. He wondered if he would ever see them again. But this was something that had to be done.

Avoiding anymore delays from the longing in his wife’s eyes he spurred the horse on and made his way towards the Plains of Overwhelming.

Want to find out what happens to the man and journey? Click here to continue the story through The Plains of Overwhelming

~Chris

As you learn the art of marketing and sales, you’ll soon start noticing things about people as well. Learning how people feel and think is very beneficial to becoming better at marketing.

At it’s heart, marketing is a people business. If you learn their fears and worries and you have a way to solve that, it makes a world of difference in your success.

With that said, I’m always keeping and eye out for insights into human behavior. As some of you may know I quit smoking a few months ago thanks to the help of a book called The Easy Way to Quit Smoking by Allen Carr. It worked wonders in helping me get past that. I feel so much better for it now.

I wanted to pass that on to others where I work. So I bought another copy specifically to pass around at the factory I work in. Probably over half of the people there are smokers. A few have quit over the years but there are still quite that smoke. And there are quite a few of those that would like to quit as well.

My plan was to bring in the book and just leave it out on the table with a little note saying to borrow it then bring it back when they were done. I was curious as to who would use it, who would take the initiative and grab the book first.

A few people have already borrowed it already and a couple have asked for a copy of their own. But what stuck out to me was some things these early adopters had in common.

- They were quick to jump in and either buy or borrow the book without second thoughts of what other people would think. Mind you, they all “enjoy” their smoking but they are also ready to quit.

- None of these people were the type that constantly whined about how crappy their life was and never did anything about it. They took the initiative to change themselves instead of waiting for someone else.

- They were all pretty open minded, friendly people. The kind of people I love chum up to myself.

So what does this say? Take what you want from it. It’s just interesting they all had similar qualities and were the first to jump on board. Kind of gives you and idea of what to look for when you coming up with your ideal customer or lead.

While there isn’t that much data I just thought it was interesting the similarities between them. What should be more interesting is to see who follows. Will the naysayers and non believers end up reading the book? How about the people waiting for someone to come clean their life up for them? Will they take the initiative?

Every person is just a little different and as marketers it’s a great help to learn how to figure out people so that we can solve problems and create solutions.

What does a stop smoking book have to do with marketing? Not much, at least not directly. But you would be amazed how much you learn from other people can have a direct impact on your marketing skills.

~Chris

Do you think something like this would help you in your marketing ventures? What other unexpected sources have you learned something from?

Technology has come leaps and bounds over the last few years. There is something to make everything you can think of more convenient and some things you may not have thought of.

Being accessible is important for marketing as well. And, again, with today’s technology, you can be accessible all the time. If someone needs you or has a question all they have to do is send you a message or a tweet and you are right on it.

Instant gratification.

It doesn’t matter if you are away from the computer, you can get updates with your cell phone. Now you can be accessible all day, every day. Isn’t that wonderful? Won’t you make an impact if you are right on the button like that? Instantly gratifying your customer or followers needs.

But, is it really worth it to be that accessible? Is it that healthy to be plugged in like that constantly? I have often wondered if being plugged in all the time causes people to forget about human, face to face interaction, but that’s a different story.

Obviously that’s not the case most of the time but you have to wonder if it really is worth it to be so accessible. We all need breaks and it seems like that’s easy to forget. I’ve already been over the benefits of unplugging every once in awhile as have many others.

It’s good for you and your business to not be accessible all the time. Most of the time will do.

But then I got to thinking. What if there was a way to take advantage of this ideal? As time progresses, people are becoming “plugged in” more and more. More people are becoming more accessible every day.

But what if you could figure out a way to raise your own perceived value by not being accessible? As the convenience of technology evolved you were one step ahead of the pack for awhile if you could always be reached. But now it’s possible for anyone to do that. So you don’t stand out as much.

The advance of cell phones and laptops has made it easy to always be there when you’re needed. We have control of our time and our own accessibility. It’s possible to be online all the time. But what if we could use that to our advantage?

Our time is valuable so you can only reach us directly at certain times.

Would that make you stand out from everyone else that’s plugged in? It could make you look worse I suppose but if you play around with the idea of perceived value (which btw can make a huge difference) it could change things a bit.

What do you think? Could the fact that everyone else is always available be used to our advantage? By not always being available?

~Chris

Throw your ideas out there. Can you take this possibility a little further? Do you think it can be used like this?

Awhile back I wrote a post about taking that extra step to stand out from the crowd. Basically it comes down to the fact that one simple little change can make you and/or your business stand out from everyone else. Even if your offering the same thing. Jeff Dunham has done just that with his routine.

Ventriloquism has been around for a long time and there are plenty of people that are talented at it. It’s not something you see every day though. It’s a bit outdated to put it bluntly. So how does one make a career out of ventriloquism? By standing out from the rest and appealing to the masses at the same time.

If you haven’t heard of Jeff Dunham I suggest you check him out. He does a stand up routine with puppets and using the art of ventriloquism. He’s good for a laugh as well. But the point of this post is to look at why he’s so successful with his act.

As I said, ventriloquism isn’t a huge portion of entertainment today. But Jeff Dunham has managed to bring it into the mainstream with his acts. What makes him different then others? I’m sure there are other people that are just as good as he is.

What he did was made it stand out from the rest by mixing the art of ventriloquism with comedy to stand out. He changed one little thing and made his act stand out from the rest. Not only is he talented (he is really good) but he makes people laugh. And more importantly he gets people involved. You forget that the character on stage isn’t real. It’s just a puppet. But Jeff brings so much life and personality into each one that people are drawn to his shows.

That’s how you take something that seems old and outdated and make a career out of it. You don’t have to always come up with something brand new, you can take something old and change it somehow to make it new. Make it fresh and exciting. And enticing. Make a difference and stand out, the rest will be easy.

What parts of online marketing can you think of that you could possibly take and change to your advantage?

I’ve mentioned before how lessons in life can be applied to marketing and business as well as how lessons in marketing can be applied to life. Once again I’ve run into this crossroad.

I’ve always had a particular passion for music. I’ve listened to it all my life and have been around it when people I knew were in bands. I was even in a band for a short time. I loved the scene and the power of music. I wanted to be a rock and roll star!

As I became older I started appreciating different types of music. And once again I realized the power of music and it’s hold it can have over people. A good rock band will get the crowd involved, singing the songs and dancing to the music. A well done soundtrack can sometimes say more about a scene in a movie then the dialogue. A composition written for a certain part of a game portrays the environment and creates pacing.

Music can tell a story. Music brings people together. It creates passion. Ya, I like music. A lot. But for some reason I spent many years as more of a bystander. An observer. I only really ever just got slightly involved. I dabbled. Of course that won’t get me anywhere and in the last year or so I’ve come to the decision to pursue this passion a little more.

As I said before, there are a lot of similarities between my online marketing venture and my pursuit to create music. Let’s take a look at a few shall we?

Hard Work

First of all, it’s not something you can just jump into. I might be able to throw something together using a program online but it takes a little bit of dedication to learn the actual process of making music to become more effective at creating it. The same goes for running a business. It takes dedication and learning a little at time. It’s made out to seem so simple to make a living (note I said make a living, not just making money. Think long term here) but it does take some work and dedication to make a strong foundation for you and your business.

Perseverance

Similar to before if I want to create anything worthwhile someday it’s going to take some perseverance. Mind you, I don’t think it’s going to lead to a career by any means but I still want my music to be good and at least make some sort of impact. That probably won’t happen right away. I’m pretty sure I’m no prodigy. Same with marketing. You won’t have a full fledged, self sustaining business tomorrow or even this year. But keep at it and never give up and you will succeed. You have to succeed if you don’t give up.

Effects on Others

This right here is one of my most satisfying aspects of both music and my business. Music can be a lot of things but I think if it moves people into action of some sort, whether that’s becoming emotional or just dancing, then something was done right. As online marketers we look to solve problems one way or another. I offer advice here on the blog as well as my writing services. They both solve problems of some sort. And at times people let me know how much of a difference I have made or that I made their day. That right there is so satisfying to me.

Develop Yourself

I am a firm believer that your personal life and your business life can affect one another. Both physically and mentally. Improving one will usually help in some form or another on the other. For example, my getting back into shape has helped me stay more alert and focused on my business. The more I learn about making music the more I improve myself. As I do that I’m sure it will come into play somewhere along the lines with my business and marketing. I’m not sure what that may be but as before one will effect the other.

Music has always been involved in my life one way or another and within the last few years so has marketing. I have a passion for both and can safely assume that they will intertwine at some point down the road now that I’m actively pursuing both. Now I’m off to find some piano lessons. After all the research I’ve done that seems like a good place to start.

Always follow your passion and never give up. It’s as simple as that.

~Chris

Do you have any other passions besides your business or online marketing? How has that affected your business? How has your marketing experience effected your other passions?

In the last couple weeks I have decided to take the next step and get back in shape. It’s been an interesting journey so far and it’s made me realize just how out of shape I really am. It’s quite sad really. But I’m working on fixing that whole issue.

The thing I wanted to bring up today though, is that there are quite a few similarities between me starting to workout and when I first started my online business. Just like all aspects of life the more you do things the better you get. But I’ll admit I sucked at both working out and starting a business. At first.

When i started online awhile back I was just like the majority of people, looking for a way to get rich asap. Only after a certain amount of time (too long lol) did I wise up and realized I actually have to put some effort into this. The money isn’t going to make itself. Signing up for affiliate programs and buying all kinds of how to products aren’t going to work by themselves. I had to put my own effort into these things to make it work. And also I had to do something I liked doing.

This lesson helped get started with exercising in that I already know it’s not going to be easy. I’m going to have to make a commitment to get out there and run everyday, rain or shine. I have to make a commitment to push myself and run longer and farther. Right now it’s easy to push myself because I’m so horribly out of shape lol. But I’m already aware of that because of my experience from online. Which brings me to my next point.

We all suck when we start. When I started doing the online thing, I made so many goofs and mistakes it’s not even funny. And while I’m not the most successful person yet, I’m wiser than I was. I learned from my mistakes and it took some time to realize that I needed to follow my passion and I needed to work at it to make it work.

Just like my running. I can only run for a couple blocks before I need to start walking for a bit. And after about a week it’s not even my muscles that are slowing me down, it’s my lungs. Years of sucking on the ol tar stick has really done a number on my breathing. Yup, I goofed up on that too. But I’ve been smoke free for a little over a month now and breathing will get easier over time.

I see this crossover all the time though. Between my life and my business. What I’ve learned from running a business I have been able to implement in other aspects of my life. Such as following my passion or never giving up. I have have also brought some of my own life lessons to my business; Always be kind and passionate and karma does count and never giving up.

That’s why I believe personal development and running a business coincide. Improve one and you’ll improve the other. But the biggest lesson I have learned from both worlds is to just keep trying and never give up. You’ll screw up, everyone does. But the more you keep going and trying, the better and easier things will get.

~Chris

Have you ever noticed this before? How has your life influenced your business and vice versa?

How do you think people like Michael Jordan, Elvis Presley, or William Shakespeare became so good at what they do? They reached for the stars and never stopped improving themselves.

“This is good enough” wasn’t in their vocabulary.

They were never satisfied, always strive for better.

They never put a limit on themselves.

Take what you are good at and go with it, constantly improve it and yourself. There is no limit. Limits are only in your head. Reach for the stars and never stop. Become the best you can be. Break your own limits.

~Chris

So a few days ago I finished Rich Dad Poor Dad (read my review) and there was something I wanted to bring up about greed. I grew up thinking greed was bad, as was money and the people that wanted it. While I agree there are some people that take money and greed too far, I think it’s okay to be a little greedy. In a sense.

There was a part in Rich Dad Poor Dad (amazon links) that talked about this very thing. Basically it said it was okay to be a little greedy. Otherwise you may not have the drive to attain the money you want. And then I got to thinking; how you think of money can effect how much you make.

As I said, as was growing up I always thought of money as bad and that I didn’t want to have a lot of it. I didn’t want to be greedy or even come off as greedy. But I also spent most of my life scraping by with what I could get. I always had just enough. Barely.

Nowadays, I have a family and plenty other responsibilities to take care of. And of course that takes more money. I take what little money I make and put it towards bills and taking care of my family. But, again, it was never quite enough. Eventually I started looking into working online. There were two reasons for this. One: I was tired of my job (still am lol) and I felt like I was going nowhere. And two: I knew there was money to be had online.

But I told myself it wasn’t the money itself that I wanted, it’s what I could provide with it. It’s what I could take care of and not have to stress out with it. I just wanted to make enough to cover my expenses and maybe a little to put back. That has basically been what I have been doing. Earning just enough to, once again, get by.

My point is that in limiting myself I also limited how much I earned. I still don’t want to come off as greedy. But I’m tired of being so damn poor all the time. After reading Rich Dad Poor Dad, I learned a lot of things from that book including the idea that it’s okay to be greedy. Not too greedy of course, but greedy nonetheless.

Call me greedy if you must, but I’m going to remove my own personal glass ceiling. I want to make a lot of money so that I can provide for my family, invest some of it, and buy my own things. Instead of struggling to keep up with bills, borrowing money, and hardly buying anything for myself.

Does this mean I’m going to treat people differently? Not at all. It just means I’m going to work harder. And more importantly I’m going to work smarter. I’m going to make something of myself and I’m going to create a business that makes a difference for other people.

My goals haven’t changed. Just the way I’m getting to them. Call me slightly greedy maybe.

~Chris

Have you or someone you know been held back by their lack of greed? Do you think some greed can make a difference?